Letters to the editor Sept. 3

Who pays?

Here is a very simple question for those politicians and well-funded community organizers clamoring for more water in Flathead Lake.

Suppose next year that the lake is allowed to come to a foot above full pool in May as a buffer for June when natural inflows don’t even match federally mandated regulatory outflows, let alone contractual outflows. And then suppose a big wind arrives and 5-foot waves race across the extra foot of water and smash into the west shore.

Who pays for the damages? Is it them?

— Andy Palchak, Kalispell

Money won’t fix it

Throwing money at homelessness does not fix it. We need to make decisions that work toward resolving this issue, not making it worse.

We moved to the Flathead Valley from Seattle in late 2021. We seek to be part of the solution to the problems our community and state face.

As a Christian, I support helping those less fortunate, being balanced with “If anyone is not willing to work, let him not eat”

Again, homelessness is an ever-increasing issue here in the Flathead Valley. The local media is not helping, instead it seeks to simply point fingers and play to emotions.

The Seattle homeless situation: The number is now at 53,000. Seattle is completely off-base in their pointing to the cause. Building more homes is not the solution. If you build it, they will come. This is well documented. Utterly failed policies have led to this crises that is likely beyond fixing in this, the 18th largest city in the U.S.

My own former hometown of Burien, Wash., which I visited in early August, has become part of the proverbial dumpster fire. A city of some 49,000 that is spending 1.1% of its budget toward the homeless, $485,000. The problem has increased, not decreased. Throwing money at the problem does not fix it.

Homelessness, is a multi-faceted problem. I think we can all agree on this. Mental health and drugs are the two of the most obvious elements that contribute. We need to address these substantively. These people need help. But, laws must be enforced and arrests made of individuals who break laws. Law enforcement must be enabled and supported to do their job.

We need to ask the hard questions. Then, we need to make decisions that work toward resolving this issue, not making it worse.

— Brad Krantz, Somers