Letters to the editor Sept. 25

Thank a tow truck driver

As a past paramedic/firefighter I want to acknowledge another first responder that is rarely recognized or thanked.

Recently a local newspaper article had a thank you given only to the police, fire and ambulance. We do not seem to value our tow truck drivers. They too face the horrors of every bad accident scene; get called out at all hours of the night and work in the worst weather, longer than the other first responders.

More tow truck drivers are killed or injured every year on these calls than police or fire personnel. Why? Because these brave heroes are usually left to finish their jobs alone.

Ambulances leave first followed by police and fire. But the wrecker crew is left alone, no walls of flashing lights commanding attention, no fire trucks or police cars to block and slow down traffic protecting them while they work.

They stay cleaning glass, oil and debris off the road, keeping us all safe. They clear vehicles off the roads so we can drive on them without danger. Many times they’re doing this work alone with no extra protection!

Add the fact that many drivers go speeding by; ignorantly refusing to slow down and move over for them … it’s a highly dangerous place for someone’s daddy, mommy or loved one to be.

So please, when you see a tow truck driver, tip your hats, they truly deserve our utmost appreciation and respect. Most importantly show your appreciation by slowing down and moving over to help them return home to their loved ones.

As a past paramedic I should have known their contributions to our safety, but I missed it. Join me in doing that by slowing down and moving over. Let’s send them all home to their families as they have served us.

— Vincent Vaccaro, Three Forks

Electric co-op supports hunter education

Although hunting seems like a hazardous activity, it is actually rated safer than sports like football and even golf. In part that is due to the Montana Fish, Wildlife and Parks hunter education program, required for new hunters since 1957 and taught by hundreds of dedicated volunteer hunter education instructors who emphasize safety, ethics and responsibility. Hundreds of aspiring hunters will soon be in hunter ed classes across the Flathead.

Another crucial safety factor is the requirement to wear at least 400 square inches of hunter orange above the waist. Safety vests have been shown to reduce injuries and death due to mistaken identity by 94%. Flathead Wildlife has once again partnered with Flathead Electric Co-op’s Roundup For Safety program to buy a hunter orange vest for every graduate of the hunter education program. It’s a real treat to see beaming young hunters coming through check stations with their game and sporting their hunter education vests. Thanks to Roundup For Safety for supporting this great program. if you are a Flathead Electric customer, consider rounding up your utility bill. Just a few pennies a month can help make the Flathead a safer place.

— Jim Vashro, Flathead Wildlife

Rosendale must keep fighting

The current federal budget is spinning out of control. Simply stated, in the next fiscal year, spending will exceed tax collections by $2 trillion. The current budget is $7 trillion with anticipated tax collections of $5 trillion.

This creates a structural annual deficit of $2 trillion, in perpetuity.

Currently 20% of the budget is spent for interest on our $33 trillion national debt. If we don’t make a correction and restore fiscal responsibility the interest on our national debt will consume 50% of the budget ten years from now.

Left unchecked, our national defense and many of our most cherished government programs would have to take a big hit.

This fiscal insanity must be fixed. If not now, when?

Thank you, Congressman Matt Rosendale, for standing in the breech. Keep ignoring the smears of the liberal media and lobbyists. This is the time to rescue our country before the economy starts to implode.

My 14 grandchildren and future generations are counting on you and your conservative colleagues to attain the spending cuts necessary to restore this economy and not to mortgage their future. A weak economy threatens our national defense. Keep fighting.

I and many other Montanans have your back.

— Ed Regan, Townsend