Letters to the editor April 8
More than their fair share
I recently read a letter brought us by another lakeshore owner who feels the government agency that oversees how our lake’s dam has been mismanaged points out the obvious, inconvenience to them.
Of course someone as self-centered as a governmental agency (federal to boot) is more concerned with adhering to regulations and other needs for the water below the dam.
If only they would consider how difficult it is to have to get a boat a few yards down to the water from nearby dry land and not be able to enjoy recreational activities in any other manner than maybe using a public access point ,perhaps they would see the real way to manage the water flow.
I too agree that “manufactured public safety concerns” that are “disingenuous at best” should give way to how best to serve all the needs of those for water below our dam.
In our time living here I have never seen a need for anyone to have to “escape” down their boat ramp to avoid a fire. I also agree that those that represent those living on the lakes edges are not a small group. Or does that include year-round residents or those whose homes are vacant often during the year, particularly in winter months?
Perhaps it comes down to the other issue: race. The end of a contractual term that granted them the right to control the dam within guidelines was well known and made without prejudice.
Selfish and prejudice attitudes is what put their organization together. Not reality. Water availability is more about nature and climate changes and lives lived along the flow to the Columbia River and then to the sea. All have needs and wants and lives tied to it. All suffer the same with reduced flows, most don’t just attempt to take more than their fair share.
— Rich Bell, Polson
Poise and determination
Ten years ago, I served as past president of the Flathead Area Young Professionals. That year an entirely new board was elected, and populated with several poised, enthusiastic and determined young women. Each one has since gone on to genuinely successful endeavors, almost all as local business owners.
Even among that impressive group, Courtenay Sprunger stood out. Over the years since, through multiple local gatherings and the occasional coffee, I was able to stay in touch with someone I absolutely knew would make a difference.
Ten years on, she exudes the same poise and determined spirit in everything she does, only on a larger stage and scale. Courtenay’s “everything” is a lot. Wherever I look to plug in to our local community, it seems like she is there too, already invested, already making that difference.
Her record as a freshman representative is stunning. Personally, though, I’m not surprised. This is what poise and determination do.
As an executive for a global manufacturing business headquartered here, I know very well the challenges we face in the valley and in the state. I need to believe our elected decision-makers can operate with open ears and a level head. With poise and determination.
Rep. Sprunger is every bit that kind of elected decision-maker.
— John Ghekiere, Kalispell
Use of federal funds
If the Lakeside County Water and Sewer District intends to pay Flathead County for the Wiley Dike property with ARPA funds it receives from the county, this raises the question of “money laundering” in the use of federal funds.
There is no assurance that the Wiley Dike property is a suitable location for an as yet unplanned, unpermitted county septage facility. Lakeside County Water and Sewer District rate payers are being exposed to unknown costs for mitigation, litigation and operation of a needed, but poorly located, facility.
— Margaret S. Davis, Lakeside