Letters to the editor Aug. 30

Warming Center needs

Aesop said, “No act of kindness, no matter how small, is ever wasted.”

Thank you for the opportunity you give Montana citizens to have a voice concerning all matter of things. It is a privilege that I for one appreciate. I am writing because of a concern placed on my heart. And because networking generally yields results I am writing this letter. My request is addressed to all that live in the Flathead Valley and beyond. To those of us that are blessed to have a roof over our heads please would you take a moment to read my message.

I am writing to you because today as I was driving up Meridian Road in Kalispell I stopped in the Flathead Warming Center to ask the person in charge what the Flathead Warming Center homeless needs were. To my surprise he said sleeping bags. In addition to the sleeping bags, adult long underwear, fleece pants, sweat pants and sweat shirts, and coats for the coming winter. But right now he needs sleeping bags. He is a humble man with a big task.

So I am asking each person to search their heart and their closets and/or their local thrift store for any of the items listed above that they would be willing to donate to the Flathead Warming Center which is located at 889 North Meridian Road and please spread the word of this need.  

Let me close by sharing a quote to encourage you: “We can’t help everyone, but … everyone can help someone.” — Ronald Reagan

 Thank you for taking the time to read my letter.

— Kimberly Jones, Elmo

Tax solutions

Can you believe that in Montana Democrats are blaming Republicans for our old property tax system? 

What solutions did Democrat Govs. Brian Schweitzer or Steve Bullock propose? In fact, former president of the Montana Senate, Jon Tester, did nothing. 

Our current Gov. Greg Gianforte led a task force that had Republicans and Democrats. Their homestead plan has some merit. It helps Montana residents, not out of state landowners. 

So, what are the Democrats solutions?

— Janna Taylor, Dayton

Loon tunes

Warren Illi’s column in the Aug. 22 edition of the Inter Lake ‘Tuning in to loon music,’ made for interesting reading if you recognize its contradictions.   

Mr. Illi has long praised the virtues of the invasive northern pike, and has advocated that the species, if caught, should be returned alive to the once-pristine western Montana waters. No doubt he, himself, makes a practice of doing so. 

Mr. Illi has apparently forgotten, or doesn’t care, that northern pike predatory practices are not confined to the endangered bull trout and other native fish species. They are also very fond of ducklings as a light snack, and yes, loon chicks are on its menu too.  

That would be the reason the common loon is not so common anymore in Swan Lake, and other pike-infested waters in Northwest Montana. When I was a kid in the 1950s the loon’s call could be heard every day and evening on Swan. No more.  Their disappearance can most certainly be attributed to the love of Mr. Illi’s life, i.e. the northern pike. 

Anyone professing to care about the common loon in its native habitat should be advocating for the eradication of the northern pike, and destroy all that are caught to end their predation.

So, what will it be Mr. Illi, your precious northern pike or the native common loon, whose presence you also profess to enjoy? You can’t have it both ways.

— Al Weed, Kalispell