Letters to the editor Feb. 27

High water

Thank you, Rep. Ryan Zinke, for once again attempting to bring stability and fairness to the Flathead Lake water level. To that end, honoring what “full pool” means is absolutely crucial to the future of properties surrounding Flathead Lake.

All homes, docks and septic systems on Flathead Lake were built based on the full pool level of 2,892 to 2,893 feet. Development along the shoreline has assumed the full pool level.

 I, too, relied on the full pool level. Before I built my home in 2003-04, I had the lot elevations surveyed to make sure my home’s foundation was 1 foot above Flathead Lake full pool. All was working as it should have.

 Then Energy Keepers, Inc. took over. They immediately committed to selling more electricity than the dam was designed to produce and they were made aware of that. 

In 2024, Energy Keepers, Inc. let the water level rise over 1 foot above the traditional full pool level. That decision to let the water level rise created immediate problems for established lakefront owners. The retaining walls are too low at the increased water level. Groundwater issues emerged immediately. I am experiencing those very issues firsthand.  

I respectfully request that you continue to try and negotiate a full pool level maintenance for Flathead Lake and thank you for your attention to this issue.   

— Elsa Putzier, Bigfork

Fragile economy

The Wall Street Journal of Feb. 23 contained a front-page headline stating, “The US economy depends more than ever on rich people.”  The article reports the top 10% of earners now account for 49.7% of all consumer spending.  

My conclusion is we now have a fragile national economy making life for the majority of our citizens unnecessarily precarious and certainly dangerous and impossible for many others.

I was not aware of the extent of the imbalance. Our Montana U.S. senators and the two US congressmen must also be unaware as I have not seen any of them mention the matter. An enterprising local news reporter should question them to see if it concerns them.  

By their silence and slavish collusion with the newly installed administration, I doubt that it does.

— Peter Stoll, Kalispell

Survival tip

Folks, a 79-year-old gentleman just saved his life overnight on Blacktail Mountain because he kept his cool, sheltered himself from the elements and, most importantly, built a fire.

Please, please, please, when in the woods, always carry in your pocket a windproof lighter and several three-inch squares of inner tube in the center of which you have cut very tiny X’s. You will be able to suspend the rubber above the snow with a stick through the X. When lit in the center of a teepee of dry kindling found under most spruce and fir, the burning rubber will produce a smoky fire that will dry even wet sticks and enable them to burn.

The heat and psychological impact of your fire will get you through.

— Andy Palchak, Kalispell

Propaganda

The “Bloated government” letter said, “Surprise, there’s a ton of dead people still getting checks, the oldest is 150 years old” and recommended doing a bit of fact finding, which I did. I found an AP article that reveals some messy details about a database of people born before 1920, the COBOL programming language and how missing date entries default to 150 years ago. Social Security Administration didn’t fix the problem because it would cost $9 million and they stop paying after age 115 anyway. No ton of dead people getting checks.

Who supplied this misinformation? Elon Musk and President Donald Trump, who said, “We have millions and millions of people over 100 years old” receiving Social Security benefits. “They’re obviously fraudulent or incompetent.” 

These are smart people who know this isn’t true. So is it exaggeration, misinformation, a lie or propaganda? It’s propaganda intended to mislead Americans like our “Bloated government” writer into thinking fraud is rampant in government and easy to fix with a wood chipper.  No need to understand, discuss or debate side effects, like discontinuing USAID, which equals millions die of HIV and starvation. 

I believe DOGE isn’t about efficiency but is just a cover to unilaterally dismantle sections of government that the right doesn’t like, and to tilt government to favor billionaires over the working class without any oversight from Congress.  Republican congressmen are afraid to object to anything Trump wants and the Supreme Court gave him a get-out-of-jail-free card. When you have billions for lawyers, you control two social media outlets where you can rig the algorithms to ensure users see the content you want, and install “yes men” in leadership positions, you have a situation where you “won’t have to vote again,” according to Trump.

— Chuck Cummings, Kalispell