Letters to the editor July 31

A concrete idea

Shutting down a major airport for almost four weeks in the peak season is a brutal blow to the economy. 

The underlying problem is that the runway is asphalt. Asphalt requires rebuilding every 10 to 20 years and asphalt can only be placed when the ambient temperature remains above 50 degrees. That’s one of the reasons most major runways are made with concrete. Concrete has a higher upfront cost and a longer cure time, but can last 50 years between rebuilds. Concrete also better stands up to the loads of heavy commercial landings than asphalt. Finally, concrete can be placed as long as the weather remains above freezing. 

By replacing with asphalt, with the increased air travel we’ll face the same issue again in 2040.

— Steve Regis, Lakeside

Worries and concerns

Dear Sens. Steve Daines, Tim Sheehy and Congressman Ryan Zinke,

Many of your constituents here in Montana are worried. We wonder if we will have enough staff to fight our forest fires and care adequately for Glacier and Yellowstone national parks. We worry that those agencies protecting clean air and water for generations to come will be criminalized. 

Our hard working immigrant families are terrified. We are shocked by the passing of $17 billion of tax payers money for more incarcerations without due process. We question the intrusion of federal government into decisions about our own health care. 

We need to hear from all of you. What direction is our federal government taking? How are you refining it? And you need to hear from us, to really listen to our worries and our concerns. Now that you have a nice long break, please use that opportunity to hold town meetings in  this western district and throughout Montana. We need to gather; we need to hear each other. 

— Linda de Kort, Kalispell

Attempted sarcasm

Maybe Sen. Matt Regier’s quip about “Libby Loggers” should have offered “Libby Lungers” as a substitute high school team name.  

In pointing out a community with a heavy dependence on federal funding to mitigate a serious environmental mess long ignored by the state of Montana, his stab at humor or sarcasm was gratuitously off the mark.

— Margaret S. Davis, Lakeside