Letters to the editor June 8

Back the blue

At the June 2 Whitefish City Council meeting the cowards who make up the majority of the council allowed over two hours of complete crazy public comment by morons who claim to be residents of the city.

These morons were attacking the Whitefish Police Department, specifically officer Michael Hingiss for just doing his job. One specific comment by Rebecca Miller, a local immigration advocate, stated that “immigration law was not really the business or jurisdiction of the Whitefish Police.”

I beg to differ with Miller. Immigration law is the business of all of us in the Flathead Valley, as well as all of our law enforcement officers. See something, say something.

If Rengifo del Castillo is in the U.S. legally, he should carry paperwork showing that he is part of a humanitarian parole program, and he is legally within the time frame of the program. Speaking English also helps.

One needs to ask, who would want to be a cop in Whitefish?

As a former Kalispell city councilman and long-time resident of the Flathead Valley, I know how public comment works and can be controlled with a time limit. The majority cowards on the council should have limited the comments to 15 or 20 minutes.

— Bob Herron, Kalispell

Legislative record

Now that the dust has cleared and the Montana Legislature has adjourned, let’s assess what it did not do. 

It did not offer Montanans major tax relief — income, property or sales. We will continue with an inequitable tax system which punishes middle-class Montanans and favors the wealthy. 

It did not offer Montanans campaign reform. Campaigns for public office will continue to be campaigns of the rich, by the rich, for the rich. The campaign season will continue to be years-long drawn-out affairs costing millions of dollars.

It offered no major new infrastructure funding for schools, roads or bridges We sit on a more than $1 billion coal tax trust fund managed by East Coast bankers while our state’s infrastructure is crumbling. It did not “bust the trust.” The coal tax trust fund that was originally designed for infrastructure funding.

It offered no substantial increase in school funding. Our teachers are among the lowest paid in the nation. Failing to pay them good salaries is a testimony to what this Legislature thinks of primary education. 

This Republican Legislature tried to censor a few of its courageous members for reaching across the aisle to vote with the Democratic minority.

It reluctantly funded Medicaid programs important to middle class Montanans and veterans. 

It did not offer much forward-thinking leadership. 

— Don Larson, Polson

Covid shots

As a retired obstetrics nurse of 30 years., I feel must speak out about Covid immunizations during pregnancy from our family’s personal experience.  

After trying for three years, my daughter conceived with her first child in 2023. Her pregnancy was normal until she had Covid at 35 weeks. For the next three weeks she did not gain weight, and the baby lost weight per ultrasound. Thanks to wonderful obstetrics she was induced and had a healthy baby. 

I would urge legislators and health care providers as well as the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention to continue to recommend Covid immunizations for pregnant women.

— Becky Dickman, Whitefish