Letters to the editor Feb. 26

Try volunteering

To the wonderful people of Northwest Montana, we live in an area of the United States that most people would die for. What brings this feeling to us are the communities we live in.

After reading the Sunday edition of the Daily Inter Lake insert ‘Thanks to Our First Responders,” it brought up some great memories of my past.

There are many communities in our area that have needs that are satisfied by many volunteers. Some of those volunteer groups may be struggling to maintain levels of volunteers to handle the workload of these communities. 

I can tell you from personal experience that being a volunteer on the city of Libby and Lincoln County Rural Fire District fire departments has filled me with great memories and great sorrow. I spent 28 years with the department, 13 as a firefighter, 13 as assistant chief and training officer, and two as chief of department. Those were very memorable and great years.

My hope is that I might stir an interest in some of you to become volunteers in a fire department, an ambulance department, or a search and rescue organization in your communities. 

Don’t be scared of what you might be getting into. We who have volunteered in the past all had that thought. You’ll be trained and taught what to do as we all were. It doesn’t come all at once, but the knowledge will come. 

Step up and ask a volunteer what it’s like. Ask to join a meeting to see what happens. If you do decide to join one of these organizations, it won’t take long and you will thank yourself for doing so, and there will be many other people thanking you also.

— Ken Preston, Kalispell

Lakeside dock

Recently I attended a meeting that the Flathead County Commissioners held regarding the property on Lakeside Boulevard in Lakeside becoming a marina. 

As soon as everyone gave their concerns about why putting a marina in a public place was a bad idea, the commissioners announced that the discussion was over and they heard from a representative from the project.

One of their reasons for an extended dock was because of their concerns about low water. I measured the water levels on both sides of the dock and they all measured over the 5-foot mark, which means the water level is not low.

I have been boating on Flathead Lake since 1980 and I have never had any issues with low water in that part of the lake or any other areas of the lake.

In my opinion the county commissioners have not done their job upholding the rules and regulations that are in place for the protection of the lake. 

The commissioners then granted them 159 feet of dock which is going to set a terrible precedent.

We elected these people to represent and protect our most valuable resource. They have failed the people of Montana terribly and should be held accountable for their actions by not following the rules and regulations already set in place.

I would like to know what their reason was for granting them more dock than they legally deserve.

— Marshall McCartney, Lakeside