Opinion
In this column I want to address a topic most of us avoid. Growing old. Or more specifically, the people living around us who are senior citizens - aging professionals, if you will. I want to talk about this greatest demographic of all time. We expect a lot of them. After all they’ve given us. Think about it. People in their 70s, 80s and so on gave us the best years of their lives. They parented and nurtured us. They endured the hippy era, Viet Nam, avocado colored kitchen appliances (sans microwave ovens, because they weren’t mainstream yet), shag carpet, shag haircuts and black and white TV programming that ended at midnight with the playing of the n...
Editor, In our rural state, public broadcasting is extremely popular - and important. Many of us make long drives and do our work to NPR programming: music, talk shows, history and science shows, a variety of podcasts, local programming, local weather, balanced and informative news - whether state, local ...
Editor, Today’s Valley Journal (May 7) mentioned “infrastructure investment at MT State Prison.” To my way of thinking an investment is something that gives you returns of some sort in the future. It might be money, it might be saving money, it might be preventing problems down the...
Editor, Is anyone else bothered by the lack of cleanup at the 7th & 7th east construction site in Polson? It looks pretty crappy. The project has been completed now for about 3 weeks. I waited about a week before sending an email to the City of Polson Public Works department, requesting to have the tw...
Where does the time go? It’s hard to believe we’re already gearing up for another Annual Summer Reading Program here at the library. The “Color Our World” program runs from June 9 through Aug. 7 and we’re bringing back the beloved Bug Race. There are two ways to record your read...
The Held family has ranched along the Powder River and in Carter County for four generations. They raise registered black Angus breeding stock through embryo transfer and 350 mother cows. About 400 acres are under pivots, 100 are on flood irrigation, 300 are under dryland, and the rest is uncultivated hills....
Recent governmental events (kidnapping people off the streets, arresting dissenters, blocking free speech, withholding monies) brought back a few thoughts. One (from a political science class) was, “Power is seized – not granted.” The other (from a seminar on negotiations) was, “Th...
Editor, On Saturday, April 26th, I participated in a “We the People Rally” at the intersection of Highway 35 and 93 in Polson. There were about 45 of us with signs and drummers. The weather was glorious and we received a lot of positive responses along with a few middle fingers. The oddest and...
Picture this: You are with a friend and they get a phone call. You do your best to ignore the conversation - even the one side you can hear. Your friend ends the phone call and without them saying a word, you know something is wrong. Or this: You are with a group of friends. The air is happy and jov...
Editor, We just lost a powerful leader, “The People’s Pope.” His power stemmed from his connection to all people; religious or not, black or white, poor or wealthy. Tenderness was his strength. Francis, humble and full of grace, challenged us individually and as world citizens to be bett...
