Opinion
Editor, “The teaching profession contributes more to our society than any other single profession.” (John Wooden) Teachers work hard. If asked to do extra jobs, they may grumble, but they do them. They care about all students, listening to their concerns and advancing solutions. Teachers work miracles; often while juggling a family at home. Shirley Azzopardi taught special education for 30 years. Running for Representative of House District 13, she aspires to be a voice for all Montanans. Shirley will work to protect and strengthen our public school system by supporting increasing teacher pay and attracting new teachers, while opposing taxpayer dollars funding private char...
Editor, Obviously the Democrat calling Representative Reksten “Rubberstamp Reksten” has never reviewed the house votes. As a former member of the Montana House and Senate, I can attest that all Democrats rubberstamp. In fact, I was so shocked when first elected that I would attend Democrat cau...
Editor, As I read Bob McClellan’s letter to the editor, the adage “the pot calling the kettle black” came to mind. He came up with the term “Trumpism” to label anyone supporting President Trump. He said Trumpism is characterized by fear, anger, and self-centeredness. I wou...
Editor, This is our present three (3) party political system: Democratic, Republican, and what I term “Trumpism.” Trumpism was formed by Donald Trump’s presidency. It is ruled by fear, anger, and self-centeredness. Let’s call it FAS. These human tendencies are personal cho...
We all have our views and viewpoints. It’s easy to expand on those views with quips and comments that sound inventive, innovative and downright clever. It’s amazing, actually, how easy it is to come out against something or someone, especially when you don’t agree with their viewpoints, pol...
Property taxes aren’t red/blue or political; the State writes the rules on property taxes, counties follow the rules. And everyone—no matter what your political stripe—pays. It’s no secret that Missoula County and Beaverhead County are opposite in terms of politics, bu...
As you know by now, Montana boasts a unique and expansive constitutional guarantee to public information. But Montana law allows agencies to charge Montanans a fee for completing Right to Know requests, if the agency chooses to do so. Understanding why different fees are being assessed in different circum...
Editor, Shirley Azzopardi is running for Montana House District 13. Shirley graduated from the University of Montana and was a special education teacher for 30 years with 28 of those in St. Ignatius. Currently, she is the Mental Health Coordinator for Early Childhood Services with the Confederate Salish K...
Editor, It is difficult to write a letter in support of Shirley Azzopardi for House District 13 without comparing her to her opponent, the incumbent Linda Reksten. While Shirley advocates for the state legislature to adjust tax rates to lower our property taxes, the Republican Supermajority and Linda Reks...
How can it be? Summer has flown by and here we are getting ready to celebrate the end of our Summer Reading Program with a big block party on Thursday, Aug. 15 from 5 to 8 p.m. We’ll have live music, food and drinks available for purchase, another Paper Pie book sale, our prize drawings and of course, ...
