Flathead Valley Commentary | Flathead Beacon

Friday May 9, 2008

Lurching from one near disaster to another ...

Warren’s World: Crowded Resorts Contribute to Death on the Slopes

There is a major crisis in the ski and snowboard world that very few people are aware of and no one is doing anything about. In Colorado last winter 17 skiers or snowboarders were killed by running into each other or trees. At Deer Valley, Stein Eriksen broke his ribs, wrist and collar bone when he collided with a small boy. That, after skiing for 75 years.

[read more]
By , 05-08-08 | comments (1) | email story | print story

So Says the Man who Made it Possible

Wolf Recovery Turned Out as Planned

I understand that some of you might feel "overwolfed," but I thought the views of the man who probably did more to return the Big Dog to the Rocky Mountain West than any other person on Earth could be interesting.

And surprisingly, he thinks it all turned out about how he expected.

[read more]
By , 05-07-08 | add comment | email story | print story

Commentary: Like I Was Saying ...

Clinton Favored in Schweitzer-Stakes

As Gov. Brian Schweitzer wrapped up an interview with my colleague recently, I quickly interjected to ask two dumb questions: What do you think your chances are at the Democratic vice presidential nomination and whom do you plan on endorsing in the presidential election?

He scoffed at the first and ignored the second, deflecting attention to his dog, Jag, who lay asleep on the newsroom floor.

[read more]
By , 05-03-08 | comments (1) | email story | print story

Guest Commentary: Robert Morrow

We Can Recycle More in the Flathead

In fiscal year 2006, the hard working people at the Flathead County Solid Waste District disposed of 125,318 tons of solid waste. Valley Recycling recycled a total of 6,000 tons of material in 2006. That included mixed paper, cardboard, #1 and #2 plastics, and non-ferrous metals. That’s a recycling rate for the Flathead Valley of less than 5 percent. We as a community can do better then that!

[read more]
By , 05-02-08 | add comment | email story | print story

Lurching from one near disaster to another ...

Warren’s World: High-Tech Carnage

The door slammed shut behind me as I held an 80-pound antelope struggling in my arms. She had been running across the Sun Valley parking lot, slipped on some ice and slammed into the back bumper of my truck and was now bleeding all over my seven-dollar ski pants from a shoulder wound.

[read more]
By , 05-02-08 | add comment | email story | print story

Choke On it

The Interlocal Agreement Fallout

On April 23, I joined a packed house attending the City of Whitefish vs. Flathead County Board of Commissioners hearing before Flathead District Court Judge Kitty Curtis.

The main point of the argument presented by Whitefish attorney John Phelps was that irreparable harm would occur were the county to resume zoning jurisdiction. Flathead County counsel Alan McCormick argued otherwise, of course.

[read more]
By , 04-30-08 | add comment | email story | print story

Commentary: Like I Was Saying ...

Justice Delayed

Few have the gall of John Earl Petersen. And that’s a good thing. The Spokane man believed to have masterminded the $11 million collapse of Mountain Bank of Whitefish in the mid-1990s was captured in Boulder, Colo., last week. Among his belongings: a blond wig, several dismantled cell phones and a book titled “How to get Lost in America.”

[read more]
By , 04-26-08 | comments (2) | email story | print story

Guest Commentary: Ellen Engstedt-Simpson

More Should be Done to Stop Mill Closures

At what point should a community support the businesses operating in and near it? Should city and county officials publicly state appreciation for the tax dollars and many other contributions businesses, large and small, make to the well-being of a town and its residents? Or, should they all wait quietly until a closure happens and then lament the loss? Unfortunately, way too often the last statement is the reality.

[read more]
By , 04-25-08 | add comment | email story | print story
Read more Commentary articles
Next Page