Letters to the editor Oct. 29

KPS needs our support

I am honored to be a trustee for Kalispell Public Schools for the past six years. One of the difficult decisions we made this year was to make a priority in person education five days a week. This priority is normally a given, but this year comes with the risk of spreading Covid. We recognize students learn best when they are in class, have access to support and activities, and for many, an opportunity for breakfast and lunch. Maintaining safety and education is an ongoing balancing act for everyone at KPS

Inspirational, hard-working, creative and dedicated are words I use to describe everyone at KPS who makes this a great educational institution. I also add the word courageous, as KPS staff continue to go above and beyond to ensure youth are provided the best learning opportunity possible despite knowing the challenges which the pandemic presents.

Strong schools make strong communities. KPS needs our support and has put an operation levy on the ballot this year. Every year I have been a part of decisions to tighten the budget. KPS has been a good steward of resources and when compared to other school districts in the valley and around the state, do more with less. School funding is complex, but an important figure is KPS runs at 92% of our budget authority while most districts are at 100%. KPS has course offerings, technology, facilities, and activities which are competitive with any school in Montana and which prepare students for their futures.

Voting “YES” on this levy will support the high school district for years to come in maintaining a high quality education for our students and send a supporting message to everyone at KPS of the high value we place on our schools.

—Lance Isaak, Kalispell School Board trustee

Sickened by attack ads

I am sickened by the negative ads that have been sent to voters attacking my opponent. These ads violate my fundamental values. I want our community to know that I have not spent one penny on any attacks on my opponent. I absolutely had no knowledge of these ads before they appeared in my mailbox. When my opponent and I recently talked, we appreciated each other for not engaging in attacks and just sticking to the issues. These attack ads are being produced and paid for by other groups over which we have no control. Every ad must have an attribution indicating who paid for the ad and I would encourage everyone to notice that none of these attacks on my opponent or myself came from either of us.  

I have lived my life on the principle that all human beings deserve complete respect and I am horrified that anyone would think that these vicious ads came from me. This kind of negative campaigning is why so many good people refuse to be involved in politics. We must do better than this.

—Rep. Debo Powers, D-Polebridge

Homelessness report

I am writing to take issue with the way that I am quoted in the 2020 Homeless Task Force report to the Kalispell City Council.  I was shocked to see my comments summarized in a single sentence, “Homelessness is not a housing issue.”

It’s obvious that people who are homeless lack homes - there is a housing issue, and a housing affordability issue. There is also often a public-health issue (note the significant percentage of unhoused people in the homeless point-in-time count who reported physical health, mental health and/or substance abuse issues).

The city of Kalispell is truly fortunate that homeless services providers are working hand in hand with other organizations (health care, legal, etc.) to meet these needs. Examples of this collaboration include the Flathead COVID-19 Emergency Shelter Collaborative and Coordinated Entry — a process led by Community Action Partnership where local homeless services providers and others gather regularly to work together to prioritize the most vulnerable people experiencing homelessness and help them move back into housing.

Kalispell residents can be proud of the way the community is working together to address homelessness. I urge the city to strongly support these collaborative efforts.

—William Matson, Executive Director of Pathways Community Network Institute

Putting politics over public health

As a physician and former chairman of the Flathead County Board of Health, I was disappointed at the board’s voting down recommended actions by the health officer to try and tap down the rampant number of cases per capita of COVID-19 in the Flathead.

I am not a Gov. Bullock fan, but he was correct in recommending that counties should take local action based on their case volume, an action refused by our three cowardly Republican commissioners (I am a staunch conservative), and only made worse by the politically motivated Board of Health vote last week led by an anti-vaxing, anti-science doctor and Holmquist, a commissioner who knows nothing about public health. By ignoring the presentations of hospital and infectious disease experts, they have possibly put the vulnerable of our community at risk.

Unlike anti-vaxer Bukacek, I do know a bit about science as retired professor and chief of cardiac surgery at The Ohio State University with over 100 peer-reviewed publications, book chapters and books including several on infectious diseases. This was a potentially dangerous move by a politically hijacked Board of Health which is supposed to safeguard public health.

I was encouraged by the bravery of the interim Health Officer, Tamalee St. James Robinson, who after being turned down by all three commissioners and the county attorney when requesting support, put out her own set of guidelines in the news media this week with recommended actions for the community. The politics of the commissioners has already led to one excellent health officer resigning. The current health officer would likely also have resigned after last week’s board’s lack of support except for her loyalty to her staff, many of whom have already resigned.

It appears that our county commissioners and Board of Health prefer politics to public health. Sad! And dangerous!

—David Myerowitz, Columbia Falls

Do what’s best

Why is it that many of the same people who refuse to wear masks in relation to COVID-19 will wear the state-mandated amount of orange during hunting season? Does being forced to wear orange not “infringe” upon their rights and liberties as well?

The answer is sadly obvious: orange protects oneself, while masks protect others.

I am dumbfounded that people believe their rights and liberties are being infringed upon when asked to wear a mask. If you do your homework, you’ll see the 10th Amendment gives the states this right. Other 10th Amendment state laws involve traffic laws, driver’s licenses, election rules, state commerce regulation, building and maintaining roads, building and maintaining schools, police and fire department regulations, and local business laws. For instance, no smoking in public schools or restaurants and bars is an example of a 10th Amendment law that is crafted for the overall health of the public. Same as wearing a mask — for the general health of the public.

Do the same people who won’t wear a mask refuse to stop at traffic lights? Refuse to obey speed limits? Smoke in schools and restaurants?

All laws aside, and even if Gov.Bullock had not issued a statewide mask mandate, as someone who cares about my family, neighbors, fellow Montanans and Americans, I would and do wear a mask. What could be more impolite, self-centered, and un-American than to purposefully put others in harm’s way, and potentially, to cause them death?

True Montanans and Americans will do what is best for our neighbors and country in helping us all rally together in health and spirit and not let myopic political ideologies kill our neighbors and our country.

This fall, I will wear my orange, as always, and in public and around others, I will wear my mask.

—Matt Holloway, Columbia Falls

Board of Health decision

As the Covid-19 numbers continue to rise in our county and as we are the hottest spot for new cases in our entire state, I am alarmed at the number of our fellow citizens who have already passed away. I respectfully ask the Flathead City-County Health Board to reconsider their recent decision to not restrict the number of people to meet in places together and to not require that masks be worn. 

This is not just a matter of personal freedom, but is an act of respect for others. Jesus states “Loving your neighbor as yourself.” This includes our professional health board, doctors, nurses, and all hospital staff who are working so very hard to keep us all safe. I, too, want businesses and schools to stay open, but this can only happen if we insist on wearing masks, social distancing and only allowing smaller gatherings. I have a grandson who teaches at Glacier High and a granddaughter who is a nurse.

One of our larger venues has responsibly sacrificed some of their larger events in the interest of public safety. I applaud them for that and only ask that you would follow the path they have taken and please, please reconsider your latest decision or at the very least let it remain on the agenda for discussion. 

We truly are all in this together. Again, I thank the team at the Flathead County Health Department for their tireless work on our behalf and ask that you, the board also thank them. 

—Beverly J. Larson, Kalispell