Kalispell's good-neighbor policy

The Kalispell City Council's decision to set aside sewage-treatment capacity for outlying subdivisions is likely to raise some eyebrows among those who want Kalispell's sewage plant to serve only Kalispell customers.

We prefer to look at it another way: It's an example of the city being a good neighbor and responding to a need in a growing area.

The 100,000-gallon allocation is likely to be used up pretty quickly as subdivisions look to connect to the city system.

The city's move is a commendable first step not only in addressing the infrastructure requirements for a growing area, but it's also a way to protect water quality.

It might just be an anomaly, but the decline in the local jail population is certainly a noteworthy development.

The county jail, which had been pushing or topping 100 inmates, in recent weeks had a population in the 70s or 80s - a four-year low.

The decline followed a study that questioned why 99 percent of those in the jail were people awaiting trial.

March is historically the "off season" for crime in the Flathead and the end of the jury term also could be contributing to the lower incarceration figures.

But it will be interesting to see if jail numbers rise in future months as officials consider changes in the justice system and possible new facilities.

Big Mountain's infamous end-of-season furniture race has been relegated to the history books, and dare we say it's about time.

The race has been a popular event through the decades as participants have fashioned couches and beds into ski-racing machines. It's been a blast for both spectators and racers, but there have been several serious injuries through the years.

We're glad to see Winter Sports Inc. making the call on eliminating the event before anyone else was injured or even killed. Most would admit the furniture race was the proverbial accident waiting to happen. The replacement event - pond skimming - sounds like fun and is probably a lot safer, too.

A court ruling that voided a water permit for the Rock Creek Mine was hailed by the plaintiff organizations as a setback for the company that's backing the mine.

That doesn't appear to be the case.

The permit was set to expire this year anyway, and Revett Minerals Inc. already was working with the Montana Department of Environmental Quality to address the permit problems raised by the court.

Even so, the Rock Creek Mine is hardly on a greased rail to approval. Revett Minerals can look forward to continuing bureaucratic obstacles and, for certain, future legal challenges. That's the way mining business is done these days.