Where's Waldo?

Where is Waldo Winchester, the tongue-in-cheek conscience of Whitefish? Waldo would be handing out roses to the trails committee, the skateboard committee, The Wave, the farmer's markets, the ice skating rink and the cast and production crew of Whitefish Theater Company's "Our Town".

In fact, Waldo would be hard pressed to find enough roses to pass out around town — the givingest community in the state of Montana.

Waldo would agree, however, that there's work to be done. A Saturday morning walk in downtown Whitefish brought tears to our eyes. "Clean the Fish" should be a daily happening - not once a year.

Why not readjust our image and think of all of Whitefish as a park? How would you feel if you drove through Glacier Park on a Saturday morning and were greeted with beer cans, plastic glasses and straws, and empty cigarette packages? Not to mention flower beds and planters full of used chewing gum and cigarette butts? Those half-barrels are planters - not garbage cans. They should be removed and stored for the winter.

A few simple solutions would alleviate much of the problem. The local 2 percent resort tax budget needs to add a line item for the installation and maintenance of covered trash containers on every corner in downtown Whitefish, in front of every bar and four on the viaduct.

Special thanks to the Lion's Club for their contributions in the past. It has been proven that people will use trash containers if they are handy. A few of us take plastic bags on our daily walks around Whitefish and clean up the trash. Public pride in "Whitefish Park" would promote daily clean-up in both the business and the private sectors and encourage our youth to clean up around the schools.

Waldo would have a few words to say about the lack of pedestrian paths along the two busiest streets in Whitefish - Second St. from Lupfer to Grouse Mountain Lodge and Wisconsin Ave. from the north end of the viaduct to Big Mountain Rd.

Headlines in the recent Whitefish City Hall newsletter proclaimed a $3 million appropriation for pedestrian/bicycle trails. What are we waiting for? It's dangerous out there.

The Oct. 27 editorial in the Daily Inter Lake cautioned us to be concerned about the proposed 167-unit Boardwalk at Whitefish project. Can Wisconsin Ave. handle the increased traffic? We've had seven "dry" years in the valley. What will happen to Boardwalk when those natural wetlands return to normal?

I can see Waldo scratching his head. He remembers the wet years.

Jeanne Tallman

Whitefish

Johnson for judge

Please join me in supporting Brad Johnson for Whitefish City Judge on Nov. 8.

I was the Whitefish City Prosecutor from 1994 until 2002. The Whitefish City Court deals with constitutional issues every single day. Johnson is trained in the law and is more than capable of handling those issues.

The fact that Johnson is a lawyer makes him the only candidate in my opinion. While the law does not require that a city judge have a law degree, Whitefish is extremely lucky to have not only a lawyer but a legal scholar willing to serve the people by dedicating himself to this position.

Many defense attorneys that I worked with over the years appreciated and respected the well-reasoned opinions that Johnson provided in his rulings. Rulings from a non-lawyer judge will likely cause many appeals to an already overcrowded district court.

The civil case issue that has been raised is not really an issue in my opinion. The overwhelming majority of cases before the Whitefish City Court are criminal in nature.

I support Judge Johnson.

Sean S. Frampton

Whitefish

For the future

Nick Palmer is a superb chairman of the Whitefish City-County Planning Board. He will make a superb city councilman.

I have served on the board with Nick. His fair-minded, professional handling of matters to come before the board has been effective and efficient. In my three terms on the board, he has been the best chairman, the one most protective of Whitefish and its future.

Nick also is my friend.

As a fellow planning board member and as a friend, he has shown his love for Whitefish and its citizens. His stated goal has always been to ensure the best community, protected by a master plan, and grown in a responsible conservative manner, complete with concern for the fragile fabric that makes Whitefish a wonderful place to live and raise a family.

Nick's next logical move is to the council, where final decisions are made. He will work hard, studying each issue and making decisions protective of the community character that makes Whitefish the last best place. He is a smart guy, one who cannot be influenced to make anything but the right decisions.

Nick will make a great city councilor.

Scott Sorensen

Whitefish

Important vote

It seems as though every election is more important than the last, and this one is no exception. For this reason, I am endorsing Nancy Woodruff for city council.

Why Nancy? I have known Nancy since her years with the Whitefish Pilot and have come to know and appreciate her honesty and integrity, as well as her healthy scepticism and curiosity, born of years as a professional journalist.

Nancy is no stranger to City Hall and can be counted on to do her homework and listen carefully to all sides of an issue before reaching a position. While I'm sure we won't always agree on issues, I'm confident she will serve the best interests of our community.

The most important act of citizenship is voting, and when I cast my ballot on Tuesday, it will be for Nancy Woodruff — for Whitefish. I encourage you to do the same.

Richard Hildner

Whitefish

Coming together

There is a very controversial proposed real estate project on Wisconsin Ave. Nick Palmer, president of the Whitefish City-County Planning Board, told me he realized a couple of important things about it: First, the planning board would need more information than it would get in one night of testimony, and secondly, the public would have many questions and a lot of emotional reactions about what the developer planned.

So he initiated a "walk through" of the property, bringing together the developer, citizens, planning board members and the city staff. In this way we could all interact, ask questions and make informed judgments about how we felt about the project.

I really appreciate the kind of consideration Nick has shown to us regular citizens who so often feel left out of the decision-making process. I feel that Palmer showed real leadership by bringing us all together.

I am going to vote "Nick Palmer for City Councilor" on Nov. 8, and I hope that you do, too.

Jim Lewis

Whitefish