Letters to the Editor

| August 17, 2006 11:00 PM

Firefighter Recruiting

This letter is concerning a recent message displayed at the fire station that read, "Don't be a punk. Volunteer for us today."

We sincerely apologize to anyone who was offended by our usage of the word "punk" on our advertising board. We in no way intended to insult anyone and did not insinuate that anyone not volunteering for our department is a "punk". It was more of a play on words to help get the billboard noticed.

Our purpose was to get the attention of (particularly) the younger folks to let them know that we are in need of volunteers. As of today we have 21 new applicants for the department. While the wordage seemed controversial to some, it did get noticed by many and resulted in a very successful recruiting campaign.

There are so many worthy causes and organizations to belong to in our community, it is truly what makes Bigfork such a great place to live. The large majority of our department is made up of men and women who volunteer their time 24/7 to help keep our community safe. We are committed to professional service to all in our district.

Jim Sticka

Chairman of the Board of Trustees for Bigfork Fire District

Politics as usual

My State Senate District 5 opponent Verdell Jackson recently wrote an opinion piece (Daily Interlake 8-3-06) that shows more of the same old politics of personal destruction and partisan bickering.

I am the candidate for the Montana Senate District 5 who believes it is time to stop partisan bickering. It gets in the way of doing good things. Senate District 5 has many serious issues that will only be solved through civil dialogue.

To date, our campaign has visited 1,800 doors and we have not met a soul who does not love where we live. Of course, there are many different views on issues, and a civil discussion about them is healthy for Senate District 5. I am sick and tired of elected officials who are more interested in squabbling and assigning blame than solving problems.

We are all in a sense neighbors. We need to treat our neighbors with respect to end partisan gridlock, and develop strong solutions for the major challenges facing all of us.

As your senator, you will come first. You will come before the political parties, or any of the lobbyists in the capitol. I'm not taking a dime of Political Action Committee (PAC), political party, or special interest money as part of my commitment to you - to end partisanship.

I believe in uniting Senate District 5, not the politics of division.

In spite of Verdell's attack letter, I have some remaining hope that he and I can have an issue driven campaign. Verdell has been in the legislature for eight years and has a voting record. I hope he is open to discussing it with the people.

I pledge to talk about the issues that matter to you, not run a campaign of playground banter.

I look forward to getting to know you.

Ric Smith

Senate District 5 Candidate