Our natural resources being tied up

To the editor,

Thank you, environmentalists, for working so diligently and so successfully, all the way to the top levels of our government, to tie up and lock up our natural resources including energy sources. You have succeeded in achieving foreign manufacture of the finished goods which we so eagerly purchase on credit, while assuring related jobs for, deserving laborers in other countries. As our industries die just who do you think will be providing your welfare and unemployment checks, your socialized medicine, education, transportation systems, old age provisions and other services? Congress is capable, not of producing wealth, but issuing higher taxes, phony money and credit which feeds potential foreclosure and economic downfall, leaving citizens prone to buy-out of our country.

Certainly your enviro friends in Washington, D.C., will be increasingly hard-pressed to come up with needed funds, previously usurped from hard working middle class Americans, now depressed, out of work and out on the streets. You are basically quickly achieving your goal of lowering living standards and destroying the economy of our nation to the level of third world countries. We are trading places with them. As you have wished, we can now soon be equally poor, except that many other countries, miraculously, retain a higher level of education with which they may be able to start pulling themselves up to what had been the "Late Great U.S.A," as per the Dr. Jerome Corsi book.

Just whose future generations had you intended to be saving its land and its resources for? Certainly not your kids or mine. I wish you had wondered about this a bit sooner so that we could have all worked together to assist poor nations rise to our income and social levels, instead of performing equalization by dragging us all down to their levels. It will now be an unspeakable struggle to climb up and out of this morass because the earth's great wealth and resources is being virtually gobbled up by greedy, wealthy, all-powerful owners and rulers of the world with the technology to manage and control human masses. Do you think they will give a twit ABOUT YOUR FUTURE GENERATIONS, except if lucky, as servants? Well, James Orwell, "1984," we have arrived a bit late. What next?

Clarice Ryan

Bigfork

Long-time printer Sorenson retires

To the editor,

After 40 years with the company, I have submitted my resignation to the Hagadone Corporation and will be retiring effective Aug. 29.

I have spent the past 50 years in the printing industry, and now it's time for me to play with my grandchildren, do some fishing and pursue my hobbies.

After an introduction to printing in high school and three years at Spokane Tech, I started my career as an apprentice with Ross Printing in Spokane.

Uncle Sam wanted me, and I entered the U.S. Navy in 1964, and after nine months of school, I was classified as a sonar technician assigned to the USS Josephus Daniels, DLG 27. As one of my duties aboard ship, I became the ship's printer.

After honorable discharge in April 1968, I returned to Ross Printing in Spokane and worked until I heard of an opening in Columbia Falls.

I applied at the Hungry Horse News and was hired by Mel Ruder, and started Aug. 19, 1968. I completed my apprenticeship, and a few short years later became the production manager of the newspaper and commercial printing department. I also held that position with Brian Kennedy and Lee Enterprises.

With the sale to Hagadone Corp., the print shops in Columbia Falls and Ronan were sold, and I was transferred to the composing department at the Daily Inter Lake.

It has been a such a great pleasure working with all of you over the years. I want to wish you all the best as we advance into the future and the amazing computer age.

Retirement is going to be a new adventure for me.

Greg Sorenson

Columbia Falls

Concerned about North Fork Road

To the editor,

An open letter to the Flathead County Commissioners:

As a property owner and part-time resident in the North Fork I am becoming more concerned as to the maintenance of the North Fork Road and the steps being taken to correct the problem. At the last meeting of the North Fork Land-owners Association, it became very clear that a "small vocal minority" has decided to portray the position that the North Fork property owners do not want any steps taken to control the road dust, while the NFLA Board acknowledged that in their own recent poll, 77 percent of the respondents stated that they desired the road to be maintained and some form of "dust control measures" to be implemented. The County Commissioners should be aware of the truth behind the stated position of the NFLA Board and realize that the majority of the people that live in the North Fork want some form of dust control and maintenance implemented immediately

The recent study by University of Montana seems to conclusively point out that the current situation is unhealthy and unsafe. If the information in the report that says, "that driving the road is like smoking a pack of cigarettes a day," is accurate then we should be looking at some near term solution to the problem. And NO, a police officer patrolling the road to ticket the individuals exceeding the speed limit does not provide a dust solution, only a revenue source for the County. The quantity of dust generated by a truck traveling at 35 mph is not significantly different than the dust from a truck traveling at 41 mph, especially if either one is pulling a trailer.

The dust generated by the cars traveling into the North Fork area must settle. Some of it is falling back on the road, but a portion is settling into our lungs and onto the adjacent trees and river. The County is already in violation of the Clean Air Act of Montana rules and has been allowed a 30-month delay in taking action. Additionally, there has been no grading of the road since early May, which has only exacerbated the problem since the wash-boarding of the road creates more hazards. The longer this situation is allowed to continue, the more potential health and safety problems are going to be brought to light.

Please review the situation and take action to alleviate the problems before someone is hurt or dies as a result of the lack of maintenance on the North Fork Road.

Dennis Groebe

Polebridge

Thanks for support of Community Kitchen

To the editor:

Columbia Falls Community Kitchen wishes to thank Gary Sparr and Glacier Bank for the gigantic donation and purchasing of a hog from the county fair. It will serve so many needy folks in our community and help tremendously defer cost of our most expensive food item. Our freezer will be full once again by this huge gesture and we are so thankful.

Free dinners will be served this month starting Thursday, Aug. 28, through Sunday, Aug. 31, at 6 p.m. in the basement of St. Richard's Catholic Church. We are also in need of additional board members and welcome any time or talent in this most rewarding service in our community. If interested or to answer questions, call Marian Ficek at 892-4895 or Tina Gordon-Mohan at 892-5837.

Marian Ficek

Columbia Falls Community Kitchen