Borderline

To the editor,

Devin Schmidt's article provided good information regarding Border Patrol activities in the Flathead area although I'm sure it failed to satisfy critics highlighted by Larry Wilson's narrow and myopic North Fork Views column.

Wilson implies there are " between 24 and 35 … " agents devoted to the closed North Fork/Canada border crossing. In fact, those numbers are for the total contingent at the Whitefish Station. He then states that "many folks consider Homeland Security a joke."

Wilson 'proves' that assertion by raising the philosophical question how safe we are compared to pre 9/11 Border Patrol human resources, making no allowance for improved communication and technology requirements.

The fact is, his "what many folks think" and "most folks doubt " conclusions are drawn from a tiny circle of malcontents with whom he associates. There is a North Fork element with an attitude towards the Border Patrol, the armed forces, the CIA, the FBI and anything else they like to consider as an infringement on their rights. What this group fails to realize, or are unwilling to accept, is that the Border Patrol and other federal entities protect our rights from much more serious threats.

National Security efforts are not perfect and improvements are needed, but that doesn't make the Department of Homeland Security and its agencies a "joke." What I find to be a joke is that these people complain about Border Patrol speeding on the North Fork Road! Surely the much vaunted Dust Cop would have caught these scofflaws by now.

Idle minds need to find something else to carp and whine about and Wilson should more accurately portray what he publishes as facts.

Robert Grimaldi

Polebridge