Bigfork bond issue deserves passage
We live in a pretty special place. Growing up in Missoula, I was given the choice as to what I could do in the summers – play baseball in hot, dry Missoula or head up to the Lake. Thus, a love affair with Bigfork was born. I have grand memories of Bigfork back then – when Showthyme was a laundry mat, stopping by the Post Office with grandpa Frank (now Kiska’s), Whitaker’s Drugstore next door, then to Anderson’s Bigfork Merc, with those wonderful old, creaky wood floors (June always knew where you were…). The 4th of July parade, with less than 100 people and then, in the evenings, watching the actors from the old white Bigfork Summer Playhouse zip across the road to the Mountain Lake Tavern and back. Heck, I even went to the ’75 Prom, in the very BHS gym we see today!
Many of us have memories of Bigfork, the way it was, even if “the way it was” only goes back to last year. We live here for various reasons, including the quality of life, the opportunities for recreation, raising families, the people and, well, just because it is a pretty neat place to be.
For weeks, we all have been reading about the dry facts of the BHS bond request. New class rooms, remodeled gym, better access for students, ect. That it will cost taxpayers less than $10 per month, on average. Great benefits for our students. All a fine and compelling argument. It makes sense, yet people still are undecided. Really? But a garbage dump passes with great support? Where are our prerogatives?
Why do we live here? Retire here? Raise families here? Ever been to the Christmas or 4th of July parades? How about the Whitewater or Festival of the Arts? Football or basketball games? Spartan Race? Rumble in the Bay? Bigfork Summer Playhouse? The list goes on. These events don’t just happen, they are conceived and put on by local people. These people care about Bigfork, and they want Bigfork to flourish. And if Bigfork is going to succeed, it needs infrastructure like top quality schools to attract vibrant young families, experienced teachers and, in turn, the people they bring with them.
The BHS project is not just an additional cost to us, but an opportunity to draw energetic people into the community, which will only make Bigfork a better place to live, work and enjoy life. And at just under $10 per month, it is also the best deal in town!
We have all taken advantage of what Bigfork has to offer, now, isn’t time to give back? Vote for the BHS Bond because it will not only provide our youth with an excellent opportunity to go out into the world armed with the education and confidence to succeed, but you will be voting to build Bigfork into the effervescent, vivacious community it deserves to be.
Doug Mahlum, Bigfork