by Dallas D. Erickson, Stevensville
I noticed that the number of “homeless” people in our valley took an encouraging and dramatic turn for the better with the numbers significantly lower. I am sad to see that the person responsible for that decline receives little recognition and a lot of political guff from the Health Board and faces potential grief from the county attorney.
As many may remember, Harris Himes and I worked together for years to raise the community standards across the state concerning pornography and sexually oriented businesses (SOBs). One of our great successes was to get the Child Pornography Section of the Abuse of Children statutes in place and signed by Governor Racicot in 1995. Up until that time Child Pornography was legal in Montana.
One time on one of my journeys across the state I had an appendicitis attack in the Kalispell area. I went to the hospital there and was immediately sent to surgery. Because my work meant working on a very small budget, I did not have insurance at the time.
A little later the hospital notified me that they were going to sue to collect what I owed and I faced losing my home which would have made our family homeless. Harris found out about it and unbeknownst to me he gathered some friends together (I still don’t know who all was involved) and went to Kalispell and somehow took care of the several thousand dollars bill I owed.
What a blessing that was to us and now as I see him offering homes to people from all walks of life and financial situations it makes me so thankful for him and for caring for the least of these; those that suffer financially for whatever reason. Although it is contrary to the makeup of government in Ravalli County, I hope to see the authorities appreciate his work and instead of giving him grief, working with him on this issue we should all care about, adjusting things that may need to be adjusted. But please do it with the peace that the Savior brought us instead of threats and government force.
Thank you, Harris, for caring for all those men, women and children that need your help.
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