To fully understand the rhetoric members of the Legislature are receiving against SB 78 (the good Bridge Access Bill) by the Stockgrowers and Farm Bureau, one needs to look at three Montana waterways, the Ruby River, the Smith River, and the Mitchell Slough (a tributary of the Bitterroot River).

All three of the waterways have super rich, new age streamside landowners who, according to their attorneys, have the right to limit public access or tweak existing rules and statutes. The Stockgrowers' attorney is involved in the Mitchell Slough and Ruby River litigation, and Kennedy's attorney is involved in the Smith River case and the Ruby River case. Kennedy, a multibillionaire, owns all or parts of 26 sections near the Smith River, including about seven mile of river front.

Needless to say, these two legal minds aren't working for peanuts, but both are confusing landowners and lawmakers by saying public access at bridges is an expansion of the Stream Access Law and that access at bridges is a "takings" of private property. This is false, because the history of accessing waterways at bridges is much older than either one of them and bridge access has been a traditional use that was acceptable to everyone except the new age landowners. These uses were backed up by an Attorney General's Ruling.

Kennedy is now suing an access group and Madison County over public access from two bridges on the Ruby River. This new legislation should convince lawmakers that any county with a stream going under a county bridge isn't safe from lawsuits filed by wealthy immigrants. We need a law such at SB 78.

Hopefully, Legislative House members can see through false rhetoric of these highly paid attorneys and pass SB 78. Their "yes" vote will ensure keeping a Montana heritage alive for tens of thousands of recreationists as well as maintaining one of the state's largest industries, Recreation & Tourism.

Letters to the Editor

Global Warming myth

Dear Editor,

I am so tired of reading and hearing all of this garbage about Global Warming. How can we possibly judge Global Warming when temperatures have only been recorded for the past 150 years? Yes, there is climate change. The climate of this planet has been changing since God put the planet here. It will always change and the warming in the last ten years is not much different that the warming we saw in the 1930's and other decades. And let's not forget we are at the end of the Ice Age in which ice covered most of North America and Northern Europe. Were it not for warming climate change we might still be covered with ice.

"Hurricane Katrina was supposedly caused by global warming, but by the time it hit landfall, it turned out to be an average hurricane and not a super storm. It was solely the breech of the levees in large part due to environmentalists nixing stronger protection that made the storm so destructive. And long before we had cars, electricity, or any products that allegedly contribute to global warming, humans knew Mother Nature could be harsh. History will give you accounts of dozens of fierce storms, going back thousands of years. Harsh sea storms were part of Homer's ancient Greek tome, 'The Odyssey.' Here in America before cars and electricity were used at nearly the volume they are today, storms caused great amounts of death and destruction. In 1938 an Atlantic hurricane hit New England by surprise with walls of water fifty feet high and winds clocked at 186 miles per hour. The hurricane killed 682 people and seriously injured 1,754. In 1900 a hurricane ravaged Galveston, Texas and killed as many as 10,000. This remains the deadliest natural disaster in America. They couldn't blame it on global warming." Taken from works by author John Berlaw.

Al Gore's film, "An Inconvenient Truth," only adds fuel to the flre on global warming. Gore's politically correct environmental film is helping to persuade the general public that the danger of extreme climate change from global warming is serious and immediate. Gore, who has a posh mansion in Nashville, consumes more electricity every month than the average American household uses in an entire year.

According to Dr. Richard Lindzen, an atmospheric physicist and the Alfred P. Sloan Professor of Meteorology at MIT, states, "There is no consensus, unanimous or otherwise, about long-term climate trends and what causes them, and I cannot stress this enough—we are not in a position to confidently attribute past climate change to carbon dioxide or to forecast what the climate will be in the future."

On the Kyoto Accord, he claims there is no "controversy over the fact that the Kyoto Protocol itself, will do almost nothing to stabilize CO2." Capping C02 emissions per unit of electricity generated will have a negligible impact on C02 levels.

The greatest polluters are Third World countries like China, India, and South America and they will not have to comply with the Kyoto Accords. It will hurt the U.S. economically.

Rosemarie Neuman
Stevensville

A license to vote?

Dear Editor,

Not unlike the many registered voters who failed to go to the polls on Tuesday April 3, I have, in the past, been apathetic and uninformed about the candidates and the issues. The lesson of having been a candidate in the recent primary for me is this; if I don’t take the time to;

1. Learn about the issues and the candidates views on the issues

2. Actually show up at the poll and cast a ballot

I have no moral right to complain about government policy, agenda or action.

As a matter of fact, maybe we need to have a license to vote? Just like it takes a license to drive a car or get married. Our society requires that people get licensed for such things because we believe those activities are important enough that we want to insure that the people who engage in these “privileges” have some minimal level of competency. We require that these “privileges” be earned. Voting, on the other hand is a right guaranteed by our constitution. How many people didn’t vote in Tuesdays primary because they didn’t care, didn’t have the time or some other “lame” excuse? Of those who did vote, how many took the time to really get to know who the candidates were for themselves? Since I was a candidate I was at every single scheduled opportunity for citizens to listen to candidates and ask them questions. I didn’t take an exact count but I’d guess that there were no more that 200 people who attended all of those sessions combined.

There were 5608 voters who took part in the primary; a very disappointing 19% of the registered voters, this means that only 3.6 % of the folks who decided this election actually made the effort to attend a forum, look the candidates in the eye and observe them under pressure. So of the other 96.4% of the deciding voters how did you decide? Was it because a smiling candidate showed up on your door one day and asked you to vote for them? Was it by party affiliation? By what you read in the newspaper? Saw on TV? By how many signs you saw along the road? Or was it based on what you heard from someone else who gave you their impression of the candidate?

How safe would you feel driving on Highway 93 if you knew that all it took to get a driver’s license was for someone who wanted to drive to talk to someone else and receive verbal instructions based on their perceptions of what they thought was important? That sounds pretty scary to me! Maybe we should be required to get a license to vote because despite what our constitution says; voting is a privilege, just ask the citizens of nations who are not allowed to vote.

I have another suggestion too; if you are found guilty of “voting without a license” you will be sentenced to run for public office yourself… TRUST me that will make an indelible impression of how much it really means to be informed and actually vote!

Vicky Varichak
Stevensville

Thanks from DUI Task Force

Dear Editor,

The Ravalli County DUI Task Force would like to thank Russ Englund, the Owner of Alís Cycle in Hamilton for assisting us in our "Impaired Driving Education Program" that will impact our young drivers in Ravalli County.

Like any organization, there is usually not enough money to pay for programs we feel would benefit our community. But with the help of good citizens like Russ, we were able to secure a Yamaha Rhino and cargo trailer at cost, moving our program forward.

Our entire community benefits from the citizens who volunteer their time and resources - because we all share the roads.

Kudos to Russ at Al's Cycle.

Glenda Wiles, Coordinator
Ravalli County DUI Task Force

Thanks to Red Cross volunteers

Dear Editor,

In our busy lives, nothing is more valuable than time. Volunteers, people who chose to give their time to make Western Montana a better community, are valuable indeed.

Less than one-third of adults give their time through volunteer work, according to the Corporation for National and Community Service. That makes it especially important that the efforts of those who do donate their time and energy are recognized during National Volunteer Week April 15-21.

People are often shocked to learn that a full 96 percent of the national American Red Cross workforce is made up of volunteers. Presently 140 of our neighbors volunteer through the Missoula Service Center for the American Red Cross of Montana, all of them working to make each of us safer in Missoula, Mineral and Ravalli counties. Our volunteers respond to local disasters, such as the five fires which took place in Missoula and Ravalli counties last month. In 2006 local volunteers responded to a total of 21 disasters and many were ready to respond if Hurricane Ernesto came on land. Many volunteer to go across the state or across the nation if needed. They teach people lifesaving skills such as adult, child and infant CPR and first aid. Since January 1, 2007 they have instructed 675 of your neighbors to be there if you need help. They help local military families exchange emergency messages with their loved one and serve on our local board. Volunteers answer the phone at our chapter; clean the manikins we use in our CPR training, plan our fundraising events, and forward our programs.

We thank our volunteers, as well as the volunteers of so many other organizations here in Missoula, Mineral and Ravalli Counties. It is hard to imagine what kind of community we would have without you and the services and many hours you provide. You make our mission possible!

Colleen Tone, Programs Specialist
Gayle P. Wilhelm, Western Region Director
American Red Cross of Montana

Clarification on accreditation

Dear Editor,

This letter is in response to a recent article on accreditation printed by the Ravalli Republic. I am afraid that for many people the article proved to be misleading. I hope I can clarify the situation.

As long as the proposed BVCC has an accredited institutional sponsor during the accreditation process (such as the UM or some other regional postsecondary institution), all for-credit courses taken and certificates and degrees awarded will be attributed to an accredited institution. Moreover, the full range of federal and financial aid will be available to students enrolling in for-credit coursework. There will be no period of time in which for-credit coursework undertaken at the proposed BVCC would not be attributed to an accredited institution as long as the proposed BVCC has a sponsoring institution.

Accreditation is a process, it is not a barrier. Earning accreditation is part of being a new institution. Accreditation is an administrative hurdle and can take up to five years from candidacy to full accreditation status. However, as long as the new institution has a sponsor, any student of the new institution can rest assured that he or she is earning transferable credits and/or "accredited" degrees and certificates during the new institution's accreditation candidacy period.

Below is an accreditation statement from the website of Columbia Gorge Community College in Oregon, which is currently a candidate for accreditation:

"Columbia Gorge Community College Accreditation Statement: CGCC delivers college credit instruction, certificates and degrees through its contract with Portland Community College (PCC). PCC is accredited through The Northwest Commission on Colleges and Universities (NWCCU). Credits, certificates and degrees earned at CGCC appear on PCC transcripts and are transferable to four year institution, subject to the specific policies of those institutions. (source: http://www.cgcc.cc.or.us/PresidentsOffice/accreditation.cfm)."

To learn more about accreditation visit our region's accreditation association -- the Northwest Commission on Colleges and Universities (NWCCU) at http://www.nwccu.org/index.htm. In particular, take a look at the commission's webpage listing all the institutions the NWCCU is currently involved with -- http://www.nwccu.org:80/Directory%20of%20Inst/Member%20Institutions/All%20Institutions.htm. Notice that numerous institutions are in all phases of the accreditation process. Hopefully someday soon the proposed BVCC will be part of this listing.

Please feel free to contact myself or any member of the BVCC-EC if you have any further concerns or questions regarding accreditation. Or inform yourself, contact the NWCCU at 8060 165th Avenue N.E., Suite 100, Redmond, WA 98052, 425 558 4224 (Voice), 425 376 0596 (Fax), http://www.nwccu.org.

Victoria Clark, Member
BVCC-EC

Don't let immigration reform die

Dear Editor,

The House of Representatives has told the state's contractors that they can use the taxpayer's money to hire illegal immigrants. The House, on a bipartisan vote, rejected SB-346. The bill permitted, but did not require, that the state terminate contracts with contractors, or subcontractors, who knowingly, or should have known, that they were employing illegal immigrants.

I expected to lose Democratic votes due to that party's affiliation with the ACLU and the Human Rights Alliance, and to have the entire Republican caucus. Only 13 union-oriented Democrats, and George Everett (R),voted for not hiring contractors who employ illegal immigrants. The ACLU and Human Rights Alliance ignore the word "illegal" and support all immigrants, regardless of status. The Republicans sold out to the Montana Contractors Association and the Chamber of Commerce. These organizations put money before national security and American jobs. The contractors' comments: "Asking a general contractor to do the job of the Federal Immigration Service is not fair. Being 'tough on immigration' may have a nice political ring to it, but this bill is punitive, subjective, nebulous, and unfair to business attempting to work for public entities. It is not good public policy."

It has been a federal crime for many years to hire illegal aliens and since 1984 the federal government has required employers ensure that a prospective employee is a citizen or legal immigrant.

If you want HB-346 reconsidered and your tax dollars spent lawfully, call (444-4800) or email (leg.mt.gov.) your representatives today. If you care more about jobs and national security than the contractors' profits, do it now. If you are an honest contractor, contact your lobbyist, or if you are a responsible member of the Chamber of Commerce, do the same. This travesty could lead to an initiative.

Senator Jim Shockley
Senate District 45, Victor

Thanks to snow removal crews

Dear Editor,

On behalf of the Bitterroot Cross-Country Ski Club, all snow loving sports enthusiasts, and the motoring public, we wish to acknowledge our respect, appreciation, and admiration for the Lost Trail Snow Removal Highway Department employees for their standard of professionalism and perfection which they perform day and night, year-in and year-out, to such a degree that Lost Trail Pass is, in our opinion, the best cleared pass in Western Montana. The Bitterroot Cross-Country Ski Club is also grateful for the plowed parking lot at Chief Joseph Trailhead: this allows safe access to public parking at the ski area and parking for grooming equipment for our volunteer crew.

After skiing most of the day, you are always assured, in the afternoon, of a safe ride home because this Road Department crew has removed all the snow. Outstanding organizations are marked by strong leadership that inspires the unit. Ken Hamblin, the crew chief, with his fellow co-workers: Jim Bain, Jeff Jory, Jerry Stanley, and Dean Ehmann are the individuals who make this department such a smooth running machine. Gentlemen: Thank you for your work ethic and long hours.

Bill and Linda Stoudt
Stevensville

Florence Fire Dept. erupts again

Dear Editor,

There is grumbling in the Florence Fire Department once again, and it is in need of organizational focus. Concerned citizens are worried that there will be no EMTs to answer the call load in their district, which is approximately 75% medically related. These emergency calls range from chest pain to traumatic full arrest, to cut fingers.

The issue at hand is the loss of eight EMTs in the last two years. The tax payers in our community deserve a competent Fire Department. The medical calls are just as important as the structure and wildland fires.

EMTs have been quitting the Florence Fire Department because of actions of one of the Fire Department members who also is a trustee on the Florence Fire District Board of Trustees. He has let his disparaging opinions and unprofessional behavior run yet another four EMTs from the Florence Fire Department, as well as four from two years ago.

It has been hard to prove policies or rules that he has broken, that would have allowed any of the acting Chiefs at Florence Fire to reprimand him or remove him according to by-laws, or policy. Most have felt the effort was daunting and never accomplished anything. He is still there, like molten lava which forms rough, jagged formations in the department, not allowing it to run smoothly.

As concerned citizens, and prior members of the Florence Fire Department, we are asking the public to attend our Fire District Board Meetings, which are held the third Monday of each month. There is a need to discuss many issues, but the most important is an individual member who has caused a great deal of deceit and negativity. The public has a right to know the type of fire service they are paying for. Make sure that you are still getting the medical services you want from your Fire Department. You have a voice in the matter.

Remove the cause of the eruptions from the Florence Fire Department. If a department member is corrosive and demeaning to the point of losing valuable medical staff, then this certainly must be addressed. Let's try and get back to a quiet hometown fire department with happy volunteers that are good at what they do.

Florence Fire has always been rated highly in the state of Montana for having a quick response unit, with quality EMTs. The Fire Service can be very rewarding and challenging. EMTs have to work very hard today to keep licensed and qualified. They also have to like what they do, to volunteer their time for this. It is the hope of all of us to provide the best Medical, Fire and Rescue we possibly can. Many are tired of dodging the lava that flows from the volcano in the Florence Fire Department. So please join us at the next Board Meeting, held the third Monday of the month, at the Florence Fire Hall.

Changes need to be made now in the Florence Fire Department, so that it will heal and carry on with tradition and values it has always held. Let's rally together and get rid of the volcano that silently erupts, and keeps a flow of lava boiling over in the Florence Fire Department.

Jim and Amanda Wimple, Delyla Dishman, Shawna Dishman, H. Mitchell, June and John Schelecht, Bob Krout, Ex-Florence Fire Chief, Lucille and Tim Burns, Don and Pat Coombs, Paulette Coombs, Stephen L. Damron, Mara Arlington, Deborah Martin, Paul Finlay

Employment discrimination in valley

Dear Editor,

Yes, unfortunately it is true. Employment discrimination against the disabled is rampant here in the Bitterroot. Who would have thought that my beautiful daughter and I would relocate to an area where such a mind set exists? But after more than twenty months of concerted effort to attain employment it becomes quite apparent that she is outwardly discriminated against.

I am the proud father of a young woman of 22 years of age who, through a simple twist of fate, has been saddled with the moniker of "disabled." Despite the fact that she graduated from high school, attended vocational training and attained her driver's license on the east coast, as well as held various positions in the areas of retail, grocery and dog grooming, the discrimination that she is up against here in the valley is palpable.

The most overt example of which has been through a supermarket in Stevensville, where they misplaced two of her employment applications (one of which was submitted through a state mandated agency) and finally interviewed her on the third application. We were informed by the store manager that there were fifty young people in line before her for the position of front end bagger and courtesy clerk when he was asked where she placed on the list of applicants. This occurred despite the fact that prominently listed on her resume she has held such a position for two summers, is well referenced and experienced. She was nonetheless denied employment by the store manager.

This egregious denial is compounded by the fact that despite repeated attempts at securing the assistance of the corporate office in Idaho, they did not lift a finger to assist my daughter in the matter, but rather became very defensive at the prospect of hiring a young woman with a disability.

That is only one of many examples of employment discrimination here in the Bitterroot. It is understood that economically Montana is well behind other more industrialized states and that employment is at a premium. Conversely, an individual should be given an equal opportunity to perform, and to prove that they are able to do so at a comparable level to an individual who has not been deemed disabled. From the local personnel agency, who had her resume for nearly two years and has not called even once with an opportunity, to dog grooming salons and various retailers, all are equally culpable of outright employment discrimination.

One has only to understand and embrace the adage, "there but by the grace of God go I" to fully comprehend the fact that those deemed less fortunate, or disabled as is the politically correct societal term, have a right to occupy positions in commerce if they are qualified to do so. For whatever reasons, which one ponders daily, that mentality does not exist here. Hopefully commerce in the great State of Montana will catch up with most of the nation in terms of their hiring practices. All will benefit in the long run.

Mark L. Raskin
Stevensville

School didn't follow correct process

Dear Editor,

Regarding the land sale by the school board - my opposition to the land sale by the school board was based on the process rather than the act iteself. It is important to me that any sale (or other transaction) be done in a legal and businesslike manner. In my opnion, the confusion surrounding the property "lease/sale" was really the result of the lack of an appropriate process being followed. It is very difficult to put good intentions into a legal contract.

Helen Rude
Stevensville

Cause of violence

Dear Editor,

Look back over your shoulder. Did you see anything like this before video games and video stores? No, you did not. What are 90% of the video games? War games, violence, seeing how much and how many you can destroy in the shortest time for the most points on the video machine. Why put the blame on the gun manufacturers? They are not the ones who invented the machines or the games. Why not outlaw the games that teach violence and put the blame where it should be?

Willy Hanson
Stevensville

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