Opinion

  I confess that I avoid political discussions with certain family members. And I have even, occasionally, dismissed views very different from my own. But I am not an elected […]

  On February 20, Senator Daines scheduled a meeting at Hamilton at 1:15pm to have a public discussion of his bill to abolish most Wilderness Study Areas in Montana. However, […]

  I attended and testified at the county commissioners’ meeting concerning Steve Daines’ WSA delisting bill, SB 2206. As is now common knowledge, this meeting was held after the commissioners […]

  The opinion pages are important because they reveal what’s on people’s minds, such as the controversy surrounding Senator Daines’s Wilderness Study Area (WSA) Bill (S. 2206).  This Bill would […]

  My attempts to navigate the political minefield of phobias and isms led me to conclude that I have “Unameriphobia” – a fear of losing America. Our current self-appointed social […]

  The increase in female fawns and more surviving to reproductive age beginning in 2014 because of fewer with underbite has produced a visible increase in white-tailed deer the last […]

  With the citizens’ decision to revert back to three county commissioners, Schallenberger and Hawk have withdrawn from the 2018 race. This leaves Burrows, Chilcott and Hoffman. These five commissioners […]

By Taylor Orr, Pat Tucker and Marilyn Wolff     On Wednesday, February 7 the Ravalli County Commission heard overwhelming opposition to Senator Steve Daines’ S. 2206, a bill that […]

  Young American men today are conditioned and trained from the very beginning to be violent. We put video devices in their hands as soon as they are able to […]

  The problem is not guns, it is the NEA and schools that for decades have been teaching: 1) Humanism – no absolute right or wrong, situational ethics, everyone do […]

  Sure, “harden” the schools and arm the teachers. That’ll solve the problem. Except that it won’t solve the problem of a mass shooting at a country music concert. And […]

  Gentlemen, I would like to suggest a cost saving measure for future public meetings. Publish meeting time, show up early, close the meeting before over 15 people arrive and […]

Senator Daines held a meeting Feb. 21 regarding Senate bill 2206, to remove Wilderness Study Area designation from some WSAs in Montana. Ironically, the event was held at a dealership […]

  Seldom-seen Senator Daines first introduced S2206 in Washington DC, proposing release of Montana Wilderness Study Areas, and is now trying to backfill an illusion of local public involvement with […]

  Last Tuesday, February 20, Senator Daines released his plans for visiting with folks in four western Montana communities the next day. He was to appear at Al’s Cycle at […]

  I am deeply disappointed and disturbed by your support of SB 2206. That bill will remove the special management provisions now in place that govern the national forest administration […]

  Is transferring federally-owned and managed land to the state a bad idea? Here’s what those who oppose the idea are saying: • Montana Senator Jon Tester promised to oppose […]

  It is time for a collaborative process to decide the fate of the Wilderness Study Areas. Ravalli County Commissioner Greg Chilcott is claiming that the commission decided not to […]

  My apologies to the County Commissioners: I’m writing to publicly express regret for my poor manners in addressing you at the public meeting Wednesday (2/6/18). The meeting was in […]