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Wednesday, December 28, 2006 Opinion & EditorialGuest CommentEPA unable to protect anythingby Judy Hoy, Stevensville I would like to publicly withdraw my request for the Ravalli County Board of Health to ask the Environmental Protection Agency to do tests to find what hormone disrupting environmental toxins are present on foliage and in rain, snow and surface water. The EPA's library was recently shut down by the Federal Government, with the destruction of and loss of access to millions of environmental studies. This makes it very clear that the EPA is unable to protect itself and the irreplaceable documents in its library, let alone the environment or the children and other people, domestic animals and wildlife of the United States. It would be an obvious waste of time and a postage stamp to ask EPA for help. This also makes it very clear that the government of the United States is no longer the government of the people, by the people or for the people. The EPA library belonged to the people of the United States. Were we consulted before our library was closed, the documents shredded and over a hundred thousand dollars (taxpayer money) of our library equipment sold for twenty dollars? I know that I wasn't. The person who bought the equipment for twenty dollars sold it on Ebay for eighty thousand dollars. That sounds like fraud against the people of the United States to me, but I am not a lawyer. Therefore, until all concerned people begin asking the Governors of their respective states for help to find the cause of the widespread developmental malformations, it is unlikely that anything will be done - similar to the Global Warming problem. If the developmental malformations, often in conjunction with prematurely atrophied thymus and related problems of impaired immune and respiratory systems, are occurring as is indicated, throughout the United States and possibly in other nations, finding the cause and dealing with it will have to be done both locally and globally, as with Global Warming. We can no longer count on "our Federal Government" to protect us. We have to do something to protect ourselves. |
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Letters to the EditorVoters' 'marching orders' continue to be ignoredThe Ravalli Republic is wrong to use its newspaper to generate public support for the Area III Plan and to criticize and marginalize the three City Council members who are voting in the minority against the Plan. The reasons to oppose the Plan, in its current form, are compelling and opposition to it is growing daily. It is also wrong for the Plan's proponents in City and County government to keep ignoring the "marching orders" given to them on November 7th. The Republic has an ethical obligation to remain neutral on issues of serious public importance, such as the current land development crisis. These issues are life-altering to every individual in the Bitterroot Valley and the legal residents have the right to determine their own futures and should not be subject to biased reporting in their only connection to local government, the two local newspapers. By promoting the Area III Plan with its "Editorial" on Tuesday, December 19, and lambasting the minority view of the (3) City Councilors to actually represent the majority of valley residents, the Republic promotes an antagonistic working environment within our community that will perpetuate the waste of money and other resources. It is, in my opinion, also abusing its power to influence public opinion towards support of this massive development plan. It is very clear that on November 7, voters crossed political and social barriers to send a "mandated" message to their elected officials that the status quo is not acceptable and that they expect officials to protect their interests. Republicans, Democrats and Independents all put aside their political differences to speak a common message; that message is: "protect the unique character and rural lifestyles connected to this valley and stop the heavy-handed, influence lobbying by large, land developers." This represents the greatest example of community unity that I have seen in my 16 years in the valley, yet it has had little effect on our continuing land development crisis. To briefly summarize the election results: Interim Zoning: For 8,172, Against 7,100 (+15% margin, 54% of voters) Despite the clear message sent by Ravalli County voters, the valley's development interests continue to pressure city and county officials to promote their projects. All counties from Sula to Whitefish and Hungry Horse are experiencing the same pressure to develop Western Montana to the Canadian border, raising eyebrows about the continued "quid pro quo" planning environment. Western Montana is being aggressively marketed around the world, creating an artificial demand for housing that will simply enrich a few people at our expense. The Ravalli Republic appears to be joining sides; their vocal support of Area III poses a serious threat to constitutional democracy in Ravalli County. Mayor Randazzo also joined this effort at recent City Council meetings, which I participated in. The Republic's printed versions of these meetings had very little connection to reality, shocking everyone who participated in these meetings. By providing the majority, tie-breaking votes to move both Flat Iron and Area III corporate developments through the annexation process, the Mayor casts a dark cloud over her own connection to development interests. This 4-3 majority decision by the Council has become predictable and exacerbates the (already) serious delays in priority planning needs at both the City and County level, while ignoring your pleas at the ballot box. Councilors Sutherland, Scott and Harbaugh are courageously fighting for your interests and should be applauded instead of being insulted and marginalized as extremist and obstructionist. All valley residents should be alarmed about this total disregard of their wishes, as well as these acute, injurious attacks on free press. It has compelled me to run for County Commissioner in the (newly created) Voting District #5, which covers the south end of the valley. I hope others concerned about the future of this valley will follow suit. The Montana Environmental Policy Act provides simple and effective planning guidelines for analyzing controversial projects that may have significant environmental effects, which the "Plans" from Area III and other large developments will clearly create. MEPA also requires: (1) public participation, (2) creation of viable alternatives, and (3) analysis of environmental consequences, including the cumulative effects on larger geographical areas that may be affected, such as Missoula and the Flathead Valley. It is perfectly suited for analyzing these large, land development projects; yet, I have seen no movement by planners to even reference this, our state's premier environmental law. The Horwich "Plan" for Area III was created in a void by a narrowly focused group of pro-development interests in the valley and lacks any reference to important environmental resources in the area, such as waterfowl and other wildlife habitat, water resources, recreational opportunities, and open land and prime farmland. If work on these other resource issues was in fact accomplished, then the promoters need to make this critical information public. Otherwise, it appears to be nothing more than a for-profit business plan. Many individuals in this valley have stated their support of Area III as a potential location for a community college and/or for expanded open lands close to the urban interface. This in itself should compel planners to move forward with the development of other alternatives for Area III, as well as for Areas I and II. MEPA will be utilized either prior to, or after, any final decisions on AREA III are made, so the City and County might as well start on the correct footing. The planned 847-house subdivision that is part of the Area III Plan will be just a few hundred yards away from the front door of Hamilton High School and could triple the current enrollment. This will have serious impacts on our community from many standpoints, including financial and social. The Area III plans are much more than "general guidelines" as erroneously stated by the Republic. The Horwich Plan is very specific and the County and City are already moving forward with detailed funding plans to upgrade water and sewer facilities, with the clear objective of servicing the 847-house, mega-development. This makes this a de facto, prejudicial, final decision to permit the housing construction for Area III, and violates the public trust. It also violates the spirit, if not the letter, of several of our federal and state environmental laws, as well as your "marching orders" to your local government to operate much differently than prior to November 7. The message that I am sending is: start over, do it right or do it over (and over and over.) Elected officials need to start responding to their constituents' demands before an already volatile situation gets worse. The next time you have the pleasure of driving through the "industrial-wasteland" between Hamilton and Victor, on Highway 93, try to envision a similar scenario over vast areas of this valley, which is the ultimate result of poor planning and ideological myopia. Please contact me at 239-6791 or www.savethebitterroot.com if you support my organization's efforts to change this worsening situation. Chris Linkenhoker |
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Christmas thievesDear Editor, This is addressed to the individual(s) who thought it would be really cool and fun to steal the Christmas lights decorating one of the trees on the cutoff. I guess you think it's humorous. I don't. Maybe you needed the lights for yourself. I doubt that. The fact of the matter is that you are a thief, plain and simple and, to make matters worse, a thief who steals Christmas decorations that add a little sparkle to people's everyday lives. You will probably get away with this unless one of your friends you brag to has the guts to be honest and turn you in. Beyond that, I'm sure you'll advance in your thieving ways until you finally get caught and end up in jail. I hope you will do the right thing and return the lights. M. J. Walters |
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Time to stop this permissivenessDear Editor, In my over 30 years of work to help communities in Montana recognize that Montana is one of the most permissive states in the nation when it comes to obscenity and other pornography and that our always high and increasing sexual crime rate is fueled by that problem, I have dreamed of working in an area of Montana where the newspaper takes the side of families on these issues and not the side of the ACLU. The Ravalli Republic not only takes the side of the ACLU but financially and in all other respects supports it. In case people do not understand the ultimate result of supporting the ACLU, it is no secret and well documented that they do not want any controls on pornography. Even child pornography (pornography depicting children involved in sexual activity) should be allowed to be sold and displayed at your local grocery store, once it is made, according to them. Alas, the dream does not seem to be (at least in the case of the Ravalli Republic) and the latest attack against me and the work to pass better laws, in that paper, illustrates plainly that things have not changed. My hat is off to the Star, however. The Ravalli Republic editorial of December 19, 2006 includes: "There has been no inciting incident or history of incidents that prompted the need for a more restrictive law in Ravalli County. In fact, most people would be hard pressed to even locate a store that sold 'obscene' material in Ravalli County. What the ordinance targets is pornography, but pornography is not a prolific element in the Bitterroot." As is the norm for liberal newspapers, they fail to study and report the facts. Recently a local man was charged for allegedly taking pornographic photos surreptitiously of a child. Most sexual offenders, as is well known by the judges, the defense attorneys and the prosecutors, and the clinical psychologists, are treated in programs on how to avoid the "triggers" that cause them to offend. One of the most common "triggers" is obscenity. Our valley harbors many known sexual offenders whose treatment and probation include staying away from nude dancing parlors and "adult" bookstores and not having access to internet pornography. The Republic paper fails to do these studies and in-depth reports. It has been known for years and is well documented that "pornography," better and legally defined as obscenity, does have a causal relationship to sexual crimes. The 1986 Meese Commission report would be a good place for their reporters to start reading. There is only one place in Ravalli County that carries "obscene" videos (other than the public library). It is a video store in Hamilton and I hope to picket it again soon. When we first began our "crusade" as the Republic called it, several stores carried obscene material and "soft-core" (non-obscene) material where children could thumb through the magazines. We took several photos to document that problem and we began a boycott and passed the laws and as a result they all moved the stuff out of their stores except for the one hold out. The local video store that carries the material denied that they carried anything bad. Two of us went in and demonstrated to them that they carried torture videos, one of which had a woman tied to a table who was saying that she wanted to be raped. By the Republic's stupid statement (sorry) in their editorial (above), are they saying we should wait until we have stores selling obscenity before we act to keep it out? Their statement indicating that the county would not be liable if the Supreme Court rules the law Constitutional and then an organization like the Ravalli Republic and people like Russell Lawrence again bring in the ACLU which challenges the law and wins, is not accurate. The county would still be liable. I pray for commissioners who have the courage to win the fight, no matter the cost, against the ACLU, Russell Lawrence and the Ravalli Republic who are fighting for the rights of pornographers to destroy families and communities. The Republic wrote in their editorial: "As defined in the ordinance, obscenity is open to wide interpretation. A Republic reader once found a photo of Michelangelo's David statue obscene. Businesses, cultural arts, libraries, schools and individuals are all at risk of being accused of having obscene materials and will have to bear the burden of proving otherwise." The writer sounds like the misinformed person who would not go to his bank to take a withdrawal from his account because he was afraid he would be accused of bank robbery. When they heard these same liberal bleeding heart complaints the Attorney General's commission asked the misguided media representatives and business people and librarians and academicians to bring them one example of an obscenity law being used against a library, school, legitimate bookstore, museum or other cultural arts establishment and they could not come back with one incident since the 1973 U.S. Supreme Court Miller decision which established the definition of obscenity that stands today. I challenge the Republic to put their money where their mouth is. Name one incident. A person making a claim to them about an "obscene" statue does not count. An obscenity decision can only be made by a jury or judge after a criminal charge is filed. They write that there are already obscenity laws on the books. Montana is one of only four states that does NOT have an obscenity law that outlaws the dissemination of obscenity to everyone. In fact, businesses in Montana can legally sell even "snuff films" where the actor or actress is literally killed to appeal to those who have that sick interest in sex and torture. The inaccuracy in their next statement : " . . minors, . . . . are also not allowed in strip bars" shows their ignorance on the issue and their superficial way they handle this subject. There is no such law. I challenge them to try to prove their statement. In fact, in Montana a nude can walk into a school or library, legally, because of a defective indecent exposure law. Their statement indicating I am a hypocrite because of my winning position in favor of Free Enterprise and my call for controls against obscenity (which is NOT protected by the Constitution according to the Supreme Court and Judge Langton) is ridiculous on its face. I am also against the sale of illegal drugs in any store. I am also against the sale of display of child pornography. Does that make me a hypocrite also? Because of a lot of good people in this valley (remember that the previous laws passed by a good majority) we have a valley that has been protected from the onslaught of "adult" bookstores, from stores selling soft-core material where children are exposed to it. Even though we had six nude dancing shows set up in the valley in 1992 (which we picketed) and some other minor events to exploit human sexuality in the valley since then, we have been spared what some other areas have experienced as far as sexually oriented businesses. We need laws to help us continue to protect this valley from those who would exploit our children and families and who would support organizations such as the ACLU whose goals would make our children fodder for those who exploit children sexually. We can all pray for a newspaper that will aid in protecting families and not help in destroying them. Dallas D. Erickson |
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Thanks from Traffic Education instructorsDear Editor, The Stevensville High School Traffic Education Department recently completed the first phase of the Skid Monster Program. The program allowed the current driver education students to experience driving under adverse conditions - ice, snow, slick roads, etc. We have had a number of complimentary remarks from everyone who has had an appportunity to take part in this program. The Skid Monster is currently on loan to our school and we thank the Office of Public Instruction and Mr. David Huff, the Director of the State Traffic Education program. We would also like to thank everyone who helped put this program on. A special thanks to Don Misevic and the Airport Board, Delbert Schwaderer, Ed Sutherlin and Mayor Bill Meisner for their support. We sincerely hope we can continue to offer the Skid Monster Program as the year goes on. John L. Munk, Coordinator |
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