Thanks, county for road dust control money

To the editor,

I would like to thank the County as well as the Road and Bridge Committee for budgeting $150,000 over the next three years to control dust on the 700 miles of gravel road in Flathead County (Flathead County Dust Abatement Project). It is a very encouraging development and something our organization has advocated for many years.

Although I suspect that the $30,000 allocated for actual dust abatement treatment may be inadequate, this project represents a good start at dealing with the problem of excess dust and related maintenance issues.

In the North Fork of the Flathead River Valley there are special circumstances relating to wildlife and development that make a paved road inappropriate. For this reason, we have a strong interest in dust coating and other remediation techniques and welcome any efforts in this regard.

John Frederick

President of the North Fork Preservation Association in Polebridge

Road maintenance promotion an issue

To the editor,

In his Nov. 1 Hungry Horse News column touting the accomplishments of the North Fork Road Coalition for Health and Safety, Larry Wilson implies that the North Fork Landowners Association has been derelict in its duty to urge the county to properly maintain the North Fork Road.

If there is a tradition of neglecting the road-maintenance issue, it began at the June 2003 NFLA meeting, over which Wilson presided. The two pro-paving members of president Wilson's road committee went to town to meet with the Flathead County road superintendent, Charlie Johnson, leaving the one anti-paving member behind.

Then (in what has become the familiar choreographed scenario) one pro-paving committee member handed out flyers before the NFLA meeting promoting paving the road, and the other pro-paving committee member presented a report saying that Johnson wanted the road paved. Following the report was a vote to pave the road by an audience stacked with unfamiliar faces who otherwise don't attend NFLA meetings (much less do any of the work).

The predictable shouting match ensued, thereby putting the kibosh on honest, conscientious efforts to promote proper maintenance of the North Fork Road.

We'll leave open the question of whether committee members who are ostensibly assigned to investigate and report on an issue are acting ethically when they use that assignment to promote their personal agendas. We won't discuss the ethics and motives of a president who would allow the above scenario to transpire, or what he should have done to squelch the ensuing rancor. And we will leave it to the reader to guess whether the two aforementioned pro-paving committee members are founders of the so-called North Fork Road Coalition for Health and Safety, as well as the true agenda of the organization.

The important thing is that people who could benefit from participation in the association or who could contribute to the community are not doing so because of scenes like the above. So it's ironic that Wilson should write that we should all work together for a good solution for the entire community, when the result of what in my opinion were the ethical and administrative lapses of the June 2003 NFLA meeting over which he presided. There has been a lingering bad taste in the mouths of the majority of us who don't want to see NFLA meetings deteriorate into hostile confrontations over whether to pave the North Fork Road… or any other issue.

One more thing, Larry: If the coalition is so successful at raising money, why was an attempt made to have the NFLA donate $2,000 to it at the September business meeting? (Minutes of that meeting can be read at the NFLA Web site, www.NFLandowners.org.)

Richard E. Wackrow

Polebridge

Clarifying North Fork Neighborhood Plan

To the editor:

I would like to correct a few items contained in last week's Hungry Horse News regarding the North Fork Neighborhood Plan. The article stated that North Forkers have been working on drafts of the plan for a few months now. Actually, we have been working on updating the plan for three years now, and have just been finalizing the draft that appears on the county's

Web site for the past three months.

More importantly, though, the draft plan currently posted on the county's Web site has not been revised since August, and contains some errors in the wording of some of the policies. These errors have been corrected in the recently-completed revised draft, which should be posted on the county's Web site within the next week.

The revised draft restates the policy on density to reflect a limit on new subdivision lot sizes of 20 acres, rather than the previously stated "one unit per 20 acres." The other policy referenced in the article pertained to new "development" setbacks from waterways and roads. This policy has been revised to reflect setbacks from waterways and roads for "new buildings," not "new development," as it was originally stated in the draft plan. Both of these policies support our current zoning in the North Fork.

A good way for landowners to keep advised of the Neighborhood Plan as it goes through the county's adoption process is to access the North Fork Landowners' Association Web site at www.nflandowenrs.com.

Jon Cole, Chairman

North Fork Land Use Advisory Committee

Montana wildfires — a personal perspective

Wild fires are a fact of life for Montana and Idaho in the summer. We see on the news that fires are spreading, people are evacuated and Red Cross shelters are set up to meet the needs of the community. I have seen it dozens of times in the Red Cross messaging, "Be Prepared," plan what you will do in an emergency and plan a meeting place.

I never really knew what that meant until the Black Cat fire near Missoula erupted on Aug. 16. I was flying home from Portland and as we passed over my home, flames seemed to be reaching up to the plane. The Black Cat fire, pushed by strong winds, grew from 500 acres to over 1,500 in a matter of hours. Once I got to my street, the police blockading the area said it was being evacuated, I could not pass. My husband and son were still in the house and by cell phone I frantically listed what to save, what to pack, where to meet. It was chaotic. I called back and said, "Don't forget the cats!" The anxiety was intense, I could not think clearly. Our neighbors drove trucks filled with a few possessions and one even had to trot her horses down the road out of the area. They had about an hour notice, some less.

The police instructed people where the Red Cross shelter had been established. Set up in a small school, ARC volunteers were ready with information, a cup of coffee, a smile and a hug for those needing it. I felt proud to know Red Cross Disaster Services was prepared to help and did it so quickly. Without our family in the area we would have needed that assistance.

I found out the next day at work that Dana West of Hospital Services was also evacuated. Judi Adamski, receptionist, was on alert. Any one of us could have needed the services of the shelter and it was ready.

The Black Cat fire was still burning through August. Only one house was lost to the fire but luckily no people were injured. The fire crews were amazing and continued to battle the fires. Dana and I returned to our homes and kept our treasured items packed by the door and in vehicles for days. We have talked about the intensity of the event, and agree knowing our organization was ready made us proud to be part of the Red Cross.

So thank you, Disaster Services and fire fighters, for being there!

Debbie Tomell is division equipment manager for the Western Frontier Division of the American Red Cross-Lewis and Clark Region/Pacific Northwest Region.