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Beringer for sheriff

“Now is the time for all good men to come to the aid of their county.” Well, actually, the original sentence in old typing classes had “country,” but this works better for this recommendation of Cal Beringer as sheriff of Flathead County.

Yes, it is time for all of us to stand up for our county and elect the best man possible to fill the position of sheriff.

There are several individuals vying for the position and I doubt not the qualifications, sincerity and desire of each to fill the job, but for me the man for the job is a born and bred Montanan. A man with the desire to make and keep our county first in mind and heart, a man with a strong determination to lead the department with candor, dedication and a no-nonsense approach to serving each and every resident in the county. I have had numerous conversations with Cal Beringer and am so impressed with his qualifications to be our next sheriff. His background is exemplar as our future sheriff; former military, former law enforcement, investigative and business astuteness and a dedication to our county, country, family, friends and thankfully, the Constitution of the United States.

As always, I seek only the best for our future. Therefore, I endorse and support Cal Beringer for sheriff of Flathead County. —Jerry Molen, Bigfork

Rosendale for Senate

Matt Rosendale is the right choice for U.S. Senate. All the Republican candidates support the president’s agenda, and none are weak on national defense — that’s a given. But only Matt starts with battle-tested conservatism and experience.

Matt understands our country’s “money sickness.” Whether state or federal, regardless of party, the government’s sickness is typified by the attitude, “there will always be more money.” Whenever the “good idea fairy” lands on the establishment’s shoulder, grab your wallet! With payroll deduction and an aggressive IRS, the beltway will extract everything it wants. PBS? Sure! NPR? Why not? Funding a production of “Doggie Hamlet” with human actors shouting and chasing dogs and sheep in an open field? Spend away! After all, “there will always be more money.” State and federal governments have acquired a habit that’s made them ill; they have overdosed on your money.

Revenues and expenditures at the federal level have had no relationship to each other for decades. No household could run its budget like D.C. runs the nation’s. Everyone knows it; nobody does anything about it. Matt will — just as he has with his own offices in Montana.

We need to cut off the life-blood of the authoritarian streak in today’s governance. That life-blood is the citizen’s hard-earned money. This country can’t afford to continue streaming cash to failed agencies. It is time to stop accepting every three-letter agency’s excuse for why it needs more money. It is time to eliminate those monetary sinkholes.

We must end our government’s ‘“money sickness.” We need a senator who will slay the dragon — one who will represent the common-sense fiscal responsibilities Montanans deal with every day. We don’t need a senator whose first job is to start a “listening tour”; we need one who will go to D.C. and lead. Vote Matt Rosendale! —Tracy Sharp, Polson

Vote for White for sheriff

After hearing all four sheriff’s candidates, it is quite clear that Jordan White is the most qualified to be our next sheriff. I am convinced that he will run an honest, respectable, trustworthy sheriff’s/coroner’s Office.

Jordan’s experience includes: deputy sheriff, deputy coroner, EMT, firefighter, dive rescue, SWAT, search and rescue, and undersheriff. Jordan is more than equipped to assume the office of our next sheriff.

Under a Jordan White term as sheriff, we citizens of Flathead County are guaranteed that our peace, safety and liberty will always come first; we will be innocent until proven guilty; we will always have the right to defend ourselves, our families, our friends and others who are in danger; our property and privacy will be respected; we will be listened to; we will know without a shadow of a doubt that our rights will be protected and upheld.

If/when the federal government (or even our state government) tries to take our rights away, particularly our right to keep and bear arms, Jordan White will stand between them and us — just as a sheriff should do.

Regarding our right to keep and bear arms, Jordan White is the only sheriff’s candidate who scored 100 percent on Montana Shooting Sports Association’s (MSSA) Sheriff’s Candidate Questionnaire (Gary Marbut). Brian Heino scored a 79 percent; Calvin Beringer scored a 44 percent; Keith Stahlberg scored 31 percent. (See the questions at http://progunleaders.org/SheriffsCQ/index.html.) There is absolutely NO QUESTION which of these four candidates will fight to protect our right to keep and bear arms.

Vote for Jordan White for sheriff on June 5! —Julie Dockery, Kalispell

Brodehl for commissioner

Our commissioners in Flathead County have a huge impact on the everyday operations and management of our county that many of us probably don’t realize day to day.

That’s why I fully support Randy Brodelh for the job!

We’ve known the Brodehls for many years. Not only does Randy have a long list of experience with exactly what he will need to be a commissioner, but he truly cares. He cares about his family and his community, and about continuing to make sure the Flathead is a great place to live for generations.

There are four people running in the primary on June 5 for commissioner, and it’s so important to get to know where the candidates stand on issues ... not only whose name you know.

We knew Randy when he was Kalispell fire chief and saw the dedication and leadership he showed in that role. But he didn’t stop his service after retiring; instead he ran for Legislature and served his four terms as an expert on the state budget. The county commissioners need to know how to read and manage budgets, and the Flathead needs someone in that role who believes in small government. Randy is a critical thinker, a problem solver, and a man of integrity.

Flathead County would be very fortunate to have Randy serving them as commissioner. I’m all in for Randy Brodehl for county commissioner, and I think that if you take the time to learn about each candidate, you will be too. —Anita Leininger, Kalispell

Attack on Curry didn’t tell all the relevant facts

Mr. Phil Mitchell’s District Court statement castigated Sheriff Chuck Curry’s handling of the Sept. 20, 2004, five-passenger Tunnel Creek crash but somehow managed to neglect several salient details.

“Hellacious” flying conditions initially hid the crash site at 6,600 feet and it was after 3 p.m. the following day before the undersheriff arrived by helicopter. Three survivors had escaped from the obliterated Cessna with only the clothes on their backs prior to its total engulfment by fire and had crawled to trees about 100 yards away. One initial survivor had died during the night and the remaining two had fled the icy rain down the draw earlier that day, traveling too far to signal back to the landed chopper.

Unfortunate continuing rain had wiped out the thin snow cover surrounding the plane and with it the survivors’ tracks to the trees, without which approaching darkness and swiftly deteriorating flying weather did not permit a safe extended perimeter search. The total conflagration obscured the possibility of any survival. And so the rescuers left to grimly report to the parents, only to be proven gloriously wrong the following day when two survivors exited the woods onto U.S. 2.

After 25 years of service, the last 15 serving as undersheriff to legendary Sheriff Jim Dupont, a remorseful Curry left the department the following year to begin service with the ALERT program, returning as elected sheriff in 2010.

But perhaps there is a silver lining to the publication of that painful courtroom half-story. The critical factor following the crash was the inability of the three survivors to start a warming and signaling fire with only pocket matches and wet twigs. All survival packs and gear had burned. Later that fall, a private citizen met with the Flathead Forest supervisor and described an Alaskan survival technique of a now-retired Kalispell internist which mandated never entering the woods without carrying in one’s pocket (not backpack) a knife, a dependable lighter (not matches) and a 3-inch square of inner tube pierced with a tiny central X. The rubber is easily impaled and suspended off the wet ground or snow by a thin stick, lights readily, burns with a hot and smoky flame for 15-20 minutes irrespective of rain and quickly dries and ignites damp brush and twigs previously gathered.

No doubt this technique is now standard Forest Service protocol, at least locally, but perhaps renewed attention to the crash vis-a-vis Mr. Mitchell’s letter will enhance public awareness and possibly save a life. And maybe he did not get off so lightly for his all-too-human arrogance and brain-dead behavior. Likely the legal expenses defending a felony charge with possible jail time greatly exceed those for a misdemeanor. Along with a permanent hit to his self-image and reputation, $16,000 is probably only a distant starting point. —Andy Palchak, Kalispell

Vote for Egan Slough zoning extension

There are resources in our valley that flow overhead, like air/oxygen. These resources belong to all of us. There are resources that flow under our valley, like water. This resource also belongs to all of us. There are finite amounts of each of these resources that support life in our valley.

Ground water is spotty in the valley and wells have gone dry when neighbors and developers have used up more water than the aquifer can replace. Several years ago, Smith Valley tried to put in place a Controlled Groundwater Area. Well drillers dig holes and do not guarantee water, but do charge big bucks for the hole they dig. Realtors sell land; they do not sell part of the water under the land.

Yes, private property rights are important ... BUT so are Public Property Rights. Hijacking public water for a massive industrial extraction process is wrong. The county commissioners were wrong to OK the extraction without giving serious consideration to the downside of this large project.

Farmers use water for irrigation, but it goes back into the aquifer. A bottling plant extracts water and sends it away ... except for some “slightly” polluted crap they put into the river. Note: DNRC regulates water usage; as we found in Smith Valley’s CGA, they are controlled by or pushed around by lawyers from several local “law firms.” DNRC is NOT on the side of the Agriculture. VOTE FOR the Zoning Extension. Your water may be next —Brent Mitchell, Kalispell