News you can use
News you can use
Sorted by date Results 1103 - 1127 of 1421
Editor: I am confused by the ongoing dispute about whether we should legalize assisted suicide in Montana. I am a medical doctor whose patients include incarcerated persons. Law enforcement, jails and prisons are mandated to monitor for signs of depression and suicidal ideation and to identify, intervene and/or initiate treatment. We are told that our failure to do so would be a significant breach of an inmate's civil rights. Yet according to proponents of assisted suicide, patients also have a right to receive a doctor's...
Editor: It's disappointing that the Legislature tabled Senate Bill 295 — the bill to repeal the oil and gas tax holiday. Had it passed, the bill would have provided millions in new revenue to communities in eastern Montana that are facing major infrastructure expenses due to the oil boom. Now, instead of generating new funds to address the impacts, the Legislature is moving forward proposals that raid the general fund. All of the remaining bills that are still moving forward take this approach. Why are we giving the oil a...
Editor: For one of the first times in north-central Montana, the vast majority of the Democrats I talked to in the last couple of days agree nearly 100 percent with the opinion Bob Sivertsen expressed in his column, the Legislature needs to join the 21st century. The current Montana legislative session has become such a joke that it has gained national attention, Chris Matthews, on his interview show on MSNBC, expressed the widespread view that the current legislature in Montana sets a new standard of what Matthews calls...
Editor: I commend you on your editorial "Stop the Racist Nonsense" (Monday, Feb. 25). It's reassuring when the media stand up for what is right. From June through October of 2010, I lived in Northwest Montana. I was editor of a small newspaper, and was later hired to be an adjunct professor of journalism at Salish Kootenai College in Pablo. I often went in to the rather liberal Missoula as well as Kalispell and Whitefish, political bastions of the tea party and Republican Party. My six months in Montana were among the best...
Editor: A new 50-page bill, Senate Bill 377, will be heard in the Senate Judiciary Committee Tuesday at 9 a.m. in Room 303. This is the most threatening marijuana bill that has been presented so far. 1) At the very least it rescinds everything that Senate Bill 423 put in place. And once again will overrule the voice of the people. The bill's revisions will allow grow operations, marijuana shops and advertising. 2) It creates the infrastructure for an industry which includes taxes that will be distributed by the department to...
Editor: Montanans rely on the U.S. government for many things, including significant investment in our roads and bridges, in federal lands in our state and in our health care system, largely through Medicare and Medicaid. The Montana State Legislature is currently considering whether or not to modernize Montana's Medicaid system by green-lighting a federal program that will significantly increase the number of federal dollars available to the state of Montana to serve people who need access to healthcare services. As a medica...
Editor: As I hear more about the proposed expansion of Medicaid eligibility being debated in Helena, I can't help but reflect on how Medicaid has helped people in my life. My grandfather served in the Vietnam War and suffers from the ongoing effects of Agent Orange. He is able to receive the services and health care he needs because of Medicaid. For him and so many veterans, the VA benefits are not enough and access to Medicaid ensures that he is able to access the care he deserves as a United States veteran. In Montana,...
Editor: It is with great pride to welcome my fellow museum colleagues, their families and friends to my hometown of Havre, attending the Museums Association of Montana annual conference March 21-23. I hope you find your stay in Montana's north star a welcoming and delightful experience. Hill County and its seat, Havre, have a long and rich history many people cherish and honor. From paleontology, archaeology and native tribes, to Fort Assinniboine, the arrival of the railroad, ranchers and homesteaders, you will find many...
Editor: This letter responds to The Associated Press article regarding Monday floor vote on House Bill 505, which failed to pass by four votes, 27-23. We are disappointed but are continuing our efforts to prevent assisted suicide legalization in Montana. The AP article implies that assisted suicide is legal now, which is not the case. The Montana Supreme Court case, Baxter v. Montana, merely gives assisting doctors a potential defense to prosecution for homicide. The case offers no protection to nondoctors. The case gives no...
Editor: The Montana Legislature is considering the question of physician assisted suicide. The Senate has rejected an Oregon style bill that would have legalized such a practice. The House has passed House Bill 505, which will end the confusion about assisted suicide in Montana by stating it is illegal. I am in favor of this bill and wish to correct misconceptions recently expressed in a community forum article published within the past two weeks in the Havre Daily News. HB 505 seeks to clarify the relevant law, which has...
Editor: I would like to give recognition and thanks to the folks who put together and support the North Central Montana Transit bus system that serves our community and surrounding area. Several of my students at the university, this year and in the previous years, from Harlem, Hays and Chinook depend on the bus system, and I would like to publicly declare my gratitude for the bus service for helping the students get to university and also acknowledge the fact that the bus systems helps in our efforts of student retention at...
Last month, Gov. Steve Bullock began his pitch to expand Medicaid in our state, adding 70,000 Montanans to a failing federal program. Despite attempts to ignore the facts, it remains that Medicaid is a program that has serious solvency issues and ongoing problems with fraud and abuse. It does not address the need for additional providers. Medicaid reimbursement to doctors and hospitals is lower than private insurance, causing "cost-shifting" on a national scale. This is not "free money" — it is taxpayer money. Any jobs create...
Editor: Havre Hi-Line's home heating help program is still accepting applications until 5 pm, Tuesday, April 30. If you live in Hill, Blaine or Liberty counties, our office wants to help you! The program, pronounced LEE-APP, is a supplement for paying home heating costs through the winter season. Such heating costs may be natural gas, electricity, propane, and in some cases, even wood. Eligibility requires a household to meet a certain gross income, limit on liquid assets, type of heating fuel used, size, type and location of...
Editor: It's that time of year again. North Central Montana Relay For Life will be holding its Third Annual Paint the Park Purple event at Town Square Saturday, June 22, from 11 a.m, to 3 p.m. We will have team registration, survivor registration, luminary sales, team fundraisers and much more taking place on this day. Businesses, if you would like, please decorate your store fronts and windows with purple to show our community how much you support the fight against cancer. The North Central Montana Relay for Life event has...
Editor: Last week, Rep. Steve Daines, R-Mont., voted in favor of the sequester and endorsed the devastating cuts that will eliminate 750,000 jobs nationally, force furloughs and negatively impact our everyday lives by cutting funding for vital educati on and public safety programs right here in Montana. Rep. Daines voted to stick with wealthy corporations instead of standing up for the hardworking Americans that he is supposed to represent. We shouldn't stand for this anymore — Rep. Daines should take action to reverse t...
Editor: When Sen. Jon Tester voted in favor of the Manchin-Toomey amendment to expand background checks to gun sales online and at gun shows last month, he was taking a stand against the devastating toll of gun violence affecting communities across the country. The Montana Public Health Association thanks Sen. Tester for his commitment to protecting the public's health. Gun violence kills more than 30,000 people in the U.S. every year and costs billions of dollars in health expenditures. Despite so many lives lost, death by...
Editor: I would like to take this opportunity to thank Rick Dow for his service on the Havre City Council and especially for his courage in standing for his principles, despite being singled out by the Havre Daily News and being laughed at by those who don't agree. This is hardly conducive to a healthy exchange of ideas, nor is it an incentive for others to serve. Loretta Park Havre...
Editor: The clock is ticking on an "endangered species" listing of the greater sage-grouse. If U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service decides to list the bird in 2015, it will mean huge changes to Montana and the western states where the grouse has historically lived. Ranchers may have their federal grazing land leases curtailed. Oil and gas development may be stalled. Other road and energy development may be stopped in certain areas. The USFWS's Conservation Objectives: Final Report itemizes what threats to the sage-grouse remain....
Editor: While picking up my granddaughter from her bus stop at Carpenter Park the other day, I was appalled at all the garbage that had accumulated there. I went back later and picked up a large garbage sack full from just the basketball court and would like to personally thank the person who picked up the garbage from the play area as I did not have the time. Come on East Enders, let's have some pride in where our children and grandchildren play. This park is one of the busiest during the summer. While on the subject of the...
Editor: While picking up my granddaughter from her bus stop at Carpenter Park the other day, I was appalled at all the garbage that had accumulated there. I went back later and picked up a large garbage sack full from just the basketball court and would like to personally thank the person who picked up the garbage from the play area as I did not have the time. Come on East Enders, let's have some pride in where our children and grandchildren play. This park is one of the busiest during the summer. While on the subject of the...
Editor: My name is Bonnie Jane Bennett, from Havre, Montana. I have lived in Havre all of my life. I am walking in north-central Montana's Relay For Life event. Last year I raised more than $1,000, making me a Grand Club Member. I am the team captain for the American Legion Liberty Belles team again this year. I will be out as I can collecting pledges for an all-night walk in honor and memory of my mom and dad., Mr. and Mrs. Fred Bennett, who passed in the mid-'80s. Cancer was one of the ailments along with others that took...
Editor: If you do not have voice command over your pet, please walk your pet on a leash. A pet running through someones property can terrorize children, adults and pets enjoying personal property. Your pet is your responsibility. Be mindful of your neighbors. Kris Christensen Havre...
Editor: I was very surprised and disappointed to read City Councilman Rick Dow's comments and vote regarding the signing of a proclamation sponsored by Recycle Hi-Line to celebrate Earth Day on April 22. Perhaps Mr. Dow and Mr. Barrows, who also voted against the proclamation, do not realize that the positive goal of the Earth Day organization is to achieve a cleaner environment for everyone. Or perhaps they don't know about the organizations choosing to partner with Earth Day. Some of these include the American Council on...
Editor: One of the recipes in the Friends of the Library pie recipe book "A Second Helping of a Slice of Delight" has an error. My sincere apologies go to Betty Thackeray for this mistake. Betty is an excellent pie baker, and it is unfortunate this error would make her meringue recipe not turn out. The mistake was discovered just a few days after the book's release on Valentine's Day and the correction was made to all the books still on hand. Attempts have been made to contact everyone who purchased the cookbook between Feb...
Editor: I have never written a letter to an editor before because I prefer to have my privacy. However, it is important to have my story told. I want it to be known what has happened to me. I was library director of the Havre-Hill County Library until March 25. To my unbelievable shock, about 4:30 that afternoon, four of the five board members came into my office, told me to sit down and tossed a letter on my desk. It was a letter of release as library director. I had no warning or reasons why. They told me that they...
