Hi-Line Darts and Laurels

Laurel — Sixth-graders at Havre Middle School are quickly learning the Hi-Line tradition of helping others. Under the direction of the librarian, the students are raising funds to help Dylan Hendrickson, a fellow student who is undergoing treatment in Seattle for Hodgkin's Lymphoma. The program, "Walk a Mile in My Shoes," is a tremendous way to raise funds to help defray Dylan's expenses and a tremendous way to let students know the value of helping out friends in need.

Laurel — The annual meeting of the Dinosaur Trail will be held in Rudyard later this year. The Rudyard museum is a sometimes-forgotten gem in the Hi-Line history community, and this will give local historians a chance to see what Rudyard has to offer. Hopefully they will be impressed and pass the word on to fellow museum lovers. There are limited accommodations in Rudyard, so the Clack Museum in Havre is helping out with the plans.

Laurel — The Havre Area Chamber of Commerce's annual meeting and lunch has become a Hi-Line tradition. It's been going on for 104 years. This year's excellent program gave people a great idea of the area's economic picture. Experts in the tourism, retail, medical, educational and rail sectors gave brief talks that were most informative.

Laurel — The Montanas Legislature is off to a good start this year. Civility has been maintained. At opening day in the House, Secretary of State Linda McCulloch had every Democrats go over to the Republican side of the aisle to shake hands and hug fellow Republicans. So far, no repeat of the scenes of two years ago. There are a lot of shaky time ahead. Sensitive issues such as education reform and abortion still face the lawmakers. We don't expect the lawmakers to agree all the time — Montana has a rich diversity of political thought — but they can disagree without being disagreeable.