Our View: Thoughts on a busy weekend

Some random thoughts on weekend activities in the Havre area:

The Hi-Line Amateur Radio Club held its annual show on the Hill County Courthouse lawn,

To some, ham radio is a pretty archaic hobby. In today’s technology, there are lots of way to communicate with people around the world.

But ham radio operators are special, and rather interesting people. They have a good time communicating with people around the country and the world.

Most important, they are life-saving folks when natural disaster strikes.

In case after case, radio operators are the ones who can communicate with people in the outside world when earthquakes or floods strike, cellphone towers are knocked out of commission and landline phone lines are destroyed.

Congratulations on the annual event the radio operators put on, and we hope the public enjoyed the demonstrations and learned some lessons.

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The Federal Emergency Management Agency is in the area and is looking into the possibility that people in the area may be eligible for some assistance for damage caused to their homes

We hope FEMA finds the area is eligible. Lots of people sustained damage by the floods, and it would be helpful to many of them to be able to count on federal assistance.

Several years back, FEMA was attacked in the wake of the New Orleans flooding for not doing its job.

Now, unfortunately, it’s being criticized for doing its job — taking care of people who have been afflicted with problems caused by extreme weather. Congress unconscionably delayed action on providing funds for the massive disaster on the East Coast and now is balking on assistance to Oklahoma in the wake of horrific tornadoes.

The federal government, if nothing else, should feel bound to take care of its citizens when they are struck by tragedy.

The recent Hi-Line flooding is nowhere near the size or magnitude of the Oklahoma or East Coast disasters, but to those whose lives were uprooted, it is still a serious problem.

We hope FEMA makes its decision based on need and not political pressure.