Our View: Hi-Line darts and laurels

Dart — Some fool thought it would be fun to call a bomb threat into Havre High School Wednesday. The threat caused all kinds of problems to the school district, disrupted the education and activities for students and caused undue alarm to parents. Havre police had to drop what they were doing and oversee operations at the scene. Havre police hope they will find the responsible person. We hope courts deal with the guilty party severely. Everything went well Wednesday, but with all that kind of unexpected activity taking place, there is always the chance that something will go terribly wrong.

Laurel — Havre school officials did a great job of getting people out of the high school and to Fifth Avenue Christian Church where people could pick up their children. They did an excellent job of keeping the media informed, so they could post updates on radio, Twitter, Facebook and websites. That makes it easier for families to keep up-to-date on events without calling the school and disrupting officials in their very important work of getting students to safety.

Laurel — How many drunken driving arrests on New Year’s Eve? In Havre there were absolutely none, Police Chief Gabe Matosich reported. Praise to many people who were involved in the effort to stop people from driving while they are impaired. Police have done a great job of enforcement year-round. The DUI Task Force and the HELP Committee have undertaken a great educational effort. Havre Ford provides rides home to drunks smart enough to know they shouldn’t be driving. The Tavern Owners Association has been involved in several projects to keep drunken drivers off the streets. And drivers themselves are being more considerate of other drivers and finding alternatives home if they are too impaired.

Laurel — NorthWestern Energy has donated $125,000 for the auto/diesel tech building at Montana State University-Northern, bringing the college ever-so-close to its goal for the new building. The building is vital for the university’s future. College officials are now certain they will make the goal and are planning to begin construction in the spring