Our View: Hi-Line darts and laurels

Laurel — Havre Public Schools will conduct its annual Salute to Seniors at noon Sunday, at Havre Middle School. If you are a senior citizens or nearing that age, stop by and look at the exhibits that display the work Havre students have done, enjoy the fine brunch and be entertained by the talented student musicians. The events will display what you have accomplished by the taxes you have paid over the years. We think you got a pretty good return on your investment.

Laurel — Havre Beneath the Streets is the second most popular underground attraction in the United States, according to a USA Today survey. We think, biased as we are, that it is the best. A lot of Havreites spend time to vote every 24 hours on the USA Today website. It shows great community backing for a very popular local tourist spot.

Dart — The Montana Department of Public Health and Human Services does a lot of good things for Montana, but we think the department went astray this week when it ignored the the request of the Legislative Interim Committee on Tribal Relations, and said it would go ahead and hire a contractor to come up with ideas on how to spend what’s left of a $250,000 grant to help Native tribes combat suicide. The committee and this newspaper think the state would be better to spend the $100,000 from the grant on helping tribes fight suicide. There are lots of good ideas on how to help reduce suicide, an epidemic problem on reservations, but not much money to fund them. The department did do one thing by refusing to budge. It got state sens. Jonathan Windy Boy, D-Box Elder, and Kris Hansen, R-Havre, to agree on something.

Laurel — The Montana Public Service Commission, responding to public concerns, has launched an effort to come up with a rail safety plan. There has been a lot of concern in communities that adjoin rail lines which carry Bakken oil. That includes most of the communities that are serviced by this newspaper. Montana needs a unified effort on how to resolve problems that may arise by oil spills and oil explosions.