Editorials

Candy-tossing conundrum

Published on Fri, 07/01/2016 - 2:37pm

There are major issues facing Livingston and Park County, such as the threat of mining and gravel pit operations in Paradise Valley, and budget and waste disposal concerns. 

But sometimes you have to drop everything and deal with matters needing immediate attention, like the candy tossing tradition at our Livingston Roundup Parade.

GUEST EDITORIAL: Do what’s right, Mr. Attorney General

Published on Thu, 06/30/2016 - 4:26pm

All right, Attorney General Fox, your reputation depends on what you do now.

You could say that’s impossible — a previously distinguished career in public service can’t be defined by a single arbitrary decision about relocating 35 jobs.

But political careers have been made and lost on a lot less.

Here are the facts: Bureaucrats in the Department of Justice (which you, not the governor, control under a vagary of the Montana Constitution) made a decision to close the Title and Registration Bureau office in Deer Lodge.

The streets cannot be a home

Published on Tue, 06/28/2016 - 3:07pm

The homeless can be scary people. They may block sidewalks, curse passers-by and aggressively demand money. Or they can be just sad.

Growing homeless encampments are stressing cities across the country. Honolulu and Sarasota responded with stiff laws taking “vagrants” off the streets and out of public parks. South Carolina’s capital, Columbia, decided to give the homeless three choices. They can go to a shelter, get arrested or leave town.

Play safely on Montana’s rivers

Published on Wed, 06/15/2016 - 4:05pm

Baking hot weather this month has brought flocks of river enthusiasts to the water once again. Last week, they could be seen floating down the Clark Fork River on inner tubes, splashing along its banks and jumping from the Madison Street pedestrian bridge.

This despite the fact that the river is running high and fast - and jumping from bridges is illegal in Missoula County.

Benefit of including the public in manager hiring process

Published on Sun, 06/12/2016 - 2:29pm

Livingston received the unfortunate news this week that the top candidate for the vacant city manager post has declined a generous job offer.

Might be time to bag the glass recycling program

Published on Thu, 06/09/2016 - 3:31pm

In our throw-away culture, recycling should be the goal of every community.

But the reality is, there has to be a market for — or at least a robust way to re-use — recycled materials. Just because it’s good to recycle cardboard, newspapers, aluminum cans, magazines, plastics and glass doesn’t mean they magically transform themselves into useful products.

GUEST EDITORIAL: Quit allowing child molesters and rapists to go free

Published on Wed, 06/08/2016 - 2:25pm

Some criminals are sent to jail for selling drugs, theft or myriad other intentional acts of lawbreaking. Many of them are driven to commit these crimes in no small part by addiction or mental illness, and often both. Many are good candidates for treatment programs and support services designed to keep them from re-offending.

And then there are the criminals whose violent acts cause the kind of harm that can never be healed. They are murderers, rapists and child predators. They present a clear danger to the community, and they belong behind bars.

ENTERPRISE EDITORIAL: Livingston artists dress up otherwise drab utility boxes

Published on Fri, 06/03/2016 - 4:54pm

Have you ever noticed the traffic light utility boxes in Livingston?

Unless they’ve been tagged with graffiti or posted with a yard sale sign, chances are you haven’t been aware of the drab boxes that house the controls for city streetlights.

ENTERPRISE EDITORIAL: Park’s bear spray campaign is smart and effective

Published on Wed, 06/01/2016 - 4:21pm

If you had an incurable disease and your doctor told you there was a medication that had a 90 percent chance of saving your life, would you take it?

Of course you would. You would take it even if it gave you less than a 1 percent chance.

So why wouldn’t you take bear spray — take it with you, that is — into the wild when studies show it is 90 percent effective in protecting you from something that can absolutely kill you, namely bears?

GUEST EDITORIAL: If the data supports it, allow hunting grizzly bears

Published on Wed, 05/18/2016 - 3:16pm

Hunting is not only a fundamental part of Montana’s culture, but also a way to help prevent some of the problems associated with the overpopulation of certain species in certain areas. And nostalgia for the iconic grizzly bears around Yellowstone National Park is not a good enough reason to prevent people from hunting the animals if and when it makes sense from a wildlife management standpoint to do so.

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