Letters to the Editor

Disappointed in Tester

I am a Jon Tester supporter. I thought Tester was a liberal in a great tradition of liberals that crafted and moved the New Deal, the Great Society and the 1964 Civil Rights Act. He has an outstanding record on gay rights in the Montana Legislature. He has fought for low-income families, a woman's right to choose if and when she would like to become a mother and created policies that would protect our environment.

I was shocked to read the interview with Tester in the IR (Oct. 13) where he stated "he opposes gay marriage -- although he would not vote to amend the U.S. Constitution to ban it, and would support certain allowances for gay couples."

What rights does Tester want for himself that he would like to withhold from me? What "allowances" is he referring to? In this country we know that separate is not equal (please see Brown v. Board of Education). Throughout the primary Tester stated he did not support discrimination in any form. I believed him. What has changed?

This type of campaigning makes me want to skip the U.S. Senate race and vote down the ballot for liberals who don't run away from their records.

Kim Abbott

523 6th Avenue

Help catch burglars

In the past three week my residence on the Northeast side of Helena has been burglarized twice. Taken in the first burglary the items included approximately 30 DVDs, a number of compact disks and the criminal(s) took the time to sort through a large container of spare change to take all of the nickels, dimes, quarters, 50-cent pieces and dollar coins.

In the second burglary, the criminal(s) took an additional 15-20 DVDs (including a few that I had replaced after the first burglary), most of the remaining CDs and apparently decided that the pennies were worth stealing as well. Again this burglary took place during business hours and most likely in the mid-afternoon.

The criminal(s) has possibly sold, or attempted to sell, the DVDs and CDs. They have also likely passed a large amount of small change. In either case, there is an opportunity for a business to be a good civic partner and help police solve a crime.

Tips have already led to several high profile burglary arrests this year. Hopefully someone knows or has seen the person responsible in my case.

If you have information, please contact the Helena Police Department at 443-2000 or myself at 461-4141.

Daniel Polette

1236 Phoenix Avenue

Calling all runners

On Saturday, Oct. 28, a busload of Helena runners will be traveling to Pipestone, Montana (near Butte) to compete in the 15th Annual "Montana Cup" cross-country race.

The event is a team competition (typically between 3 and 5 miles), in which Montana's seven largest cities all compete against each other in pursuit of the traveling "Montana Cup" trophies.

The women's race begins at noon, followed by the men's race at 1 p.m., with separate divisions for "masters" runners (40 and older) and recognition for the top juniors (18 and under).

The event is open to runners of all ages and abilities, with the top-five across the line forming the scoring team in each division.

At the Oct. 16 city commission meeting, Helena Mayor Jim Smith declared Oct. 28 "Montana Cup Day" and encouraged the Helena teams to bring back the trophies to their rightful home here in Helena.

If you would like to be part of this noble (and fun!) enterprise, please contact us at the addresses below, or go to www.montanacup.com for more information.

Patrick Judge

Men's Open Captain

1802 Lockey Avenue

459-5838

pjudge@bresnan.net

Jennifer Thomas

Women's Open Captain

1300 Leslie Avenue

461-9210

nd4spd@myrealbox.com

Alan Peura

Men's Masters Captain

1100 Highland Street

442-1176

arpeura@bresnan.net

Ann Seifert

Women's Masters Captain

920 Monroe Avenue

442-6114

Seifert@initco.net

Join 4H

Where are all the 4H'ers? This past summer I toured the barns and exhibits at the fair, and was saddened to find dwindling participation.

I decided to do what I could to bring 4H back to the community I grew up in. After putting up fliers and talking to some kids and parents my plan was set in motion.

I was completely surprised to find that there were a number of kids and parents who did not know much about 4H.

I literally had to explain that the exhibits and animals at the fair are the projects of the 4H'ers in the valley.

However, those I spoke to were very interested in getting more involved, they just didn't know where or how to go about it.

Right now we are starting the new 4H year, and exploring projects for the coming year. Any child who will be turning 6 years old is eligible to join the Cloverbuds, and anyone turning 9 is eligible to become a member of 4H.

I would encourage anyone who is interested to contact the county extension office and get information about a club in your area.

Teresa KelleyBrewer

Disability Examiner

Montana DDS

Misleading ad

I would like to address the misleading evidence in one of Sen. Burns' campaign commercials.

A recent television ad "Friends," which ran last week, criticizes "the people who support Jon Tester."

Burns attacks the stance of groups supporting Tester, which has little to do with Tester's actual stance.

In one of many examples, one of the commercial's attacks is "Jon Tester is supported by radicals that want to close bases like Malmstrom." This is not where Jon stands on the issue. In past legislation, Tester has supported and expanded Malmstrom's role in Montana.

This ad makes use of a gap in logic. It tries to nail Tester for statements he has not made. I hope that Burns' next commercial will not try to obviously dupe Montana voters.

Tyler Evilsizer

Carroll College

1601 N. Benton Avenue

Seldom seen Congress

I thought this might be of interest to all readers in regards to our Congress.

In the October 2006 AARP Bulletin I wish to quote the following:

"But political analyst Norman Ornstein of the American Enterprise Institute in Washington points out that the 97 days the House of Representatives is scheduled to be in session in 2006 is the fewest since Harry Truman derided the 80th Congress in 1947-48 as the "do-nothing" Congress. The 2006 figure compares with a yearly average of 161 days in the '60s and '70s and 139 days in the '80s and '90s."

John I Dahl

P.O. Box 945