Letters to the editor

Check-cashing woes

I was under the impression I could cash my Montana state income tax-refund check at any bank for cash. US Bank, which has a five-year contract with Montana state to handle their accounts, charges $5 to cash the checks. Some banks won't cash the checks because the routing on the checks is incomplete, even though methods exist to cash these checks. Workers that live paycheck to paycheck cannot afford bank accounts and can't cash a check for cash, without paying a fee.

Tax-refund checks and payroll checks are payments for labor. Workers gave up the right to be paid in cash so the government could collect taxes easily. Workers should not have to pay a fee to collect money owed them for labor. Fees are another tax. The government is subsidizing the banking industry on the backs of the poor.

A bank teller said I should "get used to fees because there will be more of them because the Federal Reserve Bank in Helena is leaving." I don't know the details of the departure, but I suspect it will make it harder to oversee banking practices.

Michael Bacon

1004 11th Ave. Apt. 3

No military solution

In his first press conference since taking over command of U.S. forces in Iraq, Gen. David Petraeus stated that spectacular incidents of violence have increased since the "surge" of U.S. troops in Baghdad. "Any student of history recognizes there is no military solution to a problem like that in Iraq, to the insurgency in Iraq," Gen. Petraeus said. "A political resolution of various differences ... that is crucial. That is what will determine, in the long run, the success of this effort." And yet there are those in Helena, across the country, and in Washington who tell us that we can achieve a military victory in Iraq. Tragically, their ignorance is unnecessarily condemning young American service members and countless Iraqis to death or to physical and psychological trauma that will haunt these precious human beings for the rest of their lives. Enough! Bring our troops home now!

Jonathan Matthews

1601 N. Benton Ave.

Thanks to Great Divide

I would like to extend my sincere appreciation for all the great folks at Great Divide. The wonderful instructors have taught three of my kids and me to ski and snowboard. Great Divide has great programs to help everyone learn and their instructors are truly patient and wonderful and you can tell they truly love what they do! They have special discounts for first- and second-graders and the Easy 123 is great for everyone.

I previously felt skiing would be too expensive. However, Great Divide has a lot of options and I truly feel they have done everything possible to keep it affordable and its half price punch card really helps.

This year my son joined the All Mountain Ski Team and has became a lot better skier. Since I had just started, it was hard for me to teach my kids. The instructors have done better than I ever could have. He will be back next year and his younger brother will join him.

So I encourage you to give Great Divide a try.

Thank you Great Divide for providing a wonderful service and a great place for a family to be able to have lots of fun together!

Patsy Rasch and family

69 Whitetail Lane

Clancy

Health injustice

I would like to provide readers with a specific example of just how dysfunctional and oppressive our current healthcare system really is.

A family of four -- two adults and two children, who have been residing in our transitional housing program -- plans for him to quit his $7-an-hour job so that he and his wife could then qualify for Medicaid coverage, specifically so she could receive the medical care she desperately needs. They were not happy or proud about this decision, but felt they have no alternative. Thankfully they are in a safe enough situation where they will not become homeless because of lack of income. But how many other families are forced into choosing between health care and a place to live?

Sen. Kaufmann's bill, SB 498, attempts to address this issue by developing a universal health-care system for ALL Montanans. This bill was successfully passed in the Senate and has made it through transmittal to the House. Please write to your legislators for support of the full passage of this very important bill, so that all Montanans regardless of income may receive the healthcare that every human being has a right to.

Kristin Best

533 N. Main

AIDS project gives thanks

The Board of Directors of the Lewis & Clark AIDS Project would like to thank the Helena community for support of the 19th annual Hearts & Humans Art Auction. We appreciate the artists who donated their work and Helena businesses who contributed auction items. Thanks to Alan and Rachel Peura who served as masters of ceremony, the Watecarvers Guild for providing delightful music for the evening, and to the many volunteers who make this event run smoothly.

We would also like to thank those who attended the event and generously participated in the fundraising auction. The money raised will help the Lewis and Clark AIDS Project continue prevention efforts and provide direct support to those who live with this illness.

Charlotte Fuson & Robie Marcoux, co-chairs

Hearts & Humans Art Auction

P.O. Box 932

Park Plaza thanked

Thank you, Park Plaza Hotel, for having nice power extension cords for us to use when we had that person from the election place do the demonstration with the automark machine to show us what they did for people with disabilities and letting us use the big room upstairs for the presentations and the rooms downstairs for the regular meetings.

Thank you for being so open with your busy schedule during the week, for taking time for us to be able to use your facilities. Thank you, for understanding that we each have our own disability and thank you, for providing the coffee and water and the creamers for the coffee and teapackets.

We like going to the meetings and we really appreciate that we are able to have them each month for our presentations on certain disabilities and rights that we have. Thank you, also, for letting us have fundraisers for saving money for fun nights.

Kathleen and Megan,

People First Members of Helena and Staff

P.O. Box 173

Night to Shine response

In response to the letter regarding Night to Shine from Dr. Michelson:

Helena Community Credit Union pays the Civic Center around $7,000 for rental of the facility (equipment, labor, lighting, and a percentage of ticket sales). This year, the Civic Center requested we hire a professional sound company to do the show -- we complied. This increased the cost of the show by over $3,000. We were surprised Dr. Michelson thought the sound was bad, as we have had only positive comments.

The lighting is professionally choreographed for two full days prior to the show, but it may have slowed at times during the show to accommodate acts that took longer to set up. As for "shouted comments" -- it happens every year -- many of the audience are peers of the performers, they're showing support for their friends.

We thank Dr. Michelson for his support of this event and Helena Community Credit Union. We also want to thank the community for their continued support of Night to Shine. As always, we extend our sincere appreciation to the DECA advisors, DECA students and our directors for all their hard work preparing for the show. Thank You!

Faye Lippincott, Helena Community Credit Union

Judy Reddy, 5th Avenue Advertising

Night to Shine Producers

P O Box 159