Treatment of woman with mental illness was horrible
I am responding to your article on Nov. 12, “Report criticizes handling of inmate.”
I was born in Montana and have returned to Missoula after 20 years of living in other cities in America, and after reading this article I am ashamed to be a native. How dare we call ourselves a civilized society when people with mental illness are archaically shackled and punished for their emotional unrest? Was she a danger of hurting those guards? She might have been a danger to herself but since when is pepper spray an effective treatment for suicidal thoughts?
My hope is that we learn a valuable lesson from this experience and avoid making similar mistakes in the future. I hope that the guards will receive increased training about how to identify mental-health issues and substance-abuse issues and implement a screening to assess people who are incarcerated. My hope is that people with mental illness continue to fight for their human rights and bring these violations to the public’s awareness.
Lastly, my hope is that all citizens of this great state demand appropriate treatment for people with mental illness; shackles are not the cure.
Catherine O’Day, Missoula
Plan will benefit nature and our economies
We are fortunate to live in a community that is rural and situated in some of the most beautiful scenery one will find anywhere in Montana. Unfortunately, we reside in an area that will feel the effects of the economic downturn we are experiencing nationally and worldwide currently.
At a community meeting attended by a very good cross-section of residents and businesses, we were privileged to hear about a project that is supported by just about everyone, including sportsmen, business, loggers, agriculture, recreationists and even wilderness advocates.
The Blackfoot-Clearwater Stewardship Project will provide protection for all the resources that all of the above individuals seem to want. This plan promotes employment, forest health and recreation.
This plan has found a needed balance between all organizations and we should support it fully. Seeley Lake and surrounding valleys will benefit economically and aesthetically, and from fire mitigation. We need the support of our neighbors to see that this plan will come to fruition.
Take the time to learn what it intends to provide for you. Visit www.blackfootclearwater.
org for more information.
Jack and Donna Piippo, Seeley Lake
Forest Service approval poses great opportunity
I was very excited to read last week that the Bitterroot Resort had finally received approval from the Forest Service to have access to public lands for skiing (Missoulian, Nov. 12).
As someone who has skied at the resort already and has spent a lot of time working at ski resorts, I think that this development is a great opportunity for Missoula. The team at Bitterroot Resort has put together an extremely responsible plan and I hope that people in Missoula will realize what this resort can bring to our area.
I know the people of Missoula are protective of their community and its natural beauty, but this resort can bring us a lot of great opportunities for year-round enjoyment. It will create jobs right away and will greatly improve the slow winter tourism season face many Missoula businesses. With more people traveling to this area in the winter, local businesses will see additional revenue and it could, in turn, create more jobs outside of just the resort. In addition to these financial benefits, it is going to give locals access to some great skiing and hopefully mountain biking in the summer.
I’m sure that many people are going to yell and scream about this development but I hope that most of us will see the bigger picture of what this resort can do to improve our community. I, for one, can’t wait to be able to enjoy this area and am excited that they’ve been given the chance to move forward.
Tom Mazurek, Missoula
Plenty of people know where food comes from
This letter is a response to the recent Michael Moore article regarding the slaughter of three pigs at the PEAS farm in Rattlesnake Valley (Missoulian, Nov. 14).
With all due respect to Josh Slotnick, who asserts that “most of us just aren’t that familiar with where our food really comes from,” I’m pretty sure he’s wrong. This is Missoula, is it not? Most of us grasp that a dead animal we buy and eat used to be a live animal. We know that it might come from hundreds, even thousands of miles away. We’re inundated by it. We get it. The only thing that gets more coverage in Missoula is global warming.
The problem he’s trying to touch on, I think, is that few people really care. It seems it takes an exceptional person to care about the death of a sentient being, nowadays. We are just too busy with other things: money, babies, rock-climbing, fly-fishing.
That “one neighbor” took the time to raise a stink about someone firing six shots from a handgun to kill three neighborhood pigs, in front of their wretchedly squealing mother, mere yards from Duncan Drive, is not a testament to the outrageousness of that person. I think it says much more about our culture’s occasionally cavalier attitude about death and suffering.
Please keep up your hard work on the community’s behalf at the PEAS farm. You are a manager of one of the most cherished, respected organizations in this city. So next time, don’t do something because “it’s the way we’ve always done it.”
Conor Black, Missoula
Killing of young pigs with mom watching was cruel
Regarding the pigs shot at PEAS farm (Missoulian, Nov. 14 and 15): The three young pig siblings, under 1 year of age, were shot in front of their mother pig, who was screaming as it was occurring, seeing her babies being killed and a dead pig placed by her pen. Mother pig surely was not dumb nor indifferent about the death of her children.
I concur with Josh Slotnick in one way: Most people are disconnected with the ways in which once-living animals end up a slab of meat on their plates. The fork can be a wonderful “weapon” of peace, or a tool of war in our choices for what we eat. Let us act to create a world in which moving beyond our predatory instinct may well be the only sane course of action if we want our own species to survive.
Nothing humane occurred while killing these child-age pigs. These pigs were still youngsters. The PEAS farm would best serve the community by raising various heirloom and organic vegetables and fruits alone; why do food animals need be involved in this in-town facility, given the environmental stewardship promoted by PEAS farm’s mission? Raising food animals has negative effects on the environment and human health.
Thank goodness a PEAS farm neighbor cared enough upon hearing or witnessing the cruelty, and realized that a mother pig, who had gently and lovingly raised her children, had witnessed the deaths of her children. Animal mothers love their offspring like human mothers. Do the right, ethical thing, PEAS farm: at least let mama pig go into a sanctuary situation and leave PEAS farm alive.
Susan Eakins, Stevensville
Courses don’t qualify as 'higher education’
April Fools Day apparently comes early and often at the University of Montana, where academic credit is now offered in “Poker for Fun and Profit,” and where political science students are given credit for attending the U.S. presidential inauguration ceremony (Missoulian, Nov. 16).
As a supporting taxpayer, I am unable to see how any of this qualifies as “higher education” in preparing students for a meaningful degree. Surely it would make more sense to relegate fun and games to the noncredit adult education program, where they would better serve the needs of those interested.
John M. Hingst, Florence
Safety is important for the whole community
The recent editorial (Nov. 6) and guest column (Nov. 12) concerning mandatory helmet laws brought to mind a discussion I had with my father 40-some years ago. Being a feisty college student, I was ranting about the unfairness of a proposed helmet law in Colorado. My point was that the law would infringe on my rights as an individual and would have no effect on anything but the freedom of motorcyclists.
My father, in his wisdom, pointed out that was not exactly true. He said, “Suppose you get hit on your bike by a little old lady with slow reflexes. Your head is split open like a watermelon dropped from a 10-story building. So the ambulance crews clean up the mess, and we bury you. The little old lady will probably need counseling to survive her mental anguish, which is a cost to her.
“Now just suppose you were unlucky enough to survive the accident, but suffered severe brain damage or spinal injuries. Sure, your health insurance would cover part of the treatment. Consider the cost to the government to cover the rest of your treatment under Medicaid, and to support you with Social Security because you could not work.
“So don’t tell me that a helmet law would only affect your individual rights and freedom.”
It took a while for this to soak in, but eventually I decided my old man was pretty smart. According to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, unhelmeted motorcyclists are three times more likely than helmeted riders to suffer traumatic brain injuries. Helmets reduce the likelihood of a crash fatality by 37 percent. And, curiously, helmet laws reduce the theft rate of motorcycles by 24 percent to 60 percent, apparently because thieves need a helmet to get away with the theft. Check out the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety Web site for other interesting statistics.
Frank Ehernberger, Swan Valley
Sad to see some swayed by Obama’s sweet talk
How sad it is to see our fine young minds like Mallory Grunow (letters, Nov. 12) so taken by the sweet talk and promises of President-elect Barack Obama.
No reference was made to his very pro-abortion position. No mention is made of his statement to the Planned Parenthood Action Fund, on July 17, that the first thing he would sign would be the Freedom of Choice Act.
As Americans - young, middle-age and seniors - we have come to a crisis crossroads, one fork representing individual responsibility, integrity and accountability, the other fork representing the “free to me” path.
Remembering the famous quote of John Fitzgerald Kennedy, “Ask not what your country can do for you, but what can I do for my country,” what say you, America?
Carol Salmonsen, Florence
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Ray wrote on Nov 23, 2008 1:50 PM: