Valley Views

valley views Time for perch

Fishermen, if you weren’t able to get as many whitefish fillets in your freezer as you would like now you have an opportunity to finish the job with perch. Right now, I believe the perch fishery is at a tipping point where overpopulation is going to make them very susceptible to a disease. The last time this occurred it took nearly 10 years for their recovery.

Everywhere we go where there are weed beds in the lake where we are finding an abundance of perch. Good perch management conditions, when present, exist is to eliminate as many as possible.

What you don’t keep because they are smaller than what is feasible to fillet, the seagulls will appreciate.

Perch are very cannibalistic, so their main food source is perch fry. This makes determining what to use for bait easy and inexpensive. The procedure I use is to slab my first small perch then cut it into fairly large pieces. What remains I cut up into small pieces and chum with it. This seems to bring in the larger perch.

We’ve done well vertically with our new wana-B setup, and casting with a two-hook bottom weight setup to avoid the weeds to a degree. 35 to 40 feet has been the magical depth most places, although we have reports of folks fishing for whitefish up in the river Delta area at the north end of the lake catching big perch on their whitefish setups in a 40 to 50 foot depth.

On Oct. 2, my friend Brad Vaughn and I caught these 125 perch about 250 yards due East of the Big Arm boat launch. Close enough for a float tube, kayak, canoe or rowboat to easily reach. You’ll no doubt also pick up some fishable size pike minnows.

For more information, 406-250-0241 or 406675-0068.

Mac Man

Dick Zimmer

Broad coalition supports Gustafson and Rice for Supreme Court

Absentee ballots will soon be mailed out for November’s election. Two of the most important elections on the ballot are for Montana’s Supreme Court.

We, as a group of Montana attorneys, former and current elected officials, and concerned citizens, are committed to supporting our Montana and United States Constitutions. We believe in the rule of law and the separation of powers between our executive, legislative, and judicial branches. We also believe in the absolute need for a fair, independent, and non-partisan judiciary to interpret our laws and invalidate those laws that infringe on our constitutional rights.

Unfortunately, recent actions of certain members of the legislative branch have threatened Montana’s independent and non-partisan judiciary. These legislators have become frustrated that some of their legislation has been found to be unconstitutional by our courts. The same politicians who have attacked our judiciary have a new strategy to force the courts to do what they want—by replacing members of the Montana Supreme Court with candidates who will rubber stamp their legislation without regard to constitutionality.

We feel it is our duty to let members of the public know what is at stake in this election and why we are supporting the retention of both incumbents, Justice Ingrid Gustafson and Justice Jim Rice.

Justice Gustafson has deep experience and—in contrast to statements made in support of her opponent—no partisan affiliation. Her career spans 35 years: 16 years practicing law, 14 years as a Yellowstone County District Court Judge, and the last five years on the Montana Supreme Court. Notably, she has received judicial appointments by governors of both political parties, Judy Martz to the District Court and Steve Bullock to the Montana Supreme Court. Over the course of her career, she has handled nearly 20,000 cases. Justice Gustafson is not a politician; she is a dedicated public servant.

Justice Rice has been a Montana attorney since 1982 and has served on the Montana Supreme Court since 2001, after being appointed by Governor Judy Martz. Although Justice Rice is a former Republican legislator, his 20 years on the bench demonstrates his commitment to an independent judiciary and his adherence to the rule of law. These values transcend partisanship. In his own words, “The ultimate duty of the courts is to protect the individual liberties and freedoms guaranteed by the constitution.”

Critically, both Justice Gustafson and Justice Rice have shown they will apply the law fairly and with integrity—even when they disagree with one another or with other members of the Court. They will not be bullied into giving politicians whatever they want, regardless of the Constitution. Both justices have shown they will review cases with impartiality. Both have upheld the independence that is key to effectively balanced government.

Those supporting the challengers to Justice Gustafson and Rice have their own agenda, which will not benefit Montanans as a whole. The last thing we need is more partisanship in government. The Supreme Court works to protect Montanans’ constitutional rights, not to take sides with one political party against another. We must resist the calls to

Legislative Notes Barber et al.

see page 11

LETTER POLICY

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Letters regarding candidates in the Nov. 8 midterm election will not be printed after the Oct. 26 issue in order to allow candidates time for response.

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Letters may be edited for content or length, or may not be published if considered libelous, in poor taste, spiteful, self-promotional or of limited interest to the general readership. Space limitations also dictate when or if letters are published.

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Please limit “thank you” letters to four people/organizations or less. Deadline is 5 p.m. Friday to publish the following week.

Opinions expressed in this section are not necessarily those of the newspaper.

A rural family medicine doctor’s perspective on LR-131

This is not an abortion issue. This is a humanity issue.

I am a family medicine doctor from a rural community in eastern Montana. From the time I started my undergraduate degree in pre-medicine, I have been committed to returning to practice fullscope family medicine in a rural and underserved community. Delivering babies has been a primary goal of mine. I love watching families grow and helping mothers bring new life into this world. The majority of the time, the labor and delivery room is a vibrant and happy place, but sadly, this is not always the case.

Babies die. Sorry to be blunt, but it is true. Medicine has its limitations. There are medical conditions that cannot be prevented and cannot be treated with even the most advanced medical knowledge and resources. During these difficult times, parents and families deserve the right to make the best decision possible for their newborn.

When a mother’s body decides to go into early labor, modern medicines cannot always stop the process. Therefore, babies are born too early, before their lungs develop enough to provide oxygen to their body.

When a baby’s brain or heart does not form correctly, even the best NICU team cannot keep the baby alive on machines and tubes.

When a mother’s water breaks at 4 months of pregnancy, the baby’s lungs will not form and the baby might have a heartbeat at the time of delivery but will not be able to breath even with a breathing tube.

In all of the above situations, the baby may be born alive despite their severe anatomical defects – with a heartbeat, breathing, or movement. That doesn’t mean that providing every medical intervention possible is necessarily the right thing. These are common situations where a family, under the private guidance of its trusted medical team, may decide to provide comfort-focused-care after the baby is born. Comfort care is just as it sounds – the healthcare team focuses on giving the parents the maximum amount of time with their cherished newborn baby, by immediately placing the infant in the loving arms of its mother after birth.

I personally have been involved in many situations like the examples above. I love babies. I love families. I love being a doctor. I am not a murderer, nor a criminal. But LR-131 would make me one.

LR-131 is a bill that if passed, would mandate healthcare workers to perform futile and possibly harmful medical interventions on any newborn with a heartbeat, or that is breathing or moving: interventions like chest compressions (CPR), intravenous (IV) medicines, placing a breathing tube (intubation), being placed on life support machines, and taking the baby away from the parents to the newborn resuscitation area. If healthcare workers fail to comply, they would face up to $50,000 in fines and up to 20 years in prison. They will be faced with “homicide” charges.

Enacting a law that requires resuscitation measures to be performed in all situations when a newborn has a heartbeat is analogous to requiring all nursing homes to perform CPR when an elderly resident dies. It takes away the individual’s autonomy over the situation.

LR-131 robs mothers of precious minutes with their dying babies. It terrorizes fathers as they watch their exhausted partners longing to hug their newborns. It breaks the hearts of the nurses who helped their patients labor, because they know the torture

the family will witness. It haunts the respiratory therapists who help intubate a suffering premature infant. It criminalizes the doctors who took an oath to do no harm. LR-131 is a bill proValley Views posed to take a political stance and for our Dr. Kena Lackman non-medical legislators Family Medicine Physician St. Luke Community Healthcare to further polarize political parties. The writers of this legislation want you to believe that there is a dark room in the back of an abortion clinic where doctors and nurses allow healthy babies to die in the corner. These rooms do not exist. The bill was written to get average non-medical Montanans to vote political lines and support a bill they view as “pro-life.” LR-131 is not pro-life: it is quite the opposite. It has significant ability to hurt a lot of Montana families, and babies, and to make medical providers afraid to practice compassionate and humane medicine. Please, I am begging you, vote “NO” for LR-131.

from page 10

transform the Supreme Court into a third partisan branch.

We wholeheartedly support Justices Gustafson and Rice because they have the needed experience and demonstrated record of fairness, impartiality, and independence. We encourage you to join us in voting to keep both Justice Ingrid Gustafson and Justice Jim Rice on the Montana Supreme Court.

Sincerely,

Roger Barber

Linda M. Barone

Bob Brown

Chase E. Brown

Kristin R. Bruninga

Dr. and Mrs. Henry Busey Laura Christoffersen Emily Cross

Geraldine Custer

Janet Davis

Maxon Davis

W. Kim Davis

Linda de Kort

Sherry Devlin

Jon Ellingson

Mae Nan Ellingson

Tom Esch

Benjamin J. Fosland Thomas M. France

Molly Galusha Maureen Gary

Paul Ronald Gerson Randy Gray

Bruce Grubbs

Eric Hinebauch Gerry Jennings

Ellen and Bob Knight Joel G. Krautter

F. Peter Landsiedel Karen Leigh

Paul M. Leisher Elizabeth and Paul Loehnen

Peter O. Maltese Keeley McKay Matthew McKeon Rosemary and John McKinnon

Walt McNutt Laura Millin Donald L. Netzer

Rae Olson

Lyle R. Panasuk Brian Putnam

Marc Racicot

Don Seifert

Cindy and Andy Shott Rylee Sommers-Flanagan Ward Taleff

Sally Thompson

Greg Tollefson

Tom Towe

Bill and Sarah Towle Karen S. Townsend

Leo Tracy

Mary Van Buskirk Constance Van Kley Carol and Fred Van Valkenburg

Jeffrey A. Weldon

Jock B. West

Scott Wheeler

Jared Wigginton

Scott C. Wurster

Trust Azzopardi

Editor,

Our votes in the Nov. 8 election will shape the years ahead - for better or for worse. Who cares enough to work across divides? Who will do a better job of protecting our right to vote? Who understands the reality of climate change, and can reason based on the truths before our very eyes?

For HD93, Shirley Azzopardi’s skills as a careful listener and cooperative problem solver made her indispensable as a special education teacher in Lake County schools for 30 years, and will serve us well. Her commitments to strengthening public schools, keeping Montana beautiful, clean and safe for future generations, respecting tribal sovereignty, and ensuring voter rights should resonate with all of us.

Joe Read (incumbent HD93) voted yes on a slate of Montana House bills that create hurdles for certain populations of Montanans to be able to vote. The Montana Supreme Court ruled against all three of these laws on Sept. 21. We strengthen our democracy when we work together to make sure that eligible voters are registered and can vote.

In 2019, Joe Read sponsored a bill (HB418) which would have officially declared climate change to be caused by “nature, not human activity.” Apparently, humans are not considered to be part of nature – a position that has led us to the dilemma we find ourselves in. Thankfully, HB418 did not pass.

Trust Azzopardi to think clearly about the important issues using common sense, a commitment to truth, and courage to work for positive change.

Marti de Alva Arlee

Consider Azzopardi

Editor,

I’m sure Joe Read is a nice guy, but he also seems pretty good at wasting taxpayer money during his time in Helena. He supported convening a special session this year, an unnecessary expenditure of taxpayer funds since the issues will be considered during the regular session. He voted for unnecessary restrictions to voter registration despite advice that it would likely lose in court (it has, costing Montanans over $1.2 million). Rep. Read sponsored a bill on non-tribal hunting within the Reservation boundaries (HB 241) that, had it passed, would certainly have resulted in losing a lawsuit that Montanans would have had to pay for. He wasted time writing a bill (HB 418) that parroted silly fringe theories about atmospheric science. Had it passed, HB 418 would have mandated that Montana educators impart false information to their students.

He squandered time attempting to have Montanans go on record as favoring repeal of the 17th amendment to the U.S. Constitution (LC 2832), evidently thinking that we shouldn’t be able to directly elect our own U.S. Senators. While not busy with nutty ideas that went nowhere, Rep. Read voted to support HB 599, the new law that has made it difficult for Jocko Valley residents to voice their concerns about a large gravel mining operation that will doubtless affect their way of life.

When we send someone to Helena, shouldn’t that person work to have state government help better our lives rather than waste money on frivolous pursuits? Fortunately, District 93 voters have choice on November 8. Shirley Azzopardi will work hard for us, and deserves your vote.

Rich Harris Charlo

Consider Zinke

Susan Lake Ronan

Editor,

There are many reasons to vote for Ryan Zinke. He believes in borders, he knows that this outof-control spending by congress and the current administration has to stop, he knows killing fossil fuels is not the answer for the planet, he knows that girls should compete against girls in sports, he knows parents matter in education and he knows Montana.

He knows inflation with its high gas prices and high food prices is hardest on those that can least afford it, and he knows we can’t afford this crazy increase in the cost of housing. My daughter just built a house. In the five months it took to build, the mortgage interest doubled. The cost of building a house has also doubled. How is she going to afford that?

The current administration is out of touch and congress is on a spending spree that won’t stop. While the price of gas eats more and more of our family checkbook his opponent thinks we are in a perfect place to kill fossil fuels. Ryan believes in a balanced ‘all of the above’ energy strategy.

Sending a democrat back to Washington D.C. is not the answer.

Vote Ryan Zinke.

Consider Schoening

Editor,

This is a letter of support for Rick Schoening, candidate for Lake County Justice of the Peace.

Mr. Schoening has proven himself as a dedicated public servant for over three decades. His career experience as a Game Warden, followed by his desire to continue serving his hometown of Polson in its Police department, demonstrate his dedication to our community. He has gained abundant experience to prepare him for the job he seeks.

Your other choice is a candidate whose business product is “lawless.”

I will feel much more secure knowing Mr. Schoening is in the position of Justice of the Peace. Please consider a vote for Rick Schoening on or before Tuesday, Nov. 8. Thank you.

Carmine Mowbray Polson

Azzopardi represents

Editor,

Shirley Azzopardi is running to represent Lake County’s district 93. As a deeply caring and experienced educator in our community, she’s gained many skills that would be useful in the legislature. She’s worked with and taught people of different backgrounds and needs and has been respectful and supportive in doing so.

Shirley supports Montana’s Constitutional requirements for open government and individual privacy, two key features that our current governor has objected to. Claiming a non-existent right to executive privilege, he has limited our access to agency decision-making. We need Shirley Azzopardi representing us against that mindset.

If women don’t have the right to make decisions about their own lives and health, do you? Will your choice of birth control be allowed, or a Do Not Resuscitate order be followed? Shirley Azzopardi knows these are your Constitutional rights, not subject to government dictate.

The Montana GOP’s recent efforts to limit voting has predictably failed due our strong Constitution. In a state with near zero voter fraud why do we need to make it harder for citizens to register and vote? Shirley won’t be wasting legislative time on laws that go nowhere.

Shirley Azzopardi is a Montanan. She was educated in our state, made her livelihood in our state and raised her children in our state. She understands the needs of regular people and will work for all of us. Vote for Shirley Azzopardi.

Suzanne Parson Saint Ignatius