Good morning and happy Evaluate Your Life Day. I think they purposely put this day on a Friday so people would have more positive outlooks. No one wants to get introspective on a Monday.
We’ve got a couple of neat items on the Beacon today. Topping news, Montana’s lawmakers in Washington are indignant in their objection to a bill that would designate vast swathes of Western land as wilderness. It is a little unclear, however, whether Western lawmakers are so opposed to the legislation because it’s a bad bill, or because it’s being put forth by two lawmakers from New York and Connecticut. The Bigfork school board will meet Monday to discuss releasing a report on a high school football player who collapsed during practice and died a week later. On Tuesday the player’s parents asked to see the report before it was made public. We’ve also got a report on the race to salvage timber on private lands in the wake of the 2007 wildfire season. Whitefish contributor Becky Lomax reports on some young filmmakers there who took top honors at a horror movie competition in Pennsylvania. I checked out the trailer yesterday, which you can view by following a link at the bottom of the story to see a creepy trailer about Bigfoot attacks. I hope they will screen it here.
In state news, two terminally-ill men and four doctors are filing a lawsuit against the state and Montana’s attorney general in an attempt to decriminalize assisted suicide. Montana’s federal delegation are disappointed but undeterred after the U.S. House failed to round up enough votes to override President Bush’s veto of a bill that would expand children’s health insurance. The lawyer for a former MSU football player charged with murder, kidnapping and tampering with evidence is trying to get the athlete’s interview with police suppressed because an attorney was not present at the time.
It’s a cold, rainy morning in the Flathead, but the valley is gearing up for Whitefish football at Columbia Falls tonight. Bring a raincoat. And in international news, a new study revealed that Europeans are able to overcome their prejudice and like Europeans of other nationalities after they get to know them, except for one culture: the British. I would truly love to see a similar study carried out between states in the U.S. I’m sure everyone would love Montanans. Enjoy the weekend!