Today is Wednesday, July 26, 2023, and here are the topics that I am providing commentary about today:

• Great Falls Public Library
• Fires & Public Safety Levy
• USWNT & National Anthem

GREAT FALLS PUBLIC LIBRARY:

The Electric is reporting that the Great Falls Public Library is working through its mill levy implementation plan and are planning an open house in September to share the plan with the public.

I voted for the library levy.

Part of the plan is to hire some new employees. I’ve seen on social media some anger at the salaries advertised for some of the positions, like the Assistant Library Director. That position has a salary range starting at $79,000. It’s the same old same old in Great Falls. There always seem to be haters of the educated people in this community. The educated people have worked hard and received advanced degrees, so they can make a better life for themselves. These people get attacked for it. We see it every time there’s a school levy, with the haters attacking the administrators and others who make above-average salaries.

I don’t think that makes Great Falls look that welcoming to outsiders.

Read the report from The Electric HERE. You can visit the City of Great Falls Job Opportunities website HERE.

FIRES & PUBLIC SAFETY LEVY:

In Great Falls there was a fire recently at National Laundry. The sprinkler system helped keep the fire under control until the fire department arrived. There was some damage, but no lives were lost.

It was interesting how KRTV and KFBB reported about the fire and how one news station provided additional information about the response:

Great Falls Fire Chief Jeremy Jones noted the challenges that come with response times while maintaining enough staff.

He was also quoted in the KRTV report saying, “It’s been out there that at any given time, there’s 13 firefighters on duty in the city of Great Falls. A fire of this size in a complex in a warehouse of this magnitude. We should really be sending over 30 firefighters, too.”

Further down in the article, there’s this:

The emphasis here is the lack of coverage on the back side. Our shift commander and battalion chief ended up striking a second alarm to handle the rest of the city, but we went almost an hour before we had crews back in place to be able to handle the additional calls and needs for community service within our city … Every time we have a resource, or an engine company tied up with any type of emergency, it really limits what we can respond to because this department is staffed for a single family, 2000 square foot home fire. Not a 50,000 to 100,000 square foot warehouse fire.

I have mentioned in previous columns about the upcoming public safety levy. There’s also a bond levy. I said to look for attention to be drawn to events (like this fire) from city employees and elected officials to promote the need for voters to pass these two levies to provide more funding for the city in the public safety area.

In the article from KRTV, the Fire Chief did just that without mentioning the levy.

I am in no way saying the Fire Chief is lying or anything like that. He is an expert. What I am saying is that I am against the massive tax increases that will come if these levies pass in November. It’s not the citizens of Great Falls’ fault that the city leaders waited so long to make a request instead of asking for smaller requests over the years to keep up with the needs of the city.

You can read the two reports HERE and HERE.

USWNT & NATIONAL ANTHEM:

The United States Women’s National Team (USWNT) plays tonight against the Netherlands. The match starts at 7:00 pm Mountain Time and will be televised on Fox.

The FIFA Women’s World Cup is played every four years and with that, we have the attacks on the United States Women’s National Team (USWNT) players for what they do and don’t do when our National Anthem is played.

There’s like a National Anthem scoreboard when the USWNT team plays! For example, someone will report that four players were seen singing the National Anthem, three players had their hands over their hearts, and seven players just stood there.

I used to be bothered by the lack of participation during the National Anthem but soon got over it. In the big scheme of things, it’s not a life-or-death situation. I participate.

I don’t think that anyone has been bothered by the USWNT and the National Anthem more than Megyn Kelly who now has a show on SiriusXM. Kelly seems to have taken a sharp turn to the right in recent years. I guess that’s where the audience is on the radio. She called the lack of participation “disgusting” and called star Megan Rapinoe a “dumbass” for her views about transgender athletes. The New York Post has the story HERE.

If I am at a sporting event where the National Anthem is played, I will stand and sometimes I will salute the flag because I am a veteran and I can do that. Other times I will just put my hand over my heart. I rarely sing the National Anthem because it is not in the right key for me.

I watch a lot of sports on television. I don’t think I have ever seen a whole team completely put their hand on their heart and/or sing when the anthem is played. Check out a NASCAR race and see how many drivers fail to abide by the “rules’ – some do it and some don’t just like the USWNT. It’s the same for most other sports.

If it bothers people so much, maybe they should take a break when the anthem is played and go to the restroom or head to the fridge to get a snack because the event is about to begin.

I just think there are more important things than being “offended” about who places their hand over their heart for the National Anthem.

USA! USA! USA! USA! USA!

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