Our View: Hi-Line darts and laurels

Laurel — Many communities are scaling back on ceremonies they hold to honor Veterans Day. We're proud that Havre isn't one of those. Montana State University-Northern is planning observances, but they have been delayed by snow. Rocky Boy will honor veterans at a private dinner tonight. Then on Sunday, local veterans will hold, observances at Town Square at 11:11 a.m. It would be great if local residents could attend these ceremonies to pay tribute to those who have served our country.

Dart — There were far more negative ads prior to Tuesday's election. In part, that was because of the general negative tone in national politics. And part of it was the massive amounts of money pumped into the state by the new super PACs funded by out-of-state money.

Laurel — Mark Peterson beat out Debi Rhines in a close contest for Hill County commissioner. We heard hardly a bad word about either candidate during the race, and certainly didn't hear anything negative from either candidate. Rhines concession was gracious. Maybe it was because the Super PACs don't care about local races.

Laurel — The folks who jumped into a vat of ice cold water for the Sub-Zero Super-Hero Polar Plunge provided entertainment for people and raised money for the Special Olympics last week. It was truly a great Saturday, because Montana State University-Northern's football team had defeated Dickinson State just prior to the jump.

Laurel — Voting has long been considered an essential part of living in a democracy. There has been an effort in recent years to make it more difficult to vote. In Ohio, Florida and other states, officials made it difficult for people to vote early, apparently thinking there was some political advantage to making people wait in line for hours. On Election Day, people in parts of Montana had to wait for hours to vote because of the crowds and the shortage of ballots. There were no sinister plots in Montana, but it is still unfortunate that people had to wait to perform the most most basic task in democracy. If the problem was created by a lack of funds, let's make sure that sufficient funds are allocated for this very important purpose.