Our View: Hi-Line darts and laurels

Laurel — Havre Police did a great job in capturing an escapee last week. Eric Bruce Fowler escaped from a Warm Springs drug and alcohol center for addicted inmates. He ended up in Havre. When local police tried to apprehend him, he took off in a car driven by a friend. A wild chase ensued that ended up outside of Chinook. Several other police agencies joined in the effort. We’re not the biggest fan of high-speed chases for fear they endanger police officers and bystanders more often than the criminals. But in this case, officers were right to pursue the suspect with full vigor. We’re glad they handled their jobs professionally. They risked their lives, and we thank them for the public service.

Dart — State Sen. Taylor Brown is right. He and fellow Senate members havebetter things to do than bring smiles to the faces of fourth-graders. But would it have hurt the senators to spend just a few minutes to thank the students for their research into Scobey soil? The Bozeman kids had studied Scobey soil and asked the lawmakers to name it the state soil. They traveled to Helena to see their government in action. We on the Hi-Line are a little partial to the Scobey soil; we walk on it every day and its wheat-producing qualities make it the economic lifeblood of our area. Sadly, the students’ efforts became a political issue. Seeing their opportunity to look like the good guys, Democrats rushed to the defense of the students and the Scobey soil. In any event, we’re glad it passed. Thanks students for your work.

Laurel — Tribal Transfer Day took place at Montana State University-Northern Thursday. It was an effort by the university to put out the welcome mat for Native students. Northern has a higher percentage of Natives than any Montana University System campus in the state. Many Natives say they feel uncomfortable when they arrive at off-reservation colleges for the first time. This is a step by Northern to change that. We think Northern has a lot to offer students in general — Natives and non-Natives. We hope programs like this will help attract more people to see what Northern has to offer.

Laurel — Antonio Morsette, a 20-year-old University of Montana student from Rocky Boy, contracted hantavirus infection and went through a period of living hell. It is a terrible infection that causes severe shortage of breath, hot and cold flashes and many other bad side effects. But he fought through it, toughed it out and is on the road to recovery.