Hometown Helena Thursday, June 9th: Angel Fund and Helena-Lewis and Clark Forest


Hometown Helena -- Thursday,  June 9, 7 a.m.  @ The Montana Club & Live via ZOOM hosted by AZ Technology Services:


Message for our host Jim Smith:

Greetings Everyone,

All I know is what I read in the paper.  I know I was filled with relief and pride, not to mention anger, last week as I read about the Helena Police Department and other law enforcement agencies arresting the man who allegedly made threats to do violence at Helena High School.  The arrested person is innocent until proven guilty. However, from what I read the HPD, acting on credible tips from multiple sources, took immediate, decisive action to prevent a potentially lethal tragedy.  The person apparently had quite an arsenal in his residence, which is less than a block from the Lewis and Clark county courthouse.     
 
Thank goodness for the decision to act on that information.  The brave citizens who contacted the HPD with their concerns deserve our deepest gratitude, as do the law enforcement officers. I don’t know any of the backstory to this incident, nor am I privy to any confidential criminal justice information.  But it seems to me that Helena Police, using existing law and authority, took the initiative to intervene in a dangerous situation before a tragedy occurred.  In my humble…this ought to be THE model for law enforcement nationwide. 

I kind of expected news of what happened here in little old Helena, Montana to find its way to the top of the page, and be featured on one the national network news stations as an example of excellent police work.  Nothing yet, as far as I know. Interesting that.  Probably just as well.  It may be just as well that we’re below the radar, and that the incident did not receive national attention?  Being off the beaten path, so to speak, has its advantages.  Even though we like to think so, it’s somewhat of a fantasy for us to believe that we are insulated from the troubles of the day; or that we’re able to keep the rest of the world at bay.  We’re not.  We can’t.  We’re part of the whole. 
 
Nevertheless, I believe we instinctively know that we have something very special here in Helena.  And we are determined to keep it.  Perhaps that instinctive knowledge may have been a subconscious, underlying, element of the decision by the HPD to do what they did last week? 

We are determined to keep what’s called our ‘quality of life.’  We call it normal.  I’m not convinced we need the television talking heads going on and on about it. 

I was touched by Leo Gallagher’s comment a few weeks ago about the importance of having a space in the community, like Hometown, where people with different opinions can come together in fellowship and ladyship, and just talk to one another.  That ’space’ may be another small element of what makes Helena so special.  Let’s keep it that way.

We have some great programs coming up (see below).  Look forward to seeing you this Thursday at the Montana Club, or via Zoom.

Jim Smith