Dear Editor: Change is Coming to Our Little Town

Dear Editor,

Yes, I'm harping on the shop local thing again! Before I get too far though, I must admit that I DO shop at Walmart once a month. The reason? The local grocery store does not accept my Humana Healthy Benefits card and Walmart does. This is not the ONLY reason, though it IS the MAIN reason.

One thing many may not consider concerning the slightly higher prices local merchants charge is their own overhead. For instance, the asking price for whatever given item may be somewhat lower, but one must consider the cost of fuel, wear and tear on the vehicle, and - maybe most importantly - time.

Another reason for going over the hill to fulfill my shopping needs is the availability factor. There ARE certain things one might find over in Bozeman, Butte, or Helena that are either just not available here in our little podunk town or are just more readily accessible over the hill. You might as well kill two birds with one stone and get your groceries, etc. over there too.

I'm not going to fault anyone (much less condemn them) for NOT shopping local - I'm sure they have their reasons. I'm sure I don't need to enumerate the positive reasons for shopping local, but maybe the most obvious and immediate is the local economy. Most importantly though, is the issue of community.

I'm not going to go into the politics of, say, what's been going on between the Town and the WSC, but I'm going to go out on a limb here and say that the issues are very likely related. Ego is by far the greatest factor when it comes to the individual, but when politics comes into play, the issue is greatly compounded.

My point here, for those who are wondering if I have a point, is that there is more at stake here than high prices (price-gouging?) or even lack of availability, which again, is admittedly a valid issue.

No, the problem as I see it has more to do with the individual ego. If people can set aside their individual preferences for the sake of community, we might begin to witness more issues being positively settled, rather than the issue blowing our peaceful little town up, like the Hatfields & McCoys.

I will end with a plea to anyone who cares to listen: please, please, for the sake of all that is holy, set aside your differences and check your ego at the door. If these issues continue, we might as well say our goodbyes to our peaceful little town! Change is coming to our staid little town, and if we are not willing to change with it, we might as well get out of the way!

CHARLES HADDON SHANK

Whitehall, Montana