This letter is regarding the project that is bringing fresh, clean and safe water to this area. What a blessing when that happens!
Several years ago, we (my wife and I) purchased property just north of Roundup and we were excited because now we have 20 acres of God’s country and in the evening, when all is quiet, the beauty is breathtaking. We had always wanted to retire near a small town in MT.
Being from northwestern North Dakota and marrying a gal who graduated from a Montana high school, I don’t really consider myself an alien to Montana. In fact, I spent so much time in MT I had to have MT license plates on my car. So, my point here is that I am a ND boy and likely always will be. However, I have no intent on forcing my ND values here – although one would have to ask, “what North Dakota Values???” Well, I’ll tell you: lutefisk. And it’s not easy to find lefse here either!
That being said, Montana is a magnet for a lot of people around the country, as it should be. It’s hard to find any place in MT that isn’t beautiful (okay, so highway 12 between here and Forsyth leaves a bit to be desired). It seems that some who move here from other states feel that they need to bring their world view with them and try and get those around them to conform. That’s not the way it should work. (I have mentioned lutefisk a few times, and it was suggested that I would likely be more comfortable back in ND). However, most everyone has gifts, talents and viewpoints that can enrich a community, and those should be shared but not imposed.
Getting back to the water project. We live in a development that is not part of a municipality and we wouldn’t really be eligible for a “rural” water line. However, we do have easements that were put in place for utilities such as fiber optic (which happened a few years ago – thank you, Midrivers). We could possibly even have heating fuel such as natural gas or propane. But certainly, water is a utility (at least the water bills I used to get were on a “utility” bill) and is eligible to be piped along our easements that we agreed to when we purchased our properties. We have this wonderful opportunity to be part of the system that is going from Roundup to Melstone that will provide great and reliable water. Again, what a blessing!
What really puzzles me is there are those who see having fresh, clean, affordable and reliable water coming directly into their home as some sort of intrusion, maybe by the government. I don’t know. It is confusing. Having fresh water that you don’t have to haul, dig for (there isn’t much good well water around here at least this side of the Musselshell) or gather from rain spouts only increases property values as well and helps everyone, especially people who have retired, to live in place better and longer.
This letter is not intended to give any credence to what appears to be misinformation promulgated by certain individuals in the area, but an opportunity to share some of my own personal thoughts and feelings about what has been going on. I hope and pray it can all be settled, and I won’t have to spend six or seven hours a month at the sawmill . . .
Warren Hanson
Roundup MT
P.S. – Lutefisk?? Uffda!! I really don’t miss it . . .
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