From the Saturday, December 13, 2008 online edition of the Daily Inter Lake . . .

If you live in the far reaches of Flathead County, don’t hold your breath waiting for the snowplow to come.

The county road department has 8.5 fewer full-time employees to handle the road maintenance load this winter, and no “floaters” to cover those who are sick or on vacation, county Public Works Director Dave Prunty said.

“The more remote the area, the longer it will take,” Prunty said Friday, just hours before the Flathead’s first blizzard of the season was predicted to begin. “If it hits like they say, it will be a slap in the face for us.”

Read the entire article . . .