We want to congratulate the Flathead Valley Chemical Dependency Clinic for more than 40 years of service to the valley in the treatment of addictions, but we also want to thank them.

A story earlier this week told a small part of the history of the clinic, which started on a volunteer basis in 1974, but has been under the loving guidance of Executive Director Mike Cummins for the past 23 years.

Cummins’s calm demeanor is the perfect antidote to the drug- and alcohol-distorted personalities of many of the clinic’s clients. Cummins also has exhibited a slow but steady determination to overcome every obstacle put in his way for the past two decades as he has overseen the clinic’s expansion to Lincoln, Lake and Sanders counties.

Countless families owe their peace of mind to the work of Cummins and his counselors, who summed up his philosophy about treatment this way:

“Drug and alcohol problems are people problems. It doesn’t say anything about the character of the person if they struggle with addiction. Addiction is a biological thing... [Treatment] is about learning how to live.”

Sadly, the clinic’s services are as much in demand as ever, and money is always tight, so we would encourage anyone whose life has been improved by this venerable institution to consider making a donation to help out the next guy.  

Eureka schools again shine

Kudos to Eureka Middle School, which has been nominated for  a National Blue Ribbon Schools Award.

The middle school, which has approximately 200 students in grades five through eight, was nominated in the Exemplary Achievement Gap Closing Schools category.

That means the school demonstrated progress in closing the achievement gap in reading and math.

Principal Trevor Utter gave credit to teachers at all levels of the school district for their consistency, communication and building relationships with students.

The blue ribbon notification was the second sterling achievement for Eureka schools recently. The other highlight was when the six members of the Lincoln High School drama team from Eureka acted their way to the Class B state drama championship on July 31.

Let’s hope that when the final Blue Ribbon School Awards are announced in September, Eureka Middle School will be one of the schools honored.