Letter From PC Native on SB442

Dear Editor and Readers,

Phillips County is my home. I often explain to people I grew up not knowing what political party our beloved neighbors, Dean and Carol Kienenberger, leaned toward or adhered to because my folks didn’t care so, therefore, neither did I. All I knew is we loved Dean and Carol and the girls - and we still do - and they loved us.

Recently, my hometown state senator, Mike Lang, wrote a letter in the PCN and it made me so proud to be from where I grew up. Mike Lang is a good man - he holds the same values we were all raised with in Phillips County: you treat your neighbor as you want to be treated, you work hard, believe in the greater good and give back when you can. You respect your elders and care about the future, our kids. Mom and dad always said if someone has been on this earth even a day longer, they know more than you about something so shut up and listen.

Mike Lang is fighting for our state and, most importantly, he cares about his constituents who happen to live in my home, Phillips County, so I thought I would inform you all of what Senator Lang has been up to and why we not only should listen to him, we should lift him up and show him more support than we ever have. Mike wrote SB442 along with a few other legislators in Helena - Mike worked together with all the legislators in Helena and came up with a bill for all Montanans, not just his party or the other party or his cronies or…well, you get what I mean.

Mike did what we do where I grew up, he worked together with his colleagues to make our state an even better place to live and raise our kids and work. Mike didn’t write this bill to be self-serving, he wrote it so when my brother has to pull a bull rack up to mom and dad’s, the road is graded and doesn’t “beat the hell” out of his truck. He wrote the bill to fund much-needed addiction services. His bill increases conservation tools on public and private land for water restoration and infrastructure. SB442 lets out funds for new wildlife management areas. This bill is full of funding for issues that are super important to his constituents.

So why did our current governor veto this bill? Because he thinks he knows better than Mike Lang and those of us from Montana. He doesn’t. The current governor doesn’t give a rat’s rump (I didn’t cuss, Mom) about where I grew up and he certainly doesn’t care about the fact Mike Lang has been serving my hometown and surrounding areas for years. It makes me furious the governor vetoed Mike’s bill when 130 out of 150 lawmakers voted for it, which in this political climate is unheard of and, quite frankly, let’s you know what kind of a human our Mike Lang is - he cares so, therefore, he set politics aside and worked TOGETHER with folks in Helena he doesn’t agree with on every issue for the greater good.

I’m proud of where I grew up and I love each and every one of you that helped raise me. I’m furious we have folks making decisions where our tax dollars go who have never experienced a 40 below day on the Canadian border calving heifers or an extra hot, dry August day harvesting a 20-bushel crop; we might lose a calf or not be able to pay off our operating note because wheat prices are down but, by the grace of the good Lord, we keep on keeping on because that’s what folks from Phillips County do - we feed the world and we make this world a better place. We have folks making decisions where our tax dollars go that have never experienced a Phillips County sports event or Christmas concert or FFA event or the 4-H sale at the fair. Senator Mike Lang understands our way of life and knows best how to distribute tax dollars in his district. Maybe the current governor should shut up and listen.

And hello to my family - I miss you all and love you.

Jami Dee Woodman

258 Down The Lane

Stevensville, Montana 59870