Growing up in a small town, you think you miss out on some things. You can't just go to a mall or an arcade or a movie every day of the week. This summer, pools in both Plains and Thompson Falls were closed for much-needed repairs. We noticed a lot more kids walking around town, or down to Wild Goose Landing for a swim.

What you do have in a small town are plenty of opportunities for summer jobs. Our first jobs included mowing lawns, babysitting and bucking bales. When kids are old enough, the Forest Service offers many a chance to spend summers learning new skills and the local grocers put several kids to work in the summers and during the school year.

Especially in small towns, it doesn't take long for your reputation as a hard worker to get you more jobs. A hard-working kid can be as busy as he or she wants to be. The biggest problem for kids in rural areas seems to be not finding the jobs, but getting transportation to work. (It's hard to ride your bike to a ranch job 20 miles away).

Often in a small town, you have to be creative in jobs to keep yourself busy and to support your family. Those job skills and the work ethic learned as youngsters play a large role in the many local businesses. There are contractors, trade workers and shop owners throughout the county who grew up in our small towns and decided to stay here. The will to stay in your hometown increases your drive to do what you can to make a living.

Sanders County continues to rank one of the highest in the state for unemployment. In July, we were 52nd among 56 counties with an unemployment rate of 4.3%. However, July's unemployment rate is 1% lower than last year and the county has added 212 jobs since last year, according to the Montana Department of Labor and Industry.

Of course, that doesn't count the kids babysitting or mowing lawns and doing chores. We see several kids who choose to stay here in Sanders County and work after they graduate. We appreciate that they continue to build the workforce and that local ranchers, moms and business owners continue to hire local kids and help them succeed as adults.