Democrat congressional candidate says he likes to stand up to bullies

POLSON — John Heenan said he stands up to bullies for a living, and that’s why he decided to run for Congress.

Heenan, the first of six Democrats to announce a run for their party’s nomination next June, said he decided to run for the seat right after this year’s special election that resulted in Montanans electing Greg Gianforte of Bozeman to replace U.S. Rep. Ryan Zinke. 

Heenan, a 40-year-old attorney from Billings, came to Polson last week and talked to about 25 people at Blodgett Creamery Coffee Saloon. 

He said that Gianforte bankrolling much of his campaign victory over GOP primary opponents and then Democrat Rob Quist reminds him of Montana’s mining barons, i.e. the Copper Kings. 

He referred to the Republican Party’s economic idea of income tax rate cuts as “trickle-down non-sense,” and said he believes in a living wage for all and Medicare for all. 

Heenan also said he’s passionate about fighting “dark money,” and wants to lead the fight to overturn the U.S. Supreme Court’s Citizens United decision that supported rights of corporate entities to contribute to political campaigns. He acknowledged the Herculean effort it would take to do this, i.e. a Constitutional amendment, but nonetheless is undaunted. 

He cited a movie, Dark Money, set to come out in the Sundance Film Festival in Park City, Utah next month. 

“In the (Democratic) primary, you’ll be given a choice on whether you want someone who will not back down,” he said. 

Heenan called Gianforte “the wealthiest member of Congress,” and said he will not accept money from political action committees. 

Republicans will not be able to make attacks against him like they made against Quist for questionable business dealings, Heenan said, noting he and his wife, Meagen, own Local Kitchen & Bar, a restaurant in Billings that sells locally-grown food and employs 13. 

“I’ve got street cred on that stuff,” Heenan said. “I’m more like small business owners in Montana than Greg Gianforte.”

A man in the audience pointed out that three of Heenan’s Democrat competitors are or were state legislators and wondered why Heenan hadn’t started in politics by running for a lower office. Heenan said that legislative experience is not a “magic formula” to winning elections. “I really feel like there’s a bully (Gianforte), and I’m someone who knows how to beat bullies and take them on.”

“If it wasn’t Greg Gianforte, I wouldn’t be running,” he said, adding that he has deposed and prosecuted “people like this. I’ve prosecuted Mr. Gianforte’s friends.” He specifically noted Art Wittich, a former state representative from Bozeman whom he helped successfully prosecute for campaign finance violations. 

When asked about his willingness to compromise, Heenan said he compromises and negotiates for a living, but added that “there’s more candidates that have more reach across the aisle than I do. We can’t always be negotiating and asking, ‘Pretty please?’” 

Heenan said he’s taken a position on any issue when asked to do so, but didn’t have answers about some issues. These include whether to legalize marijuana and what to do about climate change, for example. 

When a woman asked about regulating guns, Heenan said he doesn’t want to expand gun rights and doesn’t want to take away people’s guns. When pressed further on the issue, Heenan said his platform does not include adding regulations or taking away regulations in regard to guns. 

“I’m used to fighting big banks,” he said. “Those folks have unfettered control over what’s happening in Washington.”

After the meeting, Heenan said his heroes are Franklin Delano Roosevelt, former Congressman Pat Williams, Tesla Inc. CEO Elon Musk and “a little bit of Teddy Roosevelt.” 

Heenan graduated from the University of Montana with a bachelor’s degree in philosophy and worked as an over-the-road truck driver and forklift operator for two years before going back to U of M to earn a law degree. 

He has been practicing law for 14 years and notes that his wife is a former teacher and now a stay-at-home mother of their four children. 

Heenan said he has been campaigning full-time since August. 

His Democratic opponents include: former state Sen. Lynda Moss of Billings, former state Rep. Kathleen Williams of Bozeman, state Rep. Tom Woods of Bozeman, Grant Kier, a former well-site geologist and executive director of the Missoula-based Five Valleys Land Trust, and Jared Pettinato, a Whitefish native who worked as an attorney for the U.S. Department of Justice in Washington, D.C. from 2008-2017 and comes from a railroading family. 

Man found not guilty for theft of $5K in silver coins

POLSON – A Missoula man was found not guilty of the theft of some
$5,500 in silver coins last week following a Dec. 11 jury trial.
Deputy county attorney Ben Anciaux had charged David Fitzwilliams,
30, with theft from the home of the owner of the Mountain Meadows
Resort at Lake Mary Ronan.
Fitzwilliams had been building a deck and working as a handyman at
the resort earlier this year, Anciaux said.
The owner of the resort and Fitzwilliams had discussed the owner’s
two boxes of silver coins and Fitzwilliams was allowed to sort the
coins, a court document states.
When the owner took one box of non-rare coins to the bank, he
received $5,500 for them. A second box that contained rare coins
was left on a chair on May 19 for Fitzwilliams to sort, the document
states. When the owner and his wife returned from the bank, the
second box of coins was missing along with Fitzwilliams.
Anciaux said there were issues with being able to prove Fitzwilliams
was the only one who could’ve taken the coins and with determining
the value of the missing coins. He said $5,500 was an estimate
based on the value of the first box of coins.
“It’s a difficult thing to identify coins that have been stolen because
they’re not marked,” he said, responding to a question about what
would happen if they’re found.
Fitzwilliams was arrested Aug. 24 and released on his own
recognizance on Aug. 31, Anciaux said.
Since Fitzwilliams was found not guilty, he cannot be retried for that
alleged crime, Anciaux said.

Fighting to protect the Flathead: FBC funding in doubt due to proposed budget cuts

POLSON — An impending state budget cut has forced the Flathead Basin Commission to consider alternative funding mechanisms, including a possible alliance with Lake and Flathead counties and the Confederated Salish and Kootenai Tribes.

The FBC is a state entity that was created in 1983 to protect the Flathead Basin — a large geographic area encompassing Flathead and Lake counties and a portion of Missoula County in the Seeley Lake area — from pollution resulting from coal mining and other natural resource extraction in British Columbia. It succeeded in that effort through a memorandum of understanding with British Columbia and a ruling by the International Joint Commission that a Canadian coal mine would harm fisheries in Montana. 

Originally under the direction of the governor’s office, the FBC was later administratively attached to the Department of Natural Resources and Conservation, FBC Executive Director Caryn Miske said. 

DNRC spokesman John Grassy said the state agency has proposed a cut of some $140,000 in the FBC’s budget for the current and next fiscal years. Although Grassy said the state would still honor legal contracts, the cut would mean that Miske would be out of a job unless other funds could be procured. 

Miske said the proposed cut represents the organization’s entire budget - her salary of $85,000 and the remaining $55,000 used for operating expenses. 

Gov. Steve Bullock has asked most state agencies to propose 10-percent budget cuts in response to declining revenue, at least part of which is related to firefighting efforts this summer. The state’s budget shortfall is estimated at $227 million.

DNRC Director John Tubbs said his state agency proposed $2.96 million in cuts over the two-year cycle. When asked to explain the proposed cut to the FBC, Tubbs noted that the state is funding $6.5 million for anti-aquatic invasive species efforts over the biennium. That funding represents a 600-percent increase over the previous budget that was just under $1 million, he said. As a result of legislation that was passed earlier this year, he said the state is funding 150 seasonal staff and 34-plus inspection or decontamination stations.

“Are we protecting the Flathead? Yes,” Tubbs said.

Miske met with Lake County Commissioners Gale Decker, Bill Barron and Dave Stipe on Oct. 3. During the hour-long back and forth session, commissioners were resolute in their willingness to support FBC.

Decker later said that cutting the FBC’s funding completely is a mistake, but added that they could deal with a 10-percent cut. He said the FBC has been ahead of the curve in fighting aquatic invasive species. FBC has funded a station on the south end of Kalispell at Jesco Marine and Power Sports and has helped the Blackfeet Tribe and CSKT with three stations on the Blackfeet Reservation and one in Pablo.

Should Flathead Lake become fouled with mussels, the Flathead Lake Biological Station at Yellow Bay has estimated that it would reduce the property values around the lake by 20-30 percent, Decker said. 

The recently passed HB 622 lets the FBC establish a pilot program for mussel control in the Flathead Lake region but the rules for such a program are to be approved by DNRC, Miske said. She doubts however, DNRC will approve the rules by a March 1 deadline, which is when anti-AIS efforts normally begin in the state with inspection stations and public education efforts. Plans were to require all boats, including local, in-state and out-of-state, to be inspected prior to launch on Flathead Lake next year. 

Miske, an attorney by trade, also performs a number of other duties for FBC, including fundraising. She said the FBC raised some $600,000 for the Blackfeet stations over the past two years through multiple grants. 

A new governmental alliance?

Miske said Lake and Flathead counties could, along with CSKT, adopt anti-AIS ordinances as part of a joint venture. Lake County Deputy Civil Attorney Wally Congdon said the county could add an anti-AIS ordinance under its nuisance statute that also includes noxious weeds, for example. “We can regulate it as a nuisance today,” he said.  

“If we could get an ordinance that worked here, we could get it adopted by the state,” Commissioner Barron said.

Miske said if such an alliance were created, the entity “would not have to deal with the state” for funding, although they would have to raise new funds or re-allocate some. The governor can cut the organization’s budget, but since the Legislature created the FBC it would not have to reorganize, she said. 

“I think we gotta go out on a limb a little bit, but I think we can get it done,” Commissioner Decker said of the alternative plan should the governor implement DNRC’s proposal to defund the FBC. 

Miske expressed her disappointment about the state’s anti-AIS efforts thus far.

“If we lose Flathead, we’ve lost the golden goose,” she said.

During their meeting, Lake County Commissioners and Miske concluded that politics played a role in the decision to cut the FBC’s budget. Miske noted that ultimately it’s up to the governor to make the decision. Gov. Bullock has talked about calling a special session of the state Legislature to find a better path forward. 

Decontamination stations?

According to Miske, boats were routinely leaving the Tiber and Canyon Ferry reservoirs this year without being decontaminated even though the boat owners had paperwork saying they were.

“We hoped containment at Tiber and Canyon would be real,” she said, but added that what has been established there is “weak.” Mussel larvae were found last year at Tiber Reservoir and were suspected at Canyon Ferry and in the Missouri River.

Miske said two inspection/decontamination stations were set up at both Tiber and Canyon Ferry earlier this year. There are multiple launch sites at those lakes and boaters are directed to an inspection station when leaving. Some stop and some don’t, she said, adding that no one forces them to stop. In addition, she said that Montana Fish, Wildlife and Parks changed the definition of decontamination this year. This resulted in boats being inspected and deemed decontaminated because they were “clean, drained and dry” but not necessarily decontaminated, she said.

Jay Monroe, the AIS program coordinator for the Blackfeet Tribe, confirmed Miske’s comments. He said several boats came from a walleye tournament on Tiber Reservoir in May. These boats had a purple hitch seal that meant they passed inspection. Their paperwork, an “AIS mussel-free risk assessment form,” said they had been decontaminated and that a hot wash wasn’t necessary. However, Monroe noted that a full decontamination consists of washing the interior of the boat with a water temperature of at least 120 degrees and the exterior at 140 degrees. But since these boats had been deemed clean by a state agency (Fish, Wildlife and Parks), Monroe said there wasn’t a whole lot that his inspectors could do. 

He also said that two mussel-fouled boats were stopped earlier this year at Blackfeet stations located on U.S. 2 west of Cut Bank, on Highway 89 at Birch Creek and U.S. 2 west of Browning. Both boats stopped came from the Midwest. In one case a Columbia Falls-area man purchased a boat that had been on Lake Michigan and intended to sell it in Montana. The other boat was also from the Midwest and its owner intended to launch on Flathead Lake. Both were given a white failed inspection hitch seal and directed to the Whitefish Lake Institute for “hot-wash” decontamination. The Whitefish Lake Institute and Fish, Wildlife and Parks were notified about each case, he said.

The fine for launching with a white hitch seal is $10,000, Monroe said.

Barron said some boaters have bypassed open inspection stations in Lake County without being cited. “After you catch him, what do you do? Nothing,” he said. “It should’ve been a felony.”

He said law enforcement has stopped and escorted some violators back to an inspection station. 

“You only have to write a handful of tickets and word gets out,” Miske said. Violators can be cited and fined $85 for not stopping at an inspection station.

Inspectors across the state found nine boats with mussels this year, including the two in Browning and one in Kalispell, according to CSKT’s aquatic invasive species coordinator Erik Hanson. Those findings point toward the need for continued anti-AIS efforts. Regardless of how budget cuts are handled, local entities will continue to be involved in the battle.

http://www.valleyjournal.net/Article/18546/Fighting-to-protect-the-Flathead

Anti-AIS bill passes, waiting for governor’s signature

A Senate bill that would fund $13.9 million over two years to fight aquatic invasive species has been approved by the Legislature and waits for the governor’s signature.

All indications are that Gov. Steve Bullock will sign the bill, which is an attempt to prevent mussels from expanding from eastern Montana after mussel larvae were found in at least one lake last year.

SB 363 survived the amendment process and was approved by the Senate 39- 10 following a 95-5 vote in the House.

State Sen. Chas Vincent, R-Libby, spearheaded the funding effort, which will add a fee to users of hydroelectric power and fishing licenses.

The bill would require outof- staters to pay $15 more a year for a fishing license, while in-state residents would pay an extra $2. Vendors of fishing licenses will be able to collect a 50-cent fee for printing prevention passes that go with the fishing license fees.

Users of Flathead Electric would pay an additional 25 cents a month for every 1,000 kilowatt hours using a “pretty complicated formula,” Vincent said. The hydroelectric fees will be regulated by the state Public Service Commission.

Requirements that in-state and out-of-state residents pay $25 and $50, respectively, for boat decals and irrigators $25 a year were removed from the bill, along with an amendment to require out-of-state residents pay $25 a year to register their bicycles in the state and a fee on plastic non-recyclable bottle caps.

The bill would “sunset” in two years so the Legislature can revisit the issue.

“I’m glad we’re coming back in two years,” Vincent said, calling the bill “good news” and a “stop-gap measure.”

As a veteran legislator, Vincent said he felt compelled to take the bull by the horns and move forward with the legislation. “

It was different for me to carry a bill creating fees,” he said. “Somebody needed to step up and get it done.”

The state’s anti-AIS plan calls for adding 17 inspection stations to the 17 used last year. In addition, four decontamination stations would be set up for watercraft at Canyon Ferry and Tiber reservoirs on the east side of the state.

The plan would require out-of-state watercraft to be inspected prior to launch in Montana, along with those crossing from east to west inside the state.

The Confederated Salish and Kootenai Tribes are requiring all watercraft users to get inspected at least once prior to entering Flathead Lake or the Lower Flathead River. On all other water bodies on the Flathead Indian Reservation, one can only use hand-propelled, non-trailered watercraft such as kayaks, canoes, rafts and paddleboards.

http://www.valleyjournal.net/Article/17614/Anti-AIS-bill-passes-waiting-for-governors-signature

Anti-AIS bill passes Senate, heads to House; Bill would fund $11M effort to fight mussels

State Sen. Chas Vincent, R-Libby, is doing his best to prevent mussels from infesting the Columbia River Basin.

Vincent filed a bill, SB 363, at the “11th hour” in order to fund mussel prevention efforts in the state.

Montana Fish, Wildlife and Parks earlier this year requested $10.2 million in funding for the next two years for their plan to prevent mussels from spreading after larvae were found in one or two eastern Montana lakes last year.

Vincent’s bill aims to fund $11 million for the mussel- prevention program. The bill was approved by the Senate 32-18 on March 31 and now goes to the House.

As it currently stands, the bill would require out-ofstaters to pay $15 more a year for a fishing license, while in-state residents would pay an extra $2.

The bill would also require users of hydroelectricity to pay a user fee.

Requirements that in-state and out-of-state residents pay $25 and $50, respectively, for boat decals and irrigators $25 a year, were removed from the bill on March 30. Vincent said via email that the “decals were going to be an administrative nightmare for FWP, so we worked with them to remedy this problem” by increasing fishing license fees.

An amendment requested by Sen. President Scott Sales, R-Bozeman, was approved 26-24 to require out-of-state residents pay $25 a year to register their bicycles in the state.

The bill would “sunset” in two years so the Legislature can revisit the issue.

“I’ve never carried a fee-increase bill,” said Vincent, noting he’s been in the Legislature since 2007. But he believes such funding would be for something that he called “the proper role of government.”

If the state doesn’t fight mussels now, it could end up costing $50 million during the next legislative session in two years, he said.

“This is a fiscally conservative response to do this now,” he said.

He noted the work on fighting mussels began late last year when Gov. Steve Bullock created an emergency task force that began working on a plan to fight aquatic invasive species.

“The inter-agency cooperation has been incredible,” Vincent said. “I’m proud to be helping them implement what they put together.”

Vincent said he would have preferred to use the state’s General Fund to fight mussels, but that’s not feasible since it’s a tight budget year.

“Everyone will feel the pain with a mussel infestation and will see an increase in utility rates,” he said.

The cost to the affected electric cooperatives would be $611,000 per year, which on a per member basis would be $3.43 a year for a customer who uses 1,000 kilowatts a month. “It would be a bit lower for the regulated utilities because they have a larger consumer base,” he said.

Hydroelectric power users “stand to lose the most from zebra mussels spreading,” he said, rationalizing that they should pay to help prevent an infestation.

The mussel-infestation plan calls for adding 17 inspection stations to the 17 used last year. In addition, four decontamination stations would be set up for watercraft at Canyon Ferry and Tiber reservoirs on the east side of the state.

The plan would require out-of-state watercraft to be inspected prior to launch in Montana, along with those crossing from east to west inside the state. The plan has been peer-reviewed by other states already affected by mussels and was given five stars, Vincent said.

An amendment was approved on March 30 that would put any federal anti- mussel funding the state receives into an AIS trust fund created two years ago by a bill sponsored by Rep. Mark Noland, R-Bigfork. The amendment would raise the cap on the trust fund to $100 million from $10 million. The trust fund has not been funded to date. The amendment requires approval of three-quarters of the Legislature to use any principal in the fund.

Vincent’s bill is the funding side of the anti-AIS legislation. Rep. Mike Cuffe, R-Eureka, is sponsoring a bill dealing with the policy side, Vincent said.

He’s very confident that the bill, which he called “a good bipartisan educational process,” will pass the House and be signed into law by the governor.

http://www.valleyjournal.net/Article/17329/Anti-AIS-bill-passes-Senate-heads-to-House

FLIC film features pilgrimage across Spain

POLSON – The Camino de Santiago is the way of pilgrims.

That’s the message of Travel Light, a movie shown Saturday at the Flathead Lake International Cinemafest. The film earned the 2017 FLIC People's Choice award.

Lindsay Thompson produced the documentary based on a 37-day, 500-mile hike that she took from St. Jean- Pied-de-Port in southwest France through Santiago de Compostela, Spain, onto Finisterra along the Atlantic Ocean. She hiked with three friends.

Their trek started in mountains, went through some flat land and then finished in more mountains. The Camino de Santiago, or Way of James, ends in Santiago de Compostela, where legend has it that the remains of the Biblical Apostle James were buried and a cathedral built in his honor.

Thompson and her friends suffered from various aches and pains along the way, and one had to cut short her hike, but the group got to meet a number of interesting pilgrims too. The film includes several interviews with pilgrims the group met along the way, and one interview with an alchemist.

Each night they stayed in an “albergues,” or hostel, and drank wines from the region. Thompson said the trails were first built by Celts and then added onto by Romans. Pilgrims, or peregrinos, she said, tend to find answers or direction for their lives on the camino.

After reaching Santiago de Compostela, the group enjoyed what one described as “Catholic Disneyland.” Alas, a much-anticipated party on the Day of St. James is canceled in the wake of a train crash.

The group ended their hike at Finisterra at a point overlooking the Atlantic Ocean.

Thompson said she heard about the trail in her high school Spanish class and had never backpacked more than two days before embarking on the camino.

She and two friends she met on the trail would like to hike it again.

Next time they may skip the trail’s flat mid-section or hike when it’s cooler, as it can get up to 110 degrees or so in the summer months.

The film earned an honorable mention for best picture/documentary short among more than 60 films shown throughout the weekend at Showboat Cinemas.

A full list of award winners is available on the FLIC Facebook page.

http://www.valleyjournal.net/Article/16861/FLIC-film-features-pilgrimage-across-Spain

Local couple details trip to Mongolia, land of Eternal Blue Sky

They weren’t just “horsing around,” they also got to experience a new culture.

Columbia Falls residents Greg and Deb Schatz presented details of their trip to Mongolia on Friday at KwaTaq- Nuk Resort as part of the Montana Back Country Horsemen convention.

Greg said Mongolia was the only foreign country the couple wanted to visit. That’s because of their love of horses.

“The horse packing in Montana came from Mongolia,” he said, explaining that it came through the Spaniards who traveled up from Mexico.

The Schatzs visited the Darhad Valley in the Mongolian state of Khuvsgol Aimig for three weeks last summer.

It was the only the third time the couple had flown on an airplane since they married in 1988 and moved to the Flathead in 1989. They flew from Kalispell to Seattle on Alaska Airlines and then on Korean Air to Seoul and Ulaanbaater, the capital of Mongolia, which became a democracy in 1990.

Greg feels like he has a connection with the herders in the Darhad Valley. The steppes there are similar to those not far away in Russia where his great-grandparents on both sides of his family came from, he said.

The deep-fat fried doughnuts the Mongolian herders eat with just about every meal also remind him of what his ancestors ate, he said.

The Schatzs were part of 30 people who took the trip to ride horses alongside the herders. The trip was sponsored by the non-profit Bioregions International of Bozeman. Others who went were six Native American students from Montana State University, a medical team of five and a soils team of four, among others.

The Schatzs explained to the herders how they take different kinds of outfitter trips with members of the public into the Montana backcountry, including the “Leave No Trace” theme.

The culture of the Mongolian herders is such that they have “zero materialistic values,” Greg said. They live in little cabins, and while they are herding away from home they will sleep on the permafrost or in a 30-foot-diameter ger or yurt.

Deb said her most memorable part of the trip was “how they respect the land and how everything is sacred.” Typical herder religions range from shamanism to Buddhism to what Greg calls “naturalist.” which includes a respect for “Mother Earth” and “Father Sky.”

The herders do not dig the soil or cut the grass out of respect for the earth, so no gardens are grown. Ovoos, which consist of piles of stones or tree branches, are built on hills or mountains. Horse skulls and other objects such as khadag, or blue scarves, which represent the Eternal Blue Sky, are hung from them. Such offerings are made when one comes across an ovoo and circles it three times clockwise.

The herders will often tie or hobble their horses to their own legs or to another horse to prevent them from wandering off during stops if no post is nearby.

The typical horse lives to age 20 and is then “put down” and eaten by the herders. This is a form of respect, Greg said.

The herders raise horses, cows, Cashmere goats, sheep and yaks. The yaks are raised for their meat and milk, which is used to make cheese and yogurt, while sheep are raised for meat and fur. Reindeer live to the north of where the Schatzs visited, although they saw two on their trip.

Cottonwood trees grow near the riverbanks in the land of Genghis Khan with Siberian larch in the foothills and spruce and fir in the mountains, which Greg described as similar to Montana.

He noted that some 8.3 million acres have been set aside in Khuvsgol Aimig for state and national parks.

The Schatzs plan to return to Mongolia in the summer of 2018.

http://www.valleyjournal.net/Article/17291/Local-couple-details-trip-to-Mongolia-land-of-Eternal-Blue-Sky

Cherry powdery mildew discussed at annual meeting

YELLOW BAY — Local cherry growers heard about cherry powdery mildew on Saturday.

Claudia Probst, a research associate at Washington State University- Prosser, spoke about the fungus before the Flathead Lake Cherry Growers, Inc.

Probst said the mildew is unique to the Pacific Northwest, and mildew that affects other plants is not the same as the kind that affects cherries.

Cherry powdery mildew is quite a problem in Washington but apparently not as prevalent in Montana.

The mildew affects the leaves of the cherry tree before appearing on the fruit just before harvest.

“As soon as you have a leaf infection you have to worry about it,” Probst said, adding that the mildew doesn’t appear on the leaves of the Sweetheart variety but can still affect the fruit.

Pruning a tree helps prevent the mildew because a well-pruned tree has a lot less disease.

“You can cover a well-pruned tree easier with fungicide,” she said.

Probst recommends rotating the types of fungicides one uses on trees. If spraying before and after a harvest is cost prohibitive, she recommends using it before.

Another effective remedy is sulfur, which kills fungus spores. One has to apply sulfur frequently, however, and use personal protective equipment. She cautions not to use sulfur once temperatures reach 80 degrees because it could damage the fruit.

Organic orchards can use stylet oil pre-harvest, she said.

Cherries that are harvested prior to Bing cherries, which she called “escapees,” typically do not contract the mildew. She added that the Chillan variety is not susceptible, and a man in the audience added that the Centennial variety does not contract the mildew either.

Cherries that have mildew can be put into brine with sulfur dioxide and made into Maraschino cherries, she said, adding this has been done in The Dalles, Oregon.

A person can eat cherries with mildew, she said, noting that she has.

“It’s a very neat little fungus … but you can’t export it,” Probst said.

She speculates that powdery mildew came to Montana from trees brought in from Washington. Those who would like more information on Probst’s research can search for “WSU Cherry Powdery Mildew Information Network” on Facebook.

http://www.valleyjournal.net/Article/17385/Cherry-mildew-discussed-at-annual-meeting

Public Law 280 exit revision passes Legislature: Would speed up the process if tribes choose to withdraw

POLSON — A bill that would speed up the process if the Confederated Salish and Kootenai Tribes request to withdraw from Public Law 280 has passed both houses of the state Legislature. 

SB 310 passed the Senate 35-15 and the House 53-47. It now heads to Gov. Steve Bullock for a signature or veto. 

The bill doesn’t provide CSKT with any more rights, according to state Rep. Greg Hertz, R-Polson. If the tribes petition the governor to request removal from the law enforcement agreement, Bullock has six months to issue a proclamation releasing them from the agreement, Hertz said, noting the federal Department of the Interior also has to agree. 

Hertz said he prepared an amendment to the bill that would have offered the county the same rights as the tribes, but found out that it didn’t pass legal muster because the county technically isn’t a party to Public Law 280, an agreement between the state, federal and tribal governments. 

“The county is not an authorizer of anything with this agreement,” he said. 

Lake County commissioners passed a resolution to withdraw participation in the law in January. The resolution was an attempt to get funding from the state, federal or tribal governments due to a tight financial situation. 

The county has been prosecuting felony cases of tribal members since the 1960s. However, the county has seen declining revenues over the years due to the tribes putting land in trust, thus removing it from the tax rolls. 

According to county commissioner Bill Barron, the county loses approximately $3.5 million a year in property taxes due to land being put into trust by the CSKT or tribal members over the past 20 years or so. It’s become more of a problem over the past 10 years, according to Deputy County Attorney Wally Congdon. 

“Our mill would be twice what it is now if it weren’t for the trust,” Barron said last week. “We’re not blaming the tribe. It’s the way Congress set it up.” 

Barron said Lake County is working with the other 18 tribal counties in Montana on legislation to remedy the situation. A bill that would provide state reimbursement of property taxes for certain exempt tribal property, HB 615, was introduced by Rep. Greg Hertz, R-Polson, but tabled in the House Taxation Committee on March 29. 

Barron said an interim committee will study the issue and a bill may be brought forward in 2019. 

In addition, CSKT took over control of the Selis, Ksanka Qlispe (formerly Kerr) Dam in September 2015. This has cost the county some $800,000 a year, according to County Attorney Steve Eschenbacher. In the meantime the number of felony cases keeps rising. There were 182 in 2012 and nearly 500 last year. Earlier this year, Eschenbacher said 83 percent of felony cases in the county involve tribal members. 

County Commissioner Gale Decker was not happy with SB 310, having wanted the county to have the same rights as the tribes. The bill, sponsored by Sen. Lea Whitford, D-Cut Bank, “is a way for the tribe and the state to take an action that has a profound effect on Lake County, and the county government has no voice in the decision,” he said. 

“We may have to take money from other places to pay these continuing costs,” Decker said, noting the county is just starting to prepare a budget for the next fiscal year.  

Commissioner Dave Stipe said he wasn’t completely opposed to SB 310. “I think we’re going to work our way out of it,” he said. However he added that he doesn’t have the answers. He added that law enforcement is an obligation of the federal government that it should be paying for. (On other Indian reservations in the state, the Federal Bureau of Investigation and federal courts handle tribal felony cases.) 

Stipe said the way that Public Law 280 has worked up until now is that the tribes could petition to be removed and the Legislature could approve it, a process that could take two years. 

According to a CSKT press release dated April 24, the Tribal Council has decided to study the issue for now, but is pleased the bill passed the Legislature. 

“The Tribal Council is committed to carefully and deliberately evaluating potential arrangements to reduce the significant burden on our budget and our neighboring local governments,” the release states. “The Council is committed to consulting and working closely with state and local officials throughout the process.” 

http://www.valleyjournal.net/Article/17545/Public-Law-280-exit-revision-passes-Legislature

Longtime district court judge fondly remembered

POLSON — A celebrated lawyer and efficient, no-frills judge of the 20th Judicial District for 29 years, C.B. McNeil died April 20 at age 80. His life was celebrated at Polson’s Linderman Gymnasium on Saturday, April 29. 

Judge James A. Manley, who was appointed to replace McNeil in October 2013, described him last week as “something of a giant.” 

“When I heard (of his passing), it’s like Polson isn’t the same town because he took up such a big space here for so long,” he said.

Manley, who had a law practice in town for nearly 35 years, recalls getting a text from an unknown source in 2013 that said, “I want you to succeed me.” 

“I didn’t know who it was from. I was shocked because I didn’t know he knew how to text because he said he didn’t know how to turn on a computer,” Manley said, referring to McNeil. 

Manley said he considered it an honor, and he was elected in his own right in 2014.

He called McNeil “just a poor kid from Anaconda that for all his success and accomplishments never really changed.” 

Manley noted that McNeil was proud of his participation in the state Constitutional Convention of 1972, which resulted in a new Constitution that replaced one adopted in 1889 when Montana became a state. 

“He used to say he was the most conservative member of the convention,” Manley said, adding that McNeil worked on it with liberal Butte attorney Mick McKeon, who also grew up in Anaconda.

McNeil was well-known for his efficiency. 

“Most civil attorneys liked him because he got orders out quickly,” Manley said, adding that McNeil would issue them within 10 days as a matter of course. Less than 30 days is the standard for most judges, but some complicated civil cases take 2-3 months, Manley said.  

‘Small town lawyer’

Attorney John A. Mercer, who started working at the Turnage-McNeil law firm in 1979, called McNeil “a small town lawyer. He solved disputes between people without going to court. He had a booming voice and an incredible physical presence. His clients had so much respect for him. He saved many marriages,” Mercer said. “He dealt with just about anything that came in the door.”

McNeil was as much a good counselor as he was a lawyer, Mercer said, adding that McNeil was highly respected for his intellect and decisiveness.

“He set a certain standard that’s extremely efficient. People were jealous of the way things were done in Judge McNeil’s court,” Mercer said. 

Mercer ran for the state House in 1984 and appeared on the ballot with his business partners Jean Turnage and McNeil. Turnage, who had served in the state Legislature for 22 years, was running for chief justice of the state Supreme Court, while McNeil was running to be judge of the newly-created 20th Judicial District. All three won, and Mercer credits his victory on his association with Turnage and McNeil. 

Mercer also credits McNeil for some of Turnage’s success because McNeil covered their law office when Turnage was attending legislative sessions from 1966-84. 

McNeil was always the life of the office, Mercer said, adding that “he always treated me like I was a member of his family.” 

‘Bigger than life’    

Judge Kim Christopher’s earliest memories of McNeil were as a child. 

Her parents, Dick and Keenie Christopher, had the Harbor Pharmacy on Main Street, which was separated from the Turnage and McNeil law firm by an alley. 

“He was bigger than life and had a voice louder than anything I’d ever heard   and it would fill the alley,” she said. “It was almost scary because I was little and he was big.” 

Christopher’s mother and McNeil’s wife, JoAnn, were sorority sisters in college and Christopher went to school with the McNeils’ children, Chuck and Jolie. 

She served as Lake County attorney from 1995-2000 and was elected as the 20th Judicial District’s second judge in 2000. She called McNeil her mentor on the court. 

“He felt that justice delayed is justice denied,” she said. “He was a good judge to stand in front of, and you knew that he knew what the law was and he would follow it. He knew how to maintain decorum in the courtroom,” she said. “His mere presence was enough.” 

McNeil was “most proud of his partnership with Jean Turnage,” she said, referring to the late Supreme Court justice, St. Ignatius native and tribal member, who died Sept. 27, 2015 at age 89. 

Christopher said McNeil hand wrote all of his decisions, and Manley said many of them were “no frills.” 

McNeil coached baseball and was an avid wildlife photographer, skier and hunter. A number of his wildlife photos adorn the interior walls between the courtroom that bears his name and the judges’ offices. 

Another Anaconda native, Ed McLean, called McNeil a dear friend. 

“He was very plain spoken and got right to the quick of things,” McLean said, adding McNeil had a deep love for the law, but the most important thing in his life was his family. 

http://www.valleyjournal.net/Article/17553/Longtime-district-court-judge-fondly-remembered

Rep. Hertz reflects on state budget, session

POLSON – State Rep. Greg Hertz, R-Polson, took time to reflect last week on the recent biennial legislative session, and said he plans to run for speaker of the House if he’s re-elected in 2018.

Hertz made the comments before a Pachyderm Club meeting on Friday, May 12.

Much of his talk centered around the biennial budget, which went up sixtenths of one percent from the current one.

This is the first budget he’s voted for, Hertz said, noting he voted against previous budgets in 2013 and 2015 that represented increases of 6.95 and 6.9 percent.

Hertz, who as speaker pro tem is the third-ranking Republican in the House, said he was part of a group of some 15 legislators from the House and Senate and governor’s office who negotiated the budget.

“The last two weeks I learned a lot about the budget,” he said, adding that he ruffled a few feathers because he objected to last-minute amendments by some because they hadn’t been subject to a public hearing.

Hertz thinks there is a 60-percent chance the Legislature will be called into a special session in the late fall due to a cash shortage. As of May 10, the state had $181 million in cash, he said, noting that it needs a cushion of around $200 million in cash flow to pay the bills.

This year the Legislature approved SB 261, which creates a budget stabilization fund that can be accessed during revenue shortfalls. Until it is funded, the state’s Budget Director Dan Villa can pull money from the fire fund, which was created by the Legislature in 2013 as a reserve to pay for fighting fires. Some $78 million is in the fire fund, Hertz said, adding that Villa has to make $2 in cuts for every dollar he pulls from it. Once the budget stabilization fund gets funded, assuming the governor signs it, Villa will be required to cut $1 for every $2 he takes out, the opposite ratio used for the fire fund. The bill calls for any excess revenue beyond the expected $15 million to be split between the general and budget stabilization funds.

Hertz was against efforts to pass bonding for infrastructure projects, and noted the Legislature hasn’t approved bonding since 2005.

A nearly $80 million bonding proposal would have resulted in the state paying $40 million in interest charges over 20 years, he said.

He was more supportive of $16.3 million in bonding for K-12 school facilities than he was for most of the other proposed projects.

Hertz’s property tax relief bill, HB 558, passed the House 61-37 and the Senate 37-13 but failed to advance before the Legislature adjourned.

http://www.valleyjournal.net/Article/17642/Rep-Hertz-reflects-on-state-budget-session

Human trafficking awareness urged

POLSON – As a victim of child sexual abuse, Grace Manchala has a heart for child victims of sex trafficking. 

Manchala spoke about her passion to shed light on the problem before the Lake County Pachyderm Club on Friday, May 26. 

Growing up in India, Manchala suffered from abuse from a relative and later married a man who ran escort services that used women ages 17-25, she said. 

So she divorced him, even though she had a young daughter at the time. “The Holy Spirit said I needed to get out. God said, ‘I’m going to be your provider’,” she said, so she took a “step of faith,” applied for the Youth with A Mission program and was accepted. 

“So much healing happened in my life. I’ve been with (YWAM) since 1993,” said Manchala, who later married YWAM Minister Raju Manchala. 

“My passion is to see we have new laws to protect our girls, boys and women who are vulnerable to the traffickers,” Grace said, noting that victims are not just used for sex but also for labor and their organs. 

Sex trafficking has come to Northwest Montana, she said, citing one example of a 9-year-old girl she met who had been plagued by evil spirits, was cutting herself and bulimic. The girl had been gang raped so she had trouble being in fellowship with people, Grace said. 

In an effort to combat such violence, the Manchalas held a five-hour training in Kalispell recently that involved 42 law enforcement officers and five chaplains. They will host a similar sex trafficking awareness seminar from 6-9 p.m. on Monday, June 12, at Polson High School.

The event will include presentations by Sgt. Jeanne Parker of the Flathead County Sheriff’s Office and Det. Guy Baker of the Missoula Police Department. It’s free and open to the public. 

Grace’s efforts have resulted in Montana’s Legislature passing two new laws in 2013: one that criminalizes the transport of people across state lines for sexual activity and another that makes it a crime to subject a child to sexual servitude. 

“Human trafficking is a very invisible crime and people don’t talk about it,” Grace said, adding that it takes time to see the results of new laws. 

Sometimes law enforcement officers aren’t able to prosecute because the girls won’t talk, Raju said. Law enforcement officers need to be trained how to investigate such crimes, he added. Teachers and healthcare workers also need to be trained to recognize the abuse, Grace said, adding that clues may include girls not being dressed properly for the weather or having different kinds of hairstyles, tattoos or heavy makeup. 

There are 300 homeless children in the Flathead area, Raju said. “Within 72 hours of children leaving their home they are approached for sexual activity,” he said. 

When one sees a child sex trafficking victim, she often will be smiling and “have a very good face,” Grace said. “You have to talk to them for a half hour before you recognize the signs.”

Referring to what she calls a $32 billion worldwide industry, Grace said many victims are not willing to come forward because of language barriers and fears of homelessness, isolation and joblessness. 

“The average age of girls forced into sexual slavery is 12, and they are out by age 18,” Grace said, but some are as young as 5 when they are trafficked. Oftentimes they are used for labor or have their organs harvested when their sexual slavery ends.

The U.S. is involved in the sex trafficking industry “because we have the money to pay,” she said. Natives of over 35 countries have been enslaved in the U.S. Typically it occurs in large cities or at vacation destinations. Half of them are children, she said. 

Traffickers prey on runaways, children and women from broken backgrounds, she said, adding that less than 2 percent are ever found again by their loved ones. 

Although such odds may seem daunting, Grace talks about making a difference “one pebble at a time.” 

In the next Legislative session in 2019, her goal is to require training for law enforcement and teachers on how to recognize or investigate sex trafficking, she said. A bill that was considered this year failed after labor unions opposed it, she said. 

For more information, call 406-885-0292 or go online at: gloryforashes.org. 

Donations can be sent to: Grace Manchala, 501 Blacktail Road, Lakeside, MT 59922.

http://www.valleyjournal.net/Article/17770/Human-trafficking-awareness-urged

Adelos receives $2.5M contract to develop intrusion detection technology

POLSON — A world class technology company is moving forward in Lake County.

Adelos, a subsidiary of S&K Technologies Inc., received a two-year $2.5 million security contract with the U.S. Air Force following a competitive bid process last year. 

According to chief executive officer Scott Colton, Adelos was one of 8,900 companies that submitted proposals to the U.S. Air Force’s Rapid Innovation Fund research and development program. Adelos was one of nine companies selected. 

The five-employee company builds fiber optic sensor systems. The current project will provide an acoustic sensor that uses sound waves to identify drones or other aircraft, people walking or tunneling activity, for example.

Adelos is using and expanding on technology developed by the U.S. Naval Undersea Warfare Center in Newport, Rhode Island, said Alex Philp, Adelos’ chief technology officer who founded the company in 2006.

The contract calls for delivery of one unit at an Air Force base in the spring of 2018. The fiber optic sensor will provide the Air Force with unprecedented situational awareness and an early warning/intrusion detection capability at its intercontinental ballistic missile launch facilities. 

“This sensor is unique,” Philp said, noting it can detect activity in the air, on the ground and under the ground simultaneously. “We can determine where it is, when it is occurring and what it is,” he said. 

The unit, which was manufactured by S&K Electronics in Pablo, consists of a laser in the bottom and electrical optic machinery in the top. 

In expanding the technology, Adelos is competing mainly against companies in Israel and Great Britain, Philp said. 

“We’re the only company in Montana doing anything as remotely sophisticated as the technology in these boxes,” he said. 

The current contract is the third iteration of the project, with predecessors installed at the Idaho National Laboratory and the U.S. Navy facility in Keyport, Washington, Colton said in a press release. 

He notes that Adelos technology has other applications too, including the oil and natural gas industry where a sensor can be deployed inside a well with a fiber optic cable to provide information on changes in oil, gas or water pressures. 

Adelos is 87-percent owned by S&K Technologies, which is wholly owned by the Confederated Salish and Kootenai Tribes. The company now known as Adelos was founded in Missoula in 2006 as TerraEchos. S&K Technologies purchased it in 2009, renamed the company Adelos and relocated it to Polson in 2012. 

S&K Technologies, which was founded in 1999, also owns S&K Aerospace, S&K Global Solutions, S&K Engineering and Research and S&K Logistics Services. 

The S&K family of companies has offices in nine states, the District of Columbia and Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. It has strategic partnerships with a variety of companies, including Booz Allen Hamilton, General Dynamics, Boeing Aerospace, Lockheed Martin, Northrup Grumman, Raytheon, AT&T, Honeywell and ALCOA. 

S&K Technologies, which employs over 400 people, totaled over $350 million sales and paid nearly $30 million in annual dividends to the CSKT’s Tribal Council since its inception, according to a press release. 

Adelos is located at 145 Southlake Crest on a hill in the Ridgewater development in Polson. 

S&K Technologies in located in St. Ignatius. 

http://www.valleyjournal.net/Article/17784/Adelos-receives-2-5M-contract-to-develop-intrusion-detection-technology

Governor signs Real ID law

POLSON – A law creating enhanced driver’s licenses that would allow Montanans to board an airplane and enter federal facilities has been signed into law.

Gov. Steve Bullock signed SB 366 on May 25 after it passed the Senate 33-16 and the House 83- 17.

The bill brings the state into compliance with the federal Real ID law that was passed in 2005 in large part due to four of the 19 9-11 terrorists who used driver’s licenses to board planes.

The Real ID Act sets documentation standards for each state to follow in order to verify the identity and citizenship status of applicants for driver’s licenses and non-driver IDs. There are data requirements that must be met as well, including requiring that state computers contain facial recognition technology, for example. A Real ID-compliant driver’s license may not look different than a regular one, but may be differentiated by a star in the top righthand corner, according to minnesota.cbslocal.com.

A person paying for an enhanced driver’s license would pay an extra $25 or $50, depending on when they apply. It’s $25 during regular renewal periods or $50 if one wants to get a Real ID early or not in their regular renewal period.

The extra fees would fund the equipment and staffing necessary for implementation of the law.

The law authorizes the state Department of Justice to borrow up to $4.6 million to finance implementation costs, which could be paid over 10 years.

Those who want to fly as of Jan. 22, 2018 will need a Real ID-compliant driver’s license or passport. A similar requirement to enter federal facilities began on Jan. 30, although federal courthouses reportedly have allowed exceptions.

According to reports, Bullock has said he plans to ask the federal Department of Homeland Security for two extensions to comply with the Real ID law. The extensions would give the state more time to issue Real ID-compliant driver’s licenses. State residents will still be able to get a non-compliant driver’s license.

Montana had fought compliance with the federal law for years due to concerns over privacy of personal information, costs and states’ rights.

http://www.valleyjournal.net/Article/17817/Governor-signs-Real-ID-law

Father, son share stage at Aber Day Reunion

POLSON – Sam Riddle grew up in New York City, but Montana is in his blood. 

Riddle, who performed with his father Steve at last Saturday’s Aber Day Reunion concert at the Regatta Shoreline Amphitheater, was born in Missoula but spent the first 13 years of his life in New York. 

The Riddles summered in Polson, however, and that never left Sam. 

“We’re definitely Montana boys,” Steve said, noting he and his wife Mary Ann have a cabin on the lake in Polson.  

“When I was in New York City, people thought I was ‘super country,’” Sam said. “When I was in Montana, everybody thought I was from ‘the hood.’” 

Steve, who helped found the Mission Mountain Wood Band in 1971, said the family, including his wife, the former Mary Ann McKenzie, “went elsewhere chasing the dream.” 

She worked on playwright Neil Simon’s production team and Steve was acting or playing bass guitar “every night” and playing at Bluegrass festivals frequently on weekends until the family moved back to Montana when Sam was a teenager. 

“I was exposed to more than usual,” Sam said, reflecting on his life.

Mission Mountain Wood Band, M2WB as they like to be called, played at the Aber Day Keggers that were held in Missoula from 1972-79. Last weekend’s reunion concert commemorated the former annual event that served as a fundraiser for the University of Montana library. 

But the Aber Day Kegger Reunion created memories of its own. 

It will be forever etched in the minds of Sam and Steve and probably many others as well.

Sponsored by Anderson Broadcasting and Missoula Liquid Assets LLC, the event was a surprise to Steve when he heard about it. 

“We’ve talked about it for a long time,” he said. “It never really dawned on us that it would happen in Polson. This is a wonderful moment in time.” 

When asked what his mother thought about it, Sam said, “She just cries. Any excuse for me to come home is great.” 

Sam, who played basketball at Hellgate High School and the University of Montana and had designs on a pro career, was headed to Omaha to meet with a Missoula buddy who played at Sentinel High when the direction of his life took a turn. 

Sam had played pro ball in Puerto Rico and was headed to Omaha to talk to J.R. Casillas about his options in Europe. 

Casillas, who was going to law school at the time, and Sam went out to Harrah’s Casino one night and Sam ended up playing the piano. He remembered “everyone was throwing me $20s and giving me shots.” 

After a short time in Omaha, a man from Las Vegas spotted Sam and the next week he was playing piano on The Strip. 

“I ended up playing every major casino in upscale lounges,” he said. “I looked like I was 16. People were fascinated.” 

That was 2006. 

He was there for several years playing Frank Sinatra standards, Billy Joel songs and the like but wasn’t fulfilled. 

“I was making so much money ... but what was I doing? I felt like I was supposed to do something that was way bigger. It just hit me one day: write songs about what I know and get out from behind the piano and perform. I wanted to represent my dad and Montana.”

He decided to put on his cowboy hat and boots and put a band together. 

Sam said his country band took off “like a rocket” and was headlining 4-5 casinos a week. 

“Within a month I had every gig in town,” he said. “It took over the country scene immediately.”

He was living the dream at that time, but to him he was just “on the way.” 

“I didn’t want to be confined to Vegas,” he said. 

Sam still plays Vegas, but he also takes his band across the country. 

He signed up with a management firm from Los Angeles in 2014 and plans to release a deluxe EP, or extended play record, at the end of the summer and an album by year’s end. 

At age 66, Steve understands that his son is “on the way.” M2WB played with The Band, the Grateful Dead and the Allman Brothers back in the day. 

M2WB played its country rock and bluegrass until 1982 and then took a 10-year hiatus, starting up again in 1992. Now they do six shows a summer, but Steve stays busy also playing with Singing Sons of Beaches, a “campfire folk” band based out of Polson. 

“It’s funny how these things creep up on you,” Steve said, referring to last week’s event. 

“It’s nerve wracking and very humbling to have something like this happen,” Sam said. “I dreamed about the Mission Mountain Wood Band opening for me at the stadium in Missoula. This is better,” he said. 

People that he met in Vegas and other places “are coming here from all over the world for this,” Sam said. 

Yes, folks. He’s on his way.

http://www.valleyjournal.net/Article/18190/Father-son-share-stage-at-Aber-Day-Reunion