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Covering the Bitterroot Valley – “Where Montana Begins!”
‘The B Established 1985 - Locally owned & independent
Volume XXXIII, Number 50
Public library, public art
Wednesday, July 4, 2018
Stevi to keep police department, run public safety levy By Michael Howell
Artist Ken Daly stands in front of the commissioned mural he has completed on the facade of the North Valley Public Library in Stevensville. Daly portrays the joy of reading in the context of the magnificent Bitterroot Valley, and he couldn’t resist adding Charlie Russell to the scene after visiting the C. M. Russell Museum in Great Falls. Michael Howell photo.
North Valley Public Library gets mural By Michael Howell
The North Valley Public Library has a new mural gracing the front wall of the building on Main Street in Stevensville. A young girl sits under an apple tree reading a book titled “Rebecca” while her dog snoozes as horses and cattle graze in the lush valley beneath the Bitterroot Mountains. And right in the middle of it all sits the cowboy artist Charlie Russell taking it all in. Artist Ken Daly, who donated his work to the library, said when designing the mural he pictured a young girl read-
ing a book under the apple tree as her dog slept nearby and let his daughter choose a title for the book. Although many people upon seeing want to complete the title as “Rebecca of Sunnybrook Farm,” the 1903 children’s novel by Kate Douglas Wiggin, that’s not the book his daughter chose. The book she chose was the 1940 novel “Rebecca” by Daphne du Maurier. He said in the beginning he had no intention of adding Charlie Russell to the scene. But after visiting the Charlie Russell Museum in Great Falls he just had to stick him in. Daly grew up a fourth generation Californian but went to
college back east and eventually connected with his father’s family in New York where he learned the business of commercial art. Daly said at first he actually wanted to be a mural painter but after the first few scathing reviews of his work he changed his mind. Now he thinks maybe he shouldn’t have taken the criticism so seriously. Next, he thought he would become an independent illustrator. But his wife at the time wanted to go back to school so he opted for a steady job and got one in a design studio, mostly illustrating ads for companies like Champion Lumber and First Banks, Pepsi and Pepperidge Farm.
Then he met a horse trainer named Paul Burns and from that experience came up with the idea of painting horses. Not painting horses literally, but painting portraits of horses. He got pretty good at it and decided to follow the market, which led him to an interest in the Quarter Horse market, which led him to Texas. When the oil companies hit hard times in the mid-1980s, his business painting rich Texans’ horse portraits began to flag. So, he packed up and headed to Florida where Polo Ponies were the big thing. See MURAL, page 2
SAFE in Bitterroot for 30 years
By Michael Howell
Supporters of an Abuse Free Environment, known by locals as SAFE in the Bitterroot, is celebrating its 30th anniversary this year. Having served as the executive director of the organization for the last 15 years, Stacey Umhey has a lot to say about it. “Our story is a great example of a community recognizing that there is a problem and rolling up their sleeves and pulling together to solve that problem,” said Umhey at a recent open house. Thirty years ago, she said, the local club of Hamilton Soroptimists identified a need for a safe place for women and children to go who have been victimized by domestic or sexual violence. At that time, the nearest place a person could get help was in Missoula. “As you can imagine,” said Umhey, “if you are in a crisis at three o’clock in the morn-
ing, finding your way into and through Missoula, Montana in the winter can be quite a challenge.
So, the Soroptimists did what Soroptimists do so well. They got busy and got connected with the
people up in Missoula and started See SAFE, page 8
The Stevensville Town Council, after rejecting a proposal to disband the police department and contract with the Ravalli County Sheriff’s Office for law enforcement services, decided to place a $200,000 levy on the November ballot that would boost the funding for the department to a point that it can provide services 24 hours a day, seven days a week. The Police Department hit a real low recently with the departure of two officers, leaving Police Chief James Marble as the only officer on board. Even with the two officers, the town is currently left without a local police presence for two 24-hour periods every week and at least a portion of every night. The Ravalli County Sheriff’s Office responds to calls in the town when no local law enforcement is available. At the urging of Council President Bob Michalson, a contingent of Town officials met
with the Sheriff to consider the option of contracting services and get some idea of what the contract might cost. According to Mayor Brandon Dewey, one thing that clearly emerged from that discussion was that the current situation is unsustainable. Sheriff Steve Holton said that his officers were responding to about 87% of the dispatch calls that come in from the Town of Stevensville. “Right now, we are providing it, but this is not a solution by any means,” he told the council at the June 25 meeting. “This is a model that we cannot sustain.” Holton said that the Sheriff’s Office was willing to consider contracting with the town to provide a dedicated officer to the area including the town and surrounding area including Florence on a 24/7 basis. It would mean hiring three new deputies and come to a total cost of about $270,000 per year. See STEVI, page 12
Last minute attempt at Stevi spending freeze falls flat
By Michael Howell
At the close of last week’s Stevensville Town Council meeting, after all the business on the agenda had been completed and most of the public had left, Council President Bob Michalson attempted to get a “spending freeze” passed which in effect could have shut the town down without any public notice or any public comment. The meeting was heavily attended earlier for discussions and decisions regarding the potential outsourcing of municipal law enforcement to the county and potentially passing a levy to support the Police Department. Once the Council had rejected contracting with the county and approved placing a mill levy on the ballot to fund expansion of the police work-
force, almost all the public left the meeting. The council continued its deliberations and approved three items that had been placed on the agenda by Council members Michalson and Stacie Barker. Once all the agenda items had been dealt with and they moved into the council comment portion of the meeting, Michalson put a surprise agenda item on the table. “I would like to suspend Council Rules and adopt Resolution 37-A, Part 5, Section 1,” he said. “I would like to do a sixtyday spending freeze on the town until we adopt a budget and get going from where we are at.” “It doesn’t mean that we are just spending on this and that,” he said. “I know you guys have See ATTEMPT, page 11
Court upholds Forest Travel Plan
SAFE inside. At the campus housing SAFE in the Bitterroot, whether inside or out, moms and kids have a safe place to play. The outside playground equipment was donated and installed by employees of Glaxo-SmithKline Laboratories in Hamilton. Michael Howell photo.
The Bitterroot National Forest Travel Plan has been upheld by Federal District Court. Seven citizen conservation groups intervened to protect the Bitterroot National Forest Travel Plan Decision. Larry Campbell, Conservation Director for Friends of the Bitterroot, said, “The BNF Travel Plan Decision affirmed by this Federal Court Order slows the incessant loss of our irreplaceable and ever-diminishing wildlands. This case makes clear
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that the courage of conscientious individuals within government agencies has never been more critical and constant vigilance with citizen action has never been more necessary for wildlands preservation.” The BNF Travel Plan stands, but an additional public comment period will be provided regarding use of bicycles in the two Wilderness Study Areas on the BNF, the Sapphire WSA and the Blue Joint WSA.