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Volume XXXVI, Number 8
Wednesday, September 9, 2020
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Rodeo Royalty
Stevi subdivision proposal moves off the fast track
By Michael Howell
At its last meeting on September 3, the Stevensville Planning and Zoning Board took a step back from considering the subdivision application for Burnt Fork Estates. It was announced at the meeting that the developers, after meeting with the Town staff, had made some modifications to the proposal to address certain concerns and that those changes have not yet been incorporated into the staff report. The developer’s representative, Andy Medford of PCI Engineering, said that it made sense to grant an extension of the town’s time limit on handling the application so that the staff and the public have a chance to digest the new changes. As a result, the already scheduled public hearings before the Town Council were cancelled
and another meeting of the Planning and Zoning Board has been set to consider the amended plan on October 7 at 6:30 p.m., tentatively at the school or possibly at the North Valley Public Library. The next Planning and Zoning Board meeting is tentatively planned to accommodate in-person attendance, following some distancing and masking requirements, as well as virtual participation for those who do not feel comfortable attending in person. The original application, submitted by Dwight and Ralph Hooley, proposed creating 78 single family lots, 43 multi-family lots and 16 light commercial lots on the 57.68 acre parcel. The development lies adjacent to Creekside Meadows and runs south along Logan Road to Middle Burnt Fork Road. The singlefamily lots are planned to go in
adjacent to the Creekside Meadows subdivision and the multifamily lots will be installed to the south. The commercial lots will be developed on about 10 acres further south alongside Middle Burnt Fork Road. The subdivision is planned to be completed in phases with a phase completed every other year starting with Phase 1 expected to be completed by December 31, 2022 and the final phases in by December 31, 2030. The subdivision proposal has come under fire from neighboring residents in Creekside Meadows who have a long list of concerns covering things such as high groundwater in the area, serious water right issues, drainage issues, and direct impacts on their own subdivision by the proposed roadway connections, as well as impacts on traffic along Logan Road.
City of Hamilton considers Rockin’ RC Rodeo pageant held new fire truck, new fire hall The Rockin RC rodeo court of 2020 and 2019 are shown here. From left to right: Little Miss Zoe Paddock, Queen Paige Palin, Spirit Princess Diane Paxson, 2019 Queen Johnali Johns, and Little Miss Miranda Bischof. Jean Schurman photo.
In spite of having no rodeo this year, the Rockin’ RC Rodeo pageant went forward on Friday with six contestants. They were vying for the title of Miss Rockin’ RC Rodeo Queen for ages 16-22, Rockin’ RC Princess for ages 10-15, Rockin’ RC Little Miss for ages 6-9, and Rockin’ RC Spirit Princess. The contestants were judged on a prepared speech, their answers to impromptu questions, a one-on-one interview, and of course, horsemanship. The pageant was honored to have three very well qualified judges. Lindsey Garpested of Missoula is a former Miss Rodeo
Montana and is the first Montana candidate to place in the top five at the Miss Rodeo America contest. Lorna Job is from Arlee. She was a two time first runner up to Miss Rodeo Montana and has competed in pageants since she was nine. Samantha Simianer is from Stevensville but grew up in Missoula. She is a former Miss Teen Rodeo Montana. Paige Palin of Corvallis was crowned the 2020 queen. Logan Paddock of Darby was crowned the 2020 princess and her sister, Zoe Paddock is the Little Miss for this year. Diane Paxson is repeat-
By Michael Howell
already greatly enhanced the speed and accuracy with which CT scans can be read and analyzed and will soon be providing a new service as Dr. Roth adds CT scan guided surgery to the hospital’s steadily growing list of surgical capabili-
ing her role as the Rockin’ RC Spirit Princess. These young women will represent the Rockin’ RC Rodeo and Ravalli County Fairgrounds at various events and rodeos around the area. Because the 2019 court didn’t get much of a chance to represent this summer due to COVID-19, they have been invited back to help present flags at the fair next year. They are Queen Johnali Johns of Stevensville, Princess Addison Jessop of Corvallis, and Little Miss Miranda Bischof of Corvallis.
Marcus Daly Hospital expands, improves its radiology services Marcus Daly Memorial Hospital has teamed up with Inland Imaging and Dr. Jason Roth to help boost its radiological services. The new arrangement has
ties.
Although actually employed by Inland Imaging, Dr. Roth is stationed at Marcus Daly Memorial Hospital and has already been See RADIOLOGY, page15
Dr. Jason Roth, the new radiologist from Inland Imaging now stationed at Marcus Daly Memorial Hospital, is seen here using the latest in dictation technology to that has reduced the processing time for radiology readings from hours to minutes. Michael Howell photo.
By Michael Howell
Hamilton Volunteer Fire Department Chief Brad Mohn and Hamilton Mayor Dominic Farrenkopf have been mulling over the status and needs of the Fire Department for a couple of years now and both feel it is time for the issue to get some serious consideration. According to Mohn, the Fire Department has at least two urgent needs and both of them are costly. One would be a new fire truck and the other would be a new fire house. Mohn told the council members at their Committee of the Whole meeting at the end of August that the estimated cost of the needed truck was somewhere between $700,000 to $900,000. He said that there is currently $430,000 in the city’s Capital Improvement Fund and that Craig Shepherd, the City’s Finance Administrator, had tentatively added $300,000. “Depending on what we decide, there will be some money available,” said Mohn. As to the need for a new fire station, Mohn said “the building is 110 years old, fire trucks don’t fit in it and structurally, the building is starting to decay.” He said they were already looking at having to make some costly repairs. He estimated the cost of a new fire station at about $3 million. He said they were currently looking at a five-acre lot that is just to the north of the lot the City was earlier considering for a new fire station. Mohn said he feels it would be a better location and would give the Department room to grow. He said he wanted the council to get on board. Mayor Farrenkopf stated that his staff had come up with six good ways of funding that could be used separately or in some combination. Number one is a naming donor. Someone who makes a large donation and the Fire Department is named after them. Number two would be a grass-
DATES: September 11 & 12 TIMES: Noon - 6 PM LOCATION: Hamilton Playhouse, 100 Ricketts Rd., Hamilton
roots effort utilizing different fundraising mechanisms. Number 3 is to use savings and grants. Number 4 would be an Intercap loan such as was used to build the Justice Center. Number 5 would be to take it to the voters with a general obligation bond. Number 6 is a combination of fundraising efforts. Farrenkopf stated that some of the money coming in from the CARES Act funding may also be applicable. The city has received $140,000 in re-imbursement from that funding so far. “I think it is going to have to be a combination of a lot of these things,” said Farrenkopf. A discussion about the larger lot ensued and Councilor Kristi Bielski commented that it may be worth purchasing the lot even if it is not used for the Fire Department. Councilor Claire Kemp said she felt that a combination of fund raising mechanisms will need to be used and added that real estate is really expensive right now. Chief Mohn suggested that he would like council’s support in order to be able to get something on the November 2021 ballot if they could. Councilor Rod Pogachar
said he believed that some money received from the CARES Act could be used to pay off the loan for the Justice Center and get a new loan for building a fire hall. Some councilors expressed their support for the idea of a new fire hall. Councilor Kemp stated that she is in support. Councilor Jenny West commented that a new fire hall has been needed for a long time. Councilor Bielski said she is definitely in favor of a new fire hall, but she said she is concerned about how the community will view it. Councilor Robin Pruitt feels the community is pretty interested. By involving the community, she could see support building and is interested to see what can be done going forward. As far as what would happen with the old fire hall, Councilor Kemp said that she and City Planner, Matthew Rohrbach, started working with the State’s Historic Preservation Office last year. She feels that the council needs to be thoughtful about what it is doing with the building. She said the building is already on the historic registry and she believes it is an incredible asset to our history. The issue was left in committee.
Stevensville Scarecrow Festival cancelled Due to COVID-19 concerns, this year’s Stevensville Scarecrow Festival has been cancelled. According to Gretchen Spiess, chairperson of last year’s event, “the decision was not made lightly but over concern for the safety of our town and the logistics of dealing with a potential of 8000 attendees.” In its place, it would be great if all interested businesses would either put up a scarecrow in front of your business or decorate your store by October 2nd,
said Spiess. Artists, if you would like to participate, find a business willing to host your scarecrow. If you need help with logistics, contact Gretchen at 360-6716 and she will do her best to help. This will be a do-it-yourself Scarecrow Festival, said Spiess, with no prizes or ribbons “but it just might lift our spirits to see something fun on Main Street. Next year we can pull out all the stops and have a fabulous Scarecrow Festival.”
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