We sell
licenses
PRST STD US POSTAGE PAID STEVENSVILLE MT PERMIT 89
• • 777-2822 • • 4039 HWY 93 N STEVENSVILLE
OUTLET STORE
For all your ammunition & Hunting needs
www.ammoandmorestore.com
Covering the Bitterroot Valley – “Where Montana Begins!”
‘The Volume XXXIV, Number 27
Grace Lutheran prepares
Established 1985 - Locally owned & independent
’ ! l a c o L Best at Wednesday, January 23, 2019
Local economy improving, linked closely to Missoula’s By Michael Howell
Sand bakkel cookie makers Sonja Bosworth, Deb Cathey, and Clarice Brady form sugar cookie dough into molds as Judy Griffin looks on. Jean Schurman photo.
At the invitation of the Bitterroot Chamber of Commerce, Patrick Barkey, Director of the Bureau of Business and Economic Research (BBER) at the University of Montana, offered the Bitterroot valley community “ten observations on the Ravalli County economy from an outsider’s perspective.” He spoke last Wednesday at the North Valley Public Library in Stevensville. It is not exactly because he comes from Missoula, however, that he is an “outsider.” It turns out that Missoula plays a major role in the Ravalli County economy. That’s one of the observations he came to share with us. It is being an economist that makes him an “outsider,” more than anything else. Barkey said that the BBER has been studying the state’s
economy since 1948. It offers an Outlook Report every year and this year it will be presented in Missoula on February 1. In his work, Barkey said he analyzes information from lots of different places around the state. “Part of my job is a little weird if you think about it,” he said. “I get in my car and drive to places and tell the people who live there what makes their economy tick.” And what makes Ravalli County’s economy tick? Barkey started off by offering a profile of both Ravalli and Missoula counties: Ravalli County, according to Barkey, is the 7th largest county in the state in terms of population. It has also enjoyed decent population growth since the last census in 2010, making it the 13th fastest growing county in the state. The median age in Ravalli County of
Patrick Barkey, Director of the UM Bureau of Business and Ecoomic Research. 48.5 years is about average for the state, but Missoula’s median age of 35.4, one of the lowest in the state, reflects the fact that it is a college town, according to See ECONOMY page 3
Scandinavian feast on tap Stevi councilors propose ending By Jean Schurman
Every two years, the congregation at Faith Lutheran Church in Hamilton pays homage to their Scandinavian roots by cooking and serving a Scandinavian Dinner. This dinner is not a dinner that is just cooked and served on one day; it takes almost a month to prepare all the components and favorites of the meal. The meal features lutefisk, Swedish meatballs, lefse, boiled potatoes, salads and of course, cookies! There are about 20 people who work every weekend on preparations, beginning the first of January. Those involved with the meatballs began preparing them on January 5. This is a special blend of hamburger and sausage that is ground at Hamilton’s Marketplace. The meatballs are then frozen until the day prior to the event which is January 26, 2019. The crew made about 5100 meatballs. These will be served with a brown gravy. The next weekend, January 12, the lefse crew came in. Making lefse is a two-part process. First potatoes are peeled and boiled. Then they are
riced, butter added and allowed to cool completely. The lefse is made the next day when flour is added and the lefse is rolled out. This year they made about 1,160 lefse rounds. This past Saturday, another group of bakers gathered to make traditional Scandinavian cookies. One group was making krumkake, which is kind of like a thin waffle with a dash of cardamom. The batter is thin and ladled into a
krumkake iron with designs on it. When the cookie is done, the baker deftly lifts the round out and wraps it around a cone-like roller where they stiffen as they cool. The cookies are stored in a cool room until this Saturday. The other cookies that they made on Saturday were sand bakkels. These are a sugar cookie that is placed in molds of varying See FEAST page 2
Ruth Webb rolls a krumkake around a roller. The cookie stays on the roller just long enough to form the cone-like shape. Jean Schurman photo.
Stevi School District seeks voter input on bond options
The Stevensville School District is considering its options for a bond election in Spring 2019. An informational fact sheet, photos of current and proposed facilities, and a survey were mailed to households of district voters last week. The deadline to return the survey is Monday, January 28. Surveys should be mailed to The Hingston Roach Group, P.O. Box 656, Stevensville MT 59870. Lorraine Roach is listed as the contact and can be reached at 208660-1818 or by email at lroach@ thrgroup.com. “A local independent market research firm is compiling the survey results for us,” said Dr. Bob Moore, Stevensville School Superintendent, “so all comments will be kept strictly confidential, and reported in summary with the comments of other survey respondents. Please be candid—we need to know your priorities and opin-
ions related to the future of our Stevensville Public Schools.” “We ask that voters take time to read the important information mailed last week, because your responses will guide the School Board in our decisions about which projects to include in the bond this spring,” said Greg Trangmoe, school board chairman. “Please pour yourself a cup of coffee or tea, review the information, give us your candid, unvarnished opinions on the survey, and mail the survey in the enclosed, stamped envelope by January 28.” The District completed a 20-year Facilities Master Plan in 2016. The District’s objectives are to: • add new classrooms and modernize space in response to higher enrollment; • enhance building energy efficiency to lower costs; • upgrade older facilities to
meet current building codes and technology needs; • improve building access, parking, flow, and entrance security; • construct a new Industrial Trades & Technology and Ag Sciences facility to better respond to workforce needs of local businesses; • improve athletic facilities to regulation standards, including access and parking, to enable Stevensville to host playoffs and tournaments. Next month, the school board will decide which of the projects in the 20-Year Master Plan will be included in the May 2019 bond, based on feedback received from the survey. For more information, contact Bob Moore at 406-777-5481, or email mooreb@stevensville. k12.mt.us.
park board, social media use
By Michael Howell
Stevensville Town Council members Bob Michalson and Stacie Barker have placed five items on the agenda for the January 24th town council meeting which include abolishing the Park Board; abolishing all Town social media websites [sic] and cease video recording and broadcasting of Town Council meetings; requiring the Chief of Police, Chief of the Fire Department, the Town Clerk, all Deputy Clerks and the Finance Officer/Treasurer to be residents of the Town of Stevensville; to discuss the responsibilities of the mayor to enforce Council Rules during Council meetings; and to direct the mayor to establish an office for the Town Council and a Council Reference Library within 30 days. Michalson was accused of harassment and bullying in a recent complaint filed by Town Clerk Audrey Tribbensee. An independent investigative report found that, based on testimony from all sides, the clerk was
probably being bullied as defined in the Town’s personnel manual, but that there were no rules prohibiting it either in town code or in state law. But, according to the report, Michalson was guilty of retaliation when he made certain remarks to the clerk after she submitted her complaint that could reasonably be interpreted as a threat of job termination. The independent attorney who authored the report suggested that Michalson apologize for his remarks and he did so publicly at a recent council meeting. Barker was also mentioned in the report: “The staff characterizes Mr. Michalson and Ms. Barker’s words and actions as intimidating and undermining. It is conceivable that reasonable minds could find that the Council violated its own personnel policies by allowing Mr. Michalson and Ms. Barker to speak to staff in a way the staff finds threatening and humiliating,” states the report. Since that time, both Michalson and Barker have publicly accused the mayor and
several members of the public of bullying them in their decision not to appoint Jim Crews to the Council. A note is attached to the Park Board agenda item stating, “The Park Board does not appear to be a necessary board of the Town of Stevensville. The board met twice in 2018, and has not followed thru [sic] on any of their issues from 2017 or 2018. The board has repeatedly asked the Council for guidance and direction. The board is an advisory board to the Town Council but has be [sic] unable to function as a board. The Park Board also is not a recommended or necessary board per the Town Ordinances, reference the Stevensville Municipal Code Article VIII. Suggested motion: I move to rescind Resolution 11 and abolish the Park Board.” As to abolishing the social media sites and the video recording and broadcasting of Town Council meetings, an attached note states that it appears See STEVI page 12
White nationalist fliers dropped on Missoula, Bitterroot doorsteps By Michael Howell
Last week, white nationalist fliers were distributed on doorsteps in Missoula and the Bitterroot Valley. The Montana Human Rights Network received reports of the fliers from recipients who were disturbed by the content left on their steps. “The hate fliers target members of our community by promoting hostility toward the Jewish community, immigrants, and men of color,” said Rachel Carroll Rivas, Co-Director at the statewide research, organizing, and advocacy organization. “This material is a stark reminder that anti-Semitism and xenophobia are collaborators in the current white nationalist agenda. When white nationalism threatens our communities, we must call it out, condemn it, and offer support to those targeted. Collectively, we must say, ‘White nationalism is
not a community value.’” Rivas said the hate fliers focus on border walls. She said the U.S. border wall has been used as the means to talk about immigration and, in many cases, vilify immigrants as a whole. “The Trump Administration is currently holding the government hostage with a shutdown and refusing to negotiate with both Democrats and moderate Republicans who want to fund the government without funding his border wall,” said Rivas. “Closer to home, Montana Senate President Scott Sales (R-Bozeman) has announced he will sponsor legislation to send $8 million of Montana taxpayer money to help pay for the wall.” She said the recent fliers use imagery of men of color with lots of facial tattoos and then compare that to a border wall in Israel and pose the question, “Why is one wall O.K. and not the other?”
“So, I think they are targeting Latino men and immigrants as a whole and are also targeting Jewish people and the Jewish nation today,” she said. Rivas said that there are laws that govern distribution of fliers, such as not putting them in a mailbox or trespassing, but she does not know exactly how these were distributed. “The real issue here is the content,” said Rivas. “It targets members of our community in a stereotypical way that isn’t helpful.” Rivas said that some kind of flier is distributed or posted somewhere in the state on a regular basis. She said the MHRN has received reports of ten different incidents in the last six months. She said in the last few months an anti-Semitic flier See FLIERS, page 2