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Covering the Bitterroot Valley – “Where Montana Begins!”
’ ! l a c o L t a t s e B ‘The
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Volume XXXIV, Number 39
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Wednesday, April 17, 2019
Bitter Root Humane Assn building new facility
By Michael Howell
The parking lot at Super 1 Foods in Stevensville was plumb full on Saturday as the Bitterroot Valley and beyond came out to support Montana Highway Patrol Trooper Wade Palmer and his family. Rich Luedeke, assistant manager at Super 1, said this was the largest event ever held at the store. Sgt. Brad Weston of the Ravalli County Sheriff’s Office said there were two officers from his department attending as well as four Montana Highway Patrol members including one off duty officer from Great Falls. The Stevensville Police Department was there also. From cookies and baked goods to silent auction items and hot dogs, there were a multitude of ways to have some fun and raise money for the Palmer family who lives in Stevensville. It was reported that over $36,000 was raised at the event. Trooper Palmer remains hospitalized after sustaining multiple gunshot wounds in the line of duty. Jean Schurman photo.
New Surgery Center at Daly Hospital to hold grand opening Your chance to walk across the Red Line By Michael Howell There is a chance coming up for the general public to do what will soon be forbidden, that is to walk across the Red Line at Marcus Daly Memorial Hospital’s new Surgical Center, the line that stops anyone but qualified personnel from approaching the critical areas of the Operating Room (OR). Not only that, you will have a chance to see what the doctor sees when performing surgery. And what the doctors can see using the new state of the art optical equip-
ment, the doctors themselves find astounding. Head of the surgery department, Dr. James J. Zubernis, known familiarly by most people as Dr. Z, is obviously excited about the new facility. Dr. Zubernis was quick to credit former Hospital CEO John Bartos with having the understanding that to provide the kind of quality service that the citizens of the valley deserve would require upgrading the hospital’s surgery facility. “But I don’t think he would have envisioned what we have now,” said Dr. Zubernis, “because it is so far beyond what I thought it would be and I’ve been involved from the very beginning. This is a spectacular operating area.” He said that he has practiced medicine over the last 25 years in large and
small hospitals all across the country, “but this is by far the most state of the art facility I’ve seen, by far and away.” He said the hospital staff worked hard in designing the facility not only to make it state of the art for today, but for the next decade. “We have gone above and beyond our goals,” said Dr. Zubernis. “This is a significant investment in this community. You would have to go to a much larger community in this state to get this kind of service.” He said that he was confident that the investment was going to pay off because it was going to make non-invasive surgeries easier, more efficient and much, much safer, ultimately shortening the See SURGERY, page B7
The Bitter Root Humane Society has been around a long time. It was started in 1972, located where the Hamilton City Wastewater treatment plant is now located. In 1984, Countess Margit Bessenyey leased the current location on Fairgrounds Road to the Humane Association for $1 per year. When she died, the estate donated the current property to the Humane Association. The shelter is a valuable asset for the Bitterroot community on a day to day basis. Last year it took in 791 animals and found homes for 92.8% of the animals. Although they primarily deal with cats and dogs, they actually take in almost any animal. They might not take in any more bull frogs (an invasive species) but they have cared for quails, guinea pigs, a flicker, goats, a caiman (they found a home for this alligator-
Kennels are just one of the areas that will be much improved in the new Humane Shelter facility. Michael Howell photo. type creature at a reptile place in Texas), roosters, rabbits, ducks, geese, peacocks, horses, and even a cow. According to recently retired Shelter Manager Eve Burnsides, the Bitter Root Humane Shelter is an open admission shelter, mean-
ing that no animal is turned away. It is the only such shelter within a hundred miles. Burnsides said the current building was constructed new for use as an animal shelter but was in need of major repairs after only See BRHA page A3
Stevi clerk resigns amidst council, mayor conflicts
By Michael Howell
The Stevensville Town Council had an item on its Thursday night agenda to discuss and possibly decide “to hold a Committee of the Whole meeting for the purpose of discussing the Mayor’s Employee Reorganization Plan and its implementation.” Instead, the council decided on the spot to rescind the plan. Then on Friday morning, town clerk Audree Tribbensee resigned. The Mayor presented his plan to the Council, which involved a couple of new job descriptions and the hiring of some new personnel, and the council agreed by consensus at its January 10 meeting to move forward with the plan. Councilor Robin Holcomb started the discussion by saying, “With everything I have found, I move we rescind the Mayor’s Employee Reorganization Plan… We don’t approve their hiring and salaries. The Council has the
power to fix compensation and prescribe duties for all officers and employees of the town… The council shall by ordinance and resolution determine salaries. So, all of this that you did is out of protocol. It did not follow our ordinance or policies. I move we rescind the Employee Reorganization Plan.” Mayor Brandon Dewey stated that the motion was out of order since it was not on the agenda. Councilor Jerry Phillips said that he was especially concerned because he understood it had already been implemented. Holcomb said that she asked the mayor to put the plan on hold, but said he moved forward to make changes without council approval. The Mayor said there would be legal ramifications for the town if the council rescinded the plan because a new police officer and a court clerk had already been hired. “I think the Mayor needs to
figure that out,” said Holcomb, “because we didn’t approve the salaries. We didn’t approve any job descriptions. We asked for it to be put on hold ‘til we could figure this out. This is not on us. This is on the mayor. We didn’t know we had a Court Clerk for four weeks until a few days ago. We didn’t even know we had a new police officer until we got the email that he was being sworn in. This is the stuff we deal with on a daily basis. I’m sorry, I can’t approve this. It was done irrationally. It was done out of ordinance.” Mayor Dewey said he was confused. “At one time, you approved it and consented to the plan. Then the council president conveyed to me that some folks didn’t read the plan in its entirety before agreeing to it. So, you consented, but now you want to take it back? I moved forward with the plan because you had consented to it. No other decision was made by See STEVI, page B6
Corvallis Civic Club to host meeting on school facilities
Reporters were given a sneak preview of the new Operating Room at Marcus Daly Memorial Hospital’s new Surgery Center by Chief of Surgery Dr. James Zubernis and Surgical Sales Executive Rob Craven. The general public can tour the facility and meet the surgeons and staff at a Grand Opening for the facility on April 26. Michael Howell photo.
Tickets $40 per person, $75 per couple or $300 table of 8 - Tickets online at sihamilton.org, Chapter One in Hamilton, or 406-360-3902
One of the goals of the Corvallis Civic Club is to help the public be informed about and involved in issues of importance to the community. The Corvallis School District has embarked on a process to create a facility master plan and has engaged SMA Architects to assist it in evaluating existing facilities and looking at options for future expansion. At its April meeting the Corvallis Civic Club will host a presentation for the public by SMA on Monday, April 22 at 7 p.m. in the Corvallis High School Library to learn more about the school district and to offer your thoughts on the planning process. SMA will be presenting a sum-
mary of the facilities condition review it has been working on and will present information about current school facility utilization. They will also present some very preliminary ideas that might become part of the district’s master plan. This meeting will be an early opportunity for the public to learn about school facility needs, ask questions, and provide input to SMA and the school district as the process moves forward. The Corvallis Civic Club is a volunteer community group dedicated to facilitating projects of benefit to the Corvallis community. Past projects include: school/community tennis courts; tree plantings and benches on
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Main Street; the Corvallis to Woodside pedestrian/bike path; pathway east along Willow Creek Road; and Welcome to Corvallis signs. Most recently the group has spearheaded efforts to construct a pedestrian/bicycle bridge across the Bitterroot River at Woodside and to improve the safety of pedestrian and bike crossings in the Corvallis school zone and along the Woodside Cut-Off Road, and lower the speed limit on the Cut-Off Rd. Members welcome your ideas and your help in accomplishing good things for the community. For more information, contact Allen Bjergo at 961-4538 or Tonia Bloom at 363-3485.
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