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Covering the Bitterroot Valley – “Where Montana Begins!” – Established 1985 – Locally Owned & Independent
’ ! l a c o est at L
Find the latest updates and information on the COVID-19 pandemic at www.bitterrootstar.com Volume XXXV, Number 52
More public parkland!
‘The B
Next Sale: Ravalli County Fairgrounds
July 23rd - July 25th
Multiple Estates, Modern Furniture, Tools, Antiques, Collectibles Snowmobiles & Trailer, 4 ATV’s
For info call Mike (520) 990-9658 • swansonsestatesales.com
www.bitterrootstar.com
Wednesday, July 15, 2020
Recall effort to remain on hold, judge wants more info
By Michael Howell
The efforts to recall Stevensville Mayor Brandon Dewey hit a stumbling block last week that virtually assures there will be no recall election this August despite the fact that sufficient signatures have been gathered to place it on a special ballot. At a hearing on July 9, District Court Judge Howard Recht left the election process on hold and asked for further briefing from the opposing parties concerning issues in the case. County Clerk and Recorder and Election Administrator Regina Plettenberg
told the judge that given the delays to date that, if the recall was approved to go forward, it would most likely have to go on the regular ballot in November. The lawsuit was filed by Dewey against the petition sponsor Leanna Rodabaugh and Election Administrator Plettenberg and challenges the validity of the recall election. He claims that Rodabaugh’s petition is invalid because it is based on lies and misinformation and should not have been approved for circulation in the first place. Rodabaugh’s petition claims
that Dewey approved a $78,000 contract with an IT company without council approval. Dewey argues that the information presented in the petition is misleading. He claims the expenditures were approved in the budget and that the three-year non-binding agreement he signed was approved when the budget was passed and that town policy does not require council approval for the mayor to contract out the work. He claims that Rodabaugh knew all this when she filed the petition and See RECALL, page 7
Stevi council stopped in its tracks By Michael Howell
City of Hamilton staff and mayor pose with members of the Bitter Root Land Trust at the recently opened Skalkaho Bend Park.
Skalkaho Bend Park open
By Michael Howell
So, you are living next to one of the largest wilderness areas in the lower forty-eight and are itching to get out in the wild, but don’t have the time or the gas to get out of town? If you live in Hamilton, you just have to walk down to one of the city’s parks along the river and you can find a little bit of the wild in one of several parks being maintained in a natural state. They stretch along the river corridor like gems on a necklace and a new gem has just been added. Skalkaho Bend Park. The new seventy-acre park is located just upriver, south of River Park and stretches along the banks of the Bitterroot River for about a mile and half. Like the river, the story of the park’s origin is long and winding. It is tied up in a family history, in the public’s will to save open space, and the Bitterroot Land Trust’s longstanding and tireless efforts at preservation of open spaces in the valley by placing conservation easements on the land. But the list of contributors is a long one, once again like the river. Besides the Land Trust and the Christmann family and the Open Lands Bond Program, you could
Two Stevensville Town Council members, Jaime Devlin and Dempsey Vick, tried to compel the other two council members, Bob Michalson and Robin Holcomb, to attend last week’s town council meeting but to no avail. The meeting was subsequently adjourned due to lack of a quorum. Under old business on the agenda was a discussion and decision concerning the IT services
agreement with First Call Computer that is at the basis of the recall effort as well as a discussion/decision concerning Code of Conduct violations, oath of office violations and improper influence “all conducted by Robert Michalson.” Neither Michalson nor Holcomb showed up at the meeting. Holcomb had given short notice that she would not be attending but gave no reason. Michalson gave no notice. When the meeting was called to order and the
roll call was taken, Mayor Dewey announced that there was no quorum and asked how the council wanted to proceed. Councilor Devlin moved to compel the missing council members to attend and the Chief of Police was sent to give them notice. After a short wait the meeting was adjourned. Chief James Marble said that he did go to residences of each council member to deliver See COUNCIL, page 7
Recall petition sponsor cited for disorderly conduct, assault By Michael Howell
Skalkaho Bend Park. Photo courtesy of Bitter Root Land Trust. gram, Steele-Reese Foundation, add the Ravalli County Fish and and Family Foundations. Wildlife Association, Bitterroot Taking action to place Trout Unlimited, Montana Fish a conservation easement on a and Wildlife Conservation Trust, piece of land is an inherently Bitterroot Audubon, Rapp Family Foundation, Bitter Root Water See PARK, page 9 Forum, Recreational Trails Pro-
Leanna Rodabaugh, sponsor of the recall petition against Mayor Brandon Dewey, has been cited for disorderly conduct for her behavior prior to a Town Council meeting being held at the North Valley Public Library on the evening of July 9. Mayor Dewey and Town staff were preparing the meeting room for the public when Rodabaugh entered the building. According to Mayor Dewey, Rodabaugh first had a boisterous encounter with Town Clerk Monica Hoffman including profanity, then had words with Town Council member Jaime Devlin before he moved to intervene and ask Rodabaugh to leave. Devlin called the police.
According to Devlin, she and town staff were in the library
See CITED, page 7
County Fair cancelled The Ravalli County Public Health Department released the following statement late Monday afternoon: “It is with sadness and necessity that health officials are announcing the cancellation of the main portion of the 2020 Ravalli County fair. In light of community spread and recent increase in daily new cases such a large gathering would increase the threat of exposure, leading to rapidly increasing spread of the Corona virus. This would significantly worsen the risk of illness and death to the general public. A high-expected attendance for the fair would make compliance with the Gov phase 2 directive essentially impossible. However fair organizers are working on a safe plan for more limited event to allow FFA and 4H events to proceed, provided cases don’t significantly worsen between now and then.” -- Ravalli County Public Health Officials The Fair Board was scheduled to meet on Tuesday, July 14. The Star will have more information following that meeting in next week’s paper.
Viral Clinic has permanent home at Marcus Daly Hospital By Michael Howell
Marcus Daly Memorial Hospital in Hamilton has opened the doors to its new Viral Clinic. In response to the COVID-19 pandemic, the hospital quickly
set up a temporary respiratory clinic in a large yellow tent in the hospital’s parking lot. It was designed to handle people with respiratory problems and winnow out those who showed signs of being infected with the virus from
The Viral Clinic at Marcus Daly Memorial Hospital now has a permanent home.
those with more common forms of illness such as the flu or asthma, or even from healthy clients coming into the hospital for other reasons. Those with symptoms can then be safely treated and tested while other patients are also attended to. Unfortunately, the highly transmissible virus doesn’t appear to be going away anytime soon. The silver lining on this dark cloud, however, is that the viral clinic is not going away either and has been permanently incorporated into the hospital facility. The entry to the clinic is adjacent to Community Care, which already provides a lot of outpatient sick care, including care and treatment of upper respiratory infection. Chief Medical Staff Officer Dr. April Weinberger called it a “natural decision” to move the emergency respiratory care into an area where the staff is used to handling that sort of thing.
See VIRAL CLINIC, page 8
Some members of the Viral Clinic staff, left to right: Lori Gillum, RMA, April Weinberger, MD, CMO, Patty Woodhouse, RN.