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Covering the Bitterroot Valley – “Where Montana Begins!”
‘The B Volume XXXIV, Number 50
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Wednesday, July 3, 2019
New Stevi councilor sworn in, mayor denies validity attorney Brian West if the Town’s appointment of Crews was legal and got a reply on June 19 stating, “Yes.” But adding, “The Council was authorized to suspend rules and proceed to appoint a replacement for the vacant seat. It would be advisable in future agenda language to separate actions and define who the applicant is to avoid the possibility of a challenge under the Public’s Right to Know.” Based on that opinion, council president Bob Michalson sent an email to the mayor informing him that they would proceed with the swearing in of the appointed candidate. Dewey responded by email, stating, “Mr. West’s opinion does not invalidate the veto that was
By Michael Howell
Despite the fact that Stevensville Mayor Brandon Dewey was sticking by his veto of the Town Council’s June 13th appointment of Jim Crews to fill the council vacancy in Ward 2, Crews was sworn in as Mayor by Town Judge Maureen O’Conner on the sidewalk in front of Town Hall on the following Tuesday, June 25. Dewey vetoed the council’s decision based on his belief that the public notice was inadequate, primarily due to the failure to name in the agenda item the candidate that was slated for appointment. Following the appointment, Mayor Dewey asked the Town’s
issued on Friday. The only way to truly determine whether my veto is binding would to seek a ruling from the District Court. The same would be true if we wanted a ruling on the unconstitutionality of the appointment altogether, which I am entirely prepared to do. “The veto has been issued. Council must act on that veto regardless of Brian’s opinion. Municipal Code clearly states that: ‘No ordinance or resolution so vetoed by the mayor shall go into effect unless the same is afterwards passed by two-thirds vote of the whole number of members of the council.’ Therefore, you have the option to override my veto at the next council meeting based on See STEVI, page 3
Dr. April Weinberger, family practice physician at Corvallis Family Medicine, was recently voted Bitterroot’s Best Physician.
Best doc in the Bitterroot By Michael Howell
Dr. April Weinberger, a family practice physician at Corvallis Family Medicine and Chief Medical officer at Marcus Daly Memorial Hospital, has recently been voted Bitterroot’s Best Physician in a poll of community
members. Weinberger grew up in rural Wisconsin and initially went to music school as a piano performance major. Then she had one of those “life changing moments” when you ask yourself what you really want to do with your life, and she decided that she wanted to
do some sort of service work that would really help people. She said majoring in music involved a lot of training, mostly practicing alone and concentrating on self-improvement. She decided then that leading a life of self-
Good times!
See DOCTOR, page 3 Jim Crews is sworn in by Judge Maureen O’Conner last week in front of the Stevensville Town Hall. Michael Howell photo.
Stevensville’s water problems go from bad to worse By Michael Howell
Water use restrictions that were implemented on Thursday, June 20th in Stevensville, remain in effect due to an additional well-pump failure in the Twin Creeks well field. According to a press release from the town, the failure occurred in the morning hours of June 28, 2019. Public Works Supervisor
Alan Kluesner gives a pony ride to one of the many happy kids at Stevensville Western Heritage Days which by all reports, was “one of the best ever.” Michael Howell photo.
Have a Safe & Fun 4th of July!
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George Thomas reported that the replacement of the pump from the previous week’s failure will be completed. However, the pump will not be providing water to the system until Wednesday or Thursday because water testing has to be completed before it can be brought on-line. When crews finish installing the replacement for last week’s well failure, they will immediately begin work on
the well pump that failed on the 28th. The most recent equipment breakdown leaves the Town with just two of its five wells to supply water to the community. Questions have also been raised surrounding the pump failure that occurred last year. To date, that pump has See STEVI, page 3
Crews work to repair one of the Town of Stevensville’s wells. Michael Howell photo.
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