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Covering the Bitterroot Valley – “Where Montana Begins!”
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Volume XXXV, Number 10
Established 1985 - Locally owned & independent
Wednesday, September 25, 2019
Petition circulating to place community college on ballot
It’s here!
A petition is circulating to place the establishment of a local independent community college in the Bitterroot on the May 2020 ballot. Candy Lubansky, President of the Bitterroot College Advisory Council, said, “We are asking the community whether they would like us to pursue legislative establishment as a fully qualified, independent community college.” Lubansky said that one hurdle to getting the required signatures is that many people are under the mistaken impression that the Bitterroot College UM is a community college because that’s
what the voters approved back in 2008. What people need to realize, she said, is that it is not. It is an appendage of the University of Montana, like the Missoula College. In 2008, the voters did approve the establishment of a community college in the Bitterroot but actual authorization must come from the Legislature, and the legislature balked. Lubansky said that she believes the Legislature felt that the ballot language wasn’t clear enough to the voters about the cost involved. Instead of creating a community college, she
said, they turned to the University of Montana and told them to establish an affiliate program in the Bitterroot. “That’s what they did,” said Lubansky, “but an affiliate is not an independent community college.” She said there are genuine independent community colleges in the state, like Flathead College, but the Bitterroot College UM, like Missoula College, is more like an extension of the university. The university board holds all the authority. She called the
By Michael Howell
The Stevensville Town Council made a few changes to Mayor Brandon Dewey’s proposed budget for the coming fiscal year at its last meeting. Right out of the gate Councilor Steve Gibson made a motion to reduce the town’s water and sewer rates by 3% rather than make the 3% hike that the mayor was requesting. Mayor Dewey noted that a previous council five years ago established a five-year tax increment increase that would be applied annually and this was the last hike in that process. Gibson said that in his
opinion the last hike wasn’t necessary and in fact the rate could be reduced because there was plenty of money left over in the water and sewer fund from last year. Dewey said that there was always left-over revenue in the funds as part of a reserve for unforeseen circumstances. He said the rate hike was designed to accrue funds for the last phase of the water system improvement project which is to build a new storage facility near the current well field. The mayor’s rationale did not hold water as far as Gibson was concerned. He believed there was plenty of money for now
and stuck to his motion. The 3% reduction was approved unanimously. Next, Gibson moved to hire two seasonal employees for the Public Works Department instead of the one full-time employee that the Mayor’s budget requested. He said it was the recommendation of the Public Works director to hire two seasonal workers and it would also cost less. The motion was approved unanimously. Gibson also disagreed with the proposed allocation for a car for the Building Permit department employees. He read off a list
The Bitterroot National Forest has issued a Draft Decision Notice and Finding of No Significant Impact for the Canyon Lake Dam Access for Repair Project. The decision would authorize the Canyon Creek Irrigation District (CCID) to access the dam by helicopter, making approximately 32 round trip helicopter flights and to airlift motorized equipment and heavy, bulky construction materials needed to repair and stabilize the embankment on the dam, safely and effectively. Anyone who has previously commented on the proposed project has 45 days
following the publication of the draft decision to lodge an objection. The notice was published on September 15, 2019. The Forest received 12 comment letters. Eleven comment letters were supportive of the proposed action and one comment letter expressed concern that the project was not being conducted using primitive means. Canyon Lake Dam is located on the Darby Ranger District of the Bitterroot National Forest within the Selway-Bitterroot Wilderness in the upper Canyon Creek drainage west of Hamilton. Distance to the dam from the trailhead is approximately 5 miles. The
steep trail ascends over 2400 feet in elevation and crosses a steep, rocky slope within the last mile of the dam. Trail No. 525 is not recommended for stock use because of steep grades, rockslides with large voids, and sections of slick rock slabs. The 430-foot long, 22-foot high earth dam was constructed in 1891. The water stored in the reservoir is used to irrigate more than 1,000 acres. According to the information in the draft decision, the dam is classified as a high hazard structure with the
See COLLEGE, page A3
Stevi Council does some tweaking on proposed budget
Gracie the Great Grey Owl, a survivor of more than one potentially fatal mishap, graces the cover of the 2020 Bitterroot Audubon calendar, now on sale at many retail stores and at farmers markets in Hamilton and Stevensville.
New Audubon calendar out By Michael Howell
The Bitterroot Audubon Society publishes a calendar every year featuring high quality photographs of local birds taken by local photographers. It is the organization’s only fund raiser, so a lot of effort goes into its production. The result is not only a calendar full of stunning photographs, it also serves as a useful tool for keeping track of birds sighted throughout the year and contains lots of information about birds. The calendar is also a community production featuring bird drawings by students as well as photos. This year’s calendar features bird drawings by fourth graders at Lone Rock School. It is lightweight, packs easily and shows off the beauty of the Bitterroot so well.
Gracing the front cover of the 2020 calendar is a photograph of Gracie, a Great Grey Owl who was lucky enough to get help from the organization that was formed to do just that kind of thing. The photograph was taken by Bitterroot Audubon Society President Becky Peters who also played a role in helping the owl following a couple of mishaps. “Once she conked her head when she flew into a very nice man’s truck [John Ormiston one of the valley’s top notch avian specialists],” said Peters. “How lucky can you get?” The owl went to rehab and was then released. The second time she was hurt when she was trampled by overly protective pregnant cows. “The cows get agitated when there are moving things on the ground,” said Peters. “She was rescued in the nick of time by
two heroic ladies (Estelle and Barbara) who jumped the fence, shooed the pesky cattle away, and called in nearby raptor specialists. Again, how lucky can you get?” Gracie made it through a broken pelvis and clavicle, thanks to the expertise of Wild Skies Raptor Center. Since January it has been a slow process of her healing and then flying, little by little, farther and farther in the various flight cages. She is now in the process of molting and they hope to release her this fall into the wild – “though thankfully not back to where she keeps getting into trouble!” said Peters. On the back of the calendar the paragraph explains how Great Gray Owls are listed See AUDUBON, page A3
For Michele Falivene, left, birding and photography are both learning experiences. For instance, in this case she thought that she was photographing a Western Wood Peewee only to discover later upon examination of the photo in detail that she had captured a great image of a Willow Flycatcher. Robin Dewey (right) used her house as a bird blind by removing the screen from her kitchen window. On a cloudy winter day, she watched patiently until the sun finally shed just the right light to show off this European Starling’s startlingly colorful plumage. Both photos made it into this year’s Bitterroot Audubon Calendar. Michael Howell photo.
See STEVI, page B6
Draft decision gives green light to dam repair in wilderness
See DAM, page B3
Canyon Lake Dam is located within the Selway-Bitterroot Wilderness in the upper Canyon Creek drainage west of Hamilton, about 5 miles from the trailhead.