4-H Livestock Judging, 12
Success Story, 14
A 4-H Livestock Judging Contest was held Sept. 25.
Leslie Bohle, an award winning photographer
VOLUME 100
ISSUE 41
TIMES
FALLON County
fctimes@midrivers.com 406-778-3344
BAKER, MONTANA 59313
Visit Us Online falloncountyextra.com $1.00
FRIDAY, OCTOBER 14, 2016
City settles suit with Tavern Civil suit with Baker bar, spanning 7 years, reaches $200k conclusion By SHERRY VOGEL Fallon County Times A lawsuit spanning seven years, four judges, two city mayors and numerous city councilmen was finally settled last month.
Tom and Pam Owens, owners of the Tavern Bar in Baker, reached a $200,000 settlement with the city of Baker, after the couple sued the city for emotional stress and defamation following an incident in 2009 when officers reported their bar had served alcohol after the legal closing hour. In the morning hours of Aug. 16, 2009, Baker City Police Officers Curtis Arnold and Caleb Sandoval were on patrol around town when they noticed people exiting the Tavern Bar in Baker. Since it was after the legal 2 a.m. closing hour, they wanted to make certain that all was
well within the establishment. According to documents from the 16th Judicial District Court in Baker, the officers entered through the front door to investigate the situation and stated that the law was allegedly being broken as the bar’s owners were found serving alcohol after the legal hour of operation, which is considered a misdemeanor violation. While the code does make an allowance for restaurants to continue to serve food from its menu, which the bar does, the sell or consumption of alcohol by anyone, including the owner or employees, can only occur
between 8 a.m. and 2 p.m. According to court documents, after Sandoval and Arnold entered the bar, the officers attempted to communicate with Tom Owens, whom they alleged was argumentative. A police report later detailed three misdemeanor citations issued to Owens, which included disorderly conduct, documented as the threatened use of physical force on law enforcement; obstruction of a police office, as he allegedly refused to furnish photo identification; and for sale of alcohol after hours.
Baker Police Chief Randy Ketterling appeared at the Tavern Bar sometime after Aug. 16, 2009, to deliver the three citations to Owens. The Owens’ subsequently sought legal advice fearing the Montana Department of Revenue’s Liquor Control Division would seek to pull the establishment’s liquor license, which it later would. Court documents stated that Tom Owens’s attorney, William D’Alton of D’Alton Law Firm in Billings, raised before the Baker City Court
SUIT | PAGE 12
Touring southeastern Montana with Sen. Daines
A roaring good time
Montana Senator Steve Daines (left) and Senator Eric Moore, Dist #19 (right) visit constituents in Baker Oct. 5. (Photo by Sherry Vogel)
By SHERRY VOGEL Fallon County Times
Michael and Kayla Heiser ‘Speak easy’ with Sara Helgoth at the Roaring Twenties Bash Saturday night. (Photo by Sherry Vogel) BACK TO THE ROARING 20s It has been reported that a speakeasy was discovered conducting business under the clever covert disguise of a garage showroom. Its proprietors went as far as to paint a very realistic Ford Model-T on the storefront to add a false persona. It was rumored that a motley crew of 168 Fallon County residents were in attendance. Among the group were aristocrats, movie stars and even one of the most famous baseball players of all time, socializing with gangster thugs, brash flappers and a few recognizable local residents. SEE MORE PHOTOS | PAGE 4
Harvesting mountain lions in southeast Montana By SHERRY VOGEL Fallon County Times “Once you’ve hunted a cat, you won’t care to do any other hunting but chase cats. It’s an adrenaline rush.” Those were the sentiments of houndsman Bob Thielen of Plevna, as he recalled his first harvest of a mountain lion, which he called the most exciting time of his life. The first mountain lion, which Thielen shot in winter 2014, was a four–year-old, 90-pound female. He was out with his new
hunting hounds for the very first time. The blue tick hounds called Pete and Boise are named after Thielen’s father, Ambrose, and Uncle Pete, who are both deceased. Thielen begins a typical hunting trip at 2 a.m. when he loads his hounds and his twin 10-year-old children, Whitney and Wyatt, into his Jeep. He packs a 22-250 and heads out to the Custer National Forest. This is an area that he says is a perfect habitat for mountain lions due to the dense forest and rocky terrain.
Welcome HUNTERS
The Biggest And Best Parties Happen At The Corner!
LANDOWNERS FARMERS RANCHERS
A snowy day is best for tracking. He drives the trails until he finds a paw print, and then sets his dogs loose. Once they pick up the scent, the excitement begins. If Thielen is lucky, it will be a short matter of time before the Mountain lion is detected. A good hunt ends with the cat up a tree. Once treed the dogs go crazy. After shooting his first cat, Thielen had THIELEN | PAGE 3 Marc Rieger and the Thielen twins, from Plevna MT pose with 140# male lion. (Submittd photo)
Eastern Montana was the focus for Sen. Steve Daines, R-Mont., last week as he toured 13 towns within the region, including Baker, as part of his latest tour to talk jobs, agricultural and economic opportunities and specific concerns in each community. Baker was the final stop on the last leg of Daines’s tour as elected officials, community leaders and a handful of constituents greeted the entourage for a dinner gathering. The senator sat down to the table with eight area residents, with those in attendance including City Commissioners Deb Ranum, Steve Baldwin, and Bill Randash, Montana Legislator Eric Moore, Senate District 19 of Miles City, County Advisor Jason Rittal, candidate for County Commission Roy Rost and constituents area farmer Wade Sikorski and Wibaux rancher Warren Nelson. Daines shared his many experiences being a senator in Washington, D.C. as well as abroad. He told a story of how he approached Chairman Zhang Dejiang, the top leader of China’s standing congressional body of the National People’s Congress and could have introduced any subject of importance in regards to U.S.-China relations. DAINES | PAGE 11
Steak M o n d ay Nig ht &
Lobs te r
Football FREE HOT WINGS