Editor's note: Each week, the Missoulian provides readers with a sampling of news gleaned from weekly newspapers around western Montana.
Ugly's going to court.
Turner maintains Ugly is an American bulldog, not a pit bull, and veterinarian Rick Myers of Kalispell concurs. Myers signed a statement saying as much and called Ugly “friendly and non-aggressive.”
Turner was recently issued a citation for keeping Ugly in the city, but vowed to fight the ticket.
“I am looking for the charges to be dropped,” said Turner, who has a note from her doctor that prescribes Ugly as an “emotional support animal.” Separating pet from owner could cause undue stress, the doctor said.
A Dec. 18 court date has been set to consider the matter. If she isn't let off the hook, Turner said she'll pursue the matter, contending the law is “vague and unconstitutional.”
“I am not going to roll over and play dead,” said Turner. “I wish I could just move, but it is not feasible.”
Deer Lodge river cleanup will start with 2 bridges
The Superfund cleanup of the Clark Fork River at Deer Lodge won't start on the Eastside Road where originally planned.
Instead, the so-called “Bum Bridge” and newer Burlington-Northern Bridge in the middle of town will receive the initial intention, Kate Schwab of the Silver State Post reported.
Darryl Barton, local field representative for the Clark Fork River Technical Assistance Committee, told Powell County commissioners in late September the toxic mining slickens in the trestle area pose the more urgent public health hazard. Pedestrians cut across town on the Bum Bridge, that once carried Milwaukee Road trains. Children often play in the shallow river and wet ground below the bridge.
State scientists will launch the cleanup on Oct. 20, taking samples of the contaminated area to map the concentration of toxic metals. The Environmental Protection Agency did a similar study a decade ago, the commissioners pointed out. But since the state Department of Environmental Quality has responsibility to do the cleanup work, DEQ will take its own samples.
A public meeting to discuss the cleanup work has been set for Oct. 21 at the Deer Lodge Community Center from 6 to 8 pm.
The commissioners are considering creating a public park in the trestle area as part of the state's restoration efforts after cleanup. However, most of the land there is owned by the railroad.
The Atlantic Richfield Co. will pay for damages to the Clark Fork in the Deer Lodge area. That comes as a result of a recent lawsuit settlement between the state and Arco.
Smoldering fire surfaces at Lake County Landfill
Response time is important in battling a fire, and firefighters got to this one in ... six to eight months?
From the time it started, yes - but the Polson Fire Department was still on the scene just a few minutes after it was reported.
The call came in from the Lake County Landfill, according to the Lake County Leader, and officials said the likely cause was spontaneous combustion. Fire Chief John Fairchild told reporter Mike Cast that the fire had probably been smoldering deep in a pile of old garbage for months before finally reaching the surface.
“It happens in dumps all over,” Fairchild said. “It's no different than a haystack fire.”
It was still the first fire in 30 years that wasn't in an active dump site, according to landfill program manager Mark Nelson.
The fire was probably caused when wood met friction and was heated by water at just the right time, the Leader reported. The underground fire would flare up when it encountered oxygen in air holes, and finally made its way to the surface.
“Fires at landfills are like traffic tickets,” Neal Bolton told the county's other weekly newspaper, the Valley Journal. “No matter how careful we are, sooner or later everybody gets one.”
Bolton was identified in the story as “the guru of garbage.”
The Journal said excavation crews were working to move the smoldering garbage and bury it as they searched for the source of the fire.
Stevi museum receives Burnt Fork millstones
David Haacke sacked the first flour milled at the Burnt Fork Grist Mill near Stevensville in 1871. Millstones from the long-abandoned mill were donated to the Stevensville Museum last Friday, according to a story by Michael Howell in the Bitterroot Star.
Over the years, the land at the mouth of Burnt Fork Canyon on which the mill once stood wound up in the hands of the Miller family, who moved the millstones to their ranch lower on the creek when the site was sold. John and Vonnie Miller put the two grinding stones on display at the Stevensville School for a time, but brought them home when vandals began to take their toll. They sat back at the ranch for 20 years.
John Miller died and Vonnie sold the place and moved to town. The new ranch owner, Tom Beasley, did some research on the stones. He got an offer for them from the mill site owner, but opted instead to return them to Vonnie Miller, hoping she would donate them for public display.
Miller agreed. Her son Scott Miller, along with Stevensville Mayor Bill Meisner, said they would do what they could to restore the millstones. The museum will put them on display at its site on Main Street.
86 Lil' Pirates cheer at Polson football game
Not even the Dallas Cowboys can boast cheerleaders like this - 86 strong, and some as young as 5 years old.
The girls performed during the recent Frenchtown-Polson football game in Polson after spending a week at the Lil' Pirates Cheer Camp, according to the Valley Journal.
Lil' Pirates Cheer Camp has been in existence for eight years. After a school levy failed and the cheerleading budget at Polson High School was cut, the camp has become the way high school cheerleaders raise money for new uniforms.
Weeklies Reader is compiled by reporters Vince Devlin and Kim Briggeman.
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