Early Monday morning, June 25, the newly established five-member Board of County Commissioners elected Jim Rokosch as Chairman of the Board. According to unofficial minutes of the meeting, Commissioner Alan Thompson noted that traditionally a commissioner has served two to three years before being appointed to that position. He stated that he did not think selecting a new person would be wise, since you need the experience of the existing chairman. The three newly elected commissioners apparently disagreed with that assessment. Rokosch was elected to the position by his own vote and that of Commissioners Carlotta Grandstaff and Kathleen Driscoll, all recently elected to the Board following the voter-mandated expansion of the commission to five members. Thompson voted against the proposal and current Commission Chairman Greg Chilcott did not vote. Grandstaff was elected as vice-chairman, with Thompson again being the lone no vote.

The commissioners then discussed the nature, the composition and the operating procedures of about 31 different county boards that commissioners either make appointments to and/or participate on as well as four state and federal boards that they participate on. Commissioner Thompson wondered if the new board members wanted to reconstitute the existing boards. Driscoll and Rokosch indicated they simply wanted to look at the boards and their make-up and possibly develop a criteria for selection. Rokosch said that he has received a number of public complaints about the make-up of certain boards.

Ben Hillicoss of the Planning Board made some suggestions about changing the Planning Board's agenda to better accommodate public involvement. He also stated that the Planning Board, unlike the newly established Streamside Setback Committee, did not have wide and balanced representation of the public.

Commissioner Thompson stated that he welcomed the opportunity to look at certain boards, but that he has some frustration over what he hears about board make-up. He feels most boards are representative of the citizens.

Future discussions are being planned.

In the meantime commissioner participation on some of the Boards was decided, with Chilcott agreeing to serve on the Ravalli County Economic Development Authority, Thompson continuing to serve on the Human Resource Council, Mental Health and Child Development Council, and Juvenile Detention. Rokosch agreed to serve on the Open Lands Board, Right to Farm and Ranch Board, Tax Appeal Board, Planning Board and Economic Development Authority. Driscoll will serve on the Animal Control Board, Ravalli County Park Board, Citizens Advisory Council, Job Service Employee Committee, and serve as liaison for the Airport Board. Grandstaff will serve on the Board of Health, Airport Board, Weed Board, Hamilton Planning Board, 911 Advisory Board, and Trapper Creek Advisory Committee.

The Commissioners also raised the issue of the attorneys representing the county in the recent settlement agreement with several developers over a federal lawsuit. A motion was made and approved to meet in closed session for litigation strategy.

Hamilton City Council hears complaints about police force

By Michael Howell

The Hamilton Police Department was heavily criticized during the public comment portion of the Hamilton City Council meeting last Tuesday, June 19, primarily relating to its handling, or mishandling as complainants charge, of a recent altercation that sent two men to the hospital emergency room. One, a card dealer at the Corner Sports Bar where the incident occurred, with a wound to his hand, the other with wounds to his head and face.

Dennis McIntyre, who claims to have been attacked for no apparent reason while using the bathroom at the bar, required about 57 stitches in his face after being smashed from behind with a beer glass. McIntyre sees himself as an innocent victim of a potentially deadly attack and he's frustrated that no one has yet been charged with a crime. He told the City Council that the man who attacked him was interviewed by the police and then released because it was determined that he was not a threat to the public.

"As a United States veteran," said McIntyre, "I resent that. I am a member of the public."

Several friends and supporters of McIntyre spoke on his behalf and expressed concern that the incident wasn't being properly handled or investigated. A few speakers brought up other incidences from the past claiming that McIntyre's problem was not an isolated incident.

A retired fire officer from Seattle now living in Hamilton, Roy Pilke, accused the Hamilton Police of operating under a "siege mentality" and behaving like a "legalized gang."

"The Hamilton City Police Department is not highly regarded anywhere," said Pilke, "and with the unhealthy demeanor of our combat ready police I urge the city council to get a grip on the situation."

Another speaker called the handling of the McIntyre case "a gross miscarriage of justice and disrespectful. Something needs to be done to restore community confidence."

Wayne Hedman said the city had a real problem.

"With someone being sandbagged in a bathroom in a bar, there could have been a murder, but the whole thing got dissed off," he said. He urged the city to look beyond any sort of internal investigation of the affair and look to Missoula or Missoula County for a more accurate interpretation.

Police Chief Ryan Oster told the Bitterroot Star that it was "real obvious a lot of misinformation has been circulating around in the community. Folks thought that nothing was done, but it's not the case," he said.

He said that the Hamilton Police did respond to the Corner Sports Bar and did investigate the incident. He said that it is typical for investigations to continue over the span of a few days.

"We don't always make an immediate arrest. It is not uncommon for an investigation to take time," said Oster. "I don't think anyone wants the police making arrests without establishing proper cause," he said.

He said that a full report of the incident had been turned over to the City Attorney's office where a decision would be made as to whether charges should be filed in the case.

City attorney Ken Bell said Monday that he had received a police report concerning the incident but that it was still under investigation by his office and he could not comment about an ongoing investigation.

More wolves killed in Bitterroot Valley

By Michael Howell

A third wolf from the Brooks Creek Pack was killed last Saturday on a ranch east of Stevensville after waiting in a trap most of the day for a federal predator control officer to arrive and do the killing. Earlier in the month, two other wolves were killed on the same ranch. The first was killed by ranch owner Ed Cummings in the early morning hours of June 5 while it was harassing his cattle herd. The second was killed the following day by a U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service predator control officer, who caught the animal in a trap. The third wolf, a two-year-old male, was also caught in an FWS trap set on Cummings' ranchland. But due to what Montana Department of Fish Wildlife and Parks Wolf Management Specialist Liz Bradley called "a communication error," no predator control officer was able to make it to the site until late afternoon.

A wolf from the Skalkaho Pack, south of Hamilton, was also trapped and killed on June 11. A calf was killed by a wolf on a ranch in the area on May 23. Officials succeeded in capturing, collaring and releasing a yearling male wolf in the area. Then, on June 11, an adult female wolf was trapped and killed on that ranch. State and federal officials refuse to divulge the exact location of the ranch involved, or identify the landowner.

That brings to four the total number of wolves killed in the Bitterroot Valley so far in the month of June.

Rancher Ed Cummings, who discovered the latest wolf in a trap on his property early Saturday morning, was visibly frustrated at mid-day, while waiting on federal officers to arrive.

"To let a wolf flop around in a trap, in 90 degree heat, and wait for a government killer to arrive is not right," said Cummings. "That's a horrible way for an animal to die."

Both Cummings and the FWS were each granted permission to kill two wolves following confirmation of wolf predation on his ranch. Following the latest kill, FWS officials have taken their limit and pulled their traps off Cummings' property. Cummings still has permission to kill one more wolf on sight on his ranch. The permit lasts through July 21, 2007, after which it expires, although it could be renewed if wolf predation should continue or return at some future time.

The permission to kill wolves comes with some restrictions as well as some responsibilities, according to Cummings. The contract he signed forbids him from intentionally baiting or attracting the wolves by any calls, scents, dead or live baits, nor can he trap them. It does allow him to wait for, track, or pursue and shoot a wolf on his property, however.

"The wolf must be killed as quickly and humanely as possible," states the contract.

The carcass may not be moved or disturbed, however, and belongs to the State of Montana.

Although Cummings is not allowed to trap the animals himself or to shoot an animal caught in a federal trap, he was made responsible for checking the traps on a daily basis. If he discovered a trapped animal he was to call federal agents, who usually respond within hours.

Two days before finding the wolf in one of the federal traps, Cummings found a black bear that had been trapped and climbed into a nearby tree. The traps are designed to be pulled away after springing shut. But a hook on a chain attached to the trap is designed to catch on some object eventually and hold the animal in place. The bear managed to drag his trap and chain up a nearby tree. Cummings said that he had to cut the tree down and FWP officials drugged the animal in order to remove the device and release the bear back into the wild.

FWP wolf management specialist Liz Bradley called the delay in FWS response to the trapped wolf "an unfortunate situation." Following some "communications errors" a predator control officer from Whitehall finally responded, arriving at the ranch outside of Stevensville at 4 p.m. Concerning the reasons for the delay, she suggested calling Federal Wildlife Service officials directly.

"We have to do a lot of trapping. It's always a little controversial, but that's part of it," said Bradley.

Kraig Glazier of the U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service refused to answer questions concerning the delay in responding to the trapped wolf and referred the reporter instead to legislative and public affairs specialists working for the agency in Colorado. Those offices were closed and no comments were available by press time.

Bradley said that there was a radio-collared wolf in the Brooks Creek Pack and that the agency believed the pack was not currently close to the ranch. She said the agency's approach was to target the animals that are returning to the ranch and that this had been done.

"We're thinking that the pack has basically pulled out of the area," she said.

In the meantime, Cummings spent Sunday night in the field with his cows. He does not expect to kill another wolf despite having a permit.

"Most of the predation takes place at night," he said. "I wouldn't be able to see anything. It was just a fluke that I caught that first wolf at dawn."

It took Cummings two shots to bring the wolf down. Since then, his friends and neighbors Floyd and Erma Potter have loaned him a rifle with a special scope that makes it easy to aim in dim light by showing a bright red dot in the scope's field rather than the traditional cross-hairs.

County sued over floodplain permitting process

By Michael Howell

Ravalli County resident Daniel Floyd and Renascent Inc., a Nevada-based corporation that owns land in the county, have filed a lawsuit in District Court alleging that the county violated their rights by failing to process their floodplain permits in the time frame set by law and subsequently by failing to issue the permits.

According to the information contained in the lawsuit, the company bought the property at issue, located south of Bell Crossing, in 2002. The county issued a septic permit for a 9-bedroom house in February 2003. They claim to have gotten verbal approval of their plans from then Floodplain Administrator Todd Klietz, as well. They claim that Klietz did not require floodplain applications. Construction was begun in March 2003 and completed in November 2004.

Then, the plaintiffs claim, Larry Shock, an engineer with the Montana Department of Natural Resources and Conservation, sent an e-mail to the Planning Office raising questions about the new improvements he noticed on the property.

As a result the matter was reviewed by the Planning Office and it was determined that the plaintiffs needed to apply for an "after-the-fact" permit.

When that application was submitted in 2005, however, it was rejected by then Floodplain Administrator Laura Hendrix, "without explanation," according to the plaintiffs. Plaintiffs also claim that the decision to reject the application did not meet the legal timeline for such decisions.

Plaintiffs further claim that a subsequent submission in 2006 also was not handled in a timely manner and, in fact, was never responded to.

The County was the first to file a lawsuit over the matter, however. In October of 2006 the county sought a permanent injunction on the property development. That suit was dismissed with prejudice, according to the plaintiffs, but they claim the county's actions since have clouded the title on the property, preventing it from being sold.

Plaintiffs are claiming a Violation of their Civil Rights, an Inverse Condemnation and Unlawful Taking, Intentional Interference with Private Property Rights, Negligent Interference with Private Property Rights, Negligence, Defamation/Slander of Title, and Malicious Prosecution. They are seeking a Declaratory Judgment and asking for damages (to be determined at trial), punitive damages of $250,000, and award of attorney's fees.

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