If Budweiser is the "King of Beers," Christina Crockett gets to be the Queen of the Clydesdales, at least in her own hometown. This young Bitterroot native has been traveling with the West Coast Budweiser team for the last year and a half.

"We are on the road eleven months out of the year; we visit every state this side of the Mississippi," says Christina of her grueling schedule. There are three full-time traveling teams; each team consists of 12 horses (eight are hitched at a time), nine people, three semi-trucks, a full-sized truck pulling a trailer, one passenger van, and one Dalmatian.

Brady, the year-old Dalmatian that travels with Christina's team, races past us as we sit in the shade of her childhood home between Victor and Stevensville. "He's in heaven," she says, since usually Brady is used to hotel accommodations on the road. Budweiser Dalmatians begin traveling with a team at six weeks of age, before their predecessors retire. "The old dogs train the young ones," explains Christina.

This training technique is used with the horses, too. Older, more experienced Clydesdales are paired with the younger horses in order to assist in their schooling. Christina says the geldings that travel (and only geldings travel) begin their training when they are three at the West Coast team's home-base in Menifee, California. "We use a rubber-tire wagon with a Chevy Bronco seat," for training purposes before the youngsters ever get hitched to the trademark 1903 Studebaker beer wagon. Once they have been driven repeatedly for a year and prove to be calm, steady, hard workers, the geldings are then eligible to begin their lives on the road.

"You have to be a roadie," Christina comments and then adds, "We are one big family." This team – equines, humans, and canine included – lives together and their closeness shows when the harnessing begins on Sunday in the Super One Foods parking lot. They work with a fluidity that only a family of roadies can muster.

"Each person on the team is trained to do every task except drive the team," Christina tells me. Each person washes and feeds horses, braids manes and tails, harnesses horses, polishes harness parts, exercises horses, drives the semis, lifts the heavy panels that make 10-foot by 10-foot stalls when stalls are not available, spots the horses while driving through the throngs of spectators, and each person takes turns driving and riding the poop wagon that follows the team. If Christina had a dime for every time she has heard, "Oh, you got the sh--ty job..."

But there are more glamorous elements to this job than street cleaning. Last year, Christina walked the six miles of the Rose Bowl Parade beside her team and was seen on national television. She was with the team in the Portland Rose Festival Parade. Christina's team just returned from Sturgis where they performed for the Sturgis Bike Rally. On Sunday, Christina took the eight lines for the first time in public on Main Street in Stevensville; she was able to make her driving debut in her hometown. When I asked her if she would ever like to be a full-time driver, she says she would enjoy that.

Christina grew up with Clydesdales. Her mom, Julie, taught her how to braid manes and tails. ("And Dad taught me how to drive trucks," she adds proudly.) Her family has raised Clydesdales for generations; Christina's great, great grandfather had Clydes in the 1800s. One of her great uncle's Clydes was a member of the Budweiser team that pulled the Santa Anita Racetrack starting gate. Christina first met Lloyd Ferguson, who has driven a Budweiser team for 28 years and who is her current boss, when she was seven years old. Lloyd loves to recount this story to Christina, always beginning with the statement, "When I met you, you were this tall," holding his hand down low to indicate her youth.

In her youth, Christina had no idea she would eventually be traveling with the Budweiser team. Upon graduating from Stevensville High School in 1997, she attended Montana State University where she majored in English and minored in Animal Science. She worked for MSU's school newspaper as a sports editor for a year and a half before graduating in 2003. This led her to take a job in Madras, Oregon, reporting on high school sports for two and a half years before she applied for her current job. "This is hard for me," she says of our interview, "Usually I am the one asking the questions."

Christina has learned a good deal about the history of her current profession. "In April of 1933, Anheuser Busch's son August gave his Dad six horses to celebrate the end of Prohibition. Next year is the 75th Anniversary of this gift." These six horses began an American tradition that makes Budweiser and the Clydesdales synonymous.

When Christina was flown to St. Louis for her job interview, she was able to see the original stable and stalls and equipment. "The stable has a stained glass ceiling," she recounts in awe.

There are now three hundred Clydes in service to Bud and on any given day 100 horses can be seen around the nation in parades and at events, or simply visiting stores and bars that sell Bud products.

Christina was just as surprised as anyone to discover that she would be in the Bitterroot for a week. Yet, dressed in the driver's attire of white shirt, tie, jaunty cap, and boots, and beaming, Christina Crockett was right at home atop the Budweiser wagon.

Hamilton City Council addresses global warming

By Michael Howell

The Hamilton City Council decided unanimously at its last meeting to refer a potential resolution to address the problem of global warming to the Parks and Recreation Committee. That committee handles environmental issues. A possible resolution to address global warming was introduced by Councilor Bob Scott who called it "a major problem."

"This summer," said Scott, "we were reminded in a very concrete way what global warming has in store for us."

Scott said that global warming represents a safety and welfare hazard that public officials have the obligation to address. He said that the greenhouse effect, in which gases such as carbon dioxide and methane trap the sun's energy and create rising temperatures, was well documented and being reported in the major media. He said the root cause was being attributed to human activity in the form of burning fossil fuels. As the temperatures rise and the climate warms the forests are drying out and forest fires, such as we are experiencing in the Bitterroot, are becoming more widespread and more severe.

"This creates a double whammy," said Scott, because the forests being destroyed are the major vehicle for capturing carbon dioxide and turning it into oxygen.

His proposed resolution calls for a city policy to help eliminate the causes of global warming. It would encourage citizens and visitors to take action to eliminate those causes. It would also commit the city to requesting senior government entities such as the county, state and federal governments to take action. It would require the city to investigate what steps might be taken to help eliminate those causes that would possibly include a reduction of energy and fossil fuel use, control of unnecessary burning, planting of trees, development of alternative energies, and recycling. He said that tax policies could be made to encourage conservation.

Councilor DeAnne Harbaugh agreed, stating that 555 square miles of forest have burned this year and we are not meeting state air quality standards.

Councilor Mike LaSalle said that he might be in the minority because he watches Fox News. He called it "a little altruistic and grandiose" for the little city of Hamilton with its small energy footprint to get on board with the global warming scare.

"I don't know if the City Council's time is best spent on this global issue," he said. He said that there were a lot more important issues to deal with locally.

The motion to refer the issue and the proposed resolution to the Parks and Recreation Committee was approved unanimously, however.

Afterward, in the public comment portion of the meeting, Jim Olsen cautioned the council that the link between global warming and the increase in the number and intensity of forest fires had not necessarily been proven. He said that it could have more to do with forest management policies. He reminded the council of the fires of 1910 that were even more numerous and more intense than the more recent fires in the Bitterroot.

In other business, the Council unanimously approved the purchase by the Hamilton Fire Department of a 100-foot aerial platform truck for fighting fires The purchase price of the truck was $125,000. It would also cost $5,000 to deliver it from South Carolina and another $30,000 to remodel the existing fire hall to accommodate the vehicle, $1,000 for an inspection, and another $50,000 for customizing the truck and other expenses for a grand total of $290,000. The council approved a preliminary budget request of $250,000.

The council also decided to accept a $49,250 bid from Industrial Salvage and Demolition, out of Missoula, for removing the old water tank, and doing street repairs in the Skyline subdivision and planting trees. Councilor Robert Sutherland, who recounted the history of the deal with the Skyline Homeowners Association for constructing a new water tank and removing the old one, cast the lone vote against it. He said that the deal was made illegally by then Administrative Assistant Mark Shrives without city council approval. He said that the contract, signed by Shrives, was not only illegal but a very bad deal for taxpayers.

In the public comment portion of the meeting, Craig Ryeman, president of the Skyline Homeowners Association, said that the deal was worked out in good faith by all parties and that the city attorney at the time, Jim Haynes, was also involved.

"At the time," he said, "we thought Shrives had authority to make the deal. We didn't have a clue. And we were working with the city attorney the whole time."

The council also approved, after a lot of discussion, a draft version of a city tree ordinance that will be presented for public comment at a public hearing. Councilor Harbaugh said that she had been working on the draft for a year and eight months and everyone she talked too wanted some changes in the draft. She said that it was time to put it to the public and let the final changes be made in that process. The draft proposes that the city has responsibility for the vegetation in the right of way but that property owners would be allowed and encouraged to plant and care for trees and vegetation in the right of way. The former city ordinance forced property owners to take responsibility for the trees and vegetation in the right of way. Councilor Jerry Steele opposed the motion. He said that the city should not be encouraging anybody to do things in the city right of way. He and LaSalle voted against the measure.

The council passed a "housekeeping measure" to decide on employee salaries by resolution instead of by ordinance as the current regulations require, because it has always been done by resolution anyway.

Stevi focuses on water and sewer issues

By Michael Howell

The Stevensville Town Council decided, at its August 27 meeting, to hire HDR Engineering of Missoula to work on an assessment for possible improvements to the city's waste water treatment plant. Mayor Bill Meisner said that the firm specialized in water and sewer engineering. He said that the company had done work in Hamilton, Columbia Falls, and Glacier Park and had a superb reputation.

Earlier in the meeting, in her "update on the budget meeting," Town Clerk Nancy Lowell said that the council should consider budgeting some money for preliminary engineering costs on both the sewer and water systems. She said that the sewer and water funds were in good shape, but that those funds could only be spent on the actual capital improvements to the systems. She suggested that the council consider dedicating some of the city's CDBG funds to the preliminary engineering work that will be required. She said that $8,000 has already been spent on analysis of the sewer system and that $50,000 to $60,000 had been spent on studying the city's water system.

"And that's only the beginning," she said. She said that a lot more would be required and that the council should consider budgeting for it. She suggested that the city's CDBG funds could be used for such projects.

Councilor Susan Evans made a motion to dedicate the city's $390,000 CDBG fund to that purpose. Councilor Tom Brown stated that some of those funds had already been dedicated to the Main Street Association. Councilor Summers, who serves on the CDBG committee, agreed saying that some of the funds had already been dedicated for other purposes as well.

Evans suggested that those amounts could be determined and a calculated amount could be dedicated to the sewer and water projects.

Reporter for the Bitterroot Star, Michael Howell, raised the point that the motion was really out of order since the agenda only noticed an "update on the budget meeting" and not any consideration of dedicating CDBG funds. Mayor Meisner agreed that the motion was out of order and the matter was postponed until it could be considered at the upcoming budget hearing scheduled for September 10 at 7 p.m.

Later in the meeting the council entertained a request from Tonia Eckert for a special CDBG committee meeting to consider funding some improvements at Father Ravalli Park. Eckert has been working on that proposal for a few years. Her plan is, along with help from Sherri Harris and the non-profit Child Development Center of Missoula, to construct a handicapped accessible playground in the park. So far Eckert and Harris have raised about $5,500 for the project which has an estimated cost of about $90,000.

Mayor Meisner noted that the cost had doubled from the original estimate presented two years ago. Harris said that it had to do with making the facility handicapped accessible. She said that will typically double the price of any project.

"I just don't see $90,000 really," said Meisner. "I'm not arguing against special needs children. I'm arguing the cost."

Whether the town really owned the park land was also a question, according to Meisner. He said that it could belong to the county as part of a subdivision that was approved creating the park.

Councilor Summers also said that CDBG funds were meant to create jobs, not to be given out as grants for parks or soccer fields and such things.

Eckert said that the proposal would benefit the whole community by providing a place for children to play including handicapped children, and since no other city park facility was designed for children with special needs it filled a need in the community.

It was agreed to hold a CDBG committee meeting to consider the request.

The council also heard from a consultant working for John Anderson who is planning a subdivision on land south of Middle Burnt Fork Road. Anderson hopes to have the land annexed into the town. He said that an impasse had been reached with city building inspector Don Rainey in the application process. Rainey has requested that Anderson provide an estimate of the improvements to Middle Burnt Fork Road that would be required to bring it up to county standards.

The consultant argued that the requirement to meet certain standards for a county road that accesses a subdivision was part of the county's subdivision regulations, not part of the city's regulations. He admitted that the city may ultimately have the right to place the requirement of certain road improvements as a condition of approval for a subdivision in town, but that it should not be part of the requirements for simply applying for annexation of a piece of land into the town.

The Mayor and Council agreed that it should not be a part of the application for annexation and that the application process should proceed without that requirement.

The town has also hired a new attorney, on a part-time, as-needed basis to represent it in civil matters. The new attorney, Keithi Worthington, currently works in the Missoula City Attorney's office.

Town of Stevi adding art to its parks

By Michael Howell

The Stevensville Art and Sculpture Society (SASS) is working hard to promote the appreciation, creation and display of public art for the community and the Stevensville Town Council has given the group the go ahead to place a sculpture in Lange Park, located in the middle of town on Main Street.

SASS has already succeeded in erecting one sculpture on Main Street. That sculpture, called "Two Left Feet, Dancing Free" by Blackfeet sculptor Jay Labor, is located on the corner of Main and Third Streets on the property of Rocky Mountain Bank.

The group's second project, a four-foot-high bronze sculpture by artist J. R. Eason, will be erected on city property and actually belong to the town. Entitled "To Know Joy!" it is a smaller and revised version of a previous piece by the artist that stands over six feet tall. It is of a woman with head turned upward and arms outstretched outward in an expression of, as the title says, joy.

The project began with an endorsement of the concept to add art to the Stevensville parks by the Stevensville Town Council. SASS then created a selection committee that included some of its own members, Gary Knapp, Tina Schwartzman, and Jay DeVore, as well as members from the Stevensville Park Board, the Stevensville Civic Club, and the Main Street Association Design Committee. A selection criteria was hammered out and a request for proposals from local artists was disseminated through the local media.

Knapp said that 13 different proposals were received from 8 different artists and Eason's sculpture was "a clear winner."

"In my opinion, it was a well thought out process and it was a fair process," said Stevensville Park Board Chairperson Amy Ling in a letter to the Town Council.

SASS determined a maximum price of $7,500 for the sculpture before asking for proposals. They got something worth quite a bit more than that, according to Knapp. He said, in part, it had to do with the fact that Eason, who now lives in Ovando, wanted to leave something of her work in the Bitterroot Valley where she once lived.

Self taught, Eason has enjoyed a successful career as a full-time professional artist since 1988.

"There was a time," said Eason, "when I regretted not having a formal art education. I now realize this has allowed me to develop my own style, and the work I enjoy creating today probably could not have evolved any other way."

At first Eason compared herself to the successful (mostly male) sculptors and felt that she should also sculpt more masculine representations.

"While I could appreciate and somewhat relate to those figures," she said, "I kept many of my more expressive urges on the shelf."

Not so any more. Once gaining enough credibility and success through museums and galleries, she let go of her boundaries and her distinctive style came through. Her figures and their individual expressions are brought from her own mind without the use of models or photos.

The sculpture will be placed on a 2- to 3-foot-high base of some sort, perhaps stone, according to Knapp, which will bring the total cost of the project to about $8,500. In an effort to help raise those funds, SASS is sponsoring a performance by Len Barron called "Walking Lightly - A Portrait of Einstein." The program has been called "inspirational" by critics and "a reminder of Einstein's beauty, fairness, and playfulness."

The first performance will be held at the Hamilton Performing Arts Center at 327 Fairgrounds Road in Hamilton on Friday, September 14 at 7:30 p.m. Tickets are $15 ($10 seniors and students). Tickets may be purchased on the internet at www.hamiltonpac.org, or call 375-6074. A second performance is scheduled at the University of Montana Recital Hall, Music Building Room 115, at the corner of Maurice and Eddy, on Saturday, September 15 at 7:30 p.m. Tickets are the same price and may be purchased on the internet at www.GrizTix.com, or call 243-4051. Proceeds will go to benefit the Stevensville Community Sculpture Project.

Sewage sludge inadvertently dumped on Hwy. 93

By Michael Howell

Disaster and Emergency Services coordinator Ron Nicholas told the Ravalli County Commissioners on Monday that a truck carrying sewage sludge from the Hamilton City sewage treatment plant accidentally dropped some of its load along Highway 93 near Woodside. He said that it was not an emergency, however, since the sewage was not toxic. He recommended that lime simply be poured on it.

Hamilton Public Works Director Keith Smith confirmed the incident. He said that some sludge from the treatment plant was being transported to the Missoula landfill when a tailgate accidentally popped open releasing some of the sludge along the roadside. He said that city crews had responded immediately and cleaned up the mess, "probably while Mr. Nicholas was reporting the incident to the commissioners."

Prompted by complaints about the smell, city officials determined that some of the sludge at the waste water facility was not getting hot enough to biodegrade. As a result it was decided to scoop it up and truck it to the Missoula landfill for disposal.

"We've cleaned it up," said Smith. "There's nothing to worry about. It is not toxic, it is basically fertilizer."s

Page One •	Valley News •	Op/Ed •	Sports •	Calendar •	Classifieds •	Links •	About Us •	Back Issues •	Email Us •	Home
©2006 Bitterroot Star This site was Done By Dooney