Douglas Ashley, a student at Victor High School, has been named a U.S. Presidential Scholar.

U.S. Secretary of Education Arne Duncan has announced the selection of Douglas Ashley of Victor, who attends Victor High School, as a 2012 U.S. Presidential Scholar.

Ashley is one of 141 outstanding American high school seniors that have demonstrated outstanding academic achievement, artistic excellence, leadership, citizenship, service, and contribution to school and community. The U.S. Presidential Scholars will be honored for their accomplishments in Washington D.C., from June 16-19.

“Honoring Presidential Scholars is an important celebration of students showing the dedication, creativity and ambition to become future leaders,” Duncan said. “As national, state and local leaders work side by side with principals, teachers, and parents to make our schools better, we can learn from the students all around us whose hard work and accomplishments embody the kind of excellence we want every child to achieve.”

The White House Commission on Presidential Scholars, appointed by President Obama, selects honored scholars annually based on their academic success, artistic excellence, essays, school evaluations and transcripts, as well as evidence of community service, leadership, and demonstrated commitment to high ideals. Of the three million students expected to graduate from high school this year, more than 3,300 candidates qualified for the 2012 awards determined by outstanding performance on the College Board SAT and ACT exams, and through nominations made by Chief State School Officers or the National Foundation for Advancement in the Arts nationwide YoungArts competition.

The 2012 Presidential Scholars are comprised of one young man and one young woman from each state, the District of Columbia and Puerto Rico, and from U.S. families living abroad, as well as 15 chosen at-large and 20 Presidential Scholars in the Arts.

Created in 1964, the U.S. Presidential Scholars Program has honored more than 6,000 of the nation’s top-performing students with the prestigious award given to honorees during the annual ceremony in D.C. The program was expanded in 1979 to recognize students who demonstrate exceptional talent in the visual, literary and performing arts. Since 1983, each Presidential Scholar has been offered the opportunity to invite his or her most inspiring and challenging teacher to the annual ceremony where they are honored with a Teacher Recognition Award from the U.S. Department of Education.

The teacher chosen for recognition by Ashley was Laurie Wildey of Victor High School.

The nice weather has many people beginning to think about boating on Lake Como. The Bitterroot National Forest has received numerous calls from the public asking about water levels and how soon they can launch boats. Just a reminder… the Lake Como boat launch area is currently closed for construction as paving crews work to add 20 additional parking spaces for boat trailers and vehicles. Crews are also paving the entrance road which leads to the boat ramp and parking area. If the weather cooperates and remains nice, the work should be completed in the next two weeks. For public safety, the site will remain closed during the duration of the project.

The paving is the latest in a number of improvements at Lake Como. Last fall, a new concrete boat ramp was constructed. Along with the new ramp, the Bitterroot National Forest is also planning to add a new wider boat dock this spring.  The new dock will allow boaters to tie up on both sides helping to ease congestion and improve safety.

The Lake Como Recreation Area is the most utilized recreation site in the Northern Rockies Region of the Forest Service and is visited annually by more than 150,000 people. The area is extremely popular with boaters, horseback riders, mountain bikers, hikers, day users, campers, and x-country skiers.  For more information contact Erica Strayer, Recreation Manager at the Darby Ranger District at 821-3913.

The award was presented at the ServeMontana Symposium ceremony in Helena in February. The Serve Montana web site, states, “The Victor Volunteer Fire Department is a 2012 recipient of a ReadyMontana Award for their dedication to protecting the Victor community from fire.”

The Victor Volunteer Fire Department and Quick Response Unit have been responding to fires and emergencies in the Victor community since 1950. Volunteers give their time not only to respond to emergencies, but also to hold events to prepare the Victor community for other emergencies and disasters.

Roylene Gaul writes about the Victor Volunteer Fire Department, “A recent event highlights this group’s dedication. At a house fire, the quick response of volunteers and their dedication to safety and preparedness minimized a tragic loss. Responders cared for an injured homeowner at the same time dealing with a fire situation. Members then coordinated with the Red Cross and local churches to have the family’s needs addressed. The Victor Volunteer Fire Department has the dedication of volunteers with professionalism and a true caring for their community. The Victor Volunteer Fire Department is dedicated, professional, and caring!”

By Jean Schurman

The Selway-Pintler Wilderness Back Country Horsemen held a packing ‘fair’ on Saturday at the Lake Como horse campground. Volunteers from the group split into five stations where they introduced about 30 4H and FFA students from the valley to horse and mule packing.

Stations included mantying (preparing the packs), packing, wilderness and back country basics, horse safety – including knot tying and high line tethering, and Dutch oven cooking. Using a pattern similar to the Fourth Grade Farm Fair, each group of students spent about 20 minutes at each station. Time was signaled with either a turkey call or an elk bugle.

The term manty comes from the Spanish word for horse blanket, according to Kathy Hundley who was conducting the mantying station. She explained how the canvas tarp was used to wrap up items needed on a pack trip. She also demonstrated how panniers or packing boxes are used and explained the difference between the two. She also added the manty could be used as a wind break when camping.

Bill Goslin of the Forest Service used his station to show what is and isn’t allowed in the wilderness. Using a map of the United States, he asked the youngsters to take photos of different activities that are done in the forest and place them where they thought they could be done. The activities ranged from skiing to hunting to dog sledding. Goslin showed them how to use a cross cut saw to clear a trail and how to hang camping supplies from a tree so bears couldn’t reach the goods.

Bruce Scott used his mule, Festus, to demonstrate how to pack an animal. He talked about the pack saddle and how the weight of the packs was equally distributed across the pack saddle. Students were then given an opportunity to try packing the mule themselves.

At the High Line and Knot Tying station, Rebecca Cameron showed the students how to secure a horse in the forest without damaging the trees. She demonstrated the use of hobbles and using a high line, which is a rope, strung between two trees. She also explained how important it was to know how to tie a knot that would secure an item but not get so tight that it couldn’t be untied. She showed them the knife she carries in case of an emergency such as a downed horse and how it would be used to cut the cinch to get the saddle off the horse.

The final station was the Dutch Oven Cooking station. The equipment used in packing was also included in this portion of the event.

The group focuses on working on trails in the wilderness and roadless areas. They have an extensive work program for 2012 including relocation of portions of trails, packing supplies into Forest Services projects deep in the wilderness, and general trail maintenance. The group adheres to the policy of no motorized tools during these projects and in their recreation. Their main focus is to keep the history of allowing horses and mules in the wilderness and continue this so that future generations can also enjoy the great outdoors along with their horses and mules. All stations reiterated how important it was to ‘leave no trace,’ the mantra of wilderness travel.

Ravalli County Habitat for Humanity has acquired a piece of property in the 100 block of Mission Street in Stevensville and plans to build its sixth home there. The local non-profit is an affiliate of Habitat for Humanity International, a nonprofit, ecumenical Christian housing organization. Its mission is to build simple, decent and affordable homes in partnership with those in need. The organization is currently looking for a family to partner with in the building project. The organization sells the house to a family at no profit, through interest-free loans.

RCHFH has been active in the valley for over 10 years and has helped five families build and purchase homes of their own in Hamilton, Corvallis and Darby. The last home was completed in the spring of 2011.

Volunteers provide most of the labor, and individual and corporate donors provide money and materials to build Habitat houses. Partner families themselves invest hundreds of hours of labor – “sweat equity” – into building their homes and the homes of others. Their mortgage payments go into a revolving Fund for Humanity that is used to build more houses.

“The Stevensville community has really shown tremendous support for this project,” said Executive Director Mike Kibler.

Kibler urges anyone wishing to partner on the house in Stevensville to complete the application and checklist that can be found on the “How to Qualify” tab at www.ravallihabitat.org and return it to Habitat for Humanity PO Box 2221, Hamilton MT 59840. Anyone with questions may also contact the organization at 375-1926 or by e-mail at ravallihabitat@yahoo.com. The Stevensville Construction Committee will be holding its next construction/design meeting for the upcoming Stevensville home build on May 16 at 6 p.m. at the Main Street Association office located at 102 Main, Stevensville.

Grand Opening of Re-Sale Store

Ravalli Habitat for Humanity is hosting a grand opening of its Re-Sale Center in Hamilton this Friday and Saturday, May 18 and 19). The Center is located at 131 Old Corvallis Road, across from the Fairgrounds. The Re-Sale Center offers great deals on cabinets, ceiling fans, lighting fixtures, major appliances, doors, windows, paint hardware, toilets, bathtubs, sinks and more.

The celebration begins at 9 a.m. and lasts to 4 p.m. both days. Hourly prize drawings are planned as well as special sales on merchandise and free food. It will be a chance for the community to meet the new Re-Sale Store manager, Tyler Claxton.

The Ravalli County Commissioners agreed last week to pay $16,327.50 in attorney fees to Justices of the Peace Jim Bailey and Robin Clute who agreed, in return, to drop their lawsuit against the County over the Commissioners’ decision last year to cut two justice court clerk positions.

The Justices protested the cuts and then appealed the decision to District Court where Judge Jeffrey Langton ruled, under a Supreme Court mandated review process, that the positions were justified and needed to be funded. Langton issued a Preliminary Injunction prohibiting the cuts until a final ruling could be made. No ruling has yet been made, however.

According to unofficial minutes of the meeting, Deputy County Attorney Howard Recht noted that although there are a number of substantive and procedural questions he hoped the court would rule on, since the fiscal year is ending and a new budget is being formed and the court has not made any ruling, it made sense to end the litigation.

Former County Attorney George Corn, now working for Datsopoulos, MacDonald and Lind, P.C., represented the Justices in their case against the County. He agreed to drop the suit on the condition that the legal expenses of the Justice Courts were paid. Corn stated he hopes the Justices of the Peace Robin Clute and Jim Bailey do not have to through this litigation again with the upcoming budget year.

They say crime doesn’t pay. If that’s true, then it’s going to pay even less in Ravalli County as the cost of doing business is going up. On May 10, the Ravalli County Commissioners adopted a resolution raising some fees at the Detention Center and adding some new ones. The daily rate for those convicted of a crime is now $100. Anyone arrested will pay a $25 administrative booking fee. A court ordered administrative information booking fee will now cost $15. A $15 administrative DNA fee is also being charged.

The average cost per day per inmate at the facility is $91 per day. A lot of that cost goes towards personnel. The average overtime for the Detention Officer is estimated at $32.28 per 90 minutes and DNA overtime for the Detention Officer is $10.76 per 30 minutes. Information Booking is estimated at $8.29 per 30 minutes.

Another large chunk of the cost per inmate per day is medical, at $15.12. Then comes the cost of meals at $10.86. The cost of addiction services per inmate per day is $0.74. The cost of laundry is $3, supplies cost $2. Ambulance/clinic/hospital costs are $3. Facility maintenance costs $3. Add $1 for drugs, $0.70 for office equipment maintenance, and $0.25 for safety supplies, and it all comes to the grand total of $91 per inmate per day.

The county uses magnesium chloride for dust abatement, according to Commissioner J.R. Iman, but it also serves to stabilize the road. If a county resident wants to have the substance applied to a county road passing their residence they may apply to the program and receive a dust abatement treatment for the price of the magnesium chloride alone.

“If they buy the material the county will provide the labor, the delivery and the application at no further cost to the resident,” said Iman. He said those wanting the service who live along private roads may have it done but they must pay for the material and $165 per hour for the preparation and application.

Iman said that a policy has been developed for applying the treatment to county roads that need it but have too few homes located along them to cover the cost. The county does these roads to reduce dust pollution in the valley in general. They also work with the Forest Service cooperatively, he said.

North Kootenai Creek Road improvements planned

In a separate meeting the Commissioners also decided to have 6,800 yards of millings off of Highway 93 delivered to North Kootenai Creek Road for free for the county’s utilization. The County plans to use the material to improve North Kootenai Creek Road as well as some in the Florence School area.

Florence Rural Fire District voters approved a 14 mill levy raising $95,000 per year for capital purchases. The money will be used for adding a water fill system used for fire protection, to purchase new fire trucks and additional fire apparatus, to replace old and outdated equipment and to enhance the total coverage of the fire district. Voters approved the levy by an 881 to 647 vote.

Voter turnout was 47%. Out of 3,509 registered voters, 1,633 cast ballots. The number of voters at the polls was 926 with absentee voters totaling 707.

Corvallis School District general fund levy approved

Voters in Corvallis School District #1 approved a general fund levy of $190,000 for the purpose of operating the Corvallis Schools. The durational limit of the levy is permanent once approved by the voters, assuming the district levies that amount at least once in the next five years. The levy passed by a vote of 680 to 542.

There are 5,221 registered voters in the Corvallis School District but only 24% voted in this election, 1,231. The number of voters at the polls was 633. Absentee voters totaled 598.

Kathleen Harder-Brouwer and Wilbur Nisly were elected to the Corvallis School District Board of Trustees with votes of 791 and 636 respectively. The third candidate, Robert A. Jones, got 419 votes.

Florence Carlton School District passes general fund levy

Voters in the Florence Carlton School District approved a general fund levy of $130,000 or about 14.2 mills for operating and maintaining the school district. The vote was 871 in favor and 756 against.

Voter turnout was 47%. Out of 3,509 registered voters 1,633 voted in this election. Voters cast 926 votes at the polls and submitted 707 absentee ballots.

Melvin Finlay won the election for a seat on the School District Board of Trustees beating Leo Hansen by a vote of 965 to 480.

Victor Park District Trustees
In the Victor Park District trustee race for two seats, only 609 people voted, out of 2,435 registered voters, a 25% turnout to elect two trustees. Katie Gerhard got the most votes at 490. Jack Barber and Wes Young tied for second at 287 votes each in the unofficial tally.
According to Clerk and Recorder Regina Plettenberg, one provisional ballot has been submitted that could break the tie, although not necessarily. That ballot was to be counted Monday afternoon. Fourteen provisional ballots await counting valley wide.
If the outcome remains a tie after the official canvass of the vote on Tuesday, then a re-count will be conducted automatically after five days. If one or the other candidate wins by a single vote, the losing candidate may petition for a re-count within five days.

Ward Irrigation District commissioner

Dan Dunagan won the Ward Irrigation District seat with 359 votes. He was followed by Jerid Huggans with 279 and Roger Ward with 19. It was a 59% turnout with 42 people out of 79 registered voters casting ballots.

Hamilton School District Trustees

The three successful candidates for the Hamilton School District Board of Trustees were David Bedey with 1,365, Corrine Gantt with 1,266, and Nancy J. Roberts with 1,197, followed by Ken Payne with 940 and Quintin K. Apedaile with 820.

It was a 30% voter turnout with 2,315 people voting out of 7,836 registered voters.