By Michael Howell While a meeting in Ravalli County about wolves might draw 75 to 100 people, the room was virtually empty last Thursday when the County Commissioners discussed mountain lions. The result of the short discussion was a decision to send a letter in support of Montana Department of Fish, Wildlife and Park’s recommendations…
Stevi Main Street Assn. hosts community building workshops
By Michael Howell The Stevensville Main Street Association was instrumental in landing a $7,500 “capacity building grant” that the organization used to improve communications between their organization and other organizations in the community. The grant money was used to facilitate a series of meetings with leaders from and a set number of members from the…
FWP seeks comment on proposed Travelers’ Rest State Park development
Montana Fish, Wildlife & Parks (FWP) is seeking comment on a proposal to acquire nearly 24 acres of land, including a building that houses a visitor center, museum and artifacts at Travelers’ Rest State Park near Lolo. No state revenues would be used in this acquisition. FWP would provide $300,000 through Land and Water Conservation…
Whooping cough hits the Bitterroot
By Michael Howell The number of cases of pertussis, commonly called whooping cough, is growing at an alarming rate in the Bitterroot, according to Public Health Nurse Judy Griffin. As of Monday, the number of confirmed cases totaled 33. Four of the 33 are adults, the rest are students at Corvallis and Victor schools and…
Former Road Supervisor exhausts grievance procedure
By Michael Howell At a meeting on Monday, April 23, the Ravalli County Commissioners denied a Stage 3 grievance request from former County Road and Bridge Department Supervisor David Ohnstad, who was asking to be reinstated. Ohnstad was fired last January. The Commission voted unanimously to discipline Ohnstad for making false statements concerning culverts and…
Sharing the wild delicate seconds
Reading “Wild Delicate Seconds, 29 Wildlife Encounters, ” a recent book by one-time Bitterroot resident Charles Finn, is a little like flipping through someone’s family photo album as they recount the events pictured there. Only in this case the family is all animals, twenty-nine to be exact, ranging from bears to frogs, from flying squirrels…
Baby owl survives fire, owl family picks busy spot for nest
A family of owls, living just north of Victor, suffered a recent tragedy when one of the young died of smoke inhalation. A second baby from the nest did survive and has been nurtured back to health by local wildlife rehabilitator Judy Hoy. Victor Fire Chief Dennis Pings said fire crews were fighting a…
MRL pitches in on grant effort
By Michael Howell Following the successful effort of Bitterroot Valley shippers, working in cooperation with Ravalli County Economic Development Authority and local government, to keep the Bitterroot rail line open for another year, Montana Rail Link has announced that it will kick in $100,000 in matching grant funds for the $1 million TIGER IV grant…
County amends subdivision regulations
By Michael Howell A revised set of subdivision regulations was adopted by the County Commissioners last week and will become effective on May 14, 2012. County Attorney Bill Fulbright submitted a memo to the county commissioners concerning three proposed amendments to the existing subdivision regulations that were singled out by the Planning Department for legal…
Changes proposed for planning board bylaws
By Michael Howell After reviewing the proposed changes to the Planning Board Bylaws made by the Planning Board itself, the County Commissioners made some recommendations of their own and bounced it back to the Planning Board for further review. One change being considered is to reduce the number of voting members on the 12-person board…