Wednesday, March 10, 2010

Valley News at a Glance

Hamilton considers Old Corvallis Road TIF

Hamilton adopts Area Transportation Plan

Stevensville Science Fair results

RAC seeking funding proposals

Local business nominated for DESF award

Open burning season underway

Daly Hospital introduces high-definition endoscopy

Snowpack remains very low

Willow Creek road improvements underway

Whaley descendant visits Friends of the Lee Metcalf NWR

Darby food collection

Annual MAPS movie premiere scheduled

By Michael Howell

At its March 2 meeting, the Hamilton City Council unanimously approved adoption of the Hamilton Area Transportation Plan. In the works for over a year, the planning project was a cooperative effort between the City, the County and the Montana Department of Transportation. MDOT covered 50 percent of the costs, the county 35 percent and the city 15 percent. The planning project was managed by CDM Engineering and was produced with the help of a technical advisory committee and a citizen’s advisory committee as well as a series of public outreach meetings. The first draft was released for public review on February 8.

Jeff Key, a CDM Project Manager, presented the draft plan for adoption at the council meeting. He told the councilors that the plan was prepared using a simple four-step approach which involved analyzing the existing transportation system, forecasting land use in the area over the next twenty years, identifying the impacts on the transportation system that the forecast growth would have and devising a series of mitigations to address the identified problems.

“The beauty of a transportation plan,” said Key, “is that it can set the stage for how we develop in the future.”

The plan comes with a prioritized list of proposed projects for major street improvements, a series of prioritized smaller scale transportation system improvement projects, a non-motorized project plan and a guide to creating policies and procedures to address future developments.

Major street improvements at the top of the list are upgrading he intersection of Fairgrounds Road and the Eastside Highway at an estimated cost of $925,000, upgrading Fairgrounds Road from Old Corvallis Road to the Eastside Highway at an estimated cost of $2.7 million, and upgrading Old Corvallis Road from the intersection with Fairgrounds Road to the GlaskoSmithKline Laboratory at an estimated cost of $5.8 million.

The document also recommends pursuing more specific and detailed plans, such as a Downtown Master Plan, a Non-motorized Traffic Plan, and a Comprehensive Safety Plan.

The Transportation Plan submitted includes at least one recommendation that “may raise a few eyebrows,” according to Key, such as a river trail. But he noted that the plan is only an idea and could not be implemented except by willing participation of area landowners and a lot of civic will.

Key suggested that the best way to ultimately implement the plan would be through Interlocal Agreements between the County and the City and MDOT.

In other business the Council:

- approved a change order in the waste water treatment plant compost project allowing a maximum of $126,066.09 for costs related to the installation of piers to support the foundation for the roof supports over the compost areas. The council recently approved $14,000 for an architectural design incorporating the piers to resolve problems related to the old garbage and burn pile that was uncovered under the compost beds. The vote was 4 to 1 with Councilor Helgeland casting the dissenting vote.

- approved renewal of a School Resource Officer Program Agreement between the Hamilton School District No. 3 and the City of Hamilton.

The Stevensville Science Fair was held on March 2. There were 87 Junior High and High School projects presented for judging. The following students received Blue Ribbons and qualified for the Montana State Science Fair at the University of Montana, March 22.

High School Individual Projects
Blaire Brookeshire
Addie Tom
Anna Tom
Matt Goffe
Marshall Barker
Mickelle Stevens
Chase Dimsha
Jeff Knopp
Daniel Lockman
Sheridan Newsom
John Severson
Mickayla Sorenson

High School Team Projects
Colt Hudson & Nigel McCallum
Riley Slaughter & Jalen Pfau

8th Grade Individual Projects
Sophia Echeverio
Walker Weber
Noah Baney
Oliver Kultgen

7th Grade Individual Projects
Jennifer Harthan
Rachel Brassfield
Katie Schiwal
Jenna Lockman
Bridget Butler

8th Grade Team Projects
Desiree Owsley & Karli Cenis
Michael Tumarillo & Luke Kendall

7th Grade Team Projects
Curtis Liston & Payden Belcourt
Lenneah Hanson & Emily Morrison
Cami Beller & Mariah Owsley

Selway Corporation donated Scientific calculators to the following project winners:

Top 8th Grade Project - Sophia Echeverio
Top 7th Grade Projects - Lenneah Hanson & Emily Morrison, and Jenna Lockman

Science instructor Terry Rosin, science fair coordinator, was appreciative of the community members that judged the Science Fair. The Fair could not happen without their help.

The Ravalli County Resource Advisory Committee (RAC) is accepting project proposals for funding under Title II of the Secure Rural Schools and Community Self-Determination Act.

Resource Advisory Committees were reestablished under the 2008 reauthorization of the Secure Rural Schools and Community Self-Determination Act of 2000. The RACs recommend how to allocate a portion of federal funds Ravalli County receives under the Act. The Act directs that funds be spent on projects such as road, trail and infrastructure maintenance or obliteration, improvements in soil and forest ecosystem health, restoration and improvements of wildlife and fish habitat, control of weeds, and reestablishment of native animals and plants. Projects must benefit resources on National Forest lands and meet federal environmental laws.

Projects for consideration must be submitted to the RAC by April 30, 2010. Project proposals that are selected by the RAC to receive funds will not receive their funds until 2011. Project proposal forms are available online at https://wwwnotes.fs.fed.us/wo/secure_rural_schools.nsf/Web_Project_Submit_Pre?OpenForm&ParentUNID=77CDCDC32555882188256CCC0060CEC1. For more information about submitting project proposals contact Nancy Trotter at the Stevensville Ranger District, 777-5461 or ntrotter@fs.fed.us.

For more information about the RAC, contact the RAC chairperson, Lisa Phillips, at 363-6103, or Dan Ritter, Designated Federal Official and Stevensville District Ranger, at 777-5461.

Bitterroot Valley Transmissions in Victor has been nominated by its employees for the 2010 Secretary of Defense Employer Support Freedom Award, the highest recognition given by the U.S. Government to employers for their outstanding support of their employees who serve in the Guard and Reserve. The Freedom Award is particularly significant because only members of the Guard and Reserve or their family members are eligible to nominate their employers for the award.  

Nearly 2,500 Guard and Reserve service members, or their families, from across the country nominated their employers for outstanding support.  Nominated employers, ranging from small to large businesses and public sector employers, demonstrated support by providing continued benefits, differential pay, and family assistance. A national selection board comprised of senior defense officials and business leaders will select up to 15 recipients for the 2010award. The Department of Defense will announce the 2010 Freedom Award recipients this summer. Recipients will be presented the Freedom Award at a ceremony in Washington, D.C. on September 23, 2010.

March 1st marked the first day of open burning for Bitterroot Valley residents as well as for local Forest Service fire managers who will be looking for favorable weather and fuel conditions to conduct prescribed burning around the Bitterroot National Forest. A map of these burns are posted to the Bitterroot National Forest Webpage at http://www.fs.fed.us/r1/bitterroot/ and to http://twitter.com/BitterrootNF.

Prior to burning, it is strongly recommended that Bitterroot Valley residents call the non-emergency Ravalli County Sheriff Dispatch at 363-3033 to report your burning activities. The Florence Fire Department requires burn permits issued from them.

It is also recommended that you contact your local Forest Service District Office to ensure conditions and weather are conducive to burning in a controlled manner. Forest Service Burn Permits are not required but are highly recommended during the March 1-April 30 open burning season. From May 1 to September 30, burn permits are required for landowners with property within the Forest Service protection areas. Landowners can confirm if their property is within the FS protection zone with one of the District offices. Open burning may be further restricted through discussions with Bitterroot Forest Representatives and/or County Commissioners during high fire danger. The number for the Stevensville Ranger District is 777-5461; Darby Ranger District, 821-3913; Sula Ranger District, 821-3201; and West Fork Ranger District, 821-3269.   

From October 1 to November 30, open burning resumes, and burn permits are no longer required but continue to be recommended.

From September 1 to November 30 it is also advisable to check the Air Quality Hotline at 1-800-225-6779 prior to burning.

Just as private landowners need to check with authorities prior to burning, so must the Forest Service. FS officials submit burn requests before noon the day before wanting to burn to the MT/ID Smoke Mangement Unit in Missoula. Airshed Coordinators review burn requests from around the state and look at weather forecasts and dispersion (wind) forecasts to make their decision which burns get approved and which don’t. Residents can view information about forecasts for burning in the different airsheds at   http://www.smokemu.org/restrictions.php. Ravalli County sits in Airshed 4.

If you have questions about these burns, contact your local ranger stations for more specific information or to be included on their burn notification lists.

High-definition television (HDTV) has made its way from the living room to the Marcus Daly Endoscopy suites. Now, Marcus Daly Memorial Hospital is among the first hospitals in western Montana to introduce the Olympus EVIS EXERA 11TM, the world’s first ever endoscopy technology to deliver both HDTV and Narrow Band ImagingTM (NBI) Technologies. The EVIS EXERA 11 is a part of a new platform to help doctors diagnose diseases in the upper and lower gastrointestinal tract.

In the upper gastrointestinal tract, NBI helps improve observation of abnormal areas in the distal esophagus and specific patterns associated with Barrett’s Esophagus. In the lower gastrointestinal tract, NBI enhances the observation of capillaries in high contrast to the surrounding mucosa, resulting in helping improve detection of lesions in the colon.

Compared to conventional systems, high-definition endoscopy, combined with Narrow Band ImagingTM, provides doctors with sharper images and better contrast, which in turn may help them to better detect lesions during examinations when using the wide-angle colonoscope. The HDTV signal from the endoscope platform’s video processor produces an impressive 1080 lines of resolution, more than twice the number of scan lines used by conventional systems, offering doctors breathtaking images of the colon with a high level of detail and color. As a result, patients may receive more accurate diagnoses. The new system can also shorten procedure times for patients.

John P. Moreland, MD is one of the doctors at Physician’s Clinic, a medical clinic of Marcus Daly Memorial Hospital, who uses the new endoscope platform. “The system’s image clarity and advanced capabilities are setting a new standard of excellence for examination and treatment in gastrointestinal endoscopy,” said Dr. Moreland. “High-definition endoscopy is a significant improvement in our ability to see details in the intestinal tract.”

March is Colorectal Cancer Awareness month - The American Cancer Society projects that colon and rectal cancer will kill 55,170 Americans this year and that the 5-year survival rate for people whose colon/rectal cancer is treated in an early stage, before it has spread, is greater than 90%.

During the month of March, Marcus Daly Memorial Hospital and John Moreland, MD, Physicians Clinic want to raise the awareness about colorectal cancer by offering a MDMH Preventative Healthcare Gift Basket & free colonoscopy screening. Raffle tickets are available at the MDMH Auxiliary Gift Shop. Tickets are $3.00 each or 2 for $5.00, the drawing to be held on March 31, 2010. Raffle proceeds go directly to the MDMH Auxiliary, who raises funds that go to purchase vital equipment for the hospital.

The American Cancer Society recommends that beginning at age 50, both men and women should be screened for colon and rectal cancer. People with CRC risk factors, such as a personal history of CRC or adenomatous polyps or a strong family history of CRC or polyps, should talk to their doctor about starting CRC screening earlier and/or undergoing screening more often.

March 1 mountain snowpack was well below average and below last year at this time. February mountain precipitation was well below average and the fourth month in a row with below to well below average mountain precipitation. February mountain precipitation west of the Divide was 37 percent of average and east of the Divide was 51 percent of average.

On March 1, seasonal snowpack accumulation west of the divide should be about 82 percent and east of the divide should be about 75 percent. Seasonal snowpack peaks are typically reached the first to middle of April. Statewide, mountain snowpack was 68 percent of average and 79 percent of last year at this time. West of the Divide, snowpack was 65 percent of average and 76 percent of last year and east of the Divide, snowpack was 71 percent of average and 80 percent of last year.

The Bitterroot River Basin was 52 percent of average and 57 percent of last year.

Streamflows across Montana are forecast to be 63 percent of average. West of the Divide, streamflows are forecast to be 62 percent of average and east of the Divide, streamflows are forecast to be 63 percent of average.

Very low streamflows are likely to occur in early to late summer, especially for streams and rivers without reservoir storage. River basins of most concern are the Bitterroot, Lower Clark Fork, Jefferson, Sun, Teton, Marias, and Lower Yellowstone.

Willow Creek Road, between Centennial Lane and Honey House Road, east of Corvallis, will be closed to all traffic beginning Monday, March 8 at 9 a.m. and continuing through Thursday, March 11. The closure is necessary to facilitate the replacement of a large drainage culvert. Traffic will be detoured onto Honey House Lane and Corvallis Cemetery Road.

Roadway users are reminded to drive with extra care on detour routes and to allow additional travel time. This project is part of the Willow Creek Road Improvement Project that began last summer and is scheduled to be completed by July. The project is funded through a cooperative agreement with the Montana Department of Transportation and with Road & Bridge Department capital improvement and operating budgets. For more information contact the Ravalli County Road & Bridge Department, 363-2733.

Bob Whaley, a retired Missoula businessman and great grandson of pioneer Peter Whaley, visited the Friends of the Lee Metcalf NWR at their monthly meeting on March 3 and shared some of his family’s history.

Mr. Whaley related how his great grandfather Peter emigrated from Ireland in the 1860s to participate in the gold rush going on in the Bannack and Alder Gulch areas. Peter eventually became an Indian Agent for the Salish on the Flathead Reservation. A stout Irish-Catholic Democrat, Mr. Whaley resigned from that position after the Republicans gained control of power in Washington.

He moved his family to the Bitterroot Valley and purchased the current homestead property in 1877. The Whaley Homestead on the Lee Metcalf NWR was built around 1885, and Peter, his wife Hannah and children farmed and raised livestock there until 1905. The Whaley family was also instrumental in constructing the original Stevensville Hotel in the downtown area, which later burned down. Peter Whaley died in 1911 and his wife Hannah in 1919.

One of the Whaley children, Bob’s great aunt Julia, was fluent in the Salish language because there were so many bands living around them at the time. She grew up to become a school teacher and was the first teacher at Lone Rock School, which she is said to have named. Most of the Salish had moved from the Bitterroot Valley by 1891.

The Whaley Homestead is a historic site and is in the process of being preserved after almost being torn down. The Lee Metcalf Friends have contributed over $1,500 and worked countless hours for its restoration. Anyone interested in doing volunteer work with the Friends can sign up on their website at Friends of the Lee Metcalf NWR.com.

During March organizers are collecting chili beans and sugar for the Darby Bread Box. Drop off donations at People’s Market or Bitterroot Community Credit Union. Any donations would be appreciated.

On Saturday, March 27 at noon, MAPS will host a premiere of its 2010 student films at the Pharaohplex Theater in Corvallis. Admission is free - young and old alike are invited to attend.

The screening will premiere two short dramatic films, a twenty-minute documentary and a visual presentation of the new MAPS website. The films were created and produced by Hamilton, Corvallis, Victor and Darby high school students. The documentary was done by MAPS adult student participants. The new MAPS website is currently being created by the MAPS web design class.

The line-up:

1) “Duo”: Chrissy and Sam go to the same high school and a ‘friendship’ develops. But when Sam crosses the line, Chrissy is not happy… at all. (Drama/Comedy)

2) "The Lady and the Emus": A fascinating look at one of the strangest ranches in Montana; a ranch where giant birds from Australia are bred and raised for a surprising variety of products. (Documentary)

3) “From Zero to Hero”: High school detention isn’t a fun place to be. But all this changes when one student decides to get even. (Drama/Comedy)

MAPS President, Peter Rosten, states, “Once again, our young filmmakers have come up with some really cool and creative work. The screening is a tribute to them and our desire to share their efforts with Ravalli County.”

Since 2004, MAPS has hosted a premiere every year at the Pharaohplex. 

Says documentary instructor, Steve Slocomb, "I really enjoy passing the torch on to the next generation of creative young filmmakers by ‘downloading’ to them some of my 40 years of media experience."

Mike Henderson, web design instructor, adds, "Our students’ talent is so refreshing. It's great to be connected with their youthful energy."

For more information, visit the MAPS website, www.mediarts.org or call 381-7230.