Warrants now required for the wire
Court Ruling Creates New Hurdle for Undercover Officers
Seized money and 4.5 pounds of cocaine from 2006. - Photo courtesy of Northwest Drug Task Force
It’s been a typically busy year for the Northwest Montana Drug Task Force, which, in September, busted marijuana growing operations in Lake, Lincoln and Flathead counties with an estimated worth of $84,000. So far this year, the task force reports it has made 166 arrests, 144 searches, seized two meth labs, located seven marijuana grow operations and taken a half-million dollars in drugs off the streets.
But those accomplishments come at a time when Montana’s seven drug task forces face significant setbacks. Earlier this year, the Bush Administration slashed funding to the main federal grant that pays for drug enforcement in nearly every state in the country. The result has been a shrinking of the Northwest Task Force, with officers from some jurisdictions having to temporarily back out of the force until – and if – a new Congress and president restore funding.
Health care hits farmers and ranchers
Working the Land, Buried by Medical Costs
A new study on health care coverage for farmers and ranchers highlights a long-discussed and deepening concern: Families that live off the land have difficulty affording health insurance and, in many cases, spend a disproportionate percentage of their total income on premiums and out-of-pocket costs, especially in Montana.
[read more]More Timber Industry Job Cuts
Plum Creek Suspends Operations at Kalispell Plant, 24 Employees Laid Off
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Plum Creek Timber Co. announced Tuesday that it is suspending operations at its finger-joint stud manufacturing facility in Kalispell for the rest of the year, leaving 24 employees at the plant out of work.
“This specialty wood product is used almost exclusively in new residential construction,” Hank Ricklefs, vice president for Northern Resources and Manufacturing, said in a prepared statement. “Market prices are depressed and don’t currently cover the costs of production. We reduced shifts in January, hoping to avoid a production stop, but unfortunately the market has not changed. We will re-evaluate the FJ Reman business throughout 2009 to determine if we can resume production at this facility.”
Related: Plum Creek Eliminates 35 Jobs at Columbia Falls Fiberboard Plant
Related: St. Regis Mill Lays Off 40 Employees
Budget Wrap
Local Governments Hammer Out Tight Budgets
Times are tight, and the Flathead’s city and county governments recently voted on their respective budgets for the 2008-2009 fiscal year, which began July 1. Here are summaries of what Kalispell, Whitefish, Columbia Falls and Flathead County have to work with for the coming year.
[read more]Tree to visit Columbia Falls on November 5th.
2008 Capitol Christmas Tree Making a Stop in Columbia Falls
It's hard enough trying to find just the right Christmas tree for your home. Choosing just one from all the trees in the Bitterroot National Forest and having that tree be just the perfect one to display on the Capitol Mall in Washington is quite a job.
And it's exactly the job that the folks in the Bitterroot National Forest have on their plate this fall.
How Candidates Fit the Internet into State Strategies
In Montana Politics, Web Still Puzzling
Lido Vizzutti/Flathead Beacon
When Erik Iverson took over as chairman of the Montana Republican Party last year, the GOP had not updated its Web site since 1999. Believing a state party’s Web site conveys a “first impression” about the organization, he was dismayed by the portrait of Montana Republicans painted by the GOP’s site.
“It was a turnoff,” he said. “It reflected poorly on the party.”
North Valley Opens Satellite Locations
Music School Spreads Across the Valley
Izzy Ray, 12, left, performs her song "Lost and Found" with accompanying instructor Christian Johnson. - Lido Vizzutti/Flathead Beacon
In its 10th year, North Valley Music School in Whitefish is reaching a crescendo.
For years the school’s reputation and enrollment have been building, stressing the confines of its small building – a 1930s house on Spokane Avenue. Now, to accommodate the growth, the school is adding teachers and opening two satellite locations – one in Columbia Falls and another in Kalispell.
Timber Industry Job Cuts
Plum Creek Eliminates 35 Jobs at Columbia Falls Fiberboard Plant
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Plum Creek Timber Company, citing a flat housing market and declining demand for wood products, announced Thursday that it was eliminating 35 jobs at its Medium Density Fiberboard plant in Columbia Falls.
The company will reduce the number of rotating shifts at the plant from four to three, which will cut its current staff of 185 by almost 20 percent. Employees at Plum Creek, the largest private landowner in the nation with about 8 million acres of timberland, have been told about the change, which will go into effect Sept. 29.
Related: Surprised by Criticism, Plum Creek Aims to Shore Up Image
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