Thursday: Tool Thefts, Duct Tape Dress, Stimulus Reports

By Dan Testa, 6-25-09

Good morning; on the Beacon today, establishing a technology-based business in a remote area like the Flathead brings both perks and perils. One of those firms, BigforkWEB, has established it's name partially through the community service its employees have performed. Kelly H. Hilbun and Terry Ann Hilbun of Whitefish are charged with stealing more than $30,000 of tools from Flathead Valley construction sites. Flathead High students Charden Wood and Steven Quade are in a national contest over the INCREDIBLE duct tape outfits they crafted by hand. And Dave Skinner takes some literary risks in his latest column, imagining a mining genie granting the wish of some environmentalist lawyers.

Gov. Brian Schweitzer released reports yesterday tracking federal stimulus spending in Montana. Investigators do not believe arson caused the recent Butte tire warehouse fire, but they're not sure what did. A member of the Missoula County Public Schools board of trustees has resigned over the political fallout from a vote related to a controversial documentary about America's consumer culture. Federal officials and livestock agencies in Montana, Wyoming and Idaho have agreed on a tentative plan to change how they deal with the cattle disease brucellosis. [End of article]