The Blackfoot Valley's News Source Since 1980
The Blackfoot Valley's News Source Since 1980
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Update In a decision issued after the BVD print edition went to press Tuesday morning, , the Montana Supreme Court Tuesday stayed a Sept. 25 order by district court Judge Donald Harris that required ballots to simply be postmarked by Election Day to be counted. The decision reinstates the requirement under state law that says ballots must be in the possession of elections officials by 8 p.m. on Election Day. In his decision, Harris changed the deadline to a postmark deadline...
Montana will not play much of a role in the battle between President Donald Trump and former Vice President Joe Biden, but in the fight to control the U.S. Senate, the clash between Gov. Steve Bullock and incumbent Sen. Steve Daines looms large. Daines, a Republican, seemed likely to cruise to re-election until the Democratic governor announced on the last possible day his decision to enter the race. Nationally, Democrats hope to pick up four seats in the 2020 election to...
Marijuana is back on the ballot - the third time in the last five election cycles - but this year Montanans will decide for the first time whether to follow other states like Colorado and Washington in legalizing use for all adults. The issue comes in the form of complementary ballot initiatives I-190 and CI-118. I-190 creates the rules for a recreational marijuana system in Montana, including a 20 percent tax. It also allows each county the option to prohibit dispensaries in...
The Lincoln Volunteer Ambulance has recently brought on three new EMTs. Ron Arambarri, Klara Varga, and Chelsea Woodland all took the EMT class offered in Lincoln earlier this year and have now passed their tests to join the LVA as full EMTs. "This was kinda an odd class," said Aaron Birkholz, LVA President, noting that the COVID-19 pandemic interrupted the class. The three new EMTs will double the number of active EMTs for the LVA. "It's gonna help," said Birkholz. "I think...
Lincoln Community Garden Prepares for End of Season and Looks to Next Year's Gardening Season October is the month the Lincoln Community Garden begins winding down and winterizing, but members are already looking forward to next year's season. On the list of things to get done at the garden before the colder months set in include removing the shade cloth from the greenhouse, clearing member's outside plots and preparing them with soil, compost and other amendments for healthy...
Samantha Sechrest joins the Lincoln Public Schools for her first year as a lead teacher this year and is teaching high school English. Her high school classes cover novel studies and reading competency. Sechrest is also teaching a combo class for 7th and 8th graders which mainly concentrates on reading and writing, including handwriting. The curriculum for English students includes comparing differences between video and books, so she said she's including that in her classes,...
Beginning Oct. 1, the Lewis & Clark Library – Lincoln branch will be hosting a month-long art challenge using prompts and resources from the Inktober (www.inktober.com) and Drawlloween (www.drawlloween.com) websites. The library will provide journals for people to participate. The goal is to get people's creative juices flowing. Once participants draw for their daily prompt, they are asked to share their artwork on their Facebook and Instagram pages using the hashtags #Inktobe...
So, here's the question: How much power should local governments have to regulate firearms or prevent their possession by felons, minors, undocumented immigrants or people judged mentally incompetent? Not much, according to backers of Legislative Referendum 130, the ballot measure sent to voters by Montana lawmakers last session. Specifically, Legislative Referendum 130 asks voters to remove local governments' power to regulate the carrying of concealed firearms – or to r...
This year's campaign for governor pits two candidates with very different impressions of how Montana is doing and what should be done to make life better against one another. At a construction site in Helena, Montana, Republican Greg Gianforte told a group of contractors clad in orange shirts and work boots that things had to change after 16 years of Democrats controlling the governor's mansion to make sure Montana's best days are ahead. "We're going to get government out of...
I just wanted to reach out and say thank you. I had several of you in the community reach out via phone, text, and email to thank me for my original response to Liz Cain's letter to the editor in the Blackfoot Valley Dispatch. I appreciate your feedback on my response and want you to know that it means a lot to me that it resonated with so many of you. I additionally want to say thank you to Liz for her response last week. She was kind enough to send me an email with her...
Where in the world did our summer go? If you're anything like me, the list of the "stuff to get done before the snow flies," is still as long as it was at the beginning of summer. I had such high hopes for getting things done, being organized and ahead of the game. Instead, it's the end of September and I want to know where the summer went. I know a lot of people have blamed a lot of things on COVID this year, and rightfully so, but somehow I don't think I can lay this one on...
Thanks to the BVD for supporting its community and businesses. Our small town newspaper is one of the foundations of our community and I am thankful to have it. There are so many things I would never know about the what's happening around town even though we live and work right in town now. This is especially true of things going on in the state and in our county that pertain to Lincoln but wouldn't be brought to our attention without our local paper. I, personally, would...
Here in Montana we are granted the right to vote on ballot initiatives once they clear a number of hurdles, including having the related petition garner enough qualifying signatures. Not achieved, however, is the ability to hold public hearings on the proposed issue – such as is accomplished during legislative debate, fiscal review and the amendment process. On November 3rd, we will be voting on CI-118 which would legalize marijuana here in Montana. Aside from what the p...
For Envision Lincoln to have a shot at a $20,000 grant it is pursuing through Montana Main Street for a Downtown Master Plan, at least a portion of the $4,000 in matching funds will have to be raised locally. Envision Lincoln began exploring the need for a professional Master Plan earlier this year, and chose to move ahead with the grant application following a July 30 Zoom meeting with Montana Main Street and the Montana Department of Commerce Community Development Division....
Lewis and Clark County 911 Center received twenty-four calls for service during the week of Sept. 20 to Sept. 26. Deputies performed eight traffic stops in the Lincoln area. One of those calls generated a case report last week: A deputy opened an investigation Monday, Sept. 21, in the 1000 block of Sunrise Lane. This investigation is on-going and no further information can be shared at this time. Other calls for service in the Lincoln area last week were two 911 hang-ups, one...
The coronavirus pandemic has impacted so many lives in the world Since early 2020, the new worldwide pandemic has increased caution for all businesses, schools and even households. Behind the closed doors of Lincoln Public Schools, the teachers have done an excellent job on improvising in this very abnormal situation. So, let us give some credit to our district for caring so deeply about the student's education and future. Some of the policies have changed due to the Coronavirus Pandemic. Anyone entering the building must...
Helena – Lewis and Clark County reminds the public placing political signs in County right-of-ways is against Montana law and signs will be removed. While Administrative Rules of Montana 18.6.246 allows for political signs on private property, with permission of the property owner, it says political signs must not be placed on or allow any portion to intrude in the public right-of-way or on public property. Lewis and Clark County will remove any signs it finds in the County right-of-way. People may retrieve their signs at t...
In the wake of Gov. Steve Bullock Aug. 6 directive, 45 of Montana’s 56 counties have opted for mail-in voting this year, but Powell County is one of the few that still plans to staff polling places for the Nov. 3 general elections. Powell County Elections Administrator Jody Walker had planned to ask the county commission to change to mail-in elections this year, but said public comment at a commission meeting persuaded her to continue with in-person polling places. As in Lewis and Clark County, Walker’s main concerns inv...
