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...
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...
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....
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...
(U.S. Senate) – U.S. Senator Jon Tester’s made-in-Montana legislation, the Blackfoot Clearwater Stewardship Act, received a big boost when the U.S. Forest Service signaled it would work to achieve the goals of this collaborative proposal during a hearing before the Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee. “The Blackfoot Clearwater Stewardship Act is the result of more than a decade of collaboration from local stakeholders who know what’s best for their communities and how to best manage their public lands,” said Test...
HELENA – Governor Steve Bullock today announced additional funding from the Coronavirus Relief Fund will be directed to the Montana Meat Processing Infrastructure Grant and Social Services Nonprofit Grant programs to fully address identified needs. Meat processing "The impacts of the coronavirus pandemic have drawn attention to challenges faced by our nation's meat processing systems. And by addressing this complex issue here in Montana, we are building resilience to future s...
Helena - September is National Suicide Prevention Month and marks an opportunity for all Montanans to have a role in preventing suicide in our communities. Each year, more than 45,000 Americans-including more than 6,000 Veterans-die by suicide. In the challenging times of the coronavirus pandemic, now is an ideal time to learn how to "be there" to support ourselves and others. "Suicide is such an important issue to speak about that no person should hesitate to simply begin a conversation," said Montana VA Health Care...
HELENA-The Branch Libraries of the Lewis & Clark Library in East Helena, Augusta, Lincoln and the Bookmobile have teamed up to bring the community six StoryWalk® books that can be enjoyed by everyone. Lewis & Clark Library Bookmobile Librarian Bretagne Byrd explains, "We all know that reading is important and that getting outside for a walk is also important. We put the two together to provide the community a fun learning activity that everyone can enjoy!" Each...
Concerns about speeding and other traffic violations are nothing new to Lincoln, but after about a year without a Montana Highway Patrol trooper assigned to Lincoln, those concerns have grown due to the limited enforcement here. Last fall resident trooper Jesse Knaff left the Highway Patrol and there hasn't been a trooper stationed here on a full-time basis since, and that may not change in the near future due to changes in the MHP recruiting process. Capt. Josh Brown, the Dis...
The Montana Department of Transportation has extended a speed study on Highway 200 east of Lincoln to include the intersection with Airport Road east of the Lincoln Ranger District. Lewis and Clark County Public Works director Eric Griffin requested the study extension after members of the Lincoln Airport Foundation voiced support for including the intersection east of the Lincoln Ranger District. In an e-mail to MDT's Aeronautics Division Administrator Tim Conway, LAF Vice Pr...
In a memo to the Board of County Commissioners, Lewis and Clark County staff recommended they approve a contract with the Treasure State Endowment Program to provide $558,806 in funding to Lewis and Clark County for the Dalton Mountain Road Bridge Replacement. The project was accepted into the Montana Department of Transportation off-system bridge program earlier this year and is currently projected to cost $2.387 million under that program. The TSEP money will provide a...
Gov. Steve Bullock announced outbreak response protocols for Montana’s K-12 schools Thursday, sept. 10. The protocols include information on COVID-19 symptoms, when to call for emergency care, determining close contacts, when to quarantine, isolate and recommend testing, and when to allow, screening symptomatic students and staff for testing or isolation, and guidance on athletics and extracurricular activities. The protocol are based on an outbreak response plan developed by Rhode Island and includes best practices from t...
The Montana Department of Environmental Quality wildfire smoke outlook for Sunday showed that Seeley Lake reported air quality levels as 'unhealthy for sensitive groups" at 11:30 a.m.,while Helena showed moderate air quality. An unofficial observation by the BVD indicated visibility in Lincoln dropped to about two miles by 4 p.m. Sunday. Based on the DEQ's visibility range, used to determine the smoke index values for local areas, air quality in the Lincoln Valley dropped...
Last week’s story in our print edition regarding the county’s mail-in voting decision included an indirect quote from Lincoln Post Master Zach Muse regarding ballot postmarks that was inaccurate. During the Government Day meeting Muse urged people to mail their ballots in by Oct. 31 at the latest. In explaining the time it takes for a ballot to go through the U.S. Mail, he made a comment that sounded like “it’s not postmarked.” Although it sounded like a clear statement, we should have confirmed with him that what we heard...
HELENA – Yesterday the Board of County Commissioners appointed Amy Reeves as the new Lewis and Clark County Treasurer/Clerk & Recorder. The appointment comes after the retirement announcement of current Treasurer/Clerk & Recorder Paulette DeHart. DeHart's official resignation date is September 25, 2020. The BoCC received twelve applications, advancing four applicants to an open, panel-style interview on September 8. Reeves has been an employee of the office's accounting d...
LINCOLN – Lincoln Fire Rescue joined several agencies in the fight against a fire near mile marker 105 on Highway 200, north of Bowman's Corner. The Panama Fire began at about 4 p.m., Thursday, Sept. 10 and spread quickly, burning an estimated 100-plus acres of mostly grass by 4:15. Firefighters, aided by a DNRC helicopter, stopped the fire at 228 acres. Firefighters from the Helena DNRC, Lincoln Fire Rescue, Wolf Creek and Augusta Volunteer Fire Departments and the U.S. F...
SEELEY LAKE – An airplane crash Saturday night, Sept. 12 north of Seeley Lake left two people dead and one hospitalized. Wayne D. Cahoon, 59, of Seeley lake and Charles E. Wolff, 67 of Green Valley Ariz. died when the Single engineCessna 172 went down north of the Seeley Lake Airport. A passenger, identified in a GoFundMe page as Christian Cahoon, survived but was badly injured and ultimately taken to a hospital in Washington. According to the Missoula County Sheriff ’s office, a possible plane crash north of Seeley Lake at...
Montana Fish, Wildlife & Parks will continue chronic wasting disease surveillance this year in high-priority areas known as Priority Surveillance Areas in northwest, southwest and eastern Montana. Hunters who harvest a deer, elk or moose in these areas are asked to voluntarily submit their animal for sampling to help gather additional data for that area. This information will be used to help inform the best management strategies for the affected hunting districts. This year,...
The Lewis and Clark County Commission’s decision to conduct voting by mail for the 2020 general election dominated the Sept. 4 Lincoln Government Day meeting, the first held here since June. At their Aug. 13 meeting in Helena, the commissioners unanimously approved a resolution to conduct the Nov. 3 election as a “mail ballot election with an in-person voting option.” The decision came one week after Gov. Steve Bullock authorized Montana’s counties to hold the election by mail to help limit the spread of COVID-19. Nationa...
Although most hunters respect the land, property and wildlife they are hunting, many others do not. FWP would like to remind hunters and all outdoor enthusiasts to be good stewards of the land, and respect both private and public property. Every hunting season, there are reports of vandalizing of Block Management Area (BMA) boxes, hunters driving off road, illegal trespassing, hunters being shot over, littering, and livestock being shot. FWP encourages everyone to be good...
Although much of Friday’s Governement Day meeting revolved around the upcoming November election, Lewis & Clark County Treasurer/Clerk and Recorder Paulette DeHart won’t be on hand come election day. Geise reported that Dehart will be retiring Sept. 25, after 38 years. Dehart started in the job at just 18. As Treasurer/Clerk and Recorder DeHart has overseen elections, motor vehicle licensing, the recording of plats and property tax collection. “It’s just a huge, huge job,” Geise said. The commissioners received 12 applicati...
