Serving Proudly As The Voice Of Valley County Since 1913
Serving Proudly As The Voice Of Valley County Since 1913
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Twenty-two years ago, a retired Army doctor and his wife rolled into Glasgow, wondering if a cow town on the prairie was really a good choice to set up a new practice and a new chapter in their lives. It turned out to be a wonderful decision. Glasgow has been very good to Mike and me, and it is a real wrench to uproot ourselves from the place we have lived the longest. Only the pull of family in Colorado could be stronger than the love of good friends here and life in the beautiful Milk River...
The Valley County Airport Commission has considered its options and recommended that the county assume management and services at Glasgow International Airport/Wokal Field with county employees, following the announcement by Choice Aviation that the company will terminate management and fixed base operator (FBO) services on Dec. 22. The recommendation was voted on at an Airport Commission meeting on Monday and accepted by the county commissioners on Tuesday. “It will be our job to support them in their endeavor,” said Valley County Com...
The Valley County Airport Commission called a special meeting Monday to discuss their options since Choice Aviation has asked for termination of its management and fixed base operator (FBO) contracts with the Airport Commission, effective Dec. 22. Under these contracts, which were signed March 1, 2012, and supposed to run until June 30, 2017, Choice Aviation runs the Glasgow airport with two full-time and two part-time employees. Choice Aviation also operates airports in Ennis, Hamilton, Stevensville and Cody, Wyo. About 25 people attended the...
The Glasgow City Council voted Monday to allow the Long Run Fire Department to proceed with plans to build a new building on the city land they already occupy on Lasar Drive. They must bring their plans in for approval and follow state building codes and city ordinances, according to City Clerk Stacey Amundson. She said no timeline for the project was mentioned. It will be built in phases as Long Run receives money from Valley County. Long Run can tear down an old building on the property to make room for the new fire hall addition if the...
City, county and state officials received a 25-page “memorandum of law” from a St. Marie man on Monday that painstakingly outlined legal reasons why the government has no right to require that he have a driver’s license. Terry-Lee, as he styles himself, quoted scores of legal opinions that he said established his unfettered right to travel on public roads as long as he was not using the road for gain (engaged in business for profit). He concluded that applying for a license is forfeiting the basic right to travel. Along the way his memor...
The Glasgow City Council agenda Monday night included a new building for the Long Run Fire Department and two water issues. Long Run firefighters have been shuttling between the City Council and the Valley County commissioners, trying to get permission to add a new building at their current location on Lasar Drive. Long Run is a county fire department, but it has a long-standing agreement to maintain its fire hall on this piece of city land. According to Mayor Dan Carney, Long Run was formed in 1988. Dan Taylor acquired a 40-by-100-foot buildin...
The Valley County commissioners set all county levies in September. This year the total county-wide levies are 85.74 mills, slightly more than last year, which was 84.3 mills. According to Commissioner Bruce Peterson, the increase is due to two things. The new county-wide taxable valuation came in at $25,891,793, which is $122,000 higher than last year. Also there was an increase in the three-year average of the Consumer Price Index, which counties may divide by two to increase the mills without going to the voters. The value of one mill in...
Longtime employees in the law enforcement dispatch center will be getting a raise as a reward for their long service, effective Oct. 7. The Valley County commissioners voted Tuesday to pay an extra 25 cents an hour to employees with 10 years’ service and 50 cents after 20 years. Also, those on the 11 to 7 night shift will receive a 25 cents boost. The raise will apply to part time as well as full time dispatchers. Three people will received the raises, for an annual cost of about $2,000. The commissioners committed $36,000 to the Long Run Fire...
At their regular meeting on Tuesday, the Valley County commissioners passed a resolution that set the all school district levies as follows: • Glasgow, 256.69 mills. • Frazer, 353.98 mills. • Hinsdale, 145.73 mills. • Opheim, 149.49 mills. • Nashua, 220.74 mills. • Lustre, 242.09 mills. • District 5, 59.75 mills. • Total Valley County elementary, 40.41 mills. • Total Valley County high school, 62.78 mills. • Total Valley County transportation. 5.56 mills. Heavy spring rains hit Valley County roads and other infrastructure hard again this yea...
The Valley County commissioners adopted the recommendation of the County Compensation Board on Tuesday and voted a 5 percent pay increase for elected county officials. The commissioners also raised the salaries of all non-elected county employees who are eligible for health insurance by 86 cents an hour. According to Commissioner Dave Pippin, Valley County paid the lowest or next to the lowest salaries of similar counties in Montana. “We need to raise our salaries,” Pippin said. “We will try to pay as much as we can and not break the bank....
Valley County’s new justice of the peace, James Wixson, was appointed by the county commissioners last Wednesday and sworn into office Monday by Clerk and Recorder Lynne Nyquist. He came to Glasgow with the FBI in 1981 and was involved in investigating major crimes on the Fort Peck and Fort Belknap reservations. He retired here in 1997 after a long career as an agent. Wixson was chosen from among 10 applicants for the position. Valley County Commissioner Dave Pippin said Wixson had experienced e...
The Glasgow City Council at its regular meeting on Tuesday held public hearings and passed resolutions levying assessments for street lights and garbage collection. They also had a public hearing and adopted a preliminary budget for fiscal year 2013-2014. Last Friday the Council decided to bill 320 mills. Taxes will go up, Mayor Dan Carney said, but they haven’t raised for a long time. For Glasgow Lighting Districts No. 1 through 29, the total assessment is $189,244.44. The amount levied against each lot or parcel is according to the square f...
The Valley County proposed budget for the fiscal year ending June 30, 2014, has been filed and is open for inspection by the public. The county commissioners will hear any taxpayer comment on the budget beginning Sept. 4 and continuing until the final budget is approved. The estimated value of a county-wide mill is $25,891 outside the city and $22,293 in the city limits. If the certified millages are either higher or lower than estimated, the budget will be proportionally raised or lowered....
The vacant justice of the peace position has drawn an unusually high number of applicants. Several people filed just before the deadline last Thursday, bringing the number of applications to 10. They are Christine Gamas, David Gorton, Pam Heikens, Christina M. Hillman, David Kloker, Kara Moon, Linda Parks, Carol Ann Walton, James Wixson and Misty Womack. “We are really pleased with that much interest in that office,” said Valley County Commissioner Dave Pippin. “Many of the candidates are extremely qualified. These are definitely some tough...
“The bottom line is, do you want $200,000 in taxes a year or not?” said Valley Commissioner Dave Reinhardt on Tuesday. At their regular meeting the commissioners were discussing the tax abatement requested by Compass Wind. The proposed wind farm south of Opheim is still in the negotiation stage with several pieces hanging in the air. The commissioners asked themselves if the project needed the abatement. At a public meeting held in Glasgow on July 30 to introduce the Compass Wind project, their development director, Kyle Paulson, said they nee...
As the deadline approaches, applications are coming in for Valley County justice of the peace. As of Tuesday, Job Service had six applications on file. The aspiring judges are Chris Gamas, Pam Heikens, Christina M. Hillman, Carol Ann Walton, James Wixson and Misty Womack. The position closes on Thursday, Aug. 15. The commissioners said they hope to make a rapid decision so the new judge can attend JP school in Helena in September. The appointment is temporary, until the end of the current term on Dec. 31, 2014. The position is then up for...
Some money remains in local CTEP funding and it has to be used by September, according to the Valley County commissioners. Glasgow acquired the sidewalk on Cemetery Road and on U.S. 2 to the Cottonwood and to the Valley Event Center through this program. Now $123,000 in Community Transportation Enhancement Program funds remains, and Commissioner Dave Reinhardt said they want to spend it in other communities. He said sidewalk problems have been identified in Nashua, Hinsdale and Opheim. Community input is required by the program. A community...
A young company based in Denver is trying to start its second wind farm in Montana. Compass Energies is negotiating to find a market for the energy it hopes to generate from up to 13 turbines placed on about 1,400 acres it has leased from four landowners south of Opheim. Kyle Paulson, development director for Compass Energies, explained the $40 million project to about 20 people at Glasgow High School on Tuesday night. The turbines would generate up to 23 megawatts of power, but before anything is built, a number of interconnected things have...
The vacancy for Valley County justice of the peace is being advertised by the county commissioners with Job Service. Applications will be accepted until Aug. 15. Commissioner Bruce Peterson said they hope to make a rapid decision so the new judge can attend JP school in Helena in September. Applicants must have lived in Valley County at least one year. A high school diploma is required and experience in the legal field or law enforcement is preferred. The position requires basic computer skills and writing experience is desirable. The...
The justice of the peace for Valley County has resigned from office in the wake of a domestic disturbance and her arrest on a charge of family member abuse. The Valley County commissioners announced Tuesday that Linda Hartsock had resigned in a letter dated July 8, the day after the arrest, and received by the commissioners on July 16. The resignation is to be effective on July 31. Hartsock, 58, was halfway through her fourth four-year term as justice of the peace. She won re-election in 2010 over two challengers. Contacted by telephone, Hartso...
By Samar Fay Courier Editor A number of local people have volunteered to serve on the many boards that oversee local affairs in Valley County. The Valley County commissioners have recently appointed 19 people to three-year terms, which will expire June 30, 2016. Glasgow Mosquito Control District – Jody Faul, Norm Girard Hinsdale Cemetery District – Ernest Marinko, Doris Tollefson, Paul Yeska Hinsdale Mosquito Control District – Valeria Schmauch Hinsdale Television District No. 1 – Wayne Johnson Nashua Mosquito Control District – Raymond Y...
Despite game opposition from a man making his third appearance in their office, the Valley County commissioners voted Tuesday to approve a rate increase proposed by Valley County Transit, the first since 1997. Harry Ratzky is a low-income senior citizen who objects to the increases that eliminated reduced fares for seniors and children. He also claims that the increase is not in compliance with the Federal Transit Administration’s public notice and comment procedures. He said his first knowledge of the increase was an announcement of it in t...
The flood waters of June having receded, the Valley County commissioners on Tuesday passed a resolution terminating the disaster declaration. The resolution states that the county has completed emergency repairs to infrastructure from the flood. Mark Gruener, the District 6 Disaster and Emergency Services representative, and Valley County DES Rick Seiler presented the draft resolution and also a draft letter for the commissioners to send to Gov. Steve Bullock in appreciation of his “timely efforts.” The spring floods were Bullock’s first exper...
In a unanimous decision last week, the Montana Supreme Court overturned a District Court ruling that prevented the movement of Yellowstone bison from the Fort Peck Reservation. This clears the way for about half of the bison to be taken to the Fort Belknap Reservation, which was the original plan when 61 bison were brought north last spring after five years’ quarantine and testing for brucellosis. In his opinion, Chief Justice Mike McGrath clarified one of the chief objections behind the lawsuit that sought to restrict the placement of the b...
A Canadian oil exploration company has withdrawn the offer it made to lease minerals on land belonging to Valley County, citing the difficulty of conducting business under restrictions intended to protect the habitat of the threatened sage grouse. In an email to the Valley County commissioners sent on Tuesday, Don Lee, an attorney for Montex Oil Co., said, “Unfortunately because of the sage grouse habitat issues involving federal lands, it will be extremely difficult to conduct exploratory o...
