The Valley Journal

Jim Blow/Valley Journal

Children wait patiently at the starting line for the signal to begin the egg hunt at Boettcher Park in Polson.

By Berl Tiskus and Kate Haake
Valley Journal
The Easter bunny had lots of helpers around the Mission Valley on Saturday, April 3.
The ladies of the Alpha Upsilon Chapter of Beta Sigma Phi cleaned, stuffed and hid close to 5,000 plastic Easter eggs on the beginning-to-green lawns at Boettcher Park. Businesses around Polson donated coupons, candy and quarters from First Interstate Bank to fill the eggs and provide an Easter basket loaded with goodies for one lucky child in each age group. The Easter bunny was available for photo opportunities, and the Betas passed out bright pinwheels. As usual the egg hunt began at 9 a.m., and all the eggs were nabbed by 9:02 a.m.
After the Beta egg hunt, many families headed straight to Linderman cafeteria for the Blessings and Baskets Easter event which began at 10 a.m. A line snaked across the playground at Linderman, around the school by the gym, across the parking lot and almost to ..........
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Linda Sappington/Valley Journal

Izaac Normandeau flies his cardboard plane in a landing pattern during the aviation unit at Linderman Elementary School in Polson.

By Berl Tiskus
Valley Journal
Polson Tower, this is Delta 7, five miles southwest of the airport, requesting to land,” said the crackly voice of a student pilot.
“Delta 7, this is Polson Tower. Fly into the pattern, then report to base,” said Lee Lytton from Polson Tower.
“Polson Tower, this is Delta 7 on base,” the student replied.
“Delta 7, cleared to land, off Alpha, contact ground,” Lee said, scanning the skies and checking the landing strip.
“Delta 7, cleared to land,” the student answered and guided his plane onto the runway.
Wearing real headphones borrowed from a pilot, the student flier used the correct terminology and asked the right questions even though he was in Mrs. Laud’s third grade classroom landing a cardboard plane on a paper landing strip.
Lee was an air traffic controller at a very busy airport during the Vietnam War so he acted as Polson Tower and taught the kids how to land their planes.
Over and over during the landings Lee stressed the number one thing was ..........
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By Berl Tiskus
Valley Journal
POLSON — The issue of where to locate the new sewage treatment plant has been simmering in Polson for at least a year. During the April 5 Polson City Commission meeting the commissioners settled one portion of the issue when they voted against purchasing the Meridian building on Kerr Dam Road for use as a sewage treatment plant.
Commissioner John Campbell said, “Mr. Maddy deserves an answer.”
“Tonight’s the night,” Campbell continued.
The building purchase was voted down after lots of discussion on an agenda item requesting a workshop on the sewage treatment plant.
Tim McGinnis, a local realtor and president of the Riverside Terraces Homeowners Association, asked that the workshop item be placed on the agenda. McGinnis said the location of the sewage treatment plant is a big issue and will “stay with us a long time.”
McGinnis also brought up the prime location of the 33 or 34 acres of land where the sewage lagoons are located.
After pros, cons and what-could-it-hurts, Commissioner Ron Boyce made a motion to ..........
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Kate Haake/Valley Journal

Plants are spaced apart in a local growing operation for several medical marijuana users.

Part two of the series looks at how law enforcement agencies and local governments are preparing to deal with the use and dissemination of medical marijuana.

By Berl Tiskus, Melea Burke, Kate Haake
Valley Journal
While the Montana Medical Marijuana Act is an easy read, it doesn’t take long to figure out that the issues involved are much more complicated than one might think.
After the state legislature passed Initiative 148 in 2004, change came slowly until last fall. The recent boom in Montana’s medical marijuana industry can most likely be attributed to an October 2009 statement by the Obama administration that the federal government would not seek to arrest medical marijuana users and suppliers as long as they conform to state laws. Still, under federal law, marijuana is a Schedule I drug, and drug offenders can be prosecuted if caught. The situation is especially confusing on the Flathead Indian Reservation, where tribal, local, state and federal governments all have some jurisdiction...........
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Berl Tiskus/Valley Journal

Polson city manager Todd Crossett talks with several attendees at last week's informational meeting on a transportation grant.

By Berl Tiskus
Valley Journal
POLSON — About 40 people attended the first of many public meetings on the Transportation Investments Generating Economic Recovery or TIGER Grant held on March 30 at 6:30 p.m. in Linderman gym.
Lake County Commissioners Paddy Trusler and Bill Barron and Polson City Manager Todd Crossett presented information on the $12 million grant. The grant is a partnership including Lake County, the City of Polson, the City of Ronan, the Town of St. Ignatius, the Confederated Salish and Kootenai Tribes and Lake County Community Development.
The original grant application was for $16 million so receiving $12 million meant the project had to be downsized. Trusler said the group is still focusing on the total rebuild of Skyline Drive for approximately $9 million. Some of the other projects considered for the remaining $3 million are: one mile of pedestrian/bike path from the end of Caffrey Road to Highway 93, a two-mile extension from the end of the walking path on Round Butte Road to connect with Back Road, Main Street in Ronan and chip sealing Carbine Road or Pablo West into Pablo, approximately four miles.
"Connectivity is always a key," Trusler said. ..........
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Kate Haake/Valley Journal

A valley resident, one of the many individuals now authorized to grow, possess and use medical marijuana, displays some of the buds used for medicinal purposes. Local growth and commercial distribution of medical marijuana is a growing issue facing local governments.

By Kate Haake
Valley Journal
“Last dance with Mary Jane, one more time to kill the pain,” Tom Petty sings in his hit song “Mary Jane’s Last Dance.” The song was released in 1993, just three years before California would legalize marijuana for medicinal purposes and 11 years prior to its legalization in Montana.
One can assume that Petty was not referring to some pretty girlfriend named Mary Jane in the song, nor was he referencing an actual physical pain that he was feeling. No, rest assured, Mr. Tom Petty and his Heartbreakers were singing about self-medicating their emotional turmoil with marijuana.
Intentional or not, the lyrics are indicative of a wave that would start to sweep the nation a few years later. Thirteen states followed California’s lead and legalized marijuana for medicinal purposes, attempting to ease the physical pain of patients suffering diseases ranging from glaucoma to epilepsy.
On Nov. 2, 2004, 62 percent of Montana voters approved Initiative 148, the Medical Marijuana Act, which allows patients with a “debilitating medical condition” access to marijuana and also allows caregivers to “undertake the responsibility for managing the well-being of a person with respect to the medical use of marijuana.”
In short, the state of Montana legalized the production, sale and distribution of marijuana for medicinal purposes.
This article is the first in a series that provides an overview of where medical marijuana use stands and how many questions remain about its use, sale and distribution. These articles will explore the effects medical marijuana is having in the community, as well as ask some of the questions that remain unanswered. ..........
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Valley Journal
DOVES (Domestic Violence Education & Services) has scheduled a series of local events to commemorate Sexual Assault Awareness Month, a national effort to promote sexual assault awareness and domestic violence prevention throughout April.
“Sexual Assault Awareness month is an excellent opportunity to bring attention to the sexual assault cases and domestic violence that affects women, men and children in Lake County and the Flathead Reservation every day,” said Executive Director Jenifer Blumberg. “Sexual assault and domestic violence incidents take place on a regular basis, and it is vitally important to increase community awareness. It’s like the saying goes, ‘If you ignore it, normalize it or laugh at it, you support it.”
From April 1 to 15, businesses in Polson, Pablo, Ronan and St. Ignatius will host life-size red silhouettes representing women or children in Montana who were killed by ..........
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Berl Tiskus/Valley Journal

Last year Nancy Hausermann handed out 363 Easter baskets. She and and her friends will be filling baskets with Easter goodies for kids to win at the Baskets and Blessings event to be held at Linderman lunchroom on April 3 from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m.

By Berl Tiskus
Valley Journal
Last year Nancy Hausermann handed out 363 Easter baskets in the Super 1 parking lot the Saturday before Easter. Guess how many kids showed up? 363. Hausermann said she thought that was a sign from God.
This year Hausermann planned her Baskets and Blessings event for April 3 from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. at the Linderman School lunchroom. Besides 480 filled Easter baskets which kids may win, the event will include an Easter egg hunt with divisions for ages one to five, five to eight and eight to 12, an easter bonnet/hat contest, carnival games, a huge bake sale and food.
Hausermann will post a schedule of events so families will know when the egg hunt and Easter basket drawings will be held. Kids need to be present to win a basket.
All during the event families can purchase 25 cent tickets for the carnival ..........
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Berl Tiksus/Valley Journal

Kaylanna DeJarlais, left, and Olivia Perez twirl the jumprope while Molly Sitter jumps at Jump Rope for Heart. All the girls are third-graders at Linderman School.

By Berl Tiskus
Valley Journal
POLSON — “Bubble gum, bubble gum in the dish,
How many pieces do you wish?”
That is second-grader Cali Cannon’s favorite jump rope rhyme.
As many times as Cali can jump equaled the number of pieces of (pretend) bubble gum. Cali and her two classmates counted the jumps.
Cannon was one of the 75 Linderman students at the annual Jump Rope for Heart event held on March 17 from 3:15 to 4:30 p.m. Since it was also St. Patrick’s Day, green clothing made a strong showing.
Classes rotated around the gym in 20-minute intervals as music from the Beach Boys to "B-I-N-G-O” pumped from the boombox. Different areas of Linderman gym held individual jump ropes, hula hoops to jump through, hopscotch mats, hurdles, skip-its, Chinese jump ropes, big jump ropes which at least a dozen kids could run through, and jump ropes where a set of three kids took turns twirling and jumping.
Volunteers Ethel Seals, Ashlyn Crosby and Grace Farley served ..........
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By Berl Tiskus
Valley Journal
POLSON — A dog killed in Polson in the 300 block of 13th Avenue E. on Monday, March 22, at about 6:30 p.m. originally was believed to have been killed by a mountain lion.
Also, an off-duty detention officer reported sighting a mountain lion at 7th Street E. and 13th Ave. E. at about 9:30 p.m. on Monday evening.
During the investigation, Willy Burke, Tribal Fish and Game, took the dog’s body to a Confederated Salish and Kootenai Tribal Wildlife Biologist on March 23.
According to Polson Police Chief Doug Chase, the biologist could not positively confirm or deny the dog had been killed by a mountain lion.
Tribal Ranger Archie Fuqua brought tracking ........
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Melea Burke/Valley Journal

Tensions run high as students wait for their turn to step up to the microphone during the spelling bee.

By Melea Burke
Valley Journal
After seven rounds, only two spellers remained under the lights in the Ronan Performing Arts Center last Thursday night.
Charlo eighth-grader Timber Munson had just been eliminated when she misspelled “tragic,” and victory was close for Polson eighth-grader Cody Baer and Ronan seventh-grader Gabriel Azure, the two remaining contestants in the Lake County Spelling Bee. Surrounded by empty chairs left by their 41 fallen competitors, the boys stood quietly on stage, waiting for the next challenge from pronouncer Marilynn Tanner. Each student knew it would only take one slip of the tongue to end the standoff, and as the rounds wore on, the tension grew.
Curriculum, bruin, gazpacho, percolate — the judge held up the dreaded “incorrect” sign, and one boy held his breath as the other stepped up to the microphone.
“Round 14. Credentials,” Tanner read.
Baer spelled the word correctly, and the pressure was on for ..........
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Berl Tiskus/Valley Journal

An excited young lady holds on to her fire chief hat as she runs around the front of the Polson Rural Fire District engine during the open house at the Fairgrounds Fire Station.

By Berl Tiskus
Valley Journal
POLSON — A giant American flag fluttered and rolled over the new Fairgrounds Fire Station on Regatta Road on Saturday, March 13, drawing attention to the building.
The Polson Rural Fire District hosted an open house at the station from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m.
PRFD Chair Alison Meslin cut the ribbon officially opening the Fairgrounds Fire Station at about 10:15 a.m.
PRFD Trustee Jim Manley welcomed people to the station and said it was the culmination of a 12-year project. Manley thanked Tex Brown and Wes McDonald, who were on the board when planning for a new fire station began, as well as Ross Hoyt, Steve Bundy, excavator Dave Graham, banker Jamie Buhr, and builder Paul Iverson as well as PRFD Building Committee members Meslin and Paul Laisy.
Former PRFD Trustee Dave Ottun, Manley added, probably saved the taxpayers ..........
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Berl Tiksus/Valley Journal

Area resident Paul Bonelli asks the commissioners to take a step back and see what Polson can do differently to manage medical marijuana in the community.

By Berl Tiskus
Valley Journal
BIG ARM — At the monthly meeting on March 10, the Polson Rural Fire District Trustees voted to hire an individual consultant, Scott Waldron, the Fire Chief at Hebgen Lake and West Yellowstone, to advise the board on the most efficient use of the new station (the Fairgrounds Fire Station) subject to the board’s approval of the cost, when the cost is presented.
Audience member Dean Sams identified himself as an interested citizen. Sams said back before construction began on the FFS the Polson Volunteer Fire Department, the City of Polson and the Polson Rural Fire District had an opportunity to share the cost of a consultant and asked whether the consultant would be cheaper now.
Sams said hiring a consultant was unreasonable and uncalled for since the trustees have “paid staff and volunteer firefighters and yourselves. Figure out how to put the fire trucks where you want them.”
Firefighter Chris McGuinness said he was “happy (the board) are considering outside expertise.”
At the end of the three and a half hour meeting on the trustees dealt with personnel matters. The trustees had planned to go into executive session to talk with Chief John Fairchild, who is chief for both the Polson Rural Fire District and the Polson Volunteer Fire Department. Chief Fairchild waived his right to privacy so the matter was discussed during an open meeting.
“I have nothing to hide here,” Chief Fairchild said. ..........
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By Berl Tiskus
Valley Journal
POLSON — Two women were involved in a stabbing incident in the Polson Wal-Mart parking lot at about 6 p.m. on Saturday.
According to Polson Police Department Assistant Chief John Stevens, a 20 year-old female allegedly stabbed a 22 year-old female.
The victim drove herself to St. Joseph’s Medical Center where she was treated for a stab wound approximately 2 1/2” long to her abdomen. The victim also had cuts on her arm and one of her hand. Later the victim was flown to a hospital in Missoula for further treatment.
Stevens said the victim had surgery on Sunday and was “doing really well.”
The PPD interviewed the victim, but Stevens said police would not release names until the Lake County Attorney decided what charges would be filed. The 20-year old suspect was taken ........
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Berl Tiskus/Valley Journal

Area resident Paul Bonelli asks the commissioners to take a step back and see what Polson can do differently to manage medical marijuana in the community.

By Berl Tiskus
Valley Journal
POLSON — Opponents and proponents of an emergency moratorium on medical marijuana spoke at the Polson City Commission meeting on March 15. The meeting began at 7 p.m. and discussion began as soon as the proposed agenda was approved.
Polson City Todd Crossett said the recommendation from staff was to do a blanket moratorium on medical marijuana for six months.
Polson Police Chief Doug Chase said law enforcement had concerns about major storefront operations. Attention should be paid to “location, location, location,” Chase said.
Dispensaries shouldn’t be near schools. Chase also wondered about locations in the downtown business community.
Chase would like the city to require major medical marijuana businesses to have an alarm system.
“I would prefer a bona fide alarm system with a bona fide company,” Chase said.
A sample of opinions included: ..........
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By Berl Tiskus
Valley Journal
POLSON — Customers who want to enter the Medical Marijuana Dispensary must have a medical marijuana card to even get in the door.
James Dale operates MMD out of rented space on the south end of the Jette Store. Dale opened the business on March 1 and is a licensed caregiver as well as a medical marijuana grower.
Dale found out about medical marijuana after his third shoulder surgery. Injured in Kalispell on a construction job, Dale had massive nerve damage in his shoulder; he said his “pain flare-ups come out of nowhere.”
Dale came home from the hospital with “a $200 two-week scrip (prescription) for Delotid, which is a cousin of OxyContin or Lortab.”
Dale hated the way Delotid made him feel, drowsy and unable to do anything, so he started taking 18 acetaminophen per day to control his pain. His doctor advised him he would burn out his kidneys taking that much acetaminophen. As an alternative, Dale got the phone number of ..........
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Valley Journal
People interested in improving the education of our children are needed. Local districts are grateful for the hours of dedication and volunteer service provided by the school trustees. This is truly an opportunity to make a difference in your local community.
The Lake County Superintendent of Schools announces that all Lake County school districts are seeking interested and qualified people to serve as trustees. The deadline for filing is March 25. Annual school trustee elections will be held Tuesday, May 4.
Interested candidates may obtain the trustee nomination petition from the school district clerk. Signatures of a minimum of five registered, resident, active voters are needed to validate the candidate’s petition. First Class Polson and Ronan districts require a minimum of 20 signatures. The petition must then be filed with the school clerk who will verify candidate and petition signers are school district residents and active registered Lake County voters.
If you are not sure of your voter status (active or inactive) call the Lake County Elections Office at 883-7268. Once validated, the candidate’s name will appear on the school ballot for the May election if an election is required.
Trustee terms are for three years unless noted otherwise. Note that all appointed trustees must run in the next election for the remainder of their term. Only a portion of the board is up for election yearly to maintain board continuity.
Trustee terms expiring with the May election include ..........
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