The two women who initiated the efforts to rescue an abused horse left abandoned in the Bitterroot National Forest and, subsequently, three other abused horses, were honored at a ceremony last Thursday. Dawn Merrill and Q Dehart were presented with certificates of commendation signed by Governor Brian Schweitzer for their efforts.

Bitter Root Humane Association President Kathy Good presided over the ceremony saying, “We’re here today because the first week of August, 2008, you changed not only your lives, but you forever and indelibly changed all of ours. What the two of you did on August 1, 2008, and the days following, took such strength, fortitude and dedication, that all of us are forced to ask ourselves if we would ever be capable of doing such a thing. None of us will ever know the emotional toll it has taken on you. But because of you and your determination and care, you brought all of us into a circle of concern and emotional outrage that bonded us into one common cause: to rescue, care for and save these 4 wonderful creatures and to make it understood that such abuse and neglect are deplorable and unforgivable.

To us at Bitter Root Humane Association, you, Dawn and Q, are our heroes.”

Good later told the Bitterroot Star that the arrangements to present the certificates was made quietly by Humane Association manager Vickie Dawson and that presentation of the awards was purposely delayed until after the conviction of the men responsible for the abuse. Good said that what these two women did galvanized the community to come together and care for the animals.

“They saved them and we brought them back to health,” said Good.

The horses have all recovered from the ordeal to a large degree, although they still bear the scars that testify to the suffering they endured.

“We are honored to have partnered with your heroic efforts to save Able, Diamond, Casino and Magic,” Good told those gathered at the ceremony. “When Undersheriff McConnell and his deputies asked us to help, we were aghast at the devastation and thus the responsibility before us. When Dr. Gleason came and evaluated the condition of the horses and gave us guidelines, we dug in our heels. The staff at BRHA spent days and nights, determined to make sure your rescue efforts were not for naught. We found very dedicated volunteers to help, some of whom came every day, some came several times a week, for weeks; they also know you as heroes.”

“This event created a bond between everyone involved,” said Good.

Both women being honored fought back tears during the ceremony. They both said it was very daunting to head back out the trail after finding the horse, Able, and not knowing where the fellow from Georgia had gone. They expressed gratitude to the sheriff’s office, the people at the Bitter Root Humane Association, and all the other people who helped in the rescue and the recovery of the horses.

Georgia men convicted of animal abuse

By Michael Howell

Two men from Georgia were convicted by a jury in Ravalli County Justice Court on Friday, January 30, of animal abuse for mistreating, starving and failing to obtain adequate medical care for the four horses that they took on a two-month-long wilderness pack trip last summer in the Selway-Bitterroot Wilderness.

The abuse initially came to light when two women, Q Dehart of Stevensville and Dawn Merrill of Missoula, found a horse tied to a log along the trail as they hiked into the Bitterroot mountain range. The horse was suffering from dehydration, starvation and several open wounds and was unable to stand. A man that the women had passed on the way in had mentioned that he left a horse further up the trail.

Unable to get the horse on its feet, the women returned to the trailhead. They subsequently helped in identifying the man who had left the horse and succeeded in getting the horse out of the woods.

Sheriff’s deputies responded and eventually the two men, Craig and Curtis Heydon, were charged with misdemeanor offenses and the horse left in the forest along with three others that were found in their possession were seized and turned over to the Bitter Root Humane Association for care. Twenty-one misdemeanor animal abuse charges were filed against the men.

The father, Craig Heydon, 71, was charged with 10 separate counts of animal abuse. His son, Curtis Heydon, 37, was charged with 11 separate counts. The men were charged with three counts related to each horse, according to Deputy County Attorney John Bell, who prosecuted the case. The counts included failing to provide adequate food and water, over-working, and failure to get proper veterinary care. The son received an additional charge for abandoning the one animal.

In the three-day trial the men’s attorney, Mathew Stevenson, argued that the men were inexperienced with horses and with wilderness conditions and encountered unusual hardships on their journey. He argued that the horse’s conditions were in part due to the kind of treatment they received after being removed from the men’s possession and placed in the care of the Bitter Root Humane Association.

A six-person jury, after nine and a half hours of deliberation, did not agree, and convicted the men on all 21 counts. Ravalli County District Court Judge Jim Bailey sentenced the men to six months in jail on each count. It would have meant a total of five years in jail for the elder Heydon and five and a half years for his son. But Bailey then suspended all but 300 days for the elder Heydon and all but 330 days for his son. The two were also fined $585 on each count with $83 additional for jury witness fees, totaling $5,850 for the father and $6,435 for the son. Bailey also ordered them to forfeit ownership of the horses to the Bitter Root Humane Association and to pay restitution for the care rendered to the horses after being seized by the Sheriff’s office.

The Heydons’ attorney immediately filed an appeal calling for a new trial in Ravalli County District Court and the two remain free on $10,000 bonds.

County prosecutor John Bell said that it was the most conscientious jury he has ever seen.

“They must have gone over every charge in the nine hours of deliberation,” he said, “and they found them guilty on every one.”

County discusses airport improvement options

By Michael Howell

On February 4, close to 100 people attended a meeting at which the County Commissioners discussed several alternatives to address current safety hazards and future growth at the Ravalli County Airport.

On hand to answer questions was Dave Stelling, District Office Manager for the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA), and Scott Bell, senior airport engineer for Morrison-Maierle, the consulting firm that prepared the Environmental Assessment for the proposed airport improvements.

The EA was presented to the Commissioners in December but a planned public hearing to consider it was cancelled when questions arose concerning the process. The EA outlined four options for expanding the existing airport by adding a new and extended runway. The preferred alternative involved construction of a new runway 400 feet to the east of the existing runway and 1,000 feet longer. The current runway is 4,200 feet long.

The County has been under pressure from the FAA to come into compliance with existing safety standards. The airport is currently in violation of the standards in two respects. It does not have the required distance between the taxiway and runway and it has a few hangars that intrude into the object-free zone around the runway and taxiway. The agency would also like to see improvements to accommodate forecasted future increased use of the airport.

Critics of the EA, especially from the group Informed Citizens Against Airport Runway Extension (ICAARE), have promoted a less costly alternative safety issues that would not involve lengthening the runway.

Commission Chair Carlotta Grandstaff asked Stelling if the safety issues could be de-coupled from the issue of meeting forecasted future needs. Stelling said that it was possible.

“I’m here to promote aviation safety,” said Stelling. “Not aviation per se.”

He said that if the County did nothing to bring the airport into compliance with the safety standards, the FAA would no longer fund any operations at the airport. But he also said that the county could meet those safety standards with a more modest improvement project that did not involve lengthening the runway. He cautioned, however, that considering the forecasted increase in airport use the county should be making preparation to construct a longer runway. He said that doing so would not necessarily mean purchasing property to accommodate a longer runway immediately, but that it should be part of their plans for future development.

“You need to protect for future extension of the runway,” he said, “not by purchase of land, but by showing it on a 20-year property map as part of your plan.”

Stelling said that he looked forward to further discussion with the Commissioners about future alternatives. He said that would include options such as proceeding with the EA and its preferred alternative, or some intermediate alternative, or deciding not to proceed with any option and relinquishing future federal funding.

“If and when a hearing is held,” said Stelling, “we are willing to help. We think it is important for the Hamilton Airport to meet FAA safety standards.”

Dave Hedditch, chairman of the Airport Advisory Board, told the commissioners that his board supported the preferred alternative in the EA even though it had not yet submitted a written recommendation.

Wendy Bye, Vice President of the Ravalli County Aviation Safety Foundation (RCASF), said that her organization supported the EA alternative of building an extended runway of 5,200 feet for safety reasons and to accommodate future growth. She said that her organization would help meet the cost.

The FAA through a federal grant would cover 95 percent of the cost of the improvements included in Alternative 4 of the EA. The State Aeronautics Board would meet 2.5 percent of the cost and RCASF could meet the remaining 2.5 percent of the cost. The commissioners have received letters from Charles Schwab, a part time resident and owner of a national investment firm and John Morrison, another potential part time resident and CEO of Central Bank Group, Inc. stating that they might be willing to help meet the local requirements of grant matching funds as well.

Others stated that the preferred alternative would serve to meet future needs of a growing airport and generate revenue for the county. They said growth was inevitable and accommodating the growth made sense.

Several members of ICAARE spoke in favor of a less costly modification of the existing runway and against any runway extension.

“We promote and support the improvements necessary to meet FAA safety standards,” said ICAARE chairman Mike Jorgenson. “But we do not support lengthening the runway to support bigger corporate jets.”

Jorgenson said that the FAA, the Airport Advisory Board and the engineering company Morrison-Meierle were behind the push for airport expansion, but the community and the county commissioners had been left out.

Other ICAARE members criticized the preferred alternative in the EA as benefitting only a few corporate jet owners to the detriment of the general public by creating more air and noise pollution and increased chance of accident by attracting bigger aircraft.

Stevi Horizons program moves from ‘talk to action’

Over the past month, residents of the Stevensville area have come together to talk about poverty as a part of the Horizons program. In January, over 45 people met in small groups, talking about the kind of community they want to live in and a place where everyone has a chance to thrive. Each small group, or Study Circle, had the chance to interact with fellow community members to talk about the vision they had for Stevensville. Participants then spent time identifying ideas for action or solutions to reduce poverty in their community.

Horizons is an 18-month program aimed at building leadership to reduce poverty in small rural and reservation communities. By providing locally delivered training, skill building and coaching, Horizons hopes to help communities understand poverty and commit to action to bring about lasting change.

The Horizons program is administered through MSU/Ravalli County Extension and it explores perceptions about and sources of poverty, which isn’t always just about lack of money. Horizons builds stronger community leadership, according to Katelyn Andersen, Ravalli County Extension Agent and Horizons coordinator. Leadership is as important as good roads, great schools and clean water. Horizons embraces the entire community; everyone is needed and everyone has something to contribute. For communities to thrive, everyone must thrive, says Anderson.

This past Saturday was a big day for the residents to move talk into action and make things happen in their community. Over 40 people participated in the Horizons Action Forum where they enjoyed a free dinner and heard from representatives from all three Study Circles. Some groups had similar ideas to reduce poverty, like developing a community garden; others were unique, like establishing a wireless infrastructure. Each of the three Study Circles presented their top three to five ideas. These ideas included:

• Mentoring youth and adults

• Posting local jobs through the schools to build work ethics in teens

• Organizing a help fair to assist people in creating a resume and provide professional clothes for a job

• Developing a professional volunteer pool of doctors, lawyers, mechanics and like skills to help people with their needs

• Re-establishing the community garden and using a canning kitchen to preserve its goods

• Offering life skills classes that are free or low cost

• Developing a community park district

• Create an Informational Outreach Directory to tell residents of the resources available in the community

• Creating a Stevensville sign on Highway 93 directing traffic to local businesses

• Organizing a firewood drive

• Teaching leadership skills

• Providing an educational night showcasing what the community can offer

Everyone who attended the event had an opportunity to cast three votes on ideas they wanted to help make a success. There were three stipulations: the voter had be willing to support the action idea with their time, energy and talents, the action item could be completed by May 31 of this year, and the community had to find resources necessary to complete the action in addition to the $500 provided by Horizons to the top three action items.

The three action items that bubbled to the top were organizing a help fair, re-establishing the community garden with a canning kitchen, and creating an information outreach directory. Each of these action items have a committee of two co-chairs, a reporter and team members to help spread the good news their group is generating and accomplish their goals.

Each of these committees still needs help. If you are interested in participating in one of these groups, call Katelyn Andersen at 375-6611. The Horizons program is open to any citizens in the 59870 zip code and everyone is encouraged to get involved, even those who have never participated in the community before. If you are interested in developing your leadership skills, you can also take the LeadershipPlenty class offered as a part of Horizons. Classes will be starting later this month.

Public meeting set for Eastside Highway project

The Montana Department of Transportation (MDT) is conducting a public meeting on Thursday, February 19 to discuss a proposal to reconstruct and rehabilitate a segment of Secondary 203 (Eastside Highway) between Stevensville and Florence from approximately milepost 4.3 (0.2 miles south of the first sharp right-hand curve for northbound motorists) to approximately milepost 10.0 (roughly 300 feet north of Bull Run Road). The reconstruction portion of the project will occur from about milepost 4.3 to milepost 5.3 which will include widening the road and flattening two sharp horizontal curves. The rehabilitation and widening portion of the project will include about 4.7 miles of the roadway on the existing alignment, from approximately milepost 5.3 to milepost 10. The meeting will start at 6:30 p.m. on February 19 at the Lone Rock Elementary School cafeteria, 1112 Three Mile Creek Road in Stevensville.

Community participation is a very important part of the process, and the public is encouraged to attend. Opinions, comments and concerns may be submitted in writing at the meeting, by mail to Shane Stack, Missoula District Preconstruction Engineer at MDT, Missoula District Office, PO Box 7039, Missoula MT 59807-7039, or online at www.mdt.mt.gov/mdt/comment_form.shtml

Indicate that comments are for project UPN 6138000 and submit comments by March 19, 2009.

Proposed work includes grading and gravel, pavement pulverization, drainage improvements, new asphalt surfacing, upgraded signage, updated pavement markings and delineators, and revegetation of the roadside following construction.

The purpose of the project is to

• widen the road to safely handle present and projected traffic volumes

• provide a horizontal alignment on the reconstruction segment that is appropriate for the running speeds on the highway

• flatten slopes to mitigate overturning vehicle crashes

• provide both left turn lanes and right turn lanes where they are warranted to increase safety.

Construction is tentatively planned for 2013, depending on completion of design and availability of funds.

New right-of way and relocation of utilities will be required. MDT staff will contact all affected landowners prior to doing survey work on their land. Staff will again contact landowners prior to construction regarding property acquisition and temporary construction permits.

MDT attempts to provide accommodations for any known disability that may interfere with a person's participation in any service, program or activity of our department. If you require reasonable accommodations to participate in this meeting, contact Paul Grant at (406) 444-9415 at least two days before the hearing. For the hearing impaired, the TTY number is (406) 444-7696 or 1 (800) 335-7592, or call Montana Relay at 711. Alternative accessible formats of pertinent information will be provided upon request.

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