The brown, black and gray remains of the day linger around Ralph Maki’s hundred-year-old barber chair when we arrive. Ralph briefly perches on a seat against the wall. "You should come in the morning," he tells me for fear I might think he can always be found so, reclining with the door open and birds singing in the background. At that moment, in walks a tall, brown-skinned fellow in work boots with the toes worn out over the steel beneath. He sits down as if he knows the place.

"How long have you been at this," I ask Ralph. "Let’s see, I started in 1967… forty years this month," replies Ralph as he places the cape over his client’s lap and prepares to fasten it. On the wall to Ralph’s right hangs a photo of him sitting on his son’s motorcycle; next to this picture, a philodendren creeps up past the vertical row of amusing black and white Montana Duckboy postcards, the ones that embrace the hilarity of our hillbilliness. Back in the chair, there is no discussion of length or the price or postcards. Ralph just goes to work.

With a ready laugh, Ralph remembers it wasn’t always this easy. Ralph didn’t start out wanting to be a barber. He wanted to farm. "Farming taught me how to work," he declares.

However, his parents, who were worried about Ralph’s tenuous ticker, wished to protect him from the physical strains of farming by signing him up for six months of barber school in Pasco, Washington.

"It cost them $800 and in those days you did what your parents told you to do," Ralph states firmly.

He was homesick in Pasco and imagined returning to the Bitterroot nearly every day but was encouraged to stay and see it through. He recalls that he and the other students practiced their skills "on the bums in Pasco" who received free cuts at the school or paid one dollar to the school’s proprietor. Upon his return from Pasco, Ralph "got a job in Pete Miller’s shop, there between Irene’s and Anthony’s on Main Street." His first customer, Slip Sherwood, had no hair on top of his head, just fringe around the sides, says Ralph. His current customer chimes in "Couldn’t screw that up…" But we know from the amusement in Ralph’s voice as he relays the story, he did screw it up. Ralph can barely contain himself as he remembers Slip’s comment, "Oh, Ralph, that ain’t the way you do it." Now, we are all laughing.

I get the sense from my afternoon in Ralph’s shop that laughter is common here. Two years after Ralph began cutting hair in Hamilton, he bought Pete’s shop and has been in business ever since.

Suddenly, as if he has forgotten his manners, Ralph begins to inquire about the man in the chair, who, as it turns out, has never been in before. He’s from Michigan and "in log construction" by trade. "I’ve been meaning to stop in for two weeks," he says, even though his hair was barely touching his ears upon his arrival.

"I am the only barber in town who shaves around the ears. And I still use a straight razor," Ralph exclaims proudly. At the mention of the straight razor, his first-time customer doesn’t bat a lash. He actually looks closer to falling asleep as Ralph lathers around his ears.

By now, two of Ralph’s regulars have arrived and are waiting for the standard cut, which as the sign on the wall states, will cost ten dollars. The sign goes on to say, "Shave $5.00, Combo $11.00, Scalp massage $4.00, Advice .50, Good Advice N/C, Shampoo (out back w/hose) $2.00, Hair Removal (tweezing, plucking or yanking with pliers) $5.00/hr, Dandruff Removal $4.00 ($5.00 extra if it crawls). This amusing report of Ralph’s rates is tempered by the endearing picture nearby of Ralph giving a cut to one of his young clients. He lifts up the aging kiddie chair, which he uses to adapt his big chair for the little clients. He has cut at least three generations of hair for some families.

David Johnson, now sitting in the barber seat, used to bring his son here "back when my son got his hair cut," he half-laments, half-jokes. David’s been coming to see Ralph for eighteen years and remarks that "Ralph’s prices haven’t kept pace with inflation." When Ralph began in 1967, he was fetching $1.25 per cut.

I have the feeling that if Ralph charged a whole lot more David would still come just to see his friend. David works for GSK and has recently been to Brussels. This is part of what Ralph loves about his clientele; he serves a wide variety of folks who all have lives that he gets to share one snippet at a time. Ralph tours Brussels through David’s narrative. He claims it’s just such "entertainment" that has kept him doing this for so long. "Just too many good stories," Ralph states.

At this moment, another long-time client arrives to say he’s "just coming down here to catch up." Ralph immediately instructs Michael LaSalle, "Go shut your pick-up off and join us. I’m being interviewed…" Before he can finish speaking, the city councilman levels a barrage of good-natured ribbing. "Ralph’s the equivalent of the African drum… if you want to spread information or disinformation, Ralph’s your man." Ralph is laughing as he repeats, "Go shut your pick-up off…"

"He has turned many a close shave into a self sacrifice," Michael chides. More laughter. It is easy to tell these two have been exchanging quips for many years. Michael’s first "Mak Attack", as he refers to Ralph’s cuts, was forty years ago. "He hasn’t gotten any taller, I did." Eventually, Ralph convinces Michael to return in twenty minutes.

The barber has moved on to his next client, Greg Bremer, who assures me timidly that he is not newsworthy. "I first met Ralph because he’s the President of the ditch, the CNC."

For fifteen years, Ralph has been overseeing the ditch that meanders through Hamilton. "It runs right under the Eagles Hall and Chapter One," Ralph begins to explain. After we have covered the ditch topic, Greg warns Ralph, "There may be some sawdust up there." He, too, works in the log home business. "I get an awful lot of log home guys," Ralph states. Ralph can trace the economic history of the Bitterroot by counting the number of working man’s haircuts he has facilitated. He and a friend have calculated that Ralph has cut the equivalent of "three semi-loads of hair, 4,300 pounds."

Before Ralph’s airy, t.v.-less shop behind Pigman Builders opens in the morning , he can be found at the Coffee Cup shooting the breeze with his friends and shooting dice to see who buys the java. They have been gathering for coffee in Hamilton for twenty years, he reports.

Ralph’s been getting coffee with his friend, 94-year-old Gil Jelinek, in the afternoons as well, for many years. He loves to hear how Gil rode in a cattle car all the way from Miles City to Chicago to watch the World Series. "He got to see Babe Ruth hit the home run," says Ralph lifting his arm like Ruth did to indicate where the ball would go.

He’s excited to retell his clients’ moments of glory, but he has many of his own. He beams with pride when he speaks of his late wife, children, and grandchildren. Ralph was married to Nancy Gates for nearly forty years before she passed away. They had two children, Mike and Michelle; Ralph has two grandkids, Haley and Collin. "Collin will be three tomorrow," he tells me. There is a corner hutch in the shop chockfull of family and friends’ photos bespeaking Ralph’s love and sense of connection to people. With his ready grin and engaging giggle it is not hard to understand why folks have been coming to see Ralph for forty years.

When I ask him about retirement, his eyebrows lift and he puffs up a bit; then he firmly declares that this is not going to happen anytime soon. Ralph, like many people who do a job for a long time and are good at what they do, is attached to his job and his clients in a profound way. In our unsure world, folks like Ralph offer a deep sense of almost timeless security. Stability and the straight razor, an oddly soothing combination that is punctuated by the Norman Rockwell that hangs on Ralph’s wall. It is the quintessential barber shop scene, one chair and a cat in the foreground. But the shop is dark. It is in the warm glow of the back room that men can be seen gathering. They seem utterly at ease in this tight space. The only fully visible man, perhaps the barber himself, plays the fiddle while his friends are engaging in something that the audience can’t see, cards or dice or gossip. There is the same mystery and brotherhood at work in Ralph’s shop.

This is not to say that women aren’t welcome, they just aren’t commonly seeking flat tops or the high and tight cut. As a result, men can be in this space and chat freely, "gettin’ the skinny on things," as Greg Bremer puts it. Ralph not only cuts hair, he runs a social forum that serves a higher purpose. Walk-ins are welcome.

County set to (partially) settle federal lawsuit over subdivision process

By Michael Howell

Ravalli County Commissioners agreed to some last minute changes on Monday in a settlement agreement with eleven out of fourteen plaintiffs involved in a federal lawsuit challenging the county's handling of the subdivision process as well as the restrictions placed upon developers by the emergency Interim Zoning Regulations that limit subdivisions to a density of one dwelling per two acres.

The lawsuit was filed in federal court last January protesting the treatment received by landowner Rebecka Lords in the Ravalli County subdivision review process. It subsequently ballooned with 13 additional plaintiffs joining the case. Lords, who was planning a 33-lot subdivision on 33 acres northeast of Stevensville on Moiese Lane, sued the county alleging that the county took too long in processing the subdivision application and then changed the subdivision rules in the middle of the process, costing her about $50,000 in expenditures on the project.

The additional plaintiffs include Flat Iron Ranch LLC, Big Sky Development Group, the Willoughby Development Corp., the Norgaard Family Trust, Mark Barteaux and Scott Schmeideke, Terry Nelson, Sunnyside Orchards, Kearns Properties, Thomas Gracek, Rudy and Bernice Kratofil, Bitterroot Land Company, Bass Lane LLC, Jeff and Tracy Scussel, and Man Enterprises. They claim lost development costs totaling from $10,000 to over $350,000 each.

The plaintiffs are asking for damages, attorney fees, and punitive damages, seeking to punish the county for what their attorney, Bill VanCanagan, called at the time, "an abuse of governmental power which shocks the conscience." The county is accused of purposefully, maliciously and intentionally violating the plaintiffs' rights under the Due Process clause of the 14th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution.

The lawsuit also challenges the constitutionality of the county's recently adopted Interim Zoning Initiative which limits density to one dwelling per two acres, as well as County Attorney George Corn's determination that it would apply to subdivision applications already in the process at the time of passage. The court is asked to declare the density restriction null and void.

While settlement negotiations may continue with the remaining plaintiffs, which include the Willoughby Development Corporation (Willoughby Estates), Mark Barteaux and Scott Schmeideke (Selway Estates), and Bass Lane, LLC, (Hamilton Heights Blk 14, Lot 12, AP), an agreement was reached to remove the other eleven plaintiffs from the case.

As part of the agreement the eleven developers will be allowed to re-apply with amended applications and get priority status in the subdivision review process over any other new applications. The county will hire independent consultants to aid in the review process of the plaintiffs' subdivision applications and meet strict deadlines that were prepared by the planning department following an extensive review of available resources and estimate of the work time involved. The county agrees not to delay the subdivision process more than 30 days in the aggregate. The developers agree to pay for the private consultant work required to process the applications in a timely manner. None of the plaintiffs' subdivision proposals will be required to meet the Interim Zoning Regulation which limits development to a density of one dwelling per two acres. The county also agrees to exempt the properties from any new zoning laws passed while the applications are being processed. Some will be processed under old subdivision regulations and some will be processed under the new subdivision regulations adopted in November of 2006.

The eleven subdivision applications involved in the settlement agreement include Donaker Estates (Rudy and Bernice Kratofil), Market Place II (Terry Nelson and MAN Enterprises, LLC), Moiese Meadows (Rebecka Lords), Riverside Meadows (Stanley Norgaard as trustee of Norgaard Family Trust), Sandhill Ridge (Big Sky Development Group LLC), SS04, block 16, lot 25A, AP (Thomas Gacek), Vernon Ranchettes (Jeff and Tracy Scussel), Grantsdale Addition (Kearns Properties, LLC), and three "larger subdivisions": Flat Iron Ranch (Flat Iron Ranch Properties LLC), Hawks Landing (Pigman Builders), and Legacy Ranch (Sunnyside Orchards LLC).

The county's failure to process the subdivisions in a timely manner when they were first submitted is attributed by the planning department to a combination of factors in a memo distributed to the applicants. It states that under the Subdivision Regulations in effect prior to November 7, 2006, the county had 10 working days to complete a sufficiency review of the applications. The County also had, from the date of sufficiency determination, 60 working days to complete the public review process for major and subsequent minor subdivisions and 35 working days to complete the process for minor subdivisions.

Due to a flood of subdivision applications, however, during the summer and fall of 2006 the county was not able to meet those deadlines on some subdivision applications.

The county had also failed to complete the state-mandated subdivision regulation revisions under Senate Bill 116 prior to the October 1, 2006 deadline set by the legislature. This resulted in the cessation of subdivision review for most applications while the new regulations were prepared. The new subdivision regulations were adopted on November 20, 2006.

Attorney Allen Chronister, from Helena, working for MACO which insures the county, explained that the county's insurance in this case covered legal costs, but not damages or the awarding of attorney fees to plaintiffs. The proposed settlement agreement would not require any payment for damages or attorney fees, he said. He estimated the potential liability of the county if it lost the case in the $3 million range.

Sarah McMillan, a Missoula attorney working for Bitterrooters for Planning, a group instrumental in passage of the Interim Zoning Initiative, said that providing the settlement document at the beginning of the meeting did not provide adequate time for review in order to provide any meaningful public comment.

Although settlement agreements in lawsuits do not typically go before a public meeting before being ratified, Deputy County attorney Alex Beal said that after consulting a range of sources, including MACO, it was agreed that the settlement should go before an open meeting for public comment.

Commissioner Alan Thompson likened the developers' dilemma to some who bought an airline ticket with a connecting flight. But when the connection failed they were told, "Sorry, it's our fault, but now you have to buy another ticket because you missed the connection flight."

Commissioner Howard Lyons said, "This is beyond us, but we have to weigh in and we have to come to some agreement. The applicants have put up a lot of money but the timelines were not met."

Commissioner Greg Chilcott said that taking eleven litigants out of the equation reduces the county's liability significantly. He said that it also would leave the Interim Zoning regulations in effect. He said that avoiding a potential $3 million damage payment made it worth it.

Chilcott did express concerns about the agreement allowing only 30 days delay in the process. He wondered if it could be amended to read "working days." He also expressed concern about the fact that the county would have to go through a time consuming process in hiring the needed consultants to aid in subdivision review and whether this would leave the county liable to violating the timeline agreements.

County Planning Director Karen Hughes stated that the timeline estimates being agreed to were a "best guess scenario" and would involve "an element of risk."

Attorneys for the plaintiffs, Bill VanCanagan and Terance Perry, after consulting with their clients by telephone, did not agree to amend the timeline restriction for delays to "working days." It was agreed that the matter would be addressed in the future if it became a problem. No concession was made regarding the time line for hiring of the consultants either.

A motion was made and passed unanimously to continue the meeting until Tuesday morning at 10 a.m. when a final clean copy of the settlement agreement could be produced and signed. Commissioner Thompson called the delay "a formality." Public comment will again be solicited at the Tuesday morning meeting, however.

Bitterrooters for Planning attorney Sarah McMillan reiterated, following the meeting, that the public was not being given sufficient time for proper review of the settlement agreement before commenting.

Shooting death east of Stevensville

By Michael Howell

Minutes before midnight on Friday, June 1, the Ravalli County Sheriff's Office responded to a report of a suspicious person in the Middle Burnt Fork Road/Iron Cap Road area east of Stevensville. Deputies assisted by a Stevensville Police Officer attempted to locate a male adult after speaking to local residents.

At around 11:55 p.m. a deputy found 47-year-old Ricky Charles Anderson in a pasture just above the Big Ditch irrigation canal. The deputy saw that Anderson was holding a handgun, identified himself as being a sheriff's deputy and ordered him to put his weapon down. Anderson responded by fatally shooting himself. No one else was injured and deputies did not discharge their weapons.

Sheriff Chris Hoffman requested that the Missoula County Sheriff's Office investigate the matter and an investigator was dispatched from Missoula.

It was later determined that Anderson was wanted on felony charges in both Ravalli and Missoula counties. Further, it was learned that the handgun in Anderson's possession had been stolen from a vehicle in the area. Anderson's body was transported to the State Crime Lab in Missoula and the investigation is continuing.

National Guard may build in Bitterroot

By Michael Howell

The Department of Military Affairs is looking for a site to construct a new National Guard Armory, and it is looking in the Bitterroot Valley. In a letter to Stevensville Mayor Bill Meisner and the Town Council dated May 24, Lt. Col. Frank Little, Construction and Facilities Management Officer for the Department of Military Affairs, stated that the department had outgrown the facility in Missoula and will be selling the Missoula facility to help fund the construction of a new one in a location that has yet to be determined.

"We are hoping to find a community that will be supportive of our efforts to provide the facilities necessary to train our young men and women in the National Guard," wrote Little.

He said that several sites were being considered from Missoula to Hamilton. He mentioned getting a very welcoming response from the Stevensville Main Street Association which helped in locating several potential sites.

Stevensville Main Street executive director Joan Prather said that the department seemed to be favoring a site in the Stevensville area that could link with municipal services and be a close commute from both Hamilton and Missoula.

According to unofficial minutes of the last Stevensville Town Council meeting, Col. Little, along with Deb LaFountain and Larry Himes from the Hamilton Armory, informed the council that they were looking for property in the Stevensville area and gave councilors a preview of what kind of facility was being considered.

The facility they would like to build would cover 90,000 square feet and look "somewhat like a college campus." They presented photographs of the Kalispell Armory, saying that the proposed facility would look very similar. The facility would employ 22 full-time personnel and host 435 people on drill weekends. They told the Council that local caterers would be used to feed the people from Friday night to Sunday afternoon. They said local lodging facilities would be used to house people.

The large facility would contain an electronic indoor firing range, a 7,500-square-foot drill floor, 5,000 square feet of classroom space, a distance learning center with computers and cameras for "virtual learning," office space and kitchen facilities.

They are looking for a piece of land 25 to 30 acres in size to build on and are willing to partner with the town and participate in funding the required infrastructure improvements that would be needed to service the facility.

There are over 3,400 Army and Air National Guard members assigned to units in 22 Montana communities. According to Department of Military Affairs literature, the presence of these citizen soldiers provides a significant economic boost to local communities primarily supported through federal funding. It comes in the form of military pay and allowances, operating funds for civilian payroll, purchase of goods and services, and through capital investment in military construction projects.

The National Guard has federal, state, and community missions. It serves as the primary federal reserve force in support of national security objectives, when called upon by the president. The governor calls on the National Guard to protect life and property, preserve the peace, and for public safety reasons. They also participate in local programs that add value to the country as a whole.

The Montana National Guard was deployed numerous times in 2003 and 2004 in support of the Global War on Terrorism. They served throughout the U.S., Europe, Korea, Iraq, Kuwait, South America, Africa, Kyrgyzstan, and Afghanistan.

The National Guard is the lead agency in coordinating comprehensive emergency responses. Following the September 11 attack, the responsibilities of the Department of Emergency Services (DES) were greatly expanded. Billions of dollars have been allocated to secure our homeland. The Montana portion has been substantial, over $60 million from 1999 to 2005.

Over $18 million in construction was accomplished in Montana in 2004. The 53,000-square-foot Kalispell Armed Forces Reserve Center was begun. A Navy-funded project for $4.4 million procured land for the state and financed the construction contract for a Naval Reserve addition at the Billings Armed Forces Reserve Center. A pair of 14,000-square-foot buildings at Fort Harrison will provide new space for the Montana Civil Support Team and Post Engineers. A renovation of the Readiness Center for the 369th Maintenance Company at Fort Harrison was also contracted. Numerous smaller projects were undertaken primarily in the Helena area.

Recently the National Guard has been assisting the state and federal government in fighting wildfires. It also provides support to veterans' organizations, through eight statewide Veteran's Service Officers. It helps process veteran benefit and entitlement claims and manages the state's two veterans' cemeteries at Ft. Harrison (Helena), and Miles City.

In other business the Town of Stevensville held a Public Hearing on May 29, concerning a proposed rate increase for users of the municipal water system. Harry Whalen and Dan Cramer from Montana Rural Water explained that the increase in rates was required to qualify for grants needed to fund the project of installing water meters for all currently unmetered water users. The increase will be $6.07 per month or $18.21 per quarter. The goal is to get the entire town on water meters and bill monthly instead of quarterly.

There was no public comment about the proposal and no written comment was submitted.

The motion to adopt the rate increase was approved unanimously at the regular town council meeting.

The Council also voted to move forward with raising the infrastructure fees that were put in place in 1996.

The interlocal agreement with the rural fire department, represented by Paul O'Leary, was discussed. Several issues such as liability, equipment, cost sharing, and replacement of equipment were discussed. Council members Tom Brown and Bob Summers, who have been meeting with the rural board for about a year, felt it was time for the council to intervene and finalize it. O'Leary noted that the rural district is purchasing a new rescue squad vehicle and thought a lot of the issues that are now in the agreement will be null and void once it is up and running. Following some discussion the matter was tabled until further notice.

It was decided to update and file the inventory of the old rescue fire squad vehicle and officially give the equipment to the new one.

A short discussion was held regarding the cost of living raises and insurance rates for town employees. It was noted that the employees have been allowed $310 for their insurance for several years. Mayor Meisner stated that it is a very important issue and recommended a tentative increase of $100 in insurance per month and a 2 percent cost of living raise. A preliminary budget meeting has been scheduled for June 19, at 7 p.m.

City Judge's fee agreement challenged at Supreme Court

By Michael Howell

Stevensville and Darby Municipal Judge Barbara "Skip" Kohn has devised a "court appointed attorney understanding" that she is requiring defendants to sign agreeing to pay for the cost of a court-appointed attorney. The price the defendant must agree to pay is different depending on whether the case is finally resolved by a plea bargain, by bench trial, or by jury trial.

But Jim Wheelis, of the Office of State Public Defender, has challenged the procedure on behalf of Joseph Stanford, who was cited for misdemeanor crimes of criminal trespass, theft, and driving with a suspended or revoked license. Kohn required Stanford to sign a court appointed attorney understanding agreeing to pay for attorney services before Kohn would appoint a public defender to the case. Wheelis is asking the Montana Supreme Court to declare the "understanding" illegal.

According to an affidavit submitted by Edmund Sheehy, the director of the regional office of the State Public Defender, who is representing Stanford before the Darby City Court Judge, the "understanding" that Stanford was required to sign before appointment is "designed to obtain fees for the Town in which the charge was filed."

Wheelis argues that forcing defendants to sign the "understanding" before appointing a public defender violates statutory and constitutional rights and has statewide implications affecting the right to counsel. He argues that the "understanding" has no authority in statute. He notes that the statute does allow for the collection of fees to pay for a public defender if the defendant is able to pay and only following such a determination. He claims that Kohn's "understanding" sets a price for a public defender's services without making the requisite determination of ability to pay and without basing them on the real costs in the case.

According to Sheehy's affidavit, the city judge created the "understanding" from frustration with the current statutory provisions for payment of public defender's costs, which do not reimburse the political subdivision in which the indigent client is tried.

Wheelis claims that the requirement is also a violation of due process and quotes an Oregon case to that effect, where requiring a promise to pay fees, regardless of ability to repay, was determined to chill the indigent's exercise of the right to counsel.

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