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| Volume XVIII, Number 5 | Wednesday, August 28, 2002 | |
Page One News at a Glance Stevensville residents get anonymous warning McGovern optimistic about his new Stevensville gift store/gallery Animal rehabilitator offers cure for some malformed animals Stevensville residents get anonymous warning By Michael Howell "Citizens of Stevensville Beware" was the headline on a flyer that was surreptitiously disseminated under the cover of darkness by an unknown person or persons last week. The flyer warned Stevensville residents about their Mayor, in particular about his recent suggestion to the Town Council that the Mayor be paid a salary of $30,000 a year instead of the current $2,400. The flyer goes on to suggest that the Mayor has placed a gag order on town employees, although it doesn't say about what. It also questions the Mayor's authority to keep some people off the Town Council's agenda and suggests that he is keeping some documents from the Council and the public, although it doesnıt state what documents. The flyers were taped on car windows and left at town hall but no one has claimed responsibility. The owner of a local fencing business that has a lingering dispute with the Mayor about the award of a bid to fence the Town's cemetery brought a copy of the flyer to the newspaper office when she found it taped to her windshield. The Mayor has refused to allow her to speak to the Council about her concerns and removed her name from the Councilıs agenda when she tried. She claims that she had nothing to do with the flyer but simply found one on her car windshield. Mayor Pat Groninger has seen the flyer but declined to comment about it. Although Groninger did make a recommendation to the Council that they consider paying a $30,000 salary to the Mayor or hire an administrative assistant, no action was ever taken and the budget for next year, which is close to being finalized, contains no such allocations. In other business the Town's Planning and Zoning commission sponsored a public hearing concerning the annexation of 105 acres east of town belonging to the Ellison Cattle Company to be included in the town limits. The annexation was unanimously approved and paves the way for a subsequent 155-lot subdivision with an additional 28 townhouse units proposed by the Ellisons. The subdivision proposal will be handled in a separate process following the annexation. The Stevensville Yellowjacket Homecoming Parade is set to go on September 20, on Main Street. Police Chief Lew Barnett also reported that there were no problems associated with the celebration of Creamery Picnic this year. The Town Council voted to place a stop sign on the ALC Way road where it intersects with Middle Burnt Fork Road. The council also voted to send a letter to the County requesting that the speed limit be changed from the current 55 mph and 35 mph to 25 mph from Logan Road to the Eastside Highway. Former Mayor Bill Meisner, who is spearheading efforts to place the stop sign and lower the speed limit, said that he hoped to get the speed limit lowered before the start of the school year. The Council also voted to send a letter to the County Commissioners protesting the increased mill levy for the North Valley Public Library. The library district was recently dissolved and reformed by an interlocal agreement between the Town and the County. In that agreement the mill levy to support the library is capped at 5 mills. This year a bill was sent to district residents assessing them for the 5 mills. But the library board had turned in a budget requesting 6.5 mills. The County recently issued a notice to district taxpayers assessing them the additional funds. County officials claim that state law invests the library board with the authority to set its own budget and that it cannot be capped or controlled by the County or the Town. The Town Council disagrees and voted to send a letter saying so to the County. Stevensville Police Chief Lew Barnett announced that the Police Department had received a COPS grant that would enable the department to employ four full time officers in the coming year. The Town must pay only 35 percent of the new officers' salary. |
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McGovern optimistic about his new Stevensville gift store/gallery By Michael Howell Since moving to the Stevensville area a few years ago, George McGovern has become a familiar face on the streets of downtown Stevensville. Taking an active interest in the town, McGovern has purchased an historic building on Main Street and opened a store called, you guessed it, "McGovern's." The store offers a cross section of books from the New York Times best seller list, with an emphasis on history, a good selection of local arts and crafts, and will soon offer refreshments, including fruit smoothies, coffee, and pastries. The longtime Senator from South Dakota and one-time Presidential candidate has published several books of his own and signed copies of most of these are available at the store. They include a collection of speeches called "A Time of War/A Time of Peace," "An American Journey - The Presidential Campaign Papers," an autobiography called "Grassroots," a book about his daughter's struggle with alcoholism entitled "Terry," and his most recent publication, "The Third Freedom," about ending world hunger in our time. Also available at the store are signed copies of a biography of McGovern by Robert Sam Anson. Stephen Ambrose's "The Wild Blue," which documents the experience of B-24 crews over Germany during World War II, in which McGovern played a role, is also available. Also on the shelf is a book by McGovern's wife, Eleanor, called "Uphill." It is a personal story offering insights into childhood as well as into the stresses and satisfactions of public life. McGovern is personally involved in the selection of books offered for sale at his store and said that he has pored over the New York Times best seller list, the Book of the Month Club, and checked with a lot of independent dealers to get "a good cross section of the best books." "I lean, myself, towards history," said McGovern, "especially American history and the history of the American West. We have the best available books on Lewis and Clark, and history in general, I think. We also carry a good selection of locally produced arts and crafts. We have a good selection of photography and metal arts by local artists." "Itıs something I've always wanted to do," said McGovern about his new business venture. "I'm moving cautiously. But I can already see it's going to work." McGovern thinks that not only will his business do well but Stevensville as a whole will prosper. "I think this community is on the rise,' said McGovern. "Just since we've been here the improvements on Main Street have been impressive." He mentioned the trees that have been planted along the sidewalk, vacant buildings being occupied and other buildings undergoing remodeling. McGovern has invested a lot in refurbishing his own building and appreciates that other business owners are doing the same. The North valley Public Library is also undergoing a facelift. "There is a good medical facility here being built on the edge of town and we have a good staff of doctors," said McGovern. "We have some good restaurants and I see new homes going up all over town." Aside from spending a lot of time on his new business and running off to Rome, Italy to work on feeding the worldıs hungry, McGovern is also at work on a new book. "It's a book about where America ought to be going in the next quarter century," said McGovern. He called it a prescriptive book about what the American agenda should be, both domestic and foreign. "We are in a different world," he said, after the Cold War. "Where do we go from here?" McGovern declined to discuss his new book in any detail until it is published, but once it is, you can bet it will be available in Stevensville. And if you're lucky, you may get a chance to talk to the author himself about his work, as he often frequents the establishment. The store is located at 213 Main Street in Stevensville and is open on weekdays from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. and Saturdays from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. |
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Animal rehabilitator offers cure for some malformed animals By Michael Howell Local wildlife rehabilitator, Judy Hoy, has spent a great deal of time over the past seven years documenting various forms and degrees of bone malformations in both wild and domestic animals in the Bitterroot Valley. Hoy is convinced that something in the environment has been causing an unusually high incidence of bone malformations in animals in the valley since 1995. She also believes she has found a cure, if treatment is started in time on newborn animals, and has had some success in treating the malformations. Hoy claims to have observed an unusual number of animals of many species exhibiting such malformations as underbite, overbite, twisted jawbones, misplaced or malformed genitalia, aberrant tooth development, malformed breast bones in birds and missing, malformed, or misplaced limb bones in mammals. With the aid of Dr. Theodore Kerstetter, professor emeritus in biology at Humboldt University, Arcata, California and Dr. Douglas Seba, independent marine scientist from Key West, Florida, Hoy jointly authored a paper documenting the malformations of genitalia in white-tailed deer in West Central Montana. The article was published in the Journal of Environmental Biology last year. Hoy claims to have observed similar malformations in mule deer, elk, domestic sheep, domestic goats and horses, all since 1995. One of the most common bone malformations observed in ungulates is called prognathism, or underbite, according to Hoy. In an animal suffering from prognathism the bottom teeth do not meet up properly with the top teeth or the pad upon which they should come to rest, and can lead to malnourishment and subsequent health problems. Although it looks like the lower jaw is sticking out too far, Hoy says the real problem is a failure of the skull and maxilla, or the upper part of the jaw and face to develop at the proper rate. Hoy claims that this problem can be remedied if treated at or near birth by administering homeopathic cell salts orally, provided that the jaw bones are not twisted or malformed. She claims to have successfully treated white-tailed deer, mule deer, elk, domestic sheep, domestic goats, domestic calves, horse foals and many birds in this fashion, effectively remedying them to a normal bite. Hoy believes that horse owners in particular may be interested in the news. "While many people can just shrug at the idea that some wild animals are being born with malformed body parts and misaligned teeth, it is not so easily shrugged off when it is a horse foal that might be worth several thousand dollars to its owner," said Hoy. Hoy would like to get the news out to horse owners that if they have a foal born with prognathism it is treatable. She has effectively cured two foals that suffered from the malformation. One was treated from birth and recovered a normal bite in 13 days. Another that was not treated until 10 days old recovered a normal bite on the 24th day of treatment. Hoy claims that untreated foals do not recover a normal bite and if treatment is not given in the early stages of development it may not be effective later on. Hoy does not know what is causing the malformations but suspects some chemical or chemicals in the environment and has some evidence that herbicides may be involved. "Something appears to be affecting calcium metabolism during and after development," said Hoy. "The homeopathic cell salts possibly promote calcium metabolism and bone growth." Although not sure of the cause or the mechanism of the cure, Hoy claims that her success rate at treating newborns (or close to it) speaks for itself. She urges owners of domestic animals who are born with malformations to contact her. "There is no guarantee. But we have had many successes. The treatment is easy to administer and inexpensive," said Hoy. |