Wednesday September 22, 2010

Opinion & Editorial

by Floyd E. Wood, Corvallis

This letter is for the benefit of you folks that haven't had the information about this Old Ponderosa Pine, just down the West Fork of the Bitterroot River a hundred yards or so, and across the road from the Alta Fire Station. This big Pine was 800 years old, was also the oldest known Ponderosa in Montana. It was only three inches smaller in diameter than the record Ponderosa Pine in Montana, located a short distance up Fish Creek near Alberton, Montana.

The Alta Pine had a lot of history and a lot of people visited it. Some years ago the Forest Service put asphalt on the trail out to this tree and made it wheel chair accessable. The tree got struck by lightning and set fire in the top. It had rot in the center so it was on fire. After two days a chopper dropped a bucket of water on it, putting out the fire, but it was too late. The tree was killed.

Soon after Ranger Dave Campbell was transferred to the West Fork Ranger Station. He proceeded to go up and bust up the asphalt in the trail, making it nearly impossible to walk the trail, also took down the sign at the road. I raised a fuss and they went and removed the broken asphalt and raked and seeded the trail. I understand he also had intentions of putting dead wood in the trail to further obliterate the trail, but he didn't do it. He also would not replace the sign. So I made a nice sign, using Forest style print, and put it up where the other sign had been on government land. He took the sign down as the road in this area is a Country Road. I went through the channels and got permission to put the sign on the County Road right of way, which I did. Ranger Dave took my sign down. I said this sign now was not his business. He said he didn't care, he didn't want it there. The County Road Department wouldn't go against him. After some heat by the Country Commissioners being applied, Mr. Campbell agreed to put a sign back up. I might add that it was just a small one and if you weren't looking for it you could easily miss it.

After about another year some Good Samaritan set the tree on fire. It burned off to about thirty feet up. What's left is still quite impressive. After this fire Ranger Campbell hustled and took the sign down again. I don't know what Ranger Dave has got against this tree but I hope he is happy. I have enclosed two pictures of this great old tree, one before the first fire and one taken after the second fire.

Thanks to Warden Johnson and Bear Institute

It was two years ago last July 7, 2010, when a bear arrived at our house on South Sunset Bench Road, Stevensville, overlooking Eastside Highway from the edge of the bench just north of Bell Crossing.

The fact that this bear did not show up as a news story is because of a number of remarkable people, all of whom played important parts in the story. The fact that the remarkable results of their efforts did not show up as a news story is sad. So I, following the second anniversary of its visit and near the date of its departure from the neighborhood, choose to make sure the story ends up in the newspaper, if the editor complies.

This young bear, young we learned from the experts, even considered entering the doggie door of our house set in a ponderosa pine forest, after devouring all the fruit among groceries that had been placed in the garage for delivery indoors, and the suet and bird seed stored there as well. He came back every day for almost a week. Just as serious was the possible threat to ripening fruit trees and bushes and vines and tomatoes as well. There is not room to give more details in such a letter.

Checking with neighbors in this ranch and rural homes community, I learned that the bear had visited at least seven others in a five mile radius, threatening chicken coops and other bear delicacies.

Our local game wardens and Fish, Wildlife and Parks referred me to the Wind River Bear Institute, newly arrived on land just north of Florence. Carrie Hunt, Director, was to be hired on trial by them to address bear complaints in the coming fall here in the Bitterroot. She kindly addressed our bear within a day.

This was a young and very assertive bear. Old timers in the neighborhood and newcomers, happily, all were concerned that the bear not be killed or harmed. They thought it could just be removed. But we learned that usually such an action simply results in the return of the bear.

Carrie Hunt and her Karelian bear dogs help her teach residents and visiting bears how to respect each other with everyone coming out alive and safe, even the chickens and the berry patch.

Here, she visited all seven household hosts of the assertive bear. Many thought they knew all about bears and their practices, but everyone of us, through cooperating with each other and with Carrie Hunt, learned a lot more.

The result, the bear seemed to wander in the area through the early fall, with only a few bear sightings and no bear depredation or any other unfortunate incidents. However, I kept thinking about the next summer, when it might return. No matter what one does, one cannot lock a bear out of the berry patch or grape arbor. Now I can report, two years later, that our bear never returned, seemed to have found more bear friendly environs for its summer gleanings.

We have to thank our calm, cooperating and caring neighbors, Carrie Hunt and the Bear Institute, and Montana Fish, Wildlife and Parks. Most of all, we want to put the spotlight on our own local Game Warden, Doug Johnson. It was he who attended a demonstration talk by Carrie Hunt and, out of all the Montana attendees, he was the one who pushed for support to contract Carrie and the Bear Institute to help here in the Bitterroot. This is quite a cast, including the bear. The incident and the cast should be publicized and the cast lauded for the community effort that ended what could have been a sad and frightening event that indeed might have ended up as a news story.

Jean Atthowe
Stevensville

Congressman Rehberg, small business and the Bitterroot

Dear Editor,

A recent newspaper article reporting on Congressman Denny Rehberg’s visit to Ravalli County included a discussion Rehberg had while visiting with Randy and Bonnie Jones, owners of Bitterroot Tool and Machine in Stevensville. During the conversation with Rehberg, Randy Jones said he was worried about the new health care law. He said that he and Bonnie had no health insurance for themselves and no company insurance plan for their employees. Randy added that a provision of the new health care act, which requires employers to provide their workers health benefits by 2014, would probably force him to lay off his employees. According to the article, Randy went on to say that perhaps it would be cheaper to pay the $2000-per-employee fine the health care plan imposes on employers that do not provide employee health benefits by the 2014 deadline. Rehberg said nothing to allay the Joneses’ fears, but he should have, right then and there. Instead, he just left them twisting in the wind.

The truth is that the new health care act 1) Requires only employers with more than 50 employees to purchase health care plans by 2014, and 2) There will be no fines or penalties for smaller employers, like Randy and Bonnie Jones, who are not able to purchase health plans for their workers. In fact, it is worth noting that the health care act also provides for business tax incentives for those small business employers that decide, on their own, to purchase health insurance for their employees.

So why would Denny Rehberg leave the Joneses and their 16 employees (and probably many other Bitterroot small business owners who read the same article) to worry needlessly, believing for the next four years that their jobs and the company that employs them might be lost just because they couldn’t afford to purchase health insurance?

The answer is that either Denny Rehberg did know the truth about the facts in the health care act that would have allayed the fears of Randy Jones and other small business owners, and chose not to share them, or, he didn’t know the facts, but he should have, considering that the provisions of the health care act have been a hot topic of debate and discussion in Congress and everywhere he has traveled for over a year. Neither of these choices is an acceptable answer.

Montana only elects one Congressman. I believe that voters can, and we should, send a Representative to Washington who has more integrity and more compassion for Montanans and the serious problems too many of them face than has been demonstrated here. I will not vote for Denny Rehberg in November and I urge Montana voters to send him packing. Enough is enough!

John Meakin
Stevensville

Muzzled by the Animal Shelter

Dear Editor,

I would like to share our unimaginably dreadful experiences with the BRHA as seen through our eyes as newcomers to the valley.

The caring community, who support this shelter, should take one evening to attend the next board meeting to see for themselves. If appalled like we were, write or phone the county commissioners and share their experiences. Insist on BRHA accountability to their own mission statement of animal welfare and community service.

Initially we overlooked the overcrowding, customer indifference, lack of knowledgeable staff, and rudeness. We wanted to help. We filled out an adoption application on a "special" dog" that had been there for many months and a volunteer application. We submitted a letter to the Vice President of BRHA, Sue McCormick, describing our poor treatment, the lies, and the suffering of the animals in their charge. To date we have not received a reply.

1. At the Board meeting we were "muzzled". We were not allowed to address the board members. Our written complaint was to be seen only by the Vice-President, Sue McCormick, for some future consideration. There was none.

2. The board members are "sheltered" from grievances and situations they need to hear and address. That is their job.

3. The shelter manager, Vickie Dawson, monopolized the meeting as if "off leash" and stifled every suggestion to help alleviate the overcrowding crisis of too many animals.

4. We were horrified to hear at the meeting the number of animals that were euthanized the month before. We were repeatedly lied to by the staff and management of BRHA who said they were a no-kill shelter and they kept animals until adopted, no matter how long it took, not that animals were killed and cremated.

5. We witnessed, at the board meeting, the discussion to minimize their financial discrepancies and options to skirt a real audit.

We learned a lot with our firsthand experiences and we encourage the community and elected officials to do the same. The BRHA receives tens of thousands of dollars each year from the city and county. The animals, and the community that funds the BRHA, deserve better than what they are receiving.

Rande & Jill Luitjens
Blythe, California

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