Weekly News Roundup
Week ending April 14, 2024
Rain Turning to Snow Monday Through Thursday - Below Freezing Low Temperatures
By Denise Rivette The Billings office of the National Weather Service reports that shower and thunderstorm chances will increase Monday into Monday night, gradually decreasing into Tuesday as a weather system moves through the region. Some of the thunderstorms could be strong over southeast Montana. Greatest precipitation chances will be found over southeast Montana, where locally heavy rain and ponding is possible. Snow is possible for the higher elevations as well.
Carbon County Remains on Firm Financial Footing Despite Pressures as State and Cities Cut Funding for Services
By Denise Rivette Carbon County’s administration reports that the County’s “financial status remains solid”. The infusion of cash from American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) and Local Agency and Tribal Consistency Fund (LATCF) more than made up for losses from other sources in Fiscal Year 2023. Reserves are currently less than the maximum allowed by law because cash has been moved to bankroll Capital Improvement Funds and to allow for increasing costs. ARPA and LATCF programs ended in 2023 but funds remain to be allocated through 2024. Overall, the situation is as follows:
WATER: One Shudders to Think of the Fallout if Schutter Decision Stands
By Denise Rivette Debra and Sidney Schutter, potato farmers in Gallatin County near Manhattan, have taken their fight with the State to retain their water right, held for generations, to the Supreme Court. The State Department of Natural Resources and Conservation (DNRC) acting on behalf of the Montana Board of Land Commissioners (collectively “the State”) is fighting them for co-ownership.
Commentary: Fighting For Our Property Rights
By Carl DeVries Imagine you agree to help your neighbor remodel a deck on his house one weekend. You even bring your own power tools to get the job done quicker. When done, your neighbor admires the improvements, then turns to you and says, “Leave your tools. They’re on my property. They belong to me now.”
Book Review: Valor in the Field is Muscle Memory for Dan Steffensen, But It Took All His Courage and Community to Recover From the Harris Fire
By Denise Rivette Farcountry Press and Sweetgrass Books just announced that A.J. Otjen’s new book on Red Lodge firefighter Dan Steffensen will be available in retail stores in June and available for preorder in May through Amazon. The official launch and signing event with both Dan Steffensen and A.J. Otjen will be at the Roosevelt Center in Red Lodge, Montana on June 15th. Books will be sold at the event by Beartooth Books starting at 7:00 pm. There will be a short presentation, opportunity to chat with Dan and A.J. and refreshments. For books purchased prior to the event, Dan and A.J. will begin signing those at 5:00 pm.
Carbon County Man Pleads Not Guilty to Deliberate Homicide of Infant
By Denise Rivette Brandon Lee Head Carrier, 24, of Carbon County, appeared in custody via video for arraignment Wednesday in Carbon County District Court in front of the Honorable Matthew J. Wald on charges of assault on a minor and deliberate homicide, both felonies. He pleaded not guilty. The charges stem from events that occurred on the morning of December 13 after a baby in distress was reported to Carbon County Sheriff’s Office (CCSO) Dispatch. Responding to that call were CCSO personnel, Joliet EMS and, eventually, the St. Vincent Help Flight helicopter. The child died a few days later.
Informational Meetings Scheduled for the County-Wide EMS Levy
Press Release from Carbon County EMS Agencies Carbon County EMS agencies will be holding community meetings this month to answer questions and help educate the public about the challenges the ambulance services are facing and about the upcoming county-wide EMS levy. The levy which will provide much needed funding to the ambulance services will be on the June 4th primary ballot.
The U.S. Needs More Wildland Firefighters, But the Federal Government Keeps Losing Them
By Abe Streep for the Daily Montanan Black Butte is an inactive volcano that rises from the high desert in eastern Oregon. In May 2022, a turboprop plane approached its pine-blanketed slopes, carrying about 10 men wearing bulky Kevlar outfits. They were smokejumpers with the United States Forest Service, the agency that directs the majority of the nation’s efforts to manage wildfires. Within the vast and hierarchical fire service, smokejumpers occupy a singular niche, parachuting into remote areas to fight early-stage wildfires. There are only about 450 nationwide, and the physical requirements are rigorous.
Trump Supports U.S. House Speaker Johnson, Elections Agenda in Joint Appearance
By Ariana Figueroa for States Newsroom WASHINGTON — U.S. House Speaker Mike Johnson and Donald J. Trump met Friday evening in Palm Beach, Florida, to promote an unreleased bill related to noncitizens voting in federal elections. The event doubled as a show of support from the presumptive Republican presidential nominee to the embattled GOP speaker.
More Patients Are Losing Their Doctors — And Trust in the Primary Care System
By Lynn Arditi, The Public’s Radio First, her favorite doctor in Providence, Rhode Island, retired. Then her other doctor at a health center a few miles away left the practice. Now, Piedad Fred has developed a new chronic condition: distrust in the American medical system.
Montana Supreme Court Agrees to Rehear Case Centering on Legislative Rules, Constitution
By Darrell Ehrlick for the Daily Montanan In an escalating stand-off between Montana’s judiciary and the legislature, the justices appeared to have blinked first. In an unusual court order written by Montana Supreme Court Chief Justice Mike McGrath, the Montana Supreme Court unanimously granted a motion for rehearing, but narrowed what parts it would focus on, namely if the conclusion of the case which focused on a bill that was rushed and significantly changed in the closing hours of the 2023 Legislature hampers the lawmakers from performing their duties.
Applications for State Property Tax Assistance Programs Due April 15
by Eric Dietrich for Montana Free Press Low-income Montanans seeking help paying their property tax bills have until Tax Day this coming Monday, April 15, to apply for aid through two state relief programs administered by the Montana Department of Revenue — including the flagship
U.S. Senate Hopeful’s Company Reported Losses of More Than $77 Million in 2023
by Arren Kimbel-Sannit for Montana Free Press Bridger Aerospace, the Gallatin County-based aerial firefighting company founded by Republican U.S. Senate hopeful Tim Sheehy, announced a record-high annual revenue of almost $67 million when it released its 2023 earnings report last month.
Report: Female Grizzly Bears Could Be in Bitterroot Ecosystem in Four Years
By Keila Szpaller for the Daily Montanan On paper, the federal government is trying to figure out whether to restore grizzly bears to the Bitterroot Ecosystem, but the bears appear to have their own plans. The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service is mulling ideas for grizzly bears in the Bitterroot Ecosystem following a public scoping period that closed last month.
Montana Students, Educators Sue Over 2021 Human Sexuality Parental Notification Law
By Blair Miller for the Daily Montanan A group of Montana students, teachers, librarians, and organizations representing school counselors and psychologists filed a lawsuit Tuesday seeking to block the 2021 law that requires school staff to notify parents 48 hours in advance
Federal Judge Grants Preliminary Injunction in Pinocci Candidate Sign Case
By Darrell Ehrlick for the Daily Montanan A federal judge in Montana has issued a preliminary injunction against the Montana Department of Transportation (MDOT) prohibiting it from ordering political signage along the state’s highways and roads to be taken down within two weeks after an election.
Sheehy Says He Lied About Accidental Discharge, Gunshot Wound Incident in Glacier
By Blair Miller for the Daily Montanan Montana Republican U.S. Senate candidate Tim Sheehy told The Washington Post in a story published during the weekend he had lied to a Glacier National Park ranger about accidentally shooting himself in the arm to try to protect other military service members from what he believed could lead to an investigation into how he actually ended up with a bullet in his arm.
Rising Complaints of Unauthorized Obamacare Plan-Switching and Sign-Ups Trigger Concern
By Julie Appleby for KFF Health News Federal and state regulators aren’t doing enough to stop the growing problem of rogue health insurance brokers making unauthorized policy switches for Affordable Care Act policyholders, say consumers, agents, nonprofit enrollee assistance groups, and other insurance experts.
Weekly Health Numbers
By Denise Rivette Level of Respiratory Illness Activity Across the Country for Week Ended April 6, 2024 Information provided by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) Montana Respiratory Illness Statistics State information provided by Montana’s Department of Public Health and Human Services (DPHHS)
Carbon County First Responder Blotter
TOTAL CALLS FOR SERVICE = 272 CIVIL PROCESS = 8 911 HANGUPS/MISDIALS/TELEMARKETERS = 15 MEDICALS = 12 PRISONER TRANSPORT TOTAL TIME = 10 HOURS TRAFFIC COMPLAINT = 10 CRASH = 8 ARRESTS = 3 INCARCERATIONS = 1 WARNINGS = 53 CITATIONS = 13 April 1 A woman attempted to break up a fight between two dogs and was bitten in the process. She reported it to dispatch and took herself to the hospital to have her heavily bleeding wound treated.