Year in Review 2010, Part II: Marijuana, Troy soil, summer fun
Editor’s Note
(This is the second of four stories reviewing Libby and Troy news of the past year. In this issue, read about April, May and June 2010. In the Jan. 5 edition, July through September will be reviewed, followed by October through December on Jan. 7. January through March appeared in the Dec. 29 edition. Also, take note of the list of names that accompany this series. They are the friends, neighbors and relatives that we lost over the year).
APRIL
• The sole survivor of a two-vehicle crash that killed five people returned home to Eureka on April 1. Braden Thompson, 16, was said to be recovering well after suffering a fracture in his vertebra.
• The Troy School Board met with superintendent Brady Selle about consolidating administrative tasks. One proposal had Lance Pearson becoming the high school principal – in place of the departing Jeff Ralston – and Selle taking on the elementary school principal job along with superintendent duties.
• A disc golf course at Libby Dam continued to be developed. Officials hoped to have the course open by June and its first tournament by August.
• The Libby City Council voted on April 5 to put to rest a proposal by Mayor Doug Roll to place surveillance cameras on Mineral Avenue to prevent downtown vandalism. The council also passed a bicycle-riding ordinance that had been scaled down from previous versions.
• The Environmental Protection Agency announced that it expected Record of Decision documents for the former export plant and former screening plant sites to be issued by May – soon enough to begin construction season cleanups.
• Emergency personnel rescued a hiker complaining of chest pains south of Troy. Rescuers cut through three-fourths of a mile of vegetation and then went up a steep mountain to reach him.
• Lincoln County commissioners voted in favor of financing a $3.37 million building to house Stinger Welding Inc.’s operation in the industrial district in Libby.
• The Libby High School Hall of Fame inducted Terry Maki during a special ceremony in conjunction with the National Honor Society induction.
• The Troy School Board voted to abandon its proposal to combine administrative positions with intentions of hiring a new high school principal to replace Jeff Ralston.
• Libby Nordicfest announced its royalty – Rik and Diane Rewerts as king and queen, Jason Schikora and Kaitlyn Haugen as prince and princess, and Tim Rice and Dusti Thompson as Mr. and Mrs. Knute.
• The special train promoting safety stopped in Libby on April 15.
• Greg Wood, a 34-year-old Libby native, took part in fundraising for Start! Heart Walk in Spokane, Wash. Wood had a mechanical heart and was awaiting a heart transplant. Wood died two months later following a heart transplant.
• Absentee ballots went out to voters concerning the Troy School Board election. Candidates were Joe Arts, Doug Chapel, J.P. Downey and Joe Pepiot.
• A budget shortfall of $405,000 in the Libby School District led to the elimination of the equivalent of 10 full-time teaching positions.
• The Libby City Council voted to pay the legal fees of Glena Hook, city clerk, who defended herself when councilmember D.C. Orr obtained a temporary restraining order against her.
• Libby Schools hosted a visioning session on the topic of the future of education in the community but experienced a disappointing public turnout.
• Medical marijuana providers Rick Evans and Bob Praml worked on the opening of a cooperative just outside the Libby city limits to serve hundreds of patients.
• The Kootenai Kiwanis Club in Libby announced that it would no longer sponsor a demolition derby. Dwindling profits and participation led to the decision.
• The Troy School Board approved the hiring of Jacob Francom as the new high school principal. Francom replaced Jeff Ralston.
• Sebastian Sanders, 7, planted a tree at Asa Wood as part of the Disney Channel’s “Make A Change” campaign promoting community beautification.
• The Libby Archery Club’s 14th annual Traditional 3D Shoot took place at Fawn Creek Campground.
MAY
• Doug Chapel and Joe Pepiot won seats on the Troy School Board. Chapel and Pepiot would replace Sylvia Maffitt and Darren Coldwell on the board.
• Les Nelson participated for the first time as a Libby School Board member. Nelson replaced Gary Huntsberger on the governing board for the school district.
• Federal judge Donald Molloy issued a detailed opinion explaining why he upheld two claims brought against federal agencies concerning their approval of Revett Minerals’ proposed Rock Creek mine.
• Hundreds of bicyclists participating in the annual Scenic Tour of the Kootenai River – or STOKR – were met with snow and cold conditions.
• A followup on the plywood plant fire showed a price tag of $2.3 million – a figure that was said to continue to grow.
• The Environmental Protection Agency on May 10 approved its first-ever records of decision for the Libby Area Superfund Site. The ruling affected cleanups at the former screening plant and export plant sites.
• Libby High School student Paige Ward learned that her photograph “Silent Helper” would be displayed in Washington, D.C., as the winner of Montana’s Congressional Art Competition. The photo showed a bee pollinating a flower.
• The City of Troy continued to study a proposal by the Montana Department of Environmental Quality to use the landfill site to bury soil contaminated with vermiculite.
• Social Security Administration interviewers set up a temporary office in Libby to meet with people with asbestos-related conditions. Provisions to provide medical care for asbestos victims were passed as part of a federal health-care bill.
• The Libby City Council accepted an agreement with International Paper Co., to compensate the city for its past and future financial burden associated with groundwater contaminated by the company’s predecessor decades ago.
• The Libby School District geared up for another visioning session to try to attract public input on the future of the local schools. The May 26 event included a free dinner as a way to encourage public involvement.
• Public input at a Troy City Council meeting was negative concerning a proposal to bury vermiculite-contaminated soil from community cleanups at a site adjacent to the landfill.
• Troy High School held its graduation ceremony on May 30 with Dillon Curry as valedictorian.
• Libby High School held its graduation ceremony on May 31 with Jackie Mee as valedictorian.
• Memorial Day ceremonies in Libby and Troy took place.
• The Center for Asbestos Related Disease announced it would begin recruiting subjects for the Libby Epidemiology Research Project. The project involved a set of studies that would focus on low-level childhood exposure.
JUNE
• Lincoln County commissioners Marianne Roose and Tony Berget headed to Washington, D.C., to push for the continuation of Secure Rural Schools and Self-Determination Act funding.
• Operation Medicine Cabinet Montana came to Libby for the first time on June 5. The program disposes of people’s unwanted or unneeded prescription medication. An estimated 2,000-plus doses were dropped off at the site on Highway 2.
• Roby Bowe garnered 54.2 percent of the vote for sheriff in the June 8 primary election. Bowe beat out runner-up Rex Nichols, who had 20.5 percent of the vote. The two would meet again in the general election as the top two finishers.
• Chas Vincent won a seat in the Montana Senate with a convincing victory over challenger Rhoda Cargill. Vincent would be unchallenged in the general election. Republican Mike Cuffe beat out Matt Charlton to advance to the general election.
• District court judge candidates Jim Wheelis and Robert Slomski finished as the top two vote-getters in the June 8 primary to advance to the general election.
• Lincoln County commissioner candidates Ron Downey and Darren Coldwell advanced to the general election after finishing as the top two in the June 8 primary.
• A test involving higher flows on the Kootenai River to benefit white sturgeon spawning began with Libby Dam releases.
• Federal judge Donald Molloy issued a temporary restraining order on three proposed logging projects in Kootenai National Forest.
• The “Carl ‘Tubby’ Lundstrom Memorial Building” was dedicated at J. Neils Memorial Park on June 12. Lundstrom was remembered as a man who worked tirelessly to support local youth.
• Police arrested three teen-agers during the early morning hours of June 15 in connection with burglary and damages at Libby High School.
• Troy’s mud races were held on June 19 – a much earlier date than previous years.
• The Libby School Board and a “futures team” continued to look at options for the district’s campuses. The consensus decision was to move K-3 students to the middle-school building, move grades 7-8 to the high school and eliminate Asa Wood.
• The Troy City Council remained undecided on a proposal to bury vermiculte-contaminated soil at a site near the city landfill.
• The Timberbeast disc golf tournament on June 19 in Troy attracted a record number of participants.
• A rock slide in a remote area of Lincoln County on June 23 led to the derailment of 16 cars on a Burlington Northern Santa Fe Railway train. The accident would later be blamed on heavy rainfall that led to the slide.
• Guy Waldron, 32, of Libby, led police on a chase through Libby and on foot in the woods on Swede Mountain. Waldron, who was wanted for alleged parole violations, escaped on that day but would later be caught.
• The Troy City Council voted to reject the Montana Department of Environmental Quality proposal to bury contaminated soil at a closed landfill site. The soil would continue to be hauled to Libby.
• Community leaders take part in a wildfire preparedness program on June 25 in Libby. The program included a “firesafe” tour and urged people to take steps to help reduce the possibility of a catastrophic fire.
• The Libby American Legion baseball team won its own Big Bucks Tournament June 25-27 at Lee Gehring Field. The Loggers defeated Mission Valley, 3-2, in the championship game.
• Exploratory core drilling at the Troy Mine indicated that the life of the operation could double based on the existence of higher-grade silver and thicker veins of minerals.
• The Libby City Planning Board presented its first working draft of a growth policy designed to serve needs into 2030.
• Wildlife officials closed Sylvan Lake Campground southeast of Libby to trap a possibly dangerous black bear.