Year in Review, Part III: September-December

by Western News
| January 5, 2010 11:00 PM

(Editor’s note: This is the third of three stories reviewing Libby and Troy news of the past year. In this issue, read about the final four months of 2009. In the Jan. 1 edition, January through April was presented and in the Jan. 8 edition, May through August was reviewed).

SEPTEMBER

• Timothy A. Fury, 50, Bonners Ferry, Idaho, died in a Sept. 2 collision on Highway 2 near the Yaak River bridge. Two others were injured in the accident, which occurred when Fury apparently tried to make a left-hand turn on the highway but did not see the oncoming vehicle.

• Gordon and Cathie Sullivan worked on the re-opening of Cabinet Books and Music. Patti Lennard had the store on the market and faced possible closure until the Sullivans agreed to buy it.

• U.S. District Judge Donald Molloy approved wolf hunts in Montana after denying an injunction requested by environmentalists.

• An interagency effort to control spotted knapweed in Lincoln County hit full stride. The project included 150,000 weevils released in the Fisher River corridor from Lake Koocanusa to the Thompson Chain of Lakes area.

• Law-enforcement officials nabbed two men suspected of robbing a Libby casino on Sept. 11 after a high-speed chase. Michael J. Davis, 37, and David Redford, 50, of Bonners Ferry, Idaho, were suspected of robbing the Lucky Logger Casino for less than $1,000.

• The City of Libby and the Environmental Protection Agency presented differing opinions on the proposed cleanup of the former export plant site.

• The Libby School Board agreed that a professional consultant should be hired to provide objective answers on what to do with the aging Asa Wood building.

• The governor’s office announced plans to complete a biomass energy feasibility study in western Montana. Although biomass seems like a good idea for Lincoln County, officials expressed a major hurdle with making sure enough feed stock would be available to support a plant.

• Wildlife biologists released a grizzly bear near Spar Lake south of Troy on Sept. 18. The 325-pound female had been captured and relocated from the Whitefish Range.

• The prosecution dropped four charges in the William Dancer embezzlement case. Dancer still faced three felony counts.

• The EPA announced an extension of the public comment period on proposed plans for the former export plant and former screening plant sites. Carol Rushin, acting regional administrator, met with local EPA officials and toured cleanup sites on Sept. 23.

• A jury found William Dancer guilty on three counts of embezzlement on Sept. 25. The verdicts could put Dancer in prison for up to 30 years.

• Troy School Board member Heather McDougall made accusations involving the violation of school policies and state law. McDougall sent the county superintendent a nine-page Notice of Appeal outlining the allegations with a request to hold a hearing.

• A 30-year-old woman and her 10-year-old nephew were rescued from a rocky island at the mouth of Kootenai Falls on Sept. 26.

• A Lincoln County Tea Party attracted more than 300 people to VFW Hall in Libby. Reps. Jerry Bennett and Chas Vincent were among the speakers along with State Sen. Aubyn Curtiss.

OCTOBER

• The Rocky Mountain Elk Foundation celebrated 25 years during its Big Game Banquet on Oct. 17. Charlie Decker, Dan Bull and Bob and Bill Munson founded the organization in 1984 when they got together in Troy.

• Bars and casinos across the state opened on Oct. 1 as smoke-free businesses. The Clean Indoor Air Act banned smoking in all indoor public places. The final phase involving bars and casinos kicked in Oct. 1.

• Libby High School held homecoming with Michael Roby and Lindsey Kehn taking king and queen honors.

• Troy Mine officials responded to a tailings spill that leaked into nearby waterways.

• An effort to recall Lincoln County Sheriff Daryl Anderson died when a group of Eureka-area residents failed to turn in the nearly 2,000 signatures required to hold a special election.

• Sen. Jon Tester visited Troy and held a Forest Jobs and Recreation Act open house meeting with the public.

• A presentation at a Libby City Council meeting proposed a skateboard park. Original plans had the park located near Lee Gehring Field but that was later changed to an area close to the tennis courts near City Hall.

• The EPA designated Libby as an attainment area that now meets federal air quality standards.

• The first case of H1N1 flu in Lincoln County was confirmed on Oct. 9.

• County schools superintendent Ron Higgins denied to hear an appeal by Troy School Board member Heather McDougall, who was alleging various offenses. McDougall said she planned to appeal the issue to the state Office of Public Instruction.

• A Libby family escaped harm when their garage went up in flames.

• A restored steam locomotive pulling a train of vintage rail cars made its way through Libby and Troy on Oct. 19. The train, which stopped briefly in Troy, was on its way home to Portland, Ore., after appearing in a train festival in Michigan.

• Army Staff Sgt. James R. Stright, Libby native, was killed Oct. 22 during a special operations training exercise off the coast of Virginia.

• Mathy Stanislaus, assistant administrator for the EPA’s Office of Solid Waste and Emergency Response, went on a tour of the area with local officials.

• The Libby Polar Bear Club took its first dip in Libby Creek on Oct. 25, led by 66-year-old Rick Klin.

• The body of Joan Lyons of Troy was found in Lake Pend Oreille near Hope, Idaho, on Oct. 22. Officials believed she had drowned on the night of Oct. 21.

• Troy High School held its homecoming and crowned Jake Alexander and Ashley Paasch as king and queen.

• Revett Minerals officials met with Gov. Brian Schweitzer to discuss Troy Mine’s success in the face of low metal prices and the company’s desire to proceed with its Rock Creek Mine.

• The state attorney general’s office cleared Troy chief of police Mitch Walters of criminal wrongdoing in a dispute with a local gun club.

NOVEMBER

• Army Staff Sgt. James R. Stright, who was killed in a training exercise on Oct. 22, was laid to rest following a full military funeral.

• A $6 million grant from the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services designed to help asbestos victims took effect on Nov. 16.

• The Libby High School girls soccer team finished the season as the state runner-up after falling in the Class A state championship game to Billings Central. The Rams won in overtime, 4-2, on Libby’s home field.

• Elected to seats in the Nov. 3 election were Doug Roll (Libby mayor), Robin Benson, Barbara Desch and Vicky Lawrence (Libby City Council full term), D.C. Orr (Libby City Council partial term), Donald Banning (Troy mayor) and Phillip Fisher and Frances McCully (Troy City Council).

• Voters approved in a special election to end the practice of identifying county candidates in elections by their political party.

• Voter turnout for the mail-in election was higher than usual around Lincoln County.

• Local military and veteran organizations took part in Veterans Day activities around Libby and Troy.

• Wildlife officials determined that a Troy man who shot a grizzly bear in the Cabinet Mountains had done so in self-defense.

• Libby High School’s volleyball team won the district title for the third straight year and ended up taking fourth at state.

• Libby City Council member D.C. Orr filed a complaint with allegations of wrongdoing concerning a deal seven years ago that involved asbestos-contaminated buildings demolished on the former export plant property. Orr also obtained a temporary restraining order against Libby’s city clerk with allegations of harassment.

• The deer harvest lagged compared to numbers from recent years and the wolf hunt season ended when the quota was filled on Nov. 16.

• The future of the Troy Police Department appeared in doubt after police chief Mitch Walters and officer Kit Pearson unknowingly broadcast a damaging conversation on a frequency available to the public. The conversation included a reference to soon being rid of officer Bob McLeod because of allegations involving use of a Taser. In response, the community rallied behind McLeod with a march to City Hall on Nov. 28. The state Department of Justice, Division of Criminal Investigation was looking into the incident.

• The Community Advisory Group convened on Nov. 19 for the first time in three months with hopes to remain active. Remaining members felt it was important to offer the forum for residents to share information and ask questions concerning the asbestos cleanup.

• The EPA and owners of the historic Hotel Libby discussed a possible cleanup that could occur in 2010. The hotel dates back to 1899.

• The EPA reported 159 properties were cleaned up in 2009 with 103,667 cubic yards of soil removed.

• The Alliance of the Rockies filed a lawsuit to challenge three logging projects in Kootenai National Forest.

DECEMBER

• St. John’s Lutheran Hospital chief executive officer Bill Patten said the new hospital project currently had a $7 million shortfall and as a result, construction was likely to not begin in 2010.

• A panel at the University of Montana discussed Libby’s future during a town-hall style event on Dec. 3.

• Troy police officer Bob McLeod returned to work on Dec. 4 after two weeks of administrative leave that stemmed from a civil lawsuit launched against him for alleged misuse of a Taser.

• Laura Schrader took part in her final Troy City Council meeting after serving for 16 years.

• Sgt. Jim Smith accepted the permanent title of Libby chief of police after performing the duties for more than four months.

• William Dancer, who was awaiting sentencing for three counts of embezzlement, suffered a heart attack, according to his attorney. Sentencing had already been delayed from Nov. 13 to Dec. 10 and the judge granted a continuance until a status hearing on Dec. 21. At that hearing, sentencing was delayed another month.

• Former Troy mayor John Brown filed a civil suit against Troy chief of police Mitch Walters and the City of Troy. Brown alleged misconduct mostly stemming from his September 2008 arrest by Walters.

• Holiday-themed festivals, concerts and events were staged in Libby and Troy throughout the month.

• Sens. Max Baucus and Jon Tester announced a $550,000 appropriation for the Center for Asbestos Related Disease. Plans call for the money to go toward an expansion project.

• Libby mayor Doug Roll announced his desire to request councilmember D.C. Orr’s removal from office. Roll cited the use of false accusations and the creation of a hostile work environment for city employees.

• Sen. Jon Tester’s Forest Jobs and Recreation Act went through a Senate Energy and Natural Resources subcommittee hearing on Dec. 17.

• Revett Minerals announced that its insurance company had reached a settlement agreement subject to court approval with the widow of Michael Ivins, who was killed in a July 2007 mishap at Troy Mine.

• Libby and Troy soldiers from the Montana Army National Guard’s 639th Quartermaster Company arrived in the United States. The soldiers would return to their homes just a few minutes after midnight on Jan. 1.

• Libby Nordicfest organizers announced the fear that the popular festival could end if volunteers could not be secured. An effort continues to attract volunteers for the event’s 26th year.