Resident seeks spatial distance from lines

Proposed transmission line would run north of property

For most of Roger Guches’ adult life he has been safeguarding others, whether it is as a lieutenant with the Lincoln County Sheriff’s Department, or as a parent to his three children and his three step-children.

So, when talk of routing high-tension power lines for the proposed Montanore Project were unveiled and those high-voltage lines were to run just north of Guches’ two-acre property located just south of West Fisher Road, he became alarmed.

“I’ve been reading a lot about electro-magnetic fields caused by high-tension power lines,” Guches said. “You get the whole gamut. Some will say there is no proof they have any affect on humans and then you get the side that says they are quite a health risk. I just don’t want to take the chance.”

Guches lives on the two-acre site with his wife, Jeannie, of nine years. The couple has made the property their own during the last 20 years, cultivating a garden, adding a smokehouse, and building an elaborate, expansive chicken area.

“We raise turkeys and chickens, and we sell the eggs,” Guches said. “It’s kind of been a project, something Jeannie and I both enjoy. This is our home. When I’m off — we’re on (work) for a long stretch and then I have a stretch off — I never leave the place.”

It’s Guches’ attachment to his “little bit of heaven on Earth,” that prompted him to speak at the recent Montanore Project Open House at the Ponderosa Room of City Hall.

Make no mistake about his stance on the mine: Guches is for it.

“This area needs the jobs. I’m for the mine 100 percent,” Guches said. “We’re losing our work force to other areas. I can see it, our call number are down,” he said of calls for assistance the Sheriff’s Department dispatchers receive.

“I just want them to move the line about 1,000 feet farther to the other side of the ridge,” Guches said. “Right now, the (one) proposal is to run the line on the near side of the ridge. All I’m asking is that they move it just to the other side. That’s all. And, from what I can tell, my recommendation appears to be a more direct line (toward the mine). It straightens it out.”

Guches said the day after he spoke during the Open House on Oct. 25, he received a visit from officials at the Department of Environmental Quality.

“They came out to our place the next day,” Guches said. “They seemed to be very receptive, so I’m hopeful. After all, it’s not like we’re asking them to move it closer to anyone else. We’re the only people around for about a quarter-mile.”

Guches said he is not asking for the relocation of the power lines for himself, but for family members. Currently, his daughter-in-law and his step-daughter-in-law are both expecting.

“From what I’m reading, pregnant women are not supposed to be anywhere near these lines,” Guches said, pointing out construction of the lines will come about two years after those grandchildren are born. “From what I can tell, it most devastating to soft tissue.”

Guches said his children and grandchildren are frequent visitors to his property.

“Still, this is where everybody — all family members — comes for vacation,” Guches said. “All the children bring their children here.”

The Gucheses have eight grandchildren, all of whom are younger than 10 years old.

And, there is another reason, Guches said.

“Jeannie is a cancer survivor,” he said solemnly. “Cervical cancer. … If they don’t move the line … I just can’t take the chance.”

Asked to elaborate, Guches hesitated a moment before answering.

“I don’t plan on selling my property,” he said pausing.

“I came to Montana 20 years ago, not to change Montana, but to become part of it,” Guches said. “I just can’t put my family in that situation. I just can’t have a power line in my back yard.

“I’d have to move. And, by move, I’d say I’d probably have to move out of the area. There’s just no possible way I’m going to take that risk,” Guches said.