In brief

Libby Spinning Squares anniversary

Libby Spinning Squares is looking for former members of the club to join them as they celebrate 50 years of square dancing. We are also looking for pictures and any other memorabilia that we can display.  50th Anniversary dance will be held on November 28, 2015, 8 p.m. at Asa Wood School. Contact Jo Wilson at 293-3265 or email: jrussell43@frontiernet.net for more information. No dancing necessary, just visit and have fun reminiscing about the “good old days.”

Free Christmas Tree permits available

Free Christmas Tree Permits are available for fourth graders. Fourth grade students across the country are invited to participate in Every Kid in a Park.  Kids can access their free Every Kid in a Park pass on line at https://www.everykidinapark.gov/. After answering a few questions on-line, fourth graders can print a free paper pass. The paper pass can then be exchanged for a free plastic Annual Pass at any Forest Service office. 

The free Annual Pass covers sites that charge an entrance fee; for example in Montana the Annual Pass can be used at Glacier and Yellowstone National Parks, or the Great Falls Lewis and Clark Visitor Center.  The free fourth grade pass is valid through August 2016, and admits the fourth grader and any accompanying passengers in a vehicle (per vehicle fee), or the fourth grader and up to three people (per-person fee). 

The paper pass can also be shown at any Forest Service Office to receive a free Christmas Tree Permit. Christmas Tree Permits are now available at all offices.

Forest Service announces snowmobile restrictions

A Kootenai Forest Order restricting motorized and mechanized uses in recommended wilderness and Research and Natural areas resulted in changes to where over snow motor vehicle and mechanized use is allowed. Areas previously closed to over snow use, such as Cheer Creek outside of Troy, are now open.  Areas in the Scotchman Peaks, Roderick, and the Cabinet Addition areas either remain closed or are now closed to over snow use. A map of current areas closed to over snow uses, as well as the Closure Orders are available at Forest Service Offices. 

These changes were studied and discussed in the final Environmental Impact Statement and Record of Decision for the Kootenai Forest Plan issued in January 2015. The Idaho Panhandle National Forest has issued similar restriction on the Idaho portion of the Scotchman Peaks recommended wilderness area.

National Apprentice Week

Labor & Industry Commissioner Pam Bucy and apprenticeship business sponsors from throughout the state gathered today to celebrate National Apprenticeship Week at Collision Pro, a local Helena auto body company. The Montana Department of Labor & Industry is using National Apprenticeship Week to focus on the importance of these training programs which are teaching workers the skills needed to succeed in their professions. 

Apprenticeship training programs provide full-time on-the-job training for Montanans in a wide variety of occupations. These training programs promote quality training of hard and soft employment skills alongside a journeymen/mentor, with related, technical instructions in a classroom or online setting. Upon completion, apprentices receive an industry recognized certificate or credential.

“Montana enjoys an economy that is strong and among the best in the nation,” Governor Steve Bullock stated in his letter of support for National Apprenticeship Week. “One of the keys to building upon this economic strength is ensuring that businesses have a workforce with the knowledge, skills and experience to fill the careers that are in high demand through on-the-job apprenticeship training programs.”

Montana gas prices fall

Average retail gasoline prices in Montana have fallen 3.1 cents per gallon in the past week, averaging $2.33 per gallom yesterday, according to GasBuddy’s daily survey of 615 gas outlets in Montana. This compares with the national average that has fallen 1.1 cents per gallon in the last week to $2.18 per gallon, according to gasoline price website GasBuddy.com. 

Including the change in gas prices in Montana during the past week, prices yesterday were 79.8 cents per gallon lower than the same day one year ago and are 15.7 cents per gallon lower than a month ago. The national average has decreased 10.9 cents per gallon during the last month and stands 79.0 cents per gallon lower than this day one year ago. 

“The gas price slide across much of the nation has continued for the third straight week,” said Will Speer, GasBuddy’s senior petroleum analyst for the Midcontinent and Southwest. “Planned fall refinery maintenance had put the Midwest in the spotlight as the region hardest hit with refinery rate reductions, but as we reach November, refinery maintenance projects are beginning to wrap up as evident in EIA’s weekly report, which saw refinery utilization rates improve.  Improving refinery rates paired with WTI-crude trading steadily around the $46/barrel range will keep downward pressure on gas prices through November,” Speer said.

Three grizzlies killed in traffic

In the last week, three grizzly bears were hit and killed by vehicles in northwest Montana, according to Grizzly Bear Management Specialist Tim Manley. The morning of Tuesday, Oct. 27, a female cub of the year was found dead just north of mile marker 18 on Highway 35 along Flathead Lake. That cub had not been previously captured and its stomach was full of apples.

The second grizzly was hit and killed by a logging truck the night of Oct. 27, on Highway 83, the Swan Highway, near mile marker 50. That bear was an adult male grizzly. This male grizzly had been captured in 2011 near Lake Blaine and released in the Spotted Bear drainage. The grizzly bear dropped its radio collar two years ago.

The third grizzly bear was found dead on the morning of Nov. 2 along Highway 83, near the 53 mile marker. This bear was an unmarked yearling female grizzly bear.