In Brief
Community safety night in Troy
Troy School District is hosting a community safety night Thursday, Oct. 29 at the elementary school. Dinner will be served from 5:30 p.m. until 6 p.m. with a variety of safety classes offered from 6 p.m. to 7 p.m. The topics to be covered will include gun safety, home fire safety, Halloween safety, Internet safety, drug and alcohol prevention and bullying. This event is open to the public and any interested community members are welcome to attend.
November is National Novel Writing Month
The Libby library will be hosting four events in celebration of National Novel Writing Month. The kickoff event will be Oct. 31 at 1 p.m. in the Libby library meeting room with local author John Herrmann offering his writing expertise. University of Montana professor Caroline Patterson will be in the library Saturday, Nov. 14 for a Kickstart Your Novel seminar at 2 p.m.
The library will also be hosting informal writing sessions, Nov. 7 and Nov. 21 at 1 p.m., in which writers are free to gather and discuss various topics amongst themselves.
All meetings are free and open to the public and will include snacks and drinks. For more information call Alyssa or Stacy at 293-2778.
Montana unemployment drops to 4.1 percent in September
Montana’s unemployment rate dropped to 4.1 percent in September, a decline of .1 percent from the August estimate of 4.2 percent. The national rate remained unchanged at 5.1 percent.
“Montana’s unemployment rate has hovered around four percent for the last several months, which is considered an ideal level for unemployment,” said Montana Labor Commissioner Pam Bucy. “Our economy continues to be strong, with rising wages and increasing opportunities for our workers and businesses.”
Lincoln County has the highest unemployment in the state, with 7.3 percent.
Officials caution residents not to feed wildlife
Montana Fish, Wildlife & Parks officers have noted a sharp rise in the number of people illegally feeding wildlife, especially in the Libby area, according to a press release from the department issued Oct. 23.
According to the release: “Although people who are feeding wildlife often believe that they are doing wildlife a favor by feeding them, there are many reasons why they should stop – other than the fact that it’s illegal. Supplement feeding of wildlife: Spreads disease by creating unnatural congregations of deer and other wildlife. When deer and other wildlife are congregated in a small area and share the same feeding site it increases the ability of diseases and parasites to be spread to all the animals using the area. At times these diseases can greatly impact populations and become difficult to eliminate from wildlife populations.
Feeding increases the likelihood of deer-vehicle collisions, as deer travel farther and cross more roads to reach unnatural sources of food.
It may also kill wildlife directly. Providing supplemental food sources to deer can cause disease directly through corn acidosis or even overeating disease (enterotoximia). Often a deer’s digestive tract cannot handle sudden changes in diet as a result of feeding and deer die with full rumens. In effect, this means that the folks who are feeding the wildlife may actually be killing the wildlife with kindness; also may attract predators to your yard, such as mountain lions and bears.
Animals may become aggressive and injure people or pets. Wildlife that is fed tends to lose fear of people and can become aggressive, not only to the people feeding them but to neighbors.”
Gas prices fall across Montana
Average retail gasoline prices in Montana have fallen 4.3 cents per gallon in the past week, averaging $2.36 per gallon yesterday, according to GasBuddy’s daily survey of 615 gas outlets in Montana. This compares with the national average that has fallen 5.2 cents per gallon in the last week to $2.20 per gallon, according to gasoline price website GasBuddy.com.
Including the change in gas prices in Montana during the past week, prices yesterday were 87.2 cents per gallon lower than the same day one year ago and are 16.0 cents per gallon lower than a month ago. The national average has decreased 8.5 cents per gallon during the last month and stands 83.9 cents per gallon lower than this day one year ago.
“As refineries finish up their planned and in some cases unplanned (notably in the Midwest) rounds of maintenance, gasoline should return to the pumps at very high levels,” said Jeff Pelton, GasBuddy’s senior petroleum analyst. “That, coupled with the lower demand that comes with the fall season, should push November retail prices to fall another 10 to 12 cents.”