Government Briefs

Oversight appointment

The Lincoln County Commissioners voted unanimously Wednesday to reappoint George Jamison as the citizen at large on the Libby Asbestos Oversight Committee.

Commissioner Mark Peck remarked that rumors spread about Jamison on Facebook have been categorically false, and that the county is fortunate to have his expertise in that position.

“It just bothers me that, when we have good-quality people step up and volunteer their time, and they just get raked through the coals publicly in this town,” he said.

Bobtail annexation

The Lincoln County Commissioners held a public hearing Wednesday to hear input on the annexation of multiple properties into the Lincoln County Rural Fire District.

There was no objection to the annexation at the meeting, and Steve Lauer, Libby assistant chief/fire marshal, said they had over 62 percent sign the petition in favor of the annexation, at which point they stopped seeking additional signatures.

No one at the meeting reported hearing objections to the annexation from any residents living inside the affected area.

DUI Task Force

Sindy Filler, the Lincoln County DUI Task Force coordinator, presented to the Lincoln County Commissioners on the task force’s proposed plan for the next year, at their Wednesday meeting.

Filler said that from 2017 to 2018, Montana significantly lowered the number of fatal crashes involving a blood alcohol level of 0.15 g/dL.

However, Lincoln County is still in the top 15 out of 56 total counties in Montana for drugs or alcohol playing a role in a fatal crash, she said. The county also continues to have significant numbers of first-time and aggravated DUI offenders.

The average blood alcohol level in Lincoln County DUI cases is three times the legal limit.

Additionally, the number of citations for driving under the influence decreases in 2017, with a slight increase in 2018.

Filler noted that the task force is funded by driver’s license reinstatement fees, so it is possible they will have slightly more funding this year, though she does not anticipate needing it.