The Year in Review, Part 1

Join The Western News in looking back at the first half of 2021, a year that won’t soon be forgotten.

Jan. 5

COVID-19 vaccines arrive

Nearly a year into the coronavirus pandemic, health officials in Lincoln County received their first shipments of the newly created COVID-19 vaccines.

County health department staff began distributing the vaccines following guidelines handed down by the state. Health care professionals, those working on the front lines or with patients, were atop the list with employees of assisted living and long-term care facilities.

In anticipation of later stages of the vaccine rollout, health department staff began compiling a list of residents interested in receiving either the Moderna or Pfizer versions of the vaccine. Following health care professionals, those workers considered essential and residents age 75 or older were to receive the shots.

Jan. 8

Missing ballots

County officials acknowledged misplacing a box of ballots on Election Day 2020.

The lost box came to light after The Western News compared the tally of votes released by county election staff on Nov. 4 with those later given to the state. According to county commissioners, local election officials recovered the box on Nov. 6. It was left, they said, in the North Lincoln County Annex.

Officials stressed that the box, left unattended in a year marked by fears of election tampering, remained under lock and key. Patrick McFadden, then county administrator, said county workers responded appropriately to the mistake, quickly locating and recovering the ballots.

“Our county election department did exactly the right thing,” he said, stressing that officials were studying the error to prevent it from occurring again.

Jan. 14

Deputy-involved shooting

An out-of-town man was hospitalized after a deputy-involved shooting stemming from a domestic disturbance on Fallen Bear Lane.

Lincoln County Sheriff’s Office deputies arrived at the home after a friend of the victim phoned 911. In the hours leading up to the confrontation, Tristan Kirk Assance allegedly acted erratically while visiting a friend in Libby in violation of a house arrest order in Canada. According to court documents, he repeatedly threatened to commit suicide, set a fire in a woodshed and pointed a handgun at the victim.

Deputies arrived a little past 8 a.m. Neighbors reported hearing a short volley of gunfire about that time. Assance was taken to a local medical center before getting airlifted to Kalispell.

The Kalispell Police Department and Flathead County Sheriff’s Office undertook a review of the deputy-involved shooting while prosecutors in Lincoln County brought charges up against Assance. His case continues to work its way through the courts.

Jan. 19

Pandemic order rescinded

Dr. Brad Black, Lincoln County’s health officer, lifted pandemic restrictions meant to stifle the spread of the coronavirus locally.

Black had mirrored state restrictions throughout the pandemic, going further than former Gov. Steve Bullock only in declining to link masking requirements with an active case count in the county. As incoming Gov. Greg Gianforte, a critic of Bullock’s directives, began rescinding statewide restrictions, Black dropped his local rules entirely.

Still, he urged residents to take precautions.

“It remains important to wear masks in indoor spaces where the public can gather, limit group sizes to ensure social distancing and most importantly respect the safety and well-being of our families, friends and other community members,” he wrote in the order lifting the local restrictions.

Jan. 26

Commissioners overrule health board

In a surprise move, the Lincoln County Board of Commissioners elevated Eureka Town Councilor Scott Bernhard to the county’s health board.

The health board had voted to recommend Jeffery Peterson for an at-large seat carved out for a north Lincoln County resident just days prior. Commissioners, though, favored Bernhard, a U.S. Army veteran and firefighter, in a unanimous vote.

The move came after residents of the Eureka area lobbied commissioners to ignore the health board’s recommendation. Several had previously lobbied commissioners to disband the health board and fire Dr. Brad Black, the county’s health officer, in response to pandemic restrictions.

Bernhard later told The Western News he was skeptical of the risk that COVID-19 posed and against pandemic measures, like masking. He also expressed reservations about the vaccines for COVID-19, saying he would not recommend receiving the shots.

At the time, commissioners created the north Lincoln County at-large seat to offer more representation on the board to residents from Eureka, Fortine, Rexford, Stryker and Trego. The trio dropped concerns about geographical balance on the board later in the year when they added a Eureka area doctor, who backed using ivermectin in treating COVID-19 patients, to the panel.

Feb. 5

Libby adopts marijuana rules

Libby City Council unanimously adopted an ordinance regulating marijuana use after the legalization of recreational cannabis in Montana.

The rules gamed out how city officials and police officers will handle marijuana-related infractions. Most infractions led to fines.

For example, a resident caught growing marijuana within sight of an individual on public property would face a fine of $250. Those caught smoking marijuana in public faced a fine of up to $50.

Cannabis users found with more than an ounce — the amount laid out in a ballot initiative approved by voters in 2020 — could be punished by the loss of the marijuana, a $200 fine and up to four hours of community service. Subsequent infractions yielded harsher penalties.

“If we see a violation, we’re going to stop and advise [that person],” said Police Chief Scott Kessel in an interview following passage of the ordinance. “If we get a person who says, ‘No I’m not going to put it away’ then OK, let me give you an incentive to put it away. Do I expect an issue with it? I don’t.”

Feb. 5

Mistrial

District Judge Matthew Cuffe declared a mistrial in the case of a Bonners Ferry man accused of financial and elder exploitation crimes after the trial went longer than expected.

Kip Hartman’s defense attorney, Shandor Badaruddin, agreed with prosecutors to a nine-day trial. In the waning minutes of the final day of the trial, Badaruddin asked to bring Hartman to the stand. He told Cuffe he expected to question the embattled tax advisor for three hours; prosecutors said they would need equal time with Hartman.

Pressed by time constraints, Cuffe ruled that the proceedings had infringed upon Hartman’s rights by not allowing him the opportunity to testify in his own case.

“I have no choice but to declare a mistrial,” Cuffe said. “I have to. Because he has those rights.”

In the ruling, Cuffe took aim at what he saw as Badaruddin’s poor time management. His order required Badaruddin to cover the expenses of the trial.

Feb. 8

Palafox sentenced

A Troy man accused of aggravated animal cruelty and two counts of witness tampering earned 10 years with the Montana State Prison.

Domingo Palafox pleaded guilty to the former count in 2020. He later was found guilty of the latter charges following a bench trial.

Authorities began investigating Palafox after a badly abused Alaskan malamute was rescued in Troy in March 2020. The dog, renamed Percy, later recovered from its wounds and found a new home in Canada. Simultaneously, residents in Troy and Libby who suspected Palafox as the culprit launched a public campaign calling for justice for the mistreated canine.

Police officers in Troy finally got a break in the case after Palafox threatened two brothers — who had knowledge of the abuse — against speaking with investigators. The two men met with law enforcement soon after.

District Judge Matthew Cuffe described Palafox’s behavior as both frightful and unique in Lincoln County as he handed down the sentence.

“The violence, the conduct, is almost unfathomable,” Cuffe said.

Feb. 23

Residents take aim at school mask mandates

Lincoln County residents began circulating a petition calling for the end of mask requirements in local public schools as pandemic restrictions dropped across the state.

Organized by Troy resident Kimmy Green, the petition described itself as a stand against authoritarianism.

“It’s time to take a stand against the dictatorship,” it read. “It’s time to take back our freedoms.”

At the time, school officials in both south Lincoln County communities stood by mask requirements for classrooms. Superintendent Ron Goodman described masks as the best tool available to administrators to keep caseloads down and schools open for in-person instruction.

“We don’t want to be in masks any longer than anybody else,” said Goodman during a school board meeting. “But we also want to have these kids in school as long as we can.”

Feb. 25

EPA backs selenium standards

The EPA lent its support to selenium standards developed by the Montana Department of Environmental Quality for Lake Koocanusa and the Kootenai River.

The state agency’s environmental review board endorsed the measure in a December 2020 vote. EPA officials applauded the tightened limitations, which are tougher than on other state waterways, and noted that Montana’s standards now matched those in Idaho for the Kootenai.

Much of the selenium found in local waters comes from upstream mining operations in Canada. Officials were optimistic that the new standards would aid the federal government in negotiations over the issue with their Canadian counterparts.

Local officials expressed reservations about the new standards, worrying they might stifle economic development in the region. Area guides, who depend on clients wanting to fish in the region, backed the standards. A steep decline in fish populations owing to heightened amounts of selenium in the food chain would be bad for business, they said.

March 5

Students oppose mask rules

Libby students tired of masking rules launched a petition aimed at convincing school officials to drop the measures.

Led by then senior Alaina Moore and junior Samantha Newton of the Libby Middle High School, the students cited the dropping of pandemic restrictions at the state level under Gov. Greg Gianforte as reason to do away with the measure locally. They described the masks as itchy, distracting and not conducive to learning.

School officials applauded the students’ civic activism and later invited the group to appear before Libby’s school board.

March 16

Deputy cleared

A review of a Lincoln County Sheriff’s Office deputy’s action during a domestic disturbance call that ultimately ended in gunfire found that he used an appropriate and justified force.

After reviewing reports of the incident on Fallen Bear Lane, County Attorney Marcia Boris cleared the unidentified lawman. Believing that Tristan Assance, who was armed with a knife and a gun, had taken a shot at responding law enforcement officers, the deputy responded accordingly.

“The level of force employed by the deputy was commensurate with the threat posed by the subject,” she wrote.

Officials with the Flathead County Sheriff’s Office and Kalispell Police Department reviewed the incident. Local officials placed the deputy on paid administrative leave pending the outcome of the review.

March 15

Libby names new rep to health board

Libby City Council voted to send Amy Fantozzi, who boasts a background in mental health, to the Lincoln County Health Board as the municipality’s representative.

“I feel like mental health is not as much of a focus as it should be in our community,” said Fantozzi during the public interview process. “You have physical health, environmental health and quality assurance people [on the health board], but nobody really who is an expert in mental health.”

Of the seven applicants seeking to replace Laura Crismore, city councilors selected five for their short list: attorney Ann German, Tracy McNew of the Center for Asbestos Related Disease, resident Ken Crandell, former City Councilor Darrel “DC” Orr and Fantozzi. City councilors voted 5-1 to send Fantozzi to the health board.

March 31

Commissioners apologize for violating open meeting laws

After learning that a meeting between two commissioners, the mayor of Troy and members of the Troy Area Dispatch Board violated state open meeting laws, County Commissioner Jerry Bennett (D-2) offered an apology, acknowledging that while no decisions were made, the gathering in the Silver Spur restaurant should have been made public.

“That’s on us. We own that,” Bennett said before making notes he had taken during the meeting available for public review.

The purpose of the meeting was to find a solution to the county’s system of separate dispatch centers. County residents near Troy who call 911 end up speaking with the municipality’s dispatchers. If they need a law enforcement response, however, those calls must be rerouted to the Lincoln County Sheriff’s Office dispatch. A few residents have pointed to the lag in time, although typically short, as a reason to consolidate the county’s dispatch centers.

The surreptitious meeting came to light after volunteer members of the dispatch board described the informal gathering with Bennett and then County Commissioner Mark Peck (D-1) to The Western News. With Bennett and Peck both in attendance, they constituted a quorum for the board of commissioners. Experts on open meeting laws cited the quorum and also noted that the purpose of the gathering was to discuss matters of interest to the public.