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Western Montana Fair

4-H numbers are growing despite the rapidly changing fabric of the Montana rural landscape. At the Western Montana Fair, faced with fair politics and lower attendance, volunteers work hard to preserve the identity of the old-fashioned country fair and continue a program that teaches children life skills and fosters a sense of community.

My interest in documenting the 4-H swine project was cemented by a conversation I had with Carol Graves, the grandmother of one of the 4-H participants at the Western Montana Fair last summer. It was the last day of the fair when the kids had to say goodbye to the pigs they had raised and intimately cared for over a period of four months. The swine superintendent was marking the backs of the pigs with a line of colored chalk while the kids began to dismantle their brightly decorated pigpens. The younger kids did not know that the different colors represented the various slaughterhouses where the pigs were to be taken while their wards went home with highly coveted ribbons and checks.

Click here to view the 4-H Swine Project slideshow. [more]

Idaho Fires

Update: Blaine County Schools, with the exception of Carey, will NOT open tomorrow as planned. They will be closed on Monday and Tuesday and possibly open on Wednesday.

The morning briefing on the 25,960-acre Castle Rock Fire, burning near Ketchum, Idaho, noted winds will blow again today and the 1200+ firefighters and 11 helicopters now here will work diligently through the day and the dozens of structure firefighters from around the state will do their utmost to catch the flying embers before anyone's house is toasted.

No houses or structures of any kind have been lost as of midmorning Sunday and no serious injuries have occurred.

The fire's southeast corner surged ahead Saturday afternoon when westerly winds picked up and blew the fire through a bulldozed containment line and into Cow Creek, west of Limekiln. A small fire 'spotted' –blew- into the west side of Limekiln Gulch and while it's still smoldering, fire managers' attention is focused on that southeast corner in particular.

Blaine County's East Fork neighborhood was ordered evacuated early Saturday evening because Sunday's high winds are capable of 'spotting' live embers as much as two miles ahead of the firelines and the East Fork neighborhood has only one way in and out. [more]

What's Your Walkscore?

Liberals claim to have learned one hard lesson from Karl Rove Republicans, and that's the importance of "framing" language. Call the estate tax the "death tax," and suddenly everybody hates the idea. So how do you reframe the notion of density, a word that suggests eating one's spinach and conjures up images of a hated neighbor playing loud music at 3 a.m.? Hint: it involves your feet.

The first framing device to make more people embrace the joys of tighter living quarters is carbon footprint, scaring people out of their subdivisions with an ominous rumble of the extinction of the earth if we don't start abandoning our cars and do more walking. The second framing notion is "walkability." A compact, walkable neighborhood sounds sociable, old-fashioned, village-like. Not density, but desirability.

And now there's a way to make walkability into a measurable score, so you can compete with your less-dense neighbors almost as readily as announcing your golf handicap. [more]

Politics/Idaho/Boise

Publisher's note: Our editorial criticized mayoral candidate Jim Tibbs for his press conference calling Mayor Dave Bieter's ethics into question. In the interest of fairness, we are running Councilman Tibbs' response.

To be clear: Had the resolution to pay $65,000.00 to the Gallatin Group been decided on the date scheduled by Mayor Dave Bieter, I would have demanded to know in council chambers why taxpayers are paying to support Bieter’s “uniquely qualified” political cronies and handlers. The standard I look for in governance allows every citizen to know that their mayor and council will always act forthright and independently.

It is important to review the events leading up to my complaint to the Ethics Commission. It is my responsibility and right as a citizen, a council member, and as a candidate to question the relationship between Bieter and the Gallatin Group. [more]

Designated Drivers

At Lake McDonald Lodge, the doors to the skinny 12-passenger white Sprinter bus swung open and a family boarded – teenage son, dad, and mom who clomped up three steps in a leg cast. On its first day in operation, Glacier Park’s new shuttles clearly lured more than hikers lugging water-hose ready day packs and walking sticks.

While inauguration of the new Glacier National Park shuttle system hit a snag with Going-to-the-Sun Road not opening all 52 miles until evening on its first day, the park’s free, voluntary shuttles still drew 1,000 riders. Some preferred to let someone else drive the curves; others sought to reduce their own carbon footprints. By day’s end, some buses even bypassed stops because every seat was filled. The shuttles proved so popular that the park service is already looking at ways to increase the fleet.

“Some call the shuttles the biggest change since the Sun Road was built,” said Gary Danczyk, project manager for mitigation on the Sun Road. “But it’s timely, since the tourism industry is becoming more environmentally conscious.”

Click here to read the full story from the Flathead Beacon.

From our affiliate SunValleyOnline

The City of Ketchum, with a grant from Allen & Company, will move forward with plans to launch an outdoor municipal Wi-Fi project to provide free broadband Internet access in the Ketchum commercial core. The city is announcing this coinciding with the annual Sun Valley event, bringing in leaders from throughout the business world.

The project, which is expected to be owned and operated by “Wood River Community Wi-Fi”, a to-be-established nonprofit entity, will allow those people living in and visiting Ketchum - whether for a week or an afternoon - to stay connected while enjoying our quality of life. The wireless network will also be a benefit to local economic development practices. [more]

Guest Commentary

On their tours of monumental Washington, summertime visitors often stand in awe of the Supreme Court. The gleaming white building, with its oath of “equal justice under law” proclaimed above its grand west entrance, suggests solidity itself.

Yet far from living up to that promise, the current Roberts Court has begun to tilt the scales against ordinary Americans while undermining the basic notion of fair play. In steadily reversing hard-won progress on privacy, freedom of speech, church-state separation and civil rights, a radical four-man bloc is reminding people of the precariousness of standards we had long taken for granted and the primacy of court appointments in the 2008 election. [more]

Guest Opinion

The scientific evidence is compelling – global climate change poses a serious threat to Idaho’s public health, natural resources, and environment. It threatens some of our most vital industries including tourism, agriculture, recreation, and forestry.

Addressing climate change requires interstate and international cooperation. At this point, Idaho is not a team player. For example: Six western states and two Canadian provinces have established the Western Regional Climate Action Initiative, agreeing to collaborate in identifying, evaluating and implementing ways to reduce greenhouse emissions. Idaho is not a participant. [more]

Guest Column

Long summer evenings in Missoula, Montana offer no dearth of activities for public participation, and weekends only increase the abundant options. Deciding which event to forego is the usual summer dilemma. Full schedules notwithstanding, some 60 people gathered Friday evening to learn about animal trapping on public land and—more specifically—how to free their companion dogs should they tangle with a trap. The free, public service workshop was offered by Footloose Montana, an organization newly-formed in response to increasing conflicts between people, their dogs, and traps set on public land. [more]

Weekend Essay

At 15, of course I knew about "Rocky Mountain Oysters." My father had even tricked me into taking a nibble from one at a party when I was little. For whatever reason, though, I didn't know they were "harvested" at branding. My mind still saw its first attempt at making sense of the term -- joining mountain and sea -- and I imagined foragers chipping away at fossilized mollusks that over millions of years had cemented among the flat irons.

Making the branding pilgrimage meant leaving our ever-present view of those giant slabs on suburban Denver's front range, and driving up I-25 to Buffalo, WY, and then over to my grandfather's cattle ranch in the center of Montana, near Lewistown. If I was lucky, the 12-hour journey passed quickly as a hazy procession of Arby's, Wendy's and convenience stores briefly interrupting a catatonic Dramamine nap.

A pubescent girl who didn't barrel race like my cousin's girlfriend, do 4-H like every kid in Fergus county, or sew, as was my duty, was really like a fish peddling around the ranch on a bicycle. My acting aspirations and gothic red lipstick didn't help matters, but shunning the protein on which my grandfather's empire was built was a personal affront. [more]

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