YOU CAN'T KEEP SOMETHING LIKE THIS SECRET
The Other Libby
It's hard to change an image once the media establishes it for you, but I'm going to do my part to set the record straight about much-maligned Libby, Montana.
By Bill Schneider, 9-06-09
When you hear the word, Libby, what do you think?
Not good, eh?
The micropolis of far northwestern Montana makes a lot of headlines, but it seems like it’s never good news.
When I bring up the subject down at the coffee shop or taproom, most people start talking about asbestos, the corporate greed of W.R. Grace, and people gradually dying because of it…or about a remote timber town swamped in the wake of the implosion of the wood products industry, closed mills, unemployed loggers…or about red-necked, AR-15-toting, arch-conservatives hiding out in remote cabins, driving around in camo-colored Jeeps, scouring the skies for black helicopters….or an Appalachia-esque community fraught with economic despair that doesn’t welcome outsiders.
Well, this summer, I made two trips to Libby, had a fantastic time on both, and one morning, sitting down at the Libby Café, savoring a stack of huckleberry flapjacks and saying something to my cycling buddy about it being one of the best breakfasts I ever had, I decided to write this commentary. It’s hard to change an image once the media establishes it for you, but I’m going to do my part to set the record straight.
When you turn onto the main street of Libby, you get an instant tip-off that times are a’changin’. Perched above you is a stunning sculpture of a bald eagle spreading its wings and announcing to all comers that you’ve entered the City of Eagles.
The sculptor, local school teacher Todd Berget, has been busy with his welding torch. As you drive around town you see more of his mastery--at least two more majestic eagles, a giant fishing rod and rainbow trout over Libby Creek, a historic logging truck, and more. He’s also done several murals. Libby, in fact, has more public art than any town I’ve ever seen--and gorgeous stuff, I might add.
And a lot of real eagles, too, incidentally.
Local officials coined this brand three years ago, and to me, it’s not only a stroke of genius but it also foreshadows the future of Libby. The City of Eagles has a better chance of developing an outdoor recreation-based economy than most communities in the New West.
“It’s something that’s just unfolding,” Dusti Thompson, executive director of the Libby Area Chamber of Commerce, told NewWest.Net. “We live right in the here of nature’s playground, so why not do it?”
Many communities in the New West try to bill themselves as an outdoor recreation Mecca, but few have a chance of pulling it off because they don’t have the natural resources Libby does. Tucked between the craggy, snow-topped Cabinet Mountains to the south and the gentle, forest-topped Purcell Mountains to the north, surrounded by millions of acres of national forests sprinkled with remote trout-filled lakes and streams, a trail system ripe for hiking and mountain biking, a system of paved and unpaved roads left behind by timber industry now ideal for cycling, some of the best hunting and fishing left anywhere, almost all if on public lands, and of course, a big beautiful river runs through all of it.
The mighty Kootenai River flows right through Libby, in fact, and 16 miles upstream, the last big dam built in America, Libby Dam, 422 feet high, backs up a 90-mile reservoir that goes all the way up into British Columbia. It’s good fishing and fantastic boating, but when I rode my bicycle around it, I only saw two or three boats all day, a bit different than not-nearly-as-scenic Canyon Ferry Reservoir near my home in Helena where I can see fifty boats at a time. Ditto for the river below the dam, a terrific tailwater fishery that gave up the state-record rainbow trout. I fished the river two days and didn’t see another drift boat--almost unbelievable for a guy used to fishing the Missouri, which is choked with an armada of drift boats every summer day.
I lik
e to see local chambers promote outdoor recreation as a source of economic recovery, but in Libby’s case, it might happen naturally. Already is, in fact.
“We now have people coming in looking for hiking packages, fishing information, stuff like that,” Thompson notes. “Normally, people would drive right through looking for Glacier Park, but now people are staying here a few days exploring what we have.”
I say expect a lot more of this to happen because when people find out what Libby has to offer, they’ll come back, as I plan to, and who knows? In a few years, they locals will be talking about trying to manage runaway growth.
Today, in the Internet Age, you just can’t keep something like this secret for long, and now, obviously, the word is out on Libby and the Kootenai Country of northwestern Montana. Travelers grow weary of driving congested highways to get to congested recreation sites, and they’re always searching for something much less “discovered,” like Kootenai Country.
And then there’s the myth about the people of Libby all being unfriendly if not dangerous survivalist wackos. That’s a real laugher. Not much could be farther from the truth. Check it out yourself. It won’t take long to see the other Libby and meet the real people who live there--friendlier you find in most communities I’d say, and I get around.
Actually, it seems to me that many locals who have spent their whole lives fishing and hunting and enjoying the incredible natural resources of the area sort of take it for granted and don’t even know how good they have it, let alone realize how valuable it all can be, economically. With more elk than people per square mile, northwestern Montana has something most communities have only in their dreams,
Yeah, you see a little economic despair, a few boarded up buildings here and there, but where don’t you see the same? And I sure didn’t see anybody wallowing in it, nor did I see anything remotely close the image the media has made, albeit unintentionally, for this community.
Instead, when I’m driving around town, bicycling the nearly deserted roadways, floating the river, hiking the trails, watching the eagles, or simply sitting on a rock by one of the waterfalls and listening to river music, I see the Other Libby, the Real Libby. You should go see it, too.
Related NewWest.Net articles:
Fishing the Kootenai River
Cycling Kootenai Country
The Not-So-Dirty Shame Saloon
Well, this is wonderful news and I guess I had it all wrong. I thought that there were still people in Libby having health and medical difficulties due to the fine asbestos contamination left over from the W. R. Grace mine there. I thought that there were still people having financial troubles due to those expenses; due to the continuing questions related to their property values in the face of the stigma of unresolved contamination, blowing in the wind so to speak, in an already depressed national property market; and due to employment problems resulting from the impact of their health problems. I thought that the media was sweeping these problems under the rug and that Tester, Baucus, and Rehberg ought to be working to ensure that these people were covered; but, I guess I had it wrong.
Comment By bearbait, 9-06-09Mike: I was there a decade ago, and SBA contractors had a legion of illegal aliens cleaning up. I saw no masks, no respirators. I just saw people exercising the opportunity to profit from grief and loss. No working mills, no local contractors working on clean up. Just carpetbaggers filling up on Federal dollars. I would hope a lot has changed since then.
Bill: a beautiful place. But the question any competent person would ask is: Is it safe? Is there still a health issue? Can you be harmed just by being there? Are there precautions to take? The implied death sentence that is Libby is not taken lightly.
The Lincoln County attitude is: Deal With It.
Eventually, the tremolite will be dealt with. Sure, call it a crime, a tragedy, but consider a lot of people worked at that mine and did good service. Leave them their pride in that, at least.
Hopefully, the bridge-builders aren't just a big smoke-and-mirrors and that will provide a jobs base year-round without the dead periods and rotten pay of tourism jobs. And perhaps some day sanity will return to National Forest policy and there will be a forestry sector of substance, with jobs of substance that are more than a niche/boutique deal as the Rick Bass/Robyn King faction pimps for.
Bill, I just happened to notice you didn't mention snowcatting, skiing, ATV's or mosickles. I guess you're hoping not to let out that secret and preempt the development of the politically-incorrect means of recreation that most Americans seek. And it looks like you're getting lots of help from the USFS.
Well, okay then; we ought to just deal with it. I guess we need to all go on up there and take a few deep breaths of that bracing Libby air, the air where the eagles fly. You guys go on first. I've still got a few chores to do around here; so, I'll follow just a little bit later.
Comment By Mike, 9-06-09Less regulation, weaker testing, lax enforcement, local industry corruption. These are the things Dave Skinner and the Blue Ribbon Coalition champion. Libby is a victim of their dreams coming true.
Comment By Robert Hoskins, 9-07-09Industrial forestry has fallen on hard times in the Rockies for one reason and one reason only--the mills cut and then ran when they ran beyond the commercial volume of timber necessary to keep the big mills running. That's what happened here in Dubois, Wyoming and it's what has happened elsewhere. Blame it on enviros all you want, it's still the industry's fault it went extinct.
What I find interesting is now that the big mills have gone, local, small-time loggers have found a local market in multidimensional lumber--posts and poles, bucks and poles, roughcut lumber for barns and sheds, and logs and smooth lumber for houses. One of these guys lives down the road from me, and he's always busy.
Sustainable, small-scale forestry is already ongoing. Don't need to pump it up, especially for ideological reasons.
RH
.
Thank you Thank you!!! As someone who grew up in Libby, I hate seeing it dragged thru the mud!!! I would live in Libby in a heartbeat if I could have a job there!! Unfortunately alot of the asbestosis stuff seems to be just opeople jumping on a free band wagon for Free this & that. Yes some people really are sick. But there are sick people in every community. People get bad lungs from working in the corn fields & silos, working in road construction breathing dust, working in the sawmills breathing sawdust. Ok so we are smarter now & know to were protection. But that don't make Libby a bad place to live!!! It still a great place to be and to raise kids!! If you have a job.
Comment By mike crill, 9-07-09Man!!!! You know I have to respond to this BS and I am sick and tired of all you ignorants who choose to be ignorant at the expence of human life and killing more people.ANY ONE who tells you/sells you/shows you...WHATEVER Libby is safe is a down right lier.I am sick of you liers lieing about something that kills you,has killed and continues to kill.Only this time those exposed by the lies being told since 1999...those people are murdered.Why do I say this???Know this?Is because it is the truth.Libby is a deadly place to ANYTHING THAT BREATHES be it you be it your momma or poppa or granny or bro Bill or Uncle Randy...it does not matter because NO ONE in Libby Mt inhales ONE Tremolite asbestos fiber.NO ONE.I will educate you ignorant s one more time and you can share this with the rest of you ignorant s.I want you to know I save lives and I save children only when people listen to me.Some just don't care.I speak for those we leave behind and it sure is not in Libby Mt.
1.Children born and raised in a asbestos contaminated environment are MORE at risk of developing Meso.(LIBBY!!!!)
2.Children MUST be made THE PRIORITY to protect.(note:Dr Whitehouse testified that 90% of people diagnosed in Libby(OVER 2000) will die from Meso,IF they don't die from something else first)Libby Tremolite asbestos fibers CAUSES MESOTHELIOMA
3.ONE asbestos fiber inhaled into the lungs,LEADS to cancer.(Dr.Irving Selikoff)
4.YES!!! Unborn fetuses are/do get exposed by way of Mothers exposure.
AND LAST:In 1999,I and three generations of my family were told why we are sick and dying.From not being told the truth but lies.And since 1999 when EPA came to Libby, the concern became NOT the concern for the Health and Safety of the people, the people who were told why they are sick and dying and that their entire family will suffer till death all by the same thing by the same people and Govt.The concern became "How can we downplay the exposure and then How much money can be made"? And that is what Libby has become and continues to do.Lie and kill more innocent human beings/MORE entire families/MORE GENERATIONS because nothing in Libbt Mt is safe.To prove this point,U of M(also liers) did bark tests and in one test found 530 MILLION Tremolite asbestos fibers inONE GRAM of bark.One gran of bark WILL KILL LIBBY ALL OVER AGAIN.Imagine what that ONE TREE contains.And then with a 20 mile radious of the forest from the deadly mine site,all full of this Tremolite not to mention Rail road tracks where MANY people have MESO just from living near a RR track.Anyway, I could go on and on and on but you ALL need to be and get on the same level because this is about life and death.This is about protect your grandkids from something that is killing you and those before you.My one and only grandson will never breathe Libby air.It is a human shame I can't say that for all the other children moving to Libby being told by YOU KIND OF PEOPLE that Libby is safe.I tell all to stay the hell away.What you all need to be saying.NOT LIBBY IS SAFE...EVER!!! STOP the continued killings.Brent Skramstad has just passed at age 51.He is the oldest of a entire family sentence to suffer till death.His Father Les passed and now the mother has to bury her son as she lives with this horror that the rest of the kids follow.Befor her or after her.NO HUMAN BEING should EVER endure this life till death.So you Ignorants,either educate yourselves to the truth and tell people to stay away or just keep your ignorant mouths shut.These lies tend to piss me off.
As my friend and Champion for the People Les Skramstad stated: If he had his way, those Eagles would have a mash and Oxegyn hoses and tanks straped to their beeks" I sware to God, this is what should be done.This whole Eagle crap is a joke but big money for the Mayors/Commish Brother Todd.I agree with Les.I also agree with the truth and those Eagles represent lies/exposure and sickness till death because they invite people into Libby and knowingly poison them by the air that kills and keeps on killing.Eagle or no Eagle.Not going to fool me and most of us sick and dying, today.That goes for the dead one also.
Comment By the real mike, 9-08-09My goodness, Schneider, this sounds bad. It isn't at all like your article. I guess I'll let bearbait and Skinner go on up. Maybe Libby really is the place for all those motorsports people after all. In the meantime, maybe Tester, Baucus, and Rehberg could devote some attention to the situation.
Comment By Larry, 9-08-09The old guys I talk to in Libby tell me they don't ride their ATVs to hunt, too steep!!! The hunt on foot...!!! Show 'em the way, guys...
Comment By Cindy, 9-08-09We have lived in the Libby area for over 20 years, no problem here and we do a lot shopping etc in Libby. They are now cleaning Troy up. Ironically the vermiculite has been shipped all over the U.S. as potting soil, and insulation. You could be living in a house that used this insulation and used the potting soil for a favorite plant, or even used it for top soil on your lawns and gardens not knowing it had asbestos in it, did you know that? Really outside of the lumber industry going out the window, the mining industry being shut down causing the unemployment, the Libby area has had a double whammy and the people are slowly working their way out of it. It takes a community spirit of strength and the "love thy neigbor" attitude to continue on under the circumstances they have had through no fault of theirs. I wouldn't be putting this area down as I don't believe those who condemn the Libby could make it under the circumstances that these people have endured. I would not hesitate to move to this area. Missoula has more pollution than Libby ever thought of, so really those of you who live there are much worse off because of lung disorders. Your renditions and of the horrors of living here are really overboard. These are great people, beautiful country and one just has to roll their sleeves up and work a little harder to make it. To many people want the gov't to supply their needs and hard work is something that isn't in their plans.
Comment By mike crill, 9-08-09Get real Cindy.I said Libby IS NOT SAFE...IS NOT SAFE to ANYTHING THAT BREATHES.Tremolite asbestos fibers exist EVER second of the day and NO ONE in LIBBY MT breathe one Tremolite asbestos fiber.Yes their are awesome people in Libby and Troy.But all the beauty and all the clear blue sky is nothing compaired to the last 20 years of your sick and dying life because of the air you breath.Denial runs thicker than blood in Libby and Troy and even EPA.But I, Cindy have only one concern because that one concern is killing me and I am living long enough to write you and all of you this letter saying stay away from Libby Mt.Move somewhere else.EDUCATE yourself to the truth since all the sick and dying and dead in Libby all from the same thing by the same people by the same lies my parents were told.Today Cindy,my parents generation is gone/dead.My generation is sick and suffering till death and my children live with the fact that they too will suffer and die as I and the rest of us.If only you people could feel my pain and the pain of others you would not want to put this on any other human being.Why would you??? I do not and that is why I tell the truth...to save you from the truth.Again.
Comment By John, 9-09-09I just have to respond to this article. I was raised here in Libby and have lived other places - Washington, central Montana, and Idaho and I just keep coming back. It is a beautiful place with lots of glacier and mountain lakes to hike into, fishing galore, and if you are a hunter or just enjoy the outdoors - there's something for every nature lover. Now about the asbestos, I've read other comments and I believe everyone is entitled to their opinions/beliefs but I am stating a fact right now. I played in the dirt piles that were said to be contaminated with vermiculite and I've been around all of the places that were said to be high risk for exposure. I just underwent a screening and there was not a spec of anything on my lungs - granted I have never smoked a cigarette in my life either. I'm not saying that there aren't people who haven't been affected, because I've seen them and been around them when they were struggling and dying from lung cancer (mesothelioma) and it is a very sad thing for anyone affected, but I am just stating fact when I say that I have been here over 20 years and my lung x-ray is completely clear. I can't see that someone here for a short duration of time is going to be harmed from coming for a couple days or weeks to enjoy this beautiful place. I sure enjoy this place and I don't take it for granted, I know I'm blessed to live here.
Comment By Travis, 9-09-09I grew up in Libby, graduated High School there. I played with the vermiculite, I've been inside of the mine, hunted there. We had people from WR Grace bring pieces of it to our schools for us to play with. I have never had a problem, my lungs are healthy. I'm not saying that people are not dying from exposure, but to say Libby is not safe is ridiculous! Visiting Libby is not going to kill you. I visit often with my wife. My grandmother is 80 something and still very healthy there. It's a beautiful area and I hate to see the economy there struggle and get a bad rap. Thank you for showing some of the good!
Comment By P.J. Morrison, 9-09-09Nice article Mr. Schneider!!!! I myself grew up in this beautiful town that I call God's country. I recently moved away due to the lack of jobs and I miss it every day! There is just too much BS that goes around about the asbestos. I also used to play in the piles of zonolite and to this day i have healthy lungs. I never worked in it, day in and day out, like some of my families friends that have succumbed to the horrible diseases that it can cause. But it is getting better everyday and I can only hope that my kids have the life that I had in this place that I call home. I love you Libby!!!!
P.J. Morrison
I can't begin to imagine what kind of pain Mike Crill and family must be going through. His reality evidently matches the fear out there...and is more than reality... Meanwhile, I also vacationed in Libby soon after the hullabaloo and found it charming, beautiful, and pretty good fishing... you can have the Devil's Club though!!! I like fishing creeks but it was taking your life into your own hands - nasty stuff, it is. Point is, perhaps you are taking a risk, or maybe it is blown out of proportion; the article and several posters are taking the latter stand. I'm sorry that you're suffering Mike... It very well may be foolhardiness to ignore the potential for a bad illness, but I hunt where rattlesnakes are lively... maybe Libby's worth the chance!!!
Comment By Please don't listen to the fearmongerers, 9-09-09Please, if there is anything you take out of this article, let it be this - people like Mike Crill are what give Libby a bad name. He doesn't even LIVE in Libby anymore, and yet he still continues to rant and rave all over Missoula - is he even sick? If he is, it is because he is one of the many that sits in a casino all day, chain-smoking and wasting his money on slots, and then wanting a handout from the government for his "suffering." The REAL people of Libby are honest, down-to-earth, and extremely warm-hearted. We do not judge, we are not crazy - we are just like anyone else in a small community. We want safety, security, and a fullfilling life. Our kids can still ride their bikes out the Haul Road to jump off the 5th street bridge into Libby Creek, they can walk to Rosauers from Woodway Park, and do plenty of other things without being harmed, assaulted, or harassed - because we look out for each other. Mike Crill is NOT one of us.
Comment By garyw, 9-09-09It would be very unfortunate for those children growing up in Libby if Mr. Crill is right. I hope he's not. I love Libby, MT. I would still live there if it had work, when I got out of the military. On the other hand, I feel relieved that my children won't have to worry about the troubles that may or may not plague others for having lived there. I think we'll know more in the next 10-20 years how badly the generation I was a fortunate son of will be affected. Man,...I Love Libby.
Comment By P.J. Morrison, 9-09-09It is blown WAY out of proportion! I don't think asbestos is the only thing Mr. Crill has inhaled. No offense but this is getting ridiculous. You are more likely to die in a car wreck on your way to work than to get this horrible disease! Great article though Mr. Schneider!!!! KUDOS
Comment By Greg Woods, 9-09-09The air in Libby is no more dangerous than the air anywhere else.
I have lived here for 2+ years, and plan to stay forever. People here are very aware of the dangers in digging. Policy is "call before you dig". As in, call the EPA and make sure you're digging in a safe area. Make sure you get your home checked before or soon after buying it. And FYI, Vermiculite and especially asbestos are not just in Libby. It is all over the Nation. Our air quality is checked very often, more here than most cities, I am sure.
"People here are very aware of the dangers in digging." The policy is "call before you dig... call the EPA and make sure you're digging in a safe area." Yes, well, there it is, isn't it? Schneider, you must have studied enough about the history of journalism to know something about the history of the PR juggernaut on cigarettes or at least to have seen some of the old pieces, maybe including the classic Cronkite piece, on Rachel Carson, the DDT fight, and the damage done by that PR juggernaut. Maybe you remember the dueling experts on hexachlorophene use in hospital nurseries right before the studies on brain lesions in those infants came out. By now, you must sense something about where you went with this one. I expected the comments from the likes of bearbait and Skinner; but, are they now your audience of choice? If the Chamber of Commerce needed a booster piece, you should have suggested Kuraitis do it.
Comment By Libby Resident, 9-10-09Truth there are health problems in Libby; without research the understanding of how dangerous it may be is unclear - Truth our senators battle for Libby constantly and that is why we have finally gotten the Health Emergency Declared; which allows us to get Federal funding to help with medical expenses - Truth it was shipped worldwide; there are other locations that are contaminated - Truth it is not just a Libby problem -Truth it can take up to 30 years before a health problem materializes (1999 add 30, 2029 before we know if the clean up will stop this) - Truth some of us choose to live in Libby because we love it here - Truth smog will kill you also - Unsubstantiated fact pregnant mothers can expose their children unlikely since you have to breath the fiber in to your lungs and it loges in your air sac - Unsubstantiated fact there is still a high danger in Libby, The air is not filled with the mine dust any more and the EPA tests our air continuously - Lie Todd Berget did not paint the murals around town; the alternative high school kids do them as a community project; Todd Berget is their teacher and oversees their projects To learn more go to http://www.libbyasbestos.org or read An Air That Kills: How the Asbestos Poisoning of Libby, Montana, Uncovered a National Scandal This is everyone's problem not just Libby's and it can happen anywhere, corporate poisoning happens all the time Libby is a great place to live, fish, hunt, ski, snowshoe and many other sports.
To the guy who wonders about the bridge company, my son works for them, he has a future in Libby now but we sure could use some more companies brave enough to come to Libby!
Well, my goodness! Each of the comments certainly run the spectrum for us, don't they?
I was born in the early 50's and raised in Libby; as were my husband and my two children. We had to leave in the early 80's to work and build careers. I miss the beauty of Libby everyday.
I have 4 spots of asbestos exposure in my lungs and my husband has three. Our children are not exposed. I played in the piles at the storage shed behind the ball park, as we all did. My brothers and sister do not have any exposure in the lungs. I have to say that I smoked for a while as a young person... Is that the difference for my situation? I would have to think, yes, it is. They were exposed in EVERY way that I was and have no sign what so ever. I do know people, my age, who never smoked, never worked up there as my husband did, who are dying as we speak. It is heartbreaking to see what those who are sick have to go through. It is heartbreaking to know that entire families will die from meso. I know these people and their families.
I know Mike Crill, I know his family. I know he, like MANY others, have & are suffering. I understand the anger, bitterness, and hatred for WR Grace, the government, etc. But, we have to move past that; for own sake. It's part of life that we suffer and die; sometimes because of what others have done.
IF WE CAN'T HEAL OUR BODY; WE MUST HEAL OUR SPIRIT.
I have family still living in Libby; from age 82 to 10 years old. They live healthy, productive, happy lives there and I am jealous.
Jealous that everyday they wake up and see the gorgeous Cabinet Mts; see the most beautiful color of water known to man flow down the Kootenai River; that they can take a drive up to the Yaak; through the Fisher River valley; out to the chain of lakes through the McKillop cut off. I've lived all over the western states and Man, it just doesn't get any better than that!!!
I would go back there in a heartbeat and I will when I retire... Thanks be to God
PJ Morrison, you just keep ridin those bulls becuz when it comes to me and Libby I speak no bull.I just can't help it if so many of you are such fools even when all around you is sickness and death all because of Libby.And IF you just happen to be one of the lucky ones who think you don't have anything wrong....you will.I promise but don't cut me down for speaking the truth and you call me a lier???? I don't see any of you warning anyone about Libby or what is killing MOST of the town.Stupid goes only so far.Past that your just full of shit.Asbestos too if your from Libby and happen to breathe the air...That goes for all you ignorants who sell Libby as safe.WHY?????
Comment By Crystal L. Cox, 9-14-09Mike Crill, Will you Please Email me at - I would love to Chat with You. Take Care..
http://www.LibbyMontanaNews.com
There are few areas in the good old U. S. of A. where industrial waste has not screwed up the environment to some degree. It is true of Anaconda and Butte. It is true of Libby and Troy. It is true of any town where there are rail yards or old lumber yards.
It is true of anywhere there have been--are--or will be homo sapiens.
I'm guessing the people who are tooting the all clear whistle for libby in these comments are probably associated with the chamber of commerce or maybe they're just shills for W. R. Grace. But by the same token I doubt Wm. Schneider will be ruined by mesothelioma due to his two visits--even though he probably increased his risk by riding a bike and had to breathe deeply.
We're all living on the precipices created by the ideological schism which has divided our state and out nation--without regard for the subject-at-hand--we are divided right and left...
In the Photo of the EPA men in HazMat suits cleaning the Libby Golf Course, it is a good thing, you all got the stupid EPA, telling you as long as water stays on the asbestos/soil and don't dry and the wind don't blow,you all just keep on playin golf.Don't mind the men in suits,they have to protect, them.They are on the payroll.You people do not matter.All those nice homes around the course are NOW contaminated and who cares about the people? No one in Libby.Hey,there is this one guy in Missoula Mt who seems to care and no one is listening.Stay away from Libby Mt.Thank you
Comment By allofusinLibby, 9-25-09As a 24 year Libby resident you got to hand it to Libby from coming back from the brink to become one of Montana premiere recreation area. With the clean up coming to an end and the addition of a major manufacturing company (Stinger Welding) Libby is well under way to recovery. We have been very fortunate to have far thinking leadership both at the county and city lever who understand what it takes to revive Libby. This article is one of the most inspiring and factual picture of the current libby, (just get the huck flaps at the Libby Cafe). I dont think Mike represents the overwhelming optimism that exists in Libby today. Searching him on the web, (up until a few days ago I had never heard of him), he seems to be a very bitter misinformed outsider who is clueless on the current issues in Libby. I encourage anyone to visit Libby. We are safe. Like any other place in America - use your common sense.
Comment By mike crill, 10-17-09Good to see so many respond to this half truth of a story.Sure all looks good by the naked eye and sure all the liars selling you Libby tell you Libby is safe.But what they do not tell you is...THE TRUTH.If you care,find the truth first then deside for yourself but keep in mind what ever you do,Mike Crill told you all that Libby is not a safe place for anything that breathes.You people need to get into your head that Tremolite is what is killing everyone.Tremolite asbestos fibers kill and Libby is full of KILL.Full of kill and people killing more people.Will some one end this Holocaust!!!!What is safe about Libby??? Tremolite Kills you.Look around.First you have to care and none here I see care except those who NOW will stay the hell away from this death town.of Asbestos Libby Mt.No#1 asbestos murder Capital of the US of A.No bullshit.Death Town 100%.No Children....Left behind.Look up causes of asbestos/breast/colon/kidney/liver/throat/MS/Cancer of the Bone,female problems(who in Libby do not have female problems) etc etc.Please educate yourselves to what all this Tremolite asbestos fibers do to you then report back to me and tell me if you learned anything.I know most of you don't care and some of you I know the truth hurts and most of you know damn well I am and have been right and deny even when you are sick and dying from Libby or a loved one.Reality is hard to believe but the truth will save all who hear it befor moving to Libby to suffer and die a horrible way to die.You all know that.If you do not,go visit Mrs Skramstad or Gayla and tell them how you think Libby is so safe.I dare you.Learn the truth or shut up.I have innocent people to save.Thank you
Comment By MrLibby, 10-24-09I have no idea who this Mike Crill person is, but looking around the net he has been spreading false and misleading info for several years. I did not even find him in the Libby phone book. He has a brother who live here, but he does not like to talk much about him. End of the day Libby is safer than most areas of the US. I think Mike's self appointed guardian of Libby is miss directed. He will continue to disseminate misinformation as long as there is a reader who will not find out for themselves how Libby addressed and cleaned up its past issues.
Best of luck, Mike. Dwel on the past for as long as you can - we have a community to look after.
MrLibby used to be known as Mr. Ostrich.
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