News briefs

Wreck near Arlee kills one

ARLEE — A single-vehicle rollover killed one woman Monday evening on US Highway 93, north of Arlee.

Amanda Raye Jones, 27, of St. Ignatius, was killed when the 2000 Chevy Blazer she was driving rolled and skidded south of North Valley Creek Road around 9:15 p.m., a press release from the Lake County Sheriff’s Office said. Jones was partially ejected.

A second female passenger was injured in the wreck and transported to St. Patrick Hospital in Missoula where she was reported to be in stable condition. Neither occupant was wearing a seatbelt. Montana Highway Patrol Sgt. Randy Owens said Jones, headed northbound, swerved to avoid a deer and overcorrected, causing the accident. Her car ended up in the southbound land, creating total blockage and stopping traffic in both directions for more than one hour.

The release states that the LCSO, Tribal Law and Order and MHP responded to the scene.

-reporter Sasha Goldstein

Brueggeman vacates state Senate seat

HELENA — State Sen. John Brueggeman (R), of Polson, announced his resignation Monday after a decade as an elected state politician.

Citing a time conflict with his full-time job for 3M, Brueggeman left a seat in Senate District 6, an area that includes St. Ignatius, west Ronan, Polson, the west shore of Flathead Lake and Charlo. Now 31, Brueggeman has held state political office since the age of 21, when he served four years in the House before taking the Senate seat in 2005.

“It truly has been an honor and a pleasure to serve the people of Montana,” Brueggeman wrote in his resignation letter to Secretary of State Linda McCulloch. “And though my greatest love remains public service, after a decade in the Montana Legislature it is time to give my career the attention it deserves.”

With the next state legislature to begin on Jan. 3, the Lake County Commissioners will pick from a group of Republican candidates interested in the seat.

-reporter Sasha Goldstein

Fire claims East Shore home

POLSON — No one was injured when a home north of Polson burned to the ground early Saturday morning after what is believed to have been an accidental fire.

“The investigation is still pending but we think a space heater may have started it,” Finley Point Fire Department Chief Chris Ricciardi said.

Ricciardi said the two-story structure and basement was fully engulfed in flames when his crew of 14 volunteers responded. The Polson Fire Department was called in on mutual aid and brought seven volunteers, an engine and two water tenders, Ricciardi said. No one was in the home, he said, and the homeowner, who called in the blaze, was with his family in a different house on the property on Hidden Rock Road, just past mile marker 8 on Highway 35.

“It was a newer home and I estimated the total damage to be about $350,000 to $400,000,” Ricciardi said. “It was the first major structure fire we responded to this year.”

The large flames were out within an hour, he said, but mop up on the scene took until 2 p.m.

“Because it was fully intact, we just needed to keep the walls falling in instead of out,” Ricciardi said. “The ceiling had fallen in so the metal sheeting acted as a shield for the basement, but around 1 [p.m.] we were able to get in there, pull out beams and hit some hot spots.”

-reporter Sasha Goldstein

MVA to propose alternative site

POLSON — Mission Valley Aquatics is investigating a potential alternative building site for the community pool.

Representatives from the board of directors will be going before the Polson City Council on Dec. 6 to see if the city is interested in a partnership with MVA to bring the aquatic facility to Kerr Dam fields, which is closer to the schools and to the town’s center.

“We are at a pivotal point and looking to set a date to build,” project director Tana Seeley said. “We are still pushing forward, but we wanted to consider all our options and decide what’s best for the community. We didn’t want to pass up a potential partnership with the city because we just never asked.”

The MVA board is encouraging community members to email thoughts or concerns about both site options to mvaquatics@polson.net.

“I’m very interested in hearing the different views on the sites,” Seeley said. “Some people have preferences toward being at Ridgewater and others see the benefit of being closer to the schools and the town center.”

-editor Ali Bronsdon

Open burning season over

LAKE COUNTY — Open burning season ended on Nov. 30. No open burning is allowed until March 1, 2011, unless specific permission is obtained from the Montana Department of Environmental Quality (DEQ) at 406-444-3490 or the open burning site is located in the Eastern Montana Open Burning Zone.

Minor open burning sources located in the Eastern Montana Open Burning Zone who wish to conduct open burning during the winter months must notify both the DEQ and their county sanitarian by telephone prior to ignition. Burning will only be allowed if the DEQ has determined that ventilation conditions are good or excellent.

Residents should contact their local air quality agency for regulations. Both the local fire control authority and county sanitarians must be contacted prior to open burning during any time of the year to obtain information on local open burning permits and rules.

Open burning is allowed in the Eastern Montana Open Burning Zone during the winter months of December, January, and February due to the ventilation differences between the eastern and western portions of the state. In the western, more mountainous areas of the state, inversion layers are common during the winter months and pose a potential threat to the air quality and public health. In eastern areas of the state, ventilation conditions are better, and inversions pose less of a threat to the air quality and public health in general.

Montana’s open burning regulations limit open burning to the spring and summer months when ventilation is best. During the fall months, when air ventilation conditions are worsening because of inversions and stagnant air conditions, the DEQ, in cooperation with the Bureau of Land Management, the United States Forest Service, and the state’s major open burners, operates a monitoring program to regulate open burning based on ventilation conditions in various airsheds. During this time, open burning restriction information can be obtained by calling 1-800-225-6779. From Dec. 1 through the end of February, when ventilation conditions are at their worst, open burning is generally prohibited in the western portion of the state.

For more information, visit the DEQ website at www.deq.mt.gov.

-courtesy of Lisa Peterson

Volunteer positions available

Lake County is accepting applications for the following board positions. The positions begin on Jan. 1, 2011.

Lake County planning board

The Lake County Planning Board is comprised of volunteers who advise the Lake County Commissioners on planning issues. The board regularly meets on the second Wednesday of each month at 7 p.m. to review and make recommendations on subdivision proposals and to work on long range planning documents such as local subdivision and zoning regulations, as well as the County Growth Policy.

Applicants from all parts of the county are encouraged to apply. The Swan Valley is in particular need of representation. All applicants must be resident freeholders in the area over which the Lake County Planning Board has jurisdiction.

Polson city-county planning board

The Polson City-County Planning Board is comprised of volunteers who advise the city and county on planning issues, which typically include subdivisions, special use permits and zoning regulations within the Polson planning area of the Polson Development Code.

The Board typically meets on the second Tuesday of each month at 6 p.m. Applicants must reside within the county portion of the Polson City-County Planning Area.

Applications for the above-referenced positions may be obtained from the Lake County Planning Department and submitted to the Planning Department by Dec. 16. The application should include a letter of interest and brief background history detailing experience relevant to the review of land use and growth management issues. The Lake County Planning Department may be contacted at 106 4th Avenue East, Polson, MT 59860, phone 406-883-7235, fax 406-883-7205, or email planning@lakemt.gov.

-courtesy of Lita Fonda

Whitetail harvest ends on high note

NORTHWEST MONTANA — Whitetail deer harvest picked up considerably during the final weekend of the deer and elk hunting season, as snow and the rut combined for ideal hunting conditions.

At the six Northwest Montana check stations through Sunday, Nov. 28, a total of 17, 564 hunters checked 1,055 white-tailed deer (888 of these were bucks), 159 mule deer, and 158 elk for a 7.8 percent rate of hunters with game. Reflecting the improved hunting conditions, hunters checked 253 whitetail bucks through the check stations on Saturday and Sunday. The counts at the six Northwest Montana check stations represent a sampling of the harvest and do not represent the complete number of animals taken.

According to FWP Wildlife Manager Jim Williams, the number of whitetail bucks checked picked up over the last two weekends of the general season because of ideal hunting conditions. Snow and cold temperatures spurred animals to move down to lower elevation winter habitats.

The regional deer harvest has been low the last few years and based on the check station sample this year it will be similar. However, the whitetail deer population is not continuing to decline across Northwest Montana as bucks checked at most stations have stabilized or increased despite a drop in hunter numbers this year. Biologists will also be looking at the age classes of checked deer to give us a clearer picture of population trend.

Williams added that survival of whitetail fawns through their first winter will determine if the population will decrease or increase into next year. Fawn survival improved last year but this year’s early onset of cold temperatures and snow is a concern to biologists relative to fawn survival this coming winter. Biologists will be monitoring fawn survival closely this winter and into next spring because fawns are most susceptible to winter kill. Adult whitetail does typically survive well even in tough winters, based on years of following radio-collared whitetail does in Northwest Montana. Both predators and hunting can have a significant impact on adult doe survival, however. The Thompson Falls check station reported the most elk checked. Good snow conditions in the Lower Clark Fork resulted in a strong harvest of bulls.

-courtesy of John Fraley

Big game season won’t be extended

Montana’s 2010 general big game hunting seasons closed Nov. 28 and will not be extended, state wildlife officials confirmed Tuesday.

“We are not planning any season extension anywhere in the state this year,” said Ken McDonald, chief of Montana Fish, Wildlife & Parks’ wildlife bureau. “If specific population or damage problems emerge, we’ll use management seasons or game damage hunts to address them.”

Hunters must have registered for the game damage roster in July. Game damage and management season information is available online at fwp.mt.gov.

-courtesy of Joleen Tadej