The Billings Gazette (Billings, MT) articles from December 2003

The Billings Gazette (Billings, MT) archives from December 2003

Colorado Springs, Colo.-Based Westmoreland Coal Closes Billings, Mont., Office.
December 2, 2003... Byline: Jan Falstad Dec. 2--Westmoreland Coal Co., a player in a decade of corporate job cuts and consolidations in U.S. coal fields, is closing its Billings office in mid-January. The Billings office has three employees left after once...

Montana Irrigation Districts' Oversight by Bureau of Indian Affairs under Fire.
December 2, 2003... Byline: Jim Gransbery Dec. 2--Water users in four irrigation districts managed by the Bureau of Indian Affairs recited a litany of complaints against the BIA for Montana congressmen in Billings Monday. A BIA official from Washington,...

Trapped Stillwater Mining Worker Rescued in Nye, Mont.
December 4, 2003... Byline: Becky Shay Dec. 4--An employee at Stillwater Mining Co. near Nye was trapped in the mine most of Wednesday. The accident was reported Wednesday morning, said John Stark, vice president of human resources. Shortly after 10 p.m....

New Cellphone Portability Rules Slow to Arrive in Billings, Mont., Area.
December 6, 2003... Byline: Jan Falstad Dec. 6--Despite being surrounded by lovers of cell phones, Rhonda Boyd was a late and reluctant convert. She is executive director of curriculum and instruction in School District 2 and sat through hours of meetings...

Billings, Mont., Wreath Wholesaler Sees Increasing Sales.
December 6, 2003... Byline: John Fitzgerald Dec. 6--LAUREL, Mont.--In the wreath business, it's important to keep your boughs cool. That's why Montana Christmas Evergreen's building is kept at a nippy 50 degrees. "It's like working in a cooler," co-owner...

Billings, Mont., Council to Hear Annexation Proposals.
December 8, 2003... Dec. 8--Two annexation proposals along Shiloh Road will be considered at tonight's Billings City Council meeting. Public hearings will be held for a proposed 119-acre development at the northwest corner of Shiloh Road and King Avenue West...

Montana's Power Plants Rank 11th in Cancer-Causing Dioxin Pollution.
December 8, 2003... Byline: Jennifer McKee Dec. 8--HELENA, Mont.--Montana's power plants rank 11th in the nation for dioxin pollution -- a cancer-causing toxin found in power plant emissions, a new study shows. The report, titled "Toxic Neighbors," was...

Montana Likely Won't Ban Cattle from Wyoming; Brucellosis Not Detected Yet.
December 9, 2003... Byline: Jennifer McKee Dec. 9--HELENA, Mont.--No cattle from a Wyoming herd infected with brucellosis have yet been traced to Montana, and livestock officials here say they do not anticipate banning the import of cows from Wyoming over the...

Coal Mine near Roundup, Mont., Misses Deadline for Monitoring Wells.
December 9, 2003... Byline: Clair Johnson Dec. 9--The state has issued a notice of noncompliance to the operator of the Bull Mountain coal mine near Roundup for failing to meet a deadline for drilling water monitoring wells. The Department of...

Buying Pace Declines for Montana Board of Housing-Financed Homes.
December 9, 2003... Byline: Allison Farrell Dec. 9--HELENA, Mont.--The number of single family homes that Montanans purchased through the state Board of Housing declined 36 percent last fiscal year as interest rates at competing lenders dropped to...

Roundup, Mont., Coal Mine's Owner Loses Equipment to Repossession.
December 9, 2003... Byline: Jim Gransbery Dec. 9--The U.S. District Court in Billings has ordered the repossession of mining equipment at the Bull Mountain coal mine following default judgments in favor of two equipment manufacturers who sued the mine's owner...

Billings, Mont., Council Delays Vote on Higher Fees for Water, Sewer Systems.
December 9, 2003... Byline: Tom Howard Dec. 9--The Billings City Council won't tackle a plan to raise water and sewer system development fees until next month, when three new council members elected this fall take office. During their final meeting on the...

Cheeseburger Fries Are 'Next Big Thing' for Montana Beef Council.
December 11, 2003... Byline: Jim Gransbery Dec. 11--Cheeseburgerfries. Yup, all in one mouthful. It's the "Next Big Thing" for the bar and grill crowd to munch on while downing a couple of beers during a ball game. Beef producers coming to town...

Boss of Proposed Montana Coal-Fired Plant Scoffs at Air-Pollution Claims.
December 13, 2003... Byline: Jennifer McKee Dec. 13--HELENA, Mont.--The manager of a proposed power plant in Roundup said a recent challenge to the project as needlessly polluting was "just more harassment and more distortion of the facts." Joe Dickey,...

Billings, Mont.-Area Nursing Home Focuses on Mission.
December 14, 2003... Dec. 14--You can learn a lot about running a care home from textbooks and from people who have been in the business a long time. But not everything. Not long ago, the Parkview Care Center admitted a Hospice patient and his dog "Buddy."...

Montana Home Rentals Offer Vacationers Alternative to Hotels.
December 14, 2003... Byline: Brett French Dec. 14--Tired of sterile hotel rooms when you vacation with your family? Despondent because you always get the room next to the ice machine or stairway? Next time you might want to consider renting a home. "The...

Pioneering Scientist to Discuss Modern Biosafety Labs in Hamilton, Mont.
December 16, 2003... Byline: Jennifer McKee Dec. 16--HELENA, Mont.--The tale of Karl Johnson's bloody brush with death is the stuff of epidemiological legend. In 1963, Johnson was in a Panamanian hospital, sick with the disease the National Institute of...

Business Equipment Investment Down This Year in Montana; Tax Breaks Reviewed.
December 16, 2003... Byline: Charles S. Johnson Dec. 16--HELENA, Mont.--The taxable value of business equipment property in Montana dropped slightly in tax year 2003, renewing the debate over whether tax breaks spur economic development or reduce the state's...

Poll: 51 Percent of Montana Voters Back Oil, Gas Drilling in Rocky Mountains.
December 16, 2003... Byline: Jennifer McKee Dec. 16--HELENA, Mont.--Montana voters generally support more oil and gas drilling along the Rocky Mountain Front, a new Gazette State Poll shows. Just over half of respondents -- 51 percent -- said they support...

Judge to Rule Today on Lawsuit Challenging Yellowstone's Snowmobile Ban.
December 16, 2003... Byline: Mike Stark Dec. 16--Talk about cutting it close. A federal judge said Monday he hopes to rule later today -- just hours before the start of the winter season in Yellowstone National Park -- on the Bush administration's proposal...

Billings, Mont.-Area Shoppers Flood Stores for Holiday Gifts.
December 23, 2003... Byline: Mary Pickett Dec. 23--Dennis Lusin of Billings beamed a relaxed smile as he strolled out of Rimrock Mall Sunday afternoon. For the first time in several years, he had finished his Christmas shopping several days before...

Some Billings, Mont., Businesses Failed, Others Soared in 2003.
December 26, 2003... Byline: Jan Falstad Dec. 26--This was the year the mighty tumbled, first the once venerable Montana Power Co., then NorthWestern, the former Fortune 500 company that bought Montana Power's energy transmission and distribution assets. ...

U.S. Cattle Industry Sees Highs and Lows in 2003.
December 26, 2003... Byline: Jim Gransbery Dec. 26--This year will go down as the year of ecstasy and agony for the cattle industry in Montana and the United States. Record high prices in the fall for fed cattle going to slaughter and feeder calves going...

Montana Beef Consumers Show No Concern So Far over Mad Cow Case.
December 27, 2003... Byline: Jim Gransbery Dec. 27--If there is widespread concern over mad cow disease among beef eaters in Billings, it hasn't surfaced yet. A quick tour Friday of various meat counters and butcher shops showed little, if any, concern...

Wyoming to Consider Brucellosis Test Plan after Sublette County Outbreak.
December 31, 2003... Byline: Mike Stark Dec. 31--All Wyoming cattle sold for breeding would have to be tested for brucellosis under a proposal that will be discussed by state officials next week. The idea comes in the wake of Monday's report confirming...