The Billings Gazette (Billings, MT) articles from July 2004

The Billings Gazette (Billings, MT) archives from July 2004

Judge orders Yellowstone National Park to make snowmobile rules sooner.
July 1, 2004... Byline: Mike Stark Jul. 1--Yellowstone National Park officials knew they were on a tight schedule to produce temporary rules for snowmobiling in the upcoming season. The schedule just got tighter. A federal judge in Washington,...

Preliminary budget in Yellowstone County, Mont., shows few big changes in 2005.
July 1, 2004... Byline: Tom Howard Jul. 1--The Billings City Council has spent many agonizing hours discussing cuts to the police, fire and parks budgets during recent meetings. By contrast, Yellowstone County commissioners aren't expecting any...

Fireworks draw buying crowd in Pryor, Mont., area.
July 2, 2004... Byline: Becky Shay Jul. 2--When it comes to fireworks, 9-year-old Josh Miller follows a simple equation: fire + boom = good. "Basically, I like firecrackers," Josh said. The open flame, sparks and bangs don't startle Josh, who said...

Billings, Mont., school board seeks advice of businesses.
July 4, 2004... Byline: John Fitzgerald Jul. 4--Business leaders will give School District 2 their opinions through a new advisory committee, officials announced Wednesday. At a breakfast meeting organized by Celebrate Billings, local business leaders...

Communications firm wants to open Billings, Mont., call center.
July 9, 2004... Byline: Jan Falstad Jul. 9--An unnamed communications company from Dallas is courting Billings and three other cities in its search for a place to locate a call center that eventually could provide 500 to 700 jobs. Joe McClure,...

Audit shows weaknesses with utility's Montana operations.
July 9, 2004... Byline: Charles S. Johnson Jul. 9--HELENA, Mont. -- NorthWestern Energy's operations in Montana generally follow good utility practices, but an independent audit released Thursday also identified weaknesses such as the frequency of...

Montana wildlife commission may change ban on popular gamefish.
July 9, 2004... Byline: Jennifer McKee Jul. 9--HELENA, Mont. -- The Montana Fish, Wildlife and Parks Commission took a small step Thursday toward rethinking its 15-year-old ban on introducing walleye, a popular large gamefish in Eastern Montana to waters...

Montana wildlife agency lifts fish catch limits at Kalispell-area reservoir.
July 9, 2004... Byline: Jennifer McKee Jul. 9--HELENA, Mont. -- The Montana Fish, Wildlife and Parks Commission on Thursday encouraged anglers to catch every fish available at Hubbart Reservoir near Kalispell. The reservoir is being drained later this...

Flights from Cody, Wyo., to Denver to continue through winter.
July 9, 2004... Byline: Allison Batdorff Jul. 9--CODY, Wyo. -- It's official -- folks will be able to fly between Rodeo Capital, U.S.A., and the Mile-High City all winter long. The Cody Yellowstone Air Service Organization (CYASO) announced Thursday...

Stillwater, Mont., miners begin union voting.
July 9, 2004... Byline: Linda Halstead-Acharya Jul. 9--In jeans and T-shirts, they ambled into the Columbus High School cafeteria to cast their ballots. By mid-afternoon Thursday, roughly 100 of the 1,000 members of P.A.C.E. 8-0001 (Paper, Allied...

Employee of Billings, Mont., store admits stealing sporting goods.
July 9, 2004... Byline: Clair Johnson Jul. 9--A Billings man who worked at Shipton's Big R store on the West End admitted Thursday that he stole sporting goods for a local pawn-shop owner, who then sold the items on e-Bay. Brian Idstrom, 33, pleaded...

Officials blame outbreak at Yellowstone National Park on norovirus.
July 9, 2004... Byline: Mike Stark Jul. 9--More than 130 visitors and workers became ill in Yellowstone National Park in late June during an outbreak of a highly infectious virus at Old Faithful and Lake. The cause of the illnesses appears to be a...

Montana agency's agreement with utility helps resolve bankruptcy issues.
July 9, 2004... Byline: Charles S. Johnson Jul. 9--HELENA, Mont. -- The state Public Service Commission on Thursday unanimously approved a stipulation and settlement agreement with NorthWestern Corp. and the Montana consumer counsel to resolve outstanding...

Billings Gazette, Mont., entrepreneurs column.
July 10, 2004... Byline: Chris Jorgensen Jul. 10--Destiny. That's how Bryce Glen got into the compost business. His wife Lesli has trained horses professionally for more than 20 years, and he worked on a Musselshell ranch when he was a teenager....

Teamsters vote against Billings, Mont., contract offer.
July 10, 2004... Byline: Jan Falstad Jul. 10--By a margin of 5-to-1, members of Teamsters Local 190 have rejected an offer of a 2.3 percent raise made by the city of Billings. The Teamsters basically make up half of the city's 750 employees and...

Patience evaporates as Montana water users deal with drought's impacts.
July 11, 2004... Byline: Lorna Thackeray Jul. 11--When water's short on the Tongue River, so are tempers. "People are threatening each other and they're threatening me," Roger Muggli, manager of the Tongue and Yellowstone Irrigation District, said,...

Independence, Mont.-area couple learns the ins and outs of raising steer.
July 12, 2004... Byline: Marlene Lucas Jul. 12--Grocery store beef didn't suit the palate of Greg and Jayne Clampitt and others in their extended family after years of eating beef raised by a family member. When they'd eaten all of grandpa's beef from...

Miles City, Mont., businesses, producers survive drought.
July 12, 2004... Byline: Lorna Thackeray Jul. 12--Business has never been better at John Stockhill Jewelers in Miles City, owner Gary Morken contends. Each year during a prolonged drought that has dogged the surrounding agricultural community, his...

Union workers at mining firm's Nye and Columbus, Mont., facilities strike.
July 13, 2004... Byline: Jan Falstad Jul. 13--For the first time in the company's 12-year history, about 850 union workers at Stillwater Mining Co.'s Nye mine and Columbus smelter went on strike Monday in a dispute over pensions and working conditions. ...

Miners at Columbus, Mont., facility want 'respect'.
July 13, 2004... Jul. 13--COLUMBUS, Mont. -- Within an hour of Monday's strike announcement, six Stillwater miners were assembling across the street from the company's headquarters here. They held homemade signs reading "Strike On," "SMC Stole My...

Billings, Mont., and union agree to call on mediator.
July 13, 2004... Byline: Ed Kemmick Jul. 13--Negotiators for the city of Billings and the Teamsters union agreed Monday to call on the services of a state mediator to help them resolve a contract dispute. On Friday, city employees represented by...

Stillwater Mining strike continues in Montana.
July 14, 2004... Byline: Jan Falstad Jul. 14--Union leaders and officials from Stillwater Mining Co. met for nearly eight hours Monday, but were unable to resolve their differences and end the company's first strike. By late Tuesday, no further talks...

Striking miners in Montana want to be treated fairly.
July 14, 2004... Byline: Diane Cochran Jul. 14--If the Kool-Aid market holds steady, Jerry Philhower's kids will bring home more money this week than their dad. Philhower, an underground construction worker at Stillwater Mining Co., said his children...

Yellowstone County, Mont., businesses get tax breaks for adding jobs.
July 14, 2004... Byline: Tom Howard Jul. 14--Two Yellowstone County businesses that recently moved to new headquarters and have added dozens of new jobs received property tax relief Tuesday from Yellowstone County commissioners. Commissioners approved...

Officials meet in Billings, Mont., to fix federal Indian trust program.
July 14, 2004... Byline: Mike Stark Jul. 14--Navigating the federal Indian trust fund program isn't for the faint of heart. Convoluted accounting systems, confusion over land ownership, countless delays, disputes over payments -- the program is a...

Striking Montana mine workers to resume contract talks with company.
July 15, 2004... Byline: Jan Falstad Jul. 15--Strike talks between Stillwater Mining Co. and union officials aren't likely to resume until Friday. About 900 members of the Paper, Allied Industrial, Chemical and Energy Workers International (PACE) Local...

HSBC analyst doesn't worry about Montana mine strike.
July 15, 2004... Byline: Jan Falstad Jul. 15--While many miners, tax collectors and local business owners bite their fingernails over a strike by 900 of the best-paid workers in Montana, precious metals analyst Victor Flores sits in his New York City...

Restrictions debate clouds future plans for Billings, Mont., development.
July 15, 2004... Byline: Tom Howard Jul. 15--Developers, architects, property owners and smart-growth advocates agreed Wednesday that they want to see attractive, well-planned development along Shiloh Road, a fast-growing area that is drawing significant...

Billings, Mont., council approves plans for special improvement district.
July 15, 2004... Byline: Tom Howard Jul. 15--Better traffic flow at the intersection of Shiloh Road and Rimrock Road is one benefit of a West End special improvement district that received City Council approval Monday night. During a public hearing,...

Rains ease drought for some in Montana, but it's not enough for cattle.
July 16, 2004... Byline: Jennifer McKee Jul. 16--HELENA, Mont. -- Despite a soggy spring in parts of Montana, about 40 percent of the state's counties continue to languish in a withering drought -- including more than half Montana's cattle country, the...

Striking Columbus, Mont., miners meet, call pensions major issue.
July 16, 2004... Byline: Jan Falstad Jul. 16--COLUMBUS, Mont. -- Miners and other union employees striking Stillwater Mining Co. lined up 80 deep at the Columbus High School Gym Thursday night for a meeting that lasted a little over two hours, the first...

Intertribal group discusses improvements to federal Indian trust fund system.
July 16, 2004... Byline: Mike Stark Jul. 16--Undoing the 100-year mess of the Indian trust fund system won't happen overnight. Everyone -- government workers and tribal members alike -- will need a good dose of patience and endurance. Congress,...

CEO sees South Dakota-based utility ending bankruptcy this year.
July 16, 2004... Byline: Charles S. Johnson Jul. 16--HELENA, Mont. -- A financially sound NorthWestern Corp. should emerge from bankruptcy later this year, but the creditors who will own it likely will sell the company eventually, Gary Drook,...

Performing in costume is a team effort for Montana Chuck E. Cheese staff.
July 17, 2004... Byline: John Fitzgerald Jul. 17--The first thing you need to know is that Chuck E. Cheese is a rodent. Not a mouse, because that would get him into trouble with the Walt Disney Co., and its mouse. And, he's not a rat, because,...

Poisonous plants thrive in drought, kill cattle and sheep in Montana.
July 17, 2004... Byline: Jim Gransbery Jul. 17--Drought and weird weather have combined to create a witch's concoction of poisonous plants on rangelands this year, killing cattle and sheep and increasing the chances for deformed calves next winter. ...

Bonus, change in contract wording may help end strike at Stillwater Mining.
July 20, 2004... Byline: Jan Falstad Jul. 20--Promises of $1,000 bonus to ratify a revised contract and softer language on some working conditions appeared to sway many union miners in a vote Monday that could end their strike against Stillwater Mining Co....

CEO at Montana utility NorthWestern wants $3 million 'bonus'.
July 23, 2004... Byline: Jan Falstad Jul. 23--When Gary Drook, the top executive at NorthWestern Corp., told Helena leaders last week the utility probably will be sold when it emerges from bankruptcy and he'll be out of a job, he failed to mention that...

Billings Gazette, Mont., Jan Falstad column.
July 24, 2004... Byline: Jan Falstad Jul. 24--$90M PROJECT ON SCHEDULE FOR CENEX: Work is well under way at CHS or Cenex Harvest States Refinery in Laurel on its largest construction project in 11 years -- a diesel treater. The clean fuels project...

Mining company looks to concepts like ZERO truck to reduce emissions.
July 24, 2004... Byline: Linda Halstead-Acharya Jul. 24--The orange utility vehicle isn't anything special to look at. What makes it unique is what cannot be seen. ZEUS -- short for Zero Emissions Utility Solution -- is like no other piece of mine...

Stillwater Mining Company researches ways to meet emission standards.
July 24, 2004... Byline: Linda Halstead-Acharya Jul. 24--Looking back, Stillwater Mining Company employee Dan Milton can recall the signs. "You would get off after a whole day of being underground and when you blew your nose, it was black," he said....