The Billings Gazette (Billings, MT) articles from November 2005

The Billings Gazette (Billings, MT) archives from November 2005

Applications made for leasing coal in Otter Creek.
November 1, 2005... Byline: Jim Gransbery Nov. 1--A Billings firm has asked the state to prepare a bid lease proposal for Montana's coal in the Otter Creek area. The state returned the application, saying more study of the state's holdings is needed and that...

Mine tax dispute delays tax bills in Stillwater County.
November 5, 2005... Byline: Linda Halstead-Acharya Nov. 5--Christmas gifts may not be the only expense Stillwater County residents will face this December. There's a good chance they'll also be paying their taxes -- a month late this year. "I'm just kind...

Three Forks, Mont., Holcim cement plant rations an in-demand product.
November 6, 2005... Byline: Jan Falstad Nov. 6--Montana, like most other states, has experienced on-and-off shortages of cement for the past three years. This year the shortages are so acute that home improvement stores and lumber yards are having trouble...

Demand, supply, shipping grip cement business.
November 6, 2005... Byline: Jan Falstad Nov. 6--The shortage of cement worldwide has multiple causes, and no one is better versed to explain the complexities in simple English than Ed Sullivan, chief economist for the Portland Cement Association. Based...

Bull Mountain power plant air permit extended with stipulations.
November 8, 2005... Byline: Jim Gransbery Nov. 8--The developer of a proposed power plant in the Bull Mountains has received an extension of its air-quality permit from the Montana Department of Environmental Quality. The extension comes with stipulations...

Lack of investor confidence plagues U.S. economy, expert says.
November 8, 2005... Byline: Jan Falstad Nov. 8--Phil Dow, director of equity strategy for RBC Dain Rauscher in Minneapolis, said a lack of confidence in the U.S. economy is the biggest problem among investors today. A recent Forbes magazine survey found...

Control and cost of animal identification vexes cattle producers.
November 12, 2005... Byline: Jim Gransbery Nov. 12--Individual animal identification for livestock producers is voluntary now, but the federal government intends to make it mandatory in 2009. Ostensibly, it is seen as an animal health tool that will allow...

4th & Broadway plans offered.
November 17, 2005... Byline: Tom Howard Nov. 17--All three proposals to develop city-owned property at Fourth Avenue North and Broadway include plans for a new Stockman Bank downtown, and one of them includes an expansion of the city library. Tuesday was...

Yellowstone County revenues, costs rising.
November 17, 2005... Byline: Tom Howard Nov. 17--Thanks to a boom in construction, Yellowstone County's property tax revenues have grown by an average of 5.4 percent a year over the past three years. But while the county welcomes new rural subdivisions,...

Work at schools behind schedule, over budget.
November 17, 2005... Byline: Laura Tode Nov. 17--Since the passage of a $10 million elementary bond in March 2004, the Billings School District has embarked on 18 capital improvement projects. Of those, 14 have been completed, but the four largest and most...

Billings, Mont., garden center workers in the dark about poinsettias.
November 20, 2005... Byline: Laura Tode Nov. 20--As Darlene Schlueter strolls by a long row of poinsettias in Gainan's Garden Center greenhouse, she reaches down as if by instinct and pulls out a wilted, broken branch from beneath the dark red leaves. ...

Homeowners sue Billings, Mont., subdivision developers.
November 20, 2005... Byline: Jan Falstad Nov. 20--Buyout negotiations between developers of the Rehberg Ranch subdivision north of Billings and three disgruntled homeowners are resuming under the smoke of a civil lawsuit filed in September in Yellowstone...

12 full-time employees help send hats across the nation and overseas.
November 30, 2005... Byline: Jim Gransbery Nov. 30--Earlier this year, Billings hatter Ritch Rand got a phone call from a customer in Pennsylvania. Rand built a hat for the gentleman five years ago. The caller explained that he needed a new hat, just like...