The Billings Gazette (Billings, MT) articles from October 2006

The Billings Gazette (Billings, MT) archives from October 2006

'Green to Gold' seminar focus on business sustainability the environment.
October 1, 2006... Byline: Linda Halstead-Acharya Oct. 1--There's nothing magical about sustainability. In fact, there's little about it that's cutting edge. Rather, finding success through sustainability -- and some businesses are reaping bottom-line...

After six generations, South Side house to be sold outside family.
October 2, 2006... Byline: Ed Kemmick Oct. 2--Kristi Laib's two children are members of the sixth generation to have lived in the house her great-great-grandparents built, but she figures it's finally time to move on. The three-story house on South 29th...

Fundraiser for schools raises $75K.
October 3, 2006... Byline: Laura Tode Oct. 3--There was no losing Saturday at Sandstone Elementary's booth at Saturday Live, the 14th annual fundraiser for the Education Foundation for Billings Public Schools. Even the littlest kids could toss a ring around...

Organic farmer finding success.
October 3, 2006... Byline: Ed Kemmick Oct. 3--Joe Hamill has come a long way since he harvested his first crop of organic produce in 2002. That year, he raised enough food to make two trips to the Yellowstone Valley Farmers' Market in downtown Billings. ...

SBA will transfer manager to Billings.
October 3, 2006... Byline: Jan Falstad Oct. 3--A U.S. Small Business Administration director is transferring from the home office in Helena to Billings to help facilitate federal business loans in south-central Montana. Stephen Preston, the newly...

Gaming operator puts $1 million ante on ballpark.
October 4, 2006... Byline: Ed Kemmick Oct. 4--The owner of a gaming company said Tuesday that his family is donating $1 million toward the rebuilding of Cobb Field in Billings. Jon Dehler, the owner of Fleetwood Gaming, made the announcement Tuesday...

Davison targeted in more lawsuits.
October 4, 2006... Byline: Jan Falstad Oct. 4--Billings businessman and sports promoter Ron Omo has filed a civil lawsuit in District Court seeking repayment of personal loans totaling $475,000 made to former Republican gubernatorial candidate and financial...

Faith moves mountains -- And a Church.
October 5, 2006... Byline: Lorna Thackeray Oct. 5--After nearly a month on the road between Box Elder and Billings, after miles of lumbering down narrow gravel byways and rural highways strung with low-hanging power lines, and after rains that left it...

Expert warns about toxicity from plume.
October 5, 2006... Byline: Lance Benzel Oct. 5--A scientist Wednesday urged residents living above a plume of contaminated groundwater to be careful with how they use their irrigation wells. Sarah Griffin, a senior toxicologist for the U.S. Environmental...

Hospital meeting draws few neighbors.
October 6, 2006... Byline: Diane Cochran Oct. 6--Billings Clinic wants to close a block of Eighth Avenue North to create a safer, more walkable campus, officials told a small group of neighbors Thursday night. The hospital also will probably build a new...

Rousing start to housing project.
October 6, 2006... Byline: Lance Benzel Oct. 6--If a proposed affordable housing project on the South Side is being billed as the work of a community, then Tuesday marked an auspicious start. At a groundbreaking for the 20-unit Southern Lights building,...

Homeowner wants to see levy pass.
October 9, 2006... Byline: Tom Howard Oct. 9--Ed Riley was shocked when he learned that his insurance company planned to increase the cost of insuring his home from $1,444 a year to $3,516. Riley called his insurer, United Services Automobile...

Preparing for cuts.
October 9, 2006... Byline: Tom Howard Oct. 9--If Billings voters overturn the 2004 public safety levy on Nov. 7, Fire Chief Marv Jochems and Police Chief Rich St. John say they will each have to cut about $2 million from their budgets for fiscal year 2008,...

Billings mostly unaffected by California lettuce recall.
October 10, 2006... Byline: Jan Falstad Oct. 10--Lettuce sold from Nunes Farms in California's Salinas Valley apparently was rounded up quickly after an E. coli alert was issued Sunday. Only one grocery chain serving Montana, Wal-Mart, said it had stocked the...

Davison's ex-employer fires long-time financial adviser.
October 11, 2006... Byline: Jan Falstad Oct. 11--UBS Financial Services on Tuesday terminated financial adviser Nicholas Cladis, who had worked at the company for three decades and was a top producer. "UBS has determined that Mr. Cladis violated certain...

Billings, Mont., native hopes to see a new Cobb Field in town.
October 11, 2006... Oct. 11--National sportscaster and Billings native Brent Musburger endorsed the project to rebuild Cobb Field when he spoke to the annual meeting of the Billings Area Chamber of Commerce Tuesday. When friends from his Billings childhood...

Two more pitch in on ballpark.
October 12, 2006... Byline: Jim Gransberry Oct. 12--Two Billings-based businesses turned a double play worth $1 million Wednesday with the announcement of $500,000 donations each to replace Cobb Field. First Interstate Bank and Wendy's of Montana...

DOT chief: Cost of Shiloh project has doubled.
October 12, 2006... Byline: Jan Falstad Oct. 12--The head of the Montana Department of Transportation said Wednesday that the Shiloh Road project can be built in one shot and could possibly be completed in 2010, but the price tag has doubled. State...

EDA to buy downtown building.
October 13, 2006... Byline: Tom Howard Oct. 13--The Big Sky Economic Development Authority plans to purchase the Montana Dakota Utilities building in downtown Billings for $750,000. Big Sky EDA's board of commissioners approved the purchase Thursday...

Montana mining attracts Montanans, keeps them in Montana.
October 15, 2006... Byline: Linda Halstead-Acharya Oct. 15--Breaking rock isn't for everyone. But David Zeiler of Red Lodge thinks he has found his niche. "This is one of the few jobs you can stay in Montana and make a good living," he said. "I plan...

In the ballpark: Comparing field costs difficult in Pioneer League.
October 16, 2006... Byline: Ed Kemmick Oct. 16--It is difficult to make exact comparisons among baseball parks, but if Billings voters approve a $12.5 million bond issue to replace Cobb Field, the Mustangs apparently will have the most expensive field in the...

Montana rancher-farmer keeps close tabs on precipitation.
October 16, 2006... Byline: Lorna Thackeray Oct. 16--MOLT -- As far as Bill Linger, official cooperative weather observer, can tell, forecasting the weather is pretty much guesswork. "This rain here wasn't predicted," the 55-year-old rancher-farmer from...

Billings, Mont., school board will discuss calendar.(Calendar)
October 16, 2006... Byline: Laura Tode Oct. 16--Today, Billings School District 2 board of trustees will consider calendar proposals for the coming three years. For each year, two designs are proposed: one with a spring break and one without. The calendar...

Montana State University president backs nurse program.
October 17, 2006... Byline: Mary Pickett Oct. 17--Montana State University President Geoff Gamble said Monday that he supports Montana State University-Billings College of Technology's effort to create a bridge program for licensed practical nurses to become...

Spring break to return to SD2.
October 17, 2006... Byline: Laura Tode Oct. 17--Spring break will return to the Billings School District 2 calendar next year after the School Board approved calendar proposals for the next three years that include a full week of vacation the first week of...

Economist: Billings lags in city spending.
October 18, 2006... Byline: Ed Kemmick Oct. 18--At least one Montana economist doesn't find much to cheer about in the growth of the oil industry in Eastern Montana. Larry Swanson, director of the O'Connor Center for the Rocky Mountain West at the...

1 finalist for director of ABT visits Billings.
October 18, 2006... Byline: Jaci Webb Oct. 18--The first of three finalists for the executive director position at the Alberta Bair Theater was in Billings this week, meeting with staff members, members of the Cultural Partners, and the search committee. ...

Airport tower at Billings, Mont., aiport near ready to open.
October 19, 2006... Oct. 19--The new $15.5 million air traffic control tower at Billings Logan International Airport is scheduled to go on line by the end of the month, as work to repair a leaky roof and windows nears completion. Greg Steffen, Billings...

Renewable energy development urged.
October 19, 2006... Byline: Clair Johnson Oct. 19--Environmentalist Winona LaDuke on Wednesday urged Montana's Indian tribes to develop renewable energy such as wind power rather than mining coal or drilling for coalbed methane. LaDuke, an Ojibwe from the...

PCE plume is moving toward houses in Billings, Mont., EPA says.
October 19, 2006... Byline: Mike Stark Oct. 19--A second set of tests beneath homes southwest of downtown Billings shows that vapors from polluted groundwater are making their way up to the foundations. The Environmental Protection Agency, which is...

School bus drivers' contract OK'd.
October 24, 2006... Byline: Laura Tode Oct. 24--Billings School District 2 bus drivers on Monday ratified a contract with their employer, First Student, voting 66-3 to accept an offer of a 3.8 percent pay raise for all drivers next year. The three-year...

Kia dealership files for Chapter 11.
October 24, 2006... Byline: Jan Falstad Oct. 24--Blaming a slow car market and King Avenue West road construction, Incredible Auto Sales LLC of Billings has filed for bankruptcy protection to buy time to reorganize its finances. The Chapter 11 filing on...

Job status changing for NW Airlines employees.
October 24, 2006... Byline: Jan Falstad Oct. 24--Eighteen Northwest Airlines employees at Billings Logan International Airport are anxiously waiting to see what will happen with their jobs. Come Halloween, 18 full-time ticket agents, gate agents and...

Renewal backers show patriotic flair.
October 24, 2006... Byline: Tom Howard Oct. 24--What could be more patriotic than encouraging an economic turnaround in a long-neglected section of town? A dozen supporters of the East Billings Urban Renewal Area appeared to be making a patriotic...

Chemical salesman admits fraud.
October 25, 2006... Oct. 25--A Wyoming man who sold agricultural chemicals admitted Tuesday that a gambling addiction led him into a billing scheme that cost his employer more than $178,000. Lanny Kim Skalsky, 54, of Casper, pleaded guilty in federal court in...

Two sides differ on need for city levy.
October 25, 2006... Byline: Tom Howard Oct. 25--Two years ago, a plan to hire more police and firefighters was so popular that 63 percent of Billings voters approved it in the general election. Despite the nearly 2-to-1 margin of approval, the 2004 public...

Couple's philanthropy now their full-time work.
October 25, 2006... Byline: Laura Tode Oct. 25--Joe and Miriam Sample are in their 80s. They're long past retirement, but still go to work most every day. Joe says it's easiest to catch him after 11 a.m. at the downtown office they share off Montana Avenue....

Lockwood schools deny discrimination.
October 25, 2006... Byline: Becky Shay Oct. 25--Lockwood School District has denied allegations of age and religious discrimination by a former employee. Dara Fladmo, a 57-year-old former paraprofessional with the district, complained through the Montana...

Rain could spoil record sugar beet harvest.
October 25, 2006... Byline: Jim Gransbery Oct. 25--Seldom does one hear a farmer complain of too much moisture. "I am," Ralph Amen said Tuesday morning. With his best-ever crop in the fields and three weeks behind normal harvest, Amen and other sugar...

Hearings set on EPA grant process.
October 26, 2006... Oct. 26--The Big Sky Economic Development Authority will seek grants from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency to learn whether portions of the proposed East Billings Urban Renewal District may be contaminated with hazardous materials. ...

Three groups, family pledge $200,00 for maintenance of Cobb Field.
October 27, 2006... Byline: Ed Kemmick Oct. 27---Three organizations that use Cobb Field and a Billings family have pledged a total of $200,000 toward a permanent maintenance fund for a new ballpark. The pledges will apply only if a bond issue for...

City restricted if levy repealed.
October 27, 2006... Byline: Tom Howard Oct. 27--If Billings voters overturn the 2004 public safety levy on Nov. 7, some have suggested that the City Council can limit the impact by simply asking voters to approve another levy, possibly within a matter of...

Ranch's humble beginnings recalled.
October 27, 2006... Byline: Diane Cochran Oct. 27--Sheldon Kelly was a 16-year-old orphan when he landed at the Yellowstone Boys Ranch in the summer of 1957. "For the first time in my life, ever, I was around boys who had suffered trauma like I did,"...

Schweitzer outlines state's energy role.
October 31, 2006... Byline: Mary Pickett Oct. 31--Montana can help the U.S. break its dependence on foreign oil by developing its natural resources, Gov. Brian Schweitzer said at Rocky Mountain College on Monday. Before a crowd of more than 80 students,...

Fire hydrant levy increase questioned.
October 31, 2006... Byline: Ed Kemmick Oct. 31--Two leading critics of the city of Billings public safety mill levy are raising questions about another city mill levy increase, this one for the maintenance of fire hydrants. The latest flap started...

Ah Nei critic presses new lawsuit.
October 31, 2006... Byline: Clair Johnson Oct. 31--A Shepherd-area resident is again suing the Bureau of Land Management over its popular off-road vehicle site near his home. Brian Biggs, who lives next to the Shepherd Ah Nei Off-Highway Vehicle Area,...

Scholarship set up to help average students.
October 31, 2006... Byline: Jan Falstad Oct. 31--A new scholarship fund next year will pay education expenses for at least one Billings area high school student who is not a stellar student. The fund set up by the late Dr. Gerhard "Gerry" Hartman, a...

Candidates meet School Board.
October 31, 2006... Byline: Laura Tode Oct. 31--Trustees on the Billings School District 2 board opened their board room to local legislators and candidates Monday to remind themselves of the issues facing their district, and answer any questions they might...