Collection agency moves head office to Florida site

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Daily inter lake
December27,2011
SERVINGTHEFLATHEADSINCE1889•••www.dailyinterlake.com
75cents
Whitefish
resort-tax
collections
increasing
A YeAr to remember: Blaine Wright
Taxable goods
top $1 billion
By LYNNETTE HINTZE
The Daily Inter Lake
Patrick Cote/Daily Inter Lake
BLAINE WRIGHT uses his computer while resting in his bed at his home in Whitefish last week. Wright is recovering
from massive injuries from his Oct. 29 skydiving crash at Washington-Grizzly Stadium in Missoula.
‘Within a hair’s breadth of dying’
Whitefish skydiver
focuses on recovery
By LYNNETTE HINTZE
The nights are long for
Blaine Wright.
Pain keeps him awake, shifting back and forth to find a
moment’s comfort. Nineteen
broken bones and a sizable
amount of nerve damage will
do that to a person.
Yet even in the depths of his
sleepless nights, with no end
yet in sight for surges of searing pain, Wright is grateful to
be alive.
“I have to focus on how
lucky I am,” he said. “I came
within a hair’s breadth of
dying. I could have had a head
injury or been paralyzed.”
Wright, 53, a rocket engineer
and renowned skydiver, is
recuperating at home in Whitefish from injuries he sustained
Oct. 29 when a wind gust blew
the veteran jumper off course
during the Silvertip Skydivers’
popular pregame jump into
Washington-Grizzly Stadium in
Missoula.
He crashed into a retaining
wall outside the stadium, then
fell close to 40 feet.
Friends who have studied the
videotape of the jump tell him
he appeared to have a small
spot picked out to land as the
bucking headwind whipped
him around. Wright was trying
desperately to avoid crashing
into the crowd.
He doesn’t remember the
accident, except for one small
detail.
“I have a flash of memory
when the side of my canopy hit
a tree and swung me out and
forward,” he recalled. “It was
just by the smallest margin I
caught that tree.
“That was terrifying. It was a
very public way to hurt myself
and I hate that so many had
to witness it,” Wright said,
adding that in hindsight, “we
shouldn’t have jumped that
day.”
Wright is no novice to the
sport of skydiving. He first
jumped for Silvertip in 1974
when he was just 15. He since
has helped set seven world
records, including the World
Team’s 400-skydiver formation
in Thailand in 2006.
The only other thing he
was told her brother may not
make it, so she went with him
during the emergency flight.
Wright’s stepbrother told
him two weeks after the accident “what had gone down.”
“I had no idea,” Wright said.
Five teams of skilled physicians tended to Wright’s needs
as he spent a week in intensive
care and endured three surgeries on some of his broken
bones. He’s thankful his sister
was there.
“She had to process all of it.
Photo courtesy of Blaine Wright
She was amazing,” he said.
WRIGHT UNDERGOES pool
Wright sustained two skull
therapy for the injuries he suf- fractures, one around the eye
socket and the other at the
fered in a skydiving accident.
base of his skull. He finally got
remembers from those first few out of his neck brace last week.
days is the suffocating feeling
And in addition to a broken
of not being able to breathe. He pelvis, he broke his arm, the
begged for air during the Life
top of his tibia on one leg, hip
Flight trip from Missoula’s St.
socket, four ribs and seven
Patrick Hospital to Harborview pieces in a row along the edge
Medical Center in Seattle.
of his vertebrae.
A collapsed lung was the
Another blessing during
least of the emergency crew’s
those days in the hospital
worries at that point, though.
was the mountain of mail he
He lost eight units of blood the received from hundreds of Griz
first day from internal bleeding fans and well-wishers he didn’t
in his pelvis, which caused his even know.
blood pressure to plummet to
“The outpouring was very
near-fatal levels.
Wright’s sister, Beth Cole,
See RECOVERY on Page A3
Tribe’s high-interest loans popular
By MATT VOLZ
The Associated Press
HELENA — An Indian reservation in the heart of Montana’s farm country may seem
an unlikely place to borrow a
quick $600, but the Chippewa
Cree tribe says it has already
given out more than 121,000
loans this year at interest rates
that can reach a whopping 360
percent.
As more states pass laws
to rein in lenders who deal
in high-interest, short-term
loans, Indian tribes like the
Chippewa Cree and their new
online lending venture, Plain
Green Loans, are stepping in to
fill the void. The Internet lets
them reach beyond the isolated
Rocky Boy’s Indian Reservation to borrowers across the
nation, while tribal immunity
has allowed them to avoid bans
and interest-rate caps several
states have set.
To Neal Rosette, Plain Green
Loans CEO and the Chippewa
Cree’s former executive administrative officer, it’s a win-win.
The online lending venture is
a resource for people who can’t
or won’t borrow from banks,
while it gives the tribe a steady
revenue stream and jobs with
unemployment on the reserva-
INSIDE:
Classified/B4
tion at nearly 40 percent.
Rosette said this model could
be the successor to gambling
for tribes looking for an economic boost. Some tribes have
owned online lending businesses for several years, and
Rosette said the Chippewa Cree
and three other tribes have
started the Native American
Lenders Alliance to encourage
more.
“I believe this is the new
outlook for Indian Country, not
just Rocky Boy,” Rosette said.
“We are sovereign nations and
we have the ability to create
our own laws that regulate our
businesses such as this.”
That’s a problem for consumer groups and the states that
have tried to bring such lending under control. The issue
with these loans, consumer
advocates say, is that their
high interest rates make it too
easy for a borrower to become
trapped in a cycle of debt as
they have to borrow more to
repay their original loans.
Forty-two states and the
District of Columbia have
taken different regulatory
approaches, from outright bans
to interest-rate caps. Montana
voters last year passed a ballot initiative that capped such
loans at a 36 percent annualized interest rate, which has
Comics/B7
Crossword/B6
The Chippewa Cree
tribe says it has
already given out
more than 121,000
loans this year at
interest rates that
can reach up to
360 percent.
led to a nearly 83 percent drop
in so-called deferred deposit
lenders, according to Montana
banking and financial institutions director Melanie Griggs.
But as the cap drives lenders
out of the state, more people
are turning to the Internet,
which adds the danger of
passing along personal bank
account information that can
be distributed to other lenders
and brokers and can lead to
overdrafts.
“When they were getting it
from brick-and-mortar businesses it was easy to monitor
how many people were getting
payday loans. Now that it’s all
on the Internet, it’s harder to
monitor,” Griggs said.
The Chippewa Cree tribe
says its loans are not payday
loans, those two-week loans
Montana/A2
Obituaries/A7
with annualized interest rates
of more than 600 percent or
more. Instead, the tribe says,
its highest annualized interest
rate is 360 percent. Payments
are made over a period of
months, usually in monthly or
biweekly installments.
By any account, those rates
are still very high. By the company’s own example, a firsttime borrower who takes out a
$600 loan would end up paying
$1,261.32 over 12 bi-weekly payments.
Less than a year old, Plain
Green Loans already has an
F rating by the Better Business Bureau after the agency
received 20 complaints mainly
dealing with billing and collection issues. Eleven of the
complaints were resolved, but
the company didn’t respond or
failed to resolve the other nine,
according to the BBB.
Rosette said those complaints
are relatively few when compared to the thousands of loans
the company has administered.
“We’ve got a process in place
that we believe is very quick at
handling any type of complaint
that we get. That’s part of this
industry, complaints, regardless of who you are,” Rosette
said.
As long as it doesn’t make
See TRIBE on Page A3
Opinion/A4
Records/A7
Sports/B1
Massive street reconstruction projects in Whitefish
during September and October didn’t hamper resort-tax
collections.
For the month of September, resort-tax collections were up 10 percent
over last year, and October figures show only a
1 percent decrease from
2010, according to city
records.
During that time the
city was in the throes of
two major street projects:
the Second Street (U.S.
93) rebuild through downtown and the next phase of
reconstruction on Central
Avenue.
In addition, the demolition
of Casey’s Bar and construction of a new bar compounded street congestion.
Money collected from
Whitefish’s 2 percent tax on
lodging, restaurants/bars
and luxury retail items has
been on an upward track
over the past year. For the
first four months of the city’s
fiscal year — July through
October — collections were
up 10.4 percent across the
board from the same period
last year.
The city also recently surpassed the $1 billion mark in
total taxable goods and services since the tax began in
February 1996.
To date Whitefish has colSee TAXABLE on Page A3
GOP hopefuls
crank back up
in final week
DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) —
Republicans in search of their
party’s presidential nomination are returning to campaign
mode after a brief Christmas
respite, with Rick Santorum
planning a hunting trip with
conservatives in Iowa and Mitt
Romney phoning supporters.
With just a week until Iowa
holds its leadoff caucuses and
many caucus-goers undecided,
the final push ahead of the
Jan. 3 contests was heading
into a critical time. Campaigns
planned new television ads
and phone calls to persuade
holdouts still weighing their
options.
Romney, who kept this state
at arm’s length for most of the
year, seemed to increase his
efforts in Iowa as polls found
him in a stronger position. He
planned to talk with supporters in a series of telephone
calls here and to New Hampshire and Florida on Monday
between working on a speech
that aides described as his
final pitch to Iowans. Romney
planned to deliver that speech
Tuesday evening and then set
out on a bus tour of Iowa.
However, he was to share the
highways with Rep. Michele
Bachmann, Texas Gov. Rick
Perry and former House
Speaker Newt Gingrich. All
scheduled bus tours to start
then, too.
Each is running out of time
and looking to derail Rep. Ron
Paul, the Texas congressman
See FINAL on Page A3
© 2010 The Daily Inter Lake
Valley/A6
Weather/B8
The Daily inTer lake
n Page A2
Tuesday, December 27, 2011
MONTANA/THE WEST
Today
3 Red Cross blood drive,
noon to 5 p.m., Eureka Baptist Church.
3 Kalispell Public Schools
district board work session,
5:30 p.m., Kalispell Middle
School Media Center.
3 Wellness Education
Center’s Healthy Potluck
Supper, 5:30-6:30 p.m., 103
Ponderosa Lane, Kalispell.
Families welcome. Bring a
healthy dish to share. Call
the Wellness Center at 7558423.
3 Lakeside Community
Council meets 7 p.m., Lakeside Sewer District office,
253 Bierney Creek Road.
Open to public.
3 Christmas Montanastyle concert and dance,
Grouse Mountain Lodge,
Whitefish, featuring Rob
Quist and Great Northern,
Jack Gladstone, David
Griffith, Amanda Duff
Caldwell and more. Concert, 7:30 p.m.; dance 9:3011 p.m. Advance tickets
$20 or $25 day of show.
Fundraiser for Montana
Band-shell. Call 862-3501.
Online calendar
In addition to the
Daybook, the Inter
Lake also publishes a
separate online events
calendar which allows
groups, clubs and activities to post their own
event schedule. Go to
www.dailyinterlake.com
and click on “Events
Calendar.”
Facebook, Sen. Jon Tester
and other state officials, noon
to 1 p.m. Jan. 5, Flathead
High School auditorium.
Question and answer session follows. Public invited.
3 Kalispell Public
Schools Curriculum Committee meets at 4 p.m. Jan.
5, administration offices,
233 First Ave. E.
3 Flathead National Forest Advance Avalanche
Awareness Program for skiers class, 6:30-9 p.m. Jan.
5, Forest Service office, 650
Wolfpack Way, Kalispell.
Free. Call 758-5284.
3 Kalispell Public
Schools Finance Committee
meets at 7:30 a.m. Jan. 6,
administration offices, 233
First Ave. E.
ednesday
3 Free family snowshoe
3 Red Cross blood drive, walks Jan. 7, Winter Trails
11:30 a.m. to 3:30 p.m.,
Day: 10 a.m. to noon,
Three Rivers Bank, MeridBlacktail Mountain crossian Road; in the blood
country ski trails, call 837mobile.
7500 to reserve snowshoes;
10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Lone Pine
State Park, free rentals
hursday
first come, first serve, call
3 Red Cross blood drive, 755-2706; 10:30 a.m. and
1:30 p.m., Glacier Park, free
11 a.m. to 4 p.m., Qdoba
rentals; 10 a.m. to 12:30
Restaurant; in the blood
p.m., Condon Work Center.
mobile.
Call 758-5218 for general
information on all walks.
3 AARP Driver Safety
riday
class, 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. Jan.
3 Red Cross blood
9, The Summit, Kalispell.
drives: 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. at $14 fee ($12 for AARP
the center, 126 N. Meridian card-holding members.)
Road, Kalispell; noon to 4
Call 751-4500.
p.m. Best Buy; in the blood
3 Kalispell Public
mobile.
Schools Personnel Commit3 Boomers Singles
tee meets at 4 p.m. Jan. 9,
Group dinner, Village
administration offices, 233
Greens Community CenFirst Ave. E.
ter, 195 W. Nicklaus Ave.,
3 The Flathead ConserKalispell. Bring a “white
vation District meets at 7
elephant” gift for exchange. p.m., Jan. 9, 133 Interstate
Social hour, 6 p.m.; dinner
Lane, in Evergreen. Call
7 p.m., ham provided. Bring 752-4220.
a side dish and pay $5, $10
3 Mosquito Control Diswithout; meeting 8 p.m. For trict board meets 8:30-10
reservations, call Melody,
a.m., Jan. 10, Earl Bennett
892-3532. All 40-plus sinBuilding, Environmental
gles welcome.
Health conference room,
Kalispell.
3 Kalispell Public
look ahead Schools district board
3 Kalispell Senior Center meets at 6 p.m., Jan. 10,
Kalispell Middle School
New Year’ Day party and
Media Center.
potluck, 1 p.m. Jan. 1, at
3 Flathead National Forthe center. Bring a dish to
est Advance Avalanche
share. Games.
Awareness Program for ski3 Suicide Support
Group, Surviving Our Loss ers class, 6:30-9 p.m. Jan.
10, Forest Service office,
after Suicide, (SOLAS)
650 Wolfpack Way, Kalispell.
meets at 7-8:30 p.m. Jan.
2, The Summit, Kalispell.
3 Evergreen School
Call 871-1008.
3 Flathead National For- board meets 6:30 p.m., Jan.
11, administration boardest Advance Avalanche
Awareness Program for ski- room.
3 Opening reception for
ers class, 6:30-9 p.m. Jan.
3, Forest Service office, 650 Sweat & Steel exhibition
featuring painting of LivingsWolfpack Way, Kalispell.
ton artist C. David Swanson,
5-7 p.m. Jan. 12, Hockaday
3 Life After Loss grief
Museum of Art, 302 Second
support group for people
who have experienced mis- Ave. E., Kalispell. Free.
carriage, stillbirth or neona- Public invited. Local historian Kevin McCready gives
tal loss, 6-7:30 p.m., Jan.
a talk at 4 p.m. ($10 for non3, Cornerstone Building,
members). Call 755-4268.
3004 Hospital Way, North
Valley Hospital, Whitefish.
Free. Call Tamarack Grief
houghT
Resource Center counselor
“Man has an incurable
Carrie Thiel, 261-0724; or
habit of not fulfilling the
nurse Denise Cox, 863prophecies of his fellow
3535.
men.”
3 Glacier Country Pachyn Alistair Cooke, Angloderm meets noon to 1 p.m., American journalist and
Jan. 4, Red Lion Hotel
broadcaster (1908-2004).
Kalispell. Speaker is Drew
Turian, GOP candidate for
———
Montana governor. Lunch
Send items for this
available. Public invited.
column to The Daily Inter
Call Mark Johnson, 253Lake, Box 7610, Kalispell,
7467.
MT 59904. Fax 758-4481.
3 Community forum with
Montana officials debate ways
to halt use of date-rape drug
MISSOULA (AP) —
Reports by two University of Montana students
who said they were sexually assaulted by men
who used a powerful
date rape drug prompted
the school to announce
an investigation that
includes scrutiny of
where any drugs may
have originated.
But some medical
experts say recipes for
drugs similar to Rohypnol
may include household
ingredients. That could
make efforts to locate a
supplier for drugs allegedly used in crimes potentially very difficult.
Cat Otway, a registered
nurse at the First Step
Resource Center, says
that even over-the-counter medicines mixed with
alcohol can be used as
date-rape drugs.
“Sadly, you can make
a lot of these drugs
with just ingredients
you have around your
house,” said Otway.
“People are actually
making recipes for these
date-rape drugs.”
The University of Montana has enlisted an outside investigator, former
state Supreme Court Justice Diane Barz, to pursue
allegations lodged Dec. 16
that two female students
had been attacked.
That same day, The
Associated Press also
reported a woman told
Missoula police that she
woke up after attending
a party and felt like she
had been assaulted, but
she couldn’t remember
what happened.
Otway said her organization has yet to
see many complaints
about the use of daterape drugs, though she
believes problems that
plague other areas could
come to Missoula, too.
Others also say there’s
little evidence that use of
date rape drugs is prevalent, but they are remaining watchful.
“We’ve never seen
Rohypnol yet, at least
not in the lab,” said Jim
Hutchison, chief toxicologist at the Montana
Crime Lab. That doesn’t
mean it’s not being used,
he said. “We just haven’t
seen it yet.”
Hutchison said his lab
has tested samples in at
least two cases where a
drug called GHB — gamma-hydroxybutric acid,
which impairs the central
nervous system — was
found present.
One of those was a daterape case, the other a
case involving allegations
of impaired driving, he
said.
W
T
F
a
T
Daily inter lake
Vol. 104, No. 257
USPS 143-340
Published every morning by Hagadone Montana Publishing L.L.C., 727 East Idaho, P.O. Box 7610,
Kalispell, MT. Zip Code 59904. Periodical Postage Paid at Kalispell, Montana. Copyright 2011, The Daily
Inter Lake. All rights reserved. Reproduction, reuse or transmittal in any form or by any means, electronic or
mechanical, including photocopying, recording or an information storage and retrieval system is prohibited
without permission in writing from The Daily Inter Lake.
Rick Weaver, publisher
Dave Lesnick, sports editor
Frank Miele, managing editor
Cindy Sease, advertising director
Scott Crandell, asst. managing editor
Brant Horn, circulation manager
Subscribers who fail to receive their paper by 6:30 a.m. should telephone the circulation department at
755-7018 for customer service. Papers will be re-delivered from 6:30-11:00 to addresses within 5 miles of
Kalispell, and between 11:00 a.m. and 12:00 p.m. to addresses within 5 miles of Whitefish or Columbia Falls.
Postmaster: Send address changes to: The Daily Inter Lake, P.O. Box 7610, Kalispell, MT 59904.
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ADVERTISING DEADLINES:
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Member of The Associated Press Montana Newspaper Association
Cash on the hoof
Alex Brewster of Kalispell withdraws money from an ATM in downtown Albany, Ore., recently. Brewster
rode his 12-year-old quarter horse, Dooly, to surprise his mother at work after driving to his parents’ home
for Christmas.
Roundup
State lottery
grows despite
the economy
HELENA — Maybe
it’s despite the crummy
economy.
Or just maybe it’s
because of it.
Either way, the Montana Lottery is like a
steady train whose whistle of dreamed riches continues to be a siren song
for the optimistic.
Montana Lottery director Angela Wong told Lee
Newspapers of Montana
that business has trended
generally upward since
2004, despite a couple of
years were the annual
take has dipped.
The state-run Montana
Lottery’s revenue has risen from $36.7 million in
fiscal 2004 to $46 million
in fiscal 2011.
Not everybody thinks
that’s such a great thing,
though.
Barb Leland, owner of a
gas and convenience store
in Helena, says she’s a
little saddened people
may be so desperate that
they’re still counting on
their luck to turn, even if
the economy hasn’t.
Program helps
families in need
one at a time
HELENA — A 13-yearold transitional housing
program in Helena called
God’s Love continues to
help families, one by one.
The latest is a 22-yearold rural Montana woman
named Alora Mason
who just gave birth to a
daughter three weeks ago
— but when she arrived
at the program in July
was homeless, alone and
desperate.
Mason says she now
has the feeling of being
surrounded by family.
The program currently
houses six adults and
six children in quarters
opened in 1999, with
support from the federal
U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development.
People can stay six
months to two years,
developing the skills to
support permanent housing.
Mason says stability
is the key, since she’s
no longer bouncing from
family member to family
member.
Discarded trees
help improve
fish habitat
LANDER, Wyo. — That
old Christmas tree may
still be good for something after all.
Officials in Fremont
County are collecting
used Christmas trees to
drop into Ocean Lake to
improve fish habitat.
The Fremont County
Solid Waste Disposal
District is encouraging
people to recycle their
clean used trees at collection sites in Lander and
Riverton.
The trees will be
dropped through holes in
the ice at designated locations at Ocean Lake in
late January. Officials say
they provide good habitat
for the fish.
Forest alters
timber sales
on Bitterroot
HAMILTON — U.S. Forest Service officials say
significant changes have
been made to two potential timber sales in the
Bitterroot National Forest
that received no bids earlier this month.
Bitterroot National Forest Supervisor Julie King
said the agency reduced
the minimum bidding
price and extended how
long companies have to
complete the work.
One of the projects
is the 210-acre Como
Campground sale and
involves nearly 700,000
board feet of timber.
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Officials say the project includes salvaging
beetle killed trees in and
around the Lake Como
Recreation Area.
The other project is in
the Sapphire Mountains
and contains about 40
acres of already cut and
stacked logs.
King says the agency
will soon be accepting
new bids on the projects.
— The Associated Press
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n Page A3
FROM PAGE ONE
Skydiving injuries led to All loans go out of state
19-day stay in hospital
online lenders owned by
two other tribes.
“Our latest product,
Plain Green, launched
in April. Customers in
need of emergency cash
can apply online in minutes, get an answer in
seconds, and get cash as
soon as the next day,”
a Think Finance press
release from September
reads.
Neither the tribe nor
Think Finance returned
calls and emails for comment on the relationship
between the companies.
Better Business Bureau
spokeswoman Chelsea
Dannen said her agency
also tried to contact
Think Finance to clarify
the relationship but
received no response.
Rosette said Plain
Green Loans is wholly
owned by the tribe,
though he acknowledged
that his staff of 25 isn’t
equipped to handle the
volume. It employs a Las
Vegas call center and
uses brokers to provide it
with databases of potential borrowers. It borrows
just enough money each
day to cover its loans.
There are a lot of
things the tribe won’t
disclose. Rosette says
the default rate on Plain
Green loans is proprietary information. He
won’t name the companies the tribe is involved
with or say where company borrows its money
or at what rate.
tion and regulate commercial activity.”
Other legal battles are
any loans to Montana
being fought or have
residents, state prosbeen fought in Caliecutors plan to let Plain
fornia, West Virginia,
Green Loans and the
Missouri, New Mexico
Chippewa Cree tribe be.
and Maryland, creating
“We haven’t looked
specifically at the tribe,” an unsettled regulatory
environment, said Jean
said assistant attorney
Anne Fox, director of
general Jim Molloy.
financial services at
“We’ve not pursued it
based on the understand- Consumer Federation
of America, a consumer
ing with the tribe that
advocacy group in Washthey’re not lending to
ington, D.C.
Montanans.”
“It’s a real threat to the
Rosette confirmed that
ability of state regulathe tribe is not lending
tors to enforce the loan
to Montana residents,
market to police caps and
but he bristled at the
other consumer protecidea that the state could
enforce its rate cap even tion measures,” Fox said.
Some non-tribal busiif the tribe were lending
nesses have seen tribal
in the state.
“If we wanted to defend immunity as a shield
our position in Montana, that they can use to
make high-interest loans
we could. But why? It’s
a small market. It wasn’t outside of the regulatory
spotlight and a way to
worth the fight if there
avoid state law enforcewas one,” Rosette said.
ment, Fox said. So they
Other states have
affiliate themselves with
entered legal battles
the tribe and conduct
with lending businesses
business under that
owned by tribes. A
shield, she said.
closely watched case
It can be difficult
is playing out now in
to obtain records that
Colorado, where the
state is attempting to sue define the relationship
between a tribe and nonWestern Sky Financial,
tribal entity. That’s the
an online lender owned
by North Dakota’s Chey- case with Plain Green
Loan’s relationship to a
enne River Sioux Tribe.
Fort Worth, Texas-based
Colorado is trying to
company called Think
prevent Western Sky
from making loans with- Finance Inc.
Think Finance says
in its borders, while the
on its website that Plain
tribe counters that the
Green Loans is one of its
state is attempting “to
“products,” along with
reach into the reserva-
TRIBE/From A1
RECOVERY/From A1
humbling. I couldn’t
appreciate it more,” he
said. “It honestly made a
difference.”
AFTER 19 DAYS at
Harborview, Wright was
ready to be moved to a
rehabilitation center, but
found out that his highdeductible catastrophic
health-care insurance
policy — which is paying
for the lion’s share of his
medical bills — wouldn’t
cover the rehab stay.
“I’m bedridden, a single
guy who lives alone and
they said they wouldn’t
pay for rehab,” Wright
said, still frustrated over
the insurance company’s
decision. “There are so
many small business
owners who have this
coverage. They need to
know this.”
The insurance company
also wouldn’t pay for the
bed-to-bed transfer he
needed to get home to
Whitefish.
“I bought my own life
flight home for $6,000,” he
said, adding that once he
was home and on outpatient care, his insurance
coverage kicked in again.
“I was lucky enough to
have friends and family
to provide 24-hour care to
allow me to go home after
leaving Harborview.”
Wright has a team of
local physicians who
are now monitoring his
progress — an orthopedic
surgeon, neurosurgeon,
urologist, pain management specialist and his
family doctor. He hopes
to slowly get back on his
feet this week.
“It’s tough being bedridden,” he said.
When doctors told him
early on that he was probably already dependent
on pain-killing narcotics,
Wright weaned himself
from nine pain pills a day
to just one.
“I’m pretty good at taking pain,” he said, detailing previous skydiving
and sporting injuries.
“I’m now extremely aware
of my pelvis, though. I go
through pain cycles. The
one last Friday night lasted 10 hours. During the
Image courtesy of Blaine Wright
THIS X-RAY shows the implants in Blaine Wright’s
pelvis and spine after he was injured skydiving.
daytime it’s much easier
to manage the pain.”
It’s not so much the
healing bones that ache,
but rather the damage to
both sensory and motor
nerves.
“Nerve damage takes
a lot longer to heal,” he
said. “It can be a couple
of years.”
Wright figures his left
buttocks bore the brunt of
the crash, and that caused
all sorts of nerve damage
that makes pain show up
in the oddest places, like
his uninjured left foot.
“I’ve learned how to
deal with this, but it’s the
phantom pain that gets
me, the burning, pins-andneedles pain, pain that
feels like electric shocks,”
he said. “Other people
have it way worse than
me. It helped me to be in
relatively good shape”
before the accident.
He’s found some relief
in the therapy pool at The
Wave fitness center, but
knows if he exercises his
legs too much it sets off
the nerve pain.
The 6-foot, 4-inch athlete figures he’s lost about
20 pounds from his normal 200-pound frame.
“I’m watching muscle
tone disappear,” he said.
FRIENDS AND family
have been by his bedside
most days since the accident.
Two of his best skydiving buddies traveled to
Whitefish to stay with
him for two weeks apiece.
An aide from Comfort
Keepers helps with his
home care, and the
Drive4U Taxi Service,
which can accommodate
wheelchair passengers,
has been a godsend.
It wasn’t only Wright’s
skydiving and skiing that
have been sidelined by
his injuries. His work on
rocket engines also has
taken a back seat to his
recovery.
Wright has worked on
various rocket-engine
and missile interceptor projects through the
years and does contract
work for private aerospace manufacturers
and defense technology
companies, as well as the
Missile Defense Agency, a
section of the U.S. Department of Defense.
He was just getting
ready to do the second
round of testing a Mars
Ascent Vehicle thruster.
The technical nature of
his work was a key reason why Wright wanted
to free himself from painkillers, so he could be “of
sound mind” to work.
“I don’t want any fogginess,” he said.
For now, however, nearly all of Wright’s energy
and focus is going into
his recovery. He’s been
told he can expect a full
recovery, but he’ll have to
learn to walk again.
It’s too early to tell if
he’ll be able to skydive
again.
“I probably will jump
again, but I won’t make
that decision until I’m
healed,” he said. “Time
will tell.”
Features editor Lynnette
Hintze may be reached at
758-4421 or by e-mail at
[email protected].
KNOW WHO TO CALL WHEN YOUR BONDS ARE CALLED.
Bob Pearce
Columbia Falls
892-7283
Mark Salansky
Kalispell
755-8280
Beth Morgenstern
Bigfork
837-1013
who seems to have the
most sophisticated network of volunteers ready
to organize for the caucuses. Paul was to return
to Iowa this week to meet
with supporters he has
kept in touch with since
his unsuccessful run in
2008.
Others, too, were ready
to turn on their own
political machines and
put fresh ads on the air.
Gingrich, who last
week criticized the negative tone of the campaign,
was preparing to directly
challenge Romney on the
economy, an issue Romney has made central to
his campaign. Gingrich’s
standing in public and
private polls has slipped
as he faced unrelenting
criticism from the candidates and their allies.
Gingrich was expected
to use clips from Romney’s
previous campaigns distancing himself from President Ronald Reagan and
pitch his own economic
plan as “Reaganomics 2.0.”
Gingrich also was expected to compare Romney’s
tax plan with his own.
Romney released a new
TV ad in Iowa on Monday
that touts him as a conservative businessman and in
which he says “it is a moral imperative for America
to stop spending more
money than we take in.”
“It’s killing jobs and
it’s keeping our kids
from having the bright
prospects they deserve,”
he says in the spot. “The
experience of balancing
budgets is desperately
needed in Washington
and I will take it there.”
Santorum, meanwhile,
planned to announce support from another wave
of Iowa conservatives. He
City’s resort tax has
raised $20.6 million
Jesse Mann
Columbia Falls
892-7283
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1558674R
ber they jumped 22 perTAXABLE/From A1
cent.
Retail goods continue to
lected $20.6 million, 65
percent of which has been bring in the most resort
used for street reconstruc- tax revenue.
For example, in August
tion such as the multithis year — one of the
phase rebuild of Central
busiest months in the
Avenue. Twenty-five
resort town — $106,860
percent of resort-tax revenue goes to property-tax was collected from the
rebates for city residents; sale of retail goods while
lodging facilities brought
5 percent is used for
in $85,621 and restauparks and the remaining
rants/bars brought in
5 percent for administra$91,408. It was the best
tion.
August for collections
If collections continue
since the tax began.
on an upward path,
November and December
Features editor Lynnette
also should be strong
Hintze may be reached at
months. In November
758-4421 or by email at lhin2010 collections were up
20 percent and in Decem- [email protected].
scheduled a pheasant hunting trip in Adel for Monday afternoon. While he
trails in polls and has not
spent significant money on
ads, Santorum is hoping
his nonstop courtship of
Iowans yields a late surge.
He visited all 99 of Iowa’s
counties during the summer — an accomplishment
Bachmann has feverishly
tried to replicate.
Bachmann, a congresswoman from Minnesota,
last week darted through
small towns, reminding
voters that Santorum lost
his 2006 re-election bid in
a blowout and that Paul’s
foreign policy views were
outside the party’s orthodoxy.
Looking to recapture
voters’ interest, her plan
was to return to hand-tohand campaigning Tuesday and paint herself as
the only acceptable conservative in the race.
Patrick McCracken
Columbia Falls
892-1755
www.edwardjones.com
Fresh campaign ads to be aired
FINAL/From A1
Karin Holder
Whitefish
862-5454
Whitefish • 862-3111
Mountain Mall
Daily8-8; Sunday 8-6
Kalispell • 755-6484
Hutton Ranch Plaza
Daily 9-9; Sunday 10-6
n Page A4
EDITORIAL BOARD
o Rick Weaver, publisher
o Frank Miele, managing editor
o Scott Crandell, asst. managing editor
o Lynnette Hintze, features editor
o Jim Mann, senior reporter
o Community members:
Mona Charles, James How, Scott Jones,
Wendy Ostrom-Price
OPINION
Is third party really viable?
The Day (of New London, Conn.)
Third-party presidential candidates
have never come close to gaining
election in the last hundred years
— Theodore Roosevelt lost in 1912,
George Wallace in 1968, John Anderson in 1980, H. Ross Perot in 1992
and 1996 and Ralph Nader in every
race since 1996 — but they have often
served as spoilers for the Democratic
or Republican in the race.
In that capacity they sometimes
have helped defeat the candidate
more closely aligned with their interests: the conservative Perot ruined
Republican George H.W. Bush’s reelection bid in 1992, opening the door
for Democrat Bill Clinton; Nader,
a left-leaning consumer advocate,
helped Republican George W. Bush
beat Democrat Al Gore in 2000.
Now, a privately financed group
called Americans Elect is organizing an online effort to run a
third-party candidate for the White
House. Given the general dissat-
As others see it
isfaction with President Barack
Obama and any of his would-be
GOP challengers, along with the
influence social media and Internet
communication have had on such
movements as Arab Spring and
Occupy Wall Street, the major parties should sit up and take notice.
On Monday, after submitting the
signatures of more than 1 million
registered voters, Americans Elect
won a spot on the 2012 ballot in California — the 12th state in its drive
to get slots on all 50 by Election Day.
Also on board are Arkansas, Alaska,
Arizona, Colorado, Florida, Kansas,
Michigan, Mississippi, Nevada, Ohio
and Utah.
The movement plans to nominate
a ticket through online balloting in
June. Only former Republican Louisiana Gov. Buddy Roemer, a relative
political lightweight, has expressed
an interest in an Americans Elect
candidacy.
Americans Elect would vastly pre-
fer someone like New York Mayor
Michael R. Bloomberg or New Jersey
Gov. Chris Christie.
The ready-made ability to get on
most and perhaps all state ballots
could invite a late entry into the
race. Gov. Christie appears unlikely.
If viewed as a spoiler that helps reelect President Obama, he could ruin
his future in the Republican Party
nationally. On the other hand Mayor
Bloomberg, who could finance much
of his own campaign, could prove a
formidable candidate.
While this newspaper [The Day]
welcomes any effort to engage voters, we also urge Americans Elect
to identify the source of its $30 million campaign. Its chairman is Peter
Ackerman, a Wall Street financier
who worked with junk-bond trader
Michael Milken at Drexel Burnham
Lambert in the 1980s, giving us pause.
Yet the movement suggests that in
the digital age conventional assumptions, such as third-party candidates
have no shot, may no longer hold
true.
Letters to the
editor
Change needed
in foreign policy
This letter is surely not
taking a position which is
very popular with many
people, but I do believe it
needs to be said, looked at,
and rationally considered.
It is about the global arms
trade, both legal and illegal.
The U.S. trades more
in arms than the rest of
the world put together.
This is a fact. This is huge
business. This is a business
for which none of our legislators want to touch with a
“10-foot pole.” To give any
sense of suggesting we perhaps reduce our obsession
with military armaments
would seal their fate as far
as politics is concerned.
The huge weapons
contracts and vast sums
of money involved from
just the Middle Eastern
countries, for example, is
mind boggling. Just read
some of the facts reported
by Andrew Feinstein in
his unmasking the global
arms trade. Look him up
on Google. See for yourself.
My point is simply this:
I firmly believe that unless
our nation’s obsessive collective mind-set changes
dramatically towards war,
power by force, control by
military might, dangerous
and remote killing with
drones, do it our way or
suffer sanctions, and trying
to buy our influence with
money, that we are heading
down the road to global isolation, reprisals, increased
terrorism, financial ruin,
and neutralization as a
world leader.
You certainly may not
agree with me on this. But
dialogue around this issue
is important, I believe. It
needs to be openly talked
about, I feel. —Bob McClellan, Polson
Bureaucrats have
no stake in fixing
the economy
With official unemployment in our nation at 9.1
percent and actual unemployment much greater,
it might be logical to
assume that the restraints
on resource development
might be eased.
Rational thought locally
might suggest a need to
expedite the permitting
process for the Rock Creek
and Montanore mines and
thereby create jobs for hundreds. It may even be time
to consider a return to harvesting our national forests
on a sustained yield basis
instead of just looking at
them. With the gated road
policy now in effect, even
the option of looking at the
forest is restricted.
Unfortunately, the
bureaucrats that manage
our resources have no
incentive to expedite anything
because their livelihood is
unaffected by economic conditions. Their paychecks continue to arrive in good times
and bad. Another assumption
a rational person might make
in this time of recession is
that rules and regulations
hampering business might
be eased a bit, at least until
an economic recovery is
achieved. But no, the rules
and regulations continue at
an unrelenting pace.
The Obama administration’s
plan for job creation is for
more government agencies,
commissions, committees,
regulators, lawyers, inspectors, judges, marshals and
tax collectors. These are all
“clean” jobs. No dust or smoke
is involved. The “dirty” jobs
like mining, lumbering, oil
drilling and manufacturing
can be done in other countries.
Obama proposes to pay for all
these government jobs by raising taxes for business and by
printing more money.
With the bizarre policies
coming out of our government, it should come as no
surprise that businesses large
and small are relocating their
operations to other countries.
Unless a business is one of
those with the political clout
to win tax avoidance and
subsidy, the tax load in our
country by itself is sufficient
reason to locate elsewhere. If
Obama Care is not repealed
before 2014, when it’s scheduled to take effect, it will
provide further incentive for
businesses to move or cease
operation.
Do the benefits provided by
government agencies justify
their enormous cost? Homeland Security, since 2001, has
cost over $300 billion. The
regulations imposed by the
EPA have cost industry $1.7
trillion. Locally, our lumber
industry has been destroyed
and billions in mining potential languish presumably in
order to create a safe zone for
a few grizzly bears.
Life is largely a matter
of economics. The question
must always be asked: Do the
benefits of a program justify
the costs? Are we willing to
become a Third World nation
in order to have a dust-free
environment? Are we prepared to forgo prosperity for
our nation in order to become
a sanctuary for endangered
species? —Bill Payne, Libby
What’s with the
‘circular’ logic?
There seems to be considerable public objection to spending thousands of dollars of
federal funds (our money) to
continue the U.S. 93 Bypass.
Many of the earlier roads are
either changed or eliminated,
making for confusion.
I fail to understand the
engineering logic behind
those ridiculous circlearounds. The 93 Bypass was
supposed to be a truck bypass
but a large semi-truck trailer
cannot maneuver easily, if at
all, around these obstacles. So
what is their purpose? And
what should be done to correct this mess? —Lois Robinson, Bigfork
Drunk drivers
getting off easy?
Why is the city of Kalispell
so easy on drivers convicted
of driving an automobile
while under the influence of
alcohol?
I read recently where a
hunter who had accidentally shot a grizzly bear was
fined approximately $700 and
ordered to perform 30 hours
of community service. He
had turned himself in and led
authorities to the bear.
I also noticed that most
drivers convicted of driving
under the influence of alcohol
are fined anywhere from $200$600 while spending only 24
hours in detention.
Drunk drivers exact a
heavy toll on life and property. Why are our judges going
so easy on drivers who are
out to kill me?
Should I drive around with a
grizzly bear strapped into my
front seat to guarantee a harsher punishment in case one of
these people runs over me?
A concerned Kalispell resident. —Joe Apple, Kalispell
What about coach?
Thank you John Lawler
for your letter to the editor!
I kept waiting for someone
to express my feelings and
concerns regarding the coach
to not be held accountable.
I thought that was a “nobrainer!” So, he just resigns
and walks away? What does
that say about responsibility?
What kind of example is that?
I sincerely hope this matter
was addressed much more so
than the public was made aware
of. None of this would have happened if he would have been
doing his job. How sad is that?
The parents trusted that their
children would be watched, safe
and taken care of...
My anger and disappointment would start with the
coach. —Rita Boese, Bigfork
Write to us
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Random thoughts
Random thoughts
on the passing scene:
Talk show host
Dennis Miller said,
“I don’t dig polo. It’s
like miniature golf
meets the Kentucky
Derby.”
Nothing illustrates
the superficiality of
our times better than
the enthusiasm for
electric cars, because
they are supposed
to greatly reduce air
pollution. But the electricity that ultimately powers these cars has to be
generated somewhere — and nearly
half the electricity generated in this
country is generated by burning coal.
The 2012 Republican primaries
may be a rerun of the 2008 primaries,
where the various conservative candidates split the conservative vote so
many ways that the candidate of the
mushy middle got the nomination
— and then lost the election.
Because morality does not always
prevail, by any means, too many of
the intelligentsia act as if it has no
effect. But, even in Nazi Germany,
thousands of Germans hid Jews during the war, at the risk of their own
lives, because it was the right thing
to do.
In recent times, Christmas has
brought not only holiday cheer but
also attacks on the very word “Christmas,” chasing it from the vocabulary
of institutions and even from most
“holiday cards.” Like many other
social crusades, this one is based on
a lie — namely that the Constitution
puts a wall of separation between
church and state. It also shows how
easily intimidated we are by strident
zealots.
If you don’t like growing older,
don’t worry about it. You may not be
growing older much longer.
What do you call it when someone
steals someone else’s money secretly?
Theft. What do you call it when someone takes someone else’s money openly by force? Robbery. What do you
call it when a politician takes someone else’s money in taxes and gives it
to someone who is more likely to vote
for him? Social justice.
When an organization has more of
its decisions made by committees,
that gives more influence to those
who have more time available to
attend committee meetings and to
drag out each meeting longer. In other words, it reduces the influence of
those who have work to do, and are
doing it, while making those who are
less productive more influential.
Anyone who studies the history of
ideas should notice how much more
often people on the political left, more
so than others, denigrate and demonize those who disagree with them
— instead of answering their arguments.
The wisest and most knowledgeable
human being on the planet is utterly
incompetent to make even 10 percent
of the consequential decisions that
have to be made in a modern nation.
Yet all sorts of people want to decide
how much money other people can
make or keep, and to micro-manage
how other people live their lives.
The real egalitarians are not the
people who want to redistribute
wealth to the poor, but those who
want to extend to the poor the ability to create their own wealth, to lift
themselves up, instead of trying to
tear others down. Earning respect,
including self-respect, is better than
being a parasite.
Of all the arguments for giving
amnesty to illegal immigrants, the
most foolish is the argument that we
can’t find and expel all of them. There
is not a law on the books that someone has not violated, including laws
against murder, and we certainly
have not found and prosecuted all the
violators — whether murderers or
traffic law violators. But do we then
legalize all the illegalities we haven’t
been able to detect and prosecute?
In the 1920s, Congressman Thomas
S. Adams referred to “the ease with
which the income tax may be legally
avoided” but also said some Congressmen “so fervently believe that
the rich ought to pay 40 or 50 per cent
of their incomes” in taxes that they
would rather make this a law, even if
the government would get more revenue from a lower tax rate that people
actually pay. Some also prefer class
warfare politics that brings in votes,
if not revenue.
Can you imagine a man who had
never run any kind of organization,
large or small, taking it upon himself
to fundamentally change all kinds of
organizations in a huge and complex
economy? Yet that is what Barack
Obama did when he said, “We are
going to change the United States of
America!” This was not “The Audacity of Hope.” It was the audacity of
hype.
Thomas
Sowell
Economist Thomas Sowell is a senior
fellow at the Hoover Institution at Stanford
University.
C. 2010 Creators.com
Pages A4 & 5
Cyan Magenta Yellow Black
n Page A4
EDITORIAL BOARD
o Rick Weaver, publisher
o Frank Miele, managing editor
o Scott Crandell, asst. managing editor
o Lynnette Hintze, features editor
o Jim Mann, senior reporter
o Community members:
Mona Charles, James How, Scott Jones,
Wendy Ostrom-Price
OPINION
Is third party really viable?
The Day (of New London, Conn.)
Third-party presidential candidates
have never come close to gaining
election in the last hundred years
— Theodore Roosevelt lost in 1912,
George Wallace in 1968, John Anderson in 1980, H. Ross Perot in 1992
and 1996 and Ralph Nader in every
race since 1996 — but they have often
served as spoilers for the Democratic
or Republican in the race.
In that capacity they sometimes
have helped defeat the candidate
more closely aligned with their interests: the conservative Perot ruined
Republican George H.W. Bush’s reelection bid in 1992, opening the door
for Democrat Bill Clinton; Nader,
a left-leaning consumer advocate,
helped Republican George W. Bush
beat Democrat Al Gore in 2000.
Now, a privately financed group
called Americans Elect is organizing an online effort to run a
third-party candidate for the White
House. Given the general dissat-
As others see it
isfaction with President Barack
Obama and any of his would-be
GOP challengers, along with the
influence social media and Internet
communication have had on such
movements as Arab Spring and
Occupy Wall Street, the major parties should sit up and take notice.
On Monday, after submitting the
signatures of more than 1 million
registered voters, Americans Elect
won a spot on the 2012 ballot in California — the 12th state in its drive
to get slots on all 50 by Election Day.
Also on board are Arkansas, Alaska,
Arizona, Colorado, Florida, Kansas,
Michigan, Mississippi, Nevada, Ohio
and Utah.
The movement plans to nominate
a ticket through online balloting in
June. Only former Republican Louisiana Gov. Buddy Roemer, a relative
political lightweight, has expressed
an interest in an Americans Elect
candidacy.
Americans Elect would vastly pre-
fer someone like New York Mayor
Michael R. Bloomberg or New Jersey
Gov. Chris Christie.
The ready-made ability to get on
most and perhaps all state ballots
could invite a late entry into the
race. Gov. Christie appears unlikely.
If viewed as a spoiler that helps reelect President Obama, he could ruin
his future in the Republican Party
nationally. On the other hand Mayor
Bloomberg, who could finance much
of his own campaign, could prove a
formidable candidate.
While this newspaper [The Day]
welcomes any effort to engage voters, we also urge Americans Elect
to identify the source of its $30 million campaign. Its chairman is Peter
Ackerman, a Wall Street financier
who worked with junk-bond trader
Michael Milken at Drexel Burnham
Lambert in the 1980s, giving us pause.
Yet the movement suggests that in
the digital age conventional assumptions, such as third-party candidates
have no shot, may no longer hold
true.
Letters to the
editor
Change needed
in foreign policy
This letter is surely not
taking a position which is
very popular with many
people, but I do believe it
needs to be said, looked at,
and rationally considered.
It is about the global arms
trade, both legal and illegal.
The U.S. trades more
in arms than the rest of
the world put together.
This is a fact. This is huge
business. This is a business
for which none of our legislators want to touch with a
“10-foot pole.” To give any
sense of suggesting we perhaps reduce our obsession
with military armaments
would seal their fate as far
as politics is concerned.
The huge weapons
contracts and vast sums
of money involved from
just the Middle Eastern
countries, for example, is
mind boggling. Just read
some of the facts reported
by Andrew Feinstein in
his unmasking the global
arms trade. Look him up
on Google. See for yourself.
My point is simply this:
I firmly believe that unless
our nation’s obsessive collective mind-set changes
dramatically towards war,
power by force, control by
military might, dangerous
and remote killing with
drones, do it our way or
suffer sanctions, and trying
to buy our influence with
money, that we are heading
down the road to global isolation, reprisals, increased
terrorism, financial ruin,
and neutralization as a
world leader.
You certainly may not
agree with me on this. But
dialogue around this issue
is important, I believe. It
needs to be openly talked
about, I feel. —Bob McClellan, Polson
Bureaucrats have
no stake in fixing
the economy
With official unemployment in our nation at 9.1
percent and actual unemployment much greater,
it might be logical to
assume that the restraints
on resource development
might be eased.
Rational thought locally
might suggest a need to
expedite the permitting
process for the Rock Creek
and Montanore mines and
thereby create jobs for hundreds. It may even be time
to consider a return to harvesting our national forests
on a sustained yield basis
instead of just looking at
them. With the gated road
policy now in effect, even
the option of looking at the
forest is restricted.
Unfortunately, the
bureaucrats that manage
our resources have no
incentive to expedite anything
because their livelihood is
unaffected by economic conditions. Their paychecks continue to arrive in good times
and bad. Another assumption
a rational person might make
in this time of recession is
that rules and regulations
hampering business might
be eased a bit, at least until
an economic recovery is
achieved. But no, the rules
and regulations continue at
an unrelenting pace.
The Obama administration’s
plan for job creation is for
more government agencies,
commissions, committees,
regulators, lawyers, inspectors, judges, marshals and
tax collectors. These are all
“clean” jobs. No dust or smoke
is involved. The “dirty” jobs
like mining, lumbering, oil
drilling and manufacturing
can be done in other countries.
Obama proposes to pay for all
these government jobs by raising taxes for business and by
printing more money.
With the bizarre policies
coming out of our government, it should come as no
surprise that businesses large
and small are relocating their
operations to other countries.
Unless a business is one of
those with the political clout
to win tax avoidance and
subsidy, the tax load in our
country by itself is sufficient
reason to locate elsewhere. If
Obama Care is not repealed
before 2014, when it’s scheduled to take effect, it will
provide further incentive for
businesses to move or cease
operation.
Do the benefits provided by
government agencies justify
their enormous cost? Homeland Security, since 2001, has
cost over $300 billion. The
regulations imposed by the
EPA have cost industry $1.7
trillion. Locally, our lumber
industry has been destroyed
and billions in mining potential languish presumably in
order to create a safe zone for
a few grizzly bears.
Life is largely a matter
of economics. The question
must always be asked: Do the
benefits of a program justify
the costs? Are we willing to
become a Third World nation
in order to have a dust-free
environment? Are we prepared to forgo prosperity for
our nation in order to become
a sanctuary for endangered
species? —Bill Payne, Libby
What’s with the
‘circular’ logic?
There seems to be considerable public objection to spending thousands of dollars of
federal funds (our money) to
continue the U.S. 93 Bypass.
Many of the earlier roads are
either changed or eliminated,
making for confusion.
I fail to understand the
engineering logic behind
those ridiculous circlearounds. The 93 Bypass was
supposed to be a truck bypass
but a large semi-truck trailer
cannot maneuver easily, if at
all, around these obstacles. So
what is their purpose? And
what should be done to correct this mess? —Lois Robinson, Bigfork
Drunk drivers
getting off easy?
Why is the city of Kalispell
so easy on drivers convicted
of driving an automobile
while under the influence of
alcohol?
I read recently where a
hunter who had accidentally shot a grizzly bear was
fined approximately $700 and
ordered to perform 30 hours
of community service. He
had turned himself in and led
authorities to the bear.
I also noticed that most
drivers convicted of driving
under the influence of alcohol
are fined anywhere from $200$600 while spending only 24
hours in detention.
Drunk drivers exact a
heavy toll on life and property. Why are our judges going
so easy on drivers who are
out to kill me?
Should I drive around with a
grizzly bear strapped into my
front seat to guarantee a harsher punishment in case one of
these people runs over me?
A concerned Kalispell resident. —Joe Apple, Kalispell
What about coach?
Thank you John Lawler
for your letter to the editor!
I kept waiting for someone
to express my feelings and
concerns regarding the coach
to not be held accountable.
I thought that was a “nobrainer!” So, he just resigns
and walks away? What does
that say about responsibility?
What kind of example is that?
I sincerely hope this matter
was addressed much more so
than the public was made aware
of. None of this would have happened if he would have been
doing his job. How sad is that?
The parents trusted that their
children would be watched, safe
and taken care of...
My anger and disappointment would start with the
coach. —Rita Boese, Bigfork
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NATION/WORLD
Flood victims found 60 miles away
Random thoughts
Random thoughts
on the passing scene:
Talk show host
Dennis Miller said,
“I don’t dig polo. It’s
like miniature golf
meets the Kentucky
Derby.”
Nothing illustrates
the superficiality of
our times better than
the enthusiasm for
electric cars, because
they are supposed
to greatly reduce air
pollution. But the electricity that ultimately powers these cars has to be
generated somewhere — and nearly
half the electricity generated in this
country is generated by burning coal.
The 2012 Republican primaries
may be a rerun of the 2008 primaries,
where the various conservative candidates split the conservative vote so
many ways that the candidate of the
mushy middle got the nomination
— and then lost the election.
Because morality does not always
prevail, by any means, too many of
the intelligentsia act as if it has no
effect. But, even in Nazi Germany,
thousands of Germans hid Jews during the war, at the risk of their own
lives, because it was the right thing
to do.
In recent times, Christmas has
brought not only holiday cheer but
also attacks on the very word “Christmas,” chasing it from the vocabulary
of institutions and even from most
“holiday cards.” Like many other
social crusades, this one is based on
a lie — namely that the Constitution
puts a wall of separation between
church and state. It also shows how
easily intimidated we are by strident
zealots.
If you don’t like growing older,
don’t worry about it. You may not be
growing older much longer.
What do you call it when someone
steals someone else’s money secretly?
Theft. What do you call it when someone takes someone else’s money openly by force? Robbery. What do you
call it when a politician takes someone else’s money in taxes and gives it
to someone who is more likely to vote
for him? Social justice.
When an organization has more of
its decisions made by committees,
that gives more influence to those
who have more time available to
attend committee meetings and to
drag out each meeting longer. In other words, it reduces the influence of
those who have work to do, and are
doing it, while making those who are
less productive more influential.
Anyone who studies the history of
ideas should notice how much more
often people on the political left, more
so than others, denigrate and demonize those who disagree with them
— instead of answering their arguments.
The wisest and most knowledgeable
human being on the planet is utterly
incompetent to make even 10 percent
of the consequential decisions that
have to be made in a modern nation.
Yet all sorts of people want to decide
how much money other people can
make or keep, and to micro-manage
how other people live their lives.
The real egalitarians are not the
people who want to redistribute
wealth to the poor, but those who
want to extend to the poor the ability to create their own wealth, to lift
themselves up, instead of trying to
tear others down. Earning respect,
including self-respect, is better than
being a parasite.
Of all the arguments for giving
amnesty to illegal immigrants, the
most foolish is the argument that we
can’t find and expel all of them. There
is not a law on the books that someone has not violated, including laws
against murder, and we certainly
have not found and prosecuted all the
violators — whether murderers or
traffic law violators. But do we then
legalize all the illegalities we haven’t
been able to detect and prosecute?
In the 1920s, Congressman Thomas
S. Adams referred to “the ease with
which the income tax may be legally
avoided” but also said some Congressmen “so fervently believe that
the rich ought to pay 40 or 50 per cent
of their incomes” in taxes that they
would rather make this a law, even if
the government would get more revenue from a lower tax rate that people
actually pay. Some also prefer class
warfare politics that brings in votes,
if not revenue.
Can you imagine a man who had
never run any kind of organization,
large or small, taking it upon himself
to fundamentally change all kinds of
organizations in a huge and complex
economy? Yet that is what Barack
Obama did when he said, “We are
going to change the United States of
America!” This was not “The Audacity of Hope.” It was the audacity of
hype.
Thomas
Sowell
Economist Thomas Sowell is a senior
fellow at the Hoover Institution at Stanford
University.
C. 2010 Creators.com
n Page A5
MANILA, Philippines
(AP) — Fishermen joined
Philippine navy sailors,
police and firefighters in
an ever wider search for
bodies from entire villages swept away in one of
the country’s worst flash
floods. More bodies have
washed ashore, pushing
the death toll to more
than 1,200, an official said
Monday.
While more than 60,000
homeless from hundreds
of flood-ravaged villages spent a miserable
Christmas in jam-packed
schools and gymnasiums,
search teams retrieved an
additional 150 bodies from
the sea as far as 60 miles
from worst-hit Cagayan
de Oro and Iligan cities, said Benito Ramos,
head of the Office of Civil
Defense.
He said it would take
three to six months to
restore some normalcy
and construct temporary
housing to free up schools
that are now serving as
refugee camps.
FLOOD VICTIMS walk back to their temporary shelter
with relief goods in Iligan city, southern Philippines, on
Christmas Day. Thousands of people continue to be
housed in evacuation centers.
The death toll as of
Monday stood at 1,236,
with about two-thirds of
the bodies unidentified.
With more bodies found
floating farther away,
Ramos said authorities
sought the help of fishermen to scour the sea.
“We’ve stopped counting the missing. There
are no accurate figures,”
Ramos said. “Those recovered, we don’t know who
they are. We have a system in place so that families can claim them later,
based on fingerprints and
dental records.”
The United Nations last
week launched an urgent
appeal for $28 million to
help an estimated 600,000
affected people, more
than half the population
of Cagayan de Oro and
Iligan in the southern
Mindanao region.
Despite warnings from
forecasters, most were
asleep Dec. 16 when a tropical storm made a landfall
in a region rarely visited
by typhoons. It unleashed
more than a month’s
worth of rainfall in 12
hours, sending walls of
water gushing into homes.
Many of the dead were
women and children who
drowned in their beds.
Others scrambled to
climb roofs to escape the
overflowing rivers and
muddy waters that carried dangerous debris and
logs from nearby mountains. The logs were still
floating off the coast.
President Benigno
Aquino III, who banned
logging in February following previous flooding
deaths that experts say
were caused partly by
deforestation and soil
erosion, has ordered an
investigation.
Roundup
House where
five died in fire
is torn down
STAMFORD, Conn. —
A house severely damaged in a Christmas
morning fire that killed
three children and two
grandparents, one of
whom worked as Santa
Claus at Saks Fifth Avenue, has been torn down.
The building department determined that the
$1.7 million house was
unsafe and ordered it
razed, Stamford fire chief
Antonio Conte said.
The home’s owner,
advertising executive
Madonna Badger, and
her male acquaintance
escaped from the fire. But
Badger’s three daughters — a 10-year-old and
7-year-old twins — and
her parents, who were
visiting for the holiday,
died, police said.
Neighbors said they
awoke to the sound of
screaming shortly before
5 a.m. Sunday and rushed
outside to help, but could
do nothing as flames
devoured the large, turreted home.
Police said the male
acquaintance who
escaped the blaze with
Badger was a contractor
working on the home.
He was also hospitalized
but his condition was not
released.
Interviews with them
will be finished Monday,
Conte said. He had no
details on the investigation.
lim militants launched
coordinated attacks across
Africa’s most populous
nation within hours of one
another. Four more people
were killed in other violence blamed on the group
known as Boko Haram.
It was the second year
in a row that the extremists seeking to install
MADALLA, Nigeria
Islamic Shariah law
— In the chaos after the
across the country of
Christmas terror attack
160 million have staged
on a Catholic church, one Christmas attacks. Last
mortally wounded man
year, a series of bombings
cradled his wounded stom- on Christmas Eve killed
ach and begged a priest
32 people in Nigeria.
for religious atonement.
On Monday, one man
“Father, pray for me. I
tried to clean the sancwill not survive,” he said. tuary of the damaged
church, while one man
At least 35 people died
wept uncontrollably amid
at St. Theresa Catholic
the debris.
Church and dozens were
— The Associated Press
wounded as radical Mus-
Nigerians fear
more attacks
after 35 killed
Kim Jong Il’s heir
meets with S. Koreans
PYONGYANG, North
Korea (AP) — North
Korea’s next leader burnished his diplomatic
skills Monday, welcoming a private South
Korean mourning delegation as state media
revealed a new title
that gives Kim Jong Un
authority over political
matters.
Kim Jong Un has rapidly gained prominence
since the death of his
father Kim Jong Il on
Dec. 17, and his brief
meeting with a group
led by a former South
Korean first lady and
a prominent business
leader shows Seoul that
he is assured in his new
role.
State media have
showered Kim with new
titles. On Saturday, the
North referred to him as
“supreme leader” of the
1.2 million-strong armed
forces and said the military’s top leaders had
pledged their loyalty to
him. On Monday, the
Rodong Sinmun newspaper described him
as head of the Central
Committee of the Workers’ Party — a post that
appears to make him the
top official in the ruling
party.
On Monday, a South
Korean delegation stood
in a line on a red carpet and bowed silently
during their visit to the
Kumsusan Memorial
Palace, where Kim Jong
Il’s body is lying in state
in a bier surrounded by
flowers and flanked by
an honor guard.
The lead delegates
were the widow of former South Korean President Kim Dae-jung, who
engineered a “sunshine”
engagement policy with
the North and held a
landmark summit with
Kim Jong Il in 2000, and
Hyundai Group Chairwoman Hyun Jeong-eun,
whose late husband had
ties to the North.
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Professional
Administrative SpecialistPlanning Bureau Chief,
#60066- Community Development Division, Department of
Commerce, Helena, salary
$46,599 - $58,248. The Division is looking for an experienced manager with extensive
land use
planning
and
community development experience, particularly in Montana.
For application information,
contact any Job Service or
apply online at the state website: https://svc.mt.gov/statejob
Professional
General
Program Specialist:
Couple to Manage a
Year Round AAA Motel
Part Time. Job Description
and application available at
www.capnm.net. Submit
completed applications to
CAPNM, P.O. Box 8300,
Kalispell MT 59904. EOE/AA
Retail
PT Accounts Payable
Afternoons/Evenings,
and/or
weekends. Fill out application
at Sportsman Ski Haus
Kalispell, customer service
desk or email
[email protected]
No phone calls please.
Somers School District #29
has the following position open
Trades
71/2-8 Hour Per Day
Evening Custodian
search/searchresults.aspx?size=0
or 406- 841-2718.
Deadline: January 3, 2012
Education
Research Associate
in Weed Science & Agronomy
at Montana State University
Northwestern Agricultural
Research Center.
Requires a M.S. in Weed
Science or closely related
discipline. For complete job
announcement and application
procedures, go to:
http://www.montana.edu/jobs/
research/12122-33.
at Lakeside Elementary School
beginning immediately. Compensation will be consistent
with the Master Contract and
starting salary is $10.50
-$11.99 per hour DOE. Fingerprint based background check
required. Position will remain
open until filled. Submit a Letter of Interest, Resume and 3
Letters of Recommendation to
Casey Love, Superintendent,
PO Box 159, Somers MT
59932. (406)857-3301
General
Hospitality
Healthcare
Substitute needed for
Daily Inter Lake foot route
Experienced
Dental Assistant
Needed in detail oriented general dental practice in Kalispell
4 days a week. Must have Xray certification & excellent
communication skills.
Send Resume to: Blind Box A, c/o
The Daily Inter Lake,
PO Box 7610 Kalispell, MT 59901
Healthcare
Perianesthesia RN
for
The Surgery Center
Strong critical care
background required.
Pre-Post Op RN
Eye & Pain Surgery
Min. 2 years RN
RN Positions
PT to FT, M-F, hours vary
between 5:30a-7pm
surgery schedule dependent;
No Call or holidays.
Excellent benefit package
and compensation DOE.
Apply or send resume,
references & salary
requirements:
Human Resources
320 Sunny View Lane
Kalispell, MT 59901
EOE
in Columbia Falls.
Call Dawn 360-540-5142.
Healthcare
MedNorth
is looking for a self-motivated,
friendly and professional Front
Office Receptionist to join our
growing urgent care clinic.
30hrs/wk. Must have excellent
communication skills and
medical office experience.
Please fax resumes to
406-755-5674 or email
[email protected]
The Montana
Veterans’ Home
is accepting applications for a
part-time Housekeeper. This
position is scheduled for 32 to
40 hrs/wk. The shift is
6:30am-3:00pm. Work days
vary based on the scheduling
needs of the HK Dept. Excellent State benefits. Good
working environment. Free
employee meal. AA/ EEO/ADA
Employer.
Apply in person, on
www.mt.gov, at the local job
service, or mail application to
PO Box 250,
Columbia Falls, MT 59912
406-892-3256
Closing date is Wed. Dec. 28, 2011
Healthcare
The Montana
Veterans’ Home
is currently accepting applications for on call Certified
Nurse Aides. Based on the
schedule the position can work
up to 40 hrs/wk. Starting wage
is $10.50/hr-$14.65/hr depending on classification. Shift
differential .50/hr swing shift,
$1.00/hr nights. AA/EEO/ADA
employer.
Apply in person, on
www.mt.gov, at the local job
service, or mail application to
PO Box 250,
406-892-3256
Join us in Beautiful
Central Montana!
Fiscal Services
Patient Financial
Service Manager
Degree in Business related
field preferred.
Full-time, great benefits.
CENTRAL MONTANA
MEDICAL CENTER
408 Wendell Ave,
Lewistown MT 59457
406-535-6213
www.cmmccares.com
in East Glacier Park.
Hotel/Motel experience &
computer skills required, lodging provided. No smoking, no
dogs. 406-226-4402 or cell
406-450-8946
General
CAREER
OPPORTUNITIES AT
PPL MONTANA
COLSTRIP, MT
• Utility Worker - Year One
• I & C Journeyman
Electrical
• Administrative Assistant
II - Human Resources
• Maintenance Electrical
Team Leader
• Instrument Electrical
Team Leader
• Safety and Industrial
Hygiene Professional
Apartment Manager
Bookkeeping, HUD, LIHTC,
Experience helpful. Clean DL
& Criminal background a must.
Fax resume to
755-7554 or email
[email protected]
General
Montana Academy,
a Therapeutic Boarding
School, is seeking:
F/T Night Staff
Candidates
or an Adolescent Boy’s Dormitory located West of Marion.
Looking for applicants with experience working with youth at
risk or similar. Shift schedule
is 10pm-9am, some weekends.
View: www.montanaacademy.com
for more info. Send resume to:
agent to join our team as a
Personal Insurance Account
Manager. Candidates must be
self motivated with exceptional
communication and computer
skills. Mail resume to:
Hub International Insurance
100 Financial Drive #110
Kalispell, MT 59901
Or call: 406- 752-8693
www.pplmontana.com/careers Western
States Insurance
and Click on Job Openings.
Agency, located in the Flathead
PPL is an equal opportunity, Valley, is currently recruiting for
a Customer Service Agent.
affirmative action employer
dedicated to diversity and the
Candidates should be orgastrength it brings to the
nized, have the ability to
workplace - M/F/D/V
multi-task and enjoy working in
Office/Clerical
GLACIER EYE CLINIC:
Ophthalmic Technician.
911 Dispatcher
licensed Property and Casualty
Customer
Service –
or fax: 406-858-2356
Attn: Amy Zink
Flathead Emergency Communications Center is hiring for
full time and part time 911
dispatchers. The position consists of receiving and
dispatching emergency/nonemergency calls for law
enforcement, fire, and EMS. All
applicants must be at least 18,
able to type 45 net wpm, pass
a background check & attend
an orientation session. Top
candidates will be interviewed
and tested. Applications will be
accepted from 12/14 – 12/30.
Forms for this position can be
obtained at Flathead Job
Service Workforce Center,
427 1st Ave E, Kalispell or on
Flathead County’s web site:
http://flathead.mt.gov/human
_resources/jobs.php
All applications must be
returned to the Flathead Job
Service Workforce by 5pm on
12/30/11.
Hub International Insurance
is a fast paced, growing
organization looking for a
To apply for one of these
career opportunities, or for Professional
further information and posting
d a t e s , p l e a s e a c c e s s o u r Insurance
website:
[email protected]
General
Personal Insurance
Account Manager
has an opening for an
Full-time, great benefits,
ophthalmic experience
and/or medical experience
preferred, wage DOE.
Please email resume to:
[email protected]
a fast-paced exciting agency.
Responsibilities include servicing accounts within the
branch and support of the
sales staff. Previous insurance industry experience and
Property & Casualty license
preferred.
Western States
Insurance is an EOE with
competitive salaries, excellent
benefits
and
educational
opportunities.
Resume and
cover letter to:
[email protected].
The following in-school positions are available with Altacare, our
Comprehensive School & Community Treatment program located
& operated in partnership with the School District. These positions are available for the 2011/2012 School year. Candidates
must be able to pass a pre-employment drug screen & all background checks. Altacare offers competitive salary & benefits.
THERAPIST - Must have completed MA or MSW education with
preparation for licensure or be a licensed LCPC, LCSW, or PhD.
Positions located in Eureka Middle School & Frenchtown
Elementary.
Positions close as soon as filled.
Submit resume and cover letter: Tawnya L. Mock, Human
Resource Department, Acadia Montana, 55 Basin Creek
Road, Butte, MT 59701. EOE. Phone: (406)494-4183, Fax:
(406)494-5869. Email: [email protected]
n Page A6
VALLEY
Whitefish looks at cemetery options
with the city, according to
City Clerk Necile Lorang, who
chairs the Whitefish Ad Hoc
Cemetery Committee.
The city of Whitefish is focusA big drawback on the stateing its search for a new cemowned site was the lack of city
etery on two city-owned sites.
water. A well would have been
One site is just over 11 acres needed there, plus parking and
off Monegan Road near the
interior roads.
city’s sewer treatment plant.
After hearing a report about
The other potential site is 8.6
land options at the Oct. 3 City
acres at the city’s Public Works Council meeting, the council
Department shops at the end of directed the city to conduct per18th Street West.
colation tests on the two cityThe city has outgrown its
owned sites. Those tests won’t
93-year-old cemetery near the
be completed until next spring,
Whitefish Lake Golf Course
Lorang said.
and earlier this year began the
At the committee’s October
process of creating new burial
meeting, another proposal
grounds.
surfaced from Susan D. Wills
A third possibility — stateabout her mother’s property
owned land on Lion Mouneast of the Armory community
tain — is no longer an option
center and softball fields.
because the state isn’t interThe parcel is 17.45 acres and
ested in a lease agreement
has a well, but isn’t being con-
By LYNNETTE HINTZE
sidered because the Armory
ballfields, originally purchased
for a new cemetery, are in a
high groundwater area and
failed percolation tests, Lorang
said. Wills’ mother’s property
is in the vicinity of the Armory
complex and also is in a high
groundwater area.
A public outreach effort
will be conducted early next
year, Lorang said. The council
recently gave the committee
the go-ahead to survey residents and hold a public hearing on the potential sites. That
likely will take place once data
from the perc tests is available.
The current cemetery contains 3,079 lots and 184 crematory sites, all of which are sold
and privately owned. The city
has a waiting list for people
who would like to purchase a
lot or site, should any become
available.
The cemetery was established
by city resolution in 1917.
The community raised money
to buy the $675 site from the
Whitefish Land Co.
Until the cemetery was
opened in 1918, “Whitefish
citizens buried their dead in
Kalispell or Columbia Falls,
in the woods or even in back
yards,” according to “Stump
Town to Ski Town.”
The city annexed the cemetery into the city in 1979. The
Whitefish Lake Golf Course
maintains the cemetery as part
of its lease agreement with the
city.
Features editor Lynnette Hintze
may be reached at 758-4421 or
by email at lhintze@dailyinterlake.
com.
Judges needed
for Class A
tournament
in Polson
More than 500 volunteer
judges are needed for speech
and debate competition at
the end of January in Polson.
The Class A state tournament will be Jan. 27 and Jan.
28 at Polson High School, Polson Middle School and Linderman Elementary School
in Polson.
About 400 students from
across Montana will compete
in more than 2,000 speeches,
skits and debates during
seven rounds scheduled over
the two days.
Rounds will be at 11 a.m.,
1 p.m. and 3 p.m. Jan. 27 and
at 9 a.m., 11 a.m., 2 p.m. and
4:30 p.m. Jan. 28.
Judges will be provided
with food and beverages.
A judges clinic will be
held at 7 p.m. on Jan. 24
and Jan. 25 in Polson High
School library and will last
one to two hours.
Judging schedules will be
confirmed by phone or email
within the two weeks preceding the meet.
For more information,
email Pat Cross, judge coordinator, at [email protected] or Polson
head coach Jon Petersen at
[email protected]
or 253-7801.
Man sentenced
to prison time
for fourth DUI
Brenda Ahearn/Daily Inter Lake
JOHN SCHANCK, president of Stellar Recovery Inc., says the company has tripled its top-line revenue in the past year.
Stellar plans to expand Kalispell center
Collection agency
moves head office
to Florida site
‘I let people drive the
initiatives. I don’t
micromanage, and
that allows them to
write their own check
at the end of the day.’
By LYNNETTE HINTZE
Stellar Recovery Inc., a debt
collection agency that has tripled its top-line revenue over
the past year, is moving its
corporate headquarters from
Kalispell to Jacksonville, Fla.,
but will continue to expand the
Kalispell call center.
Company president John
Schanck said he expects to
grow the Kalispell work force
from 75 to more than 100
employees in 2012.
“I have a lot invested here
and the people we hire is what
will help us grow,” he said.
In addition to call-center
work, the Kalispell facility
handles much of the company’s
back-office processes and
accounting, Schanck said. The
building at Ashley Square,
owned by Stellar’s sister company, Pentanna, has another
5,000 square feet for expansion.
Schanck spent $600,000 to
upgrade the building and
$100,000 to pave a back parking
lot for employees. Future plans
include remodeling the exterior
front of the building and repaving a front parking lot.
HE HAD HOPED to tap into
the city of Kalispell’s tax-increment revenue for a low-interest
loan, but said he was unable
to put a deal together with the
city.
Kalispell City Attorney
Charles Harball said the city’s
Urban Renewal Agency considered Schanck’s request but
ultimately recommended that
he pursue other low-interest
financing options available
through the city.
“They weren’t told ‘No, go
n
away and don’t come back,’”
Harball said. “They had good
ideas and like any investor,
they were going to see” what
options were available to them.
STELLAR RECOVERY
already has ramped up to 75
employees at its Jacksonville
facility that opened a year ago,
and has moved its top executives to Jacksonville, Schanck
said. The company also has
moved its information technology department to Jacksonville.
Schanck, 56, cited Jacksonville’s business-friendly
environment, larger job applicant pool — particularly for
top-echelon executives — and
significantly lower costs for
Internet connections as key
reasons for establishing a facility in Florida.
“It was an easy decision to
make,” he said. “I know the
people I need to hire, and we’re
hiring some legends in the
industry. I let people drive the
initiatives. I don’t micromanage, and that allows them to
write their own check at the
end of the day.”
Schanck has hired an experienced operations manager for
the Kalispell call center who is
scheduled to arrive here from
Georgia in mid-January.
While employees at the
Kalispell call center make an
average of roughly $25,000 a
year plus benefits, some work-
John Schanck
ers who started with no experience now make upwards of
$80,000 a year, Schanck said.
Wages range from $10 to $15
an hour with a bonus system
that allows employees to earn
anywhere from $100 to $5,000
a month extra, depending on
performance.
“There have been five internal promotions in Kalispell,”
he said. “We pride ourselves
in promoting from within and
[offering] career path guidance.”
Stellar Recovery uses cloud
computing technology — the
practice of using a network of
remote servers hosted on the
Internet to store, manage and
process data — to handle a
current load of three million
accounts nationwide.
“WE PURCHASED $1 billion
of delinquent assets this year,”
Schanck said, explaining that
his funding comes from Wall
Street hedge funds.
The Dodd-Frank Wall Street
Reform and Consumer Protection Act, enacted last year to
create new financial regulatory
processes to enforce transparency and accountability
of financial institutions, has
been a challenge for the debt
collection industry that has
increased not only regulations
but also costs, Schanck said.
And it’s a mistake to think
that collection agencies do better during a recession, he said.
Customers who were making
average payments of $250 a
month now may be able to
afford only $100 monthly payments.
“It squeezes the margins,” he
said. “So you have to be frugal
and innovative.”
Third-party debt-collection
agencies such as Stellar
Recovery collect on past-due
accounts and payment installment plans issued by a number
of entities such as credit card
companies, hospitals, retail
stores and car dealers.
EVEN WITH THE lingering challenges caused by the
national recession, Schanck
projects Stellar Recovery’s
growth to double in 2012.
With 35 years in the debtcollection business, Schanck
said he has proven himself as a
leader in the industry.
In 2009 he and CEO Bob
Peterson bought out ARS
Recovery Service, a company Peterson has started in
Kalispell in 1999. The name
was changed to Stellar Recovery.
Schanck co-founded Accelerated Bureau of Collections
in Denver in 1985 and grew
the company from two to 750
employees by 1996. He sold that
company and three years later
founded Enhanced Recovery
Corp.
Between 1999 and 2009,
Enhanced Recovery “experienced enormous success”
purchasing buildings and staffing employees in Jacksonville
and Orange Park, Fla., and
Waycross, Ga. When Schanck
exited that company to spend
more time with family while
his wife was undergoing cancer
treatment, the company had
grown to 650 employees.
Features editor Lynnette Hintze
may be reached at 758-4421 or
by email at lhintze@dailyinterlake.
com.
A 40-year-old Kalispell
man has been sentenced to
four years in prison and
five years of probation after
being convicted of his fourth
offense of driving under the
influence.
According to court documents, Richard Mongan
drove under the influence on
June 10, 2005, and May 29,
2011.
Prior to his sentencing,
Mongan shared remorse
for his choices and 2011
relapse.
“I take full accountability
for what I’ve done,” Mongan
said, adding, “The past five
sober years have been the
most enjoyable and rewarding of my life.”
Cheerleading
camps planned
in January
Kalispell Parks and Recreation is sponsoring two
cheerleading camps in January for children age 6 and
older.
The camps are fundraisers
for the cheerleaders.
The Flathead High School
Cheerleaders will lead a
camp from 2 to 5 p.m. Jan. 21
in the small gym at the high
school.
The group then will walk
over to the varsity game at
5:45 p.m. where it will perform.
The Glacier High School
Cheerleaders will lead their
camp from 9 a.m. to noon
Feb. 5 in the Glacier High
School gym.
The performance will be at
7 p.m. Feb. 8 in the school’s
foyer.
The game starts at 7:30
p.m. and the group will perform again at halftime.
All participants should
bring snacks and water to
camp.
The cost for either camp
is $44, which includes a
T-shirt.
There also is a resident
discount available. (The cost
does not include admittance
to the varsity game for family members).
For more information, call
758-7717 or 758-7975.
n Page A7
RECORDS
Deaths
BB gun shot at man and his barking dog
AwomanonWhitefish
StageRoadtoldtheFlathead County Sheriff’s
WalterVaughnPenrod, Jeff,KirkandVaughn
Officethattheneighbors
Penrod;StaceyReyes;and shotatherboyfriend
80,diedonSunday,Dec.
25,2011,atHealthCenter CherylMayo.
withaBBgunwhilehe
Memorialserviceswill wasoutwalkinghisdog
NorthwestinKalispell.
beheldonFriday,Dec.30 Sundaynight.Shesaid
Heissurvivedbyhis
at1p.m.atJohnson-Glos- herboyfriendwasnothit
wifePegPenrodofConchatFuneralHome.
donandfivechildren:
byaBB.Thewomansaid
theneighborswereangry
becausethedogwasbarkJames A. Christian, 63
ingatdeerintheroad.
JamesA.Christian,63, ofWhitefish,Michael
Deputiesspokewiththe
ChristianofAlaska,
ofColumbiaFalls,died
neighbors,whosaiddogs
Saturday,Dec.24,2011,at andJayDusterhoffof
havebeenbarkingand
HealthCenterNorthwest Seattle.
chasingdeerandthatit
ServiceswillbepriinKalispell.
hasbeenanongoingprobHeissurvivedbyhis vate.Arrangementsare
lem.Oneoftheneighbors
entrustedtoColumbia
wifeSandyandthree
toldpolicethatshefired
children:KimChristian Mortuary.
airfromherairgunto
scarethedogs,andthe
coupleagreedtocontact
Marjorie Mae Walters, 79
theDepartmentofFish,
MarjorieMaeWalters, anumberofyearsin
WildlifeandParksabout
ColumbiaFallsand
79,diedonSunday,Dec.
thedogschasingdeerand
Whitefish.
25,2011,inBurnsville,
notshootatthem.
Survivorsincludeher
N.C.
EarlierSunday,somedaughtersEvelynJohnWalterswasbornin
stonandDonnaWalters
HotSprings,Mont.,
ofBurnsville.
in1932andlivedfor
Walter Vaughn Penrod, 80
Law enforcement roundup
onefromU.S.2visitedthe
sheriff’sofficelobbyto
reportapossibletheftof
painrelievermedication.
Acallersaidablowup
ChristmasdecorationstolenonDogwoodAvenue
wasfounddownthe
street,butalargecarouselwasstillmissing.The
callerrequestedextra
patrols.
Amanwasarrested
afterawomanonCayuse
Lanetoldpolicethather
estrangedhusbandwas
outsidethehouseandout
ofcontrolinviolationof
atemporaryrestraining
order.
Amantoldpolicehe
wastryingtoseesome
friendsbuttheywouldn’t
openthedoorforhim.He
wantedanofficertocome
openthedoor.
AwomanonAussie
Courtsaidsheloaned
hertrucktoafriend,but
neededitbackforwork
inthemorningandwas
unabletogetintouch
withhim.Deputiesmade
contactwiththeman,
whosaidhewasonhis
waytoreturnthevehicle.
Skiswerereported
stolenonBigMountain
Road.
Aloudexplosionwas
reportedonAspenCourt.
AmanonSunnyLane
inColumbiaFallssaida
formeremployeetookhis
trailersoffajobsiteand
washoldingthem“hostage.”Hewenttowhere
theformeremployeesaid
andTerry,Tracy,and
Tina,allofColumbiaFalls.
Servicesarepending.Arrangementsare
entrustedtoColumbia
Mortuary.
KayDel Christopherson, 74
KayDel(Wiedeman)
Christopherson,74,of
MilesCity,diedWednesday,Dec.21,2011.
Survivorsincludeher
husbandLesterofMiles
CityandhersonBrent
L.ChristophersonofMissoulaandKalispell.
Visitationwillbeheld
Tuesday,Dec.27from6
p.m.to8p.m.atStevenson&SonsFuneralHome
inMilesCity.FuneralserviceswillbeheldWednesday,Dec.28at1p.m.at
TrinityLutheranChurch
inMilesCity.Interment
willfollowintheCuster
CountyCemetery.
Brenda Ahearn/Daily Inter Lake
Recreational burning? Nope, work
How to place an obituary
TheInterLakepublishesbothfreedeathnotices
andpaidobituarieson
thispage.Thedailydeadlineis4p.m.Call758-4440
formoreinformation.On
weekends,call758-4430.
Deathnoticesarebrief
newsstoriestoannounce
thedeathofalocalpersonorapersonwithlocal
survivors.Paidobituaries
areprovidedasalowcostalternativetoour
readerswhowantamore
personaltouch.Toappear
Gerald Lopez of Affordable Towing talks on his cell as he keeps watch on
intheobituariescolumn,
a fire he started in an old RV on Monday afternoon west of Kalispell. Lopez
however,thissimplerule
mustbefollowed:The
said he was burning the camper as part of a process to remove trash from
obituaryisintendedto
his property. Ambulance, fire and law enforcement were initially called to the
tellaboutthelifeand
scene after a witness reported seeing someone walking away from the fire
deathofalovedone,and
with a gas can.
shouldnotcontainextraneousorfancifulmaterialorpoetry.Obituaries
willbeeditedforclarity,
accuracyandmattersof
taste.Wedonotpublish
linkstoonlineobituaries,
fortheholiday,including apartmentsarevacant,
GRAPEVINE,Texas
butwillallowreferences (AP)—Sixmembersofa atree.
andpolicesaidnoneightoonlineguestbooksor
Twohandgunswere
borsreportedhearing
Texasfamilyapparently
condolences.
foundnearthebodies,
anythingonaquiet
openedChristmaspresentsjustbeforearelative anditappearsalldiedof Christmasmorningwhen
gunshotwounds,hesaid. manypeoplewerenot
dressedasSantaClaus
GrapevinePoliceLt.
around.
showedup,openedfire
ToddDearingsaidinvesJoseFernandez,a
andkilledthembefore
35-year-oldheavyequipkillinghimself,policesaid tigatorsbelievethatthe
victimswererelated,
mentmechanicwho
Monday.
Rex and Val Galloway of
thoughsomewerevisitmovedtothecomplex
Grapevinepolice
Kalispell. Maternal grandparinganddidn’tliveinthe withhisfamilyabout
spokesmanSgt.Robert
ent is Delores Cartwright of
Eberlingsaidtheshooter apartment.Hesaidpolice sixmonthsago,saidhe
Kalispell.
arelookingforother
alwaysfeltsafeinthe
showedupintheSanta
Caden Danial Yudysky,
outfitshortlybeforegun- relativestoinformofthe area,butisnowafraid
son of Danial and Heather
deaths.
tolethis10-year-oldson
fireeruptedandwasa
Yudysky of Kalispell, was
“Sevenpeopleinone
playfreelyoutside.
memberofthefamily.
born Sept. 1 at Kalispell
“ThisisreallyoutTheidentityoftheshoot- settinginGrapevine,
Regional Medical Center.
rageousespeciallyon
He weighed 5 pounds, 11 erandthevictimswillbe that’sneverhappened
before.Ever,”Dearing
Christmas,”saidFernanreleasedafterautopsies
ounces and was 19 inches
dez,whowasvisiting
areconductedMonday,he said.
long.
Policeandfirefighters
familyfortheholidayand
said.
Caden joins Kearah, 6.
Policewenttotheapart- firstrushedtotheLincoln returnedtofindseveral
Paternal grandparents
Vineyardscomplexafter policecarsparkedoutside
are Leo and Ann Yudysky of mentmiddaySunday
afterreceivinga911call receivingtheopen-ended hishome.
Whitefish. Maternal grand911callatabout11:30
inwhichnoonewason
parents are Tim and Sandy
theotherline.Theyfound a.m.,Eberlingsaid.
McCracken of Columbia
“Therewasanopen
fourwomenandthree
Falls.
Audrey Renee Wassam, men,aged18to60,dead. line.Noonewassaying
anything,”heexplained.
Amotivefortheshootdaughter of Brady and AlySopolicewentintothe
ingsremainsunclear.
sha Wassam of Columbia
apartment,locatedinthe
Investigatorsworked
Falls, was born Aug. 26 at
middle-classneighborovernight,meticulously
North Valley Hospital.
She weighed 6 pounds, 12 searchingtheapartment, hoodofGrapevine,not
alongwiththreevehicles farfromtheupscaleFort
parkedoutside.
WorthsuburbofCollong.
“Itappearstheyhad
leyville.Theapartment
Paternal grandparents are
justcelebratedChristmas. wasatthebackofthe
Dave and Tina Wassam of
Theyhadopenedtheir
complex,overlooking
Columbia Falls. Maternal
gifts,”GrapevinePolice
theathleticfieldsofColgrandparents are Daniel
and Laura Hall of Columbia Sgt.RobertEberlingsaid leyvilleHeritageHigh
Sunday,addingthatthe
School.
Falls.
apartmentwasdecorated
Manyofthenearby
Flathead County
District Court
Judge Katherine R. Curtis
One level living
2 bed/2 bath COndO
ext. MaintenCe prOvided
Bee Hive Homes are a residential setting, allowing 16 to 20 residents to enjoy a quality life style.
We Provide:
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24 hour care with exceptional resident to staff ratio
Locally owned and operated
Owner / RN onsite Monday through Friday
Home cooked dietitian meals
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Laundry
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Private Room Complete With: Private 1/2 bath/full bath • TV hookup • Phone hookup • Internet
Residents are encouraged to bring home furnishings and photographs to personalize their rooms.
Bee Hive Homes®
of Columbia Falls
1660 13th St. West
$128,000
Call MarCia Siblerud
406-261-4849
Sundayafternoon,Lake
County Sheriff’s Office
deputiesinvestigatedan
assaultwithminorinjury
reportedonU.S.93.
GREATFALLS(AP)—
AMontanaAirNational
Guardcommanderin
GreatFallssaidthefuture
ofhisunit’smissionis
uncertain,pendingthe
transferofitsF-15jets
toatheCaliforniaAir
NationalGuardandan
accompanyingatmosphere
ofausterityinWashington,D.C.thatcouldreach
intomilitaryfunding.
Still,120thFighterWing
CommanderCol.Pete
Hronekremainsoptimistichisunitwillgettwo
replacementmissionsonce
itsexistingjetshaveflown
southforgoodbyMarch
2013.
HroneksaidtheprojectedF-15transferstill
hingesonanenvironmentalreviewoffacilitiesin
Fresno,Calif.,wherethe
jetsarebound.Montana
remainsa“apreferred
alternative”toreceivea
nonflyingmission.
“Thishasshocked
everybody.Ithasscared
everybody.Iguesssomethinglikethiscanhappenanywhere,butseven
peopledead.It’sjustvery
scary,”headded.
Eberlingagreedthe
areaisfairlyquiet,saying
theshootingsinvolvedthe
firsthomicidesinGrapevinesince2010.
ChristyPosch,aflight
attendantwhomovedto
thecomplexaboutsix
monthsagosoherson
couldattendthehigh
school,saidshelivesa
fewbuildingsawayand
didnothearanygunshots.
“It’sallfamilies.That’s
whyImovedhere.No
burglaries,nonothing,”
Poschsaid.
BRIDGE
In Court
of issuing a bad check,
felony common scheme, five
years suspended; felony
DUI, 13 months residential
treatment facility, followed
Bralyn Joubert, misdemeanor DUI, second offense, by three years suspended,
consecutive.
pleaded guilty; one year, all
Brittany Joy O’Donnell,
but seven days suspended,
issuing a back check, felony
$600.
Kelly Thomas King, previ- common scheme; three
years deferred, $1,000 fine,
ous five year suspended
sentence revoked on charge $1,733 restitution.
TheWhitefish Police
Departmentresponded
Sundaymorningtoa
physicaldisturbance
reportedonEdgewood
Place.
Averbaldisturbance
wasreportedonColumbia
Avenue.
EarlyMondaymorning,averbaldisturbance
wasreportedonCentral
Avenue.
Police: Gunman in murder-suicide dressed as Santa
Births
Brice Ryder Pulaski, son
of John and Marci Pulaski of
Kalispell, was born Aug. 30
at Kalispell Regional Medical
Center.
He weighed 7.6 pounds
and was 19 1/2 inches long.
Paternal grandparents
are Oscar and Anita Caudill
of Columbia Falls. Maternal
grandparent is Sharon Pruitt
of Kalispell.
Jackson Kyle Hance, son
of Megan Hance of Kalispell,
was born Sept. 1 at Kalispell
He weighed 7 pounds,
5 ounces and was 19 1/2
inches long.
Maternal grandparents are
Michael and Teri Hance of
Kalispell.
Brooklyn Rain Galloway,
daughter of Corey and Elizabeth Galloway of Kalispell,
was born Sept. 1 at Kalispell
She weighed 6 pounds, 15
long.
Brooklyn joins Caleb, 11,
Fury, 9, and Olivia, 7.
Paternal grandparents are
Sundayafternoon,the
Columbia Falls Police
Departmentinvestigated
afraudreportedonGlacierDrive.
Guard mission
uncertain with
F-15 shift
William C. Haverkorn, 69
WilliamC.Haverkorn,
69,ofColumbiaFalls,died
onSaturday,Dec.24,2011.
Heissurvivedbyhis
wifeCarolandfourchildren,TonyofBozeman,
theywereinFerndale,but
notallofthemwerethere.
406-871-8667
406-407-3253
www.beehivehomes.com
[email protected]
Seniors
Active
Directory
n Agency on Aging, Flathead,
758-5730
n Agency on Aging, Lake
County, 883-7284
n MT Senior Citizens Assn.,
1-800-553-5341
n Experience Works, 257-1968
n RSVP, 758-5712
THE DAILY INTER LAKE — A8
n Senior Citizens Centers:
Bigfork, 837-4157
Columbia Falls, 892-4087
Kalispell, 257-1598
Lakeside, 844-2465 (Msg)
Polson, 883-4735
Whitefish, 862-4923
TUESDAY, DECEMBER 27, 2011
Senior musicians have a blast in New Horizons Band
fairly quick, although
every once and a while I
notice a difference.”
Cheryl Lee, 63, also
started this session. A
former high school band
member and guitar player,
she said she always wanted to learn percussion.
The Flathead Valley
New Horizon Band provided the perfect opportunity for her to live the
dream.
“It’s a blast,” she said.
“It really is a blast.”
Alexander said new people can join at any time.
She makes provisions for
snow birds, hip replace-
By CANDACE CHASE
Members of the Flathead Valley New Horizons Band proved what a
difference a year makes
with the second holiday performance of the
mostly senior group at
the Kalispell Center Mall
a week ago.
They played for an
hour before an appreciative audience with none
of the squeaks or restarts
of their performance a
year ago, even though
some members have only
played with the band for
12 weeks.
The band, missing a
few of its 20 members,
reflected well on the
teaching talent of leader/
instructor Eileen Alexander.
“The improvement is
great,” she said before the
performance. “The people
who played last year are
thrilled to death to be
able to play this well.”
Listening to their
smooth performance, it’s
difficult to believe that
they just organized a little
more than a year ago.
Alexander, a music
teacher for about 40
years, instituted the
national New Horizons
program in which amateur seniors or those who
haven’t played in years
work together at weekly
practices to form a band.
She said even some
handicaps won’t keep
people from participating
as long as they are mobile
enough to make it to the
learning sessions. People
rent or buy their instruments along with low-cost
method books.
Charging $75 for the
12-week sessions, Alexander started in fall 2010,
saying that she could
Cheryl Lee
Gail Davenport
teach anyone at any
age to perform and play
music.
Members such as Ivy
Clements, 71, have proven
that the system works.
“I try to play the alto
sax,” she said with a
laugh. “I started a year
ago last September. It’s
been fun.”
She had previous
experience playing the
accordion, keyboard and
piano but always wanted
to learn the saxophone.
Seniors celebrate new year
The Kalispell Senior Center is celebrating the new
year with a party and potluck at 1 p.m. Sunday, Jan. 1
at the center located at 403 Second Ave. West.
Everyone is asked to bring a dish to share. Games
will be played. For more information, call 257-1598.
Flathead County Home
Health is the only home
health provider in Flathead
County to be in the top
25% of providers nationally
for the last 5 years!
Flathead County Home Health is
Medicare and Medicaid certified.
Some of our services include:
Skilled Nursing, Speech Therapy,
Physical Therapy, Medical Social Work,
Occupational Therapy, Home Health Aide
Bernard Parker
Ivy Clements
Clements jumped at the
opportunity to try when
she learned about the
new senior band.
She said being able to
read music made the process a little easier for her,
but some band members
started with no music
background. She encourages aspiring musicians
to sign up for the new session starting in January.
“If you always wanted
to learn, it’s never too
late,” Clements said.
“Now is the time.”
Gail Davenport, 57,
started learning the electric bass about a year
ago. She started with the
band 12 weeks ago.
Her goal was to learn to
read music. She finds it
challenging, particularly
the timing, but continues to make progress by
practicing as much as
possible.
She enjoys the beginner
sessions held each Tuesday from 6 to 8 p.m. at
the Christian Center.
“It’s just a great place
to get to know people and
do something creative,”
she said.
Clements agreed. She
said musicians meet a
good group of people from
all walks of life and all
age groups.
A new member this
year, Bernard Parker, 71,
said the camaraderie was
the most fun for him. He
said he has played the
trumpet since 1954 but
hasn’t played for about a
decade.
“So I wiped off the dust
and joined the group to
get my lip back in shape,”
he said. “It came back
ments or whatever comes
up in band members’ lives.
Experienced players
meet from 6 to 8 p.m.
Monday nights at the
Christian Center.
“This group is really
cool,” she said. “Some of
the advanced members
come on Tuesday nights
to help the beginners.”
Alexander now offers
12-week sessions yearround. For more information, call her at 257-1790.
Reporter Candace Chase
may be reached at 758-4436
or by email at [email protected].
Preserve your place in history
By Supporting...
• new educational programs
• publications utilizing our documents
• brick & mortar projects to maintain home
Make a Difference!
Your tax deductible donation can help preserve the 1895
home of Kalispell’s founding family for future generations.
Consider a charitable gift...help restore our history.
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406-755-2166 • conradmansion.com
I would highly recommend
Moore Hearing...
I have had the pleasure of working with
Moore hearing for the last year due to a
gradual hearing loss.
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having difficulty at meetings and with
television and movies.
The staff at Moore Hearing has been
exceptional in helping me adjust to hearing amplification
and getting the best and most accurate adjustment of the
instruments.
Jenna and Stacia have been very helpful and patient through
the adaptation process. We eventually settled on the Lyric
intra-aural hearing aids that have been wonderful. These
allow me to use the hearing aids at work without having to
worry about losing them or re-inserting them during different
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The adjustment process was short and after a while, you
don’t even notice them.
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Kalispell, Montana
Ask for us by name at your physicians
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257-2273
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Collection agency moves head office to Florida site

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big sky connection

WHEREAS, John Flink has submitted a written request to

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Brought to you by Don “K” Subaru of Whitefish

Montessori youths enjoy snowshoe adventure

November 2012 Newsletter - Kalispell Chamber of Commerce

Flathead Lakers Paddle Event Draws a Full House

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