Your Barry Webb stories

I thought I'd share the submissions from readers I've received so far responding to the feature on Polson's most well known resident, Barry Webb.

It was such a privilege to write the story, I'm glad it brought of good memories for others:

Peggy Aerni-Pick, now of Billings, wrote:
Barry was in grade school with me. I recently sent him a picture of the six grade basketball team with him as ball boy. He has a phenomenal gift for remembering people and names. When I returned to Polson after years in Denver, I met Barry on the street and he said Oh Peg. Our class celebrated our 50th anniversary this last summer and classmate Ken brought Barry to our picnic and it was just as nothing had changed in 50 years. Barry knew everyone. What happiness he has bought to the home town just by knowing him!

Tyson Gustad, now of California, wrote:
hello my name is tyson gaustad and my grandmother lived right next door to barry in polson when i was a kid and i spent alot of time over at her house. any how i know barry very well. he was just the best person in town. i now livw in california and havent been home in ten or so years so when i clicked on the paper this morning and seen his face i was so happy that he is being reconized. he is an iconic figure in polson at least in my mind. when i was a kid i did alot of fishing and hanging out with barry in polson i guess i was about ten at the time but i allways new that he was there when i would come over for a visit and greatly appreciated all the time i was able to spend with barry and i still talk about him to people here in california that have never even met barry and they all say we need more people like him with his compassion for life. i love you barry keep it up

Richard Twilde, now of Missoula, stopped by and told me this Barry story:
Dick knew Barry through family connections, as they both lived on the East Shore. During the annual Harvest Fest at the Montecahto Club, Corrine Webb would sing for the crowd. Barry, in his distinct way, would always come up with a way to cheer his mom on. "Hot dog!" he would yell. No matter what, Barry had something to say during those Harvest Days. Even one year when Corrine couldn't sing, Barry made sure his voice was heard - "Hot Dog!"

County election politic-ing

Just a follow-up note on the county election story we ran in the Jan. 21 issue.
All the Lake County the county offices are partisan. Justice of the Peace and District Court Judges are the only non-partisan offices.
We didn't include the party affiliations in our story. So far, all sheriff's candidates have filed as republicans.

Police Blotter

We didn't get quite as much of Ty's Blotter into the Jan. 28 issue as I wanted to. We has a lot of other news to squeeze in.
But it's all up on Ty's Blotter Blog. You can see check it out anytime - the latest shenanigans along with all the archives.
It never fails to bring on a chuckle.

A1 Jan. 28 preview

Jan. 28 content preview

Heidi and I are just settling in to begin designing the final Jan. 2010 issue (I know, I'm late in getting this content preview up).
This week Sasha, who has officially taken over as the cops and courts reporter as Aimee headed back home for grad school, has two updates on stories we posted as breaking news this week.
First, he has the story of the Polson police officers who stopped an attempted suicide by a woman threatening to jump off of Polson bridge.
Also, he's got the latest on a high speed chase that ended in the arrest of two Idaho men allegedly trying to sell meth in the area.
I've got the rundown of the tax meeting that took place last Tuesday and a recap of the Polson City Council meeting.
Also, some very cute photos of a goodbye party for Linderman principal Steve York.
I think most will be very excited to know Ty is back in the paper with a Blotter. He's working hard in Billings and can't always get them done, but he's back to his old trick s for this week at least.
Heidi's got sports of course - lots of recaps as the teams look forward to post season competition.
Can't wait for you to read it.

Civility code passed by Polson council

This is the full text of new resolution passed by the Polson City Commission on Wednesday. The first section's language was set at a leadership retreat the commissioners and city manager had last week.
City manager Todd Crossett said the language of the resolution are an intent - one that wil help keep everyone on issue and away from personal attacks is what the resolution is aimed at helping.
It will be printed on every agenda.
It seems like it was written and passed with good intention. Whether or not it will help keep the meeting flowing and allow for "diverse" opinions is a little bit of a gray area.
It wasn't defined at the meeting whether the 2-3 minute public comment on agenda items would stand. Also, several residents wondered if this resolution would hinder Roger's Rules of order. Several commissioners admitted to not fully knowing the Roger procedures.
There is often robust public comment at the meetings. Sometimes though, as it was pointed out at the meeting, the comments are off topic and tip toward personal attacks. This frustrates a lot of people, keeping them away from meetings.
As the council keeps this new resolution in mind, its also going to have to dictate its interpretation of "abusive" or "off topic" language. If the noise is cut out, maybe more people will be willing to speak up about issue.
Mayor Pat DeVries said she would do her best to regulate the comments in a way that invites "diverse" points of view, but also stays on topic.

Commemoration Web site is UP

Check this new Web site out - 2010 Commemorative Year

It will get you all the information about the upcoming events to mark the centennial of the reservation and how the homesteaders played a role in shaping what we know as the Mission Valley today.
There is a very impressive lineup of calendar events spanning throughout the summer.
Keep an eye out for more and more news about the celebration - a lot of people are working really hard to get this event together and make sure all aspects and EVERYONE is included.

Property tax woes continue

Here is a rough draft of the story from the tax meeting on Tuesday night: There were many more concepts discussed and comments made. Look for the full version next Thursday - Jenna



Residents want relief now
POLSON — The Lake County Courthouse was full of frustration on Tuesday night, as residents and representatives alike spoke about flaws and problems they feel were brought on by the 2008 property tax reappraisal.
More than 120 people on Tuesday crowded into the courthouse room for a town hall meeting. Many residents came to seek answers on what could be done now to help bring relief from high property tax bills they’ve received.
Recreational and lake front land has held its value better than most land, skyrocketing tax bills for many around Flathead Lake. There has been much discussion on the avenue the Montana Department of Revenue used to set these numbers.
A record 2,350 Lake County residents to filed informal requests for review (AB26 protest forms) through the DOR this fall.
Several resident spoke on Tuesday about how the high taxes could force them out of their longtime homes.
“This is the first time I’ve felt like someone has slapped me in the face bad,” Dayton land owner Kim Sheesley said. “How many people want to just live? Just live on their property?”
The panel at the front included area representatives John Fleming (D-HD 12) and Janna Taylor (R-HD 11), who moderated the meeting. Rep. Scott Reichner (HD9-R) was also present. Lake County Commissioner Chairman Paddy Trusler attended as well.
Most agreed the system was flawed and needed to be fixed. The biggest weapon the legislators seemed to think they have to form solutions lies in bringing bills with changes to 2011 Legislative session.
Answers to what be could done immediately were less defined. Residents were urged to file AB26 protest forms when the chance comes around again in June. Those who have filled out protest forms need to be armed with information and be ready to negotiate with DOR appraisers.
Commissioner Trusler assured the crowd that adjustments - sometimes reaching hundreds of thousands of dollars - had been granted already.
There will be a revenue shortfall from the readjustments, Trusler said. Twenty percent of taxes goes to providing services in the county.
“I think everybody has to be really carefully about what they wish for,” Trusler said. “Ninety percent of people in Lake County are happy with the reappraisal.”
Sen. Jackson also handed out a chart showing a typical house inside Lake County could very easily see a drop in taxes because of the mitigation’s redistribution.
Rep. Taylor began the meeting with a brief overview of the state’s Constitutional requirement that once every six years the DOR must conduct a reappraisal of properties. The philosophy is set up to follow state guidelines to ensure property is appraised in a fair and equitable manner.
The 2009 legislature passed House Bill 658 to mitigate the reappraisal done by DOR, but Taylor said, the information used to pass this bill was incomplete.
“They scrambled and never got good data,” Taylor said.
Sen. Verdell Jackson (SD5-R) sited several other major flaws in last year’s reappraisal that has cause problems. The DOR did not send appraisers to asses land - “I think they went to an airplane map and looked at your property from 2,000 feet and set your value,” he said.
He also said the 2003 appraisal data had been wipe from DOR computers.
Included in Taylor’s set of solutions is Constitutional amendment that would remove the “equalize the valuation” and “equal valuation” language from the current article.
A list of lawsuits being brought against the state were also presented. Taylor said residents should join those as well.
Frustrated landowner Tom Costanza was shaking his head all the way out the door on Tuesday night.
“The state legislator needs to grow and brain and pass legislation to fix this,” he said at the meeting. “I believe that if we don’t do something concrete to help these people, you’re going to have a bigger mess on your hands.”

A1 preview, Jan. 21

Leader preview Jan. 21

The Outdoors page is back this week. Sasha has the cross country ski scoop. He'll also have a roundup of Martin Luther King Jr. festivities at SKC and the names of people who filed for re-election. There are quite a few races to keep tabs on this year.
He also attended the ribbon cutting for the new Arlee firehall.
I've been talking to people all week about one very special Polson resident - Barry Webb. As I've found, there aren't many people in the area who don't have a story about Barry. His smile and attitude are infectious. It's going to be a challenge to try to capture just how much he means to the Polson community.
I've also got an update on the H1N1 vaccines.
Heidi has all the sports. Wrestling and basketball are in full swing. If we can't squeeze it all in the newspaper, it will be online.
Can't wait for you to read it.

What's best for the kids?

You will rarely see a board of education meeting as packed as the most recent Polson meeting last Monday.
Usually, the people in the crowd include a few educators, anyone there to make a presentation, myself and VJ reporter, Berl.
On Monday, the room was PACKED, for an item not even on the agenda.
After Linderman principal Steve York announce he was leaving for another job, someone had to be moved there. Superintendent David Whitesell had a plan that included moving seasoned administrator Tom DiGiallonardo to Linderman.
No one else seemed to be happy with this. It was brought up during a special meeting two weeks ago. Many rumors ensued. Whitesell could have made the move with no board approval. But from the comments at Monday's meeting, most didn't want DiGiallonardo and PMS principal Brian Adams split up.
What came of the meeting was actually no change - but sometimes that's a good enough reason for discussion because many good points arose at the meeting about how to do what's best for the Polson kids.
Let's start off by saying kudos to the parents who stood up, during the proper forum, and told the superintendent and trustees what they thought. Even more impressive was the score of teachers (they live with the decisions made at the meetings) who made their voices heard. ( I didn't include many of these testimonials in the article because of space, which is always an issue).
Many of the trustees said the change may have been the best move. Why not pull from the pool of experience leaders already established with the district (as Whitesell himself said) and accept a change? Would this not benefit the whole more than just PMS?
Superintendent David Whitesell heard all these comments and more I'm sure. In the end, he made his decision - which he announced at the beginning of the meeting - to not move administrators after discussion with the administrators themselves. He also said he was keeping his word to one administrator, after he told them he would not move them against their will. Good for him for making good on his word.
The outcry/uproar, as I called it in my story, stemmed mostly from the responses made by some people outside the meeting. Sometimes early Saturday morning signs reading, "Go home," and "Go back" were posted on Whitesell's yard. Come on - what kind of reaction is this? I'd call it childish, but I know most educators would tell you the kids they teach wouldn't think of reacting this way.
I also received an e-mail from a "concernedparents@hotmail" account, that asked why the new superintendent thought he could move or let quality administrators leave. I never got confirmation that the signee had sent the letter, so we didn't run it.

The main objective is to do what's best for the kids, people on "both sides" of the administrator move uproar kept saying this. The thing is, no one agreed on Monday night what that exactly was. No one ever will.
But it was good conversation. Good that Whitesell would keep his word, good that parents are passionate enough about how who leads the individual schools to speak up.
Communicating is the only way to get new and innovative ideas on how to do better.

A1 Jan. 14 preview

Jan. 14 content preview

You may have noticed the Ninepipes Museum closure article Aimee had up for us at leadeadvertiser.com last week. It's said news, and we'll have the full, updated article on A1 this week.
There were several incidents in Charlo over the weekend, including an assault that badly injured a man. Aimee will have those full reports.
Sasha will get everyone updated on the possible sale of the Ronan Community Center, which the County Commissioners took public comment on last Tuesday. He's also got Outdoors - tips on cross country skiing.
I got a chance to talk with new CSKT chairman Bud Moran last Thursday and will have a story on some issues he sees as top priorities in the coming year.
Heidi was out all weekend tracking down and photographing the sports events. She will have it all for you beginning on B1.
Can't wait for you to read it.

Polson native to head Warm Springs

Just received a press release from DPHHS (headed itself by Ronan native Anna Whiting-Sorrell) the former St. Joe's head John Glueckert has been hired as the Montana State Hospital administrator in Warm Springs.
Glueckert resigned as CEO from St. Joe's early in 2009 - since the hospital has gone through two replacements.
As the administrator for the Montana State Hospital, Glueckert will be responsible for providing leadership and direction in all Montana State Hospital services, developing and implementing the Long Range Building Plan, developing policies, procedures and standards in agreement with all state and federal requirements, among other duties.
The DPHHS press release says his wife, is still employed at KPAX-TV in Missoula as an advertising sales representative.
He will be based in Warm Springs

New (female) faces take over in Polson

The Polson City Commission got a few new faces during the regular meeting on Monday night (well, new at least, for the term, as several have been on the commission before).
From me seat in the back row, it was a very noticeable change. The ratio of men to women went way down. Lone female commissioner Elsa Duford was joined by two more women - Judy Preston and mayor Pat DeVries.
Four men and three women now sit on the commission.
This is just an observation - with any new members, the dynamics will change. Time wil tell how each personality on the Polson council will make it different, better, worse, etc. The voters ultimately decide which tag to give each commissioner.
Still, more often than not during a week in reporting, I quote men and use them as sources. It's heavily lopsided especially when it comes to reporting on government/municipal related stories.
It's interesting to look at the recent H1N1 virus that made headline after headline this year from this perspective. I bet the number of female source quoted, per newspaper or broadcast, spiked noticeably. Because women more traditionally hold public health, nursing and caregiver jobs.
This may seem very "feministy" to many. I will absolutely agree that the person who should take the seat should be the one best qualified. I'm not here to make judgements on who that is in Polson.
What I will, is that it's refreshing to see. As a professional woman, I say, recognizing girl power is not a bad thing.

A1 Jan. 1 preview

Hello 2010 - first issue preview

For our first 2010 issue, we'll have a fun story on the LAST baby born in Lake County in 2009. Sasha visited with the newborn and mom. He'll also report on what it means tax wise for the family no plus one.
Sasha will also have the latest news on the CSKT and state FWP plan to help get lake trout out of Flathead.
Aimee will have a recap of the weekend's events on from the law enforcement side. Sounds like it was a pretty quiet weekend. She'll also see how the DUI task force came out this New Year's Eve.
I will have a recap of the Polson City Commissioner's decision on where a new sewer treatment plant will go, and some photos of the new members being sworn in.
Can't wait for you to read it.