HELENA - The Montana House of Representatives voted 59 to 41 in favor of House Bill 391, which would require minors to get parental permission before getting an abortion.

This comes just months after voters passed LR-120, a referendum which requires parental notification before a child under 16 can get an abortion.

HB 391 takes it a step further requiring permission, not just notification, and changes the age from 16 to 18.

The bill still needs to pass a third reading in the House.

 

 

(February 16, 2013) The Montana House Judiciary Committee heard debate on Friday about a bill that would make it illegal for minors to obtain an abortion without parental consent.

House Bill 391 would make it illegal for girls under the age of 18 to obtain an abortion without notarized parental consent.

Backers of the bill say they believe the bill will protect minors, and one parent testified with a personal story about her own daughter seeking an abortion and how she has struggled in her personal life since.

"At 16, she was not equipped to make a decision that was going to affect her for the rest of her life. We wanted to have participation in her choices, but for whatever reason she didn't feel safe coming to us, but we would have been able to help her with a decision that would have been better for her, but we weren't allowed to participate in it and they just went ahead," Janet Carson said.

Under the bill, minors can obtain a judicial waiver for consent, but those testifying against HB 391 called that solution preposterous.

"Divulging sensitive and traumatizing circumstances to a judge in a public space, being questioned repeatedly about how and who and why and doing this all while figuring out how to drive back and forth and miss school and find the money to pay for the gas and the attorney and the JAL is preposterous," Sarah Rossi commented.

Medical history and health complications are two reasons bill proponents gave for why its important that parents be involved and give consent for abortions.

"So many times when we collect medical history from these young girls, they're not familiar with their history and in particular, their family history," explained nurse and mid-wife Carol Kolar.

National statistics show that 10% of women suffer immediate complications, and 2% of the 10% are having major complications from medical abortions.

But opponents strongly reject the bill, saying it does the opposite of protecting minors.

"It does nothing to enhance the protection of minors, but is more likely to hurt minors by making them delay care, or driving them into dangerous situations where they may harm themselves or seek an illegal abortion," Niki Zupanic with the ACLU of Montana said.

 

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The Cascade County Sheriff's Office has released the names of the three men who died when two vehicles collided east of Belt on Monday.

Gregory James Sturm, 27, was the sole occupant of the Honda Accord.

Jason Dean Kovar, 25, was the driver of the pickup truck.

Kevin Ryan Greenwood, 25, was a passenger in the pickup truck.

The Montana Highway Patrol is continuing its investigation into the collision.

 

 

(Monday, February 25, 2013) The Montana Highway Patrol reports that three people were killed in an overnight collision east of Belt.

Authorities say that the two 25-year old men in a Toyota pickup died, and the 27-year old man driving a Honda Accord died.

The MHP says that none of them were wearing seatbelts, and they were the only people in the two vehicles.

MHP Trooper Shellie Babinecz said, "This morning we had a Toyota pickup truck coming westbound and a Honda Accord going eastbound and the Toyota pickup drifted off the right edge of the roadway, struck the guardrail, and crossed the center line and hit the Honda Accord head-on."

Right now, MHP says speed does not appear to be a factor and it is still not known if alcohol played a role.

 

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Five people have applied to become the next superintendent of Great Falls Public Schools.

Four of the applicants are already administrators within the district: Fred Anderson, currently the principal at North Middle School; Dick Kloppel, the principal at CMR High School; Tammy Lacey, currently the human resources director for the district; Tom Moore, who is the GFPS assistant superintendent for 7th through 12th grades.

The fifth applicant is Jim Whealon, who is currently the superintendent at Jefferson High School in Boulder.

The board will review the candidates during an open meeting on Wednesday at 5:15 pm at the district offices.

Cheryl Crawley, the current superintendent, announced in November that she will retire from her post at the end of the current school year.

Crawley has served in Great Falls for the last six years.

 

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Educators from across Montana are in Helena for the annual Indian Education For All conference.

Registration had to be capped for the conference because it is so popular.

Teachers who attended learned tools for teaching students about American Indian culture and history specific to Montana.

Mike Jetty, an Indian education specialist, said, "It's about learning about those issues and you know, moving past them, because we're all in this together. We didn't cause any of those things to happen in the past, but you know it's important to teach about those, but not to make people feel guilty about it, but to say, 'This happened in our history,' and how do we move forward. How do we heal?"

Tuesday's keynote address focused on inaccurate depictions of Native Americans in textbooks.

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HELENA - Lewis & Clark County Commissioners are one step closer to filling the seat vacated by former Republican Commissioner Derek Brown.

On Tuesday, they heard directly from the three candidates vying to fill the seat: Gilda Clancy, Pat Faber, and Dan Wickens.

Clancy is a former state legislator from the district and is currently a partner in a family business brokering land royalties and leases.

Faber is a hydro-geologist consultant on issues relating to water and the environment.

Wickens is a former Marine intelligence officer. He works to protect the Montana National Guard from crime, such as terrorism, disaster and cyber attacks.

The candidates were asked how they see teamwork and compromise in setting goals and making decisions in the future.

Clancy: "Our decisions as County Commissioners are not Democrat decisions, they are not Republican decisions. They are decisions for the good of the people."

Faber: "No more fighting. I don't know the specific issues between you and Mr. Brown - the intention is not to fight."

Wickens: "It's OK to disagree with someone philosophically, but to disagree with them personally then, in my opinion, crosses a line."

The candidates all said they believed that compromise on important decisions is a must for the good of the public.

They were also asked about their perspective on what they feel is a priority in the county.

Clancy: "I see flooding in the valley as a huge issue and it's something that needs to be taken care of properly."

Faber: "Everything dealing with growth. It's a large category but I think that's the number one issue."

Wickens: "Helping to facilitate those things that have already been put in place by the people that have done the hard research."

County Commissioners will consider today's testimony and any public comment from now until March 6th.

They plan to make a decision on March 7 to either appoint one of these three candidates or ask for three more.

 

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Five Helena schools have contracts up for bid to make improvements in order to become compliant with the Americans With Disabilities Act.

District officials knew they wanted to make changes to the older schools, so they applied for a Quality Schools Grant from the Montana Department of Commerce.

John Carter, Helena Public Schools support services director, said, "So then we were awarded the grant, then we knew we were going into the educational planning. So we thought, well, lets see how that goes and try to make sure that whatever we do is consistent."

The school would have made the ADA changes whether or not some of the schools were going to be repurposed, as indicated in the earlier recommendations.

The district chose schools that didn't have accessible ways to core services such as the library, gym, cafeteria and front office.

Central, Hawthorne, Bryant, Broadwater, Jefferson will all be updated.

Last week contractors came to tour a few of the schools as they prepare to bid for the job. The bulk of the work is expected to be done before and after school hours. 

The district is working under a deadline; the construction has to be finished by June 30th.

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After a protracted and bitterly contentious couple of weeks, the Senate today confirmed former Sen. Chuck Hagel, R-Neb., as President Obama's next defense secretary.

Hagel was confirmed in a final vote of 58 to 41. Four Republicans joined Democrats in supporting Hagel: Sens. Thad Cochran, R-Miss.; Mike Johanns, R-Neb.; Rand Paul, R-Ky.; and Richard Shelby, R-Ala. No Democrats voted against Hagel, but one -- Sen. Frank Lautenberg, D-N.J. -- did not vote.

Earlier in the day, 71 senators voted to proceed with the vote on the embattled nominee, easily passing the 60-vote threshold. Several GOP senators who had previously voted against cloture switched their votes this time around, including Sen. Lindsey Graham, R-S.C., and Sen. John McCain, R-Ariz.

Hagel's nomination has been controversial from the start: Even before he was officially tapped for the job, a handful of Republicans came out against the idea, particularly denouncing a number of his past statements about Iran and Israel. Outside advocacy groups were also swift to get involved, spending hundreds of thousands of dollars on television ads aimed at torpedoing Hagel's chances.

While he was able to secure Democratic support through a series of one-on-one meetings prior to his confirmation hearing, Hagel's efforts to appease members of his own party failed resoundingly. His performance at the confirmation hearings was lambasted as passive and at times confused even by some Democrats, and his individual meetings with GOP senators yielded little in the way of support.

After squeaking through a vote by the Senate Armed Services Committee earlier this month, a handful of Republican senators filibustered Hagel's full Senate confirmation vote as a means to wring more information out of the administration regarding the September 11 terrorist attacks in Benghazi, Libya.

On Sunday, McCain signaled the GOP's readiness to let the Senate proceed with a vote on the long-delayed nomination.

Because no Democrats have announced their intent to vote against him, Hagel is expected to clear the 50-vote threshold needed for confirmation. That vote is expected later this afternoon.

Outgoing Defense Secretary Leon Panetta, meanwhile, has been all but begging Congress to let him leave office.

At a ceremony honoring former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton - whose successor, former Sen. John Kerry, D-Mass., sailed through the confirmation process with ease - Panetta noted that he was having a "hard time" waiting for Congress to approve his successor.

"I'm ready to go," he said.

Photo above: US Department of Defense (source)

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Top stories on KXLH for the evening of Tuesday, February 26, 2013.

- County Commission: Lewis & Clark County Commissioners are one step closer to filling the seat vacated by former Republican Commissioner Derek Brown. On Tuesday, they heard directly from the three candidates vying to fill the seat: Gilda Clancy, Pat Faber, and Dan Wickens. Click here to read more and watch extended video of each candidate.

- Abortion: The Montana House of Representatives voted 59 to 41 in favor of House Bill 391, which would require minors to get parental permission before getting an abortion.

- Eminent Domain: MT State Senator Debby Barrett of Dillon is sponsoring a bill to revise the state's eminent domain laws. Barrett's bill passed in a 28 to 22 vote, taking away the power of eminent domain from merchant transmission lines.

- Bison: Two bills that would more aggressively manage bison cleared the Montana Senate. The first bill makes MT FWP liable for any damages to private property caused by bison. The second bill defines wild bison as those which were never in captivity or never owned by a person.

- ADA: Five Helena schools have contracts up for bid to make improvements in order to become compliant with the Americans With Disabilities Act. District officials knew they wanted to make changes to the older schools, so they applied for a Quality Schools Grant from the Montana Department of Commerce. Central, Hawthorne, Bryant, Broadwater, Jefferson will all be updated.

- Indian Education: Educators from across Montana are in Helena for the annual Indian Education For All conference. Teachers who attended learned tools for teaching students about American Indian culture and history specific to Montana.

- Extreme: Snowmobiling is one of the most daring winter sports - but for those who thrive on adrenaline, extreme snowmobiling is a way of life. Reporter Melissa Anderson finds out what makes the riders and producers of Mountain Mod Mania fly.

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GREAT FALLS - Emergency crews were dispatched to the Central Avenue West bridge on Tuesday at about 5:15 p.m. when a woman reportedly jumped into the Missouri River.

A river-rescue operation was launched within minutes.

Emergency crews found the woman standing in the middle of the river underneath the bridge.

The rescue crew got the woman into their boat at about 5:40 p.m. and took her to a waiting ambulance. She was then taken to Benefis hospital for treatment and evaluation.

Jamie Jackson, Great Falls Fire Rescue Battalion Chief, said that the woman did suffer some "traumatic compression" injuries.

He also noted that the water temperature is around 37 or 38 degrees, and she may also have experienced some hypothermia.

Jackson said that it is fortunate that the water was clear, noting that if this had occurred when the river was iced over in some areas, it would have been much more difficult to get to the woman.

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HELENA - The live "The Price Is Right" show made its way to Helena on Tuesday, delighting scores of people who are fans of the legendary TV show.

Many of the TV show's favorite games were on-stage, including Plinko, Cliffhanger, and Punch A Bunch, giving people in the audience a chance to win trips, cars, and money.

Instead of TV host Drew Carey, the live touring show featured Todd Newton, who delighted the crowd with his charismatic approach,

The live touring show began ten years ago from a theater in Reno, Nevada. As the popularity of the show rose, so did the number of shows. Now "The Price Is Right" live show is scheduled for 60 cities in 12 weeks.

As you can see, fans were pretty excited about the event!

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High pressure building across the West will begin to influence Montana's weather today with the much anticipated warming trend getting underway.

High clouds will continue to stream in from the west bringing periods of clouds and sunshine.

Temperatures will warm into the lower and middle 40s across the Valley this afternoon.

A weak upper level disturbance will break through the developing ridge on Thursday bringing increasing clouds and a slight chance of a few rain or snow showers to most areas.

Cold air is lacking with this weak system and in fact, temperatures will continue to warm with highs on Thursday in the mid 40s.

Becoming even warmer by Friday into Saturday with highs in the 50s.

Big changes on the horizon though as latest forecast models continue to indicate the potential of a significant storm system moving through the state Sunday into Monday.

This storm could bring widespread rain on Sunday afternoon which will then turn to accumulating snow on Monday as colder air floods southward out of Canada.

Stay with KRTV through the week for updates on this developing weather change.

Have a great day!
Meteorologist Matt Jones

 

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Tuesday in the Montana Legislature:

- Bullock's Bills: Two proposals backed by Governor Steve Bullock (D) were rejected by the Montana House of Representatives. The first bill would have given every homeowner in Montana a $400 property tax rebate; it failed to garner enough votes to make it out of committee in a 38 to 59 vote. Republicans say they want permanent property tax relief, not a "one-time gimmick."  The second bill would have required private contractors who are working on state-funded projects to hire 75% of their crew from Montana. That bill died in a 45 to 53 vote.

- Eminent Domain: In the Montana Senate, two bills aimed at tightening the power of eminent domain passed. SB 180 would take the power of eminent domain away from merchant transmission lines; it passed in 28 to 22 vote. The Senate also passed a bill which gives landowners more negotiating tools when their land is being taken by eminent domain.

- Bison: MT senators paved the way for a pair of bills that would give the state more tools to aggressively manage bison. One bill would make MT FWP liable for any damages to private property caused by bison; it passed 30 to 20. The second bill defines wild bison as "bison which were never in captivity or never owned by a person." It passed with 31 "yes" votes.

 

 

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CROW AGENCY - Every tribe is different, with its own history, traditions, and beliefs. But as you drive the streets of one Indian reservation to the next, the sight of wild dogs remains consistent. But they're not just dogs, they're known as "rez dogs."

Reno Charette, Director of American Indian Outreach at MSU-Billings, said, "The dogs are free. And they're free to live in the manner that they choose. For many people these days, they might wish that they had as much liberty as the dogs do."

Before the use of horses, tribes in the Great Plains Region relied heavily on dogs. "The dogs were originally the animal that helped people move their things on a travois that dogs pulled," Charette said.

Some say the status of rez dogs has shifted from a highly honored companion to neglected animals.

Mark Francis, a veterinarian at the Animal Care Center in Hardin, said,"It would amaze you the number of dogs that are out there that aren't pets. They're just out there running. And they're not being cared for."

The average lifespan of a rez dog is just two years, and the dogs do what is necessary to survive.

Brooke Gondara of the Lame Deer Critter Committee noted, "The dumps are a big problem, they'll forage in the dumps, they've passed plastic sacks and things that are not good for dogs,"

In some more extreme scenarios, dogs have attacked humans. According to Indian Health Services, over the past 18 years, there is an average of 35 people bitten by dogs on the Crow Reservation every year. That number more than doubles for the Northern Cheyenne Reservation, with an average of 72 people per year.

Having the mentality of a wild animal, the dogs form packs and claim their territory.

Sheri Lee of Rez Dog Rescue said, "A lot of them just never actually had homes. And it just takes a couple of females having a couple of litters that are all fending for themselves and they have more litters. It just gets out of hand."

Veterinarians and rescue groups consistently see cases of rabies, ringworm, and mange, and over the past three months, distemper has made its way to the Northern Cheyenne and Crow Reservations.

Gondara said, "I mean, it's just wiped out total litters of puppies and mothers. And I think it's taken down the dog population probably overall."

Francis said, "There's been a lot of dogs that they've rescued that they've brought in that have either ended up dying or having to be put to sleep because they get so bad from the distemper. And, you know, those diseases are preventable."

Ideally, rescue groups would like to restore the status that dogs once held with the tribe; Gondara said, "There is a sacredness and stories and beliefs about dogs in our culture and to go back to that as much as possible as far as shifting the mentality."

She says it's a shift that must happen within the community.

 

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Early Saturday morning , a Lake County Sheriff's Deputy and his partner were driving along highway 93 just south of Saint Ignatius when they heard a thump on the passenger side of their vehicle.

They turned their patrol car around to investigate and found a small owl who was apparently chasing his breakfast when he ran into the moving car.

The deputy picked up the bird to see if his wing was broken.

When he tried to put the owl down, it clung to him, apparently wanting to cuddle.

After about five minutes the bird seemed to recover and flew away, apparently none worse for the wear by the incident.

 

 

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Snowmobiling is one of the most daring winter sports - and for those who thrive on adrenaline, extreme snowmobiling is a way of life.

Greg Painter, a movie producer with Mountain Mod Mania, said, "We jumped a snowmobile out of an airplane at 13,000 feet. He rode it for 40 seconds and 5,000 feet in a free fall before he bailed and pulled the rip cord. The sled of course tumbled through the air and hit the ground, almost hit a cow. We got written up in a lot of magazines for that."

At Mountain Mod Mania, they spare no expense. Because filming action from a helicopter, atop the highest mountains on the biggest, baddest mountain sleds, sells.

"Nowadays with the advent of helmet cameras and point of view cameras, we can put you in the drivers seat," Painter noted.

For the past 10 years, Painter has dedicated his heart and soul to making extreme snowmobiling videos.

Both of his sons began riding at an early age.

Quay Painter said, "The moments where you are actually got the mindset where you don't think you're going to make it but something miraculous happens and you pull one of the gnarliest lines is unimaginable, and you get that feeling of adrenaline and accomplishment. It's amazing."

His brother Jentry added, "I've always wanted to ride snowmobiles and I've always wanted to be that professional rider and I just pursued that goal, and I worked for it and i worked for it. and I'm finally starting to get there."

While sponsorship helps cover the cost of these powerful snow toys ranging from $25,000 to $50,000, crashes are still a huge setback.

"Some of the stuff we do, we climb up through avalanche shoots right through the rocks you know up over the mountains, stuff that mountain goats don't even climb." Painter said.

Nonetheless, Painter says safety is his number one priority: "That's one thing that you always got to be cognizant about is avalanche conditions and keeping your riders safe."

Painter's movies are among the top three extreme snowmobile sales with worldwide distribution. That's because only the best clips make the cut.

He said, "Helicopters are cool, but the average helicopter costs between $2,000 and $2,500 an hour. You times that by a day or two of filming, it's a lot of expense so you got to sell a lot of movies at $25 bucks a whack."

Filmed mostly in Canada, Utah, Wyoming, and Nevada, Painter says the steeper the mountain or chute, the better: "If you've climbed this mountain this year, you've got to climb a taller mountain next year. You've got to do something more extreme next year."

And no matter how extreme the family tradition, it has brought confidence and will be carried on.

Jentry said, "My kids, they'll ride, they'll drive, they'll do everything that I did."

"Having the movie scene with my dad as the producer definitely opened up a lot of doors and a lot of opportunities. I owe a lot to my dad," said Quay.

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The Montana House of Representatives passed two tax relief measures on Wednesday.

The first bill, sponsored by MT State Representative Scott Reichner (R-Bigfork) would reduce taxes on every property owner in Montana; it passed in a party line vote.

The bill has a price tag of about $50 million dollars per year.

According to the Governor's office the bill would offer the average homeowner $44 in tax relief annually.

Reichner said, "Homeowners across the state have also been paying more than their fair share. Their burden is heavy. Businesses, also, some of them are barely able to keep the doors open in this tough economy."

Democrats and the Governor's office say the bill isn't fair because companies such as NorthWestern Energy would receive more than $3 million dollars in tax breaks while homeowners receive very little.

They also say while the state may have the money during the current budget cycle to offer the tax relief, the state may not have it in the future.

MT State Representative J.P. Pomnichowski (D Bozeman) said, "Making policy on one rise over the long term is irresponsible, and we cannot be irresponsible. We cannot jeopardize our ongoing funding. This is not targeted property tax relief. This is taking a machete to our property tax system.

In a 96 to 4 vote the House also overwhelmingly supported a measure which reduces the business equipment tax.

Right now businesses with $20,000 or less in business equipment do not have to pay taxes on it.

The bill increases the exemption to $250,000.

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MISSOULA - Jordan Johnson, the suspended UM quarterback charged with rape, told the jury on Wednesday that he didn't rape his accuser, and he also said that "no means no" and that he respects that.

Johnson told the jury on his account of the night last February when the alleged victim said he raped her.

Their accounts don't differ much, until after the two took off each others shirts and were kissing in bed.

The woman said shortly after that, Johnson pulled off her pants and forced her to have sex even though she told him "no" multiple times.

Johnson said the woman let him completely undress her and that she never told him "no."

He also said that if she did, he would have stopped.

Defense attorney Kirsten Pabst asked him, "Why would you have stopped?"

Johnson replied, "Because that's how I was raised by my parents is to respect people."

Johnson agreed with prosecutors when they said that he went over to the accuser's house even though he was seeing another girl, and he knew there was a possibility the two would have sex, but would not have a relationship.

 

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HELENA - If you are struggling to pay your property taxes in Montana, you are not alone - but you may be eligible for tax relief and not even know it, thanks to the Property Tax Assistance Program.

The program was created by the Montana Legislature years ago to help families who have low to moderate-income who own a home. 

Rich Bechtel of the Montana Office of Taxpayers' Assistance said, "If a family is of moderate means and has big property taxes then we're going to help offset that property tax for them."

According to the state Property Tax Division, the program is said to be under-utilized, so this year, the MT Department of Revenue sent out postcards to people whom they thought might be eligible.

Bechtel said, "There may be 30,000 property owners who may be eligible but don't participate. And so we cobbled together very quickly a data base of these 30,000 people and we mailed out yellow postcards out to them."

Bechtel says it's easy to find out if you qualify.

If you've lived in your home for at least nine months, are single, and have an income less than $20,000 you may qualify.

For multiple applicants or head of household, your income can't exceed $27,745.

To make it easy, the Department of Revenue has added a property tax assistance calculator on its website to determine eligibility.

Bechtel said, "They answer a couple of questions and it immediately tells them whether or not they would be eligible and if so it estimates what kind of benefit they'd get."

Bechtel says many senior citizens on fixed incomes may also qualify for homeowner renters tax credit. "It can be $20 to $50, up to $1,000." 

The deadline to apply for the tax relief program is April 15th.

Click here to visit the website and learn more.

 

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HELENA - March 1st marks the start of open burning season in Montana.

Open burning is typically allowed if environmental conditions are safe.

People planning to burn in the county must purchase permits and activate them before lighting any fires.

Volunteer fire departments are reminding people who plan to burn to follow safe burning procedures.

Dave Sammons, Rural Fire Council president, said, "Our recommendation is to burn early. Get up early, start your fire early, and let it burn down before mid-afternoon because the later it gets in the day, the more hazardous it becomes with erratic weather, storm fronts move in. Temperatures heat up, fire becomes erratic, gets out of control, in turn you lose the fire and we end up chasing it."

Burn permits can be purchased at the county tax office, or online (here) for $8.00.

Permits are activated only for a single day and must be reactivated for each day you intend to burn.

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HELENA - Dozens of people turned out to lend a hand across town on Wednesday as part of a "service blitz."

More than 100 people from organizations all over the state contributed two hours of work at 15 different locations in Helena.

The type of work varied, but the cause remained the same.

AmeriCorps member Kaileen Balzano said, "Just the connection of the people, we serve every single day of the year, but it is nice for people to recognize what we are doing and all of getting out in Helena is a much bigger impact on a specific day."

The service blitz kicks off the fourth annual Serve Montana Symposium.

Service awards will be presented at 11:30 a.m. on Thursday at the Great Northern Hotel.

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