9 minute read
Lake level
from 06-29-22 issue
from page 2
out in reply. Several local business owners had expressed as much throughout the meeting, siting burocratic overreach and unnecessary fees during times of inflation as some of their primary concerns. Prior to the revelation about the ending of state fire inspections, there was little public understanding shown regarding the need for funding for what was thought to be additional fire inspections.
The city also clarified that Fire Assistant Chief Straub already has the authority to inspect businesses and cite issues in need of change. This proposal would not grant the city any additional authority, but rather fund the staff needed to conduct the already state mandated fire inspections. An additional benefit of this, Straub mentioned, would be the ability for fire department members to create “pre-plan” blueprint-like layout documents for each business to be added to the fire department’s Geographic Information System (GIS) system for increased safety for firefighters during an emergency response.
The draft of the proposal discussed at the meeting, with changes made from the previous workshop meeting highlighted in red, can be viewed online at https://www. cityofpolson.com/sites/default/ files/fileattachments/community/page/4514/bus_lic_packet_6_13_22_version.pdf.
Several additional changes were suggested by the public by the conclusion of the workshop, including updating the “all other applicable codes adopted by the City of Polson” to a more specific list related to fire codes to prevent possible overreach, adjusting the number of garage sales mentioned in the exemptions to not restrict locals unnecessarily, and clarifying in writing how grandfathering certain standards would work for older buildings.
The next meeting, set to take place in August, will either be another workshop or an official first reading of the proposal by the city council, either of which will still allow for public input and feedback. The next meeting will be announced on the city website, on social media, and via a flier distributed to local businesses via the mailing list provided by commercial utilities bills. Written public comment can be submitted to the Polson City Hall.
Swimming closed at Riverside Park due to strong currents
By Kristi Niemeyer for the Valley Journal
POLSON — Temperatures Saturday were in the 70s, and Riverside Park in Polson would typically be overflowing with families and kids frolicking in the still frigid (in this reporter’s opinion) waters of Flathead Lake. While the playground still had a few customers, the swim area was closed Friday due to high water and dangerous currents.
Energy Keepers, which operates Séliš Ksanka QÍispé Dam a few miles downstream, reported on its Facebook page Friday that inflows to Flathead Lake were finally matching the amount of water exiting the outlet at the bridge in Polson at approximately 57,100 cubic feet per second. The post predicted the lake level, which was about six inches above full pool Friday, would begin to recede in coming days, hopefully reaching its preferred summer level of 2,893 feet soon. Until then, the SKQ Dam “remains on a complete free-flow operation, the post said, while predicting “relief is in sight!”
High lake levels have swamped docks and caused issues for boaters and other recreationists.
“We have more water coming through the Flathead Basin right now than we’ve seen since 1964,” said Energy Keepers CEO Brian Lipscomb.
During the last decade, he said spring and early summer water levels in the lower Flathead River have been increasing over historical flows, with a peak flow of around 50,000 cfs gushing downstream in about half of the past 10 years. “We have more droughts and we have more issues with high flows, like we’re seeing right now.”
Compared to much of the West, which is in the grips of prolonged and extreme drought conditions, late-season snowfall and recent rains have caused flooding in the Flathead Basin and other parts of Montana. Still, Lipscomb says, conditions could change in a hurry.
“It wouldn’t surprise me a bit if in August we see what’s called a ‘flash drought,’ where we have high winds and extreme temperatures and the countryside just dries out.”
Meanwhile, all the water coming through the lake is gushing over the dam, which is capable of managing flows of
KRISTI NIEMEYER PHOTO Riverside Park’s popular swimming area is currently off limits due to high water and dangerous currents in the lower Flathead River.
SUMMER GODDARD / VALLEY JOURNAL
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Montana is one of the few non-coastal states where abortion remains legal after SCOTUS reverses 1973 Roe v. Wade decision
By Mara Silvers Montana Free Press
MONTANA — Montana’s elected officials reacted to the U.S. Supreme Court ruling Friday overturning the landmark Roe v. Wade decision, which had made abortion legal nationwide for nearly 50 years.
The majority opinion in Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization, written by Justice Samuel Alito and co-signed by the court’s five other conservative justices, said that the court’s 1973 decision in Roe was “egregiously wrong” and was “on a collision course with the Constitution from the day it was decided.” The Friday ruling found that “procuring an abortion is not a fundamental constitutional right” and that individual states “may regulate abortion for legitimate reasons.”
Abortion will remain legal in Montana for the foreseeable future. State courts have considered abortion, like other protected medical choices, to be protected under Montana’s constitutional right to privacy since 1999.
Montana’s U.S. Senators, who split votes on whether to confirm the three conservative justices appointed to the high court by former President Donald Trump, had distinct responses to the ruling in the Dobbs case. Republican Sen. Steve Daines said the ruling “rightfully ends one of the world’s most horrific abortion policies” and “gives bright new hope to unborn children and their moms across America.” Democratic Sen. Jon Tester said the decision means “women and doctors will be put in jail” in some states and that “[n] o judge or politician should be telling women how to live their lives.”
Without Roe’s protections in place, 13 states are set to ban abortion entirely in the coming weeks, including Idaho, Wyoming, Utah, North Dakota and South Dakota. Many coastal states, such as Washington, Oregon, California, Maine, New York and New Jersey, have passed laws making abortion explicitly legal. Only a handful of states in the middle of the country, including Colorado, New Mexico, Minnesota and Illinois, have passed similar protective statutes.
The decision that declared abortion legal under the Montana Constitution, Armstrong v. State, is facing an active challenge through litigation over a series of abortion restrictions passed by the state Legislature last year. The slate of laws were blocked from going into effect by a district court judge in Billings last fall. The state of Montana has appealed that injunction to the state Supreme Court, with state attorneys explicitly calling for Armstrong to be overturned in their legal filings.
Republican officeholders in Montana echoed that call on Friday as they responded to the U.S. Supreme Court decision, noting that the demise of Roe v. Wade puts Montana’s abortion debates squarely before Montana judges.
“Today we celebrate the Supreme Court’s historic decision to correct a constitutionally wrong decision from decades ago that has harmed so many. As the debate over abortion shifts to the states, all eyes in Montana need to be on our own judicial branch of government,” Montana Senate President Mark Blasdel, R-Kalispell, and House Majority Leader Sue Vinton, R-Billings said in a joint statement. “Montana judges should rule based on the text of our state constitution, which doesn’t mention abortion at all, and overturn the activist and erroneous Armstrong decision.”
MARA SILVERS / MONTANA FREE PRESS from page 5
up to 112,000 cubic feet per second when all 14 spill gates are open. Even with two gates closed for scheduled maintenance, the dam can still accommodate 98,000 cfs, around 40,000 cfs more than its current flow.
On Saturday, the cascade of water over the 204-foot high concrete arch, and ensuing plumes of spray as the river settles into the canyon below, was breathtaking and a little alarming.
As the City of Polson cautioned in announcing the temporary closure of the park’s popular swimming hole: “Please keep in mind that flooding and swift waters pose significant safety hazards to recreationists and hazards can evolve without warning. Recreationists can avoid accidents and injury by observing all safety closures and avoiding areas with flooding.”
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Montana’s Republican Gov. Greg Gianforte shared that celebratory sentiment in his own statement, calling the end of Roe a “historic win.” The governor stopped short of advocating for the Montana Supreme Court to reverse the Armstrong decision.
“With this monumental decision, the Supreme Court has restored power to the American people and their elected representatives,” Gianforte said. “I’m in discussions with legislative leaders on next steps as we work to protect life in Montana.”
Elected Democrats in Montana struck a very different tone on Friday, emphasizing the ramifications of the court’s decision for Montana and other states.
“With this decision, an all-out ban on abortion is on the table in a way we have not seen for decades,” said House Minority Leader Kim Abbott, D-Helena, and Senate Minority Leader Jill Cohenour, D-East Helena. “Now, our state’s Constitutional right to privacy is the only thing standing between Montanans and the politicians who want to control the most intimate aspects of our private decision making.”
Abortion providers in Montana have been preparing for a decision overturning Roe v. Wade since May, when a leaked draft opinion of Alito’s ruling was published by Politico. In an emailed statement on Friday, the political arm of Planned Parenthood of Montana reiterated that abortion remains legal in the state and will be accessible for patients around the country in the coming weeks and months.
“Although we are outraged and saddened by the ruling, it is important for Montanans, and for people in neighboring states, to know that abortion remains legal here. Our state constitution’s right to privacy has long protected Montanans’ right to make private medical decisions without interference from politicians,” said Planned Parenthood Advocates of Montana President Martha Fuller.
Fuller said her organization’s clinics remain committed to providing patients with abortion services and other health care, and “will continue offering the non-judgmental, high-quality care our patients depend on them for — regardless of who they love, where they live, and how much money they make.”
There are currently five operating abortion clinics in Montana: All Families Health Clinic in Whitefish, Blue Mountain Clinic in Missoula, and Planned Parenthood of Montana clinics in Great Falls, Helena and Billings.
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Container site reopens
News from Lake County Solid Waste
ARLEE — The container site on North Valley Creek reopened on Tuesday, June 28. Lake County Solid Waste is staffing the site, opening and closing the containers to match the new hours. The site will be open on Tuesdays, Thursdays, and Saturdays from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. This will not only keep the bears at bay, but will reduce (and hopefully prevent) illegal salvaging and illegal dumping. Officials have done this at a site in the Swan Valley and it is working well.
If you have any questions, call lake county solid waste at 406-883-7323.
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