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2013 MApril Clean-up

April 4, 2013

For immediate release

Contact person: Carrie Koppy

NeighborWorks Great Falls

(406) 761-5861

Carrie’s cell: 750-3606

MApril cleanup scheduled for April 27, May 4

The communitywide cleanup effort called MApril is scheduled for April 27 and May 4 from 8 a.m. to noon this year.

One of the primary sponsors, NeighborWorks, is seeking cleanup teams to work on local parks, roads, trails, and other public areas in Great Falls and Black Eagle. The civilian volunteers will join crews from Malmstrom Air Force Base in bagging and disposing of the winter accumulation of trash.

To volunteer to field a cleanup team, call NeighborWorks Great Falls at 761-5861 and ask for Carrie Koppy, or stop by the office at 509 1^st Ave. S. to learn more about the communitywide cleanup program. Volunteers receive heavy-duty garbage bags, bag disposal and a certificate of appreciation acknowledging their work.

Every year, hundreds of volunteers have signed up to clean up a roadway, park or play area of their choosing. Malmstrom has committed several two-person teams to travel through city streets located in the NeighborWorks Great Falls target neighborhoods to pick up trash and litter in big military trucks. Other Malmstrom volunteers will be walking city streets and cleaning up garbage. Some neighborhood councils may also be sponsoring groups of volunteers to focus on their neighborhoods, and schoolchildren will be cleaning up around their schools.

Roger Bridgeford, general manager of Montana Waste Systems and the High Plains Landfill, is donating dumping fees again this year; the fees can run into the thousands of dollars, a huge donation to the local cleanup effort.

In addition to NeighborWorks, Montana Waste Systems and MAFB, other sponsors are the City of Great Falls, the Chamber of Commerce and the Montana Department of Transportation.

NWGF encourages team members that want to help to clean up areas important to them, but if teams haven’t selected a particular area to clean up, NWGF will assign them an area.

Batteries, paint, car bodies, large trees or branches more than four feet long cannot be picked up for disposal. Drivers can pick up old appliances, but people must call NeighborWorks and make arrangements ahead of time.

Maps and garbage bags can be picked up ahead of time by calling 761-5861.

Congratulations

Congratulations to all those who ran for public office and to those who won their respective offices and districts.

Way to go Travis!

No Plant For MAFB

Officials have decided to nix the idea of building a coal-to-liquids fuel plant at Malmstrom and will no longer pursue developing one.

According to the news release, Air Force experts did not think proposals to build the plant were viable, especially in light of MAFB's nuclear missile mission.

Our Tax Dollars At Work

I'm not going to give the State the benefit of the doubt when they thought a software program they purchased could be used on multiple machines without purchasing separate licensing for each installation. There's no excuse for this oversight, if that's what it is.

Dick Clark, the chief information officer in the Department of Administration, says, "I don't know that there is blame. It's kind of a cumulative effect. Obviously it's a wake-up call for us to manage things in a lot more aggressive manner." The department is now "going to emphasize that software licensure is a "big issue".

Come on. Anybody who works in this field and is responsible for purchasing and/or installing the software better be well aware of the licensing regulations, especially at this level. The State installed the same software on more than 5,000 computers and they thought this would be OK?

Yes, Mr. Clark, software piracy is a big issue.

Now the State has to pay $921,000 in unlicensed software fees and $218,000 for upgrades and maintenance of the software.

I wonder how much it would have cost the State if they had done it right the first time?

Benefis And Their Banners

GeeGuy has been discussing today the very recent revelation that Benefis now has their city banned banners hanging at the airport.

I think I might know why this happened.

When I attended the Council of Councils meeting on March 19, a short discussion ensued about Neighborhood Councils using sandwich boards to advertise their meetings. Just about everybody said, including the mayor, that according to the sign code ordinance, only downtown businesses could use sandwich boards. Somebody else piped up and said that even though that's the case, Neighborhood Councils could use them too. The mayor said she knew exactly what department to talk to for a clarification as she had just gone through a similar thing with Benefis.

According to Mayor Stebbins, Benefis called her when the city told them they had to take their banners down. In very similar words, she told us, "I guess they thought I could wave my magic wand and fix it". She directed them to the variance department.

I guess they were told no.

School Mill Levy

By now you all know that we will have a mail-in ballot election for the school levy.

I attended a neighborhood council meeting where a member of the school board, Stu Nicholson, was present. He is also a member of KEYS; Kids' Education Yes! He was given time to present reasons why supporting this levy will benefit the kids.

If the levy fails, the following will be affected or cut to stay within budget:

* Class size
* Summer school program
* Library time
* Art in the primary grades
* Staff development
* Science training
* Testing materials
* Early intervention programs

One citizen, who is a retired teacher from a small county school, commented that every time money is needed, the only thing that is ever mentioned that will happen is how the kids will be affected; this program cut, this service cut back, won't be able to do this or that, etc... He wanted to know what is being done at the administration level. His contention is that things are heavy at the top; too much administration. He thought they were hiring another couple of associate principals at Great Falls High. Why?

It didn't seem to me that Mr. Nicholson was very well informed. He didn't know if two more associate principals were being considered and a few other questions were asked for which he didn't have responses.

The impression I got was that this was strictly a presentation meant to scare the you know what out of the parents: If you don't vote for this levy, your kids are going to suffer.

What do you think?

Sex Offender Poll

Thanks to those of you who voted. Nine of you think that sex offenders should not be allowed at the PreRelease Center and four of you think they should.

Needless to say, this is a very contentious issue. You are encouraged to share your thoughts with any one of the board members of the PreRelease Center.

Department Of Corrections

At last night's Council of Councils meeting, Mr. Kerry Pribnow from the Department of Corrections gave a presentation about sex offenders and the Great Falls PreRelease Center.

He has been in discussions with the local center to THINK about accepting only Tier I and Tier II Cascade County sex offenders. Currently, the center does not accept any sex offenders and the Department of Corrections cannot force them to. It is up to the PreRelease board to decide the Center's direction.

His argument to accepting these lower risk offenders is that they are, once released from prison, coming back to where they are from. The big problem though is most of them have not received any kind of rehab while in prison because of the long waiting lists, and their sentences are not long enough, like Tier III offenders, to get off those waiting lists.

He would like to see the local center offer rehab opportunities with very close supervision.

Needless to say, those at the meeting were very much divided in their thoughts.

What do you think?

They're Down

I didn't see anything this morning in the Tribune, but last night KRTV reported that Benefis took down their banners before today's deadline.

Benefis is going to appeal though to see if they can keep them up on a temporary basis.

Just for a change, why can't folks just follow the rules without wanting an exception made for themselves?

Slow News Day?

It must have been a pretty slow news day on Sunday for the Tribune. The top headline of the day was about.....stop signs. I'm not making light of the story, because traffic control is important, but to be THE headline for Sunday's paper?

Let's see. What other topic could have made the cut:

1. More money to SME - We found out last week that the city just paid SME another $130,000+ for September and October "energy imbalances". We've discussed it here and here. The explanation given by City Manager John Lawton raised more questions than it answered. Nothing much new about that.

2. The City, SME and ECP - This relationship is just begging for an independent investigation. Gosh, the Trib. could maybe even win another Pulitzer Prize if it stepped up to the plate.

3. The City and water rights - I asked if anybody had a clue about this subject, and FireFly responded. Commissioner Jolley mentioned a report that was supplied by the city's water rights attorney that raised more questions.

4. City Commission Travel Fund - At the City Commission meeting last week, this issue was raised by Mary Jolley and prompted a response the next day from Assistant City Manager, Cheryl Patton. It's just another example of the city's caviler attitude toward our money.

5. Airport Authority - it seems everyday something new and exciting is happening with this organization. Just recently, they found out they couldn't keep information secret and now they want to get into the economic development business, but from the sounds of it, management is not qualified. What's really going on up there?

6. Fairgrounds mismanagement - After reading Commissioner Joe Briggs' comment here, my question is why this 'lack of fiscal control over spending" has not been addressed sooner? How responsible is local "management" for this apparent mismanagement?

7. The Animal Shelter - It would be nice if the Trib. would do an unbiased exposé of this entire story from ALL parties involved in animal welfare in Great Falls. As I've mentioned before, there are always two sides to every story and in this case, at least three or four.

Second Poll Results

Thanks to those of you who participated. 9 of you liked the new name of the minor league ball club, the Voyagers, 9 of you did not and 1 didn't care. Personally, I don't care for the name, but I am curious about who/what the mascot will be.

Coal To Liquid Fuel Plant Meeting

Here's your chance to learn more and voice your opinion about the proposed Coal to Liquid Fuel Plant.

What: Air Force Town Hall Meeting

When: January 30, 2008
6:00pm - 8:00pm

Where: Great Falls Civic Center

What A Shock

I did not know Stan Perkins personally, but I did take a Montana history class from him about 8-10 years ago through Northern. I liked him as an instructor. He knew his stuff.

Then this. It's one thing to read about an unknown person doing things like this, but it makes a difference when you knew the person enough to have formed a positive opinion.

We just never know.

And Some People Think Great Falls Is Boring

In a matter of two weeks or so we've had an animal activist group demand the recall of certain city officials and the minor league baseball team, the White Sox, change their name. While the two aren't related, they have generated discussion. And that's a good thing.

Over at GreaterFalls, David has received several comments about the name change. Since the Recall Poll was successful with 62 of you participating, I thought I would try another one. This time about the name change. If you're new to it, it's real simple. Just click on your answer; no signing in. You can't vote more than once, but you can change your answer. (See right column).

Here is the footage of the sighting.

Making Excuses For Bad Manners

In today's Tribune (I couldn't find it on the online edition, but you can find it here), on the back of the sports page, is an article about the generational differences between the "baby boomers" and the "millennials", those that are in their teens and twenties. It seems the millennials don't have very good manners when it comes to customer service and the boomers are getting ticked off, as well as we should be.

Instead of blaming culture and technology for behavior that is nothing short of rudeness, these kids who are working in customer service or any other field for that matter, need to be trained. Having good manners is a learned behavior. We don't just pop out of the womb knowing how to be socially competent. And if these kids are not learning good manners at home, then its up to their teachers and employers, but that means they have to have manners themselves, which may or may not be the case.

"There's a tremendous culture and value gap" said William Withers, a communications professor at Wartburg College in Iowa. So his response to all of this: Boomers need to adjust their expectations down. That's right. We boomers are expecting too much to think that we should be waited on without the service person text messaging their friends, talking on their cell phones or just plain not paying attention to us. And if we're not willing to do this? Be prepared to "pay more to shop and dine at establishments that have the time, interest and money to train their employees".

We're in more trouble than we think.

Alan Reavley Denied Parole

In a unanimous decision, the Montana Board of Pardons and Parole denied Alan Reavley parole. He will not be eligible for another parole hearing for five years.

In this case, it seems justice has prevailed.

At Least The Mayor Is Awake

The mayor of Bozeman will not be signing that city's resolution to end the war in Iraq. It seems not only does he think US troops are making a positive difference, but more importantly, he doesn't think the city should be discussing federal issues. What a refreshing thought; tending to the business at hand and not delving into unrelated city activities.

The Judge Got It Right

It's a very sad day when supporters of a 14-year-old, who pled true to sexually assaulting a 4-year-old, claim he is making amends by volunteering, getting good grades and receiving counseling. How in the world can volunteering and getting good grades make up for what he did and in any way help the victim and his/her family? What a fantastic example of minimizing the seriousness of the crime.

It comes as no surprise then, that the 14-year-old's family is portraying the offender as the victim, because the whole town of Conrad knows what he did. And since the whole town knows, why should he still have to register as a sex offender? According to his attorney, the kid has "already paid a heavy price". Welcome to the real world.

I also found it unsettling that none of his supporters testified that he has shown any remorse or that he understands what he did was wrong. One would think that if that were the case, it would have been brought up. But, then again, maybe it doesn't matter. After all, he's getting good grades and is doing volunteer work.

Disgusting.

WIC Funding

Golly Gee, WIC is now going to have to stop doling out organic foods to its recipients. What a shame.

Here is the quote from Montana's WIC director, Joan Bowsher:

Well, a lot of clients want to buy the best possible food that they can and we support that but at this point we would rather provide a full food package for all of the clients than have to make some other kind of cuts.

Excuse me, but when you're getting something for free, when did it become acceptable to "tell" the giver what you want?

It's no wonder many of these people aren't anxious to get off government assistance.

The director also says that WIC is reducing the amount of milk clients can receive and tailoring food packages to each individual's needs to reduce waste. (emphasis added)

The problems with this program have less to do with inflation and more to do with gross mismanagement.