Elizabeth Doney Havre Daily News edoney@havredailynews.com
Havre District legislators have really come together to support a resolution that supports the efforts of the Wildhorse Border Committee who is diligently working to open it’s port of entry 24 hours a day. Rep. John L. Musgrove’s House Joint Resolution, which urged the Wild Horse port to be kept open 24 hours, has been passed in the Senate to become law. The resolution passed the third reading today and the second reading yesterday. “I would really like to commend Mayor Bob Rice, the Chamber of Commerce and the Bear Paw Development Corporation who got together to formed a committee to champion getting the Wildhorse port open 24 hours. Everyone involved with the Wildhorse Border Committee have all been working for years to get this done,” Musgrove said. “I was really excited yesterday on the second reading. I didn’t quite get the unanimous decision that I was hoping for, but is passed 48-1,” Musgrove said this morning. According to Sen. Ken Hansen, who carried the bill for Musgrove on the senate side, “Alberta is in full support of the resolution and local Havre community members are fully supportive as well and sent letters of support that were presented during the readings. “I presented the Wildhorse bill on the senate floor yesterday and it passed. It’s on it’s way over to the governor now to be signed,” Hansen said today. “Musgrove carried it over in the House and he did a great job. He got it over to me on the Senate floor and it passed with only one that opposed it.” According to Musgrove, the resolution is really a petition to the federal governments in Canada and the United States have to move in concert to get this passed the two governments have the final say as to whether the port will be allowed to be kept open round the clock. “It’s a long shot, but in terms of the economic development of the Providence of Alberta and the State of Montana, it’s necessary that we open up this avenue of transportation,” said Rep. Bob Bergren. “I think it’s great that it came out with strong Bipartisan support. It’s a instrumental step in the process of opening this border and continuing on with our economic development plans for northcentral and eastern Montana.” According to Rep. Bergren, this resolution will arm strong supporters, Sen. Max Baucus and Sen. Jon Tester with the added documented support they need to urge officials at the federal level to get the Wildhorse port of entry open 24 hours. “We are really please to hear the results of the vote in the state senate. It’s really gratifying that it will go forth and be signed by the governor. Federal officials will now be asked to seriously to look at this, which is what we are doing with our own government,” Mayor Garth Vallely of Medicine Hat, Alberta said. “We are now both at the same level, our legislature passed a similar resolution in May of 2006. Now we are moving forward to conquer the next barrier which is to move forward with the two federal governments. It’s a combination of almost three years of pushing this projects, so it’s great news.” “It’s great support for us in our efforts,” Rice said today. “It’s a stepping stone to convincing the Homeland Security that this is the right thing to do.” Rice is currently initiating a meeting with the Homeland Security to plead the Wildhorse Border Committee’s case, face to face, hoping they will be more receptive than they have been to letters that have been sent in the past in this economic development issue. For more information on the Wildhorse Border Committee, contact Rice at 265-6710.
