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Articles from the August 9, 2013 edition


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  • Food stamp cutbacks hit thousands of Montanans

    Updated Aug 11, 2013

    HELENA (AP) — Advocates say it is too soon to end a temporary increase in government-provided food assistance that's set to expire Nov. 1. The U.S. Department of Agriculture said roughly 130,000 Montanans will see reductions in their Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, commonly known as food stamps. Advocates estimate an 8 percent reduction in monthly benefits, or about $10 per month out of the average benefit of $124 per person. The increase was originally put in place as part of the federal stimulus efforts. The M...

  • Cotter: The Guardians a clear message to Indian Country

    Tim Leeds|Updated Aug 11, 2013
    3

    After another set of indictments charging six people with embezzling federal money from an American Indian reservation program were unsealed Thursday, Montana’s U.S. attorney said the project that lead to the indictments sends a clear message to everyone given a public trust. “If you elect to embezzle, steal, if you plunder tax dollars intended for the betterment of your communities, you will be discovered, and you will be prosecuted, and you will be held accountable for you...

  • AP: Guardians Project seeks to root out corruption

    MATT VOLZ Associated Press|Updated Aug 11, 2013

    GREAT FALLS — Seven framed pictures hang on a wall of the U.S. Attorney's Office in Great Falls, each bearing the name of an operation that is part of a major push to root out corruption and theft from federal programs in Montana's Indian Country. The 2-year-old Guardians Project is the only one of its kind in the nation, and it aims to curb the theft of federal money intended for Montana's seven Indian reservations. So far, the project has netted the indictments of 25 people, including six arraigned Thursday on fraud, c...

  • Judge rejects lawsuit against milk freshness rule

    Updated Aug 10, 2013

    HELENA, (AP) — A Montana judge has rejected a lawsuit filed by a California food distributor that tried again to abolish the rule requiring that milk sold in Montana to be stamped with a "sell-by" date of 12 days after pasteurization. District Judge Mike Menahan, in a decision handed down Friday, ruled that Core-Mark International had failed to show the rule was either unreasonable or created harm to consumers and competition. The decision also upholds a 2012 finding by the state Board of Livestock to reject Core-Mark's reque...

  • New oil exploration leases renew foes' anger

    Updated Aug 10, 2013

    MISSOULA (AP) — A series of new oil exploration leases on the border of the Blackfeet Indian Reservation and Glacier National Park has renewed the anger and motivation of those opposed to energy development along the Rocky Mountain Front. The leases were found last week among records held by the federal Bureau of Indian Affairs. They include nine lease blocks, two of which include a portion of Chief Mountain — the square-shaped landmark mountain along the eastern border of the national park. "We're still kind of in sho...

  • Rocky Boy elections panel overturn results, St. Marks to appeal

    John Kelleher|Updated Aug 10, 2013
    10

    The Chippewa Cree Tribe’s Elections Board has invalidated the recent elections and ordered that yet another election be held for tribal chair. In a letter to Ken Blatt St. Marks, the candidate who finished first in the elections, the board’s attorney, Lynn Fagan of Missoula, said the results were overturned because some people were allowed to vote with photocopied Certification of Indian Blood documents instead of laminated documents as required by the a law passed by voters in November. The Election Board allowed people to...

  • Frontier Preview: Linebackers always seem to shine in the Frontier

    George Ferguson|Updated Aug 9, 2013

    The linebacker position has always been one where stars are born in the Frontier Conference, and especially at Montana State University-Northern over the last decade. And with each passing season, great linebackers depart the league, only to be replaced by new and talented stars. The 2013 Frontier Conference season will be no different, and though many great linebackers graduated the league a season ago, if you’re a betting man, bet that the leading tackler in the Frontier t...

  • HHS's Lambourne will stay home for hoops

    Daniel Horton|Updated Aug 9, 2013

    The good news continues to poor out of the Montana State University-Northern women’s basketball program. And this time, the good news includes another local standout. Thursday, Skylights head coach Chris Mouat announced the signing of Havre High’s Brandy Lambourne. Lambourne is gearing up for her senior season with the Central A Blue Ponies and has already proven to be a talented player under the guidance of HHS head coach Dustin Kraske. In her junior season with the Blue Pon...

  • Daines gets new committee appointment

    Updated Aug 9, 2013

    HELENA (AP) — U.S. Rep. Steve Daines has a new committee leadership appointment. Daines says he has been appointed vice chairman of the House Homeland Security Subcommittee on Oversight and Management Efficiency. The Republican's office said in a release that the panel helps oversee the Department of Homeland Security, and efforts to improve that agency's efficiency and transparency. Daines also serves on the Homeland Security Subcommittees on Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Protection, and the House Committees on Natural R...

  • State says Blue Cross correcting wrong charges

    Updated Aug 9, 2013

    HELENA (AP) — The state insurance commissioner says Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Montana is reimbursing customers for erroneous charges. Monica Lindeen said Friday that more than $700,000 has been paid so far after her office discovered the company wrongly charged customers for services listed as free. Customers were being asked to pay a large deductible on some services that had been advertised as not having any co-pay. Lindeen said an investigation spurred by complaints found that Blue Cross had changed its policy w...

  • 6 charged in Montana tribal program for kids

    Matt Volz - Associated Press|Updated Aug 9, 2013
    2

    GREAT FALLS — Six people who oversaw a Blackfeet program for troubled youth were arraigned Thursday on charges they embezzled from the $9.3 million project and doctored invoices to embellish the tribal contributions needed to keep the federal money flowing. The indictments kept under seal until Thursday include the two former leaders of the Po'Ka Project, director Francis Onstad, 60, and assistant director Delyle "Shanny" Augare, 57. Po'Ka means "child" in the Blackfeet n...

  • Court rejects Fort Belknap housing subsidy complaint

    Updated Aug 9, 2013

    HELENA (AP) — An appeals court has dismissed the Fort Belknap tribal government's request to prevent the federal government from recovering millions in overpaid housing subsidies. The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development determined it overpaid the central Montana reservation $2.86 million between 2000 and 2010, after earlier findings of overpayments stretching back to 1998. HUD gives Fort Belknap annual grants to subsidize housing units in a lease-to-own program for reservation residents. The payments are s...

  • Hungry Lights ready to go to work Sunday

    George Ferguson|Updated Aug 9, 2013

    In some ways, it feels like fall is already here. And in just 20 days, the Montana State University-Northern football team will play its season-opening game at Dickinson State University. And the Lights, who went 3-7 in the Frontier Conference a year ago, will begin preparing for that Aug. 29 night game against DSU with their first practice Sunday at 10:30 a.m. at the MSU-Northern practice fields. Northern players report to fall camp today, and MSU-N will begin two-a-day...

  • Havre of the Past: 1893 news - panics, mansions

    Emily Mayer|Updated Aug 9, 2013

    Most of the news in this week’s Havre Advertiser, dated Aug. 8, 1893, was of a state and national level. The largest story that ran was regarding the financial crisis caused by changing the monetary standard to silver, thus causing the Silver Panic of 1893. Back then, there were no depressions or recessions; they were called Panics, and the Panic of 1893 was particularly devastating. One small article appeared on the front page that read: W. A. Chessman, a Helena capitalist h...

  • For the Record: August 9, 2013

    Updated Aug 9, 2013

    Havre Police Department The Havre Police Department was unable to get the dispatch log submitted before deadline, but the information will be provided as soon as they are able to send it. Hill County Sheriff's Office At 3:09 p.m. Thursday deputies "took one male to drug court (and) returned with 2." An arrest was made, but no further details were provided. ——— Deputies served a warrant on an inmate at Hill County Detention Center Thursday at 4:08 p.m., but no further details were provided. ——— A deputy initiated investigation...