Area coalition produces ambitious plan to end poverty

A project to attack poverty in 11 north-central Montana counties has moved on to the next stage - waiting to see if its plan to reduce poverty will earn it funding from the Northwest Area Foundation.

"This damn topic of poverty eradication is overwhelming," said Vic Miller, executive director of District IV Human Resources Development Council and a part of the effort. "It's what we do. We make people's lives better."

Cascade County Commissioner Peggy Beltrone, co-chair of the steering committee, said the group's plan - a 124-page report with a 500-page appendix and a 30-minute documentary on p...