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 This mallard was recently caught in action taking off from the Lewis and Clark County Fairgrounds pond. Since Punxsutawney Phil saw his shadow on Tuesday (yet again), we will allegedly have another six weeks of winter. Go figure. (Photo by Wendy Grove)
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Average retail gasoline prices in Montana have risen more than three cents per gallon in the past week, averaging $2.723 per gallon as of Tuesday. This compares with the national average, which has fallen 2.9 cents per gallon in the past week to $2.714 per gallon, according to the gasoline price Web site at MontanaGasPrices.com.
In Helena, the lowest regular gas price as of Tuesday was $2.64 per gallon at all local retail outlets listed on that site.
Including the rise in gas prices in Montana during the past week, prices are now $1.21 per gallon higher than the same day one year ago and 17.6 cents per gallon higher than a month ago. The national average has increased 10.4 cents per gallon during the past month and stands at 87.7 cents per gallon higher than a year ago.
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Lewis and Clark County Sheriff Leo Dutton, who was appointed to the position by the county commissioners in September 2008 after Cheryl Liedle retired, has announced his candidacy as a Democrat for the position this November.
Dutton and his wife, Luci, and a crowd of supporters appeared at his announcement in the City-County Building on Wednesday, Jan. 13. The crowd included Helena Police Chief Troy McGee, Lewis and Clark County Undersheriff Dave Rau, Cascade County Sheriff David Castle, and Jerry Dullum of East Helena whose son, Darrel, has been the subject of an extensive search since he disappeared after leaving a bar on Dec. 5, 2009.
Dutton emphasized the team of people he’s put together in the sheriff’s office and said that they provide good services to county residents. “These are people of honor who respect each individual regardless of who they are,” he said of his staff.
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Winner of this past weekend’s Flathead Sled Dog Days was Kate St. Onge of Millville, Utah, while second-place finisher was John Barron of Boulder. The 33 mushers competed for a $4,500 purse, and trail conditions were reportedly perfect for the 40-mile race.
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The St. Helena Cathedral was looking pretty wintery Tuesday morning as snow continued to fall around the capital city. More is forecast for the next few days, along with a major mercury plunge on Wednesday before a slow warming trend by the weekend. (Photo by Thom Champion)
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Helena’s recent snowfall has tapered off over the past couple of days, and the temperature has climbed out of Frigidville. The latest forecast is for highs in the low- to mid-30s over the next week or so with occasional snow. (Photo by Cathy Siegner)
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The annual display of Christmas trees from all 56 Montana counties is up on the second floor of the Capitol Building. The one on the cover is the Lewis and Clark Country tree, decorated with ornaments made by school kids. (Photo by Cathy Siegner)
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In the second round NAIA playoffs Nov. 28, the Carroll College Saints football team beat MidAmerica Nazarene (Kan.) by 34-13 for a 11-0 record so far this season. They next play the Lindenwood (Mo.) Lions this Saturday. (Photo by Jeff Van Tine)
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Wind power, the new neighbor on the energy block, presents Montana landowners with the opportunity – or potential disaster – of a lifetime, says Bozeman-based energy attorney Hertha Lund.
Montanans in particular seem in better shape to weather the pitfalls of previous black-gold rushes in petroleum and coal, she notes. However, in the fledgling Big Sky Country wind business, it’s unlikely there will be any rush or quick-hit boom at all.
She explained that wind companies get paid per unit of energy minus so-called “wheeling charges” for transmitting the electricity from Montana to light up Las Vegas and Southern California.
“It all goes through NorthWestern Energy Corp., and there’s not enough transmission capacity” for any big boost in production, Lund says.
The wind lease is a new legality completely foreign to mineral rights, oil and gas leases, or other centuries-old court documents.
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Why do some veterans return from war able to move beyond the horrors they experienced while others suffer ongoing Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD)? The answer may lie in differences in how their brains process anxiety and anticipation.
A team of psychiatrists at the University of Wisconsin and the William S. Middleton Veterans Hospital in Madison has launched a large clinical study aimed at finding better treatments for veterans returning from Operation Enduring Freedom in Afghanistan and Operation Iraqi Freedom.
3We became aware of how many veterans are returning from Iraq and Afghanistan with serious PTSD and were interested in finding out the best ways to help,11 says Dr. Jack Nitschke, a psychiatry professor in the UW School of Medicine and Public Health. His collaborators are Drs. Eileen Ahearn and Tracey Smith, both UW clinical psychiatry faculty who practice at the Veterans Hospital.
PTSD is a debilitating condition that often follows a terrifying physical or emotional event, causing the person who survived the event to have persistent, frightening thoughts and memories, or flashbacks, of the ordeal. Persons with PTSD often feel chronically, emotionally numb; the disorder is associated with higher rates of alcohol and drug abuse and suicide.
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