Learning Crow culture
	Enterprise photo by Angela Schneider
	Jacob Brown, left, and Dylan Cody reach for the “double ball” while playing a traditional Crow game at the former Fort Park Crow Indian Agency off Mission Creek Road, Thursday, May 15. East Side Elementary School fifth-graders spent the day learning about Crow history and culture. Besides trying their skill at Crow games, they studied Indian horse history, topography and how the Crow used plants.

Following are the week's top stories. This digest is updated once a week, by early Friday evening.

Published 5.15.2008

Crash near Springdale kills woman
By Peter Vandergrift, Enterprise Staff Writer

A 29-year-old Red Lodge woman was killed Wednesday night after the vehicle she was driving collided head-on into a tractor-trailer on Interstate 90 about 13 miles east of Livingston.

Merida Marie Red Star Miller was driving alone, heading east in the westbound lane when the accident occurred about 10 p.m., according to police reports.

Events surrounding the accident unfolded quickly Wednesday night, according to the Montana Highway Patrol.

Police received a report shortly before 10 p.m. that a vehicle was being driven erratically east of Livingston.

A second report was received minutes later that a white PT Cruiser was headed east in the westbound lane of I-90.

A third report notified Montana Highway Patrol at about 10 p.m. that the vehicle had collided with a Federal Express truck.

Red Star Miller died at the scene of multiple blunt force trauma, said Park County Coroner Al Jenkins.

According to the Carbon County News, Merida Marie Red Star Miller was the daughter of noted Crow artist Kevin Red Star.

Red Star Miller managed a gallery in Red Lodge featuring her father’s work, and an additional Red Star Gallery was being planned to open soon in Bozeman, according to the Carbon County News.

Only the driver of the Federal Express truck was in the vehicle at the time of the accident, and he was uninjured, according to the Highway Patrol.

A Patrol spokesman said it had not yet been determined if alcohol was involved in the accident or if the victim was wearing a seat belt.

The cause of the crash is under investigation.

Woman gets sentenced for embezzlement
By Peter Vandergrift, Enterprise Staff Writer

A Park County woman was sentenced Monday for embezzling more than $24,000 from her former employer, the Park Conservation District.

Judge Nels Swandal, of Sixth District Court in Livingston, sentenced Amy Miller, 34, to five days in jail and six years probation, and ordered her to pay $4,682 in restitution to cover overdraft fees and fines levied by federal and state tax agencies against the Conservation District.

Miller paid back the $24,000 shortly after the embezzlement was discovered by Conservation District Board member Gayleen Malone.

During sentencing, Kevin Brown, Miller’s attorney, asked if she could participate in work release programs instead of incarceration.

“I think it is appropriate that she sit and think about what she has done,” Swandal said in rejecting work release.

Miller was teary-eyed as she turned from the defendants bench and apologized to members of the Conservation District, who gave testimony before her sentencing.

“I know I caused a lot of problems. I can’t take back what I have done, but I am very, very sorry,” Miller told the members before the sentencing.

The Park Conservation District helps local citizens conserve land, water, forests, wildlife and other natural resources, according to the organization’s Web site. It is a political subdivision of state government, governed by a non-paid, elected and appointed board.

Brown also argued Miller not be assessed a fee of $1,080 for a second audit of the district’s books by a federal investigator.

He said it is unreasonable that Miller pay for the audit, done by Denning, Downey and Associates, on a federal case that may be brought against Miller in the future.

Brown went on to say he thought the auditing firm was trying to “fleece” the Conservation District.

Swandal did not assess the $1,080 in fees from the auditing firm into the restitution of the case, but said they could be sought in a civil trial or during a federal investigation into Miller’s embezzlement.

Park County Attorney Brett Linneweber said after the sentencing that the Conservation District would ask the federal investigator to pay for the additional auditing done by Denning, Downing and Associates.

Billings Clinic, LMH deal nears completion
By Stephen Matlow, Enterprise Staff Writer

A glitch in financing has delayed the building of a new $37.5 million Livingston HealthCare campus, but the project should soon be back on track.

Building the new hospital is contingent on an “affiliation” agreement between HealthCare and Billings Clinic.

After Billing Clinic won approval for $130 million in bonding through the Montana Facility Finance Authority, the bond insurer, due in part to the subprime mortgage lending crisis, had its rating decrease late in 2007, making the insurance more expensive, said HealthCare Board Chairwoman Michelle Becker.

But the bond sale should take place in “weeks, not months,” Clinic Chief Financial Officer Bob Wilson said Friday morning.

The $130 million bond has now been broken into “multiples” that might or might not include the new Livingston facility, he said.

He also said the bonds would not be insured but would be backed by other “credit enhancements” that would keep the bond interest low.

“We are very, very close to finalizing finances for work on our campus and hopefully, for Livingston,” he said.

Financing for the Livingston hospital is also dependent upon the affiliation agreement between Livingston HealthCare and Billings Clinic, according to HealthCare CEO Sam Pleshar.

Although the details are still being ironed out, major negotiations are done, he said Thursday.

An agreement between HealthCare and the Clinic is expected this summer, said HealthCare Board Chairwoman Michelle Becker, also on Thursday.

The hospital will be built on land donated by the Watson family on the southeast side of the Yellowstone River across the bridge near KPRK radio station.

While there has been some concern the land might be in the floodway or floodplain, which is yet to be determined by federal officials, these fears are unfounded, said Becker.

“It will either be in the floodplain or out of it. It won’t be in the floodway,” said Becker, who has seen maps of the proposed designations.

“Either way, we will be following floodplain regulations, so it won’t be an issue,” she said.

Another reason for a delay in an agreement between Billings Clinic and Livingston HealthCare has been an illness within the family of a Texas lawyer who has been hired by HealthCare to negotiate the details of the affiliation with the Clinic.

“He really spent a lot of time dealing with a family member’s illness, but he is now back to work,” said Pleshar.

Yet another sticking point to the affiliation was a section of the final document between HealthCare and the Clinic over the manner in which the agreement could be terminated, said Becker.

While details have yet to be made public, Becker said, the wording on a “reverse out” agreement has been worked out and is acceptable to HealthCare.

“It revolved around how much each side is contributing to the new hospital and how inflation will be figured in,” she said.

Also during the last several months, the size of the proposed hospital complex has risen from 74,000 square feet to 116,000 square feet to accommodate projected space needs, said Pleshar.

The cost has also risen from about $32 million to $37 million.

Fundraising for Livingston’s contribution to the new facility, now pegged at $5 million or more, will begin in earnest when both boards of directors sign off on the affiliation, Becker said.

HealthCare will also contribute more money toward the new hospital by selling existing assets, said HealthCare Marketing Director Sandi Marlowe.

Delays caused by the bonding insurance woes and the slowdown in talks between the Clinic and HealthCare will not cause construction costs per square foot to rise, said Pleshar.

The lower rate the Clinic and HealthCare will pay to retire the bonds will offset higher construction costs, he said.

Livingston HealthCare, according to Marlowe, is in need of a new campus to consolidate its far-flung holdings.

“We are now in 18 different buildings, 14 storage units and three garages, and it just isn’t very efficient,” she said.

Livingston Memorial Hospital, said Pleshar, is more than 50 years old and “is just too small.”

Once a final agreement is completed and accepted by both the HealthCare and Clinic boards of directors, planning on the site and the new building can proceed by the firm of Marshall Erdman & Associates, a Wisconsin-based company that designs and builds health care facilities, said Becker.

Becker and Pleshar both said that although Marshall Erdman & Associates had been hired last year, they have been paid only for work done and were not on a retainer.

After plans are formulated and accepted, Becker said, it will take about two years construction time before the new facility, which also includes a connected medical arts building, is ready for occupancy.

As gas prices soar, drivers are changing their habits
By Peter Vandergrift, Enterprise Staff Writer

With gas prices going through the roof, area pumpers are trying different ways of using less fuel.

Park County resident Jim Smith, who was filling up his pickup truck at Yellowstone Truck Stop, said he can’t wait until we get good weather so he can start riding his motorcycle.

He said his truck gets about 17 miles to the gallon, while his motorcycle gets almost 40.

“I’ve also cut down how fast I drive,” Smith said. “I used to drive 70 down the frontage road, but now I drive 60 to try to save.”

Jerry Graybill, owner of the Truck Stop, said the high gas prices are killing his profits.

“We don’t make money off of fuel,” he said.””People are being more frugal. Instead of purchasing a bunch of drinks and snacks, they may only buy one soda.”

Graybill said when customers — especially truckers — use credit cards or gas cards to pay for fuel, he pays 3 percent to process them.

So when gas prices go up, he pays more for each credit card transaction. Graybill said he makes the same margin on gas, and that margin has stayed about the same from when it was $1 a gallon to now, even though regular costs $3.59 a gallon today.

Presidential candidates Hillary Clinton and John McCain have said they would reduce gas taxes for the summer vacation season if they are elected.

Graybill said this would have only detrimental effects.

“State and federal taxes account for only 46 cents per gallon,” he said. “If they remove the tax, where is all the money going to come from for projects like the bridge work between here and Bozeman? The public is still going to pay for it.”

This same sentiment was echoed by Turah resident Darin Wicks, who was tanking up his Subaru Forester at the Truck Stop on his way to Custer National Forest to hunt turkeys.

“It’s a joke,” Wicks said of the proposed gas tax relief plans. “It’s a quick fix to buy a few votes.”

Wicks said he owns a one-ton truck that gets about 13 miles per gallon with a tail wind. He drives it as little as possible, preferring his less roomy Subaru Forester.

“Gas has driven up the price of everything,” he said.

High gas prices could help sales of more fuel-efficient vehicles.

Wayne Ford, owner of Alpine Yamaha, said he is expecting a bigger year than normal because people want more fuel-efficient vehicles like the motorcycles and scooters he sells.

Ford said a Yamaha C3 scooter will get 117 miles per gallon, but it only goes about 35 mph and is not suitable for highway use.

Scott Whiting of Whiting Motors said the topic of gas efficiency comes up far more than it did a year ago.

“In the sales process it is discussed, but it does not necessarily impact the final decision,” he said.

Whiting said he has noticed that people with “thirsty vehicles” have looked to buy a more efficient car for daily use.

The most efficient new vehicle he sells is a Chevy Aveo, which gets 38 miles to the gallon, and the least efficient would be a one-ton, dual-tire gas pickup, which he suspects gets about 12 miles per gallon.

Accessories like roof racks and even running boards affect the gas mileage of a vehicle, Whiting said, adding the single best thing a driver can do, aside from slowing down, is keeping tire pressure at the recommended pounds per square inch.

“Check it cold (when the car has not been driven recently) and during different times of year, “ he said, adding that having correct tire pressure can save one mile per gallon of fuel consumption.

Driving force behind LEF passes the fundraising torch
By Peter Vandergrift, Enterprise Staff Writer

For six years, the Livingston Education Foundation has helped Livingston schools fund equipment and projects not within the scope of the budget.

For all that time, Stacy Jovick has been the driving force behind the nonprofit, community-based organization.

Jovick recently retired as the president of LEF, passing the education fundraising torch on to others.

“It has been a wonderful experience, and it is time (to) have new leadership and other people’s ideas,” she said recently.

LEF started in 2002, when the Livingston School District was having trouble balancing the budget and considered getting rid of spring sports and other extracurricular activities.

Jovick and other concerned community members decided to form a group to help the school district, teachers and especially students when funding for programs and supplies were needed.

LEF has given nearly $400,000 to the school district during its six years of fundraising, Jovick said.

Jovick was an important part of every step of the process, said new LEF President Lisa Snow.

She was such a hard worker, living and breathing the foundation, that the organization needed two people to replace her, Snow said.

“She grew it from the ground up,” she said.

LEF obtains funding through community donations, which under Jovick’s tenure grew from $28,000 in 2002 to more than $63,000 as of April this year. LEF gave away $70,625 in the 2006-07 school year, according to an LEF news release.

There are two main ways LEF funds programs.

First, teachers may write small enrichment grant proposals for projects they are doing in their classrooms.

A second way is through larger initiative grants, like the three-year math and science initiative aimed at enhancing entire curriculums.

The most recent initiative focuses on vocational and media technology. LEF funds have been used to buy and stock a trailer for high school vocational students to use on remote building projects as part of a high school class. The initiative has also been used to update school libraries with much-needed books and multi-media tools.

For more than 23 years, Jovick has been volunteering her time and starting educational and community programs, including elementary school keyboarding known as Rainbow Keyboarding in 1985; working for 14 years with Odyssey of the Mind, a student creative problem-solving organization; judging for the Business and Professionals of America events; and serving as a youth soccer coach and referee.

These are just a few of the many endeavors she has taken upon herself.

Jovick has a degree in speech pathology and audiology, and was a preschool teacher for four years before having three children who all when through Livingston schools.

“I’ll always be curious,” Jovick said. “And I’ll always love education.”

Jovick said she doesn’t have any plans for the future beyond doing lots of gardening and continuing to direct bell ringers for the Grace United Methodist Church hand bell choir.

Demaree three-peats in State Class C Tournament
By Tom Gersack, Enterprise Staff Writer

Enterprise photo by Tom Gersack

Gardiner High School’s Danielle Mackey watches the flight of her ball on the 150-yard, par 3, No. 3 hole at the Livingston Golf and Country Club, during the State Class C Tournament, Tuesday, May 13.

Pressure?

Angel Demaree was playing too well Wednesday to give it much thought.

Gardiner High School’s senior standout shrugged off a one-stroke deficit following Tuesday’s first round of the State Class C Tournament to dominate the field with a girls’ best 84 and run away with her third-straight individual crown.

“Everything was on,” the 18-year-old said. “I was hitting my irons well, smoking my drives, and my putts were falling.”

“To the best of my knowledge,” Gardiner coach David Perius said, “Angel is the first girl in Class C to ever win three individual titles. That’s a huge achievement.”

Demaree’s success wasn’t the only memorable exploit for the Bruins Tuesday and Wednesday at the Livingston Golf and Country Club.

The Gardiner boys’ rallied from five strokes back to take down Ennis and capture the team title.

“Honestly, it’s amazing,” Perius said. “If you really look at it — we don’t have our own golf course — we travel 60 miles to Livingston to play.

“What the Gardiner players have accomplished is pretty amazing,” he added.

Sparked by John David Sacklin’s second-place finish and Ben Broadhead’s sixth, all six of Gardiner’s representatives at state shined on the tournament’s second day.

Demaree cut 12 strokes off Tuesday’s 96; Danielle Mackey trimmed 10 strokes off an opening 114 to finish seventh overall; Sacklin’s 79 on Wednesday was two better than his opening 81; and Broadhead’s 82 on Wednesday was four strokes better than his previous round.

Bruin senior Taylor Tompkins improved on Tuesday’s 94 with a 91 Wednesday, and teammate Brooks Demaree rallied from a 116 to a 106.

“Everyone just seemed a lot more calm for the final round and they went out and played that way,” said Perius.

For Demaree, the first tee box told the tale of her two rounds.

“On the first day, my first drive was bad and pretty much everything else was bad after that,” she said. “(In the final round) everything went right.”

So well, in fact, that Demaree had a pretty good idea the title was hers after eight holes Wednesday.

Silver medalist Allie Brown of Centerville, third-place finisher Dallas Ward of St. Regis and fourth-place Samantha McKay — the first-day leader — were in Demaree’s foursome.

“I was the only one that was playing well,” said Demaree, who parred 10 of 18 holes.

On the 18th and final hole, the realization that she was about to tee off for the final time as a prep athlete sank in.

“It was kind of sad, but it was also exciting,” Demaree, who will attend Montana State University-Bozeman to study science.

In the boys’ team chase, Ennis actually shot three strokes better in the final round, but it wasn’t enough to hold off the Bruins, who cut nine strokes off their opening day score.

“I was pretty confident that they had more than a good chance,” Perius said of overtaking Ennis on Wednesday.

It is the Gardiner boys second team title. Gardiner won the title in 2006 and finished second last season.

In the girls’ team race, Centerville captured the crown with a 637 — 18 strokes better than second-place Harlowton.

The State C tournament attracted more than 120 golfers and 20-plus teams.

“The Livingston golf course and its board and the more than 50 volunteers that we had made the difference,” Perius said. “It was a good tournament.”

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OBITUARIES
The following obituaries appeared in The Enterprise the week of May 12-16, 2008:

• Robert R. “Red” Lewis74, of Livingston, Mont., died, Saturday, May 10, 2008, at his home.

• Ruth Anna Spinnler Altemus84, of Florence, Ky., formerly of Riverdale, N.J., and Pray, Mont., died April 26, 2008, at her residence.

• Robert “Bob” John Amon, 59, of Boulder City, Nev., died May 10, 2008, in Boulder City, Nev. He was born in Livingston.