Enterprise photo by Stephen Matlow
	Cutline: Youngsters get into position to catch candy as the beginning of the annual Livingston Chamber Roundup Parade passes along South Second Street, Wednesday afternoon, July 2. Thousands watched the parade tour through downtown Livingston. For more on the parade, see the story below.

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

Published 7.3.2008

Roundup Parade — the final frontier
By Amy Learn and Mark A. York Enterprise Staff Writers

Enterprise photo by Stephen Matlow

Rep. Bob Ebinger, D-Livingston, confers with Gov. Brian Schweitzer shortly before the governor presented the Park County Senior Citizens Center with grant checks of nearly $1 million to be used for safety upgrades, Wednesday, July 2.

Outer space was confined to three Livingston streets as the annual Livingston Chamber Roundup Parade rolled through downtown Wednesday afternoon, to the delight of thousands of spectators.

“Star Wars” and “Star Trek”-themed floats and participants from a variety of businesses and organization strolled down the streets handing out candy, sun screen, “freezies” and even hugs to parade-goers.

Ann Sward, of Livingston, watched from outside of Bob’s Outdoor and Clothing Cottage. Dressed in red, white and blue, with flags in hand, she and her patriotic posse cheered on the parade.

“I just love it —I always come,” Sward said.

Even before the parade, there was excitement downtown as a crowd gathered at the corner of South Main and Lewis streets to watch Gov. Brian Schweitzer award nearly $1 million to Park County and the Park County Senior Citizens Center.

Most of the money will go toward needed upgrades at the center.

“Today we honor those who do business on Main Street,” Schweitzer said.

The Park County Senior Center Corporation will use the funds to rehabilitate the Senior Center building, which provides affordable apartments to low- and moderate-income seniors 62 and older.

“A society will always be judged by how it takes care of its citizens,” Schweitzer said. “Livingston is our vision of Main Street, Montana.”

Imagination was pushed to the outer limits for this year’s parade. Some floats were made up to be completely, well, spacey, while others put their own twist on the parade theme.

“I think it is an interesting theme — it made people really think,” Sward said.

A crowd favorite, the Stafford Animal Shelter float, had about 20 people dressed as characters from “Star Trek” and “Star Wars,” complete with a Princess Laya and Klingons. The crew held signs with phrases that put a twist on “Star Wars” and “Star Trek” lingo.

One sign reading, “Luke, I’m not your father, I’m fixed,” was a popular one among the parade viewers.

“I think (the theme) was great — you can tell people worked really hard,” Livingston resident Judy Flood said.

Flood said she has been attending and enjoying the Roundup Parade For the past 12 years.

“I just love it — there are people from all over the country that come,” she said.

For the last four years, Flood has been joined in watching the parade by friend Judy Muldoon of Brick, N.J.

Brick said the best part of the parade is the small-town aspect.

Ray and Luann Kickers, of Bozeman, said they never miss it. Each year, the couple relaxes in front of the Whiskey Saloon and enjoys a cool beverage as they watch the spectacle.

Some people even watch from inside their businesses.

Since 2001, Garre Fine Art gallery owners, John and Karren Garre, have watched the parade march down the street from the comfort of their store.

“It’s so fun — we really enjoy it,” Karren Garre said.

This year, the couple’s friends, George and Isabelle Kalantzes, of Park City, Utah, joined them for the event.

The Kalantzes said the parade was entertaining and they were impressed on its length.

Lasting about a hour and a half, the parade came complete with floats, bands, horses, classic cars and clowns.

The Best of Parade Award went to the Park County Republican Central Committee.

Its float, “Star Trek of America,” put a patriotic twist on the “Star Wars” and “Star Trek” theme.

The design featured scenes from the signing the of the Declaration of Independence, the Lewis and Clark’s expedition, Pocahontas, the raising of the flag on Iwo Jima and the first moon walk. Participants in full costume added to the float’s patriotism theme.

Other parade awards were as follows:

Theme Floats: Gold Award — American Title & Escrow’s “UFO” and Livingston Rockies 4-H Club’s “Space Ship.” Silver Award — Montana Spay Neuter Task Force’s “Star Wars.”

Patriotic Floats: Gold Award — Military Families of Park County; Silver Award — Sky Federal Credit Union.

Freestyle Floats: Gold Award — Livingston Sister Cities Exchange; Silver Award — Pageant Resources-Hawaiian Tropic.

Antique Cars: Gold Award — Bill Tecca’s 1930 Ford; Silver Award — Fernando Rivera’s 1926 Ford.

Classic Cars: Gold Award — John Tecca Jr.’s 1955 Chevy convertible; Silver Award — Josh Gilman’s 197 Monte Carlo.

Street Rods: Gold Award — David MacKinder’s 1930 Ford; Silver Award — Julie Kennedy’s 1969 Chevy pickup.

Horses: Gold Award — Jessie Cutler’s “Sprout”; Silver Award — “United In Light -Prince.”

Horse Teams: Gold Award — Sunny Side Clydesdales; Silver Award — Scott and Sandy Sallee of Black Mountain Outfitters.

Parade Honorable Mention Award: Park County Pioneers.

Ninth Street Bridge opens to islands
By Tom Gersack, Enterprise Staff Writer

How long does it take to build a prefabricated military bridge over an existing bridge?

About eight days.

Friday afternoon, Ninth Street and Siebeck Island residents returned to their homes after a Bailey bridge over the top of the damaged Ninth Street Island bridge was completed through the cooperative efforts of the City of Livingston, Park County and Montana Department of Transportation.

“What they did is pretty amazing,” said emergency information officer Graver Johnson. “Those guys worked 12-to-16-hour days to get it done.”

The emergency arose on the afternoon of June 19 after fast-moving floodwaters caused a bridge pylon to sink into the Yellowstone River, making the bridge’s roadbed sag and become unstable.

The Bailey bridge opening allowed the 26 residents who evacuated shortly before the bridge was closed to return home.

It also meant the 20 residents that chose to stay on the islands could come into town to restock their refrigerators, according to Johnson.

“When the bridge reopened, it made a lot of people happy,” Johnson said. “The island residents were extremely appreciative of what was done for them.”

Those residents will still face some challenges.

There is no natural gas reaching the island, meaning that for many, there is no hot water and in some cases, no way to cook.

Park County officials met with island residents Friday afternoon at the City-County Complex to review restrictions on the Bailey bridge.

Last week, Park County commissioners set into place an extremely limited access ordinance.

The Park County Sheriff’s Office and Livingston Police Department are manning security posts at the bridge to ensure the ordinance is followed.

The limitations include:

• The speed limit is 5 mph.

• Travel is restricted to passenger vehicles, not exceeding 6,000 pounds, by residents and property owners only.

Signs limit access to island bridge
By Mark A. York , Enterprise Staff Writer

Access to Ninth and Siebeck islands remains limited to residents and property owners Tuesday as a law enforcement checkpoint has been removed, replaced by signs spelling out the conditions for using the temporary Bailey bridge.

The Ninth Street Island bridge was overlaid with the Bailey bridge after it began sagging June 19 under assault from the flooding Yellowstone River.

Friday, the Bailey bridge was completed, and law enforcement officers limited access to the islands.

“The (security) detail was shared by the Livingston Police Department and the Park County Sheriff’s Office ... during construction,” said Livingston City Manager Ed Meece.

“I was just out there this morning, and they’ve erected a four-way stop sign at the intersection,” Meece said. “The idea is to be able to pull some deputies off the project for other duty during the transition to control under the county road department.”

Oasis Environmental, an Anchorage, Alaska-based ecological restoration group whose Livingston office is located on Ninth Street Island, had to leave its operation behind for a week during the construction of the temporary, one-lane bridge.

“We worked out of our home-based computers during that time,” said Kristen Wester, spokeswoman for the company.

With both ends of the temporary bridge built up several feet, it is difficult for vehicles approaching the bridge to see if cars are already on the structure. Since Friday, traffic had been controlled by law enforcement officers, but that was mostly discontinued by Tuesday noon.

“We’re back on the island now, but it’s kind of scary with the county in charge,” Wester said. “There was no one out there to tell us if the bridge is clear of oncoming traffic. We had to back off to let another car pass.

“We just cross our fingers and go.”

The Park County Sheriff’s Office did not return phone calls Tuesday morning.

Livingston resident to serve jail time in federal lockup
By Enterprise Staff

Livingston resident John Maroney was sentenced June 25 to 27 months in prison following a guilty plea to a federal firearms violation while on parole for felony burglary.

Maroney, 21, was sentenced in U.S. District Court in Billings by Judge Jack D. Shanstrom for a firearms violation in Park County.

Maroney will serve his federal sentence after completing a 10-year state prison sentence, according to Park County Attorney Brett Linneweber.

Maroney also received a special assessment of $100 and will have three years of supervised release, according to court documents.

Maroney was sentenced on felony burglary, theft and criminal mischief charges on Feb. 20, 2007, in Park County.

On June, 29, 2007, Livingston police received a report of a stolen 9mm pistol, the documents state.

On July 3, 2007, the police received information that the pistol had earlier been pawned in Livingston by Maroney, who was at that time in custody on other charges in the Park County jail. When questioned, Maroney admitted to possession and to pawning the Hi-Point Model C semi-automatic weapon, but denied knowing it was stolen. He’d been warned about possessing firearms by his probation officer and had one removed from him in a prior supervision period, according to court documents.

Maroney will serve all of the time imposed by the court, because there is no parole in the federal system. However, he can earn a reduction for good behavior not to exceed 15 percent of the overall sentence, according to a U.S. District Court press release.

The investigation was a cooperative effort between the Livingston Police Department and the federal Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms as part of Project Safe Neighborhoods. The nationwide program, known in Montana as “Catch and No Release,” targets gun-related violent crime.

Baucus looks to FEMA for Ninth Street Island bridge help
By Mark A. York, Enterprise Staff Writer

U.S. Senator Max Baucus, D-Mont,, vowed to press the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) for help in funding a permanent replacement for the Ninth Street Island bridge.

Baucus visited the bridge in Livingston with Park County officials Wednesday morning, and later addressed a crowd on the grounds of the Federation of Fly Fishers at a meet-and-greet lunch called the “Baucus Burger Bonanza.”

Baucus, dressed casually and wearing hiking boots, stood in a circle of citizens, listening and talking, giving each his undivided attention, while Shania Twain blared from the speakers.

With two positive brucellosis cases in Montana in the past two years, one of them in Pray, according to the Montana Department of Livestock, management of Yellowstone bison wandering out of the park’s boundaries has become a concern for local Paradise Valley ranchers and National Park officials alike.

“Vaccination and eradication,” Baucus said. “Stamp it out. It will take a lot of effort, and money, but it can be done.”

The National Park Service has an ongoing vaccination program as part of its management strategy. According to its plan, besides the capture and killing of bison testing positive for the disease, and relocating disease-free animals captured outside the park.

“Another important element is the eventual vaccination of free-ranging bison in the park with a safe and effective brucellosis vaccine,” Baucus said.

He said he supports the 2001 federal rule which implemented a “Roadless Rule” protecting 58 million acres of national forest land from further road building.

Since 2002, the rule has been modified by Bush administration officials, giving governors a say in how much roadless land they want in their given states, according to the Forest Service Web site. Resource extraction attempts, such as mining and timber sales, which would need new roads, have met with lawsuits since 2002.

Montana has 6,397,000 acres of designated roadless areas, according to Statistics of the U.S. Forest Service — the most outside of Alaska.

“I think the Clinton rule was a good one,” Baucus said.” Once wilderness land is developed, it’s gone. There’s no going back. I think local residents should work with the federal government to decide how much wilderness they want.”

Baucus said a good example of that cooperative effort was the Beaverhead National Forest in Dillon, where local officials, conservation groups and the Forest Service worked out an agreeable plan for roadless areas.

“It can’t be a top-down approach only,” he said.

“He’s had these every year since 2002 regardless of election year,” said Barrett Kaiser, spokesman for the Baucus campaign of Wednesday’s get-together.

“Livingston is one of the largest communities we go to,” Kaiser said. “Usually we go to the smaller towns. It’s a chance for the senator to meet with the residents and talk one-on-one about whatever is on their minds.”

“We have a pretty good crowd here today,” Kaiser said of the 200 or so people who attended the event.

City property owners need to cut grass
By Mark A. York, Enterprise Staff Writer

Several former homesites on Livingston’s north side owned by Burlington Northern Santa Fe Railway have fallen into neglect.

The homes were situated on top of a plume of diesel fuel and cancer-causing solvents dumped by the railway and its predecessor during the past 120 years.

The lots, along East Gallatin Street and off L and M streets, have grown tall with grass.

High grass presents a fire hazard, said Livingston Code Enforcement Officer Brad Haefs.

According to the federal Environmental Protection Agency’s Web site, more than 100 years of railroad waste treatment, storage and disposal practices have contaminated soils and part of the Livingston aquifer.

Cleanup of the 90-acre site is being conducted by Burlington Northern Santa Fe Railroad and the State of Montana Department of Environmental Quality, in an agreement with the EPA.

Mowing of public easements and lots is required under Livingston city codes, according to Haefs.

“If determined to be under BNSF ownership and responsibility, we will maintain,” said Gus Melonas, public affairs spokesman for BNSF, in an e-mail. “We are looking into it further.”

“They’ve been contacted and are in the process of coming into compliance,” Haefs said. “We just heard from them. They’re arranging for a contractor to take the job.”

Melonas said in a follow up e-mail, “BNSF is researching the status of the property.”

“By law, I have to give property owners a week to comply,” Haefs said. “But I allow two weeks for out-of-state owners. It’s a misdemeanor offense for non-compliance, so if there is no response, we use city crews or contract out the mowing to local private companies.”

Haefs said he’s sent out 100 notices this year, including one for a large lot at South Fifth and West Callender streets, at the site of the old middle school, owned by Corestar Properties. He expects to send out 50 for property in the Ridgeway subdivision.

“It’s a fire hazard, and there are 100 different noxious weeds, such as knapweed, we keep track of,” Haefs said. “The bill is added to their property taxes. We issue very few tickets.”

‘Pet shrink’ leaves legacy at animal shelter
By my Learn, Enterprise Staff Writer

Enterprise photo by Angela Schneider

Tiffani Zimmerman, former lead animal care technician and behavioral counselor at Stafford Animal Shelter, tests the ability of “Patch,” a 7-year-old border collie, to be restrained while assessing her adoptability, Thursday, June 26. Zimmerman’s last day at the shelter was Saturday, June 28.

A local animal shelter had to say goodbye Saturday to its pet shrink.

Animal lover Tiffani Zimmerman, of Livingston, has been working at the Stafford Animal Shelter as an animal behavior counselor and caregiver supervisor for nearly 10 years.

Zimmerman said leaving the shelter is going to be hard, but she feels it is time for her to make a life change. She plans to pursue her dream of owning her own bakery.

“Tiffany will be deeply missed,” said Vicki Blakeman, Stafford Animal Shelter’s executive director.

In March 2000, Zimmerman attended her first animal behavior seminar.

Since then, her career as a pet counselor took a “snowball effect,” she said.

The shelter has sent her through many trainings and seminars to expand her knowledge on the practice.

Zimmerman said animal caregivers today are dealing more with the quality of animals rather then the quantity.

As a behavior counselor, Zimmerman’s job was to educate people on the basics of what a pet is expressing with differing conduct.

She also established programs that help people caretaking animals with behavior issues.

Along with the in-shelter programs, Zimmerman offered animal counseling through her “Dear Tiffani” pet advice column every month in the Montana Pioneer and her pet advice radio show on KPRK every third Wednesday at 7:50 a.m.

Zimmerman has become well-known in the pet-owner community for her ability to understand animals. She said she can’t go out without people coming up to her telling her stories and seeking advice.

Through her years of treating animals, she has come across a variety of behavior issues.

Zimmerman said before she consults with an animal, she tells the owner to have it checked out medically.

There are often medical issues behind troubling behavior, she said.

If the animal had no medical problems, Zimmerman would offer simple pieces of advice to help solve pet-related issues.

Common behaviors such a dog barking and digging in a yard could be direct effects of simple boredom or anxiety.

“If you can find the reasoning behind a behavior, you can make it better,” she said.

The animals the shelter receives are either abandoned or surrendered by owners. Before an animal is available for adoption, it must go through a behavior assessment test to find out what type of home the animal should be adopted into.

During the assessment, Zimmerman grades an animal on its reaction to a variety of situation and tests its aggression level.

The second in-shelter program Zimmerman started is Homeward Bound, designed to teach basic obedience to dogs before adoption.

“It’s a fantastic program — I’m very proud of it,” she said.

The staff at the Stafford Animal Shelter plans to continue the programs Zimmerman pioneered.

“Tiffani is irreplaceable — but we will utilize a pool of specialists to continue the programs,” said the shelter’s development coordinator, Kris King.

Although her time is done at the shelter, Zimmerman plans to continue working with animals as part of the Montana Spay and Neuter Task Force.

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OBITUARIES
The following obituaries appeared in The Enterprise the week of June 30-July 3, 2008:

• Charles R. Beebe, 76, of Charleston, Ill., and formerly of Livingston and Helena, died in Charleston on Tuesday, July 1, 2008.

• Shelly M. Bonn, 59, of Portland, Ore., and a former Livingston resident, died on June 30, 2008

• Russell E. Counts, 64, of Livingston, died at his home Monday evening, June 30, 2008,

• Albert E. “Gene” Kaiser89, of Wilsall, died Monday, June 30, 2008, at the Beartooth Manor in Columbus.

• Patricia Lynn Connors, 58, died at her home Jan. 24, 2008, after a long and courageous battle with multiple sclerosis.

• Thelma Christine Kielland, a former Livingston resident, died June 29, 2008.

• Elsie M. Gebhardt, 80, of Livingston, died at Livingston Memorial Hospital early Tuesday morning, July 1, 2008.

• Albert E. Kaiser, 89, of Wilsall, died at Beartooth Manor Assisted Living in Columbus.