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Articles from the June 25, 2013 edition


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  • High court hands gays big victories

    MARK SHERMAN Associated Press|Updated Jun 26, 2013

    WASHINGTON (AP) — In a major victory for gay rights, the Supreme Court on Wednesday struck down a provision of a federal law denying federal benefits to married gay couples and cleared the way for the resumption of same-sex marriage in California. The justices issued two 5-4 rulings in their final session of the term. One decision wiped away part of a federal anti-gay marriage law that has kept legally married same-sex couples from receiving tax, health and pension benefits. The other was a technical ruling that said n...

  • Board asks for decision in Giveaway House lawsuit

    Tim Leeds|Updated Jun 26, 2013

    The board that says it has authority over a decades-old Havre charity has asked the court to move to a decision in its lawsuit alleging another board that says it has that authority has no legal status to operate the nonprofit. A board, formed in February, has asked Judge Dan Boucher to make a summary judgment in the lawsuit, alleging the defendants have not answered any of the arguments raised in the complaint. The charity, which collects donations of items and gives them to...

  • Bulletin: High court strikes down federal marriage provision

    MARK SHERMAN Associated Press|Updated Jun 26, 2013

    WASHINGTON (AP) — The Supreme Court says legally married same-sex couples should get the same federal benefits as heterosexual couples. The court invalidated a provision of the federal Defense of Marriage Act Wednesday that has prevented married gay couples from receiving a range of tax, health and retirement benefits that are generally available to married people. The vote was 5-4....

  • Explosions tear through Billings fireworks plant

    Updated Jun 25, 2013

    BILLINGS (AP) — Explosions at a fireworks manufacturing plant created a fireball that engulfed the building north of Billings. The Billings Gazette reports (http://bit.ly/15DlyCm ) two explosions ripped through Evolution Pyrotechnics Manufacturing Inc. near Acton Tuesday. Yellowstone County Sheriff's Sgt. Roger Bodine says the initial blast was small and the workers left the building, with one suffering minor burns. As fire crews began spraying the building, a larger explosion created a bright flash, a deep boom and a f...

  • Rosalie Marie Pester

    Updated Jun 25, 2013

    Rosalie Marie Pester, 79, formerly of Hingham, Mont., passed away Saturday, June 22, 2013, at Highgate Senior Living in Great Falls, Mont., of natural causes. Her funeral service will be 11 a.m. Saturday, June 29, at Our Lady Of Ransom Catholic Church in Hingham, Mont., with Father Joseph Diekhans officiating. A fellowship luncheon will follow the service. Her burial will be held in Havre at 2 p.m. Memorial contributions in Rosalie's honor may be made to Highgate Senior...

  • Texas DA: July 8 deadline for Leaf plea deal

    Updated Jun 25, 2013

    CANYON, Texas (AP) — The Texas prosecutor who brokered a 10-year probationary sentence for former NFL quarterback Ryan Leaf has set a deadline for paperwork to be completed on a plea deal that would allow the Montana native to serve his sentence in his home state. Randall County District Attorney James Farren sent letters on Tuesday to Leaf's attorneys in Texas and Montana, telling them he will start extradition proceedings to try Leaf in Texas on probation violations if the paperwork isn't completed by July 8. Farren w...

  • Calif. couple convicted of contempt for jail call

    Updated Jun 25, 2013

    BILLINGS . (AP) — A California couple convicted in a Bakken oil patch investment scam has been convicted on contempt of court charges in Montana. Suzette Gal and her husband, Mike Campa, were found guilty Tuesday in separate trials before U.S. District Judge Sam Haddon. Federal prosecutors say Gal had a telephone conversation with her jailed husband and discussed evidence four days into a trial that led to her conviction on fraud and conspiracy charges. The couple had been under a court order not to discuss the case. At t...

  • Hutterite colony charged over dead grizzly bears

    Updated Jun 25, 2013

    HELENA (AP) — Federal prosecutors have charged a Montana Hutterite colony with possessing two illegally killed grizzly bears. The documents filed Monday in U.S. District Court in Great Falls charge the Pondera Colony near Valier and five of its members. One of the defendants, minister Leonard Kleinsasser, told a U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service agent the bears died from exhaustion. Kleinsasser says half of the colony members were chasing the bears prior to their deaths in September. Kleinsasser says they did not report the d...

  • Assiniboine Avenue home is saluted

    John Kelleher|Updated Jun 25, 2013
    1

    Wayne Koepke and Renelle Braaten of 1020 Assiniboine Ave. in Havre have been honored by the Bullhook Bottoms Garden Club for their lawn. The Bullhooks Bottoms members will periodically drive around various neighborhoods in the community looking for nice looking lawns, said club member Gloria Tilleman. "Wayne and Renelle are avid gardeners," she said. "Their yard is very beautiful with roses, dogwood, irises, potentilla, peonies, ferns and hostas," he said. Both Wayne and...

  • Daines rips Obama climate change proposal

    Updated Jun 25, 2013

    HELENA (AP) — Montana's congressional delegation is split on President Barack Obama's proposal to deal with climate change. The president on Tuesday said his administration will make rules to curb greenhouse gases emitted by new and existing power plants. Obama says the Keystone XL oil pipeline that would run through Montana will only be approved if the project won't increase overall net emissions of greenhouse gases. U.S. Rep. Steve Daines blasted the proposal as "a war on American energy." The first-term Republican c...

  • Judge: Jesus statue can stay on Montana mountain

    MATT GOURAS Associated Press|Updated Jun 25, 2013

    HELENA (AP) — A Jesus statue that has for six decades been a curiosity to skiers as they cruise down a popular run at a northwest Montana ski resort will not be evicted from federal land, a judge ruled Tuesday. U.S. District Judge Dana Christensen said the Flathead National Forest can re-issue a 10-year permit for the statue installed on the ski hill by the Knights of Columbus, a Catholic men's organization. The judge disagreed with a Wisconsin-based group of atheists and agnostics that argued the Forest Service was u...

  • FWP ordered to pay $20,000 over retaliation

    Updated Jun 25, 2013

    BILLINGS (AP) — A hearings officer for the Montana Human Rights Bureau has ordered the state Department of Fish, Wildlife and Parks to pay $20,000 to a Kalispell employee for retaliating against him after he questioned his punishment for comments made during an inadvertent phone call. The case involving former Aquatic Invasive Species supervisor John Wachsmuth began in June 2011 when he bumped his cellphone while kayaking, causing it to accidentally call a co-worker, The Billings Gazette (http://bit.ly/15zOf32 ) reported. T...

  • Minnesota-bound flight makes emergency landing in SD

    Updated Jun 25, 2013

    ABERDEEN, S.D. (AP) — A Delta flight flying from Montana to Minnesota made an emergency landing in northeast South Dakota after a passenger had a heart attack on board. The American News in Aberdeen reports (http://bit.ly/19oSt57 ) that the flight was en route from Montana to Minneapolis Tuesday morning when it made an unscheduled landing at Aberdeen Regional Airport. Randy Meister with Aberdeen Fire and Rescue says a passenger on board had a heart attack but appeared to be conscious and talking as he was loaded into an a...

  • Voice your opinion: Is this the worst mosquito season ever?

    Shelby Stormer|Updated Jun 25, 2013
    2

    Wet weather has prompted an increase in the number of mosquitoes on the Hi-Line. So we asked people at random: Is this the worst mosquito season ever? “I noticed they’re worse at night,” Brandon Dean said. He said that he works from 4 p.m. to 1 a.m. and when he walks home from work, the mosquitos are especially bad. Trisha Buie said she is from Washington, and the mosquitos are, “crazier here than they are in Washington!” She also said that her son is always covered in mosquito bites. “They attack more frequently,...

  • North Stars grow in Deer Lodge

    Daniel Horton|Updated Jun 25, 2013

    Regular season tournaments always have something interesting or unique in store for teams, and ending the weekend with one win, two losses, and a tie, the same can be said for Havre and the Deer Lodge Tournament. The American Legion North Stars spent Friday through Sunday in Deer Lodge. The North Stars got four more games under their belt, as well as added one more win to their record. The North Stars defeated the Butte Muckers 8-0 Friday. Unfortunately, the North Stars went winless the remainder of the weekend, losing 20-0...

  • Local Golf Report: Breast Cancer tourney up next

    Daniel Horton|Updated Jun 25, 2013

    The local golf season sure is heating up. Hot temperatures in the Havre area certainly are making for good golf conditions, though frequent thunderstorms are also getting in the way at times too. Still, the tournament season is now well under way at local golf courses, and especially at Prairie Farms Golf Course. This past Saturday, the MSU-Northern NLASF Scramble was held at Prairie Farms, and as usual, a good time was had by all. The annual tournament helps raise money for the Northern Lights Athletic Scholarship Foundation...

  • Rodeo: Big fun at Bear Paw Roundup

    George Ferguson|Updated Jun 25, 2013

    One of the biggest professional rodeos of the summer took place Friday and Saturday at the Blaine County Fairgrounds in Chinook. And it was as tough and as popular as ever. The 15th annual Bear Paw Roundup PRCA Rodeo was held over the weekend, where the crowds were big, the weather was good and the stock was rank and rough. In the final standings after two performances and Saturday morning’s slack, several big names on the PRCA circuit picked up good paychecks. Delon Parker e...

  • A grizzly rebound? No really, study says

    Matthew Brown - Associated Press|Updated Jun 25, 2013

    BILLINGS — Flaws in how the government measures Yellowstone's grizzly bear population raise questions about whether the animals have recovered sufficiently to merit lifting federal protections, according to a new study. The study concludes that a major reason more bears have been counted in recent years is that more time is now spent counting bears. The authors argue that the region's bruin population could in fact be in decline, even as officials consider revoking the g...

  • Our View: Condolences to Montana soldier's family

    Updated Jun 25, 2013

    We are saddened all the time when hear of U.S. soldiers being killed or injured in Afghanistan. The seemingly endless war has taken its toll on our nation’s finances and our nation’s psyche. But when it takes a toll on our military personnel, it hurts everyone of us. The news is especially hard when the death comes close to home, as it did last week. Saturday, Chief Warrant Officer James Williamson, 44, a native of the Blackfeet Indian Reservation right here on the Hi-Line, gave his life in Afghanistan. A career soldier, Wil...

  • For the Record, June 25, 2013

    Updated Jun 25, 2013

    Havre Police Department Officers investigated a missing person reported at the police station Monday at 11:40 a.m. ——— Officers investigated a protective order violation reported Monday at 12:39 p.m. at the police station. ——— Officers investigated a theft of an iPod and medication at a 10th Street West residence reported Monday at 8:27 p.m. ——— Monday at 11:08 p.m. officers investigated a complaint of noise at a 9th Avenue business. ——— During a motor vehicle stop at 1:22 a.m. today on 12th Avenue an officer arrested a 15-y...