Guest Column: Keep our county clean of noxious weeds - vote 'yes' on levy

Hill County Voters will be asked in the upcoming election to support the Hill County Weed mill levy. I have served on the Hill County Weed Board for several years and I can tell you this request is of an urgent matter.

Hill County has been blessed with a weed coordinator who has received many awards and recognition for his innovative management of our district as well as weed control in our county. Hill County Weed Coordinator Terry Turner has managed to make every dollar count and be stretched as far as humanly possible for the taxpayers of Hill County as well as his department. He applies for every grant that is available and has kept an underfunded district going at a real bargain to the taxpayers. However, we are at a critical juncture now. I have looked at the books, and the budget he has to work with is drastically underfunded, therefore, we need your support in the upcoming election.

Why should you care about weed control in Hill County? Well, for one thing its the law. In Montana you are required to manage invasive noxious weeds on your property. Coordinator Turner reaches out to the public to provide education, bio-control, prevention and services of application to control invasive species throughout the county, and provides guidance when landowners refuse to control noxious weeds.

With the high rainfall in the last few years the weeds in our county are multiplying much faster than our current budget allows for control. Our weed district also has an agreement with the mosquito district to help share equipment that provides the fogging, and additional manpower, that also address mosquito populations that if uncontrolled, can cause serious health and human safety concerns. Without additional funds for the weed district the level of assistance to the mosquito program would have to be re-evaluated. Coordinator Turner repairs whenever possible without buying any piece of equipment he can to save taxpayers money, and also spends many hours doing weed and mosquito control personally at a bargain to Hill County.

For those of you who go out and enjoy the beautiful treasure we have in Beaver Creek Park, it isn’t hard to see how easily noxious weeds can spread. The weed district helps conduct spray days in the park, and has worked with many volunteers to try to stop the spread of weeds that threaten the water, livestock, and health of the trees in the park. Turner also sets up the “Burdock Dig” where the local school kids learn about noxious invasive weeds and get to have fun playing in the dirt digging up the burdock. The current budget of the weed department does not even begin to address the massive undertaking of controlling the spread of noxious weeds along our roadways and county owned properties. We would like to launch an aggressive attempt to assist in preserving our beautiful park.

Coordinator Turner’s keen eye helped spot and infestation of a grassy weed called phragmites in a local waterway and helped manage it before it got out of control. As a county we have a department that functions as “lean and mean” as any taxpayer could wish for. We need your vote on this special election. We are asking for 4 mills, which only amounts to $141,760 on current taxable values. If your home has a market value of 100,000 it would add only $5.40 to your tax bill. I don’t like paying more, either, but we have a choice here — if we are to continue the battle against invasive noxious weeds or throw our hands up and let them slowly invade our county. I make a commitment to you that our board is composed of conservative spenders who don’t take the task of asking for your support without thought and deepest consideration. Please vote “yes” for the weed mill levy in the upcoming special election.

Please call Terry Turner at 265-4453 for additional information.

——

Arleen Rice, Havre

Hill County Weed Board Vice Chairman