October 2019

The weather in all four of the counties I represent has been just a bit marginal, a point you all have clearly witnessed. For the rural folks, clean-up and road repair has come very slowly as Mother Nature has not cooperated. So, please slow down and give the county road crews the opportunity to get caught up.

As an Education Committee member who has listened to presentations on the subject of bullying for a number of bills, I assumed I knew what bullying is. Come to find out, the Office of Public Instruction has now officially defined it for us. I quote, “Bullying is when one or more students tease, threaten, spread rumors about, hit, shove, or hurt another student over and over again.” The committee was also given the results of the 2019 Youth Risk Behavior Survey. The comprehensive list, running 64-pages, asked risk behavior questions, including about tobacco, alcohol, vape, and drug usage as a couple examples. The survey had 94 very pointed questions and is on the OPI website if for those interested in seeing data around the direction our youth are headed.

The next subject we were informed on is the 2020 census. It is going to be very important that everyone is counted as Montana has a chance to pick up another legislative seat in D.C. Lastly, we had a discussion about post-secondary tuition waivers, the costs of which will have to be distributed among other funding resources or tuition increases.

Hunting season is underway. Many localities are dealing with new rules for chronic wasting disease. I attended a meeting put on by the Bureau of Reclamation that included Fish, Wildlife and Park folks. Not only are rules changed because of CWD but the bear biologist explained the bears are extra hungry because of the early freeze. The federal rules for camp stays is a subject that had input from folks that were at the meeting. Not much to negotiate with there; the law is clear: 14-day stay limit on federal land. To make sure folks understood, an eight-page front and back document clarifying the rules and laws was passed out to attendees. If you would like a copy, get ahold of the BOR nearest to you.

Be safe and have a great hunting season.

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People can email state Sen. Russ Tempel, R-Chester, at [email protected].