Enterprise photo by Angela Schneider
	Rural Fire District firefighters spray water on a burning trailer home at the Big Spur trailer court on U.S. Highway 89 about 14 miles south of Livingston, Thursday, May 8. Two residents of the trailer home were transported to Livingston Memorial Hospital to be treated for smoke inhalation, authorities at the scene said. The cause of the fire is under investigation. For more, see the story below.

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

Published 5.9.2008

Disabled mom settles with state for $330,000; Geri Glass case
By Peter Vandergrift, Enterprise Staff Writer

A disabled Livingston mother, Geri Glass, has settled with the Montana Department of Health and Human Services over a discrimination lawsuit dating back to 2004.

DPHHS will pay a total of $330,000 to end the case. A special needs trust in the amount of $50,000 will be provided for Glass, and DPHHS will contribute $100,000 for the current purchase of an annuity which will provide future payments to her son, Gage Glass, totaling $380,000 when it comes due in 21 years.

The remainder of the $330,000 settlement is payment for Glass’ attorney fees and cost, the press release stated.

The case began in December 2004 when Glass, a quadriplegic since a 1996 auto accident, gave birth to her son.

Shortly after the birth, Glass called the local office of the DPHHS to see what kind of assistance was available for her and the baby, according to documents filed with the lawsuit. Glass is not able to work because of her disability.

She said DPHHS workers threatened to take away her child if she failed to follow conditions that were unfair to someone with her disability.

For the past four years, Glass feared her son would be taken away from her if she was ever left alone with him.

Settlement requires the Child and Family Services Division (CFSD) of DPHHS to analyze all of its operations to ascertain possible instances of noncompliance with the equal opportunity and non-discrimination state policies. If there is any non-compliance issues discovered, they will be corrected with any means allowed by law, a press release from DPHHS stated.

The agency will also train employees in correct procedures for dealing with similar situations.

“We’ve come a long way, Gage and I, to be home free. As mentioned in the news reports on the case, today he’s a ‘happy, patient and polite little guy … secure in his own world,’ but I’m still cautious after what we’ve been through,” Glass said. “In deciding to settle, two things mattered. First, the way Child and Family Services looked at parents with disabilities, that had to change. What we went through should never happen again to anyone. The training, evaluation and monitoring are good steps, and I trust and hope that DPHHS can and will make progress. Finally, the fact that most of the money will be available for Gage when he is a young man, that was critical to me. It’s made something positive come out of a time that was very hard for us,” she said.

The settlement also stated that agency staff cannot retaliate against Glass or any other person for opposing an unlawful discriminatory practice, filing a discrimination complaint, testifying, assisting or participating in a discrimination investigation or proceeding.

Wassmer asks for sentence review
By Peter Vandergrift, Enterprise Staff Writer

A man convicted and sentenced to 160 years in prison for brutally killing a woman in Park County asked for his sentenced to be reviewed and lessened in Townsend Thursday.

Now housed at the Montana State Prison, William Wassmer, 23, a Los Angeles gang member and Guatemala native, requested the sentence review after he was given 160 years in prison in September for the murder of Marcia Beck in October 2006.

Wassmer pled guilty to the murder in June, 2007, as well as admitting to robbing Beck and setting the her home on fire.

If his sentence is unchanged he will be eligible for parole in 2047.

The review was planned for Feb. 7 or 8, but Wassmer has a new attorney, who requested more time to prepare his argument.

The Sentence Review Division has three district judges, who held the hearing at the Montana State Prison. The judges will determine whether Wassmer’s sentence falls within Montana State Law, and if it consistent with other sentences for similar crimes in the state, Park County Attorney Brett Linneweber has said.

The crux of Wassmer's’ lawyer’s argument is that the sentences for murder, theft and arson should be served concurrently, all together, rather than consecutively, one after another. This would greatly reduce Wassmer’s sentence and the time before he is eligible for parole, Linneweber said.

But this tactic could also backfire and the review committee could decide to increase his sentence to life which would add five years to when he could be paroled, or the judges could not allow for parole at all, Linneweber said.

The decision of thee three judges cannot be appealed and is expected in two to three weeks, he said.

Fire torches Paradise Valley mobile home
By Peter Vandergrift, Enterprise Staff Writer

Residents of the Big Spur trailer court gathered in a crowd as firefighters doused a fellow resident’s home with water and foam Thursday morning.

The trailer court is located about 14 miles south of Livingston off U.S. Highway 89.

“I could cry,” said Cindy Wallgreen, who lives next to the trailer that caught fire shortly before 8 a.m.

The home’s occupants, identified by neighbors as as Kim Hanthorn, and one of her four children, were treated for smoke inhalation at the scene and transported to Livingston Memorial Hospital. Hanthorn’s other three children were in school, Wallgreen said.

“I was walking my dogs this morning, and Kim was out on the porch, and some smoke was coming out of the door,” Wallgreen said.

According to onlookers, the west end of the trailer was soon consumed in flames.

Aside from saving as much of the home as they could, firefighters worked to keep the flames from leaping to the next trailer 30 feet away.

Ten fire vehicles and at least 20 firefighters from both Park County Rural Fire and Paradise Valley Fire departments knocked the fire down by 8:30 a.m.

Another adjacent neighbor, Virginia Nisse, watched in relief as the flames were dowsed.

“I can’t even image what it would be like,” Nisse said of losing her home in a fire. “Your whole life is right in the house.”

A number of residents talked about immediately getting renters’ insurance to cover what could happen in a fire.

Although the fire was under control, there was still concern the fire could creep through the walls, said Dann Babcox, of Rural Fire, as firefighters monitored the structure after the flames were doused.

Russ Viers, owner of the trailer park and the trailer that burned, applauded the fire departments for their quick, professional work.

“These things go fast,” he said, pointing at the smoldering trailer. “Obviously, these are well-trained (firefighters).”

Viers said this is the first fire Big Spur trailer park has had in the eight years since he bought it from the Church Universal Triumphant.

All the trailers have fire alarms and extinguishers, Viers said, but added he never wants residents to risk their lives to fight the fire themselves.

Babcox said they did not know how the fire started but would investigate after they had completed mopping up operations.

Viers expects the trailer to be a total loss, but said his insurance will cover it. It was not known if the residents had insurance to cover their belongings, which were destroyed in the blaze.

Legal hassles expand in Guest House matter
By Peter Vandergrift, Enterprise Staff Writer

Electricians, plumbers and heating companies are trying to recoup money from the Downtown Guest House and its investors for materials and labor they claim has never been paid for.

Williams Plumbing and Heating filed a lawsuit in District Court claiming $71,600 in unpaid services and materials, plus interest and attorneys’ fees, according to court documents.

Big Bear Electric cross-claimed for work they have done totaling $52,489, plus interest and attorneys’ fees.

Matt Monforton, an attorney for Big Bear, said the company is seeking judicial foreclosure to pay for materials and services of completed work.

“We want to make sure our client, who is a working man, simply gets paid for the work,” Monforton said. “If this deal had gone through as originally planned, out-of-state interests would have walked away with millions. Now that the market has gone south, contractors are left holding the bag. We don’t think that’s fair and more importantly, the law is on our side.”

Hassan Kangarloo, a resident of San Francisco, bought the Guest House in 2006 and claimed to have high hopes to pour $2 million into renovating the building into condominiums.

Livingston Investments loaned Kangarloo approximately $1.5 million for improvements on the Guest House as well as the Northern Hotel in Billings, which Kangarloo also owned.

Since then, Kangarloo has faced thousands of dollars worth of fines for asbestos violations from the Montana Department of Environmental Quality.

The now-defunct Guest House building project ceased work sometime last fall, and a trustee sale was scheduled for April 24.

A trustee sale is initiated by a lender when a loan becomes delinquent.

Big Bear filed an injunction to stop the sale because of fears the building would sell for less than what is owed to them and other contractors.

District Court denied the injunction, allowing the sale to go through only if Livingston Investments would file cashiers checks totaling $186,132 before the sale.

The checks were not filed, and the trustee sale was canceled.

Monforton said the process of notifying all the parties involved for the judicial foreclosure has begun.

	Frisbee fling
	Park High School Sophomore Tyler Salazar throws a Frisbee in Sacajawea Park, Thursday, May 1. Salazar and two friends spent the afternoon throwing Frisbees in a makeshift game of Frisbee golf. Enterprise photo by Angela Schneider

Candidates discuss issues at forum
By Peter Vandergrift, Enterprise Staff Writer

Although the expected Park County issues — trash and roads — were frequent topics of questions posed to county candidates at Wednesday night’s forum in the City-County Complex, some less predictable topics, including combining the county and city government, and the perceived low employee moral in the county, created lively debate.

All nine candidates running for the Park County Commission — five for District 2 and four for District 3 — agreed it was a good idea to look at combining city and county government to streamline spending and cut down on duplicate departments.

One of the more hotly debated topics was whether to do away with the position of full-time human resource director.

Although incumbent Larry Lahren of District 2 defended the need for an HR director to help manage county workers, all other candidates — including District 2 candidates Marty Malone, John McEvans, Daniel Nelson and Emily Rahn and District 3 candidates Stacy Sunvison, Bruce Martin, Rick Johnston and Randy Taylor — said they would do away with the HR department.

One questioner asked for information about the duties of Park County Director of Operations Bill Hurley.

Before explaining the workload for that office, Lahren cautioned it was improper to talk about county workers by name.

Much of the discussion centered on the perceived low moral of county workers.

When asked about management styles, all but Lahren stated their belief in delegating work to department heads and then being hands-off.

Lahren voiced a different approach, saying he manages by objective, and then read off a list of what he has accomplished since he took office three and a half years ago. The list included collecting $500,000 in unpaid taxes; creating the Gardiner water and sewer district; and changing refuse from incineration to shipping to landfills, as mandated by the Environmental Protection Agency.

Both Martin and Taylor, who work for the county, said it was once like a big family, but it had become a divisive and secretive environment.

Reopening the incinerator and expanding recycling efforts was a concept all candidates though was important.

Rahn said she would try to privatize Park County refuse, and Taylor said he wants to make a profit off garbage by using it to create energy instead of paying $350,000 a year to have county trash shipped to Helena.

On the county budget, McEvans said it was a mess and needed to be straightened out.

Several candidates agreed and felt more money should go toward maintaining roads.

Johnston, who once worked in the Park County Road Department, said looking at ways to fund more road maintenance and pave more roads like Billman Lane was important.

Lahren did not think more money was the issue with the roads and went on to say one thing he’d do if re-elected would be revamp the road department.

Voters will select two candidates in each district during the June 3 primary.

Before the Commission candidates debated, the crowd of nearly 100 heard from the three candidates for the newly created County Auditor position.

While candidates Marilyn Hartley and Martha Miller expressed fears that reserve funds were getting low and said an experienced person could help save money when it comes to working on the budget, County Auditor incumbent Don Holland said he could not really address the issue.

All felt that working with department heads was an important part of the task.

Holland said his short-term goal for the position was to set up procedures for the duties of the office.

Miller said to do this, she would look at job-shadowing an auditor in another county.

Hartley said she would work with department heads to firm up good bookkeeping in every department.

Although there is no primary for the Clerk of Courts office, both candidates answered questions.

Belinda Bebee Schweigert said she was interested in the office because she wanted to get back into legal work.

Six-term incumbent June Little said she wanted to continue serving county residents, adding she has a great staff and was excited about some of the technological changes taking place in her office.

Voters pass Shields Valley levy
By Peter Vandergrift, Enterprise Staff Writer

Voters in Shields Valley approved two school levies, and trustee races for several area district schools and the Park County Rural Fire District were decided in Tuesday’s elections.

Shields Valley voters approved both high school and elementary school levies. The elementary levy was for $4,810, and the high school levy was for $10,034 for their general funds. The levies mean an estimated $13-per-year tax increase on a $200,000 property.

Rancher Ray Sundling and accountant Larry Blakely won the two seats contested for the five-member Rural Fire board. Sundling garnered 123 votes, Blakely had 92 votes, Courtney Lawellin had 63, and Charles Donovan received 59.

The terms for both Sundling and Blakely run three years.

The Gardiner Public School District held elections for two three-year school board trustee seats Tuesday. Bob Fuhrmann, with 113 votes, and Tami Blackford, with 108 votes, won the seats over Holly Long, who got 82 votes, and Sherry Hatfield, who garnered 44 votes.

In the Shields Valley School District, two trustees were elected to three-year terms. Mae Downey, with 146 votes, and Audra Fairchild, with 142 votes, beat out Vicky Hoffman, who got 125 votes, and Stanley Urban, who garnered 77.

In the Arrowhead School District, Shawna Pierce, with 130 votes, and Brett DeYoung, with 96 votes, were elected over Ian Scott, who gathered 93 votes, and over Mike Graham, who ended up with 45 votes.

Senior Citizens Center gets $950,000 in grants to update safety
By Peter Vandergrift, Enterprise Staff Writer

The Park County Senior Citizens Center was awarded up to $950,000 in grants for improvements to its nearly 100-year-old facility.

The president of the center, Barbara Williams, said the impetus to the $1.6 million improvement project was safety in case fire or earthquake strike the building.

The two federal grants were a Community Development Block Grant of up to $450,000 and a Home Investment Partnerships Program grant of up to $500,000.

The building housing the Senior Center on South Main Street was built in 1910 and has not had significant renovation since 1970, according to a news release from Park County Commission, which sponsored the grant.

The most significant improvements will include installing fire suppression sprinklers and updating some windows so they won’t shatter in an earthquake, Williams said.

The grant money was the last component needed for the project. The local sources who have committed to the project include $25,000 in a mill levy from Park County, a $490,000 loan from Sky Federal Credit Union, a $125,000 cash contribution from the Park County Senior Citizens Center Corporation, and local fundraising totaling more than $20,000, the release said.

The Senior Center, which has 24 affordable apartments for those 62 and older, acts as a hub for many services, including Meals on Wheels, a thrift store, and recreational and crafting activities.

County axes gravel pit plan
By Enterprise Staff

The Park County Commission have decided not to pursue digging a gravel pit just south of U.S. Interstate 90 in the Harvat’s Flats area.

Rising gas prices and complicated open-cut mining laws make it more cost effective to buy from privately owned area gravel pits, said Commissioner Larry Lahren.

“It’s like making your own bread,” Lahren said of digging a new gravel pit. “It’s just easier and cheaper to go down to the store and buy a loaf.”

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OBITUARIES
The following obituaries appeared in The Enterprise the week of May 5-9, 2008:

• Harold Eggar, 93, of Park County, died Sunday, May 4, 2008, in Livingston.

• Rita Morgan, 78, formerly of Emigrant, died Tuesday, May 6, 2008, in Billings.