November 2016

Tiger Woods returns amid varied expectations, high interest

NASSAU, Bahamas — Everyone is watching, everyone is curious, and Jordan Spieth had the perfect view of Tiger Woods for his return to golf.

Spieth was on the 17th green and looked across a narrow pond to the ninth tee at Albany Golf Club where Woods stood over his tee shot during the Wednesday pro-am. He saw the swing, but he lost sight of the ball in the glare of the tropical sun.

"Where did it go?" Spieth said as he tried to gauge where the ball might land. "Not in the fairway."

He looked again.

No. 1 Alabama, No. 15 Florida ride strong 'D' to title game

TUSCALOOSA, Ala.  — The Southeastern Conference's two stingiest defenses will take the field in the league championship game.

That's no coincidence.

No. 1 Alabama has kept its end zone off-limits for more than a month and been practically impenetrable to running backs. No. 15 Florida has only given up a few more points per game and flummoxed opposing quarterbacks.

Chapecoense vows to compete, possibly with borrowed players

CHAPECO, Brazil — Six players, a handful of support staff, and deep sorrow are all that remain of Brazil's Chapecoense soccer club.

They will still try to play again. Because they know that's what their 19 teammates who died when a charter plane ripped into an Andean mountainside would want them to do.

Yellowstone Park looks at large bison cull to trim herds

BILLINGS, Mont. — Yellowstone National Park biologists say more than 900 wild bison would need to be killed or removed this winter to begin reducing the size of herds that spill into neighboring Montana.

The park has an estimated 5,500 bison, the highest number since at least 2000.

Park officials meet Thursday with state, tribal and U.S. Agriculture Department representatives to discuss options for managing the animals.

Biologists say 900 would need to be removed just to stabilize population growth.

Patient sues state mental hospital claiming rape, pregnancy

HELENA, Mont. — A woman who was criminally committed to Montana State Hospital has sued the state, claiming she was sexually assaulted and impregnated by another patient at the psychiatric facility.

In the lawsuit filed last week in District Court in Helena, the woman said the hospital failed to supervise her adequately, leading to the rape that resulted in the birth of a child, Lee Newspapers of Montana reported.

A Department of Public Health and Human Services spokesman declined to comment on the ongoing litigation.

Governor proposes 10 percent budget cut for Highway Patrol

BOZEMAN, Mont. — Gov. Steve Bullock's budget proposal for the next two years includes a 10 percent cut for the Montana Highway Patrol — a $7.7 million reduction that would mean the loss of 27 jobs, most of them troopers.

"The governor is aligning expenses with revenues across the entire budget," Bullock's spokesman, Tim Crowe, told the Bozeman Daily Chronicle (bit.ly/2fDOiMg). The patrol's reduction is its proportion of the reductions in fuel taxes. The Department of Transportation also faces cuts due to decreased fuel tax revenue, he said.

Poplar man pleads guilty to girlfriend's shooting death

HELENA, Mont. — A Poplar man who originally told police that his girlfriend had killed herself has pleaded guilty to her murder.

Delvin Red Eagle entered his plea Monday before U.S. District Judge Brian Morris in Great Falls.

Fort Peck Tribes criminal investigator Ken Trottier previously said the 23-year-old man had reported the shooting death of 25-year-old Roxanne Morsette in January as a suicide.

Red Eagle was charged after investigators found nothing that supported the suicide claim.

Modular homes from oilfields to become Missoula housing

MISSOULA, Mont. — Modular homes that are left over from the boom in the Bakken oilfields will soon be helping house people in Missoula.

The Missoulian reports that Missoula nonprofit Homeword has acquired 10 of the small units that were originally meant for oil workers and will be offering them as affordable housing.

Homeword executive director Andrea Davis says she is excited to provide small homes to low-income residents.

High school putting on Dessert Theatre on Saturday

Shields Valley High School will be having Dessert Theatre Saturday, Dec. 3, in the Wilsall School gymnasium. 

The drama department, BPA (Business Professionals of America), and the high school art department are all working together to put together this community event. Dessert will be served at 6:30 p.m., and the play “Charlie and the Chocolate Factory” written by Richard R. George and adapted from the fantasy by Roald Dahl, will begin at 7 p.m. 

ENTERPRISE EDITORIAL: A wondrous sight

Every once in a while in our humdrum existence, a moment of wonder overtakes us.