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About Dillon Tribune Examiner (Dillon, Mont.) 1982-1989 | View This Issue
Dillon Tribune Examiner (Dillon, Mont.), 12 Oct. 1982, located at <http://montananewspapers.org/lccn/sn85053038/1982-10-12/ed-1/seq-1/>, image provided by MONTANA NEWSPAPERS, Montana Historical Society, Helena, Montana.
C O M P M O N T A N A H I S T , L I I J R a R Y 0/JO H E L E N A M T 5 9 6 0 1 C. - ~g tr—. “i c o C_ . ... 1 oyu S lK a u □ -A j? mams mm Serving Southwest Montana Since 1881 Examiner VOL. 98, NO. 92 TUESDAY, OCTOBER 12, 1982, DILLON, MONTANA 25c winning weekend a See pages AS, A-7 .J s i It’s Miller time These two workmen were dwarfed by a long line of heavy equipment late Friday afternoon as the crew working on the 1-15 road project south of Dillon headed home after a long day’s work. Stoltze cuts its force Stoltze Land and Lumber Co. this week cut its working week to four days from the five the lumber operation had sustained since spring. And Stoltze, which employes about 50 persons in its sawmill and planer department, later in the winter may have to reduce its work week to three days. “It all depends on the severity of the weather,” said John Ulrich, plant man ager. He explained if constniction can continue through the winter, the result ing demand for lumber will aid Stoltze. But Ulrich doesn't look for any real improvement until spring. Pointing out lumber prices are down $00 to $70 per thousand from last year at this time, Ulrich explained the de mand for wood chips is helping Stoltze maintain its reduced but stiU active day • shift. Stoltze s<Jls its chips, used in paper making, to a Missoula firm. “At least the chips are helping pay the bills,” he said. He added, however, dropping chip prices and reduced demand are the reasons Stoltze has instituted its current production curtailment. “We should be able to maintain this schedule at least through the month,” he said. This curtailment is the most recent in a series of Stoltze cutbacks during the past three years of economic recession. Lumber plants throughout the region have been affected. Dillon faces economic pinch Dillon is facing an economic squeeze that will only get worse if the state Legislature doesn’t give municipalities a break soon, according to the auditor who has just completed a review of city finances. Wes Carlisle, the Belgrade account ant hired by the city to do the audit, reported in Tuesday’s council meeting that Dillon is “financially in a pretty good situation”. But he also pointed out Legislative action has cut the city’s sources of revenue the past few years by reducing Dillon's taxable valuation. Valuation is the total taxable worth of property. Because its total deter mines the worth of city mills, a fall in its value means the city can raise less money with its state-determined maxi mum levy of 65 mills. “I think a lot of taxpayers and even a lot of legislatures think cities are in pretty good financial shape when actually municipalities across the state are really feeling the squeeze,” he said. Carlisle said the city budget is showing the affects of a reduced valuation in the following areas: —Revenues are decreasing. —Cash reserves are falling far below the $75,000 the city in theory should Keep on hand to cany the govern ment from July 1 when the fiscal year begins to Dec. 1 when tax revenues become available. —The city is a t its 65 mill maximum. Carlisle said the only thing the city can do to fight its eroding tax base is to convince legislators not to continue cuts which affect valuation. This year the city’s valuation dropped to $3,288,619 from $3,558,- 264, a valuation has decreased since 1977 when it was 3.6 million. In other business Tuesday, council- men: —Heard an announcement from City Manager Bert Reimer that a Glendale Street foot and bike bridge over Blacktail Creek is ready for use. The bridge was taken out last spring after some area residents thought it might be contributing to water blockage during a high stream level period. However the city agreed to restore the bridge after area residents petitioned for the struc ture. —Gave Police Chief Tom Depew peimission to attend an oil field crimes workshop. —Appointed a committee to deter mine what water flows will be adequate to give adequate fire protection in John Erb’s south Dillon subdivision ear marked for commercial development. —Heard a report from Dick Thorson, community development director that a $278,200 overlay project on Dillon streets has been completed. —Re-appointed planning board mem bers Donna Jones and Bill O'Connor tc two-year terms and Bob Mountain, Doug Harvey and Jim Mclsaac to onc-year terms. Welfare requires in B C H S e y e s n e w d r u g p r o g r a m By JULIE SIMON Staff Writer Beaverhead County High School trustees may adopt a two year program designed to help students with drugs and alcohol problems. Dale Zink, high school counselor, Monday night asked trustees to support implementation of a chemical abuse intervention system which takes a “po sitive approach” to helping young people. \I think we need something like this. We've been groping around for years knowing that some kids need help but now knowing what to do for them,” Zink said. ^ Zink is proposing the district adopt a plan based on methods developed by a Minneapolis-based Community Inter vention (Cl) program. Explaining he recently completed an intensive Cl five-day workshop in Boze man on the program, Zink said the session was one of the “most dynamic\ SkC has ever attended. He said the workshop convinced him there is a workable solution to helping students enmeshed with alcohol and'- drugs. \In the past when we've tried to help the si wents, we’ve always run up against Che problem of denial,\ he said. “We would say something like: ‘Your teachers say you seem to be having trouble staying awake in class and they're worried you might be using drugs.’ \But if the student denied that he was having problems—and he usually did—then we were stopped. This pro gram gives us a way to fight through that denial.” How many students need such a program? Zink didn’t list any statistics, but he did tel! board members at least some BCHS students are chemical abusers. “The students are dressing better all the time and the majority are looking good,” he said. \As a matter of fact, they're looking so good some of the teachers have trouble believing we have a problem here. But the problem does exist\ Ironically, alcohol—the drug con doned by community acceptance—is the one causing students the most problems, Zink said. “At the workshop they pointed out that kids use drugs because they feel good every time. The drugs don't let than down. Pretty soon drugs and al cohol, become their best friends. They come home from school and their mothers might be gone and their fathers drunk or maybe just watching television. So they turn to a sure thing.\ How can students be convinced to give up a sure and steady source of com fort? Zink said the intervention plan involves parents and teachers in a system designed to encourage students to change their behavior. At the base of the intervention program is the creation of a core group u roi s i m m d l iiiiaM k m w S m wfasti t o © to 5 of teachers, administrators, parents and counselors. “I’d like to stress that the group's job isn’t to label or diagnose. The core group wouldn't even attempt to deter mine in school whether a student is chemically dependent or not,” Zink pointed out. Instead the group would ask students for change after the young person is re ferred to them, he said. And the student's first meeting with the group would come after teachers or other adults notice and document behaviors which seem to indicate possible abuse problems. “For instance, a teacher might notice a student sleeping in class and ask him to stop. If the student doesn’t stop, the teacher would refer him to the core team.” The group’s job would be to gather infomiation about the student’s be havior, document the problems and talk to the student about the need for change. The core group could, if members think it necessary, set up a conference involving the student and his or her parents. “If the parents aren’t interested, the program i3n’t very effective,\ Zink said. But the counselor said most parents would probably want to help their chil dren once they understood a problem existed. During meetings with the core team the student is given responsibility for change and a plan of action set out. If behavior doesn’t take place, other meet ings are scheduled in which the need for change is stressed even more empha tically. Some school systems even tell students they cannot attend classes if the young persons' behavior doesn’t change, ho said. “Whether the board would like to adopt a policy that strict, I don't know,\ Zink said. “That might be some thing to talk over in the future.” If change does not take place, stu dents can be referred for chemical evaluation or professional help which would have to be financed by parents. The cost of the program, itself, though would mainly involve sending members of the core group to Cl work shops which cost $375 per participant. School board members expressed interest in the program and encouraged Zink to continue research on possible adaption to BCHS. In other business Monday trustees: —Adopted modification in bus routes including two new runs added to relieve overcrowding. Mitchell said increased numbers of elementary students riding the busses necessitated the changes. New routes include a Carrigan Lane run which begins at the Jackson inter change and a Wayside Acres-Shady Npok run which starts at Wayside Acres. In September parents of students riding the Blacktail bus com plained busses were overcrowded on that run. —Heard a report from Superinten dent Gile Mitchell that an evaluation team from the State Office of Public Instruction has given BCHS top ratings. —Heard a report from Mitchell that an opinion from an Office of Public Instruction attorney indicates the school cannot help finance a new pool at Western Montana College. The college is seeking community as well as Legisla tive help in funding the $1.5 million pro ject. Mitchell said he thinks the pool is a “good idea” but said the law prohibits school districts from using tax money to construct facilities not owned by the districts. A day’s wages for a day’s work—that's the philosophy behind Beaverhead County's'new general assis tance work program. Established by the Beaverhead's Department of Public Welfare last month on the request of the County Commissioners, the program is one of the new “workfare\ plans becoming popular in the state. Commissioners say the goal of the program is simple: To possibly reduce demands on the welfare system by making persons asking for assistance aware they will have to work for their money. And to get some return from funds paid out to welfare recipients. Wayne Contway, welfare department director, said so far the new program seems to be working well. \Of course we’ll know better a year from now, but right now the program seems to be as good of idea as it looked on paper.\ Explaining workfare programs are authorized by state law, Contway said many counties have been motivated to try such assistance plans because of the way Montana welfare funding works. The law says counties which exceed eight mills in their welfare assistance funds are eligible for state aid on costs which exceed that maximum levy. BUT THE INCENTIVE of getting more state aid really doesn't come into the Beaverhead’s workfare program because the county has yet had to run over the 8 mill welfare limit, Contway said. “The commissioners seemed to think the program is a good idea just on its own merits,\ Contway said. Hew does the county’s version of the program work? Contway said if the county has work available which a recipient of general relief is capable of performing, than the weliitre depart ment can perform that job. Welfare workers decide how much money an applicant needs and then assigns him enough hours of work to meet that amount. Clients are allowed $4 per hour credit for their work, Contway said, adding applicants may be exempted from the program if they are 65 years or older, ill or disabled or have other reasons which [C«at. on page A-3] Local gambling could mean money and jobs A group pushing for more forms of legalized gambling in Montana con tends Beaverhead County governments could collect more than $140,000 a year in licensing revenues if the gambling initiative is passed by the voters in November. The figures are derived from a post card survey of tavern owners taken by Montanans For Gambling in Septem ber. Initiative 92 would create a State Gaming Commission and the biggest change in legal gambling it would affect would be the inclusion of blackjack. In Beaverhead County there are 47 locations licensed for on-premises alcoholic sales. Of those, 29 responding to the poll said they would like to operate poker and blackjack if 1-92 passes. Thirteen Beaverhead County tavern owners said they would want bingo and keno, 43 said they would seek licenses for electronic devices and 35 said they would want punchboards and pulltabs. The licensing revenue to local gov ernment from operation of that gambling here would total $140,302, including about $29,000 (blackjack), §7,000 (bingo), $87,000 (electronic de vices) and $8,700 (punchboards), ac cording to the group. Montanans For Gambling claims the projected employment if 1-92 is passed by the voters, would be 182 jobs in Beaverhead County. The 58 poker/blackjack tables re spondents said they would require 145 employees, the 14 bingo and keno games estimated for Beaverhead County could generage 35 jobs and two people would be needed for the 131 electronic devices tavern owners said they would install. Montanans For Gambling is a group largely composed of tavern owners and related businessmen. Hihest.-X sal© is Tfrnirstia'f The Dillon Merchants Association will hold Harvest Of Value Night this Thursday, Oct. 14.
