New E-Mail address change for the Havre Daily Corrector

We at the Corrector have been experiencing some issues with our internet service provider and have changed to a new service which makes it necessary to change our e-mail address to havredailycorrector@gmail.com  The bresnan address will no longer be used when our service expires shortly so be sure and update your address books.

We are sorry for any Inconvenience this has caused and would like to say that we appreciate all our reader’s tips, advice and story ideas that you kindly provide us and please continue to do so at our new e-mail

Thanks for supporting the Havre Daily Corrector

The "Donald" for President?

Is Donald Trump a credible Presidential candidate?  The following speech was given by the Donald last night in Las Vegas.  Watch all three parts and tell us if you like anything he has to say.  Or is he another Ross Perot not yet to his “gone completely over the edge” point?

Trump Speech part 1

Trump Speech part 2

Trump Speech part 3

Havre Pride Offer Recieves City Officials "Pocket" Veto

I would like to report that I am surprised but that would be a lie.

A few posts back we pointed out that this Saturday from 9am until Noon everyone in Havre is being asked to have a little pride in our town and volunteer to do a little cleaning up around our community. Furthermore the Corrector shot off an e-mail to several of the City Council members, Public Works Director Dave Peterson and the Chamber of Commerce pointing out Fuelburner1969’s offer to gather together some folks to help the city road crews with fixing some potholes with volunteer help.

As of tonight we haven’t even been given the courtesy of a response let alone any offers to help facilitate Fuelburner’s volunteers.

I guess no one really cares about the deplorable condition of our streets except those of us taxpayers that drive them every day. Please don’t not let the customary “official” non-response keep you from doing your part in helping put a little shine on Havre this weekend by cleaning up a bit.

See you Saturday doing what we are “qualified” to do – picking up trash.

Gas Prices

Fuel prices crept up under President Bush and all we heard was that Damn Bush – Cheney and the “oil grabs”  Fuel prices are now closing in on 4 bucks here in little Havre and I have yet to hear one word about President Obama and his comrades.

Sure is funny don’t you think?

The "Facts" on Northern's Bonding Bill

The Corrector just received a short update on MSU –Northern’s proposed funding for the Diesel Facility from HD 33 Representative Kris Hansen.  When it comes to funding for the university system is the “All or Nothing” approach really the best for the system as a whole?  Read Representative Hansen’s letter and tell us what you think.

The Bonding Bill
I am getting many questions about what is going on with HB 439, better known as the “Bonding Bill.” Emails have been circulating that Representative Warburton and I have “voted against Northern.” This is not true. If we had voted differently, we know the bill would have died on the floor that day. We did not have the votes to pass it.

The bonding bill originally introduced did not include Northern. Representative Belcourt, who is on the Appropriations Committee, introduced an amendment and Representative Warburton testified at the hearing. Northern’s building was successfully amended into the bill.

However, Northern’s project is now part of a huge bill that has a $97.8 million dollar price tag. And that price tag is not just writing a check and spending money. That price tag is for the state to issue bonds and put the state in debt. The state would be on the hook for principal and interest payments for twenty years. Additionally, there will be operations and maintenance costs to the state of upwards of $10 million per year. The price of the bonding bill is a huge debt of the state and unpalatable to many republicans in a time when the federal debt has topped 14 trillion and our nation as a whole is losing fiscal credibility worldwide. Additionally, many of the projects look and smell a lot like pork, making it very unlikely we could get a 2/3 majority of the House of Representatives to vote for it.

Knowing this was the case, I asked Chancellor Trocki in late February if he would like me to bring a bill seeking an appropriation just for Northern. An appropriation is not debt. An appropriation says we have money we are willing to spend right now with no debt. Several fiscally conservative republicans have confirmed to me that they see Northern’s diesel program as beneficial to the state as a whole, especially given the oil boom in the east where trucks and equipment need qualified mechanics to ensure progress in the oil fields. I am confident I had at least a reasonable chance to get an appropriation bill passed. However, Frank spoke with “the system,” some unnamed “they” who told him to “toe-the-line” and not seek anything for Northern outside of what the U-system was supporting. I did not bring the bill based on that answer. In hindsight, that was clearly a mistake on my part, and I expect Frank Trocki may now believe it was a mistake on his part also.

Still uncertain that the big bonding bill could pass the House, in mid-march, I called Regent Lynn Hamilton to discuss a new bonding bill. I asked her about what the university system’s priorities are. I had a second bonding bill drafted based on the regents’ priorities. That bill is HB 635. It includes new facilities for Northern, the Missoula COT, and MSU-Billings. It also includes five deferred maintenance projects including $1 million in renovations at the ag experiment stations.

The hearing on HB 635 was held on March 24. No one from the U-system showed up in support of the bill. No one. The U-system made a decision to support only the big bill and did not even testify in support of a bill that included projects taken directly from its own priority list.

Last week, I spoke with the sponsor of the big bill. I told him I was still concerned that some of the “pork” projects in the bill would kill the bill. He told me to just stop talking about it and vote for the bill. He said “this is the process, you have to give to get.” Now we are facing a final vote and the bill, including Northern's project, may die in the House.

My take on this whole mess is this. The “process” isn’t going to work anymore. Montanans and the rest of the country are waking up to free-for-all spending and government debt. Necessary projects are worthy of funding. Unnecessary projects are not. Fiscal conservatives will no longer vote “green” just to get their district a pork project. We can’t afford it. I will be as disappointed as anyone if Northern’s building is not built. But the U-system didn’t play its cards right on this one. They squelched the initiative of a motivated chancellor and a rookie representative in favor of an “all-or-nothing” approach. That may very well hurt Northern and the Hi-Line this week.

Representative Kris Hansen
HD33

Corrector note -- In addition the following is what the two bonding bills would have paid for.  The All or Nothing bill is HB 439 and Hansen's Compromise bill which the university folks snubbed their nose at is HB 635.  Compare the two and tell our readers how you think Northern would have faired if the University system would have been somewhat reasonable

HB 439 (the big bill or what has come to be known as the Bonding Bill):
1) combined state labs, $6.7 million,
2) Montana heritage center, Helena, $23 million,
3) MSU-Billings, science building, $14.25 million,
4) MSU-Bozeman, classroom renovations, $2.5 million,
5) MSU-Bozeman Ag stations, $1 million,
6) MSU-Great Falls COT, Ag building, $4 million,
7) Veterans’ Home, Butte, $5 million,
8) UM-Missoula COT, new building, $29 million,
9) UM Western, main hall, $4.45 million
10) MSU-Northern, diesel facility, $7.9 million.
Total $97.8 million


HB 635 (Hansen's alternative appropriations bill):
1) UM-Helena COT, lab renovation $150,000,
2) UM-Butte, library renovation $2 million,
3) MSU-Billings, science building, $12.5 million,
4) MSU-Bozeman, Ag stations, $1 million,
5) MSU-Great Falls COT, roof, $600,000,
6) UM-Missoula COT, new facility, $25 million,
7) UM-Western, main hall earthquake damage, 2.2 million,
8) MSU-Northern, diesel facility, $7.5 million.
Total $50.95 million.

R.I.P Pay Day Loan Businesses

You may recall that last year a throng of do-gooders rose up against the many payday loan businesses they claimed were exploiting the poor by charging what they called exorbitant interest rates. These places typically charged $20 to $30 dollars “interest” on maybe a $100 loan with a duration of 2 to 6 weeks. When you figured the per-cent per annum it sometimes reached a total annual rate in excess of 300%. Montana voters decided in November to cap this usury interest rate to 36% per annum. What has instead happened is that nearly all of the payday loan places have locked their doors and went out of business. Many of the poor people those do-gooders tried to help by meddling in things they knew nothing about are now left with no place to turn. They have no food, no place to stay and no emergency plan but at least they are not being charged too much interest. The Great Falls Teachers Credit Union has stepped up to the plate and has begun offering a $500 line of credit to those in need according to this KFBB TV news report.

Doesn’t Havre also have a Credit Union? I wonder if the Bear Paw Credit Union will step up to the plate here in Havre and also reach out to the poor and needy with some emergency loan mechanism as they have done in Great Falls? Let’s hope so.



Story at KFBB . Com

HAVRE PRIDE SPRING CLEANUP (and pot hole repair?)

The Havre Chamber of Commerce has been advertising that they need some help with the Havre Pride spring cleanup on Saturday, April 30th from 9am to noon. They ask that you do your part with the annual town spring cleaning and they say that “A clean community shows pride and is more inviting than a community with dirty sidewalks and gutters and borrow pits scattered with litter”

I wonder if that goes for pot holes and the sad condition of Havre’s streets also? Coincidently this announcement by the Chamber was forwarded to me at the same time as a couple of e-mails sent to our tip line by one of our readers (Fuelburner1969) who has been wondering if we could get together some volunteers to help the city crew patch the streets and fill some potholes.

Well I really don’t know – Why not?

People I have talked to say filling potholes isn’t rocket science so if some of these guys want to show up at the city shop on cleanup day with their pickups to get a load of cold mix and a couple of traffic cones why couldn’t the community lend a hand to this monumental task that is overwhelming the city street crews? If they did it the same weekend as the Havre Pride cleanup we would already have safety and city personnel available to oversee the work and a few donated hours times many willing hands would make short work of a few of the problem areas.

Anyone interested in taking Fuelburner1969 up on his idea?



If these directions are how you do it I would venture to say that some volunteer labor could indeed handle it



Senator “No Ear Marks Ever” Tester now going “No Pork”

Here is living proof that you don’t have to be intelligent to be on the Senate Banking Committee.

Facts

• Senate votes on this bill today
• Tester has no clue what is even in this $800 Billion dollar pork bill
• On Jobs; Senator “No Ear Marks Ever” Tester (and outspoken 2006 anti-pork guy) says that this bill helps because it (and I quote)

"provides people to be able to go to work without having multiple ah ah ah ailments treated in in in a variety of different ways, it helps people when they go to the doctor --- save them money --- so they can reinvest it in other ways in the economy --- and it keeps them in the job force --- so yea absolutely eh eh eh it creates jobs just like the rest of this bill does”

Here is a tip for our good Senator. Read first – think – then vote
Instead of talk it up – vote – and then wonder what happened

Don't take my word for it

Watch our No Pork pledging Senator hard at work in this interview

HT / Treasure State Politics

Four Candidates Vying for Three District 16 School Board Positions

The School Districts Ballot has been sent out and four people are running for the three available school board positions. Incumbents Darlene J. Bricker, Cynthia L. Erickson and Curtis Smeby are again seeking reelection. New comer Edroy B. “Curt” Curtis has also thrown his hat in the ring and the Corrector did post a letter from him back on March 28th you can read here


One person will be “out” this election. Who will (should) that person be?

Again with Additional School Mill Levy Requests

People that are signed up to vote by mail should have received their “Official” School district ballot over the weekend. Not surprisingly both the Elementary and High School districts are asking the voters to approve an additional tax levy as well as a bonus round of funding for the building reserve fund under the guise of funding for needed roof repairs at the high school.

Like usual voting for all three mill levy increases is “for the kids” and will only cost that mysterious home owner with that $100,000 home a mere $29.60 or $59.20 for those lucky enough to own a home valued at $200,000. How much are you already paying you ask? This is a break down the Corrector put together last year prior to the school election

Name:  Levies:  Percentage:  Dollar Amount:
Elementary General 116.12 15.365% $349.5212
Elementary Transportation 10.41 1.377% $31.3341
Elementary Adult Education 0.00 0.000% $0
Elementary Bus Reserve 3.67 0.486% $11.0467
Elementary Technology 7.24 0.958% $21.7924
Elementary Debt Service 1.72 0.228% $5.1772
Elementary Building Reserve 11.16 1.477% $33.5916
General School Elementary Equal. 33.00 4.366% $99.33
Elementary Retirement 28.61 3.786% $86.1161
High School General 64.05 8.475% $192.7905
High School Transportation 8.31 1.100% $25.0131
High School Bus Reserve 3.13 0.414% $9.4213
Adult Education 0.95 0.126% $2.8595
Technology 3.09 0.409% $9.3009
High School Building Reserve 9.52 1.260% $28.6552
High School Debt Service 0.90 0.119% $2.709
General School High School Equal. 22.00 2.911% $66.22
High School Retirement 13.03 1.724% $39.2203
County Transportation 5.00 0.662% $15.05

TOTAL = 341.91 mill levy which is 45.241% of a city taxpayers total property tax or $1,029.15 per year school tax on that $100,000 home plus the mere $3.91 additional tax we voted on ourselves when we passed last years mill levy.  I guess the logic is that if we are already paying this much how does adding another trifling $30 to the bill matter? 

Why is nothing ever said about the $579,000 increase the elementary district received last year because of increased enrollment?  Do they really need an additional $73,000 this year too?  Considering our economy do you really think the elementary district really couldn’t “make do” like the rest of us are forced to exist?  Did anyone else notice that the ballot of the High School District tax levy says you are voting to “impose a PERMANENT increase” in local taxes?  Ok – I admit it – I am still bitter about the wasted $200,000 on the search – hire – payoff to Mahon – new superintendent search budget and the subsequent kick to the taxpayers groin when we dared ask for information.  It is apparent it is still “Top-Secret” and we still are not educated enought to understand but it is time to fight back at the ballot box. 

I understand that inflation eats up a portion of the budget each year but unlike any other government entity the local school actually received about a one-percent increase in funding from the state. They DID NOT RECIEVE ANY CUTS to their budget yet here they appear again with a requested mill levy. The “Cuts” you read about in the newspaper are actually reductions in their requested increases. There is absolutely no reason to run a mill levy request. Talk to any teacher and you will hear that the district has Para-professional support staff up the ying-yang, they have an over abundance of administrators and they have many areas where they could actually save a few bucks if they were only so inclined. The reality of the situation is that it is much easier to just claim that “it’s about the kids” and continue to shove additional burdens on the property tax payers while making no changes in management priorities.
 
In addition I find it strange indeed that the school would choose to also request additional funds for the building reserve claiming it is to repair the high school roof when just a few months ago they were outlining plans to spend over $1.7 million on items such as a new weight training room, boy’s and girl’s locker rooms and etc. Has anyone bothered to check and see exactly how much money is now held in the building reserve fund? The roof was engineered by a professional, it was built by a licensed contractor, a school inspector was paid, a city building permit was issued and a building inspector should have been doing his job yet nowhere in any of the articles about this roof collapse does anyone say they are holding anyone accountable.

The only way to get a handle on the never ending budget increases for the school district is to start voting NO to this never ending mill levy requests. Do you recall that little mistake made by the county treasurer where they missed adding these mill levies on your tax notice? The bill you received for the missed portion of tax on last year’s tax notice was all for school mill levies. I guess all those “it’s only eight or ten dollars per year per house” really do add up to a substantial bill. Think about that before you vote to add another thirty dollars or so to your bill this go around.

Just as a sidenote here is a very informative article found over at the Electric City Weblog about the school district mill levy request in Great Falls

Rabid Sanity: What the Tea Party is Really About

Rabid Sanity: What the Tea Party is Really About

This has got to be one of the best posts I have ran across this week.  All you guys that carry on with slurs about "Tea Baggers" may want to watch this intelligent explaination.

The EPA on Jobs

This is a portion of yesterday’s House Energy Committee hearing where Representative Cory Gardner asks EPA assistant administrator Mathy Stanislaus whether lost jobs are considered before the EPA heaps new regulations on varying businesses. Here’s a news flash for our readers- these government bureaucrats DO NOT CARE if you have a job or not.


It is high time to downsize the EPA.
 

Another Budget "Cut" that is Really not a Cut

Let's see here - $3.46 trillion budget in 2010 and after the much touted $38 billion in "Cuts" we are now at $3.63 trillion? I did go to Havre High math class so I may be wrong but isn't that about a $170 billion dollar increase over last year’s budget? And that is after the big "cuts" hashed out by Obama and the Republicans. I can’t believe the President had the audacity to brag on those cuts in his address last night.  A realistic cut would be rolling back the budget to the pre-liberal spending Bush era and "make do" with $2 trillion or so.

How stupid do we have to be to actually believe this increased budget is actually a $38 billion CUT? Congress must use the same budget mathematician the Havre School system uses when they report about their “cuts”.

Yep -- We willingly drink the Kool-Aid

The Lowdown: RAW Video: Schweitzer brands GOP bills

The Lowdown: RAW Video: Schweitzer brands GOP bills: "As promised, Gov. Brian Schweitzer on Wednesday fired up his infamous "veto" branding irons on the front steps of the Capitol and ..."

WOW .............. What a show from Montana's Master Showboater

BREAKING NEWS: THE GREAT ORATOR SPEAKS!

Today our beloved President Obama unleashed his 2011 deficit reduction plan that he has been working on for three years.  It was so chocked full of "new" ideas that even Biden was nodding off and the woman over Biden's shoulder was counting sheep too!  The greatest orator of our time?  Uh, I don't think so. 

Obama's "Plan" for High Gas Prices

High gas prices got you down? According to an article in Big Journalism it would appear that Obama thinks all we have to do to drive prices down is to trade in all our gas guzzlers for smaller more compact models. Less demand equates to lower prices

Now why didn’t I think of that? I wonder what kind of little car I should buy? Most likely it should be one of those high priced electric models that have some sort of government rebate so I can do my part. I am sure the payments on a $50 – 60 thousand electric car loan financed over 5-6 years will be way less than what I currently pay for gas for my old car. Brilliant, just brilliant!

Funny thing is the Seattle Times says that sales of gas in Washington State have decreased enough that the state senate has seen fit to impose a “special” annual $100 road tax on electric cars because the owners don’t contribute enough to maintain the highways because they have been avoiding paying the high gas taxes. As soon as the Cowboy Ethics Senate bunch in Helena gets wind of that Montana will be next. What’s next? A tax on my bicycle?

You just can’t win for losing when you deal with government bureaucrats

Send in the Clowns

Back on April Fool’s Day the MEA-MFT, the union representing Montana’s public employees, organized a Big Circus Event on the Capital steps to protest the GOP lawmakers attempts at curtailing the ever increasing government spending. Of course this cut in spending would affect the very jobs of these public employees who are being asked to “tighten their belts and crackdown on wasteful spending”

The circus attendees watched as our governor pranced around the capitol steps like a trained circus pony brandishing his VETO branding iron he had special made to enhance his showboating. People sitting ringside watched the clowns perform and heard from various public sector speakers that bemoaned the fact that they were being unfairly singled out in these budget cuts and we were lead to believe they were representative of most Montanans that are “barely getting by”

Are they in fact representative of the “average” Montanan that is indeed “just barely getting by”?

The Rotunda Report had an entirely different view of this sideshow and issued a report a week or so after the big tent had been taken down which is reprinted below. Watch the video on the link above -- check these Rotunda facts --- tell us what you see.

Rotunda Report Facts

After taxpayer resources, corruption, and trickery were used to organize a rally for more government spending on April 1, the Rotunda Report conducted a study of the groups involved in the rally.

The rally called for more money for state employees.

Our study revealed some surprising statistics about who, exactly, was demanding a pay raise.

The state employs more than 14,000 people.


The average Montanan makes $34,000 per year.


More than 70 percent of state employees make more than that.


Of those 14,000 state employees, about 700 are in Flathead County, and about 400 of them make more than the average Montanan.


Meanwhile, the unemployment rate in the Flathead area is over 14 percent.


The unemployment rate in the rest of Montana is over 7 percent.


And while more than 7 percent of Montanans are out of work, and the average Montanan who does work makes less than $35,000 per year, Brian Schweitzer pays Keith Kelly $96,000 per year… to keep track of how many Montanans are out of work.


Keith Kelly organizes rallies for state employees to demand a raise on time that’s been paid for with that $96,000 of taxpayer money.


Percentage of the state’s annual payroll that goes to Lewis and Clark County: 41 percent.


Percentage of state income taxes that come from Lewis and Clark County: 7 percent


So far in the whole fiscal year, the state general fund has expended $94.7 million more than deposited as revenue. In other words, since last July, we have been spending more than we make.


Since all that spending is paid for by the taxpayers, can we the taxpayers really afford to give a raise to people who by already make more than their employers — that is, the taxpayers?

Keeping Children In Havre Safe

The following is a “Guest Editorial” submitted to the Corrector by Krista Peterson.  Krista refers to herself as a Health and Safety advocate that is also an aspiring writer and recent college graduate that has a strong passion for the wellness of others in the community and for the environment.  The Corrector thanks you for your input Krista

Keeping Children In Havre Safe

Sometimes parenting in a small town it can seem as though you know all of the dangers present in the entire town- that you are aware of every spooky shadow, every bad seed, all the potentials pitfalls your child could face. However, it may well be that there is a serious danger skulking about in our own homes. According to John Podolinsky of the Montana State Department of Environmental Quality (DEQ) between 1993 and 2003, Montana was 78 percent noncompliant with regulations on asbestos, a deadly material that has been known to cause mesothelioma cancer.

This is despite Montana’s progressive Montana Asbestos Control Act (ACA) and Administrative Rules of Montana (ARM) 17.74.354 that require an asbestos inspection prior to any building demolition and renovation activity. Unfortunately, the law only requires commercial, public, industrial, and large scale (5 or more units) residential buildings to be inspected, even though a large portion of asbestos exposure can happen in the home. All in all before it was banned asbestos was found in over 3,000 different household products. Because the ordinance doesn’t require inspection of most commercial houses and for decades asbestos was used as an extremely common insulator there’s a shockingly large chance that your house might contain asbestos.

The act banned asbestos from commercial and residential use in Montana, despite its low cost and fire-resistant properties, largely because of the extreme danger inherent in using it as it is a potent carcinogen. Whenever it is disturbed, sanded, broken, burnt, or cut, asbestos can release almost invisible fibers into the air. These fibers settle on the clothes, hair, and shoes of those who handle the product and often their loved ones and family members as well. When these fine fibers are inhaled or ingested, tissue scarring results in mesothelioma, a cancer that ravages the lining of the lungs, the abdomen, and the heart.

Although mesothelioma symptoms are extremely rare in children because of their 20 to 50 year dormancy period, there is no age at which exposure to asbestos is not a danger to cause cancer. Remember, keeping your children safe begins with keeping them safe at home- and far too often in Montana children have been dangerously exposed to asbestos.

Senator Testor on Slashing the Budget

As long as we have been on the subject of wasted tax dollars let’s see what a guy making a taxpayer funded yearly salary of $175,000 plus a Cadillac health and benefit plan has to say about cutting the deficit. It is mighty sad that the guy that was the deciding vote to tie the Obama Care milestone around our neck can’t think of one itsy little thing to cut out of our bloated budget.

More on this story over at Northern Broadcasting and there is additional information at Treasure State Politics

Your Tax Dollars at Work over at the TSA

This is getting ridiculous. Tell me how many Caucasian 6 year old girls have been linked with terrorism? Why are we the people allowing this absurdity to continue?  By subjecting our children to this invasion at this young age are we in reality teaching them to accept that the government is our master?

Government indoctrination at its finest. Just drink the Kool-aid and don’t raise any questions

USA 2010 Income Statement

Click graph to enlarge




Doesn't it seem to make sense that we should hold expenses to no more than the projected revenue?  At least that's what I must do myself  or I would have to file for bankruptcy

Government Shut Down Put on Hold

Well glory be! It appears that our wonderful representatives in Washington have finally reached a last minute deal to delay having to shut the government down. The Washington Times reports that the Senate agreed to delay a vote to defund ObamaCare and “alter money for family planning” to get the compromise deal done. The Republicans were holding firm for 61 billion dollars in cuts but finally agreed to$39 Billion to avert the shutdown. Interestingly many of the conservatives refused to vote for a bill that didn’t at least cut the full $61 billion that was targeted. To those few that truly tried to end this out of control spending we say THANK YOU!

What did the Democrats have to say about the Republican attempts to slow down the financial bleeding of America during this fiasco? Take a look at this video and see for yourself

A View on the Teachers Union

Interesting take on teachers unions by Battlefield.  I am sure a few of you may have an opposing view :-)

Republican Lindsey Graham gets the One - Two from a Fiesty Lady

Undoubtedly most of our readers recall that Terry Jones is the Florida minister that made a big production of burning a Koran last month. Jone’s little “book burning” enraged a few Afghan Muslim leaders that subsequently blamed the Koran burning on the deadly riots in Afghanistan that has caused the deaths of dozen or so people.

Well guess what the Republican Coward Lindsey Graham did to try and get a handle on the situation. He took his sorry anti-American ass to appear on Face the Nation to blame the Reverend Jones for these deaths because his Koran burning insulted our enemies. WTH?

Words can’t even describe the stupidity of this Republican version of the Obama “apologetic tour”

Ann Barnhardt made the following utube video response to Senator Graham's Face the Nation comments which pretty much sums it up.

Has Everyone Completely Lost Their Minds?
Barnhardt - Part one


Barnhardt - Part two


I especially liked the bacon book marks.  Read the rest of the story here

Warring MSU-N Professors and Spineless Presidents

It’s been an interesting week at MSU-Northern. First there was a report that Montana State University President Cruzado ordered a halt to searches to fill vacant positions at MSU-Northern until a “review can be completed” as to the procedures used in filling vacancies at the University. Apparently the search committee recommended some people only to have Chancellor Frank Trocki reopen the search.

Trocki was quoted in tonight’s HDN saying the search review was “much ado about nothing”. Not surprisingly, considering the HDN was the source of the initial story, Trocki went on to claim that the whole story was taken out of context.

What we find interesting is the following copy of an e-mail that was sent to the Corrector by a source at MSU-Northern announcing Chancellor Trocki’s resignation. Obviously the people at MSU-Northern really don’t relate well with people in administration but what else is new?

-----Original Message-----
From: President Cruzado [mailto:President_Cruzado@montana.edu]
Sent: Tuesday, April 05, 2011 3:30 PM
To: AllMSUNUsers

Subject: MSU-Northern Chancellor Announcement
April 5, 2011
MSU-Northern Chancellor Trocki leaving end of June
Montana State University-Northern Chancellor Frank Trocki announced today he will be leaving his post at the end of June. Trocki and his wife will be returning to Massachusetts, where they have a home.

Joe Callahan, former MSU-Northern provost, will come out of retirement to serve as interim chancellor.

"I am proud of my numerous accomplishments and will miss many of the fine faculty, our outstanding staff, the fabulous students and the tremendous community members who have given so much time and energy to the university and helped make these two years so successful," Trocki said.

Cole Chandler, president of the MSU-Northern Foundation said, "I am saddened to hear that we are losing Chancellor Trocki. From the day he arrived, Frank worked tirelessly to carry out his charge to elevate Northern to a new level of excellence. Chancellor Trocki's energy and new ideas were a breath of fresh air and just what Northern needed during these difficult times."

"Frank established an outstanding relationship with the business community and fundamentally understands the important role higher education plays in developing our economy. Frank has taken MSUN to new heights and he will be missed," said Paul Tuss, executive director of Bear Paw Development Corporation.

Trocki was appointed MSU-Northern chancellor in June 2009. During his tenure, enrollment at MSU-Northern grew, new student recruitment strategies were established, planning and research on a number of new academic programs was initiated, the university's biofuels research expanded, relations with the university foundation and alumni association were renewed and the university successfully completed three major reaccreditations.

"We will miss Chancellor Trocki's passion and caring for the students, faculty and staff of MSU-Northern," said MSU President Waded Cruzado.

A national search will be conducted for a new chancellor.
As interim, Callahan will be returning from Dickinson, N.D., where his wife, Kim Callahan, has a private audiologist practice. The couple retired there in 2010 after Callahan had served as Northern's provost from 2007 to 2010.
Callahan has a doctorate in education from the University of Montana and his master's and bachelor's degrees from East Stroudsburg University, Penn.

Welcome Back Dr. Callahan

Wisconsin Business Owner Stands up to “Boycott Bullies”

WI judge extends restraining order on union law and a WI business owner stand up to the union thugs that tried to boycott her business for not placing a sign of support of a union run amuck in Union Grove. The Justice Department has been asked to investigate further.

This kind of reminds me of the Havre Democrats boycott of the pizza guy a few years back. Will they ever learn?

Pig's Feet Anyone?

Apparently all the nuts making threats against elected officials aren’t unique to Montana.  Today Representative Peter King (R-N.Y.) was sent a bloody pig’s foot with an anti-Semitic note.  Sadly for the dim-wit mailing the package there wasn’t much response as the Capital Hill mail room intercepted the offensive parcel and it never made it to King’s office.

Funny thing about this story is that I remember that one of our elderly neighbors just loved boiling up a good pot of pig’s feet as he claimed it made a meal fit for a King (no pun intended) Just in case Representative Hansen  or any of our other representatives that are regularly getting threatened get a package containing some pig's feet here's what you do;

Boiled Pigs Feet Recipe Ingredients:

• 4 pigs feet, split in half lengthwise
• 2 medium onions, chopped
• 2 stalks celery, chopped
• 1 garlic clove, chopped
• 1 bay leaf
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1 cup white vinegar
• 1 teaspoon black pepper
• 3 teaspoons crushed red pepper
• barbecue sauce
• water
Cookware and Utensils:
• 1 dutch oven or large boiling pot
• 1 cutting board
• 1 measuring spoons

Recipe Instructions:
As always the key to great cooking is to be prepared and to use quality ingredients. Okay, so where do you buy pigs feet? Often times you will have to ask the grocery store butcher for the pigs feet because they're usually frozen and sometime stored in the back of the store.
1. Begin by giving the pigs feet a good washing. For presentation purposes remove any unsightly hair that you observe. Yes pigs grow hair on the toes and feet just like humans. A disposable razor will remove the hair.
2. Place all the ingredients in a large boiling pot and cover with water. Bring water to a boil over medium-high heat and then reduce heat to a simmer. Cover pot with lid and allow pigs feet to cook until tender, about 3 hours. While your meat is cooking stir constantly and skim away any foam that develops.

This recipe provided courtesy of  http://www.soulfoodandsoutherncooking.com/ 

President Obama Officially going for Second Term

President Obama has made it official with a middle of the night press release kicking off his 2012 reelection campaign.  I wonder who the Democrat challengers will be.

More on Democrat Boycotts

Anyone been following what has been going on in Wisconsin with the Public Sector Unions and the State Legislature? It seems the Wisconsin State Legislature has passed a bill that would require most State workers to contribute more to the ever increasing health and benefit packages. Of course the public sector employees have taken the matter to court but as the wheels of the courts turn mighty slow the good old Democrats have decided to implement one of their favorite tactics to resolve the matter.


The local council of the State Employees Union is demanding that all businesses display a sign of support for the State employees or face the ever infamous “Boycott” of their businesses. At least we now know that party-line Democrats, whether they be in Havre Montana or in Wisconsin, think alike and will resort to the “boycott” threat when they don’t get their way. Also, not unlike Montana GOP legislators, Wisconsin lawmakers have been receiving threats including threats to shoot them and/or place bombs around their homes.

Fox News has published a related Associated Press article here

Tobacco Prevention Programs - Are they a good bang for the buck?

The Corrector received a rather interesting e-mail from a reader the end of last week with the following story which we have posted exactly as submitted to us.

I was sitting at my favorite watering hole yesterday with a friend, when in walked a kid who looked like he was 13. He asked the bartender for a pack of cigarettes and she asked for ID, he dug around in his pockets and said "I'll be right back".

Well, he didn't come back, but shortly after a woman walked in with a blue card and handed it to the bartender and thanked her for her participation in the elimination of selling cigarettes to minors.

I was curious so I asked the woman if taxpayers were responsible for paying for this...
she replied "No, it is grant money"...
Which as far as I am concerned is still tax-payer money! Really???

With all the hoopla of our state and federal govt. being broke and we are still seeing grant money go to this? I was NOT happy!

If a business wants to stay in business---they will not sell cigarettes to minors.

This person's letter got us to thinking ................. just how much money is wasted with all these tobacco "prevention" programs and do the results warrant the expense?

Clear back in 1998 Montana signed the Master Settlement Agreement with the big tobacco companies which gave annual payments to Montana to be used for back filling Medicaid funding used for tobacco related treatment and also to reduce smoking and promote public health. Currently about 16% of Montanans smoke. Montana received $35.5 million dollars in 2009.

The current legislature cut $8.2 million from the Tobacco Use Prevention Program budget which was using $9 million dollars of the settlement money for “prevention” The prevention portion of the program currently employs 80 people and this cut means around 70 of them will have to go and maybe funding for the dozen or so Havre area billboards like the one in the picture will have to go. Instead the legislature is suggesting that these funds be used to fund nursing home patients and other tobacco-related health care costs.

I have to agree with the person that sent us this letter. It sure seems like a lot of the Tobacco Settlement money is being wasted on bogus prevention programs that are mostly designed to just “use up the money” and provide “make work” jobs for 70 unnecessary people instead of using the money to help with the health care costs of those stricken with tobacco caused illness.  In addition, are a dozen anti-tobacco billboards in a 30 mile stretch around Havre really a good bang for the buck?

Additional reading here, here and here