Good morning and happy birthday to French seer Nostradamus.
On the Beacon this morning, Editor Kellyn Brown wonders just what makes someone a “real” Republican? Animal expert Jack Hanna takes your questions about orphaned deer and the best places to vacation to see exotic animals. Read about a dude in Olney having an odd experience at church in the Police Blotter. And the U.S. Forest Service has ruled that a company can begin to mine for copper and silver beneath the Cabinet Mountains.
A Kalispell former daycare worker was sentenced to 30 years in federal prison after photographing young children in their underwear and selling the garments on e-Bay. An advocacy group is chastising Montana authorities for failing to pursue allegations of abuse in the case of a worker at a juvenile detention facility, the Swan Valley Youth Academy, north of Condon. The former director of that facility resigned in Maryland after the allegations surfaced. Government officials say they will monitor a new plan to drill more than 18,000 coalbed methane wells in southeastern Montana to ensure that they do not exceed air quality standards. A federal judge has postponed sentencing for Joseph Edward Duncan III, charged with the murder of 9-year-old Dylan Groene, and 10 federal charges.
And finally, if you’re getting stressed out about the holidays, as the stores get more and more crowded, maybe you should just consider getting this T-shirt for that special someone, and abandon any remnant of good holiday cheer. Pretty funny. Have a great weekend.