Good morning and happy Saturnalia.
On the Beacon this morning, Becky Lomax writes about a Whitefish spa that relieves stress through massages with very, very hot rocks. In Columbia Falls, a Cub Scout troop has graduated to the Boy Scouts. A Kalispell man died over the weekend in an ATV crash. And a concerned citizen writes about the political blame game in the wake of a wicked fire season.
The Missoulian writes that 2007 is on track to be the second-warmest year in the recorded history of Montana. A 19-year-old soldier from Helena died in Iraq last week from non-combat related injuries; an investigation is still ongoing. Gwen Florio covered the Missoula funeral of Forrest Clayton Salcido, a homeless man brutally beaten to death early last week. And a former California software tycoon has purchased another large ranch, this one in the Bitterroot Valley, and plans to place the property under a conservation easement.
And finally, the Onion AV Club has published a list of the bands in 2007 with the absolute worst names, among them are “Pistol Whipping Party Penguins” and “Butt Stomach.” Warning: Many of the other names on the list are pretty profane.