Good morning; happy birthday to singer, songwriter and ladies man John Mayer.
On the Beacon this morning, as Sen. Jon Tester traveled through the valley last week, the questions asked of him reflected not only public opinion toward the bailout bill, but also the concern many in the Flathead feel about their economic security. Tester was among the 10 Democrats who opposed the bailout bill when it passed the U.S. Senate easily Oct. 1. Congratulations to Larry Iverson III, who won his second state AA golf tournament yesterday, and to the Glacier team who placed second overall. A $60,000 reward is being offered for information leading to the arrest and conviction of the driver of a car that caused a crash on U.S. Highway 2 that killed a Montana Highway Patrol officer and two others. The alpine section of Going-to-the-Sun Road in Glacier National Park is closing next week. And Gov. Brian Schweitzer committed Wednesday to seeking a decrease on the business equipment tax if re-elected, but maintains that most of his budget proposals will come after the election.
In other news around the state, a Missoula real estate developer bought most of the shuttered Bonner sawmill’s assets this week with the eventual goal of buying the entire 155-acre property. Warren Miller, famous as the maker of extreme ski films (and as a Beacon columnist, of course), turned 84 yesterday, and celebrated in Missoula where he unveiled an after-school program that will teach middle-schoolers the ropes of running their own businesses. And Montana State University has a 50-foot wind turbine on campus as part of the Montana Wind for Schools program.
Finally, our kicker today is a local one: Check out this story about a father who used his bow and arrow to shoot and kill a 500-pound grizzly bear that was charging his son. The son was lucky he made the shot — his father had missed two shots on the two previous days and has never shot an elk with his bow.
Happy Thursday, everyone!