Good morning and happy birthday Mickey Mouse, who first appeared in “Steamboat Willie” on this date.
On the Beacon this morning, food banks around the valley are struggling to keep up with the surge in demand for food after a series of layoffs at many of the valley’s larger employers. Harry Sultzer III of Eureka has pleaded guilty to a drug-fueled May shooting spree resulting in two counts of assault against a police officer. And Montana is leading the way in an innovative program heating schools with biofuels. Three female employees at the Montana State Prison resigned Monday after admitting they were involved in or had knowledge of sexual misconduct with a male inmate. Education groups complain the governor’s proposed budget does not provide enough for schools, and districts will be forced to cut programs and seek increases in local property taxes. The state GOP has hired Alden Downing, former spokeswoman for Republican gubernatorial candidate Roy Brown to be the party’s new communications director. A proposed community college in the Bitterroot faces a skeptical audience in the state Board of Regents this week. The legislative interim Revenue and Transportation Committee will make its own estimates of how much revenue the state will have over the next two years after a series of bleak economic forecasts. Federal authorities have given final approval to a high-capacity energy transmission line between Lethbridge, Alberta and Great Falls.
And a Mississippi man has invented a vibrating toilet seat to make the bathroom more, er, pleasant. Have a great day.