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Thursday: Fair Board Flap, Mack Days Monster, Schweitzer Letters

By Beacon Staff

Good morning; on the Beacon today, the flap over the dismissal of former Northwest Montana Fair Manager Jay Scott continued Wednesday, as about 60 of his supporters crammed into the chamber of the Flathead County Commission to demand that he be reinstated and the Fair Board, who voted against renewing his contract, be replaced. A vote on the Land Board by State Auditor Monica Lindeen against a resolution protecting the North Fork illuminates what some see as a double-standard in environmental policy regarding Eastern Montana v. Western Montana. Stephen Naethe, a 17-year-old fishing prodigy from Pablo, is once again leading the Mack Days tournament with the most lake trout caught. A targeted attack on invasive lake trout appears to be succeeding in the Swan Valley, and could hold some answers for how best to reduce the non-native fish in nearby Flathead Lake. And Dave Skinner’s computer explodes.

Reversing a ban on oil drilling off most U.S. shores, President Barack Obama on Wednesday announced an expansive new policy that could put oil and natural gas platforms in waters along the southern Atlantic coastline, the eastern Gulf of Mexico and part of Alaska. Gov. Brian Schweitzer is telling House Republicans who voted against stimulus spending that they must write a letter saying they now support it if they want local money for projects. A 40-year-old Stevensville woman who embezzled hundreds of thousands of dollars from a wildlife refuge has been sentenced to 10 years in prison on a separate felony embezzlement charge. Michael Jamison reports on a provision inserted by Sen. Max Baucus into the health care bill to expand aid to asbestos victims in Libby. Gov. Brian Schweitzer, who last month asked the federal government to approve a “waiver” so Montana could import prescription drugs at lower cost for state-funded health plans, has not submitted any of the usual documentation that accompanies such a request, his administration acknowledges. Sen. Max Baucus is getting grief from conservative circles over his comments last week that the health-reform package passed by Congress is an “income shift” to help balance a “maldistribution of wealth” toward wealthy people. Western Gallatin County is smarting this week following the announcement of 47 temporary layoffs at the Holcim cement plant in Trident. And the lone horse on Wild Horse Island is about to get some company.