Good morning; on the Beacon today, the election is tomorrow, Nov. 2, and we’ve got a roundup of all the election info you’ll need before casting your ballot. Speaking of the election, members of the GOP in Montana are confident that national political sentiment will trickle down to the local level and give Republicans control of the state Legislature, whereas Democrats believe they will be rewarded for effectively running the state in hard times. Longtime Whitefish School District Superintendent Jerry House is getting ready to retire, but he’s not about to become a lame duck. Kalispell’s Elrod elementary got some praise from the state’s top education official, Denise Juneau, when she visited the nationally awarded school last week. A Montana native who lost both legs and his right arm while serving in Afghanistan is receiving treatment at an Army hospital in Texas. No trespassing signs and locked gates on 670 acres of land owned by Montana Gov. Brian Schweitzer on Mullan Pass appear to contradict his campaign pledge to not allow outsiders to buy up land and restrict public access.
Sediment contaminated with heavy metals and spread over 600 acres to cover even more dangerous mining waste at a Superfund site near Anaconda in western Montana appears unable to support vegetation. The U.S. Bureau of Land Management is seeking public comment on the proposed drilling of a gas well in the Upper Missouri River Breaks National Monument. The Bob Marshall Wilderness Foundation will host its fourth annual Voices of the Wilderness silent auction on Nov. 5 at Glacier Discovery Square in Columbia Falls. Ex-Griz Dan Carpenter kicked five field goals to help the Miami Dolphins beat the Cincinnati Bengals, 22-14. The Big Sky Conference has announced that it will issue a press release Monday afternoon “regarding league expansion.”