Page 21 - Flathead Beacon // 2.25.15

FLATHEADBEACON.COM NEWS FEBRUARY 25, 2015 | 21
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The Roundup
From Beacon wire and news services
FLATHEAD
WATER DEAL BETWEEN TRIBES, STATE PASSES FIRST HURDLE
State senators last week advanced a bill that would settle water rights on the Flathead Reservation among American Indian tribes, the state and federal gov- ernment.
Members of the Montana Senate Judiciary Committee voted 8-4 to pass Senate Bill 262. Republican Sens. Doug Kary, Nels Swandal and bill sponsor Chas Vincent voted with Democrats to send the measure to the Senate as a whole, where it must pass by Friday to stay alive.
The proposal would recognize the water use rights of the Confederated Salish and Kootenai Tribes in northwest Montana. It would cap the amount of ir- rigation water at levels consistent with current use and fund improvements to the irrigation system used by hundreds of farmers and ranchers.
Committee Chair Sen. Scott Sales voted against the measure, he said, be- cause prior court decisions upholding the tribes’ seniority to off-reservation water are incorrect.
“The courts aren’t infallible,” Sales said. “Courts have made horrible deci- sions in the past.”
In his sixth term as a state senator or representative, Sales said he represents irrigators in Gallatin, Broadwater and Lewis and Clark counties.
Vincent said he has personally spent 500 hours poring over previous court rulings and treaties to make informed decisions in crafting the measure. One of the biggest changes to the current proposal, he said, is the ability of irriga- tors’ claims to water rights to go forward without giving up the water supplies protected under the bill.
Democratic Sen. Cliff Larsen of Mis- soula said the subject of Flathead water, which has been under consideration for decades, has been thoroughly vetted and is ready for legislative approval.
Republican Sen. Jennifer Fielder dis- agreed, saying it is not clear in the pro- posal that water users in her district of Thompson Falls will be guaranteed ad- equate supplies.
She and Republican Sen. Jedediah Hinkle argued that irrigators would have more control over their water use if it was not, as the compact entails, put in the hands of the federal government in trust for the tribes. Vincent said six Supreme Court rulings have shown that the tribes have senior water rights, which must be enforced through the fed- eral government.
Fielder, Hinkle and Republican Sen.
Kristin Hansen voted against the bill.
MONTANA
LIBBY MAN CHARGED WITH ASSAULT AFTER BRANDISHING KNIFE ON SCHOOL BUS
A Libby man allegedly boarded a school bus and threatened the driver with a knife on Feb. 20, according to the Lincoln County Sheriff’s Office.
Duane Richard Tholen, 57, has been charged with two counts of felony as- sault with a weapon. He was scheduled to appear in court on Feb. 23.
According to the sheriff’s office, Tho- len waved down a school bus driving along Terrance View Road south of Lib- by shortly before 5 p.m., Friday. When the bus stopped, Tholen got on board and began yelling at the driver for going too fast. He then displayed a knife and threatened both the driver and her as- sistant. There were five children on the bus at the time of the incident.
The driver was able to remove Tho- len and then drove off. She called police and gave them a description of Tholen. At about 6 p.m., police went to Tholen’s residence and interviewed him. They ar- rested him soon after and transported him to the Lincoln County Detention Facility.
AUTHORITIES RECOVER BODY OF MISSING JAPANESE WOMAN IN MISSION LAKE
The Glacier County Sheriff’s Office recovered the body of a female who went missing in Mission Lake near Cut Bank in November.
Authorities discovered the body of Fuki Nishibayashi of Japan on Feb. 17. Nishibayashi has been missing since late November, when she and two other peo- ple went missing after a weekend fish- ing trip on Mission Lake. Officers say the three either went through the ice or were blown into open water after winds gust- ed up to 55 mph. The body of 63-year-old Kazuhiko Hayashizaki was recovered from the lake Nov. 26.
A Customs and Border Protection helicopter was on a routine air opera- tions flight when crews spotted the body in an ice column on the lake. The sher- iff’s office dispatched deputies to the lake along with responding units from Blackfeet Law Enforcement Services, Blackfeet Homeland Security, Cut Bank Volunteer Fire Department and the U.S. Border Patrol.
The cause of death remains under in- vestigation. Foul play is not suspected, according to authorities.
The body of Danny Heyland, anoth- er member of the fishing trip who went through the ice, remains missing.
RESTORE. RENEW.
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