Page 14 - Flathead Beacon // 6.29.16

NEWS
Editor Resigns After Helping Author Petition to Recall Libby Mayor The Western News reports that former editor Bob Henline helped Tammy Brown draft a petition to recall Mayor Doug Roll
BY JUSTIN FRANZ OF THE BEACON
The editor of Libby’s twice-weekly newspaper has resigned after it was dis- covered he helped draft a petition to recall the city’s mayor.
On June 24, The Western News reported that former editor Bob Hen- line is one of the people behind the e ort to remove Libby Mayor Doug Roll from o ce. According to the report, authored by the paper’s interim editor, Henline helped with at least two draft petitions for recall that were later submitted to the county election o ce by local business- woman Tammy Brown.
County o cials rejected the rst two petitions in April but a third one was val- idated on June 17 and proponents now have 90 days to gather 329 signatures to force a recall election.
According to The Western News story, draft copies of the recall petition were found on Henline’s computer in April and at one point the former editor asked a co-worker to proof read a version of the document. Henline used the newspaper’s copy machine to print dozens of copies of
FLATHEAD
County Hosts Public Hearing on Lakeshore Regulations Amendments
The Flathead County Commission will host a public hearing on June 29 to dis- cuss the many changes proposed for the county’s lake and lakeshore regulations.
Updating the Flathead County Lake and Lakeshore Regulations has been on the Flathead County Planning Board’s plate for the last couple of years, in the sense that the board was going to work on updating the rules as their workload allowed.
However, in 2014, the Montana Supreme Court declaring that the county has jurisdiction of the land around White sh called the doughnut. Once the county took over, it placed interim emer- gency zoning to match up as well as it could to the existing White sh city zones already in place.
Part of that process meant integrat- ing two lakes – White sh and Coon – into the county regulations, which involved a public comment process as well as several hearings. When the county decided to
the draft petition to give to Brown. Henline also reportedly emailed an attorney about obtaining a restraining order against Roll in an e ort to prevent the mayor from attending city council
meetings.
Upon discovering Henline’s involve-
ment in the recall e ort, newspa- per General Manager Suzanne Resch informed management at the Hagadone Corporation.
According to The Western News story, when management approached Henline about the recall he denied any involve- ment. However, Henline was removed from the Libby city beat as a precaution.
Henline submitted his resignation on May 26 and has since been replaced with an interim editor.
Henline came to The Western News as a reporter in October 2014 and as editor continued to cover Libby’s city govern- ment. Henline was a vocal critic of the mayor on the newspaper’s editorial page. On April 8, less than two weeks before the rst petition to recall was led, Hen- line wrote an editorial titled, “The time has come for Roll to go.”
include those lakes in its regulations, the commission gave the planning board the go-ahead to continue revising the lake and lakeshore regulations document.
Revising the county’s lakeshore and lake regulations will allow the county to take advantage of some of the rules cre- ated for White sh Lake.
The planning board worked on it, and made a slew of amendments, including changes to jurisdiction, general proce- dures, review procedures, criteria for issuing a permit, administration, and de nitions.
The board held a public hearing and voted on May 11 to recommend that the county commission approve the amend- ments. The commission then voted on June 6 to move forward to the public hearing part of the process, which will be held on June 29 at 10:30 a.m. at the com- mission’s chambers in Kalispell.
The county’s lake and lakeshore reg- ulations were rst adopted in 1982, and have since received many updates, with the most recent being on Jan. 24, 2002. The purpose of the regulations is
“Libby is operating under a dark cloud, and has been for some time. The constant obstructionism and con ict cast not just the city government, but the entire city and everyone in it, in a negative light,” Henline wrote. “And Doug Roll is respon- sible for it.”
In the June 24 story about Hen- line, General Manager Resch said she informed her supervisors about the edi- tor’s activity “because we needed to pre- serve our integrity and become transpar- ent in this entire matter. Being a trusted news source for our community is very important to the daily operations of The Western News and its readership.”
Resch declined to comment for the Beacon’s story.
Mayor Roll said he was not surprised to learn that Henline was involved with the recall and that he had suspected it for some time.
“Instead of writing the news, Bob was manipulating the news to further his own agenda,” Roll told the Beacon.
On June 27, recall supporters issued a press release criticizing The Western News’ story and accused the paper of
to protect the ecosystems of the lakes within Flathead County, while conserv- ing the natural lakes and the value of lakeshore property.
FLATHEAD
Retreat Center, Bed and Breakfast, Storage Up for Consideration
The Flathead County Board of Adjust- ment will look at ve cases at its upcom- ing July 5 meeting, including a request to allow for a camp and retreat center in the Blanchard Lake Zoning District.
In a relatively busy meeting, the board will consider issuing conditional use per- mits or potential zone variances for the cases. The rst is from Carolyn Dewey, who seeks to develop a small retreat cen- ter on 10 acres on Hideaway Trail. It will involve farming, silvaculture, health and wellness aspects. The land is currently zoned for agriculture.
Steven and Cynthia Norred are requesting a zone variance for property in the Bigfork Zoning District, which does not allow for accessory structures except fences or hedges in a front yard.
trying to distract people from the e ort to remove Roll. They also stated that Henline only talked to an attorney to review the legality of a recent city meet- ing Roll had held and that the former edi- tor was not trying to bar the mayor from future city council meetings.
“We are extremely disappointed in how The Western News decided to handle their coverage of the recall e ort,” said commit- tee chair Brown. “Not only did they decide to ignore the history of misdeeds and vio- lations of both process and law perpe- trated by this mayor in their attempt to vilify a former employee, they didn’t even take the time to get the facts right.”
In The Western News story, Hen- line defended his actions and said it was appropriate for a newspaper’s editor to play an active role in the community.
“I believe it is the role of the news- paper to better their community,” he said. “Integrity is matching actions with words.”
Proponents of the recall have until Sept. 17 to gather enough signatures to force a recall election.
jfranz@ atheadbeacon.com
The Bigfork Land Use Advisory Com- mittee will consider this item on June 30. Collin and Treena Mitts have requested a conditional use per- mit for a home-based business in the Labrant-Lindsey Lane Zoning District. The land use advisory committee there was scheduled to consider the permit on
June 27 after the Beacon went to print. Carrie McPherson has requested a conditional use permit to build a two phase, 349 rental unit, six-building mini-storage facility on property within the Blanchard Lake Zoning District. Each phase would include three buildings, and
the facility would be on 5.7 acres.
And nally, Mark and Karol Hickcox have requested a conditional use permit to establish a bed and breakfast in the West Glacier Zoning District on 0.5 acres
on Riverbend Drive.
The July 5 Board of Adjustment meet-
ing takes place at 6 p.m. on the second oor of the Earl Bennett Building in
Kalispell.
NEWS
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JUNE 29, 2016 // FLATHEADBEACON.COM