Page 29 - Flathead Beacon // 10.5.16

POLSON
4. Students Wear ‘White Power’ Shirts to Homecoming Activity
O cials at a Montana high school say two students were told to change out of shirts that said “White Power” on the front of one and “Redneck” with a pic- ture of the Confederate battle ag on the other.
Handwritten on the back of the shirts was “Trump 2016 White Pride.”
The Missoulian reports the Polson High School students wore the shirts on Sept. 29 during a homecoming activ- ity called “Color Wars,” in which each class dresses in a di erent color. The two juniors were on the white team.
Superintendent Rex Weltz says the students changed clothing when asked.
Polson is part of the Flathead Indian Reservation, where a large number of non-Native Americans live.
MISSOULA
5. Montana O cial Questions Legality of Gun Ordinance
A Montana o cial is asking the state’s attorney general to review the legality of a city ordinance requiring background checks for private gun sales.
KGVO-AM reports that the Speaker of the Montana House of Representatives Austin Knudsen said in a statement last week that Missoula’s new ordinance is in direct violation of state law. The Mon- tana Code says a local government may not restrict or regulate the purchase, sale or transfer of a rearm.
Knudsen will ask Attorney General Tim Fox for his legal opinion.
The Missoula City Council voted last week to require the background checks for most private sales or trades. The rule makes some exceptions for family trans- fers, hunting and emergency self-defense.
The Missoula City Council voted 8-4 to require the background checks for most private sales or trades within city limits. It makes exceptions for family transfers, hunting and emergency self-defense.
HELENA
6. Lawmaker Seeks Bullock’s Emails as Attorney General
The Montana Senate judiciary chair- man is asking the state Department of Justice to nd out what happened to for- mer Attorney General’s Steve Bullock’s emails when Bullock left that o ce to become governor.
The request by Republican Sen. Scott Sales comes after Yellowstone Club founder Tim Blixseth was denied a wide-ranging demand for emails from Bullock’s time as attorney general between 2009 and 2013.
Department of Administration o - cials have said email accounts are deleted when an o cial moves to a di erent agency, and Bullock’s emails were dis- posed of properly.
Department of Justice spokesman John Barnes says his o ce will answer Sales’ questions about what happened to the emails.
Democratic party spokesman Jason Pitt says Sales’ request is a political ploy to help Bullock’s election opponent, Republican Greg Gianforte.
The party has requested Sales’ emails dating back to 2003.
BOZEMAN
7. City Pushes for Local Sales Taxes in Montana
The city of Bozeman is hiring a lobby- ist to push for local sales taxes during the 2017 legislative session.
The Bozeman Daily Chronicle reports that local sales taxes are not currently allowed under Montana law but smaller towns or unincorporated entities can col- lect sales tax in the form of a local option resort tax, an option used by places like West Yellowstone, Big Sky and White- sh. Counties are also allowed to insti- tute voter-approved gas taxes for road upkeep.
Bozeman City Commissioner Chris Mehl says he hopes the lobbyist will sway legislators to give cities like Boze- man the ability to ask voters to approve resort-style sales taxes to help fund city projects. Now Bozeman relies on prop- erty taxes and assessments.
ENNIS
8. Man Survives Two Attacks by Bear
Authorities say a 50-year-old Boze- man man was attacked twice by a bear attending to its cub and was able to drive himself to a hospital.
Madison County Sheri Roger Thompson said the rst attack occurred the morning of Oct. 1. The man used bear spray, rolled into a ball to play dead and the bear chewed on him.
The man headed back to the trailhead and was attacked again, apparently by the same bear. After the second attack, the bear wandered away and the man escaped. He posted a video online after the attacks.
“It’s like being struck by lightning twice in the same day; you don’t get attacked by the same bear in one day,” Thompson said. “I think he should go out and buy a lottery ticket now.”
Thompson said the bear may have been a grizzly.
“He did everything he was supposed to do,” said Thompson. “He got a small fracture in his left forearm when the bear jumped on him.”
“She just seemed to lose interest because he was playing dead. Then she just wandered o . Bears can be that way when they have their babies with them,” Thompson said.
The man was bleeding and drove him- self 17 miles to the Madison Valley Med- ical Center in Ennis. He called the sher- i ’s o ce to report the attacks.
The man is expected to survive after being treated at the hospital. His name has not been released.
The Montana Department of Fish, Wildlife and Parks will determine what will happen to the bear, the Montana Standard reported.
OCTOBER 5, 2016 // FLATHEADBEACON.COM
29