Page 26 - Flathead Beacon // 11.25.15

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geography, liberal studies, art, political science, forestry management and sev- eral Missoula College programs.
DEER LODGE
3. Man Freed After 3 Decades in Prison Calls Moment ‘Surreal’
A Montana man who spent three decades behind bars for a murder he says he did not commit walked out of prison on Nov. 20 after the governor granted his clemency request.
Barry Beach, 53, told reporters gath- ered outside the Montana State Prison’s front door that the moment was “surreal.”
“I knew it was going to be here some- day,” Beach said. “The good Lord in heaven has always assured me that I’d reach this point. I never dreamed it was going to take this long.”
He added there would be “a lot of heal- ing and a lot of tears” during the four- hour drive to his Billings home, and he thanked Democratic Gov. Steve Bullock for keeping his word.
The governor, who was not present, previously said he’d look favorably on Beach’s request.
Beach was serving a 100-year sentence with no possibility of parole for the 1979 beating death of Kimberly Nees, 17, on the Fort Peck Indian Reservation in north- east Montana.
Bullock noted in his order that Beach was only 17 at the time and exhibited good behavior in prison.
The murder of Nees, an honor student, gripped the small town of Poplar after her body was found alongside a river at a popular place for teenagers to party. No arrests were made, and small-town gos- sip built until Beach confessed to out- of-state police who picked him up on an unrelated crime.
But Beach said his 1983 confession in Louisiana was coerced. His long cam- paign for freedom drew support from hundreds, including Democratic U.S. Sen. Jon Tester, former Gov. Brian Sch- weitzer and former Republican U.S. Sen. Conrad Burns.
A cousin of the victim, Glenna Nees
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SEELEY LAKE
1. Poacher Sought in Grizzly’s Death
O cials with the U.S. Fish and Wild- life Service are investigating after a dead grizzly bear was found near Seeley Lake in west-central Montana.
Spokesman for the federal agency, Ryan Moehring, says the bear is believed to have died sometime between Nov. 3 and Nov. 5. The bear’s carcass was found alongside Highway 83 and picked up Nov. 6.
Grizzly bears are a protected species and are managed by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service.
The agency is o ering up to a $2,000 reward for information leading to a con- viction of the poacher.
MISSOULA
2. UM Plans to Cut 201 Jobs Because of Falling Enrollment
The University of Montana is plan- ning to cut 52 faculty posts and 149 other positions to meet budget challenges.
University President Royce Engstrom announced the last week — along with reductions to academic programs — as UM struggles to stabilize its agging enrollment.
In his announcement, Engstrom char- acterized the reductions as creating more appropriate sta ng levels on campus. He requested that a ected parties o er feed- back over the next week to their leaders, such as faculty senators.
Engstrom said the university aggres- sively added positions as its enrollment grew from 11,900 full-time students to 14,000 full-time students and 1,748 employees.
Estimated enrollment for 2017 is 10,915 students with a sta ng of 1,455.
“The total employee number is still signi cantly larger today than in pre-re- cession days of similar enrollment,” Eng- strom said.
About25ofthe52facultypositionsare already open.
Among the academic programs Eng- strom listed as targets for reductions are journalism, anthropology, English,
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NOVEMBER 25, 2015 // FLATHEADBEACON.COM
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