July 28 - August 4, 2022
Rachael Marjamaa, Philipsburg’s Artist-in-Residence for 2022 through Open AIR and the Philipsburg Arts Fund, gets down to the final words in her commissioned mural on the side of the Philipsburg Theatre. Marjamma, who is also teaching art classes in town through the combined program, said it took about 35 hours to complete the mural, in blazing sun, wind, and even the beginning of a rainstorm through July. Photo by Jim Jenner.
Recreational marijuana discussion draws a crowd at commissioner meeting
By Kirk Boxleitner
By Kirk Boxleitner
Kendrick Richmond and his wife Justine joined the Granite County Commissioners’ July 19 meeting to discuss a 3% local option excise tax, for both recreational and medicinal marijuana, for the Nov. 8 general election ballot.
“In June, we did the repealing of recreational sales in Granite County, while basically most of the other counties were adding a 3% local excise tax to improve their counties,” Kendrick Richmond said, adding he’s in the process of petitioning to put a 3% local excise tax onto this fall’s ballot.
“If we did get the signatures,” Richmond asked, would the county commissioners “see fit to put the 3% tax on, as an option, to let the people vote, and see if they would like to take advantage of having, basically, free money?”
Richmond promoted a signature-gathering event at the Philipsburg Theatre on the evening of July 22 by saying “We’re just trying to help the county,” while also acknowledging, “It’s kind of important to me and my company,” since “I’m the only store in the county,” outside of Philipsburg itself.
“This was already the plan from the commission,” Granite County Commissioner Blanche McLure said. “We were requested not to put these ballot levy issues on, because they felt it would confuse the voters.”
Granite County Commission Chair Scott Adler noted that absent fellow County Commissioner Charles Hinkle “wanted this tabled,” but in Adler’s opinion, “We have too much public here, so I decided to go ahead. We have to listen to the people.”
Granite County Attorney Blaine Bradshaw confirmed Aug. 8 is the deadline to submit a petition with the requisite number of signatures.
“You get your signatures,” McLure told Richmond, “and then, we would decide whether or not we’re going to put this levy on the ballot.”
Rick Mcgill echoed similar concerns to what McLure reported hearing from other citizens, as he asserted, “The tax question happening on the same ballot as the prohibit-or-allow (recreational marijuana) question (...) confuses the issue for people who are reading the ballot.”
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Flint Creek Valley Days remembered through the years
By Gwyneth Hyndman
While the origins of Flint Creek Valley Days are murky in memory, there’s no question it’s one of the biggest weekends of the year for Philipsburg locals, high school alumni, and tourists descending on town to enjoy the 3-day revelry that starts on Friday.
Zane Murfitt of Granite Mountain Bank said that he remembers Valley Days in the early 60s when he first arrived to work at what was then Flint Creek Valley Bank. The bank had a float in the parade every year, and the alcohol flowed, even back then, he remembered.
Bob Winninghoff said that he recalled that the festivities first began with the opening of the sawmill on what is now Whiskey Flats. There was a rodeo on the front property off Rumsey Road and the partying continued in town.
Longtime local Clyde Christman chuckled when recalled the lines at the White Front bar being five-people deep. The street dance then hardly had any room for dancing, he laughed. “If you wanted to fight, you fought, and if you didn’t, you got out of the way.”
Granite County Sheriff Scott Dunkerson - an ‘89 graduate of Granite High School - described the scene in the years when he was on the other side of the law. “I was young and stupid back then - there was fighting and it was just one big drunkfest. It was all a lot rowdier then for sure.”
The event has changed a lot over the years, he said, remembering how after the rodeo ended, there was a demolition derby in the same location. “It used to be beer cans all over the street and you couldn’t even get through town, the crowds were so thick.
“It’s calmed down - there are a lot more families now. I really think it’s the class reunions that have kept it going through the years.”
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Philipsburg sewage lagoon likely to stay within budget
By Gwyneth Hyndman
The Philipsburg Town Council is proceeding with a federal funding application that looks set to secure $925,000 for the completion of the town’s $4 million sewage lagoon project.
Grant writer Maureen Connor told council members at the July 19 regular council meeting that the town would likely be within budget with the funding from the Water Resources Development Act (WRDA) - part of a bipartisan bill that was signed into law in December 2020.
Key provisions include investment in ports, harbors and inland waterways and “the building of more resilient communities” with the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, carrying out projects “in an economically and environmentally responsible manner.”
“The overall picture is good,” Connor told the council. The WRDA funding is one of two grants involved in the project. The other is about $2 million from the American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) passed in 2021, also called the COVID-19 Stimulus Package.
“With the addition of WRDA we are largely okay budget-wise.”
There was even the option of bringing back an extra layer of filtration, which had been removed from the project to keep it within budget. While it was not vital, it would be preferable to have this element if possible, Mayor Daniel Reddish said after the council meeting.
No decision had been made on this yet, as the details were still being fine-tuned as they prepared to wait on the confirmation of the funding.
The remaining funds going to the project include $750,000 from the Montana Coal Endowment Program. The rest is a combination of “termed minimum allocation money” awarded to municipalities in the early pandemic response as well as funding from the sewer enterprise fund.
“It’s on target and I’m happy about that,” Reddish said.
Reddish said the bidding process for construction would likely be in January 2023, with construction hopefully beginning in the late spring or early summer of 2023.
Recreational marijuana discussion draws a crowd at commissioner meeting
By Kirk Boxleitner
By Kirk Boxleitner
Kendrick Richmond and his wife Justine joined the Granite County Commissioners’ July 19 meeting to discuss a 3% local option excise tax, for both recreational and medicinal marijuana, for the Nov. 8 general election ballot.
“In June, we did the repealing of recreational sales in Granite County, while basically most of the other counties were adding a 3% local excise tax to improve their counties,” Kendrick Richmond said, adding he’s in the process of petitioning to put a 3% local excise tax onto this fall’s ballot.
“If we did get the signatures,” Richmond asked, would the county commissioners “see fit to put the 3% tax on, as an option, to let the people vote, and see if they would like to take advantage of having, basically, free money?”
Richmond promoted a signature-gathering event at the Philipsburg Theatre on the evening of July 22 by saying “We’re just trying to help the county,” while also acknowledging, “It’s kind of important to me and my company,” since “I’m the only store in the county,” outside of Philipsburg itself.
“This was already the plan from the commission,” Granite County Commissioner Blanche McLure said. “We were requested not to put these ballot levy issues on, because they felt it would confuse the voters.”
Granite County Commission Chair Scott Adler noted that absent fellow County Commissioner Charles Hinkle “wanted this tabled,” but in Adler’s opinion, “We have too much public here, so I decided to go ahead. We have to listen to the people.”
Granite County Attorney Blaine Bradshaw confirmed Aug. 8 is the deadline to submit a petition with the requisite number of signatures.
“You get your signatures,” McLure told Richmond, “and then, we would decide whether or not we’re going to put this levy on the ballot.”
Rick Mcgill echoed similar concerns to what McLure reported hearing from other citizens, as he asserted, “The tax question happening on the same ballot as the prohibit-or-allow (recreational marijuana) question (...) confuses the issue for people who are reading the ballot.”
Want to read the full story?
Click SUBSCRIBE at the top of this page.
Flint Creek Valley Days remembered through the years
By Gwyneth Hyndman
While the origins of Flint Creek Valley Days are murky in memory, there’s no question it’s one of the biggest weekends of the year for Philipsburg locals, high school alumni, and tourists descending on town to enjoy the 3-day revelry that starts on Friday.
Zane Murfitt of Granite Mountain Bank said that he remembers Valley Days in the early 60s when he first arrived to work at what was then Flint Creek Valley Bank. The bank had a float in the parade every year, and the alcohol flowed, even back then, he remembered.
Bob Winninghoff said that he recalled that the festivities first began with the opening of the sawmill on what is now Whiskey Flats. There was a rodeo on the front property off Rumsey Road and the partying continued in town.
Longtime local Clyde Christman chuckled when recalled the lines at the White Front bar being five-people deep. The street dance then hardly had any room for dancing, he laughed. “If you wanted to fight, you fought, and if you didn’t, you got out of the way.”
Granite County Sheriff Scott Dunkerson - an ‘89 graduate of Granite High School - described the scene in the years when he was on the other side of the law. “I was young and stupid back then - there was fighting and it was just one big drunkfest. It was all a lot rowdier then for sure.”
The event has changed a lot over the years, he said, remembering how after the rodeo ended, there was a demolition derby in the same location. “It used to be beer cans all over the street and you couldn’t even get through town, the crowds were so thick.
“It’s calmed down - there are a lot more families now. I really think it’s the class reunions that have kept it going through the years.”
Want to read the full story?
Click SUBSCRIBE at the top of this page.
Philipsburg sewage lagoon likely to stay within budget
By Gwyneth Hyndman
The Philipsburg Town Council is proceeding with a federal funding application that looks set to secure $925,000 for the completion of the town’s $4 million sewage lagoon project.
Grant writer Maureen Connor told council members at the July 19 regular council meeting that the town would likely be within budget with the funding from the Water Resources Development Act (WRDA) - part of a bipartisan bill that was signed into law in December 2020.
Key provisions include investment in ports, harbors and inland waterways and “the building of more resilient communities” with the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, carrying out projects “in an economically and environmentally responsible manner.”
“The overall picture is good,” Connor told the council. The WRDA funding is one of two grants involved in the project. The other is about $2 million from the American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) passed in 2021, also called the COVID-19 Stimulus Package.
“With the addition of WRDA we are largely okay budget-wise.”
There was even the option of bringing back an extra layer of filtration, which had been removed from the project to keep it within budget. While it was not vital, it would be preferable to have this element if possible, Mayor Daniel Reddish said after the council meeting.
No decision had been made on this yet, as the details were still being fine-tuned as they prepared to wait on the confirmation of the funding.
The remaining funds going to the project include $750,000 from the Montana Coal Endowment Program. The rest is a combination of “termed minimum allocation money” awarded to municipalities in the early pandemic response as well as funding from the sewer enterprise fund.
“It’s on target and I’m happy about that,” Reddish said.
Reddish said the bidding process for construction would likely be in January 2023, with construction hopefully beginning in the late spring or early summer of 2023.
For the complete stories and much more, please subscribe to the Philipsburg Mail today.
Call (406) 859-3223 or e-mail mgr@pburgmail.com for subscription information.
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