New megaloads to trundle through Missoula after dark

Megaload of mill equipment en route to Missoula

By KIM BRIGGEMAN of the Missoulian


The first of six giant loads of evaporator equipment bound for a Weyerhauser forest products mill in Grande Prairie, Alberta, is scheduled to inch its way into Montana on U.S. Highway 12 late Thursday night.

The initial megaload, transported by Nickel Brothers of Everett, Wash., is roughly 24 wide, 25 feet high and 182 feet long, according to the moving company's website, nickelbros.com.

It reportedly arrived at a turnout on the Idaho side of Lolo Pass on Sunday. The load will travel only at night after 10 p.m. in six stages through Montana to the Port of Sweetgrass. Its route through western Montana will be along Highway 12 to Lolo, through Missoula on Highway 93 and Reserve Street to Interstate 90, and up the Blackfoot River corridor on Highway 200 to Rogers Pass.

Nickel Brothers has already delivered seven narrower loads to Canada along the same route. The one coming is the first of this width to cross Lolo Pass since a test validation module owned by Imperial Oil/ExxonMobil arrived in the state on May 4. It remains parked at Lolo Hot Springs while a legal battle rages over the Canadian company's use of the same route the Nickel Brothers loads are following.

The Weyerhauser evaporators are being transported from the Port of Wilma in Washington, just downstream from the Port of Lewiston, Idaho. The equipment is for a high-efficiency evaporator plant designed to reduce greenhouse gases and generate electricity from steam.

Pet Fest drew out dogs and people from all over the city to race and socialize

Wiener dog races attract a crowd, but Pet Fest has serious purpose ... adoption.
Missoula's annual Pet Fest drew out dogs and people from all over the city to race and socialize. See more of the story:

Black bear captured in a backyard in central Missoula

A small female black bear's ride on the gravy train came to a quick end Thursday morning when she was captured and relocated after foraging in town for a day, then taking refuge in the backyard of a Plymouth Avenue home.
For more of the story and some great pictures, see
http://missoulian.com/news/local/article_70db6d1c-da36-11e0-9e88-001cc4c03286.html

Geyser man survives two rattlesnake bites

Jim Croff of Geyser has been a rancher his entire life, and whether he is running machinery, out on horseback, or rounding up cattle, it's not uncommon for him to see rattlesnakes going about their business. But on the evening of July 5th, Jim got a little too close to not one but two rattlesnakes.
For the full story, see http://www.kpax.com/news/geyser-man-survives-two-rattlesnake-bites/

Montana FoodCorps has quietly pioneered healthy eating for cities and schools

Members of Montana's FoodCorps, who've been quietly operating in cities and towns across the state for five years now - and whose model has been adopted on the national level, with the launching this summer of FoodCorps in 10 states with 50 new workers.

The idea behind FoodCorps is not only to bring locally produced foods into schools, but also to combat obesity and improve nutrition among kids, by showing them firsthand how healthy food is produced and serving it to them at school.

The end of the Jerry Lewis Telethon—It's about time

The problem with the Jerry Lewis telethon was not that he tried to help people with muscular dystrophy. The problem was the way Jerry Lewis did it. Yes the telethon raised a lot of money. But it also perpetuated destructive stereotypes. Jerry’s message was simple: “crippled children deserve pity.” His critics offered an alternative:“people with disabilities deserve respect.”

MCPS lunches -- not what we used to eat at school

Last year, Missoula County Public Schools district served up a million meals, according to the supervisor of food and nutrition services Stacey Rossmiller. "We're kind of like the golden arches," she joked Tuesday.

Not really though, given the sort of thought the district began putting into improving school nutrition five years ago, as they attempted to educate children as much on reading and arithmetic as on the merits of making healthy food choices. Full story at:
http://missoulian.com/entertainment/dining/article_ac4f9ab8-cfea-11e0-910f-001cc4c03286.html

In wake of fatal Yellowstone grizzly attacks, Bozeman couple shares survival story

Thank God for the bear spray.
Without it, Kevin and Julie Boyer probably wouldn't be alive. Instead, they'd have likely shared the fates of two other hikers who were attacked and killed by grizzly bears this summer inside Yellowstone National Park. Full story at:
http://www.bozemandailychronicle.com/news/article_2944b5b4-d5c5-11e0-9c08-001cc4c03286.html