Community shows support for Troy officer - Bob McLeod

By Canda Harbaugh, The Western News
Troy residents have rallied around Bob McLeod, showing support for the police officer who was recently placed on administrative leave pending an investigation by the city’s insurance company.

Locals have decorated their vehicles and homes with signs and blue ribbons, and over 130 people joined the “Support Bob McLeod” cause on Facebook, a social networking website. They have also planned a support march on Saturday from Bob's Central (Sixth and Missoula) to city hall.

Troy police chief Mitch Walters and an alleged victim came forward recently, accusing McLeod of misconduct relating to the deployment of a Taser two years ago, according to Walters and city officials.

The fact that Walters and officer Kit Pearson allegedly broadcast an offensive conversation over a public frequency by mistake the same day that McLeod was suspended is coincidental, according to city officials.


“It’s just a coincidence that they both happened at the same time,” councilmember Laura Schrader said. “They are completely separate issues.”

The state Department of Justice, Division of Criminal Investigation is investigating the incident involving Walters and Pearson, but is not looking into McLeod’s alleged misconduct because it is a civil – not criminal – complaint, according to mayor Jim Hammons. The city’s insurance company is investigating the matter.

“DCI has been contacted in the past by officials in Troy … on the Taser incident, but we are not investigating that matter, nor have we investigated that in the past,” said Justice Department spokesperson Kevin O’Brien.

Hammons said that in order to shield the city from a lawsuit, the matter must be looked into.

“I’m not taking sides,” Hammons said. “Everybody is going to get a fair shake. We’re doing these things to protect the city.”

McLeod’s name was dragged into Thursday’s radio broadcast because Walters and Pearson allegedly said that they would soon be rid of McLeod, possibly a reference to Walters’ complaint against him.

With McLeod, who has worked on the force for four years, and Walters both on administrative leave, the only working TPD officer is Pearson.

McLeod, meanwhile, is overwhelmed by the amount of support he has received. His voice cracked Monday as he described his gratitude during a phone interview.

“You know, it’s hard to talk about it because it’s very emotional for me,” he said. “I knew that a lot of people supported me but to look at Facebook, it just means so much to me because I love what I do.”

The Facebook website was filled with positive comments about McLeod.

In addition, his sister, Nancee Tallmadge, gave out blue ribbons for McLeod supporters at B-Rocks Basics and had people leave their signature.

“It’s not a petition,” she said about the 56 signatures she received by Monday afternoon. “A lot of people don’t do Facebook, so I started it Saturday afternoon so people could show their support.”

Full Article Click Below
http://thewesternnews.com/articles/2009/11/25/news/doc4b0b3f90dbdc6097791549.txt

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Troy police under investigation for radio conversation

By Canda Harbaugh, The Western News

The future of the Troy Police Department appears shaky after one of its officers and chief unintentionally broadcast a conversation Thursday morning on a frequency accessible to the public.

“There was some disparaging comments made about some officers and others that are no longer with us,” chief Mitch Walters said.

Walters and officer Kit Pearson allegedly used foul language and celebrated the fact that a Troy deputy was fired late last spring and a Troy resident recently passed away. The conversation also pointed to soon being rid of Bob McLeod, the only other TPD officer.

The state Department of Justice, Division of Criminal Investigation is looking into the incident, according to mayor Jim Hammons. Meanwhile, Walters is on administrative leave and Pearson is the only officer working.


The investigation will determine if the alleged incident involves criminal activity.

“That’s all part of the investigation,” said Kevin O’Brien, spokesman for the state Department of Justice. “Those are all things that would be flushed out in the investigation.”

Rumors of the radio conversation spread like wildfire Thursday and Friday, appalling Troy residents.

Pearson, who has been on the force for almost four years, declined to comment over the phone Friday about the incident because of orders he received from Hammons.

Det. Capt. Roby Bowe of the Lincoln County Sheriff’s Office said Thursday that the city would not suffer from lack of law enforcement if TPD was short on officers.

“They’ll still get the same coverage,” he said.

Walters, who has been on the force for 14 years, said Friday morning that he is “in the process of retiring.”

He maintains that he is a “whistleblower” into alleged misconduct by McLeod relating to the deployment of a Taser two years ago and that much of the hoopla surrounding Thursday’s broadcast is political.

“This is a battle of good versus evil. I have discovered evidence of a civil rights violation and the county attorney as well as other city officials have covered up,” Walters said. “I’m being labeled as a problem because I’m not letting this thing die.”

Walters said he would use his retirement to prepare to run for sheriff in 2010.

“I think some of it's politically motivated because I’m becoming a real threat,” he said.

Source
http://thewesternnews.com/articles/2009/11/25/news/doc4b07128b5fb7d424897456.txt

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A heinous criminal…

Eric John Rick Vogel, a former radio announcer in Libby, Montana, will not be broadcasting any more shows for awhile. That’s because he is doing 40 years at the Montana State Prison for sexual assaulting five out of his seven children. I’ve been following this case closely as it wove its way through Lincoln County Courts in Libby, thanks in part to Steve Thompson’s insistence.
libby
For the record, here is his prison picture:
http://app.mt.gov/cgi-bin/conweb/conwebLookup.cgi?docid=3003839
R
Source and Comments Click Below
http://www.spokesman.com/blogs/commcomm/2009/nov/10/heinous-criminal/
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Federal Health Services Start in Montana Town After Public Emergency Declared

Residents of Libby, Montana battling asbestos-related disease will start receiving federally-funded medical care today and federal health screenings will begin next week on Nov. 16.

“Help has arrived on the ground for folks in Libby who are victims of asbestos-related disease,” U.S. Sen. Max Baucus of Montana said in a statement. “These services are a result of a long fight to get Libby residents the resources they need to move forward toward a bright future.”

The medical services will be funded by a $6 million grant from the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. In June, leaders of the department of health and human services joined the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency is declaring a public health emergency in Libby, Montana, where a former vermiculite mine has left widespread asbestos contamination.

The public health emergency declaration requires the federal government to offer screenings and health care for Libby residents and authorizes cleanup work in homes and other structures. Asbestos contamination in the Libby area has been blamed for the deaths of more than 200 people and the illnesses of more than 1,000 more to date.

Microscopic asbestos fibers when inhaled can lodge in the lungs and over time cause serious respiratory diseases including asbestosis, lung cancer and mesothelioma, a rare cancer of the lining of the lungs and abdomen. The symptoms of the disease often don’t appear until 20 to 40 years after exposure.

Federal health assessments have shown than lung cancer rates are 30 percent higher among Libby residents than in the general population. Meanwhile, the rate of malignant mesothlioma, a rare cancer of the lining of the lung linked to asbestos-exposure, is very high for a community with a population of less than 10,000.

“It’s imperative that people exposed to vermiculite asbestos get screened to identify any asbestos-related disease,” Baucus said. “If diagnosed with asbestos-related disease, Libby residents deserve the best treatment possible.”

http://www.aboutmesothelioma.net/2009/11/federal-health-services-start-in.asp

libby news

Are the Victims getting ANY of the Money that Libby Gets... I mean my Uncle Died last month never did get a portable oxygen system, and never really did get any real help.. could not even afford to be buried, I sure the Money Libby Gets will improve the Quality of Life of those suffering and affected by the Evil of WR Grace.

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Even Forests Are Contaminated with Asbestos in Libby, Montana

Researchers at the University of Montana have detected asbestos dust on the bark of trees in the Kootenai National Forest near the closed vermiculite mine in Libby, Montana. They said Forest Service personnel performing tasks such as building fire lines and measuring trees may be exposed to airborne asbestos when doing work in the forest near the former mine.

Workplace exposure to asbestos is associated with significant increases in asbestosis, lung cancer and mesothelioma, a cancer of the lining of the lungs, compared to the general population..

The findings are relevant to people who work in the forest and people who go to the forest for recreation within about five miles of the mine, they said. Much of the land surrounding the mine is owned by the U.S. Department of Agriculture and private logging companies

Because of the widespread asbestos contaimination and high incidence of asbestos-related disease, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency has declared a public health emergency in Libby, Montana and the surrounding area. Lincoln County, Montana has the third highest age-adjusted death rate of mesothelioma in the U.S.

The research was published in the Journal of Environmental and Public Health.

Read the study

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Melinda Gopher for Congress

Melinda Gopher is Running for the
U.S. House of Representative in Montana

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Check Out Melinda Gopher at
www.MelindaGopher.com

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Join Melinda's Forum Click Here
Here you Can Post your Support videos, talk about issues Important to you, Print Campaign Flyers and Contribution Forms and More.

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It is time to Listen to the Needs of the Indian Nation as
well as to Embrace a Strong, Smart, Independent Forward Thinking
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It is Time for Historic Change in Montana,
It is Time for Melinda Gopher for
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Melinda Gopher for Montana

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Tungsten Holdings - Reported to Be Bullies. And you Know what I think about Tungsten Holdings..

One Story on the Integrity of Tungsten Holdings.

Second lawsuit imposed by Tungsten Holdings. They are wiping us out--I don't know what we'll do this time.

In 1991 Tungsten Holdings became the owner of property adjacent to mine and part of HES 744 established in 1929. The entire homestead is surrounded by Forest Service land. The northern portion purchased by Tungsten has never had a residence on it and since 1974 had been inaccessible through our place, as the dirt "road" had been washed out by a devastating flood. The northern portion had been in the Grambauer family until purchased (or acquried through lack of payment of taxes) since 1929.

Bert Grambauer, who took some interest in visiting the property once in awhile died in 1972. His wife died in 1973. The three nephews to whom the property was willed took little interest in the property and one never even visited the property. Obviously, Tungsten Holdings discovered this and struck in their usual manner. They quickly acquired the property (which had no legal access) planning to force neighbors into an easement through their property and then sell the property for an exorbitant sum.

In short order, they began hounding me for an easement through my property. I tried to deal with them for a couple of years, but then they sued. They also sued for a portion of property along my northern property line (their southern property line)--the line which Grambauer and I had agreed upon.

To make a long story short, we won at District Court level in 1998. Tungsten appealed to the Supreme Court and won everything back in a judgment in 1999. Because they didn't like to even associate with us then, they nearly forced us to sign an agreement (which amounted to a gag order on my husband and a "be reasonable" order on me) in 2000. (They didn't like the way we were trying to defend our own property rights.)

Our attorney advised us to sign it and be rid of them. Well, finally they found they HAD to talk with us on certain matters and started talking to my husband, as well. NOW they are suing us again for breach of the agreement!!

This time they are asking for punitive damages as well as requesting us to remove signs ON OUR OWN PROPERTY. IN SHORT, THEY HAVE BEEN HARASSING US FOR I8 YEARS !! I don't know where to turn.

We do not have the money to hire an expensive attorney, and it is a complete lose-lose situation for us. They could essentially wipe us out with punitive damages claimed and payment of their attorney fees. They are VERY POWERFUL and MALICIOUS!!

I have lived on this property for 42 years, and they are trying to devastate us now in our retirement years. This is clearly a case of 18 years of harassment and now elder abuse, but because of their money and power, Tungsten Holdings will win again. I feel great sorrow in losing faith in our judicial system, and it is not right that a powerful corporation should be allowed to bankrupt individuals clinging to rights granted by our Constitution, but money and greed rule our judicial system.

Landowner, Libby, MT

Email your Tungsten Holdings Horror Stories to Me Crystal L. Cox - Real Estate Industry Whistleblower at Crystal@CrystalCox.com

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