Free Republic

As a boy growing up in Butte, Bart Riley loved spending time at the family business, Riley Meats, on West Park Street. Young Bart and his siblings would help out cleaning the shop after his father was done cutting meat for the day.

Everyone in America was planning for the solar eclipse on August 21, except, apparently, the Montana Department of Transportation. That day, a contractor hired by MDT had scheduled a fairly major road construction project to begin on Interstate 15 near the Clark Canyon Dam. As tens of thousands of people headed north from the path of the eclipse to get home Monday around 4:30 p.m., they encountered a miles-long traffic jam that slowed traffic to a bumper-to-bumper crawl for more than an hour for some drivers. The flow of traffic was not a problem on the northbound lane of I-15...

<p>OROVILLE, Calif. - An immediate evacuation from the low levels of Oroville and areas downstream is ordered.</p> <p>A hazardous situation has developed with the Oroville Dam auxiliary spillway. Officials say that operation of the auxiliary spillway has lead to severe erosion that could lead to a failure of the structure.</p>

A group of Saudi students caught in a cheating scandal at a Montana college were offered flights home by their kingdom's diplomats to avoid the possibility of deportation or arrest, according to a cache of Saudi Embassy memos recently published by WikiLeaks and a senior official at the school involved. The students were in a ring of roughly 30 alleged cheaters at Montana Tech accused of having systematically forged grades by giving presents to a college employee. The cheating was discovered — and the staffer was fired — following an investigation made public in early 2012, but the memos reveal...

The FBI and Seattle authorities were investigating a Nevada man who was arrested after he was spotted on the University of Washington campus in a stolen truck carrying multiple explosive devices, stolen firearms and body armor, police said Thursday. The man was arrested a few blocks away after a police pursuit near Seattle Children's Hospital late Wednesday, said John Vinson, chief of the University of Washington police. He gave no further details of the pursuit, but he described the arrest as "high-risk." Justin Miles Jasper was arrested early Thursday and was being held without bail in the King County jail...

Since I have not managed to post every single week this week, I'm trying to finish the year strong. Hope you agree. Click for full size. Cave of Crystals Arizona Butte "Library of Ages" (Montana de Oro State Park, California)

MEDIA ADVISORY, Mar. 24 /Christian Newswire/ -- Some of you may have seen the major news story of the private plane that crashed into a Montana cemetery, killing 7 children and 7 adults. But what the news sources fail to mention is that the Catholic Holy Cross Cemetery owned by Resurrection Cemetery Association in Butte - contains a memorial for local residents to pray the rosary, at the 'Tomb of the Unborn'. This memorial, located a short distance west of the church, was erected as a dedication to all babies who have died because of abortion. What else is the...

MEDIA ADVISORY, Mar. 24 /Christian Newswire/ -- Some of you may have seen the major news story of the private plane that crashed into a Montana cemetery, killing 7 children and 7 adults. But what the news sources fail to mention is that the Catholic Holy Cross Cemetery owned by Resurrection Cemetery Association in Butte - contains a memorial for local residents to pray the rosary, at the 'Tomb of the Unborn'. This memorial, located a short distance west of the church, was erected as a dedication to all babies who have died because of abortion. What else is the...

An FAA spokesman is quoted by the New York Times as saying as many as 17 people, many of them children, were on board a 12-seat Pilatus PC-12 and all died when the aircraft crashed and exploded in a cemetery in Butte, Montana on Sunday. Les Dorr told the Times that 14 to 17 people were on the aircraft, which left Oroville, Calif., 70 miles north of Sacramento, Calif. for Bozeman, Mont.. The plane diverted to Butte en route and crashed within 500 feet of the airport. The reason for the diversion has not been released but Butte would...

'Children die' in US plane crash A plane has crashed in the northern US state of Montana, killing 17 people on board, aviation officials say. A witness said the light aircraft crashed in a cemetery as it approached the airport in the town of Butte. A spokesman for the Federal Aviation Administration said several children were among the victims. The pilot was flying from Oroville, California, when he diverted to Butte, the FAA said. He tried to land but crashed 500ft (150m) from the airport. The plane crashed in a cemetery close to the airport in cloudy weather conditions, Nick...

Federal Aviation Administration spokesman says 17 people have died in a plane crash in Butte, Mont. FAA Spokesman Mike Fergus says preliminary reports indicate the dead include numerous children. "We think that it was probably a ski trip for the kids," Fergus said.

BUTTE, Mont. (AP) - A Federal Aviation Administration spokesman says 17 people are dead in a plane crash in Montana. Spokesman Mike Fergus says the single engine turboprop plane departed from Orville, Calif., and that the pilot had filed a flight plan showing a final destination of Bozeman. Fergus says the pilot canceled his flight plan at some point and headed for Butte. The plane crashed about 500 feet from the airport while attempting to land and caught fire.

Per Fox News...

No info yet, breaking headline on CNN TV..

The resort town of Mount Crested Butte is giving away free pepper spray after several women reported being assaulted. Police spokeswoman Julia Shirk said 200 spray key chains were ordered and about 30 women have come by to pick one up. Shirk said that even though it is a small town, people feel safer carrying the pepper spray, especially with the ski season approaching and thousand of out-of-towners will be visiting.

BUTTE -- Actress Margot Kidder became a citizen of the U.S. Wednesday to avoid possible deportation to her native Canada when she begins protesting the war in Iraq, she said. Kidder, best known for playing Lois Lane in the motion picture "Superman," was among 19 people who became citizens during a naturalization ceremony in federal court here. "It means I can vote against anyone and everyone in elected office that in any way supported the Bush administration," said Kidder, 56, who has lived in this country for 34 years and has a residence in Livingston. Dave Routzahn, director of the...

BUTTE, Mont. - Burned by the promises of a New West - an economy based on the Internet and telecommunications - this city high in the Rockies is celebrating a return to the Old West, as hundreds of copper miners return to work. This month, the last of more than 350 workers is expected to be on board at the Continental Pit mine, which is being brought back on line by the Montana Resources Inc. with the help of a $2 million loan from the state. The mine was shuttered three years ago when electricity prices soared to record highs...