Ledger Looking Back 25 Years: 7/15/1998

JULY 15, 1998

The suspect in the Jefferson Valley Baptist Church fire was charged with two counts of felony arson in Montana District Court on July 14 and was expected to undergo a psychiatric evaluation before a trial date would be scheduled.

Golden Sunlight Mine announced on July 9 that it received formal approval from the Montana Department of Environmental Quality to expand current operations, extending the mine’s expected life by seven years.

Christopher Lerman, a 14-year-old Whitehall youth, pled “not true” to felony arson charges stemming from the Whitehall Railroad Depot fire during his initial appearance in Montana District Court in Boulder on July 6. Lerman is charged with starting the fire that destroyed the historic Whitehall Railroad Depot. The fire occurred on March 24, 1998, and reports at the time stated that a youth allegedly started the fire accidentally. The youth allegedly snuck inside the abandoned building and tried to build a fire to stay warm. Law enforcement officers said the youth told them the effort to build a fire was unsuccessful.

Todd Breitenfeldt, a science teacher at Whitehall High School, was the coordinator for the biological weed control project, the only one of its kind located at a high school in Montana. Breitenfeldt was collaborating with the Jefferson County Weed District, local landowners, BLM, and many others to raise weed-killing weevils and moths. The project tripled in size and scope from previous years, and Breitenfeldt and crew recently released about 200 Agapeta moths at sites along the Jefferson River.

In the aftermath of the severe thunderstorm and flash flood that roared down Milligan Canyon the evening of July 2 destroying three small bridges, ruining five miles of gravel road, and requiring extensive cleanup work, an emergency two-mill levy was approved in Jefferson County, and resulted in the county being included into a disaster declaration from Montana Governor Marc Racicot. The Jefferson County Commission approved the passage of an emergency two-mill levy increase to fund repairs to county roads and bridges. The vote came at the regular commission meeting on July 8 and will raise just under $50,000 in additional taxes.

Whitehall Reader of the Week was Axon Kirk. Axon has always been an avid reader. She says, “I like to read all kinds of books. I like classics, historical novels – the best of all types of books.” Axon reads, on average, close to one book a week. Her favorite books are Jane Eyre and Till We Have Faces. She regularly checks out books from the library and occasionally checks out compact discs. Axon, 19, is a teller at High Peaks Federal Credit Union.