Town hall meeting regarding prison Sept. 30
By Luke Ulatowski
Cathy Clark, head of the Federation of Montana State Prison Employees Local 4700 union, wants to keep residents updated on her efforts to keep the prison — a central staple of Deer Lodge — an amicable space, with a town hall meeting about the prison organized by Clark taking place at 6 p.m. on Sept. 30 at Deer Lodge Elks Lodge #1737.
In attendance at the meeting will be mayor Jim Jess and chief administrative officer Jordan Green in representation of the city, along with Montana Department of Corrections director Brian M. Gootkin in representation of the prison.
“They’re going to be talking about the concerns over the union representation and just the general atmosphere that’s happening in the prison right now,” Green said. “I’m just going to provide representation for the city, impartial representation, and see basically what’s going on to get a good grasp of what’s happening over there.”
Green stated he is not aware of what will be discussed at the meeting, but will advocate for “the best case scenario for Deer Lodge city residents.” Clark concurs.
“As a state employee, we kind of just want the community to be aware of how dangerous it is actually out there right now and what we can do to fix the problem, collectively,” Clark said.
See Prison page 10
Cathy Clark, head of the Federation of Montana State Prison Employees Local 4700 union, wants to keep residents updated on her efforts to keep the prison — a central staple of Deer Lodge — an amicable space, with a town hall meeting about the prison organized by Clark taking place at 6 p.m. on Sept. 30 at Deer Lodge Elks Lodge #1737.
In attendance at the meeting will be mayor Jim Jess and chief administrative officer Jordan Green in representation of the city, along with Montana Department of Corrections director Brian M. Gootkin in representation of the prison.
“They’re going to be talking about the concerns over the union representation and just the general atmosphere that’s happening in the prison right now,” Green said. “I’m just going to provide representation for the city, impartial representation, and see basically what’s going on to get a good grasp of what’s happening over there.”
Green stated he is not aware of what will be discussed at the meeting, but will advocate for “the best case scenario for Deer Lodge city residents.” Clark concurs.
“As a state employee, we kind of just want the community to be aware of how dangerous it is actually out there right now and what we can do to fix the problem, collectively,” Clark said.
See Prison page 10
Council addresses skatepark concernsBy Luke Ulatowski
Amidst parental concerns at Deer Lodge’s new skatepark, the city plans to add signs detailing regulations as well as security cameras in order to diminish delinquent activity. “Inferno wireless, a local Internet Service Provider, just installed Internet services at our storage building out there right next to the skatepark, so that’s probably where we’ll put the cameras,” Deer Lodge Chief Administrative Officer Jordan Green said. The announcement took place at the city council meeting on Sept. 19. In response, councilwoman Jackie Greenwood expressed concern about the Higgins Street skatepark’s lack of grass. It is currently surrounded by gravel implemented by the Evergreen Skateparks construction company. “When are we going to get that grass put in?” Greenwood asked. “We’re going to lose all that dirt.” Mayor Jim Jess responded that it is too late in the year to plant grass at the park. However, Greenwood’s concern for the safety of children at the park expanded to other factors. See Skatepark page 8 Old Prison curator sees bright future for facilityBy Kirk Boxleitner
This is the second story of four in a series on the Old Prison Museum. Looking ahead, Melanie Sanchez, curator of the Old Prison Museum in Deer Lodge, sees a full and fruitful year coming up for the historic facility. During its winter break for maintenance and repairs, the Old Prison Museum conducts its annual business meeting, in January or February, convening its board of directors and inviting a guest speaker for dinner, for which See Facility page 8 |
Homecoming royalty . . .
2022’s Homecoming King and Queen Mo Reich and Ripley Ford—also senior prince and princess—smile as the stars of the Homecoming Parade across Main Street on Friday. Photo by Luke Ulatowski
4B’s Cafe reopens on Main StreetBy Luke Ulatowski
The 4B’s café on 819 Main St. (near the Old Prison Museum) is back open under general manager Sheryl Stevenson, who runs both the restaurant on 1210 Main St. (north of town) and the newly-reopened café. Stevenson says she has worked for 4B’s for 27 years. The original 4B’s was opened in 1947 in Missoula under Bill Hainline. He named the restaurant after himself, his wife Barbara, his son Bill Jr. and his daughter Barbara Jr. “This was the original spot for Deer Lodge’s 4B’s restaurant,” Stevenson said of the location recently reopened. “The second 4B’s restaurant based out of Missoula. I worked down there November of ‘74, and they moved out there to I-90, rebuilt and opened June of ‘75.” In 2007, 4B’s was sold out to Stevenson’s Star Buffet Company, which also owns the Chinese-Thai Restaurant on 141 Village Ln., also north of town. The 4B’s at the 819 Main St. location closed down in 2018 before reopening on Aug. 20, 2022. “The building never sold to a potential buyer, so the company took it back and decided to reopen it again and give it another shot,” Stevenson said. Currently, the café is only open Friday from 11 a.m. to 8 p.m., Saturday from 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. and Sunday from 8 a.m. to 3 p.m. Stevenson is unsure if the café will remain open throughout the winter. “We’re hoping the local See 4B’s page 8 Local painter shares trials of Paraguayan tribeBy Luke Ulatowski
Artist and harpist Lual Krautter has a storied history with the Paraguayan Aché tribe that she has channeled into numerous paintings. While Krautter was born in Wisconsin, she spent most of her youth in Bolivia, as her parents Rolf and Irene Fostervold, were missionaries. From 1976 to 1984, from ages 20 to 28, Krautter and her family spent their days in the jungle of Paraguay looking to serve the Aché. Before 1976, the Aché were a largely uncontacted tribe residing in the forest. Under Paraguayan President Alfredo Stroessner, the military’s attempts to forcibly relocate the Aché due to a desire for that forest land led to the United Nations accusing Paraguay of genocide in 1974. The campaign invoked massacres and slavery, reducing the tribe’s population to mere hundreds. In 1976, Krautter’s family participated in an effort to bring the remaining Aché to a sanctuary, where they were taught agriculture. “They were nomadic, which means every three days or so, they were on the move in the jungle trying to find food,” Krautter said. “They’d make a palm leaf hut, that’s kind of what they lived under. They had their palm leaf mats, and they didn’t wear clothes, but they had their certain culture. They had their bags they made out of different fibers and things.” Krautter was See Tribe page 10 |
