Pederson, 56, was heading toward Bozeman on Montana Highway 84 about seven miles east of Norris when she veered across the center line and collided head on with an oncoming vehicle. She was pronounced dead at the scene.

The other people involved in the crash were from Billings and treated at Madison Valley Medical Center and released.

Madison County undersheriff Roger Thompson said the cause of the accident is still unconfirmed, but alcohol doesn’t appear to be involved.

Multiple fire department units from Harrison Fire Department, Madison Valley Rural Fire Department along with Ennis Ambulance and the Harrison Quick Response Unit responded to the scene. The road was completely blocked and closed for several hours as a result of the accident. Montana Highway Patrol is investigating the crash.

Previous discussion within the legislature had suggested that the MHC and towns of Virginia and Nevada City be placed under the direction of Montana Fish, Wildlife and Parks. This discussion resulted in three separate drafts of legislative bills that proposed administrative changes to the state parks system.

One bill would developed a commission for state parks, while another proposed that a newly formed parks commission be responsible for the administration of Virginia and Nevada Cities. The third draft bill proposed a Parks, Recreation and Heritage Board that would essentially absorb the MHC as an advisory council.

But once the committee came to Virginia City to see for themselves the living community and vibrant people working to keep it afloat they decided to keep the current administration system for Virginia and Nevada City in place, which is exactly what the community wanted, said MHC executive director Marilyn Ross.

“After much discussion they finally voted to move ahead with the bill that concerned only the parks, to leave the heritage commission alone, leave us where we are, and move forward just with their recommendation for the parks division and FWP,” Ross said.

The committee requested that EQC staff draft a study resolution to continue monitoring the progress of recent changes to the MHC and Virginia City administration over the next two years. This includes a detailed business plan presented by MHC Business and Development Manager Elijah Allen, who started in January.

Ross said the decision not to change the current MHC administration was aided by an overwhelming amount of support from the MHC, Virginia City Town Council and Chamber of Commerce, Madison County Commissioners as well as local residents and business owners.

“It was really gratifying to see that level of support from people to keep us in Commerce,” Ross said. “We heard the next day from the senators and representatives who had been there how much they appreciated it. They had learned so much, they had no idea the extent of the resource that we had.”

EQC chairman Sen. Jim Keane, D – Butte, was one member of the interim legislative committee who was influenced by what he heard and saw on the tour last week.

“The state has got a huge investment in that area,” Keane said. “We need to evaluate how the business plan is going, and I think then to see at what funding level it should be funded at the next legislature.”

Keane explained that only time will tell if Virginia City and Nevada City can be self sufficient under the direction of the Montana Heritage Commission.

“That’s why I think we want to at least have the EQC review what is happening,” he continued. “They are saying that their business plan is going to work, but if we don’t look at that we’ll never know if it is going to work.”

Ross emphasized the importance of having support from the local community for the current administration of Virginia City.

“The way everyone came together to work on this thing was absolutely so heartening,” Ross said. “I think it bodes very well for a future where we’re moving the whole resource forward in a way that’s going to be so much more beneficial for everyone involved.”

The proposal calls for $100 per acre penalty for non-compliance with the weed management program, said Madison County Weed Coordinator Margie Edsall.

In Montana, a county noxious weed management program is essentially a legal ordinance, but forcing compliance can be difficult, Edsall said.

The purpose of the civil penalty is to give the weed board another tool to force compliance with the ordinance and the fine will only be pursued after all other efforts at getting a landowner to comply have been exhausted.

“It’s not our intention to use it,” she said. “It’s just that last tool if it ever came down to it.”

The weed ordinance makes it illegal for a landowner to allow the propagation of noxious weeds, without a weed management plan approved and filed with the county. However, there is currently no clear repercussion for not following the law and many counties don’t really enforce their ordinances, she said.

However, last year the Montana Legislature passed a bill allowing counties to establish civil penalties for non-compliance with the noxious weed law.

The proposal from the Madison County Weed Board is to implement a fine of $100 per acre to an owner out of compliance with the ordinance. For instance, a landowner on a 20-acre parcel who isn’t obeying the law could be fined $2,000.

Edsall and the county weed office will help landowners develop a weed management plan. So there really is no excuse for being out of compliance with the ordinance, she said.

“I think it’s our obligation to protect our environment and unfortunately noxious weeds if they’re not checked or managed they’re a detriment to our water quality, environment … and Ag community,” Edsall said.

In Madison County, Edsall sees compliance issues with all types of landowners, but subdivisions can be particularly problematic because they can have a lot of turnover in property ownership and no point person to contact for addressing issues.

The weed board will hold a public hearing to take comment on the resolution to create the civil penalty on May 17 at 1 p.m. at the Madison County Weed Board office just outside of Alder. After the public hearing the weed board will take up the issue at their meeting and decide whether or not to send the resolution on to the Madison County Commissioners, who will have the final say on the ordinance.

Comments on the ordinance will be taken in writing prior to the meeting. The weed board address is PO Box 278, Virginia City, 59755. Comments can also be emailed to madwee@3rivers.net. For more information on the resolution or to request a copy, contact Edsall at the weed board office, 842-5595.

While the project to upgrade and expand the wastewater treatment plant got under way just last summer, the plan for it began almost five years ago with a study by the Montana Department of Environmental Quality. The study showed that the wastewater facility was operating at maximum capacity, and the town would need to address the issue in order to accommodate growth.

After researching the feasibility and cost of upgrading the wastewater treatment system the town elected to go with a non-discharge option that would use the processed wastewater for nearby irrigation instead of putting it back into the local rivers and streams.

The wastewater treatment system is operated under a permit issued by the DEQ and the town must operate within that permit, said Sam Novich, operations and maintenance manager for Twin Bridges.

“At that point in time, the scenario was we didn’t have a lot of room for growth at all,” Novich said of the DEQ study. “In fact, we were maxed out.”

Because the improvements to the wastewater system were essentially required by the federal government, the town applied for multiple grants to fund the project. Money for the project came from a Community Development Block Grant, the Treasure State Endowment Program, the Department of Natural Resources and Conservation, and U.S. Department of Agriculture Rural Development loans as well as funds from the local community.

In addition to the wastewater project, the town also installed water meters in order to calculate local residents’ water usage more accurately and bill them accordingly. The meters are located underground at the curb stops, said Mayor Thomas Hyndman.

“In order to be fair we decided to put it on every tap in town,” Hyndman said of the water meters. “We used to meter it just by the size of the line coming into the houses.”

The contractor for the water meters project was C Davies Enterprises out of Butte. Novich said work on that project essentially finished in September. Installation of the water meters began in July and was pretty much wrapped up by the end of September, Novich said.

Hyndman said that while the project was essentially a requirement, it is ultimately a benefit to the community.

“They wanted us to put water meters in if we wanted to continue to get grant money from the federal government,” said Hyndman. “We wanted to put as many as we could where it was feasible, in the ground on the city property, so we didn’t have to go underneath everybody’s houses or on their property. We like to have it out there where we can access it.”

The contractor for the wastewater project was Smith Construction out of Whitehall. That project began last May but was temporarily put on hold for the winter when the ground water froze in late November. Novich said the contractor would address some minor punch list items to finish the project this spring.

Hyndman described both the wastewater and water meter projects as vitally important for the future of the community.

“It’s something that we needed to be able to grow,” Hyndman said. “All these towns are having to upgrade, and it’s just making it tough on our little communities to keep up with what the federal government wants, but we’re trying our best.”

Ken Harris hales from California and will start in Ennis on May 21.

Harris has a long background with the Forest Service and also has experience in teaching elementary school and consulting with landowners as a forester.

His most recent post was as district ranger on the Happy Camp/Oak Knoll Ranger District, which boarders Montana and Oregon.

Harris and his wife Theresa have always been drawn to small communities and lived for a long time in Etna, Calif.

“Ennis just reminded us of Etna and my wife always insisted that we stay in a small town and so Ennis was perfect,” Harris said.

While on a recent house-hunting trip to Ennis, Harris spoke with the two previous district rangers at the Madison Ranger District, Sue Heald and Mark Petroni. They helped give him some insight into the job he’s stepping into.

Ultimately, being a district ranger is about finding people who will work with the agency and together to help solve problems.

“I really look forward to the whole idea of finding people we can cooperate with,” Harris said.

In a statement, Beaverhead Deerlodge National Forest supervisor Dave Myers said he was excited to have Harris take over in Ennis.

“Ken will be a great addition to the Beaverhead-Deerlodge National Forest leadership team and to the community of Ennis,” Myers said in the statement. “We are very fortunate to gain someone with Ken’s depth of experience in areas of critical need such as fire and timber management.”

More than 100 athletes from 37 schools will drive, chip and putt for the coveted gold medals and state trophies.

According to Paul Bills, activities director for Ennis High School, volunteers are still needed.  This is the second time that Ennis has played host to the tournament, and although the community has had practice in hosting such an event, there is still much to do.

The athletes will arrive on Monday, get checked into their hotels and cruise up to Madison Meadows. Monday is designated as a practice round for the athletes.

The competition will occur on Tuesday and Wednesday.

Eight golfers have qualified from Ennis High School. Mikayla Sullivan, Chelsea Martello, Tori Durham, and Kortney Dietz will play for the girls’ title, while Chad Johnerson, Matthew Johnerson, Ryan Striegel, and Kyler Eliot will vie for the boys.

The levy will be for 25 mills and raise about $240,000 annually. Voters approved the levy 542-416.

The levy was voted on by residents of Virginia City, Alder, Sheridan and Twin Bridges. Voters approved the levy in each town. In Virginia City the vote was 40-28. In Alder it was 64-28. In Sheridan it was 293-219. In Twin Bridges the levy passed by only four votes 145-141.

Look for a detailed article about the passage of the levy in next week’s The Madisonian.

Community members wait in line to vote for school board trustees in the lobby of the Ennis High School on Monday evening. Photo by Ben Coulter

CORRECTION: I reversed the numbers on the Sheridan school levies. The $18,376 high school levy DID pass 314-282. The elementary levy was for $67,380 failed to pass on a vote of 243-271. I apologize for the mistake.

– Greg Lemon

UPDATE 5/9/12: School election results are in from around Madison County.

In Ennis, Bill Clark and Craig George beat out Chad Coffman and Josh Vujovich for two spots on the Ennis School Board. Clark received the most votes with 599, George received 585, Vujovich received 557 and Coffman received 505.

In Twin Bridges, voters overwhelmingly approved a $20,000 school mill levy by a vote of 191 – 87.

In Harrison, Todd Brennan won a second term on the school board, beating Jenny Collins 101-27. Harrison had a 28 percent voter turnout.

In Sheridan, the $18,376 high school general fund levy passed narrowly by a vote of 314-282. However, the $67,380 elementary school levy failed narrowly 243-271.

Also in Sheridan, three school board seats were uncontested.

Rhonda Boyd was re-elected to represent the Sheridan High School District on the board and Travis John Derby and John R. Hamilton were both elected to represent the entire school district.

All results are unofficial until canvassed by the school boards.

Check back for more results.

Jaime Wood (left) and his dog Lady demonstrate how stock dogs can herd a group of animals Friday at the Fan Mountain Arena as part of AG Day. Ben Coulter / The Madisonian.

Dozens of second and third grade students from Ennis, Harrison and Cardwell clustered inside the Fan Mountain Arena on Friday to attend Ag Days, a semi-annual field trip put on by the Madison Valley Cattlewomen for local children to learn hands-on about where their food comes from.

The idea for Ag Days originated more than 20 years ago, when the Madison Valley Cattlewomen began to notice that many local schoolchildren had limited exposure to agricultural lifestyles, if any at all.

“We just were amazed when we first started how few kids from the Ennis School were raised on ranches,” said Madison Valley rancher Devonna Owens.

Throughout the arena were nine different stations set up with a different presenter to talk about various aspects or ranching and agriculture. Topics ranged from cattle, sheep and hogs to plants, honey and veterinary care.

“The kids need to know where their food comes from, that it doesn’t come out of the grocery store,” Owens said.

After the students arrived one of the first presentations was given by Jaime Wood and Bart Story along with their 5H stock dogs Lady and Cricket. The young students crowded the fence panel for a closer look, wanting to know more as the dogs put on an incredible display of obedience and control as they herded three painted desert sheep around the arena.

The dogs are trained to keep the animals in a herd between their handler and themselves. They take direction from their handler, and the stock animals respond to the dogs in turn. The 5H refers to the duties and necessary characteristics of a stock dog: Heading, Herding, Heeling, Heeding and Hardiness.

Following a short round of questions and answers from the young audience, Bart Story reflected on the importance of Ag Days to the next generation in a rural community like the Madison Valley.

Ennis student Cameron Klatt (left) and friend Jarrett Jenkins enjoy a sack lunch Friday at the Fan Mountain Arena before the AG Day presentations begin. Ben Coulter / The Madisonian.

“They inform the kids, parents and just the general public where their food source comes from, the work that goes into it and the quality of food that we do raise here at home,” Story said.

The Ag Days presentations are just one way the Madison Valley Cattlewomen reach out to local youth. The group also offers scholarships to seniors at Ennis and Harrison Schools as well as hosting a cook off each year at the school.

When asked what difference it makes if local kids learn about agriculture, Devonna Owens quickly points to a heritage rich in farming, ranching and agriculture throughout the Madison Valley and surrounding area.

“It’s what people come here to see. They want to see our history,” she said. “Maybe there are just a handful of us left, but its still important.”

Hall of fame officials made their announcement Monday morning. Sam Korsmoe, executive director of the Madison County Economic Development Council heard the news on his way to Missoula to look at a collection of western artifacts that could potentially be available for the hall of fame.

Korsmoe spearheaded the proposal for Madison County, which ultimately settled on the Doncaster Round Barn north of Twin Bridges. The barn and 30 acres were donated to the project by owners Tony and Amie James.

Beyond the barn and land, Madison County’s proposal contained a commitment of both money and manpower to making the hall of fame and western heritage center a reality in Madison County.

Madison County’s proposal advanced in the process to the very end along with proposals from Big Sky, Livingston and Big Timber.

However, Big Timber’s proposal of land, a building and infrastructure needs already in place ended up making more sense financially, said Aaron Lyles, director of finance for the MCHF.

“It was a difficult decision and as it probably should, it came down to what was the best financial stewardship decision,” Lyles said.

While Lyles said the MCHF officials are excited to settle on a site, they know the decision is disappointing for the other finalist communities.

“I can honestly say we could have built and been successful in every one of these communities,” he said.

In Madison County, Korsmoe and the group of people that came together to support the project were exceptional, he said.

“They were fantastic to work with,” Lyles said.

The decision was a surprise to Korsmoe.

“I was kind of surprised because the nature of our proposal was such as it would lend to so much creativity that a piece of bare ground with a regular building would not do,” he said.

However, the process of developing the proposal has demonstrated how people in Madison County can really come together, Korsmoe said.

“It does not end now,” he said. “Too much has happened and too much synergy has occurred and too many people came together that I want to see us continue. To what end or where or how, that I don’t know yet.”

The important thing for Madison County is to take advantage of the energy and momentum generated during the process of developing this proposal. The county would be foolish to just drop everything, Korsmoe said.

“We will go forward,” he said. “You don’t go through this process without learning about yourself and without getting a lot of things together. Not taking advantage of that and going forward, even though you lost, would be insane.”