Briefly

Montana senator to apologize for ‘vegetables’ comments

Helena Rep.-elect and current Sen. Ed Butcher agreed Wednesday to apologize for referring to seriously developmentally disabled students as “vegetables,” House Speaker-elect Roy Brown said.

Butcher, R-Winifred, made the comment Dec. 14 at a meeting of central Montana school administrators. He had initially declined to apologize, despite calls by some lawmakers and school administrators that he be removed from the House Education Committee, telling Lee Newspapers on Tuesday, “I think I’ve said what I’m going to say.”

Brown told the Associated Press that he had talked with Butcher, a former teacher and college professor, and that Butcher had agreed to release an apology this morning that would clarify what was said at the meeting.

“He’s an elected official and people in his district voted for him so we’ll see if his explanation is sufficient,” said Brown, R-Billings. “I think a lot of stuff he said had been taken out of context but we’ll just go from there.”

Butcher did not immediately return a phone message left at his home seeking comment.

Brown said Butcher, also criticized during the 2001 Legislature for referring to American Indian reservations as ghettos, promised to “behave himself.”

Columbus schools superintendent Allan Sipes told Lee Newspapers he felt Butcher’s behavior was “reprehensible” and called for his removal from the committee. Butcher was recently named to the committee by Brown.

Butcher ran for House District 29 this year after redistricting squeezed him out of his old Senate seat, which he held for one term.

Idaho county approves plans for large-scale wind farms

Pocatello, Idaho The Power County Planning and Zoning Board has approved plans from two Boise-based companies to build large-scale wind farms south of American Falls.

The project could be an economic boon for a county that lost 11 percent of its tax base following the December 2001 closure of FMC’s Astaris plant.

After two years of taking detailed measurements of wind conditions, both companies are confident they have found suitable locations and hope to start construction in 2005.

The plans are contingent upon securing power contracts with any of the three electric utilities whose grids are accessible from near American Falls.

Windlend-Shell had plans approved Dec. 7 for a $140 million wind farm, which would produce between 120 and 150 megawatts of electricity. One megawatt is enough to power about 650 homes for one year.

“The tax value of our project would offset the loss of the assessed value of the FMC plant,” said Mike Heckler, Windlend-Shell director of marketing and development.

Windlend-Shell’s proposed 80-turbine farm on the edge of the Deep Creek Mountains, near Bowen Canyon Eagle Reserve, would create 150 jobs in Power County during a six-month construction period and about a dozen full-time jobs throughout the project’s 30-year life, Heckler said.

Another company, Ridgeline Energy, got approval Nov. 22 for a wind farm of up to 200 turbines to be built in phases south of American Falls according to power demands.

Construction would start in 2005 on a ridge spanning Bonneville and Bingham county lines.

“I think it will be a good neighbor,” Power County Commissioner Ken Estep said.

Idaho Power’s Integrated Resource Plan for 2005 includes a wind plan, which calls for using 200 megawatts of wind energy in its Idaho and Oregon service area. The plan helped spur local interest in wind energy.

“This first 200 megawatts is to learn more about it and see how it goes,” said Roger L. Rowe, Idaho Power community relations representative. “We know it can be just a piece of our resource plan.”

Kittitas County creating plan to lower residents’ obesity

Ellensburg Officials in Kittitas County have begun working to develop a five-year plan aimed at alleviating obesity among its residents.

The plan, made possible by two grants worth $750,000 to the county public health department and the Ellensburg School District, has been dubbed “Shape Up Kittitas County.”

“We’re trying to tackle obesity,” school Superintendent Gretta Merwin said. “It’s our intent to not only teach physical activity, but also healthy eating.”

And it must be a community project, she said.

“We have fast-food. We have working parents. We have very little time to run home and fix a meal. We tend, as a nation, to grab something that’s quick. We’re making bad choices,” she said.

Obesity rates in Kittitas County have climbed from 16 percent in 1996 to 28 percent last year, according to the local health department. Nearly one in three Kittitas County residents is obese. In a county with about 35,000 people, that’s close to 10,000 people.

Organizers of the “Shape Up” initiative hope to see people eating more fruits and vegetables, exercising at least 20 minutes a day and losing weight.

The health department and the school district banded together last year after a community health assessment named childhood and adult obesity a top priority in Kittitas County.