Dusty roads
By AMY MAY
Haz-mat team sweeps to the rescue at county office
The Daily Inter Lake
When County Commissioner Gary Hall heard there was a package addressed to him on the steps of the commissioners' office he thought it might have been a gift left by his mother - certainly nothing that would warrant the hazardous-material response team to be called in.
But at around 6:30 Monday morning a mass of emergency service responders swarmed the commissioners' office after a report of a suspicious unmarked package which contained an unknown powder.
The package turned out to be neither a gift from Mrs. Hall or a hazardous material, but a small bag of road dust.
The package was found Monday morning when a county employee arrived to unlock the commissioners' office. On the front steps, he noticed the package containing a suspicious powder. Following post-9/11 protocol, he called Kalispell Police to alert them.
A note which accompanied the package and explained its contents was somehow discarded in the shuffle of responders, only making the package more mysterious.
The note, which was later fished out of the trash, confirmed what the county's hazardous-materials team had already concluded about the package's contents.
Upon investigation technicians described the powder as "inert" material; Hall described it as road dust.
The note accompanying the package was not released by authorities, but Hall said it was written by an unhappy resident of the North Fork Road.
According to Hall, "The note essentially said, 'You can take this dust and put it on your body and in your car and see how you like it.'"
Hall speculated that the package was addressed only to him and not the other commissioners because the North Fork Road falls under his jurisdiction.
Flathead County has recently come under a storm of criticism for the condition of the county's gravel roads and dust pollution. The North Fork Road neighborhood has been among the most vocal in its criticism.
In February the county was fined $29,000 by the Montana Department of Environmental Quality for poor air quality. The county is currently working on a plan to mitigate road dust (See story on Page A6).
Hall said the incident concerned him because it was a waste of tax-payers' money.
"It's disturbing because the commissioners are so accessible to the public. We begin every day with a public comment period where anyone can come in." Hall said. "I don't know why someone wouldn't just come in and talk to us. That concerns me."
Kalispell's Assistant Fire Chief D.C. Haas said he didn't yet know how much the entire incident would cost taxpayers. He noted that the cost would be substantial when officer overtime and materials are added in. Haas speculated that the county might look into sending a bill to the person who left the package.
"It's unfortunate, but today you just don't leave a package like that on someone's doorstep." Haas said. "In today's society you need to take these things seriously."
Haas added, "Most of the time it's a mistake or a prank, but it's better to be safe."
Reporter Amy May can be reached at 758-4459 or by e-mail at amay@dailyinterlake.com