Law roundup: Object blowing in the wind isn't litter

A man calling the Flathead County Sheriff’s Office from Swan Mountain Drive wanted to know about littering ordinances because construction workers purportedly ignored him when he asked them to pick up trash that blew onto his mother’s property. He wanted to “press charges” so they “got the message” he was serious. The trash in question was a piece of material that blew into a tree, which he couldn’t reach. Deputies advised him that “wind blowing a piece of material into a tree does not qualify as littering.” He became upset and ended the conversation.

A Kalispell woman allegedly lost money to a scammer after receiving an email from an address of someone she knew asking her to do a favor by purchasing $300 in Google Play gift cards for them.

A white pickup reportedly kept parking in front of a fire hydrant on Skid Trail in Bigfork despite a woman’s husband speaking to them several times about it.

A gate on Berne Road in Columbia Falls was allegedly left unlocked which someone said was very unusual.

A vehicle was parked crosswise in front of a man’s gate, preventing heavy equipment from getting through. The driver was counseled and moved along.

An older man with a long white beard, who was accompanied by a dog, was allegedly parked very close to tracks and someone wanted him moved along and told not to return.

A woman calling from Rose Crossing came home to find an old, beat-up vehicle abandoned in her driveway that didn’t have license plates. Deputies spoke with the registered owner who claimed he sold the vehicle a couple of months ago but couldn’t remember who the person was buying it. She was given a case number to have it towed.