Law roundup: Phantom heavy machine operator plagues fairgrounds

One or more mysterious heavy machinery operators were allegedly descending upon the Flathead County Fairgrounds in the dark of night to play with equipment left on the property. When contractors arrived in the morning, they found the buckets of a front loader and an excavator in different positions than when they had left the day prior. Shenanigans aside, there was no damage reported. The contractor asked the Kalispell Police Department to perform extra patrols in the area and officers suggested the work crew consider installing a game camera.  

Authorities broke up an argument involving a man and a woman after a maintenance worker reported hearing the pair yelling at one another.  

After taking in a stray cat, a resident realized the animal was likely sick. She told dispatchers that the feline was suffering from diarrhea and wanted to know what she should do with it. Officers walked her through her options.  

Officers evicted a homeless man from a park at the behest of city employees, who alleged the man had been combative in the past. After receiving warnings about potential future citations, the man agreed to pick up and move along.  

As if losing her job wasn't bad enough, a woman told the police that her former company was now refusing to let her remove her personal property from her office. She said that she had furnished her office space, including buying furniture. The higher ups at the firm had told her they would arrange for a time when she could come by to collect the items, but four weeks had passed with no word. Officers recommended she speak with an attorney.  

When a woman who had gone into a store's bathroom failed to reemerge after 45 minutes, an employee phoned the authorities. She told them she had checked the door, and it was locked. Knocking failed to elicit a response, they said. At the employee's urging, officers arrived while they unlocked the door and entered the bathroom. It was unoccupied.  

Officers broke up a screaming match involving five or six people in an apartment complex.  

A passerby allegedly got a good view of a man's genitalia as he stood along the side of the road and peed.  

When their dog turned up with rib injuries, a landlord began to suspect a former tenant, who had made threats about "taking care" of the animal.  

An apartment dweller glanced out the window to see a naked man on the ground below. As they phoned the police, the man allegedly put pants on, but was continuing to roll around on the ground below. The man was indeed wearing garments when the authorities arrived. Officers reminded him that wearing pants in public was a requirement rather than a suggestion.