Trego's Mountain Ear

"Serving North Lincoln County"

Tag: Trego Montana

  • Monitoring Snow- the Easy Way

    Monitoring Snow- the Easy Way

    Times have changed.  In the seventies, I would have been up and out this morning to snowmobile in to Weasel Divide, Stahl Peak, and Grave Creek snow courses, and worked the details out in the evening in a Libby motel room.  Now, I can get the data in my kitchen by clicking a link.

    So we’re going into February at 127% of average – 5 ½ inches of water more.  Something interesting happened between 2:00 pm and 3:00 pm on January 27 – the snow depth reported went from 187 inches to 75 inches, while the snow water equivalent stayed the same at 27 inches.  This is why we carried so many spare parts on the back of the old Ski-doo Alpines – one ski up front, two tracks behind, and a small pickup bed behind the seat.  Monitoring equipment needs to be monitored.

    DateTime PSTSnow Water Equivalent (inches)Snow Depth (inches)Snow Density (%)Precipitation To-Date (inches)Current Temperature (degrees F)
    01/28/2022090026.9187.01446.118.0
    01/28/2022080026.9187.01446.116.9
    01/28/2022070026.9187.01446.212.4
    01/28/2022060026.9187.01446.112.4
    01/28/2022050026.9187.01446.112.9
    01/28/2022040026.9187.01446.113.1
    01/28/2022030026.9187.01446.215.4
    01/28/2022020026.9187.01446.215.1
    01/28/2022010026.9187.01446.213.3
    01/28/2022000026.975.03646.214.5
    01/27/2022230026.9187.01446.212.7
    01/27/2022220026.975.03646.213.5
    01/27/2022210026.976.03546.213.6
    01/27/2022200026.976.03546.214.0
    01/27/2022190026.976.03546.214.2
    01/27/2022180026.976.03546.213.8
    01/27/2022170027.076.03646.214.4
    01/27/2022160027.075.03646.216.7
    01/27/2022150027.076.03646.218.1
    01/27/2022140027.0187.01446.217.6
    01/27/2022130027.0187.01446.221.4
    01/27/2022120027.0187.01446.218.1
    01/27/2022110026.9187.01446.216.9
    01/27/2022100026.9187.01446.2   

    So what’s in store?  As the chart below shows, there isn’t enough data yet for projecting seasonal precipitation reliably on the first day of February.  Still, with the normal high around 39 inches on the first of May, we need only10 more inches of water to make it, spread over the next 90 days.

    If you want more data relative to the upcoming temperature and precipitation projections, NOAA has the official long-lead forecasts available at:  cpc.ncep.noaa.gov

    It looks like our temperatures will be a little below normal for March-April-May, leading to a bit slower snow melt.

    The precipitation probability is also above average – so things look good for the Spring.

    As I look back, it is easy to see how a career starting in snow surveys provided good experience as I moved into demography.  There really isn’t a lot of difference between projecting snow depth and human populations.

  • The Fred Herrig Story

    The Fred Herrig Story

    This photo of Ant Flat’s first Forest Ranger, Fred Herrig, was taken from npshistory.com

    The book is online, and tells the early stories of the area.  The following article, from http://npshistory.com/ tells the story.

    FRED HERRIG STORY

    Fred Herrig was a rough and ready, early-day Forest Ranger. He administered the area of Ant Flats, Tally Lake, and part of the North Fork during his tenure. Herrig was from Alsace-Lorraine, was very dark, and wore a handlebar mustache.

    A veteran of service in the Spanish-American War with Roosevelt’s Rough Riders, he was the largest man in the regiment. He punched cows for Roosevelt on his ranch on the Little Missouri in North Dakota. When Roosevelt organized the Rough Riders for his Cuban campaign, Fred was packing ore in British Columbia. Roosevelt wired him from San Antonio, Texas, to come down and join them. Herrig did. In Roosevelt’s book “The Rough Riders,” Herrig is mentioned several times. He was breveted second lieutenant (a commission higher than that for which he received pay) for special services for tracking a string of mules, loaded with machine guns, that got away during a skirmish. Several full-blooded Indians gave up the job. Then Fred tracked the mules into Spanish territory and recovered the mules and the guns.

    After Roosevelt became president, he appointed Herrig as Forest Ranger with headquarters at Ant Flats. Herrig built the first Ranger Station there in 1904.

    Herrig told the story that, in 1905, he sent in a monthly diary with a lot of daily records reading, “Rained hard, stayed in camp.” When his next check was quite a bit short, Herrig saw to it that it never rained so hard again. A story which persisted over the years was that the Supervisor became perturbed at Herrig one day and relieved him of his responsibilities as Forest Ranger. When President Roosevelt learned of this, he immediately sent out orders for Fred to be reinstated.

    There is also a story that Teddy Roosevelt, on a western tour, saw Fred in the audience and motioned for him to come to the speaker’s platform. But before this big, dark, villainous-looking fellow got very far, he was collared by two plainclothesmen.

    (Some of the details regarding Fred Herrig were provided by material written by Edward G. Stahl. Stahl left the Forest Service in 1911; he died in 1957.)

  • Trego School Adopted New Salary Schedule

    Trego School Adopted New Salary Schedule

    The Trego School board adopted a new salary schedule during the meeting on Wednesday, January twelfth. The new salary schedule will be applicable starting in the fall of the upcoming school year.

    The schedule is split into three sections, by number of teaching endorsements.

    Single Endorsement
    BABA+10BA+20MAMA+10
    Experience yrs$33,920$34,598$35,290$35,996$36,716
    1$34,598$35,290$35,996$36,716$37,450
    2$35,290$35,996$36,716$37,450$38,199
    3$35,996$36,716$37,450$38,199$38,963
    4$36,716$37,450$38,199$38,963$39,743
    5$37,450$38,199$38,963$39,743$40,538
    Dual Endorsement
    BABA+10BA+20MAMA+10
    Experience yrs$37,450$38,387$39,346$40,330$41,338
    1$38,387$39,346$40,330$41,338$42,372
    2$39,346$40,330$41,338$42,372$43,431
    3$40,330$41,338$42,372$43,431$44,517
    4$41,338$42,372$43,431$44,517$45,630
    5$42,372$43,431$44,517$45,630$46,770
    Third Endorsement
    BABA+10BA+20MAMA+10
    Experience yrs$42,372$43,643$44,734$45,852$46,999
    4$43,643$44,952$46,076$47,228$48,409
    5$44,952$46,301$47,458$48,645$49,861
    6$46,301$47,690$48,882$50,104$51,357
    7$47,690$49,120$50,348$51,607$52,897
    8$49,120$50,594$51,859$53,155$54,484

    Trego’s Salary Schedule is unusual in a few ways. While most salary schedules increase with the number of years of teaching experience, few consider the number of teaching endorsements. Though some offer fixed bonuses for coaching.

    A teaching endorsement is granted by Montana’s Office of Public Instruction. These can include K-8 endorsements, which allow the teacher to teach any subject to students from kindergarten to 8th grade, as well as music and art. High school teachers are typically licensed for their specific subject areas -in my case, a Broadfield Science license allows me to teach science for grades 5-12. Special Education, Counseling, and Administrative Endorsements can also be found in public schools.

    For comparison, Eureka’s Salary Schedule can be found on their website.

    In comparison, this salary schedule has far more years of teaching experience included, and considers twenty further credits beyond a master’s degree.

    The base salary for a teacher fresh out of school, without any credits past a bachelors degree would be slightly lower in Eureka, except that the district starts new teachers at step three on the schedule. Trego’s schedule is similar, but adding endorsements (this varies in difficulty, but typically involves some coursework and passing a praxis test) provides teachers with the more significant pay increase than additional coursework does alone.

  • Nearby School Rankings

    I’ve worked in a system where school rankings were always in the background – in my world, MIT and Cal Tech were always at the top, then the Ivys, moving down to a sub-Ivy League bunch that rated above my land grants, and then lower tiered schools ending at community and junior colleges. 

    Spending a bit of time on the school board has me watching the next level – high schools.  I’m patiently waiting to see how the ACT scores place our local schools – but until that data is released, other scores exist.

    US News rates high schools – I was familiar with their college rankings (there is something humbling about working with a couple that are recognized above the place that employs you).  So I checked their website to see where Lincoln County High School ranked.

    “Lincoln County High School is ranked 63-85th within Montana. The total minority enrollment is 14%, and 54% of students are economically disadvantaged.”

    US News

    Whitefish was #2.  Glacier was #12.  Flathead #16.  Libby #33.  Columbia Falls #37.  Thompson Falls #48.  LCHS tied with Troy – between 63 and 85, at the bottom of the ranked high schools.

    Niche also ranks LCHS.  The numbers require a bit of thinking – how can the state champions score 90th in the state in the category “best high school for athletes in Montana”?  (I think I’ve figured it out, but my hypothesis needs more data – while boys athletic participation is rated average, girls participation is rated at very low)  One of the upbeat rankings was the faculty – number 34 in the state, with an A- rating on the school’s report card.  On the other hand, academics are rated at C+ . . . a bit hard to reconcile with a teaching staff that is rated at A-.  Administration was rated at B, and food at B+ (hard for me to understand, but back when I went to school Mrs. Grace Cuffe ran the kitchen).

    They did point out that “In Eureka there are a lot of bars.”  I suspect the reviewers didn’t understand the cultural aspects that accompany the nickname “Tijuana del norte.”  Ah, well, one day soon we can expect to see the ratings based on ACT results.

    I’ll be glad when we can see ratings for Trego – 3 years ago, when I got on the board, we were down to 4 or 5 students.  Now we’re right around 30 students in 8 grades, and getting close to a spot where there are enough students in a class that scores can stay confidential. 

  • Patches Pictures

    Patches Pictures

    Recently, the coyote(s) has been on the road almost every day. Presumably hunting the turkeys.  The deer are gathering in groups. -Patches

  • So, How Bad Are the Roads, Anyway?

    With snow and ice season well and truly upon us, it seems like the first thought to mind when considering travel is the state of the roads. Good? Bad? Clear? Icy?

    An inquiring mind has a few options.

    • Facebook: There are Facebook groups dedicated solely to road reports, and if the timing is right, one can find a post by someone who just traveled the same path.
    • The Travel Info Map: has nice, color coded details for the entire state. Covers major highways.
    • Web Cameras: These are useful for a look outdoors without actually having to look out doors. I often check the Dickey Lake Camera from the Travel Info Map, although Eureka has its own and there are several down in the Flathead.

    There isn’t a really good source, other than people who’ve been out and about, for roads like Ant Flat and Fortine Creek Road. They just aren’t big enough to make it onto the Travel Info Map. Some good internet research (and some luck) can tell you all about the roads in Eureka, the trip down towards Whitefish, and the condition of the roads within Whitefish and Kalispell. The usual sources aren’t as much good for the (very) local roads.

    That said, it’s often my experience that the first few miles after leaving home are the worst for driving.