Rep Powers Talks to High School Students Worried About Climate Change

Rep Powers attended the showing of a film called “When the Waters Rise Again” about the 1964 flood in the Flathead and the 2022 flood near Yellowstone.  The event was held at Columbia Falls High School and was sponsored by a high school group called the Conservation Crew along with Climate Smart Glacier Country.  Young people are worried about their futures and effects of climate change.  Climate change is brining not just more wildfires, smoke, and drought, but an increased risk of severe flooding caused by “atmospheric rivers” like the one that hit Yellowstone in 2022.

Whitefish Community Meeting on Property Taxes

Because the property tax community meeting in Polebridge was so successful, one was held at the Whitefish Community Center.  State Senator Dave Fern and State Representative Debo Powers presented information about how the new property tax laws passed by the legislature will affect homeowners in Montana.  Rep Powers used a power point developed by the Department of Revenue.

Surprise in the Mail!

It was a surprise to Rep Powers when she opened her mailbox and found a mailer giving her an A rating based on her votes in the legislature.  The mailer was sent by Montana Conservation Voters who track how legislators vote in the session.

Field Trip to Polluting Gold Mines

Rep Powers drove half-way across the state to join her interim legislative committee in a field trip at the Zortman-Landusky and C.R. Kendall mines near Lewistown.  These gold mines used cyanide to extract the gold from the rock causing catastrophic levels of water pollution.

Although the mines are no longer operating, the state of Montana spends $3.5 million every year on water treatment because the companies who owned the mines went bankrupt.  Without water treatment, the nearby farms, ranches, and Indian Reservation would have toxic water.  This is a powerful example of how many extractive industries in the past were treated leniently by government requiring taxpayers to cleanup their mess in perpetuity.  It is imperative that state government require the highest standards for any extractive industries in our state.  We cannot let this keep happening to our people and our state.

Rep Powers, Volunteer Ranger for Glacier National Park

This summer and fall, Rep Powers volunteered over 200 hours for Glacier National Park as a backcountry ranger (called Wilderness Patrol).  Wearing a uniform and carrying a park radio, she hiked all over the Park talking to visitors, checking backcountry permits, and educating people about the Glacier backcountry and how to recreate there with as little impact as possible.  Although she has done this for the past 5 summers, this year was especially important due to the layoffs and firings of employees by the federal government.

Polebridge Community Meeting About Property Taxes

Rep Debo Powers held an informational meeting at the Sondreson Community Hall north of Polebridge to explain the new property tax laws to her neighbors.  “I was being asked questions by so many neighbors that I decided to hold a community meeting and explain everything at the same time.”  The meeting was well attended and Rep Powers used a power point developed by the Department of Revenue.

Rep Powers is a Fire Lookout

Every summer, Representative Debo Powers volunteers as a fire lookout for the Flathead National Forest.  This summer’s hitch is on Cyclone Lookout near Polebridge in House District 3.  This is  part of her public service, watching for wildfires on the landscape.

 

Rep Powers Speaks at Flathead Democratic Dinner

When people commented that Rep Powers had survived the legislative session, she said “I not only survived, I thrived!”  Speaking to an enthusiastic crowd at the Flathead Democrat’s Spring Dinner, she told stories of victories and failures in the legislature and assured the crowd that she was ready to do it again!