Rate raises, station intruders, job corps approval

The Ronan Pioneer, May 7, 1970

Postal rates raises

From Miles City Star

Little of the mail transported by the US Post Office is from one private citizen to another. About half of all such personal mail is in the form of greeting cards, the largest part of it during the Christmas season. While no one really likes higher prices than he's been paying, then, it is a rare citizen who will be harmed greatly by an increase in postal rates, no matter how large.

The federal government alone uses more mail service than all the newspapers and magazines in the country combined. By far the largest user of mail, however, is American business. It solicits business, receives orders, bills and collects through the first-class mail. It does much of its advertising through third-class mail (so-called junk mail. It ships many of its products via regular mail or parcel post.

Business, it seems, has a lot of power in Washington. Its big guns still make a lot of noise. That's apparent in the proposed new mail rate schedules recommended by the Nixon administration.

Junk mail advertisers, who supply about one-fourth of the total weight of mail handled, were originally scheduled for a 5% rate increase in the new schedules. After an uproar, Post Office officials upped the proposed hike to 33%. All first-class mail (including airmail would have cost a minimum of 10 cents. The same uproar brought that figure down to eight cents.

Watchdog puts bite on station intruders

A click of the switch and the efforts of an enthusiastic watchdog put the bite on three suspects in a service station burglary early Friday morning in St. Ignatius.

Red Richardson, St. Ignatius city policeman, saw a light switch on and off in Hamel's Service station and decided to take a second look, requesting the cooperation of Lake County Deputy Albert LaPorte. The two officers reported that they found three St. Ignatius men in the act of removing gasoline, batteries and other items from the service station. The men were trapped by the effective watchdog.

Hamel's watchdog that sleeps in the station dispersed the intruders. He held them all at bay, and one of them had been bitten on the leg by the indutrious German shepherd.

Phillip Barnaby, 18, Melvin Thomas Mahseelah, 22, and Duane Bourdon, 21, were arrested at the scene and arraigned in Polson Friday on charges of first-degree burglary by Judge Ray Kelly. Bond was set at $2,500 each.

All three remain in custody at the Lake County jail, and medical attention has been ordered for Bourdon, who received the dog bite.

The trail has been set over for another week.

Tribe approves resolution on Job Corps center

A resolution to take over the Northwest Indian Manpower Skills Center when it is converted back to a Job Corps center was passed Wednesday by the Tribal Council of the Confederated Salish and Kootenai Tribes.

The tribe approved the conversion to an all-Indian Job Corps center under tribal management. Tribal Secretary Fred Houle said that the tribe will probably contract for a management service, but the center will be under tribal control.

The tribe expects to follow th Job Corps format and continue with the same type of course now offered. Trainees between the ages of 16 and 21 will be enrolled.