Great Falls Tribune from Great Falls, Montana • Page 1

Lewistown museum UGF golf A Argos tournament gets under way 'v 'V---'5 Sports LE Oil Hrillinp in Gulf mav resume snnn 2A 'i i Bears stay undefeated, beat Packers II Replica of Torosaurus skull on display 1 mm Ex-Air Force officers discuss UFO sightings Malmstrom airmen testimony i 1111 1 i -r ilY i yl individual experiences and to urge a government that tried to ignore and silence them when they came forward years ago to finally come clean. Hastings said he believes that visitors from outer space are fixating on nuclear weapons because they want to send a message: Disarm before the world destroys itself. Robert Salas, a former missile launch officer at Malmstrom Air Force Base, said that 10 nuclear missiles were suddenly and inexplicably disabled in March 1967 By LEOYARD KING Gannett Washington Bureau WASHINGTON Armed with declassified documents and vivid details, a group of former Air Force officers gathered Monday to go public with an assertion they have kept mostly under wraps for decades: that UFOs visited the bases they were stationed at and caused nuclear weapon systems to temporarily malfunction. The group, convened by UFO researcher Robert Hastings, came to the National Press Club in Washington to discuss their INSIDE: See Page 3A for excerpts from affidavits from four former airmen who say they witnessed or heard fresh second-hand accounts of alleged disruptive 1960s UFO sightings at Malmstrom Air Force Base silos. MORE ONLINE: To read the testimony in its entirety, see this article at www.greatfallstribune.Gom.

You'll also find declassified government reports on alleged disruptions caused by UFOs at Malmstrom and other bases. GANNETT PHOTOLEDYARD KING Robert Salas, a former nuclear missile launch officer at Malm-strom Air Force Base in Great Falls, holds up a copy of the U.S. Air Force policy on UFOs at a news conference Monday at the National Press Club. Robert Hastings, a UFO researcher who put together the news conference, is seated next to Salas. See UFO, 3A In Meagher County an fatally shot; 10th Avenue South construction Residents ready for quiet Montana, Idaho seek approval for wolf kills neighbor suffers stabbing wounds By MATTHEW BROWN Associated Press Writer i r-Ft By KRISTEN CATES Tribune Staff Writer 10 miles White Sulphur U2J Springs p- Martinsdale Rin9'ing i Take UdaTnbune i a a i i i Meagher County officials say a man who was shot and killed on Saturday in rural Meagher County also was the owner of 70 dogs.

Meagher County Sheriff Jon Lopp said 63-year-old William McDonald was found dead from a single gunshot wound around 10 a.m. on Saturday at 61-year-old Michael Eckberg's property in the rural community of Sixteen. Eckberg had received multiple stab wounds and was transported to an undisclosed area hospital. John Strandell, chief investigator for the Division of Criminal Investigation at the Department of Justice, said his team is not searching for any suspects in the shooting and stabbing and did not elaborate on how McDonald had been shot. According to Lopp, the two men lived nearby and some of McDonald's 70 Shetland sheepdogs were recovered on Eckberg's property on Saturday.

Lopp said the dogs lived outdoors and were allowed to run wild, living almost like feral ani- rr mm-h. vy mals. He said his office knew previously that McDonald had Shel-ties, but they didn't know how many. The Lewis and Clark Humane Society in Helena was asked to assist in treating the 70 dogs and finding them shelter. Lopp said many of the dogs were covered in fleas and have matted hair.

The Humane Society will be working with a local veterinarian to treat the dogs. Lopp said the dogs and the shooting-stabbing are being investigated as two separate matters. BILLINGS Documents released Monday show that Montana is seeking federal approval to kill 186 endangered gray wolves in a special "conservation hunt" and neighboring Idaho wants permission to remove up to 50 of the predators that officials say are eating too many elk. The states' proposals to kill the wolves come despite a court ruling that restored the animals' endangered species status. In separate applications filed over the last two weeks with the U.S.

Fish and Wildlife Service, Idaho and Montana said their new plans to kill wolves were permissible under the Endangered Species Act. Wildlife managers contend the Aug. 5 ruling from U.S. District Judge Donald Molloy did not account for the growing impact of wolves on livestock and big game herds across the Northern Rockies. Hunters in Idaho and Montana killed about 260 wolves last year during the states' inaugural wolf hunt seasons.

An estimated 1,700 of the animals still roam the Northern Rockies almost six times the region's original recovery goal of 300 wolves. "We've done an excellent job. We want to manage them as we do any other of our wildlife," said Bonnie Butler, natural resources adviser to Idaho Gov. C. L.

"Butch" Otter. She said the 40 to 50 wolves that would be removed from the Lolo area of central Idaho have decimated area elk populations. The wolves would be killed by government wildlife agents. Idaho also wants public hunting of wolves, but has not See FATALLY SHOT, 3A TRIBUNE PHOTOSLARRY BECKNER Todd Shigley of Highway Specialties replaces a stop sign at the intersection of 25th Street South and 9th Avenue South on Monday as crews changed 9th Avenue back into a two-way street after it was used for a detour during construction on 10th Avenue South. Detour back to two-way traffic Obama stresses need for longer school year By RICHARD ECKE Tribune Staff Writer I lit i By ERICA WERNER Associated Press Writer lbs: interview on NBC's "Today" show.

U.S. schools through high school offer an average of 180 instruction days per year, according to the Education Commission of the States, compared with an average of 197 days for lower grades and 196 days for upper grades in countries with the best student achievement levels, including Japan, South Korea, Germany and New See WOLF, 3A Travis Ehnot of Montana Lines carries a traffic WASHINGTON Barely into the new school year, President Barack Obama issued a tough-love message to students and teachers on Monday: Their year in the classroom should be longer, and poorly performing teachers should get out. American students are falling behind some of their for It's all over but the finishing touches for a $6.25 million project that widened 10th Avenue South from four to six lanes from 20th to 26th streets. The last big move came Monday, as workers removed temporary traffic signals from 9th Avenue South, which had become a westbound detour for 10 blocks west of 27th Street for several months. On late Monday, 9th Avenue South returned to two-way traffic.

"Thank God," said Lynett Waite, who lives in the 1900 block of 9th Avenue South. "I constantly yelled at people to slow down. They fly down this hill." With heavy traffic passing by, Waite said there was "garbage all over out here" and cars with deep-bass sub-woofers boomed out music. The family kept windows closed to keep out the noise. Eastbound traffic moved onto the new three lanes of 10th Avenue South on Friday, Zealand.

"That month makes a difference," the president said. "It means that kids are losing a lot of what they learn during the school year eign rounterparts, especially in math and science, and that's got to change, Obama said. Seeking to revive a sense of urgency that education reform may have Today's question Weigh in on this topic. Details on 1M signals and cameras will be adjusted. Once the state official gives formal approval, probably later in the day on Monday, Oct.

4, the speed limit on the new sections will return to 35 mph. The speed limit for this week remains at 25 mph. Motorists are advised to watch for construction workers much of this week and to drive defensively as traffic gets back to normal. "I had one lady going the wrong way down 25th (Street)," Davis said. "I don't know where she came from." and the three new westbound lanes opened Saturday.

Now, Waite said, her family is "starting to enjoy the quiet." Ninth Avenue South was switched back Monday from two lanes headed west to two-way traffic. United Materials is finishing its project early. Marvin Davis, project superintendent, said some median work on the project's east end continued Monday, and the company may have its work wrapped up by Thursday. A state Department of Transportation official is scheduled to visit the project next Monday. On that day, during the summer.

It's especially severe for poorer kids who may not see as many books in the house during the summers, aren't getting as many educational opportunities." Obama said teachers and their profession should be more highly honored as in China and some lost amid the recession i. -focus on the economy, Obama declared that the future of the country is at stake. "Whether jobs are created here, high-end jobs that support families and support the future of the American people, is going to depend on whether or not we can do something about these schools," the president said in an THINKST0CK PHOTO Both Idaho and Montana have filed applications over the last two weeks to hold wolf kills. SEE CONSTRUCTION, 3A See SCHOOL YEAR, 3A Index of regular features 2010 -Great Falls Tribune A Gannett newspaper No. 138.

Vol. 126 Great Falls forecast High: 86' Low: 47 Bair Family Museum Photo gallery lllll See images from the renovation at the Martinsdale facility at wvwv.gftrib.coni Business Calendar Comics Chatter Nation 4M 6A CLASSIFIED Automotive 5A Legals 3M Lost and found 3M Services 3M Obituaries 2M Opinion 4A Records 2M Puzzles 2C TV listings 6A Sunny, continued i warm and windy fg Full weather report on back page 901ll09450l O-Ci :0.