Fall in Montana

Here are some pictures I took over the weekend in the Big Hole valley.. I think snow is on its way..

Wreck on Golf Course Road

Not sure what this guy was doing trying to ride the fence....

We had a great Oppor Day

Everything went very well at our 3rd annual Oppor Days and Fun Run. We didn't have the crowd we had last year but there was a lot of things going on that day in the area. We still didn't have much support from our community, in fact, not one of the volunteer firemen showed up. I guess we will have to do something different that appeals to our community. Its sad because it was a time when all local people had a chance to go have some fun and socialize with their neighbors. We had lots of things for the kids to do re: 3 jumping house, a water slide, a slip and slide with surf boards, face painting and various other things. The Race Track Fire Dept brought over their smoke house and showed the kids what to do if there is a fire in their homes, and things to watch for that could start a fire in their home. We had so many gifts to give away at the picnic that it took most of the day to draw tickets. Most everyone won something. There where some really great prizes which included local artists prints, DVD players, a ride on the Copper Express, meal tickets etc etc. We also had some really awsum food. There was BBQ'd prok chop sandwichs, corn on the cob, hamburgers, hot dogs, Beer and Pepsi products. If you didn't make it to the party, then you really missed a good one. Here are a few pictures from the event. I was in charge of the Poker Run so I missed a lot of the kids stuff. We even had a couple of Canadian Geese fly in to enjoy the party.

3rd Annual Oppor days and Fun Run

OCPA has set a date for the 3rd annual Oppor days and Fun Run. It will be held August 23 2008. There will be a poker run that starts at 10am at Carmels Bar in Anaconda and will end at the Community Club in Opportunity. The event will be held at the OCC this year because of problems we had with insurance on the Beaver Dam School property and also we could NOT sell beer there because it is on School property. We are also going to have child safety awareness for the kids again this year with free prizes and lots of fun. OCPA will be having a fund raiser garage sale in the club building with lots of great deals. Food will be excellent as usual with BBQ'd pork chop sandwiches and corn on the cob. There will also be hot dogs for the kids. DJ Doc Savage will be providing the music. We hope to have an even bigger event this year so I urge you to join us. Bring the whole family and an appetite.

Saturdays Meeting

Saturdays meeting went real well. Rick Appleman, gave a reoprt on the air monitors that OCPA worked so hard to get installed. Come to find out, the monitors are NOT doing what we want them to. They measure particulate size but what we really wanted to know, is what is in this dust that engulfs our neighborhoods. Also, the data from these monitors, has been recorded as averages for the day, week, month and so on. We don't want averages, its like the old saying goes, "The solution to pollution, is delusion". When you take an average from the samples, it takes into consideration all of the days when the dust wasn't blowing and figures that in for the average. This brings the bad days data down to where it doesn't look so bad. We want data on the dust event days and what is in it. We don't care about averages.
Also, Elizabeth from WET gave a report on the 26 wells they have been testing monthly for the last year. There where a couple of wells that where elevated in Arsenic but nothing to worry about YET. More testing to come in the future.
Also, Mark Kovacich from the law firm of Lewis, Slovack and Kovacich was there to sign up more people for the law suit that a group of Opportunity residents files against ARCO and to answer any questions that anyone may have concerning the law suit.
All in All, it was a great meeting. OCPA even got to show off their new reader board.. It will serve a good purpose in the future. If you missed the meeting, you missed another good one.

NOTICE!!!

Saturday, June 14th at 2:00pm
OCPA will be sponsoring an informational meeting at the Opportunity Community Club, with guests that include, Water Environmental Technologies (WET). They will be giving information on results from the yearly testing they have performed on various local wells. As well as Professor Rick Appleman from Kuipers and Associates who will be giving a report on air samples from the two locations, one in Opportunity and one at Warm Springs that where chosen over a year ago. These samples where taken 24 hrs a day, seven days a week. They should provide us with data on our recent dust events. Also, there may be Lawyers there to answer any questions you may have about the citizen filed law suit against ARCO. I urge each and every citizen of Opportunity to show up there and see where you stand with your health and your rights.......

Opportunity Cleanup

On May 31, OCPA sponsored an Opportunity Clean up. We had several residents join in as we walked every street in Opportunity picking up trash along side of the streets. Approximetly 15 big bags of trash where picked up. My hat goes off to every citizen that joined in on the clean up. Afterwards, a lunch was provided by OCPA which included Hot dogs with all the trimmings, Chile, Chips and a beverage. Thank you everyone for helping to keep our beautiful community beautiful.

Cadmium Warning

One of our local residents of Opportunity was diagnosed with extremely high levels of Cadmium in her blood stream. If you don't think we are in danger of being poisoned by ARCO/BP, think again. Here is the health facts on cadmium:

Clinical effects of Cadmium

Acute exposure to cadmium fumes may cause flu like symptoms including chills, fever, and muscle ache sometimes referred to as "the cadmium blues." Symptoms may resolve after a week if there is no respiratory damage. More severe exposures can cause tracheo-bronchitis, pneumonitis, and pulmonary edema. Symptoms of inflammation may start hours after the exposure and include cough, dryness and irritation of the nose and throat, headache, dizziness, weakness, fever, chills, and chest pain.

Inhaling cadmium-laden dust quickly leads to respiratory tract and kidney problems which can be fatal (often from renal failure). Ingestion of any significant amount of cadmium causes immediate poisoning and damage to the liver and the kidneys. Compounds containing cadmium are also carcinogenic.

The bones become soft (osteomalacia), lose bone mineral density (osteoporosis) and become weaker. This causes the pain in the joints and the back, and also increases the risk of fractures. In extreme cases of cadmium poisoning, the mere body weight causes a fracture.

The kidneys lose their function to remove acids from the blood in proximal renal tubular dysfunction. The kidney damage inflicted by cadmium poisoning is irreversible and does not heal over time. The proximal renal tubular dysfunction creates low phosphate levels in the blood (hypophosphatemia), causing muscle weakness and sometimes coma. The dysfunction also causes gout, a form of arthritis due to the accumulation of uric acid crystals in the joints because of high acidity of the blood (hyperuricemia). Another side effect is increased levels of chloride in the blood (hyperchloremia). The kidneys can also shrink up to 30%.

Other patients lose their sense of smell (anosmia).

Air monitor

It was brought to my attention that there are no pictures of the new air monitor placed near Opportunity. This is supposed to monitor air quality in our area and log it 24 hrs a day, 7 days a week.

May 20 2008, Yet another dust storm.

Yesterday May 20 between 4:00 and 5:00 pm, there was yet another dust storm that ripped through Opportunity. It also went across Highway 48 and the visibility was zero on that highway. I am surprised no one has been in a serious accident while trying to travel through one of these dust events. There was dust coming from the newly disturbed contaminated soil on the Mill Creek road and the people of Opportunity had a very hard time breathing. There was also tremendous dust coming from the stream side tailings project near Fairmont that also ripped through Opportunity. The dust blowing across Highway 48 was coming from the ARCO/BP pond area. This is getting really old and someone needs to be held accountable.