Wanda Thomas, Billings Montana Real Estate

Our landscape in the Rocky Mountain West is experiencing a change that is just plum scary! A couple of years ago, while heading up to Yellowstone Park from the Cody Wyoming East entrance, I was trying to figure out why there were so many dead trees. I tried to count, (don't worry, my husband was driving) and the best I could do was 1 live tree for every 5 dead ones. The weirdest thing is how brown the mountainside is, not the beautiful green I am used to.

We always try to sign up for the Park Ranger talks available throughout Yellowstone Park (I think my husband wants to become a Park Ranger some day). The Ranger's were explaining about the loss of Grizzly Bear food in the high elevations, the food is the White Bark Pine Nuts. In the late summer, squirrels and chipmunks work like crazy to create their winter food storage in heaps of pine cone middens that contain large amounts of the White Bark Pine Seeds. Grizzly's hunt around for these middens and raid them for this very nutritious food that they need before winter.

The White Bark Pine Trees are being devastated by The Mountain Pine Beetle. These beetles are having a hay day in the forest since areas like Yellowstone National Park have had trouble with drought and above average temperatures for about the last 10 years. When the trees are thirsty and dry, they loose their natural ability to push these beetles right out of their bark with large amounts of sticky sap. No water, less sap; less sap, more beetles in the trees. These beetles then reproduce and contaminate the host tree with a deadly fungus. The tree dies. No more pine nuts. Hungry squirrels, chipmunks, and Grizzly's.

I think these terrible pests will be making the news for the next 5 to 10 years as we cycle through the loss of trees, the fires that will eventually burn them up, and the rejuvination that needs to occur in the future.

I know I need to do my Christmas shopping early, but why should I change my ways now? Maybe I would have less stress if I just planned a bit better instead of rushing around at the last minute. My husband is a real trooper, he expects to shop the week before Christmas, he enjoys it, and he's very good at it (stores love him).

But I must complain, when the Christmas marketing season starts so early, as it has for years now, I am practically worn out by Christmas.

Too much of my brain gets tied up in trying to figure out what everyone wants (almost impossible), how much to spend (always an issue) and what the true meaning of Christmas really is about!

I do love the Christmas movies we have though, especially the ones that remind us that basic human kindness and care are the best gifts of all (and they shouldn't be limited to one season). I have lots of those movies, maybe I should start playing them now.

Huntley Project High School Burned to the Ground a year ago September 18th 2008. Since then the kids have been in trailer classrooms. The community has rallied together to build a pretty nice school with a groundbreaking ceremony this Friday at the building site in Worden at 8:30.

Despite this rather tough situation, the Huntley Project Red Devils managed to defeat a host of other Montana Class B Football teams last year and become State Champs.

I'm just wondering what will happen this year! After 5 games so far, the Huntley Project Red Devils point totals are 249, the opposing teams have totaled 0. I know that the Varsity only plays part of the game, same as last year. The next serious challenge for this team comes in a couple weeks when they meet the Columbus Cougars in Columbus Montana. If you're looking for a good game to go to, I'd pick this one Friday the 16th of October at 7pm in Columbus.

When I heard this story a minute ago, I told my husband "See, He Used The Secret!"

Mike Blowers just told another broadcaster that Matt Tui, a Seattle Mariner, was gonna hit his first big league home run, the hit count, the pitch, the pitcher, where the ball would go: And It Happened!

So I ask you, how great is that to use the power of believing something like that can happen. What if we all used our own Visual Thinking Cosmic Power? Whatever you want to call it, I grew up with the story of "The Little Engine That Could". I must tell you that I do have a flaw in this area, almost a backward type "little engine", when someone tells me I can't do something, I put my mind--headstrong forward and do whatever they told me couldn't be done.

Go ahead, try it

2009 Assessment Notice came in the mail a month or so ago, have a look at the calculator the State of Montana provides to you to see what your future property taxes will be.

Montana Department of Revenue Property Tax Calculator

I looked up my personal residence and my land taxes on the calculator and I'm pretty much staying the same, depending on the values of the future mill levy's.

Please see the following checklist prepared by John Sinrud, Government
Affairs Director (gad@nmar.com) on behalf of the Northwest Montana Association of REALTORS®. Our thanks toAffairs Director (gad@nmar.com) on behalf of the Northwest Montana Association of REALTORS®. Our thanks to
NMAR for sharing.

1. What is the 2009 reappraisal?
Montana law requires the Department of Revenue to reappraise or revalue all taxable real property every 6 years.

2. The six-year cycle ended on July 1, 2008

3. Can I protest if I think the reassessment value that I received is too high - YES.
o You will fill out a Request for Informal Review (Form AB-26) and send it to your local Department of Revenue
office before OCTOBER 2nd. AB-26 form

4. After you submitted the AB-26 form the Department will notify you of the date and time of the review.

5. If you are not satisfied with the review you have the right to appeal the results to your Local County Tax Appeal Board.
o In order to appeal, complete a Property Tax Appeal Form-09 and send it to the Clerk and Recorder in the County
in which the property is located within 30 days after you have received the results of your AB-26 informal review.

6. Find a more complete description of the appeal process on the State Tax Appeal Board website http://stab.mt.gov/

7. What happens if my client asks me for comps to help them appeal their current tax reassessment values, can I give them
comps from MLS - the answer is YES.

8. What if my property taxes become due before my appeal is resolved?
If you are appealing your property's market value or classification and your taxes become due before your appeal
is resolved, you will need to: Specify the grounds of your protest in writing, use form provided by your local
county treasurer for Payment of Taxes under Protest (sample link Pay tax under protest) and pay the taxes
disputed under protest by the due date. (November 30, 2009). If you are successful in your appeal, your County
Treasurer will send you a refund.

9. If you do not like the decision from the County Tax Appeal Board you also have the right to protest at the State Level.
See the State Tax Appeal Board Website http://stab.mt.gov/ for more information regarding this process.
The following is a tax calculator provided by the Department of Revenue which will give you the ability to see exactly how much
you will pay for your property taxes based upon the current local mills. CALCULATOR