Pam Caughey is an artist not subject to restraint. Spontaneous and natural, her paintings are marked by uncontrolled excitement and emotion, blissfully free of confinement. Specializing in diverse watercolor, acryclic, pastel, and collage/mixed media, with subjects running the graceful gamut of stylish and sublime expression, Caughey’s artistic offerings attempt “to exploit the spontaneous effects which occur when the paint meets the paper.”

Caughey’s multi-media body of work, titled ‘Chaos to Order,’ a mad whirl of pleasure displaying over 40 richly colorful creations of great beauty and splendor, made up of a blended menagerie of watercolors, acrylics, pastels, oils and collages, shows at The Frame Shop, in Hamilton, from June 23-August 20.

The success of any painting often depends on the details and Caughey is keenly aware of the shapes created in everything from shadows to plants and patches of sunlight. Also, she makes certain to pay proper attention to areas that distract from the success of the entire work, such as unsmooth textures or unfavorable color combinations. Her clinging to these principles ensures a painting that conveys the subtleties of mood with a robust visual punch and beautiful, engaging shapes. In fact, there’s an easygoing mastery in her evocations of places and moods and the beauty of the natural world.

Spontaneity, the most important part of Caughey’s work, heightens her natural artistic impulses. These natural feelings, mostly of the free-flowing stream of consciousness variety, manifest behaviors and movements that “step in and pull things together according to my inner spirit.”

A strong landscape artist, Caughey sees trees, plants, shadows and even leaves as organic and malleable to her artistic needs, recreating them in such a way as to make sure these shapes are at once undeniably interesting, visually beneficial to her, and pleasing to the viewer’s eye.

“Areas must be molded and shaped, formed and manipulated until the end result expresses the inner mood which began the whole process,” says Caughey.

Nothing about Caughey’s paintings could be considered banal or unadventurous, something part of the artist’s intention. “I love to experiment and discover new things. If I’m not interested in what’s happening on the paper, what I’m doing will fall flat and predictable,” says Caughey.

Through painting, Caughey reaches unknown and unexplored regions stowed away in the ulterior, causing things obscurely felt to surge up from unsuspected depths within her. This plunging into the abyss of the unexplained eventually incarnates new color schemes, strange beginnings and endings, titillating textures, and esoteric visions, which keep her engaged all the way.

“I love the unexpected. I like to let the painting suggest to me what it wants to be. The painting expresses itself to you.”

Although she’s at a stage in her career when she’s passing her own artistic insights along to beginners, Caughey still maintains a supple and enthusiastic appreciation of having been given the opportunity to doodle, dream and create.

“One of my goals as an artist is to regain the creative spirit of a child, something I think we tend to lose as we get older.”

Elements of Caughey’s work combine a local flavor with worldly sophistication. Indeed, such skill comes from years of learning. In addition to taking workshops from noted artists such as Barbara Nechis and Christopher Schink, Caughey holds a B.S. degree in biochemistry and has studied fine art in London, England, North Carolina and Montana. In the past she has served as president of the Montana Watercolor Society, an organization she still remains a signature member of.

Caughey began her ambitious, self-taught study of watercolor when she moved to the Bitterroot Valley, in 1986, with her family. She is thankful that the valley still offers her an infinite abundance of spacious skies and wild terrain to base her landscape work upon.

It’s clear that Caughey enjoys challenging our notions of what representing something means. In her works, we understand that painting is an act and a process, and not just about picture making. From the soothing, seamless watercolor of tree branches and bright leaves to pastels of trickling water and stacked landscapes, there’s a feeling of wholeness to her work, suggesting the cycles of life, where we can see the beginnings and endings of life, brought into a tranquil focus.

Caughey, who considers watercolor art the most difficult medium to work with, interprets this form of expression from photographs because she likes total control of the paint surface, something she doesn’t get when painting in the elements, which only offer mercurial movements, like inexplicable light changes and wind shifts.

Watercolor is the hardest medium to completely comprehend and the slowest to master, says Caughey; that’s because sometimes paint dries whiter than what’s expected and certain papers have a tendency of buckling. In the future she’ll continue to focus on the mixed media aspect of art work, mixing watercolor with pastel, and pastel with acryclic, and experimenting with collage. (Collage art is the artistic composition of materials and objects, like beautiful and bright papers, pasted over a surface.)

“Whatever medium I’m working with at the time expresses how I’m feeling,” she says.

Interestingly, Caughey says she spends much more time thinking about the art work than she does actually putting paint on paper, constantly musing over what the piece is telling her about its color, shape and design.

Like any other artist, whether painter or poet, writer or totem pole carver, she possesses an innate understanding of when a piece is completed, when she can live with it contently.

“I’m happy with a painting when it says enough but not too much, and when it’s not overworked. I’ll check a painting to see if I’m satisfied with it by looking at it upside down, and in the mirror, and then by leaving it alone for several nights. When I think there’s nothing else left to be done, then I’m finished.”

Living with a piece of art is one thing, but actually parting with it is another.

While Caughey grows attached to her works and has a sentimental connection to each piece, she understands that her paintings will someday have to depart.

“I know they’ve got to go, but a part of me goes off with them still.”

Pam Caughey’s artistic offerings will be on display at the Frame Shop, located at 325 West Main Street, in Hamilton, from June 23-August 20.

Mike Bader has always savored blues music as part of his inner landscape. As the title to his first CD ‘Clearcut Case of the Blues’ unequivocally suggests, Bader is engaged wholly and deeply in the blues, so much so that his music has become an intimate reflection of how he sees America and himself.

Indeed, Bader represents the classy continuation of more than 100 years of American produced blues music, bringing out the beauty and heartache of its sounds and language, the excitement of its stories, and the sheer importance of what this genre has to say about life, love, adventure and hatred, and what it means, in every sense, to be American.

Bader, an Iowa native who now calls Missoula home, is a blues scholar who has totally immersed himself in his subject. His blues music is strongly felt, and ablaze with passion and unrelenting love for the style of sound that has helped him endure many years of tough wrangling. Conversely, there’s a warm friendliness to Bader, certainly the part of him that’s obligated to ensure that his audience, night after night, finds his music invigorating.

Blues music is different from all other genres, explains Bader, who infuses blues bars and beats with various other forms of musical expression such as reggae, zydeco, Latin and funk.

“My job as a blues musician and as a performer is to connect with the audience, and to supply them with a dancing beat. When the audience is having fun it makes the show much more fun for me.”

Concerned with not only the technical standards of his profession but the ethical ones as well, Bader vows to continue bringing energetic good times to each performance, while trying to win new fans everywhere he goes. He has performed at all three Bitterroot Smokin’ Blues Festivals and is certainly behind the event all the way, promoting the festival while touring extensively the last few months, playing clubs from Wisconsin to Bozeman, MT. (In fact, Bader’s spring tour covered over 5,000 miles, all traveled by vehicle, in just over six weeks.)

With its spacious lands and lack of soaring structures, Montana is not known to be a musical Mecca for blues performances, but the Bitterroot Smokin’ Blues is slowly changing that perception by bringing another solid line-up of nationally and internationally hailed superstars to the stage, in the process becoming a haven for the crème de la crème.

“To have this conglomeration of great blues acts here for one weekend is pretty impressive,” says Bader. “Support it and it’ll happen again. While the blues evolved from your granddaddy’s music, it’s not your granddaddy’s sad music; it’s today’s good time music.

Indeed, Bader’s musical mission is clear and unambiguous: to keep the blues alive.

“The blues can’t just be a museum piece. We need new artists and new songs that capture the younger audiences out there.”

Bader says his first musical gig took place right after he’d just turned 13, and cites a largely unheralded blues guitarist named Jimmy Dawkins as one of his major influences, as well as more popular artists, like Albert Collins and B.B. King as early musical magnetizers.

“I remember hearing B.B. King on the radio and being struck by the passion and the seriousness of his music. King’s music matched my feelings and struck a chord in me.”

After being enlivened by the startlingly new sounds of these musicians, Bader began researching the personnel on their albums and finding recordings by them and things mushroomed from there.

‘Clearcut Case of the Blues’

In his 2004 debut release CD titled ‘Clearcut Case of the Blues,’ Bader elaborates and expands on his musical sources while drawing more than a little strength and innovation from the musical well for himself.

In fact, the disc has all the elements needed to stir up some strong blues, foot-stomping, house-rocking West Side Chicago blues, that is. This album is a direct link to the gritty, wide open soul of Bader’s mentors and is best understood when you hear the title track, which sums up the emotion of the whole artist and his ability to transport the listener into his arena.

This romping, energetic guitar-oriented CD is punctuated by Bader’s poised and personable vocals and Tom “T-Bone” Giblin’s thumping, down-home keyboard work.

Recorded in Iowa, completed in Hamilton, MT., the disc was recorded in about eight weeks. Reviews for the CD, which features 11 brand new tunes, have been quite complimentary, with one commentary praising the disc for its raw emotion and “barroom grit. “

Bader likes this comparison: “That’s really my area of playing. I’m pretty much a club act. That’s the kind of music I play. Direct, raw and gritty. In a lot of ways, my music is more about the passion and the feel of the music than the technical aspects. My stuff is really meant to be played live and to be heard live.”

Bader, who says he’ll never play the same set list two nights in a row, believes the CD did a fine job capturing the essence of the live performance and feel, and is proud of its originality.

“I’ll never be able to do a song by B.B. King, John Lee Hooker or Howlin’ Wolf, as good as they can. I do play some of their tunes because I love them. But, you know, I also think that people like to hear something that’s new and independent.”

Writing songs from and about his own reality remains this musician’s forte: “I write songs about things that I’m familiar with, fighting forest fires, trapping grizzly bears, certain types of heartbreak, things that I’ve got some legitimacy with,” says Bader, who spent eight years working as a park ranger in Yellowstone and credits the outdoors with being amongst his greatest songwriting influences.

He hopes to get back in the studio sometime within the next few months to record a fresh set of songs he’s been carrying around in his head and sharing from his heart at recent live gigs. Indeed, Bader should be expected to go all out in the energy and emotion departments.

For Bader, it seems that his journey into the world of the blues has been as rewarding as his arrival. Shy and easygoing with a calm demeanor belying blues’ bellyaching, he’s still very much thrilled that he and his music haven’t been overlooked.

“I’m a lucky guy to be able to touch people through my lyrics, my music and the combination of both.”

Mike Bader performs at the Bitterroot Smokin’ Blues Festival, taking place July 21-23, in Stevensville. Bader’s set will last 90 minutes and starts the three-day event on Friday at 7 p.m. For more info check out www.bitterrootsmokinblues.com.

“Only through art can we get outside of ourselves and know another’s view of the universe which is not the same as ours and see landscapes which would otherwise have remained unknown to us like the landscapes of the moon. Thanks to art, instead of seeing a single world, our own, we see it multiply until we have before us as many worlds as there are original artists.”—Marcel Proust

When pressed about the joys of living in a small town, one word often uttered is “community.” Sharing joys and pains with friends and neighbors is part of what makes life fulfilling. This sense of community, for which the Valley seems to strive, is strengthened when someone can walk into a local business and see the artwork of neighborhood kids, local law enforcement, or that lady in yoga class. Many businesses of all types support the arts by exhibiting local art.

At Ravalli County Bank in Hamilton, Sharon Holland makes sure that there’s something new to look at every month. After the Shonkwiler’s purchased the bank in 1967, Evagene Shonkwiler started featuring local art on the walls of the bank, and the tradition has continued ever since. If you do the math, one artist every month for 35 years means 420 spotlight slots. Though many of the artists have been repeatedly showcased, Holland is always looking for different styles and new talent. The wall space above the bank tellers is reserved for featured art as well as two display cases, so the bank can have up to three different artists or groups represented. Organizations such as the Scouts, S.A.F.E., local businesses and schools decorate the showcases. For the last couple months, selections from Corvallis and Hamilton High School art classes were displayed much to the excitement of students and parents alike. Many customers are open with criticism and praise for the exhibits. “Everybody has different tastes,” says Holland, but when it comes to customer response, “for the most part, it’s really positive.”

To get on the list for art spotlight at Ravalli County Bank, call Sharon at 363-1222.

The practice of displaying art in cafés is probably as old as the buildings themselves. The River Rising on Main Street is just such a café. Kori Miller opened River Rising in August of 2005 and says that displaying local art was a “no-brainer.” I have a few friends that are artists…they have the art, I have the walls.” Customers who visit this month to get an espresso drink, or lunch and a decadent dessert will view Laura Way Wathen’s work. Wathen has been painting since she was four years old and has called art her occupation for several years. Her art has been featured in businesses such as the Hamilton Playhouse, Ravalli County Credit Union and the Spice of Life Café.

“We need the support of our community,” says Wathen who works mostly in oil, pastel and gouashe. Her advice for artists who want to display their work is to watch the newspapers, “sometimes there’ll be a call to artists in the paper.” Also, when in a business that is featuring art, “don’t hesitate to go up and ask if they’ll display your stuff.”

If you’d like to showcase your art in River Rising, call Kori at 363-4552.

The Hamilton Playhouse recently underwent minor interior redecorating, leaving the lobby walls open for local art. As a non-profit organization dedicated to bringing culture into the community, it seems a natural headquarters for all types of art. The photographs of Frances Matlock reflect beautifully the art that is our environment. “The hardest part was choosing which pieces to show,” says Matlock, “I chose Western Montana images because they’re appropriate for the audience.” The photos are arranged in three different series, one for each wall. “It’s an honor to have places in Hamilton that are willing to show art publicly,” Matlock said, when local businesses show local art, “it’s a sophisticated thing to do.” If you’d like to find out more about displaying art in the Hamilton Playhouse lobby, call Vicky Brison at 375-9050.

Most people know clay to be a fine-grained, stiff earthy material that is plastic when wet and hardens when heated, consisting primarily of hydrated silicates of aluminum and widely used in making bricks, tiles, and pottery. It’s also well understood that as a natural product of the earth, clay is formed by water, heat and pressure eroding away rocks.

While certainly an artful and spiffy thing, there is a bit more substance to clay than just the popular facts. Clay is a healing art, too. Working with the earth is balancing and calming say students at the Clay Studio of Missoula and the director of the city’s clay cubbyhole, Jason Lawfer.

Indeed, water, fire and air complete the integrated elements you work with when creating with clay. With deep historical roots, pottery is estimated to have most likely started around the Paleolithic or Old Stone Age and is amongst the most ancient of artifacts that have ever been unearthed. Different from metal, wood or cloth, pottery is invulnerable to corrosion or disintegration.

“It’s really something great knowing that pottery techniques have been used for hundreds and hundreds, even thousands of years,” says Lawfer.

From the Old Stone Age to a nifty former industrial building on the north side of Missoula, Montana, clay exploration has in fact come a long, long way.

Clara Ann Harff and Rob Taylor, at the time both recent UM graduates, founded the Clay Studio of Missoula, in May 1998. Created with the intention of filling a void in the city’s growing community, the pair started a comprehensive ceramic center, offering hand-building and wheel throwing classes and forming a location where serious, but less established clay artists could pool energy and resources to maintain a collective studio. 

“We’ve always been focused on the community,” says Lawfer. “We have classes for children, adult classes, and classes for troubled teens. We’ve had great artists giving workshops here over the years and have been pretty fortunate. The clay community of Missoula is a beautiful one.”

Being that a clay studio requires specialized and expensive equipment, the cost of owning and maintaining a fully-equipped pottery pad places clay pursuits outside the economic reach of many. For this reason, ceramic artists, like Harff and Taylor, have organized such community studio spaces to provide tutelage for beginners and workspace for adamant artists. 

Providing a quality work environment and top-notch personal instruction for all levels of clay enthusiasts are top priorities, explains Lawfer.

“We can help those who are just starting out and have a particular inquiry. But we also offer work space for mature artists who may not be able to afford the large costs of a private studio. The beauty here is that we supply very affordable studios and studio time to folks, this way the community can focus on clay.”

Since it can be found in the earth, clay is soft and ready to be formed. Or it can be made up from different raw, dry materials mixed with water. Possibilities for clay exploration and pulverization are boundless: it can be pounded, flattened, modeled, rolled, pinched, coiled, pressed, thrown on a potters’ wheel, or cast into molds, scored, stamped, extruded, cut or spun. These natural materials are not only used in pottery but also in the making of glass, brick, tile insulators and elements used in electronic devices, cements, plaster and lime.

Fired clay is the only material on earth that does not change with time, explains Lawfer, whose functional ceramic art has been displayed in big cities like Chicago and New York. Presently, Lawfer is experimenting with tea bowls and sake sets, which include rice scoops and pairs of cups.

Lawfer says that clay is a remarkably versatile substance that can be rolled between the hands to form long coils, or it can be rolled or flattened into slabs so you can create square, rectangle, or cylinder shaped objects.

Firing pottery is something magical, he feels. The firing process begins after the artist is satisfied that the clay is finished and has found its desired representational shape; the piece is then thoroughly dried and the pottery is fired. (The studio’s 45 cubic inch soda gas kiln was built by a former resident and since city zoning regulations disallow open burning, the studio uses UM facilities for wood firing.)

“The first pieces of pottery ever fired were done by using a hot wood fire. Later coal, gas and electricity were used to power kilns and ovens,” says Lawfer.

Different configurative effects will result depending on the type of kiln being absorbed. The type of fuel being used and how the kiln is stacked, will affect the shape of the piece, too. The arrangement of the clay bodies inside the kiln influences the oxidization of the flames, which reduces oxygen, therefore distorting and contorting the end result.

“It’s the magic of the kilns that draws you in,” says Lawfer. “You open the kiln and find that one piece that leaves you speechless. Drinking coffee from pottery that I’ve made is cool to me. Heck, it’s an addiction.”

Unlike creating a painting, making pottery is both fragile and heavy work. Pottery cracks and splits and there is a considerable amount of breakage involved. “You can lose a lot of pieces when you fire. It can be pretty difficult.”

In the four years that Lawfer has been the director of the Clay Studio of Missoula, he has introduced different new programs, including an Artist-In-Residence affair.

The Clay Studio’s residency program provides independent artists the space to pursue their strengths in clay, whether that strength is sculptural, functional, or experimental.  Residents are chosen on the basis of their demonstrated desire and potential growth.

Each resident artist is provided a semi-private lofted studio in exchange for teaching an 8-week adult class. Classes are once a week for 3 hours and instructors are required to help students in their pursuit of clay knowledge.

Currently, Hannah Fisher, a native of Rochester, N.Y., is the resident artist. During Fisher’s four month residency, her work has focused on natural interaction, consumption, waste, movements, and extraction. Her recent sculptural work is titled ‘Constructing Extraction’ and will be on display at the Clay Studio from June 2- July 8.

Lawfer started crafting with clay about six years ago and, like most potters, he was absorbed from the start. A former resident at the much celebrated Archie Bray Foundation for the Ceramic Arts, in Helena, he credits the Clay Studio with jumpstarting his art career and giving him the confidence to forge his own unique artistic identity.

In fact, Lawfer is heading overseas to Europe (for an indefinite period, he says) in a few months to further indulge in and adorn his artisan visions.

“It’s been great watching this quiet little place develop into something so important to this community. It’s amazing how people have happily supported things here. It’ll be a tough place to leave.”

In May of 2003, Doug Wagner decided that he needed his own winery. One month later, he was licensed by the Federal Government as the ninth winery in Montana. By the end of July, ClearWeather Winery, was licensed by the state and started construction at its current facility, 410 Expressway Boulevard, Missoula. On August 28 the winery had its last inspection. By the following afternoon, Wagner was heading out to pick out the first two tons of Chardonnay grapes.

To find out more about ClearWeather Winery and the emerging wine industry here in Montana, let’s get On the Clock with its owner Doug Wagner.

(Q): Wine-making is certainly a blossoming business here in Montana. Where do you see the wine industry in Montana going in 10 years?

(Wagner): If I was going to guess, I’d say there will probably be 20 or more wineries in Montana by then. There may even be 30 by then. The total revenue of which, I’m guessing, will be somewhere in the range of five to ten million dollars. National and local trends seem to be going in a positive way for wine production. We are seeing people working on the agricultural products here in Montana, like grape growing. Five years ago there were three wineries in the state, now there are at least three times as many wine producers. There’s some good, drinkable wine here.

(Q): What types of wines does ClearWeather Winery make?

(Wagner): We make cabs and merlots. We make the big reds. We are making Pinot Noirs and Syrahs under the Rock Creek brand name. We also make a Riesling, too. Our Cabernet Sauvignon is comprised of grapes from the Champoux Vineyard in Washington State. We’ve got an Oregon Oak that presents a multi-layered, complex fruit background with well-integrated tannins. It leaves a spicy sensation on the front to mid-palate.

(Q): What are some of your tasks and responsibilities here at the winery during these summer months?

(Wagner): It’s time to do more marketing. It’s time to get prepped for the fall. It’s time to start sourcing grapes, buying barrels, and getting ready for harvest, which is very labor intensive. I’ll also be going to vineyards and lining up grapes for the fall.

(Q): Generally speaking, what makes a good wine?

(Wagner): That’s easy to answer: good grapes make good wine. As the saying goes, “You can easily make a good wine out of good grapes, but it takes a lot to make a mediocre wine out of bad grapes. Also, sourcing the fruit is one of the most important things you need to do to make good wine. In the future, our grapes will probably be coming from within Montana.

(Q): What are some of the popular misconceptions about Montana wine?

(Wagner): That you can’t make a decent wine in Montana is one; that Montana wines are all fruit wines is another regular misconception. Montana doesn’t have any identity for wine-making or a wine-making style just yet. Montana is just one of a few states coming into their own, now developing an identity, and entering a new market. To change misperceptions is part of forging an identity. We are proud of Montana wines. It’s still a new industry, though.

(Q): Where can folks find or taste one of ClearWeather Winery’s products?

(Wagner): Most local wine shops in the Missoula area have our stuff. We have our wines at the Sapphire in Darby and Super One Foods in Stevensville, and The Merc in Corvallis. We are also open by appointment here as well by calling 544-6147.

(Q): How are you going to spend your free time this summer?

(Wagner): I’ll be getting ready for the harvest (laughs). Well, we’ve got barrels to purchase. We’ve got grapes to purchase as well.

To find out more about ClearWeather Winery visit www.clearweatherwines.com.

If you’re a fan of politics, politics as sport, you have to understand and appreciate the dynamics of the match-up.

Not the stuff of fantasy football leagues and the like, these dynamics are the stuff of the split-second size-up that takes place before the first punch of a bar brawl. It’s not about athletic ability or strength, it’s most often about who’s willing to be the meanest with the shortest notice. Because stunning an opponent is always a strategic advantage.

In Montana politics, the rules are pretty much the same. What’s more, these bar-knuckled rules can help clarify when it comes to picking the winners.

Case in point, look back to the 2002 race between Senator Max Baucus and challenger Mike Taylor. Baucus’ campaign rather ruthlessly caricatured Taylor in that bid, using old television footage that left much room for the “gay hairdresser” remarks that followed.

Even though that caricature had nothing to do with the issues of the campaign, Taylor couldn’t make it back. Here it is, four years later, and Taylor hasn’t shaken the slanted view put forth in that campaign.

So, here we are again, one of the two crown jewels of Montana politics is up for grabs—one of our two U.S. Senate seats. The race pits incumbent Conrad Burns against relative newcomer Jon Tester. And when it comes to the match-up, we know from experience that Burns can throw a punch and make it land. He’s proved that over and over again since 1988, even while receiving several shots himself. The question for Burns isn’t whether or not he can fight, it’s how many fights he can sustain at once.

As we’ve known from the beginning, this race will be one to remember. With John Morrison out, it will be memorable for different reasons. Whatever else transpires between now and November, the story of Morrison’s fall from grace is one that will be talked about for quite some time.

Like a lot of prognosticators, I came out early and put money on Conrad Burns’ ethics scandal to trump his bid for reelection. However, the wild card in this race, so far, is the ethics scandal of Morrison. Proving that corruption is a bi-partisan opportunity, Morrison’s loss to Tester, at his own hand, may be the story of this political season.

At the very least, it’s the story of the season thus far.

To very briefly summarize the scandal, Morrison has admitted having an affair with the wife of a man, David Tacke, who was subject to investigation by the Montana State Auditor’s office. The affair itself, while deplorable, is not the heart of the scandal. What is in question is whether or not Morrison and his office acted ethically with regard to how that investigation and its eventual settlement were carried out. For a detailed exploration of the issues involved, I highly recommend John S. Adams’ article “Why the Morrison Affair Matters,” which originally appeared in the June 22, 2006 issue of the Missoula Independent (the article can be obtained online via a Google search).

Parts of the Morrison story are not new. According to several published stories, the affair took place in 1998. Rumors of that affair were alive and well on the campaign trail in 2004 when Morrison was reelected to the auditor’s post. In other words, it’s not interest in Morrison’s dalliances that’s driving this story. That story, at least among Montana politicos, has been around for years.

Not since Marc Racicot has a Montana candidate been groomed like John Morrison. And why not? Morrison is intelligent, charismatic, talented, good looking—all the characteristics that make politicos pay attention.

But it seems that Morrison also possesses a less desirable trait that quite often goes along with politicos’ favorite traits. Namely, vanity.

And this is where the story takes on proportion. But, unlike Racicot, who worked diligently for years to rise in the Republican ranks displaying admirable discipline, Morrison’s rise has already crested due to a lack of the same.

For those of you who remember Racicot’s rise, he seemed and then became a political inevitability. One of the appeals of a candidate like Racicot is he makes it look natural, inevitable. This is something different, of course, than making it look easy. So, while you’ll see a guy like Racicot working hard, you’ll never see him sweat. It’s the great appeal of these charismatic figures in politics. Watching a natural at work, however, you often aren’t aware of the tremendous discipline required to win and maintain political office.

And so Morrison reminds us, as have so many charismatics before him, that discipline is absolutely essential to long-term viability in politics. In politics, there are no inevitabilities, but the illusion of the same can be quite enticing in a candidate.

Morrison should’ve been quite aware of this pitfall, especially given his book-length study of Montana political candidates in Mavericks: The Lives and Battles of Montana’s Political Legends. Such ethical scandals can be weathered in politics, but usually only after a much longer career, once a politician has acquired a more fortified network of supporters and a more solidified reputation with voters.

While it’s still early in the season, the race has already taken an interesting turn. Morrison is out, and Republicans are already busy throwing rabbit punches at Tester.

The bare knuckles of Montana politics are out. But so far, the only knockout has been self-inflicted.

The warm weather is upon us and outdoor activities are becoming a necessity, that is, if you live in Western Montana. What could be better than having a dog to enjoy your outdoor recreation with? There are many folks facing summer dog issues and decisions about “Where do I go to get a pup or dog? Where do I go to get medical care and training?” True, this happens in the winter months as well, but folks move more slowly in the winter. Therefore, people are searching for puppy trainers and breeders and, ultimately, there is an increase of inflow to humane shelters. The following might help in assisting you in making decisions regarding breeders, trainers, boarding kennels and veterinarians.

It is important to understand that intense research is vital to finding, choosing, and feeling good about the decisions made with regards to your new puppy. Besides, it is the least you can do for the newest member of your family. By doing so, this will lead you to the right shelter, the right breeder and ultimately to your carefully chosen pup. All respectable and professional breeders and trainers will welcome a visit to inspect their facility.

During your visit is a good time to ask standard questions about the care given to the dogs. How often is the facility cleaned and disinfected? If it is an inside facility, how often are the dogs exercised? What brand of dog food is the dog used to eating? How long have you been in business? Most breeders and kennel facilities get their business from referrals, which is a great thing, and most of them welcome questions. By asking questions you show them YOU have a great interest in your dog or pup, thereby holding the attention of the owner or manager of the facility. Your local veterinarian should welcome questions too, and I’m sure will be able to answer your questions because of their clinical experience.

Because there are many professional and amateur breeders, it is critical you do as much research as possible in your quest to find an exceptional breeder. They should be able to brief you on information about the puppy’s sire and dam. Because of diseases that are prone to specific breeds (e.g. Labrador Retriever), certification of eyes, hips, and elbows would be in order. The mother (dam) and father (sire) should be free of genetic disorders in order to help decrease such problems, and chances of your pup carrying a recessive gene. By doing these things, you can feel you are making a sound decision in purchasing a pup.

Shelters produce fine dogs and pets. However, there are always the “unknown factors” your pet may have experienced before it reached the shelter. Five to sixteen weeks of age is the time period most pups are weaned from their mothers.

Once you have picked your pup and you go through early development stages (bonding, crate- training, routine etc.) and you decide you want to pursue a trainer, one must do the same research and again ask questions. Can I see your facility? How many dogs have you successfully trained? What are your training methods and philosophy? In a week, how often will you train my dog? Talking with someone who has had a dog trained there before will help answer many questions and relieve your fears immensely. After all your bases have been covered, then you should feel comfortable sending your pup to school.

The Internet and the phone book are excellent places to begin your search. Ask friends and co- workers where they take their pets for vet service, training, and breeding. I can add that I have witnessed that Western Wings Working Retrievers and Pet Palace Kennel facility in Stevensville have very clean, spacious runs and they are very professional and friendly. There are also individual trainers such as Gary Kammerer of “On Command” Obedience training in Stevensville. We have not met but I hear good things about him. I am sure there are others, but these are just a few of the ones I have visited in the Bitterroot and talked with. I can’t caution you enough to remember to ask questions. Do your research and establish communication, and you will come to your own favorable conclusion.

To sum it up, it doesn’t matter whether you are dealing with a breeder, trainer, shelter or veterinarian, ask questions and develop a good relationship with the responsible party. Besides, we are talking about our kids here folks. Oops, I forgot to mention I have no kids--just dogs and horses. Have a nice summer and remember to keep wagging your tail!

David “Dogman” Riggs is the owner of Montana Retrievers. If you have any questions regarding dog training or other related topics, you may contact him via email at riggs@montanaretrievers.com or call 406-859-LABS (5227). Visit his web page www.montanaretrievers.com