Chadron –  The 83-acre Spotted Tail Fire about 5 miles south of Chadron was officially declared 100% contained this afternoon.

The fire was entirely on U-S Forest Service land, and Incident Commander Brian Daunt of the U.S. Forest Service says a transition of incident control to the Pine Ridge Ranger District level occurred at 3:00 p.m. today.

Daunt says firefighters and other resources were released throughout the day for reassignment to other fires or to return to their home stations, but with crews continuing to monitor and patrol the burned area for several days…during which smoke may still be seen.

Daunt also says he wants to extend the gratitude and appreciation of the Forest Service to the local Volunteer Fire Departments and all other cooperators for their excellent, professional work on the fire.

The Spotted Tail Fire began late Saturday, but no cause has been released – although the lack of lightning strongly suggests it was a man-caused blaze. It burned in an area that also burned in the much larger 2006 fire of the same name.

American Indian Movement activist turned actor Russell Means died early today of cancer at his ranch on the Pine Ridge Reservation near Porcupine. He was 62.

Means, a Wanblee native who grew up in the San Francisco area, announced last August that he had inoperable throat cancer and was abandoning mainstream medical treatments in favor of traditional American Indian remedies and alternative treatments.

Means helped lead AIM’s 1973 armed occupation of Wounded Knee, a 71-day siege that included several gunbattles with federal officers and 3 deaths…an FBI agent and 2 protesters.

Means told the AP in 2011 that before AIM, there had been no advocate on a national or international scale for American Indians…who were ashamed of their heritage…but that all of that had changed now.

He also said that AIM faded away as more and more Native Americans became self-aware and self-determined.

In the 1980s, Means got involved in politics. In 1984, he agreed to be Larry Flynt’s vice president in the Hustler magazine publisher’s quixotic bid to grab the Republic presidential nomination from incumbent Ronald Reagan.

Four years later, he made his own unsuccessful bid for the Libertarian nomination for president.

Means also entered Oglala Sioux tribal politics, winning the tribal presidential primaries in both 2002 and 2004 but losing in the general election both times.

In 2002, he was defeated by John Yellow Bird Steele…who became just the second OST president to win back-to-back terms…and fell in 2004 to Cecilia Fire Thunder…the first female president of the OST.

Means was probably best-known in the final 2 decades of his life as an actor…starting in 1992 with his portrayal of Chingachgook alongside Daniel Day-Lewis’ Hawkeye in “The Last of the Mohicans.”

Among his other work was the 1994 film “Natural Born Killers,” the voice of Chief Powhatan in Disney’s 1995 animated “Pocahontas” and TV shows that included Curb Your Enthusiasm, Walker-Texas Ranger, and Nash Bridges.

Means also became an author with his 1995 autobiography, “Where White Men Fear to Tread.” He said he tried to pull no punches in it, talking about his failures as well as his victories.

Means said that in the book “I tell the truth, and I expose myself as a weak, misguided, misdirected, dysfunctional human being I used to be.”

Openly critical of mainstream media, Means often refused interviews and verbally blasted journalists who showed up to cover his public appearances. In his later years, he communicated mostly through YouTube videos and blog posts on his personal website.

Russell Means was married 5 times and is survived by his wife of 13 years, Pearl Daniels. He had 9 children and, in Lakota tradition, adopted many others. Means had cut off his iconic braids last year in what he called at the time a traditional Lakota gesture of mourning for his people.

• Today — Cloudy, then gradually becoming mostly sunny, with a high near 65. South southeast wind 5 to 15 mph.
• Tonight  Partly cloudy, with a low around 38. South southeast wind 5 to 15 mph.
• Tuesday  Mostly sunny, with a high near 73. South southwest wind 5 to 15 mph becoming north in the afternoon.
• Tuesday Night  Partly cloudy, with a low around 37. Northeast wind 5 to 10 mph.
• Wednesday  Partly sunny, with a high near 57. North northeast wind 10 to 15 mph.
• Wednesday Night  A chance of rain showers before midnight, then a chance of rain and snow showers. Cloudy, with a low around 32. Chance of precipitation is 50%.
• Thursday  A slight chance of snow showers before noon, then a slight chance of rain and snow showers. Mostly cloudy, with a high near 38. Chance of precipitation is 20%.
• Thursday Night  A slight chance of snow showers. Mostly cloudy, with a low around 23.
• Friday  A slight chance of rain and snow showers. Mostly cloudy, with a high near 38.
• Friday Night  Partly cloudy, with a low around 15.
• Saturday   Partly sunny, with a high near 39.
• Saturday Night  Partly cloudy, with a low around 19.
• Sunday  Partly sunny, with a high near 50.

Young women from Alliance and North Platte claimed the titles Sunday at the 22nd annual Miss Chadron/Miss Northwest Scholarship Pageant in Chadron.

Crowned as Miss Northwest was 22-year old Megan Dimmitt of Alliance, while the title of Miss Northwest went to 18-year old Meghan Thalken of North Platte.

Both now advance to the Miss Nebraska Pageant next June in North Platte. They each also receive a one-year tuition waiver to Chadron State College.

Runner-up to both titles was 21-year old Samantha Green of Cheyenne, a Chadron State elementary education junior, while the youngest of the 11 contestants, 17-year old Chadron High School senior Kodi Baumann of Chadron, was Miss Congeniality.

This will be the third trip to Miss Nebraska for Dimmitt, a senior in criminal justice at Chadron State. Despite that experience, the new Miss Northwest says waiting to hear the names called wasn’t any easier on her nerves than it was at her first pageant.

But while being a pageant veteran didn’t make the waiting any easier, Dimmitt, a pianist, says being a Miss Nebraska contestant for the third time will be an advantage next summer.

If Megan Dimmitt had a bad case of nerves before hearing her name called as Miss Northwest, things were even worse for Meghan Thalken because pageant co-host Shawn Banzhaf had accidentally skipped over announcing the interview winner … delaying the announcement of Miss Chadron.

She says the wait was “really nerve-wracking” and that she “was dying up there” during, but that it was “absolute incredible” when her name was called and that she’s excited to representing Chadron for the next year.

Thalken, who performed a jazz dance for her talent, not only lives in North Platte but also attends North Platte Community College. She insists she’s going to make the 400-plus mile round trip to Chadron as often as possible over the next year to appear as Miss Chadron.

Thalken won the eveningwear category and shared the talent event with Dimmitt and the swimsuit/physical fitness award with Green.

Honors in interview went to 21-year old Adrian Jochum of Sutherland, a junior in nursing at the University of Nebraska Medical Center.

The Upper Niobrara White Natural Resources District is offering a helping hand to landowners in Dawes, Sioux, Sheridan, and Box Butte Counties whose lands were burned during this summer’s fires.

NRD manager Lyndon Vogt says the NRD board is offering a discount for reforestation projects in the burned areas,  with a 50% discount up to $500 per individual landowner on projects using either seedlings or seeds.

That’s enough for 1,000 bare root seedling or 500 potted seedlings. Details on seeds are still being worked, including what species will be available, but the cost is expected to run from $25-to-60 dollars a pound.

Vogt says landowners can reduce their share of reforestation costs down to just 25% if they’re willing to follow the planting specifications of the Wild Nebraska program…administered jointly by the NRD and Nebraska Game and Parks. He says the rules are relatively simple and are intended to increase the survival chances of the trees.

Landowners who have to replace shelter belts can also get a 50% cost share from the UNWNRD…not only on trees, but also on fabric, planting, and installation regardless of the age of the damaged shelter belt and with a maximum of $5,000 per individual instead of $500.

Vogt says the NRD board is also  looking at other possible fire recovery cost-shares, but has made no decisions at this time…recommending that those who lost pasture contact the USDA Natural Resources Conservation Service.

Vogt says anyone wanting to sign up for any of the cost-share programs simply needs to contact the Upper Niobrara White NRD offices in Chadron or one of the NRCS offices in the NRD. Applications must be in by January 15th so seedlings can be available for spring planting.

In a related story, Game and Parks is contacting landowners to coordinate replacement of fences lost to the fires on agency lands. Deputy Director Tim McCoy says it follows Nebraska fencing law and works with neighboring landowners to replace and repair damaged fences.

He says agency staffers will contacting neighboring landowners to identify priority fences on pastures they hope to graze early next year, and promises flexibility on the use of contractors, work agreements and other tools on such projects.

McCoy says Game and Parks also is exploring additional measures that can be taken to assist wildlife and local areas in recovery efforts.

Listen:

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