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School official calls Crow man 'biggest drunk'
Wednesday, October 14, 2009
Filed Under: Education | National

Members of the Crow Tribe are demanding the resignation of a school superintendent, who referred to the Indian sheriff as the "biggest drunk" in Big Horn County, Montana.

At least 50 tribal members attended the Hardin School Board meeting on Tuesday night to complain about Superintendent Al Peterson. They spoke for about an hour, The Billings Gazette reported, but Peterson refused to step down.

"The School Board has to make a decision," Trustee Clarice Denny told the paper. "We're going to have to discuss it because, the parents, they're not going to let it be forgotten, so we will need to take some kind of action on that."

In a story published on October 1, Peterson referred to Sheriff Lawrence "Pete" Big Hair, who is Crow, as the "the biggest drunk in the county." He implied that Big Hair can't provide adequate law enforcement services in Hardin.

Peterson also serves as vice president of Two Rivers Authority, Hardin's economic development arm. Two Rivers recently tried to sign a controversial agreement with a questionable company to operate a vacant jail in the city. Part of the deal involved bonds that would be used to finance a new police department in Hardin.

Get the Story:
Dozens ask chief of Hardin schools to resign his post (The Billings Gazette 10/14)

An Opinion:
Steve Yapuncich: Sheriff deserves apology from superintendent (The Billings Gazette 10/13)

Earlier Story:
Battered for so long, Hardin has high hopes (The Billings Gazette 10/1)