While Blackketter may not be an investor or agent of Digger-Digs, he has advocated on behalf of the company.

When he spoke with The Montana Standard, he confirmed that he did meet with homeowners and encourage them to sell their parcels to Digger-Digs.

"The answer is yeah — I have done that for many people, and I did it for one person with Terry," said Blackketter, noting that people often ask him for advice regarding real-estate investment near Tech. "But the rest of it is just on his own. He's been buying property there for seven years."

"People still have the choice of whether they sell their property or not," Blackketter pointed out. "I don't have any pressure that I could put on somebody."

NEIGHBORHOOD NOSTALGIA

While Blackketter did not provide the name of the homeowners he approached, Rick and Kriss Douglass say they were the family in question.

The couple said Blackketter approached them in April 2014, when the chancellor said he knew an investor who was interested in purchasing the parcels occupied by their rental unit on Granite Street and the parcel located directly west of their family home at 221 Ophir St.