Serving Proudly As The Voice Of Valley County Since 1913
Serving Proudly As The Voice Of Valley County Since 1913
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Former Valley County commissioner Dave Pippin asked the following question in Part III of our series on APR plans for bison release in the region: "Has there ever been a study done to evaluate the ability of the rangeland in this region to support a year-round bison herd of the size you propose in terms of winter feed and water?" APR representatives answered Pippin with reference to, "substantial anecdotal evidence from Indian oral traditions, journals of trappers, the writings of Lewis & Clark...
Chilly weather threatened to dampen spirits at the 2015 Saco Fun Days festivities on Sept. 5. By the 11 a.m. start of the annual parade along Hwy 2 however, a full day and night of celebration was in full swing. As a small but enthusiastic group of firefighters, EMTs, schoolkids, musical performers and area residents marched and drove through downtown Saco, the mood was chipper and plans were already in the works to bring the evening's street dance indoors. Among the paraders, Zora and Linden...
The following questions from respected area residents were put to the American Prairie Reserve on Sept. 3. APR representatives have cooperated and agreed to continue in good faith as we delve deeper into the specifics of their plans for bison release and grasslands restoration in the region. ANDREW MCKEAN: Do you presently consider the American bison to be wildlife or livestock? Are you working to change their legal classification going forward? APR: Our bison are classified as livestock by the...
Glasgow resident Cathryn Sugg will be teaching an online studio art course through Fort Peck Community College beginning this Fall Semester. The course, ARTZ 211, is designed to teach fundamental drawing techniques, including shading, gesture drawing, and the elements of art and principles of design. Additionally, it will connect learners with contemporary non-traditional art content and teach them processes for accessing this content digitally. Students will develop habits of art engagement...
As promised, we've put the first of many questions from respected area residents about bison release and grasslands restoration efforts to the American Prairie Reserve. This week's questions come from Glasgow native Leonard Swenson. APR respondents include Betty Holder, Reserve Land Manager, and Damien Austin, Reserve Supervisor. LEONARD SWENSON: If 10,000 bison on 3.2 million acres in the area is the APR's ultimate goal, how are you going to manage them and maintain the size of the herd?...
The Courier contacted local rancher and Wittmayer Grazing Association president Leonard Swenson early on Sept. 1 to see how he felt about the responses provided by American Prairie Reserve representatives to questions posed in Part II of our series, Probing the Project. His attitude remains skeptical and his opposition to free-roaming bison release determined. “They talk about their healthy grazing land, ranching system and stocking rate,” Swenson began. “I guess what I want to know is if the BLM [Bureau of Land Management] has agreed to remov...
A representative from the American Prairie Reserve has responded to questions from the Courier regarding local frustrations about large-scale bison release efforts. APR Communications & Outreach Manager Hilary Parker was in contact with this publication following questions posed in writing to Fish Wildlife & Parks representatives on Aug. 20. Parker's answers beg questions about the efficacy of FWP and other regulatory organizations in controlling bison release in the state. Asked what APR's...
Members of Boy Scout Troop 850 (Glasgow residents, all) took to the Missouri Aug. 4 in search of merit badges for Theatre, Pioneering, and Canoeing, as well as some good, clean fun in sun. Scout Master Sean Esaias and Assistant Scout Masters Kyle Gibson and Sterling Beck led the group of boys on their planned 74-mile journey from Boy Scout Park to the Hwy 13 bridge in Wolf Point. In point of fact, the trip was largely the boys' idea. "The boys needed at least a 50-mile trip to obtain a merit...
According to Glasgow Mayor Becky Erickson, city residents will be receiving a notice of intent to form a special improvement district for the purpose of buying a used Quint pumper/ladder truck needed for fire protection. “A total of 1,250 letters were sent to city taxpayers,” Erickson explains, “requesting their approval or disapproval of the purchase of a used Quint platform fire fighting apparatus. An annual estimated tax amount spreadsheet based on the square footage of property and a protest form is also included in the mailing.” Erickson a...
My mother was in town for a visit this past weekend. Dozens of kindly area residents did what they could to help me entertain the materfamilias, for which I owe many thanks. Notable among these were Sheriff Glen Meier and Tanja Fransen of NWS Glasgow. Picture if you will: Your fledgling managing editor and his mama trotting down to the Fort Peck Marina with invites from both of the aforementioned Glasgow celebs, only to face a conundrum about which boat to climb aboard in search of good times on the lake. More troubling still was the fact that...
At press time, the 2015 Northeast Montana Fair is concluding with a finale in the way of Tuesday's Milk River Motorsports Derby. Carnival workers will then begin breaking down the midway and rides, many of which, by some accounts, were visibly broken down to begin with. Doris Ozark told the Courier that officials are well-aware of the raised eyebrows regarding rides: "Members of our board have been out there walking around periodically. Carnivals are a hard subject in rural communities. People...
I know, the fair isn’t as good as it used to be. The carnival is held together with bubblegum and duct tape (or so the refrain goes around here). The vendors are dwindling. The music was better in Dodson. The rodeo wasn’t as good as the Wolf Point Stampede. The midway was middling (or maybe just ‘fair’). And it could all be seen at a brisk pace in about five minutes. At least, that’s what I heard from the folks who didn’t make it. Whether sentiments like these are true, false, or something in-between is a little bit beside the point. The...
Amy Nelson is 17 years old and a student at Glasgow High School. She's also a budding photographer with her own show filling the western wall of the Sean R. Heavey Gallery downtown for the month of August. Largely self-taught and self-directed, Nelson describes coming from an artistic family and seeking an outlet of her own. "I began experimenting with point-and-shoot cameras," Nelson explains in her artist statement, "and spent endless hours photographing my surroundings." The work on display...
There is palpable excitement among area theatergoers about the prospect of Fort Peck Summer Theatre actors swinging from the old-growth rafters during their upcoming production of Tarzan. The Disney-inspired show, which opens July 31 and runs through August 16, is definitely going to involve some aerial acrobatics, albeit of the DIY variety. "Tarzan will swing," promises director Megan Wiltshire. "The space isn't very conducive to flying people," she adds, "so we've had to get creative."...
Virgil Vaupel's column this week will probably illicit a response from the community (for better or worse). In the interest of civility and balance, I'll take the first crack at it. But first I have to give a shout-out to a couple of National Guardsmen who came to the aid of Stan Sonsteng in his struggle with esophageal cancer this past week. Without relaying too much in the way of personal detail, I can say that among the many difficulties that Stan and his family and friends have faced recently, a batch of critical medical supplies was...
Riding the Hi-Line as a freight hopper is a hit and miss proposition at the best of times. The threat of jail and/or harassment for repeatedly trespassing on railroad property is real enough. The physical challenges of spending one's days around masses of hulking metal where every surface is alternately hot and cold, dirty and bare, sharp and unforgiving, make this pastime a very serious high risk sport. It's dangerous. It's illegal coming and going. But according to the handful of adventurous...
Occasionally, as a reporter, you come across a cache of high quality information about a pressing subject of both local and broader significance. The immediate question is what to do with it. When it comes to the Stoneberg/Holts and the cast of regulars at their storied Horse Ranch south of Hinsdale (MT) at Timber Creek, the answer is clear: Share it, especially when it comes to bison. Ron and Rose Stoneberg and their daughter Sierra Holt are the sort of Montana conservationist/ranchers (around...
Smoke from massive Canadian fires continues to affect air quality locally, according to Tanja Fransen of National Weather Service Glasgow. Despite varying weather patterns, fires in Alberta, British Columbia, NW Territories, Saskatchewan and elsewhere continue to produce smoke that is entering the local weather system. The region has had over 5 million acres burn so far this year. "When the mid- and upper- level winds are right," reports Fransen, "it gets moved across Northeast Montana." A...
The 2015 Northeast Montana Fair & Rodeo is coming up fast. This year's schedule features the Northern Prairie Auto Ram Rodeo Series, which includes the PRCA Rodeo/Wild Horse Race (August 2 at 6 p.m.), the Calf Scramble Calcutta, and the Ladies Calf Scramble. Other entertainments include country singer Cale Moon, the Prairie Pals petting zoo, Dr. Susan Rosen (aka the Mistress of Mesmerism), entertainer Freddy Prez, Steve's Fun Balloons, music from Ringling 5, and the Funtime Carnival. Themed evenings include the "tough enough to wear pink"...
Valley County Commissioners have released plans to address road conditions on the 1.6 mile stretch of Skylark Road from Hwy 2 to the Sunnyside Golf and Country Club. At a hearing held at the Valley County Courthouse on May 11, 2009, a consensus was reached among members of the public amounting to an expressed wish that the county halt any major road resurfacing that would include the removal or reclamation of paved sections of the road. Six years later, commissioners have resolved to proceed with plans to replaced the badly-damaged asphalt...
People around here aren’t afraid to fight. It even seems to come highly recommended on occasion. It could be the pleasant release of a street (fight) dance in Hinsdale, as I experienced on a fine July evening a few Fridays back. Or it could be the calm but spirited discourse that seems to be unfolding between Virgil Vaupel and an anonymous reader right here on this page. Take your pick. In either instance, a counterintuitive truth about living the good life in America is on full display: Namely, the idea that mutual understanding frequently c...
Citing a "huge need" for new volunteers, CASA of Hill County Executive Director Mark Douglass has appointed three area residents to a roster of one currently working on behalf of abused children in Valley County. Appointees include Rosalie Nelson, Bonnie Markle and Sarah Mason, all of Glasgow. U.S. District Judge John C. McKeon presided over the ceremony. CASA of Montana's stated mission is to support and promote court appointed volunteer advocacy for abused and neglected children so they can...
I'll admit I've been a little hesitant to report in on the goings-on at the intersection of Boxcar Road and Hwy 117 near Park Grove. Recent calls into the Courier office over the holiday weekend about the demolition unfolding at the site would doubtless have prompted a story of some kind in the coming weeks. My concern stems from the fact that I, as many readers will already be aware, am in the process of purchasing the place. So in a way (gulp), it's a story about me. My plan is to...
It was a warm one at Kiwanis Park for the CHS barbeque June 27. Strolling into the gathering at the invitation of the Honrud family (Opheim), I made the acquaintance of Lyle Wall. Head of a fifth generation ranching and farming family in Lustre, Wall remarked that anyone interested in visiting a ranch currently raising the bison for hunting, meat and other products in Northeast Montana could do worse than his Five Diamonds Bison Ranch situated on Wall Street north of the school on the Fort Peck...
An accident with a firearm claimed the life of 4-year-old Summer Miller of St. Marie on the morning of June 27 around 10 a.m., according to Valley County Sheriff Glen Meier. The fatality was instantaneous. Miller was alone with her mother, Matilda Miller, in their residence at 308B Willow when the accident occurred. No charges have been filed. Meier described the incident as, “just an absolutely tragic accident.” He categorized it further as a no-fault situation with unthinkable consequences for everyone involved....
