Serving Proudly As The Voice Of Valley County Since 1913
Serving Proudly As The Voice Of Valley County Since 1913
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Cherry Creek & Milk River Levee System is a vital piece of the city’s infrastructure system that is not only critical to the welfare and safety of our community but also bogged down in federal regulation. An array of complex issues and opinions as to the solutions necessary to keep the levee system in compliance and meeting the needs of the community keep the levee system at the forefront of the city’s attention. The southernmost portion of the city of Glasgow borders the Milk River and Cherry Creek waterways and the associated flood pla...
The Board of Valley County Commissioners approved the granting of $60,000 towards the repair of Skylark Road at its Sept. 16 meeting. The motion passed unanimously — though Committee Chairman Bruce Peterson expressed concern as to the source of the funding before casting his vote. “We should request a $5,000 loan from the golf committee,” he joked. “So long as you don’t schedule the repairs during the playoffs, that should be fine,” replied KLTZ’s Stan Ozark, grinning. In times of tightened purse strings, some find solace in keeping thing...
Fifty-plus Glasgow citizens packed into the city chamber room at the Recreation Department on Sept. 8, eager to speak their mind at the City Council meeting at which they knew the summer’s landmark issue would be decided. For months, the councilpersons had debated Resolution No. 1986, the motion to provide funding for the purchase of a used Quint fire truck. For months, Firefighter/EMT Brandon Brunelle had presented the reasoning behind his department’s need, outlining in detail the declining state of its old truck and spelling out the procedur...
“Fire Truck Levy” To Glasgow Residents, The proposed city resolution to create a special improvement district to fund a portion of a used fire truck has raised the question of how long the levy will be in place. The intent of this levy is for the yearly payment of $25,601.28, be paid for 15 years, until the amount of $350,000.00 is paid in full. At that time the levy will cease. If this resolution is passed, property owners will be assessed .0020 per 100 square feet on their property. An example: our family home at 640 6th Ave. North has 9,1...
Mayor Becky Erickson’s non-formal fundraising effort has aided in bringing the Glasgow Downtown Revitalization Plan to beautiful fruition. The donation push, which Erickson says has consisted of a few mail-outs and one cocktail party, pulled in $7,100 this summer. Both organizations and individuals have been involved. All of the money came from donations and grants; no taxpayer money was used. “We’ve got a very giving community,” lauds Erickson. The benefactors include Valley County Community Foundation, Northwestern Energy, Wells Fargo B...
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...
The Glasgow City Council approved the financing of a used fire truck for up to $500,000 on Monday night. G.F.D. holds $145,000 in its coffers which it intends to use to supplement the purchase. The proposed model for which the Department will now search is a Quint – a truck equipped with a pump, water tank, fire hose, aerial device, and ground ladders. At the meeting, Brandon Brunelle quoted the price of a new Quint as $800,000 – hence the focus on used engine options – and cites lower maintenance costs and a lower purchase price as the reaso...
On June 28, eight weary bicyclists pedaled their way into Glasgow. The students, from St. Paul's School (SPS) in Concord, NH, are biking across the northern US and parts of Canada to raise money and awareness for Ride 2 Recovery. The latter company is dedicated to helping veterans suffering from PTSD and Traumatic Brain Injury. Their 50-day, 3,800 mile journey began in Anacortes, WA, and will end at their school campus in Concord, cycling anywhere between 70 and 120 miles a day. The group of...
The weather was just what we ordered for the FMDH Foundation's 17th Annual Open Golf Tournament on June 14. The teams came out to support a great cause and great community. Each of the 24 teams registered, had breakfast, and were all ready to tee off by 9 a.m. Every hole featured a different game for men, women, or everyone with the winner taking home wonderful prizes donated by local businesses. The games were designed so that experienced and inexperienced golfers alike had chances to win. The...
Glasgow Mayor Becky Erickson invited me to lunch at Sam’s Supper Club for an informal chat May 28. The setting for our meeting clued me in to the fact that I could leave my notebook at the office, as I tend to do when meeting potential subjects of my own reporting on a friendly level around town. I didn’t expect the full court press on stories for the paper, in other words, and I didn’t get it. Erickson’s main concern was personal: “I hope you aren’t finding it difficult to make friends and meet people,” she asked, kindly, during what we both...
It's been months of meetings and gathering information, but earlier this month the committee set to look at possibly purchasing Valley Court, a low income housing building on the 1100 block of 2nd Ave. S. in Glasgow. The meetings began in January, with Mayor Becky Erickson looking into the building in October. The building has 12 apartments that hold low-income housing through the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA). The current owner of the building is looking to sell out, or end his...
Congressman Ryan Zinke of Whitefish stopped into Glasgow for a visit with local and regional media, concerned citizens, supporters and schoolkids Thursday, May 7. His message was clear: "I am for local control," he explained generally, in quiet conversation with attendees at Farm Equipment and Sales. Our sole at-large congressional representative, Zinke has made his allegiances plain in the past. He describes himself as, "a Republican," but qualifies the statement by adding that he is "a...
First Of Two Parts A small group from Glasgow made the trip out to Williston last week to get an inside look at what the workforce camps might look like in Valley County if the TransCanada Keystone XL Pipeline ever gets approval. With the county commissioners and the county planning and zoning approving the two workforce camps that would be located between Nashua and Fort Peck and another just outside of Hinsdale some curious city and county employees and the chamber of commerce decided to take... Full story
For the past year more than one organization has been looking at making a downtown revitalization a reality. Several small projects and grants have helped the city of Glasgow work on gaining funding and planning to make the downtown look a little better and help to attract more business and tourism. One of these projects has been to get hanging flower baskets, trash cans and benches placed in the downtown area. The first grant to help make that project a reality came from the Theo Beck Foundation. That first grant covered the purchase of five...
For the first time, Montana has declared a day for retired educators. The local Montana Retired Educators Association group, pictured at left with Mayor Becky Erickson, met Monday to have a proclamation signed by Erickson. The official Montana Retired Educator Day is Thursday, March 12. The proclamation states that every student becomes a better human being and a more responsible citizen because of the dedication of teachers, administrators and school personnel. It states that retired educators... Full story
Only a week after the presidential veto, TransCanada officials made their rounds talking with local officials and groups in town. Bud Anderson, an employee of Western Energy Planning who is an independent contractor for TransCanada, met with the city council on Monday, March 2. He updated the city council that that the lawsuit in Nebraska allowed TransCanada to obtain the remaining land needed in Nebrask for the pipeline, and that they currently have over 80 percent of the land for the pipeline there, and 100 percent of the land in Montana and...
As the city council gathered on Monday, Feb. 2, they waiting to hear from Dry Prairie Rural Water (DPRW) and Morrison-Maierle about getting an analysis and information needed to move ahead and get a higher ranking from the DNRC (Department of Natural Resources Council) for a grant to upgrade the Glasgow Water Treatment Plant (WTP). The city council unanimously approved funding a more up to date analysis on the costs for hooking up to DPRW, versus upgrading the WTP. That funding was approved with an additional $92,000 for a pilot testing and...
July • While the flood of 2011 is still a topic of conversation, necessary repair work at Fort Peck Dam is ongoing. Even though several repair projects have been completed, the U. S. Army Corps of Engineers continues work on the Fort Peck spillway. Consequently the 2011 discharge caused a lot of erosion. The spillway ran for over four months. Downstream dams along the Missouri River are also undergoing flood repairs. The projects, costing around $45 million, are coming closer to completion. • Wh...
January • Has Glasgow really been sucked into some vortex that's dropped the temperatures below zero? The easy answer is no. Tanja Fransen, warning coordination meteorologist at National Weather Service Glasgow, explains that this is actually a low pressure system that came down from the North Pole and brought cold weather with it. The Arctic cold front pushed down farther south than usual, which brought colder than average temperatures to much of the nation. • Resigning one city council sea...
Glasgow may be a step ahead on improving infrastructure compared to other Eastern Montana communities that are in need to get ahead of the curve. The city finished up their wastewater treatment plant upgrades in 2013 and began to pursue upgrades to the water treatment plant in the last year. Those plans moved a step forward in funding. Jeremy Perlinski from Morrison-Maierle explained to the city council that the grant applications had been accepted. The $500,000 TSEP (Treasure State Endowment...
Negotiations were completed and Glasgow City council members have agreed to give both union and non-union employees a raise this year. Mayor Becky Erickson commented that there hasn't been a raise for employees in several years. The raise adds up to 50 cents an hour, and a $1.50 raise for employees who are on call. Health insurance payments will also increase. City officials did not take a raise this year. The resolution was passed Monday, Oct. 20. Glasgow Police Department employees also saw some changes during negotiations. They will also...
By Bonnie Davidson The Courier If you asked anyone who has recently moved to Glasgow there would be no question or hesitation that housing is a problem in Glasgow. Nearly a dozen people attended a meeting in the city chambers at the Glasgow Civic Center to discuss the development of a housing plan, part of a $10,000 grant given to the city to help assess the need. The bid for the housing plan was given to the Greater Norther Development Corporation, a company that helps with grants, loans and...
The Glasgow City Council met for a special budget meeting in the last week to help wrap up their work sessions to finalize plans for the upcoming fiscal year. They looked at slashing the budget in several different departments. While some extras remained on the budget, like updating the phone system the city currently uses, others were cut, like travel and training that maybe hadn't been used in years prior. The city also had to look at adding more than $70,000 to the budget for repairs to bring the levee up to standards. A lot of the...
Valley County isn't a stranger to flooding. The occurrence of flooding is about once every two and a half years according to records at the Glasgow National Weather Service. Usually those floods take place in spring as the snow melts into the rivers and creeks that surround the area. This time an unusual amount of rain fell later in the summer, catching everyone a little off guard. A major difference from the 2011 flood is that the waters came fast and are receding quickly. Flood waters in 2011... Full story
Most of the Glasgow City Council met for a sometimes dreaded annual event. While budget meetings might not start with a bang, they could end with a sigh of frustration this year. Property values have dropped this year, causing a drop in tax revenues. The first meeting for the city budget took place on Thursday, Aug. 21. Council members viewed and reviewed the upcoming budget requests and what they are facing for cuts. City Clerk-Treasurer Stacey Amundsen told the council that they haven't raised property tax mills for several year, but she...
