Serving Proudly As The Voice Of Valley County Since 1913
Serving Proudly As The Voice Of Valley County Since 1913
Sorted by date Results 1357 - 1381 of 4022
Montana Governor Greg Gianforte issued an executive order on Feb. 12 allowing the statewide mask mandate to expire following his signing of a law protecting businesses from COVID-related liabilities. The news was not a surprise. Gianforte had said he intended to lift the mandate once businesses were shielded from liability by the Montana state legislature and a significant number of vulnerable residents had been vaccinated. “Since January 5th, I have provided a clear, consistent path to rescinding the mask mandate,” Governor Gianforte sai... Full story
"Valley County, we are headed in the wrong direction." Those were the opening words to a letter from Valley County Health Department Director, Lynn Miller, on Feb. 4 to the entire county. In the letter Miller highlighted a number of issues with the county's rising COVID-19 numbers, a disregard for social distancing, the still-in-effect mask mandate and the slow pace of vaccinations. "On one hand we have our older residents who are very concerned for their health, concerned about contracting... Full story
US Representative for Montana, Matt Rosendale, and Montana US Senator Steve Daines have introduced legislation to attempt to reverse President Joe Biden’s revocation of a key permit issued to TC Energy for the Keystone XL pipeline to cross into the United States from Canada at the border in Phillips County. The decision made on President Biden’s first day in office had been long forecast. Biden had campaigned on the promise that he would make revoking Keystone XL a first-day event—a promise he ultimately kept. Nonetheless, the decision has gene...
Valley County is revamping the way they will administer the COVID-19 vaccine to the Phase 1B qualified persons in February. According to the Valley County Health Department, the new method of selecting persons to be vaccinated will transition to a first-come-first-serve basis. The rollout in January had been by a lottery selection of those who had signed up for the initial wave of vaccines to those most at risk of the virus. In essence, the system will transition from a random selection of... Full story
Over two dozen people attended a Jan. 28 forum hosted by the US Dept. of Justice to discuss racial bias, hate crimes and law enforcement with members of the community. The were two panels—one made up of representatives from the Fort Peck Tribes, the Montana Racial Equity Project and the Montana American Civil Liberties Union and the other made up of Sheriff Tom Boyer, Assistant Police Chief Tyler Edwards, Glasgow City Attorney Anna Rose Sullivan, FBI Agent Steven Hymas and Assistant United States Attorney Brendan McCarthy. Meshayla Cox, A...
The Glasgow High School Speech and Drama sent nine team members to the virtual state meet this past weekend and four of those team members came away with top 10 performances. Earning the honors were Chase Tarum for his humorous solo and the classical group composed of Bailee Baxter, Harley Edwards and Alesia Hopstad. Tarum placed with his performance of a Dave Barry piece while Baxter, Edwards, and Hopstad performed a selection from The Wizard of Oz. Raelee Dowden, dramatic solo; Mason Swenson,...
The Glasgow Speech and Drama team is rounding up their unusual season. They hosted a virtual showcase last Thursday evening and competed in the Virtual Eastern B/C Divisional Meet on Saturday. Nine members of the team are moving on to the Virtual State Meet this Saturday, hosted by Huntley Project. Thursday night's Virtual Showcase and Senior Night had the team in the Glasgow High School Library with head coach Jodi Griffin broadcasting the event on Facebook Live for family, friends and fans... Full story
The Valley County Health Department announced the county entered phase 1B of the state's COVID-19 vaccination plan on Jan. 21. The transition marks a shift in vaccine priority from healthcare workers to citizens in high-risk categories such as the elderly and those with medical conditions. In order to receive the vaccine, residents must contact the health department to be added to the list. The health department has already started planning for mass vaccination events to include one scheduled for Wednesday, Jan. 27 as of press time. The...
The Valley County Conservation District and county sheriff Tom Boyer are asking for help from the public in seeking answers to a curious case of unauthorized use and vandalism of the district's tractor and rototiller and the straight-up theft of the district's disc. The Sheriff is encouraging the public to come forward with information on the events which occurred throughout 2020 and cost the district more than $13,000 in damage and loss. "This is still an active investigation," he explained,...
In yet another setback to TC Energy and the building of the Keystone XL pipeline, CBC in Canada was first to report on Jan. 17 confirmation of President-elect Joe Biden's intent to rescind the KXL pipeline permit. Biden campaigned on canceling the Canadian pipeline project, which will run through Valley County, after having opposed it during his time as Vice President under President Barack Obama. Obama punted the controversial political decision to his successor, President Donald Trump, who...
The US Department of Justice will host a digital “hate crime forum” for residents of Valley County and surrounding areas on Jan. 28. The platform will present perspectives from Montana residents on their own experiences with hate crimes as well as a panel of federal, state and local law enforcement on how federal law defines hate crimes and how such crimes are treated and investigated. Glasgow Mayor Becky Erickson told the Courier that the forum was the idea of the US DOJ and that they make the offer to any Montana town. She pointed out that su...
Law Enforcement in Frazer has been a perennial enigma for the Valley County Sheriff. Due to its Tribal citizenry, Frazer has been a sort of no-go zone for county sheriff's deputies in the past, and a lack of cross-deputization between tribal law enforcement and VCSO makes enforcing the law in Frazer difficult and cumbersome. Recent efforts to give Frazer's residents a sense of security and support from the county have yielded fruit though. According to Sheriff Tom Boyer, a Jan. 8 call from a...
Each sport has its own unique sounds. The crack of a baseball bat connecting with a ball. The squeak of high tops on the basketball court. The thump of football pads colliding at the snap. A hockey fan can name several unique sounds from their game of choice - the singing of a puck off the cross bar, the slap shot, the thump of a bread basket pad save. But the sound that truly sets hockey apart from other team sports is the susurrus of the skates on the ice. The skates' whisper on the fast ice...
Glasgow High School Senior Emma Wall was one of only four students recognized by the statewide Jobs for Montana Graduates organization this year for an essay she wrote about her JMG experience and what that experience has meant for her life. The essay competition gives 11th and 12th-grade students an opportunity to showcase how JMG benefits their personal and career goals. “It’s really about how JMG has helped me come into myself,” explained Wall, discussing her essay. She went on to describe difficulties overcoming a deeply personal child...
Valley County added 23 positive cases to their COVID-19 totals between Jan. 6 and 11, and a tenth Valley County resident died as a result of contracting the disease. In a statement released on Jan. 7, the Valley County Health Department said, “Valley County confirms a second death last week [Dec. 27 to Jan. 2] of a man in his 80s from COVID-19 illness and complications. We express deep sympathy to his family and loved ones. We have now lost 10 persons to COVID-19 and its complications.” The additional cases bring the total number of Valley Cou... Full story
GWENDOLYNE HONRUD THE COURIER Valley County coronavirus cases continue to hold steady in the single digits as of press time. The state map shows Valley County with seven active cases as of Jan. 4. The last update from the Valley County Health Department on Dec. 29 showed eight active cases with 634 recovered cases and eight deaths. The Health Department reminds people that 50 persons in Valley County have been hospitalized with the disease. Statewide, deaths are approaching 1,000 as the state’s COVID site showed 975 deaths as of Jan. 4. On J...
The Valley County Health Department Vaccinated 10 members of the Northeast Montana STAT Air ambulance service against the coronavirus on Dec. 23 as part of an effort to get the COVID-19 vaccine to as many frontline healthcare workers as possible in the coming weeks. The ambulance service was the first agency in the county to get the first of two installments of the Moderna vaccine. The agency will receive another 10 doses, for a total of 20, as part of the first wave of vaccines for health care...
The Glasgow City Council has advanced an ordinance to expand the city’s current snow removal ordinance to include measures for the city’s removal of snow from residential and business sidewalks and bill the property owners. Ordinance No. 973 passed unanimously at the council’s Dec. 21 meeting and will head to second reading in January. The ordinance, according to council president Rod Karst, is modeled after the city’s weedy lot ordinance which was passed earlier this year. That ordinance aimed to encourage the grooming and maintenance of city...
The Valley County Commissioners received word from Governor Steve Bullock on Dec. 21 that the county had been selected for A community Development Block Grant. The $450,000 grant award is for water system upgrades to water mains, a storage tank and installation of water metering in the St. Marie water district. Craig Erickson, certified grant writer with Great West Engineering, led a presentation and discussion in August during a public hearing on CDBG funding available, which originates from Housing and Urban Development. At that meeting,...
Valley County Health Department director Lynn Miller announced at a special meeting of the board of health on Dec. 21 that the county will receive 200 doses of the COVID-19 vaccine to administer to frontline health care workers. Miller said the doses will be divvied up between Frances Mahon Deaconess Hospital, STAT Air and local ambulance services. She also explained that the county received the Moderna version of the vaccine which requires less in the way of transportation and storage. The Pfizer vaccine, which was available first, requires a...
The Valley County Board of Health has appointed Daniels County Health Officer Mary Nyhus to serve as the interim county health officer for up to six months. The move comes after Dr. Anne Millard resigned from the position effective Jan. 1, 2021 after three years on the job. Nyhus is a registered nurse who has served as the Daniels County health officer for a number of years. The board of health decided after a closed meeting on Dec. 21 to discuss Nyhus' credentials to hire her as health officer and Malta-based Family Nurse Practitioner Christy...
At a special meeting held Monday, Dec. 14, the Glasgow School Board voted to update their policy on extracurricular activity participation by distance learners. The new 1908 policy allows for coaches and advisors to allow students who are currently enrolled in distance learning to participate in extracurricular activities that can be done virtually. The adjusted policy also allows students in post-season activities the option of going to remote learning for a two-week period prior to post-season competition until that competition is concluded....
When Pam Weinmeister's career at the Glasgow office of the Department of Natural Resources and Conservation began over 37 years ago, it had a familiar start for some in northeast Montana. "I needed a job," she explained. "My husband was a farmer and we just weren't making it." So, she applied to work as a compliance technician in the water rights division of the local DNRC office, and she never left. After 34 years in the role, she took a promotion as Water Rights Specialist and she even...
Dr. Anne Millard has formally announced her resignation from the position as Valley County Health Officer effective Jan. 1, 2021. She will remain a primary care provider at Frances Mahon Deaconess. Millard gave notice to the board of health before Thanksgiving and officially informed them at their regular meeting on Dec. 8. She has been in the position for three years. Millard spoke to the Courier the evening of Dec. 9 about her resignation, the COVID pandemic and her time in the position before...
