Serving Proudly As The Voice Of Valley County Since 1913
Serving Proudly As The Voice Of Valley County Since 1913
Sorted by date Results 1365 - 1389 of 4022
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...
Glasgow Police Department's victim witness specialists Margaret Henry and Jewel Etherington have been the shoulder to lean on, the ear to listen and the rock in northeast Montana this year for victims and witnesses of crime. Etherington, who has been in the position since July, and Henry, who has been in the position since October, currently serve Phillips, Valley, Daniels, Sheridan and until recently Roosevelt County, in helping those who have been affected by crime, whether it's providing reso...
Every year health providers around the state are nominated for the Dr. Frank Newman Rural Health Award and this year, amidst a global pandemic that has asked a lot of healthcare providers, was no different. In honor of National Rural Health Day, held Nov. 19, the Montana Office of Rural Health/AHEC and Montana Rural Health Association requested nominations for the award and this year, Frances Mahon Deaconess Hospital’s very own Dr. Anne Millard and Dr. Gordon Bell were recognized for their commitment to rural health. Dr. Millard was one of t...
On Dec. 8 major news outlets reported that President-elect Joe Biden had selected former Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack to return to that role, leading the U.S. Department of Agriculture. Earlier rumors and speculation on the position favored former N.D. Senator Heidi Heitkamp and Congresswoman Marcia Fudge. Fudge has since been selected to lead Housing and Urban Development. Reporting had said that Vilsack was backing Heitkamp for the position and Politico Pro reports that Vilsack was reluctant to return to his former role, which he held...
Senator Jon Tester (D) introduced a bill last month with Senator Deb Fischer, Neb., that seeks to improve safety at rural train crossings. As of right now, railroad crossing arms are only installed at locations where a road is wide enough for two vehicles. A second bill to address the dangers of parked trains on highway-railroad crossings was also introduced by the same two senators. Valley County has reported two cases of vehicle-train collisions this year at rural crossings. The first occurred on July 18 in Hinsdale at the crossing with...
Ex-Valley County undersheriff Luke Strommen was sentenced to 40 years in the Montana State Prison on Dec. 8 for the crime of repeatedly raping a 14-year-old girl. Missoula District Judge John Larson handed down the sentence while allowing for the possibility of parole after ten years served. Strommen was found guilty after a jury trial found that he had initiated a non-consensual sexual relationship with the victim when she was 14 and that he continued raping her for years while as a Valley...
The Valley CARE (Coordination, Accessibility, Resources and Education) Coalition hosted a free QPR Suicide Prevention training by Frederick Lee on Dec. 4, at the Glasgow Evangelical Church. The event was attended by members of Youth Dynamics, Hi-Line Homes and First Lutheran Church, personnel from Glasgow Schools in addition to individual community members. QPR, which stands for question, persuade, refer, trains individuals to become gatekeepers, individuals who know how to recognize the warning sides of suicide, know how to offer open...
The number of deaths in Valley County caused by COVID-19 rose to eight last week as cases climbed to nearly 600 confirmed infected with the coronavirus. According to the Valley County Health Departmen.t there were 41 active cases in the area as of Dec. 7. Of the 599 total cases reported, 550 had recovered and eight had passed away as of Dec. 1. Accompanying the Dec. 1 weekly report on countywide COVID cases, the Health Department added, “A man in his 50s and a man in his 70s have died from COVID-19 and its complications. These two men are l...
New Year’s Day is right around the corner and 2021 cannot arrive soon enough. One of the reasons many are looking forward to ringing in the new year is the legalization of recreational marijuana. At 12:01 a.m. on Jan. 1, 2021, Montana adults over 21 will be able to send 2020 up in smoke, legally. Montana voters in November approved Initiative 190, which legalized recreational marijuana, and Constitutional Initiative 118, which amends the state constitution to set the legal age of cannabis consumption at 21. Approximately 60 percent of M...
