Serving Proudly As The Voice Of Valley County Since 1913
Serving Proudly As The Voice Of Valley County Since 1913
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The Fort Peck Fine Arts Council, a 501c3 organization, has been dedicated to the maintenance and preservation of the beautiful Fort Peck Theatre. To accomplish this goal, an Endowment Fund was created, and professionally managed through the Montana Community Foundation, to generate sustainable investment returns used to fund major restoration projects. Past gifts to this Endowment Fund have been crucial in keeping this building looking as wonderful as it did back in 1934. This year, the Fort Peck Fine Arts Council has added an additional fund,...
I disagree with Gov. Bullock’s proposal to eliminate Medicaid funding for many adult dental and other healthcare services. Elderly, disabled, and seriously mentally ill Montanans are our most vulnerable families and neighbors. They need this care to protect their health. The Governor would also reduce reimbursements to all healthcare providers who treat these patients. That severally limits their access to much-needed care. If these dental services are eliminated, elderly adults in nursing homes or living at home and disabled adults in group h... Full story
Friends and Neighbors, I’m asking for your help in curbing wasteful spending by the Montana Department of Transportation. MDT is once again proposing the construction of the Grass Range round-a-bout at the junction of Hwy. 200 and 87. Last spring, the estimated cost was $3.2 million and is now at $4 million. We assert that the safety issue at the junction can be addressed at under $250,000, the balance of the $4 million could be dedicated to addressing Hwy. 200 safety issues on either side of the junction. It’s time that “We the Peopl... Full story
Editor's Note: This story was originally told by Mary Ellen DePuydt to our very own Helen. Hidden in the shadows of modern farm buildings, rests a gray rotting log cabin, whispering its memories of the homestead days on the Montana prairie, northeast of Malta. My sister and I made many a journey through the crested wheat grass, winding through the caraganas and between the plump grain bins to the little cabin where we could turn the time clock back 60 years before our time. The cabin was kept shut by a weak, one-hinged screen door and what...
As a fourth generation Montanan and 22-year District Court Judge, I believe Montana deserves better. We deserve better from our public servants. We deserve government policies that do not stifle economic growth and stagnate wages. We deserve the ability to capture the American Dream by making our own decisions and succeeding or failing based on our own talents and hard work. As a lifelong Montanan, I understand that a hand up from a neighbor is much more effective than a handout from a government bureaucrat. As a father, I believe it is immoral...
The special session, called by the Governor, of the 65th Legislature will begin on Tuesday, November 14th. Our local papers will be printed after this letter was written. I trust we will be able to patch the revenue holes to our state budget. Five things are presently known: 1) Republicans do not want to raise taxes or revenue enhancements as they are being called; 2) Democrats do not want to reduce the bureaucracy of the government; 3) the Governor did not manage the costs of the bureaucracy; 4) Revenue is lower than estimated; 5) cost of the...
Following the scandalous sanctioning of the GHS volleyball team by MHSA (see MHSA Sanctions GHS Volleyball Program), it has become clear to me that sportsmanship – even at the highest level of competition – is declining. Specifically, it seems that people feel justified in being nasty because Glasgow was disciplined for a rules violation. Last week, I shared some thoughts about the violation. Let me reiterate and maybe expand on some of those thoughts, just so it’s clear where I stand. *In no way do I condone “cheating.” I’m not necessarily opp...
How many of you think of all the wonderful conveniences our present day vehicles provide us? The other day I had the opportunity (or necessity) to drive my older model pickup to work. Oh my, no heated seats or steering wheel, no back-up camera or phone connection, no information system telling me that my tire or oil pressure was low. Could I make it to town without all of this information? And it is a manual shift. (Since it was Halloween, it was fitting that I do know how to drive a stick. Just not sure I can park a broom stick as well as the...
An actor being interviewed about his medical diagnosis stated, “Acceptance isn’t resignation.” He was so right. When I was told in January 2010 I had a blood clot in my arm and could lose a finger because of it, my first feeling was one of fear. Fear that I could lose more than a finger. Fear that my arm and hand would never be the same. But I knew I had to accept the way things were and try to move forward. So I had the surgery and everything turned out fine. The neurosurgeon was able to remove what turned out to be two clots in my arm and sav...
I know it. Most Montanans know it. At its core, the strength of Montana’s economy and our way of life relies on the power of a strong public education system. Nowhere is that more clear than on a road trip in Montana. Here is my most recent road trip story. At Miles Community College, I heard story after story of students attending agriculture programs and then going back to the family farm to substantially increase the farm’s productivity through techniques learned in school. Young Montanans can earn a two-year degree by age 20 and then the...
The biggest sports news this week, for me, is that the Lady Scottie volleyball team lost their district title due to a violation of a Montana High School Association (MHSA) rule. Although I received the information in plenty of time to adjust the content of my section this week, I chose not to make any changes in what I had already prepared. The bottom line: The girls deserve recognition. MHSA is the entity that governs high school interscholastic activities in Montana. According to their website, their purpose is to ensure that...
In the past two weeks, two former Presidents, two current Republican Senators, and sleuth of commentators have railed against the “current state of political discourse.” I presently am doing the same thing here in this column, and that resounding chorus seems to fall on deaf ears. My question, as it were, is that following a remarkable few weeks culminating with the arrest of, not one, but three former campaign advisers to Donald Trump, one of which plead guilty already, will the Republican Party change in the coming months? Will the party of...
As Montanans, American Indians, and members of the Montana Legislature, we share the frustration of people all across Montana. As the potentially devastating effects of these cuts have become clear over the past few weeks, Montana’s elected leaders must continue working to ensure that critical government services remain available and effective, eliminate unnecessary spending, and discuss ways to increase revenue. We stand ready to join our colleagues from both parties to do our job. However, some of our colleagues in the Republican majority c...
Sometimes I wonder if we realize how many times we receive a gift, yet don’t realize it as such. We are given a gift every single day when we wake up. Throughout each day we receive more gifts. A hug from a child, a smile from someone we pass on the street, a telephone call from a friend inviting us to lunch, a greeting card, a compliment on what we are wearing or something we’ve done or made. The list is endless. Do you ever think of a family dinner as a gift? It is. One of the best gifts there is. To be together with our parents, bro...
One of the most beautiful things about football is the presentation of the flag of the United States of America during the national anthem and Air Force I flying over the stadium. It takes my breath away and brings tears to my eyes. Now we are being denied this beauty by the media to protect the spoiled million-dollar football players who refuse to honor our country in a respectful manner. I’m under the impression that their football contract requires that players, coaches and all personnel must stand at attention with helmets in left hand a... Full story
Montanans, like many across our country, continue to face a severe and growing opioid, meth, and heroin epidemic. These drugs have ravaged Montana homes and families, leaving little of our state untouched by addiction. The time is now. We must work together to keep these drugs off the streets and out of the hands of our children, friends, and family. I joined Senators from across the country in demanding that the Drug Enforcement Agency and the Department of Health and Human Services detail exactly how law enforcement agencies can help opioid...
Every morning we open our eyes is yet another opportunity to rise, face the world and make choices. When I’m not sharing parenting duties with my wife Meagen, and running our four kids to and from school and their various activities around Billings, I choose to work hard at standing up to bullies and corporations who have lied, cheated and stolen from my clients. I’m a consumer protection attorney, which means I stand up for working people who get shafted by powerful corporations—from the widow whose insurance company tries to trick her rathe...
Thanks to scientific innovation in agriculture, farmers and ranchers are using fewer resources to grow an abundant, sustainable food supply. But I wonder how far our new technology and techniques will take us if farmers are left without one of the most critical resources to keep our farms sustainable: a stable workforce. Agriculture’s labor shortage is at a crisis level, with farmers like Burr and Rosella Mosby losing crops and income because there aren’t enough workers for harvest. Every year we hear stories of fresh produce rotting in the...
Rural America embodies the best of our nation. Tough, rugged, resilient and hard working. To me, it’s something that is quintessentially American, like a Charlie Russell painting. Something that can’t always be measured, yet is always felt. Today, I worry about the serious threats facing our rural communities. These are communities that help one another, produce our food, extract energy and fuel our economy. I hear a lot of talk about the value of a Nation, State, County, or City. Normally, that is expressed in terms of gross product, or wha...
In the past I have often wondered what might have been in those jars with such a small opening. I now have an answer! I have found several brands of coffee came in glass jars, as well as Crisco (this one is hard for me to imagine). Then there jars of this size that had laundry starch. I am sure that there were many more items but my memories do not go back that far. It is funny how just one small item like a glass jar can take so much time out of my day. On that thought, remember how many grocery items came with a key on the lid (like the pop...
According to Dr. Angus McIntosh, 40 years ago there were 55,000 allotment-owning ranchers. Then, according to the Public Lands Council, today there are 22,000. If allotment-owning ranchers continue disappearing at the same rate, in 40 years there will be fewer than 9,000. The Endangered Species Act says, “The term “endangered species” means any species which is in danger of extinction…”In the April 2008 issue of National Geographic, I read a letter to the magazine concerning cowboys. The man, who wrote the letter, believes that cowboys s... Full story
I’ve meant to send you a fan letter for quite some time, but your column “The Brouhaha” finally spurred me to write. Thank you for such a well-researched and well-written piece on this issue. I’m a child of the 1960s when people burned the flag to protest the Vietnam war and it seems a fundamental right of free speech to me to sit for the anthem or not salute the flag. I think your column deserves a much larger audience and I would encourage you to submit it to the larger Montana papers and to the national news outlets. I would love to see it i... Full story
Each fall tens of thousands of Montana men and women spend anywhere from a few hours to a several weeks hunting. Most have a wonderful time; a few run afoul of the law. Here are 10 problem areas, courtesy of Montana Fish, Wildlife and Parks game wardens, that hunters seem to stumble over year after year: 1. Trespassing. Hunters must have permission of the landowner before hunting on private land. In Montana, private land does not have to be posted for a hunter to be guilty of trespassing. Ask first. 2. State law makes it illegal for anyone to...
Last week I wrote about our 49th wedding anniversary. One thing I forgot to add was it’s important that both the husband and wife need to have a sense of humor. A prime example is a conversation that took place between my husband’s parents. We had asked one of our nieces, who lived in Helena, to be godmother to our son. She opted to stay with her grandparents. On a morning several days after she arrived, my father-in-law looked out one of the kitchen windows to see it had snowed during the night. The sidewalk leading to the garage had a lig...
Ol’ Norman has been gone a long time, but his stories linger on. The old gent nodded his head toward a man ascending the massive staircase in the county courthouse. “You know who that is, don’t you?” “Yes,” I replied, thinking that a rather unusual question. The distinguished figure with black overcoat and silvery hair was quite recognizable. I knew I was on to one of those tales that only Norm could spin. Norm considered himself a real died-in-the-wool Montanan. His parents of fond memories, homesteaded south of Malta, having arrived pen...