Serving Proudly As The Voice Of Valley County Since 1913
Serving Proudly As The Voice Of Valley County Since 1913
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We rely on innovation to change our lives, but we tend to think about what it means for phones or the Internet, not farmland. Just as we rely on innovation to help us meet our future needs, we should also look towards innovation to help our agricultural communities keep up with changing demands. Historically, we have prevented issues such as potato blight, increased the nutritional value of rice and other grains, and met consumers’ constantly evolving needs through the use of science and innovation. As we face new challenges in feeding the w...
Growing up in Cut Bank, one of the most important life-changing memories from my youth was my time in a Boy Scout Troop led by an incredible Scoutmaster, my Uncle Bob Anderson. We would take 100-mile trips up in the mountains and this is where I came to love Montana’s wild and beautiful wide open spaces. Our outdoor way of life is what makes Montanans who we are. It doesn’t matter if you’re from the Eastern or Western side of the state and it doesn’t matter if you’re a Republican, Democrat, Independent, or Libertarian--this is a common va...
The Environmental Protection Agency is asking for public comments “on regulations that may be appropriate for repeal, replacement, or modification.” That is a misguided effort if there ever was one. With pipelines leaking, tires burning, polluted waste being dumped into wetlands, plastics floating in our waters, fracking causing earthquakes, obsolete coal-fired plants releasing pollution into the air, pollution increasing carbon in the atmosphere, and global temperatures rising, the EPA’s resources should be directed at more research, more...
While preparing Easter Sunday dinner, my thoughts drifted back to an Easter some years ago that definitely has been unforgettable. We always hosted Easter Sunday dinner because of calving season. This particular year, Easter also fell on my birthday. One of my husband’s brothers and his wife and family had come to visit his parents. So, of course, they were on the guest list for dinner, as was my husband’s parents and one of his uncles. We had also invited our parish priest to have dinner with us. A given thing during calving season was the sma...
The Missouri River Reservoir System is the largest reservoir system in North America. Management of the system is complicated by multiple and diverse interest groups and applicable laws. Interest groups represent irrigation, flood risk, hydropower, recreation, water supply, navigation, fish and wildlife, cultural resources, and commercial sand and gravel dredging. One of the applicable laws is the Endangered Species Act of 1973, which provides for the conservation of threatened or endangered species and their habitats. The U.S. Fish and...
This is a more recent memory. Do you remember when community Easter Egg hunts featured real eggs? It does not seem like so many years ago that various organizations in communities got together an evening or so before the big Easter Egg Hunt and spent the evening cooking and dyeing eggs. Yes, real eggs. I am sure it turned out to be a fun event, dyeing all of those eggs. But that was all there was to it. You didn’t have to open each plastic egg and stuff candy, a toy or something in it before it was ready for hiding. Of course like now, they sti...
Open Letter on Public Lands Dear Governor Bullock, There has been a lot said and written about retaining public lands in Montana. Most folks come out strongly in favor of this. I am writing you about what I think to be something wrong or unfair about Montana State Land ownership. I hope you and the legislature can change this unfairness. I am a County Commissioner in Daniels County. We have 24 percent State Land ownership in our county. The enclosed colored map [not pictured] from the upcoming State Oil & Gas Lease Sale illustrates the...
Dear Mr. Fenton [FEMA Administrator]: I understand the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) will soon be facilitating a number of listening sessions with tribal governments to solicit Indian tribes’ input in updating the agency’s tribal consultation policy. As you prepare that schedule ahead of the finalization of the renewed policy by August 2017, I ask that you hold at least one of those sessions, if not more, in Montana to ensure Montana tribes’ voices are heard in this process. Montana tribes are all too familiar with natural disas...
Of all the misguided items in the current proposed federal budget, the threat to end Amtrak’s long-distance routes, including the venerable Empire Builder line across Montana, could have the roughest immediate impact on the people, businesses and communities of the Hi-Line. Yes, the President’s proposed budget includes cuts to the nation’s passenger rail system that would probably mean the end of the line in Montana, after more than a century of service. This is a terrible thing for the Hi-Line. We all benefit from the route, which runs from...
This week has started out with joy, laughter and thankfulness. On Sunday, our son, Joe, and his wife, Crystal, and their family hosted a famly dinner at their home. My husband and I were blessed with having all four of our children present. It was a really great day for us. Monday, a long-time friend stopped by to give me a handmade fleece quilt made by the ladies of the Fort Peck Lutheran Church. The woman who brought it to me said, “We read your article about providing blankets for chemo patients and we’ve been doing that for quite a whi...
Do you remember the old wooden (probably oak) telephones that hung on the wall? I vaguely remember seeing one or two of these hanging in grocery or general stores of my early days, and later at auctions (maybe auctions or items of those very fore mentioned stores). These phones had two probably brass ring mechanisms and a mouth piece on the front, the receiver was a separate piece that hung on one side and the other side featured a crank that was cranked to connect you to the operator. I do know that there were other antique style phones, but...
As current and former Justices of the Montana Supreme Court, we write to express our deep concern with the proposal to eliminate funding for the Legal Services Corporation and the Corporation for National and Community Service. These programs are critical partners in ensuring that the Montana justice system meets the Constitution’s command to “establish Justice . . . and secure the Blessings of Liberty” to all Montanans. For 50 years, the Montana Legal Services Association (MLSA) has provided civil legal aid to Montanans with basic human needs....
With only 3 days left until the Glasgow prom, my son's date, a senior student from Opheim, was informed that my son couldn't escort her this year because he is home-schooled. Apparently, GHS policy states that only students enrolled in a "public" high school are allowed to go. That is a very untimely notice as we have already ordered and paid for a tux, and I am sure the girl doesn't want to find another date. They were signed up over a month ago. Who would have thought that the school policy would need to be checked as a home-schooled friend...
In a few weeks it will be the days of Passover when Jesus Christ actually died and rose again exactly on the feast of First Fruit. There is a story in the Bible that tells us that Adam and Eve who had two sons, Cain and Able. Cain offered up a sacrifice to God of his best. Able also offered up a sacrifice of what God wanted in an offering. God accepted the sacrifice from Able. He did not accept Cain offering even though he did it with all his heart. Most of you celebrated “Easter.” Where did that feast come from? The name Easter comes from the...
Murky waters continue to cloud as information related to simultaneous investigations in the legislature are exposed. There is an ongoing investigation regarding possible Trump collusion with the Russians to influence the election and an investigation into the Obama administration’s monitoring of Trump up to a year before he became the president-elect. Chairman of the House Intelligence Committee, Representative Devin Nunes, recently unveiled the bombshells that not only was Trump right about being monitored at Trump Tower but that fishy busines...
Do you remember when the Glasgow High School had a Vo-Ag program and a FFA team. Glasgow still has some of those FFA members and I wouldn’t be surprised if some of those “blue jackets” could be found in closets or trunks. I remember hearing young men commenting on particular skills that were learned during their high school years in the Vo-Ag program. These were and are skills that they used for a lifetime. I am excited to hear that Glasgow is actually considering offering this program again. I think that schools might have offered this progr...
Last week, a picture appeared on my Facebook page that brought me to tears. It’s a photo of a rancher standing near charred fence posts and burnt, twisted, and broken barbed wire as he looks across scorched and blackened grazing land. Just a very small part of the half million acres destroyed by three wildfires in the Texas panhandle. The headline tells of the $27 million loss ranchers and farmers have suffered. However, that $27 million loss is only the tip of the iceberg. The loss is far, far greater than that. Some will say “Oh, there will b...
Donald Trump learned an important lesson about being a populist with a Conservative House. His Party does not actually support him or his views. Conservative evangelical style Tea Party Republicans are not necessarily prepared to go along with Trump’s idea that he alone gets to decide America’s future. Nor are they willing to concede their extremist ideology in exchange for making their Party look good or get a “win”. The result has been dramatic. On March 24, the long touted, and dramatically over-blown, repeal and replace came up to the point...
Reagan-era Supreme Court Justice Antonin Scalia died a year ago last month. The Supreme Court vacancy has not been replaced since his demise. In 2016, the Democrats had less than a majority in the Senate and lacked the prowess to confirm Obama’s replacement pick for SCOTUS, or even implement the nuclear option they controversially wrote into senate rules in late 2013. For these reasons, we stand here today with all likelihood that an alternative pick, chosen by President Trump, Neil Gorsuch will be the newly appointed Supreme Court justice. He...
Daylight Savings Let us not give up on Senate Bill 206, regarding Daylight Savings Time. This bill has been tabled by the Legislature. Call them at once and ask them to reconsider voting on and passing this bill. Daylight Savings Time does a lot more harm, then it does good. -Arlene Blessing Great Falls...
In spite of a couple rough spots the week before last, and one the week before that, it was a great one. Two weeks ago Sunday, I had a really nice visit with a friend. I’d shared with her about a doctor’s appointment I’d had. I told her a CT scan of my chest revealed spots of cancer in my ribs, vertebrae, and sternum. Several of them were new spots. My doctor and I had a discussion about pain management. When I met with my oncologist, we talked about the CT scan I’d had the week before. He said he wanted a contrast CT scan of my abdomen and pel...
I have written before about recycling and I admit I am at it again. We have all read the funny little articles about the “Green Thing” and nod our head in agreement. Yes, those of us of my generation and previous generations recycled so many things without giving it a thought. It was an everyday thing. Coffee cans were saved and many times used in the shop by the men to organize their nuts and bolts, etc., clothing was recycled by making over for the children, and so on and on. My husband and I took a few days off a couple of weeks ago to att...
The State of the Montana Budget Side by Side In this ongoing segment, Glasgow-based columnists Michael Burns and Alec Carmichael have agreed to square off on issues of national and international significance. Less a debate format than an opportunity to feature in-depth discussion, "Side by Side" will feature structured analysis of current events complete with fact-checking, editorial support and, when necessary, informal arbitration. To suggest a topic for our duo, write to [email protected]. “You know things are tough when students are a...
The State of the Montana Budget Side by Side In this ongoing segment, Glasgow-based columnists Michael Burns and Alec Carmichael have agreed to square off on issues of national and international significance. Less a debate format than an opportunity to feature in-depth discussion, "Side by Side" will feature structured analysis of current events complete with fact-checking, editorial support and, when necessary, informal arbitration. To suggest a topic for our duo, write to [email protected]. So Montana’s House passed a budget. Republicans s...
Having never sponsored a tax bill in my twelve years as a state legislator, I find myself in a new strange place. However as I watched nearly ninety million dollars in services for senior citizens and people who have disabilities, including children, being cut from the state budget I had to do something. Fortunately we have a mechanism to help restore these programs and positively impact the health and welfare of Montanans. Through my bill called the SAVE ACT, we will increase the tobacco tax by $1.50 a pack. I fully understand that this may...
