Serving Proudly As The Voice Of Valley County Since 1913
Serving Proudly As The Voice Of Valley County Since 1913
Sorted by date Results 1383 - 1407 of 2317
For those who have been wondering about why my column hasn’t been in the Courier: My husband and I left on Nov. 16 for Iowa to spend Thanksgiving with my brother and to visit with other family members and friends. We returned on Nov. 29. But by the time we did I was fighting a really nasty cold. A clerk at a checkout counter in a store I was in was sneezing and coughing and not covering their face or turning their head. Consequently, I was infected. For the past several weeks I have been sleeping a great deal and now feel I am on the road to be...
Opening a Montana medical care savings account by Dec. 31 to help with medical expenses not covered by a health insurance policy or flexible spending account can help individuals save on taxes, according to Marsha Goetting, a family economics specialist with Montana State University Extension. “Up to $3,000 of a deposit into the account, per taxpayer, is deductible from an individual’s 2016 Montana adjusted gross income, thus reducing taxes,” Goetting said. “This tax advantage does not apply to your federal income taxes, however, and should...
In working the articles the Courier has published on the Court Appointed Special Advocates (CASA) program, I have felt compelled to push hard for those considering volunteering to really discern their decision. I hope maybe to inspire some of you to truly reflect, and take the time to be that person who helps a child through their hardest time. Mark Douglass makes a compelling case for how much of an impact a single CASA can have in helping children by advocating for them and truly being a strong voice for those so often misunderstood and...
Trump’s no dummy. But neither is he brilliant. A brilliant person who has just become President-elect of the United States would not make such a statement as “I will be a president for all the people.” Hey! President-elect Trump I am not in favor of same sex marriages. How are you going to make me change my feelings on that subject? I am not in favor of the TTP agreement although many are. Are you going to make me like it? I’m favorable to the XL pipeline project. How are you going to MAKE those opposed change their minds? My opinion is that...
I have never really understood the Electoral College (EC). Recently a friend and I were talking about people who are apparently trying to convince electors to the EC not to vote for President-elect Donald Trump, and he asked me if this was possible. The 538 electors meet Dec. 19 this year to officially vote for the President. The EC has a long and fascinating history (which I can only touch on here), and a surprising answer to the question as to whether they are bound delegates nationwide. History of the Electoral College: Originally, Article...
I am not going to lie. I truly do feel the Army Corps of Engineers’ decision to deny an easement for the DAPL under Lake Oahe in North Dakota was a true win for all Americans. Why do I believe this? First of all, people have the right to peacefully assemble to influence their government. With the knowledge that some are going to be rowdy and unruly as others peacefully protest, I think this was a good example of mass protests handled in a mostly-respectable way, all things considered. At the very least, it didn’t end in a shootout with Sta...
While driving to town the other day, I was listening to the news concerning the issues at the University of Massachusetts concerning the flying of OUR American flag. So many “remembers” flooded my mind: memories of my school days, when each day started with the Pledge of Allegiance to the flag. We all STOOD each morning, facing the wall or area of the room where the flag was displayed. Hand over heart we recited the Pledge. Remember, my generation was born during or shortly after World War II. The flag had real significance to each and eve...
I have largely ignored the Dakota Access Pipeline Protest; unable, thus far, to really form an opinion due to a lack of substantive information. I am an independent-minded person, and a self-professed libertarian who voted for Gary Johnson (protest vote). I believe in industry, but I also believe in equality for all and fair treatment and consideration under the law. That being said, I want to speak about some of the negativity I’ve encountered regarding the protests and protesters. But I digress, so let’s start from the beginning. On Aug. 18,...
A multitude of preparatory steps went into a typical washday in the homesteader’s modest home. It’s a certainty that the modern-day housewife would think twice before swapping places with the housewives of the early 1900s in rural Montana. Doing the family laundry was considered almost an art. First, the water was pumped at the well and hauled by a horse-drawn wagon, and then the cold water was heated on the kitchen stove – the same stove which heated the house and cooked the meals. There hasn’t been a central heating system built since,...
First, to taxes as I see it. Every Presidential candidate since Nero has promised lower taxes. Here’s a quickie run-down of how the income tax occurred in the US. 1791 to 1802 federal taxes on booze, tobacco, snuff, slaves, refined sugar, carriages, property sold at auction and corporate bonds. The war of 1812 caused taxes to be levied on gold, silverware, jewelry and watches. In 1817, Congress nixed all internal taxation and relied on tariffs on imported goods to sustain the country’s financial needs. (This would work for us now if Congress wo...
It is the season of gift giving. Do you remember receiving US Savings Bonds for Christmas and Birthdays? Not many of us thought of the value of this gift, probably because as kids we preferred something much more tangible. It seemed to be the thing for grandparents to do for grandchildren. So following tradition, I decided that was what I needed to do for our two new great-grandchildren, thus prompting a little research. I haven’t really decided that there is much value to this anymore. My opinion only, but I did discover that as early as 1...
Not that I mind, the shocked faces, or even looks of pure horror, I get when I inform people that I am a father of four awesomely well adjusted and outstanding children, and oh by the way my wife is also expecting our fifth. I usually kind of chuckle saying, ‘while I’m a good little Catholic boy,’ under my breath, while they regain their composure and try to hold back the questions obviously racing through their minds. Sometimes though I am attacked on some principal stemming back to when they were children in a family of six or seven, and u...
Thanksgiving has always been my favorite holiday. I’m the youngest of six, so when I was growing up, Thanksgiving meant my siblings who had gone off to college came home, filling the house with the comfortable noise and familiarity I missed while they were gone. Of course there’s the food, and the good weather and the promise of Christmas vacation coming up, but the gift of Thanksgiving is the intention: family, conversation, and simply being together. Those of us who were lucky enough to experience a large family know that it isn’t alway...
Do you ever drive down the streets of your town and remember all of the businesses that used to be? I didn’t spend all of my early years in Glasgow and I don’t remember all the business that used to be, even in the early 60s, however I do have some friends that remember a lot of them. Now, I credit their good memory to the fact that they may have had jobs that required delivery at the residence or building. We have had daily newspaper delivery, I think from both Courier and State daily papers. Then grocery stores delivered a lot of gro...
Diamond willows brought from the Frenchman Creek have played a unique role in the lifetime of Otto Kientz, providing him with a handy supply of slender but sturdy fence posts. Sixty years is an unbelievably long life for a post supporting several strands of barbwire and holding up under the stress of cattle rubbing, exposure to the elements, the weight of snow banks and accumulations of Russian thistles caught in the barbs of the fence. But these locally grown willow posts are still solidly supporting the fence surrounding the Kientz fields...
Feasting on Thanksgiving dinner with turkey and all the trimmings is something many of us eagerly anticipate. Deep conversation over dinner about the details of one’s personal life or the election results…not so much. If you think you might find yourself in search of non-controversial conversation starters while enjoying your holiday meal, consider the tasty turkey tidbits below. 1. The American Farm Bureau Federation’s annual survey on the average cost of a classic Thanksgiving dinner with turkey and all the trimmings for 10 is much-...
Correction: The last installment of Listen to the Quiet featured competing and/or incorrect spellings of the names “Kientz” (this being the correct version) and “Anne Poland Dippy” (also corrected). Certainly, no people lived closer to God and nature than the early-day farmers who tilled the land and ranchers who tended the livestock. The Kientz family did their part with constant toil and sweat of the brow – Mother Nature did what remained to be done, for better or worse. This partnership of man and nature resulted in large prolific gardens o...
Have ya’ seen it? All those Gen Xer’s, Millenials and Dreamers, along with a dubious assortment of disgruntled movie actors on the evening news protesting the election of Donald J. Trump? They had best take a closer look at what they’re saying and thank their lucky stars that this is still a country that allows them the right to vote. Win or Lose. That’s what it’s all about. Your choice doesn’t win. You’re going to leave the country. Your choice wins...you’re gloatful! Chants of “Not My President” echoed through the streets of Boston, Seattle,...
The following is the key note address delivered by SSG A.J. Etherington during the Veterans of Foreign Wars’ and American Legion’s Veterans Day Ceremony in Glasgow on November 11th. In the last year, I have been humbled on three occasions now to address crowds to honor veterans, those present and those who have passed on. I will tell you now that it does not get any easier, and the honor does not feel any less significant each time I do. In the beginning, I am overwhelmed trying to imagine describing in words the sacrifices that fill this roo... Full story
Last week a new president was elected. Since then, there have been many demonstrations against President elect Donald Trump. In an interview on 60 Minutes Nov. 23, Trump was asked about the demonstrations. He stated he was “sad to see them and if he was asked to tell the demonstrators one thing it would be to stop.” The demonstrations also made me sad. Sad to think there are people more interested in causing discord, more hate, more divisiveness in our country than in helping to make it better and stronger. But what makes me even sadder is peo...
There are days when my mind just cannot dredge up a memory from the past that I haven’t already touched on, this being one of those days. Since it is hunting season, along with the knowledge that Brian Austin has reopened his meat processing shop for the season, I have thought of days in the past when many people did their own meat processing. I am willing to bet that there are still many out there that can relate to the times they spent boning and wrapping meat, or maybe you got to have the job of grinding meat for hamburger or sausage. M...
Some readers know me intimately enough to guess at my personal political allegiances. Regardless, it should shock no one to learn that I do indeed have strong feelings on the subject of the national election. And yet, the most important thing to me this time around is impressing upon you, our readers, just how critical it is to preserve spaces for civil discourse in the modern political and media landscape. Spaces like this one, in fact. We're not Facebook, folks, and one of the things that distinguishes us from the din and roar of most media...
Some readers know me intimately enough to guess at my personal political allegiances. Regardless, it should shock no one to learn that I do indeed have strong feelings on the subject of the national election. And yet, the most important thing to me this time around is impressing upon you, our readers, just how critical it is to preserve spaces for civil discourse in the modern political and media landscape. Spaces like this one, in fact. We're not Facebook, folks, and one of the things that distinguishes us from the din and roar of most media...
On July 17, 2012, while on patrol with his team in Afghanistan, Bo Reichenbach of Lockwood, who is now a retired Navy SEAL from Team Two, stepped on a 20-pound IED buried in a field. He lost both legs above the knee leaving him a double amputee. The loss of his legs did not stop Bo or slow his determination to excel in life, proven by the fact that he is currently the goalie for the US National Sled Team and will be going to South Korea in 2018 to play hockey for the U.S. in the Paralympics. Bo also coaches his son Landon’s baseball and h...
In November 1919, President Wilson proclaimed November 11 as the first commemoration of Armistice Day with the following words: “To us in America, the reflections of Armistice Day will be filled with solemn pride in the heroism of those who died in the country’s service and with gratitude for the victory, both because of the thing from which it has freed us and because of the opportunity it has given America to show her sympathy with peace and justice in the councils of the nations…” Many communities recognize our Veterans every year on Vete...
