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 recent and unexpected death of U.S. Supreme Court Justice Antonin Scalia sent shockwaves across our nation. I was floored when I heard the news. Although I had only met Justice Antonin Scalia once, his legacy will have a lasting impact on me. Scalia’s longtime “best buddy,” liberal Justice Ruth Bader Ginsberg paid tribute to him perfectly: “He was a jurist of captivating brilliance and wit.” Scalia was a steadfast supporter of the Constitution who made principled decisions based upon what is in the text rather than what he wished was writt...
This past week brought to my mind several March occasions and how they were recognized not many years ago. I am sure that there are many Glasgow residents who remember a local attorney who always recognized St Patrick’s Day by presenting many locals with a green carnation. Since this gentleman was Irish I am sure it was his way of reminding us of this important day recognizing the Irish. Maybe his enthusiasm for the day inspired others to join in by sporting fun green attire. Corned beef and cabbage still seems to be on the menu for many and I...
In August 2015, the American Psychological Association released a report “linking” video games to violent crimes. Every mentally stable gamer I know of, including myself, completely disagrees. I have been playing video gamester the majority of my life, and they have developed from a hobby to a passion, like a lot of people in my generation. I have yet to kill anyone. On the contrary, I would say that video games have developed my critical thinking, concentration, and social skills, among other things. I’m not saying that there has never been a...
Remember the spotted owl? As I recall this bird was going extinct if we didn’t shut down the logging industry in the Pacific Northwest. It was shut down causing untold economic, social and, with the recent forest fires, ecologic damage. Did it save the owl? Has anyone heard anything lately? The last I heard its relative, the barred owl, was moving in and replacing the spotted owl. Remember the chant of the bureaucrats and Non Government Organizations (NGOs) that we had to save the spotted owl’s habitat. At that time their habitat was def...
There has been a recent push from a group named the American Lands Council led by Montana’s own Jennifer Fielder (SD 7) of Thompson Falls. On March 15th another complaint was filed against Fielder’s predecessor and mentor, Rep. Ken Ivory. Ivory allegedly used his official legislative email to conduct business for the ALC, which in Utah amounts to a legal and ethical violation. This complaint is just the most recent complaint of fraud against the American Lands Council. During the last session, Senator Fielder’s aide was ejected from the legisla...
Nay-sayers of the baseball program in Glasgow usually say things like: “It costs too much,” “It takes up the entire summer,” “My kids should focus on school sports or a summer job.” In my opinion, all of these drawbacks take a back burner. My experience as a player in the program has been the best experience of my life so far. In a community the size of Glasgow, it is very unusual to have a baseball program of this caliber. With multiple teams in each age division, almost no town in the area can match it. It is all made possible by volunteers,...
The water crisis in Flint, Mich., has been extensively covered by most, if not all, major news networks. All three of Montana’s main newspapers have covered the topic, Time ran a cover story, and the New York Times did a feature piece. In short, the bulk of the facts are public knowledge. But, when subjected to the onslaught of information, it can be hard to keep everything straight. Jacoby Collins, 21, is a Flint native who has lived in Glasgow for the last five years. We discussed the Flint water crisis at length, and his frustration with t...
Spring is right around the corner, it seems. The calendar says the equinox will occur on the twentieth, as it does every year, and for once, up here in northeastern Montana, we have hopes that it actually will mean spring has sprung. We’ve been seeing the signs of spring: a killdeer has been heard; robins are hopping in the yard; skunks have been seen trundling alongside the highways (or have been smelled); the redpolls are frequenting the bird feeders again; and a gopher has been spotted sunning himself beside the road. The snow has mostly m...
Enough pollyticks for awhile. I have a true story in the trucking vein I thought you might enjoy. The sequence of events happened back in the day about 1972 or so. You must forgive me if some of the facts aren’t. There are two different styles of semi trucks: conventional and cab-over. The conventional (long-nose) is the most popular because they have a far smoother ride that do the COEs. (Trucking manufacturers’ jargon for “Cabin-Over-Engine,” thus “cab-over.”) Before the 1970s most of the long haul trucks were conventionals but a new trucking...
If you’ve been wondering why you’ve not seen my column in past weeks, it’s because my husband and I took a trip to Sun City, Ariz., to spend several weeks with his brother. We went on several day trips out through the desert. I thoroughly enjoyed attending a concert that was a tribute to the Carpenters. And I attended an art show, where I left owning a painting of pansies that had caught my fancy. Eating out at so many different places was fun, as were the evenings we played cards or just worked on assembling a jigsaw puzzle. On the flight home...
The week of March 13 is a busy one, including St. Patrick’s Day parades and shenanigans (especially in Butte) and the Western Art Week shows, sales and parties in Great Falls. The nationally televised backdrop to those events will be the year’s biggest round yet of winner-take-all presidential primaries on March 15 with hundreds of convention delegates up for grabs. The same day kicks off the first, exciting rounds of the NCAA basketball tournament — March Madness. Flying under the radar that same week is an event that deserves much but gets...
Let’s take a look back in history to Ronald Reagan’s reign as POTUS. He was a half-month short of being 70 years old when he was sworn in the first time. There were no outward signs of the loss of mental acuity in the first four years of his presidency other than the fact that he really didn’t wear the pants in the family letting Nancy pretty much control him. But that didn’t effect his running the country ... much. However he was 74 years old when he took the reins in 1985 making him 78 when he left office. He had been diagnosed with early-s...
We’ve all seen them: bad calls or no-calls by referees at basketball games, as well as games that have gotten “out of control” with athletes sustaining serious injuries as a result. We’ve also seen athletes display inappropriate behavior, coaches bullying or intimidating student athletes, and parents and fans shouting at referees and reacting poorly to perceived – or even obvious bad calls. As a society, we have seemingly decided that it’s okay to behave badly at sporting events – and seldom do we apologize for it or even take responsibilit...
Many of you watched the Oscars on Sunday. Many of you also probably saw Leonardo DiCaprio awarded his first Oscar (the entire Internet erupted in applause). What struck me was what he said during his acceptance speech: “Climate change is real, and it’s happening right now. It is the most urgent threat facing our entire species.” In today’s global civilization, we are very connected. However, our current system of transporting goods, information and people has caused a crisis that needs to be addressed. It is scientific fact that global warming...
Now that things have calmed somewhat, I'd like to thank all the volunteers and other law enforcement agencies that helped us reunite Maci with her family. This was an enormous task and it would've been nearly impossible to accomplish on our own. We are grateful beyond words. Those that helped did not hesitate and in fact, most contacted us to see what they could do. The following law enforcement agencies provided officers and/or resources: Federal Bureau of Investigation, Ft Peck Tribal Police, Ft Peck Tribal Fish & Game, Roosevelt County...
Going into Super Tuesday, the count shows Trump leading with 82 delegates, Cruz with 17, Rubio with 16, Kasich with 6 and Carson has 4. Looks like a landslide for The Donald doesn’t it? But wait, there’s more. A lot can change when only 125 delegates out of 1,237 are declared. How will the remaining delegates vote? You already know what’s going on because you are reading this on the Wednesday or Thursday after Super Tuesday has come and gone and all the questions have been answered. I’m doing this broadcast on the Sunday preceding Super T...
Traveling around our state, from the wheat fields and rolling hills in the east to the jagged snow-covered peaks almost 500 miles to the west, it is easy to understand why our state really is Big Sky Country. That’s why it’s so important to ensure that Montanans in rural communities can easily travel not only across our state, but the region and country as well. Amtrak’s Empire Builder runs approximately 660 miles across Montana and connects 12 rural communities. For the many Montanans who live a long ways from an airport, but live close to a...
Our vacations are over and we are back to the reality of spring [cross that out] winter in Northeast Montana. We only came back because we had dental appointments which had been set a year ago. (That and the whole running out of money thing.) People are always surprised when we say we go to Plentywood for our dental care. We go there out of loyalty to a dentist who had sympathy and who understood what it is to be in pain. Early in our marriage, we went to Dr. Martens in Glasgow. When he retired, he didn’t sell his practice but instead closed h...
A new study shows that many teachers aren’t aware of the strong consensus on human-caused climate change and instead overstate material from a thoroughly discredited minority.1 They don’t realize that 97 percent of climate scientists – those who qualify as experts capable of testifying in court on the issue - conclude from their many studies that humans are causing the earth to warm. Knowledgeable teachers will clarify that 809 scientists who helped review 9,200 scientific publications for the 5th Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change Repor...
According to the Opinion section of the Courier as of late, it seems many people in Valley County believe that Middle Eastern people are posing a threat to the community. I, however, do not believe this. The general consensus seems to be that the government wants to bring around 100 Syrian refugees into our area. These people are no harm to us. According to Assistant Secretary of State Anne Richard and U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services Director Leon Rodriguez, Syrian refugees are already subject to the most rigorous screening process...
We have been lucky enough to have basically skipped the month of February in Montana, shortening our winter by a month. The beginning of the month was spent in Florida, just south of Tampa, visiting our middle daughter and her family. That family includes her husband, a newly teenaged son, a five-and-a-half-year-old son, and a soon to be four-year-old son. We had several side-trips while there, including Dinosaur World, Legoland, the Tampa Aquarium, the Florida State Fair, a trip to view the manatees, and a pro-hockey game, in which the Tampa...
As in most of the stuff you hear on Thanks for Listening, today’s story will deal with something foreign to most of us in this sparsely populated part of the Big Sky Country. Oh sure, we’ve seen it when we make trips to Billings or Great Falls where there are more cars and trucks on the streets in three city blocks than there are in the whole town of Glasgow! I’m sure most of you listeners have had the experience of having a semi-truck crawl up your tailpipe and ride your bumper. I know I have and it makes me madder than a wet rooster. It’s...
There have been a lot of Facebook entries circulating concerning “The Green Thing” and yes, most of us do remember and wonder if we have truly progressed in our lives. I am sure there are quite a few area residents that can remember the days before electricity was a “given” in our homes. Although I am sure that was all a part of my first years of life on the farm. I do remember not having the luxuries we now enjoy. I also remember what a treat I thought it was to spend the night with some friends of the family. These friends did not have el...
Montana has a rising wave of conservationists from near and far choking the interests of our state’s historical and economical foundation. Squeezing slowly, our governor, the American Prairie Reserve and Bureau of Land Management have tightened their grip, choosing the health of bison population over the well-being of one our state’s most important contributors, our farmers and ranchers. The BLM’s recent prefatory approval given to the APR regarding grazing permits for bison is a scary foreshadowing of further decline of the use of priva...
I remember being a kid and having my mom telling me what could happen if I didn’t learn to be good. The very worst case scenario was to be put in jail and being fed only bread and water. I couldn’t even imagine! Bread and Water only. I could envision the glass of water, but I was never sure in my mind if your bread would come cut into pieces, or just one big slice. The good point was, it was probably homemade bread. Some years later I lived in the small town of Opheim and got to see the local jail on a daily basis. Yes, I was even in it onc...