Serving Proudly As The Voice Of Valley County Since 1913
Serving Proudly As The Voice Of Valley County Since 1913
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What happens if we lose Colstrip? “It’ll look like Ground Zero.” That’s what the mayor of Colstrip told me during a recent visit. To Colstrip moms like Cheryl Fulkerson, it means her husband and her son may both lose their jobs in the coal industry. And, it means the place that she has called home for 21 years may no longer exist. I could see the tears in Cheryl’s eyes as she introduced me to local officials and business owners concerned about the future of Colstrip. Even the realtor told me, “No homes are selling.” But it’s not just Cheryl...
Last week, in two separate stings in Texas and California, the FBI arrested two Iraqi refugees for connections to terrorism. These individuals were screened in accordance with the Obama Administration’s “rigorous” vetting standards, which include interviews, fingerprinting and running refugees’ names against databases. It didn’t work. As I have long warned, these individuals cannot be properly vetted because such counter-terrorism databases simply do not exist in the nations the refugees are emigrating from. Back in November, I introduce...
I love seeing the pictures of old Glasgow buildings, or other historical places that are often in the Courier. I am sure that comes as a shock when you consider that I like remembering the “old stuff”. The old County Courthouse often comes to mind, as it is prominent in a lot of pictures of Glasgow in an earlier era. Remember when you licensed your vehicles in January and February. I don’t recall the cut of date for updating your plates, but I do remember that you could count on finding a line of people at the Treasurer’s office. This was pro...
On Jan. 3, a group of armed extremists took hold of a government facility, the Malheur National Wildlife Refuge headquarters, in Oregon. They apparently want the government to hand over this public land to local ranchers, loggers, and miners. The three brothers Bundy, whose father was in the BLM standoff in Nevada in 2014 over grazing rights, are supposedly taking this action in support of the Hammond men who are serving time in prison for burning public land. Especially to the people in this area, their anger is understandable. People who...
Some of you are adults, others are in school, and one is in pre-school. But whatever your age, this is for all of you. For those still in school, you have a very important job -- getting your education. Pay attention in class and do your homework before you do anything else. Respect your teachers. Be honest and truthful. There will be people you may not like, but don’t be mean to them. It will not make you a better person. Being kind to others will. Once you’ve graduated high school, you will have to decide if you are going to college or tra...
This is the time of year when we start thinking about—well—time. If you are reading this you are wondering why time passes so quickly. Many of those who are not reading this—because they haven’t learned how to read yet—are wondering why it passes so slowly. There are students who wonder how a school year can be an eternity and a summer vacation gone in an eye-blink, and then there are some of us who must have too much time on our hands because we are actually spending some of it wondering about this. One theory I’ve heard and liked is that a y...
As I come down to the deadline for getting my opinion piece sent into the Courier (noon on Mondays, in case anyone else needs more pressure to perform in their lives), I’m scrambling for new ideas. As I know I’m expected to fill that space (whether anyone cares to read my offerings or not) what has popped into my mind is this: the difficulties of being both a procrastinator and being reliable. Being a fantastic life-long procrastinator, the first thing I did was look up the definition of that word so I could share it with you, as well as fil...
Do you remember the days when most of the livestock feeding during the winter months was done using a team of horses or mules? Once there was snow on the ground a Bobsled was used. Most of us can picture a team of horses pulling a wagon. Thanks to various members of our community we have had the privilege of seeing a team of horses pulling a wagon, usually at Christmas time or parades. The wagons used for feeding on snow did not have 4X4 drive, but were equipped with sled runners both front and back allowing for easier pulling. Feeding...
It is the time to be thinking of New Year Resolutions. I searched my mind for anything I might remember about these resolutions and the only thing I could remember is the fact few of us keep them for very long. So I decided long ago to not make that effort. I did discover the fact that resolutions for the New Year started some 4,000 years ago. I don’t think many of them were kept for long either, as it seemed most of them had to do with finance and debt. Yes, even then. So my mind has skipped over the resolution issue to other memories. Do y...
Another year is ending. Seems like I just get started on a new year and it’s over, leaving me to wonder how it could have flown by so fast. With a new year approaching, people are going over resolutions they want to make - things they hope to do, goals they wish to reach, changes they want to make in their lives. I gave up making New Year’s resolutions a long time ago. Simply because the year ended without my resolutions being accomplished. It wasn’t for lack of trying to keep them. It was more because I’d eventually forget what they were. T...
I was recently asked to write a letter to the editor of our local newspaper and was provided a template written by a coalition to reduce underage drinking to base my letter. Although well intended, I decided not to use the templates because it didn’t sound like me or reflect the point I wanted to get across, so, I started from scratch and here it goes. The holidays are a time of celebration for all ages and for many, it includes the use of alcohol, whether it be used traditionally or creatively. I myself annually make a big batch of hot b...
I keep seeing and getting annoyed by memes on Facebook that want you to “type amen” if you love Jesus, and/or to share that meme to “prove” you are “a Christian.” Jesus already knows this. He doesn’t need you to prove it on Facebook by mindlessly sharing a meme. Rather, he wants your actions to show it. Those actions would include helping others, treating your fellow humans decently, and following the commandments to the best of your ability. (And really, many agnostics and atheists perform these same actions.) There are many other memes a...
I would like to clarify some questions regarding the property taxes in Valley County. The Montana State Department of Revenue sets forth the tax formulas and it is a very complex system. To break it down, the amount billed out for fiscal year 2016 (that Valley County would receive) amounts to $3,824,672 and the amount billed out in fiscal year 2015 was $3,746,394. The total increase is $78,278 of which $58,726 is the two voted mills for the library. This leaves a total increase in non-voted tax revenue of $19,552 for Valley County. Have a...
I would like to express support for the letters and opinions that have been expressed by Mr. Vaupel in your papers. I don’t have to always agree with him to enjoy a different view. Please encourage him to resume, I understand he has stopped. I think it’s sad when political correctness makes one spend so much time to defend their statements that are not derogatory but just a different outlook. Is it wrong to call a spade a shovel? We know abortion is murder. Do we need to discuss as to what degree? – Howard Pippin Saco...
While researching on how gun-free zones are not working to curtail mass shootings but exacerbating them, I came to the conclusion that a person can find irrefutable evidence to support either side of this argument. What? How is that possible? Breitbart, a conservative website, has data from the Crime Prevention Research Center (CPRC) showing 92 percent of mass shootings are happening at gun-free zones. That data was completed in response of Everytown for Gun Safety producing data that showed 14 percent of the same data. Why the difference?...
As I wander through stores looking at all the items on display that can be purchased for Christmas gifts, memories of past Christmases come flowing back. Although some of the memories bring tears, they all bring me smiles. I remember a Christmas when I was very young and hearing my parents discuss how they were going to be able to buy gifts for my brother and me since the money they had set aside for Christmas had been used to repair our car. But on Christmas morning there was a new pair of jeans and a fire truck for my brother under the tree...
I read with interest the opinion last week by Mr. Chris Pippin. I was especially intrigued by his assertion that “No one with any real attachment to an organized Christian religion based on the teaching of Jesus Christ” would not “put value on all human life at all stages, including the people who practice or support abortion." While I am relieved to find that he believes this, I beg to differ. A bit of searching finds numerous attacks upon abortion clinics and providers committed by avowed Christians. The incidents included vandalism, prote...
Binge drinking has been a progressing issue in the United States. The big question though that many have is, “What is binge drinking?” Binge drinking is defined as an excessive amount of drinking in the time span of 2 hours. For men, this would be five or more drinks, for women, four drinks. Excessive alcohol use is responsible for about 88,000 deaths and 2.5 million years of potential life lost in the United States each year. Bing drinking is responsible for more than half the deaths and two-thirds of the years of potential life lost res...
Editor's note: Amy Nelson's column this week served as her winning entry in the VFW's Voice of Democracy Audio Essay Competition. A Glasgow High School senior and Courier Photo Intern, Nelson was awarded $100 and a Voice of Democracy Certificate of Merit from the VFW and its Ladies Auxiliary on Dec. 10. Nelson will advance to the state level of the VOD competition. At the awards dinner, hosted at the Glasgow VFW, there were other winners as well: Dalton Kassa (Ophiem), Chloe Moore (Glasgow),...
The typical liberal knee-jerk response to the tragic shooting at Planned Parenthood in Colorado on Nov. 27, is that it was an overreaction from some Christian fundamentalist. It was quickly labeled domestic terrorism by Planned Parenthood. Obviously it was, but that should have also been what the shooting at a company Christmas party in California a few weeks ago was called, but we had to wait for “information” before we could label a Muslim as being fundamentalist in his faith. But I digress. An opinion article a few weeks ago opined that thi...
Some years ago, one of my adult daughters (all of whom then lived away from Montana) had a date with a young man. After the date, when I asked how it had gone, the response I received was, “He was just too/to/two.” Coming from a family of English majors, people who love English, grammar, and learning, I understood her perfectly. He would not remain long in her life. One of my father’s treasures was a huge Oxford English Dictionary. This tome was so large and unwieldy it had its own stand. It stood open, in the living room, in pride of place...
To Virgil Vaupel I am a little late in writing this note, as it has been on my mind since you started to get personal attacks against you and what you write. Better late than never, I hope. I have traveled and lived over a large portion of the USA, and also have lived in Canada, and in those travels I have read many columns written in newspapers wherever I happened to be. I find that your columns are the most thought-provoking that I have read in many years. While I do not agree with you all of the time, (I don’t agree with anybody all the t...
The Soul of a Community The Post Office in my mother’s hometown of Barlow, N.D., closed in 1965. I know this because when I visited tiny Barlow in 1972 to see if there was anyone still there who knew my mother (she left Barlow for good in 1917 when she was 14) I ran into several who had gone to school with her. In the course of a very pleasant and nostalgic evening over very weak coffee one of my hosts (we were in the parlor of the house my mother was born and raised in) showed me a letter he had saved—the last letter to have been pos...
We’re taking a break from the recent back-and-forthery on the subjects of gender and race this week. To be fair, Tess Fahlgren and the Courier’s Georgie Kulczyk and Lih-AnYang have had their say in response to Virgil Vaupel’s comments of Nov. 25 (“Reverse Equal Opportunity”) and VV has been oddly quiet. I was able to take the temperature of readers from Frazier to Saco (and north to Opheim) over the last week, and while the responses were less vitriolic than one might expect, the general consensus was something like amusement giving way to we...
The last while I’ve been coming across stories on the internet about new medicines being approved as well as some that are on the verge of approval by the Federal Drug Administration. One of them is now in the clinical trial stage and is expected to become available soon for people who have Parkinson’s Disease. Another drug that has made it through all the stages and is now being distributed is for breast cancer. Then there’s a brand new medicine that helps those diagnosed with lung cancer. According to ads I’ve seen about this drug, it is h...
