Serving Proudly As The Voice Of Valley County Since 1913
Serving Proudly As The Voice Of Valley County Since 1913
Sorted by date Results 1851 - 1875 of 2308
Shoe repair shops? Not many of us remember when it was common to have a shoe repair shop located on one of the main streets of your community. I have been told there were a total of four located in Glasgow. I am going out on the limb to say I am pretty sure that was four at the same time. Pretty hard to believe, when no one other than the occasional cowboy gets repairs done anymore. I can vaguely remember getting shoe repairs done. Maybe an occasional buckle sewed back on or a new heel. There was a shoe repair shop located under the present...
Transmittal (halftime) has come and gone, and now today (March 16) is the 54th day of the session. The House bills are coming over in droves to the Senate. The BIG discussions will be the Medicaid expansion or various plans, and the budget. The House is taking up the budget (HB2) this week. The budget will be the last act of the Legislature before we sine die (adjourn). I am drafting a major infrastructure bill, and we will be hearing this in the next upcoming days. It still is in rough draft and we are meeting with Democrats and Republicans...
Old tires and landfills are a poor combination. Tires that are mixed into the landfill site act just like balloons coming up through the debris, so, the landfill attempts to keep them separate. Because of the space issues in the landfill, grinding tires or baling them is preferred to burying them. Currently the Valley County Landfill is charging dealers to dispose of their old tires. The landfill board attempts to recover these costs without being so expensive that people take their tires home and then throw them in the borrow pit (causing... Full story
Once again I am searching for information. I have had several readers ask me about a talc mine located in the North Country, which I assume could be anywhere from Baylor to the Canadian Border, maybe from Richland to Thoeny. This is an unknown to me. I know of coal mines that were used by many for winter heat, but I have never heard of anyone mining talc. I am not even sure just what form it would take or type of country/soil where it might be found. If any readers of this column have any knowledge of this I would be delighted to have you give...
The oil and gas industry is a boom and bust venture. Companies get in as quickly as possible, extract as much of the resource as possible, make millions of dollars, and then get out just as quickly, leaving behind a mess of abandoned wells, frack water storage areas, torn up farmland, depleted and unusable water, crumpled roads and a local economy in tatters. Unlike neighboring North Dakota, Montana gives oil and gas companies a holiday on paying taxes on the first 12 to 18 months of production from a new well, regardless of how high oil...
Many times I've heard someone say "All I want is to be happy." When a person is asked about what would make them happy, you'll hear, "Winning the lottery," "Being able to buy a new car," "Getting a bigger house." And the list goes on and on. Well, there is a very simple way to experience joy and happiness every day. And the more you do, the happier you are. Do simple, happy things. When you buy groceries, drop a nonperishable item in the local food bank collection box. It doesn't have to be necessarily food. It can be a box of facial tissues... Full story
It is halftime at the Legislature, and they call it transmittal. The Legislature has a few days off until the 5th of March. This is when all the general bills have to be passed from one house to the other in order to be heard in their respective chamber. This first half went much better than in the 2013 session. There were some disappointments in my mind. The CSKT (Salish/Kootenai Tribal Water Compact) passed the Senate and I did not support the Compact as I thought it was too much money and a taking of private property rights. I also did not...
It's called “Outlaw Country.” It's filmed in and around Independence, Missouri, in an area that includes a town called Buckner. The main characters are the “Outlaws,” the Monk brothers who each have long records and have been in the slammer many times. One brother owns a tattoo parlor. They have a few “associates.” I call them partners in crime. They have been accused of strong-arming local businesses, drug trafficking and selling illegal firearms among other things. The cops are the Cook brothers, who are being portrayed as harassing t...
People of Valley County, When I was charged with felony drug distribution, I believed I was the victim. After all, I was a mother trying to support my family and hold my family together the best I could at the time. Through it all, my addiction got the best of me. I rationalized selling drugs by telling myself I wasn't hurting anybody, that they were adults who could make their own choices. I knew I was in the wrong, yet I blamed everyone else but the person responsible ... me. It's taken me three years and ending up in prison to wrap my mind...
Dear Editor: Dark money is a huge issue in politics today. It causes corruption throughout our government. It needs to be stopped, now. When shadowy outside groups use this route to influence Montana elections, they are taking away the public’s right to pick their representatives in a fair and transparent way. During the current legislative session, Gov. Bullock and Sen. Duane Ankney are teaming up on a bill called Montana Disclosure Act to fight “dark money.” Dark money is spending on campaigns by groups that don’t publicly report donors...
I have been rather interested in the various political stands regarding a measles vaccination. It made me remember how parents in earlier days used to intentionally expose their young children to the measles, mumps and chickenpox. I think the theory was to have them get the measles, etc., at a young age. That was so they would not be missing school at an important time, or maybe parents didn’t want the children sick when they should be helping with harvest or other numerous chores. If you were lucky enough to be exposed to any one of those c...
Since I don't have access to cable television, and refuse to pay $60 a month or more for a satellite dish, I decided to sign up for a company that offers a person the ability to choose not only movies but television programs to watch on their television via the Internet. Once I received the equipment and it was set up, I was excited to see what was available to watch. Scrolling through a listing of some movies, I chose one that sounded like it would be interesting. Within the first seven minutes of the movie, the "F" bomb was used at least a... Full story
Things aren't all rainbows and butterflies at Valley View Home (VVH), despite what the current administration would want the community to believe. I started working at VVH in 1987. I was 16 years old. I continued to work there for 27 years. During the time that I was employed, the facility cycled through many changes – some for the better, others for the worse. I worked with three different administrators, four directors of nursing, four social service directors, four maintenance supervisors, four housekeeping supervisors, five consultant dieti...
I read with interest, Virgil Vaupel's column on gay marriage and the media, in the Jan. 14, 2015, Glasgow Courier, and then the response by Susan Watterson, and Bonnie Davidson, two weeks later. As Bonnie said, she urges people to send in a letter to the editor, and that there should be no gag order on opposing opinions. So here goes. Much has been said and written about the love and goodness of our God ... all of which is very true. But there is another side of God that many do not want to even know about and that is the justice side of God,...
Hello again from Helena. This is the last week before transmittal, (when all general bills going from one House to the other must be acted upon) and then we will be halfway through the session. The Legislature will have a few days off before we start on the second half where all the tough decisions will be made. My SB248 passed the Senate last week and now will go to the House. It just merely states that when someone comments to the legislature they must give their name, town/city and state. This no different than when someone writes a letter...
Hello to the Hi-Line from your Capitol in Helena. The 64th Montana Legislature is at the halfway point. The easy work has been done and the hard decisions are before us. The House and Senate leadership are working together and await the Executive branch to join in. There any many pieces to the puzzle, we would like them all to fit, but reality is, they will not. We have proposed, through a series of healthcare bills, that will take care of the needy by “getting the right services to the right people.” We are trying to fill the poverty hole cre...
I will get a check on Friday for $400," a young man told his mother, "and I won't get to keep one penny of it because my car insurance is $400. It just isn't fair." My answer would be, "There's a lot in life people think isn't fair. But there's a positive note to what you are saying. You have a job and can pay that $400. What about the person who has that bill and can't pay it?" It isn't only the people in their 20s who struggle. There are people in their 30s, 40s, 50s, even 60s, who wonder how they are going to meet their obligations. They... Full story
Dear Editor: I used to think that Glasgow was a pretty nice city, but lately I’m beginning to question that statement. Now it seems the city has become way too money hungry. My water and sewer bill has way more than doubled since 10 years ago when I moved back here. In fact, it has gone up every month for the last three months and I’m using less water. With the current rates, I’ll be paying about $500 more per year than before. How do people on a fixed income survive? I think they are using our money for luxury. Have you seen the fancy walls...
The sage grouse ‘listing’ saga continues unabated in Montana. To date the many working groups, advisory boards, committees, etc. have spent hundreds of hours and tens of thousands of dollars on this issue. Why? Because the US Fish and Wildlife Service (FWS) is threatening to list the bird as threatened or endangered under the Endangered Species Act (ESA). The ESA defines a ‘threatened species’ as, “any species which is likely to become an endangered species within the foreseeable future...” and an ‘endangered species’ as, “any species which is...
Hello Valley County, As we have a very unusual winter taking place this year, I take this time to write a letter regarding a matter of great concern to me and many others in Valley County. In a day when many of our rights are being redefined and sometimes even taken away, I thought it best to inform you of the upcoming water trial in Malta on Feb. 25 at 9 a.m. at the Phillips County Courthouse. Over the past 10 years, Ron and Maxine Korman have tried every avenue available to them to claim the water rights on their ranch in South Valley...
Greetings from Helena. The 64th Montana Legislature is in full swing, it now being the fifth week of the session. As Speaker of the House, I have been very busy managing and administering the Montana House of Representatives by assigning bills to appropriate committees, scheduling bills for floor debate, and meeting with various interest groups on legislation. There are several big issues that are currently before the Legislature, and several more to come. First and foremost is tax relief. I am thrilled to announce that the Republican House...
I read with great interest in The Glasgow Courier the article on, “Big Changes at Valley View Home” and with the statement “Over two decades with only small changes led to bigger change taking place locally.” Having worked there as the administrator from 1992 to 2012, there were many changes that affected the services we provided to the people of Glasgow and the surrounding area. Many of them were not small and were beneficial as well. In 1993, a $900,000 addition and remodel was completed which expanded the dining room, administration and act... Full story
My heartfelt desire is for people to know the truth. “Jesus told him, 'I am the Way, the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.” (John 14:6) “So God created human beings in His own image. In the image of God He created them.” (Genesis 1:27) 'This explains why a man leaves his father and mother and is joined to his wife and the two are united into one.” (Genesis 2:24) “But God shows His anger from heaven against all sinful, wicked people who suppress the truth by their wickedness.” (Romans 1:14) From there God's W...
Three schools in our area are in a battle over whether or not to merge their sports programs. This scenario is being played out all over the West. Shrinking school enrollments is not a problem for Montana alone, folks. It's happening to rural schools from Texas to Canada and from the Mississippi River to the eastern portions of Washington, Oregon, California and Nevada. Towns that have suffered in our area are Flaxville, Peerless, Opheim, Froid, Medicine Lake, Scobey, Plentywood, Antelope, Reserve, Hinsdale, Saco, Turner, Hoagland and...
Hello again from the Capitol in Helena. Last week we passed SB 188 by Sen. Chas Vincent, R-Libby, out of the Senate, a bill that would limit the insurance liability on property caused by range and forest fires. Examples were given how some awards have been outlandish compared to what the worth of the property was. The electrical co-ops have in the past been very impacted by these high monetary awards as well as other property owners. This bill now goes to the House. My SB 89 passed the Senate without any opposition. This bill simply says that...
