Serving Proudly As The Voice Of Valley County Since 1913
Serving Proudly As The Voice Of Valley County Since 1913
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Dear Editor: One of the most important election decisions that will come before us in Valley County is that of county commissioner. Our commissioners represent our best legal line of defense against state and federal overreach. I believe that our county's welfare will depend on choosing a candidate that is dedicated to protecting water rights and private property rights and to ensuring that both the state and federal governments follow the law and coordinate land use decisions with the commissioners and the county plan. Sierra Dawn Stoneberg...
How much do we really know about Diren Dede, this young Turkish/German/Muslim exchange student whose life was tragically ended during what appeared to be a home invasion burglary attempt? Was he truly “that perfect friend to hang out with?” Was he also a “heartthrob with a contagious smile,” as Alice Miller of the Missoulian writes? “All the girls loved him” was another quote attributed to one of Dede's classmates at Missoula Big Sky High School, where Dede was enrolled as a junior. Diren Dede was “genuine, generous and a good friend”, seve...
Do you remember the old philosophy of planting your seed potatoes on Good Friday so you could have potatoes by the 4th of July? I remember planting a lot of seed potatoes, doing a lot of hoeing, and picking a lot of potato bugs, but I don’t remember having potatoes on the 4th of July. Does anyone have memories of using the potato peelings for planting? Maybe this started during the Depression years, when nothing went to waste. The cook of the house just peeled the spuds extra thick and planted the peelings. The household potato supply was p...
In response to your article “County Discusses St. Marie Bankruptcy” (May 7, Page 1A), the properties in question are not Pat Kelly’s, but St. Marie Development Corporation of Mt. (SMDC), a corporation that was formed for the creditors of Terry Parks’ bankruptcy. At the time of Terry Parks’ bankruptcy, people rightfully said that the stock had no value as there was no market for the properties. SMDC under Marv Bethea sold the few marketable properties of SMDC for ridiculously low prices. The 120 storage units, which Bethea currently owns, net...
Maybe you heard. Montana Fish, Wildlife, and Parks (FWP) was planning a bison discussion meeting for April 15 and 16. The meeting was cancelled late Saturday, April 12. Personally, I found out less than 24 hours before I was set to leave for the gathering. So what does this cancellation mean in the ongoing discussion of whether or not the right to self determination applies to Eastern Montanans? I just can’t tell. Make no mistake. Simply having the discussion is a huge improvement. Under the past administration, the approach was: There is no s...
It is graduation time. Do you remember your high school graduation? The pomp and ceremony of it all. The gals planned their attire for several months, or at least weeks. Graduation announcements were ordered from a firm that usually made a sales appearance at the school. Very little individualism with those announcements, no online or Photoshop. The entire class had the same announcement to send out. Graduation was a time for your best. Did you even think of decorating the top of your cap, or wearing tennis shoes or flip flops? Did we have a dr...
It's seeding time. Farmers are putting in long days preparing their fields and then seeding wheat, barley, oats, legumes and more. As I watch sea gulls hovering above the newly seeded ground, it takes me back to my first spring on the farm. When my husband told me it was time to get ready to seed the crops, I had no clue as to how involved I'd be in something I knew nothing about. After asking many questions, I learned the wheat had to be cleaned and treated. Since I didn't yet have my Montana driver's license, I didn't have to drive the truck...
Congratulations Class of 2014! Graduation holds a special meaning for me this year. In 2007, I accepted a 7th grade teaching position at GHS. I was a little skeptical because I desired to teach younger students. The position was for an overflow teacher, which meant I did not have my own classroom and I taught math, science and social studies. I began the year with ideas and procedures to make my teaching fun and effective. It was quite difficult to coordinate all the little things that need to come together to make a classroom a fun learning...
My husband, Dave, came up with an original idea to celebrate my age of 66. "Let's travel Route 66 and get our Kicks." So off we went, leaving Park Grove on March 18 to start an unknown adventure of sorts. With Triple AAA books and maps and our book called "Traveling Route 66 2250 Miles of Motoring History from Chicago to LA," we were headed on our way to find the Mother Road. We started each day by listening to songs of the Mother Road on our CD. Of course we had to get to Illinois, which is no...
I just want to say a couple of things about this Cliven Bundy thing in Nevada and the land grab going on right here in our own backyard. Lots of folks are under the mistaken impression that Bundy refused to pay for his BLM lease. He simply refused to pay the feds. He first tried paying the state of Nevada, but they refused to take his payment. He then tried to pay the county, but they also refused. I also feel he was goaded into acting as he did when the BLM drastically cut back his allotment, so his cowies wouldn't harm the fragile and near-ex...
Dear Editor: Thank you to all the residents of this country. Because of you, I was endowed with an incredible gift: I was born into grazing rights, and I married into grazing rights. My people were so lucky to have been around when they were handing out idle grasslands for us locals to graze. We never had to make land payments or pay property taxes. Like many of our neighbors, we just rented that grass for a ridiculous price and thanked our lucky stars that grandma had such charmed timing as to be around at the right time. Today, many who...
A little more on the building that housed Tork’s Drug. I mentioned last week the hotel lobby and lounge. This “mall type” building is the present day Rundle Building. It makes me happy to see these buildings restored and still used. The lounge was known as the Oasis (not our current Oasis) and is remembered for some pictures that hung there. One reader mentioned a large picture of bagpipe players dressed in kilts. There may have been some history attached to that picture as other pictures mentioned were actual area pictures – some of the Old...
A couple walks up to a counter at a large hotel in Las Vegas, they look at the guy behind the counter and explain they are ready to check in. He explains he'll be back in a moment to help them. Meanwhile, the young lady explains she's off to the restroom. While she's gone, another man walks up to the counter and stands next to him. Another employee walks up to the two gentleman and asks if they are ready to check in. An interesting glance takes place between the two, which gets a chuckle most likely from the audience watching to commercial. So...
It was Matthew Brown of the Associated Press who wrote that the “tens of millions of bison” in the 19th century were wiped out by hunters. I say Poppycock. Now it's the NWF's (National Wildlife Federation) Steve Woodruff who is echoing almost those same words in an effort to raise public support and “'pull out all the stops' in an effort to FORCE” (his word, not mine) “establishment of a free-roaming bison herd in North Central Montana.” Woodruff also wrote that “ ranchers who see bison as a perceived, not real threat to and competitor fo...
The issue of de-listing grizzly bears in Montana has periodically been in the news over the last couple of decades. Every time the population goals were reached non-government organizations (NGOs) sued and the bar was raised. Apparently, de-listing may finally be getting close to becoming a reality. If you are like me, you have been following this convoluted circus with a detached relief that it doesn’t concern us in Eastern Montana. Wrong! Allen Schallenberger’s article in the March 20, 2014 issue of Western Ag Reporter was a wake-up cal...
How our downtown area has changed over the years. Do you remember Tork’s Drug Store? The thing that separated “Tork’s” from some of the other businesses in town was the lunch counter located toward the back of the store. If you were not inclined to sit at a counter for lunch, you could go upstairs to find tables and chairs. The cool thing about that was the dumbwaiter that went from the kitchen to the serving room upstairs. That was pretty “uptown” for a country kid. Thinking about that building, it was maybe a forerunner to a mall, as yo...
Dear Editor: Since one third of Valley County is controlled by the Bureau of Land Management, I am extremely interested in the happenings with Mr. Bundy in Nevada. Putting aside the big issue of Federal verses State, my concern is the force being used by BLM. Why does a “Land Management” agency have a SWAT team with snipers and armored vehicles at all? Other federal agencies are also arming in the same manner. Every county in the U.S. has an elected sheriff whose responsibility is to enforce the law. Why have states and “us” as tax payers...
I was disappointed to hear that Judge McKeon had denied the plaintiff’s contention that quarantined Yellowstone Park bison transferred to the Indian Reservations should not be classified as “wild.” I obtained a copy of his decision in an attempt to understand his line of thinking. Unfortunately, it appeared to me that his 26 pages of legal maneuvering primarily dealt with rationalizing and justifying his predetermined decisions. While most of his opinions may have been on solid legal footing, others were a stretch of credibility. For examp...
Sometimes in the news business we got so caught up in seeking out the bad news. Look at any of your major news stations and it’s full of tragedy, boats sinking, buses catching fire and maybe your occasional sex or drug crime. I believe that sometimes the world needs to hear a little good news. Those fluffy features and feel good stories is what can make a person realize that maybe there’s bad in this world, but there’s also a lot of good. In the past few weeks, I was able to recognize some people doing amazing things in our area. A physi...
While visiting with my daughter, the conversation turned to cars she and I remembered over the years when she, her sister and brothers were growing up. We laughed as I said I recalled a nephew telling me that my husband and I bought disposable cars. One of the first cars we talked about was a very small black and yellow two-door vehicle that we paid $200 for. The four children all fit nicely in the back seat at the time. An added advantage of that car was the back seat could be pulled up and the back of the seat pushed down to provide a flat...
U.S. Senate candidate Champ Edmunds recently visited The Courier office and dropped off this column. I am Champ Edmunds and I am the conservative choice for the U.S. Senate. There is a battle going on for our country’s future and it’s not between Republicans and Democrats, it is between those who love liberty and freedom and those who believe that we can’t take care of ourselves. I want to talk about how we can win the battle and ultimately the war. Over-regulation is one of the biggest problems for both businesses and individuals. Did you know...
The celebration of Easter is behind us. Easter has its own significance for most of it and we recognize it as a religious holiday. Do you remember when Easter was the time to begin your spring wardrobe? For a lot of the female gender, it meant getting a new dress and a lovely new bonnet. “Put on your Easter bonnet, with all the frills upon it, and you will be the grandest lady in the Easter Parade.” Most of us just called it a new Easter hat. You could find cute little hats for the very young generation also. Don’t forget the gloves that were...
The bridge spanning Beaver Creek on the Milk River Road west of Hinsdale was built in 1915 and has been re-planked a few times over the years, but not much else has been done to it in the past 99 years. Countless school bus trips have traversed this structure carrying hundreds of school children into Hinsdale. Ranchers and farmers have used this bridge to move some of their smaller farming equipment, and the occasional herd of cattle from one side of the creek to the other. The Hinsdale...
State wildlife officials canceled a planned discussion that was to take place in Lewistown on Tuesday, April 15 and Wednesday, April 16, on a bison conservation and management plan for Montana. Montana Fish, Wildlife & Parks had invited a diverse group of interests and a number of state and community leaders to continue to participate in a facilitated public discussion in Lewistown. That gathering, which would have been the second since September, is canceled. “We worked to gather a large group of fundamentally different interests and c...
A Montana district court recently ruled that Montana laws dealing with the wild or domestic status of bison are “ambiguous.” Those laws certainly are complicated, and for good reason. The Montana legislature has purposely given joint jurisdiction over bison to our state’s livestock and wildlife agencies because bison pose a unique management situation. They pose a dire threat to Montana’s livestock industry because much of the Yellowstone bison herd carries the dangerous disease brucellosis. But more than that, bison have the capacity to do a...
