Serving Proudly As The Voice Of Valley County Since 1913
Serving Proudly As The Voice Of Valley County Since 1913
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Too often in our debates over Montana’s public lands, we seem to forget just how incredibly lucky we are to have these lands at all. This is especially true of the 2.4 million acres of land managed by the Bureau of Land Management in the Hi-Line District of central and eastern Montana. These lands are the grasslands, sagebrush, hoodoos and coulee country that may lack the breathtaking scenery of Glacier National Park or the Beartooth Plateau, but are every bit as valuable for livestock grazing, energy development, hunting and fishing, and a m...
Dear Editor: I read Barbara Gallagher’s letter about the dog that was tied/chained with no human contact and perhaps no food/water/shelter. I, too, observed this during the summer when it was brutally hot, but the police officer whom I spoke with did check on the dog. Animals, be they domestic, farm or wild, have no voice and only caring human beings can speak for them. I totally don’t understand people who have animals and fail to treat them humanely. Dogs are such fun animals and they need to be treated like a member of the family. Joan McK...
Every year I hear "Merry Christmas" less and less when I really want to hear it more and more. By the time this week's paper comes out I will have aged another year, having joined the septuagenarian generation last year. For 60 or more of those years I have heard Merry Christmas said, with sincere gusto and true feeling for the season, a million times or more. Merry Christmas never used to be a bad way to say hello or goodbye. When did it become socially incorrect to wish someone a hearty "Merry...
Do you remember when Glasgow had a community Christmas tree during the holiday season? These lovely trees were set up on 2nd Avenue South at the 5th Street intersection for some years. These were large trees, however not so large that traffic could not flow on either side of them. I remember the lights, but do not remember that there were any other decorations on them. When was the last year a tree was erected? Some of those old practices, such as this, are missed. I remember the occasional trips made during the holidays. It was always a...
Snow. Big flakes, little flakes, wet flakes, dry flakes – lots of flakes. Winters in northeast Montana can bring a little snow or a lot of snow or an outrageous, unbelievable amount of snow. Sometimes records of snowfall amount are broken – much to the despair of many. One of my mother’s favorite Christmas songs was “White Christmas.” Of course, since Mom loved it, I did, too – and still do. I was born and grew up in southeastern Iowa, where the snow is always wet and heavy, and sometimes in abundance. If you are into lifting weights to...
Dear Editor: In the midst of holiday celebrations, we want to update everyone on the Northeast Montana Veterans Memorial. We also want to thank everyone for the generous contributions toward fulfilling the vision and beginning construction at Fort Peck next summer. Fundraising commenced on Veterans Day, and since then more than $250,000 has been contributed, putting the effort well on the way to the goal of $300,000-plus by year’s end. Located in the center of the town of Fort Peck, the centerpiece of the park will be a monolithic memorial d...
In politics, timing is everything and that certainly appears to be the case with Lt. Gov. John Walsh and Congressman Steve Daines. A year from no one of them will likely be a U.S. senator, something unimaginable a year ago. Then no one imagined Sen. Max Baucus would announce his retirement, let alone that he would resign his seat before the end of his term so he could move to China of all things. Baucus will become ambassador to China at a challenging time, and we wish him well. The major beneficiary of Baucus’decision to retire was freshman D...
Barry Chalmers, father of Sheree Chalmers Smith of Glasgow, provided the following to The Courier on Tuesday, Dec. 17. Sheree and her husband, Daniel Smith, are among five people missing since the plane they occupied was lost Dec. 1 near Cascade, Idaho. Sheree and Daniel are pictured on their wedding day. Sheree and Daniel's family would very much like to thank everyone for their love, support and prayers. It has really gotten us through this. As you know, Sheree and Daniel Smith were in a plane...
Three years ago some folks came up with the plans for a very ambitious project, calling it the Northeast Montana Veterans Memorial Park. The town of Fort Peck, in a unanimous resolution, gave the project a permanent easement to build the monument at Fort Peck Flag Pole Park. There are other memorial parks scattered around Montana but none in this corner of the state. Lewistown/Fergus County spent $1.5 million to build one. Great Falls spent $1.7 million for theirs. There's one in Missoula, one in Dillon and there's the Purple Heart Memorial in...
A reader recently sent a letter remembering when the Fuller Brush man made calls on the rural homes, as well as towns. Valley County had one from Wolf Point in the 1950s. The Fuller Brush man not only sold brushes but cosmetics, household cleaners, mops, brooms and other such items. I personally remember several items that I purchased from the Fuller man that I really liked, and have found a couple of those favorite items in some of those little household catalogues that you sometimes see in the mail. Other brands that come to mind that were...
Last Saturday, I joined my daughters and daughters-in-law for our annual baking day. The next day, when I told a friend of all that we made and about going to the Christmas party in Nashua sponsored by the Lucky Clover 4-H Club, I was asked why I do all these things. As I was putting away a few groceries, I asked myself the same question. The baking day is a chance for me to spend a day with my daughters, daughters-in-law and some of my grandchildren. This year I taught a granddaughter how to make the filling for the Croatian nut roll that is...
Dear Editor: Over the last month I have been trying to make a dog's life better. It is a dog I watch day after day. He is outside in a kennel that has no shelter for him to get warm. Several times I have seen that he has no food or water. He lays in the kennel that is full of straw that is covered in feces, urine and snow. He lays there and shivers. I have talked to the Glasgow Police Department four times. They have said the way he lives is acceptable. They won't do anything. To me and many other people this is not acceptable. I don't know...
Dear Editor: Winter is back in full swing, with significant snow and ice for all of us to battle. That means slippery surfaces, which can be dangerous and costly for homeowners, as well as for their visitors – including their letter carrier. By clearing a path when the snow arrives, accidents can be prevented. We need our customers' help. Letter carriers have hurt their knees or backs, or even suffered broken bones from falls on slippery surfaces. Letter carriers are instructed to use good judgment when attempting to deliver to addresses w...
It’s the kind of thing you see at family gatherings, barbecues, parties, celebrations and holidays. You might not be thinking about the dangers involved because you’re probably thinking about taking a breather and just enjoying the moment. For some people enjoying that moment becomes a powerful addiction that can destroy not only their life, but the lives of others. Recently the community lost an individual who many knew. She touched several people and while anyone will tell you she was friendly, kind and the life of the party, they will also t...
Hello Valley County, Thought it was cold enough that I should write, as stopping by was out of the question. I remember when they used to say "colder then heck" but this far exceeds that. I’m always surprised what will happen next and I’m amazed that some federal and state agencies and environmental groups think this is their playground and that we really don’t care what happens. After living here for countless years I’ve come to the understanding of how this works. Well, here’s how it is, but it needs to change if we are to continue to thrive...
By the time this is printed I will have been home for a week. As I looked out the window on the train, my thoughts drifted back to the two weeks I spent with my brother in Iowa. We had not seen each other for a little over two years. My original plan was to drive to his place in October and drink in the beauty of the trees along the way as their leaves changed color in preparation for winter. But, as sometimes happens, plans change of their own accord. So the decision was made to go to St. Paul by train and then by bus to Des Moines, where my b...
It is the season when most of us make several trips to the post office for mailings. Do you remember purchasing envelopes with postage embossed on them? Many times pre-addressed, stamped envelopes were enclosed with the bill you received at month end. The envelopes that I can remember were 3 centers. I think that the embossed stamp was round, a little bigger than a quarter, maybe dark purple in color with white letters and the profile of maybe George Washington in the center, also white. Of course there was the penny postcard, but that stamp...
Dear Editor: I am saddened by the loss of our mother, however, I did not lose her yesterday, I lost her over 10 years ago to alcoholism and have missed her everyday since. (She passed in November 2013) I am so grateful to have had the last few weeks to reconnect, forgive and to just be with her and hear her say, “I love you.” It meant everything to me. I have a lot of good memories from my childhood with her. Like snowy walks in the dark, chasing hot air balloons just to watch them land, inside jokes, spam kabobs, hot cocoa by candle when the...
As I lay napping in my recliner the other evening with the TV on, I was rudely awakened by this loud obnoxious announcer guy trying to make me believe – in a raucous voice better suited to be announcing the Friday Night cage fights – that "Sellum, Bilkum and Cheetum" was the only auto dealer in the world from which (whom?) to buy a new car. He promised “thousands of dollars in instant cash rebates, no financing charges for the next millennium”, and I thought I heard mention of a free glow-in-the-dark Hula Hoop with every pickup purchas...
Like most of us, I am thinking of gifts for Christmas. I think that men are the hardest to buy for, which brought to mind hair brushes, of all things. Do you remember when an appropriate gift for the men in your life was a nice hair brush set that came in a genuine leather zipper case? It seems that there were two brushes in the case. Was this one for each hand, or maybe one of them was a clothes brush to be used on those three-piece suits that were worn then. Of course very few men had long hair at that time, so I am not getting a mental pictu...
Since February, Montana’s Sage Grouse Advisory Council has been working overtime to create a management plan for the bird whose habitat spans central, northern and eastern Montana. The urgency? This upland game bird has been declared “warranted” for listing as an endangered species by the federal government, but “precluded” from that designation while the feds deal with other matters. Montana is one of the Western states with significant sage-grouse populations that have not crafted a plan acceptable to the U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service....
The Bureau of Land Management has released for review and public comment the Lewistown Field Office Greater Sage-Grouse Draft Resource Management Plan Amendment and Environmental Impact Statement. It is available for review and comment throughout the 90-day period ending Feb. 5. During this comment period, the Lewistown Field Office has scheduled two public open house meetings to provide information and answer questions regarding the plan so the public can make more informed and specific comments to the plan. The next one is Dec. 18 from...
It seems the Hi-Line is a mixed box of chocolates. Our trip to Glasgow has begun with one big adventure. We started out breaking down near Big Sandy and being stranded in Havre, and have found that kindness in strangers here is much more than we ever expected. As I have been visiting with people in Glasgow, and from the surrounding towns, I have been finding people who were originally from somewhere else and found their way up to this northeast corner of the state in Glasgow. New Jersey, New Hampshire, Iowa, Illinois, Tennessee, California, Wyo...
Friends, I'd like you to meet Rebecca Rodriguez who is originally from Texas, now lives in Seattle with her husband, and attends college in California. Rebecca is doing her master's degree thesis in documentary filmmaking by making a trek that you might think only our pioneers would have thought of doing. A lot of them rode in wagons, sailed in paddle-wheelers or covered the long desolate miles horseback. It was an incredible journey then as well as now. Only the demographics have changed. The...
Turkey. Mashed potatoes and gravy. Dressing. Cranberries. Pumpkin pie. Can’t you almost taste all these wonderful foods? I can and will as I sit down to the table with my brother and a cousin and his family for Thanksgiving dinner. And before we attack the sumptuous meal set before us, we will give thanks for what we are about to eat and for all the blessings we have. But at this moment my thoughts are on some what-ifs. What if, instead of just putting a can of vegetables or other food item in the collection basket for the food bank, we gave t...
