Serving Proudly As The Voice Of Valley County Since 1913
Serving Proudly As The Voice Of Valley County Since 1913
Sorted by date Results 682 - 706 of 2305
Dear Editor, "We need to talk about suicide," teachers said choking back tears, or letting them flow, as they interviewed recently for Montana's Teacher of the Year award. They shared with us on the selection committee that student suicides hurt their hearts and devastate schools, and we need to bring the problem out in the open to solve it. That's what September's National Suicide Prevention Month aims to do – create suicide prevention awareness and reduce stigma of mental illness. It's a t...
Do you remember when shopping for groceries was much easier? I don’t remember that we were label conscious at all, unless we were shopping for salt or sugar-free diets. Present day shopping requires much more effort. Do I want to buy household vinegar, or pickling vinegar? What about baking soda; do I want this for laundry purposes or cooking? What about the choice in canned tomatoes? Those almost takes up half of an aisle in the grocery store. We used to just buy canned tomatoes, not chunked or cans of many different flavors, just tomatoes, an...
Dear Editor, Homeowners know that when a leaky roof is spotted, it's important to act quickly to find and fix the leak. If left unattended, that slow drip overhead can turn into a ceiling that collapses – costing far more to repair and threatening the integrity of the entire home. The same should be true for our public buildings such as schools, city halls, police stations, and tribal government buildings. But the reality is that many of Montana's aging public facilities are far behind in k...
Dear Editor, Montana is Big Sky Country. Rangelands, forests, and farmers' fields spread between our towns and cities. Rural life is at the core of our identity as a state and as a people. Yet, as our country expands and moves forward in many ways, too many Montana communities are stuck facing huge hurdles accessing quality healthcare. Fifty-two of the 56 counties in Montana are faced with shortages in primary care, with nine of those counties having no doctors at all. One of the first things...
The following is an open letter sent to President Donald J. Trump from Montana Senator Jon Tester on Aug. 20, 2019, inviting the President to meet with grain producers who have expressed concern over the President’s recent comments minimizing the U.S. trade relationship with Japan. Dear President Trump, I am writing you today relaying concerns I have heard from my fellow Montana wheat farmers regarding your comments that downplayed the importance of this commodity to our economy. My neighbors and I are currently in our fields for harvest e...
In our “Dr. Al Olszewski Campaigns in Glasgow” story that was published on Aug. 14 issue, we incorrectly credited the Missoula Current for indicating Olszewski has received endorsements and donations from the right wing of the state Republican party. The referenced article in this story actually originated from a Montana Free Press story, written by Montana Free Press reporter Eric Dietrich, and was originally published on July 9. The Glasgow Courier regrets this error....
Dear Editor, Don't be fooled by the current Washington, D.C., rhetoric about "reforming" the pharmaceutical industry. Most recently Senator Chuck Grassley has been promoting his bill which would place inflation-based caps on Medicare drug prices. There are also proposals to eliminate "middlemen" and increase transparency in pricing. While these things would be an improvement, they don't address the fundamental problem of a drug industry gone wild. Thanks to our system for granting patents for ne...
Dear Editor, If you happened to have perused the ad taken out by George and Susan Matelich in the Big Timber Pioneer (7-25-19), you got a first-hand tutorial on the scurrilous nature of the American Prairie Reserve (APR) and learned why mega-millionaire donors like the Matelich couple aspire to turn millions of Montana acres into a wildlife park. In case you missed the Matelichs' ad, here is the backdrop that prompted their comments. Initially, the pot was stirred by an excellent article...
School has started and that may trigger some old school day memories for some of you. Some of you will recall heading off to a country school, having the same teacher that you had for the last couple of years (and not because you were repeating grades). Or you may think of the old Southside school (the really old one), or when the Northside school housed all grades, or maybe you attended the Catholic school. Your list of school supplies may have included a new lunch box as country schools did not have the luxury of a “hot lunch room.” Oh, and...
Do you remember driving to Opheim and crossing railroad tracks on that highway, or how about driving the current Billingsley Road and crossing railroad tracks? There may have been many more such rail crossings, but those are the ones I am familiar with. It doesn’t require a lot of thought to connect the railroad with the Glasgow AFB as there must have been a lot of supplies that were transported to that facility. I don’t remember that there were any cross arms at the crossing, but I am going to guess not. However, it was not uncommon to see...
Whenever Dorri and I visit on the phone, we can’t help but reminisce about our childhood days in Malta, Mont. Life was simple yet joy filled – in the Depression Days. There was an abundance of cottonwood trees to be climbed – oh what fun for us. After all, weren’t we tomboys? Dorri was the youngest in her big family, and I was the youngest of four – the two oldest were my brothers, then my sister, Hazel, then I at the tail end. With a six year age difference between Hazel and me, there was no playing together; but luckily, Dorri lived nex...
Do you drive the highways between Glasgow, Nashua, Malta or Opheim and remember them as they used to be? If you are looking at your surroundings you can often pick out remains of the old road beds. I remember driving on gravel for half of the trip to Glasgow from Opheim. And in my memories it seems that a lot of Highway 2 (going either east or west) was extremely narrow. I do remember that we didn’t drive 70-80 mph at that time but our cars were also bigger. Going to wider highway and shoulders you could pull over on was a real asset. Now we w...
Dear Editor, I graduated high school with Mike & Maryann (Burns) O'Connor, the class of 1964. As we planned to gather for our 50th class reunion in May, 2014, Maryann suggested that we release balloons over Fort Peck Lake in memory of those that had passed on. She, like many of my high school classmates, had lived and attended grade school in Fort Peck, so this was a natural suggestion. This inspired me to write a poem as part of the ceremony. We had first gathered around a table at the newly...
The NE MT Fair will be in full swing when this Courier edition comes out. The “behind the scenes” activity and work will be forgotten for another year. We all recognize the work that goes into preparing exhibits and getting them to the fair, but we must recognize all of those that put in hours getting the livestock barns and other animal areas ready for you to exhibit in. The building prep for culinary, floral, art and so many other projects. These things happen because of volunteers. We need to be willing to recognize that it would be very dif...
Dear Editor, We all know that some Montanans are forced to go without medication or struggle to afford paying for basic needs like housing and groceries because prescription drug costs are too high. Here’s why: the pharmaceutical industry sets the prices. As just one example, they double the cost of insulin, forcing some Americans to ration the life-saving drug or travel to another country to get it at a fraction of the cost. And now Big Pharma is lobbying for even greater control of the cost of prescription drugs, putting Montanans at even gre...
Dear Editor, A United States Senator is elected for 6 years. That is an extremely long time in politics. In the first four years Steve Daines hasn’t done much for Montanans in the Senate, He doesn’t listen or meet with Montanans, and seems more focused on scoring cheap political points than delivering for Montanans. I will deliver for Montanans on lowering healthcare costs and protecting pre-existing condition coverage. I will fight to address climate change. We must believe in science. I will fight for public schools and teachers and I will br...
Dear Editor, I just found out something and I wonder how many of you knew that on June 25, 2019, Governor Bullock ordered the state flag removed and replaced so he could fly the gay pride rainbow flag at our State Capitol for the weekend. House Speaker Greg Hertz and Senate President Scott Sales called the decision "an unmistakable act of disrespect to our State and the people and institutions we serve and beneath the office of the governor." I agree with them. I would like to know what gives hi...
Dear Editor, The Ranchers Stewardship Alliance thanks President Trump's Interior Secretary David Bernhardt and the other members of the Migratory Bird Conservation Commission (MBCC) for their approval of the most recent slate of North American Wetlands Conservation Act (NAWCA) grant funding. This funding, matched by private and philanthropic contributions, will be used to provide the dollars and needed assistance to farmers and ranchers for conservation on working lands across Montana's Hi-L...
Dear Editor, We must keep working to lower prescription drugs prices in Montana. After conducting a nearly two-year investigation into drug costs, including taking several major players to court in order to access information, my team and I brought forward a bill that we projected would save Montanans about $8 million on medications in the first year alone. Our approach to reforming one part of the massive pharmaceutical system has now been copied by the U.S. Senate and states like Maine, which recently passed their version of our bill...
Do you remember your swimming days of the past? I grew up in a small town and the country. No access to a swimming pool. I never did become a good swimmer, but some of us in the North Country spent a few summer days at the “Post.” The “Post” had to be the Poplar River—funny how you don’t remember some things. As I recall this was part of the US/Canadian border. I know that it did not involve going through Customs so I am assuming the river was not an issue. I must see if I can make my way up there someday to refresh old memories. This area w...
If you grew up as a country kid you may remember seeing, or having, bulls around your area that sported a Bull Ring. These bull rings were not anything fancy or dressy for the bull, although many of these rings of the past were made of brass, which could be considered fancy. Apparently this practice can be traced back to Biblical days. Rings were placed into the nose of said animal. The theory being, if you could control the head of the animal, the body would follow. Animals learn just as humans, if it hurts when you do something, don’t do it....
Dear Editor, The United States is a nation founded by entrepreneurs who were, by definition, risk takers. In fact, many of America's founding fathers were small business owners who provided needed goods and services in the growing colonies. Alexander Hamilton, who founded the Bank of New York by the age of 29, was even called "America's First Capitalist." Benjamin Franklin was an inventor, a printer and a newspaperman. George Washington was a farmer, a landowner and owned a distillery. Most of...
Dear Editor, American Rosie the Riveter Association is trying to locate women who worked on the home front during WWII. Thousands of women worked to support the war effort as riveters, welders, electricians, inspectors in plants, sewing clothing and parachutes for the military, ordnance workers, rolling bandages, clerical, farming, and many other jobs such as volunteer workers collecting scrap metals and other critical materials. These women have stories of their WWII experiences that are of...
Dear Editor, Farm families are under increased stress this season, challenged by weather, trade issues, the farm economy and many other factors that are out of their control. Stress impacts our bodies in many ways and can result in symptoms such as increased aches and pains, changes in appetite, lack of sleep, anxious or racing thoughts, moodiness and social isolation. Increased stress is becoming chronic and has taken a toll on farmers, resulting in mental health concerns. This increase in...
Around Christmas time 1921, when Mary Jane and her little daughter of Glasgow were visiting Mary Jane’s parents in Malta the two came down with the measles. The little girl had black dots over her entire body. Mary Jane wanted a bath for at least her baby but her mother, a Chippewa Indian, told her in her native language, “Dear girl, you must not give her a bath as she will get very sick.” In retrospect, Mary Jane said, “The older people are so very wise.” This is what did it – the baby became terribly ill. Dr. Curry was called in. He prescrib...
