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, Nick Chiechi did not out of the sky raise rates! Due to the additional cost of Dry Prairie $14.25 EDU for all St. Marie water users, public hearings were held and a proposed rate increase was discussed. Montana Rural Water provided their formula arriving at the needed rate increase to cover the $7,000 monthly water source bill from Dry Prairie. Alice Hawkins, who was working on NVCW/S District budgets at that time, arrived at about the same dollar amount fee increase. With our main...
Editor's Note: This letter was updated by the Montana Farmers Union on Aug. 27. Dear Editor, Montana Farmers Union is pleased to see Senator Jon Tester put the issue of right to repair front and center via a letter to FTC Commissioner Christine Wilson. The letter explained the importance of right to repair when it comes to production agriculture and urged the FTC to take action. Walter Schweitzer is President of Montana Farmers Union and operates a ranch near Geyser, Mont. Schweitzer is...
Despite daily life being different this year, one thing that hasn’t changed is our desire to enjoy the summer season with family and friends. Historically, Labor Day weekend is a popular travel time with increased traffic on the roads, and this year is anticipated to be no exception as people drive instead of fly and Montanans stay to enjoy our outdoor recreation opportunities rather than travel out-of-state. It is more important than ever to drive safely and plan for a sober ride. The Valley County Sheriff’s Office, Glasgow Police Dep...
Dear Editor, To whom it may concern: Our Medical Staff, as an independent body of physicians and advanced-practice professionals (including nurse practitioners, physicians assistants, and nurse anesthetists), convene regularly to discuss the global COVID-19 pandemic, our national response, the latest scientific breakthroughs, and the situation here in Valley County. We care for patients who live in many areas of Northeastern Montana and we work collaboratively with our county health department t...
Dear Editor, I was encouraged to read, in the Aug. 12, 2020, edition of the Glasgow Courier, that Glasgow School District's Superintendent Sundby wanted to assure parents "that while the school will have tentative plans in place, any plan that is implemented will be done in conjunction with recommendations from the Valley County Health Department and Dr. Anne Millard." Unfortunately, based upon my recent conversations with Valley County Health Department Director Lynn Miller, I understand that...
Dear Editor, There is no better place to be during the summer than Montana. Wide open spaces and long August days have been treasured more than ever this year. As summer comes to a close, though, we shift our focus to harvest and sending the kids back to school. It's a good time to remind friends and family about safety near railroad tracks. Remember that if you see railroad tracks, there will be a train! As you approach railroad tracks, remember that trains are big, heavy, fast, and extremely...
Dear Editor, The Water Use Act (Act), passed by the Montana Legislature in 1973, mainly dealt with free flowing streams, irrigation and ground water. It did not address livestock water use. So why is this an issue? Irrigation from free flowing streams requires a specific point of diversion and a specific place of use. Priority dates and the amount of water allocated to a user become important when drought conditions reduce the amount of water in the stream. Similarly, ground water can become an...
Dear Editor, It's cool this morning. There is a different feel to the air. The days are slowly getting shorter, my bird dogs are getting restless and I am listening for that first bugle of a bull elk down in the river bottom. It's that time when I, and all hunters, anxiously prepare for the glorious days we spend pursuing our quarry in the forests and uplands of our Montana. But this year things are different, and as we take to the field we must acknowledge that difference and change our...
Dear Editor, Farmers and ranchers feed our state, our nation, and in fact, our world. You work long hours to provide essential resources for us all, and in these challenging times, I want you to know that USDA is here to support you and your operation through our Coronavirus Food Assistance Program, or CFAP. Whether you farm one acre or many more, grow food for local markets or big supply chains, CFAP can help. We’re accepting applications through Aug. 28 and encouraging producers to apply now. In Montana, we have already approved 7,642 applica...
Dear Editor, Wednesday, July 29th, I witnessed two very patient officers. Officer Robert Weber and his partner that night, had a unique situation to handle and both officers handled the situation very well. I wished I knew the other officer’s name. Both showed what a true peace officer is. Kudos to you both for a job well done. Sincerely, Mike Carney...
Dear Editor, Only five percent of Americans hunt, and for those of us that do, fewer return to the field every year. Even in Big Sky Country, where we pride ourselves on our strong hunting culture, there has been a small but measurable decline in resident hunters over the past decade. The decline in the hunting population across the country tracks the decline in the number of acres open to public hunting. If we want to pass on the opportunity to pursue wild animals in wild landscapes to the...
Dear Editor, Putting water to beneficial use in a semi-arid state like Montana is dependent on two truths. Water must be physically available, and the corresponding truth is that there must be a legal right to use that available water supply. As the recent failure of Drop 5 on the St. Mary/Milk River Diversion system and the impending lack of adequate supplies in the Milk River later this summer make clear, the infrastructure to make the physical delivery of that water must be rebuilt and repair...
Dear Editor, A recent survey by the University of Montana revealed information about how Montanans feel about our public lands and how we use them. The phone survey of 500 registered voters was done by Republican Lori Weigel, a Republican pollster with New Bridge Strategy and Dave Metz, a Democratic pollster with Fairbank, Maslin, Maullin, Metz & Associates. The survey's findings indicate that more than three-quarters of Montanans visited public lands 10 or more times in the past year, and...
Dear Editor, Sheriffs take an oath to support, protect and defend the Constitution of the United States and the Constitution of the state of Montana. We will uphold our oath, protect public safety and respond to our shared constituency through open communication and education as we continue to face the public health risks of COVID-19. As leaders in your community and the elected officials who represent you and your constitutional rights, we want to ensure we are all doing our part to protect the...
To Glasgow Students, Staff, Parents and Community, I hope everyone is having a fun and relaxing summer! We at the Glasgow School District wanted to provide an update to our students, parents, staff, and community as to the current status of plans for reopening school buildings beginning Aug. 26. We are working to develop a plan that balances the best opportunities for the education of our students and as well as keeping staff and students as safe as possible during this time. The Office of...
Dear Editor, I would like to thank the Downtown Businesses for "Alive at Five" on Wednesday, July 15, 2020. It is a great way to promote our Glasgow businesses. I looked forward to spending some hard-earned money to support local businesses that day. Listening to an advertisement on KLTZ, I found out that an item that I was interested in was available at a downtown business. My "shopping experience" was less than favorable. I was not greeted when entering the store. In fact, I thought no one...
Dear Editor, As the Montana Stockgrowers Association (MSGA) leadership came out of our June Board of Directors meeting, I was reminded of how critical it is to have a state organization working on the behalf of Montana's cattle ranchers. These past few months have been unprecedented and have affected our industry in ways we could not have predicted. As producers continue to do the important work of keeping our family ranches profitable and food on the table of American consumers, Montana...
Dear Editor, As a nation, state and society we are living in unprecedented times. As peace officer leaders in the State of Montana, we feel it is our obligation to speak about the unnecessary injuries and deaths, suffered by any persons, at the hands of law enforcement officers who fail or refuse to live by our peace officer code of ethics. We collectively acknowledge that incidents of excessive use of force, violence and misconduct are unacceptable and contradictory to our professional...
Dear Editor, You may recall that I wrote an article a few weeks ago that exposed the attempt by the Montana Department of Natural Resources (DNRC) to illegally give our ranchers' vested stockwater rights to the Bureau of Land Management (BLM). Well, we are not alone! I just read an article in the June 20, 2020, Tri-State Livestock News by the Idaho Farm Bureau Federation (IFBF) that detailed what was happening with stockwater rights in Idaho. First, a bit of history. In 1987 the Idaho Water...
Dear Editor, We, the undersigned, are as concerned about the rising number of COVID cases and public health as we are with the economic health of the businesses we represent. As we watch many states around the country mandating face masks for everyone and rolling back reopening, our Associations are convinced that reverting back to Phase 1 restrictions would bring irreparable harm to thousands of Montana businesses and the tens of thousands of Montana citizens that they employ. President of the...
Dear Editor, COVID-19 remains a matter of great concern for Montana medical and public health communities. As of mid-June, Montana's COVID-19 case rates are the lowest in the continental U.S.; yet disease prevention remains the state's top priority. Robust testing efforts are underway in Montana. The State of Montana is conducting sentinel surveillance among those living in high-risk settings such as nursing homes, assisted living facilities, and correctional facilities, among others. Rapid,...
In honor of our mom, Sandy, we, her children, wanted to write one last “Just a Thought” column for her that spanned nearly a full decade. It seemed fitting since all we ever hear from the community is how much they enjoyed and missed her writing. Before we left the hospital the evening of March 7, Mom made what would be her final request, that we didn’t forget to give her cat, Ginger, her treats. The ideas came flooding in on how appropriate of a “last request” that truly was for Mom. One Last Thought Before I Go... All throughout her life,...
The Valley County Sheriff’s Office and the Glasgow Police Department wants everyone to enjoy the Fourth of July celebrations and our country’s independence which brings many things to mind – family, friends, food, and fireworks. But all too often, alcohol and driving are added to the mix with tragic results. Law enforcement is increasing patrols on the roads in Valley County, and the City of Glasgow, along with the Montana Highway Patrol statewide, around the Fourth of July holiday to remind motorists to drive sober or get pulled over. Summe...
Dear Editor, While the country works to safely reopen the economy and businesses navigate how to operate in a new normal, the lodging industry in Montana is going above and beyond to assure travelers that lodging facilities will be cleaner and safer than ever before. As an industry of people, the lodging industry has long been committed to placing the highest priority on our responsibility to protect hotel workers and guests. Building on that commitment, the Montana Lodging and Hospitality...
Dear Editor, Less than three months ago, President Trump signed the CARES Act into law, establishing a new $349 billion Paycheck Protection Program (PPP). The mission: to keep people on payroll, keep businesses in business, and help the economy bounce back as quickly as possible. In less than two weeks, the SBA approved more than 1.6 million PPP loans, exhausting the first round of funds appropriated by Congress, and requiring the appropriation of additional money. To date, the SBA has approved...
