Serving Proudly As The Voice Of Valley County Since 1913
Serving Proudly As The Voice Of Valley County Since 1913
Sorted by date Results 89 - 113 of 2342
Noticing the picture of grain trucks in the Buzz as well as all the activity at the elevators has made me remember the moving of grain in my young days. The use of 2-ton trucks with side boards and hoists. How the world does change. I am sure my grandfather, or maybe even my Dad could not imagine the present day grain trucks, the ease of dumping them, and the amount of grain they could have hauled. I understand that grain elevators of days past were set up for wagons to dump. I can only assume that this began in horse and wagon...
Dear Editor, The pandemic confirmed the essential role that small businesses play in our daily lives. It sounds cliché, but locally owned small businesses truly are the heart and soul of our cities and towns. The holiday shopping season is a crucial time for small retailers and restaurants that depend upon the boost in sales earned between Thanksgiving and Christmas. Not so long ago, it was an annual holiday tradition to travel downtown and shop at one of the many locally owned main street...
Dear Fellow Montanans, The ongoing changes to our state's economy present opportunities and challenges that our education system must address. We need to ensure that students are prepared to succeed in today's economy and have the skills to adapt to future opportunities. To that end, I'd like to take this opportunity to describe a couple of the ways this is being tackled by our state's education and industry leaders in the form of Work-Based Learning and flag a few important dates to ensure...
The following was written to Governor Gianforte from the Montana Association of Counties (MaCO) on Nov. 28. Valley County is a member of MaCO. Governor Gianforte: The Montana Supreme Court clarified the State's ability to accrue 'banked mills' when the calculation required under MCA § 15-10-420 results in mills above the cumulative cap of 95. While that opinion was directly in contrast to the position of many counties, and the Montana Association of Counties in our defense of our membership, we...
Dear Editor, We just returned from a short week of visiting, hunting and celebrating Thanksgiving with our "chosen daughter," who recently relocated to St. Marie from Olympia, Wash. We were excited to meet and be a part of the St. Marie family on Thanksgiving day at their community town hall dinner, where 25 of us gathered to share a delicious meal contributed by all. It was an incredible group of people from many areas of the country, Alabama, Louisiana, Texas and Billings, to name a few. Time...
Dear Editor, This holiday season, more Montanans will be navigating the annual open enrollment period for health insurance, seeking quality and affordable health insurance plans for their families. Cover Montana has a team of health insurance navigators who can help Montanans make sense of their options during this crucial period, which runs from to Jan. 15, 2024. But this year stands out because more than 100,000 Montanans are no longer covered by Medicaid or Healthy Montana Kids (HMK). Like al...
The following was written and read by Glasgow Mayor Rod Karst during the public comment period at the Nov. 20 City Council Meeting. This letter is printed with permission from Mayor Karst. Before we get started tonight, I want to take a couple of minutes to address an issue that has gotten out of hand on Facebook. I do not use Facebook for this simple reason, people can go online and act as judge and jury on things that they don’t have all the facts on and get others sharing their knowledge or lack thereof. The City of Glasgow and its e...
Dear Editor, Just thought I would write a letter in regards to the Thanksgiving Dinner I enjoyed at the Senior Citizen Center. Many thanks to Ruth Ann Hutchison for her dedication and hard work in preparing this tasty meal with all the trimmings! She has done this for 31 years WOW!!! How wonderful that she does this with limited amount of volunteers, feeding approximately 150 people is a lot of work, although Ruth Ann and her crew appear to do it effortlessly and they all had a smile and very...
Dear Community Members, I want to express my gratitude for the thoughtful concerns raised regarding the potential acquisition of a portion of Hoyt Park for additional parking. At FMDH, our commitment to community well-being is paramount, and we aim to provide excellent care close to home while exploring opportunities to better serve our community. Firstly, it's crucial to clarify that the park is not bound by the same deed restrictions as our current hospital site. The park's origin traces back...
Although I am submitting this and do remember these picnics, this was written by my significant other, Paul “Bud.” I will talk about Tampico School picnics in particular. I remember the site being the Bob Cornwell place across the Milk River from Tampico. This site was up by the mouth of Buggy Creek in a hay field along the river. We would cut the hay crop so there was a clear spot to play baseball. One time, as we arrived, someone hollered “Bud, catch.” I reached out and the ball caught the end of my thumb and bent it backward. Needless to say...
Dear Editor, Many Montanans have heard about Energy Share of Montana, but may not realize exactly what it does. Energy Share helps Montanans who are facing loss of heat or lights in their homes and who have no resources to pay the bill themselves. Assistance is situationally-based, not income-based. This means that even if someone has an income that is higher than normal poverty guidelines, if their situation is such that they're about to lose their heat or lights and they have no money in the...
Dear Editor, Quitting tobacco is hard. But starting with a single day of giving up tobacco can help you take the first step to a longer, healthier life. Let the Great American Smokeout event on Friday, Nov. 17, be your day to start the journey toward a life free from smoking. On Nov. 17, join your fellow Montanans and thousands across the nation to celebrate the Great American Smokeout by making a pledge to a tobacco-free life. For over 40 years, the Great American Smokeout has motivated...
Dear Editor, Recently opinion pieces and information sent to legislators regarding the counties decision to levy 77.9 mills instead of the State directed 95 mills has been circulating in both statewide newspapers, and internal legislative correspondence. It appears that the message being distributed is counties are giving large tax breaks to corporations and out-of-state homeowners while doing little for the average Montanan. While the numbers can be interpreted to support that message, and...
Dear Editor, October is Economics Education Month – A time to promote the importance of economic education and to help all students understand how economic decisions and policies affect their lives, their communities, the state of Montana, and the world. Governor Gianforte recognizes October as Economics Education Month with a Proclamation noting Econ Ed equips students with invaluable skills and tools to help ensure they are well rounded and well prepared to thrive and achieve their American d...
Dear Editor, This year's farm bill should significantly increase federal funding for cultivated-meat research. For those who don't know, cultivated meat is grown from livestock cells, without slaughter. It has the potential to dramatically reduce greenhouse-gas emissions, our pandemic risk, and the suffering we inflict on animals. While the product is currently sold in a few high-end restaurants, further research is needed for cultivated meat to achieve price parity with slaughtered meat, which...
Remember Halloween’s from your past? Did you do more than just go to the neighborhood homes to request a treat, or were you involved in trickery too? I don’t know if all young people in small town used to get so involved with trickery but the Town of Opheim was quite lively Halloween night You might find your outhouse moved, as one was once found on the steps of the school house come morning. You didn’t want to leave any windows open in your office or home as you may find it inhabited with chickens, or the implement dealer may have found much...
As a part of his continued effort to support rural nursing homes and ensure Montana’s seniors are receiving the highest quality of long term care possible, U.S. Senator Jon Tester and his colleague Republican Senator James Lankford of Oklahoma is leading a bipartisan group of Senators in demanding the Biden Administration abandon their proposed Center for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) rule that would increase staffing ratios in rural nursing homes, which could result in mass facility closures across Montana. “In many parts of the cou...
Remember when you were in school and Columbus Day was a part of our history lessons from early grades on and we learned about Christopher Columbus, the Nina, the Pinta, and the Santa Maria. I guess even as a young gal I knew that things change, but I naïvely thought that history was something to remember and did not change. I could always remember the date of Columbus Day recognition (maybe because it was my Grandmother’s birthday). I could ramble on, but since we can change names, dates, etc. of history that generations studied, I do wo...
The election was administered by the Valley County Election Administrator and was a mail-ballot election. Ballots were mailed out on Sept. 29 and must be returned by Oct. 17. Tidbit 1 What will the proposed $8.58 Million Dollar Facility Improvements Bond include? #1 – Replace the failed 80-year-old boiler at Glasgow High School to assure our students will have adequate heat in the winter months. #2 – Extensively repair damaged roofs at Glasgow High School and Glasgow Middle School to assure that we can keep the inside of our buildings free fro...
On Oct. 6, President Joe Biden signed the bipartisan legislation into law that protects the use of federal funds for hunter safety and shooting sports classes. The bipartisan law requires the Department of Education to restore school districts’ ability to use federal resources for school archery, gun safety, and hunter education programs. Montana congressional leaders all expressed the opposition to President Biden’s initial plans to defund hunting and shooting courses in Montana schools. “I’m glad to see President Biden come to his senses...
Dear Editor, Montana School Board's Association Executive Director has issued a memo to his membership on the 95-mill issue. It appears he is looking to garner support for the administration to litigate this issue (asking for the Department of Revenue or the Governor to seek injunctive relief), and he makes a few statements that need corrections. First, counties have been given the calculated levy authority BY THE DEPARTMENT OF REVENUE indicating the current levy authority is 77.89 mills. That...
Dear Editor, I am opposed to the 8-million dollar school bond, for several reasons. Combining "nearly emergency" measures for roof and boiler maintenance with a multi-million sports facility overhaul is disingenuous in the least. I do not appreciate my loyalty and community spirit used as a tool of manipulation. The plant repairs are a need. The artificial turf football field is a luxury; they should be separated. The bond is money borrowed against my (and everyone else's) real property, which...
Dear Editor, We were told that if you have a $200,000 home your taxes would be $5 to $10 per week. In November your taxes would go up $250 to $500. If we look at the businesses in our school district, their taxes will go up. Will they have to pass it on to us? How much will gasoline go? What about rent? What about food? What about the farmers and ranchers that we get to go hunting and fishing on their land. A small farmer told me his taxes would go up $2500 to $3000 per year. The Bond is over...
Dear Editor, Montana's public lands are central to our way of life and our outdoor businesses, but outdated federal oil and gas leasing programs have long exploited these landscapes, harming our communities and economies. Thankfully, the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) recently proposed reforms to improve this broken system, ensuring a balanced approach to our public lands' use and providing taxpayers a fair return. The BLM's reforms balance the many uses of our public lands and prioritize...
The election will be administered by the Valley County Election Administrator and will be a mail-ballot election. Ballots will be mailed out on Sept. 29 and must be returned by Oct. 17. Tidbit 1 What will the proposed $8.58 Million Dollar Facility Improvements Bond include? #1 – Replace the failed 80-year-old boiler at Glasgow High School to assure our students will have adequate heat in the winter months. #2 – Extensively repair damaged roofs at Glasgow High School and Glasgow Middle School to assure that we can keep the inside of our bui...
