We've Got The County Covered
We've Got The County Covered
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Thanksgiving is a time to be with family, give thanks and enjoy a nice home cooked dinner. Often family isn’t around, however, and cooking a large meal is difficult if you live alone or it is just you and your partner. But each Thanksgiving Day, the city of Chinook is invited to the Community Thanksgiving Dinner to enjoy a delicious meal. Every year a small committee plans and puts on the feast for anyone in town regardless of financial status, so that no one has to go without on this important holiday. Betty and Mark Billmayer have been the c...
Work at Babb, Montana on the St. Mary's Siphon Project is moving forward on schedule according to Project Director Jennifer Patrick. "All of the excavation phase is completed and the siphon pipes are starting to arrive," said Patrick. The pipe is 7.5 feet in diameter and arrives in different lengths due to the connections, some as much as 40 feet. Pro-Pipe Corporation based in Huson, Montana is making the pipe. "We get about 6 pipes a day," said Patrick, "about 1000 feet a day." Around 3200 feet...
Several Democratic candidates running for office in Montana made a stop in Chinook last Wednesday at the Blaine County Library meeting room. Among those attending the meet and greet were Senator Jon Tester, Attorney General Candidate, Ben Alke, Lieutenant Governor candidate, Raph Graybill, candidate for Superintendent of Public Instruction, Shannon O'Brien, and Clerk of the Supreme Court Candidate, Erin Farris-Olsen. Candidates mingled with voters and guests introducing themselves and taking...
The Chinook Skate Park development had a special visitor Saturday when Jeff Ament showed up to check out the progress. Ament is the bass player for the rock group Pearl Jam who is on a break right now before they head to Australia for two weeks. He is the chief benefactor to the skate park. Ament had just been to Glasgow who recently completed their skate park. "It looks awesome," said Ament. "They are making good progress." The work crew from Evergreen Skateparks has been pouring concrete the p...
There will be an assortment of activities for young and old alike during the upcoming Halloween season. One of the first events will take place the weekend before Halloween. The Chinook Chamber of Commerce is hosting a Murder Mystery Weekend on October 25 and 26. The mystery has a 70's theme and centers around the apparent death of Mrs. Black. The event is the brainchild of Senior Center Director Ginger Hansen who participated in one in Townsend, Montana. "It was a lot of fun, and I thought, 'Wh...
Youngsters in Blaine County will have an opportunity to share their talents by designing a wildlife T-shirt for a contest sponsored by the Wildlife Museum. The winners will have a T-shirt created from the design that they come up with and displayed and made available for sale in the museum gift shop. Dawn Colby, director of the Blaine County Wildlife Museum came up with the idea for the contest. "I brought it to the board, and they gave me the ok to go ahead with the contest," said Colby. She's...
Saturday night saw a lot of Marksman and Markswomen take their chance at winning prizes at the trap shooting range at the Chinook Rod and Gun Club shooting range. "We had 22 total shooters," said board member Joe Kennedy. The event was held in conjunction with the gun show held at the commercial building at the fairgrounds. Shooting started at 3 pm, and continued into the darkness, with several participants creating their own competitions. Several individuals took home meat bundles and other pri...
Residents may have seen streets blocked with gravel piles and barricades in Chinook creating a minor inconvenience. This is due to work being done to replace deteriorating sewer lines in town. "We chose the areas that were most in need to keep costs down," said Wastewater Treatment Plant Manager, Eric Miller. COP Construction out of Billings is in charge of the project. According to Miller they are currently working between Pennsylvania and Indiana Streets (in the alley). Their next move should...
By Bob Feist BCJ News Warmer weather brought out the crowds for the 19th annual Sugarbeet Festival. Many activities marked the event throughout the day starting with the Blaine County Health Department Suicide Awareness Walk/Run. According to Valerie Beck, Public Health Nurse, September is Suicide Awareness Month, and the goal of the run/walk was to bring more awareness and resources to people in the county. "There have been too many suicides in Blaine County lately and we wanted to promote the...
Plenty of activity near the football field last week, and not just for homecoming. Ground was broken for the Chinook Skate Park and much dirt is being moved. "Sure was happy to see the trucks roll in Wednesday night," said Lions Club President, Jay Eslick. An idea that originated with a group of Lions three years ago, is finally coming to fruition. Eslick has spearheaded fundraising for the project. Evergreen Skate Parks out of Portland, Oregon is the contractor for the development working with...
Blaine County Citizens will have a chance to learn some good information about Blaine County and the area. Samantha French, Blaine County Museum Director recently announced five speakers for the coming months. On Sept. 25, area legislator Greg Jergeson will do a presentation on longtime Legislator Francis Bardanouve. He served Blaine County and the area for 36 years and made a large impact on the area. Bardanouve's daughter, Libby Kuntz will also be in attendance. The Presentation will be at...
School Administration is a tough job, but two new people are taking on that challenge in the Harlem Public School system. Recent vacancies have been filled by Jon McGee and LaCrissa St. Pierre. Both are Montana natives with McGee growing up in Butte, Montana. St. Pierre grew up in Havre before moving to Great Falls where she graduated from CMR. St. Peirre is the new elementary principal and McGee has taken on the duties of superintendent in Harlem. McGee is married to his wife Kim and they have four adult children and eight grandchildren. He...
Harlem residents and the surrounding area will soon be able to enjoy Albertson's famous 8 piece chicken sometime in September according to Albertsons communication director, Nicole Criner. "A chicken fryer is being added to the store," said Criner. A small deli area is being added on near the front of the store where the chicken will be prepared. "There will also be a self serve hot case where 8 piece packaged chicken will be available for patrons to grab and go," said Criner. "Hopefully it...
Fourth grade students show off the boats they made from cardboard and duct tape for the annual boat races at the Chinook swimming pool Thursday. Students from grades 4-6 participated. Rules were they could only use cardboard and two rolls of duct tape for the construction. The 5th grade class was declared the winner....
By Bob Feist BCJ News The Chinook Skatepark is expecting a date in September for groundbreaking, and project manager Jay Eslick is excited and nervous. "Evergreen Skateparks and Jeff Ament contacted me awhile ago, and said we are ready to go, but I said we don't have the money raised yet. They said don't worry about it, but I'm worried," said Eslick. Ament is a bassist for the rock group Pearl Jam and a Big Sandy native. He has helped fund many skateparks in Montana. The skatepark was...
Two new Principals have taken different paths to become administrators in the Chinook School. Danelle Gibson, new elementary principal went to high school in Chinook, while the new high school principal, Brian Rayburn's path has covered a great deal of the United States. Rayburn grew up in Colville, Washington, a small town about twice the size of Chinook. He has two sons, one in college and the other a junior at CHS. He obtained his Bachelor's Degree from BYU Hawaii. "Some buddies and I were...
Five new teachers can be seen in the halls of Meadowlark school this school year. August 19 was the first day of instruction. Ellie Perrine is starting her first year of teaching as a second grade teacher in Chinook. She got her training at the University of Montana Western. She did her student teaching in Helena and also subbed there. Helping raise her cousin was what got her interested in teaching. Her favorite thing about teaching is creating a classroom family and having a strong...
Construction to Harlem schools is progressing nicely according to Marty Dirden, Facilities Director for Harlem schools. "Demolition is done at the high school and they are compacting and preparing to pour the foundations," said Dirden. At the elementary school, they are beginning to dig out the footprint. The next step will be to extend the existing gas and water lines. This will allow for a fire suppression system. Construction started in June of this year and if all goes well, is expected to l...
The Milk River Project is moving forward and running smoothly according to project manager, Jennifer Patrick. Plans are for the project to be finished late summer of 2025. Steven Darlington with the Bureau of Reclamation reported that NW Construction is conducting the rehabilitation of the failed siphon site through a modification to the existing Diversion Dam contract, allowing for a quick start. Nearly all of the old siphons have been removed on the west side thanks to NW Construction and the...
With Fair week over, time to get back to normal and Fair Manager Debbie Ramberg is glad. Relaxing in her office, Ramberg said things ran very well. "It was a huge success." Attendance was good thanks in part to the cooler weather and the entertainment available. Ramberg said she had 27 vendors displaying their goods in the commercial building and on the midway. "A few dropped out, but that is to be expected," said Ramberg. Besides the free rides on the midway, patrons enjoyed the petting zoo, th...
Last week, Democratic candidate Ryan Busse made a stop in Chinook for the purpose hearing concerns on the repairs to the St. Mary's Siphon and the Milk River Project. The discussion was spearheaded by former state senator and PSC member Greg Jergeson at the Library meeting room. Among those in attendance were Harlem Havre Mayor Doug Kaercher and Chinook Mayor Glenn Huestis along with Blaine County Commissioners Delores Plumage and Miles Hutton along with other concerned citizens. Busse said he...
Starting Thursday, activities will kick off for another exciting Blaine County Fair. Fair Manager Debbie Ramberg is enthusiastic about the events they have planned this year. "We have activities for both kids and adults," Ramberg said. She's also excited about the cooler weather that is supposed to move in. "Temperatures in the high 70's." This should make it easier for patrons to take in the exhibits. Ramberg has been fair manager for the past 7 years, also working at the Fair office two years...
You may have seen the new Sugarbeet Logo on Main Street recently near the Chinook Motor Inn. The new artwork is the vision of city shop foreman Josh Nordboe and a combined effort with the city crew and the Chinook Chamber of Commerce. While cleaning out the shop after accepting the City Shop Foreman job, Nordboe stumbled across some old stencils. Asking the other workers what they were, he was told they were for a large sugarbeet at one time. “We tried to piece it together but couldn’t seem to make it work,” Nordboe said. That’s when he look...
