We've Got The County Covered
We've Got The County Covered
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illmayer accompanied a small group of juniors and seniors from Chinook High School to Montana State University-Northern (MSUN) on Thursday, October 7, for the TekNoXpo & ShowCASE held on the college campus in Havre. The intention of the TekNoXpo & ShowCASE was to introduce high school students to all that MSUN has to offer in academic programming. With programs ranging from graphic design, to diesel equipment operation, to interacting with livestock, and even working with simulated humans in...
With October’s arrival, Nature’s display of color grows more diverse and intense as Mother Earth in Montana slips her hips from her green gown, trading it for one variegated with orange, yellow, burgundy, and gold. Pink is another color common in October when people all over the world show their support for those affected by breast cancer. Various Blaine County businesses are supporting the awareness crusade with signage, pink-themed products on their shelves, or actual promotions. One business, American Garage will again participate in the...
"Ask and you shall receive" seems to be an appropriate moral of the Blaine County Museum's story as they searched for replacements to the board after the loss of Jeannie Powell-who passed away in May-and Wally Elliot, who resigned in July. Museum Director Samantha French's appeal to the community has resulted in two new voluntary board members: Cassie Johnson and Greg Jergeson. A full-time agent representing Lodestar Land and Home, Johnson identifies real estate as her calling. And with her...
With winter knocking at our doors and snow forthcoming, many livestock producers will soon be feeding hay. Most hay is bound with baling twine or net wrap, which is often a polypropylene plastic rope or, in the case of net wrap, a thermoplastic resin frequently manufactured from recycled High Density Polyethylene (HDPE) plastics, like empty milk jugs. When not properly disposed of, these materials can create a littering eyesore as well as cause inadvertent problems for both wildlife and livestock. Although baling twine and the plastic net...
The Chinook Chapter of the FFA hosted Judith Basin District's Fall Contest on Wednesday, October 6 with several livestock judging events taking place at the Bear Paw Livestock facility in Chinook and with range contests occurring at the Chinook Rod and Gun Club range site. Chinook High School Agriculture Education Instructor and FFA Advisor, Karyn Billmayer reported that there was a good turnout and beautiful weather for the event. Approximately 230 students competed in livestock judging and ano...
Durward Sobek, an architect representing Space Planning for People located in Billings, recently completed an architectural assessment of the Blaine County Museum building. The assessment includes costs of renovating the existing facility versus costs to relocate or build a new facility. Museum Director Samantha French seeks feedback from the community to gauge their interest regarding these options. French reported that the assessment recommends building a new facility, which will take likely...
The Montana Office of Public Instruction (OPI) and the Office of the Secretary of State (SOS) would like to remind everyone that the U.S. Constitution Contest ends on October 15, 2021. Presenting an opportunity for students to participate and become knowledgeable about our government, the topic for the contest is “What Does the U.S. Constitution Mean to Me?” Last month, the contest was announced in a partnership between OPI and SOS as part of Constitution Week, which took place September 17-23. Thanks to the U.S. Constitution and the mil...
This past week, October 3 through October 9 was National 4-H Week. Blaine County 4-H celebrated with a membership campaign that was largely profiled on their Facebook page. Each day, Blaine County MSU-Extension Officials posted a new message featuring a poster child, the encouragement to “discover more at 4-H.org,” and this year’s theme, Find Your Spark! Finley’s Food Farm in Chinook also showcased the thoughts of select White Pine 4-H Club members. The Find Your Spark! theme was created by the National 4-H Council to rally support for 4-H pro...
Last month, Brenda Reiter, Program Director for Code Girls United, reached out to Blaine County Library Director Valerie Frank about the possibility of hosting a coding program for girls in grades 4-8. The Library Board of Trustees approved the proposal, giving girls in Blaine County the opportunity to attend a local branch of 2021/2022 Code Girls United beginning on November 3 and running concurrently with the academic school year. However, the community’s support is requested. This program is offered at no cost to girls between the ages of t...
The final Market Day of 2021 for the Chinook Market Farmer and Flea 59523 is October 9. It will take place at the Blaine County Fairgrounds in the Commercial Building from 10:00 a.m. until 2:00 p.m. With autumn in the air, one of the event’s organizers, Chad McKenzie invites everyone to come drink some apple cider and enjoy shopping for the upcoming holidays before the snow flies. Past vendors have provided knitted/crocheted articles, homemade crafts, rummage sale items, holiday wares (Halloween, Thanksgiving, Christmas), beauty products, j...
Although Pokémon Go was all the rage a few years ago, a more low-key, unplugged treasure-hunt trend is steadily growing in popularity in Montana communities: finding painted rocks. In an effort to join the trend, the Harlem Public Library hosted a Rock Painting Party on Thursday, September 16. People gathered at the library from noon until 6:00 p.m. to support the Harlem Rocks! movement. Library staff estimated that 45 people came and painted rocks. The movement began in Harlem after a patron...
Through a Presbyterian Church program called Young Adult Volunteers, Emma Kate Lander and Brendan Stump will be spending a year in Chinook, Montana. After a week of orientation delivered virtually, they arrived in late August and are staying with Wade and Carla Anderson, who are performing as their host family. The area's Young Adult Volunteers (YAV) site coordinator, Jack Mattingly-who also serves as the Pastor of the United Methodist Church-described the YAV program as an ecumenical, faith-bas...
With the beginning of the 2021-2022 academic year, Harlem Elementary School is already adding to their esteemed Rockin' ROAR Roster! Under the leadership of two female American Indian Educators: Principal Evelyn Bigby and Assistant Principal Jessica Cochran, the school year began on August 25. At an assembly on the first day of school, students were introduced to the ROAR Guidelines so that they could start school on positive footing by learning how to be Respectful, Organized, Always safe, and...
Each week, Harlem Elementary has been naming a trio of students to join the Rockin' ROAR Roster. For the week ending September 17, kindergartener Isaiah Doney, fourth grader Kayleigh Gray, and fifth grader Renessa Doney were selected. The newest learners to earn this distinction on the last Friday of September are second grader Jaxton Brady, third grader Kaleb Filesteel, and sixth grader Jasper Lamere. According to Janice Gilham, a spokesperson for the school, these students have proven to be...
From the first time that she held a camera, Bree Swanson confesses that she instantly fell in love with photography. She credits her motivation for this creative pursuit with having grown up around photographers. Being surrounded by a supportive group of other photographers who encourage her to keep working at her craft is the background Swanson brings to her current endeavor with Bree Swanson Photography. From livestock to portrait photographers, she has had a lot of positive reinforcement to r...
Banned Books Week is scheduled for September 26 - October 2, 2021. Although various classrooms and libraries around Blaine County typically participate in this annual event, area teachers and librarians encourage all residents to celebrate the freedom to read by selecting to read one of the Top Ten Challenged Books of 2020. Readers will have to decide for themselves whether a book on the list is redeemable or objectionable. This year’s theme is “Books Unite Us. Censorship Divides Us.” Celebrating the freedom to read, Banned Books Week (BBW)...
When Jessica Cochran applied for and received the position of Assistant Principal at Harlem Elementary School, her promotion created a vacancy in the sixth grade classroom. With Kristin Landre leaving the district, that left two openings for sixth grade teachers. One of those was filled by Ken Bigby and the other by Amber Whiteclay. Enrolled as a Gros Ventre but raised as an Assiniboine, Bigby was born to Poncho and Mary Bigby and grew up on Fort Belknap. He graduated from Harlem High School in 1989 and married Arlene in 1993. He and his wife h...
On September 9, a spokesperson for the Friends of the Pool and Park Foundation announced that they had received a generous financial gift from the Davies Family Endowment. The endowment was established by Jack, Mark, Rick, and Dan—the sons of Reg and Vonnie Davies—who entrusted the Montana Community Foundation to establish a donor-advised fund to support charitable purposes for non-profits in Blaine County. The Davies Family Endowment not only provides a way to honor their parents’ legacy and the life they spent in Blaine County but to give...
On October 9, Vernice Doughten will celebrate her 100th birthday. To preserve her memory and the history of her life, Vernice’s grandson Rob Doughten composed her life story. In it, he tells the story of a resilient and religious woman who doesn’t count sheep to get to sleep; she talks to the Shepherd. Born in 1921 to Helen (Gardner) and Frank Bergren, Vernice spent her early years living on the eastern plains of Montana in a small town called Twete, which was later renamed Hogeland. From the Big Flat, which is how many people refer to the are...
In early September, the Montana Office of Public Instruction (OPI) released information regarding the August 31 announcement made by Governor Greg Gianforte regarding the Montana Department of Public Health and Human Services (DPHHS) emergency rule to reinforce parental rights regarding masking in schools. Recognizing parents as the ultimate decision makers on matters pertaining to the health of their children, including on the issue of wearing masks in schools and on school buses, Gov....
The Roman Catholic Church has been dealing with a shortage in priesthood vocations for some time now. Even with the number of priests that Bishop Michael Warfel-the eighth Bishop of the Diocese of Great Falls-Billings-has recruited from beyond the borders of the United States, the vacancies continue to increase. Given that situation, Reverend Father Michael Schneider will take on expanded responsibilities. With seven churches now under his direction, Mass times will change for many communities i...
Late afternoon and into the early evening on September 10, the Montana Department of Transportation had striping crews out working. Caution cones lined US Highway 2 from Chinook to East of Zurich to make motorists aware of the wet paint and to stay off the road's shoulder. Periodic signage also asked motorists to not cross wet lines. As striping took place throughout the 24 mile project from Chinook to the Milk River Bridge at Fort Belknap, travelers experienced short delays as they came up...
As the country was preparing for the twentieth anniversary of 9/11, individual memories of that day surfaced for many area residents. With the date's approach, various people no doubt reminisced about the question from Alan Jackson's country song: "Where were you when the world stopped turning on that September day?" Now that the date has passed, we still reflect-our memories tumbling in a fashion similar to the water cascading into the two enormous reflecting pools at Memorial Plaza in New York...
Harlem Junior/Senior High School (HHS) is offering a new course: Journalism. HHS English Instructor, Matthew Hodgson rallied to get journalism approved as a class so that students would have protected time to construct the school newspaper rather than having to use extracurricular time. The school has been without a newspaper since approximately 2000 when interest in sustaining the publication waned. Aware of the multiple lessons that being a student journalist provides, Hodgson determined that...
The faculty and staff at Harlem Elementary School has chosen the second trio of ROAR winners for the week ending September 10. Because first grader Brody Plumage, fourth grader Aizha TalksDifferent, and fifth grader Lucas Blackcrow have been following the ROAR Rules, they have been chosen as this week's ROARing Lil' Wildcats. Each day during the morning announcements, School Counsellors, Melody Sand and Ruth Stephenson read aloud the components of the ROAR Rules and explain how they apply to...
