We've Got The County Covered
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The school closure order implemented by Governor Steve Bullock late on Sunday, March 15, came as a surprise to administrators of K-12 schools in Blaine County, who had been told by the Office of Public Instruction (OPI) just four days previous to prepare a plan for continuing classes—as either take-home coursework or online options—in the event of a school closure because of the COVID-19 outbreak. Without any significant time to formulate such a plan, that order has put the area community’s in upheaval. While some school districts are scramblin...
In response to a news conference last Thursday, when growing concerns about the coronavirus prompted Governor Steve Bullock to declare a state of emergency. During his news conference at the state Capitol, Bullock said: “Now is still the time to continue to plan, not panic. Just like we do with any challenging situation when it hits our communities: we stick together, we make sure we mitigate the impact, and we have an appropriate response. If we do all that, we can slow the spread when it comes.” In consultation with Governor Bullock, the MUS...
In a science unit on ecology, Ms. Emily Scofield’s third graders at Meadowlark Elementary School studied biomes. To assess their understanding of the information taught, Ms. Scofield invited each of her students to create a diorama of a biome—an ecosystem where plants, animals, insects, and people live in a certain type of climate. The Earth supports multiple biomes, with the five major biome classifications being aquatic, desert, grassland, forests, and tundra. However, scientists typ...
Data from the National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP), often referred to as "the Nation's Report Card," prove that those who read the most, read the best. Without reading comprehension skills, the reader is limited in his or her ability to gather information and use it effectively. For school age readers, however, the idea of reading for pleasure often gets derailed by various assigned readings for school subjects and the sometimes over-scheduled commitment to extracurricular activiti...
To mark the opening of their newly remodeled physical therapy space and to showcase what they offer, the Sweet Memorial Nursing Home (SMNH) will hold a Grand Re-Opening event on Wednesday, March 25 from 3:00-5:00 p.m. Sweet Home Administrator Rebecca Shackelford, who has been on the job since December, invites the community to come out to see the facility, to enjoy cookies and punch, and to meet and visit with the physical therapist and his staff. Physical Therapist Christopher Jenness, known as...
During their meeting late last month, the Zurich Association of Parents (ZAP) stuffed 382 envelopes with an information letter and registration form about the Zurich Elementary School's All-Class Reunion to be held this summer on June 13. The group was especially grateful to Keith Hanson, who donated envelopes and stamped them. Through that gesture of generosity, the group saved $100 in postage. In other event-preparation business, Brandon Nissen reserved the Chamber of Commerce's big tent,...
For the next three weeks, March 13-14, 19-21, and 26-28, area residents are in for a theatrical treat with evening showings of Mamma Mia, a Montana Actors' Theater (MAT) production directed by Angela Pratt and featuring three individuals with Blaine County roots. Bonnie Ortner will play the role of Rosie, Jay Pyette will personify Harry, and Michelene Edwards will sing in the choir. The two characters will be joined on stage by the following cast members: • Donna – Angela L Murri • Tanya – Rac...
In an Awards Ceremony on Monday, March 2, several students at Meadowlark Elementary School were recognized for their achievements earned during the month of February, which had been designated as I Love to Read Month. Seven students were also awarded with Kindles for their reading achievement. School librarian Mrs. Kelsey Harry announced that Meadowlark Elementary students took and passed a total of 901 Accelerated Reader (AR) tests. The class with the most tests taken was Mrs. Edwards' first...
The Chinook Chapter of the FFA and fourteen other schools in the Judith Basin district travelled to Harlem High School on Tuesday, February 4 to compete in the Judith Basin Spring District Contest. In a report of their performance, Advisor Robin Allen shared that Chinook's Senior Mechanics Team-comprised of Ryan Meenely, Christopher Jungers, Ben LaVelle, and Rielly Weigand-placed sixth, Rielly Weigand captured ninth overall as an individual, and Landen Beck tried Agronomy for the first time....
The Zurich Association of Parents (ZAP), the group planning the Zurich Elementary School All-Class Reunion scheduled for June 13, met on February 5 to firm-up their reunion plans. They discussed issues related to getting the word out, developing a registration form, executing a pie-making plan, finding a new Master of Ceremonies, designing t-shirts, and designating other event-related tasks. Their next meeting is scheduled for February 24. As a result of their fundraising efforts and the generosity of the community, ZAP has $2,400 in the bank....
When the Blaine County Fair Foundation learned that their semi-formal prime rib dinner and dance fundraiser was scheduled for the same night as the Seed Show Banquet, they changed the date of their event from Saturday, March 14, to Friday, March 13, at 6:00 p.m. in the Commercial Building at the Blaine County Fairgrounds. "We're grateful that the band booking was flexible," Fair Manager Debbie Ramberg reported. Although the Fair Foundation is putting on the event, which is in response to the...
Beginning at 7:30 a.m. with coffee and donuts on March 18 and concluding at 5:00 p.m. on March 19, the Little River Institute at MSU-Northern will be hosting an Indigenous Gathering in the Student Union Ballroom (SUB) on the campus in Havre. The Gathering is a call to action for all educators and leaders—including youth—throughout Indian country to share the work of reconnecting American Indian youth to their ancestral roots so that they can flourish. The event is the collaborative effort of the Little River Institute (LRI), the Montana Dep...
Earlier this month, Director Grant Olson announced the cast for the touring dinner theatre that will travel throughout the region from mid-March to the beginning of May. Auditions were held Monday evening, February 3, at the Montana Actor’s Theater (MAT) on the campus of MSU-Northern for three female and two male roles in the original play Ticked Off written by Rachel Hutchison. Chinook resident Anjenette Hawk landed a role in the show as the Great Tiki. Ticked Off is a tale of star-crossed lovers. The plot revolves around whether a love b...
March Madness, the moniker given to the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) Men's and Women's Basketball Tournaments, captures the concentrated hype from the second week of March through the first week of April when 68 teams vie for college basketball's biggest prize in a single-elimination tournament: the national championship. On Selection Sunday, March 15, the NCAA Division I Men's Basketball Committee will reveal which teams have made the field for this year's basketball championships and then release the seeding and the bracket...
On March 2, Chinook Junior High School will host the Music District 7 East Junior High Band Festival. Attended by more than 200 students from Big Sandy, Box Elder, Chinook, Fort Benton, Havre, and North Star, the Festival will culminate with a concert at 6:30 p.m. on Monday night in the Floyd Bowen Gymnasium at Chinook High School. The student group will form two bands: an Intermediate Band, directed by the local band directors; and an Advanced Band, under the direction of guest conductor Susan Walker. A retired music teacher, Walker has been...
The first female from the Fort Belknap Indian Reservation to win a national championship in boxing, eleven-year-old BreeAnn Cochran captured the 119 pound 2020 National Silver Gloves Title in Independence, Missouri, on February 1. On February 10, the Fort Belknap Indian Community (FBIC) Tribal Council honored Cochran for her distinctions along with Frank LaTray, the first male national boxing champion from Fort Belknap. Cochran, who is a member of the Hays Amateur Boxing Club, defeated Emily...
On Wednesday, February 5, Advisor of the Chinook Chapter of the FFA, Robin Allen learned that three of her members: Shyla Benzing, Torin Cercle, and Ben LaVelle had received SAE Grants from the National FFA Foundation to start a supervised agricultural experience (SAE) in Animal Systems. Allen also reported receiving grants from the Masonic Foundation and the Montana FFA Foundation for upgrades to the welding stations in the Chinook High School shop. On February 13, she learned she had also won...
On February 24, Region II of the Comprehensive System of Personnel Development (CSPD), in partnership with Havre Public Schools, will offer free training to schools that are not only new to the multi-tiered systems of support (MTSS) process but to Montana Behavioral Initiative (MBI) schools who are making the transition to MTSS. Interested participants should register by February 20. Retired school psychologist, Carla Heintz and retired special educator, Sandy Elmore will present Making the Transition: MBI to MTSS at the Best Western Plus Havre...
Although the International Morse Code of …---… was chosen as the international distress signal by the nations who met at a maritime conference in the early 1900s, the sequence of three dots and three dashes followed by three more dots really isn’t supposed to stand for the three letters SOS. The code string was simply a unique signal that would transmit clearly and quickly via telegraph and wouldn’t be confused for other communications. Today, it is the universal signal to attract attention, signal distress, and ask for help. In contemp...
Fifty-one spellers from across the county qualified for the Blaine County Spelling Bee on February 5. The event was held in Chinook High School's Lloyd Sweet Auditorium and was directed by Blaine County Superintendent of Schools, Valerie White. After twelve rounds, Mekayla Brown, who is a seventh grader at Chinook Junior High School, was declared the winner. Hadessa Hofer, an eighth grader at North Harlem Colony Elementary School captured second place, and Gracie Honey, an eighth grader from...
Mrs. Courtney Bell, the physical education teacher at Meadowlark Elementary School is leading students in the Kids Heart Challenge, a program of the American Heart Association. Once the pledges are counted and winners determined, school officials will hold a Slime Assembly to celebrate on Monday, February 17 at 2:30 p.m. The heart health program was introduced on February 3 and will end on February 14. The Kids Heart Challenge offers several physical activities to get students’ hearts pumping. Bell has integrated three of these into her PE clas...
In celebration of its Tenth Anniversary, the Plant a Seed . . . READ Program is hosting a Crunch for a Cause promotion in partnership with Taco John’s to raise the importance of reading aloud to preschool children. The event will take place from 5:00-7:00 p.m. on Thursday, February 13 at the Taco John’s location at 505 First Street West in Havre. The organization is also inviting people to join the March 21-Day Challenge to help build a universal read aloud habit. When a patron brings in a copy of the organization’s Crunch for a Cause flyer fro...
In honor of I Love to Read Month, Meadowlark Elementary will be celebrating the entire month of February with prizes for 80% or higher on Accelerated Reader tests as well as with a grand prize drawing at the end of the month. To further promote reading, students will be participating in other various activities. The Accelerated Reader (AR) program is a computerized program that tests reading comprehension. Students select books at their reading level, read independently, and take an independent, computer-delivered comprehension test. Every...
Competitors from across the state faced off in a showcase of imagination, creativity, quick thinking, oratory skill, and acting talent in seventeen different events during the State Class B-C Speech and Drama Tournament, hosted by Bigfork High School on January 31-February 1. When all the frayed nerves were once again settled, winners were announced and awards presented. Chinook High School brought home two titles and a fourth place in Drama Sweepstakes while the Dodson and Hays-Lodge Pole Co-op...
As one of the 2020 Mid-Winter Fair events, the Montana State University Extension Office sponsored a program called Ranchers’ Round-Up on February 6-7. The program was held in Room 213 of the Returning Buffalo Building on the Aaniiih Nakoda College campus. Beginning at 9:00 a.m., coffee and donuts were served. Following a welcome and introductions at 9:30, the Nakoda Aaniiih Credit Agency (NACA) not only provided Youth Finance Training but shared some details about Youth Akiptan Loans. Stationed in Eagle Butte, South Dakota, Akiptan is a N...