We've Got The County Covered
We've Got The County Covered
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Blaine County's Republican Party has announced several activities related to the upcoming general election and general goals of the party. Party officials have already hosted visits to the area by gubernatorial candidate Greg Gianforte and his running mate from Malta, Leslie Robinson. Party Treasurer Karla Buck and Committee Chairman Don Richman shared several events planned by the party. A raffle for a pair "His and Hers" pistols has been going for some time. The raffle features a .40 Smith...
Customers visiting Chinook City Hall will see a familiar face at the service counter. Peter Pula started as Assistant City Clerk on September 6. He will work with City Clerk Carol Floren at city hall. He grew up in Chinook. Pula graduated from CHS in 1988 then attended Concordia College, in Moorhead, Minnesota, where he earned a bachelor's degree in English Literature and Business. After several years working in banking and insurance he served as Blaine County's Weed Coordinator from 2006-2013....
The Chinook Assembly of God congregation will be hosting a celebration marking the church’s 80 years of ministry in Chinook. Organized in 1936, the Gospel Chapel ultimately incorporated with the Assemblies of God (AG) and became the Chinook Assembly of God. The celebration is set for Sunday, October 9 and will include a regular worship service followed by a meal and time for remembering. Pastor Josh Seymour, who was installed as the local pastor in late June of this year, said everyone is welcome to all activities. From Chinook Gospel Chapel t...
Father Felix Nayak who worked with three Blaine County parishes is being reassigned to St. Mary's church in Malta. He will still be ministering in Blaine County since part of his duties will include responsibilities at St. Paul's in Hays, St. Thomas in Lodge Pole and Sacred Heart at the Agency. Nayak is a native of Orissa, India and first came to north central Montana in June, 2012. Since 2012 Father Nayak has served as pastor at St. Gabriel's in Chinook, St. Thomas the Apostle in Harlem and...
Loaves and Fishes, the summer feeding program for kids in Chinook, completed its last week of this summer's activities with the traditional 'thanksgiving luncheon' and a final evening meal that ended with a distribution of school backpacks. This was the sixth summer for the program that is supported by several churches that are a part of the Chinook Ministerial Association and community members who provide volunteer and monetary resources. Organizers say this year's attendance was above...
The “Mountaineer” and the “Blaine County Journal” are now being printed at the “Havre Daily News” printing facility in Havre. Keith and Keri Hanson are co-publishers of the two local newspapers. Keith Hanson said, “We’ve been printing the two newspapers on our own press here at our facility in Chinook. Starting a week ago we’ve moved the printing of our newspapers to the Havre operation.” Hanson said the two papers had been printed in Chinook since the installation of a web press in 2004. Hanson added, “The only reason we’ve moved the printing...
Students following the Career/Technical Education (CTE) graduation track at Chinook High now have the option to earn college credit for classes they are taking in high school. CTE classes are designed to prepare students to move into the workforce after graduation from high school. The dual enrollment option allows students wishing to pursue career and technical education at the college level to begin a college program with credit already earned while in high school. The Chinook program is a collaborative effort with Montana State...
Members of Nydia Nile Chapter #12 of the Daughters of the Nile hosted a visit by the Montana head of the charitable group. Queen Diane Boley met with the Chinook-based club over lunch, then drew winners for the local raffle items. The Daughters of the Nile is a national group supporting Shriners Hospitals by providing items for children treated at the 22 orthopedic and burn-treatment Shrine Hospitals. Local Daughters of the Nile President Amy Belle Smith said the local group was able to send...
The Chinook Christian Men's Group will host its first gathering on Saturday, October 1. The ecumenical group started last year to give local men, from any or no church, an opportunity for meet with fellow Christians in an informal setting for learning and fellowship. Programs last year ranged from a session on how to sharpen a knife to information about local pulse crops as the Year of Pulse Crops was celebrated world-wide. The first program for this year will be hosted by the Chinook Assembly...
Thirteen Future Farmers of America (FFA) chapters sent representatives to the Judith Basin district leadership conference held last week in Chinook. Each fall the Montana student FFA officers and advisors take the half-day leadership training program to the eight FFA districts that make up the state organization. CHS's FFA advisor, Robin Allen, said all but one of the district chapters attended the conference. Students were divided into two groups, one for the upper classmen and another for new...
It's a tradition that each Sugarbeet Festival parade is led by a Parade Marshal who represents the industry being featured during the current celebration. With this year's salute to the railroad industry in the area, it seemed natural to have a retired railroad employee head up the parade. This year Bob Cross, who retired from BNSF with 33 years of service, along his wife Pam, will be at the front of the procession to greet spectators as the parade passes through downtown Chinook on Saturday...
Last year Kendra Seilstad, the MSU/Blaine County Family and Consumer Sciences Agent, oversaw the Dutch Oven Cooking Contest for the Sugarbeet Festival. It was her first year of involvement with the cooking contest and she said, "I was shocked that there was only one team participating. We had prizes for the top three winners. I decided to do something about that for the next year (2016). I figured the best way to create more contestants was to educate more cooks." Seilstad admitted she was no...
Organizers of the Sugarbeet Festival have put together a competition to drive railroad spikes and build track. Frank La Tray, a retired railroad foreman, explained the plans to allow novices to give laying rail a try. La Tray emphasized that his main goals are to keep everyone safe and have some fun. He said while some railroad spikes are still driven by hand, most of the work was replaced with powered machinery toward the end of the 1980’s. The contest at the Festival La Tray, and some other retired railroaders with track laying experience, p...
Casey Overturf is the new ranger for the Bear Paw Battlefield south of Chinook. Growing up in both New York and Virginia, he graduated from Giles County High School in southwest Virginia. He wrote, "Even though I spent more time in New York, I think of Virginia as home." Overturf currently serves as a ranger at Mount Rainier in Washington state. He will officially start at the Bear Paw Battlefield toward the end of September. After high school Overturf spent five years in the Marines. He was an...
Reporter’s note: This was my first year working at a food booth during the Blaine County Fair. Working at a booth I was surprised to learn how many volunteers it took to get a booth ready, set everything up and then run the booth. Most booths only ran four days, but the logistics and labor required were impressive. Asking around, I learned that many local non-profits rely exclusively on sales from their food booth to support activities during a typical year. A fair booth is a lot of work but the payoff is also great. I was curious to learn how...
A longtime family connection and a chance sharing of the same birth date brought together a 99-year old lady and a one-year old boy for a celebration recently at the Sweet Nursing Home in Chinook. Marybelle Miller, who grew up in the Bear Paws and later operated a photography studio in Havre with her husband, Fred, was connected to the family of Frank and Bettie Barber for many years. The Barber's great grandson, Reece Talksdifferent, shares a birth date with Marybelle. Reece's great...
During its September meeting the Chinook City Council set the evening of September 7 for the final public hearing and vote on the city’s 2016-2017 budget. A report was made about final warranty work scheduled in late September on the water treatment plant. Michael Van Voast was appointed to the airport commission, replacing Martin Williamson who retired after 32 years on the board. Peter Pula will begin new duties as the Assistant City Clerk beginning September 6. Mayor Keith Hanson called the September meeting to order. Council members p...
Lita Buck began her new duties as the Postmaster in Chinook on August 22. Buck relocated to the area from Geraldine where she worked from 2011 until mid-2016 for the Postal Service. She was the Postmaster in Geraldine when the Post Plan reduced hours at the Geraldine facility. She opted to transfer to Chinook for a full-time position as Postmaster. After graduation from Broadwater High School, in Townsend, Buck attended Western Montana College for two years. She and her husband, Rodger, were mar...
Reporter’s note: In late August wheat prices in Blaine County had decreased to a point where loan deficiency payments under the 2014 Farm Bill would be available to producers selling their wheat. That was a sign that farm commodity prices were in trouble for this harvest season. Beef prices were also in a decline after several years of healthy markets. Living in town, I wondered if this decline in prices for wheat and beef had any effect on those of us with no direct connection to agriculture. What I found, talking to several locals connected t...
Local Veteran of Foreign Wars Commander Ray Reid has a passion for recognizing and honoring veterans. He's been one of the driving forces behind the Blaine County Veterans' Memorial Park (a permanent display listing veterans from and connected to Blaine County), located in Inman Park in downtown Chinook. After 10+ years since the park was opened, Reid felt the area needed 'sprucing up' and began looking for a local group to do the tree-trimming. After some study of the size of the trees in the...
The North Central Montana Shrine Club is selling tickets for their annual beef raffle. The beef raffle and Vidalia Onion sales are the only two fundraisers conducted by the regional Shriners’ group. According to Blaine County Shrine members, the proceeds from the beef raffle and onion sales all go to support ‘sponsored patients’ from this area. Raffle winners will be drawn on September 17. During the last year nine children have been sponsored patients by the local Montana Shriners Club. The children receive treatment at the Spokane Shrin...
For three weeks the Blaine County Commissioners have been asking county departments “What is essential?” Declining non-tax revenues, sources of funding over which the county has no control, resulted in a $1.4 million shortfall that made putting together the 2016-2017 county budget a challenge for the commissioners and county departments. After budget meetings with every county department and providing an opportunity for citizens to view and comment on the proposed budget, the commissioners officially approved the final budget on Wednesday of...
Fran Hodgson is the Compliance and Health Assistance Program Manager at Sweet Medical Center. Her main task is to help people understand and use the Health Assistance Program to reduce their health care costs. In an interview describing how the Sweet Medical Center can help patients she said, "I want people know there should be no financial barriers to receiving health care locally. Once eligible patients begin a conversation with us they will find we can help with their medical costs." Because...
In a special meeting the Chinook City Council put the finishing touches on the city’s 2016-2017 budget. Council members pored through the proposed budget based on initial requests from each city department. The council will vote to finalize the budget at a public hearing on the evening of Wednesday, September 7, 6pm, at City Hall. A special meeting, held on August 15, was called to order by Mayor Keith Hanson. All council members were present: Mitch Haider; Robert Smith; Meredy Phares and Clint Greytak. Several city department heads also a...
Colorful posters announcing the schedule of events for the upcoming Sugarbeet Festival are popping up around the area. The 12th edition of the annual community event is set for Friday, September 23 and Saturday, September 24th. This year's theme highlights the railroad industry and its historical and continued impact on Chinook and the surrounding area. There will be a number of new events around the railroad theme and returning activities and contests that have become favorites over the years....
