Articles written by Steve Edwards
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South of the Border
Whitlash, Montana. Ministers new to a church typically make an early effort to identify and contact all the church and/or family members who are living in assisted living or nursing homes. The reason...
South of the Border In the Sweet Grass Hills
Columnist's note: Alert readers will recall that mid-December my wife Sherry and I moved to Whitlash. For the next year Sherry will be the "pastor in residence" for the Whitlash Community...
Event offered hassle-free holiday decorations and food ideas
Last week the Blaine County Library in Chinook held its 27th Annual Hassle-Free Christmas program. The event offers simple to make holiday decorating tips, holiday music and a Christmas-time story....
Community Thanksgiving serves nearly 200 guests
Betty Billmayer, one of the primary organizers of this year's Community Thanksgiving dinner in Chinook, wrote of last week's holiday gathering, "It was great but we couldn't have done it without all...
Locals prepare for licensure as Emergency Medical Technicians (EMT)
Blaine I, the ambulance crew that serves the Chinook area, started a planned 180-hour class to license new Emergency Medical Technicians (EMT). The class began the first week of November and meets...
Connie Zanto serving as new Director at Harlem Senior Center
Connie Zanto was recently appointed the new Director at the Harlem Senior Center. The Landusky native who spent most her adult life in Malta replaced Katie Noel. Noel has served as director at the...
Bank Heist: First Escape Room on the Hi-line now open in Chinook
Alert locals may have noticed a new sign on the front of 516 Indiana-the north half of the brick building just south of Edwards Funeral Home. "hi-line escape" is the newest addition to the growing...
Retired Presbyterian minister and "Journal" reporter headed to Whitlash for a year
Reporter's note: In mid-December my wife, Sherry, and I will be leaving Chinook to live in Whitlash, Montana for a year. She'll be the "pastor in residence" at the Whitlash Community Presbyterian...
Chinook's 1950's era Diesel Diner to be repurposed in Rudyard
A short history of the Diesel Diner/Trail Café/Betty's Diner/Sugar Shack Alert "Journal" readers may recall a February, 2015 story about Chinook's original Diesel Diner. The 'rail car diner' was a st...
Hi-line senior travelers visit the Black Hills of South Dakota
Reporter's note: During the second week of September 43 travelers from along the H-line enjoyed a week's bus tour to the Black Hills in South Dakota. The travelers represented 27 different...
2018 Industrial hemp production in Blaine County: Part 2
Reporter's note: A story about the recent first harvest of industrial hemp in Blaine County appeared in the September 26, 2018 issue of the "Journal." That story described the 200 acres of industrial...
Chinook's 2018 Community Dinner set for Thanksgiving Day on the 22nd
Betty and Mark Billmayer headed up their first Community Thanksgiving last year. The Billmayers are back to head the annual holiday dinner for a second year aided this year by Kathy O’Brien and Jay...
Seasonal work in an Alaskan fishery: "the key to making money is overtime!"
Reporter's note: For a couple of years my wife and I lived in the Seattle area. Reading the local papers I was always curious about the ads for temporary help on fishing boats, on canning ships and...
2018 Montana Angus Tour a big success along the Hi-Line
The 44th Montana Angus Tour is history. This year's tour, sponsored by the North Central Montana Angus Association (Hill, Blaine and Phillips County Angus breeders), drew 200+ registrants from 17...
Blaine County Sheriff's race heats up with BBQs and pig roasts
With regular ballots to be mailed on October 12 and general election voting set for the polls on Tuesday, November 6, the two contested offices in Blaine County (sheriff and open county commissioner s...
Blaine County's first hemp seed crop harvested under new state guidelines
Dick Nicholson recently harvested 200 acres of industrial hemp. The crop is a first for Blaine County under a provision of the national Agricultural Act of 2014, also known as the 2014 Farm Bill....
Road trip to Montana Preservation Alliance's 2018 "Roadshow" in the Flathead
Reporter's note: In our efforts to do Montana-based road trips, in early June my wife and I attended a four-day "Roadshow" put together by the Montana Preservation Alliance (MPA). The MPA is a...
Two new employees join the Blaine County Library staff
Patrons at the Blaine County Library in Chinook are being greeted by two new faces. Kelsey Buhmann Brown, who grew up in the Zurich area, and Kadie Dahl, a fairly recent newcomer to Chinook, have...
44th Annual Montana Angus Tour set for north central region, September 18-20
The 44th annual Montana Angus Tour is set for our area during September 18-20. The annual event brings together as many as 400 Angus breeders and others connected to the breed to view Angus cattle,...
The mystery foam at the Grande Villa's outdoor fountain is solved...this time
Alert readers may recall two photos in the September 5 issue of the "Journal" of the mysterious foam at the outdoor fountain at the southeast corner of the Grande Villa's grounds. Regarding the...
"New" fire truck delivered to Blaine County for rural fire protection
Two Montana Department of Natural Resources (DNRC) employees recently delivered a rebuilt 2008 Freightliner Type II Water Tender to the Blaine County Shop in Chinook. The fire fighting equipment is...
Blaine I Ambulance to offer Emergency Medical Training (EMT) course this fall
Blaine I, the ambulance crew based in and serving the Chinook area, plans to offer a basic Emergency Medical Training (EMT) course starting in the fall. Those who complete the 180 hour in-class...
Looking forward to the 2018 Sugarbeet Festival? Let's also take a lookbackward
This year's Sugarbeet Festival, set for Friday and Saturday, September 7 and 8, will be the thirteenth edition of Chinook's celebration of the humble sugarbeet. The first festival was held in 2005....
Chinook ambulance crew to offer ECG baseline testing at upcoming Health Fair
The Chinook ambulance crew, in conjunction with the Sweet Medical Center, will be offering baseline heart testing during the health fair at the Sugarbeet Festival on Friday, September 7. Ambulance cre...
New "Chinook Plus" phone app will help Chamber members help customers
A new tool to help customers connect with Chamber Area businesses is now available. Chamber President Sarah Pratt created Chinook Plus, a new phone app that replaces the former "coupon book" used to...
