We've Got The County Covered
We've Got The County Covered
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Matthew Gurnsey, aka The Kilted Man, presented two programs last week at the Blaine County Library. In an afternoon performance he entertained a large number of children from the summer reading program and adults, then did a second show in the evening for a predominantly adult audience. About 90 locals attended the two programs funded by memorial funds given to the library to support public programs or provide for special needs of the library. The Kilted Man now lives in Colorado and was on a to...
The Chinook Fire Department recently hosted locals to learn how to join the fire department. Chief Kraig Hansen said, "We currently have 17 firefighters (three women and 14 men) on our roster, we need 28." He added, "During the East Fork fire a lot of people helping fight the fire, told me they might like to be volunteer firefighters. We could use 10 new firefighters right now." Six prospects showed up, several with volunteer firefighter experience. Shortages of volunteer firefighters are not ju...
Library Director Colleen Brommer said there was a good turnout for the Community Appreciation staged by the Harlem Friends of the Library. Brommer said the Friends always try to host some sort of a summer event, this year it was an open house, cupcakes and summer drinks and a visit by Jack Young, local author, Harlem High teacher and library board member Young was signing his recently released book entitled "Down Range." The Friends of the Library were instrumental in raising funds for new...
Nora Conner, Outreach Coordinator with the Sweet Medical Center (SMC), earlier said she was hoping for good weather and a large crowd for the Patient Appreciation/Business After Hours event held last week. It's the third year SMC and Chinook Dental have teamed up to welcome guests and show their appreciation for community support. Last year an end of the event rain shower put a damper on things. Conner was all smiles this year with the warm and pleasant evening. Caterer Val Frank said she...
Reporter’s note: My story about the old Orpheum Theatre’s stage and John Deere Day appeared in the May 9, 2018 issue of the “Blaine County Journal.” My motivation to research and write that story was based on a letter I received from Calvin Blatter, a former resident of Blaine County who now lives in Great Falls. I wanted readers to see the letter from Calvin. Calvin (now 94 years old per his niece Leanna Blatter Johnson) handwrote the following four-page letter telling the story of why he knows there was a stage in the old Orpheum because of a...
Officials with the Ohio-based Certified Angus Beef ® brand recently invited guests to "#BrandtheBarn with Us" at the Shipwheel Cattle Company south of Chinook. The barn branding and accompanying celebration was part of a year long commemoration of the first beef brand's 40th anniversary. To honor the history of the brand, organizers planned a nationwide campaign to paint the Certified Angus Beef ® logo on 40 barns in 24 states. In Montana only the Swanson family's barn at Shipwheel...
The 2018 Blaine County Fair is history. As usual the weather was a big part of the fair, determining in large part the attendance at the fair and the success of the various outdoor events. Despite a record hot day on Friday, the weather was within norms and even a bit cooler than usual the first two days of the fair. And the weather was dry, always helpful during Fair Week. Fair Board members and event staff said they had many good comments about the fair this year. Reacting to some negative res...
Reporter's note: Last February I wrote a story about John Herndon who served as Blaine County Sanitarian from 1953 to 1983. Known locally as "Sanitary John," Herndon was famous for his stinky cigars and passions for gardening and fishing. I found many locals anxious to share "Sanitary John stories" for the article when I was writing it. John's daughter, Lucia, lives in Virginia. John left Chinook a few years ago and lives in a senior facility near Lucia. Lucia and I did a lot of communicating...
Reporters note: An invitation to a birthday party in Hamilton and my wife's attempts to learn more about our adopted state resulted in our visiting the Bitterroot Valley-the valley that runs south from Missoula along the base of the Bitterroot Mountains. Though we'd driven through parts of the valley on occasion, we'd never really taken the time to poke around and learn about the area. After three days in the Bitterroot, here's some of what we found interesting about the valley and its environ....
Matthew Gurnsey, professionally known as the Kilted Man, will perform two times at the Blaine County Library on Tuesday, July 17. The two performances in Chinook will be part of a tour along the Hi-line with engagements from Cut Bank to Malta. Gurnsey is best known for his Celtic music and has recorded individually and with bands to create a number of CDs. He grew up in a family that loved music and the fine arts. Matthew's father was a hard rock miner and the family often lived in tranquil and...
With the "Journal's" regular schedule slightly altered because of the July 4 holiday, this early edition of the newspaper coincides with opening day of this year's Blaine County Fair. Today, Tuesday, focused on the 4-H/FFA Horse Show. That event was held at the George Ortner Arena. Wednesday afternoon, July 4, the Kids' Rodeo, 50th anniversary edition, takes center stage in the arena. Many food booths, but not all, will be opening on Wednesday. Dan and Sandy McNeill have organized the Kids' Rode...
Reporters note: It's certainly not unusual to see one or more cyclists this time of year, usually pedaling east, along US Highway 2, in our part of Montana. After all, we are on the northern tier route, a very popular route that takes cyclists from Anacortes, Washington to Bar Harbor, Maine. Griffin Park, by the Chinook Water Plant and City Hall in Harlem are both popular with cross-country cyclists as good spots to camp overnight. But what I had never seen in my five summers on this part of...
Doug Hayes said his good-byes to Chinook School system colleagues at a retirement gathering at the end of school in May, then left immediately to lead a group to Washington, DC. Hayes started his teaching career in Froid, Montana, then joined the Chinook system in the fall of 1993. At retirement his career spanned a third of a century. Doug and Carmaine, his wife and high school sweetheart, were both teachers. They have four adult sons and seven grandchildren and, according to Doug, "Two more...
Sweet Medical Center and Chinook Dental are hosting a Patient Appreciation event in conjunction with the Chinook Area Chamber's quarterly Business After Hours. This is the third year the two medical providers have teamed up to welcome the community to meet the staff of the two businesses and learn about the services available. Nora Conner, Outreach Coordinator with the Sweet Medical Center (SMC), said she is looking forward to a large crowd. The Patient Appreciation/Business After Hours event...
Chrissy Downs and Jacob Huckabee, representing the local JUMP group, recently received a check for $1000 from Ray Reid on behalf of local VFW Post 4620. Reid is commander of the local VFW Post. Downs is an adult leader with JUMP, "a Christ centered youth group," and Huckabee is one of the older members of the JUMP group. Accepting the check for JUMP Chrissy Downs said, "The gift was not expected but it is much appreciated." Jacob Huckabee, a 2018 graduate of Chinook High, explained how JUMP...
Last week about 30 people joined a Montana Department of Transportation (MDT) bus tour to view completed and future road projects along US 2 from Havre to Fort Belknap. The tour was held the day before the MDT's meeting conducted in Havre. District Three Transportation Commissioner Greg Jergeson, from Chinook, said each year MDT conducts a bus tour in one of its five MDT districts. "Until this tour," Jergeson added, "only MDT officials and transportation commissioners participated in the annual...
On Friday, June 22, Blaine County Commissioners Dolores Plumage and Frank DePriest selected Tom Fairbank to complete the unexpired term of the commission seat vacated by Charlie Kulbeck. The Blaine County Democratic Central Committee met on the Monday night before and selected three names that were submitted to the County Commissioners. Kulbeck had earlier notified commissioners that he was resigning effective July 1, citing his own health challenges and family concerns. Fairbank will complete...
The new pastor recently called to serve the Chinook and Havre Presbyterian Churches is no stranger to north central Montana. In August 2012 Maggie (Margaret) Lewis came as the first Young Adult Volunteer (YAV) to serve in Chinook. After leaving Chinook she attended the University of Iowa for a time, then began the Master of Divinity program at the University of Dubuque, also in Iowa. She completed the three year program of study in preparation for the ministry in May, 2018. Both the Chinook and...
My wife and I were driving to Conrad for a meeting. Readers who have traveled west along US 2 from Blaine County know that once you leave Havre, rest stops are virtually nonexistent until you reach Chester. In the winter the situation is worse since the Chester rest area closes. A couple of hours into the trip we stopped at the Visitors' Center on the east edge of Shelby for a bathroom break (this is another rest stop that is frequently closed in the winter months). We were browsing the...
Reporter's note: In early May my wife and I rode Amtrak to Columbus, Wisconsin (just outside Madison) where we met two cousins from Iowa and then drove together 150 miles northeast to Door County, Wisconsin. Door County is a peninsula that sticks up in to Lake Michigan from near Green Bay. Our cousins had been there before for family vacations and knew their way around the peninsula quite well. We had reserved a cottage and spent a week exploring Door County. It is a major summer destination...
Searchers found the body of 35 year-old Noah Hofeldt in the Milk River outside Chinook. The Chinook native and resident was first reported by his family as missing on Thursday (June 14). Blaine County Sheriff Glenn Huestis said, “The body was found about 5:30 pm on Sunday just up river from the Chinook Waste Water Treatment facility.” That facility is on the river just south of Bear Paw Livestock. Huestis said Hofeldt was last seen “around noon on Monday.” On Sunday according to a news report on KRTV in Great Falls, Hofeldt’s mother, Carol, sa...
The Blaine County Democratic Central Committee met Monday night (June 18) and selected three names that will go to the County Commissioners. From those three names the two incumbent commissioners will pick a person to fill the unexpired term of Charlie Kulbeck. Kulbeck, representing District 3, resigned effective July 1. The person selected by the commissioners will serve Kulbeck's unexpired term-a six month stretch running from July 1 to January 1, 2019. At the end of that period a...
Statewide there was a 41.3% turnout of Montana’s 679,231 registered voters for the recent primary election. In Blaine County, the turnout was 36.1%, a bit lower than the state turnout. The 2018 primary election results will not be official until the county commissioners ‘canvass’ the ballots. The commissioners will review and confirm the primary results in the next few days. Here are the primary results as reported by the Blaine County Clerk and Recorder’s office and as posted on the Montana Secretary of State’s official website (see more resu...
Blaine County Commissioner Charlie Kulbeck submitted a letter to fellow county commissioners on June 7 resigning from his post as commissioner for District 3. In the letter Kulbeck wrote, "I unfortunately am forced to resign my position as a Blaine County commissioner due to health reasons." Kulbeck said in January, 2018, he would not file to run for a second term this election cycle citing his wife's battle with cancer and his ongoing recovery from a car accident in December, 2016 that left him...
Jessica (Hansen) Aberg was named Branch President for the First Bank of Montana in Chinook effective June 7. Dean Comes, President of the branches that make up First Bank of Montana, made the announcement after reviewing applications from within the Glacier Bank system. A native of Harlem, Aberg began with First Bank in Chinook in 2007 as a loan processor and most recently served as a consumer lender. Aberg replaces Craig Lowham who took a banking job in Mountain View, Wyoming, to be closer to...
