We've Got The County Covered
We've Got The County Covered
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The Chinook and Harlem Libraries, in conjunction with Montana Humanities, are hosting stories and songs by Bill Rossiter in his presentation titled “Home, Home on the Ranch: Farm and Ranch Life in Story and Song.” The program, through songs and stories, illustrates the less glamorous but more enduring side of life on the ranches and farms in Montana. Both programs are at the respective libraries: Chinook’s performance is Wednesday, April 26, at 7pm, and Harlem’s is Thursday, April 27, at 7 pm. There is no charge to attend the program. Rossite...
Reporter’s note: Each time I attend the Blaine County Fair I’m impressed with the gaggle of kids following around a lady who’s wearing wild face makeup and outlandish, bright colored clothing. She’s usually pulling a cart full of surprises or has a bunch of surprises laid out on a table to entertain kids. Whatever she’s doing, the younger set is drawn to her like a magnet. Folks familiar with the Blaine County Fair, particularly if they have little kids or grandkids, know this ‘Pied Piper of Montana kids’ as Pippi the Clown. Thinking abou...
NBC Producer Samantha Wender spent part of a week in early March visiting with Blaine County residents across the county. Last week a crew revisited Blaine County to do filming for a story about how citizens in a county equally split in the last presidential election "can coexist." In addition to Wender and a film crew, Correspondent Harry Smith interviewed citizens who had visited with Wender earlier in the month. The NBC team filmed in Blaine County for two days. Harry Smith, who first...
If plans by the Chinook High Future Farmers chapter (FFA) work out, a community garden should be ready for this year's gardening season. CHS Vo-ag teacher Robin Allen said the garden spot, across Illinois street to the east of the high school, will have 26 raised beds, each 12 feet by 12 feet. There'll be a common shed for storing hand tools and water will be available. The FFA members plan to have plots available by May 1. A garden plot can be rented for $15 per season and garden season will ru...
Eric Owens began his duties as Blaine County Deputy County Attorney on March 6. Owens is a native of Anchorage, Alaska and a 2015 graduate of the Alexander Blewett III School of Law at the University of Montana. He learned about the deputy's vacancy from Jordan Sabo, who previously held the position and was a friend from law school. Sabo is now living in the Bozeman area. Owens came to Montana to attend law school. After graduating from the U of M he returned to Alaska to find legal work. He sai...
When Montana’s sole U.S. Representative, Ryan Zinke, was appointed and confirmed as the U.S. Secretary of the Interior, filling the vacated Congressional seat fell to the state political parties to select candidates and Montana’s 56 counties to fund the special federal election. The political parties have made their candidate selections, Governor Bullock has set the election for Thursday, May 25 and now the counties are preparing to hold the election. Back in mid-February a bill was introduced in the Montana Senate (SB 305) that would all...
A two-day instructor training to teach survival strategies for violent intruder or active shooter incidents was recently concluded in Chinook. The training opportunity, organized by the Blaine County Sheriff's Office, was presented by the ALICE Institute Training group. ALICE Institute has been conducting this type of training for more than 20 years. Blaine County Undersheriff Frank Billmayer said he thought the training was "great and very useful" and provided attendees with a lot of new...
Visitors to the Chinook Pharmacy might have seen the new 'dime store horse' at the front of the store. The mechanical horse is a fairly recent acquisition by Kelcey Diemert, who owns and operates the pharmacy with wife Nancy. Kelcey said, "I saw this horse for sale online. I'd always wanted one of those old timey horses and ended up buying it." Anyone of a certain age will recall the coin-operated kiddie rides that stood out front many businesses in the 1950's and 60's. Rides came in many...
Micah Conner, a nine-year old from Chinook, recently celebrated his birthday by making a donation to help dogs and cats in local animal shelters. His mom, Amy Gerky, said, "Micah did the same thing on his eighth birthday last year. We had just moved to Chinook and didn't yet know about PAWS so he gave his birthday donation to the Maclean Animal Adoption Center in Great Falls." This year he gave a donation to PAWS (Pets Are Worth Saving), in Chinook, as well as Maclean. PAWS shelters dogs, Maclea...
Bidders at the recent 2017 March Madness Calcutta spent a total of $23,707 to purchase 64 teams that will be bidding for the national college basketball championship. The tournament will conclude on Tuesday, April 6, when the championship game is played. In its seventh year, the Harlem-based Calcutta is sponsored by the local Civic Association. The annual event is the major fundraiser for the community group that uses its share of the proceeds for a number of projects in and around Harlem. Assoc...
Officials with the Harlem Golf Association say the Harlem Golf Course is in financial trouble. Association Treasurer Ralph Schneider said, "Our annual projected expenses, over the next five years, exceed our normal income by $20,000+ each year." He described fundraising plans that club officials hope will save the course that first opened in 1992. Outlining the financial challenge that must be met to open the course this spring, Schneider said, "We've projected income of about $47,000. That...
From the latest musical entertainment on television and in Nashville to pies and breads by some of the best bakers in the area, the Montana Seed Show provided plenty of fun, entertainment and activities for all ages. Despite a serious return of winter snow and wind, guests made the trek to the Harlem High School for the annual event. There was a wide array of commercial and non-commercial exhibitors, health screenings, lots of giveaway prizes, food and raffles of every color and stripe. Veering slightly from the normal dedication of the show...
Each year members of local ambulance crews review and practice their Mega Code skills. A Mega Code training session is designed to assure crew members can successfully aid and transport a heart attack victim. Recently Blaine County ambulance crews, along with invited medical providers from other local health care facilities, completed a five-hour review using a series of simulated situations to practice and hone their skills. About 30 people participated in the training. Dan Friede, Co-crew...
By Steve Edwards BCJ News Locals visiting the Sweet Medical Center during April are likely to see a familiar face. James Miller, who graduated from Chinook High in 2009, is completing work on a Master of Physician Assistant program and will be doing a family practice rotation with the local clinic. Clinical rotations give students experience in various aspects of medical practice. At CHS Miller was active in football, wrestling and track, held several offices in FFA and served as class...
There were a number of competitions during the annual Montana Seed Show in Harlem. Here is a list of the barebones details—events and winners as listed in the program for the Saturday night banquet. Educational Display Booths: Youth Division Groups: 1st place, North Harlem Elementary; 2nd place, Big Flat 4-H and 3rd place, Valley Clovers 4-H. Individual Division Groups: 1st place, Andrew Rasmussen and 2nd place, Daniel Rasmussen and Skylar Powell. Overall Sweepstakes Winner was North Harlem Elementary. Commercial Booths: For Profit winner w...
The Chinook branch of Wells Fargo will cease operations on Wednesday, May 17 at 12 pm. That will end a century of banking by the successor banks to the original Blaine Bank of Montana that was chartered in 1916. Wells Fargo's Julie Fogerson, Montana Regional Communications spokesperson, said from her Boise, Idaho office, "The closure is the result of an evaluation of our network in the region." Wells Fargo announced plans to close about 200 branches, nationwide, in 2017 after closing nearly 100...
The Blaine County Wildlife Museum celebrated its 25th annual banquet last week at St. Gabriel's Catholic Church. The annual dinner and auction is the major fundraiser staged by the museum's board and staff. Banquet tickets sold out early in the week. A mild winter evening also helped draw a large crowd. Downtown, at the museum before the actual dinner, ticket holders were invited to tour the Wildlife Museum on Indiana. Kurt Wohnsen and Liz Marshall, owners and operators of Acorn Exhibits, were...
Last week the American Lutheran Church hosted the Chinook Chamber's first Business After Hours of 2017. It was the second time for the local congregation to host the event and the 'rerun' did not disappoint with an opportunity to hear about ministries the church is doing. Add to that fresh lefse, off the griddles as guests arrived, and an assortment of finger foods. It was a great evening with lots of visiting and catching up with neighbors and friends. Jen Hellman, Chamber Secretary, welcomed...
Samantha Wender, a Producer with NBC News, spent part of last week in Blaine County “listening to folks, doing some filming and research.” Wender’s interest in Blaine County has to do with a story she plans about “how folks can coexist when their political views are so evenly split.” If and when a show is completed, it would be shown on NBC’s TODAY show. Blaine County is one of only a few counties that met Wender’s criteria for a visit—“where the vote for President in 2016 was divided between the two candidates by only 50-100 votes.” There was...
Reporter's note: Last year Blaine County Wildlife Museum Manager Tammy Edwards told me Kurt Wohnsen and Liz Marshall would be returning to complete the last major diorama exhibit for the wildlife museum. They completed the first diorama, the Buffalo Jump, in 2001. Wohnsen and Marshall, husband and wife, are owners of Acorn Exhibits, LLC, through which they do dioramas, props and sculpture work for clients across the U.S. During this current visit, in addition to the major completion of the Footh...
Visitors to, or travelers going by, the Bear Paw Battlefield, south of Chinook, may not be aware but the south part of the entrance sign was taken down, refurbished and erected again during the winter. It's a project supported partially by funds from the Friends of Bear Paw, Big Hole and Canyon Creek Battlefields (Friends Group) with some labor and materials donated by Sam Jaha of Jaha Painting in Chinook. The project is one of many that the Friends group has provided over the years to enhance...
Chinook Lions Club members Richard Cronk and Jon Martin recently visited the Meadowlark Elementary first-grade classes of teachers Courtney Bell and Kasie Gandenberger. The Chinook Lions were on hand to continue their clubs four-decade tradition of giving a miniature flag to each Meadowlark first grader. Club President Cronk told the students, "We always like to give the flags around the time of Presidents Day." Martin is a new club member and also serves as principal at Meadowlark. Before...
Greg Jergeson, D- Chinook, a former Montana State Senator and Public Service Commissioner, is one of three new appointees by Governor Steve Bullock to a four-year term as a commissioner on the Montana Transportation Commission. Jergeson is the new commissioner representing District 3 which covers roughly an area from Phillips County to the east and Glacier County to the west and south to include Great Falls and the Helena area. The commission, a quasi-judicial board, has five members, each of...
Reporter's note: I spoke with Wendy Warburton, Blaine County Fair Manager, just before the February monthly meeting of the Fair Board. She said the 2017 fair would be held July 12-16 this coming summer. The schedule will follow the new format that was first introduced last year, but there also some new twists. Warburton was very excited about plans for the next edition of the fair. While some plans are not finalized, she was able to share some reflections on last year's fair and describe some...
Montana’s county election administrators and county officials are anticipating an upcoming special federal election. Montana’s only member of the U.S. House, Representative Ryan Zinke, has been tapped by President Trump to become U.S. Secretary of the Interior. If and when Zinke resigns his congressional seat, Montana Governor Steve Bullock is required to call a special federal election to fill the seat. That election must occur between 85-100 days of Zinke’s official resignation date. Blaine County Election Administrator Sandra Boardman said,...
