We've Got The County Covered
We've Got The County Covered
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Final payments were made for the completion of the downtown sidewalk improvement project and the city will bill participating businesses for their portion of the costs. Four-way stop signs were approved to be installed at the corner of Ohio and 4th Streets. A special meeting to consider the 2016-2017 budget, and other items, was set for August 15 at 6:30 pm. The Chinook City Council held its regular monthly meeting on Thursday, August 4. Mayor Keith Hanson called the meeting to order. Council members present were Mitch Haider, Robert Smith and...
JUMP, the interdenominational youth group in Chinook, just completed a week of mission service in what was described as a "destination" mission trip. Rather than joining other youth groups on large projects, this year the local group made their own contacts with orgnanizations in Helena, Missoula, Coeur d'Alene and a denominational camp on Flathead Lake near Kalispell. At each site the group did service projects for non-profits and religious groups. First stop was Intermountain Children's Home...
The “Journal” has been informed that the public event scheduled by Loaves and Fishes for the evening of Wednesday, August 10, has been canceled. Events set for Thursday noon and evening are still scheduled. Thursday, at lunch time, will be the ‘annual turkey dinner,’ a favorite every year with kids and parents. All are welcome to the turkey dinner served at noon in Wallner Hall. Thursday evening, at 6 p.m. in Sweet Park, there will be a meal provided with hunger awareness activities and singing by the children. There will be a swim party a...
By Steve Edwards BCJ News Reporter's note: Through the various Homestead Acts, some 1.6 million homesteaders settled nearly 10% of the total area of the U.S., mostly in the western states. The families of many of those homesteaders still live on parts of the original tracts settled by their forbearers. Others, for a variety of reasons, left the land. Of the latter group, it's not unusual their families still have an interest in the places where their relatives first settled and current generatio...
When my wife, Sherry, graduated from seminary, she was called to be the minister of three yoked churches in the eastern part of North Dakota. We flew to the interview and when we stepped off the plane in Grand Forks, North Dakota, we met Dick and Phyllis Clark. They were the first people we ever met from and in North Dakota. They served as our hosts during the interview process and became some of our closest friends in North Dakota. We've kept up with the Clarks through the years and recently...
Chinook Schools Superintendent Darrin Hannum said recruiting of teachers for system vacancies is going well, despite a shortage of candidates looking for positions in rural districts. Hannum explained, “Chinook has a great reputation, good community support and the pay and benefits are competitive. It’s just a fact that many young grads are looking to teach for big dollars in big cities. I feel we are doing well getting some talented, new teachers coming into our system.” Hannum gave a brief introduction for the new faculty members alrea...
Reporter's Note: I didn't know Dick Edgington, a Chinook resident who died in April, 2016. But I remembered hearing, at the time of his death, several people wondering "what do you suppose happened to that airplane he built in his house?" Recently I ran into Dick's son, Danny Lee Edgington, and asked him about the plane. He said, "Well, it's not assembled in the house, though it was at one time." Asked if he would share the story about the plane, he said he would but added, "Right now the plane...
About fifty adults and children gathered at the Harlem Library for tea with Alice (of 'in Wonderland' fame) and the Mad Hatter. The formal tea was one of two fundraisers hosted annually by the Harlem Friends of the Library. Libby Kuntz, who emceed the event, said, "We decided to host a tea. Then a friend told that her granddaughter and a friend recently were in a dance recital and had costumes ready to go. The Friends decided to invite Alice and the Mad Hatter." The library meeting room and...
Loaves and Fishes, the summer feeding program at Chinook, will be completing its sixth summer of operation with a number of activities during August 8-11, the final week of operation for this year. In addition to the Monday through Thursday regular program, there will be a food drive by the children, during lunchtime on Tuesday, a program on Wednesday night with activities and a community meal, the annual turkey dinner at lunch on Thursday and a potluck and swim party, at Sweet Park and the...
This is the time of summer when five Chinook churches would normally be preparing to welcome the new Young Adult Volunteers (YAVs) to town. The Hi-Line program connects young adults with service opportunities in the area through a program of the national Presbyterian Church (PCUSA). The Chinook site is the only site that does strictly rural ministries, other sites in the U.S. are in urban areas and some volunteers go to international sites. The local program just completed its fourth year of...
Larry Wisch, who lives in Chinook, has been taking care of three rural cemeteries since the 1980's. He works in no official capacity, he does it on his own time and at his own expense. Asked how he began doing this work, he said, "I used to take an aunt to one of the cemeteries each year. I saw the cemeteries needed upkeep and decided I would take care of them." Sometimes it's been more than just mowing and cutting weeds, he's installed stones, reset grave markers, even made name markers to go o...
The powwow season is in full swing across the west. One of the longest running powwows in Montana completed another successful run at Fort Belknap last weekend. All the planning, fundraising, promotion and hard work by volunteers paid off with another great Milk River Indian Days event. Participants and guests had a wide range of activities to watch and join. Even the weather cooperated. On a historical note, it’s said modern day powwows were first developed and staged by Plains tribes in the late 1920’s and the idea quickly spread from coast t...
Ty Simenson says, "I grew up around cowboys and rodeos, but was always most fascinated by bullfighters." Now he's a bullfighter himself and working on building a career to be a "great cowboy protector and go as far as I can go...and still move." Being able to still move is important as bull fighting is a rough and tumble sport, literally, and "old guys tend to leave the sport in their late 30's." The 2014 Chinook High grad already has a long list of injuries he's endured in his short career,...
Island Mountain Development Group, the autonomous economic development arm of the Fort Belknap Indian Community, hosted a grand opening celebration of its Ecommerce Call Center last week in Hays. The call center is a 5,200+ square foot state-of-the art facility equipped with a secure network infrastructure capable of high speed data transmission. The setting for the celebration was festive with tents, music, balloons, bouncy toys for the kids, a meal served early afternoon, tours of the new...
Mary Jane Bradbury is a Chautauqua speaker for Humanities Montana and the Colorado Humanities. Her specialty is portrayals of pioneer women who made significant contributions to their respective states and regions. She recently appeared at the Blaine County Museum and did a portrayal of Nancy Russell, the wife and business manager of western artist Charles Russell. Before the performance she said she started portrayals about 15 years ago and began doing the Nancy Russell portrayal about five yea...
Laura Shellman, a Nurse Practitioner who joined the Sweet Medical Center the end of May, made a presentation to the monthly meeting of the Cancer Support Group at the Chinook Senior Center last week. A native of Los Angeles, Shellman and her family recently moved to Chinook from Glendive, Montana. Despite growing up in a major urban area, she says, "Over the years I've come to find I really like living and working in small towns and rural areas." Before moving to Glendive Shellman worked in...
After discussion during an announced public hearing in the commissioners’ office at the courthouse, Blaine County Commissioners motioned and approved creation of a new public safety fund for budget year 2017-2018. Commissioners have been exploring ways to meet increased challenges to keep the county’s general fund in the black. The public safety fund would support the major activities of the sheriff’s office and those costs would be removed from the general fund. At least one commissioner wanted the public safety fund to begin during the coming...
The Blaine County Wildlife Museum, in Chinook, will host the monthly Business After Hours on Thursday, August 11. Sponsored by the Chinook Area Chamber of Commerce, the program gives chamber members an opportunity to showcase their organization in a relaxed atmosphere outside of normal operating hours. The Business After Hours program started in April, 2014. Short history of the Wildlife Museum The idea of creating a wildlife museum was first proposed by Bill Harbolt and Scott Mackenzie....
Each year, since the mid-1960's, the Idaho-based Appaloosa Horse Club has been hosting the Chief Joseph Trail ride. The 1300-mile trip roughly follows the route taken by Chief Joseph as he guided several hundred Nez Perce tribal members in an attempt to reach Canada and avoid moving to a reservation. The organized trail ride takes 13 years to complete, with participants completing about 100 miles each year. This was the fourth time the last 100-mile leg, starting north of Roy, Montana and...
During the regular monthly meeting of the Chinook City Council, Mayor Keith Hanson swore in Meredy Phares to fill a vacant city council seat. Council approved the final payment for the downtown sidewalk project work as well as what will be some of the last payments on the water treatment plant upgrade. A fire ordinance revision was considered during first reading. Council heard concerns from citizens about cats damaging yards and flower beds and received a request for a four-way stop sign at...
Sarah Pratt, the Chinook Chamber Secretary and Communications Director, talked to the “Journal” recently from the Chamber’s office on Indiana Street in Chinook. During the summer the Chamber is opening the organization’s office from 8-10 am, Monday through Friday. Pratt said, “Having the office open is kind of a trial run for the summer. Our hope is we will be able to serve some tourists who stop to visit our town and area.” Pratt also had other news about updated and totally new programs. Bonus Coupon Books The Chamber launched its first Bonus...
The Harlem City Council passed a resolution honoring and recognizing the work of the Harlem Civic Association, a group of volunteers formed in 2005 and devoted to the betterment of Harlem. A number of Association members were on hand to receive a plaque presented with the resolution. Council also affirmed its participation with Bear Paw Development Corporation, a group of professional planners that works closely with the city on many infrastructure and economic development projects. The regular July council meeting was held on Thursday, July...
The 2016 Blaine County Fair wrapped up on Sunday after a very successful run. Always at center stage during fair week is Mother Nature, and this year she cooperated with mild temperatures and mostly dry conditions. The opening events, including the Kids’ Rodeo on Wednesday night, were challenged by rain but despite several threats and a few sprinkles, the rest of the week was nearly perfect for fairgoers to enjoy a fair with several new wrinkles. New “Hi-Line carnival” a big hit With serious encouragement from the Blaine County Fair Board...
Anna Getten will be an eighth grader next school year at Chinook Junior High. She recently returned from Lebanon, Tennessee, where she participated in three events at the National Junior High Rodeo Finals. Anna and her mother, Tanya, described central Tennessee as "The hottest place we've ever been. We learned all about the 'heat index' and weather-wise it was very unpleasant out there." They also agreed the discomfort was a small price to pay for the excitement of competing in the national...
Reporter's note: Regular readers of the "Journal" know I make periodic road trips to the Seattle area to visit our daughter and eight grandkids. Many of those trips are via Amtrak, especially in the winter, and the rest are by car when bad roads are less likely to cause a travel problem. The last week of June I made a trip to the Seattle area, without my wife, to babysit our four youngest grandsons-age three to nine. Our daughter needed a little help as she was doing orientation for a part time...
