We've Got The County Covered
We've Got The County Covered
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By Steve Edwards BCJ News Diners at JUMP's mystery meal, in late February, enjoyed a throwback to the old "Flintstones" TV series. The winter mystery meal has become a favorite with locals who enjoy a bit of mental challenge while enjoying a nice meal and visiting. Costumed servers, in Flintstone-themed outfits, seated guests and offered menus. Each guest had to select from a list of 17 items with Flintstone-related names, list them in one of three courses and hope that the pasta came before the...
By Steve Edwards BCJ News Reporter's note: Doug Hayes, the Chinook High teacher who guides trips to Washington, DC, was telling me about a visit he made to the National Museum of the Marine Corps. Not a regular stop on Hayes' trips to DC, he said, "There is a connection between the Marine Museum and Chinook. The Museum has a statue of Howie Miller when he was in Iraq." Hayes told, "The only time I was there Perry and Pauli Miller were on the trip, they wanted to go to the Museum to see the...
By Steve Edwards BCJ News Reporter's note: I first met Charles Devaney last year at the Harlem Seed Show where he had an exhibit about UAV's-unmanned aerial vehicles (more commonly now called UAS, for "unmanned autonomous systems"). Devaney was visiting his mother, Bev Devaney, in Harlem and decided to share some of his passion and knowledge about the new technology that was in the newspapers. Readers will recall, at the time, the amount of negative press some UAS users were getting as they...
Employees at the First Bank of Montana, in Chinook, created a display about domestic and sexual abuse. The exhibit has information about symptoms and signs that a person might be in an abusive situation. There are phone numbers for help and ways a victim might get to a 'safe haven.' The display's center piece is a large, purple ribbon-a symbol worn and shown to make people aware of domestic and sexual violence. Theresa Zarn, a customer service rep at the bank, said, "I got interested in raising...
March 30 was designated as Welcome Home Vietnam Veterans Day in 2011 by the U.S. Senate and, the same year, by the Montana State Legislature. The date, based on the 1973 Peace Accords signing, recognizes the day the remaining American troops in Vietnam arrived back home. This is the 40th anniversary of the Peace Accords and a number of celebrations are planned nationwide and at the Montana state capital building. Some 36,000 Montanans served during the Vietnam War, from 1959-1975. 268 Montanans were either killed in action or died from...
Alex Sprague is one of three Young Adult Volunteers (YAV’s) spending a year in Chinook, part of a program supported by five local churches. Sprague grew up in Wilmington, Delaware and got the idea to build and share a labyrinth with the Chinook community during Holy Week. In his home church back east he said the labyrinth is not a maze, though it has that appearance, but is rather a symbolic form of making a pilgrimage, walking a path ascending towards salvation or enlightenment. The history of labyrinths There are an estimated 2000+ l...
Sweet Medical Center is a Patient Centered Medical Home (PCMH), having met the guidelines of the National Committee for Quality Assurance (NCQA), the largest national certifying group with more than 7000 recognized primary care facilities. In 1967 the American Academy of Pediatrics introduced the ‘medical home’ concept—put simply, a way of organizing and providing primary health care “in a way patients want to receive care.” Since the inception of the model, national medical organizations developed strict guidelines for primary care facilitie...
Reporter's note: Since I wrote a story about the Hi-Line Fur Auction, in February, 2015, I've wanted to learn the rest of the story...how trappers work. I met John Holmes, a local trapper, while doing a story at a reunion involving several long-time families in the valley. Holmes said he would take me with him to run his traps in the spring. We finally connected when he was headed out to check and set beaver traps in mid-March. This is what I learned about one part of the trapping work John...
The Montana Actors' Theatre will launch its production of "To Kill a Mockingbird" during the weekend of April 8-9. Three actors from Chinook will be in the play and there are other strong connections between the production company and the town. The play will be presented eight times during a three weekend period in April. "To Kill a Mockingbird" "To Kill a Mockingbird" was published, as a novel, in 1960. Harper Lee, the author, wrote the novel based loosely on her observations of her family and...
Reporters note: Brain Awareness Week (BAW), celebrated every March, is a global campaign to increase public awareness of the progress and benefits of brain research. Jon Martin, the Principal at Meadowlark Elementary in Chinook, invited me to one of several presentations hosted by Chinook schools that gave students a glimpse of the fascinating brain research currently in progress. The presentation I attended was for the third grade classes and the focus of the program was Pleo, a computerized...
Article information from unapproved council minutes. The Harlem City Council held its regular monthly meeting on March 16, 2016 and heard updates on the wastewater upgrade project, specifically the progress in permitting city-owned land as a source for fill on the new lagoon. Advertising for summer employees for the city, a proposal to buy a used garbage truck available in California and the status of the used fire truck to be purchased was also discussed with action taken. The Council was called to order by Mayor Bill Taylor. Council members...
Information from unapproved minutes of March, 2016 Fair Board meeting. Four months remain until the opening of the 2016 Blaine County Fair in mid-July. That may seem like a long time away but fair organizers are feverishly working to complete plans for the annual event. During its March meeting Fair Board members discussed and approved a number of regular events and many new ones. This information is a preview and still subject to some changes before the fair opens officially on Wednesday, July...
The Cancer Support group, which meets monthly at the Chinook Senior Center, hosted Joe LoDuca as the featured speaker in March. LoDuca is the Chief Administrative Officer for Benefis Health System's Cancer and Heart & Vascular Institutes. He started with Benefis in 2004 when the building that now houses the Sletten Cancer Institute was first under construction. He now is responsible for the cancer, and heart and vascular services of the Benefis system. In his remarks LoDuca said he saw the...
Reporter's note: One of the upsides to a long distance road trip is seeing how things are changing in the world of transportation. I'm referring, in this case, to changes being made to semi-truck rigs, tractors and trailers. I'd noticed the addition of trailer skirts several years ago. But on a trip to Seattle I noticed, for the first time, sheet metal looking flaps attached to the rear of cargo trailers-trailer tails. When I saw the first trailer tail I thought it was a homemade device someone...
In a move to “communicate with people the way they get information” the Blaine County Sheriff’s Office recently launched a new phone app for smartphone users. Described by the developers as a “tool to provide current and critical two-way communication between law enforcement and the community” The free app will provide a number of communication avenues to improve the safety of county residents and send information about emergency situations that arise across the county. Sheriff Glenn Huestis first learned about the app while attending...
The Meadowlark Parent Teacher Organization held its annual carnival and spaghetti dinner recently in Chinook. Organizers said the event was very well attended, with a large number of families on hand for a spaghetti dinner and the games and carnival events that followed the meal. The annual event is the major fundraiser for the PTO that uses all proceeds to support special projects for the school. Teachers and volunteers set up many of the popular games from years past. Jon Martin, Meadowlark...
Reporter's note: When my wife and I moved to this area I was not familiar with the annual Montana Seed Show held in Harlem. My first year attending I was a bit overwhelmed trying to take in all the activities and events. By the second year I had a better understanding of what would and did happen during the show. This is my third year attending and rather than try to report on every event, I decided to highlight some of the new events and reflect a bit on the activities that happen every year,...
Story notes from unapproved minutes. During its regular March meeting the school trustees approved 2016-2017 contracts for current staff and teachers and hired two new teachers to fill vacated positions. The first annual evaluation of first-year Superintendent Darrin Hannum was completed. New policies regarding bereavement for classified staff and a change in the travel policy for junior high students were also approved after final reading. The Chinook School Board met March 8 for its regular monthly meeting. Chairwoman Miller called the meetin...
Representatives of the Montana Community Foundation were in Chinook last week to award grants to the Food Pantry and PAWS. The foundation helps more than 75 Montana communities to create permanent philanthropy and build strong communities. Since the inception of the foundation some 8,000 grants, totaling $18.6 million, have been awarded to participating communities in the state. This year's local awards were supported by an 'endowment in perpetuity' created by Warren Ross several years ago....
As part of the Harlem Library's regular Learn at the Library program, two local spinners recently did a demonstration of the ancient art of making yarn. Chris Thurman and Jeanni Powell set up their spinning wheels, showed examples of different yarns and their uses, explained some of the tools of the trade and demonstrated how yarn is made on two different types of spinning wheels. A freezing fog likely limited the audience turnout, but those who came to watch were impressed with the complexity...
The Chinook Area Chambers' March Business After Hours was hosted by the American Lutheran Church. Now in its third year, the After Hours program allows chamber members a chance to showcase their business or organization in a relaxed setting after regular operating hours. Despite several other events on the same night, a sizeable number of guests came to learn about the congregation that first organized in the early 1930's. Danny Pratt, part of the group that organized the event at American...
The 48th Annual Governor’s Conference on Aging will be held in early September. For several years, during a special luncheon at the conference, Montana’s centenarians are recognized. Conference organizers are asking for help in identifying Montana’s centenarians, especially those who are veterans. In the last national census conducted in 2010, there were 175 Montanans who were 100 years old, or older. That number is expected to rise to 3,000 by the year 2025. By recognizing Montana’s elders and honoring them, the folks who work with the sta...
Come spring Kenley Tempel, the two year old great granddaughter of Don and Marilyne Berger, will be getting her new playhouse delivered-from the Berger's garage workshop in Chinook to Kenley's yard in Joplin, Montana. The half year plus project to build the playhouse started when Kenley's parents, Britney and Matt, asked great grandpa Berger, "When are you going to build a playhouse for Kenley?" Berger's response, "I started thinking about building a playhouse." That was last fall and by the end...
Reporter's note: I recently learned that Linae Jensen, of rural Chinook, and her friend, Ruth Stewart, had gone to Madrid, Spain last November on a sales trip. Turns out they were at the show in Madrid to sell the miniature items Stewart creates and sells through her Fort Benton-based business called Stewart Dollhouse Creations. The business makes and sells items that enthusiasts use to decorate dollhouses and make miniaturized decorations. It's a big business that thinks small. Stewart and Jens...
From its inception part of the purpose of the Montana Seed Show was to showcase local products raised in the area and to pick the 'best of the best' during the annual event. The winners of the various Seed Show competitions were listed as follows in the program for the closing dinner and closing ceremony held on Saturday night of the event. Educational Display Booths:. Youth Division Groups: first place to Valley Clover 4-H; second place to the Dodson School and third place to the Big Flat 4-H....
