Sorted by date Results 1737 - 1761 of 4831

It may not have been the Great Light Fight, but the MSU-Northern (MSUN) Alumni Foundation wrapped up its first Deck the Halls Challenge this past Monday when voting closed. Twelve houses in Havre and the Jeff and Lynette Finley residence in Chinook competed for the best holiday light display. In order to vote, however, admirers had to put their money behind their strong opinions. The winning house was the one that brought in the most donations. Monday morning, after an anonymous donor...

Harlem Elementary School officials expressed pride in announcing its ROARing students for the week ending December 11. According to a school spokesperson, "These exceptional students have followed the ROAR rules while being Respectful, Organized, Always safe, and Responsible. They have also performed amazingly well during this very unusual school year, as they have overcome obstacles never before encountered in school settings. For their efforts, these little Wildcats were chosen and rewarded...

Although much about the holiday season is in full-swing-with houses decorated, gifts wrapped, and cards sent, the Wishing Tree still stands a bit bare. However, the holiday season hasn't ended, so time remains to add more wishes. The Wishing Tree standing at the entrance of Chinook Pharmacy has collected a few wishes, and most are heartfelt. For example, one shared a hope that "2021 will bring comfort to those who are suffering and alone." Another tag reveals a wish that "our nursing home...

Sweet Home Physical Therapy is back in business and better than ever. After a significant upgrade and remodel to their facility, the staff is looking forward to providing the best possible care to its patients. 2020 has allowed Sweet Home Physical Therapy to complete its expansion for their outpatient clinic. The facility itself is nearly double in size and the staff is abundantly qualified to deliver top notch quality care. Physical Therapist, April Taber is new to Sweet Home Physical Therapy...

In an effort to promote the idea of shopping local, the Montana Small Business Administration (SBA) set a challenge for themselves: To visit one of the small businesses in each of Montana's 56 counties in seven days. In Blaine County, Shores Floral & Gift was the business visited on December 15 by Andy Shirtliff and Brent Donnelly on their "Peaks to Plains Business Resiliency Tour." On Tuesday afternoon, Shirtliff, who serves as Outreach and Marketing Specialist for the SBA, and Donnelly, who...

During winter break, starting December 19 and continuing through January 3, ZooMontana in Billings is offering all teachers FREE admission to the Zoo and an invitation to "Take a Walk on the Wild Side, which is the facility's motto. They will also once again be "lighting" up the holidays by presenting ZooLights 2020. ZooMontana is a zoological/botanical garden, accredited arboretum, and educational facility. Executive Director Jeff Ewelt and his staff are dedicated to the conservation of...
Montana State University Extension will host a free, annual cropping seminar series January 6, 2021 in Fort Benton, Denton, Havre, Chester, Shelby, Cut Bank, Conrad, Choteau, and Great Falls. Speakers will cover grasshopper control, antagonistic effects of herbicides, management of herbicide resistant weeds, and farm and ranch safety. Due to Covid-19, presentations will be broadcast to local locations for viewing. If producers would prefer to view the presentations at home, they can contact their local extension office for the broadcast link....

With their Fill the Sleigh competition, Meadowlark Elementary School students contributed over 300 non-perishable food items for Angel Tree families. Because the fourth graders in Miss Shandel Fouts' class collected the most food, with 140 items, they will get a Sundae Party. According to Fouts, the students conveyed excitement about the food drive. "I think it helped that the sleigh sat right inside the door, giving them a daily visual of their progress. Every morning, they would ask me how...

Area youth are creating holiday cheer by participating in traditional activities such as caroling, cookie decorating, and constructing gingerbread houses or wreaths. Traditions such as these not only nurture the spirit but are an important part of bonding as friends, family, or a community. For example, December 7 turned into Gingerbread Night 2020 at the home of Suzanne Farmer when a group of Chinook basketball players arrived after basketball practice. Farmer, who teaches third grade at...

Finley's Food Farm in downtown Chinook suffered an electrical fire to their compressor that runs the bulk of the freezer and cooler display space in the grocery store. According to owner Jeff Finley the fire began at 11:00 p.m. on Wednesday, December 9. Finley noticed there was a problem when he arrived at the store Thursday morning, " I showed up at about 4:30 a.m. to clean and realized it was eerily quiet, normally that indicates that the compressors aren't running." As he looked to find the...

The Chinook Chapter of the FFA met last week to work on setting up their Christmas tree pickup plan following the holidays. During that meeting, Advisor Karyn Billmayer learned that the Chinook Green Waste area has been closed down due to improper use. This situation resulted in the group's needing to revise their original service project by determining the trees' final resting place. In devising a Plan B, the Chapter heard from an FFA Alumni member at the meeting, Lori Swanson, who mentioned th...

The Montana Law Enforcement Academy held a graduation ceremony for LEOB Class No. 173 this past Friday. Included amongst those officers receiving certificates were two fine individuals recognizable to many in Blaine County. Brandon Murnion and Mark Kletke completed the training. The Law Enforcement Basic Course is 12 weeks long and for Murnion and Kletke that process began on September 15, 2020. Included in those 12 weeks of class instruction as well as 24 hours of online course study. One of...
Superintendent of Chinook School District, Darin Hannum released a report on Monday, December 7 to update the community on the status of the school district and to share current details about student populations and various programs. Enrollments are about average. Meadowlark Elementary School recorded 161 students. That figure is down from 204, a total which was reported three years ago. At the junior high school, 60 students are enrolled, and the high school turned in a count of 105 students. According to Hannum, these numbers include online...

At Meadowlark Elementary School in Chinook, each month the teachers choose students from their classes based on positive behavior, kindness, getting work done on time, staying on task, and otherwise exhibiting behavior worthy of recognition. These students become the month's dynamic dozen, winning Student of the Month designation. To honor their efforts, each member of this group of twelve students receives an award certificate, a profile and picture for the school's bulletin board, and his/her...
Helena - Do you know a student who could use $1,000 to help pay for their education? The Reach Higher Montana Scholarship program opens on December 1, 2020, at www.ReachHigherMontana.org. This year, the Montana-based nonprofit organization will award eighty-one scholarships – thirty awards for Class of 2021 graduating high school seniors, and fifty awards for students currently attending a Montana college or university for use in the 2021-2022 academic year. In addition, one $1,000 scholarship is earmarked for a current college student who h...

In this final month of 2020, Jupiter and Saturn, the two largest and brightest planets in our solar system, have been putting on a celestial show. Through the entirety of December, skywatchers can look up each evening to watch these two gas giants approach one another. Their apparent merging will occur on December 21, in what astronomers are calling the Great Conjunction of 2020. During this close encounter, Jupiter and Saturn will form a rare "Christmas Star" on winter solstice when the...

For the past fifteen years or more, the December newsletter at Meadowlark Elementary School has carried an announcement about packing Santa's Sleigh with food donations. It also alerts parents of school children about the Angel Tree, which typically goes up at Finley's Food Farm just after Thanksgiving. With the holiday season often focused on giving, residents find ways to share their resources. To fill Santa's Sleigh, Meadowlark Elementary School conducts a food drive. The sleigh, which was...

The Parade of Lights, a staple of the Holiday Season in Chinook, was downsized considerably due to the Covid-19 pandemic, but it still included something new. On Friday, November 27, a new business opened up in town and the community showed up in full force to welcome 'All Dahl'd Up' to the main street Chinook business community. Owner Kadie Dahl was overwhelmed by the support, "It was great, the community was really supportive. It was humbling." Kadie along with her Husband Daniel and children...

With loss so prevalent-whether considering incomes, people, routines, security, connections, or comforts-and with risk quite literally in the air we breathe, the Friends of the Pool and Park Foundation, along with Chinook Pharmacy, are proud to present Chinook's Wishing Tree. Although this tree has a variety of purposes, its focus is on hope and healing Those involved in the project invite anyone interested to simply write a wish on one of the tags provided at Chinook Pharmacy between now and De...
Turner Public School District has received two separate COVID Relief Grants, one from the Governor’s office and another from the Montana Department of Health and Human Services. Both grants will enhance educational opportunities for students in the district. Monies for the first grant came in the amount of $35,784. These federal relief dollars were made available through the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security Act (CARES) Act. Turner School District applied for this additional funding through the Education Assistance Program administ...
After nearly 40 years of a highly successful Chinook Community Thanksgiving Dinner the crew has decided to expand for 2020. Betty and Mark Billmayer, Jay Eslick, Kathy O’Brien and the whole crew are proud to announce that they will be doing a Chinook Community Christmas Dinner as well. “The Thanksgiving Dinner went so well, and I just thought this year has been so challenging for everyone, that maybe we could do a Christmas Dinner as well” Betty stated. “I talked with Mark, and he liked the idea. We then visited with Jay and Kathy and they li...

Steve and Sherry Edwards moved to Chinook in December of 2013. Soon thereafter Sherry walked through the doors of the Blaine County Journal News Opinion with Steve a few steps behind. She asked Keith and Keri Hanson, Owners of the newspaper, if they might have a need for someone to do some writing. From that point on Steve, the writer, became immersed in the community of Chinook and was out and about all over Blaine County learning all he could learn about the area. Steve published his first...

As is their tradition, Harlem Elementary School officials have selected two staff members for the month of November and nine students for the last week of November in their quest to honor inspirational actions and displays of appropriate behavior. The two distinguished educators for the month of November are fifth grade teacher, Mrs. Cathy Bear, and first grade instructor, Mrs. Rhawnee Hopkins. According to the administration at Harlem Elementary School, Mrs. Bear and Mrs. Hopkins have...
Chinook, MT: Work on US 2 between Havre and Chinook is substantially complete as of this week. Crews have finished paving the highway mainline, and have placed interim pavement markings, delineation, and guardrail for the project. Some permanent signs were installed before winter shutdown. “The Lohman East and West project on US 2 is reconstruction project designed to improve a critical stretch of hi-line roadway infrastructure. We have completely reconstructed over ten miles of US 2 and rebuilt four bridges,” Great Falls District Adm...

In a year like no other, it was even more important to organizers of the Chinook Community Thanksgiving Dinner for the event to continue. "We really didn't want to let it go. We felt like if you skip a year it's really hard to get it started again," said Betty Billmayer. Their efforts were extremely appreciated as the total number of meals served exceed previous years. "We served approximately 190 Meals, 90 delivered and 100 picked up," said Billmayer. This year's crew included Betty and Mark...