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Whenever I watch a television commercial or read about a new product making amazing claims about how a new medicine or kitchen gadget will change my life, I find myself asking “Does it work?” I read reviews, reach out to friends who have tried it, or just buy it to see if the hype is real. Usually, I find that the answer to the “does it work?” question is “sort of.” Arthritis miracle cures sort of relieve pain. Weight loss miracles sort of shrink my waistline. Kitchen tools kind of perform as...
Big Sandy Schools is participating in Red Ribbon Week this week, an annual event where schools work to inform students of the dangers of drug and alcohol abuse. Dianna Keane, the school counselor, is organizing this year’s activities. She explained, “Red Ribbon Week would be a week that we use to help students give them facts and awareness about drugs and alcohol and how that it can affect them. We use it as a way to create awareness, but then also provide some tools to help kids. Things lik...
The Chouteau County Angel Basket Program provides in-need families with food for Thanksgiving and Christmas dinners, as well as Christmas gifts for children in the homes. The deadline for signing up is November 1st and it is approaching quickly. For years, the program has provided families in our area with groceries, a gift certificate, ham and beef roasts, and (sometimes in years past) turkeys. The program also is associated with the Angel Trees, which provides gifts for kids in the families...
F.E. Miley's First Grade Students were greeted by a new face when they showed up to class at the for the beginning of the school year. Long time Big Sandy resident, Renee Leader, stepped in to fill the role left by Mrs. Hanson. Katie Hanson shifted from full time teaching to a slot on the substitute teaching roster. Renee came out of retirement this year to help care for the needs of our first graders. The move came after a change in the teachers' retirement system, which allows teachers to...
After The Last Supper, not long before Jesus was arrested and turned over to be crucified, he taught a flurry of last lessons to his disciples as they traveled to the Mount of Olives to pray. Perhaps one of the most powerful things he said at that time was recorded in the gospel of John: “A new commandment I give to you, that you love one another: just as I have loved you, you also are to love one another. By this all people will know that you are my disciples, if you have love for one a...
After a few years without a pastor, Christ Lutheran Church is hiring Kristie Rutledge part time. She will be providing pastoral care to members and preaching two Sundays a month. Her first day on the new job was Friday, October 6th. The new role comes as Kristi is wrapping up her Licensed Pastoral Associate Program, which will conclude this June. "I started my LPA program over two years ago now through the Montana Synod of the ELCA (Evangelical Lutheran Churches of America)." Kristi is...
Before every meal I ate with my family growing up, we would pray the Lord’s Prayer. When I was young, I don’t think I really understood what it meant. But as I got older, it made more and more sense to me. One line that I understood early on, but have grown to appreciate as containing all kinds of depth is, “Give us this day our daily bread.” When I was little, I believed I was praying for God to make sure we had food to eat every day. It’s the most straight forward way to understand the prayer...
Mike Schneider, owner of Jim Taylor Motors, lost over 200 pounds in the last two years using an unusual strategy. The change was so drastic that long-time friends didn't recognize him, even after he approached and conversed with them upon returning to Florida recently. Mike attributes his success to a different approach to weight loss. "I've had more people reach out to me on this than anything I've ever done in my entire life, which is just crazy." His motivation in sharing his experience is...
The Montana Actor’s Theater (MAT) will be holding its annual fundraising dinner theater event, Death By Chocolate, this Saturday, September 23rd at 5:30 PM in Havre. The evening will include dinner, a murder mystery, previews of the season’s shows, and dancing. The audience will have the opportunity to guess who the murderer is and win a prize. The event theme is a play of the 80’s television series “The Love Boat: The Like you Very Much Ship.” Instead of the Pacific Princess, guests will board...
Every summer, I am blessed with the opportunity to drive a swather for a friend of mine in the church. I know many farmers consider swathing to be as interesting as watching paint dry, but I enjoy it because it gives me an opportunity to get away from cell phone reception and my regular work commitments. Swathing days are 8 to 10 hours of time to think and breathe without any pressing concerns or emergencies to deal with. Every time I go out to drive, my friend reminds me of the same rule:...
Belt High School is looking to expand its high school clay shooting team this academic school year. The unusual High School sport opportunity is entering its second year and coaches are hoping to expand the program by involving 7th and 8th graders in the program. Last year, the team included students from 9th to 12th grade. The team is also looking to expand their opportunities by encouraging other North Central Montana schools to join in the fun. I met Phil Lodge, the coach of the Belt Clay...
In the Bible’s account of Israel’s journey to the promised land from slavery in Egypt, the people reached the bank of the Jordan River and prepared to enter and conquer their new home. Before entering, they sent in a dozen spies to check things out. When they returned, the report they gave was mixed. On one hand, the spies went on and on about how rich and bountiful the promised land was. They affirmed God’s promise that it was a land flowing with milk and honey. On the other hand, the major...
F.E. Miley Elementary school has a new 2nd grade teacher for the 23-24 school year. Bonnie Bauer came to Big Sandy from Great Falls with 9 years of classroom experience under her belt, including several years in Great Falls schools and 6 years in Sydney, Montana. Bonnie has lived in Montana since 2007, when her family moved to Great Falls. She attended High School there, but went on to explain that the majority of her childhood was spent moving around the country. "I kind of grew up all over....
The Belt Performing Arts Center held its 3rd Annual “Beltstock” concert over the past weekend. The family friendly concert ran from 4 to 10 PM and featured three highly entertaining musical acts. The event is a fundraiser for the Belt Performing Arts Center. I attended with my wife, daughter, and one of my daughter’s friends and would heartily recommend adding the 4th annual Beltstock to your plans for next summer. Casey Dawson, who is the treasurer for the Belt Theater Board, spoke with me ab...
Early Sunday morning, I went for a 3 mile run. I typically run with my dog, who is nine years old and has learned our running route and routine completely through thousands of repetitions. For a change of pace, I decided to take my daughter’s puppy along for the outing. The puppy is about a year old and very difficult to walk because she is quite strong and still has the characteristic puppy distractibility. This means that you spend a lot of your walking time stopping to wait for her to d...
The Elevating Grains Bakery will be opening for business Monday, August 28th. Going forward they will be open Monday to Friday at 6:30 AM. Their operating hours will be subject to daily traffic patterns and experimentation to see what works best. The bakery will primarily offer coffee drinks, with a more limited supply of baked goods. Emily LePinnet, who owns and operates that bakery, explained the new approach to the business. “I’ll continue doing some baking throughout the week to fill cus...
With the start of the 2023-2024 school year, several new faces will be visible at Big Sandy Schools. One new face will be familiar to locals. Linda Finke will be taking on special education at the High School and returning to school herself to earn her Masters in Special Education. Linda filled in as Amy Terry's full time teacher's assistant last year, when the teacher shortage resulted in our school only having one Special Education teacher. This year, Linda will be earning credentials and...
For a couple of weeks in April, an abandoned dog, likely a German Shepherd/Yellow Labrador mix, caught the attention of the Big Sandy community. The puppy spent his days walking up and down the highway, chasing mini vans and pickups looking for its owner. More than a few locals put out food for him and spent time trying to lure the puppy away from the highway. The Big Sandy Needs and Yard Sale Facebook pages were active with discussion of near captures and locals offering to take in the puppy...
Over the past few months, The Mountaineer has heard reports of unusually large numbers of toads turning up on farms in the prairie west of town. Those who have shared information with us have joked that the unusual phenomena resembles one of the plagues in the book of Exodus. I began looking into the matter, thinking it might be an interesting bit of local ecological news, and learned that a similar population spike took place in town a little over a decade ago. Digging into the last century of...
Over the past month, I have been researching and preaching on Jesus’ temptation in the desert in Matthew 4. The story takes place right after Jesus is baptized, and God proclaims that Jesus is His son. From the baptism, the Holy Spirit led Jesus into the wilderness where he fasted and prayed for 40 days before he was tempted by Satan in various ways. There are three temptations and each is loaded with significance. However, for this article, I want to zero in on one specific aspect. In each t...
Montana Actor’s Theater (MAT) is trying something new with their 2023-2024 productions. On Saturday, August 26th from noon to 5 pm MAT will be holding company auditions for the first half of the coming theater season. This is an opportunity for potential actors to audition for multiple shows at the same time. In addition, it’s a chance for those who have never participated in a MAT production to try out for multiple shows. According to the MAT homepage, holding auditions for multiple shows simul...
In the coming days, parents will engaging in the annual tradition known as school shopping. The school typically puts out lists to guide them in their efforts. This year, my daughter is leaving the elementary school and starting her educational career at the high school. On several occasions, she has expressed a degree of worry about the increased academic difficulty that will come with her new school setting. In response to her concern, I have started preparing myself to help her through...
When I moved to Big Sandy a little over a decade ago, I understood little to nothing about farming. When friends and neighbors discussed harvest, I didn’t properly grasp all of the implications of that part of the work year. On a few occasions, I’ve helped out with different jobs and experienced the grinding hourly demands. Year after year, I’ve talked to locals about the stress of cutting, equipment repair on the fly, eating while working, watching the weather, and hundreds of other challenges....
The July 29th fundraiser to support Cooper Jenkins was a huge success, raising $67,000 to help defray medical costs for the Jenkins family. That total includes only the money raised through the auctions, dinner, raffles, and other fundraising activities that took place Saturday evening. Money has also been donated through a "Go Fund Me" page and via direct deposits to the bank. At the time of writing this article, the Go Fund Me page had raised $10,500. The event was organized to aid the...
By Erik Sietsema With discussion of the impending upgrades to the north side of the High School, I found myself wondering where the Big Sandy Pioneers wagon came from and when it was initially installed in the courtyard. An inspection of the wagon itself makes it obvious that it was a working covered wagon at one time. My research into the wagon's origin began with a series of phone calls to Big Sandy alumni and long time staffers. The universal response was uncertainty. Most off the alumni...