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This Memorial Day week reminds me of Memorial Day's most powerful lesson learned. I was in Washington DC making the rounds of all the memorials. There is very little talking while you soberly view each monument. My father was in the Navy and served during the Korean War. It was important to me to see the Korean War Memorial. I walked slowly, quietly, thinking of my father and his experience. His job was to watch where the bombs landed. So he saw women and children, besides soldiers, being torn t...
State track is a powerful experience for athletes. The large stands are full and the fans loudly support every attempt. Even the last one in the event is clapped for. Usually ever athlete is pumped up and doing their best. Sometimes the stress just makes their muscle fail them. They'll be back next year. Big Sandy did well. An older gentleman who has been involved in track, told me "if you make it to state you are better than over 100 other athletes in that event. Imagine that we have 16...
Concerning the new pool, Diana LaBuda asked the Council to look over the bullet points she sent out regarding the draft Interlocal Agreement with the school over the lease of the land where the pool will be built. She would like their replies by May 20. Mayor Schwarzbach had some questions about the length of the lease. Diana will go over some of the agreements with a member of the board and will send out any revisions to the Council. Second Reading of Ordinance 2021-01 (Junk Ordinance): There were no further public comments. Rich Jespersen...
It was raining for two days. All surfaces needed to be swept or blown off more than once during the Divisional Track meet. To make it to the state meet is a significant accomplishment. Many also had their best times and distances. Much celebration during the two-day event. Athletes must place in the top six to be allowed to go to state. Alex Worrall ran the 800 meters in 2:39.64 for 6th place and her best time. She also did her best time in the mile run, 6:09.74 for 6th place as well. Angela...
Dan Wirth is a sixth-generation Montanan and running for Chouteau County Commissioner as a Republican. He was born and raised in the Belt area until his family took over my grandparent's ranch and relocated to Wolf Creek, Montana. Dan moved to Chouteau County in 2005 and has lived in District 2 for 17 years. His family currently lives on Antelope lake Road out of Floweree. Dan's wife works in Fort Benton, and he has two sons attending Fort Benton Elementary School. They enjoy being part of the...
By Zoe Merrill The following awards and scholarships were given to Amiya Griffith; Heisman Award, Montana University System Honor; Montana STEM/ Healthcare, Youth Serve MT, Masonic Scholarship, American Legion Government Tests 1st Amiya Griffith, Masonic Treasure Lodge, FFA, Shannon Green Memorial, and Grosen Family. Cooper Taylor and Lainey Terry received the HOBY award. This year's Girls State Delegate was Amaya Edwards. Tavie Wortman received the DAR Good Citizen School Winner, Elanie...
It's been 16 years since the Lady Pioneers have taken first place at the 9C District track meet. It was a goal they had set for themselves, and it took a total team effort to do. It's been a challenging year for the boys and girls pioneer track teams with lousy weather and numerous track meets canceled. They had to practice indoors when the weather wasn't cooperating. They struggled through sadness with the loss of their friend, injuries, frustrations, and sometimes even indifference. But most...
Last Saturday, at Pepin Park in Havre, Montana, it was a little cloudy and rained even, but The Shiver Brains played their hearts out. The Shiver Brains, made up of Levon Myers, Henry, and Dorothea Merrill, Liam Simpsom, Lexie Jones , and Eden Pansch. Tavie Wortman played guitar to help them out. They are learning to sing, play guitar, drums, keyboards, and rhythm instruments at the Rock School. They sang Louie Louie by the Kingsmen, Should I Stay or Should I Go by The Clash, Smells Like Team Sp...
The Cascade Top 8 track meet was held in Great Falls by invitation only for those in B and C schools whose athletes were in the top eight in their fields. Big Sandy Pioneers sent 11 athletes. Alex Worral took 4th in the 800 meters with a time of 2:48.45 and 5th in the 1600 meters with a time of 6:12.15. Angie Sant took 6th in the 800 meters with a time of 2:50.02 and 9th in the 1600 Meters with a time of 6:35.05. Eva Wagoner took 7th in the 200 meters with a time of 28.82, her best this season. She placed 4th in the 100 Hurdles with a time of...
At the last city council meeting, there was once again the discussion about dogs running loose, and the question was asked about why we cannot fix this problem. Below you will find a section of the ordinance that deals with animals within the city limits. The original ordinance is six pages long, and you can find it on the Town of Big Sandy web page. There remain at least two significant issues. You cannot just complain about it or talk to a deputy; you must sign an official complaint before the deputies can do anything about the problem. Last...
In the 49 years I have lived here, I have never experienced such a show of Big Sandy's talented artists. A Week of Art filled the fireman's hall completely! It was amazing to see the talent I have heard so much about. Monica Winderl, the art teacher at the high school, has told me for three years how amazed she is with the artistic talent we have in our schools. She has a master's degree, so I believed Monica when she told me how good the students were, but seeing how good they blew me away. I w...
Many track meets were canceled, but they are sure making them up now. Last week they had three track meets, one in Havre, one in Chouteau, and one in Great Falls. I love watching track when the weather is nice, and these three meets had real nice weather. It's difficult to report on track meets because the number of athletes is crazy this year. At the Havre meet, they had 500 athletes, and I thought it was a long day, primarily because they had prelims and finals. However, the Great Falls meet...
The meeting started with public comments by Kristie Rutledge, who is concerned about the morale at the school. She believes it affects not just the kids but teachers and community members. Travis Baumann said the new WiFi would be here in the middle of June. They discussed next year’s school calendar; it will start on August 22 and end on May 31. The new superintendent search currently has three applicants. They have decided to ask the MT School Board Association to help find new qualified candidates. Darin Genereux discussed the policy of c...
Brett Holmquist graduated in 1992 after four years of being a star basketball, track player, and football player for the Pioneers. Everyone also knew how good he was at music. He went to Concordia College in Moorehead on a choir scholarship. He stayed there two years but transferred to U of M to finish his teaching degree. Brett is still making music. "I've been coming back to Big Sandy to visit with Gramma Helen, Nathan, Chris, and Josh." A year ago, Stick and String were recorded at RD...
When I first moved to Big Sandy to a farm out southeast. A huge cottonwood tree greeted everyone at the start of our farm. Over the years, the tree was poisoned by weed spray from airplanes spraying the crops right above it. It finally died and stood for years with its white skin against the blue sky, but ultimately, my husband cut it down. Years later, I saw what I thought was a fantastic picture-a sunflower growing out of a dead tree stump. I've come to understand its message to me. We...
On a cold, windy day in Choteau, Montana, 24 schools attended a track meet. It was well attended because a track meet was not canceled. Although the Pioneers didn't have anyone running in the 100 meters, just to let you know how huge the meet was, 89 high school boys ran in the event. Big Sandy was missing a large portion of their team while participating in the Music Festival in Havre. Others traveled to Bozeman to watch Kade Strutz play in the Bobcat gray and gold scrimmage. In the 100, 53...
The town of Big Sandy held its regular meeting on April 7, 2022. Colby Baumgarn offered his resignation as councilperson from Ward 2. Jon Sheehy offered his resignation from Ward 1 because he moved to a different area of town. Krystyl Kulbeck moved to appoint Danielle Weaver as councilperson for Ward 1, replacing Jon Sheehy. Jon Sheehy was then appointed councilperson for Ward 2. There were 14 members of the town of Big Sandy present. Chuck Williams from KLJ said he was contacting ACME for a fir...
Two new board members have volunteered to serve on the board of directors. Brenda Darlington was voted in at the beginning of the monthly meeting. At the end of the meeting, Terry Grant was asked if he would be a board member, and he agreed. The majority of the meeting was spent reviewing further financial information. Pat Matthews has done an excellent job of getting the late bills paid and ready for the auditors to arrive the week after Easter. There was a large group of people there, showing once again how everyone wanted the center to...
It's that time again. The Big Sandy Barracudas held a fundraiser during Rotary's Easter Bunny Egg Hunt (which was held indoors due to the weather). The Barracudas served 134 people at their event. The Big Sandy Barracudas raise money for the team through fundraising, donations, and registration fee for the swimmers. This year the sign-up period to join the swim team will be a month-long. The registration will start on April 25th through May 20th. There will be forms located at The Bakery and...
Track in Montana has always been a mix of snow, rain, wind, or hot sunburn weather. When I went to Fort Benton to watch the Pioneer's first track meet, I went into Lehman's, and it started to snow. They said, "Lorrie, you brought the snow!" And I said, "No, there is a track meet in town today!" Everyone laughed and agreed with me. It did snow a little and was a cold day for track. The Pioneers were down several athletes as many were on an FFA trip. They also had five athletes down with...
I have enjoyed getting to know Shon Tester. I knew him as a child growing up here, but it is a wonderful experience to visit with him now whenever he sits down and visits. He always has something creative happening around him. His latest, of course, was Pirate of the Prairie, Rotary's fundraisers. If you went to the event, you saw the pirate ship he made himself, which covered the south wall of the gym. The Junior class helped decorate, but e said of Amia Edwards. "She really ponied up. She is a...
Big Sandy Organics received a new grant for $400,000 for expansion. Thomas Dilworth said, “We have a few (in Big Sandy)that have expressed interest (in selling us some land) but no guarantees. I want to stay here, I have an offer in Fort Benton, but we want to stay here.” Thomas has been working on grants since October. That’s his job at Big Sandy Organics. They have received the following since January of 2022: Growth Through Agriculture $50,000, Job Creation Grant—$82,000, and the grant for expansion. That totals $530,000 in three months....
Big Sandy Senior Center Board of Directors is looking for a new center director. Crystal Geyer had an opportunity for a new job and has given her resignation as of April 1st. (This is not an April Fool's joke.) The Board will be having meetings the week of April 4th to discuss their next moves. At this time, the dates of an open center are not known. They will have the center open as quickly as they can legally open it. If you are interested in being a cook or a director, please contact any...
I found myself surrounded by art in the high school art class. Monika Winderl, a high school art teacher, is thrilled to be telling me about the First Annual Art Week coming April 29- 30 down at the Big Sandy city hall. All events start at 7:00. She has artwork from all her students starting before covid through this year-over 300 pieces of art. Photographs, acrylics, pencil drawings, wood burning, and various venues will be shown. Monica wants to showcase the talent we have in this town. It...
A Big Sandy Senior Citizen Meeting was held on March 22. Local members attended it well. Board members present Gloria Godfrey, Pam Gasvoda, Dee Pribyl, Pat Matthews, and Lorrie Merrill. Susan Bender from North Central Area Agency on Aging, Inc. District Ten was present along with Kerrie Reidelbach, DPHHS State Unit on Aging Director, from Helena. She also brought with her Nutrition Program Manager Nichole Thennis. Before the meeting, the board met with Chouteau County Commissioners and Steve Gannon County Attorney, as requested by Susan...