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I just returned from a real vacation. You know the kind that energizes you while you’re gone. The kind of vacation that when you get home you don’t need to take a vacation to recover from your vacation. But, let’s face it, it isn’t pretty here, yet. It’s still gray. There is blue sky and sunshine, but no flowers, and although the trees are starting to bud, no vivid green. Harriet Ann Jacobs says, “The beautiful spring came; and when Nature resumes her loveliness, the human soul is apt to revive also.” Nothing gives me a better lift then the...
Reinhard Bold has been wrestling since kindergarten. This year he is in the seventh grade. That means he has already committed 8 years to his sport. This year he won the Montana State AAU wrestling in the 125-pound weight class. This allowed him to travel to Des Moines Iowa to wrestle in the U.S.A AAU National Middle School Tournament. He was given an All-American award for winning five matches out of eight. He traveled with Team Montana out of Havre. There were three teams each with 22...
Play practice for " Bed Time Stories" started February 21st according to Vanessa Janssen. Although it has been a "lot of hard work", there are many reason for the excitement in the air. Backdrops found in storage at the school from a play given 25 years ago will be repurposed. Jessica Jaramillo, the Big Sandy High School Art Teacher , and her classes will repaint the backdrops. The art class is also making two trees and some rocks for the play. The new lights will be installed next week and...
An organizational meeting was held to promote T-Ball again this summer which will start at the beginning of May. There will be two practices each week Tuesday and Thursday. Rachel Baumgarn is president, Morgan Simpson is vice president, Stephanie Overbay is secretary, Petra Yirsa is treasure and scheduler, and Vanessa Jansen is the safety officer. The coaches are Ronnie Simpson, Sean Jansen, and Colby Baumgarn which are required to receive safety training. They are looking for other volunteers...
Head Coach of the Big Sandy Pioneer Track team Melanie Schwarzbach asked me to interview the assistant coaches this year. She believes their commitment to the kids is incredible. There are 20 athletes out for varsity track this year and she appreciates all of the volunteer effort the assistant coaches give the athletes. Bernie Ellingston has been involved in Big Sandy Track for 15 years. “I love every minute.” He didn’t want to talk, except to say, “it keeps him young and involved.” Shersteen Cline has been the coach for the javelin for three...
Tyler Schwarzbach, Hope Gasvoda, and Everett Works took their science projects to State. Hope and Evert took home silver awards. Tyler Schwarbach received the American Meteorological Society Award, and the University of Montana Environmental Science Award. Tyler's science project was determining how much weed spray was detected in snow samples. His conclusion reads: "The experimental hypothesis can be accepted. Statistically significant quantities of glyphosate were detected in snow samples...
I’m sitting under a temperate rain forest tree and remembering this year’s Montana Winter. I have always loved moss growing on trees, so sitting by a carpet of moss lifted my spirits. Many of the trees are still bare, but they are almost ready to burst, buds ready to pop their leaves or their flowers. Here, in Oregon, it looks like the blossoms come first, before the leaves. It’s 67 degrees out and if you aren’t in the shade, its hot. The path we walked yesterday was “muddy”—not Montana muddy, but you did pick up some red clay and dead leaves o...
So, let's talk roads, and not because no-one is talking about them. A small attempt at humor. Recently on television and radio, and in the Havre Daily Newspaper it has been reported about how Hill County Commissioners are applying for the BUILD grant. I stopped in Fort Benton to visit with the Chouteau County Commissioners; Clay Riehl, Bob Pasha, and Daren Schuster about the Grant. The BUILD (Better Utilizing Investments to Leverage Development) provides DOT Department of Transportation to help...
Connie Reichelt will be taking her advance Spanish class to Jaco, Costa Rica, April 9-18. The Box Elder High School English teacher Kelsey Miller will also be going. Although many of their students have been out of the country, it is only been to Canada. So, traveling by plane, going through four airports has them a little anxious. They are excited for this "trip of a lifetime." After they arrive they will be bussed from San Jose International Airport to Pumilio House in Jaoc, Costa Rica where t...
On March 21st Erik Sietsema's had a book signing event at the Roadhouse Diner. Posters were made saying to come and celebrate with a local author Erik Sietsema's "The Curse of the Vassal Fruit". They had a special hamburger creation made especially for the day; "The Curse of the Bacon Sauce". A hamburger made with house-made bacon sauce, red onions, and hickory smoked bacon with fires or salad. Tara Beam and her husband Jason own the Great Falls restaurant. Tara represented Great Falls and the...
Nona Danreuther won the grand prize of $3,000 at Saturday's Rotary Banquet. Second Grand Prize of four tires or $1,000 in store credit at Tilleman's was won by Lyle McKeever. A glider chair was won by Maryetta Engle. Other winners were: Melanie and Shaud Schwarzbzch with the Fairmont Weekend Getaway; Wes and Rita Berlinger won a Big Yeti Cooler and ½ Pork; Charlie Overbay won a Bradley Smoker; Golden Harvest Seeds won a Roomba Floor Cleaner; Doug and Nora Grubb won a Porch Swing, Bob...
Big Sandy Booster Club sponsored John Parker, a motivational speaker, and his daughter Taylor. He spoke to every student. Grade School students discovered how they were like super heroes. Here is a sample from the 4th grade "On Thursday I attended an assembly. It was fun! There was a speaker named John and his daughter Taylor. They taught us about not being a bully and to be a superhero. I learned a lot of cool stuff, like how being a bully can not just hurt other people. But it could hurt the...
Amber and Randy Beaudette didn't want a goodbye article written when they left, and I honored their request. I do remember on one of their last nights in Big Sandy, they were sitting in an ambulance at a football game. I went over and knocked on the window. Amber rolled it down. "OK", I said. "I won't write an article for the paper, but it doesn't stop me from saying how much I appreciate you. You are both heroes as far as I am concerned. Thank You." Last week Fire Chief Larry Ophus met me...
There is an opportunity for the residents of Big Sandy to preserve our history. I've read about Dan Cushman but to tell the truth have never read a single thing he wrote. After reviewing a number of his works, it would be an injustice to ignore his contribution to our history. In 2001 Brent D. McCann wrote this thesis called: Dan Cushman Reader Brent D. McCann for the University of Montana. The following is a brief part of the introduction to his thesis, but it also introduces the Stay Away,...
This year the grade school basketball program is trying something different. Besides just practicing after school and having games on weekends, the coaching staff want them to know that working hard in school is important. So, each week a student will be chosen after a game as Student Athlete of the Week. Prior to each game teachers will be visited with to determine the effort each athlete is making in the classroom, if their efforts on the floor matches their efforts in the classroom they will...
"Agriculture is the most healthful, most useful and most noble employment of man." –George Washington Agriculture has from the beginning of our nation been the driving force of our country. During President Washington's day, the population was around 2.5 million and everyone depended on the land for survival. In 2019, we have fewer than 2.2 million farmers and ranchers that feed a U.S. population nearing 330 million and a global population of 7.6 billion. The fact is they have enormous r...
Kira Witmar was born in the Philippians. She was raised in New Mexico. She served in the Air Force and moved to a few states. After the Air Force, they moved to Missouri because her husband's family is from there. They were planning a vacation, coming to Big Sandy to meet the Bahnmiller family where her husband had applied for a job, when the job opened up at Big Sandy High School. She called and asked for an interview. She has taught for 4 ½ years in Missouri. She started teaching in...
The F.E. Miley Gifted and Talented Program held a Science Fair with presenters form the 4th, 5th, and 6th grade. The 4th grade presenters were: David Morsette with "M&M Survival Challenge; Keira Oats with "How Big Crystals Get!"; Quinn Rodewald with "Does Shoe size really Affect Distance of a Football?; and Elaina Weaver with "Coke and Mentos Explosion". The 5th grade presenters were Brianna Terry with "How does Heart Rate Change with Exercise?"; and Griffin Terry with "What Liquids Make Ice Mel...
Brion Torgerson's praises his team for creating an agronomy program available to all farmers no matter what color of tractor they drive. "We are always looking forward into the future and asking where do we think the Ag business is going. Four years ago, we looked at Ag markets in the future. There really are two areas that will define agriculture in the future: Agronomy and Precision. We are always going to have parts and services at Torgersons, which is the back bone of our business. When it's...
I saw him in Grocery Store. I just had to ask. The day and the night before there had been a terrible blizzard, "You calving yet?" "Yes, we had seven yesterday. I came in for a quick lunch and went back out and there were three babies born in the snow bank. I just threw them in the back of the pickup hoping I would remember who belonged to who." Last year was terrible, and this year.....worse because the negative temperatures. I can't imagine caring like the ranchers do about their animals and...
Kelly Haaland, Superintendant of Big Sandy Schools, said, “I was at the elementary (school) and received a call about ten minutes to twelve. Someone had written on a girl’s bathroom stall, ‘Shooting at 1:00’. I came over to the high school and told everyone we were in a lock down status, called 911, looked at the videos, and interviewed some girls. I’ve had training, but this is the first real shut down I have participated in.” Big Sandy High School has a policy concerning a shutdown and they followed it exactly. Every student has practiced a...
Bob Nelson who has been known by Mr. Rotary, joined Rotary in the fall of 1983, 36 years ago. He joined because he has always been a believer in service organizations. Here he could see if he wanted to be involved in the community of Big Sandy, Rotary was the organization to join. "I could see what a difference it was making in the community. And it was actually doing what a service organization should be doing." There are at least three most influential projects he is participating in while he...
I had to ask how does one help change their attitude during the long frigid days and being stuck in house for hours like everyone did last month. After researching attitude adjustment, I did find some helpful suggestions, I thought I would share, because let’s face it living here now with this weather is depressing. It is for me, and I can’t image what it is like for those who have to be out in the weather all day, all night long. I’ve been watering outside animals with frozen water hoses and pipes. Furnaces have stopped working. Pickups breaki...
Calista Worrall 6th grade teacher was recently notified that her funding request at DonorsChoose.org was funded. This is the second time she had applied for funding through the organization both last year and this year it was to help with supplies for the 5th and 6th grade basketball program. This grant needs to be used for a non-school program, which the grade school basketball is. All grade school basketball games are not supported financially by the school. It is a grant that is supported by donors from Anonymous Missoula, Mt; Donna Lane fro...
I have always been impressed with spelling winners, primarily because they spell words I can't. I've never been able to spell. I loathed the times when I would ask my teachers how to spell a certain word and they would tell me to go look it up in the dictionary. The problem with that was I usually had no idea what letter the word started with let alone the extra letters in the word. I find it fascinating we now have spelling programs on the computers which will underline a word in red if it...