Sorted by date Results 1 - 25 of 47
As the holiday season unfolds, we take a moment to express our heartfelt appreciation for the good fortune we've experienced throughout the year. Here at the senior center, we extend our sincerest gratitude to all those who support us, including the grocery store that sponsors our menu featured in the Mountaineer, those who dine with us, and those who contribute their time, resources, and necessities. With December approaching, we are delighted to announce that we will be the starting point for the winter stroll. Breakfast with Santa is...
The Big Sandy Medical Center continues to see growth, change, and improvements. The Rural Health Clinic has been in it’s own building for right around a year now. Ultrasound services are available at the Medical Center. Patient directed testing, where you can get labs drawn without a doctor’s order, is available. Amber Groves, PA joined the team as a full-time provider. The addition for the CT building is in progress with expected completion by next spring. Nursing staff are now specially trained in caring for Healthsystem Elders. Hou...
The Big Sandy Conservation District (BSCD) hosted the Area III annual meeting at the newly remodeled Jerry Martin Memorial Hall. Montana Association of Conservation Districts (MACD) is made up of 58 districts across Montana of which Area III is made up of these13 districts. State and Federal agencies are very involved with the whole conservation mission in Montana. Department of Natural Resources and Conservation (DNRC) is the Montana government connection by providing leadership and funding...
SOUTH BLAINE COUNTY, Mont. – Access will be limited on a portion of Cow Island Road just west of Cow Creek in south Blaine County, Montana, beginning Sept. 29 as contractors work to replace a damaged 3-foot-diameter culvert running under the road. Contractors anticipate the road, also known as Cow Island Trail, will be temporarily closed for up to 30 days, depending on weather and if any complications occur with the culvert replacement work. The culvert repair site is located just west of w...
BIG SANDY – The Town of Big Sandy is taking a major step toward revitalizing its downtown by addressing one of its most blighted properties. Originally constructed in 1916, the Big Sandy Hotel first served as a hotel and was later converted into apartments before sitting vacant for the past two decades. With support from Bear Paw Development Corporation's Brownfields Program, the Town has completed environmental assessments of the property. Testing revealed the presence of asbestos and lead-based paint in building materials. To address these ha...
Mayor Schwarzbach called the meeting to order and the Pledge of Allegiance was recited. Council members present: Krystyl Kulbeck,Jon Sheehy, Rich Jespersen, Blaine Ophus. Staff present: Wendy Kleinsasser, Public: Laura Velk Approval of Meeting Minutes: Rich Jespersen moved to approve the July meeting minutes. Krystyl Kulbeck seconded and the motion passed. Sheriff’s Report: None Public Comment: None Pivot: The Second cutting was good. An agronomist from Mountain View Co-op will be doing soil samples. New Pool report: The committee submitted a...
By Erik Seitsema Around half the Junior and Senior students at Big Sandy High School are taking College classes. The credits they earn through "Dual Enrollment" count towards their current high school diploma and their future College education efforts. The program offers students a bevy of benefits, from a head start on their future education, to huge savings on college classes, to experience with the responsibility of taking classes where they are keeping themselves accountable for their own...
After visiting with Mary Burrows (MSU Disease Diagnostician), we are estimating that stripe rust will begin injuring cereal grains this week. Below are a few notes I have compiled on biology and management of the stripe rust fungus. • Fungal spores attack wheat consuming the nutrients synthesized by the host plant. • Spread by green bridge and wind dispersal. Community disease like WSMV with multiple infection cycles. • Spores on the ground are dead because they need living plant tissue to survive. Spores will over-winter on volunteer plants. W...
Who doesn’t like to be able to offer your guests or family a slice of homemade pie? Are you not a pie baker and hope one day you can make the offer to someone? Maybe you just haven’t taken the time or you had a not so positive experience making one? Or, you just love to make pies and would be willing to share your hints and tips with us. Then join us for a pie making workshop! On May 24, we will have a hands-on workshop where you will make the pie filling, the pie crust and then assemble and bake the pie to take home. The workshop will beg...
On February 21, the MSU Extension Chouteau County office will be moved to the green steel building located next to the Chouteau County Courthouse. The original Extension office located in the Courthouse basement will be filled by Judge Susan Spencer from Chouteau County Justice of the Peace. Winter Tree Watering Winter watering is next to useless when the soil is frozen or soil temperatures are below 40 to 45 F. Plants can’t absorb much water in winter, and they need less of it. It is better to water in spring, when the buds really begin to s...
See Page 8 of this weeks Big Sandy Mountaineer for more information....
MSU Extension Chouteau County has Hay probe and Nutrition Decision Software Sampling of hay is essential to livestock management. Hay sampling is best accomplished with a hollow core probe consisting of a stainless-steel tube and a sharp cutting end. The Chouteau County Extension office has a hay probe available for check out. One core should be sampled from at least 20 bales from a lot of hay. A lot of hay is defined as hay harvested from a field of uniform maturity within a 48 hour period. Generally a lot should not exceed 200 tons. Poor...
Blaine County USDA Farm Service Agency (FSA) Executive Director Tracy Harshman announced that farmers and ranchers in Montana now can receive notifications from their county office through text messages on their cell phone. Whether producers are in the field, on a tractor or even on horseback, this service enables FSA customers and stakeholders to receive notifications while on the go. Producers will receive text messages regarding important program deadlines, reporting requirements, outreach events and updates. There will be no more than two t...
In case you haven't noticed there are big things going on at the former NAPA Auto Parts Store in downtown Big Sandy. The popular auto parts store has new owners, a new name and even a new location. Owned by Bob and Sandy Wilson, the store changed hands in December and is now located in the old Q Café on the Judith Road and Highway 87 Junction which provides for plenty of parking for even the largest grain trucks needing a special part. Even though the business is not new, the name is. Now...
MSU Extension will be hosting a Pulse Production workshop Wednesday, February 15, 2017, in both Conrad and Fort Benton. With decreased commodity prices in cereal grains, there is additional interest in raising pulse crops. However, many production and marketing challenges exist, which this workshop will address for beginning producers. The workshop will cover production, marketing, insurance, disease management, and common mistakes with chemicals and inoculants and conclude with a producer panel. Both locations will begin with registration at...
This time of year the State of Montana puts out an interesting book about agricultural statistics in Montana. Let’s start with the basics. There are 27,500 farms and ranches in Montana. The average acreage is 2,171 acres. The average value of a Montana farm or ranch is around two million twenty-nine thousand dollars. Of those farms and ranches 4 % is woodland, 1.4% is other, 28.5% is cropland and 65% is pasture and range. In 2012 Chouteau County had 774 farms and ranches. Land was two million seventy one thousand dollars and the average farm si...
The Lippard=Clawiter Foundation has released their distributions for the year 2016. Open to any Chouteau County organization. In 2016 they helped organizations to the tune of $437,947. In the thirty-four years the Foundation has been in existence they have paid out to Chouteau County organizations in excess of seven million dollars. The current Board of Directors includes Allin Cheetham, Stan Klimas, Don Engellant, Robert Quinn and Darren Schuster. For further information about the program or th...
Montana’s Next Generation Conference to feature Dave Pratt and production workshops Registration is now open for Montana’s Next Generation Conference. The conference, which will take place Friday and Saturday, January 27-28, 2017, in Shelby, MT will focus on business planning for the farm or ranch and production workshops. The conference begins Friday at 11 a.m. at the Shelby Civic Center. Dave Pratt from ‘Ranching for Profit,’ will lead participants through two sessions, ‘The Three Secrets for Increasing Profit,’ and ‘Hard Work and Harmony....
Upcoming Extension Cropping Seminars for January Golden Triangle Cropping Seminar Montana State University Extension will host the annual Cropping Seminar series January 9 – 12, 2017, in Fort Benton, Chester, Shelby, Cut Bank, Choteau, Conrad, Stanford, and Great Falls. Topics will include pest identification, the top ten habits of profitable farmers, cereal variety trial updates from the local research centers, and control of ground squirrels, gophers and voles in crop settings. No pre-registration is required, and all producers are e...
Winter Feeding Tips (Don’t Waste Your Hay) This article was written by Dennis Cash, retired MSU Extension Service forage specialist. The complete article with tables is located on the MSU Extension website under forage and hay. Since your winter feeding program is likely your single largest ranch expense, reducing hay waste can save you money. Hay losses at feeding on most ranches averages about one fourth, but can easily approach half. During good haying conditions and with proper storage, most losses to alfalfa or alfalfa-grass hays can be m...
The fastest growing segment of the population in the United States are older adults. This group is uniquely vulnerable to financial scams. Con artists find them as attractive prey because older adults are thought to have a “nest egg,” have excellent credit, won’t say “no” because they were raised to be polite and trusting, are less likely to report the fraud for fear of appearing to have a weakened mental capacity because they were taken advantage or they do not know how to report it. Older adults need to be aware and prepared to protect themse...
Effective January 1, 2016, the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) has authorized an increase in the Federal Universal Service Charge (FUSC) line item for all telephone subscribers nationwide, except those participating in the Lifeline assistance program. Beginning with the January statements, residential and single-line business subscribers who have local phone service with Triangle Communications will notice the FUSC increase from $1.42 to $1.55 per month. Multi-line business subscribers will see the charge increase from $2.04 to $2.22...
CITY COUNCIL AGENDA Wednesday, January 13, 2016 7:00 P.M. City Hall 1. Pledge 2. Approval of meeting minutes 3. Public Comments 4. Sheriff Report 5. Wastewater Project a. WW Improvement Phases 2 & 3 b. Bear Paw Development c. New water project d, Brownfield project 6. New Business a. Oath of Office – Ted Pursley and Andrew Page b. Code Enforcement Officer c. Close out of Fund 2810 – Police Reserve Training d. NCMRWA Resolution 7. Old Business a. Street Improvements b. Charge for Inactive/vacant properties connected to water/sewer system c. She...
Taking a sample of the natural gas being delivered to the Big Sandy Community, one of the 49 therm zones found through out the State of Montana,by Kemdata Laboratories. The sample taken will be analyzed at Kemdata laboratory to determine the heat content (Btu's) per thousand cubic feet. This information will then be reported to the Utility Co. that is supplying the natural gas and to the Montana Public Service Commission (PSC ) to verify the compliance of the BTU value with the BTU value being...
North Dakota State University Agronomist to speak at 2016 Golden Triangle Cropping Seminars Montana State University Extension will host the annual Cropping Seminar series January 11-14, 2016, in Fort Benton, Chester, Shelby, Cut Bank, Fairfield, Conrad, Stanford, and Great Falls. Topics will include residue management for wheat production and alternative crops, soil fertility basics, and nitrogen leaching related to water quality. Roger Ashley, retired North Dakota State University Extension Agronomist will cover, “Retooling for Efficient Whea...