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Question and Answers on Grasshopper Management in Cropland 1. Why should I be concerned about grasshoppers in 2022? Drought conditions in 2021 and an open fall promoted a high egg lay which will result in large hatches this spring. If a drought continues in Chouteau County, populations will continue to increase. Grasshoppers are a boom and bust species and thrive with arid conditions. 2. Will a wet spring break the cycle? The answer is yes. Prime conditions for decreasing populations begin with warm, early springs followed by a hot period follo...
As most of you know in Montana Initiative 190 passed by 56%. Chouteau County Deputy Rosijpal told me, “Only the counties that voted yes for recreational Marijuana can sell it.” Hill county and Cascade both voted yes, so it is legal for them to see it recreationally. He reminded me that “Chouteau County can still sell medical marijuana. In Fort Benton, that is the Fat Hippie.” He continued to say, “Technically, there are no dry counties in Montana because anyone in Chouteau can purchase marijuana and bring it into the county.” You must be 21...
Town of Big Sandy Proclamation In Memory of Joanne Kibbee WHEREAS, Joanne Kibbee served as the Town of Big Sandy water clerk beginning in 1967; and WHEREAS, from 1983 until her retirement, Joanne Kibbee served as the Town of Big Sandy Clerk and Treasurer; and WHEREAS, through her commitment to the Town of Big Sandy she worked diligently to improve the community. NOW, THEREFORE, I, Mayor Shaud Schwarzbach, do hereby recognize Joanne Kibbee for her positive impact on this community and its...
The MontanaNewspapers.org website features an archive of publications from all over the state going back more than a century. The Mountaineer is one of many newspapers included on the site and is a goldmine for those looking to learn more about our little community. The oldest issue of the paper they have included in their database is from 111 years ago next Wednesday. Out of general interest, I spent some time reading that issue, particularly in light of material I have read about 1911 as an...
The Montana Actors' Theatre wrapped up its presentation of the musical "Spamalot" over Valentines weekend. My wife and I attended one of the last showings on a date and were blown away by the show they put on. Spamalot is a musical adaptation of the film: "Monty Python and the Holy Grail." For those unfamiliar with the cult classic film, it follows the exploits of King Arthur and his Knights of the Round Table as they search for the Holy Grail. In true Monty Python style, it is very silly. The...
Rules of Thumb to Help You Prepare for the Gardening Season Believe it or not, the gardening season will be upon us before we know it. Below are a few gardening facts to help you prepare for the upcoming season. • Soil tests should be taken in the garden every three years. • The best time to collect a soil sample is in the spring after soil thaw. • Fall soil sampling is not recommended because nitrogen in the soil is depleted during the fall and winter seasons. • Do not work soil when it is wet. If the soil sticks to the shovel, wait a few mor...
The Chouteau County Conservation District is pleased to announce the fourth annual Henry Nagamori Scholarship is open to graduating seniors in Chouteau County. The intention of this scholarship is to promote the study of agriculture, natural resources and conservation, and the vocational trades that support it, such as farm and ranch management, diesel mechanics and welding, to name a few. Scholarship information has been sent to Chouteau County high schools to be included in scholarship packets to reach students who would benefit from the...
District results are finally in. Our JV mechanics team took 1st, with Hunter Moore placing first individually, Quinn Rodewald placing 7th, Darrell Sunchild 9th and Jayton Ophus 15th. Our Varsity mechanics team placed 2nd. Lance Rutledge once again took 1st individually, Cooper Taylor and Christian Winderl both tied for 8th, and Connor Sibra placed 12th. Both our JV and Varsity Agronomy teams placed 3rd. Angie Sant took 2nd individually followed by Jaycee Worrall who placed 4th, Amy Gasvoda who p...
Debra Silk, Associate Executive/General Counsel for the Montana School Boards Association, led a discussion at the Big Sandy High School for a new Strategic Plan. The last one was done in 2017. We started with the discussion on the current Core Purpose. It reads, “The Core Purpose of Big Sandy Public Schools is to provide a quality education and environment for each student to be successful in life.” The Core Values for the Big Sandy Public Schools are: Purposeful, Respectful, Inspiring, Determined, and Encouraging. PRIDE. She asked if we wer...
On January 21st, Larry Ophus retired from his job as the Undersheriff for Chouteau County after 41 years of service in Law Enforcement. "41 years, 7 months, and 15 days," clarified Verla, Larry's wife. His retirement party will be at the Jerry Martin Memorial Hall on February 19th at 1:00 PM. Larry's legacy of serving our community has often been an unsung one, as Verla pointed out: "He's done a lot for the community, very quietly. To tell the truth. He doesn't take much credit... I'm proud of...
Many Reasons Why Deciduous Trees Should Not Be Topped Topping is the drastic removal or cutting back of large branches in mature trees. The tree is sheared like a hedge and the main branches are cut to stubs. Many homeowners top trees when they reach heights considered unsafe fearing a strong wind might blow large trees over. However, the extensive root system of a healthy tree provides adequate support for the tree. Below are a number of reasons why deciduous trees should not be topped. Starvation: Trees need leaves to manufacture starches...
LeRoy and Rita Walker are from Great Falls and are long time supporters and participants of gun shows. They were all smiles the entire time and everyone including Keith Hanson were so happy to see them. Due to Covid and personal health issues they have not been able to participate for the past couple of years. When they heard that there was going to be a gun show in Big Sandy they took the opportunity to stop in and see some old friends and gun show buddies. They have always been very giving...
New Pool Update: Now would be a good time to give! We have applied to the Montana Land and Water Conservation Fund for a recreation grant for the proposed new pool. If approved by the National Park Service, we could receive a matching grant up to $350,000. We have already raised about $320,000 from other grants and individual donations, so we need about $30,000 more to take full advantage of the match. We need to submit our application by March 11th. There is a lot of money at stake in this marching grant, and we do not want to leave any money...
The Grocery Store’s Big Screen TV SuperBowl drawing took place Saturday morning. The grand prize went to Madison Jenkins. Ronnie Simpson described the Jenkins’ reaction: “They were ecstatic. They’re probably watching the game on it right now. It’s a pretty cool smart tv.” Madison described her own reaction: “I was pretty shocked because I never win anything.” Shoppers could enter by just shopping at the grocery store. “To get an entry, you had to spend $50 at the store, and you were able to...
The Community Decay Ordinance had its first public meeting. Mayor Shaud Schwarzbach started the meeting by telling everyone how happy he was to have so many people present. He reminded everyone there would be no voting that night. This was just a public awareness meeting to discuss the ordinance. There were a few recommendations to make the wording a little clearer during the discussion. They will take the recommendations to the lawyers for review and bring the ordinance back for further...
An historic event took place in the Big Sandy High School gymnasium Thursday, February 3, 2022. Mr. Kip Ryan of the Montana High School Association was here to make a special presentation commemorating Duane Lee Olson's induction into the MSHA Athletic "Hall of Fame" in January 2020. This presentation was to take place during Big Sandy's Homecoming 2020, but Covid-19 put that plan on hold. With Homecoming 2021 cancelled for the same reason, Mr. Ryan and Big Sandy High School Athletic director...
The Big Sandy Public Library will be celebrating the five year anniversary of the opening of the main street building on Monday, February 14th. To celebrate the new building’s birthday, they will be raffling off a quilt, which is on display at the library. Tickets are 6 for $5 and can be purchased at the library or from a member of the Friends of the Library. They will also be offering cookies and refreshments. Visitors can check out the various binders documenting the history of our branch a...
Master Gardener Level 1 Class in Big Sandy on March 3 (please pre-register) MSU Extension Level 1 Master Gardener classes will take place in Big Sandy on March 3rd from 6:00-8:00 p.m. at the Big Sandy Library. Now is your chance to participate in an excellent educational opportunity. Please contact the MSU Chouteau County Extension office at 622-3751 to pre-register. The Level 1 Master Gardener course requires 16 hours of class time and is taught by local Extension agents, plant professionals, and Master Gardener volunteers. For a $50.00 fee,...
Montana History author, Roberta A. Beute will be visiting Big Sandy for a reading of her first book on Tuesday, February 15th at 4 PM at the Big Sandy Public Library. As It Was: A Common Thread began as an effort on Roberta’s part to preserve some of the stories of the ranchers in the Sweet Grass Hills. She began by interviewing her neighbors, many of them homesteaders or descendants of homesteaders. Before long, she was researching the various factors that brought all of the people and r...
Big Sandy hosted a Gun Show over the weekend of January 28th to the 30th. The event, which featured 15 vendors and 50 tables, attracted a steady stream of customers and folks just looking to browse and visit with others interested in buying or collecting firearms. As Glen, one of the vendors, put it: "All gun shows are good gun shows. Some are just better than others." This year's show was organized by Keith Hanson, the former owner of The Mountaineer and Mayor of Chinook. Local vendor and...
Please join Big Sandy High School as we celebrate the induction of Duane Olson into the MHSA Athletic Hall of Fame. The awards presentation will be held at the BSHS gym on Thursday, February 5th at 5 p.m. Kip Ryan from MHSA will be on hand to present the awards to Olson's family. Olson was inducted into the Hall of Fame in 2020. The original presentation was scheduled for Homecoming 2020, but Covid has wreaked havoc on scheduling the presentation ever since. Rather than wait for a year without...
Dustin Kinsella is Big Sandy's new Post Master. He travels from Havre every day, where his wife and five children have busy lives. He has five boys, and they just adopted a baby girl. "My house exploded pink!" Dustin has worked for the postal service for 27 years, starting in April of 95. He has worked in Havre, Hingham, Gildford, Kremlin, West glacier, and Great Falls. His oldest son is Bryce, 25, who gave him a granddaughter. His three other sons live at home; Lane is 17, Logan is 14, and...
The Big Sandy Rotary Club is continuing the tradition of a benefit banquet in March with a grand gala event bringing Pirates of the Prairie to our town. Pirates of all kinds will gather at the 37th Annual Rotary Benefit Banquet on March 19, 2022. The annual Big Sandy Rotary benefit banquet will be the place to join the community in an evening of fun, great food, auctions and prizes. Your local Rotarians will soon have their tickets available for anyone who wants to purchase one. Tickets are still $100.00, which is the same price they were when...
Thanks to Big Sandy Public Schools, we have the incredible opportunity to hear an international speaker here in the comfort of our own high school auditorium on Thursday evening from 5:30 to 7:30 pm. Stacy York Nation was born and raised in Wyoming and received her Bachelor’s degree in Psychology Education from Montana’s own Rocky Mountain College and her Master’s in Social Work from Walla Walla University in Billings. She has worked in mental health services in the school setting. In 2013, after becoming a Licensed Clinical Social Worke...
The Gun Show over the past weekend provided an opportunity for locals to shop for guns, ammunition, and other shooting sports items. It also brought a lot of traffic to our community and benefitted out local businesses. From the restaurants, to The Motel, to The Grocery Store, the show brought money into our community as people came through to look at and buy guns. Keith Hanson, who organized the event, explained that the show benefits both the vendors and the community businesses: “When my w...