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Editor's note: Though these facts might be hard to read through, they were taken directly from the Montana Highway Patrol 2019 Annual Report. It is sobering. Chouteau is in District VIII. In that district, there are eight counties from Glacier to Phillips county. The population for District VIII is 60,078. We have 17 full-time uniform Positions. They drove 436,909 miles during 2019. There were 11,176 calls for service. There were 632 crashes investigated, 7,159 traffic stops, 5,386 citations...
Summer pneumonia in nursing beef calves is not uncommon, but occurs with low frequency. A wide variety of risk factors for summer pneumonia exist including relative success of colostrum antibody transfer, commingling of groups, weather changes, nutrition changes or deficiencies, pathogen exposure, handling stress, calving difficulty, and operation-specific risk factors like lack of labor. The immunity a calf receives through colostrum is called passive immunity, and is the major source of immune function in the newborn. If calves receive only...
This time of the year, Yucca dots the sides of the hills. I once showed my grandchildren, when they were little, the Yucca plant up close. They said, "Gramma, it's an ant home." Yucca, the plant is a perennial. There are 40-50 varieties of Yucca, depending on where you do your research. They can be like we see them here, a small plant with spiky leaves and beautiful white flowers or they can be shrubs or even trees "in the family Asparagaceae, subfamily Agavoideae. They are native to the hot...
July 4th usually means exactly what we all think. It’s a celebration that started in 1776 continues to the present day. It is the celebration of the birth of American independence. It usually has activities with fireworks. Other towns have parades and concerts to go to while most families have a more casual family gatherings with camping, fishing, or barbecues. Actually, the first public reading of the Declaration was on July 8, 1776. It wasn’t until one year later, on July 4, 1777, that Independence Day was first celebrated. They adj...
After Big Sandy lost a grain elevator in town when CHS closed its door, I stopped one day at EGT-Tunis to visit with Josh Wulf, the Elevator Manager. He immediately wanted to place ads in the Mountaineer and to support Big Sandy however he could. EGT build three identical elevators in Montana, one at Tunis, one at Chester, and one at Kintyre Flats/Frazer. A year ago, they also bought an Elevator in Sidney. The Export Grain Terminal, EGT, is a joint venture between Bunge North America, the North...
In 2017, a joint project between the City of Big Sandy and Big Sandy Public Schools presented a bond proposal to the voters to build a new pool for the residents of Big Sandy. Proponents and opponents of the bond issue seemed to agree that a new pool for our community would be beneficial, but how to pay for the project became the sticking point that kept the project from moving forward. The proposed pool project came with a $2.1 million price tag, which proved to be more than the voters were wil...
Bobcat is a high yielding solid stem hard red winter wheat with improved yield potential relative to other solid stem varieties. The variety will be available for non-certified seed producers in fall of 2020. The variety was developed by Phil Bruckner and Jim Berg from the Montana State University winter wheat breeding program. Bobcat is a selection from a composite cross of two unreleased Montana solid-stemmed experimental lines and an unreleased Montana hollow-stemmed line. Bobcat is awned, white-glumed, semi-dwarf wheat with medium to late...
More fraud and scam terms to discuss this week… Smishing is short for “SMS phishing”. The scammer sends a text message or SMS (Short Message Service) with a phone number or link claiming to be connected to your bank or another company. They expect you to call the number which goes to an automated system or click on a link leading you to provide personal, credit card and/or other financial information. Once they obtain your personal or financial information, they can access your accounts or even open new accounts without your knowledge. Do no...
It was a perfect day. Not too hot, although some would say if you sit outside in the sun all day, it doesn't matter what the temperature is, it gets hot. And if you saw any of the 22 garage sale participants on Sunday, many of them had sunburns. There were ten sites on the north side of Big Sandy and 12 sites on the south side. I was sitting in front of the Mountaineer when an older gentleman approached the sale from The Grocery Store. He bought a small item and then asked if there were any...
Although they held their regular meeting, some of the agenda items were regular, but others didn’t sound very normal. Yes, the building Maintenance Projects are going on as usual, with the FE Miley flooring progressing. And like every summer, deep clean takes place in each room, and some painting is going on in both the high school and grade school as well. The mirrors going up the stairs at the high school are being removed, and the area repainted. Travis reported, “All teachers will have computers that run Windows 10 that previously had windo...
One of the most favorite parts of the Big Sandy Mountaineer is the Old Timers section. It is research and written by Vicki Kulback and Lois Gay. When you see them on the street, acknowledge them for their continued support of our community and its history. The Big Sandy Museum is being affected by the COVID-19. It is open by appointment only in June. So, if you would like to take a relative or two down to the Museum to see our history call and someone will meet you and open it for you. They...
The Department of Public Health and Human Services (DPHHS) has launched a statewide media campaign to remind Montanans to continue taking the right steps to fight the spread of COVID-19, especially as the state opens up. The campaign, titled “Protect Public Health in the 406,” consists of television, radio, newspaper, digital and social media ads emphasizing personal responsibility and the behaviors needed to minimize transmission of the virus. There will also be signage on gas pumps and in gas stations and pharmacies. The ads feature sim...
What is up with all of the ash trees not leafing out around the County? What we are seeing is a case of fall freeze damage. The green ash trees were actively growing in the fall until late September and early October when temperatures dropped into the low 20s or high teens. Many of the ash trees froze and dropped green leaves to the ground during this time period. Damage occurs before the plant becomes dormant as evidenced by development of fall leaf color and normal leaf drop. It is recommended that trees not be trimmed or cut down until July...
USDA/Farm Service Agency (FSA) county committees are a critical component of the day-to-day operations of FSA, and allow grassroots input and local administration of federal farm programs. Committees are comprised of locally elected agricultural producers responsible for the fair and equitable administration of FSA farm programs in their counties. Committee members are accountable to the Secretary of Agriculture. If elected, members become part of a local decision making and farm program delivery process. The FSA county committee nomination...
Continuing the topic of fraud and scams from last week’s article, it may help to know some terminology and understanding of how scammers operate to get your personal information. This week’s term is phishing. Phishing Scammer sends a fake email, text or website which appears to be from a legitimate source, like your bank or other company you know and trust. The email asks you to provide your personal or other sensitive information such as passwords or usernames by clicking a link. These fake emails may even threaten to disable your account if...
Interestingly, the Sunshine Snippers 4-H Club choose to write positive quotes on the sidewalk downtown, fitting of their name Sunshine. They did ask the permission of the business owners. I just had to have every one written down, thanks to my granddaughter Faith, who walked the streets and wrote them in a tablet for me. It’s worth reading and implementing them. Be the reason someone smiles today. Spread joy! Throw love like confetti. In a world where you can be everything, be kind. Think positive. Feel Positive. Be positive. Don’t give up It...
Raea Pansch 's heart told her she could do something to help Wynter Parker. I asked her what made her work so hard. She said, "my mom was talking about it." To tell the full story, I quote here from KRTV "Ten-year-old Wynter Parker's life was turned upside down in an instant on Friday. His mother Rokki Ferguson (30), father Sage Ferguson (26), younger siblings Sage Jr. (5), and Lovelee Bearcub (8), and uncle Ryan Four Souls (30) died in a two-vehicle crash in Chouteau County, leaving Wynter...
For four years, Cassie Bahnmiller has made a small nitch business by selling her Gourmet Krispies treats. She has so many customers that like to do pre-orders, so when she does make them, she always sells out. Cassie is famous around here for her Gourmet Krispies treats Reese's, Snickers, Oreo, S'mores, and Turtle. Turtles are my favorite. But Cassie's husband says she collects hobbies. She has started a new business or "hobby" by making home-made silk-screen shirts. Cassie does the screen...
City Wide Garage Sale The city-wide garage sale is a go! A few more hoops to jump through this year, but there are still 22 individual garage sale sites in the town this Saturday June 20. The sale starts at 8:00 in the morning and goes to 3:00 in the afternoon, if everything isn’t sold out by then. As in years past the Senior citizen center will be selling tacos in a bag as a fund raiser for the Big Sandy Barracuda’s swim team. A map is being printed but with last minute adds to the list it wasn’t available at the Mountaineer before print...
A number of gyms and businesses are reopening and there is a discussion on why the high school gym cannot be open to the public. The following is from a letter from The Chouteau County Environment Health Guidance letter for re-opening. All Phases: Employee Health-Health assessments should be conducted for all employees at beginning of each shift including keeping a log of temperature checks at the beginning of each shift of less than 100. Employees who have a fever, cough, or shortness of...
The Big Sandy City Council met and used the majority of its time to discuss the town's pool opening information. As well, the Big Sandy Barracuda's swim team presented to the city council a plan to hold a local swim meet. It was discussed and approved that the swim team could hold a swim meet. There was a plan, submitted to the Chouteau County Health nurse, which met the needs of Phase 2, and the city council also approved it. (On a side note, the Big Sandy City Council has approved plans to re-...
After researching Father's Day, I discovered it isn't celebrated the same way, or for that matter, it isn't even celebrated on the same day around the world. In the United States, it is always the third Sunday in June. In 1909, a woman named Sonora Smart Dodd, "tried to establish an official equivalent to Mother's Day for male parents." She went around to local businesses to gather support for her idea, and on June 19, 1910, the state of Washington celebrated the first-ever Father's Day. In...
Jane Mangold (MSU Extension Weed Specialist) has been getting quite a few calls about the efficacy of a bacteria used for cheatgrass control in rangeland. Below is an abbreviated version of the study and results. Cheatgrass (Bromus tectorum) is one of the most widespread invasive plants in the western U.S. Because cheatgrass can form large infestations of hundreds to thousands of acres, often in remote and inaccessible locations, biological control is an attractive option. Various strains of the soil bacterium Pseudomonas fluorescens (e.g. D7,...
A new committee has been formed to raise funds for a new city pool. The committee members are Shaud Shwarzbach, Diana LaBuda, Heather Pleninger, Melanie Shwarzbach, and Rich Jespersen. They made an announcement at the First Big Sandy Swim Meet. Published here is the announcement. “Welcome to the FIRST EVER BIG SANDY SWIM MEET! We would like to thank everyone that has come out today to support our Barracuda’s. This event is being put on to allow our swimmers the opportunity to have a swim meet this year since due to COVID19 many teams will not...
Reports of fraud and scams have, unfortunately, become a normal part of our lives. It can happen to anyone. As the fastest growing segment of the population in the United States, older adults are especially targeted and 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 t...