The Big Sandy Mountaineer -

The Big Sandy Fire Department Annual Chili Feed, complete with rides in fire engines and ambulances, has been a Big Sandy staple for 65 years. However, what should have been a celebration of a landmark anniversary has been canceled. Due to the ongoing pandemic, the Fire Department has reluctantly decided that the risks of holding such a large indoor event were too high this year. “We hated to do it, but we just couldn’t see any other way,” explains Big Sandy Fire Chief, Larry Ophus. However, they will still be holding the raffle. The event is a major fundraiser for the local fire department, which relies on fundraising event to cover more than half of its annual budget. The proceeds typically help pay for maintenance costs, new equipment, training, supplies, and the utilities for the fire station.

The generosity of the Big Sandy Community has enabled the Volunteer Fire Department to operate without any tax revenues, this is a relatively rare arrangement in Montana, whereas most community fire departments are supported through local taxes. “We’re not on the tax roll because we’d rather they give us the money than for us to force them to give us the money. So, we’ve remained off the tax roll and just do donations.” In order to meet the budgeting need without resorting to taxes, the Chili Feed will feature a much larger and more extensive raffle. The raffle will still include the 2 halves of beef and 4 halves of pork that have been included in years past. To that, they have added a large variety of prizes including gift certificates, 2 Traeger Grills, a rifle, a riding fire truck, and much more. All of the prizes were provided by area businesses to help support the Big Sandy Fire Department. With the addition of so many more and better prizes the cost of tickets has risen from $1 per ticket to $5 or 6 for $25.

The drawing for the Chili Feed Raffle will be held later in the year than normal. The plan is to broadcast the drawing of winners via Facebook Live on New Years Eve. The delay was to ensure that there was enough time for the raffle to be run properly, giving everyone plenty of time to purchase tickets. Tickets will soon be available for purchase from many of the Big Sandy businesses, Tropical Stop in Havre, and Stan’s Pawn in Havre. All of the firemen and the ambulance crew will also be selling tickets.

In addition, members of the Big Sandy Fire Department will be attending the home football game on October 9th to sell tickets and “pass the boot” to collect donations. “A lot of people are really great about annually giving donations, so that will be our collecting point at that game for some of that,” Larry said in reference to the generosity and support the department has depended on from the Big Sandy community in past years.

“We want to keep the Chili Feed in everybody’s minds. It’s been a big deal for 65 years. Unfortunately, we can’t feed them a hamburger, but we still want our presence known and our needs known,” Larry explained. “We do need that to keep up the fire department and ambulance service they’re used to.”

Part of the goal of the fundraising for this year’s Chili Feed Raffle is to cover the partial matching of a grant received by the department to purchase a new ambulance for the town. There are also necessary expenses related to the new ambulance, like vehicle upgrades to equip the ambulance to handle Montana driving conditions. They are also looking to purchase another “Life Pack”, which is a defibrillator unit that transmits data to the hospital while the patient is in transit. Currently, the town owns one such defibrillator, which is equipped on one of the town’s ambulances. With the purchase of a new ambulance, a second Life Pack will be needed. Life Packs cost around $30,000.

The Raffle prizes include:

• One of 2 Halves of Beef— donated by Brandon and Kristen Gasvoda

• Traeger 575 Pellet Grill Package— Donated by Big Sandy Medical Center

• Traeger Pro Series 22 Pellet Grill— Donated by Ezzies Wholesale

• Ruger American Predator 6.5 Creedmore with Vortec Scope— Purchased from Stan’s Pawn Shop

• $500 Gift Certificate to Conlin’s Furniture— Donated by Conlin’s Furniture

• Permafrost 110 QT Cooler Package— Donated by CHS

• One of 4 Halves of Pork— Donated by Golden Harvest Seed and Hi Line Packing

• 12 Volt Ride-On Emergency Fire Truck— Donated by Larry and Verla Ophus

• One of 5 Turkey and Ham Combos— Donated by Jim and Marla Ray

• $200 Gift Certificate to the Grocery Store— Donated by Courtnage and Sons

• One of 4 Prime Rib Roasts— Donated by Rotary

• One of 2 Water Fire Extinguishers and Brackets— Donated by Torgerson and Frontline AG

• $50 Gift Certificate to the Mint— Donated by the Mint Bar and Cafe

• $50 Gift Certificate to Pep’s Bar and Lanes— Donated by Pep’s Bar and Lanes

• Car Care Gift Basket— Donated by North Central Auto Parts

Larry closed our conversation by explaining: “The big thing is that we’re here because of their support. Without the community support, the fire and ambulance service would cease to exist. We’d either have to go to a tax basis or just dispense with a lot of the services.”