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The Medical Guild Rummage Sale took place last weekend (October 6th and 7th) with record-breaking results. The fundraiser helps the Medical Guild purchase supplies, equipment, and necessities for the Big Sandy Medical Center. Lisa Sipler, who helps organize the sale for the guild, explained that “this year was the biggest year as far as stuff (donations) because of COVID and not having the rummage sale for two years. I think everybody, including myself, stored stuff away and then brought it all in. It was bigger than it’s ever been. Money wis...
The Angel Basket program is now accepting applications from families looking to receive support with their Thanksgiving and Christmas celebrations. Angel Tree baskets are for families in need during the holiday season. They include food items for Thanksgiving and Christmas dinners. In addition, the Christmas basket includes gifts for the children of recipient families. The form is available online, which is the preferred method of submission. Terry Grant indicated that for those who cannot fill them out online, Big Sandy Food Bank Volunteers...
Erik Siestsma is the pastor of the Big Sandy Community Church of God, which has been going on for 11 years. They have had a regular live stream on the Church of God Facebook page on Sunday mornings for many years. He also has patchingcracks.com, a blog where he writes. You can also google him on Youtube, although he isn't as constant there. He has started a deep dive facebook teaching session on Wednesdays for 30-60 minutes. He loves to research, and much of what he finds ends up on the cutting...
The Big Sandy Youth Group Halloween trick-or-treat food drive will be taking place on Wednesday, October 26th between 7 and 8 PM. The food drive is a long/running tradition for youth groups in our community. Jeramie Erie, who runs the Youth Program at Big Sandy Church of God, explained the event to me: “Every year, we put together a Halloween Food Bank drive where youth in the town go door to door trick or treating for Food Bank donations, including canned goods and dry items.” Two youth programs will be participating in food collection, the...
On October 3rd, the Big Sandy CSI, the committee that organizes the Christmas Stroll, met to discuss the planning of the 2022 stroll. There was some concern in the air as the day approached, because new volunteers and helpers were needed to pull off the mammoth event. Previously, The Mountaineer published an S.O.S. (Save Our Stroll) article dealing with the potential for the decades-long town tradition may be in danger of coming to an end. The meeting drew 14 attendees, quite an increase over...
The school staff in Big Sandy featured a lot of new faces for the 2022 school year. One new face is actually returning to us after several years away. Jessie Jaramillo, who is teaching art at the high school this year, taught in Big Sandy from 2016 to 2018. She moved back to Helena, where her family lives, and tried to land a teaching job in their school districts. She has been substitute teaching for the last few years, before returning to our little community. Jessie is very close with her...
John Donne, the English poet-scholar, wrote: “No man is an island entire of itself; every man is a piece of the continent, a part of the main…” The poem goes on to explain that every man lives a life dependent on those around him. He needs others to thrive and survive from day to day. At the face of it, this is a true statement. We need each other for various aspects of our lives. On every level of our lives, we require some connection to those around us for food, supply, support, encouragement, etc. While researching a passage from the writi...
Big Sandy's Chili Feed/Homecoming took place last Friday, September 30th, though Big Sandy Schools began a week early with their traditional Spirit Week activities. Spirit Week typically includes various days for the students to wear costumes or themed outfits to school. At FE Miley Elementary School, this year saw the return of a newer tradition: the building of class floats for the parade across town. This is the second year of float building, and it is quickly becoming a favorite amongst the...
Nearly 20 years ago, I started working at a children’s home in Indiana. It was an impatient mental health facility for kids. One of the people I met in new staff orientation was a fellow named Mark. He had been working at the home for over 30 years and was spectacular at his job. The day I met him, I decided I wanted to learn to work with kids as well as he did. He was a behavior specialist at the on-campus school and did all sorts of campus support work in the evenings. At every opportunity, I watched him do his job, asked him questions, l...
The Big Sandy division of Santa's Helpers is sending out an S.O.S. this year: Save Our Stroll. After decades of spreading Christmas cheer, the Big Sandy Christmas Stroll organizers are looking for help putting on the event and keeping the tradition alive. They will be holding a meeting on October 3rd to discuss the organization of this year's stroll. Leslie Gregory, who has been involved in the stroll for nearly 5 years explained: "It's a lot for all of us to do, because we all have full time...
On Sunday, September 25th, Big Sandy Church of God held its 11th Annual Brisket Cook-Off. This year's event featured 14 cooks, including 2 Big Sandy High School students. The event was well attended, with around 175 people coming out to eat lunch and vote on the people's choice. There was also a pie baking contest as a part of the cook-off. Cooks had the opportunity to win in both the Judge's and People's Choice categories. The strongest showing of the day was Chase Hoffman, who has competed in...
In the days right before Jesus entered Jerusalem, he was sitting at a meal with his disciples and some people he had encountered in his ministry. During the meal, a woman came in with a bottle of expensive perfume. Based on the description in the text, it was probably over 300 days wages (or about $54,500 in today’s money). The woman approached Jesus and poured the entire bottle over his head. It would have filled his hair and run down his beard. This was a sort of luxurious personal care type act. People would put oil in their hair and on t...
The Big Sandy Library kicked off Library Card Sign-Up Month with the first of a series of live musical performances when Michelle Danreuther played piano for library patrons the afternoon of Tuesday, September 13th. The national La-La-La-Library Card Sign-Up campaign features musicians performing in libraries to raise awareness. The Cascades by Scott Joplin, The Waterfall by Jon Schmidt, and Doctor Gradus Ad Parnassum by Claude Debussy were the three pieces Michelle chose to play for library...
The gospel of Matthew includes an account where a group of Pharisees approach Jesus in an effort to trap him by posing a no-win question. They asked: “Is it right to pay taxes to Caesar?” Today this seems like a pretty innocuous question. We might disagree regarding taxes and complain about them, but very few people question the morality of paying taxes. However, in ancient Israel, it was a bit of a hornets nest topic. You see, if Jesus said it was immoral to pay taxes, then he could be accused of encouraging rebellion against the Romans. The...
"It's been awesome," explained Sydnie Stellpflug, the new Second Grade teacher, when I asked her about her experience at F.E. Miley Elementary School. "As a first year teacher, I was super nervous. I feel like I have every question in the world. But everyone's been super helpful. They jump right in and answer. They're checking on me throughout the day. 'Hey, is everything okay?' 'Do you need anything?'" Sydney was born and raised on a ranch in Wyoming. She graduated from the University of...
Big Sandy Church of God will be hosting its 11th annual Brisket Cook-Off September 25th. The barbecue will be served up to guests at 1 PM. Everyone is invited and the meal is free. Come out and join us for fun, fellowship, and the opportunity to vote in the people's choice competition for the best local brisket cook. We are also looking for competitors. We can currently accommodate 12 cooks in the competition. The first cook-off, over a decade ago, started out as a bit of a joke between Brook...
Throughout the summer, and for two more weeks, the Havre Chamber of Commerce has hosted a farmers market. The market itself happens right in the town square on the Hi-Line, on the edge of the downtown area. My wife and I decided to check it out this past Saturday as a day out together. The Market itself featured a couple dozen vendors and live music. You can find anything from jewelry to art to fresh produce there, making browsing the various booths an enjoyable experience on its own. The real...
The Montana Actor's Theater production of Macbeth ran for three showings in Beaver Creek State Park over the weekend of August 25th through the 28th. The choice of venue and scale of the production made the show a sensational experience for both the audience and the actors. It was clear this show was going to be something special during the opening scenes, which recreated the battle that sets the tragic tale of Macbeth in motion. Sword fighting and horses galloping back and forth across the...
Incoming Big Sandy High School senior, Jaycee Worrall, excelled in this year's County Fair FFA competitions and her 4H leadership project entry. This year, she entered a steer named Gerald and a pig named Fred. Both her steer and pig entries received reserve senior showman. In addition, her steer got a callback, which means that it was in the running for the best position in the competition. Jaycee has been entering animals into competitions for 9 years, and enjoys the experience and learning th...
One of the most common debates surrounding Jesus and his ministry revolved around the sabbath. The sabbath refers to the Jewish practice of not working on the last day of the week. It is important enough that it is actually mentioned in the 10 Commandments. “Remember the sabbath day and keep it holy.” The idea is simple: Don’t work on the sabbath. In the first century, the Jewish people took the laws of God very seriously and sabbath obedience had reached a point where it was a paralyzing practice. The Jewish people took the practice so serious...
Big Sandy's own Casten and Katie Heppner have launched the Hungry Heifer, the food truck arm of their growing catering business. Katie has been catering for around 8 years, covering harvest meals and events. She explains that "...it kind of just got so big that we needed to become mobile. Then we decided to put the food truck together. It changed from just using it for harvest meals, to using it for events and fairs and weddings and all kinds of celebrations." Over the last year, the addition...
Incoming Big Sandy HS Senior Lance Rutledge picked up second place in class with his heifer at this year's Chouteau County Fair 4-H competition. After 13 years of competing in 4-H events, Lance has grown as a person through his participation in various competitions and activities. The Montana 4-H website identifies the organization as aiming to help young people learn leadership, citizenship, and life skills. During my conversation with Lance at the 4-H barn on Sunday, he spent far more time...
In 120 BC, Rabbi Joshua ben Perachiah said, “Judge each person with the scales weighted in their favor.” The phrase ought to sound familiar to the average person because it is striking in its similarity to the words of Jesus: “Do not judge, or you too will be judged. For in the same way you judge others, you will be judged, and with the measure you use, it will be measured to you.” The reason for the similarity between the two is simple. Ancient rabbis often taught through citing and commenting on the teachings of the rabbis that came before...
A Big Sandy native and her husband have published a book dealing with his experiences in 1967 Atlanta while living in an all black dorm. Bridge of Demarcation by Duane and Loretta Johnson tells the story of a racially-charged time through the eyes of a native born Montanan. Much of the story is told through the nearly 50 love letters he wrote during the time. Loretta Johnson, whose maiden name is Nepil, grew up southeast of Big Sandy and graduated from Big Sandy High School in 1964. She still...
The Senior Center Board meeting scheduled for Wednesday, July 27th did not take place as planned since two of the board members who were present for the meeting submitted their letters of resignation. In addition, the previous board president, Gloria Godfrey, resigned as a non-voting consultant member. A third board member resigned in absentia. Due to a lack of quorum the meeting was canceled and a public discussion forum was held. The resignations took place in response to a letter sent to the...