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The pandemic in Montana is entering its ninth month and the Big Sandy Grocery Store has been serving our community throughout the whole ordeal. This time of unusual stress has brought with it challenges for the local business. "In the beginning, it was a bit overwhelming. We were fortunate to have really good help that muscled through it," explains Debra Louvar the proprietor. At the beginning of the pandemic, the store saw runs on supplies as locals stocked up for the coming lockdowns. The...
After 43 years of teaching in Big Sandy, Larry and Chris Brumwell are retiring. The couple came to Big Sandy in 1978, right out of college and have served our town for their entire careers. Chris pointed out that Big Sandy was both their first and last teaching job. The pair came to Big Sandy specifically because the school was looking for a Special Education teacher. As Chris explains: "They wanted Larry; they were looking for a Special Ed teacher for the High School. There was no Special...
The 2019-2020 school year ended in an unusual manner when the pandemic triggered national lockdowns. Big Sandy Schools shifted to a distance learning model for the last few months of the school year, while the the community went into lockdown. With the recent rise in Covid cases in the state, and the appearance of cases in Big Sandy, many people are worried that the schools will be forced to close down again to fight the spread of the virus. Last week, the Choteau County Health Department issued a new set of guidelines for handling Covid in...
"I thank God daily for having a job like this. It's wonderful. To be able to work with inquisitive minds is truly a blessing," was the reply I got from Demrece Keller when I asked how she liked teaching at F.E. Miley Elementary School. "Over the past 17 years, I have taught with some wonderful people. I have learned a lot, but my most favorite thing about teaching is the students... I refer to them as my kids sometimes. They are very near and dear to my heart. To me that's my most favorite part...
"...Having someone new in your life does not mean that there is less love, but in fact, there is more. Having a Bonus Mom means having Bonus Love." This is one of the main messages in Bonus Love: A Children's Book for Blended Families by local author Jessica Ophus. Jessica recently came to Montana as a travel nurse. While in the area, she met Big Sandy's own Mason Ophus. The pair became friends, eventually started dating, and recently got married. As the couple prepared for their wedding day,...
“Worry is like a rocking chair. It’ll keep you busy, but you won’t get anywhere doing it.” I first heard this line from a 16-year old kid in a rehab program I was working with. I’ve repeated it hundreds of times because a great deal of the stress and anxiety we experience in life is related to things we have very little actual control over. In the current season of our lives, constant anxiety is easy to spot. Folks are worried about the pandemic, the election, instability in our cities, economic dangers, and a million other things. It seems...
A few weeks ago, I ordered dinner for the family from Pep's. When I walked in the door with the pizza box and 3 styrofoam to-go containers my kids dug into the pizza with gusto, each eating as quick as they could to ensure they'd get a little more than the other two kids. When my wife and I finished our sandwiches, I opened the last container to reveal four slices of cheesecake. The kids are normally excited to get Pep's for dinner, and my family each has their favorites from Josh's menu. The...
Throughout elementary school, junior high, high school, and college, I was a poor student. I had brief spurts where I’d manage to bring my grades up to decent levels, but for the most part I did my best to not drop below C’s. I was a poor note taker, struggled to pay attention in class, and found homework to be unbearably dull. I was such a difficult student that one of my teachers suggested that my IQ was too low for regular classes. School was miserable for me. All of this changed when I went to graduate school. Between 5 years of cla...
Last year, my fifth grader came home and told us about how his teacher had create a point system for students to earn privileges. Many of the requirements of the students, like that they call her "Queen Shelbi," made my wife and I laugh. As our student navigated through the point system, we figured out that it was related to the lessons on the causes of the American Revolution and the idea of "taxation without representation." The creative teacher who came up with this unique method of...
One day, James and John, two of Jesus’ disciples, came to him and asked for a place of honor in Heaven. It was a lofty request that Jesus denied by explaining that the Father decides who will be where in eternity. When the rest of the disciples heard about this, they began to grumble and get angry at James and John because each of them thought they deserved more honor than the others. Jesus called them all together and told his followers something revolutionary. “You know that the rulers of the Gentiles lord it over them, and their high off...
"It's an adventure every day. You learn something new whether you plan for it or not," Samantha Burns Weaver said, explaining her love for teaching kindergarten. "There's a lot of growth from the beginning of the year to the end of the year, and knowing you had a part in that is incredibly rewarding. It's a little bit of a struggle getting to that point because in the beginning of the year, it's a lot of modeling, reteaching, and repeating yourself. The end goal is incredibly rewarding." Mrs....
"It all started with my dad being in the Air Force," Deputy Jeremy Echols explained in response to my question about why he got into law enforcement. "As we were growing up, he kinda raised me and my brothers being that we live in a free country, we should do something to give back, whether that be service in the military or some kind of public service to help maintain the freedoms we are afforded. I didn't feel like the military was what I wanted to do with my life, and I kinda always wanted...
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...
Calista Worrall teaches 6th grade at FE Miley Elementary School with a unique mix of extroverted enthusiasm, compassion, and a love for engaging the kids where they are at. She is in her fifth year of teaching in our community. She started her teaching career in Box Elder, where she taught for four years, before taking some time off to start a family. Eventually, she went back to teaching part time in Fort Benton. After three years, she came to Big Sandy. She loves teaching here because, "It's l...
In 1884, George Eastman founded the Kodak company and patented the first roll of film. This invention revolutionized photography. In 1900, Kodak released the Brownie camera, the first camera aimed at mass ownership. It cost $1, was easy to use, and it quickly made Kodak a household name. Later, the company created the standard film that would be used by the film industry for nearly a century. Then in 1975, a Kodak engineer invented a truly groundbreaking piece of technology: the first digital camera. In 1975! Executives for Kodak quickly...
Big Sandy's own Sheri Otto Moore brings a wide range of talents, interests, and genuine care for her students to her work educating third graders at FE Miley Elementary School. Sheri is on her 8th year of teaching in Big Sandy, a school she attended growing up in our town. She also taught 4th grade here in the 2000-2001 school year before moving to Big Timber to teach for a few years. Ultimately, Sheri taught in several schools around the state before opting to come home because she and her...
Yanci Phillips celebrated her 5th birthday last Wednesday, September 15th. Her mother, Karli Phillips explains: "It's a HUGE deal because before she was born, we were prepped that she might live an hour, if that, and five-years old is a big deal." Karli and Victor Phillips heard the news of their unborn daughter's health issues at their thirty-week ultrasound. "They found brain issues. They found heart issues. They found spine issues. They told us that she had severe hydrocephalus and lung...
A couple months ago, my Facebook feed showed me a handful of videos of of baby skunks wandering around town. I’m sure I didn’t see all of them, but I’ve heard stories of folks filming themselves feeding the babies and heard all sorts of discussions about keeping them as pets or how cute they were. Last Tuesday at 2 AM, my dog surprised a large skunk in our backyard. The skunk sprayed him in the face. The smell instantly filled my home. Clothes, furniture, carpets, my keys, and all sorts of other things acquired the stink of skunk. Folks have...
For the past five years, Big Sandy's first grade students have been taught by the energetic and cheerful Mrs. Katie Hanson. Mrs. Hanson was born and raised here in Big Sandy. She cites a long term relationship and deep familiarity with the community as two of the major reasons she loves teaching here so much. When asked her feelings about teaching in Big Sandy, she describes it with one word: "Awesome." Her reason is that our town is "...a tight knit group. Everyone focuses on the kids. It's...
Since I moved to Big Sandy, I have always called the road that runs through the middle of downtown "Main Street." I have heard quite a few other people refer to it by the same name. It wasn't until I had been here for a few years that I learned that the road that ran through the middle of town is actually named "Johannes Street." I have never heard a good explanation as to who the road is named after. It was one of many roads in Big Sandy that bears the names of folks I haven't heard of anywhere...
“Wealth should be like a light coat on a cool day. It should bring us comfort while we have it, but it can throw off at any moment without worry.” I read this line years ago in school, but I can’t find the name of the speaker. At the time, it inspired me enough to remember the gist of it for years. It was easy to be inspired by it at the time because I didn’t have much money. The idea that money, comfort, and possessions should bring comfort, but not be something that we depend on for survival is easy when we don’t have much of any of those...
In a year with an unusually small number of staffing changes for Big Sandy schools, one major change isn't a new face. It's a well-loved teacher in a new role: Ms. Amy Terry has shifted to a full-time focus on Special Education at FE Miley Elementary School. For the last two years, she has been operating in a dual capacity, as both the second-grade teacher and the Special Education teacher. The shift in roles took place after the school went through a period of rapid turnover in Special...
Running the school year safely during the COVID pandemic has been challenging and required significant precautions be taken. One of the courses that faces the biggest challenges in meeting safely is music education. TJ Bond is the music teacher for Big Sandy Schools, and I sat down with him to discuss these challenges. The problem arises in the strange fact that airborne illnesses spread more effectively through singing, and the playing of wind instruments than through ordinary talking....
For the past 3 years, I have maintained a fairly rigid morning routine that began at 4 AM, when I would get out of bed, read for an hour, walk to the gym, and exercise. 6 months ago, the Covid lockdowns began and my carefully established routine fell apart. I no longer needed to get up so early to do my morning exercise, because the gym was closed and the kids didn’t need to be pushed out the door to school. Though my schedule continued for a little while, I slowly began to enjoy the bliss of sleeping later and later now that it was no longer n...
The newest face at FE Miley Elementary School is actually a returning personality. Mr. Desmond Parker is the new 2nd Grade teacher. He is taking over from Amy Terry, who will be shifting to focus exclusively on special education. Mr. Parker did his student teaching with Sherri Moore in the 3rd Grade Class last year, where he was popular with the kids and well liked by the staff. He applied to several schools, including FE Miley, who hired him before he heard back from anyone else. He was was...
