Sorted by date Results 276 - 300 of 476
As schools across Montana continue to struggle with teacher recruitment and retention, school boards and administrators are always looking for ideas, incentives, or programs to help deal with the recruitment and retention problem. Schools have implemented 4-day school weeks, modified salary schedules, student loan forgiveness, housing and such. All these concepts are successful in helping recruit and retain teachers to a certain degree. One component we as a school district was missing was a strong mentoring program to help new teachers adapt...
I am going to make this column short and sweet. Don’t Bundle! Bundling is when you pay more than one bill with just one check. In my case I have my Direct TV bundled with my internet and home phone service. Last month I realized that my television bill was getting out of hand. I was paying $170.00 a month and not getting nearly that much service out of the television service. Cutting back did not come easy as I have been with Direct TV since 1996. So, at the beginning of last month I called Direct TV and cut enough programming to make my b...
Blast yourself out of the Past and hold on to your hats and come running to the Chouteau County Fair on August 18 through 21 in Fort Benton. There is the Barbecue throwdown on Thursday, August 18 at 5pm and while area barbecue specialists compete for the honor of the best barbecue ever, thanks to The Grocery Store in Big Sandy, the rest of us get to enjoy the fruits of their labor in a free barbecue meal that evening. And, providing the pigs don’t run and hide in the mighty Missouri, there is a pig wrestling contest and pig wrestling C...
When Mike Wayman graduated Valedictorian from Big Sandy High School in 1989, little did he know that he would be putting engineers to work in the Twin Cities area as well as helping design a huge safety feature for fire trucks known as BackSafe. Wayman is the son of Karen Jespersen and step son of Rich Jespersen of Big Sandy. After graduating from Big Sandy High School, Wayman went to Concordia College and North Dakota State both, graduating with a mechanical engineering degree. Wayman took his...
As most Big Sandy residents have noticed for a long time now there have been sidewalks torn up in the Big Sandy business district. Project manager Keith Ballantyne said that by the time this story is out, all the sidewalks should be finished. Chouteau County found that there was some money left in old CTEP funds (Community Transportation Enhancement Project). The money was awarded to Chouteau County to use in Big Sandy for a sidewalk project. By using CTEP funds for sidewalks, the business owner would not have to pay as much for a new sidewalk...
Charlie Russell was saddened by what he called the death of the west. I know what he is talking about. I am saddened by the death of what this part of Montana used to be like when I was a boy in the 1940’s and early 1950’s. I live on Sixth Street and while there are plenty of children in my neighborhood, you don’t see a lot of them out. Mainly I see kids from the east end making the trek to the skate board park on ninth street. In my day, winter and summer we kids in my neighbor spent most of our time outside. In the summer it was long hikes, l...
From the looks of the new Big Sandy Library outwardly it is almost complete. As these words are being written, workers are working on the new sidewalk in front of the interesting new building with the small tower that compliments Main Street so well. But, according to Marla Ray and Dee Pribyl, there is much to get completed before a grand opening can be touted this fall. The main thing slowing things down is the wait for furniture and fixtures along with shelving. Dee said that Carroll College h...
By Robert Lucke One thing for sure, when Ellaraine Lockie comes to Big Sandy, there is a treasure trove of things she shares in "The Mountaineer" the rest of the year. Today is no exception when we publish a great unpublished interview of Ellaraine which should be very interesting to Big Sandy in general and in particular, budding poets and writers. Toward the end of the interview Ellaraine describes a poetry club she once formed in Big Sandy and offered to start another if there is some...
When I last wrote about my prostate cancer I had taken a turn for the worse in two areas. The chemo therapy treatment I had taken did not do a lot of good for my prostate cancer in that they barely lowered my PSA which is one of the best indicators as to how the prostate cancer is doing. In addition I had gotten what five percent of people who do chemo get, congestive heart failure. First, the congestive heart failure. The symptoms I had that something was very wrong with my body were that I had trouble breathing; I was retaining fluids and...
What to cook this month, that is the question? It is still quite hot so maybe we should cook something that keeps the oven from turning on. What would that be? I really don’t know. But I had better think of something and very soon. Oh, wait, something is coming to me. How about a summer pasta salad that features shrimp and real crab meat? That sounds so good, I just might stop writing and start cooking. First of all, get yourself a package of salad macaroni or a package of shells. Cook to taste, drain and let cool down while you are fooling a...
When twice in July ducks had landed on the Big Sandy swimming pool, we at "The Mountaineer" took it as a sign. Were the ducks telling us we needed a larger and newer swimming pool or were the ducks telling us that the present pool is just fine? Neither, we deduced. Rather the ducks were telling us we needed a mascot. We decided the mascot had to be a female duck which Leslie promptly named Beatrice. You will hear from Beatrice frequently. She will lend a couple of quacks to many stories and...
As school gets closer and closer and people start staying home more toward the end of summer, it is time to remember that the needs of the Big Sandy Food Bank are always there. The Food Bank continues to feed a large number of people weekly and monthly too. They are also working on getting a Back Pack Program started to help hungry children get through the weekends. There has been some very good news regarding the Big Sandy Food Bank according to Erik Sietsema, who heads up the Food Bank in Big Sandy along with Terry Grant and Karli Phillips. T...
By Robert Lucke The Russell Museum in Great Falls has a varied array of activities that are open to the public all summer long and into the fall. There is a cost per activity but if a person joins the Museum, that cost is much less. “The Mountaineer” only just got the summer program brochure so the activities listed only are for August and into September and the fall. On August 2 through 4 there is a Youth Art Camp entitled exploring expressionism. It runs from August 2 to 4 at the museum in Great Falls and is for grades 2 and 3. It is hel...
It is felt by some that in Big Sandy there are a few children who do not eat when the school is not preparing breakfasts and lunches. It is very difficult to know for sure as not enough food for kids is not something that goes around town like gossip. Most of us who talk to people about needs in Big Sandy to help poor people do hear stories of children in need of help. With a four day week at the schools and no food being cooked on Friday it is even more important that food be gotten to those who need it. If there are kids here that have those...
Mayor Stiles said that the joint City Council and School Board meeting to discuss a new swimming pool for Big Sandy on June 21 was very successful with both groups thinking more about a new swimming pool. Most of the Council was at the meeting along with most of the School Board. "We showed the School Board the diagrams and pictures of pools we have been talking about," said Mayor Stiles. "We also discussed pros and cons of both suggested locations. One location is very close to the elementary...
Tina Rodewald, who heads up the Big Sandy Museum, says to stop in as the entire museum is being refreshed and there are plenty of new exhibits to see and explore from 10 until 4 until Labor Day. Traci Rodewald, is the woman in charge of the museum, and she has worked hard to make museum mannequins dressed in the kind of garb they should be wearing for the period they are representing. For instance Tina said that the Mountain Cowboy has never looked better and is worth a look this summer at his...
There is an old saying in Montana that if a person does not like the weather, just wait five minutes and it will change. That has never been more true than this winter, spring and early summer, in the Big Sandy area. Just before this story came to see the printed word, there was a good inch of rain in the Big Sandy area. Some areas of the Bear Paw Mountains were reporting up to three inches of rain and some low land flooding. Many have commented that it is almost the middle of July and the prairie is that wonderful early spring green color....
At the last regular City Council meeting July 6, 2016, there were six visitors present. The Pledge was recited and minutes were approved. There was no sheriff’s report. Nor were there any public comments. The New Water Project was discussed. Rural Development has asked for updated figures as they are interested in funding the project. Mayor Stiles said that before they go too much further they need to have public meetings to let Big Sandy know what is in the mix. The Council discussed property cleanup of weeds, abandoned vehicles and w...
Last Monday it simply poured all day long on the prairie and in the Bear Paw Mountains even more. As I was driving to Big Sandy that Monday morning, I was thinking of cloud bursts as I crossed the Gravel Coulee Bridge just south of Laredo, Montana. In, I believe, 1938 a cloud burst, in the mountains south of Gravel Coulee. A wall of water came down the watershed. That water killed several people in an afternoon. I remember Ed Cook saying that he and his dad were watching the wall of water from the top of a bluff when along came the very school...
In unofficial minutes of the June 28 School Board Meeting all trustees were present except for Brandon Gasvoda. Staff present was Superintendent Moore, Clerk Engle and Elementary Lead Teacher Wolery. Visitors present were Colby Cline, Joe Bahnmiller, Traci Rodewald, Lisa Genereux, Sheri Moore, Jennifer Darlington, Mark Reichelt, Ronnie Simpson, Sophie Reichelt, Jessica Roth, Josh Tone and Neal Bouma. The meeting was called to order, the Pledge recited, there was a welcome of guests and the minutes of the last meeting were approved. There were n...
I must admit that when Dana Darlington came into "The Mountaineer" asking if we had heard anything about National Heritage Areas, I had not. Darlington went on to say that there is a group of mostly Great Falls people that want to make all of Chouteau County, all of Cascade, part of Fergus County and some of Lewis and Clark County into a National Heritage area. "The idea of a National Heritage area comes across as good at first," said Darlington. The idea is to promote tourism. The problem is th...
There is a new book out this summer called “DEATH IN GLACIER NATIONAL PARK” by Randi Minetor. It is a history of all the known deaths in Glacier since it became a park in 1910. That is not as horrible a story as one might think. I knew a Red Bus Driver who did a “Death Tour” of the park one summer that was very popular. This book lists everyone who has died in the Park for whatever reason. With some deaths there are stories because there was a lot of publicity that went along with the death or deaths. Some have no stories to go with the dea...
I love this salad in the summer and I have not made it for a decade or more. It seems like I have forgotten all about it. Called Cucumbers in Sour Cream, it is best served just when made and the sour cream mixture is thick. But keep it longer and it is still very good. You will need 2 cucumbers sliced into thin rounds One red onion sliced into rings ½ cup sour cream 1tablespoon vinegar 2 tablespoons sugar Pepper to taste. Tobacco to taste Lots of ground sea salt. Take your sliced onion and cucumber and spread them over a cookie pan. Grind up...
Hold onto your hats (and not just because of the Montana winds) friends and neighbors for July 9 are the Quinn Farms Open House. All are welcomed to this huge event that lasts from 9 a.m. to 9 p.m. or beyond. Registration for this free event is at 9 a.m. on the morning of July 9. Introduction of guests will be at 9:30 a.m. for the event which is expecting to host several hundred visitors. The route to the Quinn Farms is clearly marked on the Judith Landing road. One of the big events of the day...
If Fair Board Chairman Colby Baumgarn has anything to say about it, this year’s Chouteau County Fair will live up to its motto, “A Blast from the Past.” The Fair is officially August 19 through 21 but there is, like always, the Big Sandy Grocery Store Barbeque Throw Down with free eats beginning at 6 p.m. on Thursday, August 18. This year’s big event, according to Baumgarn is the Western Grand National Tractor Pull. That event is scheduled for Saturday night and should be a very big show. This year the Pull organizers are asking for local e...
