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The Big Sandy Christmas Stroll will be here on December 2. "Christmas Candy Land" is the theme of the event. It's a lot of work to put on this event, and it's more fun if the community members get involved where they can. There are five winning Stroll button designs. They are incredibly good. Winning artists are: Tori Dixon, Korbyn Jurenka, Astrid Ketchum, Alleyah Eagleman, and Heather Frank. All of the art created by the students of Big Sandy High School will be on display at the community...
Shaud Schwarzbach is tired of being Mayor. He knows town people want the council to act, but “they won’t attend the meetings. I want their input!” Being on the city council is stressful. They need your support by being involved. There are intense discussions and decisions to make. I visited with Shaud for a short time after the recent city council meeting to clarify information given to the city council by KLJ. According to the last testing, Big Sandy has a slightly higher number of readings than they would like in the BOD. Shaud said there...
I have a love/hate relationship with Facebook, and in November, I work on finding articles for the Mountaineer that celebrate giving thanks. I found Michael Wright's Facebook page. Michael Wright moved to Big Sandy with his mother, Suzanne, in 2021, and his Facebook comments this time of year inspire and encourage me. He was born in Vancouver, Washington, but lived most of his life in Eureka, Montana, graduating from Lincoln County High School in 2010. He moved to Kalispell for about seven and a...
I visited with a Veteran this past weekend about what Veterans Day means to him. He shared about his time in service and his experiences, and he also shared a story about his time deployed to another country. "I joined after high school and looked forward to serving my country. I honestly had a tough time transitioning after high school and found that I was making some horrible choices. My dad had suggested to me that maybe I join the military. I agreed and thought it was probably the best...
What’s the use of owning my own newspaper if you can’t write what’s important to me? I just recently spent a weekend with my brother and sisters at the family cabin at The Pines Recreation area on Fort Peck Lake (ok, it’s really a reservoir). It was my brother’s 70th birthday, and the cabin is 50 years old. It was a surprise birthday party for my brother, who lives near Portland. My brother and his wife drove through Big Sandy on Friday. I was supposed to lie and tell him I couldn’t make it. As it was, I had an ear infection and was at the...
November is the month I try to write about what to be thankful for. We have a great little Grocery store that never stops giving, and I wanted to talk to you about it. In most cases, they have what we need, and if they don't have it, Deb Louvar will order it in. Her philosophy is simple, " I just try to do the best I can. Try to meet people's needs as best as you can." The Grocery Store is a big giver to the community. They donate to almost every cause in our community. "Because it's important...
I asked Shane Ophus, “How do you approach life so you can be thankful every day”? Shane responds, “Well, it’s not easy. Sometimes, you have to concentrate on it.” However, just that morning, Shane told me he had read in his study bible,”’Rejoice always, pray continually, give thanks in all circumstances, for this is God’s will for you in Christ Jesus. The note for that verse in my study bible says, ‘Our joy, prayers, and thankfulness should not fluctuate with our circumstances or feelings. Obeying these three commands, rejoice always, p...
Big Sandy High School shop class has been busy preparing for a subterranean geothermal greenhouse, given to Big Sandy by a grant from Northwest Farm Credit Services. Helping to get the site, which is by the football field, ready were Jay Worral, and Blaine Ophus who both came over and helped dig dirt. Layne Taylor said, "They brought over their equipment and donated their time to help me dig it out. So, they actually did most of the digging. We have just been building. I also had Jesse Hartley,...
t represents one of the reasons I love small-town living. The tradition has continued for 68 years! Once again, the Fireman's Chili Feed was well attended. Such a wonderful community event. It isn't just a one-day event. The week starts on Monday because although we don't call it Homecoming it is. There is spirit week all week with Monday being Pajama Day, Tuesday being Cowboy or Cowgirl, Wednesday being Favorite Decade, Thursday being Favorite Sports Team, and Friday being Purple and Gold. The...
New Owners of the Diamon for You club and Casino, Chris O'Dell and Stephanie Therow, sat down with me and talked about how excited they were to be the new owners. Although they will be changing the name back to The Club. Both are from Nebraska originally. Chris owned a bar in Nebraska and was looking to buy another one here. Chris is also the Big Sandy Hospital Facility Manager. They will be looking at some changes, but what and when is still up in the air. There is the feasibility of making a...
At the recent city council meeting I was informed that a business has closed its doors to full-time operation. I received the following information from a letter from Mountain View CO-OP'S Nate Fairbanks: "Effective October 1, 2023 Mountain View Co-op has made the decision to transition the Big Sandy location from a full-time operation to a season Agronomy operations facility. I was to assure you that our priority is still to provide you with the products and services that you've become...
I’ve tried to write about school funding before. It has multiple levels and at times is difficult to completely understand. But at a recent board training, I was given a Montana School Finance Handout a 25-page document explaining school finances. I thought I would start by giving the Big Sandy K-12 Budget for FY2024. The total of all funds is $3,564,573.44, but having written that it’s important to know there are ten different fund categories. The General Fund is $2,127,853.49. Transportation is $250,000; Bus Depreciation Reserve is $64...
Giving Back I had spent the entire day from 10:00-4:00 watching football in Box Elder starting with Junior High Football. It consists of 5th, 6th, 7th, and 8th graders. It’s a fun watch, but a long watch. Two hours of watching young boys learning and celebrating a game they love. The varsity Pioneer football started at 1:00. I tried to take some good photographs, but this game was intense. The kind of game that’s exhausting to watch. I made it to the Harvest Festival at 4:00. I sat down to eat—yes it was early, but I was hungry. I wande...
Veterans Day is November 11th. It always comes so quickly and I don’t have time to put together a good article for the Veteran’s Day paper. I need help. I need the names of every Veteran in the Big Sandy area along with a picture. And I don’t want to leave anyone out. So it’s important to start gathering the material now. So please send information and a picture if you have one to bsm1@mtintouch.net. National Today website has the following information about Veteran’s Day. I don’t want to just give the history of the day itself on Veterans Day...
The Pioneer Parents Team met on September 12th at the FE Miley Library. Officers were voted on: President Rachel Baumgarn; Vice President Sarah Sura; Secretary Scarlet Auble; and Treasurer Misty LeFurgey. This is a group of parents who want to support and encourage the teachers in our community. Its design loosely follows the old PTA. They hope to encourage more parents to care about the classroom and get involved. It is also easy to understand how important it is to support the teachers as they...
A family pet brings enormous joys, of laughter and companionship. Often they sleep in the same bed. Ivan was too big he would take up the whole bed. He was a Great Dane Massive. Nathan bought him when Henry came home from Seattle's Children's Hospital with the firsthand knowledge that life is precious and oftentimes too short. Henry was proof that miracles still happen, and Ivan represented that. He came to live with me on the farm because he was just too big to live in a smaller townhouse....
Civic Duty is a sacred responsibility! One we should all hold in high regard. Those Civic Duties include voting, paying taxes, obeying laws, and jury duty. You may notice a slight difference in the paper this week. We found out on Friday that Leslie had Jury duty on Monday morning. Yes, that’s the day the paper goes to print. I let the Havre Daily know that it would be late getting the paper to press because I was doing it solo. I needed to call an InDesign expert a couple of times because I was totally lost. And Erik Sietsema was enormous h...
Sometimes blessings come in strange ways. I hate to admit it, but I lost my phone in my own house. The Find My Phone application told me it was in the kitchen. Yes, I've had to use the application before. This time the phone isn't where it tells me. The application tells you where your phone is when it was last charged. I thought I put it in the kitchen, but this time it wasn't there. I searched every cupboard, just in case I don't remember I put it in there. I looked through the garbage, under...
Two important opportunities for Big Sandy residents are going on for Big Sandy on Saturday, August 26th the first is the 4-Man Golf Scramble for the Big Sandy Barracuda Swim Team Fundraiser. There are Pin Prizes, a Hole-In-One Contest Sponsored by Taylor's Automax It's a 9 AM Shotgun Start a Beaver Creek Golf Course in Havre Montana. Put together a team Beaver Creek Golf Course Havre Montana. The registration Fee of $400 includes green fees and lunch. To Registration Contact Jolin Sunchild...
The Board of Trustees held their regular meeting and Budget Meeting on August 15th. The meeting itself was a three-hour meeting with multiple important subjects to discuss and act upon. Everyone present was impressed that two high school students expressed their concern that there would not be a bus route to pick them up. They were concerned that their education would be diminished if they could not attend Big Sandy Highschool. They asked the board to find a driver so they could attend school....
Too many times Thoughts by Zoe tend to be more on the serious side. Today I’d like to comment on the rumors that have gone around town about my Ford Explorer and myself. My 2016 red Ford Explorer has kind of been a nightmare for me. Without going into past issues, because the current issue is bad enough. I couldn’t steer it correctly and when I turned it off it locked down and I couldn’t move the wheel at all. The Ford mechanic had left for vacation leaving my red Ford Explorer sitting in front of the Mountaineer. So what I heard was peopl...
The town of Big Sandy held its normal City Council meeting on August 10, 2023. There were no Sheriff Deputies present to report to the council. It was noted that 406 is not responding with the results of the soil testing done early this year. Leslie Gregory asked permission for the pool to remain open for lap swimming for an additional week. She also reported the pool will need improvements next year and she will make a list and present it to the council. Rich Jesperson mentioned he thought the...
Lisa Sipler has been a major part of developing the soul of the Big Sandy Medical Center. Last week when I interviewed Darlene Cline I asked her who she was inspired by and she told me Lisa Sipler. We all need inspiration and Lisa Sipler can inspire anyone. I told Lisa, "You have a passion for your job. You love your job." She smiled and said, "I do love my job!" Her joy is contagious because other employees who work at the medical center have mentioned it to me. She creates an atmosphere where...
Girls on Shred comes to Big Sandy again. Kim Peterson teaches first and second grade in Missoula. And has been skating for more than 30 years. After interviewing her at Big Sandy's Skate Park, I looked her up on the internet and discovered she's a powerful name in the skateboarding world of Montana. "Girls on Shred is a nonprofit organization centered around empowering girls. But when we come to the smaller communities the guys are welcome too! We started as a gathering for girls to snowboard...
I recently attended a four-hour training session for Big Sandy Leadership. I’ll be presenting the information in several articles. I will be quoting information given to the Big Sandy School board as presented by Dr. Daniel Farr MSU Professor, retired Superintendent, and educational leadership consultant. On the front page of his presentation, it said, “The impossible can always be broken down to possibilities.” It was a very informative workshop. Over the years the role of the School Board has changed. Pre-1900 Boards served as admin...
