Sorted by date Results 351 - 375 of 978
Sunday, December is the nation's Wreath Across America. According to their website, "Wreaths Across America (WAA) was started in 2006 to expand students and community education by putting veterans together with children through the mission statement "Remember, Honor, Teach." (Remember the fallen; Honor those who served; and Teach our children the value of freedom.)." On December 18th, wreaths are placed on the graves of veterans. In Chouteau County, Geraldine had 14, Carter 11, Big Sandy 55,...
I have now owned the Mountaineer for two years. It’s been a great learning opportunity, as I have never owned a town-down business before. It is amazing what businesses are required to do. I struggled through Covid-19, and with the help of a couple of grants, I was able to make it through. However, I have to take a serious look at income and what I have to payout. I have delayed this decision as long as I can. I am increasing the cost of the paper by $5 a year. Within Chouteau County, the Mountaineer costs $38 a year. It will now cost $43 a y...
There were 21 guests present at the Medical Center Annual Meeting, which was held at their new building across the street from the dining room and kitchen. The audit was a clean audit with no journal entries. Leah Griffin, CEO of the Big Sandy Medical Center, mentioned the BSMC Board of Directors entered into a contract with Cypress Healthcare at the direction of Leah Griffith, CEO, in February 2021. Cypress Healthcare provides consulting services to assist in the management of the facility. They met with the Board and Medical Staff in March...
This year, the Pioneer Girls coaches are Travis Baumann, Katy Nicholson, and Ella Jurenka as a volunteer coach. There are 14 players for Varsity and JV, 12 high school girls, and two 8th graders. "It's going to be a surprise, Coach Travis said. "I'm excited about it, I really am. We've been looking at films and roosters from last year. They have no seniors, but five juniors, one sophomore, six freshmen, and two 8th graders. "We aren't very tall." Coach Travis is a conditioning coach, so they...
The Big Sandy Pioneer Wrestling team has three boys. Darryl Sunchild is coming back from an injury he sustained in football season. Tucker Taylor, the coach, said, "The big thing, my goal from him--I'm mostly concerned he gets back healthy. Whether he sets his feet on the wrestling mat or not. "Tannin Baumann had an ankle injury; hopefully, we can keep him healthy." This last weekend Tannin placed in 4th in the 138-pound class at the Havre Invitational Meet. Austin Haugan is a new wrestler....
Editor's note: If I did not get your business listed, please let me know, and I will run a correction detailing your business in the next Big Sandy Mountaineer: It is essential to shop at home as it does affect our economy; we must support our local businesses during our Christmas shopping. Indeed, we don't have shopping available like Great Falls or Havre, but we can still shop and fill many of our Christmas lists locally. Gift certificates to local businesses are always a good present to give....
Big Sandy Organics has hired Claude Smith. He recently retired from his other job in Great Falls and is excited to take the reins and help Big Sandy Organics continue to grow. What is exciting is while talking to him, you realize the positive impact that Big Sandy Organics continued development will have on the town Big Sandy. Claude told me currently he is "Designing a new facility along with modern production lines. We are designing a new production facility because we have outgrown this one....
Thanksgiving is mostly a time to eat with extended family members. People travel home to celebrate together. Traditionally every family has its meal. Gramma makes something; others make a salad, two or three pies are served. Usually, there are two types of cranberries, the real kind and the jelly kind. Mashed potatoes, gravy, stuffing, and homemade rolls are on the menu. We always make too much, so there can be lots of leftovers. In Big Sandy, there have already been two Thanksgiving meals...
This time of year, when the bright colors of fall have fallen off or blown away, driving to work is rather dull, with faded goldfields, brown dirt, dry grass, and dead stems. Usually, I'm a little behind on a Monday. Monday is the Mountaineers' most hectic morning, and I have always told myself to get there earlier. Still, I delayed either because I was enjoying my morning sleep or enjoying a slow cup of coffee while reading my bible. It is also always possible I have left a responsibility from...
The student Council would like to bring Amberley Snyder, a motivational speaker, to Big Sandy High School. Snyder was in an accident, driving without a seat belt and over-corrected after looking down at a map. She was driving to compete in a horse-riding competition, which she still does today, even though she has been paralyzed from the waist down since 2010. Booster club reported on their activities, already reported on by this newspaper; however, they also said that during the Halloween Carnival at the F. E. Miley school, the sixth graders...
During Public Comment, Lorrie Merrill informed the council that it would cost $380 for each main street user to use a camera to look and see if there are any issues with their sewer. They recommend doing it closer to the spring because any makers they would make now would not be visible in the spring. Lorrie said she would get the contact information to everyone along the main street. There will be a significant donor visiting Big Sandy this week to consider a pool donation. Wendy also fixed the bookkeeping accounts to make sure we were in...
For some reason, I always cry at the Veteran's Day Program. I thought it was because my daughter and her husband are veterans, but they have moved from Big Sandy. And I still found myself crying. It's deep within me; I guess that soldiers deserve so much more from us than a short day of honor. I think of my family's generations of involvement in serving. I often wonder how serving affected each person. I know when you do, you are changed. I believe that the Big Sandy High School Choir does a...
Both the volleyball and football seasons have ended with a loss. However, as one of the principles of Ro Wiggins says, "I will win if I don't quit," has been proven true. These teams saw weekly improvement. They worked so hard as a team; they have got to feel good about what they accomplished. I am so excited to see what they will achieve next year! Ro Wiggins is a young man originally from Louisiana who has been traveling Montana to give athletic camps in many small towns. He has a powerful...
The city council met to have a work meeting for Ordinance No 20021-1, Community Decay Ordinance. Besides the city council members, five residences attended and expressed their opinions about having such an ordinance. The next action the council is taking is sending the ordinance one last time to the Chouteau County attorney, Steve Gannon, and to the town of Big Sandy’s attorney, Jennifer Forsyth, in Havre. The ordinance itself is five pages long, and it will not be published in its entirety. It is also crucial that you understand the words p...
You can know what some of your family histories are. I wasn't necessarily interested in my family until my sister, Dena, started digging into it herself. Her friend Liz looked up something for her, and after that, she was hooked on our family. Dena spends hours every day researching. She has information going back 40 generations. She has studied all four of my family lines Patten, Brewer, Clowes, and Biddle. In my family are many interesting, powerful, and inspiring blood relatives. And others...
The new owners of LIFT are Maryls Myers, Tracy Schuster, and Connie Reichelt. Maryls has gone to LIFT for 4 ½ years and said, "I have never stuck with anything this long." Following that, Tracy told me, "This September was my fourth anniversary for attending LIFT. Marlys Myers talked me into going for the first time, and I was hooked!" Connie Reichelt said, "I have been attending classes for three years. I have struggled with orthopedic issues, and strength training has helped me...
The Theme for the 2021 Red Ribbon week is “Drug Free Looks Like me.” At the High School, Diana Keen said the student council was stepping up to run the week. They talked about Nicotine on Monday. They are learning that both regular cigarettes and e-cigarettes have Nicotine in them. According to John Hopkins Medical School, Nicotine is a highly addictive drug as harmful as heroin and cocaine. Nicotine raises your blood pressure and increases your heart rate. Tuesday, they visited about alcohol in the teen mind, which causes damage to the bra...
At the last school board meeting, they visited about repairing the new gym floor. The floor is peeling in numerous places. The oil-based polyurethane was put on this summer. The company will be coming in to patch it with a water-based urethane and fix it permanently this spring. It was also noted that the Big Sandy School website had posted a document about common questions concerning returning to school and COVID -19. On the website, look under Menu/Documents/ School Board Documents/COVID-19. Glen Terry, School Board President, said, “Our main...
Big Sandy City Council met for their regular meeting on October 14 at 7:00 p.m. The Big Sandy Pool continues to raise funds. However, some of the more substantial funding needs to have a non-profit status to give to before they can give to the project. This will be worked on in the future. Also, auditors requested the funds be set up in a different, more efficient way. There was one question about why we aren’t planning an indoor pool. And the most straightforward answer is we can’t afford an indoor pool. KLJ was present to answer any que...
(Editors Note: This is my first attempt to cover a football game. I watched it on NFHS Network. At first, I could read the numbers of the players, but it got darker I couldn’t see who did what, and if the announcer didn’t tell me, the information was lost. Sats were not sent to me.) The Big Sandy Pioneers traveled to Valier and won the football contest 46-14. The Pioneers started the game with four Juniors and two sophomores. Valier started with one senior and five juniors. On their first possession, the Pioneers couldn’t move it 15 yards and h...
It started with a children's parade with pulled wagons that each class decorated. They even called me from the school to make sure I would see them and take a picture. The children walked from F.E. Miley School to the high school through the downtown area. They even threw candy! After they got to the football field, those who wanted to participate in the Punt, Pass, and Kick Contest. I love the Punt, Pass, and Kick contest. All those who want to be football players dream about being one. All...
The Big Sandy School board held a special meeting to discuss two items during a Covid-19 quarantine. There was one kindergartener who tested positive for Covid. This reporter does not know if it was the Delta strain or not. The result of that, and because the children in the kindergartener class do not maintain social distancing, meant the county health nurse recommended that all kindergarten classes stay home for one week. Melanie Schwarzbach representing the teacher the Memorandum of Understanding-COVID leave document requesting funds become...
Chouteau County Juniors and Seniors will participate in 2021 Chouteau County Agricultural Business Day Junior and Senior students from Big Sandy High School, Fort Benton High School, Geraldine High School, Highwood High School, and Chouteau County Home Schools will participate in the 2021 Chouteau County Agricultural Business day on November 2nd. The event will take place from 9:00 a.m. -12:00 p.m. at the Ag Center (1205 20th Street). An estimated twenty-five Chouteau County businesses will be in attendance to educate juniors and seniors about...
COVID has been one of the most divisive subjects in our community. It has divided close friends and family members. COVID, the use of masks and vaccines, has separated our community into two camps. That is why I struggled to tell the story again; however, there is information that we need to consider as a community family before we continue to go forward with our health. As of Monday, September 27, 20 active cases in Chouteau County have been reported. We also know there are some people with COVID-related symptoms that were not diagnosed....
Kandi Marino needs a kidney transplant. They need $10,000 down before they even put her on the list., and she’ll need more after the surgery. Kandi has lived in Big Sandy for 36 years, and she calls it her hometown. She’s seen how people treat each other. “We are family here. That’s how people act. I’ve seen it for 36 years. My kids told me it was time I allowed the family to help support me.” She knows this community is all about caring, but her son said she wouldn’t just have a benefit. She wanted to serve the community. “I get all embarrasse...
