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You may have all seen this on TV Friday night but did not realize Big Sandy’s own Kris Kulbeck partially designed it. The TV story was about technology using UV lights to Kill COVID-19 germs. Kart Kleen Technologies showcased the system, “Freq Kleen-e” at Hellgate Middle school, which kills 99.9 percent of all bacteria and germs. It was the first working model in action. It takes 28 seconds to kill all bacteria and germs. They use a conveyor belt to place objects on, it then passes through an enclosed UV light tunnel and then it comes out o...
4 has been, at least to this point, quite a year! We tend to concentrate on what's wrong, I mean, what else can go wrong! We are trying hard not to step on people's toes, not to express an opinion that will alienate our friends. Joyce Meyers wrote, "Statistics prove that 10 percent of the people we encounter will not like us. There is nothing we can do about it, except worry, but even that won't change their minds." On Friday, while I was in town working on getting the paper out early, I rece...
Harvest and haying time is always a stressful time. It's hot, sweltering, equipment breaks down, and everyone is exhausted! We have little time to take a break, little time to get a good night's sleep. This year is more stressful than most. We have poor prices, and grass hopers by the millions! The political bickering is getting out of hand. Political maneuvering is more than outspoken. It's downright ugly. And then you add COVID, not necessarily massive in our area, but it affects food and...
I was first given this story by one of the Big Sandy High School neighbors because they saw Gwen Kane out there working fixing up the chair-saw Pioneer by the school parking lot. I immediately went and found Gwen working on the statue again and asked her if I could interview her. She laughed like she always does, and then said, "after the project was finished." It took three and a half weeks, not all day nor in the heat of the day, but she worked on it till the sun went down. Five years ago,...
Sarah Suru says, "I do love art. I kind of grew up with it so.... My greatest influence was my mom. She was doing it since I was little." Mrs. Mangold was Sarah's art teacher at Big Sandy High School. While at Boise State, she was required to take all kinds of art classes but found her love for sculpting metal while she was there. She went to Boise State to get a degree in Art metals. Diane Scalese encouraged her to concentrate on Metals. When she returned to Big Sandy, she worked under Jan?...
At the regular Big Sandy School Board meeting, they once again visited about how best to open the schools. However, before that, the Student Council asked permission to have a dunk tank at the Fall Kick off to help them raise funds. They realized that the Fall Kick-Off is not a sure thing, but was hoping if there was a Kick-Off that they could receive permission to rent one from Great Falls. The board decided that it was an administrative decision. The Building Maintenance Projects that are finished are the ditch beside the gym is completed, si...
The plan to open Big Sandy schools is still in the discussion format. They have asked every parent to take a survey on the Big Sandy School's Web site. It is important to have parents input before they make their final decisions. There are three options: Option 1 full return to school with safeguards in place such as mask-wearing, temperature checks, frequent hand washing/sanitizing, limits on large gatherings, no visitors allowed in the buildings; Option 2 Blending learning model where half of...
I thought I would share “Lighting Up the World” by Tyler Perry, instead of trying to rewrite the subject and doing it poorly. Enjoy! “I’VE BEEN DOING a lot of building over the past few years. I’ve learned that, according to the commercial codes across the country, before you can construct a building, plans must first be reviewed by a board, and they have to pass a “life safety review.” In order to pass that review, the building must meet certain requirements: It must have fire exits, sprinklers, and exit signs, as well as lights with emergenc...
It's been a year and what a year. I feel like I've just started to learn to crawl. I had no idea what owning a business meant. There are still somethings I need to learn. I wanted to be a part of a paper that celebrated our local culture. I believed it was important to support a rural economy and way of life. I told myself I had to learn how to put the Big Sandy Mountaineer together. I don't like jigsaw puzzles, so a six/eight/ten-page jigsaw puzzle is a little daunting, so I still haven't...
Every farmer knows the risk of hail, but when it comes, it’s devastating. This last week there was a storm that brought hail clear across the state of Montana almost. It wasn’t a wide swath, but where it landed, there was quite a bit of damage. No farmer wants a paycheck from insurance companies. They would rather harvest their crops, especially this year, because they looked so good. Nothing like bring in the crops! For those of you who don’t know, there is Crop-hail insurance. It is a type of insurance that pays the farmer for any damag...
Editor's Note: After this article on preparing for an emergency, we will do a series of articles concerning health and safety in your home. First, understand that no-one thinks a serious accident or illness will happen to them, so like almost everyone, we do not prepare for one. EMT personnel are well trained for emergencies and can help get the person to the medical facility. Do not try to take a seriously ill or injured family member to the hospital call 911. When I took training to become a C...
Now and then, someone will ask me how Ron and Don and doing. "I haven't seen them around for a while." If you are new to town, Ron and Don Christensen, twins, for years walked the streets of Big Sandy collecting everyone's pop cans and visiting all the town down businesses. They are 74 years old and have a difficult time getting around, especially Don, who's had a few falls and a broken bone. But they still see themselves at home. They don't ever want to move. "No way!" I asked if I could take...
I have three ways to renew myself during these crazy times. It's challenging to stay positive without jumping on the bandwagon and criticize everything that is going on. I am determined to live above these circumstances and remain joyful and positive. The most important of the three is to spend time reading my bible, doing devotions, and finding time for solitude just to breathe and find peace. The second way is to think about other people. Prioritize the day so that we can find the time and a...
The City Council meeting with the Big Sandy Barracudas and the newly formed New Pool Committee was held. There were two items on the agenda. The Barracudas were pursuing permission to hold another swim meet in Big Sandy. This meet would take two days, and they would be inviting a few other towns to the event. Preliminary approval from Angel Johnson, the County Health Nurse, was brought for the council to review. There were a couple of items still be worked through. The board gave tentative approval for the swim meet to be planned, which would...
“Governor Steve Bullock and Lt. Governor Mike Cooney today released the Governor’s Plan for Reopening Safe and Healthy Schools for Montana to provide flexible guidance for public schools to prepare to offer in-person instruction in the fall,” on Thursday, July 2nd. They presented to the school a 17-page guideline for the school to implement. Ultimately the school board will need to apply those regulations by voting in Big Sandy’s 2020-2021 school year. There are guidelines for all three phases of reopening the schools, due to COVID-19. Kelly Ha...
Editor's note: Though these facts might be hard to read through, they were taken directly from the Montana Highway Patrol 2019 Annual Report. It is sobering. Chouteau is in District VIII. In that district, there are eight counties from Glacier to Phillips county. The population for District VIII is 60,078. We have 17 full-time uniform Positions. They drove 436,909 miles during 2019. There were 11,176 calls for service. There were 632 crashes investigated, 7,159 traffic stops, 5,386 citations...
This time of the year, Yucca dots the sides of the hills. I once showed my grandchildren, when they were little, the Yucca plant up close. They said, "Gramma, it's an ant home." Yucca, the plant is a perennial. There are 40-50 varieties of Yucca, depending on where you do your research. They can be like we see them here, a small plant with spiky leaves and beautiful white flowers or they can be shrubs or even trees "in the family Asparagaceae, subfamily Agavoideae. They are native to the hot...
Researched by Zoe Merrill Editor’s note: Our lives make a difference. The Big Sandy Mountaineer should be about collecting stories from the people in the Big Sandy area. When I was told about Cornelia Knottnerus, after her death, I was reminded how important it is to get other’s stories. This woman lived in Big Sandy for many years and I would have loved to listen to her talk about her life. I would like to talk to you about yours. I listened to the Corrie’s whole oral history, over an hour long. I took notes but the following intro...
July 4th usually means exactly what we all think. It’s a celebration that started in 1776 continues to the present day. It is the celebration of the birth of American independence. It usually has activities with fireworks. Other towns have parades and concerts to go to while most families have a more casual family gatherings with camping, fishing, or barbecues. Actually, the first public reading of the Declaration was on July 8, 1776. It wasn’t until one year later, on July 4, 1777, that Independence Day was first celebrated. They adj...
After Big Sandy lost a grain elevator in town when CHS closed its door, I stopped one day at EGT-Tunis to visit with Josh Wulf, the Elevator Manager. He immediately wanted to place ads in the Mountaineer and to support Big Sandy however he could. EGT build three identical elevators in Montana, one at Tunis, one at Chester, and one at Kintyre Flats/Frazer. A year ago, they also bought an Elevator in Sidney. The Export Grain Terminal, EGT, is a joint venture between Bunge North America, the North...
It was a perfect day. Not too hot, although some would say if you sit outside in the sun all day, it doesn't matter what the temperature is, it gets hot. And if you saw any of the 22 garage sale participants on Sunday, many of them had sunburns. There were ten sites on the north side of Big Sandy and 12 sites on the south side. I was sitting in front of the Mountaineer when an older gentleman approached the sale from The Grocery Store. He bought a small item and then asked if there were any...
Although they held their regular meeting, some of the agenda items were regular, but others didn’t sound very normal. Yes, the building Maintenance Projects are going on as usual, with the FE Miley flooring progressing. And like every summer, deep clean takes place in each room, and some painting is going on in both the high school and grade school as well. The mirrors going up the stairs at the high school are being removed, and the area repainted. Travis reported, “All teachers will have computers that run Windows 10 that previously had windo...
One of the most favorite parts of the Big Sandy Mountaineer is the Old Timers section. It is research and written by Vicki Kulback and Lois Gay. When you see them on the street, acknowledge them for their continued support of our community and its history. The Big Sandy Museum is being affected by the COVID-19. It is open by appointment only in June. So, if you would like to take a relative or two down to the Museum to see our history call and someone will meet you and open it for you. They...
Interestingly, the Sunshine Snippers 4-H Club choose to write positive quotes on the sidewalk downtown, fitting of their name Sunshine. They did ask the permission of the business owners. I just had to have every one written down, thanks to my granddaughter Faith, who walked the streets and wrote them in a tablet for me. It’s worth reading and implementing them. Be the reason someone smiles today. Spread joy! Throw love like confetti. In a world where you can be everything, be kind. Think positive. Feel Positive. Be positive. Don’t give up It...
Raea Pansch 's heart told her she could do something to help Wynter Parker. I asked her what made her work so hard. She said, "my mom was talking about it." To tell the full story, I quote here from KRTV "Ten-year-old Wynter Parker's life was turned upside down in an instant on Friday. His mother Rokki Ferguson (30), father Sage Ferguson (26), younger siblings Sage Jr. (5), and Lovelee Bearcub (8), and uncle Ryan Four Souls (30) died in a two-vehicle crash in Chouteau County, leaving Wynter...
