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This year marked the 28th year that Chandee Baumgardner has sold Indian Tacos at the Choteau County Fair. I spoke with Chandee while she was cooking flatbread in the deep fryer. It was obvious that she has prepped 3 decades worth of the local favorite, while she answered my questions and engaged customers at the counter. She explained that she could mix and cook the bread in her sleep at this point. When I pointed out that the first time I had ever eaten Indian Tacos, they were from her...
On September15 at 7 p.m. at the City Hall, there will be a town meeting to discuss the new storm drainage system going down the main street, replacing the old nonworking drains on Johannes. The project will start next spring. After the drains are installed, the main street will get a new coat of asphalt. The city council would love a large turnout to this town hall meeting, especially if you have any questions. Mayor Shaud Schwarzbach said, "We got this done, and we didn't have to raise taxes!"...
The day before school started and I was visiting the FE Miley grade school for the open house. She was in the third grade and recognized me and just needed to tell me about everything she bought for school. She was so excited she had a new pair of shoes that sparkled. She wanted to know if I wanted to take a picture of her shoes for the paper. I went to the school and took that picture because sometimes it's this kind of story that is the most important. We are back to school! And once again,...
This last weekend the 10th annual was held at the Big Sandy Skate Park. There were around 200 people in attendance; the furthest away was Alex from Costa Rica. "Dan was coming from Brazil but couldn't because of COVID." They came from all over the United States to take part in the event. Everyone knows Randy Katen, who was a professional in the 70's. They told me to talk to him because he knows everything about skateboarding. I went to where he had a chair in the shade and asked for an...
The 2021 Chouteau County 4-H and FFA livestock carcass contest took place at Pioneer Meats in Big Timber. A total of 55 Chouteau County 4-H animals were evaluated for carcass quality by Mark King (MSU Extension Sweet Grass County). The purpose of the carcass contest is to teach 4-H youth how to correctly select, feed and finish livestock based on carcass data. If carcass criteria are met, youth can be confident they are producing a quality product that is safe, nutritious and good tasting to the consumer. Out of 32 market swine entered at the C...
Two signs with two fundraising thermometers now adorn the sidewalk near City Hall. Don’t be confused: there are NOT two swimming pool fundraising efforts going on; just one. The two signs and two thermometers are about a fundraiser within a fundraiser. The big sign announces the overall effort which has now passed the quarter million milestone, with close to $270,000 contributed to date. A sizeable portion of that amount has come from grants from businesses, service organizations, and foundations. The majority, however, has come from the g...
HAVRE – Brooke Rudolph has recently been promoted to Consumer Lender/Operations Officer at Stockman Bank in Havre. Her responsibilities include developing and servicing consumer loans, and coordinating, overseeing and supervising all operational related functions for the bank. She also provides supervision and guidance to the teller and customer service areas, loan support and administrative staff. Rudolph brings over 15 years of banking experience to the position including serving as a t...
Autumn Stauffer, the four month old daughter of Caleb & Hannah Stauffer, underwent a second heart surgery August 23rd to treat a heart condition she was diagnosed with in utero. Most people around Big Sandy are familiar with Hannah, but know her by her maiden name: Hannah Anderson, daughter of Brook and Renee Anderson. Hannah and her family are well loved in our community and have made an impact on the lives of many people. Autumn is Caleb & Hannah's second child and has already been through...
Paula Witt and her husband Todd, along with many others, have completed the dream of holding a free concert on their farm to celebrate and support county fire departments. Paula said, "it was my husband Todd's idea to support the volunteer firefighters. And have a free concert at the end of summer. We just wanted to do something to give back to the community. Give something fun to do outside. He said our fire departments need to help. The firefighters risk their lives, leave their jobs, leave...
At the last Big Sandy School Board Meeting, they voted to open the Fitness Center to the public again. The exercise room was first closed because of COVID-19. Recently they needed to put new flooring in the area, which also required to be sealed, so it was closed until that was finished. Anyone wanting to use the exercise equipment must sign in at the office during the day. Right now, the area is also open between 4-8 Monday through Thursday and possibly Friday. They are asking teachers to oversee the work area per insurance liability...
The 2021 Chouteau County Fair drew some of its largest crowds ever after the 2020 hiatus. “It’s been very good. We’re happy to have the fair back again. We didn’t do it last year because of the Covid issue. Everybody seems to be happy to be coming to the events,” explained Shirley Embleton, who has served as the Fair Manager for over 15 years. The 109-year Montana tradition saw its largest ever attendance for Pig Wrestling. “Pig wrestling was better than ever. We had over a hundred people more than two years ago. We had 32 teams… we shoot for...
Casten Heppner's 2002 Crown Victoria made an impact on the competition while he represented Box Elder/Big Sandy in the Chouteau County Fair's demolition derby last weekend. "We are at the Mayhem on the Mighty Mo getting ready to wreck some cars," Heppner explained with, what he called, a 'cheesing it' grin on his face in advance of the evening's fun. This was Casten's 12th appearance in the local derby since his debut drive 17 years ago. At the age of 14, before getting he'd gotten a drivers...
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is releasing the interim decision (ID) for the pesticide paraquat dichloride (paraquat) finalizing new, stronger safety measures to reduce exposure. The Federal Insecticide, Fungicide and Rodenticide Act (FIFRA) requires the agency to periodically re-evaluate pesticides through registration review to ensure that risk assessments and pesticide decisions reflect the best available science. The ID is part of the legally required registration review process to identify risks as well as actions that can...
The Senior Center is starting a community newsletter called “Pioneer Pals.” The purpose of this newsletter is to bridge the gap between our schools and our community. It will tentatively feature two kids from the grade school, two kids from the high school, one teacher, and one senior citizen from our community each week. We would also like to incorporate all community members. If you are not a senior citizen and would like to participate, please message us on Facebook or contact the Senior Center. We want to take pictures of our senior cit...
Most of you reading this can only complain about one government, but I am fortunate enough to be able to complain about not one but two. Both the US and Canadian governments get my critiquing. This article is centered on the Canadian side of the border. So read and enjoy another country’s disorganization. As some of you may have read, I was “jumping through hoops at the border” back in July. I had called the border three times with questions to make sure I had my ducks in a row. I arrived at the border with full vaccination, passport, rabies ce...
Big Sandy Schools have already held meetings with parents of home school students. I was told they were informational and positive. With that in mind and to continue with an informational and positive note I have decided to print the following which is exact wording which was sent to me from the Montana Department of Education. GUIDANCE FOR SB 157 Qualified Students Attending a Non-Public or Home School to Participate in Extracurricular Activities in the Student’s Resident School District: Introduction The 2021 Legislature passed SB 157 a...
Big Sandy businesses are feeling the effects of the national labor shortage, particularly the larger employers in the area. The school system, the Medical Center, and Big Sandy Activities are all dealing with staff shortages, which is a particular problem because all three organizations provide services that cannot simply be cancelled. The needs of residents, patients, and students do not take a day off simply because there aren’t enough people to do the work of caring for, treating, teaching, or transporting them. The Big Sandy Public S...
The Big Sandy Booster club has finished a special project just in time for Pioneer Football! Rich Jespersen, Special Project Manager for new lockers in the boy's locker room, had the lockers delivered to his home, where he assembled everyone by hand. In the meantime, the locker room itself needed to be gutted and painted. With the help of Coach Thomas Dilworth and some Pioneer Boys, Rich Jespersen removed the old lockers, which was not an easy project, as they were old, rusty, and heavy. There...
With the start of a new year for Big Sandy Schools, there has been a staff change that will be noticed by students and staff at every level: Lianna Ophus Heimbigner is the new head cook for the school system. She takes on the position after Kelly Pursley Owen took a job as head cook for a school in Havre. Lianna is going into her 5th year with the school in Big Sandy. She is following in the footsteps of her great grandmother, Pearl Ophus, who was a cook in the Big Sandy schools during the 60s...
Emerging Winter Wheat, Grasshopper Pests and Systemic Seed Treatment The following information was prepared by Kevin Wanner (MSU Extension Entomologist). Emerging winter wheat can be particularly vulnerable to damage by grasshoppers. The larger adult stage grasshoppers are difficult to control and move into emerging winter wheat fields from surrounding grassy areas. Grasshopper treatment thresholds for emerging winter wheat are 3-7 per square yard within the field, or 11-20 per square yard around the margin. Populations in these ranges will...
"Red Cows, White Lights and Blue Grass" headlined the 2021 Red Angus Roundup trip held July 13-18 in Tennessee and Kentucky. Local youth attending include Andrea & Lance Rutledge and Jacynta Bomgardner as well as chaperone, Kristie Rutledge. There were 46 other juniors from across the country in attendance as well including 6 Youth and 3 chaperones from Montana. This trip was postponed last year and this year's turnout was the largest Roundup to date with 49 youth and 9 chaperones in...
“It’s like a family. I spend as much time with my nurses as I do with my kids and my husband. They’re part of the reason I want to go to work. Knowing that you have a good crew on at the start of your day, just makes your day start better,” explained Ashley Jacobi, Director of Nurses and Infection Control at Big Sandy Medical Center. Ashley’s praise for the nursing staff was glowing and ongoing. After nearly two years of pandemic restrictions, the trials of the times have refined the nursing crew into a close-knit team whose goal is to provid...
First Bank of Montana hosted its first customer appreciation luncheon Thursday afternoon as a way of thanking the community for its support of the new branch that opened in our town. "The whole point of the day is to thank our customers and thank the community for the support they give us. Hopefully, we have a partnership for decades into the future. I appreciate everybody's support... since First Bank of Montana is new to the community in the last two years, and with Covid and all the other...
In other words--pulling for each other. This year, the Chouteau County Fair is a go after being determined not to have one last year due to COVID-19. The theme is Pullin For The Fair. The Fair will be held August 19-22. Pig Wrestling will be held Thursday, August 19 at 6:30. The object is to place a pig in a barrel, rear-end first, in the shortest amount of time. Each team has four members. The Entry fee is $40 a team. All entries must be received on or before Tuesday, August 17, by 5:00. It must be complete with an entry fee, team, name, and...
I live on Hopp Road and received a text message there was a fire out my way. I got in my Ford Explorer to research it out, and as soon as I was away from the shelterbelt, I saw the fire. It was already burning up Eagle Butte. The wind was strong, and I knew it wouldn’t be long before it was in the breaks. I drove over to the fire, seeing the combines leaving the fire behind them, so I was glad no equipment was destroyed. I learned later, no livestock were lost either. I didn’t go into the area because they didn’t need me starting another fire i...
