Sorted by date Results 101 - 125 of 3348
Big Sandy's Chili Feed is a treasured community event. People come home, and even college kids ride the fire trucks. Although it remains a valuable community get-together, it doesn't really change, and maybe that's why it's so important to us. The day starts months before, with our firefighters working tirelessly to secure prizes for the community. Our grade school kids, with their boundless creativity, draw and color their artwork, adding a personal touch to the event. The firefighters' visits to the school to educate the kids about fire...
October 5, 1963 the ground was broke to begin the construction of the Big Sandy Medical Center. At that time, the desire was to provide a facility for the town doctor to see his patients and possibly tend to them overnight if they were too ill to be at home. By 1965, the building was complete, including the inscription: built by the community, for the community. BSMC has remained an independently owned, community ran organization since it originated in 1965. Changes have been made over the...
Conifers Shed Most Inefficient Needles in the Fall The article below is a portion of an article written by Peter Kolb (MSU Extension Forester). The article is available in full at the Chouteau County Extension office. The article explains the natural phenomenon of fall needle drop, insect management, and proper watering techniques for pine and spruce trees. Every fall a lot of concern arises when conifers such as pines, spruces and firs start to drop their older needle cohorts in preparation for winter. This is essentially an energy... Full story
On June 17, 2024, Montana Attorney General Knudsen issued a news release entitled “Montana On Pace For Another Record-Breaking Year Of Fentanyl Seizures: “HELENA—Montana Attorney General Austin Knudsen announced today that anti-drug task forces in Montana seized 150 percent more fentanyl in the first quarter of 2024 than during the first quarter of 2023.” “Through the first quarter of 2024, Rocky Mountain High-Intensity Drug Trafficking Area task forces seized a total of 163,184 dosage units of Fentanyl in Montana compared to 65,142 during th...
4-H is the largest out of school youth development program in the state of Montana. Currently there are over 19,000 youth 4-H members stretching across Montana's 56 counties. 4-H wouldn't be possible without the dedicated MSU Extension personnel and the 4,000 certified volunteers throughout Montana. Chouteau County currently is home to five, 4-H clubs. Within these 5 clubs there are 118 youth members and 32 volunteers. Big Sandy's local Sunshine Snippers 4-H Club for the 2023-2024 4-H year had...
Situated on the edge of town, the local shooting range and gun club are one of the best kept secrets of our little community. Though many people know about the range itself, far fewer are familiar with or take advantage of the Bear Paw Sportsman Club's full offerings and facilities. With an archery range, skeet, and clay shooting facilities, safety courses, and other opportunities, the organization is a potential source of fun and education for any local who wants to engage in recreational...
As the proud sponsor of our local Red Cross blood drive, I’m thrilled to report on the tremendous success of our recent event held at Christ Lutheran Church. Once again, our community has shown its generosity and commitment to saving lives. It’s always inspiring to see both familiar faces and newcomers at our drives. This time, we celebrated several milestone achievements: • My heartfelt congratulations go out to Crystal Geyer and Wendy Taylor, who each reached the impressive 2-gallon mark in their donation journey. • A round of applaus...
Big Sandy Pharmacy is offering additional point of care testing services for our patients. This program enables them to conduct influenza(flu), strep, urinary tract infections, cholesterol and glucose tests and to receive results within minutes and treat accordingly, allowing the patient to care for his or her healthy. Thirty three years ago, the development of Clinical Laboratory Improvement Amendments of 1988 (CLIA ‘88), introduced point-of-care testing (POCT) In the early stages of the flu, many people do not realize thy are infected. W...
With the recent start of the school year comes the opportunity welcome new Pioneer educators to our small town community. The new FE Miley Fourth Grade Teacher, Brittany Barnett, moved to Big Sandy specifically seeking a small Montana town to call home. The young educator came to our community from Wyoming with her husband, Clay, and Lane, their 11 month-old son. Brittany and Clay grew up in Winnett, MT and were High School Sweethearts. They've been married for two years, but have been a couple...
Recently there was a new realease from “NBC--HELENA, Mont. — The state’s Office of Public Instruction is under scrutiny for potentially misusing millions of dollars in federal funding” “According to a recent audit, OPI is being questioned about its use of over $67 million.” “ ‘I mean, obviously, these are significant findings,’ “ said audit committee chair State Sen. Jason Ellsworth (R-Hamilton). “Last week, the state’s Legislative Audit Committee reviewed a breakdown of numbers from 2022 and 2023, revealing the potential misuse of millions.” ...
Growth Through Agriculture Grant & Loan Program Requesting Proposals The Montana Department of Agriculture (MDA) is announcing the opening of the FY2025 funding cycle for the Growth Through Agriculture (GTA) Program. Montanans interested in innovating or expanding agricultural businesses are invited to apply for funds through the state grant and loan program. “The Growth Through Agriculture program continues to help Montana businesses and agricultural operations add value, scale up, and access new markets,” said MDA Director Christy Clark. “I...
Young football fans will have the opportunity to exhibit their football skills when the Big Sandy Rotary Club hosts the 21st annual Punt, Pass & Kick competition on Chili Feed night Friday, October 4th. Beginning right after school on Friday at the Big Sandy High School football field, youth from Kindergarten to 6th grade will be given the chance to showcase their talents in punting, passing and kicking with scores based on distance and accuracy. There is no signup or iiregistration just show up to have fun and GO Pioneers! For more...
Big Sandy Church of God held its annual Brisket cook-off this past Sunday, featuring 12 local cooks competing in the barbecue competition. This year's event also featured a Pie Baking competition. The event was well attended, the food was excellent, and a good time was had by all. This year, the judges awarded Tyce Bahnmiller with the first place award in the brisket competition. Tyce has been a frequent recipient of accolades and prizes in the competition over the years. For his victory, he...
Bryanna Goodman had a marvelous summer. She planted her dream garden. "I grew up gardening. Ever since I was a little toddler, I was barefooted in the garden, helping my mom. She had a magnificent garden my whole life, but it was always just vegetables, never flowers. I have always wanted to grow wildflowers, and this year, I decided to scatter wildflower seeds throughout the garden and see if it would work. They grew so abundantly and completely took over. It was just magnificent." "I grew a...
It's no secret, the Big Sandy Medical Center is expanding! For the entirety of the Medical Center's existence, the building has housed all entities under one roof; clinic, lab, xray, hospital, Emergency Department, and the long-term care. As advancements in medicine continue and changes are made to the rules and regulations from the Centers of Medicare and Medicaid, American Disabilities Act and other regulatory agencies, the need to expand became clear. A 5000 square foot modular clinic...
Dr. Carley Robertson has been working at the Big Sandy Medical Center since 2007. Originally, she worked as the backup physician for Ms. Laura Hillis when Dr. Gold was on the Medical Staff. When his time at BSMC ended, Dr. Robertson became the 'default' Medical Director as there was no other MD on the staff at the time. She said, "I offered to be the Medical Director until they could find a new one, to keep the doors open." It has taken over 15 years to do that! Over the years, Dr. Gladys Young...
Close to 200 people were served meals, and with a silent auction, live auction, and raffle tickets, the benefit brought in $60,000. One hundred fifty items were donated to the benefit. One of the organizers, Mikki Pansch, said, "I think John and Jessica Sheehy Elk print, Billy's and Kandi's Thai dinner for 12, and the Mint prime rib dinner for 12 brought in the most dollars. Ryan Pansch's service inspection also brought in a good amount. The beef box donated by the Darlington Ranch went for $500...
Shelterbelt Workshop on October 9th in North Chouteau County A shelterbelt workshop has been scheduled for October 9th from 9-12 a.m. at the Bob and Becky Bronec Farm in north Chouteau County. The address is 3000 Ames Ranch Road. Our guest presenter will be Dr. Peter Kolb (MSU Extension Forester) Dr. Kolb has extensive knowledge with trees and shelterbelts and will cover techniques for growing and maintaining trees (including pruning and pest management) in prairie ecosystems. Please bring a sack lunch with you. Drinking water will be provided...
Harvest is almost over. For the farmers in this community, this season is when they collect all their yearly income. So it's stressful. It's long hours for many days, working with the weather and equipment that breaks down. This year, we did get good rain in most areas, but the price is lower this year, so the question will be if there is enough money after selling the crops to cover the operating loan. According to Hi-line Today on 9/13/24, winter wheat was worth $5.09 a bushel, and spring...
It's that time of year. It's fall house cleaning and time to go through everything and give to the Big Sandy Medical Guild Rummage Sale. We're particularly in need of gently used clothing, toys, books, records, and glassware. There are three weeks left to clean your own home and donate. The 2024 annual rummage sale starts with donations dropped off at the Jerry Martin Memorial Hal from Monday, October 7th, 8:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. You can continue to drop off items until Wednesday, October 9th,...
If you search for the town of "Verona, MT" on Google Maps, you will discover that the small town sits 5.4 miles southwest of Big Sandy on Highway 87. Whether you blink or not as you drive by, you are likely to miss it. Years ago there was a picnic table sitting at the pull off at Verona, but that is gone now. At one time, there was a train station (of sorts), stores, two grain elevators, and other businesses. The strange little town was nestled so close to our community, but now gone without a...
Foot Scoring Beef Cattle MontGuide is Available at the Chouteau County Extension Office A new MontGuide (MT2024AG) has been created by Taylre Sitz, MS in Animal and Range Sciences from MSU: Tim DelCurto; MSU Professor and Endowed Chair, and Megan Van Emon, MSU Extension Beef Cattle Specialist. There are some great photos of claw scores and pastern angles that may be helpful when culling or selecting breeding livestock. Due to various selection pressures, beef cattle have been transformed in size and shape over the last 75 years. Increased deman...
Statement from the Montana Hospital Association on recent political ads featuring hospitals September 10, 2024 A series of recent political campaign advertisements has raised concerns about closure of hospitals in Montana’s rural communities. These ads were not coordinated, approved or endorsed by the Montana Hospital Association nor any of the hospitals named in the ad. It is important that residents understand that every one of Montana’s rural hospitals remains open and ready to provide vital healthcare services to the communities they ser... Full story
Fifth graders at FE Miley Elementary School were greeted by a new face on the first day of school this year. Connie Reichelt, a long time Big Sandy resident, stepped in to teach this year. She was born and raised in Columbus, Montana, but has called our town home for many years. Connie has 14 years of classroom experience, having started her teaching career in Havre at the alternative school. After one year there, she moved to Box Elder schools, where she worked for the next 13 years. Connie...
Don Jenkins has been diagnosed with Pulmonary Fibrosis. The official medical definition says it is, "Many different things may cause damage to the lungs that results in pulmonary Fibrosis. Examples include long-term exposure to certain toxins, radiation therapy, some medicines, and certain medical conditions" that cause the disease. Don Jenkins graduated from Big Sandy High School in 1979. He coached wrestling for 14 years and was the assistant football coach for 14 years. He also loved being th... Full story
