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As always, the summer months seem to fly by and this year is no different. Harvest is in full swing and our children are already back in school. Soon loud cheers will echo across football fields and volleyball courts. What a great time of the year! And what a great time at Big Sandy Medical Center! In just a few short weeks, we will have a brand-new kitchen with ample food storage space and food prep areas. Korb construction has been working continuously, despite shipping delays, to keep this project moving. The addition is complete and now...
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...
With the start of the 2023-2024 school year, several new faces will be visible at Big Sandy Schools. One new face will be familiar to locals. Linda Finke will be taking on special education at the High School and returning to school herself to earn her Masters in Special Education. Linda filled in as Amy Terry's full time teacher's assistant last year, when the teacher shortage resulted in our school only having one Special Education teacher. This year, Linda will be earning credentials and...
For a couple of weeks in April, an abandoned dog, likely a German Shepherd/Yellow Labrador mix, caught the attention of the Big Sandy community. The puppy spent his days walking up and down the highway, chasing mini vans and pickups looking for its owner. More than a few locals put out food for him and spent time trying to lure the puppy away from the highway. The Big Sandy Needs and Yard Sale Facebook pages were active with discussion of near captures and locals offering to take in the puppy...
September Horticulture Management Managing horticultural landscapes in September is essential to healthy production during the growing season. Below are a few recommendations for Chouteau County gardeners. • The average first frost is September 15 (Carter), September 18 (Kenilworth and Highwood), September 20 (Big Sandy), September 25 (Fort Benton) and September 28 in (Geraldine). All fruit and vegetables should be harvested before temperatures drop below 40° to 50°F. • Ripen tomatoes in a paper bag along with an apple, or hang the entir...
(Big Sandy, Mont.) – U.S. Senator Jon Tester today announced he recently secured $4,938,000 in Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) grant funding for the Montana Department of Environmental Quality (DEQ) to improve access to clean drinking water across the state. The funding secured by Tester comes from the Fiscal Year 2023 (FY23) Government Funding Bill. Tester was the only member of Montana’s congressional delegation to support the funding. “As a third generation Montana farmer, I know firsthand just how important clean water is to the growt...
August 8, 2023, marked our one-year, re-opening anniversary. Many things have happened, and much more is still to come. Big Sandy senior center board and staff would like to thank all our community members who have donated money, time, groceries, and other supplies. We would also like to take this time to thank Rotary for our newly painted dining area along with the 3 community members who donated funds to help decorate. Throughout the 22-23 year we have incorporated a few new things. On the 2nd Monday of each month, we will be celebrating...
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....
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...
Over the past few months, The Mountaineer has heard reports of unusually large numbers of toads turning up on farms in the prairie west of town. Those who have shared information with us have joked that the unusual phenomena resembles one of the plagues in the book of Exodus. I began looking into the matter, thinking it might be an interesting bit of local ecological news, and learned that a similar population spike took place in town a little over a decade ago. Digging into the last century of...
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...
Top Yielding Winter Wheat Varieties for Chouteau County MSU Agricultural Research Centers have one test plot for winter wheat in Chouteau County which is managed by MSU Northern Agricultural Research Center (NARC) north of Loma. A special thanks to Peggy Lamb (NARC agronomist) for establishing and maintaining the Chouteau County test plot. The Extension office would also like to thank the McKeever family for donating the use of their land for MSU research. NARC (Loma area) top three yielding winter wheat varieties (10-year average yield) from...
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...
For four years, the First Bank has served our small community. This year to celebrate their appreciation, First Bank asked Marie Jappe, owner of the Mint, to serve lunch on the bank's grass. Numerous tents were set up so customers could eat in the shade. Marie served barbeque shredded pork, coleslaw, macaroni and cheese, cold drinks, and dessert. When First Bank first came to Big Sandy, I asked them to give us information about who they were. First Bank became a division of Glacier Bank in...
Montana Actor’s Theater (MAT) is trying something new with their 2023-2024 productions. On Saturday, August 26th from noon to 5 pm MAT will be holding company auditions for the first half of the coming theater season. This is an opportunity for potential actors to audition for multiple shows at the same time. In addition, it’s a chance for those who have never participated in a MAT production to try out for multiple shows. According to the MAT homepage, holding auditions for multiple shows simultaneously provides directors an opportunity to col...
In the coming days, parents will engaging in the annual tradition known as school shopping. The school typically puts out lists to guide them in their efforts. This year, my daughter is leaving the elementary school and starting her educational career at the high school. On several occasions, she has expressed a degree of worry about the increased academic difficulty that will come with her new school setting. In response to her concern, I have started preparing myself to help her through...
Top Yielding Winter Wheat Varieties for Chouteau County MSU Agricultural Research Centers have one test plot for winter wheat in Chouteau County which is managed by MSU Northern Agricultural Research Center (NARC) north of Loma. A special thanks to Peggy Lamb (NARC agronomist) for establishing and maintaining the Chouteau County test plot. The Extension office would also like to thank the McKeever family for donating the use of their land for MSU research. NARC (Loma area) top three yielding winter wheat varieties (10-year average yield) from...
Hope Gasvoda is entering her Senior Year at University of Providence this fall, set to earn her degree in Forensic science Biology. She plans to continue on to grad school in pursuit of becoming a Forensic Pathologist. While an intern, she has been very interested in learning the different types of PCR (Polymerase chain reaction is a lab technique for rapidly producing millions to billions of copies of a specific segment of DNA, which can then be studied in greater detail)...
The July 29th fundraiser to support Cooper Jenkins was a huge success, raising $67,000 to help defray medical costs for the Jenkins family. That total includes only the money raised through the auctions, dinner, raffles, and other fundraising activities that took place Saturday evening. Money has also been donated through a "Go Fund Me" page and via direct deposits to the bank. At the time of writing this article, the Go Fund Me page had raised $10,500. The event was organized to aid the...
Darlene Cline has been a librarian for six years, and in those six years, she has continued to create an atmosphere at the library that makes children want to come. When I asked her why she wanted to be a librarian, she said, "Oh Lorrie, my head is so fried!" Okay, so let's start easy, do you like to read books? "I love to read." I asked her, "What's one of your favorite books you've ever read?" "I think I have too many of those! I wanted to become a librarian for the kids and the community and...
By Erik Sietsema With discussion of the impending upgrades to the north side of the High School, I found myself wondering where the Big Sandy Pioneers wagon came from and when it was initially installed in the courtyard. An inspection of the wagon itself makes it obvious that it was a working covered wagon at one time. My research into the wagon's origin began with a series of phone calls to Big Sandy alumni and long time staffers. The universal response was uncertainty. Most off the alumni...
The Importance of Water to Cattle Water is the most important nutrient. An adequate supply of clean, fresh water is a critical component of maintaining healthy, productive cattle. At this time of year, managing your cattle’s water supply is more important than ever. Water accounts for at least 50 percent of your cattle’s live weight. Water is required to transport nutrients through the blood, maintain cellular structure, regulate temperature, and much more. In order for livestock to maximize feed intake and production, they need daily access to...
Since 1992, World Breastfeeding Week (WBW) has been hosted August 1-August 7, by the World Alliance for Breastfeeding Action. Themes range from women and work to community support to the International Code of Marketing of Breastmilk Substitutes, to economy, science, education and human rights. This year’s theme is Making a Difference for Working Parents; fitting after the PUMP Act was passed in late 2022. In short, the PUMP Act requires employers to allow break time for an employee to express breast milk for their nursing child, and a place a...
Big Sandy Church of God held its annual family camp in Beaver Creek over the weekend. This was the fifth consecutive year the church has held family camp, after a hiatus of several decades. The weekend primarily included families from the church camping at the Lions Campground, sharing meals, going fishing together, enjoying games, and each other's company. The weekend ended with the weekly worship service held in the park. I spoke with Rebecca Wiehe, who took the initiative to restart the camp...
