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According to usafacts.org from an article called “Teachers in the US face low pay relative to their level of education, which was published on November 11, 2022, “the average teacher makes less than the average full-time earner in every state except Hawaii. In Montana, teachers make 80% of the average wage; Wyoming 92%, Washington 88%, North Dakota 85%, and Idaho is also 80%.” According to the same article, teachers work an average of 50 hours a week teaching and $300 of their personal money on classroom supplies. Also, finding teachers to te...
The Big Sandy Gun Show took place last weekend and was deemed a great success by the vendors and organizers. The event typically draws several hundred people into the community over the course of the weekend. Those people patronize local businesses, giving the local business community a shot in the arm. The show included a memorial display for Duke Pursley, who was well loved in the community. Some of his engraving work was on display and many in attendance spoke at length about his personality...
The Big Sandy High School Ag Program took 12 kids and 3 adults to Texas two weeks ago to attend the Fort Worth Stock Show. This is nearly double the number of students who are typically able to attend this type event. In addition to the larger number of attendees, the destination of the trip was also unusual as our FFA usually travels to Denver for the Denver Stock Show. I spoke with Lane Taylor, Big Sandy High's Ag teacher, about the outing. He explained that the stock show trips came into...
MSU Extension Chouteau County Has Hay Probe and Nutrition Decision Software Sampling of hay is essential to livestock management. Hay sampling is best accomplished with a hollow core probe consisting of a stainless-steel tube and a sharp cutting end. The Chouteau County Extension office has a hay probe available for check out. One core should be sampled from at least 20 bales from a lot of hay. A lot of hay is defined as hay harvested from a field of uniform maturity within a 48 hour period. Generally a lot should not exceed 200 tons. Poor...
This week, our hats are off to you, the people of our community. What is a hospital without its patients? This facility was built over 50 years ago with none other than the people of the Big Sandy area in mind. It is the people who founded BSMC. It is the people who volunteer on the Board of Directors. It is the people who are employees. But most importantly, it is the people who become patients. The first week of February is Patient Recognition Week. Thank you for choosing us for your healthcare needs. While HIPPA laws prevent us from thanking...
When I had energy and more time I loved to plant flowers and vegetable. Only to be frustrated to wake up in the morning and have them eaten to the ground. Deer loved my flowers. They would come and much off the bloom! For the longest time I had a love/hate relationship with the deer of our farm. Then one night I woke up to see the deer eating the weeds outside my window. She couldn't see me but I was inches away from her. The moonlight on her nose and eyes was incredible. So the hate just flew a...
The Big Sandy Food Bank has emerged from the 2022 holiday season having served more families than ever before. Between the Angel Tree Basket program, F.E. Miley's Thanksgiving food boxes, and the donations from local businesses, they have managed to meet a growing need in our community after a year of ever-inflating food, energy, and gas bills. "Without the community's support, we wouldn't be able to serve the people that we serve," explained Terry Grant, who helps run the local programs. While...
The Big Sandy Booster Club makes a significant impact on our student athletes and participants in extracurricular activities. I spoke with Cheryl Strutz about the club’s direct impact on our kids. Cheryl is a member of the Booster Club and the mother of three boys, who have been prominent in Big Sandy Athletics over the last few years. If you’ve watched a football game in our town recently, you’ve seen Kyle, Kade, or Kody take the field. Cheryl explained to me that, “It’s really important that the community knows that the kids actually...
Grasshopper Management Q&A I hear ranchers can get assistance from the USDA in grasshopper spraying. Who do I contact? Contact Eric Norderud at 406-449-5210 or erik.d.norderud@usda.gov. Please have a breakdown of private acres and government acres before you contact Eric. Will the cold temperatures increase grasshopper egg mortality? The answer for 2023 is probably not. In Canada, few grasshoppers hatched following a winter with temperatures at negative 22 degrees Fahrenheit (Riegert, 1967). However, Canada had little snow cover during the time...
Often when people think of any medical facility, the first people that come to mind are the doctors and nurses providing care there. It makes sense as these staff often have the most contact with the patients. However, there are so many “behind the scenes” people that are involved in your healthcare. That is true at BSMC too. This week, we feature the staff of the business office. This team handles all the billing, deals with insurance, manages the phone, and keeps the facility operational! Along with Ron Wiens, CEO and Karma Hale, HR Director,...
The 6th Annual Big Sandy American Legion Coyote Derby was off to a rocky start a couple of weeks ago when freezing rain shut down the roads from Great Falls to Big Sandy. However, this didn't stop many. The road opened up around 3 pm that day, and while teams were slow to trickle in on Friday night, we ended up with 27 teams for a total of 99 participants this year. The weekend ended up being the perfect weather for calling in coyotes. The Derby was hugely successful, with hunters bringing in a...
Dr. Derik Powell will be Big Sandy's new dentist. Derik and his wife both graduated from CMR in Great Falls. He completed undergraduate degrees from Montana State before attending Dental School at the University of Utah. He completed a 1-year General Practice Residency at the VA hospital in Denver. Derik said, "My wife and I could not have been more excited to move back to Montana. After Dr. Buer approached me about his practice, I knew it would be a good fit. So, we packed our bags with our...
The community of Big Sandy has always impressed me with their wholehearted support of local sports and student activities. You always see the stands full at basketball games and the sidelines crowded for the football team. When the team bus rolls out of town for a tournament, the windows of shops and the roadsides are filled with signs supporting our student athletes. I didn’t grow up in a small town and have only been in town for a little over a decade, but I have been deeply impressed by the volume of outpouring of support from our little tow...
Being the parent of a child with ADHD can be frustrating. Careless mistakes, clutter, distraction, fighting over school, dealing with their messiness, and a slew of other “quirks” make their schooling and daily lives challenging to say the least. It’s no different for adults, who struggle with what appears to be absentmindedness, disorganization, or laziness. The truth is that what appears to be character flaws is actually a result of the portions of the brain that control executive functioning being less active. The effects of this condi...
Calving Workshop in Havre Calving season is right around the corner and it is always good to be prepared for all that the season will throw at you. MSU Extension Hill County will be hosting a Calving Workshop on February 1, 2023 from 5:30 pm – 8pm at the 4-H Chuckwagon in Havre. The workshop will start with Pre and Post Calving Nutrition from Dr. Megan Van Emon, MSU Extension Beef Specialist. Then Dr. Casey Solomon, DVM will present on Calving – The First Step towards Production Momentum. This will be a free workshop. For registration or que...
Did you see last week’s article about the generous donation of land for the new clinic building? It is so good to see the community continuing to support this locally owned facility! As the new building gets established and services begin to take place there, the folks in the lab will be making some adjustments to their locale as well. The new clinic space will allow for the current facilities to be used very differently. Dave Korkowski and Mike Mebruer will take it all in stride. Having the lab here in town is beneficial, not just when you a...
The Big Sandy Rotary Club us excited about the display of pride and joy shown by the community during the holiday season. The great display of lights and pride give hope to all of us. The Rotary club is pleased to select some of our citizens as real winners of decorating our area and are please to include These many winning displays of pride. Each will receive $25.00. Happy New Year from your local Rotary Club. Tim Tucker and Gena Montgomery Spectacular Christmas Robin Coyler Grand Grizwald Carry and Dale Cline Blow up extravaganza Donita...
Independence Bank is proud to offer scholarship opportunities for incoming first-year students planning to attend Montana State University-Northern. To be eligible, students must graduate from a high school in Hill, Blaine, Phillips, Valley, Daniels, Roosevelt, Sheridan, Liberty, Chouteau, Cascade, Pondera, or Toole Counties. Independence Bank will award eight $1000 scholarships for the 2023-2024 academic year. Recipients will receive $500 during fall semester and $500 during spring semester. Scholarship recipients must have at least a 2.5 GPA...
Up front, I know nothing about horses, so when I heard one of our own had a horse competing in the Superbowl of Rodeos, the National Finals Rodeos, I just had to get a story. Laci Keller Christenson said, "it's like your kid playing football on Lambeau Field in Green Bay. The NFR is the world's biggest stage for the rodeo." Tenley Epperson daughter of Harvey and Demrece Keller, graduated from Big Sandy High School in 2012. She was on the rodeo team for the Montana State Bobcats for four years...
Only three days into the new year and Big Sandy Medical Center (BSMC) is celebrating the generous donation of a large corner lot located across the street from the hospital’s main facility. The donors, Lance Peterson and his sister, Michelle Wisbey are part of the larger Peterson and Pavlovick families. The property was once home to Elsie Pavlovick and after her passing, the property was inherited by her grandchildren Lance and Michelle. BSMC approached the Peterson’s in the late fall about possibly selling the corner lot to BSMC so it cou...
In 1923,Big Sandy won their first football district championship and were highly favored to win state. Several days later, the title was stripped from them and their trip to the state championship tournament was cancelled over a technicality. The team that was awarded the district title went on to state despite having fielded a 21-year old player in the tournament. For context, The Mountaineer pointed out that the Great Falls team fielded a 22-year old "high school student" against Big Sandy...
New informational Guide on Noxious and Invasive Weed Management A new informational guide EBO242 is now available at the Chouteau County Extension office. It is titled Revegetation Guidelines: Considering Invasive and Noxious Weeds. The guide was created by Noelle Orloff, Jane Mangold and Jerry Marks from Montana State University, Monica Pokorny from the USDA Natural Resources Conservation Service and Bryce Christiaens and Steffany Rogge from the Missoula County Department of Ecology. Revegetation, the intentional planting of desired species,...
The Big Sandy Gun Show returns January 27-28-29, 2023 at Jerry Martin Hall, 115 Johannes Avenue in Big Sandy. The three day event has a little something for everyone and fans of Gun Shows certainly won’t want to miss this one. The Show has a large number of vendors offering all kinds of items from antiques to knives and new and old guns and rifles. Vendors come from across the state of Montana and if you have attended other shows in the state, you are sure to see a few familiar faces. The Gun Show will get underway at 2:00 pm, Friday, January 2...
You've probably seen the clinic building sitting just across the street from the medical center. This building will have a large waiting room, multiple patient rooms, and offices too. You will hopefully be able to take a look for yourself by this spring. Until then the staff of BSMC will continue to iron out details and make necessary arrangements for the upcoming move. There has been considerable discussion about which offices will move to the new building and which will stay in the current...
Big Sandy Medical Services Foundation was established to foster better healthcare in the Big Sandy community. Their way of doing this is to encourage and assist young people who wish to pursue training in the healthcare field by offering scholarships to Big Sandy High School graduates and Big Sandy Medical Center employees. Scholarship amounts for the 2023-2024 college year will be a minimum of $300.00 each, one to a graduating senior, one to a college student already enrolled in a college and a third to either of these groups, depending on...
