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The Montana Association of Clerks and Recorders is sponsoring two statewide scholarships in the amount of $1,000 and $500. All graduating seniors who will be attending an in state school are eligible to apply. Applications will be accepted until March 10, 2023. Application forms are available at the Clerk and Recorder’s Office at the Courthouse in Fort Benton or from the Guidance Counselors at the Big Sandy, Fort Benton, Geraldine, and Highwood High Schools. Completed application forms must be received by Clerk and Recorder Lana Claassen by M...
Every year I am in awe of the contributions made by the Lippard/Clawiter Foundation. They have supported Chouteau county since its formation in the early 1980s. The Foundation awards grants to non-profit organizations all across Chouteau County “for any of the following purposes: religious, educational, charitable, scientific, literary, testing for public safety, fostering national or international amateur sports competition (as long as it doesn’t provide athletic facilities or equipment), or the prevention of cruelty to children or ani...
Tordik Wildlife Foundation, Inc. was formed in 1991 and they have quietly continued to fund projects in Chouteau County. This year the Big Sandy area received $98,000. The following received: Chouteau County Free Library in Big Sandy $3,000; Big Sandy Volunteer Fire Department $10,000; Town of Big Sandy Pool Fund $20,000; Big Sandy Rotary Club $20,000, Big Sandy Medical Center $10,000, and Big Sandy Education Foundation $35,000. Mayor Shaud Schwarzbach wanted to acknowledge how extremely...
Big Sandy Schools will be making a “Mental Health First Aid for Youth” available to the community on January 23 and 24 from 4 to 7 pm both nights. The Monday and Tuesday trainings are part 1 and part 2 of a 6 hour course that will cover a wide range of issues to help equip parents and anyone who works with young people. I spoke with Diana Keane who organized the training. She explained that, “This is a training that is open to the public for adults (18 and older) to help youth with mental health. It covers a wide range of mental health issue...
Gardeners Wishlist nformation for this article came from the 2023 Urban IPM Calendar which was created by Montana State University Integrated Pest Management. Calendars are still available at the Chouteau County Extension Office. If you still have some gift money from the holidays and you are looking for ways to make your gardening easier, you may consider purchasing one or two items from the following list. • Attracting Native Pollinators: The Xerces Society Guide, Protecting North America’s Bees and Butterflies • solitary bee house • members...
There is always a refreshing feeling of renewal with the turning of the calendar. Starting the new year brings about renewed energy and commitment to goals, plans for the coming year, and a desire to bring about change in your daily life. It is no different inside the walls of BSMC. There is certainly an air of change floating around and all the excitement that comes with it. One could say the facility is adopting the "New Year, New Us" motto that is so commonly expressed this time of year. With...
Last week, I found a treasure trove of Big Sandy history artifacts while doing some work on my house. What started out as a cold weather attempt to protect my plumbing and insulate our 3-seasons porch rapidly turned into an adventure in local history. For background, I need to explain that my family bought a house in town last year that many locals know either as the Brumwell or the Faber house. Before it was either of those, it was the Shamrock Hotel. In the early days of our town's existence,...
Many people have wondered about the current status of the fundraising campaign for the new pool in Big Sandy. The New Pool Committee has been awaiting the outcome of some grant requests before posting the latest news, and now we have an update for the community. In early December, we received news of the following grant awards: $7,000 from the Catholic Church Women from the Fall Harvest Festival $5,000 from the Lippard/Clawiter Foundation $20,000 from the Tordik Wildlife Foundation $117,637...
By Erik Sietsema If you Google “Why do we celebrate Christmas on December 25th,” you’ll get a slew of answers associated with a handful of popular theories. It is easy to just pick one and go with it, but this approach felt kind of uncomfortable to me. Many hours later, I have a rough answer, which is way too long. I also have an excess of background knowledge on all of the popular theories. If I address them all here, the article would be excessively long and most people will give up long before they find out the answer. I will dig into the b...
Dry Matter Losses of Hay from Field to Feeding This article was written by Dennis Cash, retired MSU Extension Service forage specialist. Winter feeding is likely your single largest ranch expense. Reducing hay waste can save you money. Hay losses at feeding on most ranches averages about one fourth, but can easily approach half. During good haying conditions and with proper storage, most losses to alfalfa or alfalfa-grass hays can be minimized. Dense large round or rectangular bales are widely used, but significant losses occur when these are s...
Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year from all the staff at BSMC. The holiday season is never short of celebration, joy, and commotion at the medical center. The HR Director, Karma Hale, along with her helpers put on a wonderful Christmas Party at the Mint for all staff. It was a joyful event with great food, good company, and a healthy dose of laughter. Inside the facility, the Activities Director, Lisa Sipler, does a fantastic job getting everyone into the Christmas Spirit, staff, and residents alike. This season was no different. Shortly...
Deer Need a Little “Tough Love” in Winter Montana Fish, Wildlife and Parks recently sent out a warning to Montanan’s that it is illegal to feed deer under Montana law. Jim Knight, MSU Extension Wildlife Specialist (retired) explained a 2003 article why feeding deer is a poor practice The compete article is available at https://bit.ly/3uU6JRa. Feeding deer hay or corn can be deadly because deer cannot always digest new feed. Deer digestion involves protozoa and bacteria that help break down food. Different micro-organisms help digest diffe...
My favorite concert lived up to my excitement. Big Sandy's Elementary School concert is always my favorite. It started with the 4th graders playing Cool Christmas tree on their recorders. Music Teacher TJ Bonds introduced them by saying parents might not appreciate their children's practicing, but the recorders teach valuable music basics. Next was the 5th-grade band for their first-ever concert. They played three songs: March Steps, A Mozart Melody (Twinkle Twinkle Little Star—I didn't know that was a Mozart song), and Jingle Bells. Fifth g...
Christmas Day is fast approaching and the various churches in the community are preparing to celebrate the birth of Jesus. The holiday lands on a Sunday this year, which raises questions as to whether or not local congregations will be holding Sunday services. I visited with the pastors in Big Sandy and here’s what I learned. Pastor Rich Jesperson, of Grace Lutheran Church did a great job of summarizing this season of worship and our invitations to the community to join us in celebrating the birth of Christ. “There are two major festivals of th...
It is that time of year when music rules supreme. The time of year when we usually know every song being played. It brings up memories and smiles. It lifts us, and despite ourselves, we find ourselves smiling. Ok, there is occasionally a song that is played so much we start crumbling about "that" same song. There is music about the Savior being born. Music about family. Music about Santa. My favorite concerts are this time of year. I love listening to grade school children sing. I love watching...
It was great to have Jessie Jaramillo, Big Sandy's Art teacher, display some of the work of the Big Sandy students in the Mountaineer during the Big Sandy Stroll. I was also happy with the number of people who stopped to talk to her and see the students' work because I believe art is essential. She had written up explanations of the work the students had done. Jessie Jaramillo said, "In simple terms, the elements of art are parts that make up the whole. These are often described as methods or...
The theme for the Christmas Parade at this year's stroll was "A Montana Christmas." Thinking about our town and the holidays got me wondering what the town did for Christmas in the earliest years of its existence. Big Sandy has a wonderful collection of Christmas traditions and a fascinating history that stretches back more than a century. A little searching into The Mountaineer archives quickly revealed the ghosts of Christmas traditions past. The most interesting thing about The Mountaineer's...
MSU Extension Cropping Seminar Scheduled for January 13 in Fort Benton Montana State University Extension will host a free, annual cropping seminar on January 13 at the Ag Center located at 1205 20th Street. Three commercial or private pesticide licensing recertification credits will be available. A special thanks to Max Ag for sponsoring the lunch in Fort Benton. Cereal grain varieties update will be presented by Dr. Jed Eberly from MSU Central Agricultural Research Center and Peggy Lamb from MSU Northern Agricultural Research Center....
December 6th brought the Big Sandy Medical Center Board of Directors together for the Board Meeting, as well as the regular Board Meeting for the month. The current Board of Directors includes Harvey Keller, Bob Nelson, Nicole Allderdice, Ann Quinn, and Anna Bold. Ann and Anna were both re-elected and will serve another 2-year term on the Board. We appreciate their time, effort, and energy in all they do to support our facility. All our meetings are also attended by the management consultants from Cypress Healthcare, Tony Pfaff and Rob Brandt....
Gardening tips for the Winter Season January is a time to promote healthy trees and house plants. MSU Extension has a few important recommendations for the cold winter months. • Poinsettias do best when house temperatures are consistent and placed away from drafty doors. • Most house plants tolerate normal temperature fluctuations. In general, foliage house plants grow best between 70 and 80 degrees. Most flowering plants prefer the same daytime range, but grow best at nighttime temperatures of 55 to 60 degrees. Lower night temperatures int...
It was a very long day but full of excitement, except if you asked the kids sitting with their moms at the craft bazaar. They said they were bored. But let's start with Breakfast with Santa; what a wonderful place to start. Seeing so many seniors volunteering at the center and making it all come together was exciting. Two full tables of goodies for sale, and I loved the decorations! Santa praised the 6th-grade girls that helped him; Markell Houle, Abbey Sietsema, Laurie Silvan, and London...
MISSOULA – Viewers will travel from Main Street to the mountains – with stops at a legendary larch tree and a roadside saloon – when the newest episode of "Backroads of Montana" debuted on Montana PBS at 7 p.m. Monday, Dec. 5. Longtime producer John Twiggs hosts the episode, "Gathering & Hunting," from the Museum of the Plains Indian in Browning. The annual Big Sandy chili feed is always a chance to come together, but it takes on a deeper meaning for a local ranching family. Shane and Erica...
The Big Sandy Rotary Club is getting into the Christmas Spirit along with CSI. The Angels and Peace on Earth sign have been hung bringing a festive look to Johannes Avenue just in time for the Miracle on Main Street. Each year our town goes all out for decorating. The lights at the Paul Williams Park and on main street provide a bright and cheerful welcome to all who pass through our town. Once again, the Big Sandy Rotary Club is sponsoring a lighting contest for the area. Everyone is encouraged to decorate their homes and businesses in the...
The English department at Big Sandy Public Schools is off to a great start for the 2022-2023 school term. Grades 7-12 have all completed the first quarter during which the students have been challenged to write the following: short stories, summaries, persuasive essays, informational essays, expository essays, cause and effect essays, compare and contrast essays, and personal opinion reviews, all while learning the extreme importance of proof-reading. Mrs. Ray is very pleased with the progress the students are making, even though they are...
The Big Sandy Christmas Stroll will be returning this weekend after a two year hiatus. The event is returning with a full roster of activities. Many old favorites will be back, like the button drawing, visits from Anna, Olaf, and the Grinch, and the parade. Some new activities will also be taking place, like every restaurant in the community having a Christmas lunch special and the opening of Charbaby Clay on Main Street, and this will be the first year the Breakfast with Santa will be hosted...
