The Blackfoot Valley's News Source Since 1980
The Blackfoot Valley's News Source Since 1980
Sorted by date Results 1 - 19 of 19
Legislators in Helena are preparing for a complete overhaul of the state DUI code, hoping to simplify laws and change Montana's dialogue when it comes to drinking and driving. The Montana Attorney General's office is suggesting several bills aiming to clarify confusing rules, close loopholes, and increase funding for more preventive programs to keep intoxicated Montanans off the roads. "Over the years, DUI statutes have been enacted and amended so many times they're honestly...
A bald eagle, one of a pair, perches in a dead pine-tree near the corner of Highway 200 and Beaver Creek Road Sunday afternoon....
That summer that I was ten - Can it be only one summer that I was ten? May Swenson – The Centaur [1958] We all say that as we age, time seems to pass more quickly. There exists in the human sciences a name for that phenomenon. It's called the just noticeable difference, and it extends to all of our senses. The jnd, as it's called in the jargon, can be quantified and calculated empirically. The crux of the principle is: the larger the original stimulus, the larger the i...
Hope you all had a very nice Christmas and the best the new year can bring! First, we would like to thank everyone who helped or donated to our annual Christmas party we had on the first week of December. We had 60 guests enjoy a nice roast beef dinner that was paid for by a friend. Everyone brought wonderful desserts to share. We exchanged gifts, 50/50 cash prizes, door prizes, silent auction and the best was the wonderful little angels from our school who came to sing for us. So cute they are! We would love to hear from...
It looks like the ghost of winter past has decided to visit. We knew that we would have to plow, shovel and drive through a bit of snow before winter was out! If we wanted to complain about the heat we would have all migrated south for the winter, right? The beauty of the snow-capped mountains is wonderful. The sunshine on the ice crystals that form on the trees and shrubs is amazing. Hearing the laughter of my granddaughter playing in the snow is a joy. Yes there is a lot of...
The retirement of Lincoln Schools Superintendent/Principal Carla Anderson at the end of this school year could mean a change in the structure of the school's administration. Anderson, who has served four years in the combined role of Superintendent and Principal, submitted her retirement announcement to the School Board in December, citing health reasons. Although the Board expected Anderson to seek a renewal of her contract, which expires in June of 2019, her intention to...
Times change, and kids grow up, but for twenty-six years George Pierce, recognizable in his trademark daily ties, has remained a fixture at Lincoln Schools. When Pierce hired on as the school's only science teacher in 1993, it was his first teaching job. A native of Illinois, Pierce first visited Montana as a child, and decided then that he would someday make the Big Sky State his home. "I came through Montana when I was eight years old, and I knew I was coming back as soon...
Lewis and Clark County Public Works Director Eric Griffin reported that work on the North Lincoln Gulch Road culvert repair is moving along. At the Lincoln Government Day meeting Friday, Griffin said the latest reports from the crew working on the repair is that the culvert had been installed, the headwalls are in place and plans called for them to start backfilling Monday, if weather permits. They hope to have backfilling complete by the end of the week and to begin placing r...
Since the concept for a skate park in Lincoln was first introduced last fall, it has won the support of the Lincoln Community Council, Lincoln Park Board and, most recently, the City-County Parks board. However, at Friday’s Lincoln Government Day meeting, it became clear there are still a few hoops to jump through. Commissioner Susan Good Geise, who was replaced on the board by Commissioner Andy Hunthausen at the first of the year, apologized for a scheduling snafu in December that forced the Skate Park Committee to make t...
Montana’s mental health and substance abuse programs are being pushed to the limit, warns Behavioral Health Alliance of Montana Executive Director Mary Windecker. Admissions into the Montana State Hospital in Warm Springs has seen an increase of over 30 percent since the beginning of 2018, Windecker said. And that surge in need could not come at a worse time. Jan. 1 of this year is also when the latest in a series of cuts to state support for mental health providers kicked in. Last legislative session, the state moved to s...
Dear Readers, Chances are many of you who are reading this are taking some type of herbal supplement. Be it ginseng for better energy, saw palmetto for prostate health, or echinacea to boost the immune system, many are turning to natural remedies for their health. It is important to realize that just because something is natural, does not mean it is good for you. Many herbal supplements interact with other medications, so it is important to talk to your health care provider...
Alan Henry Heikkila entered the world Feb. 16, 1955 in Monterey, Calif. to parents Henry and Anna Marie (Pederson) Heikkila. They lived in California briefly while Henry was in the Army, and then returned to Montana where they settled in Ulm. Alan received his education in Ulm and Cascade High School. He proudly played football and wrestled as a Cascade Badger, graduating in 1973. As a young man Alan began a life-long career in construction. He happily drove the back roads of...
I am a Christian minister with a different view than some of what I have been hearing locally. I do not seek any debate but I do feel compelled to write. The Bible is not at odds with our growing knowledge of the twentieth and twenty-first centuries. Society as a whole is unaware of biblical scholarship and of modern interpretations of the Bible. These understandings have developed during the last one hundred plus years. Mainline Christianity, including most Protestant...
According to Jennifer, the Lewis and Clark County animal control officer, there is no restraint or leash law in Lincoln. Your dog can be labeled vicious if it bites someone or as a nuisance for barking. You can be issued a citation. If you cannot prove your dog is current in it's vaccinations it can be quarantined for ten days at a $250.00 charge. Even though Lincoln has no restraint law for dogs there could be long lasting consequences for letting your dog run at large. I...
In the days following George H. W. Bush's death, it was impossible to ignore the mood that settled over much of the country: a yearning for the civility, dignity and inclusiveness that the former president represented. It was a form of bipartisan nostalgia for a time when the nation seemed to work. As we head toward 2019, it's equally hard to ignore the ground that this yearning sprang from: a deep-seated doubt that the system can work, and great worry that our democratic...
When a Lincoln resident calls 911 for a medical emergency, the providers who respond in the ambulance have dropped what they are doing, left their families dinner table or their job to help their neighbor in need. These men and women are volunteers, they don't have to do it. They do it because it's something they love to do. Since the 1960's the number of these volunteers has gone up or down for a variety of reasons, including people's changing schedules and moves. EMS provide...
An act included in the 2018 Farm Bill signed by President Donald Trump Dec. 20 could help the Lincoln Volunteer Ambulance replace some of its aging equipment. The Supporting and Improving Rural EMS Needs (SIREN) Act of 2018 establishes an annual $10 million grant program for nonprofit or governmental emergency medical service agencies that serve residents in rural areas. The bipartisan act, first introduced in the House of Representatives last April by Montana’s Republican R...
The wheels of the 66th Montana Legislature began churning out government business Monday, Jan. 7 in Helena. This session, the 58-member Republican caucus elected House District 80 representative Becky Beard to the leadership position of Majority Whip. HD 80 is a rural district that encompasses Elliston, Avon, Helmville, Ovando and most of the Lincoln valley. In the old days of smoke-filled rooms and backroom arm twisting, the office of Majority Whip used to be the "enforcer"...
UPDATE: The stolen pickup truck has been recovered. It was discovered west of Lincoln, in the trees near Highway 200 mile marker 64. Lewis and Clark county deputy Sheriff Tony Galahan responded to a report of a stolen pickup truck in Lincoln Sunday evening, which appeared to be connected to a vehicle break in that same evening. Just before 6 p.m., Blue sky Motel owner Earl Laroque heard a vehicle start up outside the building. He initially assumed it was a pickup belonging to...
