The Blackfoot Valley's News Source Since 1980
The Blackfoot Valley's News Source Since 1980
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Ranchers get a bad rap. Agriculture is portrayed as a destructive industry, composed of corporate-owned operations that practice aggressive farming techniques, abuse their livestock, plant genetically modified crops and operate with a contempt for the land, the animals and the consumer. We hear about human health issues attributed to antibiotics fed to animals in their daily rations. We also hear that the animals are tightly confined, and that the ground is saturated with...
Dear Dietitian, I am health conscious and try to get enough fiber in my diet, but sometimes I miss the mark. I noticed some protein bars have 10 grams of fiber. Are these good for you? Jim Dear Jim, The Dietary Guidelines recommend Americans consume 25 to 30 grams of fiber per day. Fiber is found naturally in plant foods and is defined as an indigestible carbohydrate. This simply means the human body cannot break down fiber, and it passes through the digestive system unchanged...
Just wanted to send out a little Hey Howdy Hey of thanks to the local truck drivers that live here in Lincoln. I apologize if I miss anyone. I am just going by the ones I currently know. I know that Eric Grantier and Willie DenBoer have both been trucking logs for more than 20 years around here, running their own trucks. I am not sure if I am at liberty to mention company names but my friend, Christ Lewenight had been driving for the same company for more than 25 years and hav...
So there's been some buzz the last few years in regards to having a 'word of the year." I've known people who have practiced this method since 2016 or so, and they say it has helped them live more intentionally, as well as kept them on track with a sense of accomplishment each year. I've thought about it in previous years, but not enough to consciously go out there and pick one for myself. This year, I overheard friends talking about their "Word for 2020" and what some of...
My father was 91 years old the last time I lied to him. He wasn't a demanding father, so there were never many falsehoods necessary in our lives – usually just the teenage ones, such as, "No, we weren't drinking beer when the car went into the ditch" - the common lies of youth. He died last June, and I was lucky to have enjoyed a year of morning visits with him before his death. I think we parted as friends. He was active up until the end, and that last year he had a few c...
Dear Readers, Last week we discussed U.S. News' rankings of the top three diets for overall health, so it seems only balanced to discuss the bottom three this week. A panel of nutrition experts evaluated the diets based on seven categories: how easy it is to follow, its ability to produce short-term and long-term weight loss, its nutritional completeness, its safety and its potential for preventing and managing diabetes and heart disease (1). Coming in at #33 is the Whole 30...
Just wanted to send out a little Hey Howdy Hey to Mr. Ernie Lundberg. I was walking my dog Trooper down the street last Thursday or could have been Friday. I can’t remember, but the one thing I do remember is we were walking by the Community Hall and I heard some loud banging coming from the roof of the building. Then I saw Ernie high up on a ladder using a sledgehammer and a shovel to break up the snow and ice off the roof. When I asked him about it, he said in years before t...
"It is impossible to please all the world and one's father." Jean de La Fontaine Fables (1668) Family owned ranches and farms demand a familial unity not found in most professions and trades. The quantity of work requires help from everyone, and hired labor is expensive. Decades back it was always the father/son who performed most of the jobs, but over time, women assumed a larger role in the operations. They still held themselves responsible for domestic work, they just...
Dear Readers, Now that we are getting settled into the new year, many of us are working on getting healthier. There is so much information about diets, sometimes it's hard to know what is really good for you. U.S. News rated 35 diets, and coming in first for overall health (not just weight loss) was the Mediterranean Diet; the Flexitarian and DASH Diets tied for second place. A panel of nutrition experts ranked the diets based on seven categories: how easy it is to follow,...
The other evening my wife and I were over at some friend's house for dinner. While there we watched the Mecum Auto auction for a while. It was exciting to see the cars and the action. Like many men, and women too, I enjoy really tricked-out, high performance muscle car from the 50's, 60's and early 70's. I also don't mind the older cars, and the newer exotic rocket ships from Europe and Japan that are out there. The talent and skill that people have to do the mechanical and co...
My father and two of his brothers spent their entire lives on the ranch. Two served in WWII, but the other never left the property. They were adequate when working cattle, but never had any experience on other ranches to see how they handled cows. And they never had any decent horses. In the 1930's, I think, my grandfather owned a big Shire stallion, and used his offspring on the ranch. His practice was to ride them until they got too big, then put them in a harness. Every...
Dear Readers, Another year is behind us, and now it's time to get back to our normal routines. Many of us, including myself, have overeaten during the holidays; it's just part of it. It's a great time with family, close friends, and homemade desserts. Every year a family friend bakes a homemade pecan pie using fresh pecans from her own property, and believe me, it is a slice of paradise! Special occasions aside, Americans eat a lot of sugar, with some estimates totaling 57...
Just wanted to send out a little Hey Howdy Hey of thanks to the fellows who run the Lincoln Transfer Site. Doug Cousins, who has been there 15 years and Dan Thomas who is under a month shy of three years. There is much work that is done at the site, along with many miles to cover with the truck. They travel east as far as the Montana Department of Transportation lot. West, they go out to Lone Point Rd and do the loop. South up Dalton Mountain and up Stemple Pas to McDunn’s, a...
Unearned suffering is redemptive. - Martin Luther King I had been in Barra do Bugres for about six months when a stranger knocked at my door. I could tell he was American by the sensible shoes he wore. The man lived in Paraguay but owned a tract of land about 40 miles from town. With his wife and son, he had come to take a look at it and to see what he had for squatters. My Brazilian counterpart had told him that I would go along. So the next morning we left, knowing only the...
Lately I have found great contentment in some areas that have caused me much stress. However, as I write this column, I find that some of those "areas" have come back. I am feeling some anger and uncertainty and I do not like that. I do not want to feel stressed and angry at any person or situation. But guess what, I do! That is not good. I am letting some circumstances rob me of my joy in the Lord. I am trying to control a situation that is not my responsibility, or maybe...
Dear Readers, The New Year is upon us, and along with it, come those resolutions. There is room for improvement in all our lives, right? As many as 70% of Americans will resolve to eat healthier in 2020. Others will set a goal to exercise on a regular basis. And of course, many will seek to lose weight. Eating healthier is a lifestyle change; it’s as simple as that. There is no such thing as magic. There are no pills to melt fat away and no diets to trick your body into burnin...
For the most part, the physical and social geography of Southwest Montana has changed little with the passage of time. Ranching and agriculture are the major lifestyles, and the Bitterroot and Gallatin valleys still draw the most folks. Water, which played a significant role in the past, is still important today. Here in this quadrant of the state is the gathering place for the rivers forming the three forks of the big Missouri. The Jefferson and Gallatin both get their start...
While in Barra do Bugres during my third year in the Peace Corps, Sr. René stopped by my house and asked me to attend a churrasco at his place on the upcoming Jan. 1st. René was the biggest rancher in the area, running about 20,000 cows. He said that his son-in-law was going to make a circle of the ranch that day, and if I wanted, I should arrive in the early morning and go along. I accepted. I got there about 7 a.m., and we caught our horses. As I finished saddling my h...
Dear Readers, I thought it would be good to end 2019 on a positive note, and according to an analysis of the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES), American diets are getting healthier! The overall Healthy Eating Index increased from 55.7 to 57.7 (1). This may not seem like much, but scientists found it statistically significant. A synopsis of the findings is below: • Americans decreased energy intake of low-quality carbohydrates by 3.25 percent (2). E...
Fur trappers, followed quickly on the heels of Lewis and Clark into the new frontier. Searching for beaver to satisfy the latest fashion demands of Europeans, they wandered to what would become Montana Territory and particularly to the southwest sector of the state. But they were not settlers, just passers-through, and they left behind a mostly negative legacy that included degradation of the natives and a depletion of resources that saw the profits flow to only a few....
Hi, and welcome to the first edition of a new column I've been working on called "From my Perspective." I mean let's face it, everyone has an opinion, so why not share it, but I'm pretty sure my perspective is generally different than most. See, I have this knack of seeing the good in almost every situation, and if I don't see it, I try to find it. Some people call that being optimistic. Others call it having my head in the clouds, and yet, even others have a nickname for me....
Father Time just keeps moving along doesn't He? Here we are facing 2020 in just another week. Over the past few years I have found it a bit harder to keep moving along. My knees and hips hurt, arthritis is in my neck, lung capacity is not what it used to be, yes, this aging thing is a challenge! But Father Time, well He keeps running strong every year, and in fact it seems to me He is getting faster and faster. I imagine many of you reading this feel the same way. For those wh...
Dear Dietitian, My husband has been diagnosed with non-alcoholic fatty liver disease. His doctor told him to lose weight, and he tries, but he ends up getting discouraged and goes off his diet. I'm worried about his health, but what can I do? Lauren Dear Lauren, One of the most difficult things in life is watching someone struggle with a health condition. It is perhaps more difficult than when we struggle ourselves. Of course, you worry about your husband's health, and you...
The Brazilians don't trade many presents during Christmas, preferring to have family/friends gatherings centered around "churrascos," or meat roasted on a spit. Some will offer huge churrascos, like Sr. Joaquim Miranda, one of the old coronels who took possession of thousands of acres of land around Barra do Bugres back in the late 1940's and early 50's. Sr. Joaquim had two churrascos a year – Christmas and Easter. At one of his Easter parties, his help came to him to say that...
Well Christmas isn’t just around the corner anymore. It’s here. People are still out shopping until the very last minute and taking “extreme measure” trying to find the latest high-tech gadgets, phones, and toys for their loved ones and friends, etc. This will never change, but I can’t complain myself though, for I too have been very blessed already this season. So, I would like to send out a big Hey Howdy Hey of thanks to “The Big Guy In The Sky”. Because without the b...
