The Blackfoot Valley's News Source Since 1980
The Blackfoot Valley's News Source Since 1980
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I have an old Peace Corps friend visiting for a few days. In 1972 we met in New Orleans, along with a group of 160 other new volunteers. The orientation took five days, then they put us on a chartered plane for Brazil. I don't remember how we picked each other out of the bunch of bright-eyed, naive, innocent others, but it didn't take long. Bruce and I were older than the horde of recent Purdue graduates, and the only ones who had military service in their background. The mili...
I knew my father was dead when the helicopter flew low over my house. The ambulance had gone past with lights and siren a few minutes before. I didn't look to see where it went, but I had a feeling. I stepped out my back door and watched the aircraft. When it settled at my father's house, I got my hat and my dog and drove the mile to the house where I was raised. There was no distress or panic. He was 92, and we knew he had a faulty valve in his heart. That morning, an MD...
Looking at some of the people in my life I realize that we are often our biggest barrier to a satisfying life. Most problems in my life have their beginning with the decisions Dave has made. Sure, some things come along that others bring into my life, and that means that person has created a problem that affects them, and me. The ripple-effect of sin courses through each of us. However, just because there are serious problems in life, doesn’t mean a person who has Jesus as the...
Dear Readers, Do you get enough fruits, vegetables, and whole grains in your diet? Most of us don't. These foods are rich in vitamins, minerals, antioxidants, and fiber. Furthermore, research points to plant foods in the prevention of some diseases, such as heart disease and type 2 diabetes. If there is one thing nutrition experts agree on, it's that we need to eat more plant foods. Consider these helpful tips to create a healthier version of yourself: Rule #1 - Choose foods...
It was in Summer School where we Catholic kids learned catechism in preparation for our first communions and confirmations. Two nuns would come to Helmville each summer and teach for two weeks after regular school had been dismissed. One afternoon the nun read us the parable of Abraham and Isaac. According to the story, a voice from a burning bush told Abraham to sacrifice Isaac. As the nun read the story, I anticipated an ending in which Abraham would refuse to kill his...
Dear Dietitian, I enjoy a small glass of juice every morning at breakfast and was shocked to read that sugary drinks, even fruit juices, can increase the risk for cancer! Is this true? Jane Dear Jane, You are wise to question just about anything referring to nutrition in the media. Many headlines are attention-getting and even shocking, so let's take a look at the science. The NutriNet-Santé study, was a prospective, cohort study, which included over 100,000 participants,...
Until the late 1950s and early 60s, milk cows were an essential part of the operation of most ranches. The large numbers of children in the families of those days demanded a lot of milk, as well as cream, butter, cottage cheese, buttermilk, and other dairy staples. The milking process was detested by everyone. It was a chore that had to be done twice a day, 365 days a year, in forty below zero or a hundred above temperature, and it was so tedious that many ranchers didn't...
This subject may take several “Musings” to cover it, so if this interests you, you may want to keep this one so you can read them together. It seems to me that just about everyone of us is dealing with serious problems. Personal problems that fester, and grow in to physical, mental and spiritual cancers that poisons our minds and relationships. Life is about managing problems. The key is how we solve those problems, how do we come to resolution and understanding. First the...
There are many benefits available to Seniors. Programs disregard a small amount of money-if you are close to qualifying, consider applying. Rocky Mountain Development Council is coming to the Lincoln Senior Center Aug. 7, 2019 at 11 a.m. to tell you about the following programs and help you apply. Medicare Savings Program Part B Premium assistance Medicare Savings Program covers monthly Medicare premiums. There are three levels of assistance. QMB covers Medicare Part A & B premiums, deductibles and coinsurance. QMB acts as a...
Dear Readers, Eggs have made headlines again with a study recently published in the Journal of the American Medical Association (JAMA). Is it the incredible, edible egg or a food you should limit in your diet? As with many nutrition studies, the results go back and forth, which can be confusing and even frustrating for consumers. This study set out to find if egg consumption or dietary cholesterol increased the risk of cardiovascular disease (CVD) and death. Nearly 30,000...
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 improve immunity, many are turning to natural remedies for their health. It is important to know that herbal supplements are not regulated by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA). As with any medication, herbal remedies may have side effects. To be safe, talk to your doctor before starting an...
Some friends stopped by the house last Sunday. They had been in Hawaii for a couple weeks and shared their impressions with me. I was in Hawaii once, but my experience was far different from theirs. The military sent us to Okinawa for war games. I was a radio operator on one of the teams. There were sixty of us, I think. We left Okinawa after the exercise and made a stop on Wake Island for a day so the pilots could rest. We took off that evening and flew all night in an old...
Two particular flowering plants are the toast of late spring and summer in Montana. In the mountain forests and openings of northwestern Montana, beargrass – the official flower of Glacier National Park – struts its stuff along roads and highways, as well as throughout the wilderness areas in northwest Montana. Meanwhile, the sturdy yucca stands guard over the rolling land and river breaks east of the mountains. Both plants, so similar yet so different, are symbolic of the...
He would never exchange his solitude for anything. Never again be forced to move to the rhythms of others. Tillie Olsen Tell Me a Riddle (1960) Searching my childhood memories for material to put in this column, I have too few recollections of spending days of play with my siblings (four of the six of us were born in four-and-a-half years). Visiting with my sister, she said that she doesn't remember that I was around very much. We got along as well as any large family can, and...
The past month has been fantastic. I did not win the lottery. I did see the results of many months of preparation as we had our annual five-day Bible camp. It is a great but stressful time. Stressful because there is a lot of preparation. I should not stress about camp because God always blesses my feeble efforts and camp always turns out to be a great time. I did not stress out too much this year. Maybe after 19 years of being involved with camp I finally “get it”! There are...
Dear Readers, Most of you have probably heard of antioxidants and that they are good for you, but what are they exactly? Antioxidant is a chemistry term that simply means prevention of oxidation, which is the transfer of tiny, electrically charged particles known as electrons. Antioxidants protect us from free radicals, which damage our cells and lead to diseases such as cancer, heart disease, and Alzheimer's. Free radicals result from food digestion, everyday cellular...
Dear Readers, For many of us, it's a morning must-have, almost a medical necessity. We just aren't functional until we've had that good-to-the-last-drop cup of coffee. Coffee has hit the news lately. Is it good for you or is it not? Studies are conflicting, which is no surprise. Some reports estimate that Americans spend about $20 a week on coffee and drink an average of 3.6 cups per day. That's over $1,000 a year and more than 1,300 cups of coffee! A study led by Steffen...
During the post-WWII years and into the late 1950s almost every town in Montana had a sandlot baseball team. Baseball was in its heyday with Mantle, Ford, Ted Williams and others all playing, in those days. Even the smallest towns fielded teams, and the larger cities had a number of them. As small as the town is, Helmville had its own baseball nine. All over the nation, young men who had won the war returned with an exuberance and sense of community they didn't have before...
The 4th of July Festivities are over, the crowds have slightly thinned, the weather has been wet and cool, but the fishing remains hot! With all the rain over the last couple of weeks, Mother Nature is keeping the rivers flowing. The levels are lower than normal and are a bit concerning. For instance, as of the day of this writing, the Blackfoot at Bonner was almost half of what is considered the ten year average; despite a cool beginning to summer and a decent snow pack this...
I've been back in the US for over a year, now, and it's time to correct a wrong I left unattended for most of that time. It's embarrassing. I've had the life-long propensity to get myself into desperate situations, then scream to others, begging for help. But with a willing family and good friends who always pulled me out of the mire, life continued so I could do it again. The experience I suffered in Brazil left me emotionally and intellectually catatonic. I gave up on...
Malta has an appealing downtown that includes a state-of-the-art movie theater with surround sound joined by a healthy, self-sufficient variety of other businesses. You can find two lumberyards, a hardware store, three banks, a pharmacy, a new brewery and a farm store, currently under construction. A once-vacant storefront is home to Family Matters, a family clothing store established and successfully owned by community members for over 18 years, spawning entrepreneurism and...
Dear Readers, A few weeks ago, I printed a column on ultra-processed foods. The National Institute of Health (NIH) performed a study and found that participants on an ultra-processed foods diet consumed about 500 calories more per day than the group who consumed an unprocessed foods diet. As I pointed out, the study was comprised of only 20 people, which is too small to apply to the entire population, although the study was hailed as ground-breaking by the media. Another...
Dear Dietitian, I read your last column on calcium where you recommended that we get the mineral in our diet rather than pills. Is it better to get calcium from plant foods or dairy products? Wondering Dear Wondering, Calcium is the most abundant mineral in the body, accounting for 39% total body minerals. Most of us know that calcium is needed for strong bones and teeth, but did you know it is also needed for blood clotting? Calcium initiates the release of blood-clotting...
One of the hottest debates I have witnessed in this part of the country during my lifetime has been on the “re-introduction” of wolves. Please note that I place the term “re-introduction” in quotes, because the wolves that were introduced into Yellowstone National Park in the 1990’s are of the Canadian Timberwolf variety - a subspecies larger and more aggressive than the grey wolves that originally roamed the forests and plains of Montana. According to the Montana Fish, Wildlife and Parks website, “the gray wolf was extirpa...
A barbecue fundraiser to benefit the planned Lincoln Skatepark drew an estimated 200-300 people to Hooper park Saturday, June 29 to support efforts by Lincoln school students to build a skate park for Lincoln. Employees from the Lincoln Ranger District, working on their own time, spent their free time over the last four weeks coordinating the event after Jarel Kurtz, the District's fire management officer, heard about the project during an Envision Lincoln meeting he...
