The Blackfoot Valley's News Source Since 1980
The Blackfoot Valley's News Source Since 1980
Sorted by date Results 293 - 317 of 393
We would like to extend a huge thanks to all the people who supported the Lincoln Fireman's Ball this year. Thanks to the businesses that helped with food, condiments and of course donations; the wonderful artists who donated their work to the auctions; the folks who came in and spent their hard earned money buying items in the auctions, raffle tickets, 50/50, or just donated cash. We had about 100 fewer people than last year, yet we made about the same money. And it appeared...
Dear Parents and Community members, We would like to take the opportunity to review Lincoln School’s Montana Comprehensive Literacy Grant and update the community about progress we’ve made during this first year. Due to this grant our school will receive $750,000 over the next three years! This money is being used to fund textbooks, technology, a preschool and many other benefits to the students. This grant requires proof of educational growth in our children. Growth is being measured using various metrics. The first tool to...
Your Republican led legislature is in the process of compiling the budget for the next two years. We are not just talking about efficient state government, we are implementing it. We are doing this by focusing on reducing waste in bureaucracy, while at the same time retaining indispensable state services. The Republican caucus is united behind the idea of no new or increased taxes while rejecting what the Governor calls "revenue enhancers" (new taxes). Last session we began to...
Politicians in Helena need to understand that good intentions and well wishes don’t count for much when their decisions cause harm to Montanans. Montanans are aware of the damage the opioid epidemic has caused to families, friends, and our communities. The state has taken many commendable steps to combat opioid addiction. However, the need to fight opioid abuse does not excuse bad policy making. Helena politicians are working on proposal to impose a new tax on prescription medication in order to address the opioid epidemic. T...
As Speaker of the House, it is a goal of mine to have unity within the Republican Caucus and a positive working relationship with the minority party. At the halfway point of the 66th legislative session we are hitting those marks. Another goal of this session, was to put the K-12 funding bill on the Governor's desk very early in the process. In other sessions this bill was often used as a political football late in the session, sometimes as late as May. We passed it out of the...
The students I teach at the University of Montana often show up with a powerful assumption: If there is some piece of information out there, Google can find it. It’s an understandable belief for 19-year-olds who have grown up in a world where ubiquitous connection to the Internet and easy access to vast reams of webpages is expected. But for all those Wikipedia pages and Wayback Machines, there are countless documents that you, as a Montanan, have a constitutional right to see and you won’t find them no matter how many pag...
The first half of the 66th session of the Montana Legislature concluded March 1 with transmittal of the House of Representatives' general bills to the Senate. We've deliberated on a number of challenging and hotly-debated bills on the House floor. The Montana Republican caucus has been united on many fronts. One of our main priorities remains funding for our local schools. Early in the session, we made sure that our schools received the biennial funding on which they rely. Wit...
Reading Hope Quay’s column is often a highlight of the day for me. The one about the dogs made me laugh as I hadn’t laughed in weeks! The column of Feb. 27, though, I found very interesting in a different way and it gave me much to contemplate. Perhaps I can offer a different perspective with regards to Indigenous Peoples’ Day. Now, I admit right here that I’m not on social media, so I may have missed much that is pertinent to the discussion. What caused me concern was Quay’s assertion that there is no reason to like Colu...
As a conservative, I am used to Liberal Democrats accusing me, or the people I vote for as: sexist, bigoted, misogynist, racist, xenophobe, homophobe, climate denier, hater and dumb. I admit, I don’t know what some of those big words mean, but I never thought, until now, that they were right about me being dumb. Liberal Democrat’s just introduced “The new green deal” its brilliance caused me to doubt my intellectual capacity. I never knew eliminating cow gas could help stop climate change. I have thought if you eliminate peop...
“Men Wanted for Dangerous Expedition: Low Wages for Long Hours of Arduous Labor under Brutal Conditions; Months of Continual Darkness and Extreme Cold; Great Risk to Life and Limb from Disease, Accidents and Other Hazards; Small Chance of Fame in Case of Success.” - Ernest Shackleton The above quote was from an advertisement that Shackleton placed in the newspaper to recruit men of quality to his trans-antarctic expedition in 1914. It might just as well be a description issued just before one enters life. During my life I h...
Three things I learned from the flu. 1. You can’t take care of yourself. Nearly passed out in body pain and over-all weakness, I couldn’t raise my head to answer Art when he asked if I was staying home from church. I grunted what I hoped was the obvious answer. I thought about Jell-O. Jell-O with fruit cocktail. But the only activity I actually accomplished in the next two days was to drag myself to the bathroom and sip on water to keep from dying of dehydration. I couldn’t sleep for 48 hours, strobe lights flashed behin...
It's often said that Montana is like a small town with long streets. Montanans may be separated by hundreds of miles but it's amazing how many mutual friends you find you have after talking with someone for five minutes in this giant small town. A defining characteristic of small towns is that people care about one another and rally together in challenging times. Chances are you've attended at least a few community benefits to raise money for medical bills or to help a family...
It seems that every other TV commercial is for auto insurance. “Save money on your car insurance by being a safe driver.” “Save here on auto insurance with just a few clicks.” State law requires us to carry auto insurance. But it doesn’t do enough to require that insurance companies are fair about how they price these policies for us. Those savings they promise aren’t as straightforward as the ads make it seem. The different rates you see when you compare companies has more to do with the ways insurance companies evaluate pe...
***Editor's Note: At the request of Penny Martin, we are republishing a letter sent to 'The Montana Veteran' newspaper in January 1968 that was important her late husband Frank Martin.*** Dear Civilians, Friends, Draft Dodgers, etc. In the very near future the undersigned will once more be in your midst, dehydrated and demoralized, to take his place again as a human being with the well known forms of freedom and justice for all; engage in life, liberty, and the somewhat delayed pursuit of Happiness. In making your joyous...
To the Editor, In regard to Liz Cain's viewpoints in the Blackfoot Valley Dispatch, may I quote her? "As a teacher, I should be cautious about letting politics or religion into my class discussions." And "If you don't like my opinion that Trump is damaging our democracy, our allies, and the common man, just ask soybean farmers who have lost 80 percent of their sales to China." I will give you $100 if you can find the word democracy in the Constitution of the United States. It...
The Community of Lincoln has again amazed me. With the recent loss of my husband Alan, kindness, friendship, generosity, and love have flooded our lives. Without hesitation, countless individuals have stepped forward to make this horrible loss a bit more bearable. Manpower, desserts, and unconditional love made Alan's celebration of life, a day to remember. Thank you, Lincoln – Together "we got this!" Reg Heikkila and Family...
It's about 10 a.m. Monday morning as I write this, and things seem off kilter. The snowstorm that has finally blanketed Lincoln with much-needed snow continues outside, but something, or rather someone, is missing. It's at about this time on most Mondays that Bill Frisbee would stop in. Today, it would probably be to take a quick break from clearing parking lots of snow, but most times it was just to chat with my wife, Erin. Sometimes it was about projects or events they were...
It seems very odd to me that someone who doesn't seem to understand the English language would quote Shakespeare to support his narrow opinion of me. (Richard Debick 1/16/19) I will try this time to be as clear as possible: neither I, as a teacher, nor a pastor, as the leader of a diverse congregation, should present our opinions as truth in a school, a church, or a newspaper. This does not mean we can't have opinions. We just need to be aware that students, congregations,...
Thrift Store “Neighbors Helping Neighbors” Thank you for your wonderful donations and shopping with us. For the whole month of December, I wanted to help shoppers have fun and get whatever you wanted for $1.00 no matter what item. This was my way to say Merry Christmas!” A lot of you seem to be having a lot of fun shopping. We will be closed for 2 weeks to haul old items to Helena, Great Falls, and Missoula. It’s time to clean out and get in some new stuff. We will be looking for new or like new items, so clean things out and...
I got to know Bill when we served as co-chairmen of the Lincoln hospital district, which was during the design and construction of the new Clinic. That was the only board I have been on, but Bill Frisbee has served on about every committee, board of directors and group associated with Lincoln and the Upper Blackfoot Valley - I believe Bill woke up every day thinking of what he could do to improve his community. Bill's passing brings to mind the lyrics of a song I have been...
Wow, I must have really hit home. It took Liz Cain four really long columns to rebut my belief that Mr. Carroll was entitled to speak his opinions publicly. Personality I have always believed that " brevity is the soul of wit" ( Hamlet, act 2, scene 2.). For being an author she missed that point as well. Many, many men and women also complimented me on my opinion and I am not even an author! I even know people who believe they are artists because they have painted their...
Big Montana Hug and Thank you! Merry Christmas and Happy New Year to our “Lincoln Community.” A big grateful thanks all who took a tag from the angel tree at the bank and did some shopping or helped in other ways. Also thank you for the food donations left at the bank and money to help with our Christmas Food Boxes. We helped 69 kids to have a very nice Christmas this year. We sent out 42 Christmas Food Boxes. This year we sent out 10 Thanksgiving Food Boxes at Thanksgiving. Last year we gave three boxes of cereal to eac...
My family and I would like to send a heartfelt Thank You to our wonderful community. From the cup of coffee and wonderful dinners so we could spend time with our kids, to monetary donations to make sure we had a great Christmas to restock and replace so many things, to help to move, all the laundry that was washed so we had smoke free clothes and offers of homes to stay in; from the Christmas gifts, firewood, cookies, and the help boarding up our house, to the rides to town...
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...
