The Blackfoot Valley's News Source Since 1980
The Blackfoot Valley's News Source Since 1980
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On September 28, 2018, Montana Senator Jon Tester announced that he was voting "no" for Judge Kavanaugh for Supreme Court Justice. The FBI hasn't even started their investigation yet. A person is presumed innocent until proven guilty. Tester has already found him guilty. His vote has nothing to do with Kavanaugh's innocence or guilt. He was appointed by Trump, so Tester is being an obstructionist and he is following Chuck Schumer's orders. If he goes against Schumer's orders,...
I want to call your attention to Andy Shirtliff, a candidate for Public Service Commission. Andy will bring a combination of new energy and solid experience to the PSC. He will focus on unleashing a diversity of Montana energy rather than favoring only one source of energy. Andy served for five years as a Small Business Advocate for the Montana Governor's Office of Economic Development. During that time Andy worked relentlessly with business owners and potential new business...
Now this is getting RIDICULOUS!!!! In case any of you are asleep I mean Kavanaugh confirmation. How far back do we go? How many of you out there, (siblings, cousins, Moms, Dads, Grandparents and so forth), when you were babies were not bathed, slept, taught or shared clothes together? Can this not also be considered inappropriate? It's time for all 535 members of congress to disclose all their history to child birth!! And unless you lived in a glass house since child birth...
Montana is a state in which 10 percent of our population are veterans, a high percentage are 65 years of age or older. While serving in the Montana Legislature, Matt Rosendale supported privatizing the Columbia Falls Veteran's Home. He also opposed a new veteran's home in Butte. Montana is about 1/3 federal public lands, over 27 million acres. Real estate developer Rosendale is on record advocating transferring these federal public lands to the state, which could then be...
Three decades ago the spotted owl was used to obstruct tree removal and to force unreasonable “hands off” forest management that has helped result in today’s mega fires. So, forgive me for not believing the water pollution calamity story now being told by similar activists promoting I-186. This initiative will instead just hurt young Montana working-class families and harm local small businesses that depend on mining. The corporations pushing I-186 are distracting voters with a nonexistent clean water crisis to hide their...
Just west of our little ranch on North Willow Creek lies a town that once burst at the seams with mines and miners. Pony, Montana, boasted 5,000 people, banks, bars, schools, churches and a rail line. Mines with romantic names like Boss Tweed and Clipper dotted the hills above town. Between the 1870s and the 1920s, millions of dollars of gold came out of the hills. After the 1920s, when the gold played out, so did the people. Today, our little town upstream of the ranch has one heck of a fun bar and fewer than 200 really...
Montana’s children are off to a new school year and the excitement of learning. Children need and deserve to learn in a safe environment. When children are bullied in schools, it makes them feel unsafe and makes learning (and life) harder. The children doing the bullying need help too. Knowing this, the Montana Legislature passed the Bully-Free Montana Act in 2015 when I introduced this law to stop bullying in Montana’s schools. Because I carried this legislation, I am frequently contacted by citizens regarding bullying sit...
During our final days of filming TED K this August, there were many teary eyes among the cast and crew. We are going to miss Lincoln and our new friends there. We would like to sincerely thank you for welcoming us to your town. You worked alongside us both behind and in front of the camera, you scrambled to help us solve problems, you allowed us to film on your property, and you leant us vehicles, equipment, and props. Beyond all that, you fed us, you housed us, and, yes, you...
I just returned from the Helmville Rodeo. I stood in silent prayer with several hundred people, every single person there stood with their hand over their heart as some little gal with the voice of a meadow lark sang our national anthem – while another one stood up on a barrel and did sign language for the audience. The tears that ran down my cheeks made me a proud man. I shall watch the NFL no more forever. Thank you God, thank you America, and thank you Helmville, M...
When I voted for the Montana Health and Economic Livelihood Partnership (HELP) Act, also known as Medicaid Expansion, in 2015, I did so for two reasons. First, to ensure that vulnerable Montanans had access to affordable health coverage. Second, to ensure that we were giving those same people the skills they need to get higher-paying jobs so they would no longer need to rely on government assistance. I continue to support Medicaid Expansion, but I do not support Ballot Initiative 185 (I-185). I ask that you join me this...
Do you value the PRIVILEGE of recycling in Lincoln? Hopefully you do. We must work to keep TRASH from being thrown in the recycling bins next to the Senior Center, located across the street from the public school. The front-page headline in the Great Falls Tribune on Sunday, August 19, 2018 was titled “Montana Recycling Program May Get Trashed.” The article mainly focused on issues related to recycling plastic. But the secondary subject was the problem of people throwing TRASH in recycling bins of any kind. The art...
We want to thank all those in the community for the great turn out for the clothing giveaway; to the generous people who cleaned closets and donated all items they didn't use and to the many who shopped for clothing that they could use. This was the purpose of the giveaway when it was started so many years ago. A special thank you to all who came to set up tables and sort, fold, stack, to those who came to box up all unclaimed items for donation to some worthy organizations....
Jon Tester works hard. He cares about his constituents. He listens. He acts. For years my husband, Bob, doctored at Mayo Clinic in Rochester, Minnesota. Many 5 a.m. Mondays, he and I joined Jon and Sharla at the airport. Jon never failed to ask about his health and to genuinely express his concern for us. When everyone’s seat light went out, Jon’s light was on, reading piles of paper from his briefcase, marking in the margin the important points. On the Thursday. or Friday evening flights back to Great Falls, there they wer...
You know these words, but how often do you stop to think about them? "We the People of the United States, in Order to form a more perfect Union, establish Justice, insure domestic Tranquility, provide for the common defence, promote the general Welfare, and secure the Blessings of Liberty to ourselves and our Posterity..." They belong, of course, to the Preamble to the U.S. Constitution. That remarkable document is not just the blueprint for our political system. Its Preamble...
Well another year in the books for the Heather Terman fun run. We had quite a few more new riders and sold 160 hands/cards. Everyone had a great time and we gave out some good prizes. Congratulations to the winners! Julie Lynn Zarr got high hand, Dawn Fisher got low hand, and Barb French took the middle hand. The money earned will go to the Jr. High Track and help with a new scoreboard. Again, I'd like to give a big shout out to everyone that donated prizes, bought hands, and...
There's an old saying that, "If it can't be grown or raised, it must be mined." In Montana-where mining is among our largest economic drivers and our state motto is Oro y Plata (gold and silver)-mining plays a critical role in sustaining communities and families across Montana. I-186, the misleading initiative that claims to promote "responsible" mining, is backed by a coalition of out-of-state environmental groups, and if successful in November, would stop future mines. The...
Recently, a group of media took flight with University of Montana professor Rick Graetz to take in the stunning landscape of the southern Crown of the Continent area, centered on Lincoln. This flight highlighted Graetz’s effort to map, explore, and include this landscape of the Helena-Lewis and Clark National Forest into the coveted Crown of the Continent, which could bring an economic boost for Lincoln. With increased visitors to the area, that tourism influx could assist in cushioning and leveling out the historic b...
Thank you, Bill Cyr, for donating a five days and four nights Summer Pack Trip in the Scapegoat Wilderness for the 2018 LFD Fireman's Ball Auction. I won the bid! We put the word out about the trip to our adult children, and three daughters from Oklahoma said, "Me, Me, Me". On Friday, July 13, we met Billy Cyr and Derek Perez at the Indian Meadows Trail Head. We watched them saddle the horses and load the packs on the five mules. After a briefing from Bill Cyr and a shove to...
Radical environmentalists funded by out-of-state billionaires would have Montanans believe I-186 is only about clean water, and that Montanans wrote this “citizens initiative”. They would have us believe Montana’s mining revenue and the local services it funds will continue despite new onerous regulations. Yes, all Montanans want clean water! And although Montana already has the strictest environmental laws in the nation, we should do more if we can. It is also true that if I-186 passes, it will drive mining companies from th...
As I stood at the confluence of the Clark Fork and Blackfoot rivers recently, I was again reminded of how lucky I am to live in Montana with its abundance of outdoor opportunities. A wonderful part of my job as director of Montana Fish, Wildlife & Parks is traveling around the state to enjoy public lands and check in on the resources we steward. Earlier this summer, it was my pleasure to participate in the dedication at the grand opening of the Confluence at Milltown State...
Toby Dahl United Property Owners of Montana Governor Bullock’s decision to eliminate the State Land Board’s oversight of multimillion-dollar state conservation easements is troubling to say the least. No elected official should have the power to spend taxpayer dollars so casually, without any checks or balances. That type of power breeds corruption. That’s exactly why the Land Board exists in the first place—to ensure that big, expensive land deals are handled properly. In other words, the Land Board was established in our...
Perhaps I'm old fashioned, but I was always taught that you don't fix what isn't broken. And when it comes to Montana's mining regulations and the environmental protections we have in place, they are far from needing fixed. Even a cursory look at Montana's permitting process for mines reveals that our regulatory standards are among the world's most stringent when it comes to protecting our land and water resources. But I-186, a recently proposed ballot initiative, completely...
Summer is upon us and traffic is indicating what most already know-it's going to be another great tourism season in northwest Montana. Recent headlines show that many cities are trying to mitigate the crush and diversify their venues so that it doesn't happen all at once. The recent audit of the Department of Commerce shows that bed tax collections have continued to climb in the state. What it doesn't show, however, is that about half of the collections are from Montanans....
Every so often, I jot down a list of the things that discourage me about our country. There's the widespread disregard for our core values of tolerance and mutual respect, for instance. Our declining national optimism. Our relaxed attitude toward fixing our election machinery, overseeing financial institutions, and making sure that our key democratic institutions and processes are working effectively. There's wage stagnation, income inequality, a high poverty rate, failing inf...
In my letter to the editor dated May 30 in the BVD, I was only asking for transparency. Let the people of Lincoln know what is going on. I want the Rodeo Club to stay in Lincoln and to prosper, as does everyone else. The majority of the people in Lincoln are of the age that they cannot climb the hillside, so they do not partake of the rodeo, so you are losing attendance. To answer your question, I have never put on a rodeo. If I did, I would keep the people informed of the expenses and the profits. I know there are hidden...
