The Blackfoot Valley's News Source Since 1980
The Blackfoot Valley's News Source Since 1980
Sorted by date Results 285 - 309 of 393
There are a lot of reasons why Congress finds itself hamstrung in Washington and discounted by the people it serves at home. These include long-term trends over which it has little control: the political polarization of the country; the oceans of money that get dumped into the political process; the push by successive presidents to amass as much executive power as possible. But in the end, the demons Congress has to fight are its own. If it is to return to relevance, effective...
When I was a student at West Point in the 1990's, the military component of my education focused on high-intensity conflict and Cold War-era strategies and tactics. Those were the wars of recent memory, so that's what we trained for. After my graduation and the events of Sept. 11, however, my generation of military officers faced a new set of challenges. Rather than engaging in armored conflict focused on seizing and holding terrain, we found ourselves in a multi-dimensional,...
Editor: I'm a woman living in Montana. I've lived in five states and have had many careers. I've had a great full life. I've always worked and made my life better. I've never taken any welfare. I've always paid my own health insurance. I love to hunt and eating the meat. I love God, family, friends, the flag, people to animals, my freedom and my country. I can't believe what is going on in the United States of America. We've had crooks and evil in politics forever, Democrats...
Pockets of our country are experiencing a significant uptick in the number of measles cases. Measles is not a harmless childhood illness. It is actually a highly contagious, dangerous disease that can even be deadly. But measles is also easily preventable with a vaccine. There's a lot of misinformation swirling around, so let me provide the facts: vaccines save lives. Vaccines protect our children from debilitating and deadly disease, and they promote the overall health of...
The recent announcement by Greg Gianforte that he is seriously considering another run for Governor is problematic. He barely won against a gun grabbing liberal entirely out of touch with Montana values. Now Greg wants to run for Governor? Tim Fox is an excellent candidate for Governor, and Rep. Gianforte should be thinking about maintaining his seat in the House of Representatives. Gianforte should stay in the House of Representatives instead of crowding the Republican field...
Speaker of the House Greg Hertz (R-HD 12, The 66th legislative session has come to an end. As Speaker of the House, it was my goal to uphold the integrity of the House. As a leader in my caucus it was my goal to foster unity not conformity. We can be united behind the primary ideals of our party without losing individuality. It has been an honor to be selected by my peers to fill this roll. In looking at our accomplishments this session, several positive actions stand out....
Dear Community Residents, It has come to my attention that a certain individual in town has been at it yet again, spreading rumors and badmouthing area businesses and charity events/organizations within our community. Now, while I normally just ignore things like this, keep my mouth shut, and move on, the verbal attack is feeling a little more personal and I feel it needs to be addressed. This particular attack is towards an organization and a community my dad felt very strong...
As former and current Montana Public Service Commissioners, we represented Montanans across this great state in balancing the needs of utilities with the needs of consumers. We took our oath of office seriously and worked tirelessly to faithfully perform the job to which our constituents entrusted us. We often disagreed as Commissioners, and still rarely agree on many issues. Yet we are writing this letter because we share grave concerns about Senate Bill 331. While we may differ in our views of various energy resources, we a...
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...
