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I decided that this year my husband and I would celebrate an old-fashioned Christmas. Then it hit me that this year I will see my 69th Christmas season. I don’t feel that old, I can’t remember all my previous sixty plus holiday seasons, but I celebrated them. Some years stood out as exceptional, other years lacked true Christmas spirit and festive feelings, but I did manage to see sixty-eight Yuletide seasons come and go. I obviously can qualify as an old-fashioned person in my own right. After surviving more than six decades of holiday sea...
Everybody knows that life has ups and downs. Life sometimes seems to have too much pain and misfortune. Hundreds of books have been written about the subject – dating back to Old Testament times. We still do not understand why people have to suffer. I will try to briefly discuss the medical, religious, and psychological aspects of this topic. It is a subject I can relate to (medically and personally), have researched at length, but certainly do not have all the answers. A large amount of physical pain is actually useful. If you didn’t feel pain...
Our school superintendents, administrators, and teachers have a great deal of responsibility to our children. Year round they provide opportunity for our children to learn, grow, adapt, excel and succeed; not just in the academic field, nor just in athletic areas either. The school has also become the place to learn good behaviors, positive self-image and the six pillars of character: TRUSTWORTHINESS, RESPECT, RESPONSIBILITY, FAIRNESS, CARING, and CITIZENSHIP. In building our youth using these pillars, the school invariably is involved in preve...
One of the greatest privileges of serving Montana in Washington, D.C. has been hearing the most admirable stories of Montanans who have fought for our nation all across the globe. Dr. Joseph Medicine Crow served as an Army scout during WWII and fulfilled the requirements to become a war chief. Ben Steele served in the U.S. Army Air Corps and was captured by the Japanese – he was a prisoner of war for 1,244 days during WWII. David Thatcher took part in the Doolittle Raid and was awarded the Silver Star. If you’ve ever seen the movie, “Thirty Sec...
Underage drinking is a problem that costs Montanans significant financial burden each year. In 2013, it cost $0.3 billion! That’s $300 million tax dollars “spent on medical care, work loss, and pain and suffering associated with the multiple problems resulting from the use of alcohol by youth.” Taylor DM, Miller TR. (2015). Methodology: Underage Drinking Fact Sheets. These costs also include criminal justice expenses and property damage expenses. To put this cost into perspective: at most local drinking establishments or bars, an adult can e...
What changes an environment into something better? Information, education, knowledge! The following information is for those who want to know, and those who need to know. It is the coalition’s hope that this information will assist your decisions about youth drinking in Richland County and how you, as an adult, can impact them. Alcohol is a depressant and over time, the more alcohol you consume, the more you may be impacted by depression. According to www.drugfreeworld.org, “Although classified as a depressant, the amount of alcohol con...
I have teenagers at home. Three girls to be exact. I know that there are many people out there who can relate to the crazy that is my house right now. Sometimes however, when I need to remember why I love them, I reminisce about when they were young, really young, like just walking. (They were easier to control then.) They were so cute and happy waddling around; but they still needed me for almost everything. Every step they would take, I would always have the awareness to know when they were about to fall or head toward something dangerous....
We are proud people of Montana and the 406 area code. Family traditions and our hardworking lifestyles are stubbornly imbedded and even showcased in our everyday culture here. The strength of family and community is mighty, and regardless of tragedy we keep moving on, keep building up, keep on keeping on. Over the next 8 weeks, the Change Your Impact series will cover topics that relate to Richland County residents in terms of the perception of alcohol use and it's impact on the lives of our you...
For most Montanans, this is not just another fire season. The 2017 season started early and is predicted to continue until a season-ending event such as rain or snow by November. Unfortunately for the thousands of people evacuated from their homes, and the tens of thousands that breath unhealthy air every day, we are in it for the long-haul. Montanans know that summer brings wildfire, however, over the past 15 years fire season starts earlier, ends later, and burns hotter. According to the Northern Rockies Coordination Center, over 5 million...
Summer is not the only major event that arrives in June of every year. Another annual occurrence is the appearance in mailboxes all over the State of new property appraisals from the Montana Department of Revenue. The receipt of this document is met with trepidation by taxpayers of all sizes. It is the rare occasion that the value of a taxpayer’s property decreases. The more likely circumstance is that the value has increased, sometimes at an alarming rate. When this happens the taxpayer has several options from doing nothing to paying their t...
It is time to celebrate another Father’s Day. We should honor our fathers, but that doesn’t always happen. At this time of the year I reflect on what it was like when I was a kid, and what it was like between me and my dad. Of course I loved my dad, but when I was a kid I couldn’t believe how many things he did not know. He was a good dad and a good husband to my mother. He tried his best to provide for us as well as he could. He worked hard. He made just enough money to support his family of ten – providing he worked several part time jobs in...
When my wife Sharla and I sit down to do our budget each year we outline our priorities. Whether it’s spending more money on new equipment or spending a little less and fixing it up yourself—it’s a balancing act and you see what our priorities are. The same can be said of our government’s budget. Earlier this year, President Trump presented Congress an outline of his budget and at first glance I’m concerned about how his priorities impact the economic security of Montana and rural America. I applaud the President for strengthening our natio...
In President Trump's recent joint address to Congress, he called for a national time of rebuilding, while recalling the last great infrastructure undertaking in our country, the Interstate Highway System under President Eisenhower. A few weeks ago I toured the modern marvel that is the Hoover Dam-an infrastructure investment that has provided irrigation for millions of acres, electricity for millions of homes, and which after 80 years, is still used today. Here in Eastern Montana, we can quickly...
This letter is in regards to local government over reach and the total disregard for the constitution of the United States. By not only the federal level but also just as importantly the local level my personal testimony to my latest encounter with the Big Brother. Blow by blow how my constitutional rights have been violated by an out of control government. I do here-by step forward to volunteer my service to my country by draining the swamp at a local level. Wednesday, November 2, 2016: I arrived in Fairview approximately at 5 p.m. and...
I’m a millennial woman. I voted for Donald Trump and I am not sorry. I did not vote for him because he’s a man; because he’s inspiring me or because I agree with everything he says. I voted for him because I thought we would have more economic opportunities with Donald Trump than Hillary Clinton. I agree with many of you that his rhetoric is offensive. The stories of how some of this rhetoric is perpetuated by his followers make my heart sad. Just because I voted for Donald Trump doesn’t mean that I agree or support any sort of behavio...
The E-rase your E-waste committee would like to thank everyone who participated in our 2016 E-rase your E-waste events in Sidney and Fairview this past spring and fall. The official results are now in for our fall event held Sept. 9-10 in Sidney where MonDak businesses and residents recycled another 22,471 pounds of electronic waste. That brings the total for both our 2016 spring and fall events to 45,754 pounds - the 7th time in 12 years we’ve collected more than 44,000 pounds of e-waste in a single year! It also brings our grand total to m...
Election to the State Auditor’s Office means the individual will serve as Insurance Commissioner for Montana. This person will play a critical role in setting policy which will effect nearly every man, woman, and child in our state. Whether through health, life, homeowners, automobile, workers’ compensation insurance, or the myriad investment products available, everyone in our state is impacted by this office. The Auditor’s Office provides for the licensing and oversight of the firms selling insurance and investment products and deter...
My brother, Billy Bolken, passed away last month from Alzheimers disease. I am challenging all clients that Billy did work for to make a tax-free donation to the 2016 Walk to End Alzheimers-Fargo, ND on behalf of Darin Bolken at http://act.alz.org/goto/BillyBolken. Billy spent 8 years as the mayor of Watford City and served on the McKenzie County Fair Board. Most of this service went unnoticed to the public because he would work into the night. Every year this walk is made by his son, Darin, his wife, Lisa, and their two children, Carter and...
The MonDak Yak...
My brother, Billy Bolken, passed away last month from Alzheimers disease. I am challenging all clients that Billy did work for to make a tax-free donation to the 2016 Walk to End Alzheimers-Fargo, ND on behalf of Darin Bolken at http://act.alz.org/goto/BillyBolken. Billy spent 8 years as the mayor of Watford City and served on the McKenzie County Fair Board. Most of this service went unnoticed to the public because he would work into the night. Every year this walk is made by his son, Darin, his wife, Lisa, and their two children, Carter and...
My brother, Billy Bolken, passed away last month from Alzheimers disease. I am challenging all clients that Billy did work for to make a tax-free donation to the 2016 Walk to End Alzheimers-Fargo, ND on behalf of Darin Bolken at http://act.alz.org/goto/BillyBolken. Billy spent 8 years as the mayor of Watford City and served on the McKenzie County Fair Board. Most of this service went unnoticed to the public because he would work into the night. Every year this walk is made by his son, Darin, his wife, Lisa, and their two children, Carter and...
Where are your dollars going every month? More specifically, where are your food dollars are going? Montanans spend more than $3 billion dollars per year on food. Up until 2010, the value of all the livestock and crops produced by farms and ranches in Montana was $3 billion. Of all the food consumed in Montana, only about 10% of what Montanans eat is produced in the state. Again, Montanans only eat 10% of food produced locally. Therefore, Montana businesses are losing about $2.7 billion dollars to out of state businesses to produce food that,...
Attend Public Meeting In Billings Notice of an upcoming meeting to all interested in not removing the Lower Yellowstone Irrigation Project Diversion Dam at Intake. There is another group that wants to remove the Intake structure. We are inviting the public to attend an informational meeting at the Elks Club in Sidney on June 21st at 5:30 p.m. We are also asking people to attend a public meeting in Billings at the Lincoln Center at 6 p.m. on the 30th of June in order to protest this groups’ intentions to have the dam removed. We need a lot of p...
Sidney School Board Members, We are writing this letter in support of Mr. Ross Hall, the activities director at Sidney High School. We believe Mr. Hall is truly an asset to our community and we encourage the school board to change their vote and follow the recommendation to rehire Mr. Hall. The commitment to our community that Ross exhibits is inspiring. Mr. Hall is involved on many boards in our community including the Active Richland County, Richland Community Complex, the Chamber of Commerce, and the City of Sidney’s recreation board. He is...
I just heard the Governor for our great state of Montana say he tried to get an “Infrastructure Bill” passed during the last legislative session. He said it was due to “partisan politics” that it didn’t happen. I have been trying to get the truth out about this so-called “Infrastructure Bill”. This is what I’ve discovered: Senate Bill #416 was introduced by Senator John Brenden from Scobey. When you read SB 416, the first line says, “an act providing funding and authorization for Capitol and infrastructure projects state wide.” If you ask...
