Sorted by date Results 329 - 353 of 362
For the last two months the Occupy Wall Street (OWS) movement has dominated the national spotlight. I find the goals of the movement to be somewhat nebulous, however. Some say they are hoping to make America a more equitable place to live, others say they are protesting just for the sake of protesting. The OWS phenomenon is interesting. I agree that our society has become fragmented. Some pundits say that President Obama created this “class warfare” dissension. He repeatedly says that one percen...
Winter driving is here! After a long and pleasant autumn, winter arrived overnight and we need to learn to drive on ice and snow all over again. Every year, that first jaunt into the icy winter wonderland makes us curl our toes a little. According to the “Montana Take Along Winter Survival Handbook”, 20-40% of all Montana crashes involve icy conditions. Most fatal crashes involve single vehicles that leave the road and overturn or crash into something. By taking a few precautions, our winter driving season can be a safe one. Here are some tip...
With the potential of the Emerald Ash Borer coming westward to North Dakota and possibly devastating our Green Ash trees, homeowners ask for alternatives. This is a very difficult question to answer as I feel there is no tree equal to the hardiness and drought resistance possessed by Green Ash. As an alternative deciduous tree to Green Ash I have suggested Hackberry, Linden, Bur Oak and Buckeye. In doing so, I must emphasize the limitations of each. After all, none of these trees, except Bur...
Eight months ago my wife and I suffered through the death of our beloved dog, Oscar. Coupled with the fact that our kids are all in college, our house has become an awfully quiet place. “Why don’t you just get another dog?” our friends would ask. Well . . . it’s not that easy. A dog that has been a part of your family for 13 years is not that easy to replace. My wife wanted us to get a Labradoodle, which is a cross between a Poodle and a Labrador. That sounded like too much of a gimmick to me....
We can all share the roadways safely. Semis and trailers, farm equipment, pickups, cars, motorcycles, bicycles and pedestrians-by following a few simple rules and being courteous to others. ALWAYS-ALWAYS BUCKLE YOUR SAFETY BELT WHEN IN A VEHICLE! According to a recent study by Montana Department of Transportation, economic loss to Montana was estimated to be $662 million, which is an average of over $690 for every citizen in Montana (that’s $2,760 for a family of 4). The cost of traffic crashes is measured in wage loss, medical expense, i...
On Monday, Oct. 31 in the morning, I had been shopping at IGA and carelessly left my checkbook in the shopping cart. A short time later, I discovered I didn’t have my checkbook so I returned to IGA. I checked at the courtesy counter and “yes” it had been found and turned in. The clerk said that a couple of young women had found it and turned it in. I thank these young women. I really appreciate your honest act of caring and kindness. When I got home later, I did have a message from the IGA clerk telling me they had my checkbook. Thanks to th...
Hal and Jean Campbell moved to Sidney in 2008. Hal was a college professor at the California State University, and continues to teach via online courses. Jean is active in a variety of church and community activities. Jean and my wife (Shelley) have become the best of friends. I am friends with Hal Campbell, and find him to be a “regular guy” and also someone who has extremely intelligent and interesting views on Science, Philosophy and Religion. Hal Campbell wrote the book, Why: The Phi...
The name Rance Haralson is synonymous with Sidney Flag Football. And it should be. Rance and his wife, Colleen, have run Sidney’s Flag Football Program for the last 16 years. Wayne Swigart is the one who started the Sidney program, back in 1990, and he ran the program for the first 5 years of its existence. This program has been highly successful. Many kids and parents have enjoyed their “flag football days,” and appreciate the work that these community benefactors have done. Ninety-two kids...
Designing a farm/ranch estate plan that is consistent with dreams and values is a personal and often complex process. Thus, the process is often delayed for another day and it ends up on a road of perpetual procrastination. To help ease the challenges of developing a transition plan, North Dakota State University Extension Service has scheduled a series of workshops at 12 locations across the state on the following dates: Nov. 16 and 30, and Dec. 7. Locally, Williston and Watford City will host...
We were out of town when Sidney experienced a terrible storm on April 30th of this year. Many trees were blown down. When we got home we discovered that seven of our fence posts were broken off at ground level. Our beautiful white picket fence was broken, lying on the ground, and seemed to be damaged beyond any possibility of repair. It was an attack on our home from a devastating spring storm that came on the heels of a terrible winter. Many people sustained more damage to their homes than we...
New home owners often ask about types of lawn grasses to plant. For those who ask this time of year I strongly suggest delaying planting until just before freeze-up or next spring. Grass planted now will likely germinate but not establish a strong enough root system to survive cold winter temperatures. The grass species used for home lawns include many cultivars of Kentucky bluegrass, red fescue, chewings fescue, hard fescue, tall fescue and perennial ryegrass. These are grasses that are most...
Just about every homeowner cherishes a lawn. Many hours of labor and dollars are spent each year making sure the grass is properly manicured, watered, fertilized and free of nasty weeds. When the grass starts to grow in the spring, I can’t wait until the first mowing just to smell the scent of freshly cut grass but by summer’s end I have thoughts of covering it with scoria and ornamental rocks. To add plant life, I think yucca and big sagebrush would put a special touch and smell to the yard’s l...
The E-rase your E-waste committee would like to thank everyone who participated in our 2011 “E-rase your E-waste” e-cycling events. We’ve had another record breaking year, with our grand total reaching 59,630 lbs.! That’s nearly 30 TONS of e-waste that DIDN’T go into our local landfill this year! Our thanks to those of you taking advantage of our “mini” summer month collections. They went over very well and we anticipate continuing them next year. Much of the success for those events we can trace to the superb coverage provided by our local...
High corn values and severe drought in the southern plains are impacting the entire industry. According to the Denver based Livestock Marketing Information Center (LMIC) feedlots recorded profits during the first four months of this year but cattle feeding returns have been mired in red ink the last four months. Break even sale prices using current feedstuff costs for late this year are mostly in the $128-130 per cwt. range. So, based on LMIC slaughter price forecasts ($115-118 averages in the...
It happens way too often…unintentional injury or death! I am not speaking of accidents; which in the Webster Dictionary are defined as an unexpected happening causing loss or injury which is not due to any fault or misconduct on the part of the person injured. Drivers need to start making the choice to buckle up. 43% of all unintentional deaths in Montana are due to motor vehicle crashes. 72% of fatal crashes in rural areas involved only one vehicle. 81% of those killed in a pick-up crash w...
If you dial 701-744-5759 you will hear a pleasant voice informing you that “Green Acres Sod Farm” is able and willing to take care of your sod needs. That is the voice of Josie Riedel. She might even tell you that sod provides “instant grassification.” She does remind people, however, that you need to install sod “green side up” to have good results. Josie’s husband Richard got into the sod business back in 1986. They were living in Flathead Valley at the time. Richard saw that “there was a...
Winter wheat growers of North Dakota and Montana now have a new variety to add to their list of selections. The new variety is named Decade. It was developed by the Montana Agricultural Experiment Station and released jointly with North Dakota last fall. The Williams County Agricultural Improvement Association received a small allocation of foundation seed which was purchased by Leon Helstad, Williston. Helstad has grown this allocation under contract to the Association and North Dakota State...
A frequent question of both new and well established homeowners is “What is the best tree to plant?” I find this question hard to answer because there is no tree without problems. For example, one of the trees, green ash, is at the top of my list. Green ash is native, drought tolerant, and sustains itself through our harsh winters. These are good reasons for it being a native tree for this area. However, the ash plant bug and ash/lilac borer can be problems for green ash. Occasionally I fin...
Limited by space, this response seeks to offer some further insight into the matter brought forth by Jerome, whose opening statement declares, “Debate over the duration of the Genesis creation “day” has ‘divided’ the Christian Community”. Comment: “Come now, let us reason together, you and I”. God’s Word doesn’t produce uncertainty—men’s lack of understanding of it does. God authored the Holy Bible to be understood by the average person. Questioning God is an old tactic. Any living person who hears the word “day” instantly knows what it mea...
Cyber-bullying and political correctness (P.C.) pose a real dilemma for educators and law enforcement officials. You’ve all read the horror stories of teen suicide supposedly the result of a comment relayed by computer or cell phone. These are sad incidents indeed, but the rush to legislate P.C. by prohibiting any message that could be construed as “offensive” is not the answer. The bullying issue has come up in Montana in each legislative session since 2005. So far Montana has wisely not jumped on the P.C. bullying bandwagon. Let’s get one...
Dr. Dirt recently reviewed the thoughts of Dr. Hugh Ross in relation to Creationism. Dr. Dirt, a veterinarian by trade, no doubt has a grasp on things of the scientific realm. Dirt’s contention, however, that a 4.5 Billion year-old Earth could in fact stay loyal to the Biblical account is contrary not only to orthodox Christian views, but also to Biblical teaching. I understand Dirt’s point of view. Using Dr. Hugh Ross’ book A Matter of Days: Resolving a Creation Controversy as a jumping off p...
4-H members of Williams County are beginning to understand how tough it is to produce finished beef steers whose carcasses will grade USDA Choice. For the past four years Dr. J.J. Hovde has been using ultra-sound technology to evaluate the amount of fat and muscle tissue of every steer brought to the Upper Missouri Valley Fair. Dr. Hovde’s scanned readings are sent to The National Centralized Ultrasound Processing Laboratory at Ames, IA, for interpretation. The laboratory information gives us d...
There was an early morning fog on the day of our planned mountain bike expedition – an omen that I should have paid more attention to. Eight members of the family reunion said they would make the trip, but only 5 followed through on the plan. We wanted to try out the famous Maah Daah Hey Bike Trail System, which is Native-American for “an area that has been or will be around for a long time.” The side trail that we were directed to was the “Bully Pulpit Trail.” This was supposed to be “easier” t...
I would like to commend all those residents who have taken advantage of the beautiful Sidney tennis courts. The recreation commission committed funds for new tennis courts several years ago and just recently this fine addition to our community was resurfaced to optimal playing condition. I enjoyed my time giving instruction on the excellent courts this summer and I strongly encourage local residents to take up this lifelong sport that can be a fine, fun-filled addition to any fitness program. Tennis Anyone? Caryn L. Fehilly...
Another Richland County Fair has come and gone. This year’s Fair was greatly influenced by the weather. When it was storming (as it was on Friday) the traffic was slow and the vendors didn’t have much to do. When the weather was nice (as it was on Saturday) the crowd was overflowing, the vendors were busy, and everyone had a good time. The Fair is a rite of summertime that has been a part of Kessler family life for the last 25 years. Some of you have Fair memories that go back much further tha...
