Week of March 25, 2026
Week of March 25, 2026
The annual meeting of the Jefferson Valley Museum is scheduled for Thursday, April 2nd, at the Star Theatre. A short business meeting to review the past year and nominate board members whose terms are expiring will start at 6:45 PM, with the program following at 7 PM. This year, a different approach to presenting the program will be used. While past programs have featured a single speaker, or sometimes a pair, this year a talkshow format will be used. The "show" From the Whitetail to Waterloo...
Montana is known for its strength-its wide-open spaces, its resilient communities, and the quiet determination of the people who call it home. But beneath that strength lies a reality that is far harder to see, and far more urgent to confront. Montana consistently reports one of the highest suicide rates in the nation-nearly twice the national average. Each year, hundreds of lives are lost. These are not distant statistics or abstract numbers. They are neighbors, classmates, coworkers, parents,...
The annual Whitehall Community Easter Egg Hunt is on, with volunteers teaming up with Whitehall non-profit Whitehall Events to make the family-friendly Easter event an even larger success. The hunt will take place Saturday, April 4th, at 1 PM at the Whitehall Elementary School playground. The hunt is for ages 0-12 with Easter eggs filled with candy and easy-to-grab prizes. Please make sure your hunter has a bag or basket to load up with...
The Whitehall Baptist Church is hosting the fifth Annual Outdoorsman Night! Bring your family and enjoy an evening of food and friends, all supporting the Jefferson Valley EMS & Rescue! The event will be held at the Whitehall Community Center on Friday, March 27th. Doors open at 4:30 PM, with the fun beginning at 6 PM. ADVANCED REGISTRATION IS REQUIRED by March 27 at $20 per person. For children seven years and under, it will be $5. Space is limited to 250 attendees, and this event has...
Start your spring cleaning now and get ready for Whitehall’s annual Community Wide Garage Sale weekend - this year, June 6 and 7. Registration for the Community Wide Garage Sale MAP is available as of April 1st at the Western Legacy Center, Thriftway SuperStop, M&M Vintage, the Whitehall Ledger, and the Whitehall Mini Mall. Map registrations must be returned to the Whitehall Mini Mall (Elena Wagner) by May 29, 2026, to proceed with official map printing. Ready for this? Whitehall will also be hosting a fall community-wide garage sale,...
Whitehall resident Stephanie Beeman will facilitate a free virtual workshop for survivors of sexual assault and domestic violence. Beeman is facilitating the workshop on Saturday, April 4, 2025, at 1:00 PM as part of Sexual Assault Awareness Month programming for Cardwell-based nonprofit We Are HER. The 90-minute workshop, titled “Reclaiming Your Narrative,” will bring together 8-10 survivors to explore the narratives they’ve inherited about trauma and healing and decide which stories are authentically theirs to keep. “Whether we’re...
Whitehall non-profit Angel Wings Foundation will host a suicide awareness and prevention walk on Sunday, May 3, 2026. The walk, which will take participants all around Whitehall, will both help raise awareness and funds for Angel Wings Foundation. Registration forms are available at angelwingsmontana.org and at the Montana Western Legacy Center, Numb3rs Accounting, and Mountain View Real Estate. Registration is $10; each registrant will receive an Angel Wings bracelet at walk check-in. Participants who raise more than $250 will also receive...
Irish eyes were surely smiling as Hostesses Tara Bowery and Laura Horn set the stage for the March Garden Club meeting, held March 4th, with a bountiful St. Patrick's Day-themed snack table, laden with sugar cookies, sweet bread, mini muffins, and green fruit dip with Granny Smith apple slices. Terry Ross stepped up with a last-minute Fast Ten presentation on the Hawthorne tree, the myth & the legend, which happens to grow here in Whitehall. He provided several fascinating facts about the...
The Department of Public Health and Human Services (DPHHS) is advising health care providers to continue offering preventive immunizations against Respiratory Syncytial Virus (RSV) for infants and young children through April 30, 2026. In accordance with Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) recommendations, these steps are being taken to address disease trends currently observed in Montana and across the country. While this common respiratory virus often causes mild, cold-like symptoms, it remains the leading cause of infant...
One might think that March 2026 has been unusually dry and warm, but people were likely thinking the same thing back in March 1926. Through March 23rd of that year, only .15 inches of moisture was recorded (much like February), and temperatures ranged from the mid-40s to the mid-60s. The valley had not seen a temperature below zero for more than 450 days. Headlines from the front pages in March included the Whitehall basketball team placing fifth in the district tournament held here in town;...
In 1886, the last wild buffalo on the Great Plains was killed among the steep bluffs and badlands of central Montana, the final remnant of the tens of millions of bison that once roamed the nation’s vast prairies. The slaughter of the buffalo was a tragedy for all Western Indian tribes—including every tribe in Montana—because the animals were everything to Native people. Bison provided food, shelter, clothing, and tools. They were central to spiritual practices. Their destruction was also a central part of the federal campaign to subdue...
The Whitehall Chamber of Commerce conducted a status check during its annual meeting on March 15, setting goals for 2001. The chamber received four recent grants totaling $26,500. The money has helped fund the Lewis & Clark Bicentennial murals, studies to shape the community's future, and other projects. WHS Creative Leader of the Week: SHAWN PATRICK. Leadership honors go to senior Shawn Patrick this week for his work on the WHS Student Council. Council advisor Lee Ann Gallagher says Shawn is a...
With this beautiful weather we have been having, everyone seems to be in full spring cleaning mode at the Whitehall Community Library. One of the questions we are always asked this time of year is what types of donations the library takes. Books make up the largest percentage of items donated to us, but there are a few things we ask of patrons before they bring books in. The first is that patrons do not bring boxes of moldy or dirt-covered books to us. It is dangerous for staff when we empty boxes filled with mouse remains or excrement. If...
Decadent and mouth-watering, cheesecake is a staple of dessert tables. Everyone has a favorite cheesecake variety, and bakeries fill their display cases with plain or fruit-topped cheesecake offerings. Although making a cheesecake is a labor of love, the results often are well worth the effort. This recipe for "Amaretti Cheesecake" from "Cooking Light: Dinner's Ready" by The Cooking Light Editors utilizes a slow cooker to help make this cheesecake perfection. INGREDIENTS: (10 servings) Crust:...
Don’t wait to apply for deer and elk permits. The application deadline is April 1. Hunters can buy licenses and apply for permits on the FWP website; click on “Buy and Apply.” Montana Fish, Wildlife & Parks offers several tools to help hunters navigate the application process. The application process is different for residents and nonresidents, but FWP has created instructional videos to help with both kinds of customers. Hunters and anglers can also take advantage of the MyFWP mobile app. The app holds and displays licenses, permits,...
The Whitehall Garden Club’s (WGC) regular monthly meeting will be held on Wednesday, April 1st, in the Whitehall Ambulance Barn located at the corner of North Whitehall Street and West 2nd Street. The public is invited to join us. Membership is not required, but you are welcome to join. Social time begins at 9:30 AM with refreshments provided by our hostesses, Natalie Baumeister and Ann Palmer. A short “Fast-10” presentation will be provided by Mesquite Noyes of Ranching Tradition Fiber on using waste wool as a gardening fertilizer...
According to a 2025 online poll, by the American Institute of Stress, 69% of U.S. adults say they needed more emotional support in the past year, and 76% say the nation’s future is a significant source of stress. Everyone experiences stress, but over time, stress can lead to health problems, such as digestive issues, headaches, changes in breathing, high blood pressure, joint pain, heart and kidney disease, reproductive issues, allergic reactions, etc. The good news is, there are simple steps in managing your stress, to prevent adverse...
Jefferson Valley Community Foundation (JVCF) is pleased to announce two community-wide events for the coming spring calendar. First of all, on May 2nd, the group will be hosting a fundraiser at the Whitehall Community Center titled A Night for Tomorrow: The Jefferson Valley Gala. The event will begin at 5 PM, and its primary purpose is to create a scholarship fund and to add to the administrative fund, supporting the current and future needs of the community by adding to the endowment fund. Proceeds and other donations from the JVCF Endowment...
ARIES - Mar 21/Apr 20 A project you have been working on for some time finally reaches a successful conclusion, Aries. Enjoy the benefits it brings and take a well-earned bow. TAURUS - Apr 21/May 21 Taurus, sensory delights might fill your week. Good food, music, and company are your rewards. Enjoy everything and savor each moment. GEMINI - May 22/Jun 21 A long-awaited response brings a smile to your face, Gemini. It is just the news you were hoping for, and maybe even better than you expected. Now you can move forward with confidence. CANCER...
Montana is a state rooted in fairness, equal rights, and community. I’m willing to wager that the vast majority of Montanans deeply cherish their Constitutional rights, like the First Amendment. And yet, the First Amendment in Montana is under attack from the very people who claim to represent us. Governor Gianforte quietly decided that because he doesn’t spend time at the Capitol on the weekends, neither can the general public. At Gianforte’s beck and call, state officials changed permitting rules to effectively ban weekend rallies at...
As a member of the Senate Finance and Claims Committee during the 2025 session, I was there for every budget debate, both in committee and on the floor. Term limits have me stepping away from Senate District 14, so I can speak plainly, without worrying about a campaign. A recent editorial column featured a “17% budget explosion” untruth and a rehashed miscategorization of why members of the House and Senate banded together with Democrats to vote on important finance and budget bills. Carl Glimm’s fiscal math and session history could...
Dear Editor, In the last few election cycles, the people of Montana have voted consistently Republican. The Republicans now hold all state and federal offices and majorities in both chambers of the legislature. While in some instances this has been a good change and we have made some progress, in many cases these majorities have not translated into conservative governance of our state. Our state government is still growing, our budgets have not shrunk, and it is operating well outside its...
Dear Editor, Who is speaking, and why? One need go no further than the mailbox to realize another election season is upon us. Inside were the usual glossy flyers telling me who to vote for, who not to vote for, and all the reasons why. I filed them where most of them appropriately belong: the trash can. Normally, I file them in bulk. This time, I tossed them in one at a time. As I closed the lid, jumped back in my truck, and started down the road, a thought crossed my mind. Not one of those...
It’s so dumb that if you bite your lip while chewing, it will swell, so it is now much more likely you’ll bite it again. If someone visited Clark Kent’s apartment and found Superman paraphernalia, that would probably actually work with the Clark Kent cover story and make it more believable that he was just a nerd. The power of invisibility would make you blind when active, because light would just pass straight through your eyes. Companies near the airport could make money by selling billboard space on their roofs. It’s hard to poop...
GEORGIA, I have a question, I was dining within inches of an occupied table for two at a restaurant. One of the men at that table asked his dining companion whether he knew where the restroom was. He didn’t. I had asked the same question of a waiter, now nowhere in sight, 15 minutes earlier. I told the diner that the restroom was outside the main room of the restaurant, in the hallway of the office building in which the restaurant was located, and pointed out the exit to use to get there. The diner snippily said, “Thank you for the...
Dear Editor, I wish to thank and to praise the firefighters who handled the fire just east of Doherty Mountain. The effort was incredible considering the heat and the wind they had to deal with. The widespread cooperative support was gratifying. Whitehall Fire, Willow Creek Fire, Three Forks Fire, Harrison Fire, Montana DNRC, U.S. Forest Service, Jefferson County EMS, Jefferson County DES, Jefferson County Sheriff, Jefferson County Dispatch, and Gallatin County Dispatch all deserve the utmost...
The Church, as recorded in the Bible, then as now faced counterfeit messages. Colossae, pronounced [call’-aw see], is our next focus from Paul’s imprisonment, and I am using the word counterfeit because Paul warns of severe deception he’s learned about, that this small community was facing. The richness of cultures that lived side by side in this fertile land fostered great learning. Call it an earlier Melting Pot. The mysticism faced by the ‘baby’ Christians lured them toward hot water. Jewish legalism was also mixed with Greek and...
Dear Editor: In 1776, Thomas Paine wrote in The American Crisis, "These are the times that try men's souls. The summer soldier and the sunshine patriot will, in this crisis, shrink from the service of their country." Paine was describing those who are eager to stand up when times are easy, but disappear when real sacrifice is required. That passage has always stayed with me because it reminds us that public service is supposed to be exactly that-service. Not convenience. Not ambition. And...
Across Montana this March, hundreds of people have been turning out to testify in support of the Roadless Rule. But for many, the bigger question was: Why are we here at all? “Why are we turning our attention to these high-elevation forests which don’t provide economic returns?” asked Jim Burchfield, former dean of the University of Montana School of Forestry. “This is a wrong-headed, dramatic mandate in search of a problem.” Burchfield was one of many speakers with deep knowledge of forest ecology and economy who spoke at seven...
SUNDAY, MARCH 15 01:36:08 Traffic Hazard: I-90 02:14:38 Vehicle Accident (Injury): I-90 10:29:56 911 10:46:24 Non-Violent Domestic: First Rd 11:07:18 Vehicle Fire: I-90 11:26:08 Transport (Prisoner or Other) 11:52:59 Animal Abuse 13:46:19 911: I-90 19:58:29 Traffic Hazard: I-90 MONDAY, MARCH 16 11:15:03 Traffic Stop: N Whitehall St 12:14:34 Larceny/Theft: N Whitehall St 13:30:34 Parking: N Division St 14:48:42 Domestic Violence: Hwy 55 18:00:34 Civil: S Centurion Way 18:10:36 Civil Standby: N...
Whitehall Indivisible welcomed a new addition to the HD 75 campaign trail, Pat Sullivan. House District 75 is the district that residents of Whitehall and most of the surrounding area live in, and currently Mark Reinschmidt serves as its Representative, having been selected by the Republican Party as a replacement when Representative Marta Bertoglio vacated the seat to move to the Department of Commerce. Self-described as a “blue-collar PhD,” Pat Sullivan states he is familiar with how the government works, from decision-making to...
The Department of Public Health and Human Services (DPHHS) will honor Montana’s centenarians during the 57th annual Governor’s Conference on Aging on Oct. 7, 2026 during a noon luncheon. The annual conference and luncheon will take place at the Hilton Garden Inn in Kalispell. DPHHS is asking Montanans who will turn 100 on or before Dec. 31, 2026, and those who are currently over the age of 100 to submit their name and a brief profile. All centenarians who submit information will receive a recognition certificate from Governor Greg...
