Serving Southern Jefferson County in the Great State of Montana
Serving Southern Jefferson County in the Great State of Montana
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Whitehall High School alumni Hunter Flynn is preparing for a weekend to remember! Flynn qualified individually for the National Cross Country Meet by placing at the North Star Conference Cross Country Meet last fall. For Flynn, who will be graduating from Dickinson State University next month, this will be his third appearance at Nationals. The meet, which is usually help the weekend before Thanksgiving, had been delayed due to COVID-19, giving Flynn a few extra months to prepare. In his spare...
With COVID-19 came working remotely, with little to no in-person contact. Zoom and other video meeting apps have become a way to communicate not only in the business setting, but in the personal setting as well. "Zooming" should probably be the word of the year for 2020, as few don't know what that means. Jefferson Local Development Corporation (JLDC) saw the change in how we need to communicate and meet and created their recently finished Zoom Conference Room. JLDC received approximately...
Bring the little ones, bring the big ones, bring the "kids" of all ages out to the Easter Eggs-travaganza Easter Egg Hunt and Scavenger Hunt on Saturday, April 3rd. The fun begins at 1 p.m. for those 0-6 years of age at the Main Street Green Park next to the Star Theatre. Little ones will have the opportunity to find lots of prize filled Easter Eggs, meet the Whitehall Easter Bunny and even take their pictures with him! The hunt starts promptly at 1 p.m., so be ready and please bring a basket...
Something has got to be done about the speeding on Legion Avenue. There has got to be some creative ideas out there that will make the semis slow down and still appease the Montana DOT by keeping Legion Ave a functional part of the highway system. Two days in the past week I came into my office, which sits on Legion Ave, and found my frames, which hung on the back wall of my office, shattered to pieces. I laughed it off the first time – wow! The K-Bar got crazy last night and must’ve had a humdinger of a bar brawl. But then it happened again. I...
Several weeks ago Shirley Baustian received an envelope with the below artwork in it. The envelope was mailed from the Whitehall Post Office to Baustian's PO Box. No name was given, nor a return address. The drawings depict two owls, named Hoot and Holler, and their friends, a duck and a hedgehog. The below picture says: "Hi! My name is Hoot that is my big brother Holler and he does a lot of stuff. We live in this place with lots of old people. I know there is a big world out there. Holler says...
When describing Jefferson County, it's hard not to mention how large and spread out the county is. The county is expansive and lacks several amenities that other counties enjoy - such as a hospital and urgent care facilities. There's no doubt our Whitehall Medical Clinic goes above and beyond to assist the community, but now a new program has been created in hopes to assist the Clinic, as well as other primary providers. Kamrie Smith is the new Jefferson County Community Integrated Health (CIH)...
This week has been loaded with decisions, big and small, important and mundane for me. Do I get the COVID-19 shot? Do I dye my hair to cover that little stupid gray strand?’ Should I check my oil today or can I make it one more trip to Bozeman without worrying about it? Do I make the paper bigger by four pages each week, and if I do, can I handle that? So many decisions, so little time. Wouldn’t it be great if the voices in our heads guiding us to make the decisions could also foretell the future and all the problems that come with the dec...
When the Dysfunctional Quilt Shop opened nearly fifteen years ago on Sowden Lane in Whitehall, it was a small garage in Chris Proffer's backyard. Now, it is a booming business with an expansion added about five years ago and loyal customers that travel from around the state (and country!) to visit. On Saturday, March 20th the shop hosted its annual Customer Appreciation March Madness sale and the shop couldn't have been more packed. At 9:30 a.m. customers were wrapped around the perimeter of...
At this time last year, the world went into lockdown in fear of COVID-19. We didn't know what the virus could do, would do, or where we would be in a year. For the residents of Meadowlark Manor, it has been a long year. Because of COVID-19, the Manor shut its doors to visitors – the family and friends of the residents – and the residents were only permitted off the premises for medical appointments. The residents were allowed visitors outside on their patio in the warmer months and family mem...
The Ledger recently received an anonymous letter with information regarding a potential story to cover. After looking into the supplied information, I was able to get to the truth of the matter. However, with an anonymous letter - how do you let them know you did your job, investigated, but will not be pursuing further for the newspaper? You can’t. I also received information and documentation regarding a story from last week’s paper about the Town’s tax issues. The person who gave the information wanted to remain anonymous. A few weeks ago,...
I’ve heard that Jo’s mysterious identity is driving many a soul in Whitehall a bit crazy with guesses! I thought I’d give a bit of insight into this intriguing figure of etiquette wisdom. Yes, Jo is a Whitehall resident - your questions are being answered by someone right here in town. You’ve probably stood beside Jo in line at the Post Office, been parked behind Jo at the A&W/KFC drive through; you’ve probably waved at Jo as you drove by. Is “Jo” this person’s real name? Absolutely not! I’ve heard guesses that Jo is JoLynn Fleege (who does...
During the March Town Council meeting a bombshell was dropped on Council members and the attending audience; but with good news backing it. The town of Whitehall had not paid their taxes to the IRS for years 2016, 2017, 2018, and 2019, Town Treasurer Allissa Christensen, along with independent contractor Todd Watkins, relayed to the Council. The taxes owed amounted to $27,250.41; however, the penalties of the unpaid taxes tallied to $46,618.59. The good news was that the money had not been stolen or misplaced but remained in the Town’s c...
The question of the day: What’s in a name? My answer: a LOT, especially when you get the name wrong. We’ve all said the wrong name to someone when we see them out in public – called them Sam instead of Stan or Mary instead of Amy. We’re thinking too quickly, and our minds aren’t where our mouths are. Some of us are smarter than that, saying a simple “Hi, Sweetie” or “Hey, Handsome” when the name eludes us. My parents taught me my manners well and I use it to my advantage when it comes to names, calling someone “Ma’am” or “Sir” when I can’t r...
At the March 2nd meeting of the Jefferson County Commissioners, the Whitehall School Board presented a letter from their attorney, as well as verbal dissertation from Board Chair Gina Ossello, in regard to the Jefferson County Health Board. The Board, Ossello stated, has been “operating behind closed doors” and has overstepped their bounds on several occasions, including the recent Jefferson County mask mandate. Below is the letter Ossello read to the commissioners; a letter from the Board’s attorney, Bea Kaleva was also presented. That lette...
While basketball and wrestling finished up this weekend for school teams, the hockey season is still on for a few Whitehall players. Carley Ryan played in a three game series February 26-27 in Butte and Bozeman. Her team, the U14 Girls Copper City Kings won 2 of the three games and brought home the state title. Carley's brothers, Jacob and Noah Ryan, played for the Butte Copper City Kings in the Peewee B State Championship this past weekend and won the title as well. This tournament was a four...
Saturday's Lady Trojan basketball game pitted the #2 seeded Trojans against the #1 seeded Sweet Grass Lady Herders in an exciting matchup that kept the crowd at the edge of their seats the entire evening. Tied at the end of nearly every quarter, the Lady Trojans brought the game to single, then double overtime with fierce defense and strong offense. At the beginning of the first overtime the score sat at 51 each. By the start of double overtime, each team held at 58. Unfortunately the Herders...
Trojan Boys Basketball traveled to Townsend on February 26th to take on the Bulldogs. Unfortunately Whitehall lost the game by a score of 38-45....
As of March 1, 2021, Reed’s Animal Rescue in Whitehall will no longer be accepting rescued animals. After more than ten years as an in-home rescue, Patti and Jerry Reed decided the rescue is no longer viable financially. “We love what we do, but we just can’t afford it any longer,” Patti Reed said, with a tiny black lab puppy, a rescue, curled up in her lap. Reed explained that, after second mortgaging their home to fund the rescue, the decision had to be made. In one recent fiscal year the vet bills alone, Reed said, surmounted $9,000, while t...
When it's time to make your dreams come true, you take the bull by the horns and make it happen. However, you don't expect a global pandemic to start practically the day after you sign on the dotted line to make those dreams reality. This is exactly what happened to Cody and Hope Doyle when they decided the time was right to open Cope & Hody's Auto Works on Paul Gulch Road. But the couple has made the best of the pandemic and succeeded despite all odds. "This has been a life goal - I knew since...
What would we do without gossip and rumors? Hmmm...life would probably be a lot less dramatic, the news would be a bit more reliable, but life might also be a bit boring. Don’t get me wrong, I love gossip magazines, reality television and that type of contrived gossip. Those are actors and personalities whose lives make them money. Their fame depends on people talking about them, and sometimes negative press is what brings in the big bucks. While I love celebrity gossip, I myself am no celebrity and I’ve heard quite a bit of chatter about my...
Just as March brought in sunnier and warmer days, Liberty Place brought color and culture to the Borden’s Historic Building in Whitehall. The art display features sixteen photos and twenty six paintings, as well as two collaborative paintings, all created by Liberty Place residents. David Parker, Liberty Place’s music therapist and program director, secured a grant via the Montana Arts Council, bringing a professional artist and a photographer to the two Liberty Place centers, helping res...
Last Friday when the Jefferson County mask mandate was made public, the Ledger was asked by several entities to get the news out in as many outlets as possible. In addition to adding the article as “Breaking News” on our website, I shared the article to many of our local Facebook classified sites dealing with Whitehall and surrounding areas. And, unfortunately, that is when all heck broke loose. Not only was the article shared dozens of times, but dozens of comments were made. Many were simply expressing opinion of the mandate, either for or ag...
Thursday, February 11th wasn't just one of the most frigid days of the year, but it was also one of the busiest for the Whitehall Volunteer Fire Department. The day started with a serious vehicle accident on I-90 which blocked traffic for several hours and spurred a multi-community search and rescue mission for a lost Labrador involved in the accident. At 8:25 a.m. on Thursday the Whitehall VFD was dispatched to mile marker 237 Eastbound, as a semi had jack-knifed due to weather conditions....
When you're looking for fast food, there are only so many locations in Whitehall. The A&W/KFC, which has been open for decades and owned by Michelle & Curtiss Lafountaine for the past twenty-four years, is a bit of rarity when it comes to a population such as Whitehall's. Most franchise locations are in bigger cities, but Whitehall has held its own – even throughout the current crisis of COVID-19. For nearly a year, the Whitehall location's dining room and lobby have been closed due to the pande...
We are in a day and age where general knowledge is relayed daily via social media, and sometimes no where else. We receive important information via text message instead of phone calls, emails instead of in-person communications. Sometimes we hear the news from our neighbors, or our children, and it may be circumstantial at best. For the most part, this is all fine and dandy. It’s become the norm. But when it comes to major items of importance, we need to take into consideration what the item of information is and how the distribution of t...
