Serving Southern Jefferson County in the Great State of Montana
Serving Southern Jefferson County in the Great State of Montana
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Department of Public Health and Human Services (DPHHS) officials are reporting substantial influenza (flu) activity during the first three months of this current flu season, from September through December 2022, that has far exceeded the prior five-year averages. Since the week of September 25 through December 31, 2022, there have been 408 influenza-associated hospitalizations reported to DPHHS, well above the five-year seasonal average of 88 hospitalizations for that same time frame. The five-year seasonal average for hospitalizations for an...
Dear Editor, Thank you, Mr. Buterbaugh, for the information on the massive budget bill. The current spectacle of the House of Representatives is another example of what seems to be the inability to use reason. Joy Des Rosier Whitehall, Montana...
Dear Editor, A “critique” of the Ledger’s Letters to the Editor on 12/7/2022. “J. Butt” - Blah blah blah blah blah boring. Double dribble. “Computer Kelly” - the Earth is flat. Elvis is alive. And the cow jumped over the moon. “The Professor” - How does “civilized discussion” jive with the embrace and defense of the murder weapon, a gun, while lifeless school children are piled up in their Uvaldi classroom waiting to be identified by the “color of their tennis shoes.” And, two were decapitated - how? “The Terminator” - Direct. Abras...
Dear Editor, The TERMINATOR - straight from the insurrectionist’s mouth: “I haven’t read the Constitution, but from what I’ve been told, most of it is a waste of paper quite frankly; the fifth amendment is the only part worth saving.” A former President of the United States and the freak has not read the Constitution. Wow. “When I left office, I took a lot of documents with me, but I had no interest in taking the Constitution. If I could have cut the 5th amendment out of the Constitution and put it in my pocket, I would have done that, but t...
Much like vote counting results in some places around the country, I am a little slow on delivery. However, local elections are officially in the rearview mirror. Approximately 58 percent of registered Jefferson County voters participated from the ten precincts within the county. The good news is that this was on par with the state, whose total turnout was just over 60 percent. Since it’s our number one responsibility as sovereign actors within our government, perhaps we should expect higher p...
Department of Public Health and Human Services (DPHHS) officials are urging Montanans to be aware of the importance of appropriate antibiotic use during U.S. Antibiotic Awareness Week Nov. 18-24, 2022. This is an annual observance that provides participating organizations in the state’s Antimicrobial Stewardship Program an opportunity to raise awareness about antibiotic use to combat the threat of antibiotic resistance. DPHHS officials state that while antibiotics are a common treatment for numerous bacterial infections, they are not always t...
Department of Public Health and Human Services (DPHHS) officials said today that increased benefits are now available to families through the Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants, and Children, commonly known as WIC. “We want to ensure that WIC recipients and those who are eligible, but not yet enrolled for the program, are aware that benefits increased in October,” said Kevin Moore, acting WIC Director for DPHHS. “This is great news because we know that with increases in food prices, times are tough for many famil...
After a summer of anticipation, information, and hard work by Kit Mather the old mural came down and the beautiful new mural went up last Thursday. If you haven't seen it please go to Jefferson Fresh Foods and see it. It is bright, beautiful, and clear. It was a full day to remove the old mural and reinstall the new one. Thanks are due to many people first of all to Kit Mather who gave up her entire summer and worked every single day to make this vision come to fruition. Thanks also to the...
The Jefferson Valley Community Foundation is pleased and excited to announce its Short-and Sweet awards evening. The awards event will be held on November 10th at the Whitehall Community Center beginning at 7:00 PM. Representatives of those non-profit organizations who have applied for specific monetary grants should be present to find out the results of the awarded grant. A pie social will provide delicious refreshments and make the event a special evening, Non-profit organizations who have missed the grant deadline or who were unaware of...
Wow, we’re finally there, the Lewis and Clark mural located on Jefferson Fresh Foods is going up this Thursday (weather permitting)to replace the original weathered mural. Local contractor Tim Geary has agreed to donate personal time to remove the old mural and put the new mural in place. The old mural originally painted by artist Kit Mather with calligraphy done by Carilyn Jenkin has been a beautiful, special, signature for our community’s enthusiasm for art and history. The Whitehall Chamber is looking for a new home for the old mural, tho...
I’m going to combine two stories, one fictional and one real. In the 1999 fictional film, The Green Mile, the “green mile” referred to the stretch of green linoleum that death row inmates walked to Louisiana’s electric chair. When I was a kid, my father used to refer to cash as “long green.” What do you get when you combine the two stories? Like the prison inmates, perhaps what you get is the worthy dollars’ inevitable demise as a productive public resource at the end of that analogous lin...
The Jefferson Valley Community Foundation would like to remind all non-profits that plan to apply for grant assistance that the grant deadline is fast approaching. The grant deadline is October 28th. Completed grants should be turned in at the Whitehall Community Library and must be turned in by closing time at the library. Grants must be turned in by 4:00 PM on the 28th. Grant applicants are reminded that only grant applications that are completely filled out will be considered. In order to be complete, the IRS non-profit certification must...
The Clean Water Act turns 50 on October 18th. Over the past five decades, it has proven itself as one of the most successful environmental laws on the books. It has cleaned up contaminated waterways, helped to assure that the drinking water coming out of your tap is safe for your kids, and protected the ecological integrity of rivers and streams. Indeed, without the Clean Water Act, Montana would not be the state it is today. But far more must be done in order for us to reach the promise of the Clean Water Act – which is to prevent, reduce, and...
Dear Editor, I would like to encourage you and our fellow eastern Montanans to vote this Fall from our hearts. Republican, Independent, Green, Libertarian, Social Democrat, Trumpster, and Democrat are shorthand labels more serving the convenience of political and media consultants. Let’s agree that “grasstops” politics have replaced “grassroots.” Yet we all still have our friends and families. We’re grand-mothers and grand-fathers, or their children and children’s children, native-born or Montanans by fate or choice, veterans or the families...
The month of October is an exciting time for those involved in the Whitehall Mural Project. Artist Kit Mather has been working diligently day after day and essentially has given up her entire summer to finish the large mural that will replace the one on Jefferson Fresh Foods. Arrangements have been made to replace the current faded mural with a fresh new creative special work of art. The community of Whitehall has already generously contributed to this project and all who have done so are...
Most of you recall the famous quote from Ronald Reagan, “Government’s view of the economy could be summed up in a few short phrases: If it moves, tax it. If it keeps moving, regulate it. And if it stops moving, subsidize it.” Yes, that means real property as well, which tends to not move but is taxed to help cover the costs of running schools and local governments. My last article, “When You Find Yourself In a Hole Stop Digging” which is still available at www.montanadecides....
Department of Public Health and Human Services (DPHHS) officials report that nearly one in three Montanans aged 65 and older have reported falling at least once in the last 12 months. “Falling is not a normal part of aging, but knowing a person’s risk factors can reduce the chance of an unintentional fall.” DPHHS Falls Prevention Program Manager Melissa Dale said. “As a person ages, they are at an increased risk for falling and sustaining an injury.” National Falls Prevention Week is September 18-24. Dale notes that almost half (48%) of the fa...
It was suggested that I could strengthen the logic of my last article, "To Record or Not to Record; Is that the Question?" which remains available at https://montanadecides.substack.com if you have not read it, by building on the principle that greater transparency helps to ensure accountability. The reason? It is in the individual's self-interest to have more information about issues that are relevant to them and serves the common good to have more people who are better informed. A great sugges...
Thomas Jefferson wrote in a letter on January 8, 1789, “that wherever the people are well informed, they can be trusted with their own government.” Jefferson’s intent was that if citizens were well informed, they could have the information needed to adequately participate in their government. It is, after all, our responsibility. This sentiment coincides with Article II, Section 9 of the Montana State Constitution which declares, “No person shall be deprived of the right to examine documen...
State and local public health officials are reporting the season’s first West Nile virus (WNV) detections in positive mosquito samples in Dawson and Lewis and Clark counties. The first horse infected with WNV this season was also confirmed earlier this week in Lewis and Clark County. To date, no human cases of WNV have been identified this season. Increased risk of WNV infection in humans and horses is expected to continue through at least October. The detection of WNV in mosquitoes and horses is an early warning that Montanans are at an i...
Dear Jo, I enter my address into Google Earth and I can see my house perfectly. But when I go outside, I can’t see myself - I can see the cars on Google Earth but not myself! I’ve even gone out with my laptop and tried to reflect something shiny up into the sky so that it can read my location. I don’t understand! Does this mean I don’t exist? Questioning Google Dear Questioning, While Google maps tell us where things are, it definitely doesn’t tell us whether or not WE exist! Of course, you exist! You are using the app correctly, but not reali...
Governor Greg Gianforte and Department of Public Health and Human Services (DPHHS) Director Charlie Brereton announced an $18 million investment to fund 31 child care innovation grants across the state. “For too long, Montana’s working families faced a shortage of child care providers, putting them between a rock and a hard place,” Gov. Gianforte said. “To increase access to sustainable, quality child care and address this longstanding problem, we’re investing in quality providers who operate in child care deserts throughout our state.” R...
As the summer continues on, so does the Whitehall Chamber of Commerce's mural restoration/renewal project. The first mural to be replaced is located on the south side of Jefferson Fresh Foods. Artist Kit Mather has been working hard and conscientiously to finish and her results and work are completely spectacular. As with any project, there will be ongoing costs for the Whitehall Chamber-sponsored project. Most expenses have thus far been covered by generous grants from the Jefferson Valley...
The Jefferson Valley Community Foundation is calling all area non-profits. The opportunity to apply for monetary grants is fast approaching. As in past years, the Whitehall Community Library under the direction of Library Director Jeannie Ferriss will direct a grant class for those wishing to enter the grant cycle for the JVCF organization’s grant awards. The Grant Workshop will be held on August 20 from 10 AM until noon. Those unable to make the grant writing class may pick up grant applications at the library. All applicants are reminded t...
Dear Jo, I was just daydreaming and thinking a lot today. I was thinking about how crazy it is that a person has walked on the moon and on Mars. Do you think a person will ever walk on the sun? I know it’s really hot but I am thinking if they went in the wintertime when the sun is only like 30 degrees they could probably do it. What do you think? Sunny Daydreamin’ Dear Sunny, Hmmmmmmm...maybe we need to revisit our basic knowledge of science and the universe. While life on Earth would not exist without our huge hot glowing ball of gas, lif...
