Serving Southern Jefferson County in the Great State of Montana
Serving Southern Jefferson County in the Great State of Montana
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Trees around your home can increase property value by up to 15% or more. Studies of comparable houses with and without trees place a markedly higher value on those whose yards are sheltered by trees. Arbor Day is Friday, April 29th and the Whitehall Garden Club is planning the second annual Arbor Day Celebration in the Whitehall Community Center from noon until 4 PM. The garden club members will distribute 29 FREE seedling trees to attendees to celebrate our 29th year as a Tree City USA. Trees available this year are Engelmann Spruce, Plains...
The WHS Band and Choir traveled to District Music Festival in Deer Lodge over the weekend and had a strong showing of talent. The WHS Band brought home a II rating of Excellent, while the Choir earned an I rating of Superior. The Golden Quartet, which is comprised of Kyra Oliverson, Payton DuBois, Gabriel Popalis, and Emerson Bourbanis-Carter earned a II rating. Superior ratings were earned by the following students: Kyra Oliverson (vocal), Emerson Bourbanis-Carter (vocal), Emily Smith (flute),...
This voting season brings candidates for County Commissioner and County Sheriff, as well as a variety of mill levies. While some are hotly debated (see Letter to Editor on page 3), others feel needed due to years of unchanged budgets. The Jefferson County Library system has not had a budget increase since 2004. In those eighteen years, so many things have changed in the libraries that it is hard to note them all. The Whitehall Community Library alone receives over 80,000 visits per year;...
Dear Editor, Many folks, including the local Animal Shelter & Care Committee (AS&CC), are passionate and have concerns regarding abandoned and abused animals and their related care. Here are a few questions I believe are important for all taxpayers to consider comparing the social benefits and economic costs for the upcoming consideration of the Permanent 9 mill levy ballot issue: • Why 9 mills, as well as why permanent (forever)? • Should the county taxpayers finance a “conceptual” facility (without a specific approved size and plan) that wi...
Dear Editor, There are four individuals running to replace Leonard Wortman as Jefferson County Commissioner and there are many good things to be said about all of them. Leonard Wortman did an excellent job as Jefferson County Commissioner for quite a few years. I want to thank him for the job he did, but it leaves us with an election and a decision for a new County Commissioner. Mary Janacaro-Hensleigh has served the town of Whitehall as Mayor for several years. She is running for the County Commissioner job and has much experience in local...
As an adult, you can just buy a cake even when it's not your birthday and eat the whole thing. No one can stop you! When men play hard to get, it makes women want them more. When women play hard to get, men think they aren’t interested. Maybe the grass seems greener on the other side because you’re not over there messing it up. In 100 years people are going to fail history tests on stuff we lived through. People wearing pajamas in public have either given up on life or are living it to the fullest. People making noise while they eat is inc...
Dear Jo, Do you have someone in your life who is always there to help you? My friend is so amazing. She just takes control of what needs to be done and goes at it. I benefit from the amazing way she just takes on anything and breaks it down into manageable pieces. Sometimes, however, it feels too fast and too much for me. I need to process one step at a time and she just powers through. Do I ask her to slow down and let me process? Signed, A Bit Behind Dear Behind, Send up a prayer of thanks for an Amazon of a friend and you do you. Signed, Jo...
Whitehall-based non-profit We Are HER (Healed, Empowered, Restored) will be hosted by The Whitehall Ledger on Thursday, May 5 at 6 PM. This informal gathering will be a meet and greet, offering information on We Are HER, gathering ideas on what services We Are HER can provide in the area, and more. Thursday is also the kick-off to Give Big Gallatin Valley, in which The Whitehall Ledger is a matching sponsor for We Are HER. The first $500 donated to We Are HER's annual survivor retreat will be...
The longest running youth rodeo in the state of Montana, the BY's 4-H Club Youth Rodeo, is scheduled to take place May 7 at the Whitehall Rodeo Grounds. According to organizers, in 1962 members of the BY's 4-H Club organized a youth rodeo, never knowing it would be such a long running and well-known rodeo. This year's event will feature an 8 to 12-year-old and 13 to 18-year-old division. Events scheduled for the 2022 rodeo are steer riding, cow riding, calf daubing, breakaway roping, barrel...
April of 1896 was not much different in weather than today. There was snow and cold; but, a welcome for the moisture that the disparate spring weather was bringing. The following news is taken as written from the April 17 and 24, 1896 editions of the Whitehall Zephyr. The photo is an ad from the April 24, 1896 edition. Probable Great Gold Discovery Near Whitehall: Immense Ledges, Varying from Four to Sixty Feet in Width, Miles in Length. What may materialize into some of the greatest gold...
The drumbeat of war is sounding loud and clear. All the atrocities which are occurring in Ukraine are deeply troubling; certainly Russia, specifically Putin, is demonstrating to the world his self-interest. Ukrainians have fled in droves, while others are losing their lives standing up to the Russian military. Sadly, many people of various nations are suffering the consequences of this unjust act, including many in Russia and Europe. Present tensions are higher than most of us have seen in decades and the world is watching with much angst. Let...
Did you know backyard composting can be as easy as following a recipe? Kaleena Miller, extension agent for Jefferson and Madison counties will demonstrate the recipe for a successful compost pile at the Whitehall Garden Club’s May meeting on Wednesday, May 4. That is next week! As it will be May, our weather will be heating up which is crucial for composting. This is a very timely program. The program will include an actual DEMONSTRATION. That’s right, Kaleena Miller of MSU Extension is going to lay down a tarp, measure out the essential ing...
National parks have been getting a lot of love since the pandemic, so much that this summer you need reservations at many. For example, you must make a reservation just to drive Montana's legendary Going-To-The-Sun Road in Glacier National Park, and passes can sell out within hours of release. That's better than stalking parking lots before sunrise and finding trails turning into conga lines, but it makes me all the more interested in a new national park that's in the works. It's even closer to...
The Library will be hosting another workshop on Teen Mental Health First Aid on May 6 from 8 AM to 5 PM. This important workshop is free and open to the public who wish to help prevent suicide in our young people as well as learn the basics of mental health issues. All materials for the class will be provided for participants, as well as lunch and snacks. To sign up for the workshop or learn more about it, please contact the Library at 287-3763. The deadline for signing up is Wednesday, May 4....
From low inventory to higher prices and climbing interest rates, the housing market nationwide continues to present challenges for individuals and families as they home hunt. “With so many market factors beyond buyers’ control, it’s vital to keep emotions in check and focus on those things you can control while looking for a house,” said Jessica Ferastoaru, a housing specialist with Take Charge America, a nonprofit credit and housing counseling agency. “With some patience, diligence and flexibility, you should be able to find a home you love...
Our beloved husband and father passed away suddenly on Thursday, March 24, 2022, in Scottsdale, AZ from a cerebral hemorrhage. He was 81. Marvin "Buz" was born in Whitehall, MT to parents Alva (Bud) and Ruby Cowdrey. He attended grade school in Cardwell, MT, and high school in Whitehall, MT. He lettered four years in track and basketball and graduated in 1958. He married Judy Huckaba on October 5, 1959. They enjoyed 62 years of marriage. He graduated from Western Montana College in 1962. Buz was...
After a year of pandemic isolation, Tampa, Florida, resident Gary Bagwell emerged to finally enjoy a “luxury” he longed for — a haircut. Sitting in the chair for the first time in 18 months, he relaxed and settled in for a little pampering. When his barber asked a fellow stylist to make change for a $20 bill Bagwell was paying with, the burly co-worker reacted with a barrage of stinging expletives and repeatedly punched the barber, once in the face then ten blows to his head. In an instant, the peace that Bagwell hoped for turned to panic...
Thirty years ago no one thought we would run our lives from our cell phones; for many at that time, a cell phone was a frivolous piece of technology only the wealthy could afford. Now kindergarteners sport their own I-Phones and we are lost without our tablets, smartwatches, and the like. Unfortunately, with technology come those who know how to use information to their benefit. Scammers are everywhere. In Whitehall, High Peaks Federal Credit Union manager LaDonna Knox has seen firsthand the scams that come across her desk. Most recently...
The Whitehall Middle School students participated in Montana's Do the Write Thing Challenge in January. This is a violence prevention program that encourages students to write about their experiences with various types of violence and to give ideas of how they can prevent violence in their own communities. Do the Write Thing is an initiative of the National Campaign to Stop Violence and has received over a million student essays over the last 26 years. Many of these essays have been combined...
Like many southwest Montana valleys, the Jefferson River served as a passage for native American tribes "going to buffalo" on the Montana prairie. Where the town of Whitehall now stands, was a crossroads for trails that would then follow the Jefferson to the Three Forks where many of the native peoples joined forces and traveled together. And over time no one tribe controlled the area, rather it was used for hunting and rest by the Bannock, Shoshone, Crow, Nez Perce, and Blackfeet amongst...
April 24, 1997 Justice Department officials arrived in Whitehall and took several Casino Night records as part of the department’s investigation into allegations surrounding the Whitehall Fire Department’s April 5 Casino Night fundraiser. Allegations of Casino Night gambling fraud and administration violations were brought forward by Whitehall area resident Holly Stratton who originally filed the complaint with local law enforcement officers. The Justice Department did make it clear that the playing of blackjack or other house games is ill...
Sincerely Paul Feeding His Sheep will begin distributing Temporary Emergency Food Assistance Program (TEFAP) food boxes on May 12, 2022, to anyone who has filled out an application. Along with these boxes, Sincerely Paul will be distributing 20lb. boxes of produce to families who wish to receive them. Sincerely Paul will also begin helping with the after-school lunch program the Whitehall Community Library is already involved in, as our schools will not be having a lunch program this summer. Sincerely Paul has several agencies participating;...
Join the 5K Walk n Talk Fun Run on May 14, a fundraiser for the Whitehall PTSA. Registration forms are available at the Whitehall Ledger and the elementary school front desk. Early registration is requested by Friday, May 6. Registration is $15 per person, $50 for families up to six, and ages five and younger are free. Registration prices increase after May 6. Registrations may be dropped off at either the Whitehall Ledger or the school. This fun run will be an enjoyable 5K for anyone of any...
Gold Junction Presents (GJP) is moving forward with Whitehall Community Theatre, with auditions for An Experiment and The Literati Awards scheduled for 6 PM on Tuesday, May 3 at the Star Theatre. Both of these one-act plays can be viewed on YouTube for character ideas. Please come to auditions with either a brief piece prepared (for those of you who have acted before!) or email goldjunctionpresents@gmail.com for a prepared audition segment from each of the one-acts. If you cannot make the May 3 audition but would still like to participate, plea...
As part of a multigeneration farm/ranch family in the Gallatin Valley, I understand the vital importance of protecting our land and water resources. Farmers’ and ranchers’ stewardship of the land and water is our livelihood. When I heard of the proposed ballot initiative 191 that would apply new, strict regulations to stretches of the Gallatin and Madison rivers—the type of regulations usually reserved for national parks and wilderness areas—I looked at the fine print. The proponents are selling this initiative as a move to protect the rivers....
