Serving Southern Jefferson County in the Great State of Montana
Serving Southern Jefferson County in the Great State of Montana
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“I have a big three-car ambulance garage that I think would make a great Western Legacy Center (WLC),” said Mayor Mary Janacaro-Hensleigh at the Jefferson County Commissioner meeting on June 14, held in Cardwell.”You know, Town Hall and Western Legacy Center right there on Legion Avenue. Just a thought, but there’s always always another plan. There’s always a possibility.” Mayor Janacaro-Hensleigh said this after Commissioner Leonard Wortman noted that at the Jefferson Local Development Council’s meeting that morning, the Board voted not to...
At the June 14 Jefferson County Commissioner’s meeting, held in Cardwell, Commissioner Leonard Wortman noted the Western Legacy Center (WLC) is “back to square one” after a recent decision by the Jefferson Local Development Council (JLDC). That morning at a JLDC meeting the board had voted not to purchase the Roberts Building on the outskirts of Whitehall by the I-90 exits/entrances. “The Western Legacy Center’s business plan is not in the best interest of JLDC at this time,” said Eric Seidensticker, JLDC’s Executive Director, on a phone call...
Internet access in Whitehall, and everyplace else for that matter, is going to continue to grow as more and more Internet services and streaming sources are available to our schools, businesses, home businesses, and households. Fiber is the only Internet medium at the moment that is essentially “future-proof” as the fiber itself has virtually unlimited bandwidth capability. Some technologists even go so far as to say “if it isn’t fiber it isn’t broadband.” And most agree it needs to be fiber end-to-end from the Internet source to the Interne...
Thanks to the sponsorship of the Whitehall Chamber of Commerce, the Culpepper & Merriweather Circus is coming to Whitehall, MT on Thursday, June 23, to the lot behind the Rodeo Grounds - Whitehall Recreation Center located at 199 Viella St. with shows at 5:00 & 7:30 PM. C&M Circus has been providing quality, local family entertainment for 37 years. This authentic One-Ring, Big Top Circus has been featured on the A&E Special: Under the Big Top, Nick News: On the Road with Circus Kids, and most...
Generation X and Millennials will probably be the first generations in recent history to tell their kids about how much easier life was when they were kids. If you walk on the treadmill for an hour, it is considered normal. But if you walk around your dining room table for an hour, it is considered weird or mentally unwell. If you get paid minimum wage, your employer is probably willing to pay you even less if they could. Your bones will probably never make contact with another person’s bones. Being a construction worker in a world where s...
The 2022 Montana Better Newspaper Contest Awards were awarded this past weekend in Glendive, MT. The Ledger received the following awards: FIRST PLACE: • Best Ad - Services (color) • Best Special Section SECOND PLACE: • Best Ad - Services (color) • Best Ad - Merchandise (color) THIRD PLACE: • Best Ad - Services (color) • Best Front Page • Best Portrait Photo • Best Ad - Services (b&w) • Best Ad - Merchandise (color) • Best Sports Page Layout/Design • Best Editorial Thank you to everyone who supported the Ledger in 2021! These awards were bas...
Let me be completely honest. The moment I put a newspaper edition to bed I am immediately beginning the next one. My computer layout is always a week ahead, while events of this week are still happening, and my brain is all over the place. Really, I'm not even sure my brain is attached to anything anymore, I feel like it is always just spinning. Last week I goofed. And I goofed big. When the election happened on Tuesday, June 7, that week's paper was already at the printing press. When I...
Dear Editor, Congratulations Gary! Having collected signatures from over 13,000 registered voters in our 40 county Eastern District, Gary Buchanan, Independent, will be on the November 8th general election ballot. It’s a four-way race. An “R”, a “D”, an “L”, and an Independent. What did we learn from these 13,000 Montanans? First, voters are disillusioned with party leaders throwing accusations at one another, like a ping pong game, trying to score points. Second, voters feel, with justification, that the parties have been captured by e...
All of the planets will be up in the night sky from the 16th of June at 4:35 AM through the 27th of June at 4:40 AM. When all the planets rise they will create an arc across the Eastern sky from 91 degrees on the 16th to 107 degrees on the 27th. The last time this happened was about 100 years ago and won’t happen again until 2041. On the 24th the planets will be visited by the waning crescent Moon halfway between Venus and Mars. The hardest planet to spot is Mercury because it stays low on the horizon and has a low magnitude. However, on the 2...
Dear Jo, I own a small business. I love my store and feel protective of my space, but I also feel like I am welcoming as well. A customer came in with their dog. I allow dogs, I love dogs, and I do feel there is the assumption customers will control their dogs. This customer came in and their dog peed on a sheepskin hide in my store. Yes, peed. The customer did NOTHING! He did not clean it up, did not offer to clean it up, and did not offer to pay for the damage. I was not in the store at the time or I may have been arrested. I am still angry...
PRETTY AND DURABLE: New flooring in Whitehall Elementary school is being installed as we speak. The flooring was paid for by American Rescue Plan Elementary and Secondary School Emergency Relief Fund dollars. The flooring carries a 20-year commercial warranty....
In 1896, just like today, people were looking forward to the official start of summer. Nationally, headlines included the fire that destroyed Hope, Idaho; the first session of the 53rd Congress concluded with only 50 members present and fighting between members from Texas and California; a building collapse in San Francisco kills five. Locally, flooding is a concern. The following are taken as written from the June 19 and 26, 1896 editions of the Jefferson Valley Zephyr. The accompanying photo...
June 18, 1997 Whitehall small business owner Bill Baycroft and Whitehall resident Chad Murphy - a warden for the Montana Department of Fish, Wildlife & Parks - were appointed and sworn in as new town council members during the regular Whitehall Town Council meeting on June 16. The Jefferson County Economic Task Force planned to expand, become more aggressive, and looked at the potential of modifying its organizational structure. The Task Force, created in 1995, was funded through a metal mines tax and was designed to find approaches to improve...
The winning side in a court case usually has the preponderance of evidence on its side: eyewitness testimony, clear detail of either innocence or guilt, and corroborating evidence and exhibits all assist the jury to determine its decision. We hope that truth comes to the surface. But, speculation is only guesswork. “Truth,” said Stephen Vincent Bennet, “is a hard dear to hunt.” The New Testament Gospels have outside support from history itself. In fact, accurate accounts had been building within the Greek culture for more than 300 years....
Donald Frederick Drivdahl was born June 24, 1945, the second of four children, to Mildred (Myer) and Louis Drivdahl in Big Timber, MT. He attended Glasston Elementary with his siblings and cousins. The family left their sheep ranch near Melville and moved to Dillon, MT, in 1959, where they ran their newly purchased and renamed M&L Motel (now Sparky's Garage). In 1963 Don graduated from Beaverhead High School and went on to earn a BS in Elementary Ed from Western Montana College, where he was...
Terri Lewis, Ph.D. died on May 28, 2022, at her sister's home in Boulder. Terri was diagnosed with metastatic melanoma in February of this year. She was 70 years old at the time of her death. Terris was the oldest of three siblings and the daughter of Wade V. Lewis, Jr. and Delight Romerio Lewis. She lived her junior and high school years in Boulder along with her siblings. After high school, she married William McRae and lived a short while in Basin. She and Bill moved east and settled in...
Joseph E. Ruckdaschel was born January 17, 1957, to Kenneth and Shirley Ruckdaschel, the fourth of seven children. Joe passed away peacefully at home after battling cancer. Joe graduated from Butte High in 1975 and then joined the Army. Upon discharge from the Army, he met Rhonda and they were married in 1980. They had two children, Doris and Kenny. Joe went to work as a mechanic in Dillon. He then left that job and went to work on the Matador Ranch. Later, the family moved to Whitehall, and he...
When asked how he would want to be celebrated, Lt. TJ Hall, Max's Wingman, said, "Fast, Loud and Awesome!" While he'll be celebrated this way, he'll be remembered as generous beyond belief, a genuine friend, passionate and relentlessly positive, and fearless. Lt. Richard Max Bullock was born on February 13, 1993, in Butte, Montana and died on June 3 during a training exercise, when the FA-18 Super Hornet he was flying crashed near Trona, California. While taken far too soon, Max packed more...
The Redman Orchard outside of Whitehall is a research site for the MSU Extension and was planted in 2014. The orchard is owned by Joe and Lisa Redman. A Specialty Crop Block Grant was awarded to MSU Extension through the Montana Department of Agriculture to establish tree cultivation research sites across the state of Montana. Topics included in the workshops held Wednesday, June 15, included tree pruning, pollinators, and soil fertility. Thirty residents from the Whitehall area attended the...
Argh, Matey! Next week the library will be celebrating Pirate Day for Summer Reading on Wednesday, June 29 at 10:30 AM. There will be stories, crafts, treasure hunts, and more as we set sail for new adventures on the high seas. If you haven't had a chance to sign up for the Summer Reading Program, registration slips are available at the front desk. STEM Camp is this Thursday, June 23, at 2 PM. We will be exploring some of the wonderful science kits we received through funding from the Broad...
Babies are born every day. In fact, 249 were born in Butte at St. James Healthcare just last year. Over 200 births and over 200 different birth stories. Even twins have slight variances in their entrances. Every mother has a birth story to share, but before they ever begin the labor process, a lot of thought, planning, and preparations go into that very moment. Different women want different things and sometimes her baby, her body, and her circumstances can impact the way her birth story takes shape. Having options is important, and now, the...
Bannick Ray Jensen was born in Butte, Montana June 7, 2022, to Whitehall residents Destini and Dell Jensen. Bannick weighed 6 lbs., 14 oz. and was 20.5 inches long. He joins siblings Wynter and Stetson. Grandparents are Teresa and Benny Jensen, and LaGena Davis, all of the Gallatin Valley. Great-great aunt and uncle are local residents Leonard and Carolyn Jones. Welcome to the world, Bannick!...
Last week it was announced that Bill Pullman, who owns property in Whitehall and Cardwell and is President of Whitehall non-profit Gold Junction Presents, will receive a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame. The selection panel, which is made up of people with existing stars on the Walk of Fame, chose the honorees out of hundreds of people nominated for a star. Pullman is currently performing live theatre in London with David Harbour in the dark comedy Mad House....
The Rocky Mountain Development Council, Inc. (Rocky) will have supplemental foods available for Whitehall area seniors on Thursday, July 21, 2022, from 11 AM – 12 PM. Pick-up is at the Whitehall Senior Center (3 North Division). There is no charge for the food. The Commodity Supplemental Food Program (CSFP) is a program where seniors can receive regular allocations of free food every other month. The program guidelines mandate that the person receiving the food must be 60 years of age or older, a resident of Montana, and meet an income r...
While Jefferson County has thankfully not experienced the historic flooding that neighboring counties have, their struggles are a sobering reminder to act now to prepare for flooding. Jefferson County has many areas that are vulnerable to this threat. The first step is to purchase flood insurance. Federal assistance to private property owners due to flooding impacts is extremely rare, and even when it is provided, it usually is never enough to restore the property to its pre-flood condition. Next, purchase sandbags and sand and have a way to...
