Serving Southern Jefferson County in the Great State of Montana
Serving Southern Jefferson County in the Great State of Montana
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Since his film debut in "Ruthless People" 30 years ago, Bill Pullman has made movies across the globe. During this time he has also made several movies in Montana, where he lives part of the time at a ranch near Cardwell. Pullman, who has filmed such movies as "Cold Feet", "Bright Angel", and "Walking Out" in Montana, is once again filming in the state, this time playing the title role in "The Ballad of Lefty Brown", which is currently shooting at the Bannack State Park near Dillon. In an...
Hi Folks, We didn’t have a meeting last week because we were all in Billings at the MACO convention. Parts of the convention are interesting and informative, while other parts get pretty long. We generally have some good discussions about public lands, wildlife, forests, mining, budgets, and a host of other topics. My two year term on the Board of Directors ended this week, so Sunday’s BOD meeting was my last. I left early Wednesday morning and got back in time to attend the North County Business Roundtable in Montana City. We heard a presentat...
When the statewide 2016 ACT score results were released last week, it was a positive day for the Whitehall School District. Whitehall High School jumped from a 99th ranking in the statewide rank in 2015, to 25th among the 166 Montana High Schools in 2016. The average ACT Composite score in Whitehall was 20.9, above the state average of 20.1. Whitehall ranked fourth among the 40 Montana Class B Schools. "Moving up in the rankings to 25th of 166 high schools statewide is a significant...
It's once again Homecoming Week in Whitehall with a variety of events for students, alumni, and community members. The theme of the 2016 Whitehall High School Homecoming is "We Got Game", and events kicked off Monday and will conclude Friday with the parade, Trojans football game against Deer Lodge, the announcement of Homecoming Royalty and Homecoming Dance. The parade is scheduled to take place at 1 p.m. on Legion Avenue and will be led by elementary school students. The football game is...
Final approval of the 2016-17 Fiscal Year Budget was delayed by the Whitehall Town Council Monday to allow more time to look over the Whitehall Ambulance Enterprise fund. “I don’t know how we can establish what the ambulance will bring in under the current circumstances,” Alderman Mac Smith said. “You can’t spend what you don’t have,” Smith said. Town Attorney Matthew Haus told the Council at the regular monthly meeting Monday he plans to contact the MMIA (Montana Municipal Inter-local Authority) and see if they have had examples from a simila...
Over the years members of the Whitehall Rotary Club have worked countless hours making the Fish Pond on Legion Avenue a beautiful setting for both locals and visitors. Earlier this month, a person or persons had complete disregard for the clubs efforts. According to Whitehall Rotary Club President Ed Handl, the fish food dispenser that had been placed at the pond was vandalized sometime between September 2 and September 5. Handl said the dispenser that had been mounted on a steal platform, had...
Despite the mill-run being cut short two days, August production at the Barrick Golden Sunlight Mine was nearly on target. At the Community Transition Advisory Committee meeting last week, Mine Manager Dan Banghart said the production in August was 3,243 ounces, just below the target of 3,299 ounces. Banghart told committee members that ¼ of the production for August has been pushed into September, and they are looking for it to be one of their better months of production for the underground. The August 24 auction at the mine was reported as a...
Montana Fish, Wildlife and Parks will lift the fishing restrictions on the Jefferson River effective last Sunday. The entire length of the Jefferson River has been closed has been since Aug. 1 given extremely low flows. However, flows have improved and criteria for reopening the river under its drought management plan will be met before reopening Sunday. Meanwhile, the three following sections of the Big Hole River remain closed to all fishing until further notice: · Montana Fish, Wildlife and Parks’ Maiden Rock FAS to Notch Bottom FAS; · Sag...
Jefferson County is currently in the process of updating their Pre-Disaster Mitigation Plan. A public meeting is scheduled Sept. 22 in Boulder to gather public input on ways to mitigate the effects of wildfire, flooding, and other hazards. The meeting is scheduled for 10 a.m. in the basement of the Jefferson County Sheriff’s Office. This project is the required five-year update of the Jefferson County Pre-Disaster Mitigation (PDM) Plan. The purpose of the plan is to make communities more resilient and resistant to the damages caused by n...
The second weekend of September is always a popular time for local residents as they make their way to the Whitehall Fall, Gun, Knife, and Antique show. The 13th annual event will take place September 9 to 11 at the Whitehall Community Center located at 11 North Division Street. The event hours are September 9 from 2 to 6 p.m., September 10 from 9 a.m. to 6 p.m., and September 11 from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. Whitehall veterans belonging to the VFW and American Legion posts operate the gun show with...
There has been a change of dates for the monthly school board meeting in Whitehall. The Whitehall Schools Board of Trustees meeting originally scheduled for September 6 has been rescheduled for September 13 at 7 p.m. The meeting will take place in the school library. Late last month, the Trustees approved the 2016-17 fiscal year budgets for both the elementary and high school districts. Whitehall Superintendent John Sullivan said the general fund budget for the elementary is $1,709,128.53, and $...
Sitting on the northern most edge of Jefferson County is the Kleffner Ranch, the site location for the 18th annual Jefferson Local Development Corporation (JLDC) dinner. Each year, JLDC celebrates their accomplishments and work and this year's dinner was held on Thursday, September 1. During the 2015-2016 year, which runs September – August, JLDC dedicated their expertise on a project called "Making Boulder's Future Bright." Making Boulder's Future Bright has provided an opportunity for B...
NorthWestern Energy announced Monday that it has scheduled an approximate two-hour-long power outage for the entire town of Whitehall beginning at 2 a.m., on Thursday, September 1. The outage will allow company line crews to safely perform local substation work. This work is necessary to deliver reliable service to Whitehall area customers and to avoid longer outages in the future. NorthWestern Energy apologizes for any inconvenience this planned outage may cause. For any questions or concerns, please call the Customer Contact Center at (888)...
On Monday night the Whitehall Town Council continued to delve into the 2016-2017 town budget, which is nearing completion for the upcoming fiscal year. Fellows reminded those in attendance at the meeting the budget will be available for anyone interested. Fellows also stated there is no money coming out of the general fund or the Ambulance, as it is its own separate account. One of the area’s the council was looking to cut was money spent on professional services. Public Works Employee Kory Klapan said he believes the town could save about $30,...
Earlier this month, officials from the Montana Department of Environmental Quality Water Pollution Control State Revolving Fund (WPSCRF) made the trip to Whitehall for an Operations and Maintenance (O&M) site visit and Wastewater Facility Overview. Following the visit, Terry Campbell with the DEQ Engineering Bureau reported back to Mayor Dale Davis with a report summarizing their findings. Campbell thanked Davis and Public Works employee Kory Klapan for taking time to meet and go over operations and facility issues. “I believe the biggest issue...
Next Wednesday August 31, the Montana Shakespeare in the Park program will return to Whitehall. A performance of "Richard III" will take place at 6 p.m. at 206 Yellowstone Road. The Whitehall performance is one of 61 scheduled this summer in Montana, Wyoming, Idaho, North Dakota and Washington. The company features 10 professional actors selected from national auditions who tour without technical assistance to bring live theater to mostly rural communities. This summer, 66 percent of the communi...
After several budget meetings, the Town of Whitehall is getting very close to having a final budget for the 2016-2017 fiscal year. Mayor Dale Davis stated at a budget meeting Monday, “the goal is to get the budget closer to what is being spent.” Davis suggested each of the Council members be assigned a page of the budget and come back to the next scheduled budget meeting, August 29, with more budget cuts. A budget item that is not getting cut is employee wages for the six town employees. Alderman Tom Jenkin said, “You get what you pay for, if y...
The Jefferson County Fair and Rodeo, "A Fair of the Heart," kicks off this Thursday, August 25, in Boulder. The fair and rodeo runs Thursday through Sunday, August 28, at the Jefferson County Recreation Park one-half mile south of Boulder. Mike Korn presents "Keeping the West Wild: 149 years of conservation in Montana" at 6:30 pm, Thursday, August 25. His talk spans the time when fish were dynamited and deer and elk were sparse, to current times with damage hunts necessary to manage elk in the B...
It is still unknown if a recall election will take place this year in Whitehall. A hearing originally scheduled for August 12 to determine if the recall election for Mayor Dale Davis and four Council Members would move forward, was postponed. The scheduled hearing time August 12 in front of Seventh Judicial District Court Judge Katherine M. Bidegaray was instead used to move the hearing to October 20 at 9 a.m. The hearing was addressing the challenging of a recall petition for Davis and Council...
July was another positive month for production at the Barrick Golden Sunlight Mine. At the Community Transition Advisory Committee meeting last Thursday, Environmental Engineer Jerry Muething said the production at the mine was 3,711 ounces. He said this was eight ounces over their target for July. Meuthing added they would have the target of 4,000 ounces a month by the end of the year. Meuthing reported there are currently 42 Barrick employees at the site, along with 98 contract employees....
The Whitehall Town Council hopes to finalize their budget for the next fiscal year at a meeting next week. The Council conducted a special meeting Monday to finalize the budget for the 2016-17 fiscal year, but they did not vote on the issue. The meeting next week is scheduled for Monday, August 22 at 6 p.m. Town/Clerk Treasurer Summer Fellows told Council Members that with the rising cost of the town's water issues, the preliminary budget has more going out than the town expects to bring in, . A...
On Monday night at the Town Council meeting, Mayor Dale Davis reported on the latest update on Whitehall’s water situation and the DEQ. According to Davis, the DEQ (Department of Environmental Quality) came in last week to look at the town’s water issues at the lagoon, and help Whitehall Public Works employee Kory Klapan with paperwork. Davis said the meeting was very informative on the operation of the lagoon, and the DEQ is pleased with the proactive stance taken by the town. Davis said the problem with the lagoon is there isn’t any water...
It’s inching closer to the first day of school in Whitehall. According to Whitehall Superintendent John Sullivan, teachers will report for their first day on August 29, and students will begin school August 31. In an interview Tuesday, Sullivan discussed the progress of two major summer projects at the Whitehall Schools. Sullivan said he was pleased with the work done on the school parking lots and said they lots will be painted next week. He said the new rooftop heaters have been placed on the roof of Whitehall High School. He added that e...
On the last weekend in July, large crowds make their way to downtown Whitehall for the annual Frontier Days Celebration. While the annual event features many vendors and food and drink options, it can also have a positive impact on many local businesses. Pepper Tree Deli and Catering owner Steve Jenkins said the restaurant was really busy, and that they also did concessions at the rodeo event. He said on Friday, July 29 his business was up 24 percent from the same day a year prior, and that...
Montana members of the Patriot Guard Riders did their part last week to get a Civil War Veteran to his home state of Maine. Lewis Wendt and other members of the guard stopped in Whitehall to get gas early Wednesday morning. They were on their way to Billings with the remains of Jewett Williams, who passed away July 17, 1922 in Oregon. Patriot Guard Riders throughout the nation are joining to help get Williams to his home state of Maine, where he will be buried September 17 at the Togus National Cemetery with full Military Honors. Wendt said...
