Serving Southern Jefferson County in the Great State of Montana
Serving Southern Jefferson County in the Great State of Montana
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The Montana Department of Transportation is making improvements on 10.3 miles of Whitetail Road (S-399) that have caused maintenance issues for years in Jefferson County. "There are sections of Whitetail Road that have historically been problem areas for Jefferson County," said MDT Engineering Project Manager Shane Watson. "Moisture-sensitive soils consisting mostly of silt and clay make the road difficult to maintain. Moisture from rain and snow causes the soil and the road to deteriorate...
Jefferson County Health Department Officials announced Thursday what had been reported as a confirmed case of COVID-19 has been determined to be a false positive test result. The department had reported Sunday a female resident between 60 and 69 had tested positive for COVID-19. Molly Carey of the JCHD said even though the tests that detects COVID-19 is very reliable, no test is 100% accurate all the time. “COVID-19 is still a real threat to the health and safety of our community. We want to remind everyone to remain vigilant over the h...
Officials for the Madison and Jefferson County Fair announced last week how they would be proceeding with their events in 2020. The Madison County Fair Board decided last week the event scheduled for August 12 to 17 is going to happen, but only with 4H and FFA shows. "Sadly, due to COVID, the Board has cancelled all entertainment, indoor vendors, open class exhibits, parade, and the NRA rodeo. We are working on a plan to possibly host a ranch rodeo and a team roping. More details will be...
There was more great news last week for Whitehall Schools with the notification they were one of four districts statewide to receive the Office of Public Instruction's Cook Fresh Award. Superintendent Hannah Nieskens said Thursday Whitehall School District's food service program staff, under the leadership of Kathy Coughlin, received OPI's Cook Fresh Award for their excellence and dedication to serving nutritious school meals, cooking from scratch, and motivation to exceed requirements....
There was some amazing recent news for the Whitehall School District. The Montana Office of Public Instruction announced the local district was a Montana Comprehensive Literacy State Development Project (MCLSDP) grant recipient. According to Whitehall Superintendent Hannah Nieskens, 129 school districts in the state were eligible to apply for the competitive grant. "Whitehall School District was eligible to apply because the district serves a high percentage of high needs students as identified...
It was a busy weekend for firefighters in Southwest Montana. Firefighters from across the area responded to the Lump Gulch Fire in north Jefferson County near Sheep Mountain, the Sappington Fire east of Lewis and Clark Caverns, and two fires in the Clarkston Area. LUMP GULCH On Saturday, June 13 a fire ignited in Lump Gulch in northern Jefferson County near Sheep Mountain. As of press time the fire is approximately 1,500 acres and considered to be 15% contained. The fire cause is still under...
The Montana Department of Transportation (MDT), in partnership with Helena Sand and Gravel, White Resources Group and Stahly Engineering, is updating sidewalk corners and non-compliant mid-block sidewalk sections throughout the Town of Whitehall. Improvements to sidewalk corners will allow all users to get on and off sidewalks with more ease. Updates will include new curb ramps and wider sidewalk openings at intersections. Additionally, a textured ground surface intended to alert users with impa...
The Whitehall Community Pool will open after all in 2020. Near the conclusion of Monday night's council meeting, the governing body approved a motion from council member Shawn Hoagland to use the $4,622.80 remaining in the pool funding from the 2019-20 fiscal year budget to open the pool starting July 7. The vote comes after the announcement at the May Council meeting that the pool would be closed for the season because of COVID-19 phase opening timelines and getting the proper training for...
The administrative team at the Whitehall School District took time at last week's Board of Trustees meeting to recognize staff for their efforts during the COVID-19 pandemic. Superintendent Hannah Nieskens said the staff was resilient, flexible, and did a great job the past three months in circumstances that were completely undesirable and unwanted. She highlighted the kitchen crew for making thousands of meals and the other staff members who helped distribute them. "I'm grateful for everyone,"...
Lawmakers in Washington are back at it again. As we speak, they’re debating whether they should send bailout money to the states. This is not the best path forward. Why? Because many states have mismanaged their budgets for years (well before this pandemic). When the first paycheck stimulus was created in the senate, the total bill was less than a trillion dollars, then the house got ahold of it and it ballooned to 2 trillion dollars. The latest stimulus plan will give 2 more trillion to states, states that have spent their citizen provided r...
Jefferson County voters narrowly defeated Tuesday a levy increase for both the library system and nine-mill for a non-profit animal shelter. The library increase was defeated by a vote of 1,209 to 1,058. The increase would have brought an additional $141,534 each year for the Whitehall and Boulder community libraries. The levy for a non-profit animal shelter was defeated by a vote of 2,527 to 2,490. The money would have raised $270,000 each year for the proposed shelter. in the Republican race f...
Leafy spurge is a perennial noxious weed that has sticky, milky white sap. The sap can cause a bad reaction if it gets in people's eyes or on their skin. Cows and much of our native wildlife will not regularly graze it, but sheep and goats can be taught to like it. Spurge has a very deep and extensive root system so pulling or burning it do not work. There are herbicides that work well if used correctly, contact your County Weed Coordinator for information, equipment, and chemicals. The...
The Whitehall Class of 2020 will graduate in six separate ceremonies scheduled for this Sunday in Varsity Gym. With such an upheaval in everyone's lives this spring, we are thankful we are able to provide senior graduates and their families a unique and personal ceremony. On May 31st, graduates will be able to receive their diplomas during small ceremonies scheduled throughout the day. Each ceremony will include the graduation video, which includes speeches from the guest speaker Holly Harper,...
Caverns tours have started for the season at the Lewis and Clark Caverns State Park. According to park officials, this year there will be new tour protocols to limit the spread of COVID-19 while keeping park staff and visitors safe. The park will offer guided tours of the cave Fridays through Monday. Classic Cave tours will not be offered at the current time and cave tours will consist of the Paradise and Grand Finale Rooms. The modified tour entails a one-half mile, level walk to the cave....
The Headwaters Country Jam has been rescheduled. The popular annual event originally scheduled June 18 to 20 at the "Bridge" near Cardwell will now take place August 20 to 22. The most recent lineup listed on the Country Jam website includes Dustin Lynch, Clay Walker, Midland, Ashley McBride, Mitchell Tenpenny, Blanco Brown, the Cadillac Three and Tim Montana. TICKET INFORMATION Beginning May 21, all customers who purchased 2020 festival tickets through the Headwaters Country Jam ticketing page...
Dalmatian toadflax (Linaria dalmatica) and yellow toadflax (Linaria vulgaris) are two closely related state designated noxious weeds that were inadvertently brought over from Eurasia. Both damage farming, range lands and wildlands. They have yellow flowers that look like garden snapdragon flowers which they are also closely related to. We deal with one insect that eats Dalmatian toadflax. The insect is the Dalmatian toadflax stem mining weevil Mecinus janthiniformis. We will be collecting these...
Montana will lift its 14-day quarantine for out-of-state travelers as the state transitions to phase two of the Reopening the Big Sky plan on June 1, Gov. Steve Bullock announced Tuesday. Lifting the quarantine will coincide with a likely June 1 opening of Montana's gates to Yellowstone National Park in West Yellowstone, Gardiner and Cooke City, Bullock said. Yellowstone's Wyoming gates opened to travelers on Monday, May 18. The lifting of the quarantine was not initially considered part of...
The Whitehall Town Council discussed last week a possible mill levy increase on the general fund. The Council unanimously approved a motion that will set up two hearings for public comments on a possible Public Safety Mill Levy to generate funding for law enforcement and the Whitehall Volunteer Fire Department. Members of the governing body are asking county officials to see what the increase would cost local residents. This would be the first general fund mill levy increase in Whitehall since...
It is with a heavy heart that I write to inform the community that due to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, the American Legion Post #24 and the Ralph Sullender Veterans of Foreign Wars Post #4603 are cancelling the annual Memorial Day celebration. On average, this beloved celebration draws more than 60 individuals to the Whitehall Cemetery to place flags on the graves of veterans, sell small red artificial poppies to raise funds for disabled veterans and to place the American flag at half-staff...
Editor's Note: The following release was issued Tuesday by Golden Sunlight Mine officials. Nevada Gold Mine's (NGM) processing operations cover the full gambit of processing routes using heap leach, oxide milling with CIL, pressure oxidation of single refractory ores, and roasting and pressure oxidation of double refractory ores. As such, NGM is a leader in refractory ore processing globally. In the refractory processes, high temperatures are required to ensure sulfide oxidation for optimal...
The Town of Whitehall Swimming Pool will not open in 2020. At Monday's City Council meeting, Mayor Mary Janacaro Hensleigh announced the news to the governing body. Hensleigh said pool operators will be unable to take a pool certification class, lifeguards will not be able to get training, and with the window of the middle of June to open it just can't happen. She added they are unaware when Phase 2 of reopening in Montana will kick in, but even when it does the guidelines for social distancing...
Monday's daily Governor's Coronavirus Task Force report showed the third confirmed case of COVID-19 in Jefferson County. While the report did show the local case, Karen Wandel (BSN-RN) with the Jefferson County Health Department stated the adult male in his 50's was diagnosed out of state, is not in Montana at this time, and also contracted the virus out of state. Jefferson County had not had a reported case since March 27. According to County Officials, 73 residents have been tested for...
The Whitehall Biological Weed Control Project is up and running this season, modified a bit of course for COVID safety. Our first order of business is looking for 8-10 Canada thistle fungus release sites. This will entail two visits to each site. One now (May/early June) to set up a long-term sampling transect. The second visit will be in September/October to infect the plants with the fungus. Many Montana sites are showing fairly severe damage to the Canada thistle patches the season after the...
Weather patterns during the first two weeks of April, while cooler than average, didn't yield much precipitation across the state of Montana. However, the below average temperatures during this period did help to delay snowmelt at many low- and mid-elevation mountain locations during the first half of the month according to data collected by SNOTEL sites maintained by the USDA Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS). "Both east and west of the Divide, snowmelt was delayed by a week or two...
HELENA - An advisory council appointed to help Gov. Steve Bullock decide how to spend $1.25 billion in coronavirus relief money from the federal government submitted its formal recommendations Friday, laying out a framework focused on providing additional support to pandemic-disrupted businesses and nonprofits. "It's critical, certainly, that this funding reaches all corners of our state, considers really all the sectors of industry and the economy," Bullock said. Task force chair Larry Simkins...
