Serving Southern Jefferson County in the Great State of Montana
Serving Southern Jefferson County in the Great State of Montana
Sorted by date Results 1326 - 1350 of 1558
A few days before Christmas I received some saddening news about the death of a longtime friend in Wyoming. In my time knowing Garry Gouger he was a co-worker who I would later work directly for. He was a mentor and someone who always made me laugh even if I was having the worst of days. He had no filter, a huge heart, and showed me that work should be fun not a horrible place you dread going to. I first met Garry when I was a hired as a full-time reporter at the daily newspaper in my hometown....
With Christmas falling on a Tuesday in 2018, I really needed to be on top of things so that I could have the newspaper sent to the printer by early on Christmas Eve. On a normal week, I will usually have the pages ready to go by early Tuesday afternoon, but in order to spend time with family I needed to make sure they were done last week by early Monday morning. I knew to accomplish this I would have to spend my weekend working which is nothing out of the ordinary, so I woke up early Saturday...
In last week's column I wrote about how much I missed my big green trunk full of collectibles from my youth. While thinking about the contents of the trunk I remembered one of the favorite books from my childhood. It was a book about the 50 states, and I can remember spending hours reading it and learning the state capitals quite possibly before I learned cursive. I'm not sure I ever learned cursive correctly, but there was a time I could rattle of a capital quicker than most adults. When I was in grade school, we had a project in geography tha...
Since it's inception in 2011, Whitehall Public Transportation has provided an amazing service for local residents. During a special groundbreaking ceremony last week, WPT came one step closer to the completion of their new bus barn. The Richard (Dick) Gustin Memorial Bus Barn will be a huge asset to a service that is a huge asset to the community. For those unfamiliar with Whitehall Public Transportation, they are the only provider of transit for the general public locally. While their primary f...
When I was around fix or six years old I received a present for Christmas that I really did not know what to think of. A few weeks before Christmas a large wrapped box had been placed under the tree with my name on it and I was ecstatic. I can remember thinking about all the wonderful possibilities and could not wait to tear off the wrapping paper to see what was surely something amazing. When it came time to open presents, I immediately opened this gift and was shocked to see what I would find... Full story
As a child there was always a magical feeling during the Christmas season. It was usually after Thanksgiving that I started to count down the days which seemed to get longer and longer as it inched closer to Christmas. I never minded the last few days of school before break because there was always a fun celebration and nothing productive was ever accomplished. I'm sure the teachers were also as eager to get a break from the kids who were getting crazier with each passing day. The wait between...
It always makes me laugh when I'm watching a "true crime" show and someone will describe their community as a small town. I recently watched a show where Fort Collins, Colorado was painted as a small college town and I could not believe what I was hearing. Having lived there I can 100 percent say it is far from a town and probably has a population close to 200,000. I guess since so many people live in major cities, they probably lose sight of what a small town really is. When someone references... Full story
In my line of work, I've established a routine that makes it a lot easier to get the job done. Any little change will throw me out of my comfort zone and last week was a perfect example of this. With the Thanksgiving holiday on Thursday, I had to change things up to get two weekly newspapers to the printer by Monday and it was a battle. I knew my best bet would be to write as much as humanly possible on the Wednesday and Thursday before, but things don't always go as planned. Instead I was...
The word "hero" has a different meaning for everyone. In my eyes, a "hero" can mean anything from a past or present member of the military to a teacher who does their best each and everyday to help ensure the future is bright for a younger generation. There is also no better definition in my eyes of a hero than the local residents who are members of law enforcement, firefighters, EMS personnel or involved with search and rescue. The past few weeks in California have been a harrowing example of...
I must have missed the memo, but somehow it feels as if society has immediately transitioned from Halloween to Christmas. I drove by a neighbor's house the other day and his yard was full of decorations. I wasn't quite sure if I wanted to throw up or pull the car over get in the back seat and sob because Thanksgiving seems to have gotten thrown out like yesterday's trash. I'm not sure if it is because "Black Friday" has turned into such a massive Pre-Christmas event, but I feel society is...
I think it's probably safe to say I'm one of many that are excited the 2018 General election is done. For the past several months it has been darn near impossible to sit and watch a football game or one of my favorite shows without at least three or four commercials during each break ruining what should be a relaxing time. The federal races were so bad that there would be a commercial by one candidate followed by a commercial from another. The next break would be chalk full of commercials from...
A few weeks ago, members of the Whitehall Chamber of Commerce discussed the idea of hosting a Halloween festival. This is not only a great idea, it is something that is very needed for the community. Halloween has changed quite a bit over the past several decades. It used to be that trick or treating was the culmination of events and streets would be lined for several hours with kids eager to fill their bag full of enough sugar to make their parents crazy until Thanksgiving. Things are...
I really enjoy what I do for a living, but at the same time often think what it would be like to have picked another career. While I certainly love sports about as much as one can, the fact I can barely go up or down the stairs without falling, I knew early on I would never be able to take that path. In fact, the other day I was super excited to take a glass of chocolate milk and a bowl of popcorn down the stairs the other night, slipped halfway down and the mess was horrific. I'm still finding...
There are days when I can produce up to 10 stories without a care in the world, and other days where I struggle to write even the lead to one. Whenever I'm struggling with a block, I will usually start with my weekly column and go from there. Sometimes I will easily come up with an idea based on something that happened in my day-to-day life or at the newspaper, while other times I will spend a few minutes on the Internet reading about a variety of topics, often probably wasting way too much time...
In a little under a week, voters in Montana will go to the polls to decide the fate of Ballot Initiative I-186. Simply put, I-186 is a horrible idea for the state. It could not only have a detrimental affect on all of Montana, the consequences would be even more dire in the Whitehall area. Montana is a state that has the proper balance between environmental protection and economic prosperity and this initiative threatens to upset this in a devastating way through the loss of jobs and a direct blow to the economy. With the recently approved...
Each week I have a column in the Whitehall Ledger and the content can range from serious to absurd. There are also certainly and more often than I like columns that seem may seem a little bit cranky with my observations on day-to-day life. This week I would like to change it up and put a much more positive spin on my 500ish words. Probably the favorite place I have worked at is the Green River Star weekly newspaper in Wyoming. It was a tight knit staff of people who truly did care for each other...
It's pretty safe to say that the warmer are days of 2018 are long gone and the next few months will have some chilly days. As idiots drive by way to fast on the Interstate people will long for the days when there were warmer temperatures and clear roads. As someone who spends a lot of time on the road, I prefer them clear although the warmer temperatures bring out the seasonal hitchhikers. I would not say I scare easily, but I do admit that each and every time I pass a hitchhiker I immediately...
A large part of my job is covering high school sports and in the fall a fair portion of my time is spent under the "Friday Night Lights". It's usually a lot of fun, but sometimes people can change that in a hurry. When I'm covering a game I like to be on the sideline to get the best possible view I can. I used to spend my time in press boxes, but that is too far away from the action. Also in Whitehall the "Crows Nest" is about the size of a master bathroom and already has a public address... Full story
While I wouldn't say I'm a gambling man who has a bookie in his phone contacts and will bet everything from the World Series to a horseshoe competition at the county fair, I've been known to make a bet or two over the years. Because I wouldn't mind a nice wager every now and then, I was ecstatic when I first heard about fantasy football. I've always been a huge fan of football and at a time would watch just about as many games a week as possible. I would literally watch awful college games on a...
A recent decision by the Whitehall governing body should make a significant difference in the town’s appearance. The town council recently voted to approve a resolution to create a program that will bring residents and business owners together to tackle issues dealing with weeds. This was a great decision by our local leaders and one that will not only be enjoyed by locals, but will also make Whitehall more appealing to those visiting or driving through the area. Earlier this year, Whitehall had a huge turnout for Frontier Days and most of t...
I watched a lot of baseball growing up. In fact many of my favorites summer memories were watching the Atlanta Braves play on TBS, followed by night games outside with kids in my neighborhood. At the time and for a reason why I to this day can’t understand, the southern based team was in the National League West with teams like the Los Angeles Dodgers, San Diego Padres, and San Francisco Giants. The Dodgers games would always stand out to me more than the other division rivals, especially because I used to giggle that they would have a man s... Full story
I’ve always found it interesting how different people deal with the same situation. A few weeks ago, I was sitting at the office and Melissa returned volleyball game visibly upset. Somehow during the time she had left the office and went to the game, a very important piece on the inside of the camera had come loose and it could not be used. She was really upset because she knew just how important a camera is to a newspaper. To put together a paper there has to be a really good camera, that is just the way it goes. Cell phones companies are m...
I was always lucky on the first day of school because it was impossible to botch the pronunciation of my name during roll call. This however is not the case for some people I've known. Although I'm completely fine with my name and who I'm named after, I did used to dream about what it would be like to have an exotic name. Going to school put those daydreams out of my head in a heartbeat. I had a bad enough time with the "Jack" jokes that would never stop. By the time I was 15, I thought there...
While I'm sure some people toss and turn and night worrying about politics, solving world hunger and other important issues, I on the other hand find myself up at 2 a.m. thinking about some of the dumbest things imaginable. One that has been driving me crazy as of late has to do with a town a little over 20 miles from Whitehall. I can't for the life of me understand why almost everybody I talk to refer to Twin Bridges as just "Twin". I have not ever heard anyone say we are going to go watch the...
I’m proud to say I’m a huge fan of the schools in Whitehall. I think the teachers, staff, administration and board work together in unison to create something special. I’m also very high on the district where I grew up in Wyoming and although it is much larger, they do an outstanding job. While very appreciative of everyone involved in making schools in this country great, I do however wish there would be more life skills available for students. Whitehall High School does a far better job than my alma mater, but I still think this is somet...
