Serving Southern Jefferson County in the Great State of Montana
Serving Southern Jefferson County in the Great State of Montana
Sorted by date Results 1337 - 1361 of 1557
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...
After a decade of showing absolutely zero interest in social media, my mom recently took baby steps and created a Facebook account. While I’m sure this is not the gateway social media step into Instagram or Snap Chat, she is able to get some joy out of it by keeping up with friends and family. On one occasion she shared a picture of a dog that had been going viral on the Internet. There was a message with the picture encourage people to share the picture because it would help raise money for a dog that was badly burned after helping save his h...
With the first day of school just around the corner, families have been extremely busy with school shopping, getting supplies, and trying to get children into a much better sleep schedule. Each year around this time it always reminds me of the first day of school growing up and so many memories, even if they were not that great. When I was in kindergarten I was one of those kids that not only didn’t want to go to school, but would throw an absolute tantrum as I squeezed my mom’s leg in pure terror of what awaited me in the classroom. To this da...
I’m not sure if I’m necessarily a fan of it, but the Google app on my phone has recently been giving me a very comprehensive list of what’s trending in the world every time I try to search for something. I used to get a much less condensed version of this, but am getting used to seeing it as a way of knowing what the big news of the day is and what people are searching for. The past several months I have noticed that about two or three days a week a “national day” is trending. For instance the day I’m writing this column, it is “National B...
Publishing a newspaper every Wednesday I don’t get to travel that much or anywhere too far away. Sometimes this makes me a little bit sad, but all of the time I’m completely okay with it because it means I don’t have to deal with “fellow” travelers. Whether it be in an airport or on a interstate or highway, I believe traveling can bring out perhaps not the “worst” in people, but defiantly some strange and over exaggerated behavior. I don’t really fly much anymore, but when I do it is always the same. Someone is either walking to their gate o...
A fifth-generation rancher, Kami Noyes had a longtime dream of bring fiber artistry back to its roots. Noyes of Ranching Fiber Traditions was able to accomplish this in 2017, when along with Betty Kujawa of Snowdrift Alpacas joined forces for the Copper K Fiber Festival. The festival will return for its second year starting this Saturday and is a wonderful opportunity the residents for a unique event for the Whitehall area. The festival is free of charge and offers both classes and vendors. A trip to the festival is also worth it to see the...
I should have known that the moment I wrote a column about a disdain for several weeks of fireworks in a row that I would pay for it in some sort of karmic retribution for constantly being grumpy about everything. This wonderful gem of a story starts the day after the 4th of July and a time I feel there should be no fireworks unless they are a special show at a baseball stadium somewhere in urban America. By July 5th, my two pets were sick and tired of being sick and tired of fireworks. The poor things were finding hiding spots within their...
It's hard to believe, but the opening of fall practice for the three Whitehall High School sports teams is less than a month away. While the teams will be working hard to get ready for competition, the Whitehall High School Booster Club will bring the community together for their annual Pre-season barbecue. The event scheduled for August 17 will follow the annual Purple and Gold football and volleyball scrimmages. This is a time of the year for the club to raise donations for the 2018-19 school...
I'm most likely way in the minority on this one, but probably my least favorite two weeks of the year are what I like to call "fireworks season". It's the time of the year where stands come out on seemingly every street corner, and I'm jolted out of a slumber multiple times a night by fireworks. It's also a time of year my two cats start to hide and act really weird from all the ridiculous noise. I'm all about the United States of America and certainly about people making money-selling...
After several months rainy weather, the calendar has turned to July, the month knowing for the highest temperatures of the year in the Whitehall area. The July weather is a perfect opportunity for residents to get out and experience a true gem of our area, the Whitehall Community Pool. The pool provides a great setting for people of all ages to enjoy themselves. Along with the normal Monday through Saturday daily hours of 1 to 5:30 p.m., the pool also has night swims Monday, Wednesday, and Frida...
A few days ago I received a text message from a friend who was very upset over a picture that had run in my hometown newspaper. The picture was of her daughter and she wanted my opinion on what I thought of the photo, and if this was something that should be published. I wasn't quite sure what to expect, but when she sent the picture I could easily understand what caused her frustration. Along with a girl dribbling the basketball at a recent tournament, her middle-school aged daughter was also...
What should have been a normal Friday in the spring of my seventh grade year took a far different turn. I should have known something was amiss when my bus pulled up to my school and large groups of my classmates were gathered together. It was strange to see because the kids that were labeled as "preps" were congregating with the "hoods" and it was a surreal moment to see this happen. A year later I would read a book called "The Outsiders" by S.E. Hinton and felt that other than the fact it...
With a little over a month until the 2018 Frontier Day in Whitehall, organizers are looking for volunteers to help out at the popular two-day event. One of the most needed areas for volunteers is the Rancher's Rodeo, but help with any of the variety of scheduled events would be greatly appreciated. In a small community like Whitehall, it takes a devoted team to put together an event like Frontier Days. Chamber members and everyone who helps out puts in a large number of hours, but things always...
