Ledger Looking Back 25 Years: 8/18/1999

AUGUST 18, 1999

The Whitehall Town Council approved the town budget for the year on August 9. The fiscal year 1999-2000 budget demonstrated clear priorities for serious street repair and law enforcement.

Several new faces and building improvements would greet Whitehall school system students when they returned for the first day of school on Tuesday, August 24. New Whitehall High School principal Randy Cline and new elementary school principal Holliday Richardson would start their first school years in Whitehall, as would new guidance counselor Sharon Peters and new band director Britta Oliverson.

Jean Johnston has grown hollyhocks since she moved to 203 S. Division over 20 years ago. She says she usually cut back the hollyhock that grew to the left of her front steps. This year, she didn't cut the plant back. "I thought I'd let it grow, and it just kept growing and growing," she said. The peach-colored hollyhock was approaching 11 feet high and still growing.

Whitehall Athlete of the Week was Whitehall stock car racer Steve Clements. In his third year of racing, Steve won a recent main Gran Nationals race at Gallatin International Speedway and is one of the top ten racers at the Speedway. On August 14, he raced at the Electric City Speedway in Great Falls and won his heat before taking third place in the main event. Steve races a 1980 Monte Carlo.

Whitehall Reader of the Week was Elmer Baker who is 78 years old and has never been in the hospital in his life. Elmer says, "I read a lot. I really do. That library is a godsend." He says he enjoys history, western fiction, and authors like A.B. Guthrie, Ivan Doig, Zane Grey, and David Thompson. Elmer reads about 75 books a year. He is a Chester, Montana native and says, "I was born and raised near the Rocky Mountains, and I enjoy reading about the people who settled there and how they survived." Elmer and his wife, Anita Weaver, have lived in Whitehall for five years.

Volunteers of the Week were the Whitehall Volunteer Fire Department (WVFD), which had a busy summer, and several area residents expressed their appreciation for the WVFD efforts. The 23-member fire department earned the honors for their assistance and commitment to Whitehall. Thanks to WVFD members Casey Ballard, John Billeter, David Bonko, Paul Dale, Dale Davis, Pat Dolan, Ron Fuller, Dondi Hartford, Gary Houseman, Ted Kamrud, Gary Konen, Wayne Lemrick, Dave McLaughlin, Mike Miyake, Pat Peltier, Scott Pogh, Doug Richards, Duane Scott, Steve Simpson, Kevin Smith, Rich Smith, Rich Strauss, and Wayne Weyer.