Week of September 6, 2024
Week of September 6, 2024
Grassy, sagebrushy and only occasionally interrupted by sandstone buttes or clumps of pine trees, southeastern Montana has long drawn mule deer hunters from across the state and region. As recently as 2017, Hunters have harvested more than 17,000 mule deer from this region per year, filling their freezers with venison and adding to the tills of local businesses that guide, feed and lodge them. These days, though, it's almost easier to find elk on public land than it is to...
Trista DeFrance is the new postmaster at the Ekalaka, Montana Post Office and says she is looking forward to her new duties, "I am very excited to serve my community, customers, neighbors and friends as Postmaster!" DeFrance started her postal career in 2019 as a part time clerk in Ekalaka. She quickly moved into officer in charge positions before her promotion to postmaster. In addition to other duties, she manages two office employees, three carriers, and a total of 431...
Montana's two-day, youth-only deer hunt is coming up Oct. 17 and 18, and general deer season opens Oct. 26. Now is a good time to consider signing up for the Apprentice Hunter Program and the application is available on Montana Fish, Wildlife & Parks' website at fwp.mt.gov/hunt/education/apprentice-hunter. The apprentice hunter program allows people ages 10 and older to hunt as apprentices with a mentor for two seasons without completing a Hunter Education course. People...
Eastern Plains Economic Development Corporation (EPEDC) recently announced a community grant award. By collaborating closely with Makoshika State Park, Friends of Makoshika, and the Rocky Mountain Elk Foundation (RMEF), EPEDC successfully facilitated a grant from RMEF to support Makoshika State Park’s youth archery program. The Friends of Makoshika, in partnership with Makoshika State Park, have been awarded a generous $9,852 grant from RMEF. This crucial funding will be used to purchase essential equipment, including...
MILES CITY – The good news is that a very popular dinosaur fossil that was a fixture alongside one of Makoshika State Park's hiking trails has not been stolen, vandalized or damaged; rather, it has been excavated by Museum of the Rockies. It's a bit of a shock to visitors who have become accustomed to seeing the hadrosaur, or duck-billed dinosaur, vertebrae along the Diane Gabriel Trail. But its connection to the park will live on. The plan is for Museum of the Rockies to...
The Montana Stockgrowers Foundation (MSF) is now accepting donations for its Wildfire Relief Fund which benefits Montana livestock producers affected by fires. Currently donations are focused on the Remington Fire in southeastern Montana, which as of Tuesday morning has grown to over 196,000 acres. In addition to financial support, which is the most immediate need, the Wildfire Relief Fund page also offers a form that can be filled out for in-kind donations like hay, feed, pasture, fencing supplies, etc. In-kind donation...
Mid-Rivers Telephone Cooperative, Inc., recently released a payment of capital credits to the cooperative’s members and patrons, with a capital credit retirement totaling $1,134,545.95. The 2024 retirement includes a portion of the 1996 patronage allocation and portion of the 2023 patronage allocation. Retirement and payment of capital credits is made only if the financial condition of the cooperative permits, as determined by the board of trustees. For the first time, Mid-Rivers was able to apply the retirement amounts...
Roy Raymond Obermeier was born in St. Helens, Oregon on February 17, 1947 passed away July 10, 2024, at his residence in Vale, Oregon. Roy spent the first 10 years of his life in the little community of Yankton, Oregon, a few miles outside of St. Helens. His family moved to Boardman, Oregon, where he finished grade school and was an excellent high school student. He enjoyed playing basketball and running track, holding a track record for a time. During these years he worked...
Carol Rae (Gaines) Kalbach was born February 26, 1947 in Baltimore, MD. She passed away peacefully in her sleep at her daughter's home in Baker, MT, due to complications from heart trouble. She was the first born daughter of Christine and Kenneth Gaines. In the next few years she was joined by two sisters and the year she graduated from high school one little brother was born who was always very special to her. Her parents were never church going people, but every Sunday they...
Hello God, it's me, Mara: You know, Lord, some friends reminded us that it is harvest time, so, just checking into and investigating some 'saved' papers, it was amazing to come across a page entitled, 'Fruit For All Season!' It's just the right time of year when crops have yielded their fruit and vegetables abundantly and steadily throughout the summer. So, just had to stop a moment to remember all about our family growing gardens, way back when, plus the several neighbors...
When September rolls around, our thoughts turn to wondering what kind of winter we are facing. For our region, which is region 12 that stretches from the Canadian border down into Texas, the “Old Farmer’s Almanac” predicts the following: Winter will be warmer than normal in the north and colder than normal in the south, with the coldest periods in early and mid-January and early and late February. Precipitation will be near normal, with near- to above-normal snowfall....
September 1, 2024 Dick and Erma Albert had a fun week; especially because their son and daughter-in-law were visiting from Texas. On Tuesday, they went to the Hills, where two hiked up Spearfish Canyon, while the other two did some shopping. On Friday, they all went to the Senior Citizen chicken dinner. Then the four visited the Slim Buttes, and did some hiking there. They stopped at the Reva Store on the way home, to get a snack. The kids left very early on Saturday, and had gotten back home in Texas by Sunday evening....
A fear that almost every ranch mother has felt is when she discovers her child is "missing." Tami Jo Arvik Blake was a former editor of the Western Ag Reporter who recently had that harrowing experience that turned out to have a happy ending. Her story reminded me of when my grandson Alex was four and being "watched" by his grandfather and his uncle. They left him napping after lunch while they went out to quickly tag a few calves. No one is sure how long that took, but when...
Hello God, it's me, Mara: You know, Lord, several of us girls were together, enjoying our time when 'Alyson' spoke: "My grandmother emigrated from England in the early 1900's with her husband and two little girls. Their home was a simple bungalow. Water came from a cistern, the toilet was at the end of the garden, and the heat was a wood stove." We 'perked' up our ears: Alyson sighed and continued: "The family had little by today's standards. They lived on my grandfather's...
August 26, 2024 We returned to the hotter days at the end of this week, at Capitol and on Tie Creek, but no rain was in sight. Pete Anderson has been busy working out at the ranch. On Friday, Pete went to the Little Missouri Church to mow around the church and cemetery. On Saturday, there was a memorial service for Edward Bonefield at the Little Missouri Cemetery at the church. Edward had not lived here for many years, but he was the son of Richard Bonefield. Bruce Gustafson has been doing mostly regular work, this week....
