One Nation, Under God
One Nation, Under God
Sorted by date Results 1 - 25 of 1982
Happy Earth Day! I was in college when the first Earth Day was celebrated. I remember some students rode horses to school instead of driving their cars. I mostly picked trash! Congratulations to the musicians from Whitewater School who earned one’s at the District Music Festival! They have earned a trip to the State competition in Billings! I might get to see some of them when they come down. If you are outside in the night, you might have seen a few meteorites from the Leonids showers. It's a...
In the Whitewater area, calving is done and the area farmers are starting to seed. Good luck to the farmers. Congratulations to Cassandra and Levi Harms on the birth of their new baby boy. He was born on March 30, 2024. His name is Justin and he has a brother and sister at home. Late birthday greetings to Bonnie McMullen and to anyone I missed. Congratulations to Rory Green on his high school awards. Our Whitewater town and the North 40 Cafe were booming Saturday night. The Whitewater school...
It’s time to put Ace down. In the morning I’ll call the vet and make an appointment. I hoped he’d die in his sleep. That would have been so much easier for both of us, especially me. Instead, he was standing outside the bedroom door this morning waiting to be fed. He still eats his kibble and follows me around the house and yard, but he’s unsteady on his feet. Twice in recent days he fell and couldn’t get up. I heard his frantic cries and rescued him, lifting him back to his feet and holding h...
Last week, we had another cold snap or two, but the week presented me with a familiar event that I haven’t had since before Christmas; a vendor show. Like a lot of Americans, I have a second job of sorts. And sometimes my second job as a coffee roaster allows me to get out and meet a ton of people all at once. I have been doing this second gig for five years, when I can. I have been on both sides of the vendor show experience, as a customer and as a vendor. I enjoy both aspects. For those t...
The meadowlarks were in high form this weekend while I was up at Loring! Their song is a favorite of mine, and the concert was fabulous! I was surprised to see a flycatcher also. They are early this year! The trees are blooming, and the crocuses are beautiful on the hillsides! The frogs sang loud and strong down at the slough! I visited with Cindy Clark and saw how the reconstruction was going along. Debbie Richau drove with me to Loring on Friday. On Saturday we attended the fundraiser for the...
Beware of all the scams, whether by letter or by phone. Did you watch the total eclipse of the sun and moon? I watched it on TV, and it was awesome. The world went dark, then the sun came back! It is April, today is my birthday. Wednesday at Senior meals they are having birthday cake after the meal, for all April birthdays. This includes Debbie Anderson, Dallas Green and Jeanie Green. Thanks to all who sent me cards, gifts and gave me a call. I appreciate you all. Sunday, at the Whitewater...
I hoped I was simply late for the party. It wouldn’t be the first time. But where I used to watch dozens of male sage grouse dance each spring on my birthday there were now only six, scattered across the lek. Twenty years ago sage grouse were common in the country I hunt in north-central Montana. I didn’t shoot many, but they were another species of prairie game bird I hunted along with sharptail grouse, Hungarian partridge and pheasants. These days I’m just happy to see one. Vanishing sageb...
Dear Editor and Readers, Phillips County is my home. I often explain to people I grew up not knowing what political party our beloved neighbors, Dean and Carol Kienenberger, leaned toward or adhered to because my folks didn’t care so, therefore, neither did I. All I knew is we loved Dean and Carol and the girls - and we still do - and they loved us. Recently, my hometown state senator, Mike Lang, wrote a letter in the PCN and it made me so proud to be from where I grew up. Mike Lang is a good man - he holds the same values we were all raised wi...
I’m ready for the color to return. I’m tired of all the washed-out hues -- browns, greys and off-whites melding on the horizon into a dull, featureless sky. Flowers have yet to bloom. Leaves have yet to pop. The residue of winter has yet to be washed from the land by spring rains. In town, the streets are dirty from a winter of sanding. Yards are showing only the slightest hint of green as four months' accumulation of dog poop makes its appearance after being hidden under the cover of snow. Fri...
For the second weekend in a row, track meets around us were postponed due to weather. The first weekend, I did something that I loved. We went out of town to Medicine Hat and were tourists. The second weekend, this past weekend, I did something that I have mixed emotions about: Spring Cleaning! I’m a mostly positive person or try to be, so we will start with the positives. Things are organized, I found some “treasures,” and my wife is proud of the work that we did as a family. We were able...
Ryett Anderson, 3rd grade, played basketball in Williston, N.D., over the weekend and his team won 2nd Place in the tournament. He plays with Malta kids. Good luck to Math Farms at their bull sale at the Glasgow Stockyards. Here is a joke- A boy asked his dad if the new $5000 bull always slept with all four feet in the air. Ranchers around the area are trying to keep up with calving and many of the cows are having twins! In fact, one of our neighbors had five sets of twins. Can you believe that? He had to adopt some out. All above board of...
Big excitement tomorrow morning, the eclipse of the sun is happening from Maine to Texas! We’ll have about 50% covered! It is a natural phenomenon but still special since it doesn’t happen very often. My dad would make sure we kids saw the eclipses, whether solar or lunar. He always wanted us to witness the unusual beauty of Mother Nature. Do not look at the eclipse without special glasses! Cindy Clark reported that Loring has an unusually large amount of robins right now. They are on their mig...
Sympathy to the family of Steve Schumacher. He was the lay pastor of the Whitewater Lutheran Church. He will be missed. It is April! Happy Birthday to all celebrating birthdays including Dallas and Jeanie Green, and Me! (Happy Birthday Helen from the staff at the Phillips County News). Happy Anniversary to those having anniversaries this month. Jeanie Green went to Marrisa’s (her daughter), to visit for Easter. Whitewater Lutheran Church was packed for Easter Service. Many families of the S...
The Phillips County Museum has reopened for the season. During the three months we were closed the upstairs underwent a facelift. The entire upper level was recarpeted thanks to Mulfinger funds and donations. Changes were made to the Saco, Dodson, Loring, Whitewater, Landusky and Zortman displays. The wedding dress display was moved and new items were added. A travel display was organized with an old railroad map being the central focal point. Thanks to designated memorials from the Gil Bullock family, the Military Display underwent changes....
Voters of House District 28, I would like to introduce myself to you. I’m a third generation Montana farmer, writer, and a graduate of Blue Sky High. My family and I live in Inverness and farm on the border. I don’t want to waste your time with my biography, so please go to wicks4freedom.org for my full bio. I am a conservative constitutional, pro-gun, pro-life, anti-woke Republican that believes that “keeping Helena in Helena” is best for Montana. I am the candidate that will fight hardest for your God given rights. If you are looking for som...
Dear Editor, The separation of powers among the three co-equal branches of government are essential; and I agree that no branch should be able to overreach it’s bounds. I want to tell you why this overreach is not happening with SB 442! In Montana, our Constitution does not allow the Executive branch to have the final say over bills adopted by the Montana Legislature, which is the Senate and House of Representatives collectively. The ongoing dispute regarding SB 442 is about preserving the separation of powers. The Executive branch exercised t...
My father-in-law, Harry Johnson, left Texas in 1953 and moved to Gallatin County. Quickly falling in love with the Big Sky state, he made Montana home, raising a son and daughter here. He died in Ennis in 1995. But as much as Harry loved Montana, he didn’t care for the winters, which he thought were too long, too cold, too confining. A mason, he’d take his family south each winter, picking up jobs laying brick and stone in the desert before returning to Montana in the spring. Once back home Bar...
Every once in a while, when our kids have a “break” at school or an extended weekend, we get a chance to take a break ourselves. It may not be common knowledge, but a trip across the northern border has become one of my family’s favorite things to do. If you follow the speed limit, it takes about the same time to reach Medicine Hat, Alberta as it does Billings, maybe 15 minutes more. In the Easter of 2023, we took a trip to Swift Current, Saskatchewan. That trip ended with us driving to Medicine...
It’s true, it’s not an April Fools' Joke. I came down with a sore throat and cough. It is not fun! I think that wild animals must be adapted to the colder weather. I had dinner with Dave Menshew on Monday and Friday. He filled me in on the class that he was in about prepping the fossils. Sympathy is extended to the Steve Schumacher family on his death. Steve has been our Loring Lutheran lay pastor for the last few months. I saw a few robins this week! I heard them a few weeks ago but this tim...
March 27: Action for Eastern Montana Rep. Lisa was at North 40 for Senior Meals, explaining the various programs. All were very helpful. Get Well Wishes to Diane Simonton and all who are sick. Happy Birthday to Pastor Bob Nagy and all March birthdays. Jeanie Green took the train to Minnesota to see Dale Green. He had an operation recently. Get well Dale and hello to his family. Did you all have a good St. Patrick's Day? Did you eat some corned beef and cabbage? There will be a Lenten Soup...
I was asked during a recent doctor’s appointment if I fear falling. I hesitated before answering, worried that I was being set up. After all, I’d earlier been given a cognitive test to check my memory. It had been years since I’d seen a doctor and, during that time I’d aged enough that now the exam seemed to be focused on my mental acuity instead of any physical abilities I once had. I feared a wrong answer might result in me being sent to a home. “Of course, I fear falling,” I snapped. “It’s wi...
Happy spring to you all! We just got a nice layer of snow in Billings, but I know that Loring has had several days of snowfall this week! With the snow cover the gophers are easy to see playing on a snowbank! On the hills, little blades of green are showing up, and the birds are coming back slowly. Almost every farm has a few calves playing around! The temperatures in Billings hit 71 before the wintery storm on the weekend. I spotted some blooming crocuses, and some trees blooming just before...
I am back again, with a little variety of news. I received this "note" from a friend of mine who has since moved from the community. Dear Whitewater, I miss you all very much and I wish I lived closer to you all, closer, to reach out and touch you and lend a helping hand. To return the kindness you have given me which was so grand. You accepted me openly as one of your own and made my life comfortable and made my heart feel at home. I found it hard to leave such a place—my very own paradise. I will never forget the good times and some of the b...
The legislative session in Montana is a full-contact sport. Bills get introduced that stoke controversy and debate. My bill (SB 442) was no different to begin with, but we ended up with a bill Montanans could be proud of. Thousands of Montanans were able to convince 130 of 150 legislators to vote for SB 442. It was popular because Montanans were able to put aside long-standing disagreements and work with their neighbors to help craft a bill that invests in every single one of us. As legislators...
The first grizzly bear of the year was spotted last week by a skier on Specimen Ridge in Yellowstone Park. It’s probably not the same bear I ran into there some years ago but it may be his kin. Following an elk trail along the ridge through waist-deep snow, I caught movement ahead of me in the trees and froze in my tracks. A bear was headed in my direction on the same trail. Dark-colored and enormous, there was no doubt as to which flavor he was. I’d heard it said that black bears are often mis...
