Serving Southern Jefferson County in the Great State of Montana
Serving Southern Jefferson County in the Great State of Montana
Sorted by date Results 517 - 541 of 1479
The projected completion date for Whitehall Transportation's Dick Gustin Memorial Bus Barn is set for late May or early June. According to WPT Director Paula Hippert ,the project incurred a small setback due to the winter weather. She said Jay Fortune Construction is back at it and things are progressing nicely. A ground-breaking ceremony took place Monday, December 10 for the facility located at 1173 HWY 55 in Whitehall. The 3,200 square foot facility will feature a four-bay bus barn that will...
I can't remember a time in my life where I was ever so excited for the transition to spring and eventually the high temperatures of summer. This was a brutal winter with a few weeks I thought would never end. Driving was of course a nightmare and even walking at times was a difficult task and I still have bruises from some of my more epic slips of 2019. We did our best to keep up with our driveway and sidewalks but during the week plus of non-stopping snowing we kind of gave up and instead just...
While large amounts of snow may have sent them inside for their first few practices, Whitehall High School Tennis coach Kerry Sacry is happy with the progress of his team. The Lady Trojans will open their Friday and Saturday at a tournament in Great Falls. The team was scheduled to compete Thursday in Boulder, but the event was cancelled Monday. Sacry said things have been going good for the team and there is a total of nine players out. He added the time inside was helpful because the girls wer...
With their season-opening meet scheduled for Friday in Frenchtown, the Whitehall High School track team has been battling the weather in anticipation of their first event. "The beginning of the season has been a difficult one. It's tough doing everything inside or with only being able to use a portion of the track so we are hoping this weather can stay around and melt more of this snow," said head coach Dan Lacey. A total of 23 student-athletes joined the team who started practice March 11 and...
During her monthly report at Monday's Whitehall Town Council meeting, Mayor Mary Janacaro Hensleigh reminded residents that sandbags are available at the Recreation Complex. Hensleigh said with the all the snow Whitehall has had she thinks it is important for everyone to be aware and plan ahead because she is sure there is going to be some flooding. Hensleigh also addressed the postponement of the monthly meeting originally scheduled for March 11. She said by law they have to post the meeting...
The Whitehall Little Guys Wrestling team are state champions. The squad finished in first place out of 14 teams at last week's Southwest Montana Little Guys State Tournament in Dillon. Steve Sacry said he has been helping with wrestling in Whitehall since 2004 and while they have placed in the smaller team divisions, this is the first time he is aware that they also beat all the big teams. Whitehall had a total of 111 points, followed by Belgrade with 98, Helena with 95, and Ennis with 77....
It's time to start thinking about the annual Black Tie Blue Jeans fundraiser scheduled for May 4 at the Whitehall Community Center. The event is the largest annual area fundraiser and is vital to so many non-profit organizations in the Whitehall area. With the event less than two months away, we encourage local businesses and residents to purchase tickets and start to make donations for an event that truly does make a difference in the area. The money raised is first given to local non-profit...
I'm by no means a spiritual guru who spends hours a day cross legged on the floor mediating, but I'm a firm believer in karma. What goes around often does come around. While I certainly have my moments, I try to do the best I can and treat people the way I would like to be treated. It's a simple mantra but it usually works out for the best. Despite my best intentions, I sometimes mess up and usually get a swift kick in the butt from my good friend karma. Last week was a perfect example of this....
There was good news last week for the Whitehall School Districts. At a school board meeting March 6, Debbie Ouellette with Newland and Company presented her audit findings for the district. Superintendent John Sullivan said they received the highest rating a district can obtain, and they have a really good net position and rating. The trustees also approved the re-hire of K-5 Principal Kurtis Koenig, 6-12 Principal Hannah Nieskens and the resignation of Sullivan. According to Sullivan, the board has advertised the Superintendent position...
I had written a column about bullying for this week but decided at the last moment to not run it. It was perhaps a bit too aggressive and I'm sure it would have ruffled some feathers, so I decided to go with something a little more lighthearted. Some of my favorite times writing are about stories from the past and this is a real gem. This is the story of a cat and a dog. While it certainly has some of those random chaotic moments that seem to happen to me far too often and may show some good in...
Large amounts of snow last week and temperatures well below zero Monday and Tuesday have been quite the nuisance for residents in the Whitehall area. The winter weather has created problems for the Whitehall Schools who decided to use several delayed starts to the school day. Whitehall Superintendent John Sullivan said the past few days have been a challenge but starting school at 10 a.m. allows students to get to the schools safely and for them to stay open. Sullivan added the late start also...
The Whitehall School Board of Trustees will decide tonight on the possible expulsion of a student who brought an unloaded handgun to the high school. School officials announced February 26 that students reported that another student had brought a handgun to the school. School officials immediately contacted the police and during a search, an unloaded handgun was found. Jefferson County Sheriff Craig Doolittle said a weapon was seized as evidence and the minor was escorted from the property. Doolittle added the minor was issued a citation for...
When a severe winter storm hit recently, I didn't think it would stick around for nearly a week. I'm over the freezing cold, horrible roads, snow everywhere, crappy drivers and everything else that has to do with winter. For the first time I really understand snow birding and how all the local residents must really be enjoying the warmer temperatures while the rest of us adjust the pillows in our igloos. While I own a 4-wheel drive vehicle, it has a problem with the battery, so we have had to...
Throughout the 2018-19 season, the underclassmen on the Whitehall High School boys basketball team showed a great deal of promise. The Trojans will return three starters next year in Hayden Hoagland, Dylan Smith, and Brendan Wagner. After finishing the season 8-13, head coach Zach McLean said they will have a nice core returning that is aware there is work to be done and is hungry for more. "Hayden, Dylan, and Brendan got thrown into the fire right away, probably not roles they felt like they...
After picking up 15 wins and finishing the regular season second in the 5B District, Whitehall High School girls basketball Kelly Nieskens is proud of what his team accomplished during the season. "This was a hardworking group, they did everything I demanded and more. I asked a lot of each of these girls and they gave me their best. I am extremely proud of them. They should feel proud too after the hard work they just put in," Nieskens said. In his second year as coach, Nieskens feels the team...
When I first started in journalism, I always thought a dream job would be a major movie critic. Several times a week I'd be able to watch movies and then would get the opportunity to write about them. I don't watch nearly as many movies as I used to, I've kind of transitioned to binge watching television shows, but at a time I would spend multiple hours a week watching a wide variety of cinema. I think for a year or two I was going to try and work my way into a position where I could be a movie...
NorthWestern Energy officials announced last week a planned four-hour long power outage next month in the Whitehall area. The outage will take place Tuesday, March 5 starting at 1 a.m. and will impact an area that will cover the town of Whitehall and Whitehall Valley west to Pipestone Pass and east to the Golden Sunlight. According to a release from the company, Interstate 90 is the general northern boundary, extending south of Highway 55 near Forcella Lane and across the Jefferson River near...
I'm a little bit ashamed of how much time I spend a day on social media. I cannot imagine how productive I would be without it, but it does connect me with friends and family from afar, and is also useful for work, so it does have value. It also drives me crazy when I see the same things over and over and have recently been thinking about the type of posts I see on a day-to-day basis and figured I'd share this information in a column. These are certainly not trying to bash on anyone, in fact I...
The Whitehall High School boys basketball teams season ended last week with a 50-35 loss to rival Jefferson in the consolation championship of the 5B District Tournament. Following the game, head coach Zach McLean discussed what his three seniors Cade Briggs, Clay Wolfe, and Clint Parks meant to the program. "It is a great group and I am proud of every single one of them. They taught me a lot, it just didn't end the way we wanted it to. It was a tough year with a lot of adversity, but those...
Whitehall's Connor Johnson is a state champion. The senior captured the 132-pound championship at last week's state tournament with a win by fall 46 seconds into his finals match against Nathan Schmidt of Eureka. "Winning the state title is the greatest feeling ever. All the hard work payed off and I wouldn't have wanted it to end any other way," Johnson said. Whitehall Head Coach Mark Nelson said Johnson's path to the title where he won all four matches by pin in the first period was the most... Full story
The Town Council voted Monday to approve the four-year appointment of Steve Andersen as the Whitehall Justice Court Judge. Mayor Mary Janacaro Hensleigh said she appointed Andersen because he contacted her and showed interest in the job, adding she did not hear from Dean Hildebrand who was elected in November of 2018 as the Jefferson County Justice of the Peace. Hensleigh told the Council she wanted a smooth transition from Judge Dennis Guilio who had previously served in the position and...
In the days after the Super Bowl social media was on fire and it wasn't about the actual game that just so happened to be probably the least exciting championship affair in recent memory. Instead of talk about how the Patriots defense played or how the Rams had trouble getting a first down, it was instead about the Super Bowl Halftime show and Maroon 5 lead singer Adam Levine. While the ladies at my house may have swooned a bit when he removed his shirt, 99 percent of what I read was negative...
The third-seeded Whitehall High School boys basketball team will open the 5B District Tournament Thursday in Belgrade at 4:30 p.m. against sixth-seeded Manhattan. While the Trojans (7-11, 5-5 District 5B) swept the Tigers during the regular season, head coach Zach McLean said that does not mean anything come tournament time and his team needs to focus on their Thursday game at the Belgrade Events Center. He added there are two really good teams at the top of the conference, but the rest of the...
After one of the most successful regular seasons in school history, the Whitehall High School girls basketball team will now move onto postseason. The second seeded Lady Trojans (15-3, 7-3 5B District) will open the 5B District Tournament Friday at 4:30 p.m. against the winner of third seeded Big Timber and sixth seeded Jefferson High School. Whitehall split a pair of games against the Lady Herders and swept the Lady Panthers during the regular season. The game will take place at the Belgrade...
It wasn’t always pretty, but the Whitehall High School boys basketball took care of business with a strong defensive performance Thursday evening in the opening round of the 5B District Tournament at the Belgrade Events Center. The third-seeded Trojans upended sixth-seeded Manhattan 44-35 and advanced to Friday night’s semifinals and a matchup with two-seeded Three Forks. The Friday tipoff is set for 7:30 p.m. Following the game, head coach Zach McLean said he told them team it’s all about...
