Serving Southern Jefferson County in the Great State of Montana
Serving Southern Jefferson County in the Great State of Montana
Sorted by date Results 792 - 816 of 1479
Important historical figures came to life Monday afternoon at the Cardwell School when third to eighth grade students hosted a Living Wax Museum. Fifth and sixth grade teacher Ashley Moser said the museum is something she's wanted to do since she became a teacher, and decided to do it this year instead of a science fair. Moser said students were a bit intimidated by the science fair last year and the living museum has been a fun change. The students were asked to pick a historical figure they ad...
The Town of Whitehall hosted a special public hearing last week to obtain input about community development needs. Jason Crawford, a Civil Engineer at Kadrmas Lee & Jackson currently working with the town, said they are considering applying for a Community Development Block Grant (CBDG) as well as other grants. Crawford stated the Town of Whitehall is looking for the public comments and community development needs like infrastructure, economic development potentials, and housing needs, and what the priority of those might be. He said funding...
Liberty Place has partnered with the Montana Department of Labor & Industry (MTDLI) to launch the state's first Community Health Worker and Behavioral registered apprenticeship-training programs. Officials from the Montana Registered Apprenticeship Program visited Liberty Place headquarters in Whitehall last week to discuss the programs that will help Gem State residents seek new opportunities to earn higher wages and improve their job skills in the healthcare industry. Liberty Place was...
During his childhood in Whitehall, Clark Hays would often hear quite the tales from his father who once convinced him that a car on their ranch had belonged to Bonnie and Clyde. Years later, the 1984 graduate of Whitehall High School is publishing his second in a series of books about the popular criminal duo. Hays said, "Bonnie and Clyde: Dam Nation", a book co-written with Kathleen McFall, follows the first book in the series, "Resurrection Road", imagining an alternate history in which the...
Montana winters can be brutal. Sometimes it is the well below zero temperatures,or the howling winds, or it can be a huge blanket of snow that sticks to the road. Several times a winter all three happen at once and it makes traveling near impossible. No matter how bad the winter conditions are, it is important to always remember law enforcement and emergency responders, as well as state, county, town employees working hard to make things better. It doesn’t matter when the bad weather hits whether it be a holiday or the middle of the day, t...
A few weeks ago I was at the district basketball tournament when I witnessed something that really bothered me. The Whitehall Trojans boys basketball team was taking on Manhattan in a game with everything on the line. The winner would live to play another day and advance to the divisional tournament in Billings and the losers would be done for the season. Anyone who has been to the district tournament knows that it is always a great atmosphere with a lot of passion and this was certainly the...
While the weather the past several weeks had dipped below zero on multiple occasions, spring is just around the corner and with this is the return of baseball in Whitehall. The Whitehall Baseball League is scheduled to start their season in April and will once again compete in the Gallatin Valley League. League officials also have some great news for the upcoming season. ‘We are excited to announce that we will be hosting the League’s championship tournament June 2 and 3,” Joe Chase said. “This will bring all the teams and their familie...
Not only will local residents have the chance for a little fun next month at the Whitehall community Center, they will also be giving back to a worthwhile cause. Tickets are currently being sold for the popular annual Jefferson Valley Sportsmen Association Banquet scheduled for Saturday, March 10. The event will begin with cocktail hour scheduled for 6 p.m., and dinner will follow at 7 p.m. The price for tickets is $20 and this includes dinner and an annual membership to the association. JVSA...
Four years ago, the Whitehall High School junior class ranked 99th in the state for ACT composite test scores. The results of testing completed in 2017 show Whitehall has witnessed astonishing growth -- with their scores now ranking sixth out of 197 schools in the state. “It is excellent to see Whitehall High School is among the best high schools in the state,” said Principal Hannah Nieskens. “Students and teachers have much to be proud of. We just keep getting better scores every year.” The results are from tests taken last school year by...
The Whitehall Public Works Department has been busy making improvements to the town cemetery. At the Town Council meeting last week, Public Works Director Kory Klapan reported his department has been working on the entryway into the cemetery. He said they would be putting in grass and sprinklers in the area, and they are also planning to get rid of the satellite dishes. Klapan added they have also been working to fill in some of the low spots at the cemetery. In his monthly report, assistant fire chief Joe Granvold thanked the volunteers of...
When I was a little kid it was always a big deal when my Grandma Smith would take all of the grandkids to McDonalds. It was a special time with a special woman who always made sure we had McDonalds coupons in each of our Christmas and Birthday gifts. There would also be a savings bond, but to a kid the coupons were a much bigger deal. There was one time my Grandma who was a notoriously bad driver attempted to take us to McDonalds and we ended up 15 miles away in a neighboring town, but I...
As a publisher, people will often times ask me about the current state of the newspaper business and their relevance in todays society. I will certainly admit that large publications in metropolitan areas have been struggling and many of them have closed their doors. At the same time, I will happily say that smaller community papers still have a very relevant role in today’s society and many of them do very well. While it certainly isn’t the same with social media and the Internet playing a key role on how people do things, but for smaller comm...
While they may not have come away with a victory at last week's 5B District Tournament in Belgrade, the Whitehall High School girls basketball team showed plenty of promise for the future with two strong performances. The sixth seeded Lady Trojans fell 38-26 Thursday to rival Boulder, and were eliminated from the tournament Saturday in a close 40-35 loss to Big Timber. "Their defense put them in a spot to win. For them to come out and execute – as a coach you love that. They did everything I a...
During their four years as members of the Whitehall High School football, seniors Wyatt Alexander, Braden Smith, Dawson Hoerauf and Kayden Howser worked hard to achieve success on the field -- and it showed with 21 wins the past two seasons. Following their final season with the team, the four were selected to play at the Class B All Star Game this June at Rocky Mountain College in Billings. To help raise money for the trip, the four student athletes are ready and willing to bring the hard work...
The season has come to an end for the Whitehall High School boys basketball team. Entering the 5B District Tournament as the three seed, the Trojans won two of their first three games before losing an elimination game 48-41 to fourth seeded Manhattan. Whitehall opened the tournament last Thursday with a hard fought 56-44 win over sixth seeded Broadwater County High School. Head Coach Zach McLean said while it wasn't their best-played game of the season, his team fought hard and battled through...
It has been an amazing few weeks for the Whitehall Schools Music Department. Along with receiving a $250 "One Class At A Time" check from Montana Tech and KXLF TV Station (Butte) and hosting a middle school music festival, the department received more incredible news last week when they were notified of a GRAMMY Signature Schools Award. Whitehall High School was one of 100 schools nationwide awarded $2,000 to benefit their musical programs. The award is an education initiative of the GRAMMY...
Nearly one month after voting down a resolution that would have terminated the buy/sell agreement for the purchase of the former ambulance barn, the Whitehall Town Council reversed its course of action at their regular meeting Monday night. The Town Council voted 4-0 to approve Resolution 2018-2, which terminates Resolution 2017-8 (Approved November 20, 2017) for the buy/sell agreement to Western Veterinary Services for a price of $288,000 for the building located at 207 E. Legion. Council members Montina Rawson, Francine Giono-Janik, Barbara G...
Barrick Gold Corporation Vice President for Permits and Closure Patrick Malone was a special guest at the Community Transition Advisory Committee meeting last week. Malone discussed current work being done to update the closure plan for the Golden Sunlight Mine, and the legacy the company wants to leave in the area. Malone said Barrick wants to be a company that local residents can not only rely on, but to make sure they have a good cradle to the grave plan for the mine. Malone added while they are hopefully the current Apex Project will...
The Town of Whitehall is hosting a public hearing later this month to obtain public comments regarding overall community development needs. The meeting is scheduled to take place February 20 at 5 p.m. at Town Hall. The purpose of the meeting is to obtain public comments regarding the Town of Whitehall’s overall community development needs (public facilities, economic development, and housing needs), including the needs of low and moderate-income persons. Mary Janacaro-Hensleigh said the town has entered into an agreement with the Department o...
For the second straight year, the Whitehall School Districts have received a $1,000 grant from Northwestern Energy. At a school board meeting last week, Superintendent John Sullivan said they could possibly use the money for a new press box at the school. Sullivan stated the money last year was used for the project to replace the bleachers at the football field. Sullivan also gave the board an update on the new activity bus that was purchased in the April of 2017. Sullivan said the bus could be delivered as soon as mid February. Once the bus ar...
The Whitehall Chamber of Commerce is continuing to seek renewals and new members in 2018. At the monthly meeting last week, Chamber President Jan Thorne said there are currently 65 renewals and 10 new members and the board is still working to increase this number. “Hopefully it will be an increase over last year,” she said. The Chamber is also looking for more donations for the Black Tie Blue Jeans event scheduled for April 28. Thorne said they would like to have donation forms returned to them at least one week prior to the event. Pre...
Often times the pages of a small-town newspaper are full of articles and pictures for high school sporting teams and this is certainly the case in the Ledger. I also feel it is very important to recognize some of the other great things going on at local schools and there is no better place to start than with the Whitehall Schools Music Department. Last week was a phenomenal one for the department. Not only did they host seven teams at a middle school music festival, the high school music department was notified they were recipients of a $2,000...
While I was in college, I always dreaded summer coming. It would mean I would have to stop the laidback lifestyle of being a student and have to work my butt of to raise money for tuition. This was certainly different than being a kid and counting down the days for the school year to end which always meant a long summer of riding my bike in the desert without a care in the world. In my hometown there were always a ton of college kids who also wanted to raise money and there were always a few...
The Whitehall High School wrestling team wrapped up a strong 2017/18 season with two Trojans placing at the State Wrestling Tournament at the Metra Park in Billings. Senior Dawson Hoerauf ended his storied career with a second place finish at 285 pounds, and freshman Dawson Powers ended his first year with the team finishing fifth at 103 pounds. "We had a good finish to a great year. It's fun to look back over the struggles and accomplishments of the wrestling season. The athletes have...
With a 57-51 win last Friday night over Townsend, the Whitehall High School boys basketball team clinched the third seed in the this week's District 5B Tournament in Belgrade. The game was tied at half before the Trojans (12-6, 5-5 5B) outscored the Bulldogs 14-8 in the third quarter on their way to the six-point victory. "This was a big win for us, definitely one we needed," senior Braden Smith said following the game. "Winning this game put us at the third seed which set up the way we want for...
