Serving Southern Jefferson County in the Great State of Montana
Serving Southern Jefferson County in the Great State of Montana
Sorted by date Results 1376 - 1400 of 1522
The 65th Montana Legislative Session has reached its halfway point, and the state budget still weighs heavy. Both Republicans and Democrats are working to reach a compromise on how to fund state programs, with battles over other policy happening simultaneously. March 1 marks the session’s transmittal break, when general bills have to be moved from one chamber to the other. Roughly 300 bills are currently active in both the House and Senate. The House has also tabled nearly 150 bills, while the Senate has tabled over 60 of their own. This l...
U.S. Sen. Steve Daines addressed the Montana House of Representatives last week, touching on his role in Washington, his support for the Keystone XL Pipeline and support for the appointment of Judge Neil Gorsuch to the Supreme Court. Daines repeatedly said he and other Republicans in Washington are seeking less federal power and more states' rights. "Montanans are best at running Montana," Daines said. Daines opened his speech by applauding the "peaceful transition of power" from Barack Obama...
The office of the Whitehall Ledger will close for the week Thursday, March 2 at Noon. The staff of the newspaper will be covering the Divisional Basketball Tournament in Billings. The office will reopen Monday, March 6 at 8:00 a.m. The deadline for the March 8 paper will still be March 6 at 5 p.m. Go TROJANS!...
Monday, Feb. 20 12:10 p.m. – agency assist, 26 Sugar Beet Row, Whitehall 12:56 p.m. – welfare check, I-90 westbound MM 249, Whitehall 1:42 p.m. - abandoned auto, I-90 eastbound MM 247, Whitehall 5:34 p.m. – transport, 208 1st Street West, Whitehall 6:02 p.m. – traffic stop, Hwy 69, Whitehall Tuesday, Feb. 21 1:05 p.m. - suspicious/person/vehicle/circumstance, Piedmont Road, Whitehall 5:12 p.m. – traffic stop, Makowski Lane, Whitehall 9:03 p.m. – traffic stop, Hwy 69, MM 14, Cardwell 9:31 p.m. – traffic stop, Hwy 69, MM 11, Cardwell Wedn...
Hi Folks, At our regular meeting last week, we met with Road Supervisor Rory Parsons. The crew has been very busy trying to keep up with winter and spring maintenance issues. One of the big issues this time of year is trying to keep culverts flowing. They generally tend to freeze up and then when the water starts to run there is no place for it to go. They try to get out and unthaw the culverts before we get big flows but that doesn’t always work. We have had some closures on Milligan Canyon Road because we just couldn’t keep ahead of the fre...
A Whitehall High School senior was able to get some hands on experience in politics last week at the State Capital in Helena. Hunter Flynn spent the week as a page for Montana State Representative Ray Shaw (R-Sheridan). Flynn said he had an interest in serving as a page, and called Rep. Shaw who set up everything up for him. "This was a great experience to see the Montana government in action. I was a part of history and got to meet some great people such as Governor Bullock and Secretary of...
Monday, Feb. 13 3:33 a.m. – traffic stop, Hwy 69, MM 18, Cardwell 7:15 a.m. - care for sick/injured, 106 South Sheridan Street, Whitehall 7:40 a.m. - stranded motorist, I-90 eastbound, MM 256, Cardwell 10:46 a.m. - VIN inspection, 43 Curlew Lane, Whitehall 12:17 p.m. - care for sick/injured, 513 East Legion Avenue, Whitehall 12:38 p.m. - discharge firearm – residence, 8 Sugar Beet Row, Whitehall 1:40 p.m. – theft, 19 Ballard Lane, Whitehall 4:26 p.m. – traffic stop, 1166 Hwy 55, Whitehall 4:33 p.m. – traffic stop, Hwy 55, Whitehall 4:46 p.m....
Hi Folks, Last week was the Montana Association of Counties (MACO) mid-winter meetings in Helena. Monday, I attended the Agricultural Committee meeting and the Coalition of Forest Counties. Both Committees had speakers that talked about various issues. One of the discussions in the Ag. Committee continues to be the threat of Brucellosis spread through buffalo and elk. I don’t think we have any good answers to the problem. One of the biggest issues in the Forest Counties Coalition is Secure Rural schools (SRS) payments, or more accurately, l...
The Montana House of Representatives passed a bill last week that would shutter the Office of the Commissioner of Political Practices, which some critics say could put the integrity of Montana elections in jeopardy. The bill, introduced by a state lawmaker tied to one of the office's most significant investigations, would place oversight and enforcement of campaign laws back into the hands of the Secretary of State and Attorney General, as it was before the office's creation in 1975. Supporters...
The Whitehall area suffered a huge loss Saturday with the passing of longtime coach and educator James Loomis. The first person elected to the Whitehall High School Athletic Hall of Fame, Loomis is remembered not only for his accolades as a coach, but for the tremendous impact he made on students and the local community. During a hall of fame ceremony in February of 2016, Loomis was inducted by two of his former wrestlers Shane Shaw and Mike Hedegaard. Earlier this week, the two shared what...
The Whitehall Town Council voted unanimously Monday night to enter in to an agreement to lease the Ambulance Barn, itemized equipment and inventory to Community Beacon of Hope Inc. for a three-month trial beginning March 1. Beacon of Hope Inc. is under the direction of former Whitehall Ambulance Director Tyler Steinebach. The decision was made after the Town of Whitehall looked at their options regarding an ambulance service and was unable to sustain their enterprise fund. Mayor Dale Davis explained an enterprise fund has to generate enough...
Elections are on the horizon for three Board of Trustee positions in the local school districts. The three-year position in the Whitehall School District 4 & 47 currently held by Angie Davis, and the three-year position in the Whitehall School District 2 (Cardwell) held by Paul Shaw are both open in 2017. At a meeting last week, Superintendent John Sullivan said Davis informed him she would not be running. Shaw stated at the meeting he plans to run again. Those interested in running must submit a Declaration of Oath of Candidacy from by March...
January was a quiet month for production at the Barrick Golden Sunlight Mine. At last week’s Community Transition Advisory Committee meeting, Mine General Manager Dan Banghart reported the production for the month was 0 ounces. Banghart said this was because the mill run has been deferred to this month. At last month’s CTAC meeting, Banghart stated at the start of the year they would run the mill twice a quarter. The first will take place in the middle of the February, and the second in mid March. He added they are hoping to achieve the sam...
Monday, Feb. 6 5:30 a.m. - care for sick/injured, 80 Bay Street, Whitehall 2:46 p.m. - trees/debris on roadway, Hwy 2 West, MM 77, Whitehall 4:49 p.m. - care for sick/injured, 105 1/2 South Division Street, Whitehall 5:10 p.m. - disorderly conduct, 1173 Hwy 55, Whitehall 5:58 p.m. - welfare check, I-90 eastbound, Whitehall 8:04 p.m. - suspicious/person/vehicle/circumstance, I-90 westbound, MM 242-243, Whitehall Tuesday, Feb. 7 1:12 a.m. - suspicious/person/vehicle/circumstance, 4 West Olive Street, Whitehall 2:48 a.m. - welfare check, 64 Tebay...
The Jefferson Watershed Council will be hosting a public meeting to present the draft Jefferson River Channel Migration Maps and Floodplain Discovery Map on Thursday, February 23 at 6:30 p.m. at the Borden Conference Room on the corner of Main Street and West Legion Avenue in Whitehall. The Ruby Valley Conservation District & Ruby Watershed Council are the project sponsors and administrators who have received a grant through Montana DNRC to fund channel migration mapping and floodplain discovery on rivers within the Upper Missouri Headwaters...
Hi Folks, At our regular meeting last week, we heard a presentation from Joe Willauer, Executive Director of Headwaters RC&D, about a Community Economic Development Strategy. We brainstormed a number of different projects or events that could help with economic development in Whitehall, Boulder, and Jefferson County. We heard a presentation from Lori Ladas, Executive Director of Rocky Mountain Development Center in Helena. We discussed their two year work plan and talked about Head Start in Whitehall. At the current time Whitehall Head Start...
Students at Whitehall High School are currently required to take the ACT during their junior year. At a meeting Monday night, the Whitehall School Board of Trustees discussed the possibility of requiring sophomores to the take the ACT Aspire test which maps learning progress from grades three to high school on a vertical scale, anchored to the scoring system of the ACT. During her monthly report to the Board, Whitehall High School Principal Hannah Nieskens approached the board with the idea of having the school provide the test at no cost to...
Monday, Jan. 30 8:13 a.m. - mental crisis, 460 Hwy 2 West, Whitehall 9:16 a.m. - traffic accident 2 vehicle/non-injury, I-90 eastbound, MM 236, Whitehall 12:58 p.m. - suspicious/person/vehicle/circumstance, 415 North Whitehall Street, Whitehall 2:14 p.m. - citizen assist, Edwards Addition Road, Whitehall 3:59 p.m. - abandoned auto, I-90 westbound, MM 239, Whitehall 5:24 p.m. - traffic accident, Hwy 55, Whitehall 8:25 p.m. - suspicious/person/vehicle/circumstance, Homestake, Whitehall 10:04 p.m. – traffic stop, I-90 eastbound, MM 239, W...
Hi Folks, Last week at our regular meeting, we open bids for a couple of projects in the Whitehall area. We received ten bids, which ranged from $360,000 to just under $32,000 for the Blowout Project on Pipestone Creek. We will probably award that bid to the lowest bidder at today’s meeting. We received nine bids for the Sugar Beet Row Sewer Project. These bids were fairly close, with the low bid of $216,825 being about $32,000 over the Engineers Estimate. There were also higher than anticipated costs for Bond Counsel and engineering s...
Gov. Steve Bullock vetoed the first bill of the Montana legislative session last week, reducing the proposed pay raise for legislators. House Bill 1 would have increased the legislators' pay by 14 percent for the next legislative session. Bullock vetoed the bill with an amendment to increase pay only by 1.4 percent to coincide with the rate of inflation. He said the state needs to "live within its means." "At the same time that we're tightening the belt of the rest of government, the...
The Town of Whitehall is currently exploring options to keep its ambulance service. According to Town Attorney Edward Guza, the Whitehall Ambulance Service is currently not taking calls as they are trying to figure out how to keep the service going in their current environment that he said is limited by rotations and limitations. Guza said keeping the service that is operated with an enterprise fund is not the easiest thing to do. He said as a government body you have certain requirements, and there is a lot more flexibility in how a private in...
At a Jefferson County Commission meeting last month, Whitehall Town Attorney Matthew Haus expressed concern with a resolution dealing with a proposed ambulance district. Prior to the Commissioners 3-0 vote to approve a Resolution of Intent to create the Jefferson Valley Regional EMS and Rescue Ambulance District, Haus raised several questions about Section 6 of the Resolution that deals with the estimated cost and method of financing for the proposed district whose service area would include...
Montana lawmakers heard broad support last week for the construction of a new veterans home in Butte. During the final hearing on House Bill 14, which would fund a wide variety of infrastructure projects primarily through bonding, dozens of Montana veterans spoke to the shelter's necessity. "It's time that we make a commitment to these veterans," said Rep. Duane Ankney, R-Colstrip, a Vietnam veteran. "If we're gonna send them, we've got to take care of them." Montana currently has two state-run...
Late last month, Montana Governor Steve Bullock appointed a new 5th Judicial District Judge. According to Montana State Supreme Court Administrator Beth McLaughlin, Bullock named Lewis and Clark County Deputy Attorney Luke Berger to the position that covers Jefferson, Madison, and Beaverhead Counties. He will take over for Judge Loren Tucker whose last day in the position was Friday, January 27. Berger was one of three finalists for the position. The other two finalists for the position were Lori Ann Harshbarger of Whitehall and Beaverhead...
Monday, Jan. 23 1:52 p.m. - theft, 15 Corbett Loop, Whitehall 5:14 p.m. - traffic stop, North Division Street, Whitehall Tuesday, Jan. 24 12:26 a.m. - suspicious/person/vehicle/circumstance, 413 North Whitehall Street, Whitehall 8:39 a.m. – burglary, I-90 westbound, MM 272, Cardwell 8:50 a.m. - animal problem, Forcella Road, Whitehall 11:56 a.m. – forgery, 9 North Main Street, Whitehall 6:00 p.m. – traffic stop, 2nd Street, Whitehall 6:19 p.m. – traffic stop, North Division Street, Whitehall 6:41 p.m. – traffic stop, North Division Street, W...
