The Whitehall Ledger - Serving Southern Jefferson County in the Great State of Montana

Dear Editor, As a fifth-generation Montanan, I didn’t choose Montana — Montana chose me. Over 100 years ago, my great-great-grandmother homesteaded 23 miles east of Conrad, and that’s how my family made it to the Last Best Place. And I’ll...

Dear Editor, A new alphabet soup set of initials has been floating around recently, ESG (Environment, Social, Governance). Simply put, this is the cooperation of the United Nations, countries, and corporations to change the world. Obviously, it is...

Nuclear reactors are glorified steam engines. People only defend the hyper-wealthy because they hope to be in the same boat one day A grilled cheese cut in two triangles hits differently than one cut in two rectangles. When you travel, people seem...

ARIES Mar 21/Apr 20 You have energy to release this week, Aries. But you are not sure if the world is ready for you. Don’t expect the same reaction from everyone when you interact. TAURUS Apr 21/May 21 Something in your life that seems ordinary on...

I would liken grace to a nicely knitted lifeline, that which saves us from our sin and self. Grace encompasses many virtuous strands such as love, mercy, forgiveness, humility, self-sacrifice, and more. Another virtue that the Bible ties to grace...

We’re the only species that eat hot food that we warm ourselves. Whenever you die, you’ll end up contributing to statistics of how you died. Therefore you can’t even live without completing a survey. The only reason we are using a base 10...

Dear Editor, Election Day is over and whether or not the results were what we wanted, we should be so thankful that we have the opportunity to vote! Our precinct voted at the Cardwell Pavilion and Kipp Huckaba had plowed the snow so everything was...

Dear Editor, I am encouraged by the outcome of the midterm elections. Not because all the candidates and ballot issues I voted for succeeded, but because winners and losers alike were, for the most part, gracious and accepted the will of the people....

Dear Editor, Thank you to Betsy Marston for writing the article, “Hats Off to a Determined Woman” about Elouise Cobell, and to Editor Liz Pullman for printing it in the Whitehall Ledger. Elouise was my cousin. Her mother and my grandmother were...

Georgia, I have a question. My wife changed her Facebook status from “married” to “widowed”. Should I be worried? Not Dead Yet Yet, Yet is the key word here! Get outta there! Run, run, RUN! With love, Georgia Georgia, I have a question. I...

We often use idioms to make a point clear. A “pickle” refers to a difficult situation or a quandary. Most likely you have escaped by the skin of your teeth a time or two from a pickle you’ve created yourself. I have. Leaders learn what to do...

ARIES Mar 21/Apr 20 You may become impatient with the slow progress of a project at work, Aries. Before you get your feathers all ruffled, figure out if bringing more people onto the team may help. TAURUS Apr 21/May 21 It may have taken a while, but...

Deaf people lose freedom of speech when handcuffed. A driver's license can be used to buy things that impair your driving. When everyone started carrying cameras, sightings of UFOs and Bigfoot vanished, but police misconduct skyrocketed. People who...

Georgia, I have a question, I hate this word, but it is the only way to describe this. Why is my grandma’s house always...moist? Like, everything just feels swampy in there. She lives here in Montana, with no humidity, yet I feel like I’m in the...

Montanan men and women going back to the pioneer days have put a premium on self-reliance. As such, even modern Montanans shun outward appearances of weakness. So, we consider weakness as a handicap, something that keeps us from reaching our goals....

ARIES Mar 21/Apr 20 Try to focus on all of the things that are going right in your life right now, Aries. Avoid focusing on those things that have gone wrong. A new perspective is all you need. TAURUS Apr 21/May 21 This week you need to slow down...

Dear Editor, Another fine piece from Jon Goff at Montana Decides (The Long Green Mile, 10-19-22.) I was struck by this line: “benefits (or lack thereof) are rarely considered or challenged due to the assumption that all public expenditures are...

Dear Editor, Serving as an effective county commissioner requires at least three attributes: collaboration, a can-do attitude, and vision. Whitehall Mayor Mary Hensleigh exemplifies all these (and more), which is why I enthusiastically endorse her...

Dear Editor, Throughout Montana’s modern history we’ve consistently had a mix of republican and democratic leadership, with one party as governor and always a mix in congress. When I was a kid, our governor was Ted Schwinden (D), followed by...

Because some trees take so long to grow, it’s possible the average piece of paper is technically older than the average person. Alphabet soup in Japan must be wild. The last thing a conspiracy theorist wants is for everyone to agree with them. The...

Certain people leave lasting impressions on us, don’t they? I have been taking some time to research the character quality of grace from the Bible’s perspective, and I have been recalling personal examples. The exercise has been off and on for ov...

ARIES Mar 21/Apr 20 Aries, you’re normally content acting on a whim, but this week you may want to plan your schedule with a bit more detail. Think about what to accomplish. TAURUS Apr 21/May 21 When considering a situation, remember there is more...

The taller the person the more freaked out they are by people taller than themselves. Spiderman can only operate in a small number of Earth’s cities. In most of them, he’d be virtually useless. Many people are choosing to live their own version...

Dear Editor, It’s less than two weeks until the mid-term elections. I would encourage each of us to become well-informed voters. This means some research, and that takes time. Who can you trust? Follow the money and find some trustworthy people to...