Articles from the July 9, 2001 edition

A longtime downtown Havre business is relocating because of a pending sale of the property, according to the business' manager. John Roberts has operated Big Sky Exxon at 501 First St. since 1984. The service station has been at that location since 1952. Roberts said he is currently looking for a new location to house the Exxon and U-Haul businesses. He said he has until the end of this month to move. The owner of the property, Delores Heltne, refused to comment about a pending sale. Rumors are circulating that the property h...

A Hill County Sheriff's Department pickup on Sunday was involved in an crash two miles south of Havre with a car that had been reported stolen, authorities said. No one was injured in the crash. According to the Montana Highway Patrol, a 15-year-old boy was driving the stolen car behind the sheriff's pickup shortly before 2 a.m. and tried to overtake the officer in a curve. The front passenger door of the juvenile's car hit the left rear bumper and fender of the pickup, causing the officer to lose control. The police car...

A traffic stop made by the Montana Highway Patrol for a speeding violation led to the arrests of two men accused of carrying two pounds of marijuana. Along with the marijuana, the Montana Highway Patrol found $2,400 in cash, drug paraphernalia and a loaded Smith and Wesson revolver, the patrol said. A spokesman for the Tri-Agency Task Force said the marijuana was allegedly transported from El Cajon, Calif., to Montana for distribution. He also said some had already been distributed in Blaine County and on the Fort Belknap Ind...

Hill County Commissioner Doug Kaercher had some unexpected fireworks Sunday evening. His camper exploded shortly before 6 p.m. while he was stopped in Shelby. Kaercher said he was stopped in front of Taylor Hardware when it felt like someone ran into his pickup. He jumped out to see what happened and saw the trailer in flames. He yelled to his wife to get their daughter out of the pickup. He reached in, grabbed his cell phone and dialed 911. "Within 10 minutes the trailer and pickup were engulfed in flames," Kaercher said....

Jim Barkely undid his daughter's seat belt so she could stand on his lap and look out the window of the airplane. "She just looked out that window and grinned with this big smile on her face," he said. Three-year-old Debbie and her 14-year-old sister, Rebecca, were just two of 58 children between the ages of 8 and 18 to receive free rides during the annual Montana Pilots Association Fly-In Saturday at the Big Sandy Airport. "I like it I like flying," said Rebecca after completing her first flight. "Yes, I'd like to do it... Full story

GREAT FALLS K. Marilyn Gerard, 71, died Friday, July 6, 2001 at her home in Great Falls of cancer. Funeral liturgy will be 10 a.m. Tuesday at St. Gerard's Catholic Church with burial at Highland Cemetery. Gerard was born Aug. 1, 1929 in Havre. She grew up in Havre and graduated from Havre High School. She married James Davey in 1950 in Havre. They divorced in 1954. She married Irby Gerard in Fort Benton in 1959. Gerard attended the University of Montana and Northern Montana College. She began playing the piano and singing at... Full story

Jack Nystrom of Box Elder won a pair of saddle bronc titles at two different rodeo events this past weekend. Nystrom's first win came at the Butte Vigilante Rodeo held July 6-7. Nystrom received $431 for the win with a score of 75. Nystrom also won the saddle bronc event at the Drummond Rodeo, riding Big Dipper to a win with 73 points. He was awarded $404 for the victory. Also at the Butte rodeo, Troy Solomon of Havre picked up a second-place victory in the bareback event with a score of 71. Solomon received $262 for his seco...

The Optimist Club of Havre went undefeated in the Babe Ruth City baseball tournament to walk away champions of the three-day event. Optimist rallied back to defeat Northern Montana Hospital 13-11 in the championship game to secure the title. Northern Montana Hospital lost to Optimist 7-1 early in the tournament and had to fight back through the consolation bracket to reach the title game. Northern Montana Hospital's 11-5 win over Railroad Pagers and 9-5 win over Wells Fargo lifted the team to the berth in the championship....

MEDICINE HAT, Alberta The Havre Comets traveled to the Medicine Hat baseball tournament this last weekend hoping to start a winning streak. The Comets won their first game Friday, dropped the next two and came back with a win on Sunday to finish the tournament with a split in four games. HAVRE 10, MEDICINE HAT 7 The Comets scored six runs on four hits in the second inning, leaving the Knights with a deficit too big to come back from. Daine Solomon sparked Havre with a two-run home run in the second, giving the Comets a 7-1... Full story

MISSOULA The Havre Northstars, oh-so-close to finishing the Missoula American Legion baseball tournament undefeated through five games, settled for a second-place finish in the event this past weekend. Havre, which finished the three-day event with a 3-2 record, defeated defending state champion Bitterroot Valley 6-3 in the Northstars' biggest highlight of the tournament. Havre also defeated host Missoula 10-6 and Gallatin Valley 6-5, but couldn't squeak out victories in games they led or were tied in late in losses to... Full story

GREAT FALLS K. Marilyn Gerard, 71, died Friday, July 6, 2001 at her home in Great Falls of cancer. Funeral liturgy will be 10 a.m. Tuesday at St. Gerard's Catholic Church with burial at Highland Cemetery. Gerard was born Aug. 1, 1929 in Havre. She grew up in Havre and graduated from Havre High School. She married James Davey in 1950 in Havre. They divorced in 1954. She married Irby Gerard in Fort Benton in 1959. Gerard attended the University of Montana and Northern Montana College. She began playing the piano and singing at...

A longtime downtown Havre business is relocating because of a pending sale of the property, according to the business' manager. John Roberts has operated Big Sky Exxon at 501 First St. since 1984. The service station has been at that location since 1952. Roberts said he is currently looking for a new location to house the Exxon and U-Haul businesses. He said he has until the end of this month to move. The owner of the property, Delores Heltne, refused to comment about a pending sale. Rumors are circulating that the property h... Full story

A Hill County Sheriff's Department pickup on Sunday was involved in an crash two miles south of Havre with a car that had been reported stolen, authorities said. No one was injured in the crash. According to the Montana Highway Patrol, a 15-year-old boy was driving the stolen car behind the sheriff's pickup shortly before 2 a.m. and tried to overtake the officer in a curve. The front passenger door of the juvenile's car hit the left rear bumper and fender of the pickup, causing the officer to lose control. The police car... Full story

A traffic stop made by the Montana Highway Patrol for a speeding violation led to the arrests of two men accused of carrying two pounds of marijuana. Along with the marijuana, the Montana Highway Patrol found $2,400 in cash, drug paraphernalia and a loaded Smith and Wesson revolver, the patrol said. A spokesman for the Tri-Agency Task Force said the marijuana was allegedly transported from El Cajon, Calif., to Montana for distribution. He also said some had already been distributed in Blaine County and on the Fort Belknap Ind...

Hill County Commissioner Doug Kaercher had some unexpected fireworks Sunday evening. His camper exploded shortly before 6 p.m. while he was stopped in Shelby. Kaercher said he was stopped in front of Taylor Hardware when it felt like someone ran into his pickup. He jumped out to see what happened and saw the trailer in flames. He yelled to his wife to get their daughter out of the pickup. He reached in, grabbed his cell phone and dialed 911. "Within 10 minutes the trailer and pickup were engulfed in flames," Kaercher said....

Jim Barkely undid his daughter's seat belt so she could stand on his lap and look out the window of the airplane. "She just looked out that window and grinned with this big smile on her face," he said. Three-year-old Debbie and her 14-year-old sister, Rebecca, were just two of 58 children between the ages of 8 and 18 to receive free rides during the annual Montana Pilots Association Fly-In Saturday at the Big Sandy Airport. "I like it I like flying," said Rebecca after completing her first flight. "Yes, I'd like to do it... Full story

Jack Nystrom of Box Elder won a pair of saddle bronc titles at two different rodeo events this past weekend. Nystrom's first win came at the Butte Vigilante Rodeo held July 6-7. Nystrom received $431 for the win with a score of 75. Nystrom also won the saddle bronc event at the Drummond Rodeo, riding Big Dipper to a win with 73 points. He was awarded $404 for the victory. Also at the Butte rodeo, Troy Solomon of Havre picked up a second-place victory in the bareback event with a score of 71. Solomon received $262 for his seco... Full story

The Optimist Club of Havre went undefeated in the Babe Ruth City baseball tournament to walk away champions of the three-day event. Optimist rallied back to defeat Northern Montana Hospital 13-11 in the championship game to secure the title. Northern Montana Hospital lost to Optimist 7-1 early in the tournament and had to fight back through the consolation bracket to reach the title game. Northern Montana Hospital's 11-5 win over Railroad Pagers and 9-5 win over Wells Fargo lifted the team to the berth in the championship.... Full story

MEDICINE HAT, Alberta The Havre Comets traveled to the Medicine Hat baseball tournament this last weekend hoping to start a winning streak. The Comets won their first game Friday, dropped the next two and came back with a win on Sunday to finish the tournament with a split in four games. HAVRE 10, MEDICINE HAT 7 The Comets scored six runs on four hits in the second inning, leaving the Knights with a deficit too big to come back from. Daine Solomon sparked Havre with a two-run home run in the second, giving the Comets a 7-1... Full story

MISSOULA The Havre Northstars, oh-so-close to finishing the Missoula American Legion baseball tournament undefeated through five games, settled for a second-place finish in the event this past weekend. Havre, which finished the three-day event with a 3-2 record, defeated defending state champion Bitterroot Valley 6-3 in the Northstars' biggest highlight of the tournament. Havre also defeated host Missoula 10-6 and Gallatin Valley 6-5, but couldn't squeak out victories in games they led or were tied in late in losses to... Full story

GREAT FALLS K. Marilyn Gerard, 71, died Friday, July 6, 2001 at her home in Great Falls of cancer. Funeral liturgy will be 10 a.m. Tuesday at St. Gerard's Catholic Church with burial at Highland Cemetery. Gerard was born Aug. 1, 1929 in Havre. She grew up in Havre and graduated from Havre High School. She married James Davey in 1950 in Havre. They divorced in 1954. She married Irby Gerard in Fort Benton in 1959. Gerard attended the University of Montana and Northern Montana College. She began playing the piano and singing at...

A longtime downtown Havre business is relocating because of a pending sale of the property, according to the business' manager. John Roberts has operated Big Sky Exxon at 501 First St. since 1984. The service station has been at that location since 1952. Roberts said he is currently looking for a new location to house the Exxon and U-Haul businesses. He said he has until the end of this month to move. The owner of the property, Delores Heltne, refused to comment about a pending sale. Rumors are circulating that the property h...

A Hill County Sheriff's Department pickup on Sunday was involved in an crash two miles south of Havre with a car that had been reported stolen, authorities said. No one was injured in the crash. According to the Montana Highway Patrol, a 15-year-old boy was driving the stolen car behind the sheriff's pickup shortly before 2 a.m. and tried to overtake the officer in a curve. The front passenger door of the juvenile's car hit the left rear bumper and fender of the pickup, causing the officer to lose control. The police car...

A traffic stop made by the Montana Highway Patrol for a speeding violation led to the arrests of two men accused of carrying two pounds of marijuana. Along with the marijuana, the Montana Highway Patrol found $2,400 in cash, drug paraphernalia and a loaded Smith and Wesson revolver, the patrol said. A spokesman for the Tri-Agency Task Force said the marijuana was allegedly transported from El Cajon, Calif., to Montana for distribution. He also said some had already been distributed in Blaine County and on the Fort Belknap Ind...

Hill County Commissioner Doug Kaercher had some unexpected fireworks Sunday evening. His camper exploded shortly before 6 p.m. while he was stopped in Shelby. Kaercher said he was stopped in front of Taylor Hardware when it felt like someone ran into his pickup. He jumped out to see what happened and saw the trailer in flames. He yelled to his wife to get their daughter out of the pickup. He reached in, grabbed his cell phone and dialed 911. "Within 10 minutes the trailer and pickup were engulfed in flames," Kaercher said.... Full story