News you can use
News you can use
Sorted by date Results 1215 - 1239 of 3210
We all know spring weather can be rough around these parts. And April has been exactly that. This month has been rough. Because it can be so bad, often times, we want to “kill the messenger” so to speak when it comes to meteorologists and forecasters telling us “don’t put your shovels away just yet.” Yeah, how often do we hear that here in Montana during the months of March, April and May? Of course, deep down, we understand that the folks who tell us what the weather may or may not do, don’t create the weather, they just r...
I am very pleased to announce that despite, and sometimes even because of, the COVID-19 pandemic, the world is still generating odd news. This fact alone made getting up and putting clean clothes on this morning worthwhile. My intent today, then is simply to cram as much of the latest pandemic-related news as possible in to my column and see how far it takes us. People around the world have been sharing photos of how wildlife has moved back into their mostly abandoned city...
President Donald Trump has rightly described the national effort to defeat the coronavirus epidemic as a war. Many have already died, and many more will die in this war, but we may be confident that we will ultimately prevail. Unfortunately, as we battle the invisible enemy, Asian Americans across the country have been subjected to a wave of hate crimes, bigotry, and physical and verbal aggression by not a few of our fellow citizens. Asian Americans have been physically assaulted, spat upon, cursed in public and treated as if...
Occasionally I pick up one of the classics in literature for a re-reading. I don’t recall what prompted me; it wasn’t the virus. Several weeks ago, in the interests of perusing a translation I’d not read, I chose the Ignatius Bible. The Bible is a daunting big book. I begin at the beginning. Granted, I skim the genealogies and speed through pages of dietary laws and building codes. But otherwise, I read a few pages at a time, slowly, pondering. That Moses is quite the dude....
“I love seeing all the people in the park,” my sister told me on the phone the other night. “I can tell who is together because they are walking in little clumps!” I love that idea: Little satellites orbiting the park — usually with a dog — keeping a safe distance from the other orbiting clumps nearby. My sister is in a clump consisting of herself, her husband, their two children, a dog and a cat. (I’m not sure if the cat considers himself part of the clump or not. Possibly...
Montanans are doing our part in this very difficult time to help each other out and curb the spread of the COVID 19 virus. We come together and look out for each other, as we always have in times of crisis, and in this case that means practicing social distancing to slow the spread of this disease. It is times like this that we as Montanans are even more appreciative of our public mountains and foothills, forests and prairies, and rivers and streams. Montanans recreate in the outdoors at as high of a rate as any state, and...
Knowledge gives me comfort — but I think that’s true of everyone. Think about parents with their first child. Everything the child does is interesting or worrisome, and studied for understanding. The second child is a lot more boring, and if they get up to, say, six children then that last one can be running feral in the street with grapes stuffed in its nostrils and pencil firmly grasped in one hand, and the parents are, like, “Meh, it’s OK. Kids are resilient. Remarka...
It must have been the winter of ’65-’66. I was pregnant with Dee Dee, who was born in April. Harvey and I lived on the ranch south of Dodson. A mile-long dirt drive with three “farmer gates” of barbed wire strung onto diamond willow sticks separated us from the highway, only three more miles from town. That grim winter we were snowed in for 90 days straight. Every day of that time our thermometer on the post registered below zero. Wind drifted each snowfall until packed...
People of the Hi-Line, As of today, 1.3 million people around the world have contracted COVID-19. Over 73,000 of those patients lost their battle against this virus. Montana has 298 cases and 6 fatalities. Still, Hill and Liberty counties have only one confirmed case apiece. So why “Shelter in Place?” Because, to quote your parents on a long road trip, “We’re not there yet.” COVID-19 came into our country on people who had traveled to other affected areas. Although the Centers for Disease Control does try to locate what are...
Stress is something we all deal with. But, the type of stress we’re going through right now is unprecedented. So, with that in mind, I promise that what I’m about to say is not coming from any place other than that of genuine concern for all of us in Havre, Hill County and the Hi-Line. We all live here, so we’re all in this coronavirus world together. And what I’m going to say is actually a question, and my question is this: Can we please just tough this quarantine, or stay-at-home-order or whatever we want to call it, out...
My desk faces the window and that is where I spend most of my time. I spend about as much time at my desk as I do in my bed which is, conveniently located about 30 feet away. It’s a pretty short commute and there’s rarely traffic. Occasionally, my husband Peter might be coming or going from the bathroom, but that’s about it. Once a day, I take a walk in the woods but the rest of my time is spent sitting at my window. My life used to seem kind of odd — and sometimes a little...
I am one of the least likely people to participate in what I normally call “Rah-Rah” stuff — those spirit-lifting, come-together, team-building exercises to rally the crowd — so this op-ed is going to come as a shock to everyone who knows me. The people of Havre and Hill County have done an amazing job of coming together during this pandemic crisis, supporting one another and not only finding the good in others, but also expressing gratitude publicly — all while still followin...
For those of us old enough to remember or to watch reruns of the 1950s classic “Dragnet,” we can easily recall Sgt. Friday’s quote, “Just the facts, ma’am.” That quote became locked into America’s lexicon, highlighting a simple ask of all of us to be honest with each other. The facts unfolding before us regarding COVID-19 are no different. The risks are real. Epidemiologists have estimated the virus will attack 30 to 40 percent of us, and five percent of those cases will be severe enough to require hospitalizati...
COVID-19 has upended lives across Montana, making many of us rethink the future of our world. One uncharted territory is education. Montana has closed schools to families physically while maintaining education and nutrition services. Many are tackling distance learning. Some Montana students do not have internet access, and at the same time, many schools are completely closed and can’t distribute or collect paper packets. Montana is as diverse as its teachers’ approaches to this issue, but this diversity is sharply con...
This week’s recurring theme in my life is the thought experiment called Schrodinger’s cat. I’m going to do my best to explain the background of Schrodinger’s cat, but right off the bat, I want to make it clear that it’s called a thought experiment because no one actually did anything to an actual cat. So here’s the deal, Austrian physicist Erwin Schrodinger was trying to illustrate the difference between classical physics and some new-age level, mind-blowing physics that said...
COVID-19 continues to be at the forefront of our current health battles and plans. We have one documented case of COVID-19 in Havre, but almost assuredly there are more. We still do not have the testing capabilities to test everyone with symptoms. Our Flu Clinic continues to provide services for people with acute illnesses and provide appropriate screening for COVID-19. This allows semi-normal operations for our ambulatory clinics. We continue to manage and see those who are in need of an in-person visit, but are also...
Now that I gained your attention, I confess, I have not a clue. Neither to survival nor to sanity. I’m fishing for answers. I figured if I cast out a line, I might hook you and you could tell me! Self-quarantine and social distance. You’d think they would be my old normal since that is pretty much my life during the summer months when my snow-bird neighbors return to the north-country. Yet I went through the same patterns of ups and downs as my friends reported. We found the...
Joe’s red truck is parked behind his house. It hasn’t moved in days. Joe gets in his red truck every morning and drives around. He’s a member of every fraternal organization, a regular at the brewpub and has friends in every corner of town. Joe picks up a coffee and spends most mornings greeting people out the window of his red pickup. But Joe hasn’t been feeling well and his truck has been parked behind his house. He’s been sick and there’s nowhere to go. Normally, I would be...
We are in a new day, legislating and politics as we knew it has become learn-as-we-go. The face-to-face meetings are no more, web-based conference is the new meeting protocol. Webex, Zoom, Skype, Conference Call and Facetime are my new norm. It seems everyone has a difference preference as to what is the best. Oh, did I mention Snap Chat and Messenger, all have a learning curve and I am being tested. The good news is, most work can and is being done in this fashion. The law does allow school boards the latitude to do what...
It’s been said often in the last few weeks that we’re in a battle with the coronavirus disease known as COVID-19. And while it took a little while longer, the battlefront has arrived in Montana, and even here in Hill County. And, with Montana Gov. Steve Bullock’s directive Thursday, ordering Montanan’s to stay at home as much as humanly possible, likely for at least the next couple of weeks, if not longer, it appears we too have begun to fight the COVID-19 battle. I’ve also heard, since the pandemic arrived in the United St...
The second winter after my husband, John, and I were married, we took in a stray cat that showed up on our place. She was a beautiful blue-eyed, sealpoint, Siamese-cross with lots of white markings, and at her heaviest she weighed 7 pounds, but she was all sinew, claws and attitude. Mostly attitude. Except that first month or so. We were in the middle of a subzero January cold spell when this emaciated thing came hobbling by me trying very unsuccessfully to catch an...
How quickly we progressed from refusing hugs and handshakes, to isolating in voluntary quarantine. In the mornings when Leo came to work our gardens, he calls out, “Sondrita, are you alive.” “Just a minute, let me check. Breathing? Yes, Heart beating? Yes. I’m alive.” Our governor of Jalisco has asked everybody to stay home for five days, to help “flatten the curve.” How quickly we learn the new language. Will everybody stay home? Of course not. For those of us who are “of a...
In the face of a public health crisis more serious than any of us have seen in our lifetime, we all feel vulnerable. In our best attempt to stop the spread of COVID-19, we listen to public health experts and close schools, cancel gatherings and events, and practice social distancing, staying home — and away from other people — except for the most essential needs. It’s vital advice coming from public health experts to flatten the curve, ensure that our health care systems can function, and save as many lives as possi...
An enormous box arrives at our house. It is filled with food and cleaning supplies and, yes, toilet paper. I feel guilty. But the truth is, these supplies were ordered months ago. My husband, Peter, was a hoarder long before hoarding was in fashion. “Here you go!” Peter says, as he unpacks the latest shipment. “Eight more pounds of oatmeal!” My oatmeal consumption over the past few weeks while writing would certainly set some sort of record had I been keeping track. Peter p...
Montanans are no strangers to challenging and unprecedented times. In 2017, we tackled the most expensive fire season on record and the largest since the big burn of 1910. Through economic downturns, we have made sacrifices in order to help neighbors in need and rebuilt again. Even dating back to the Granite Mountain mine disaster over a century ago, we made sure we came out of it a stronger community. With coronavirus now reaching our state, we again face challenging and unprecedented times. This pandemic not only gives way...
