News you can use
News you can use
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Melinda Barnes Winter has arrived, and with that comes snow. Most Montana communities have some kind of ordinance requiring snow removal from sidewalks, typically requiring the property owner or tenant to remove snow within a certain amount of time. Even though not required, property owners may begin clearing the sidewalks before the snowfall stops or even on the same day, and in fact that is a nice thing to do. Consider this: what would happen if roads were not plowed until after the snow stopped and 12 inches accumulated?...
When I was 11, 12, 13 and 14 I wanted to join a cloistered order of nuns. It was either a good thing or too bad that any order where I could have boarded for school and preparation was out of my reach. By 15, latent puberty had taken over my mind and emotions. I was rather backward. In those days it meant something special if I said, “He looked at me.” In a modified way I got my wish when I moved to Mexico. I live in a small casita by myself. In the months when the sno...
We serve up the word “traditional” a lot when talking about Thanksgiving dinner, but it’s now clear that our grade school textbooks lied to us about the origins of this holiday. Or maybe you went to a better school than I did. Smithsonianmag.com writer Megan Gambino tells us that the official, federally recognized holiday of Thanksgiving comes to us thanks to the remarkably persistent efforts of Sarah Josepha Hale, editor of what was in the early to mid-1800s a popular women...
The author of the opinion piece entitled “Montana and Havre should welcome refugees” makes some thoughtful and valid points regarding available work and housing in our community and encouraging the residents of Havre to be welcoming and neighborly. Well and good. However, I disagree with the main premise of his argument as reflected in the following statements: “The Old Testament tells us to show justice and mercy to the foreigner seeking refuge among us, because the Israelites knew full well what it was like to be stran...
“You must treat the foreigner residing among you as if they were native-born. Love them as yourself, for you once were foreigners in the land of Egypt.” — Leviticus 19:34 In 1939, a German ocean liner called the St. Louis set sail from Hamburg, Germany. On board were 937 Jewish refugees seeking asylum from persecution by the Nazis. The ship first went to Cuba, because the passengers had previously acquired Cuban visas. But when they arrived, the Cuban government refused to allow them entry. The St. Louis sailed to the Unite...
“Gawd, I’m [blanking] awesome!” my husband said after helping me in the kitchen. I had just made a big pot of stew and was in the middle of kneading dough for a batch of homemade Middle Eastern flatbread to go with it, but thank gawd(!) he was eager save the day with his innate cooking prowess. He poured olive oil into a bowl until I said when. Surely the meal would’ve been a complete loss without this awesomeness. In almost every photo I’ve seen of John from his youth, he...
What would it take for Montana to produce electricity in a way that reduced carbon dioxide emissions by 47 percent? It’s not a hypothetical question. It’s the mandate set for the state in the Environmental Protection Agency’s final version of its Clean Power Plan, released in August 2015. And compliance with that mandate — which requires a larger percentage of CO2 reductions in Montana than any other state — is more than a technological or engineering challenge. It could involve walking away from assets that have provided...
The last time I went to a phone store (such a thing!) and asked for a dumb phone, one that just made and received calls, the young clerk looked at me with such pity and compassion, bordering on grief, that I should be so clueless. Indiana never was a forerunner for national cultural/industrial progress. The first telephone from my childhood was a darkly stained oak box solidly mounted on the kitchen wall. The black conical-shaped speaking tube flared from the center. One...
As a leading source of news in an era of “lamestream” media, Pamville News strives to maintain a solidly ethical and impartial reputation among its readers and peers, but I am going to endorse political candidates anyway. In my position as editor of Pamville News, I do not undertake this endeavor lightly, nor do I do it to sway readers to any politician’s political stance. I do this to give us all hope for the future, a future in which someone has to be elected presi...
When you think about the future of Havre and other Hill county communities, what do you visualize and hope for? Dreams for a vital, thriving community are wonderful but we all know that funding is a critical barrier to actualizing these dreams. Year after year, it becomes increasingly more difficult to support local libraries, senior centers, parks, theatrers, museums and more. On the other hand, few of us may be aware of the vast wealth currently leaving our state. In 2010, The Montana Transfer of Wealth Study was sponsored...
Fear is a mind killer. Take my latest foolishness. My friend Lani, who lives in Etzatlan near Guadalajara has invited me to hop the bus to visit numerous times. I’ve always conjured excuses. I like Lani. Fear held me back. Cousin Nancie is in Etzatlan visiting Lani. The two of them flanked me, out maneuvered me, forced me to face my fear. Stupid fear. Fear of getting on a bus, alone, for the trip into the mountains of Jalisco. My neighbor Ted asked me, “Were you afraid whe...
Wednesday is Veterans Day. In November 1919, President Woodrow Wilson proclaimed Nov. 11 as the first commemoration of Armistice Day with the following words: "To us in America, the reflections of Armistice Day will be filled with solemn pride in the heroism of those who died in the country's service and with gratitude for the victory, both because of the thing from which it has freed us and because of the opportunity it has given America to show her sympathy with peace and justice in the councils of the nation." Many...
Montana has a strong military tradition unparalleled by almost any other state in the nation. Nearly 1-in-10 of us hears the call to serve in the armed forces, and in the sovereign nations the warrior spirit is even stronger. Last month, I visited Wolf Point and spent time with the family of Michael Bell, a young man from the Fort Peck tribes who was also a Navy SEAL. Surrounded by friends, family and officials from tribes as far away as North Dakota, I helped honor Michael with a memorial service and naval ceremony. I knew...
All across the U.S. last weekend people were celebrating Halloween and mourning the start of Christmas advertising season. Poor, simple fools. One thing and one thing only mattered: the end of daylight saving time signaling the start of flashlight season. The long cold months of double darkness when both morning and evening chores are completed without aid of sunlight. Daylight saving time changed to battery spending time, if you will. For weeks now I have had to use a...
A day. Not an ordinary day. No connection to music or movie. A day plowing through bureaucratic formalities. Still, if one has a mind to connect the dots, a good day. With Carlos, driver and interpreter, my first stop was the much visited immigration office where I’m now on a first name basis with Amelia, Sophia and Ogla. I’ve left behind reams of paperwork, copies of numerous invasive documents, fingerprints, mug shot and much of my money. Today’s task was simple — I would p...
Recently, the shadowy Americans for Prosperity, funded by the Koch Brothers, and best known for claiming to speak for millions (and millions and millions) of Montanans, has recently submitted guest opinion pieces to several Montana daily newspapers making wild claims about the costs to Montana consumers and our economy from a clean energy plan that has yet to even be developed. Their “sky is falling” screed claims that Montana electricity consumers will find their electricity costs rocketing to unbearable levels if Mon...
I generally shudder when I see the first Christmas decorations in stores. They seem to appear earlier every year. However, this year I am thankful for them. I have long held that we humans migrate as much as the Canada geese which make semi-annual treks across our Big Sky. The difference is that we migrate through time rather than space. I guess we’re hard wired to do so, with seasonal ebbs and flows. The end of one year and the start of another is a powerful reminder that we ought to be thoughtful, consciously and c...
We both serve on the Havre City Council and work hard to make sure the decisions we make are in the best interest of our community and its residents. We have enjoyed working together in the past and will continue to do so in the future. However, we also have legitimate differences of opinion on certain issues. When we have disagreed on policy or other issues, we have always done so respectfully and tried to find common ground when we can. One issue of major importance to the city of Havre, its citizens and its future on...
I periodically scanned the news and checked the satellite images, waiting for Hurricane Patricia. It was much easier for me to focus on the dangers of the hurricane than to pay attention to the elephant stomping around my living room. My friends aided and abetted in my avoidance, unknowingly, of course. At six in the morning Nancie and Lani called me from Etzatlan near Guadalajara. “No, I’m in no danger in Mazatlan. In fact, if Patricia follows her projected path, you are likely to see more wind and rain than we do.” All d...
In a surprising twist of fate, a man who professes on his own website to be the “world’s best-known warlock,” lost a court battle with self-proclaimed witch priestess Lori Sforza in a little place called Salem, Massachusetts. News just doesn’t get any better than this for Halloween. On Wednesday, Salem News reported that witch Lori Sforza was granted a protective order by Salem District Court Judge Robert Brennan against warlock Christian Day. The harassment case reveale...
I have a cat burglar. Not the stealthy, romanticized thief-in-black who scales walls to steal valuables from upper stories of a home or business. I’m talking about an actual cat who burgles and who, by the way, is an unpleasant sort, a sneak-about in the dark and a brutish thug. And, yes, that last one is the real rub. This mean bully is picking on my Tony-O kitty, our resident, one-quarter feral shop cat who is often referred to as “handsome man” and “best cat ever,...
"You lie," the note from my friend said. "You said you were in Montana. If that were the case, you would have stopped in to see us." Immediately, as I often do, without thought, I shot back a reply. Afterwards, I began thinking. Was I flippant? I certainly did not mean to be. I had sent what I felt at the moment was an explanation. On later consideration, I felt I had sent a poor excuse. True, I had popped my head in the door and John wasn't there. I only had a five-minute win...
Nancie sent me photos of the vibrant leaves along the highway and streets of Leavenworth, yellow and orange and red against the green backdrop of Douglas fir and cedar. Immediately I could imagine the golden snake of cottonwoods slithering across the plains, hugging the banks of the Milk River. I love this season with a tinge of sadness, knowing it is short-lived, knowing winter could arrive before the next calendar page is turned. Those years when early frost, heavy with...
“Love your columns,” the email starts. No “Hello.” No “Dear Pam.” Not even a “Hey.” It just jumps right into the middle of a declaration of my awesomeness. Welcome to my beautiful life. A girl dreams, for years, of something like this happening. You work toward the goal, but sometimes you can’t bring yourself to belie— You do know that when I said “girl” I meant that as a nice, light-hearted, casual, way of saying woman, chick, broad or whatever to mean me since I started...
I hope your week has been good. I hope your week has not been like everyone else’s. The only thing I can attribute it to is astrology. I’m sure you must believe in astrology just as religiously as I do. I’m sure the Moon is in Mar’s pocket, Venus is flirting with Jupiter, Pluto is in the 29th house of Disney and the Sun has measles spots. None of the planets are tending to business. One of my close friends had three deaths in her family this week. Another friend had stomach...
