News you can use
News you can use
Sorted by date Results 3152 - 3176 of 3210
I recently saw a catalog advertising rope-style horse halters made from glow-in-the-dark rope. No kidding. According to the ad, the rope is white in the daylight, then glows bright fluorescent green in the dark. Having owned more than my fair share of dark brown horses, I can see the appeal. Horses can't contain themselves in the daylight — they have to run away from you just to hear you cuss, or run to you to frisk you for treats (or possible treats, or the essence of the s...
Regarding the Nov. 25, Havre Daily News story headlined "Baucus asks businesses how to boost border trade:" Rick Dow Senator Baucus is chair of the Senate Finance Committee, which has sole jurisdiction on international trade and border protections. Numerous studies, testimonies and questionnaires over the past decade have confirmed that making Wild Horse a 24-hour commercial port would have a positive economic impact on our local economy. Throughout the history of our country, increasing international trade rather than...
While our nation's capital is embroiled in the debate over the federal budget, new poverty data shows just how vulnerable our children and communities are in these tough economic times. Three million more American children have joined the ranks of the impoverished in the last decade, according to the latest census data. More than one out of every five children now lives in poverty. Here in Montana, kids are among those losing ground in their standard of living, health care, and nutrition. Montana's child poverty rate rose...
Seems like everywhere I go these days somebody remarks, "Have you seen what it says in the Old Farmers' Almanac? This winter will be colder, dump more snow and hang around longer than last year." Do you know the Old Farmer's Almanac? The pages are filled with solid country wisdom that I trust. It might not be scientific but generally it is more useful than the National Weather Service. Heck, anybody can tell you what the weather is while it is happening. We who live out here i...
"There is a certain stoic quality to the people of the Hi-Line, definitely rugged self-reliant individualism up here. A lot of traits in the character of the people up here that used to exist in America. That, perhaps, no longer exist, a culture of no complaints; it's old-school up here no doubt" — Michael Cole Set Photographer in an advertisement for the recently shot movie, 'Winter in the Blood.' — September 2011 Rick Dow "And they fell through the Clinton administration, and the Bush administration, and each suc...
Hoorah! Hunting season is here. Deer tags, elk tags, supertags, waterfowl stamps, rejection letters from FWP, all the things that make the season what it is. Bow season, bear season, bird season, rifle season — all either open now or soon to be. Mothers, daughters, fathers, sons, grandparents, cousins, friends, rivals out in force for the next two months or so, spending time with each other, building relationships, and if fortunate, filling the freezer or the empty wall above the fireplace. What is your weapon of choice? R...
I believe we have two choices in life: try or do nothing. For more than two months, I have been meeting with a bipartisan group of 12 members of Congress trying to address our mounting debt. I'm working day in and day out, facing this task with the determination Montanans deserve. Sen. Max Baucus This group has been called the "Super Committee," perhaps because of the unprecedented opportunity and challenge before us. But, in fact, we're simply a group of hired hands. Any authority we have comes directly, and only, from the...
I got into a squabble with UPS this week. Not with our local driver, Dale. He's great and always takes time for a friendly word. No, my squabble was with an anonymous cipher at UPS dispatch headquarters. It all started with my new job. Several times while he was growing up and later as a young adult, my son Ben worked for me. Now our roles have reversed and I am doing a menial sort of job for his new business. When Ben asked me if I would like to help, he warned me the tasks...
Here on the northern border of the heartland, it's hard to imagine having a U.S. congressman embroiled in a Weiner-esque social media scandal. Rep. Anthony Weiner, D-N.Y., who just announced his resignation, started the month claiming that he can't say "with certitude" whether or not a lewd below-the-belt photograph, viewed now by millions on the Internet, depicted his underwear-clad erector set. He did know for certain that he didn't tweet the picture to a 21-year-old female...
In an old vaudeville country rube routine the straight man says, "Think the rain will hurt the rhubarb?" The top banana replies, "Not if it's in cans!" Now, doesn't that make you want to slap your knees and hoot and howl. On the east side of my garden cabin, between the raspberries and the neighbor's caragana shrubs, my dad planted rhubarb. Those who grow rhubarb know that for the average family, one plant will provide all the rhubarb one healthy family can be forced to...
Editor: If you haven't been by the Hill County Courthouse lately, you're missing out. The new steps, lamps and facing are gorgeous. I had the pleasure of watching the Dick Anderson Construction crew transform the front of that building from sad and blah to beautiful and functional. I commend the crew for their high quality, hard work and the county personnel for their perseverance in seeing it through and maintaining high standards. The finished product is well worth it. We can all be proud of our courthouse, inside and out...
Editor: The Salvation Army held its annual meeting/volunteer appreciation dinner May 17 along with Feed My Sheep Soup Kitchen. I would like to take this time to let those who sponsored the event know that we appreciate their willingness to give, so we could honor our volunteers. We live in a great community that reaches out to help those in need both by volunteering and by supporting us monetarily. Our sponsors this year were Independence Bank, Triangle Communications, Walmart, Milk River Co-op, Havre Ford, Bergren...
Washington can't seem to stop borrowing and spending. Montana, on the other hand, is one of the only states in America with a balanced budget and a strong surplus. And we've done it six years in a row, with an average surplus of $389 million (in the previous 20 years before I was governor, the average was $68 million). This tight fiscal discipline has allowed us to cut taxes, invest in education, and keep the government running. And unlike the feds who got downgraded, Montana recently got its first bond rating upgrade in 26 y...
Do you ever wonder if, in the face of danger, you would risk yourself to save someone in dire need, or flee the scene, or stand there in gape-mouthed befuddlement? I'm not asking just because of the recent 10-year anniversary of the 9/11 terrorist attacks I'm also asking because earlier this week a group of strangers on a street in Logan, Utah, were videoed coming together to help save a man despite some risk to themselves. Pam Burke After a motorcycle and car crashed on the street, the motorcycle started on fire. The video,...
Now and then I walk down to the city shop early in the morning to have coffee with the men from Public Works. They meet an hour before work to drink coffee and tell lies. It is kind of like they unwind before the work day starts rather than after it is over. Although I can't join them every day, I enjoy feeling accepted as one of the gang. I am honored they invite me. So the other day when I hobbled into the shop more crippled than usual, Richard frowned and asked me, "What's...
Recently, we suffered the loss of two very fine American politicians: Hugh Carey, a former U.S. congressman and governor of New York, and former U.S. Sen. Mark Hatfield of Oregon. First, Gov. Carey. He was elected in 1975, and, like our current President Barrack Obama, inherited the worst economy since the Great Depression. Carey's predecessors in both the state and New York City — both Republicans — had so mismanaged the New York economy that New York went bankrupt. Gov. Carey, an unabashed liberal, righted the economic ship...
On July 21, Gov. Schweitzer was in Fort Hood, Texas, where he suggested by phone to a Montana reporter that ExxonMobil was concealing the presence of "heavy" crude in its Yellowstone Pipeline. "How could we ever sign off on a cleanup if we don't know what we're cleaning up?" asked the governor, accusing the company outright of impeding the cleanup effort. The next morning, a prominently placed headline in the Billings Gazette read, "ExxonMobil not cooperating, Schweitzer says." Sen. Ed Walker There was only one problem: The...
My granddaughter Jessica is visiting this week on her first visit to Grandma's Montana house and her first train trip. She rode the Empire Builder from Seattle. Jess is 18, in love and planning a wedding. When Jess was 8, she lived with me for two months. Her mother, a Red Cross Emergency specialist, slogged through the pile in New York City counseling rescue workers after the Towers went down. Jess' best friend Clarisse lived a short run down the path through the woods, so I...
The president's "second stimulus" jobs bill and deficit reduction plan both include measures to increase taxes on domestic oil and gas production, which by extension will penalize consumers, workers and shareholders. The administration's continued pursuit of these controversial tax increases — which have been routinely rejected by Congress — amounts to simple political posturing. But the economic fallout is even less appealing. In 2009, President Barack Obama stood before Congress to present his first $787 billion sti...
Recent media accounts paint a dire outlook for the Montana Teachers Retirement System. The facts, however, tell a different story. Far from needing an immediate and staggering infusion of taxpayer dollars, the fund can be righted with more prudent, gradual and relatively small adjustments. The sooner we make those adjustments, the better the outcome will be for everyone — teachers, retirees, employers and taxpayers. Clearly, the 2008-2009 market plunge and ongoing turbulence have given investors a bumpy ride. When the m...
Any given week at least one funny or amazing thing has spontaneously occurred in nature or been perpetrated by real people, giving me fodder for a column, or at least a passing comment. You know, a sinkhole opens up and swallows a church, a firehouse and a brothel, and the real-life story inspires a joke with a punch line like: "So the little boy points into the hole and says, 'Well then, who dat?'" Or, a researcher discovers how to make bubble bath bubbles fuller and hardier...
Ockham's razor, also called the principle of parsimony, is a theory that basically says: All things being equal, go with the simplest answer. Even though both names are a bit of a mouthful, sometimes it's easier said than actually done. I'm loaning my horse trailer to some friends for the weekend, and I wanted to let them know the size of trailer towing ball that my fifth-wheel hitch requires. No problem, right. The size is stamped into every towing ball ever made in the...
The latest developments in the Solyndra scandal are troubling. The government asked the company to delay its layoff announcement until Nov. 3, 2010 — one day after the 2010 elections. A Department of Energy political appointee was closely involved in promoting approval of Solyndra's government loans, and happened to be married to an attorney whose firm represented Solyndra. And these stories of corruption are headlines only because the Department of Energy approved changes to the government loan agreement that left taxpayers...
My father, who dreaded Christmas, was happy to turn all the Christmas chores over to me, his elder daughter. I was a motherless girl. We lived far from the possible help of cousins, aunts and uncles. The first time Dad took me to the store to buy Christmas presents, I was 7 years old. I had to choose gifts for everybody, including myself. So much for Santa. I was in charge of everything. Decorating the tree meant I perched precariously atop a ladder. I placed the ornaments and...
Sometimes thank you just doesn't seem to be a strong enough expression of one's gratefulness. As I proceed you will soon see what I mean. It takes many people willing to give unselfishly of their time to make something happen for many to enjoy, the community tree lighting that was held Saturday at Town Square was one those times. Debbie Vandeberg Many hours of behind the scenes planning and work goes into the community tree lighting, from the hanging of the holiday decorations to decorating the community tree, to arranging...
