News you can use
News you can use
Sorted by date Results 2458 - 2482 of 3208
Sen. John Brenden Hello again from the Capitol. We are now starting our fourth week in Helena, and the pace is getting faster. Gov. Steve Bullock has a proposed two-year budget of almost $4.5 billion in the general fund. This is $359 million higher than the Legislative Fiscal Division which works for us legislators. The last revenue forecast for our budget is $145 million less in income tax collections and $45 million down in oil and gas receipts. For the love of me I do not know when income is down why the governor wants to...
I recently took a trip to visit friends, “those” friends, the kind of married friends who get along — even while installing plumbing. It’s sick and a measure of my capacity for tolerance that I like them anyway. When walking through their house and seeing all the remodeling projects they’ve mastered, it’s beyond my comprehension to think of the genuinely reasonable discussion and negotiation skills they demonstrate to complete these projects amicably — without intervention...
When I moved from Montana to the Seattle area in 1984, not my first relocation by any means, I knew it would take a while to develop friendships. Two years later, coffee outings with a couple of women eventually led to trips to Seattle for the symphony or Elliott Bay Books with Lynn and to picnics or family dinners with Karen, who also had children. A couple more years and I had many friends; men, women, couples and singles. Friendships take time to develop. I sorted through a...
I’m glad to see an increased effort on anti-bullying campaigns in area schools and youth organizations. It was a long time coming. Havre Public Schools and most schools in the area, the Boys & Girls Club of the Hi-Line, Scout groups and many others are putting emphasis on the long-range effects of being bullied. All of this is a little bit late for a girl I went through high school with. Sheila, I’ll call her, was not especially attractive, a bit overweight and may have had some minor psychological problems going into jun...
It’s no secret. I’ve discussed this openly, even here in my column: One of the great ironies in the history of the world, or my own life — whichever is greater — is that I have to read the news every weekday morning. That is so depressing. You just don’t know. I’m forced to do it, actually, for a paycheck. It’s like I’ve prostituted myself — figuratively speaking, because if I had to earn a living as, you know, an employee of the oldest profession, I would go broke and starve...
Hi John, I understand the weather is a bit on the rough and tough up there. I’ll not talk about the weather down here. Hello Sondra, That’s what a little time in Mexico does to you. You’ve lost your Montana bravado. Don’t you long for the minus 5 temperatures, the minus 20 wind chills, the 8 inches of snow? You’ve become a wimp. Well, that sure shut my mouth! And that after I’d been whining about what a cold winter we are experiencing here, what with the dregs of the cold flow...
With Christmas and New Year celebrations behind us, we are now entering the dark days. Days with long, black nights and the freeze of winter settled into the cold, hard ground. And days upon weeks upon months in which time stretches out before me like an endless frost-heave crack in a sidewalk, like a ragged black rut of the grind and the day-to-day toil of someone who doesn’t have another paid holiday away from work for five months. Yes, five months of inhumane treatment, caught in this nerd-infested hell-hole until the swee...
Against my better judgment, I made a New Year’s resolution. There’s a first time for everything. To me, New Year’s resolutions are nothing more than tongues flapping empty air. No matter how much I might say that in the coming year I’m going to run a marathon, lose a hundred pounds, work out at the gym every day, eat no fat, count carbs, read only wholesome literature, keep up with current events, hone my math skills, make a million dollars, get a man-friend, sail around...
Mommas, don’t let your babies grow up to love horses — sure, it sounds like a catchy country tune, but really, don’t. Just don’t. Horse people say things about loving horses — how they’re passionate about them, or how horses speak to their soul — but really it’s an illness, an addiction without a ribbon to help garner awareness or support for this tragic disorder of character. Given the least chance, horse people talk about horses almost as much as they think about them: inces...
For years I have had fun devising unusual “Charlie Brown” Christmas trees. My last several years in Washington, I used a gigantic Montana tumbleweed for my tree, carefully boxing it up for storage the day following Santa’s midnight visit. I’ve also used twigs, various potted plants, candlesticks and imagination. When I moved, every one of my Christmas decorations, hoarded over the years, got parceled out to new homes. I looked around my apartment for materials, ideas and ins...
The Universe will have its balance, if not through blood sacrifice, then through humiliation. A few weeks ago I wrote a column about how a friend from way back found me through the magic of the Internet — and the miracle of my name and column being out there in cyberspace. I felt a little bit like a celebrity that she could do a Google search and find me. I mean, really, this is me we’re talking about. Who am I compared to the price of tea in China? Very minor in value and...
This time of the year in Havre Public Schools the sets take center stage. From the first-graders singing up at the mall to the Hi-Liters touring around the community, Havre Public Schools’ “Tradition of Excellence” in the arts is at its finest. One of the traditions that highlights student talent is the annual Havre High School Talent Show. The spectrum of talent on display often ranges from the not so serious to a performance that leaves the audience saying something to the effect of, “Wow. I had no idea (insert student...
For two weeks the words of that Christmas song floated through my mind. The chorus won’t leave me alone. Think about it. The whole thing is a strange set up. First angels show up. Then they say, Hey. Dude, chill. Don’t be scared. Think about it. If angels showed up at my door, I don’t care what words they used, I’d be terrified. Typically angels might say they bring good news. But what generally comes into play, at least before anything good happens, think about it, long tr...
You live with someone for a few decades and you know everything about them. You’re like “this,” and by “this” I mean the intertwined fingers of oneness — which looks a lot like the crossed fingers used to ward off any bad juju from false promises, but isn’t that “this” this time. It’s for real oneness. Yeah, that’s my husband and me. There we were several months ago, going through life like one person, when I noticed that John usually had a light green towel hanging in his spo...
Dance is different things to different people. To some, dance is pure joy of movement. To someone else, it is forbidden sin. Dance is exercise, artistic expression, communication, a route to seduction. Dance is children cavorting on the lawn in summer, cowboy jitterbug at the Elks Club on Saturday night, the senior prom, the formal ball, the shindig. It is the butterfly flitting flower to flower. For me, at this time and place in my life, dance is my doctor’s prescription. Don...
’Tis the season to be jolly? Not likely! The holidays may make many of us feel more like the Grinch than like little Cindy Lou Who. This is understandable with drop-in guests, shopping demands, tight financial issues, cleaning, entertaining, holiday parities … whew, I need a nap just writing about it! Is it any wonder that this time of year is one of the highest for stress and depression issues? Here are some helpful practical tips to minimize holiday stress and increase good cheer: • Recognize and own your feelings: Just...
Dear my column, I would like to apologize without sarcasm and thank you sincerely. I am sorry for not having more class and composure the first time someone recognized me in public as the writer of you. Yes, I know, my voice is even less attractive when it rises four octaves to say thank you. I was startled by her friendliness. I am sorry that when I was recognized the second time I did a sort of maniacal laugh. I know it was my fault that the woman walked away with a less than favorable impression of us. I’m sorry for the t...
Know thyself. I am the first to tell you that I am selfish and self-centered to an uncomfortable degree. I would take a melon scooper and remove those traits if that were possible. I don’t have impeccable manners; I know that. I like to blame my imperfect childhood. I never had a mother to teach me the niceties. To compensate, I became hyper-vigilant. I watch you to see how you do it. Imitation is a form of flattery. Unless it isn’t. Unless I see less than desirable traits. Th...
The Montana Legislature offers a unique opportunity for young people to participate in the legislative process through its Legislative Page Program. Pages are young men and ladies who are juniors or seniors in high school, or the equivalent homeschool levels, and who are at least 16 years old. Pages assist the House of Representatives and the Senate during their sessions. The duties of a page are varied, but normally consist of assisting the members of the House and Senate and certain staff members by performing errands on th...
I hate to say “I told you so.” Life’s too short to waste so many words on vindictiveness. It’s so much more uplifting to just point your finger and laugh, which is exactly my response every time someone says they’re going to try snowshoeing or cross-country skiing for the first time and they come back sore, exhausted and disheartened. Not that I’m against either winter activity in theory because the theory behind them is that they give humans a way to more easily travel across winter snow so we are better able to commune wit...
In recent history, the United States has supported economic sanctions against authoritarian regimes around the world. However, in our own backyard there exists a tribal regime that has gone unnoticed for its undemocratic rule and repressive actions taken against its own people. Congress has chosen to ignore the mounting evidence of corruption, fraud, embezzlement and the denial of civil rights by this regime. The excuse is that “American Indian Nations are independent and sovereign, and we can’t touch them.” Recent actio...
We met in Mazatlan several years ago. Evelyn is also from Harlem — not Montana — the Harlem in that Big City eastern seaboard state. A world traveler, Evelyn takes trips every year to different countries. She is an intriguing, well-read and versatile woman. She annually spends three weeks in Mazatlan at the same resort where I stay with my friends, Kathy and Richard. As we came to know Evelyn, we realized we like to do many of the same things; we diverge from the usual tou...
Debbie Vandeberg Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year from the Havre Area Chamber of Commerce Board of Directors and staff. That very special time of year is upon us and was officially kicked off Saturday with the lighting of the community tree at Town Square. The crowd was awesome in spite of the frigid temperatures Mother Nature dealt us. Thanks to all that came out and braved the weather. Many hours of behind the scenes planning and work goes into the community tree lighting, the decorating of the community for the...
I’ve always said that I don’t wear dresses because, when I do, I feel as if I am not fully prepared for an emergency. What if I had to run through tall weeds, brush, deep snow or a nonmigrating flock of mosquitoes? What if the emergency called for fighting fire or high winds or blood-thirsty porcupines? What if it’s 20-below zero? I’d frostbite my legs. What if it’s 105 above? I already have a farmer’s tan on my arms, do I really need an Armani tan on my legs? What if I h...
There is a man who sits on a low trolley at a certain intersection roadway along the Malecon, a broad walk next to the seawall which runs about six miles around the harbor. I suppose one might call him a beggar. He is not homeless. I call him a dispenser of blessings, a beamer of joy. I don’t know his age, maybe in his 40s. He looks like the Smiling Buddha sitting on his platform, useless legs twisted beneath his body. The first time I actually “saw” him, and I still don’t...
