News you can use
News you can use
Sorted by date Results 3142 - 3166 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...
The administration of Barack Obama has received a considerable amount of attention over health care mandates, EPA rules and other policies which will cost some people their jobs and many more people higher medical and electric bills. Another harmful administration policy — the destruction of Universal Service funding and Intercarrier Compensation, which helps pay for telephone, Internet and wireless service in rural America — has not received the attention it deserves. Thi...
If you are enjoying your life as normal today, don't look up — maybe skip going outside altogether and just hole up in a basement — because Chicken Little was right about the sky. OK, technically the sky itself isn't falling, but I'm sure you'll find no comfort in knowing that it's a dead NASA satellite the size of a school bus that's tumbling down from space. Being dead and all, the satellite is sinking from orbit into Earth's atmosphere where it is expected to break int...
My appointment was for 1 o'clock. As I walked over to Marcia's for a haircut, I knew I would be a few minutes early. But I also knew if I stayed home I would dig into another phase of my current project, forget the time, and be late. It suited me to while away a few moments in somebody else's space. I let myself in Marcia's shop door and wandered to the window to admire the new patio her husband had recently built. I sat down and picked up the top magazine from the stack on...
I am a single woman. I live alone. Ordinarily, I don't give my situation much thought. I am reasonably happy in my solitude. Oh, there are times I would love to turn from the doorway where I am admiring a particularly spectacular sunset and say to my partner, "Oh, come look." I miss sharing the simple pleasures of the day. Sondra Ashton At other times I wonder about my single state. I am an intelligent, gentle and good person. I am neither cross-eyed nor pigeon-toed. From time to time I do notice a glint of interest in a...
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...
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...
The average adult takes 15 to 20 breaths a minute — more than 20,000 per day, according to the American Lung Association. Healthy lungs are important to deliver clean air to our bodies' organs and tissues, which convert oxygen into fuel to support vital body functions. When a smoker lights up, it affects not only the health of the lungs, but also the body structures that depend on the lungs for oxygen. Smoking is the leading cause of preventable disease and death, claiming the lives of more than 440,000 adults in America e...
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...
Hugo Tureck In order to protect us from ourselves, some politicians have mastered the use of fear tactics. For example, several weeks ago, Rep. Denny Rehberg released the following statement: "Until Congress acts, Montanans will continue to be at risk of unilateral designations for new National Monuments without any public input or feedback." While his comment is probably intended to incite his base of support, it is not honest. Rehberg knows that we Montanans were told by the Secretary of the Interior more than six months...
Oct. 11 is National Coming Out Day. Since 1988 this date has been observed nationally and internationally to promote awareness of the issues and rights of lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender people, or commonly LGBT. Before scoffing or harrumphing, ask yourself if you really do understand what it means to be gay. What if your child or grandchild is the next to come out as gay? Will you be part of the solution or ... ? You know how that adage ends. Do you remember these names: Asher Brown, Texas; Billy Lucas, Indiana;...
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...
Back in high school, many a year ago, I took an aptitude test. I scored off the chart in mechanical ability. That made no sense to me. I could change a tire if I had to, but I wouldn't have known how to change a spark plug or identify a distributor. Four years later, when I lived on a ranch south of Dodson, we had electricity but none of the other niceties. No running water. No bathroom. No bathtub. I did have a precious electric wringer-washing machine. It sat in a corner of...
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...
Here are two universal truths about horses: 1) horses locked in a pen want out, and 2) horses are born with a sixth sense about open gates. The only active thought, aside from "where's my food," that horses locked in a pen will obsess over is: "How do I get outta this joint." Pam Burke They push on rails, stretch wires and chew through boards to create some kind of gap in the fencing that will allow escape. They are, also, not beyond simply jumping out, using brute destruction of the facility, attempting to push past a gate...
As the first decade of the 21st century closes, our great nation is challenged in many ways. We are experiencing a huge national debt, state governments across the land are on the brink, high unemployment is rampant, our roads and bridges are crumbling, our overall infrastructure is degrading; and we have an education system that is in decline. The political morass in Washington and across the country is incapable of offering solutions. What's worse is that there is a widespread feeling of hopelessness and lack of direction i...
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...
