News you can use
News you can use
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When traveling north down tree-lined 3rd Avenue in Havre, Montana you will pass by many well-kept historic and contemporary houses. Beautiful wood, brick and stone churches are found nearby on parallel streets to the right. The Hill County Courthouse, also on the right, marks the end of the residential area and the beginning of the city business district in earnest. The vacant United States Post Office and courthouse building circa 1930 occupies roughly a quarter of a city block on the left. A newer USPS building can be found...
The U.S. House of Representatives is considering a dangerous bill that should have all of us in Montana — and especially those of us in the northern tier — on high alert. It's called the National Security and Federal Lands Protection Act (House Resolution 1505 if you want to look it up yourself), and it gives the federal government sweeping new power to shut down our public lands. The National Security and Federal Lands Protection Act is co-sponsored by Rep. Denny Rehberg, and it is exactly the kind of Big Government Mon...
"I read the dictionary once. I thought it was a poem about everything." — Steven Wright, comedian. When my parents retired early, sold off most of their stuff and went on the road in their fifth-wheel trailer and pickup, I said fine, good riddance, but I want my inheritance now: The 6-inch thick tome of a dictionary that they'd had since I was a toddler. I have loved that book since my earliest memories. When I was too young to read, but asking my dad what words meant, he'd s...
By Hillary Hanson, Alicia Thompson, Ellen Leahy, Melanie Reynolds The United States is having a furious debate about how best to address the nation's financial problems. A variety of proposals have been suggested, but we need to be careful. Making poor decisions now could result in even worse problems down the road. This is the case with proposed cuts to federal funds for preventive health programs in Montana. Do you remember Benjamin Franklin's quote, "An ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure"? This is precisely the c...
Sondra Ashton As one of my duties as a Harlem city councilperson, I serve on the Unified Disposal Board. Every fall this board meets at the landfill rather than in our usual meeting room at the courthouse. This fall, we met at the new landfill. After the meeting, while we were putting away chairs and wandering around admiring the pristine new facility, occupied with chit-chat and discussion of the football season, Clay Vincent spotted a cricket skittering across the sparkling...
I don't like secrets. The whole point of a secret isn't to keep information from people; the point is to let them know that you know something they don't know, usually for some ulterior motive. If someone really wants to keep information confidential, they simply don't say anything, right? You don't know they know something worth knowing because they know how to keep their pie hole shut. Y'know? Pam Burke If, for example, you walked into your neighbor Darwin's home office and...
The 2011 Montana Legislature is over. House Bill 198, the eminent domain bill, passed and is now law. The bill did NOT expand the traditional scope of eminent domain in Montana. Since Montana's early days, eminent domain has been an essential (but rarely used) tool to build important infrastructure. HB 198 simply clarified that this would still be the case in the future. HB 198 faced strenuous opposition from groups in north-central and southwestern Montana attempting to obstruct construction of the Montana Alberta Tie...
The last thing landowners operating in the shadow of the Missouri Breaks Monument wanted to hear is that Gov. Brian Schweitzer and BLM Director Bob Abbey are reportedly in lock step over plans to swap out all the state land in the Monument. Landowners are aware that monuments have a way of morphing into national parks and the removal of state and private land holdings could be a step toward that end. At present, there is little chance a national park in the Breaks would be approved because parks cost money to run and our...
Montana's economy is fueled by the dynamic interplay of many sectors that are dependent on one another in order to be successful. One area of our economy that involves several industries and has been a bright spot for our state is exporting. In 2010 alone, Montana exported $1.96 billion in goods to other countries, making last year our second most successful year ever for exports. Only 2008 was a better year for Montana in this important category. In order for our state's export-dependent industries to continue to grow, it...
Sondra Ashton Without trying to eavesdrop, it is funny what one overhears. A couple weeks ago, on my way to Washington, I stopped for a fish sandwich at a diner in Ritzville. As my order to-go was being prepared, I stood back out of the way. I wasn't really paying attention to anything, when I overheard a conversation from behind the counter. The pony-tailed manager harangued his youthful employee. "The orders are backing up. Ya gotta work harder. How ya gonna get anywhere in...
Essie St. Dennis and members of the Bullhook Clinic Board of Directors A leaner federal budget might be the order of the day in the nation's capital, but in our corner of rural America the solution is not so simple. Cutting programs that provide vital services to vulnerable populations — and specifically the federal Community Health Centers program — might actually increase the costs borne by all taxpayers. In our experience as Community Health Center board members serving our community here in Havre, we see firsthand wha...
The public is feeling a little light-headed from the deluge of recent news about economic turmoil, and Pamville News is here to continue sucking the oxygen out of the topic with these news items. Pamville News reporters have discovered that www.msnbc.com contributor Brian Alexander has discovered that psychologist and social scientist Dacher Keltner has discovered this shocking information: Rich people are different from poor folk — different in a not good way. Pam Burke Keltner and his team have "done 12 separate studies mea...
The recent fouling of Montana's Yellowstone River is a warning alarm that we must be more diligent to secure the integrity of our priceless waterways. Yesterday's farmers, ranchers, miners and honyockers needed the rivers. Now, under increasing industrial and population pressures, the rivers need us. As with other states, Montana once mistreated many of our rivers, using them as public sewage dumps and mine waste depositories. Early-day farmers and ranchers dewatered the springs and creeks, grazers ruined the riparian...
Sondra Ashton A friend and I were having lunch. "Listen, I've got to show you this." From his pocket he extracted a slim rectangle, about the size of five credit cards clumped together. "My new smart phone," he bragged. "I've joined the brave new world of multiple communications. I can know immediately what goes on anywhere in the world. Let me show you the things it can do. The only thing I haven't figured out is how to get it to serve me breakfast in bed." "With your job that makes sense. But I'm not that important," I...
Pam Burke We ought to just call the vet and have me put down and out of misery, give me the long sleep goodnight — now that I don't have anything else to live for, it seems like the humane thing to do. It's a tragic tale. I was going along breathing in and out just fine and then my husband took a photograph of the bird that's been eluding our identification for almost 20 years. Now look at me. I'm directionless. Afloat in a sea of life rendered moot (as in deprived of all p...
The other day I was at Harlem City Hall for a swimming pool committee meeting. I don't know how I got on the pool committee. I don't know how to swim. I have tried numerous times to learn. The city has a great team of lifeguards this year, and they promised me that they can teach me to swim. I wouldn't put money on it. But this is not about swimming. Sondra Ashton Before I left the office, I ran into a friend from Malta. "Have you been out to pick asparagus this year?" he...
A couple of weeks ago at the Havre City Council public hearing to consider a local social host ordinance, a teenager stood before the council and made a compelling case to prohibit people from providing a place for teens to drink alcohol. She said, "When adults provide teens with a place to drink or alcohol to drink, it gets harder to say no … I just want my friends to be safe." The Havre City Council agreed. Under its authority to "protect public health, safety, and general welfare" and "enforce laws prohibiting the c...
After 88 days of Republican leaders repeatedly ignoring our input, it is not surprising to hear them now cry foul and blame the governor for "breaking the budget deal." Fact is, they didn't listen much at all this session, so disregarding the budget agreement they signed seems to be right on cue. Rather than collaborating with Democrats to craft a balanced, responsible budget to live within our means and maintain critical services for Montanans, the Republicans postured and procrastinated for weeks. They decided their...
As the leaders of the House and Senate for the 62nd legislative session we strived to adhere to a higher standard of ethics that Montanans should expect from their elected officials. One of the basic ethical rules says: When you make a promise, keep it. We put the state's budget on the governor's desk on the 75th day of the legislature, earlier than any other in history. This gave him a chance to look it over and discuss any changes he would like to see with us. Following these negotiations, we signed a public budget agreemen...
My friend Katie recently became manager (that is probably not her official title) at the Little Rockies Center here in Harlem. The Little Rockies Sondra Ashton Center houses the Sweet Medical Clinic in several rooms, a number of apartments for senior residents, and a gathering place for senior citizens and other community members. The facility includes a well-stocked kitchen and large dining room with comfortable chairs around huge tables. Although Katie had insisted that I...
Call off the Border Patrol, send home the National Guard, I am the front line against terrorism 'round these parts. In fact, according to Nepal Airlines' standards, I should be getting a Congressional Medal of Honor for carrying on every day, fighting the good fight, battling the forces of evil in a world gone mad, for I am the mighty mouse killer. The Associated Press reported Monday that flight attendants on a Nepal Airlines flight to Bangkok saw a mouse in the pantry and...
Back when he presided over the Senate's health care reform debate, Max Baucus, chairman of the all-powerful Senate Finance Committee, had said everything was on the table — except for single-payer universal health care. When doctors, nurses, and others rose in his hearing to insist that single payer be included in the debate, the Montana Democrat had them arrested. As more stood up, Baucus could be heard on his open microphone saying, "We need more police." Yet when Baucus needed a solution to a catastrophic health d...
Think the war against workers is only about union members? Think again. One of the story lines that the anti-worker, corporate agenda is trying to sell is the idea that unions did a lot of good a long time ago but they are no longer needed because now we have laws. Well across this nation, anti-worker forces are not only trying to destroy collective bargaining rights, they have launched an all-out assault on the laws that protect all workers and their children. As a result, the political climate is worse now for working...
It is safe to say that the reason we love Montana and choose to live here are the same reasons that 10.5 million people choose to visit our state for a long weekend or their vacation. While research from the UM's Institute for Tourism and Recreation Research shows that non-residents visiting our state are certainly attracted to our two national parks, many enjoy our open spaces, friendly faces and small towns. Nearly 8 percent of Montana's non-resident visitors are from Canada, with 57 percent coming from Alberta and 13...
A friend commented to me the other day that she'd seen someone she knew in town who looked like he'd lost weight, but my friend was embarrassed to ask about any weight loss because she didn't want the guy to feel uncomfortable. Obviously, my friend is socially inept. Who wouldn't want to be asked if they've lost weight? Because "Hey, have you lost weight?" sounds a lot like "You look hot, babe." Even if they say no, they've gained weight, you could say: "Well, you must be...
