JANUARY 2014
Farm workers, migrants assured of healthcare
The Montana Migrant and Seasonal Farmworkers Council is seeking this year to expand its services to the estimated 10,000 agricultural workers employed in Montana. The council currently serves about 6,000 workers but has opened a new clinic in Lolo and wants to improve its impact, the council announced early in 2014.
The council has a fulltime clinic in Billings and fields mobile medical and dental clinics to rural areas around the state.
Boardwalk reopens under new ownership and name
The popular Ballantine bar known for years as the Boardwalk is now the Finish Line and is under new ownership, it was announced in early January.
Jeremy McCune, of Shepherd, was scouting for trailer spots to buy in December when he ran into the opportunity to buy the Boardwalk. He hopes to get the bar’s restaurant up and running by spring. The bar opened with new hours of 11 a.m. until 2 a.m.
Fire destroys shop in Shepherd
The metal shop belonging to Josh Prindle at 6808 12 Mile Road was engulfed by fire and rendered a total loss on Jan. 14, according to Shepherd Fire Chief Phil Ehlers.
Prindle reportedly lost about $80,000 in tools but told a reporter he plans to rebuild.
Both fire trucks and two water tenders battled the blaze. At the time, the fire’s cause was undetermined.
Minnow Bucket bait shop under new ownership
The Minnow Bucket bait shop in Huntley has seen several owners over the years, but its new owner says it won’t change hands now “for awhile.”
Eddie White, a fisherman from Broadview, will make the drive to Huntley each day to serve other fishermen in the area at the parking lot store off Northern Avenue. He bought the store in December from then-owner Allen Camarillo.
White has another company on eBay, White’s Bait Company, which he is incorporating with his local business.
Lockwood fire chief named best in the state
Bill Rash, chief of the Lockwood Fire District, has been named fire chief of the year by the Montana Career Fire Chiefs Association.
Rash is credited for helping to pull the district out of $400,000 in debt when he took over in March of 2007. Teamwork and his use of devising business plans are among the hallmarks of his success although Rash pointed out it took the effort of a lot of people to turn things around.
The district is poised to build a new fire station this year.
Ankney, McNiven file for legislature
Current office-holder Duane Ankney, of Coalstrip, and Jonathan McNiven, of Huntley, filed as candidates for the Montana legislature when the filing season opened Jan. 9.
Meanwhile, Montana House and Senate districts underwent an overhaul for the 2014 election year with some precincts being changed. Voters in revised districts received cards in the mail detailing their new precinct and voting district.
Filing for the June 3 primary closed on March 10.
FEBRUARY 2014
Lockwood proponents of safety district work to promote vote
More sidewalks and better street lighting would be the result of a positive vote for the Lockwood Pedestrian Safety District referendum that will be decided on Feb. 27, the county election day. Meanwhile, proponents of the district took to the streets Saturday, Feb 1, to promote the need for safer infrastructure, especially around Lockwood School.
The campaign slogan, “Do it for Dustin,” evolved as a result of the Jan. 4 death of Dustin Freese, 16, who was killed in a pedestrian-vehicle accident.
Mail-in ballots were sent out Feb. 7 to those eligible to vote in the election, and on Feb. 25, voters approved the safety district with a margin of 61 percent “yes” votes and 39 percent dissenting. Of 3,908 eligible voters, 2,102 turned in their ballots, or nearly 54 percent.
Shepherd Schools plan huge campus expansion
News of an ambitious remodeling and construction project for Shepherd Schools was published Feb. 7 in the YCN, although a facilities committee had been creating a master plan for several weeks prior.
If approved by the school district trustees, a bond issue would be held in November to finance construction of an additional 80,000 square feet of classroom space and a refurbishing of current facilities that could cost as much as $17 million. New gyms and a second floor to the new high school would be part of the project which voters are being asked to approve in the November general election.
No serious injuries in 2 school bus wrecks
A 41-year-old Billings man was cited for turning in front of a Shepherd Schools bus Monday, Feb. 17, near the intersection of Highway 312 and Barry Drive. A few children on the bus received bumps and bruises and bus driver Carrie Tucker was checked by medical personnel. Another pickup crashed into the pickup that hit the bus head-on. Officials said the turning truck was trying to make it into a private driveway when the crash occurred.
A week later, a Huntley Project school bus was rear-ended on Highway 312 near Road 12 east of Worden when another pickup truck couldn’t stop on the snow-covered roadway. The two teenagers in the truck were on their way to school and neither was seriously hurt. Nobody on the bus was injured in the Tuesday, Feb. 25 crash and the bus was able to drive away from the accident scene.
Shepherd wins the snow derby contest
The National Weather Service reported on Monday, Feb. 25, that Shepherd received 16 inches of snow during storms that hit Yellowstone County the last weekend of the month.
A series of weekend snowstorms during February put the county in the record books for snow accumulation and freezing temperatures. The snowy winter of 2014 also kept snowplow drivers busy and emergency responders on call because of the many slide-offs and weather-related accidents.
MARCH 2014
Preliminary design for new Lockwood fire station released
There is still tweaking to do, but the preliminary design of Lockwood’s new fire station was released and fire district board members were told the new structure will serve the districts growth for the next 50 years.
Fire Chief Bill Rash said the design will undergo considerable tweaking as real cost estimates come in to keep the cost under $3.5 million.
Rash said the “most exciting” feature to him is a large community/training room that will seat 148 people.
Abandoned pipe may have caused ice jam
An out-of-service yellow pipe that crosses Pryor Creek about 100 feet west of the new Northern Avenue bridge, between the Huntley townsite and the I-94 interchange may have caused the ice jam in mid-March, according to John Traeger, the president of Cenex Pipeline.
The pipeline in question was exposed after the May 2011 extreme flooding when Pryor Creek raged out of control and damaged the old bridge and caused serious erosion in a field east of Northern Avenue. Traeger said the pipe will be removed if it is causing problems.
Local residents became concerned March 7 when an ice jam at the Huntley bridge backed up as spring runoff hit Pryor Creek.
Bundy Bridge saved, will be restored
The historic Bundy Bridge built in 1925 “is a gift to the county and we have to preserve it,” said County Commissioner Jim Reno in a commission meeting in mid-March.
The span near Pompeys Pillar will undergo restoration work in August after it was given to Yellowstone County by the state. Along with the gift also came money, about $85,000, to restore the bridge that was set to be demolished until a group of citizens asked that it be preserved as an historic landmark.
Reservation firefighting and funds mulled by county board
As the wildland firefighting season nears, county commissioners batted around solutions to who should fight fires on Indian reservations. Lockwood Fire doesn’t like the present arrangement that has it working reservation fires until the BIA arrives. The money paid for such an agreement is far short of what it actually costs the department, it was learned.
A 15-cent per acre tax on undeveloped land to help fund wildland firefighting was also discussed as a way commissioners could raise more funding that is always in short supply.
APRIL 2014
Signal Peak’s Roundup coal mine to expand
One of the most productive longwall coal mines in the U.S. recently got the go-ahead to expand by over 7,000 acres, more than doubling the size of the Signal Peak Energy 30-year mine plan. About 12 tons of low-sulfur, high quality coal is taken from the Signal Peak mine 17 miles south of Roundup.
Last Oct. 13, the Montana Land Board approved what is called Amendment 3 that will allow for deeper mining, adding nine years of life to the mine, then last month added another 640 acres of a state-owned slice that will allow Signal Peak to excavate a total of 7,160 acres of high quality Bull Mountain coal.
Suicide ruled in death of Shepherd motorist
Daven Botsch, 40, died Thursday, April 3, when the eastbound car he was driving plunged into the Yellowstone River about 5:30 p.m. Officials said the Shepherd man died of drowning and ruled the accident a suicide.
Botsch drove his car off the southside of the road just before the bridge on the Shepherd side and went through a gap in the bridge guardrail and a nearby home, over a cliff and ended up on its side in the river. There were no other vehicles involved and the car was traveling at a high rate of speed, the sheriff’s office reported.
Ballantine woman dies in car crash
Maria Nilsen, 38, died in a one-vehicle crash on Interstate 94 on Sunday, April 11th.
Officials said the woman died at the scene after she lost control of her Ford Explorer at about 1:30 p.m. east of Huntley at mile marker 9.
The car rolled and Nilsen, who was not wearing a seat belt, was thrown out of the vehicle. The coroner said she died of blunt force trauma after emergency responders tried to resuscitate her.
Mill levy sought by 2 local school districts
Mail ballots were sent out in April for mill levies in the Huntley Project and the Pioneer school districts.
Project seeks a 15-mill increase for the districts general fund and Pioneer wants a 17-mill boost for its general fund that would raise revenues by more than $25,000 for maintenance and operation of the district in the 2014-15 school year.
The election was held Tuesday, May 6, and both levies were turned down by voters.
Anita Reservoir area often used, also abused
Locals say the Anita Reservoir area, overseen by several agencies, gets plenty of use but also if often strewn with litter by thoughtless users who also grind deep ruts in the soft ground with their dirt bikes, pickup trucks and four-wheels.
The reservoir is a water storage facility for the Huntley Project Irrigation District and it includes 32 surface acres and two miles of shoreline along the reservoir.
MAY 2014
Lockwood Fire Station project scaled down
In order to let bids in June, the Lockwood Fire Board approved a more detailed but scaled down design for the community’s proposed new fire station, as reported May 2 in the YCN.
The final cost won’t be nailed down until bids are received but the board is hoping the facility can be built for under $4 million.
Shepherd High gets grant for exercise area
A $351,000 grant from the Carol. M. White Physical Education Program will be used to convert the upper level of the high school gym into an exercise area complete with elliptical machines, bikes and cross fit machines.
The grant will also be used to upgrade the weight room equipment and to buy heart-rate monitors for the P.E. classes.
Committee formed to again look into Pryor Creek flooding issues
A meeting in mid-May was called by local residents to discuss with state officials the eroding Pryor Creek bank and scouring of bridge piers from recent high water just south of the Huntley town site.
Of concern also is a dike that is deteriorating which is designed to hold back flood waters from entering low-lying homes and the town site, especially as melting snow raises water levels in the Yellowstone River basin that affects Pryor Creek from which most of the flooding problems stem.
A committee was formed to search for solutions and for working with state and federal agencies and representatives.
Bob Crane joins HP school board
Following the school election May 3rd, school board members from the Huntley Project district on May 19th welcomed its newest member Bob Crane, who replaces the retiring Tim Moullet.
Steve Erb was reelected board chairman at the meeting and Clint Johannes will stay on as vice chairman.
After 13 years of service, Rita Huck was complimented and reappointed for another year serving as the district’s clerk.
After vandalism, Pompeys Pillar records big increase in visitors
The vandalism and subsequent partial repair of scrawled names on the rock at the Pompeys Pillar National Monument has given the historical site a burst of publicity that has resulted in a spurt in attendance numbers during May.
“People have realized what a special treasure this is and we are getting about 20 more visitors now than we did this time last year,” said Jeff Kitchens, manager of the monument park 25 miles east of Billings off Interstate 94. “Our numbers are way up over last year.”
The October 2013 vandalism by a man from Minnesota after the park was closed angered many people, said Kitchens, and the spate of publicity has given the Pompeys Pillar rock a high profile, boosted May 22 when a woman conservator from Oregon spent hours on a ladder trying to repair the vandal’s destructive handiwork.
HP girls take divisional softball title, drop state
The Lady Red Devils knocked off Conrad and Columbus twice to snag the Class B trophy at the divisional tournament May 23, 24 and 25.
But at the state tournament in Great Falls May 29-31, the Lady Devils lost to Plains and then St. Ignatius sending them home and looking forward to next year when Coach Tim Bastian will only lose two seniors.
JUNE 2014
Ankney, Berry win in June 3 primary vote
Incumbents Duane Ankney and Tom Berry both held off challengers when all the votes were counted after the June 3 primary election.
Ankney defeated challenger Barry Usher in the Senate District 20 race even though he lost Yellowstone County, though he carried Huntley and Worden.
In House District 40, Berry garnered the most votes over his challenger, Ray Gorham by a count of 1,245 to 824 votes.
Six survive T-bone crash on Huntley River bridge
Four young children and two adults survived a crash that dented the side-rails of the Huntley River bridge that spans the Yellowstone River north of Huntley on June 11.
The mom and her children were taken to a Billings hospital for treatment of non-serious injuries and the driver of a Dodge Intrepid that was trying to pass another car on a double-yellow line was transported to St. Vincent Healthcare with more serious injuries.
The crash on the Highway 312 bridge was closed to traffic for more than two hours while debris was removed and the accident investigated by the Montana Highway Patrol.
New zipline business draws attention, crowds
Outlaw Canyon Adventures opened in May with six ziplines that offered flight down hills and through the trees, the first zipline attraction in the region.
Operated by Gary Rylander and his family, the business is located on about 40 acres at 404 Yellowstone Trail, near its intersection with Dickie Road in the Pine Hills.
During June, a special adult price of $69 was offered, a discount from the regular price of $89. The zipline park was expected to be open, weather permitting, every day “until the snow flies,” according to Rylander, who also lives near the attraction.
Barkemeyer Park auction raises $10,000 for upkeep
A vintage fire truck toy sold for about $70 at the June 21 auction to raise money for another year of operation at the popular park in Huntley.
More than 150 showed up for the annual auction and Huntley Community Club President Steve Erb said the goal of $10,000 was reached. The club oversees the park.
HP salary negotiation stall over money issue
Negotiators for the school board and the teachers union hit a stalemate at their June 30 meeting, and the bone of contention was money.
The teachers want a 5.5 percent increase in wages but were willing to cut .5 percent. The school board negotiating team agreed that it would be “very difficult” to give a 5.5 percent raise this year but instead offered .5 percent, a bump that one teacher said was “a slap in the face.”
A headline in the Aug. 8 Yellowstone County News declared that “zero headway” has been made in the dispute over teacher salary negotiations.
JULY 2014
Familiar face takes over as Lockwood fire chief
John Staley, one of 11 applicants for the job of fire chief of the Lockwood department, got the nod, it was decided at a meeting of the fire district board in early July.
Staley is a 26-year veteran of the Billing Fire Department and formerly was a chief in Thornton, Colo. Staley’s annual salary will be $78,500, renewable on an annual basis.
Greased pig wrestling big hit at Homesteader Days
It was the best one ever, many concert-goers said of the 150th edition of Homesteader Days held this year over the July 11 and 12 weekend.
Diamond Rio drew a huge crowd as did the noisy greased pig wrestling event. The Huntley Project Lions Club, sponsor of the popular event held every year at Homesteader Park, estimated that 3,000 would attend the Friday night concert.
Answers demanded on cracking floors at HP
Because a flooring product, Gyp-Crete, didn’t bond to plywood under the floor at the new Huntley Project High School in Worden, board members want to know when it will be fixed.
Testing has been done by Fisher Construction, but board members aren’t interested in why it happened, they just want to know when the damage will be repaired,
“When do we quit this testing and order the crap to replace the whole dang thing?” was the question Clint Johannes posed at the board’s July meeting.
Nails backing out of roof shingles were also discussed and the contractor said it looks like the entire roof will need to be replaced.
AUGUST 2014
Need for senior housing to be assessed by survey
A survey to determine if there is a need for senior citizen housing on the Project will be mailed to residents in the next few months. The survey is being paid for by a $30,000 grant and will be mailed to those living in Huntley, Worden, Ballantine, Shepherd, Pompeys Pillar and Waco.
No tax levies are connected to the proposal to build senior housing but before someone wants to build such a facility, the HP Senior Housing Coalition wants to determine the level of need for such a project.
Command truck question settled by Worden fire board
Worden Volunteer Fire Department President Ryan Miller clarified at an Aug. 4 meeting of the WVFD fire district that “whoever has the fire phone,” the incident command truck is available for their use.
Fire Chief Carl Midgley said he will leave the truck at the station when he leaves the area, but if he drives it to town, “I am on department business.”
Also at the meeting was a discussion over an incident at Homesteader Days.
SEPTEMBER 2014
Local farmers began digging sugar beets early
The regular harvest starts on Oct. 2, but this year has been one of exceptional growth, said Randall Jobman, the agricultural manager at Western Sugar Cooperative, a grower-owned factory that manages 135,00 base acres in Montana, Wyoming, Nebraska and Colorado.
“We might be looking at a record crop,” Jobman added.
The unusually large crop is due to a combination of weather conditions including the more than 100 inches of snow last winter and above average moisture levels this past spring.
Harvested beets are put into large “dump” piles located around the county. The piles can become as large as 18 feet tall by 180 feet wide by several hundred feet long. The beets are then transported to the factory in Billings as quickly as they can be processed.
Western Sugar can process about 5,000 tons of beets per day, Jobman said. The beets will begin to spoil, typically by February, Gabel said, which is why the beet season is very fast-paced
Weekend vandalism spree damages mailboxes
Several area residents woke up on Sept. 21 to find their mailboxes severely damaged, or in some cases, completely gone.
A worker from the Worden post office estimated about 10 mailboxes were destroyed in the vandalism spree.
Lt. Shane Skillen from the Yellowstone County Sheriff’s Department said indeed, many reports of vandalism had come in over the weekend.
“A deputy was sent out to investigate on Sunday,” Skillen said.
Skillen said there is no suspect information so far, but there have been a couple of vague vehicle descriptions.
OCTOBER 2014
Yellowstone County News changes hands
Jonathan and Tana McNiven, of Huntley, purchased the Yellowstone County News weekly newspaper effective Oct. 1, 2014.
The McNivens plan to keep the newspaper in its current location of 113 Northern Ave. in Huntley until other arrangements are made.
They will also maintain the current staff.
Jonathan is employed by Charter Communications and is a sitting state representative from House District 44. Tana has most recently been a stay-at-home mom, but will be actively involved in the newspaper’s production.
‘Celebrate Lockwood’ meeting draws more than 200
A celebratory atmosphere filled the Sturdevant Gym one Tuesday evening in October as more than 200 people gathered for the 2nd annual townhall meeting with the theme “Celebrate Lockwood.”
Lockwood citizens who volunteered to serve on various committees throughout the past year explained what they have accomplished since a community planning event last fall. Their reports were punctuated by applause from the crowd.
Information tables, manned by representatives of the committees and the districts that serve the community, lined the perimeter of the gym, providing citizens with information.
Drug testing at forefront of Shepherd School Board meeting
Drug testing for students in extracurricular activities garnered a lengthy discussion during the Shepherd School Board meeting on Oct. 8.
Paul Mushaben, one of the KCTR Radio “Breakfast Flakes,” was a source of much information for board members.
“Schools have the right to drug test for any student activity,” he said. “And drug testing is a lot different than it was 30 years ago.”
Drugs are a huge academic barrier for kids, Mushaben said. Recent numbers from the United States Centers for Disease Control and Prevention show that 47 percent of high school students smoke marijuana, and 20 percent of 8th graders have done the drug. Mushaben said studies show that habitual pot smokers actually lose IQ points.
Board members agreed that mandatory drug testing for students who want to participate in extracurricular activities could be a good way to eliminate peer pressure, because it would give kids an “excuse” not to do drugs.
NOVEMBER 2014
Negotiations committee: Teachers an ‘take or leave’ 2% raise offer
Mediation between the Huntley Project Education Association and the board of trustees’ negotiations committee started with a three-hour meeting on Nov. 6.
For several months, the HPEA and the negotiations committee have been batting proposals back and forth during hours-long gatherings. The HPEA initially asked for 6 percent raise for its teachers, while the committee had offered .5 percent. The current offering from the committee is 2 percent per year for three years, with the HPEA standing firm at 2.5 percent.
Max Hallfrisch and Paul Melvin, mediators from the Montana Department of Labor and Industry, walked back and forth between the two parties that went as far as to meet in separate buildings on the Huntley Project School campus. A Montana Education Association-Montana Federation of Teachers representative was present with the HPEA.
Devils take home Class B trophy, finish 12-1
Huntley Project football set another milestone and took home a state trophy last Saturday after playing the Townsend Bulldogs for the Class B State Championship game at home.
The Red and Black attack advanced to the final game of the season with an undefeated record of 12-0 when they triumphed over the Big Fork Vikings two weeks ago. Saturday’s championship game was a battle of defenses as both teams were held to low points on both sides of the field.
DECEMBER 2014
Fly Creek Bridge closure may affect many travelers
The Montana Department of Transportation closed the bridge over Fly Creek early in December after considerable deterioration showed up on an inspection.
MDOT officials said bridge engineers plan to have a more detailed evaluation soon.
“From what I understand, they had been watching it for quite awhile,” Lile said. “But I’m not sure exactly what prompted them to say it was closed.”
Bob Lile, a grain handler for United Grain Corp., said he spoke to a MDOT representative who didn’t give a definite answer to how long the structure might be out of commission, but an estimate was four to six months.
“I drove by, and the bridge is still intact,” Lile said. “I saw a few people out there looking at it just now.”
Black bear skull officially state record
Adam Vogel, of Ballantine, had his black bear skull officially measured by a Boone and Crockett Club representative who confirmed that the black bear that he shot and killed two months ago is officially the state record by 1/16th of an inch at 21 9/16 inches.
Not only was the black bear a state record for weight two months ago at 660 pounds, the official measurements for the big game animal was also the state record for skull size, which is measured by the official Boone and Crockett standards.
Boone and Crockett measurements for black bear are measured in 1/16 inches. The skull was measured at eight inches wide and 13-9/16 inches wide to make the total record at 21-9/16 inches.
