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The news in review for 2006 |
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Thursday, 04 January 2007 |
By Buck Traxler
I-O Editor
There were lots of smiles in the beginning of the New Year at ITB, as members of the Port Authority presented Rob Cook, ITB Manager, a Community Development Block Grant check for $394,000. The funds will be paid back and go into a revolving loan fund for other businesses.
Pondera County launched a discount drug prescription card to help consumers cope with the high price of prescription drugs. It was free and sponsored by the National Association of Counties (NACo).
Mayor Byron Grubb and Councilmen Pete Hauer and Bryan Jones, the outgoing city administration, were honored for their dedicated service to the City of Conrad.
A new city administration included Mayor John Shevlin, and council members Gary Brown, Wally McHenry and Wendy Judisch, the first woman in Conrad to be elected to city council.
Matthew Terry Migneault joined the world as the New Year baby on Jan. 5, 6:06 p.m. Dr. Peter Barran delivered him. The proud parents are Dustin Migneault and Catherine Evans of Shelby.
Audrey Rouns retired after 20 years of service with the ambulance crews. Ruth Erickson, a 17-year veteran with the ambulance service, became the new manager.
Emily Knobel, a CHS senior, won the Physical Fitness category in the state Junior Miss Scholarship Program held in Cut Bank.
Lana Underdahl was honored for her years of service as Administrative Clerk for the city. Likewise, Jack Rogers and Fred Morris of Courtesy Ford received a plaque from Ford Motor Co., for having an outstanding 25-year relation in business partnership.
The county had a full slate of positions to be on the ballot for the June primary as filings opened. Incumbents were Audrey Brown Justice of the Peace, Cyndi Johnson Commissioner, Janice Hoppes Clerk and Recorder, Jeanne Moon Treasurer, Kara Thompson Clerk of Court, Jo Stone County Superintendent of Schools, Tom Kuka Sheriff, Mary Ann Ries County Attorney, Bill May Public Administrator. Shari Gianarelli was a challenger for county attorney and Leann Ellingson-Hermance for clerk of court.
Tim Tharp, Superintendent/AD of the Dutton-Brady School District was named the 2005 Class C Activities Director of the Year at an annual MHSA meeting in Butte.
The Flaming Rose Tattooing and Body Piercing shop, owned by Ralph Swan, opened its doors for business in the Pondera Village Shopping Center.
During January, Conrad lost some notable individuals, Robert MacGilvra, Adrian VanDyke, Rick Arnot and Jean Aitken to name a few.
In February, Wylie (Gustafson) and the Wild West wowed the crowds with a concert at the Orpheum Theatre-Wiegand Auditorium.
Commissioners Cyndi Johnson, Sandy Broesder, Joe Christians and Clerk, Recorder Janice Hoppes and building custodian Kip Keller were working on getting the courthouse and other polling places ADA compliant for the general election in November.
“Wind Power” was becoming a hot topic of conversation in the county.
The Conrad FFA did well in competition at the KMON/MAGIE Ag show in Great Falls.
Cowboy wrestlers were heading into the divisional meet and racked up an overall regular season record of 344-167. Conrad was heading off to the MetraPark in Billings for the state tourney after winning their fifth divisional title in a row.
Then Conrad toppled the field for their fourth straight state title. For Coach Steve Lockyer, it was his fourth title in six years of coaching the squad.
Scott Schlosser, Jared Giard, Bryce Gernaat, Jacob Schlosser, Colby Johnson, Thad and Trent Zempel all placed first at the tourney.
At a city council meeting, aldermen moved to put a meeting agenda back in the I-O on a regular basis.
The Cowboy and Cowgirl basketball teams were on their way to district meets. The boys’ season ended at district, but the Cowgirls placed second and were moving up to the divisional tourney.
UMS held their annual Science Fair and placing first overall were Crystal Johnson and Sydney Slezak for “How Clean is Your Mouth.”
The end of the month saw the Chamber of Commerce host their 41st annual banquet.
Sen. Conrad Burns was the keynote speaker and the elite honor of the evening was presentation of the Unsung Hero award to Mark Leys.
The Business Leadership award went to Pete McKeone, owner of Olson’s Drug, and the Board Member of the Year award went to Gerald Miller.
The month of March brought Shari Richter on board as the new executive secretary of the CofC.
The Cowgirl basketball team was off to the state tourney after winning the divisional tournament. Members of the team were Julie Brown, Serena Johnson, Amber Keil, Katie Schlepp, Anna Pearson, Lauren Montijo, Blair Bliss, Courtney Ellefsen, Christine Wetendorf, Kylee Schlepp, Amber Schoenrock, and Ashley Beckham. The team was coached by Gavin Grammar.
The Conrad FFA Alumni hosted their 22nd Crops and Mechanics Seminar at CHS. Elementary rope jumpers raised over $7,000 for the Pondera Medical Center. The top jumpers were Blake Underdahl, Taylour Russell, Michael Lytly, Talia Stephens, Kinsey Harris, Preston Miller, Hayley Orcutt and Annabell Wittmier. Funds would go towards a new fetal heart monitor.
The CHS gym was packed for a special performance of the famed Vienna Boys Choir. Security was very tight for the possibly one-time event.
CHS English teacher Beth Ann Bolmeir was named District 10 Teacher of the Year. Sandy Shirley was named the Outstanding Classified Staff Employee of the Year. Instructors Diana Agre and Wendy Gierke were recognized for being with the school district for 30 years.
At a city council meeting city finance officer Agnes Fowler said the good news was that taxes would be going down by six mills.
Honored by the VFW, the Voice of Democracy winners in order were CHS students Freyja Swanson, Angela Grubb and Courtney Ellefsen. Winners of the Patriot Pen essay in order were Amanda Lee, Joe O’Brien and Nikki Linn.
At the third annual CHS Smoker, sponsored by the Conrad Lions Club, women were allowed to box for the first time and Amanda “GI Jane” Lehnerz won a unanimous decision.
The Democrats held a candidate potluck dinner featuring senator challengers Jon Tester, and John Morrison and House candidate Monica Lindeen.
UMS wrestlers placed second at a divisional meet, ending a string of 16 consecutive first place finishes. Wow!
Krisha McKinley hit a floor routine number of 9.35 and had an overall high score of 36.15 to bring home a state championship in Level 4 gymnastics. She is the daughter of Bill and Michelle McKinley.
In April, the Republicans held a Lincoln-Reagan dinner at the Pondera Golf Club. A full slate of national, state and local candidates were on hand, including Sen. Conrad Burns and Rep. Denny Rehberg.
The county moved the election polling places to one central location; Norley Hall at Blue Sky Villa.
Four candidates were on tap for three seats on the District 10 school board; Ken Johnson, Kip Judisch, Joe Russell and Jan Carter were all running for positions.
Spring sports, golf, softball, tennis and track got going at the high school.
Mabel Stordahl celebrated her 104th birthday with family and friends at the Horizon Lodge.
Dustin Stokes and Raquel Moes were crowned King and Queen at the spring prom at CHS. The CHS National Honor Society held induction ceremonies for 25 new members and Daddy Treetops, a blues player from Seattle, entertained a crowd at a PAC concert in the Orpheum Theatre/Wiegand Auditorium.
Chad Hoggan, age 12, was a new record holder for Montana in the 3-posiiton air rifle division. He shot 264 at the Montana 4-H State Competition.
With two councilmen under the weather, a regular meeting, the first of its kind for the council,. was conducted using speakerphones.
The first 13 flight line trucks for the Air Force were ready to be shipped out from ITB.
County commissioners were working to get the “cut-across” road from Conrad to Dupuyer paved. A Grizzly mom and cub were sighted in a field SE of Bynum. Just a whole bunch of youngsters turned out for the annual American Legion and Auxiliary Easter Egg Hunt at the city parks. Clark Irvin ran to firsts in four events, 300HH, 100m, 200m, and 110H to pace the Cowboys in a home track meet.
In May, the Town Pump presented the local fire crew with a $3,000 grant to help purchase a thermal imaging camera. Darlene Denzer presented the PMC with a check to help purchase a fetal heart monitor. The funds came from the Bullhead Community Club that got its start about 100 years, but is now dissolved.
Several law enforcement agencies cooperatively made a Meth drug bust in Conrad. Claire Havens has retired after 26 years of service at the Conrad Community and Senior Center.
The Montana Coaches Association named Cowboy wresting coach Steve Lockyer the B-C Wrestling Coach of the Year.
Voters passed a school levy and elected Kip Judisch, Joe Russell, and Jan Carter to trustee positions. Congressman Denny Rehberg secured funding in the amount of $750,000 to help replace and renovate the city’s wastewater treatment facility.
Jeanne Moon, representing Thrivent Lutheran, along with Diana Agre and Julene Peters, presented a check to Kim Moritz and daughter Danielle for $4,144 to help defray medical costs for a brain tumor operation.
Conrad was beginning to gear up for Whoop-Up and Queen candidates Karlee Brunett, Lynsey Kronebusch, and Brianne Aakre were selling scholarship tickets.
Near perfect weather helped the Conrad Lions Club pull off the 66th annual Whoop-Up Trail Days Celebration along with a parade and other events in town. Former mayor Byron Grubb was the Grand Marshall for the CofC parade.
Girls’ State delegates included Courtney Ellefsen, Julie Brown and Angie Grubb. Serena Johnson was an alternate. Boys’ State delegates were Blain Kaphammer, Mike Spicher, Zach Orcutt and Jace Moon.
Tom Hasting of Timeless Tom’s Antiques opened for business on Main St. John McFarland, owner of CBC, was named BPA Employer of the Year.
The Cowgirl track team won a divisional title and Conrad was set to host the State Softball Tournament.
Forty-five seniors walked across the stage in the CHS gym for the last time at graduation ceremonies. Seniors pulled down over $377,000 in awards.
Lt. Col. Major LaRowe was the featured speaker at the VFW/Legion Memorial Day services.
The boys’ UMS track won the divisional meet while the girls’ team placed second. Christine Wetendorf had a super state track meet, winning five medals. The Cowgirl softball team placed fifth.
In June, at a primary election, voters, by a big margin, passed a Conrad Study Commission recommendation for a Charter form of government 488-309.
In June, the PMC Golf Tournament was cancelled, of all things, because of too much rain. Heart Butte got a grant for $992,500 for emergency school repairs. The Pondera Arts Council was bringing ‘Passaggio’ to the Orpheum Theatre-Wiegand Auditorium. A big group of Dutch tourists happened to stop by Kaptain Inc., east of town, to see the Sparky Roping Machine.
The I-O was in the process of going digital. With the paper and computer-to-computer talk between Conrad and Shelby (for a while) was a mess.
After many delays, Isaak J. Wurtz from the Kingsbury Hutterite Colony near Valier plead guilty to four counts of sexual assault and was sentenced to do time in the ‘big house.’
The I-O took third at the Montana Better Newspaper Contest, getting the award for their 100th anniversary “special” edition.
The city is now looking at linking up with the North Central Montana Regional Water System.
The school district was hit with a number of resignations, among them wrestling coach Steve Lockyer and assistant softball coach Patty Walter and UMS track coaches Jeremy and Kay LaBarre.
In somewhat of a rare sight, a young bull moose paid a visit to the Pondera Golf Club. Outside work on the new Transportation Museum was moving along at a rapid pace with new siding going up on the building.
In July, Carrie Vollrath got her first hole-in-one at the par-3, 143 yard sixth hole. It was her first ace.
Fireworks on July 4 at the ball field were spectacular and the buzzword in the medical community was ticks, mosquitoes, and birds; Avian flu, West Nile virus and Lyme disease.
Pauline and Keith Tyner traveled to Ireland where they attended the installation of Pauline’s father, Tim Carey of Fernoy, as the Mayor.
Conrad is beginning to become a haven for wild animals. Three bull elk were spotted at the Allen Denzer place, five miles south of Conrad.
Main Street in Conrad was being re-paved, causing drivers to use side streets once in a while to get where they wanted to go.
An annual benefit softball tourney had a super weekend of weather and drew (for it) a record 15 teams, up from 11 the year before. Danielle Moritz, the daughter of Doug and Kim Moritz would receive $24,550 in proceeds of the tourney to help with medical bills. The winning team was Shephard Appraisal-Tri-Cementers. Players were Cade Dockter, Payton Nelson, Morgan VanDyke, Dalayne VanDyke, Justin Nelson, Robbie Dockter, Jill Swanson, Nikki Greer, Barb Judisch, Kelly Widhalm, Neil Weisgram, Robin VanDyke, Chris Vermulum, Tira Merz, and Kurt Taule.
Gina Vanderbush of Heavenly Daycare and Anne Stordahl of A Shear Delight held an Open House and had a CofC ribbon cutting ceremony for their businesses.
The city passed a three percent COLA for employees. Huge signs noting the danger of Meth were cropping up all over the county in a statewide ‘Paint the State’ Meth campaign. Local winners would get prizes of $3,000, $2,000 and $1,000 for their efforts.
In yet another rare animal sighting, a buzzard was photographed on a power pole outside of town.
District 10 Superintendent of Schools Kurt Hilyard resigned. At a special meeting, school trustees hired Lynn Utterback to replace Hilyard. On his heels, Orlen Zempel resigned as principal at CHS. Former high school principal Paul Stenerson came out of retirement, for one year, to take the CHS job, thus giving the school plenty of time to find a replacement.
Sen. Conrad Burns secured over $2.4 million, to be included in the FY-2007 Appropriations Bill for Transportation, to help the paving of the ‘cut across’ road from Conrad to Dupuyer.
Freyja Swanson won a design contest for the painting of a new police car. She got to have her name painted on the car along with her design.
Grizzly Day in Dupuyer was right around the corner. Work on the sprinkler system and new grass at the football field was moving right along. Deb Pate took low net for women and Buck Traxler had low net for men in 100+ degree heat at the Christmas in July tourney at the PGC. Proceeds went toward food baskets in Pondera County at Christmas time.
Conrad’s population exploded as it hosted the State Swim Meet in August. The local swim team came on to place second. Jack Hayne was the Grand Marshal and Harriet Hayne the Grand Lady for the Grizzly Day parade in Dupuyer.
The city is backing the Pondera Arts Council with a $1,000 grant. Already open for some time, Mike Miller and Chad Gordon finally got around to having a CofC ribbon cutting ceremony as a new business, Mike and Chad’s truck, auto and radiator repair.
Trace Jochems, a third grader at Meadowlark School, spent part of his summer volunteering to paint playground equipment at the school.
The Conrad Garden Club held a super flower show. The Transportation Museum was planning a Grand Opening at the end of the month, and a sure sign that summer was winding down; school was set to open on Aug. 29.
Kim Hofstad and Diana Agre received an Excellence in Teaching About Agriculture award in Atlantic City (in June).
A drug bust in Conrad cleared up a rash of other burglaries around town. Over 300 folks jammed the opening of the Pondera County Transportation Museum, a work in progress.
Fall sports got going. The Cowboys fell to Malta 42-6 in the season football opener. The Cowgirl volleyball team placed second at a Chinook tourney.
Tom Billings won the PGC Senior tourney.
In September, it was announced that because of the heat, the mosquito season was extended, still causing a West Nile Virus threat.
After an investigation, no charges were filed for Dutton-Brady School Superintendent Tim Tharp carrying a weapon into the Dutton School. Tharp, a reserve Teton County Sheriff Deputy, had just come from a firing range and stopped off at the school.
Joylynn Kauffman and Anna Dalman are new instructors for the CHS school year.
Jerry Ivers, Gordon Nelson, Tom Elliott and Jim Christensen were winners of the PMC golf tourney. The winning women’s team was made up of Robin VanDyke, Chris Vermulum, Denise Frigge, and Jodie Weisgram.
John (Bill) Rappold, a former county commissioner, passed away.
Jon Tester, challenging Sen. Conrad Burns, was stumping the campaign trail in Conrad. A new rock-climbing wall was installed at Meadowlark School playground.
The PMC was one of only a few medical centers to be recognized by Mountain-Pacific Quality Health as Hospital Quality award recipients.
The Conrad High School Booster Cub presented a check to Jim Carroll and Jeff Makelky, $16,019, to help cover the cost of the new football field.
Homecoming activity was underway at the high school. Homecoming King and Queen were Zach Orcutt and Angie Grubb.
In October, longtime Conrad businessman Vaughn Dutro passed away. The Harvest Festival, sponsored by the CofC was a neat Main St. event of culinary delight.
Some more Moose found Conrad to be a nice place to visit, and the Transportation Museum was closing for the season and special Smithsonian Museum exhibit on food was to be moving on.
The hospital with its great field of doctors was doing well at the clinic, however, the hospital, with almost no patients, was presenting a dilemma unto itself.
Jay Summer, the cousin of Velma Knobel, had folks taking a second look when he and his Peregrine falcon took a walk about town. He was in Conrad to do some bird hunting.
3 Rivers Communications presented PAC with a $1,000 grant. The Montana-Alberta Tie hosted a meeting in Conrad at Blue Sky Villa.
Flu season arrived and it was time to think about getting shots. The Cascade Quartet was ready to perform at the Orpheum Theatre-Wiegand Auditorium
In November, the EDC completed a meat packing plant feasibility study. There will be more on this as it develops.
An earlier I-O picture story on the Four Leaf Clover Club pull tab collection for the McDonald House in Billings prompted a couple in Columbia Falls, who saw the story to bring over 300 pounds of pull tabs to add to the club’s collection.
Darlene Matheson from the Town Pump presented CHS AG/Ed instructor Jolynn Kaufman with a $500 grant to be used for computer technology. The CHS girls’ volleyball team was headed to the district tourney. They would place second there and at the divisional tournament and head off to the state tourney in Bozeman
The big news out of the November general election was that Jon Tester (D) defeated incumbent Sen. Conrad Burns (R).
On a local level, Mary Ann Ries defeated Shari Gianarelli in the county attorney race, Laurie McKinnon defeated incumbent judge Mark Buyske for District Court Judge, and Incumbent State Senator Jerry Black (R) won over Trudi Laas Skari (D). Representative Denny Rehberg (R) defeated Monica Lindeen (D).
Official results showed a continued decline in the Conrad school population. Jackie Bonser popped her first deer, a 4x4 whitetail buck.
CHS senior Andrew Hilyard was preparing for a trip to Hollywood for a crack at becoming an actor.
The VFW was celebrating its 60th anniversary in Conrad. The CofC was gearing up for the annual Christmas Stroll, set to take place on Dec. 1
A tire-recycling program began in Conrad. Tires can be dropped off, put in a semi-truck and when it’s full, it is hauled off to Polson. Devon Rauscher bagged his fist buck, a 4x4 mulie.
UMS students competed at the Science Olympiad in Bozeman. Girl Scout Troop No. 68 donated two Thanskgiving baskets to the Food Pantry. Those involved included Leilani Cain, Sara Thompson, Hannah Richey, Taylor Stafford, Kyleigh Salois, Dallas Gordon, Emily Harwood, Keely Byrnes, Dominy Anderson and Andrea Awtrey and Glen and Ruby Bouma.
In December, the Cowboy wrestlers began their season under new coach, Doug Moritz. Ralph Diedrich and Craig Barringer assist him. The Cowboy basketball team has a new coach as well, Tyson Anderson, and the Cowgirl basketball team also has a new headcoach, Gerald Kulpas, who is assisted by Anna Dalman.
The Christmas Stroll saw wonderful participation all up and down Main Street. Lions Club President Mark Leys presented a special award to John Skipwith for being a 50-year Lion member and to Bob Moritz for being a 25-year Club member.
Gary Brown, owner of Big Sky Equipment, donated $2,500 to the Port Authority. The money will go into a revolving loan account.
Vicki Newmiller was honored with Employee of the Year at the PMC. Channin Vandiver, Bev Anderson, Pastor Pete Wetendorf, Carrie Vollrath, Tammy Bartsch, Amy and Jalene Krause, Betty and Bob McBratney and Buck Traxler all helped to pack Christmas boxes for Pondera County veterans serving in Iraq.
Three individuals from Great Falls were busted for a break-in at Dusty’s Bar in Brady. The Food Pantry received 245 pounds of food and $145 from the Home Cafe during its annual free-chili-for-a-donation program during the Christmas Stroll.
The Lions Club is considering changing the date for Whoop-Up from May to June. Dan Picard is the new Pondera County Extension Agent.
UMS, getting only the fourth in the state, has a new table saw featuring SawStop. A Knowledge Mater team at UMS was recently in competition. The team was made up of Sydney Slezak, Kara Bandow, Graham Grubb, Taylor Johnson, Zach Lettenga, Amber Stenson, Sam Carroll, Erica Grubb, Jacob Gouchenour, Ben Moerkerke, and Emily Weisgram.
The CofC is looking for Unsung Hero nominations for their annual February banquet. At a “challenge” blood drive, Conrad was declared a winner over Shelby. However, Shelby Mayor Larry Bonderud has tossed out a red flag challenge on the ruling. A rematch is in the making.
Grant Poor has sold his Benchmark PT clinic in Conrad/Fairfield to the Teton Medical Center in Choteau.
The county has collected more the than half of its taxes. The Town Pump and food banks have raised over $900,000 statewide with the local Food Pantry receiving about $3,200.
The County Health Department recently launched a multi county campaign not to buy alcohol for minors.
That is a summarized portion of the news that hit the pages of the I-O in 2006.
We at the I-O wish everyone a very safe, happy and prosperous New Year. |
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