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Wednesday, 06 June 2007 07:01 |
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By Buck Traxler, I-O Editor
 Helen Elliott - Grand Marshall
Paul Olson is getting really good at being chairman of the event and this will mark his fifth year heading up the project.
He notes that a huge improvement will be the seating at the rodeo grounds. When flooring at CMR High School in Great Falls had to be replaced, it was decided to get new bleachers as well.
The Lions Club was able to get a big section and a crew went and removed the bleachers, brought them back here and it is now placed at the rodeo grounds.
“With a new date, we are getting more cowboys and are not competing with the Bucking Horse Sale in Miles City,” he said.
Another new activity, getting an early start on the weekend is the Whoop-Up scramble at the Pondera Golf Club on Friday.
This is a four-person event with golf teams teeing it up and getting off the box at 8 a.m. Call the PGC at 278-3402 for more information, it is not too late to get a team up for some golf action.
Following the tournament, at 7 p.m. there will be a Rodeo Calcutta at the PGC. Now is the time to go and buy your favorite cowboy and hope he places at the rodeo.
Also getting a jump of the Whoop-Up activity will be the Bebe Berland Academy of Dance, which is having a recital at the Orpheum Theatre/Wiegand Auditorium on June 7, 6:30 p.m. Little dancers from Conrad and Choteau will be strutting on the stage.
On Friday, from 5-7 p.m., in another new change, the Conrad High School freshman class will have a K-8 Fun Fest outdoors on the playground at Meadowlark School. Kids will be grouped by age for a variety of outdoor games. Prizes will be awarded.
As this event ends, two Montana good ol’ boys will be teaming up for a concert at the Orpheum Theatre/Wiegand Auditorium.
Eric “Fingers” Ray and Richard Matoon will put on a dazzling performance of traditional country and classical guitar music and singing.
Tickets will be on sale at the door only and if this doesn’t get you primed for the weekend, nothing will.
Saturday morning as you roll out and pick your head up from our saddle-pillow, you can mosey over to Meadowlark. Beginning at 7 a.m. the Lions Club will have a free ham and pancake breakfast. You not only can feed your face, but this is one of the top social events of the year.
Better than tasty does not begin to say how good these Lion hot cakes stack up. Ray Stoetzel and Dan Wilcox will be cooking the cakes from a time—honored, beer-batter recipe blended together by Byron Grubb and a couple of his closest cohorts.
Outside groups, please take note; there is no soliciting here.
At 8 a.m. there will be, still another new event added on to a traditional one. At the Whoop-Up Fun Run, sponsored by the Pondera Medical Center, a new fun category is being offered. For kids 12 and under, the one-mile walk/trot will have a costume class. All you have to do is come up with a clever costume that you can finish the race in; the costumes will be judged after the race. It will not matter what order you finish the race, only that you and your costume survived.
There will be prizes and something for all participants. For more information on this and the PMC Fun Run, contact Julia Drishinski at 271-2295. The race gets off from in front of the courthouse.
No doubt, you’ve read about the Rhubarb Festival, formerly of Ulm being relocated here. Rhubarb festivity will be taking place all day on Saturday along Main St. starting at about 9:30 a.m. and a rhubarb cookbook will be available at the library.
The Conrad Community Service Sewing Circle will have a quilt showing in the showroom of Courtesy Ford. All proceeds from their projects come back to the community. There is a one-dollar admission fee and they will be open from the morning to afternoon. Call Terry Syvertson at 278-3390 for more information.
The VFW Auxiliary will be out and about selling “Buddy Poppies” which are assembled by disabled veterans and proceeds are used to aid veterans and their dependents.
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Read more... [Saddle up for Whoop-Up]
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Wednesday, 06 June 2007 06:51 |
By Buck Traxler, I-O Editor
 Certificate Terry Syvertson receives a certificate of appreciation at Mondays council meeting for her Caring for Kids Program from Mayor John Shevlin. I-O Photo by Buck Traxler
The swimming pool opened on schedule, June 4, despite city crews finding leaks and a broken chlorinator.
The pool is open Monday – Friday for lap swimming from 8-9 a.m. Swimming lessons are from 9 a.m. to noon. Open swimming goes from 1 – 4:50 p.m., lap swimming is from 6-7 p.m. and the pool has open swimming from 7-8:50 p.m.
On Saturday and Sunday, there is lap swimming from noon – 1 p.m. and open swimming from 1 – 4:50 p.m.
If you don’t have one already, season passes may obtained at city hall. An in-town family pass is $65. A rural family pass is $80. An individual in-town pass is $45 and a rural pass is $60.
The daily charge for an adult is $3, and $2.50 for a child. Children four years and under get in free with a paying adult. Lap swimming is $2.
The pool manager is Courtney Ellefsen and head lifeguards are Logan Erickson and Sydney Philipps. Call the pool at 271-5717 for more information about pool rental, swim lessons and water aerobics.
In other business from the council, a number of building permits were approved and they included 510 S. Illinois, basement; 206 Delaware, garage; 205 2nd Ave. NW, garage and 40x40 patio; and 127 S. Main, signs.
Approval was also given for three Whoop-Up events, the PMC Fun Run, a food booth at the Conrad Lions Club Swimming Pool Park, and use of a city garbage truck at the park and later at the rodeo grounds.
Council members are still working on updating city codes in there respective sectors. Mayor John Shevlin said, “We should set a goal to have them done by the end of the month so they can be given to the city attorney in July.”
Gary Brown gave a quick synopsis of a trip to East Helena that he, the mayor and Wendy Judisch went on to inspect a lagoon.
“The complexity of the system is overwhelming,” he noted.
There was discussion on alderman Wally McHenry’s request to look into getting a digital speed sign to make the public aware of their speed.
“This is a safety issue with me,” he commented. Mainly the sign would be used on Iowa St. and Sunset Blvd. Depending on the type, such signs run between $5,400 and $10,000.
Chief Gary Dent said grants for these are few and far between. The mayor said he would pursue this through the Interlocal.
There was a request to ban parking on 7th Ave., from Main St. to the Horizon Lodge over Whoop-Up Tail Days Celebration.
After a short discussion it was deemed not feasible and the request was denied. Rich Anderson, Public Works Director noted, “I don’t know how you would enforce it any way.”
Alderman Brown gave a report from the Port Authority noting they, with involvement from the EDC, had purchased the Conrad Motel. They have found an individual who will take the trailers of the motel off their hands. That will leave the grounds open for commercial development.
He noted the CDBG funds to ITB had created about 15 jobs, however, as originally thought, the PA would not retain the revolving loan funds. Those will go to Sweetgrass Development, Brown said, “This was a political thing and nothing could be done about it.”
On another topic, Anderson noted that trees in Keil Park are dying and he wasn’t sure why. Samples have been sent to a lab at MSU-Bozeman
The next regular meeting of the council will be on June 18, 7:30 p.m. at city hall, 411-1/2 S. Main. |
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