| February 25, 2010
Ronan-Pablo school district, Montana celebrate 6 years of progress
Kate Haake/Valley Journal
Morgan Messinger enjoys a ‘snacktivity’ with the rest of her classmates in first grade at Ronan's K. William Harvey Elementary School.
By Kate Haake
Valley Journal
Achievement gap narrows between Indian and non-Indian students, while reading and math proficiency levels rise due to special programs, creative learning and efforts of dedicated staff
RONAN — It’s late afternoon on the Monday after winter break and five Ronan Middle School students are still at school, printing. They work over small pieces of material, carefully drawing their designs and anxiously waiting to press their penciled drawings into the paint.
Every student is participating and socializing, and most importantly, they are expressing their creativity in a safe environment after school.
The art instructor of the evening, Barnaby Smith, smiles and suggests that art is so therapeutic there should be an adult class.
The art class, along with a technology session, is part of the Ronan Middle School’s ..........
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Firefighters hone ice rescue skills on Flathead Lake
Berl Tiskus/Valley Journal
A firefighter uses a chainsaw to cut a hole in thick ice on Flathead Lake near Polson last weekend. The hole was used to facilitate practical exercises in extracting victims from icy waters.
By Berl Tiskus
Valley Journal
POLSON — “Remember if you go through the ice, put your arms out to the side, bend your knees … and tip your chin up,” International Dive Rescue Instructor Jake Lozenby told his class of firefighters, search and rescue, law enforcement and marine patrol personnel.
Lozenby’s class was about to follow Dave Moore’s class onto the ice in front of Swanee’s Bar and Grill, formerly Raleigh’s, on Feb. 20.
Moore and Lozenby were teaching a surface ice rescue trainer course to 30 folks from around Montana, Idaho and Washington. Graduates of their course could return to their groups and instruct the rest of the group on surface ice rescue.
Usually the classes are limited to 20 people, but International Dive Rescue sent two instructors to accommodate the larger group. .........
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Local woman honored for contributions to quarter horse breed
Melea Burke/Valley Journal
Long-time quarter horse breeder Fay Haynes holds a photograph of herself on one of her champion barrel racers, Jumpy Jule.
Valley Journal
PABLO — At the age of 84, Fay Haynes can’t imagine a day when she can no longer ride. Horses have been her life since age 5, when her dad first led her around on an old gray mare named Dolly while he mended fences.
“I felt pretty big,” Haynes said. “I rode from then on.”
She rode, and her rides took her to the winner’s circle in countless barrel racing and pole bending contests. The walls in her farmhouse are covered with pictures of the horses she raised, trained and showed. And while her trophy case is gradually being depleted as she gives away the awards, she’s still gaining accolades for her contributions to the equestrian world. Most recently, the American Quarter Horse Association honored Haynes as one of seven 50-year breeders in the country, meaning she registered at least one AQHA foal for 50 cumulative years from 1957-2008.
“I didn’t think about it. You just raise horses year to year, and it’s your job ...........
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City plans to operate golf course restaurant
By Berl Tiskus
Valley Journal
POLSON — The Polson City Commissioners passed a motion that the city of Polson operate the golf course restaurant for the rest of 2010, taking into consideration comments by former Polson City Commissioner Jim Sohm and Polson City Manager Todd Crossett and inventorying liquor monthly. Commissioner Ron Boyce abstained since he and his wife own a local restaurant.
Crossett presented city commissioners with a draft of the golf course food and beverage plan at the Feb. 17 meeting. Crossett said he relied quite a lot on Roger Wallace’s experience in preparing the draft. Wallace is the Polson Bay Golf Course Director as well as golf pro at the course. Wallace will provide day-to-day oversight of the food and beverages at the restaurant, reporting to Crossett.
The draft calls for opening the restaurant on approximately March 15 for an eight-month period. The draft also specifies hiring a food and beverage manager for the eight-month period as well ........
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Ronan City Council discusses water projects
By Kate Haake
Valley Journal
RONAN — Water was a hot topic at the Ronan City Council Meeting on Monday.
Wastewater project manager Shari Johnson met with city council to give an update on the Spring Creek Lift Station Project.
In order to improve the Spring Creek Lift Station, the city embarked on a project to replace failing and outdated pumps at the lift station in September. The project was delayed until February due to a problem with the manufacturing of the pumps and a stipulation in the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act grant.
Johnson discussed four changes that needed to be implemented in the project. The changes include: $16,000 for better pumps; funds for complications during the winter construction; an impermeable epoxy liner for inside the wet well to add longevity; and a back-up pump in case of power failure or system overload.
The project is being funded by the American Reinvestment and Recovery Act and administered through the State Revolving Fund. The Department of Natural Resources and Conservation is also helping fund the project. The total cost of the upgrade is $394,800.
The council unanimously agreed to authorize.......
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Conductor gets Dixon students tuned for symphony trip
Melea Burke/Valley Journal
Darko Butorac, music director of the Missoula Symphony Orchestra, answers students' questions about the symphony during a visit to the Dixon School.
By Melea Burke
Valley Journal
DIXON — If you can’t rub your stomach and pat your head at the same time, you probably can’t direct an orchestra, Dixon students learned last week. In fact, a conductor’s hand movements are much more complicated than most things people do in everyday life.
And on top of the coordination challenges, a director has a lot to remember, including telling the musicians when to play, how loud or softly to play, and much more.
“It’s like doing a big puzzle,” explained Darko Butorac, music director of the Missoula Symphony Orchestra.
In preparation for Dixon students’ visits to the symphony Feb. 27 and 28, Butorac spent about an hour last Tuesday morning teaching Dixon fifth through eighth-graders about his job and showing them how fun classical music can be.
After leading the kids in a series of hand coordination exercises — simultaneously drawing a square with one hand and a triangle with the other was one of the most challenging — Butorac asked the kids to share titles of their favorite songs. After some discussion, he led the group in a rousing chorus of “Happy Birthday.”
“Music gives words meaning through repetition,” he said........
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A minister’s journey from servant to served
Summer Goddard
Having served their community through many spiritual outreaches, John and Sharon Payne, of Polson, are now on the receiving end of prayer and support as John battles prostate cancer. The couple celebrated their 42nd wedding anniversary Wednesday, Feb. 17.
By Summer Goddard
Valley Journal
As the clock nears the 10 a.m. hour, the last members of an intimate gathering quietly enter the sanctuary, finding themselves a cozy spot on one of several sofas or easy chairs. Warm rays of morning light shine through stained glass as worshippers greet each other with smiles and welcome salutations. A small dog curls up next to her master on a pew pulled into the circle to make room for a few newcomers to the Sunday service.
This is “Journey Be.” Formerly The Disciples of Christ Church in Polson, Journey Be (still a Disciples of Christ congregation) is a “forward-thinking Christian gathering,” led by Rev. John Payne.
By design, the atmosphere is comfortable, welcoming and all-inclusive.
“We do things a little differently here,” Sharon Payne explained. “But we’re all based on the same faith.” Quoting her husband John, she added, “You don’t have to believe alike to love alike.” ........
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Cancer survivor warns students about tobacco
Kate Haake/Valley Journal
Rick Bender discusses the dangers of tobacco with the students at Kicking Horse Job Corps. Bender lost half of his jaw and part of his tongue to oral cancer when he was 26.
By Kate Haake
Valley Journal
KICKING HORSE — Rick Bender is sometimes referred to as the “man without a face.” With only one third of his tongue remaining and only one half of his jaw, Bender is a living testimony to the life-altering affects of tobacco.
On Friday at the Through with Chew seminar in the gymnasium at Kicking Horse Job Corps, Bender spoke for about 45 minutes on the dangers of what he calls ‘spit tobacco’.
Bender, who started chewing tobacco when he was 12, considered smokeless tobacco a safer alternative to smoking cigarettes.
But when he was 25 years old, he developed a sore on the side of tongue. In March of 1989 he was diagnosed with oral cancer and in April of the same year, he underwent the first of six surgeries that would leave him permanently disfigured.........
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More news ...
‣ Code Yellow training session at St. Joseph's puts emergency crews through their paces
‣ Anonymous donor boosts Ronan Library
‣ Wreck near Pablo sends one to hospital
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