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 Freshmen at Capital and Helena High went back to school on Monday, and sophomores, juniors and seniors returned on Tuesday. This photo was taken at HHS on Tuesday afternoon between classes just after the buzzer had sounded. (Photo by Cathy Siegner)
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The Helena City Commission voted Monday night to raise city water rates and solid waste disposal rates by 5 percent this fall and wastewater rates by 4 percent. The city’s Public Works Department had recommended increases somewhat higher than that, but the commissioners agreed to keep them a bit lower because of the economy.
People living in mobile homes will see a decrease in their city street-maintenance charges this fall. Because the city estimates that mobile homes have a somewhat lower impact on street maintenance than single-family homes, the commissioners voted to recognize that by adjusting such rates downward.
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Three generations enjoying ice cream downtown. From left, they are: Jacquie Hixson, Sara Dorrington (5), William Dorrington (3), and their mom, Lisa Dorrington. The Dorringtons just moved back home to Helena after eight years in Louisiana. (Photo by Cathy Siegner)
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Before reading “Snowbound,” the latest historical novel from Livingston writer Richard S. Wheeler, I had thought of John Charles Frémont as an intrepid Western explorer who became an indifferent Civil War general. Turns out he wasn’t such a great explorer either.
Or at least he had serious flaws. As Wheeler depicts “The Pathfinder,” Frémont was brave, resolute, tough and widely admired by his men. But he also was remote, uncaring and prone to massive blunders.
In an afterword, Wheeler writes that “my novel is based on educated guesses instead of well-anchored facts. Suffice it to say that another novelist could portray these events in quite a different light and be just as grounded by primary source material as I believe I am.”
The events to which the author refers are those of Frémont’s fourth expedition, a failed attempt to find a railroad route from St. Louis to San Francisco over the Rocky Mountains along the 38th parallel. Not only was Frémont warned that the route was too steep for a train, he also was warned against his plan to attempt the journey in mid-winter when snow was up to 20 feet deep in the high country.
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When this whole school board sex education thing came up, I had no interest in writing about it. Most of the time, I'm content to sit back and let other people scream until hoarse or vent their spleens on useless “moral” issues, particularly when (in this case) a pervasive culture of sex and sexuality overrides any parent attempting to control their child. But, when the arguing reaches a fever pitch, I get curious.
So I started paying attention. I read the 62-page Helena Public Schools Health Enhancement K-12 Critical Competencies Draft, not just the Human Sexuality section (which makes up like five pages). I went to the school board meeting last week. I saw flocks of misguided zealots picketing with Bible verses to justify setting educational standards. Half the time, I walked around just looking at people, fascinated by how many moralists I forgot existed. Particularly telling was the exaggerated moaning, groaning, and other signs of disrespect given to the openly gay speakers.
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Caleb Sowell, Jordan Epstein and Carter Reeder from Kingsland Baptist Church in Houston, Texas, helped garden, weed and transplant trees at Margaret Stuart Home in Helena this week. They were part of a 40-person volunteer crew here from the church. (Photos courtesy of Rocky Mountain Development Council)
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Trout Creek Canyon on the Helena National Forest is the destination July 23 for a moonlight hike sponsored by the Montana Discovery Foundation. Call 495-3711 for more information about this family-friendly outing and other area hikes being held in July. (Photo by Debbie Anderson)
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Mine reclamation specialists with the Montana Department of Environmental Quality recently teamed up with staff members from the City of Helena Parks and Recreation Department to close off two adits near a popular local hiking trail.
On Wednesday, June 23, the team sealed off the openings, or adits, with expandable foam that hardens like concrete.
The adits are located across the street from the DeFord Trailhead near Davis Gulch Road in Helena’s south hills. The openings are about three feet in diameter. One adit is 60 yards in length; the other is 20 yards long. Sixty cubic feet of expandable foam was applied to seal off the adits.
“DEQ did this as a public service for the city and the people who live nearby and recreate on the city’s open space lands. The city asked us to help, and we did so gladly to protect public health and safety,” said DEQ Abandoned Mine Program Reclamation Specialist Steve Opp.
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One of the rock stacks up on Mount Ascension. These small towers of rock get built up, tumbled down, and rebuilt again by hikers, making for constantly varied art forms depending on who’s on the trail and whether they’re a stacker or a tumbler. (Photo by John "JR" Zavalney)
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