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  • Hinsdale, Saco, Whitewater Should Merge Sports

    Virgil Vaupel, Thanks For Listening|Feb 11, 2015

    Three schools in our area are in a battle over whether or not to merge their sports programs. This scenario is being played out all over the West. Shrinking school enrollments is not a problem for Montana alone, folks. It's happening to rural schools from Texas to Canada and from the Mississippi River to the eastern portions of Washington, Oregon, California and Nevada. Towns that have suffered in our area are Flaxville, Peerless, Opheim, Froid, Medicine Lake, Scobey, Plentywood, Antelope, Reserve, Hinsdale, Saco, Turner, Hoagland and...

  • Freedom Of Speech...Unless

    Virgil Vaupel, Thanks For Listening|Feb 4, 2015

    As I sit here reading through the amendments to the U.S. Constitution one thing jumps out at me in the First Amendment. Here's how it reads: Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech or of the press. The conundrum here is that I don't see where it is written “unless the speech or the press offends someone.” Seems anymore our freedom of speech has deteriorated from its original purpose. Maybe that's one reason our communication skills have dete...

  • Hinsdale Beats Scobey, Frazer, Stays On Top In 3C

    Virgil Vaupel, Courier Correspondent|Jan 21, 2015

    Their perfect conference record on the line, the Hinsdale Raider boys took to the court to maintain their perfecto against the Scobey Spartans. Must have been a slow night for the Scobey girls because I saw Erin Wahl and several of the Spartan girls team in attendance along with the sparse crowd from Scobey. Hinsdale Raider Dallas Capdeville had an unselfish night giving up the ball to a team mate instead of shooting it himself. He tallied just 6 points, 6 rebounds and had 8 assists. He hit 1 of 2 from the line and nailed one three pointer. Wya...

  • Gay Marriage & The Media

    Virgil Vaupel, Thanks For Listening|Jan 14, 2015

    One of Montana's major daily newspapers scored yet another hit with the gay and lesbian community with another article about gay marriage in Montana. What is that now? The fourth or fifth time since Montana made gay marriage legal that that publication has advocated this deviant practice. I say deviant because I would ask that you take a moment to physically check yourself, then check your spouse, partner, significant other, better half or lover. If you are with someone of the opposite sex you will notice, at first glance that your...

  • Raiders Beat Poplar, Dodson, Tied For First In 3C

    Virgil Vaupel, Courier Correspondent|Jan 14, 2015

    The Hinsdale Raider boys hosted the Poplar Indians last Friday and came away with another win They then beat Dodson, 71-33, to improve to 4-0 and 8-1 in District 3C. They are tied with Frazer for first in the conference and slotted at No. 6 in the MaxPreps Class C state rankings. In the JV game against Poplar, the Raiders lost 31-22 but they did well with just five healthy players suited up for the game. Logan McColly went a perfect 6 of 6 from the free throw line. He has a textbook shot from th... Full story

  • Illegal Immigrants With Legal Driver's Licenses

    Virgil Vaupel, Thanks For Listening|Jan 7, 2015

    Does anyone see the hypocrisy in that headline? Is it oxymoronically incorrect? Wouldn't that be sorta like giving a convicted burglar a set of burglar tools upon his release from the joint? Or an arsonist a box of matches? Or how about issuing a “Slim Jim” to every person who has been in trouble for stealing cars? (For those of you who have led a sheltered life, a Slim Jim is a flat, flexible tool with a hook on the end used for opening locked cars without benefit of ownership or keys.) Also, I suggest giving every yegg (safecracker in 192...

  • High Oil Prices Cured With High Prices

    Virgil Vaupel, Thanks For Listening|Dec 17, 2014

    There’s a saying in the commodity pits in Chicago that goes something like this: “The cure for high prices is high prices.” The price of a barrel (44 gallons) of “Texas Tea” these days is hovering around the $67 bll mark and declining. Why the decline you may ask? So do I, but here’s what I think is going on. Russian President Vladimer Putin is getting very pushy these days and hinting nuclear stuff. As we all know, we have reduced our nukes, getting rid of some still-in-good-shape bombs, while Russia has been 86ing worn out stuff. Fair trade?...

  • If You're Not Here Legally, Get Out

    Virgil Vaupel, Thanks For Listening|Dec 10, 2014

    With a president whose credibility and ability has been questioned by nearly 60 percent of the population and a Congress that's in the dumper with an 18 percent for and 82 percent against approval rating, I believe it's time to take a closer look at the folks running our affairs. Obama says, “Anyone who has been in this country for five years or more” should be awarded citizenship or at least a legal green card. He doesn't qualify those here legally, quasi-legally or illegally. To me it's a no-brainer. If you are in my country illegally, get...

  • Just Passing Through

    Virgil Vaupel, Thanks For Listening|Dec 3, 2014

    For those of us who pay attention, there is a lot of bicycle traffic along the Hi-Line and this past summer has been no exception. Most folks travel west to east because of the prevailing winds, but there are those who haven't been warned about wind and chase the sun. There are many forms of bicycle and tricycle transportation. There are bicycles built for two. Bicycles with side cars. Tricycles with trailers. Traditional bicycles and recumbent bicycles/tricycles. Riders I have talked with... Full story

  • Yellow Snow In The Wild West

    Virgil Vaupel, Thanks For Listening|Nov 26, 2014

    I had to remove the alternator from the Versatile tractor last week in near cold weather (9 below one day and 3 below the next.) The tractor was outside and no windbreak in sight. It took six and a half hours in two days to perform a task that normally could be done in 20 minutes. See, the bottom bolt was so rusted in that nothing could move it. Finally after using a full can of Sea Foam Deep Creep Rust Buster and working the bolt back and forth, forth and back, a sixteenth of an inch at a time I got it to move. But then when I had pounded it o...

  • Junior High Players Showcased at Year-End Nashua Tourney

    Virgil Vaupel, Courier Correspondent|Nov 26, 2014

    The boys junior high basketball season came to an end last Friday with the year-end tourney held in Nashua. Five teams – Nashua (7-0), Saco/Hinsdale (4-4), Frazer (4-6), Dodson (2-3) and Lustre (1-4) – participated in some very entertaining games. Stay tuned for the details brought to you by Frod Frodulunt Esq. attorney at law and certified massage therapist. In the first game Dodson was down by three pernts at the half but came coyoting back in the second half to take the lead and hold it unt...

  • And The Wheels Keep On Turning

    Virgil Vaupel, Thanks For Listening|Nov 12, 2014

    After being confined in a closed space for the first nine months of our lives, when we finally find the exit our first action involve movement of arms and legs a-flailing wildly as the doctor slaps our bottom. Our first wobbling steps into mobile freedom are accompanied my shrieks of laughter and buckets of tears from parents and other assorted family and neighbors. The second milestone has been achieved and our little brains aren't even able to comprehend what we've just done. Folks my age can recall with fondness the “Baby Tender.” It was...

  • Porkies Bow Out In Style

    Virgil Vaupel, Courier Correspondent|Nov 12, 2014

    The season ended for the Nashua Lady Porcupines last Friday at the Glasgow Scottie gym when they lost to the Bainville Bulldogs in the 2014 Volleyball Divisional Tournament. The Porcupines lost in the first round to the R&L Fusion in three very hard fought games. The match went to four games against Bainville. Even though they went out in two matches, the Nashua team played extremely well and in both matches. There were a lot of points that could have gone either way, but the wind was blowing...

  • My Opponent is Fat, Ugly & Smelly

    Virgil Vaupel, Thanks For Listening|Nov 5, 2014

    In a nation filled with acronyms, I have just coined a new one familiar to all of us. It is EYT. We all suffer from it every two to four years and it leaves most of us with headaches, self-doubt, voters angst and a myriad other side effects, including but not exclusive to constipation, diarrhea, male pattern baldness and ED. (Expectational Dread; Not the other ED.) EYT (Election Year Trauma) hits us usually just moments after we step out of the voting booth wondering, “Did I do the right thing? Is it too late to change my vote? I didn't r... Full story

  • Hodgepodge And Other 'Impertinent' Stuff

    Virgil Vaupel, Thanks For Listening|Oct 15, 2014

    Last week I ran away from home. I left 1,500 bales of hay in the fields waiting for Donna to pick them up. I cleaned out my fridge of all stuff that would perish in my absence. I packed eight shirts, eight pair of socks, eight pair of shorts, four pair of Wranglers, boots, shaving kit, cell phone plug-in thingie, two guitars and assorted other stuff and hit the open road. My first stop was in Sapphire Village to visit my Aunt Carol and Uncle Jim before they head south for the winter. Jim promised I wouldn't have to do any work. Sometimes the...

  • The ISIS Crisis

    Virgil Vaupel, Thanks For Listening|Oct 8, 2014

    Correct me if I'm wrong, but I seem to recall a very poker-faced Barry Obama telling us and the world a few weeks ago that – and I para-phrase here – there will not be any more American sons and daughters fighting on foreign soil, meaning, I suppose, no American boots on the ground in Syria or Iraq. He was very emphatic about this and repeated it twice. So now all we can do is orchestrate air strikes against the malcontents who defile women, blatantly line up non-Muslim men along a ditch and gun them down and who espouse the slogan “De...

  • We Live In A Disposable World

    Virgil Vaupel, Thanks For Listening|Sep 24, 2014

    I recall a time in America when folks would save up money for a car or college tuition or on a smaller scale a pair of ice skates for a child. Most of us had credit at the grocery story and the gas station, but that's where it ended. If we couldn't pay for “it,” we didn't buy “it.” Charging a candy bar or a soda pop was unheard of. We paid cash for the luxury items. Oh, sometimes if your current mode of transportation blew a gasket and put you afoot you would have to make the decision to use your saved-up money for a down payment on a second-...

  • Wildfire Win One, Lose One

    Virgil Vaupel, Courier Correspondent|Sep 24, 2014

    The Saco-Hinsdale Wildfire took it to the Brockton Lady Warriors last Friday in Hinsdale to the cheers of a small but very supportive crowd. I keep telling youse guys to come out and watch some volleyball. It's different than your grannies' volleyball from back in the day when it might take nearly a fortnight to score a point making the games last forever. These days points are made on every serve, greatly accelerating the game and making it much more exciting. That's one reason I decided to...

  • Farmers Hear Crop Disaster Options

    Virgil Vaupel, Courier Correspondent|Sep 10, 2014

    Record rains in Valley County prompted several local crop insurance agencies to host a seminar for the purpose of discussing relief options available to their insured farmers. Jenifer Hanson of the Rain And Hail Crop Insurance Agency gave the presentation outlining the several options farmers have for filing damage claims with their insurance agencies. Farmers from Valley, Roosevelt and Daniels counties were in attendance. A few of them participated in the Q&A period, which followed Hanson's informative presentation. Main topics of the seminar...

  • I Got Gas, You Got Gas

    Virgil Vaupel, Thanks For Listening|Sep 10, 2014

    I've done something I rarely do. I actually did some research on what I'm about to expound your way via this broadcast. Seems it takes about 16 million barrels of crude oil to run this country every day. That's for gasoline, diesel fuel, aviation gas, heating oil and similar products and the sludge, or left-over stuff for bio-plastics. Most of the crude oil we consume in the United States is purchased from several or more foreign countries that ... hate us ... love our money. Some folks think that a barrel of crude is the standard 55 gallon... Full story

  • A 'Letter' From China

    Virgil Vaupel, Thanks For Listening|Sep 3, 2014

    I have recently received a thank you letter from a Mr. Chong, address Beijing, China, and I would like to share same with my 10.567 readers. It starts: Dear Mr Vaupel, A lot of us here in China prescribe (their word, not mine) to the World Famous Glasgow Courier in an attempt to keep up with American spending trends. We know that your column is always truthful and your 10,567,000,000 readers (again, their mistake, not mine) will appreciate this information. That said, on behalf of my 5 billion countrymen, I would like to extend a heartfelt and...

  • Hinsdale Girls Hoops In Limbo

    Virgil Vaupel, Thanks For Listening|Aug 27, 2014

    The school boards from Saco, Hinsdale and Whitewater met last Wednesday at Saco to discuss the upcoming girls basketball season. Saco and Whitewater are in the final year of a three year co-op contract and Hinsdale is beginning a drought of players with only four of their seven high school girls wanting to participate in basketball. Hinsdale came hat-in-hand to request a change so that at least three of their girls could join with Saco's girls and play with the co-op. Unfortunately for Hinsdale, there were only two interested people from that... Full story

  • Living With Carbon And Verbal Pollution

    Virgil Vaupel, Thanks For Listening|Aug 20, 2014

    With all the hoop-la about “carbon footprints” it's important for you to know some interesting facts. Well, maybe not facts but just stuff I think about in my spare time. Environmentalist try to stymie and confuse us uneducated people by using words of more than two syllables along with some convoluted mathematical figures to show how much carbon we are spewing into the atmosphere every day. First off, I guess the carbon they're talking about is the smoke emitted by everything that burns fossil fuel. It's said that those who burn coal are the w...

  • Make America Strong Again

    Virgil Vaupel, Thanks For Listening|Aug 13, 2014

    We already know our government is shipping far too much of our tax dollars overseas to “developing counties.” We already know that our national debt has nearly doubled in size since Obama was given the office of the presidency by minorities, progressives (formerly known as liberals) and single white females 18 to 32 years of age. We already know our “entitlement society” has increased 10-fold in the past 10 years, costing this nation hundreds of billions of tax dollars and putting several states near bankruptcy. We already know our militar... Full story

  • I Apologize! Be Kind To The Refs

    Virgil Vaupel, Thanks For Listening|Aug 6, 2014

    For most of you who have witnessed my basketball-watching antics in the past, I can hear you saying, “He's a fine one to talk about being nice to the refs.” I'll admit I got pretty intense at times and thought my 20/20 vision was far better than that myopic Mr. Magoo out there on the floor blowing that whistle. I thought I knew all the rules to the letter and was sure to point out any mistakes the refs made. John Jones, a ref who was tougher than John Wayne TP, convinced me I wasn't as smart as I though I was when he pointed a finger at me and...

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