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Articles written by Patrick Burr


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  • The Flags Are Up

    Patrick Burr, The Courier|Nov 11, 2015

    The Northeast Montana Veterans Memorial Park is marching steadily toward completion, establishing what the project's website calls "a distinguished grounds to memorialize the sacrifices of many thousands of military veterans past and present." On Nov. 5, flags from the six branches of service were raised at the site for the first time, along with the state, national, and POW/MIA flags. Over the summer, ground was leveled and cleared for a 38-foot-high monument, ten walls of honor, concrete...

  • Keystone XL Pipeline Derailed

    Patrick Burr, The Courier|Nov 11, 2015

    Despite the recent rejection of the Keystone XL pipeline by President Obama in anticipation of December’s COP 21 UN Climate Change Conference in Paris, many residents in Valley County rue the project’s demise. “It’s a poor decision,” said Dave Pippin, former County Commissioner and current resident of Glasgow. “I see it as large-scale political payback. It’s bad for the county, bad for our economy, and I think bad for the United States.” As the project floundered amid federal non-committal, jobs related to its progression evaporated in Big Sky...

  • AMTRAK Renovation

    Patrick Burr, The Courier|Nov 11, 2015

    Glasgow’s train station has a new look. Amtrak’s Western Director of Government Affairs, Robert Eaton, visited various rail stops along the Hi-Line on Tues., Nov. 3 to answer questions and present a summary of the renovations the company made to comply with 1990’s Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA). Amtrak invested $1 million in the Glasgow station. “It’s part of a national program to update our facilities and remove barriers for the disabled,” said Eaton. Of the 30 million annual Amtrak riders, one percent self-identifies as handicapped...

  • Fall Scottie Athletes Honored by District, State

    Patrick Burr, For The Courier|Nov 11, 2015

    For their respective teams, the season came to an abrupt halt. Football lost in the first round of the Class B playoffs, dropping a 47-6 contest in Baker. Volleyball fell twice on its home court and took fourth at the Northern Divisionals, two places shy of qualifying for State. This is not to say their performances went unnoticed. Four girls were named to District 2B's All-Conference 1st Team – Seniors Rikki Stormy and Rachel Mickelson, and Juniors Teagan Fossum and Khloe Krumwiede. Fossum, K...

  • Clean Water Project Director Talks Keystone, Renewable Energy

    Patrick Burr, The Courier|Nov 4, 2015

    In a broad field 45 miles from Billings, wind turbines churn, culling energy to be distributed throughout the region. Montana ranks 21st in the nation, according to the American Wind Energy Association, with 466 functioning wind turbines. These machines converted enough energy in 2014 to power 180,000 homes, representing 6.5 percent of all in-state electricity production. “Wind is a viable, sustainable source of power,” said Derf Johnson, Clean Water Project Director and Staff Attorney for Montana Environmental Information Center (MEIC), “an...

  • Glasgow Slain By Spartans in Playoff Rematch

    Patrick Burr, The Courier|Nov 4, 2015

    Glasgow mustered enough fight on Halloween night to avoid repeating the shutout of Sept. 11, but the red and white's six points crumpled as a paper shield under Baker's iron-toothed, 47-point onslaught. The Scotties second trip to the Spartans' turf mirrored the first in all but the 42-0 scoreline - though not by much did the two portraits differ. "We played hard," said coach Greg Liebelt, "but in the end we were overmatched, and made too many mistakes on both sides of the football to affect...

  • Municipal Elections come to Northeast Montana Cities

    Patrick Burr, The Courier|Oct 28, 2015

    On Nov. 3, voters across the county will elect a host of men and women to represent their respective townships. Some of the faces are familiar; others are rosy, unseasoned in the political realm. Each is assured, certain of his or her purpose and the benefit his or her election would bestow upon the citizens. The Courier provides an inside look at the contested races and the candidates vying for the seats. In Fort Peck, incumbent Mayor John Jones runs unopposed. Justin Schaaf, Kirsten Marie Holte, and Mark Sullivan, too, are unchallenged in the... Full story

  • Deschene Resigns

    Patrick Burr, The Courier|Oct 28, 2015

    The Glasgow City Council accepted the resignation of newly-hired attorney Kimberly Deschene at its Oct. 19 meeting. Mrs. Deschene decided to put off her pursuing of a vital role in the town’s government until her youngest son graduates high school and she can relocate to Valley County. At that time, if she so desires, she may submit a bid to be hired and go through the same process as she did in being hired this summer. Peter Helland will reassume his role as the city’s civil attorney through June, 2016. Glasgow will contract with the cou...

  • Running Scotties Miss Podium at Class B Championships

    Patrick Burr, The Courier|Oct 28, 2015

    Glasgow streaked to respective 4th and 5th-place finishes in the boys' and girls' Class B state meet on Saturday. Each field comprised 32 teams, though the standard of excellence set by both the male and female Running Scotties - 1st or 2nd-place in seven of nine 2015 meets for the former; the latter, five of nine- ensured the ride back from Great Falls was a muted, somber affair. Walker Allen (22nd) and Ellis McKean (24th) each crossed the finish line in under 17:20. Merlin McKean (17:47;...

  • Glasgow Trampled by Mustangs

    Patrick Burr, The Courier|Oct 28, 2015

    The Scotties' bite proved toothless Friday night as the team was shut out by its closest rival, 48-0. The night hung low over Scottie Field, endless as the hard, rolling prairie. The red-clad masses packed the bleachers, their shouts crashing wave-on-wave upon their boys' ears. Malta stormed into the game having outscored its previous four opponents 240-28, the most recent victory being a 72-6 stomping of Harlem. Glasgow, too, had romped over foes Poplar, Harlem, and Wolf Point in its last...

  • Vet Clinic Open Despite Loss

    Patrick Burr, The Courier|Oct 21, 2015

    In the wake of Doctor Russell J. Smith's passing, the Glasgow Veterinary Clinic consolidates its mettle to move forward. "Its been a tragedy," said Shirley Siefert, "but we're working through it. It's one day at a time out here." Dr. Smith was beloved by co-workers and customers alike. Though he served as the clinic's lone veterinarian, Siefert assures that business will continue as usual. "We have a relief vet [erinarian] coming in to perform professional services: spays, neuters, teeth cleanin...

  • City Council Roundup

    Patrick Burr, The Courier|Oct 21, 2015

    The Glasgow City Court received a $333,167 federal grant for the establishment of an adult treatment court. “Not a lot of limited courts of jurisdiction are awarded these grants,” said City Judge Lynn Gilbert. “This is something we’ve been working long and hard on, since May of last year. I’m proud of what we’ve done; we and Valley County are very fortunate.” The court plans to hire two new workers – a Drug Court Coordinator, a position which Gilbert demands be filled by someone with a minimum five years’ administrative experience, and a...

  • Local Elections are Coming Up

    Patrick Burr, The Courier|Oct 21, 2015

    On Nov. 3, townspeople around Valley County will turn out to vote in their city’s respective municipal elections. The candidates and the positions for which they’re running are as follows: Fort Peck: Mayor (4 year term): John Jones (incumbent) – unopposed Alderman/woman (4 yrs; 3 seats): Justin Schaaf (inc.); Kirsten Marie Holte (inc.); Mark Sullivan (inc.) Nashua: Alderman/woman (4 yrs; 2 seats): Robert I Zeluff (inc.); Michael Lee Stingley (inc.); Judy Boyum Opheim: Alderman/woman (4 yrs; 2 seats): Michael Roberton (inc.); Les Redfield (inc.... Full story

  • Scotties Blast Poplar In Third Straight Win

    Patrick Burr, The Courier|Oct 21, 2015

    The Red and White returned from Poplar in high spirits. A 63-22 victory over the host Indians marked the team's third straight conference triumph and sets up a winner-take-all showdown with Malta for the District 2B division title. The Scotties ran up the score early via a potent offensive attack. After the first quarter, the team led 28-0. At half, the score was 42-7. "We anticipated we'd have success with our run game," said Head Coach Greg Liebelt, "so instead of taking what they were giving...

  • Hockey in the Heartland

    Patrick Burr, The Courier|Oct 21, 2015

    A wide-swept hurricane of detritus pocks the empty Valley County Event Center parking lot on a hot mid-July morning. Crumpled Wrigley wrappers, beer cans crushed into the loose gravel by indifferent truck tires, and used "human snakeskins" croak inert melodies of their bygone import from isolated lily pads on an ocean of disuse begotten by excitable Northeastern Montana fairgoers too hurried to maintain the plain beauty of the unadorned. The first flutter of torn, spent plastic from between...

  • Running Scotties Sweep Plentywood in Final Tune-Up

    Patrick Burr, The Courier|Oct 21, 2015

    Four Glasgow runners finished in their respective meet's overall top five - Walker Allen and Ellis McKean for the boys, Emily and Julia Kolstad for the girls - as the Scotties coasted to top honors in Plentywood on Oct. 17. Merlin McKean, Braden Meland, and Cade Myrick rounded out the male scorers in their fourth victory of the season. Morgan Guttenberg, Alex Simensen, and Katie Kaiser slotted 3-4-5 for the girls, whose triumph marked a hat-trick of 1st place races in 2015. Saturday, both...

  • Glasgow Burns Bright Before Dawn

    Patrick Burr, The Courier|Oct 14, 2015

    A fire struck South Glasgow on Monday, Oct. 12. Firefighters were summoned to the alley at 9th St. and 2nd Ave. So. at 4:20 a.m. in response to a three-garage conflagration. While the men toiled to check the roaring flames, the garage across the street began to smoke. Georgie Kulczyk, who had awoken to the sharp static of the dispatch radio she keeps on her dresser and decided to hustle across town to witness the scene, alerted the men, and a group set to work stifling the blaze. The situation...

  • Congressman Zinke Visits Valley County

    Patrick Burr, The Courier|Oct 14, 2015

    “Montana matters. We’ve got just one representative in the house — but people care what Montana does. There’s the idea that what Montana is is hardworking, and its a true one.” These were the sentiments Congressman Ryan Zinke relayed to the dense crowd of students, ranchers, and small business owners packed into Farm & Equipment Sales in Glasgow the morning of Oct. 13. Zinke, in his first term as Montana’s lone house representative, has stopped through Valley County eight times in the past two years. His words to the mostly-supportive crowd str...

  • Scotties Turn Tables in Shutout of Harlem

    Patrick Burr, The Courier|Oct 14, 2015

    "It was another step in the right direction for us," said head coach Greg Liebelt of his team's 35-0 drubbing of the Harlem Wildcats. "We played well." Coach Liebelt's sentiments would not - could not - have applied to his team a fortnight ago. Now, though, after a second-consecutive rousing smackdown of a division 2B rival, a playoff berth looking all the more likely to rise from the ashes of the first four weeks' charred horror show, Liebelt's levity fits his squad's form as a sleek tuxedo on...

  • Fossum Forges Forward in Helena, Poised for the Present

    Patrick Burr, The Courier|Oct 14, 2015

    The rigors of everyday training endow Chase Fossum with a lurid portrait of balance's necessity in a productive life. Couple lifting sessions, team meetings and on-field practices with the social and scholarly demands placed on the shoulders of any college freshman, and one is left with a rough sketch of the NAIA athlete's kinetic schedule. This not to label the life too tall a drink for the young man. When the seemingly unconquerable is fitted with self-imported structure, the chimerical beast...

  • Glasgow Falls Short of Podium at Crowded Miles City Meet

    Patrick Burr, The Courier|Oct 14, 2015

    The Running Scotties strode to comfortable, if disappointing, 3rd and 4th-place finishes in Oct. 10's Miles City Invitational. Walker Allen's 17:26 in the boys' varsity race, good for 14th overall, led Glasgow's charge. Behind him came Ellis McKean (18:06, 21st), Gabe Hillock (19:03, 34th), Cade Myrick (19:04, 35th), and Braden Meland (19:09, 36th). The team's 140-point total cast an obese shadow over top three Harlem, Glendive, and Laurel's respective 28, 57, and 78 - though it provided a...

  • Montana Health Care Head Visits Valley County

    Patrick Burr, The Courier|Oct 7, 2015

    Monica J. Lindeen, Montana's Commissioner of Securities & Insurance from the State Auditor's Office, stopped in Glasgow last Wednesday, Sept. 30, as part of a visibility tour through the eastern part of the state. "We make a point to come out here and pay a visit," says Lindeen. A seven-year incumbent, Linden counts this trip as her second foray in two-plus years out from the mountain shadows of the west onto the prairie. While in Valley County, Lindeen went to Frances Mahon Deaconess Hospital t...

  • Glasgow Gridiron Gang Tramples Wolf Point

    Patrick Burr, The Courier|Oct 7, 2015

    For head coach Greg Liebelt, Friday night's rain-swept affair served as both a confirmation of his team's capability and a pealing toll to its final three opponents that the Scotties, record notwithstanding, cannot be overlooked. "This was needed, for sure," Liebelt said. "I said at the homecoming parade that we're a lot better than our record shows. We had a tough first five games, but we're a competitive team." Wolf Point's short-staffed roster was stretched thin by Glasgow's relentless...

  • A World Away, Padden Carves Future on Ice

    Patrick Burr, The Courier|Oct 7, 2015

    The drive from Glasgow, Mont. to Laconia, N.H. covers 2,170 miles - 33 hours, for the speed trap-wary traveler. For Ryan Padden, a 2015 Nashua High School graduate and current Tier III Junior Hockey forward for the EHL's New England Wolves, the haul is but a melodic trill in the first movement of his Symphony on Ice. Padden was first recruited by Wolves' head coach and GM Andrew Trimble in mid-2014 at the USA Hockey U18 National Tournament. Though offered a place on Trimble's roster, Padden...

  • Running Scotties Falter in Havre

    Patrick Burr, The Courier|Oct 7, 2015

    No amount of rain, muck, or wind could deter the Scotties from the task set before them in Havre on Oct. 3. The varsity boys finished second for the second straight week, falling victim to Fergus County's dazzling race, while the girls strode to a middle-of-the-pack result - third out of five teams. In the boys' race, Fergus' top five totaled just ten points above the minimum fifteen en route to a 48-point victory. The Glasgow boys, though their tally was near triple the winners', turned in a...

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