Queen City News
Aikido
Wednesday, February 23, 2005
Roque Wardell of Mountain Spirit Aikido visited Helena Middle School last Friday for a demonstration. He and students Angie and Sarah Rickard presented basic self-defense techniques for the PE classes. Akido is a Japanese discipline emphasizing self-defense and non-aggression. (Photos by Bob Clarkson)
Helena hosts a party
Wednesday, February 16, 2005
Thousands of Montanans from across the state turned out Saturday night for the Governor’s Inaugural Ball held at three venues in the Queen City. Gov. Brian Schweitzer, his wife, Nancy, and their children watched the spectacle at the Civic Center ballroom (top), a patriotically attired Kenneth Wharton from Bozeman partied with his date (middle left), jazz singer (and Montanan) Eden Atwood and her band (middle right) graced the auditorium (where Montanan Phillip Aaberg joined in on piano), and the standing-room-only crowd parted for the opening processional (bottom) led by a Native American chief (middle) and an honor guard. (Photos by Cathy Siegner and Nanette Tettaton)
Traffic on the walking mall: 'Let the people decide'
by Cathy Siegner
Wednesday, February 09, 2005
If the Friends of Downtown Helena gather valid signatures from 15 percent of the city’s registered voters, Helenans could see a measure on the September 13 (or November 8) ballot prohibiting nonpermitted traffic on the walking mall without a public vote.
Two members of the group’s steering committee submitted proposed ballot language to County Clerk and Recorder Paulette DeHart on Monday afternoon. The petition must first be approved by City Attorney David Neilsen and, three weeks later, the group can begin collecting signatures.
A total of 2,255 verifiable signatures from registered voters within the city limits must be gathered, according to Elections Supervisor Marilyn Bracken.
“This ballot initiative is the only option left to maintain the integrity of downtown Helena,” said Rachel Peura.
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Swimming strong: Local swimmers set new records at invitational
by Alan Barry
Wednesday, February 02, 2005
Swimmers from Helena did well at the Saturday invitational at Carroll College. Shown are Lauren Formaz (left) from Helena High and Hilary Turner (center) and Dani Sandrock (right) from Capital High. Turner set a Bruin record in the 200 freestyle, while Formaz and Sandrock had second-place finishes.
The Capital and Helena high school swimming teams hosted nine other schools from around the state at the Bohn Moerer Invitational Saturday at Carroll College.
Bozeman High School won the girl’s meet with 281 points, followed by Flathead (244) and Missoula Hellgate. Capital High School was fourth with 154 points, and Helena High scored 88 points for fifth.
In the 200-yard freestyle, Hilary Turner set a new school record for Capital. In a race that came down to the last stroke, Bozeman's Erin Bell touched first by two one-hundredths (.02) of a second, but Turner's time of 2:02.70 was a new Bruin record.
Walking the talk
by Cathy Siegner
Wednesday, January 26, 2005
About 160 students, faculty and staff from Carroll College recently caused a stir on campus by wearing T-shirts with deliberately insulting words printed on them. The words alluded to racial and sexual slurs and included “dyke,” “wop,” “injun,” “faggot,” “rag head,” “kike,” “nigger,” and others.
On the backs of the shirts was an invitation to anyone offended by the messages to come to a panel discussion about hate language the following night on campus, and quite a few people did just that, according to one of the event’s organizers, Ben Fuglevand.
“We had 80 to 100 students and faculty and community members show up, so that was pretty cool. I was pleased at the good turnout,” said Fuglevand, 19, a freshman from Seattle.
Panel participants were Travis McAdam, interim director of the Montana Human Rights Network; Barb Allen of PRIDE; Frank Kromkowski from Helena Peace Seekers; Kat Northup, a Helena High School student; Rep. Carol Juneau, D-Browning; Candie Cain, Carroll’s dean of enrollment services, and Dan Ladd from Intermountain Children’s Home.
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Cold enough for ya? Recalling the infamous winter of 1886-87.
by Rick & Susie Graetz
Wednesday, January 19, 2005
Our recent cold snap may have been bad, but it’s nothing compared to the bitter cold Montana suffered during the winter of 1886-87, when the state’s ranchers lost an estimated 60 percent of their cattle, or 362,000 head.
In his book, “Montana High, Wide and Handsome,” Montana author Joseph Kinsey Howard depicted the vicious winter storms of 1886-1887 that beat the prairie and its unlucky inhabitants into submission. We continue his narration with the discussion of just how those residents fared.
“Cattle which had been pushed over the Missouri in the fall to the better grass on the northern range drifted back, for there was little shelter on the steppes north of the river. Half dead from cold and hunger, their bodies covered with sores and frozen blood, bewildered and blind in a world of impenetrable white, they blundered into the barbed-wire fences, crumpled against them, and perished. They were trapped in drifts above their bellies and stood erect until their bodies froze. They slid into air holes in the rivers.
Second fiddle....
by Kristen Inbody, Community News Service, UM School of Journalism
Wednesday, January 12, 2005
For the first time in many years, the GOP doesn’t dominate the Montana Legislature. Will they make music with their colleagues across the aisle or will we hear sour notes until the session is over in April? Shown (clockwise from top) are Senate President Jon Tester, D-Big Sandy, Senate Minority Leader Bob Keenan, R-Bigfork, House Republican Leader Roy Brown, R-Billings, and House Speaker Gary Matthews, D-Miles City.
by Kristen Inbody
His office small and sparse since he no longer “entertains dignitaries,” Senate Minority Leader (and former Senate President) Bob Keenan flipped through a three-ring notebook of news clippings on his desk in the Capitol last week.
The 2-inch-thick binder is packed with hundreds of articles covering newly inaugurated Gov. Brian Schweitzer’s election campaign, beginning with his declaration of candidacy.
“We’re going to hold the governor accountable for campaign promises and making sure they weren’t just empty promises,” the Bigfork Republican said.
Whither the Walking Mall? (Decision postponed until Jan. 10, 2005.)
Wednesday, December 22, 2004
A standing-room-only crowd was at the City Commission meeting Monday night to comment on the redesign for the Walking Mall. Commissioners ended up tabling the issue until their January 10 meeting so questions about the proposal can be addressed. (Photos by Cathy Siegner and Thom Champion)
Note: The QCN is taking a holiday break and won't be published Dec. 29 or Jan. 5. We'll be back on Jan. 12, 2005.
Merry Christmas and Happy New Year and thanks for reading and supporting the paper through 2004!
They're coming!
by Kristen Inbody, Jessica Wambach and Anne E. Pettinger, Community News Service, UM School of Journalism
Wednesday, December 15, 2004
Look out, Helena! The 59th Montana Legislature is about to descend on the Queen City. Lawmakers from across the state will be burning the midnight oil trying to divvy up the state budget.
Legislative preview: The state budget
by Kristen Inbody
Come January, Montana legislators will face a budgetary phenomenon they haven't seen in years: an overflowing treasury. Unlike their recent predecessors who dodged projected deficits by slashing programs, members of the 59th legislature will convene January 3 with a surplus estimated at $278 million.
Yet deciding what to do with the money may prove anything but easy. One issue alone has the potential to derail what some legislators hoped would be the least stressful session in years.
“Education has to be the 800-pound gorilla in the budget debate,” says outgoing Rep. Gary Forrester, D-Billings, chairman of the interim Legislative Finance Committee.
Creative Christmas: Festival of Trees
Wednesday, December 08, 2004
The annual Festival of Trees, a benefit for Intermountain Children’s Home, was held this past weekend at the Civic Center. The decorations were stunning, as always, both for the full-size and tabletop trees plus the wreaths and other creative Christmas items. (Photos by Adam Benson)
Open Mike: Watching the detectives
by Michael Mahoney
Wednesday, March 22, 2006
One of the most enduring television genres is the detective show. A programming staple going way back to radio days, crime-oriented shows continue to dominate the TV schedule even now.
Death penalty hypocritical
by Count Sunk
Wednesday, March 22, 2006
Dear Editor:
Dr. W. Rea Knight's letter (QCN, March 8, 2006) hit the nail on the head. He dared to say that if states want the Ten Commandments displayed in their capital buildings, etc., then they should be required to abolish the death penalty. That would avoid a lot of hypocrisy.
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Chavez 'disinformation'
by Will Boland
Wednesday, March 22, 2006
Dear Editor,
I admired Dan Stanger’s spectacular piece of disinformation about Hugo Chavez (QCN, March 8, 2005), though his information flies in the face of everything I have read or learned about Venezuela. The elections bringing Chavez to office were certified fair by a host of international observers. A referendum was held that emphasized this fact.
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Inform public sooner
by Mary Ann Dunwell
Wednesday, March 22, 2006
Dear Editor,
Regarding the recent state health department recall of ammonia-tainted school food throughout Montana, my 10-year-old son, who eats school lunches through the Helena School District, complained several times of vomiting and a burning throat in the afternoon during this same time frame. On a couple of occasions, I had to leave work to take him home. School staff and I could not figure out what was causing his vomiting. He generally felt better within a few hours. His illness may have been caused by a virus or something else, although he had no fever, runny nose or other symptoms except for a mild headache.
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Socialism is a 'dirty word'
by Frederick D. Plaisted
Wednesday, March 22, 2006
To the Editor:
Ha! Ha! Ha! Three dollars a gallon for gasoline! That’s what oil executives have decided the “market” will bear.
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ACLU works to protect all
by Deborah Schaaf
Wednesday, March 22, 2006
To the Editor:
I understand the frustration Mr. Bender expressed in his letter (QCN, March 8, 2006) that the ACLU doesn’t get it. I sometimes feel that way myself, and I work at the ACLU. Why does the ACLU have to represent all these people with “outlandish” views? It’s because the rights and liberties set out in the Bill of Rights are for all Americans, whether I agree with them or not. Indeed, it is the very purpose of the Constitution’s Bill of Rights to limit the power of the democratic majority to ensure our individual rights. Rich or poor, black or white or brown, man or woman, straight or gay, urban or rural, pious or atheist, American- or foreign-born, able-bodied or living with a disability, every person in this country is entitled to the same basic rights.
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Montana quarter idea
by Clay Speich
Wednesday, March 22, 2006
To the Editor:
In responding to the idea of what represents Montana best on the back of our new quarter, and knowing it’s so 19th Century to show the buffalo skull made famous by Russell’s “bones of death,” our near annihilation of a 10,000-year-old species, I do suggest in keeping this theme of annihilation a 21st-Century representation of a new threat to the dominant species. How about a “Made in Montana Malmstrom mushroom cloud”?
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Nominations being sought
by Dan Anderson
Wednesday, March 22, 2006
To the Editor:
On May 5th at the Golden Triangle Mental Health Center Foundation’s Dignity Dinner, someone from the tri-county area will receive the 2006 Beautiful Minds Dignity Award to recognize outstanding achievement in providing services, support and advocacy for members of our community who have mental illness.
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Welcome mat for Latinos
by Bill Lovelady
Wednesday, March 22, 2006
To the Editor:
Newspapers estimate that 10 million Latinos now live in the United States. The lodging, food, and cleaning companies welcome them. The unions say that the Latinos are easy to organize.
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Weigh in on mail move
by Janet Kosnik
Wednesday, March 22, 2006
To the Editor:
Thank you for printing my previous letters about the possibility of the Postal Service’s plan to move Helena’s outgoing mail to Great Falls. It’s nearing the end of the month and, initially, the decision was to be made by the end of February. Now the latest is the end of March. That’s all that we’ve heard.
Unions vow to refer minimum wage hike
Wednesday, March 22, 2006
The Montana State AFL-CIO has released a report showing that federal legislation proposing to increase the minimum wage to $7.25 per hour would directly benefit more than 190,000 Montanans. Congress has not raised the $5.15-per-hour minimum wage in nearly a decade.
The Wine Guy
by Keith Lavender
Wednesday, March 22, 2006
This is a story of what happens when wine goes bad. It’s a sad story, but one that must be told. First it starts sassing back to its parents. Then, smoking behind the garage. Pretty soon, it’s running around with its so-called “friends,” spray-painting cars and tripping senior citizens as they try to cross the street.
The Wine Guy
by Keith Lavender
Wednesday, March 08, 2006
Dear Wine Guy: What kind of wine do I serve with what kind of food?
—Puzzled in the Valley
Dear Puzzled: While there are definitely some guidelines that I’ll be sharing with you through this column, the answer is once again, “The wine you like and that tastes good to you.” Don’t get hung up on serving “the right wine.” Serve what you and your guests are going to like. It’s true that white wine is generally associated with lighter meals, summertime, fish and poultry, and red wine with heavier meals such as steak, but I’ve enjoyed many white wines with steak and many red wines with fish.
Great Harvest to open at former Pizza Hut
Wednesday, February 22, 2006
A Great Harvest Bread Co. will open this spring in the former Pizza Hut space at 1133 Helena Ave. Bobbi Ecklund, who now works for the state Board of Investments, will own and operate the new Helena franchise.
The Wine Guy
by Keith Lavender
Wednesday, February 22, 2006
In my first column, I mentioned White Zinfandel and the fact that it’s a sweet wine. It’s not considered a “serious” wine (and, heaven knows, we have to be serious when talking about wine), but it’s the choice of many a person first venturing into the arena of drinking wine, especially red wine.
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Closures, potential closures and buyouts
by Cathy Siegner
Wednesday, February 15, 2006
Legends Clothing for Women on the downtown Walking Mall is closing and owner Judy Palmquist is retiring.
Barron, Bunderson lead 20th Race to the Sky
Wednesday, February 08, 2006
(Editor's note: Barron did win the race Tuesday night.)
The first Race to the Sky finisher was to cross the archway in Lincoln on Tuesday evening about 7 p.m. John Barron of Helmville was in first place as of QCN’s presstime, arriving at the Seeley Lake checkpoint early Tuesday morning, followed by about an hour and a half by Jon Bunderson of Soda Springs, Idaho. Both had 11 dogs.
The Wine Guy
by Keith Lavender
Wednesday, February 08, 2006
A lot of people drink Chardonnay. It’s a white wine that’s made all over the world. In Australia and the U.S.. it’s a full-bodied wine, heavy with a butter-vanilla flavor. Many people, including me, consider it to be on the sweet side.
Montana Tunnels mine may close this spring
by Cathy Siegner
Wednesday, February 01, 2006
The wall collapse last fall at the Montana Tunnels mine near Jefferson City has dealt a serious enough blow that the mine plans to close this spring.
Town Pump to revamp Prospect & Montana
by Cathy Siegner
Wednesday, January 25, 2006
Town Pump, Inc., wants to redevelop its existing convenience store and gas station on four city lots on the corner of Prospect and Montana avenues. The plan would significantly increase the size of the store and double the number of gas pumps by adding a diagonal three-dispenser island.
Man vs. woman exhibit opens March 31
Wednesday, March 22, 2006
The Holter Museum of Art presents an exhibition of ceramic work by three artist-couples in a new twist on the age-old “Battle of the Sexes.” The exhibition opens with a free public reception for the artists on Friday, March 31, from 6-8 pm at the Holter.
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Holter seeks artist submissions
Wednesday, March 22, 2006
The Holter Museum of Art welcomes artists to participate in its 2006 Art Auction exhibition opening August 21.
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Held discusses 'Collecting Ceramics' on Wednesday
Wednesday, March 15, 2006
The Holter Museum’s Voices and Visions Lecture Series continues at the Holter Museum on Wednesday, March 15, at 5:30 pm with an illustrated lecture by Peter Held.
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Carroll College student art show
Wednesday, March 15, 2006
Opening Wednesday, March 15, is the annual the Carroll College Student Art Exhibit. This event will include ceramics, drawings and photographs, and students from both fall and spring semester classes will have their work on display.
Library exhibit
Wednesday, March 15, 2006
The Lewis & Clark Library is the location for a small exhibit of pastel paintings framed in stained glass designed and painted by local Helena artist Kathryn Fehlig, see more at https://www.tarifs.org/musee-grevin-tarif
Forget what you know about courage
by Doug Mitchell
Wednesday, March 08, 2006
In 1955, the London Daily Mail sent one of its reporters, Ronald Dowling, to interview a Polish immigrant living in London for a story about the Yeti–the legendary abominable snowman of the Himalayas. Dowling got more than he bargained for–and so will readers of “The Long Walk”, an extraordinary true story of almost impossible courage.
'The River's Edge'
Wednesday, March 08, 2006
Helena native Lenore McKelvey Puhek has written a fictional account of the lives of Thomas Francis Meagher and his second wife, Elizabeth Townsend “Libby” Meagher. “The River’s Edge” attempts a fresh approach to the mystery that surrounds this family.
Turman Gallery show opens Friday
Wednesday, March 01, 2006
The photography of Bozeman artist Tom Ferris and the ceramics of Big Sky artist Jill Zeidler will be exhibited at the Turman Gallery from Friday, March 3, to Saturday, April 8, 2006.
Copy business founder is a true original
by Doug Mitchell
Wednesday, February 15, 2006
Not often does the autobiography of a modern business icon make you laugh while reading one page, force you to think about serious educational policy on the next and make brash pronouncements about how to succeed in business on the following. “Copy This!”, the charming autobiography of Kinko’s founder Paul Orfalea, does just that.
Holter 'Use-Eums' for children on Saturday
Wednesday, February 15, 2006
“Use-Eums” are Holter Museum workshops for children ages 3-7 accompanied by adults.
Now Showing
Wednesday, June 06, 2007
The following films are playing in Helena this week:
'Knocked Up': More than just a sex comedy
by Geoffrey Stueven
Wednesday, June 06, 2007
“Knocked Up” is being touted as the new sex comedy from writer-director Judd Apatow, and while those two words capture something of the film’s surface, they fail to do justice to its true strengths. As in his previous film, “The 40-Year-Old Virgin”, most of the laughs are derived from the sexual hang-ups and entanglements of the characters, but these are always dealt with in an unflinchingly honest way.
The 'Bull Durham' star as a serial killer?
by Peter Rainer, film critic, The Christian Science Monitor
Wednesday, June 06, 2007
Can you imagine Kevin Costner as a serial killer? That's the premise of "Mr. Brooks," and it's not as far-fetched as you might at first imagine.
Now Showing
Wednesday, May 30, 2007
The following films are playing in Helena this week:
'Pirates' is fun, but we're at wit's end
by Peter Rainer, film critic, The Christian Science Monitor
Wednesday, May 30, 2007
The first two "Pirates of the Caribbean" movies are among the biggest commercial phenomena in the history of movies. Together they've grossed more than $1 billion. That's a lot of doubloons.
'28 Weeks Later': Come the apocalypse
by Phillip Stephens
Wednesday, May 30, 2007
Ideally a zombie film or, more broadly, all post-apocalyptic fare — while made evocative through its frightening conceit — should serve as an excellent springboard for human allegory. The end-of-civilization motif made popular by such authors as John Wyndham and Richard Matheson was seized upon by George Romero and his original zombie trilogy and used to create an excellent vehicle for satire, exploiting the disturbing pitfalls faced by the human race once the veneer of civilization was stripped away.
Now Showing
Wednesday, May 23, 2007
The following films are playing in Helena this week:
Leaps in animation, but not in plot
by Peter Rainer, film critic, The Christian Science Monitor
Wednesday, May 23, 2007
The law of diminishing returns is no more apparent than in the movie world. A sequel, with rare exceptions, is worse than the film it follows, and sequels of sequels fare even worse.
Hollywood grapples with smoking in movies
by Frank Kosa
Wednesday, May 23, 2007
NEWSFLASH: The Motion Picture Association of America, the Hollywood ratings watchdog, has leaped into the cigarette smoking fray. Just 41 years after the federal government mandated that warnings be put on cigarette packages, the MPAA has taken the courageous step of realizing that smoking may be possibly, somewhat unhealthy. When a movie comes in for a rating and actors light up on screen, the MPAA is taking the draconian measure of ... "taking that into account”.
Now Showing
Wednesday, May 16, 2007
The following films are playing in Helena this week:
In Beijing during the Chinese New Year
by William Buck
Wednesday, March 14, 2007
(Editor’s note: William Buck of Hamilton is a registered nurse at the Fort Harrison VA Medical Center. During the Chinese New Year in February, he visited his son, Will, who teaches English to Chinese students in Beijing.)
Dispatches: Transformations
by Debra Bernardi
Wednesday, September 13, 2006
Margaret Fuller, whose 1840s newspaper column, “Dispatches from Europe,” inspired my “Dispatches from Rome” column over the summer in these pages, never made it back from Italy. In love with her adopted country, she drowned, along with her new Italian husband and baby, when their returning ship sunk off the coast of Long Island.
New Orleans: Open for business
by Bernardine Abbott Hoduski
Thursday, August 03, 2006
Some 18,000 librarians, publishers and vendors spent the last week of June in New Orleans at the American Library Association Convention. They were welcomed warmly by everyone, including Mayor Ray Nagin, Lieutenant Governor Mitch Landrieu, hotel, bar, restaurant, museum and shop staff, and cab and bus drivers. Even First Lady Laura Bush showed up to praise the librarians for their help in restoring school libraries and raising money for those damaged by hurricanes.
Dispatches from Rome: Going 'home'
by Debra Bernardi
Wednesday, June 14, 2006
So, how to leave Rome after two months here? Throw a coin in the Trevi Fountain, I guess, and hope for the best.
Dispatches from Rome: Bodies, living and dead
by Debra Bernardi
Thursday, June 08, 2006
Well into May now in Rome, the temperature is rising, the humidity increasing, the trees growing thick and lush. I’m becoming more aware of my body, the heat of the sun on my skin as I walk through the streets, the dampness of the air around me as I run along the banks of the Tiber.
Rome dispatches: A country for old men
by Debra Bernardi
Wednesday, May 31, 2006
The new Italian president is 80 years old. Named in a recent chaotic and complicated parliamentary election, Giorgio Napolitano is a well-respected ex-Communist who has been in Italian politics for half a century.
Dispatches from Rome: Consuming passions
by Debra Bernardi
Wednesday, May 24, 2006
In the 19th Century, Nathaniel’s wife, Sophia Hawthorne, wrote pages and pages of descriptions of the art she encountered during her travels in Europe. The book that came out of it, “Notes in England and Italy,” shows the ways that a Victorian traveler tried to “capture” in words the paintings, sculptures, and architecture she saw.
Dispatches from Rome: Communication limits
by Debra Bernardi
Thursday, May 04, 2006
I have been trying my best to speak Italian while here in Rome. As the teacher and students in my Italian class in Helena know, I was working regularly on the language for months leading up to this journey. But everything becomes much more complex once you’re negotiating the Italian city streets.
Dispatches from Rome: Sacred (and other) spaces
by Debra Bernardi
Wednesday, April 26, 2006
I like to think of travel as a form of ritual. Borrowing from writers such as anthropologist Victor Turner and literary critic William Stowe, I see the adventure of travel as a move from ordinary life to a “sacred dimension.”
Dispatches from Rome: Love and the city
by Debra Bernardi
Wednesday, April 19, 2006
I am calling this column “Dispatches from Rome” after columns written by the New England intellectual Margaret Fuller, who sent “dispatches” from Europe to the New York Tribune in the mid-19th Century.