The Billings Gazette back issues from January 2006:
SHIVER SHOCK
Jan 01, 2006; ... "Holy cow! Was the temperature that much lower this month? This is outrageous." Fern Vonderheide, in the kitchen of her trailer home in Lockwood, was recalling her reaction when she opened her December natural gas bill. Her records, kept neatly in a blue file folder, include each month's ...
Programs help reduce heating costs
Jan 01, 2006; ... Montana, through the Department of Public Health and Human Services, offers two program aimed at helping low-income individuals reduce their heating costs. The Weatherization Program helps participants improve the heating efficiency of their homes and thus reduce energy consumption. The ...
Cost of insulating homes also keeps going up
Jan 01, 2006; ... The number of people adding more insulation to existing homes has tripled since late summer, a Billings insulator says. "We've been going crazy with homeowners," Scott Sannes said. And bags of cellulose blow-in insulation is flying out of Lowe's on a daily basis, its manager ...
2005: A LOOK BACK; High gas prices, utility bills top concerns of residents, businesses
Jan 01, 2006; ... Record-high gasoline prices and utility bills were at the top of the concerns of area residents and businesses for the year 2005. Nearly four years after NorthWestern Corp. bought Montana Power Co.'s remaining assets, the future of the South Dakota company and its 470,000 Montana ...
2005: A LOOK BACK; Adequate rain spawns hay crop jump of 2 million tons
Jan 01, 2006; ... Bovine spongiform encephalopathy and international borders provided bookends for the cattle industry in Montana in 2005. Wheat crops were bountiful with prices in the doldrums. And, if Montana has a "normal winter" this year, there is plenty of forage as the state's hay crop rebounded ...
Hospice experiences growth spurt in space, staff
Jan 01, 2006; ... Growth is a major reason why companies choose to remodel and expand, but for Rocky Mountain Hospice, there was no choice: It was remodel or bust. The hospice care company has yet to celebrate a year in business but grew by six times in 11 months. What started out as a four-person company ...
ABOUT TIME
Jan 02, 2006; ... A trip to the jeweler's more than four decades ago changed time for watchmaker Robert Greenwood. The young hardware salesman had been sent to have his wife's glasses repaired at Sissel's Agate and Jewelry in his hometown of Sidney. Once inside, he became intrigued by the tools and ...
Woman leaves behind rat race to reach 'Common Ground'
Jan 02, 2006; ... Living in Florida, Teri DeRome was deep into the corporate grind, working long days building a company from four employees to 35. Then, she walked away from it all, sold her Florida home and moved to Red Lodge. And, she couldn't be happier. DeRome bought the Common Ground ...
1st-class career ends for postal marketing manager
Jan 03, 2006; ... Over the past 37 years, Ted Blazina has seen first-class; stamp prices increase from 25 to 39 cents, sorted mail manually and automatically and helped usher the nation through fear of anthrax in the mail system. But, starting today, the only things he'll worry about are how many fish ...
THE FUEL PRICE SQUEEZE
Jan 04, 2006; ... High gas prices or not, people need milk, water and groceries. So when prices hovered near $3 a gallon last fall, local companies that deliver those goods - and heavily depend on gasoline - had to find a way to survive. Doug French, manager and driver for Reliable Water Service, ...
DENIED INSURANCE: Foster parents lose child care license
Jan 05, 2006; ... A few days after a story invThe Billings Gazette spotlighted Paula and Denis Pitman for their work with foster children, the Heights couple lost their child care license. The state revoked the license because the Pitmans could not secure liability insurance for their business, Treasure ...
Schools: New funding not enough
Jan 05, 2006; ... HELENA - At Helena's public schools, the $1 million they'll receive this fall in new, unrestricted state money won't quite cover scheduled salary increases for school employees. "What it does is help us hold our own," Superintendent Bruce Messinger said. "Our goal will be to not have to ...
MSU-B business dean quits
Jan 05, 2006; ... Joe Michels, who has been dean of the Montana State University Billings College of Business for 30 years, has resigned for health reasons. Michels said Wednesday that he began a medical leave from his job Aug. 27, 2005, and has been under a doctor's care for congestive heart failure. He ...
Teachers defend online master's degrees
Jan 06, 2006; ... Master's degrees costing less than $3,000 could cost two Canyon Creek teachers as much as $37,000 each if it's determined those degrees came from an illegiimate "diploma mill." Longtime teachers Bevrely Henkel and Candice Holzer pleaded their case Thursday during a Montana Department of ...
Glitches for Medicare meds
Jan 06, 2006; ... Some people in Baker who signed up for the Medicare Part D prescription drug benefit got their medicine for free this week. Gerry Gamrath, the pharmacist at Lawler Drug, said some of his customers didn't get their Part D prescription cards in time for the programs launch on Jan. 1, and ...
Coalition to take ed funding to court
Jan 06, 2006; ... HELENA - The issue of funding Montana's public schools is going back to court this spring, as an education group said Thursday that state funding is still inadequate. But the coalition of education groups that brought the original school funding lawsuit said it won't ask for any drastic ...
FISHTAIL STORE IS FOR SALE
Jan 07, 2006; ... FISHTAIL - Wanted: New owner for general store. Must be community-minded and have a surplus of energy. Ability to bake is a real plus. Serious inquiries only. Call 328-7168. Bill and Katy Martin, owners of the Fishtail General Store, might be willing to bend a bit on the tongue-in-cheek ...
NWE's residential electric rates highest in region
Jan 08, 2006; ... HELENA - NorthWestern Energy's residential customers in Montana are now paying the highest electricity rates in the region, a comparison by the Gazette State Bureau shows. As of this month, the 300,000 homeowners on NorthWestem's electric System in Montana are paying 8.83 cents per ...
MIND OVER MUSCLE
Jan 09, 2006; ... Gym memberships typically spike in January but personal trainer Paul Taylor hardly sees a blip in his workload. "There is no off season," he said, then pulled out a flier he had printed in November. The flier encouraged people to get into the New Year mode before the holidays hit. "By ...
Meal-prep business caters to busy customers
Jan 09, 2006; ... Maybe at your house you eat dishes everyday like salmon with creamy dill sauce and bourbon and brown sugar flank steak. But most families are too busy for anything more than store-bought pizza, cold cereal or microwave burritos. Deb Powell and business partner Jamie Dyk have been ...
Ultrasound gives inside look at fetus
Jan 12, 2006; ... Even if he could reach through a woman's belly and hold her baby in his hands, Dr. David Jackson couldn't determine much about the baby's health. There are very few things I could tell just by looking," Jackson said. But with the latest ultrasound technology, Jackson and other ...
Project Hope moves to bigger location
Jan 12, 2006; ... COLUMBUS - The army of shopping carts wheeling back and forth on Pike Avenue in Columbus likely raised a few eyebrows recently. "It looked like the bag ladies had hit town," said Mary Kuehn, one of the people involved in the grocery cart brigade. "The carts served as mini moving vans to ...
ON BROADWAY
Jan 08, 2006; ... Competing proposals to develop property near Parmly Billings Library at North Broadway and Fourth Avenue North call for a building that would be the largest construction project in downtown Billings since the First Interstate Bank building opened in 1984. Both plans include a new Stockman Bank ...
Dairy Queen to replace Happy Diner on Grand
Jan 08, 2006; ... Fans of the all-American burger and homemade pies have been wondering about the fate of The Happy Diner, which closed unexpectedly Nov. 5. The building will be demolished, and a Dairy Queen will be built on the site at 1045 Grand Ave. While the deal isn't complete yet, on Dec. 10 ...
Good Earth Market aims for Feb. 19 opening
Jan 08, 2006; ... Call it a major victory for the little guy - or little guys, if you really look at it. Good Earth Market is on track to open Feb. 19 at its new downtown location on the comer of Second Avenue North and North 31st Street. The neighborhood health food co-op store could be ...
Partners don't let Byron grocery store close
Jan 17, 2006; ... BYRON, Wyo. - Dorothy Cozzens first opened her small Byron grocery store in 1935, and after running it for most of the next 70 years, she figured it was time for a break. "I thought I deserved a vacation," said Cozzens, who turned 93 in November. So she began discussing with her ...
YMCA picks new director
Jan 17, 2006; ...A Florida man has been hired as the director of the Billings Family YMCA. Paul Manning is scheduled to start work on Jan 30. Manning was hired last month by the YMCA's board of directors to, replace Ed Slater, who has been heading the Y since June 2004. Manning is now executive director ...
Selling Billings to tourists
Jan 18, 2006; ... Folks in Eastern Montana know a lot about Billings, and they come here mostly to shop and dine. Folks in Great Falls also love to come to Billings, again mostly for the shopping and restaurants. North Dakotans who want to enjoy these urban pleasures mostly point their cars east ...
Closed grocery to be retail center
Jan 19, 2006; ... The developers who bought three Montana grocery stores say they plan to make the Billings County Market a retail center and are negotiating the resale of the Great Falls County Market West property. Samuel and Co, a real estate company based in Washington state with an office in Phoenix, ...
NWE plan warns of higher rates
Jan 15, 2006; ... HELENA - While residential customers of NorthWestern Energy already are paying among the highest electric rates in the region, a company power buying plan warns that rates likely will increase more in the future. The plan, filed late last month with the state Public Service Commission, ...
Metra in red after money-losing shows
Jan 16, 2006; ... In Major League Baseball, a .333 batting average puts you ahead of guys like Alex Rodriguez and Johnny Damon. In the profit-driven entertainment industry, two moneylosing ventures paired with one success can dig you a financial hole. Such was the case at MetraPark last year. A ...
Fair trade
Jan 16, 2006; ... At Global Village on Third Avenue North, brightly colored trinkets, jewelry, clothing, bags, boxes, dolls, musical instruments, plates, artwork coffee and chocolates attract passers-by. The store has all fair-trade products, a sign says - but what does that mean? For artisans in ...
American dreamer
Jan 16, 2006; ... Shondee Ellison can honestly say she's living the American Dream. Twenty years ago as a high school student in Miles City, Ellison got a job working the drive through at McDonald's. Today, she manages the four McDonald's restaurants in Billings, overseeing $6 million a year in ...
Village Shoes the right fit for owners
Jan 16, 2006; ... Like a lot of business owners, Bob and Debbie Kuntz are experts at what they do, but still have to learn from the occasional mistake. The Kuntzes own Village Shoes in the Rimrock Mall in Billings. Hoping to save a little money, they once bought a huge order of 2,500 pairs of shoes from ...
Battlefield debate pits crowds vs. preservation
Jan 21, 2006; ... As far as Robert Utley is concerned, the 54-year-old visitor center and museum at Little Bighorn Battlefield National Monument is not only an intrusion on a historic landscape, but a transgression against current National Park Service policy. "Enlarging it would only make it more so," ...
Hospital plan nearly complete
Jan 21, 2006; ... A $2.4 million renovation at Big Horn County Memorial Hospital in Hardin has overhauled just about every square inch of the 50-year-old medical center. "Basically, most of our building has been gutted from outside wall to outside wall," chief executive officer Gary Robertson said. '"When ...
Wyoming museum defends custody of fossil
Jan 11, 2006; ... THERMOPOLIS, Wyo. - A plan to bring a rare, scientifically valuable dinosaur fossil to a private collection, in Thermopolis has become the focus of debate among some scientists concernad about researchers' access to the specimen. The Wyoming Dinosaur Center, a privately owned collection ...
Library safety up to snuff
Jan 11, 2006; ... Unless they know where to look, patrons probably won't notice $400,000 worth of improvements at Parmly Billings Library. A project to fix the building's numerous fire and safety problems is complete. As part of the project, workers enclosed a fire escape that leads from the basement to ...
Land deal for 4th and Broadway advances
Jan 11, 2006; ... Very early Tuesday morning, Stockman Bank moved a step closer to bringing a development project to fourth Avenue North and North Broadway in downtown Billings. At the end of a meeting that dragged on to nearly 1 a.m. Tuesday, the City Council voted to approve an offer from Stockman Bank ...
'06 should please investors, Davidson & Co., brokers told
Jan 11, 2006; ... The Dow Jones Industrial average made up of 30 blue-chip stocks brought smiles to people's faces by climbing over the 11,000 barrier Monday week for the first time in four years. D.A. Davidson & Co.'s chief market strategist, Fred Dickson from the Portland, Ore., area, told the ...
Creating Awareness
Jan 11, 2006; ... In October 2001, Deanna Wittak received the best birthday gift she could ever want - a new liver for her son, Jacob. Jacob, nearly a year old at the time, was born with a condition called biliary atresia. "Basically, his bile ducts failed to develop," explained Deanna. "They ...
County Market closing
Jan 14, 2006; ... Citing poor profits and a lucrative offer to sell the properties, managers told Montana employees Friday morning that the Central County Market in Billings and the West County Market in Great Falls are closing. Both stores will close at 6 p.m. Monday, laying off 25 employees in Billings ...
Experts: Dereg didn't cut rates
Jan 14, 2006; ... HELENA - Electric utility deregulation, or "restructuring," has not reduced rates for industrial consumers - the group it was most expected to help and in some cases created costs that raised prices, three experts have concluded. "There is no evidence that the price or rate of change of ...
NorthWestern gas, electricity rates to fall
Jan 20, 2006; ... HELENA - A drop in market prices for natural gas and electricity is enabling NorrhWestern Energy to reduce its rates for both commodities Feb. 1, including a 12.5 percent cut in natural gas rates for homeowners. Rates for NorthWestern's 310,000 electricity customers in Montana also will ...
Insurance pool for businesses moves forward
Jan 20, 2006; ... HELENA - State-subsidized health insurance for Montana's smallest businesses is under way, as the state's largest health insurer Thursday signed a contract to provide policies for uninsured businesses and their workers. "This is a first significant step in helping small businesses afford ...
Airport departures, arrivals up
Jan 20, 2006; ... Flights out of Billings Logan International Airport reached record levels in 2005 Figures provided by airport officials show that departures from Billings jumped to 418,141 from the previous year's record of 411,989 departures, an overall increase of 1.49 percent The rise continues a ...
More nurses needed
Jan 23, 2006; ... In four years, the number of sexual assault examinations performed by Billings nurses has doubled, but the number of nurses available to do the exams has dropped by almost half. Just seven nurses are on Billings Clinic's list of trained sexual assault nurse examiners who can be called ...
Art of pieces
Jan 23, 2006; ... All artists dream of making creativity their career, but few can turn a passion into a paycheck. Mosaic artist Jessica Hudson aims to dispel the cliche of the starving artist and is working at making art her full-time job. Right now, Hudson pays the bills by working during the ...
Cook looks to make his mark on Laurel eatery
Jan 23, 2006; ... Two years ago, Dirk Frickel found himself at a crossroads. He had graduated from the Western Culinary Institute in Portland, Ore., and was working for a restaurant, describing, it as the best job he ever had. Back home in Laurel, however, his mother was struggling with the family ...
Albertsons Sold: SuperValu buys Montana, 2 Wyoming stores
Jan 24, 2006; ... In a three-way sell-off of the second-largest grocery chain 'in the United States, SuperValu Inc. is buying 32 Albertsons stores in Montana, two in Wyoming and two in North Dakota. The rest of the Wyoming stores are being sold to a five-company investor group that includes three real ...
Council delays OK of treatment center
Jan 24, 2006; ... The City Council on Monday delayed approval for a controversial residential alcohol treatment center in the North Park neighborhood. By doing so, the council urged local residents and the developer, Rimrock Foundation, to come up with a plan that's more acceptable to the neighborhood ...
Shriners check up on kids at Deering Clinic
Jan 22, 2006; ... Al Bedoo Shriner Ron Shaw was in his element Saturday morning - surrounded by kids in need of care and doctors to help them. Shaw and about 25 other Shriners from the Al Bedoo Hospital Corps conducted a screening examination and outreach clinic at Deering Clinic. The group flew in a team of ...
Site near Cody eyed for exclusive resort
Jan 22, 2006; ... CODY, Wyo. - A deal is in the works between a billionaire developer and local landowners that may place Cody among an exclusive group of 10 unique destinations around the world where a club of 500 wealthy families vacation and recreate. Monster Lake, one of two private lakes on 3,248 ...
Better Diagnostics: Better care
Jan 22, 2006; ... Copper the beagle was down for the count when staff at Moore Lane Veterinary Hospital shaved his side and turned him into a canine dot-to-dot. He won't remember the allergy test, but the veterinarians there hope he'll enjoy the long-term benefits. The next day and miles away, at the ...
BSE finding in Canada draws mixed response
Jan 24, 2006; ... Confirmation of a new case of mad cow disease in Canada on Monday prompted calls by some U.S. cattle industry groups to halt cattle and beef trade until how the cow became infected is better understood. The U.S. secretary of agriculture said suspension of trade is unlikely. The case, ...
Volek in running for top position in city offices
Jan 25, 2006; ... Some City Council members have suggested that hiring the next Billings city administrator could be as simple as removing the word "interim" from in front of Tina Volek's administrator title. The council decided to take a serious look at Volek for the city's top job during Monday's ...
DEQ puts pressure on railroad to clean up sites
Jan 26, 2006; ... HELENA - In a letter to BNSF Railway, Montana's top environmental official says it's time for less talk and more cleanup at the company's polluted railroad yards around the state. The letter, written last month by Environmental Quality Director Richard Opper and obtained recently by the ...
A Lofty Feat
Jan 26, 2006; ... For Lynn and Robert Jenni of Big Sky, the Lone Peak Tram has meant more than just a means to snowboard some radical runs. On March 30, 1996, they were married atop the lift. The Tram carried the bride, groom and 75 people to the summit for a ceremony. "It had just dumped the ...
Wind power among ideas for Metra
Jan 26, 2006; ... Looking across a vacant field at MetraPark on a blustery January afternoon, County Commissioner Bill Kennedy urged his colleagues to imagine an array of wind generators cranking out enough environmentally friendly electricity to keep MetraPark's lights glowing and the ice rink ...
Alternatives Inc. plans growth of pre-release facilities, services
Jan 27, 2006; ... Alternatives Inc. has plans to expand its pre-release center into a building on South 27th Street whether or not it wins a state contract to put a methamphetainine treatment unit in Billings. The nonprofit business operates a pre-release center under contract with the state Department of ...
Wal-Mart working on Laurel plans
Jan 28, 2006; ... Wal-Mart expects to submit a building permit application by June and have a Supercenter built in Laurel by fall 2007, according to Perry Asher, administrative assistant for the city of Laurel. Asher said Friday that a Wal-Mart representative met with city officials about two weeks ago ...
Heat seekers
Jan 30, 2006; ... Dave Cattnach holds a series of infrared photos in vibrant colors demonstrating the hot and cold spots in a house wall. In one, a small bright spot of yellow beams forth. "That's a mouse in the crawlspace batts," he said. "It picks up anything producing heat." While ...
Transmission repair company a fixture in Billings
Jan 30, 2006; ... Way back in 1961, when James E. Brown bought into his father's auto repair business for $1,500, the deal was done without lawyers or paperwork or worry. "There were no contracts, deposits or leases to sign," Brown recalled. That honesty-is-the-best-policy ethic has remained with ...
Tank farm
Jan 29, 2006; ... EDGAR - More oil from tar sands under the Canadian prairies is flowing into Billings, thanks to a new tank farm recently constructed just north of Edgar. Standing in the middle of a harrowed field between Highway 310 and the Clark's Fork River, the two 120,000 barrel tanks - that's more ...
Professional offices, retail space fill West End spot
Jan 29, 2006; ... Green spaces and farmland continue to fill in on the West End as construction and retail offerings sprout up like wildflowers. What used to be an empty field next to the cemetery at Grand Avenue and 38th Street West is now a hub of construction. Recently, the new Aspen Village, a 52-unit ...