Connect With Your Community!
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By JACK H. SMITH Three Forks Voice I’m sure most people probably have a friend or family member who gets a little too caught up in the political landscape. Whether sitting around the Thanksgiving dinner table or nonstop posting on social media, their lives seem consumed by the colors blue and red. I have a good friend from my hometown who fits the bill perfectly. A few years ago, he started to post about politics occasionally, and now, that is all he does. I’m unsure how he’s gotten any work done in the last few weeks because it has been nonst...
To say the Headwaters Trail System is a boon for the Three Forks area would be an understatement. Throughout the year, the 12-mile trail system is utilized by both area residents and visitors to the area. It’s a big deal for Three Forks. This weekend, the annual Headwaters Bank Run on Saturday, July 27, will be an excellent opportunity to give back to the trail system. Throughout the year, Trail System Director Gene Townsend and others work hard to obtain government grants for both maintenance and expansion. There have been plenty of recent s... Full story
We are the Area IV Governing Board and Advisory Council, which oversees older adult services in Broadwater, Gallatin, Jefferson, Lewis and Clark, Meagher, and Park Counties. We write to implore Governor Gianforte’s administration to prioritize improved resources to deliver Older Americans Act services in our six counties. Montana’s Medicaid unwinding process has largely ended and we are concerned about significant harm and unintended consequences on elders across the state. Specifically, many older Montanans should never have lost their ben...
Summer was always quite the adventure as a kid. While there was certainly plenty of time spent watching awful daytime television or Atlanta Braves baseball, there were countless hours spent outside. I vividly remember how much fun it was to be outside until the streetlights came on, playing all sorts of different night games. I'm not sure if it's because kids don't get outside as much, or my neighborhood is older, or perhaps a combination of both, but the younger generation is really missing... Full story
What fun: You’re going on a guided outdoor trip. As you get ready, here are some tips from actual guides about what to expect, as these patient men and women have experienced a few trips that did not go well. First, follow the packing list. Do not leave your raingear at home because your brother tells you it never rains in the desert. If it is 100 degrees in the shade at your house and the list recommends a down parka: bring it. It can and will snow at 10,000 feet in midsummer. If the guide goes through your pack removing extraneous objects and...
n my line of work, I cover many different community events. It’s always great to get out during Rodeo week in Three Forks to visit with people and take in the wonderful sense of community the event brings. I’m far less social when not working; sometimes, I want as little human interaction as possible. It’s certainly not every day, but sometimes I don’t handle people well. It’s nothing against anyone these days; I want to get in and out of where I’m going as quickly as possible. Over the past nine years, I’ve gotten to know quite a few people in... Full story
This column was originally published at https://dailymontanan.com. The upcoming property tax year could be a little easier on homeowners and renters than last year. The operative word in that sentence is could. Here’s why this year could be easier, not a slam-dunk “will be easier.” Three policy-generated numbers mathematically merge in a complex equation to determine what you pay in property taxes: 1) the state’s assessed value of your property; 2) the state’s tax rate applied to your property; and 3) every city and county’s total ask in taxe...
June went by too fast for me. While I was lucky enough to have some family come and visit, I didn't get out of the house nearly as much as I told myself I was going to. I must really change that in July and August. Even if it's just a day trip or a short overnight one somewhere, I need to get out of the house and explore. Once I get through the stress of planning a trip and finding affordable options, I get very nervous before going anywhere. It's a strange feeling to get so much anxiety for... Full story
Checkboard landownership has created challenges for private and public land management since the railroad grants in the 1880s. One hundred and forty years later, the problems remain. The current checkerboard of private and public land creates problems for wildlife, recreation, public and private stewardship and livestock management. Simply put, habitat fragmentation is bad for both wildlife and resource functionality. The Crazy Mountains pose a distinctive challenge due to the current mix of private and public lands. Checkerboard ownership disr...
This month's Lewis and Clark Journal has a special section previewing the upcoming Three Forks NRA Rodeo and Rodeo Dayz celebration. The section in our sister publication is an excellent opportunity to read more about upcoming events and highlight many outstanding businesses in the Three Forks area. With the popular event scheduled to take place later this month, it is also important to remember all the people who volunteer. Without all the hard-working volunteers, events like this could not hap... Full story
While researching a recent column, I decided to go online and search for the prices of a hotel that my family used to stay at years ago in Jackson, Wyoming. I knew the prices would be high enough to put me in a foul mood, and I was not wrong. Many people could afford a $ 500-a-night hotel, but I’m certainly not one of them. I’d rather sleep in the car than pay that much money. A few hours later, I logged onto Facebook, and my feed became inundated with ads for the hotel. I did not like this at all. All it took was one simple online search, and... Full story
The Fourth of July is always a wonderful opportunity for family and friends to get together to celebrate, and setting off fireworks has become synonymous with the holiday commemorating America's birthday. While our kids are older now, it was always such a fun time to take them to the local fireworks stand and to see the joy they would get later in the evening. It's also always great to go to the local stands that help raise money for local youth programs like wrestling. As fun of a time as so ma... Full story
Growing up, I was always excited for the school year to end and for summer to begin. One of the things I looked forward to the most was our annual trips a couple of hours north to the Jackson, Wyoming, area. We would often come in the Hoback, where we would fish, and there were always plenty of day trips to places like Astoria Hot Springs, where my cousins and I would swim for hours in the warm waters. The usual weeklong trips would also include plenty of trips to Yellowstone, Jenny Lake, and... Full story
As I arrived at the Three Forks United Methodist Church on the morning of June 1, I could not believe how beautiful of a day it already was. A nice crowd arrived on a Saturday morning for the grand opening of the Greater Good Thrift Store, which was celebrated with a ribbon cutting and hosted by the Three Forks Chamber of Commerce. Standing outside, I chatted for a couple of minutes with a local business owner who echoed my thoughts on how nice of a day it was but also shared with me what a... Full story
With a weekly newspaper, it can be challenging to do a lot of traveling. Outside one or two weekend trips a year to my hometown, seven hours away in Wyoming, I don’t usually visit anywhere else. Because I cannot travel much, it’s always a treat when family or friends visit Montana. At the start of May, my uncle from Arizona contacted me about visiting while he was with his family on an extended trip throughout the western United States. I don’t see my uncle often, so spending a couple of days with him was nice. While they only stayed two nights... Full story
In a Facebook post last week, the City of Three Forks shared some troubling news about recent issues at City Parks. The issues encountered include kicking over sprinkler heads, digging up a park, vandalizing bathrooms and other buildings, trying to break equipment, burning toilet paper in the bathrooms, not cleaning up after pets, and “other disgusting things we have to pay someone to clean.” The City of Three Forks is blessed to have a lot of nice parks that residents of all ages utilize. To see vandalism and other issues happening is una... Full story
In late 2023, the house Melissa and I were renting was put up for sale, and unfortunately, it was way out of our price range. While it probably doesn’t do me any good to carry many regrets, I wish we had purchased a home when we first moved to Montana in the summer of 2015. The housing market was just a bit different then, and we should have jumped on that opportunity. There is certainly a lot to enjoy about the new home, and we’ve settled in well; I miss the quiet from four years of living out in the “country.” There was something special... Full story
For the first time in over 60 years, the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) has written new rules to oversee oil and gas development on public lands. These common sense rules provide needed changes to protect taxpayers, protect our clean air and water, and protect public health. Oil and gas companies will finally be required to post responsible bonding levels that ensure funds are available to reclaim abandoned well sites if companies skip town before cleaning up their messes. As you can imagine, oil and gas lobbyists are not happy with these...
When I was younger, I did not truly appreciate the beauty of the smaller things in life. One of those things was any given Friday night in the 1980s. This included regular stops at the once-powerhouse pizza chain Shakey's, night games for a few extra minutes after the streetlights came on, and a sleepover with a bunch of unruly friends that would result in about eight minutes of sleep. Often, a Friday night would include a trip to Warehouse Video to rent movies. I remember when the VCR craze... Full story
This week, the Three Forks High School Class of 2024 will mark the end of an era and the start of a new journey. The Three Forks Voice would like to congratulate all the students graduating on Sunday, June 2, and wish them well in the future. When we first started the newspaper in October 2018, members of the Class of 2024 were just in the seventh grade. So, we’ve had the opportunity to follow along as the students journey into high school and excel in the classroom, sports, and other extracurricular activities. Seeing all the amazing things t... Full story
Please vote “yes” on the Gallatin County’s local government study commission question! Montana’s Constitution gives us this opportunity to “peek under the hood” at our form of government every ten years. The last time Gallatin County did a robust study was in 1994. Our population has more than doubled since then, as have our service needs, community issues, and the complexity of our organization. This isn’t Grandpa’s county anymore, yet we are using the same government model (general powers...
I received a recliner from my mom and sister for my birthday a few weeks ago. The couch I usually sit on was in dire need of being taken to the dump, so this was an awesome gift to receive. It is perfect for sitting and binge-watching my stories. It’s also a wonderful reason to stay in the house more, which I enjoy more with each passing birthday. That being said, I’ll still need to get out of the house plenty for work-related reasons, often at sporting events. Other than work, the only two places I will go are to the grocery store and to get...
Life in Montana takes energy. Companies and individuals across the state have worked tirelessly over the years to ensure Montanans have the power to go about their lives in the way they want. It is part of what makes Montana the Last Best Place. However, the Biden-Harris administration's new EPA mandate threatens that freedom. Under the EPA's final rule, two-thirds of vehicles sold by U.S. automakers need to be battery-powered or plug-in hybrid by 2032. Fundamentally – Montanans, and the rest o...
As much as I enjoy cooking, there are a few dishes that I don't feel comfortable making. It's usually either because it's too messy, takes far too long, or is a bit complicated for culinary aptitude. While fried chicken has always been one of my favorite things to eat, I've probably only made it two or three times because I usually end up splashing my face with oil and making a mess that takes a complete shift of work to clean up. After getting super sick once after an old roommate made fried... Full story
Montanans are considering who to vote for in the upcoming primary election on June 4th -- and the candidates are doing everything they can to try to earn those votes. One fact should be top of mind: voters 50 plus decide elections, and candidates who ignore this powerful segment of the electorate do so at their own peril. Voters 50 plus are the majority in every election. In fact, in 2022, 65% of the electorate in Montana was 50 plus. We want to see politicians address our day-to-day challenges, such as caring for our loved ones to keep t...
