MONTANA

January 2016

A Monthly Publication for Folks 50 and Better

Paint out

Music, people and animals frame by frame

Man and machine help his community

A life of travel

INSIDE

Bookshelf..................................................Page 3
Opinion.....................................................Page 4
Savvy Senior.............................................Page 5
Travel........................................................Page 16

On the Menu.............................................Page 18
Calendar....................................................Page 19
Volunteering..............................................Page 20
Strange But True.......................................Page 22

News Lite
Lip balm with pot ingredient is tossed

ANCHORAGE, Alaska (AP) Officials say they had to discard hundreds of tubes of lip balm that were distributed at Joint
Base Elmendorf-Richards after they were found to contain trace
amounts of THC, an active ingredient in marijuana.
The bases Sexual Assault Prevention and Response Office had
been distributing the lip balm as it typically does with other promotional items, like water bottles and calendars, The Alaska Dispatch News reported. JBER spokesman 1st Lt. Michael Harrington said the lip balm was purchased mistakenly.
Not everybody thinks to check the ingredients list on ChapStick, said Harrington.
The lip balm contained hemp seed oil, which is banned under
U.S. Army and Air Force regulations.
The bases public affairs team had emailed JBER employees,
asking them to toss out the 400 tubes of lip balm.

Donor leaves $50,000 check under baby Jesus

AMARILLO, Texas (AP) A Texas group that helps children
has received a surprise $50,000 donation left under a baby Jesus
figure.
Officials with The Childrens Home in Amarillo found the
check after a caller advised staff to check the Nativity scene outside the building.
A receptionist discovered an envelope beneath the infant Jesus
replica that contained the check. The Childrens Home provides a
place for at-risk youngsters to stay.
Group President Darrin Murphy says staffers contacted the
donor whose name was on the check. The man said hes inspired
by the youngsters being helped by The Childrens Home. The
donor said he wishes to remain anonymous.
Murphy says he told some of the children about the donation
and they were excited to learn that people believe in their futures.

Stronger
together.
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a New West Medicare member?

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New West Health Services is a PPO Plan with a Medicare Contract. Enrollment in
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January 2016

Bookshelf
Retire Inspired: Its Not an Age.
Its a Financial Number
By Chris Hogan; foreword by Dave Ramsey
Ramsey Press (January 11, 2016)
Hardcover 288 pages $24.99 6 x 9
ISBN: 978-1-9370-7781-5

Learn how to plan

wisely, avoid common
mistakes, and create the
retirement you dream of
By Montana Best Times Staff
With the U.S. Census classifying about 17 percent of Montanas population at age 65 or older, a
new book by financial expert and speaker Chris
Hogan can be especially helpful for many Montanans especially those who are not yet 65 but
need to plan for it.
Retire Inspired: Its Not an Age. Its a Financial
Number, which features a foreword by renowned
financial advisor Dave Ramsey, is packed with
good advice.
When you hear the word retirement, you probably dont imagine yourself scrambling to pay your
bills in your golden years, a news release on the
book from Ramsey Press says. But for too many
Americans, thats the fate that awaits them unless
they take steps now to plan for the future.
Whether youre 25 and starting your first job or 55
and watching the career clock start to wind down, today is the
day to get serious about your retirement.
In Retire Inspired, Chris Hogan teaches that retirement isnt
an age; its a financial number an amount you need to live the
life in retirement that youve always dreamed of, the release says.
With clear investing concepts and strategies, Hogan will educate
and empower you to make your own investing decisions, set reasonable expectations for your spouse and family, and build a
dream team of experts to get you there.
Every day more people reach retirement age with little savings, no plan and lots of regret, and thats not okay, Hogan says
in the release. By equipping people with the tools and information to take control of their retirement planning, theyll be able
to determine their financial number and take the proper steps to
reach this goal.
Throughout Retire Inspired, Hogan breaks down the many

aspects of retirement and gives simple, straightforward advice

and explanations. He addresses everything from how debt and
budgeting affect your retirement, to the more complex issues
like investing vehicles and the stock market. Hogan also
includes practical steps for people at each age and speaks to
why its critical to start preparing, no matter your age or financial situation.
A popular and dynamic speaker on the topics of personal
finance, retirement and leadership, Hogan helps people across the
country develop successful strategies to manage their money,
both in their homes and businesses. For more than a decade,
Hogan has served on Dave Ramseys team as a trusted financial
coach and advisor and a sought-after speaker. Hogan also helps
people plan for their future and reach their retirement goals
through his Retire Inspired Live Event and R:IQ Assessment tool.
Follow him on Twitter at @ChrisHogan360 and online at www.
chrishogan360.com.
January 2016

Opinion

Pre-health fair anxiety wrecks meals

January 2016

after 8 p.m. deadline, to see if it contains anything that might

trash my test and cast me into a melancholic state for an entire
year until the next health fair.
The best part about a blood screen is having it over with. As
soon as that nurse tapes a cotton ball down over your vein, you
know what to do: Head straight to McDonalds and get the juiciest, greasiest, most cholesterol-bearing Sausage-Egg McMuffin
theyve got, and chow down like theres no health fair tomorrow.
And if your cholesterol levels come back with less than ideal
numbers, well, thats what New Years resolutions are for.

Dwight Harriman
Montana Best Times Editor
MONTANA

Health fairs are a part of many communities around Montana.

At these fairs, sometimes held twice a year, we get a blood
screening mostly to see if weve blown our cholesterol numbers and maybe get a flu shot and blood pressure check to
boot.
Of course, you can do all the above at your doctors office for
probably the same price, but somehow events like the health fairs
prod us into doing it regularly, which is a good thing.
Im all for these fairs except for one thing: the anxiety of waiting for them, specifically as it regards getting ones cholesterol
checked.
For a full two weeks before a health fair, you start analyzing
every bite, wondering if you should really pop that piece of fudge
or eat that saturated fat-bearing steak, worried it might throw your
cholesterol numbers. The anxiety builds as the fair draws nearer,
pretty much wrecking every meal before the appointed day.
The worry is ridiculous, of course, because what you eat a few
days immediately preceding a cholesterol test probably wont
have a huge effect, since you cant very quickly move your
bodys cholesterol levels up or down that takes months.
But still, you worry especially the night before. Talk about
paranoid eating. I scrutinize every component of my last meal,
eaten dutifully, of course, before the dreaded nothing but water

A Monthly Publication for Folks 50 and Better

P.O. Box 2000, 401 S. Main St., Livingston MT 59047

Tel. (406) 222-2000 or toll-free (800) 345-8412 Fax: (406) 222-8580
E-mail: montanabesttimes@livent.net Subscription rate: $25/yr.
Published monthly by Yellowstone Newspapers, Livingston, Montana
Dwight Harriman, Editor Cheyenne Crooker, Designer

Jim Miller, creator of the syndicated Savvy

Senior information column, is a longtime
advocate of senior issues. He has been featured in
Time magazine; is author of The Savvy Senior:
The Ultimate Guide to Health, Family and
Finances for Senior Citizens; and is a regular
contributor to the NBC Today show.

How to keep tabs on an elderly

parent with video monitoring
Dear Savvy Senior,
Can you recommend some good home video monitoring
devices that can help my sister and me keep an eye on our
elderly mother? Over the holidays, we noticed that her
health has slipped a bit, and would like to keep a closer eye
on her.
Worried Daughters

Dear Worried,
There are lots of great video monitoring cameras that can
help families keep a watchful eye on an elderly parent from
afar, but make sure its OK with your mom first. Many
seniors find this type of Im watching you technology to
be an invasion of privacy, while others dont mind and even
welcome the idea. With that said, here are some top
monitoring devices for keeping tabs on your mom.

Video monitoring

As the technology has improved and the costs have come

down, video monitoring/surveillance cameras have become
very popular for keeping an eye on your home, business,
child or pet (via smartphone, tablet or computer), but they
also work well for monitoring an elder loved one who lives
alone.

Most home video monitoring cameras today are sleek,

small and easy to set up, but do require home Wi-Fi.

Although camera capabilities will vary, the best devices

all provide wide-view angles, HD quality video, night
vision, built-in motion and sound detection that can notify
you when something is happening, and two-way audio that
lets you talk and listen.

And, they also offer a video recording option (for an extra

fee) that saves past video to a cloud, so you can rewind and
review what you missed.

One of the best products available today that does all this
and more is the Nest Cam (www.nest.com), which costs
$199, but if you want their video recording option, its an

extra $100 per year for a 10-day video history, or $300/year

for 30 days.

Also check out the Piper NV (www.getpiper.com), which

at $279 is more expensive than the Nest Cam but
allows free Internet cloud storage.
And the Simplicam (simplicam.com), which is the
cheapest of the three but the video quality isnt quite as
good. They charge $150 for the camera, or $200 for the
camera plus 24-hour video storage for one year.

Sensor monitoring

If your mom is uncomfortable with video monitoring, and

doesnt want you to be able to peek in on her whenever you
want, another less invasive option to consider is a sensor
monitoring system.

These systems use small wireless sensors (not cameras)

placed in key areas of your moms home that can detect
changes in her activity patterns, and will notify you via text
message, email or phone call if something out of the
ordinary is happening.

A great company that offers this technology is Silver

Mother (sen.se/silvermother), which provides small sensors
that you attach to commonly used household objects like her
pillbox, refrigerator door, TV remote, front door, etc.

So, for example, if your mom didnt pick up her pillbox

to get her medicine or didnt open the refrigerator door to
make breakfast like she usually does, or if she left the house
at a peculiar time you would be notified and could check on
her.
You can also check up on her anytime you want online or
through their mobile app. Silver Mother costs $299 for four
sensors, with no ongoing monthly service fees.

Send your senior questions to: Savvy Senior, P.O. Box
5443, Norman, OK 73070, or visitSavvySenior.org.
January 2016

Photos by Mackenzie Reiss

Above: Kenneth Yarus paints along the Yellowstone River with fellow artist and Whitefish resident Nate Closson during the Oct. 9
paint out near Big Timber. On the cover: MontanaPaintersAlliancePresidentJerryInmanis pictured with a piece he produced during the paint out.

Paint out

Artist group gathers in Big Timber for painting, camaraderie

By Mackenzie Reiss and Lindsey Erin Kroskob

Montana Best Times

BIG TIMBER Tom English stood in the center of the Two

Rivers Gallery show room, surveying an array of fall scenes popping from white walls.
Two small pieces of art, borne in the field, accompany a third,
fostered with imagination and time in the studio.
Englishs work joined the 50 or so other pieces drafted earlier
this year on and around the Sweet Grass Creek ranch he shares
with his partner and fellow artist Shirle Wempner.
The Dec. 11 show was a culmination of a bigger mission
sharing the work and passions of the Montana Painters Alliance,
a group of professional artists striving for excellence.
It was wonderful, English said. I really enjoyed seeing all
the finished work and having a better chance to see the work that
was done in the field. All these familiar themes that are right
around here, being recreated through the hands and eyes was
really pretty exciting.

Birth of an artist group

English was a founding member of the alliance, as well as the

January 2016
6

organizations first president. Though originally from Austin,

Texas, hes lived in Montana since 1991.
He said the idea for the alliance spurred from conversations
with other artists around the state, artists with whom he had a lot
in common but could never find a solid time to get together with
due to hectic schedules and lives centered around building a
career.
With fellowship in mind, English gathered a core group of artists and started brainstorming the possibilities of a formal alliance
and scheduled paint outs, wherein artists assemble as a group,
painting works outdoors and indoors, then view and discuss their
results.
That core group started with six to eight members and quickly
grew to 10 artists who made up the foundation of the alliance and
kicked off with the first paint out in Big Timber.

30 members and growing

English said the group is now in the 30-member range and

growing. In the early years, they wanted to stay small and be sure
the alliance was going to be successful. Now, with 11 years under
their belt, theyre looking to expand further and opened their
doors to new members.

Its a very cohesive group, people who are genuinely interested in each other and what we do, English said. Were from all
corners of the state, so we dont see each other regularly except at
our paint outs. Its a time to reconnect and socially, we have a
good time getting together and visiting.
But they work hard too, he said, spending full days capturing
their surroundings, keeping work ethic in mind along with the
social aspect.

The October paint out

During the weekend of Oct. 9, roughly 20 other members and

guests of the Montana Painters Alliance took up residence at the
Sweet Grass Overlook for three days of painting. This was the
groups third visit to the region, but first time to the Sweet Grass
Creek area specifically.
Twice each year, the alliance travels to a new location in Montana to capture the colors and character of the landscape. These
paint outs build community and foster an exchange of knowledge
on anything from paint colors to business strategies.
For the October paint out, the artists scattered around Sweet
Grass Overlook property, along creek beds and county roads,
braving gusting winds to capture the natural beauty of local rivers, valleys and mountains.
For some, Big Timber is steeped in childhood memories, while
for other artists, it is completely new territory.
Whether they were raised in these valleys or not, each painter
was able to bring new life to ordinary scenes.
MPA member Jeff Walker, a Fort Shaw-based oil painter, said
there is a whole lifetime of painting right here in Montana. He
used to frequent a ranch up the Boulder River, where he painted
while his daughters rode horses. Now he travels with the alliance
whenever possible to capture his first love Montana landscapes.
I think Montana in its variety offers so much that really I dont
feel the need to go to Europe, Asia or anywhere else, Walker
said.
The veteran painter said plein air work can be especially beneficial to artists who want to keep the spontaneity of nature alive
in a studio environment.
Many artists will produce one or two studies per day outside and
use those pieces as references to produce a larger painting indoors.
Outdoor painting keeps the spontaneity and excitement
whatever got you going on the scene outdoors, you can translate
that to a larger painting in a studio environment, he said.
But sometimes it becomes a battle against the elements.
I had one fly off the easel one time and it did a loop-de-loop
and landed right in a cow pie I must say, I think it improved
the painting a little bit, he laughed.
For Walker, painting is a way to preserve the untouched natural
beauty that he said is slowly disappearing.
I like Montana pristine, and to some degree I try to capture
that because its changing so much, he said. Theres subdivisions coming in and rich people buying up big chunks of land and
keeping the rest of us out.
I like the prairie scenes where grain elevators were once dominant on the horizons and theyre being torn down, so thats a
favorite subject, Walker added. Im just trying to keep Montana the way I see it the way I hope it will be forever.
Phil Korell, an architect-turned-artist from Polson said group
paint outs are key to improving the work of all participants.
History will confirm that most artists that become internationally famous, almost all of them are with a group and they feed on

Tom English, pictured in Two Rivers Gallery in Big Timber

Dec. 11, peruses a selection of Montana Painters Alliance
works featuring scenes produced during the Oct. 9 paint out.
each others talents, and thats the case here, Korell said. Inspiration comes primarily from your fellow artists when youre
painting, and in doing this for three days, you can concentrate on
it you dont worry about mowing your lawn at home and all
that other stuff.
MPA president and oil painter Jerry Inman said the changing
light forces an artist to quickly interpret the scene before them
a skill that translates into studio work as well.
Once I started painting plein air, my paintings really
improved, Inman said. You learn to pick out the shadows that
are existing in the moment and indicate those first thats your
roadmap to your painting, and if you can stick to your roadmap,
then the painting will turn out like the lighting that you experienced at the very beginning.
Inman said that while he has loved art from his early teens,
making a living at it hasnt been easy. To augment his painting
career, the artist spent 18 years as a bus driver in Billings, painting during his off time.
Its difficult on relationships to earn a living doing art
because you run into situations where you have dry spells,
(where) paintings dont sell Its just the unknown of the
financial end of it ... About the time youre desperate and you
think, what am I going to do? bang, here comes a check
in the mail. And you go, Phew, that was a close one, Inman
said.
At the end of a long day of painting, the artists reconvened at
the Wempner-English residence to wind down with a glass of
wine and good conversation. They talked shop and future plans,
rehash the successes or failures of the day.
No matter where youre at, you can find the beauty that other
people dont see. I think our interaction with every community
should be to show you some of the things that you take for
granted, artist Charles Fulcher said. Its an expression its an
interpretation (Art is) the only way we can share how we see.

Reach Mackenzie Reiss and Lindsey Erin Kroskob at the Big
Timber Pioneer at news@bigtimberpioneer.net or (406) 9325298.
January 2016

Music, people and

the animal kingdom

... frame by frame
By Hunter DAntuono
Montana Best Times

LIVINGSTON It started with a day out at the old ball

game. Rhonda Peterson had some good seats. It was 2009
the season that heralded the return of the beloved Ken Griffey
Jr. to the Seattle Mariners. Peterson had a camera in hand and
snapped a frame-worthy shot of Griffey ducking at the plate
from a wild pitch. To her surprise, she saw an image of the
same moment on the front page of a Seattle newspaper the next
day. Her interest in photography was piqued.
While she doesnt have the original photograph of that
moment anymore, shes made up with many thousands since.

Snapshots of the world

Peterson, 59, has traveled to the far sides of the globe, capturing beautiful moments of people, places, animals and a number of musicians along the way.
Ive always been creative and crafty, said Peterson. Its
just another outlet besides knitting or sewing.
A Livingston resident for about 15 years, much of Petersons
photography has centered around Montana, butshe likes to
take at least a couple of trips a year to other parts of the world,
some more far flung than others, from European cities like
London, Brussels and Paris to the jungles of Costa Rica, the
latter being where she captured one of her favorite animal
images of all time a monkey dangling its arms from behind
some leaves with its hands in the shape of a heart.
A couple of years ago, Peterson spent six weeks traveling in
Laos and Thailand. While she photographed many beautiful
exotic landscapes and animals, there was one experience with
the children of Southeast Asia that sticks out in her memory.
She was eating at a cafe. Two little boys were watching her.
When she finished, the two youngsters made hand motions like
they were eating as well. Peterson realized they wanted her
leftovers, which she readily shared.
They were very curious about me, as well, she said.
Never one to travel without small gifts or trinkets of some
kind, she also gave the boys some pencils.
They then hid the pencils behind their backs because they
were afraid I was going to take them back.
She photographed the pair with their freshly sharpened writing implements.

Music moments

But photography for Peterson remains strictly a hobby. Her

full-time job is as a polysomnographic technologist a speJanuary 2016
8

Photos courtesy of Rhonda Peterson

Rhonda Peterson is pictured with her camera in Banff

National Park in Canada.
cialist who performs sleep studies, or polysomnograms on
patients with suspected sleep disorders. Her job has recently
taken her to Sioux City, Iowa, for employment at a sleep clinic,
since the one she use to work for in Montana closed, but she
still has a home in Livingston and comes back to visit as often
as she can.
Another facet of Petersons photographic passions comes
with capturing musicians. Her personal favorite genre is Americana music. One of the first bands she fell in with was The
Gourds from Austin, Texas. Shes photographed the Americana Music Awards in Nashville four times. She also shoots at
Montana music events when the opportunity arises.
Sometimes I get press credentials, sometimes I know people,

sometimes I volunteer, she said of her expansive music photography portfolio.I have photographer friends that hook me up.
Her favorite Livingston band is The Bus Driver Tour.
I like meeting the bands and getting to know them on a
more personal level, she said. Ive just developed a lot of
friendships in that area.
As for her most current favorite photographic opportunities,
there is one clear-cut winner.
My grandson is one of my favorite subjects right now, of
course, she said of her daughters little son, Roman Andresini,
who just turned 2.

sonic Lumix G1 and G3, with a variety of lenses. She prefers

her Panasonic over SLRs from iconic brands such as Nikon or
Canon because of their smaller size and lighter weight.
As for post-processing, she makes only minor adjustments on
the computer, such as color correction and cropping. When it
comes to making photographs, Petersons sentiment is the current computer software or what model of camera has little to do
with making a great photograph.
It always bugs me when people say, Oh you must have a
really good camera, said Peterson. Its not the camera. Its
like asking a chef, Oh you must have a really good oven.

Its not the camera

Hunter DAntuono is the photo editor at The Livingston

Enterprise. He may be reached at photo@livent.net or (406)
222-2000.

On the technical side of things, Peterson uses a digital Pana-

Above: Nate Ruess, Indie-pop singer/ songwriter.

Right: A young girl welcomes Petersons party to her village near Chiang Mai, Thailand.

Left: A pair of monkeys hands come

together to form a heart shape in the
jungles of Costa Rica.
Above: Peterson happened upon this
horse when it came over a ridge as
she was hiking in Monument Valley, a
region of the American Southwest
that spans Utah and Arizona.

Photos by Rhonda Peterson

January 2016

Man
and

machine
Paul Torres uses
his skills to help
his community
By Daniel Nolker
Montana Best Times

GLENDIVE For 10 years, Glendive resident and retired

BNSF Railway heavy equipment operator Paul Torres has been
using his skills to help the community by clearing snow in the
winter and landscaping in the summer.
Although originally from Houston, Texas, Torres moved up to
Glendive when he graduated high school to join his uncles and
work hoeing beets.
It didnt take long for me to realize that job wasnt for me,
Torres, 68, said. I worked beets all summer but knew I needed
to find something else.
Around the time he was beginning to look at moving back to
Houston, Torres said he met a lovely young lady named Yvonne
who eventually became his wife.
After meeting her, he was not so eager to leave Glendive.
I had an eye on her and knew right then I wanted to stay
around, Torres said.
To stay in Montana but not hoe beets, Torres got a job with
the railroad. He worked as a general laborer for four months,
then moved up to be trained as a heavy equipment operator.
God gave me the ability to operate machines, and I really
enjoyed it, even in the early days when the winters were cold
January 2016

10

MT Best Times photos by Daniel Nolker

Paul Torres stands in front of his John Deere tractor in the

HKT Big Sky Motors parking lot, where he was clearing
snow for the Glendive business mechanic shop, recently.
and the tractors didnt have cabs, Torres said.
Before completing a full year with the railroad, Torres was
drafted and served three years in the United States Army during
the Vietnam War. With two tours of duty in combat, the second
of which he volunteered for, Torres was awarded the Bronze
Star.

Getting into snowplowing

Upon returning to Glendive after his time in the service was

over, Torres married Yvonne and returned to operating heavy
machinery for the railroad.
After 40 years with BNSF, Torres retired, but he purchased a
small John Deere tractor because he knew he would never be
happy if he did not have equipment to operate.
The tractor was supposed to be for landscaping and snow
removal around his home. However, with the first big snow,
Torres saw a way he could help the community.
People started asking for my help, and I could never say no,
Torres said. I started around my neighborhood and then it kind
of got out of control.
The first year, he cleared snow from the parking lots and sidewalks of five business. In only a few years, he was up to 17 businesses and working long hours. He said he was up at 3 a.m. and

working until 2 p.m. This year, he has reduced the number to a

more manageable 12 businesses and said he is enjoying the
pace much more. Even though he is working less, he constantly
monitors the weather to be sure he is prepared for any new
snowfall.

Love of machines and people

Torres said the drive to keep working comes from his desire
to be outside with machines and meeting people.
I always have to be doing something, and this is a good way
to help people, Torres said.
During the summer, he works with Tarena Stortz, who owns
Glendive Nursery and Landscaping. With his tractor and an old
1949 Chevrolet dump truck, Torres grades, levels, tills and
moves dirt. Evidence of his work is all around Glendive. He
said he helped with the landscaping at Dawson Community
College, Glendive Senior Citizens Center, Cenex gas station
and many other places.
While Torres is compensated for his snow removal and landscaping work, his motivation for doing it is to help his community.
He and that tractor are everything, Stortz. He has so much
experience, and that little tractor fits in so many places.
Not only is his talent an asset to their projects, Stortz said

Torres is a perfectionist and always does everything he can for

his customers.
Hes not just a tractor guy he cant just sit and watch
when someone is working, Stortz said. If somebody is shoveling, he shovels, too.
Torres hard work has not gone unnoticed he was recognized by the city of Glendive for his beautification of the town.
The neighbors kind of like me around here, Torres, he
smiled.

Its for the grandkids

Torres said he does not work for recognition, but to help his
three sons and their children. Whenever his grandchildren do
well in school or sports, Torres gives them rewards.
I work for my grandkids, he said. When I work, they
smile.
Although he has been battling some health issues, he plans to
work as long as he can, Torres said.
I couldnt do all of this without Gods help, he said. Ive
got to thank him for giving me the ability.

Daniel Nolker is a reporter with the Glendive Ranger

Review. He may be reached at news@rangerreview.com or
(406) 377-3303.

Torres removes snow with his John Deer at HKT Big Sky Motors in Glendive, recently.

January 2016

11

MT Best Times photos by Carla Hutson

Bob and Sandy Western, pictured recently at their home in Laurel, have kept active through community involvement, family
activities and their many travels in the U.S. and beyond.

A life of travel

Laurel couple keep seeking new experiences in retirement

By Carla Hutson
Montana Best Times

LAUREL During their retirement years, Bob and Sandy

Western have kept their spirit for adventure andlove of travel that
has taken them across the U.S. and to many countries in Europe
and Asia.
In 1963, the young couple left their lives in California and
moved to Majuro, an island atoll that is part of theMarshall
Islands.
Bob, 79, and Sandy, 77, were among the first American teachers to come to the island and taught ESL English as a second
language as well as math and other subjects in a school building with no electricity,restrooms or furniture.
Two years later, they moved to Kwajalein, another island in
the Marshalls, where they taught at an Americanschool. After
six years in the Marshall Islands, Bob and Sandy returned to
Montana first Bozeman, thenAbsarokee and finally Laurel
and Park City, where Bob retired from Laurel Schools as an
administrator andSandy from Park City as an elementary teacher.
January 2016

12

Adventures driving a Sarpy Transportation bus

But the couple didnt sit still upon retirement. Shortly after
stepping down from his education career inthe 1990s, Bob took a
job as a part-time bus driver for the Hardin company Sarpy
Transportation.
A good share of my retirement has been involved in transportation, Bob said. Its offered me a lot ofexperiences.
In all, Bob estimates he has traveled through 38 states via bus
or truck. He and Sandy have traveled twice topick up buses for
the company once to New Jersey and again to West Virginia.
We had the good fortune to stop in New York City during the
Christmas season coming back from NewJersey, Sandy said. It
was wonderful to see the sights there.
Starting in 1998, as part of Sarpy Transportation, Bob drove
various fire crews to wildfires across the Westernstates.
Id take them from the fire camps to the point of the fire, Bob
said. Sometimes the bus would be only yardsaway from the
flames.
He took fire crews to many fires on the Crow Reservation and
in eastern Montana, seeing places manypeople dont get to see,

Bob said. He also transported fire crews during the 2006 Derby
Fire, which burned for 23days across more than 200,000 acres
across Sweet Grass and Stillwater counties.
Bob and his boss, Ron Johnson, drove a Crow tribe delegation
participating in President Barack Obamas2008 inauguration from
Montana to Washington, D.C., and back. At the inauguration, Bob
and Ron were required todrive the bus from the National Museum
of the American Indian down the National Mall to the Lincoln
Memorial.They inched the bus through a crowd that Bob estimated at 1 million people.
Now I know how Moses felt crossing the Red Sea, Bob joked
of the experience.
In another instance driving for Sarpy Transportation, Bob took
two teams of Navy Seals to a training at theCuster National Battlefield. The Seals invited Bob to join them as they completed
drills, learned the history of theBattlefield and studied the tactics
used during the battle many which had correlations to the U.S.
militaryoperations in Iraq and Afghanistan.
At the end of the two-day training, Seal Teams 5 and 7 presented Bob with two medals certifying hesuccessfully completed professional development with the Navy Seals.
I was in my 70s at the time, Bob laughed. Can you imagine?

Traveling with family

Family is integral to the couple, and they spend as much time as

possible with their son Greg and family inBozeman, and their son
Matt and his family, who live near Fort Lee, Virginia.
Matt is in the U.S. Army and frequently relocates to new assignments. Bob and Sandy have helped him andhis family move several times. In a move from Newport, Rhode Island to Colorado,
Bob and Sandy drove thefamilys suburban with a camp trailer
hooked behind and a kayak tied on top.
Boy, did we look sporty, for an old couple, Sandy laughed.
Theyve also traveled to Fort Belevoir, Virginia, and Washington, D.C., with both sets of
grandchildren.
Bob and Sandy usually
spend time during the winter outside of Austin, Texas, or at South Padre
Island. Thecouple are also
game to explore what
Montana has to offer,
including family trips to
Fairmont Hot Springs
andfishing with the
grandkids at Greenough
Lake.

Keeping busy
between travels

gator and learned to follow the rivers and highways from above.
While retired, Bob and Sandy have taken two trips to Europe.
On one, they traveled by river boat fromAmsterdam to Vienna
and another by bus from London, through Wales and into Scotland. Sandy also traveledthrough Italy with two friends, creating a
self-made bed and breakfast tour with nothing but a guide book.
In between travels, Bob is an active Rotary member and served
on the Laurel Airport Authority for 25 years.He also wrote a childrens book for his grandchildren based on his and Sandys experience teaching in the MarshallIslands. Although he hasnt formally
published the book, titled Jenny and Jeffs Island Adventure, a
Laurel fourth-grade teacher is currently reading the story to her
class.
Sandy keeps busy as a member of Delta Kappa Gamma and
PEO, organizations that provide scholarshipopportunities for
women. She is also active in the Laurel United Methodist Church
and helps prepare care packagesfor Laurel Hometown Troops.
A few years ago Sandy gave the commencement address to a
graduating class of Park City High School,whom she taught as
kindergarteners. Sandy advised students to make a bucket list and
follow it advice she andBob have certainly held to throughout
their lives.
Weve had an interesting life for sure, Bob commented as he
stood in their home filled with mementos fromtheir travels in the
Marshall Islands, Japan and beyond.
Today, Bob and Sandy spend as much time as they can with
their grandkids and still travel frequently.
Life has its ups and downs for us all. I dont want you to think
weve had a perfect life, Sandy said. As faras health goes,
weve both had surgery but we are very fortunate and feel great.
We are thankful to the good Lordfor our family, faith, friends,
health, living in the U.S.A and the many blessings of life.

Carla Hutson is a reporter with the Laurel Outlook. She may be

reached at schools@laureloutlook.com or(406) 628-4412.

Up until five years ago,

Bob owned and flew a
small Cessna 150 airplane
in Montana and Minnesota. On onetrip, when Sandy asked where they were,
Bob jokingly said, In
Montana! After that, San- Bob and Sandy have many mementos from their time teaching abroad, including these Marshallese
dy became an expertnavi- handcrafted weapons utilizing shark teeth.
January 2016
13

Breaking up is hard to do, especially

when the person youre kicking to the
curb is a family member.

Photo courtesy Fotolia/TNS

What to do when its time to

break up with a family member

By Tamekia Reece

Prevention magazine/
TNS

As the song goes, breaking

up is hard to do. Especially
when the person youre kicking to the curb isnt a love
interest or pal, but a family
member. Sure, we all have
daydreams about finally telling
off our overbearing mother-inlaw or blocking an annoying
aunts phone number, but actually working up the nerve to do
so? Not easy at all.
Growing up, we all hear
blood is thicker than water,
and when all else fails, youll
always have your family,
which instills the message that
family ties arent supposed to
be broken, says Jamye Waxman, MEd, author of How to
Break Up With Anyone: Letting Go of Friends, Family, and
Everyone In-Between. Add to
that, she says, women tend to
get put into roles of martyr and
savior, the one who is supJanuary 2016

14

posed to sacrifice and make

peace, which makes it even
more challenging to break up
with a relative.
Still, sometimes saying
goodbye is for the best. Stressful relationships, including
those with relatives, can
increase the risk of high blood
pressure, weaken your immune
system, cause headaches and
stomachaches, lead to sleep
problems, lower self-esteem,
and cause depression and anxiety. So ditching that toxic family member can be good for
your health (if you need another excuse). Heres what to do
when youre thinking about
unraveling the ties that bind.
Generally, when a family
relationship ends, its on the
heels of a huge blow up a
heated argument, one too many
critical remarks, or a tiff over
an unpaid loan. Before you
write off a relative, cool down.
Dont make impulsive, hasty
decisions about family members youve had conflicts with

because you may say or do

something youll regret, says
Steven J. Hanley, PhD, a clinical psychologist in Southfield,
MI. A better choice, he says, is
to take a breather, let it all sink
in, and then decide how you
want to proceed.
Take some time and really
think about why youre considering ending it. Is whatever
that has pushed you to the limit
something new? Or has the
behavior been ongoing for a
while? In addition to the downsides, are there any positives to
the relationship? If so, do they
outweigh the bad? Will ending
the relationship with this person affect the ones you have
with other family members?
Deciding if a relationship is
worth keeping or not can be
tough, but here are some signs
that its time to call it quits.
n Theres abuse. Any physical, verbal, or emotional abuse
is reason to terminate the relationship immediately. Dont
worry about any possible fall-

out from others in the family.

Your safety and wellbeing are
whats most important.
n Its affecting other areas
of your life. If the situation has
you so stressed or angry that
its having a negative effect on
other parts of your life, like
your job performance or sleep
habits, it may be time to walk
away.
n Your interactions are
mostly negative. All relationships have ups and downs, but,
if your dealings are negative
more often than not, your sister
criticizes you, nitpicks, or
starts an argument every time
youre in each others presence, its time to check out.
And the negativity doesnt
have to be directed at you necessarily. It could be your mother calling with a daily laundry
list of complaints about her
life, which causes your own
mood to plummet.
n The person makes you sick.
If just the mention of the relatives name, or a text message,

email, or a voicemail from the

person puts a huge knot in your
stomach, thats a clue the relationship has become unhealthy,
says Mark Goulston, MD, a
clinical psychiatrist and author
of Talking to Crazy: How to
Deal with the Irrational and
Impossible People in Your
Life.
n The relationship is onesided. Healthy relationships are
a balance of give and take. If
your cousin only calls to borrow money or vent about her
problems, but never reciprocates, she may be using you (or
at the very least, not being a
good friend).
n Its affecting your immediate family. Hanley says if
maintaining the relationship is
harmful to your spouse or children for instance, your mom
clearly favors one of your children while neglecting the others you may need to take a
step back for your familys
sake.
n Theres substance abuse
or criminal behavior. Yes, family support is important when
someone is battling addiction;
however, that doesnt mean
that you have to allow the substance abuse to have a negative
impact on your own life. The
same goes for any criminal
behavior. Dont let a relatives
misdeeds put you or your family at risk.

Know your role

Even though you may think

the other person is the problem, it takes two to tango,
Waxman says. Step back and
look at some of your own
actions. For instance, do you
always assume your dad is
going to say something negative, which causes you to go in
on the defensive (and he in
turn to do the same)? Or is it
possible that your younger sister goes against everything you
say because she feels you treat
her like a child? Once you
have clarity and see things you
could possibly do differently,
you may realize its possible to
salvage the relationship.

Talk it out

If you think theres a chance

to repair the connection,
arrange to have a conversation
(in person or by phone) with
your relative. Discuss the biggest issues, take ownership of
any part you played in the situation, and then discuss the
future. For example, if you and
your younger sister always butt
heads after you give her
advice, you could say, Weve
been arguing a lot lately, and
Ive realized part of that is
because I often tell you what to
do, like I know whats best for
you. However, I also get angry
when you ask for advice and
then get mad when I give it. I
think if we could both be more
conscious of those things, we
would have a better relationship. What do you think?
Then, listen. Your sister may
disagree, have her own ideas
about what can help mend
things, or she may not want to
bother at all. If the two of you
do decide to go forward, set a
deadline. You dont necessarily have to tell the other person,
Im giving this three months,
but in your head, at least, you
need to give yourself a certain
amount of time to allow both
of you to work on your parts,
Waxman says. Then, if theres
still no improvement, you can
revisit how youre going to
deal with the relationship.

Distance yourself

You may realize that youre

not quite at the point of being
done completely, but you do
want to enforce some distance.
Its perfectly fine to keep interactions short, not accept calls
at times (like when youre in a
good mood and your mom is
calling with another one of her
energy-sapping whinefests);
agree not to discuss hot-button
topics, or establish boundaries,
like telling your father-in-law
you wont tolerate his negative
remarks about your weight.

Make the cut

Sometimes, despite our best

efforts, a relationship is unsalvageable or we dont want to

repair it. Unless theres abuse
(or youre ending things with a
second cousin you only see
once a year at the family
reunion), you should have a
conversation when giving
someone the boot. Yes, its easier to fade away but that
doesnt allow closure for either
of you. Also, if you try the
route where you keep saying
youre busy until the person
gets the hint, that can cause
even more resentment to build
because you may feel as
though youre being forced to
lie, Goulston says.
Fortunately, the its over
conversation doesnt have to
be long or dramatic. It can be
a 5-minute conversation in
which you say, Ive realized
our actions together have not
been healthy. I dont want to
do this anymore, says Waxman. Answer any questions
but dont get reeled back in. If

the person gets overly accusatory or starts acting crazy,

dont let the situation escalate.
Goulston advises saying,
Why dont we stop the conversation here.
Then end it.

Deal with the family

Unfortunately, cutting off
one relative doesnt only affect
that person. When you make
the decision to sever ties,
theres oftentimes some collateral damage, Hanley says.
Some family members will try
to make you feel guilty; others
may accuse you of breaking up
the family; and some relationships might even dissolve.
Shut down any guilt tripping or
accusatory conversations.
Waxman suggests saying
something like, Im sorry you
feel Im ruining the family. I
love this family! Im doing
what I think is best to take care
of myself. Setting those
See RSVP, Page 21

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January 2016

15

Travel

Viking River Cruise to Russias

Waterways of the Tsars

By Kathy Witt
KathyWitt.com/TNS

Photo courtesy Viking River Cruises/TNS

Pictured is the Viking Truvor making its way across a Russian waterway.
January 2016

16

In Russia, the weather is as

changeable as a womans mood.
With these words, Natasha, the
local guide shepherding Viking River
Cruise passengers into Moscows
gleaming subway system, stepped
onto the escalator and she and the
group descended 240 feet beneath the
snowy streets.
Weather in the worlds largest
nation is indeed unpredictable, with
summer heating things up as early as
March and wintry temperatures arriving in early October. Far more reliable is visitor reaction to Moscow
the sheer massiveness of its buildings;
historic Red Square, home of oniondomed St. Basils Cathedral; the vast
800-year-old walled city that is the
Kremlin.
Wow.
Fortunately for guests on Vikings
Waterways of the Tsars itinerary,
three days of richly personal experiences are planned for Moscow. An
evening concert of traditional Russian
folkloric music performed solely for
Viking guests offers a chance to hear
balalaikas and guslies, stringed and
key instruments of Russian origin. A
ride on the Metro (Moscows subway)
has you rubbing elbows with some of
the 7,00,000 locals who daily ride this
palace built under the ground and
glimpsing museum-worthy bronze
and marble sculptures, Byzantinestyle murals, extravagant chandeliers
and stained-glass panels.
Bookending the capital city is St.
Petersburg Peter the Greats socalled Window to the West with
three days spent soaking up its cultural charms, including palaces whose
mammoth scale, architectural
appointments and ornately trimmed
interiors can only be described as giltedged grandeur.

Touring St. Basils Cathedral with a local guide.

Here is the 1,000-room former tsars residence, the Winter Palace, now the Hermitage a treasure house of 3 million works of
art, everything from masterpieces by Van Gogh, Renoir, Rembrandt and Michelangelo to ceremonial gowns lavishly embellished with gold and silver embroidery that belonged to empresses Maria Fedorovna and Alexandra Fedorovna.
St. Petersburg is also home to the magnificent Catherine Palace, whose facade stretches over a staggering 600 feet. Built for
the wife of Peter the Great (Catherine I) and extravagantly
expanded by her daughter, Elizabeth, this palace represents a
near-perfect replica of the original, which was burned to the
ground during World War II.
Inside is one of the most famous pieces of real estate in the
world: the fabled Amber Room, comprising panels of amber
mosaic, gemstone mosaics, gilded carvings and mirrors. The
room was dismantled in 1941 when German forces took the town
and the original panels were lost. The re-creation of the Amber
Room, which began in 1982 and took 20 years to complete, rang
in with a price tag of $12 million.
As your Viking cruise ship sails along the waterways between
Moscow and St. Petersburg, including the Volga River, stops are
made at villages like Uglich, an ancient town that dates back to
1148. Here is the Church of St. Dmitry on the Blood, famous as
the site where the body of murdered Prince Dmitry, the eightyear-old son of Ivan the Terrible, was found. Uglich is also where
Viking passengers are invited into the homes of different Russian
families.
On Lake Onega, a stop is made at Kizhi Island, an outdoor
museum and UNESCO World Heritage Site _ the only place in
Russia where a set of two multi-domed wooden churches are preserved. The ensemble includes the Church of the Transfiguration,
built without a single nail and topped by an astonishing 22 wood-

Photo courtesy Viking River Cruises/TNS

en onion domes.
Mandrogy is a fairy tale island with painted pine buildings and
cobblestone streets perched on the bank of the River Svir. Visitors
may opt for a Matryoshka doll painting class or Russian banya
(bath house) experience, or browse shops where local artists, potters and jewelers demonstrate their craft.
Onboard, experiences are equally well-planned and personal.
The pianist and singer remember your name and may play your
song request when you enter the Sky Bar. Servers will have your
wine waiting at your table for dinner. The chef is accommodating
and personable, teasing passengers during a boisterous cooking
demo. The tour escorts teach Russian language lessons and, by
the time you disembark, you will know how to say welcome
(ne za chto) which is exactly how you will feel when visiting
Russia.

Adventure guide to dont-miss-moments

n Explore the Kremlin Armory to see the legendary Faberge

eggs commissioned by tsars Alexander III and Nicholas II. Other
treasures in Moscows first public museum: Ivan the Terribles
carved ivory throne, Catherine the Greats coronation gown,
ornamental saddlery, state carriages and more.
n Paint Matryoshka (Russian nesting dolls) in Mandrogy. Artist/guide Helena will introduce herself as both Mother Goose and
Baba Yaga (wicked witch), who can turn cruise passengers into
Picassos and she does.
n Get to know the locals at their dining room tables. Uglich
hosts put out quite a spread tomatoes, cucumbers, peppers and
pickles, delicious cheeses, Russian Black Bread and cakes all
locally sourced from the hosts garden, the cheese factory and
bread shop. Of course, there is vodka, with much toasting of both
host and guests.
See Calendar, Page 19
January 2016

17

On The Menu

Youre too old to go running to your mother.

When life brings outrageous misfortune your way,
youll have to find another method of dealing with
the problem. Dont worry. Theres a simple solution and it can be created right in your kitchen.
Comfort food can come to your rescue.
The recipes below make perfect comfort food
dishes for January. They are an antidote for long,
dark nights and cold, bitter winter days.
If you make the pot pie, dont do what your Best
Times recipe contributor did one time. My daughter had invited one of her best female friends for a
sleepover when they were in middle school. The
pot pie I made for our dinner meal was very pleasing to the eye. It had a flaky crust that was cooked

With Jim Durfey

to golden brown perfection.
But I hadnt cooked the vegetables before they
were put in the pie. A crunchy pot pie is not on
everyones list of favorite winter dishes.
I suspect she thinks of that kitchen disaster
whenever we happen to bump into each other
these days. Its evident in the way she looks at me
with a bit of disdain in her eye.
Mrs. Durfey and I are very fond of the tortellini
soup recipe below. It doesnt take long to fix, and
it puts the basil plant that thrives in our sunny
bathroom to good use. One shelf in our upright
freezer is filled with sweet Italian sausage that we
have made from venison trim. It stars in this soup
dish.

Almost
as good
as moms
pot pie
Pretty Chicken Pot Pie
1 tbsp. oil (or chicken fat)
3 carrots, peeled & sliced
2 celery ribs, diced
1/2 c. frozen peas
1/4 c. chicken broth
1 tsp. poultry seasoning
2 c. rotisserie chicken, shredded
1 tbsp. cornstarch
1 1/2 c. whole milk
1 tbsp. fresh parsley, plus more for garnish
Pastry shell
Heat oven to 400. Unfold one pastry sheet on lightly floured surface.
Roll pastry sheet into 12-inch square. Press pastry into a two quart
round casserole. Trim excess pastry. Prick pastry thoroughly with fork.
Place aluminum foil on surface of pastry. Bake 25 minutes. Remove
aluminum foil. Heat butter in a 12-inch skillet over medium heat. Add
carrots, onions and mushrooms. Cook for five minutes or until vegetables
are crisp/tender, stirring occasionally. Add flour and cook, while stirring,
for three minutes or until flour is golden brown.
Slowly stir in broth and heat until boiling. Cook and stir until mixture
boils and thickens. Stir in mustard, thyme, black pepper, chicken, peas
and three tablespoons parsley. Remove skillet from heat. Unfold remaining pastry sheet on lightly floured surface. Cut pastry sheet crosswise
into six, 1 1/2 inch-thick strips. Spoon chicken mixture into casserole.
Weave lattice pattern over filling with pastry strips. Trim any excess pastry. Sprinkle with remaining parsley. Place the casserole onto a baking
January 2016
18

sheet. Bake for 45 minutes or until filling is hot and bubbly and pastry is
golden brown.

Kale & Tortellini Soup

1 lb. sweet Italian sausage, bulk
2 tbsp. olive oil, divided
1 1/2 c. yellow onion, chopped
1 1/3 c. carrots, chopped
4 cloves garlic, minced
5 c. low sodium chicken stock
1-28 oz. can crushed tomatoes
1 c. dry red wine
1 tbsp. Italian seasoning
Salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste
9 oz. cheese tortellini
2 c. kale, chopped, stems removed
Shredded Parmesan or Asiago cheese
Basil leaves for garnish

Heat olive oil in large pot over medium-high heat. Crumble sausage
into pot and brown, stirring and breaking up sausage occasionally, until
thoroughly cooked. Drain sausage. Add onions and carrots and saute
three minutes in remaining olive oil. Add garlic and saute one minute
longer. Stir in stock, tomatoes, wine, Italian seasoning. Add salt and
pepper to taste. Heat to boiling. Reduce heat to simmer. Return sausage
to pot. Cover pot and simmer until carrots are nearly tender, about 15
minutes. Stir in tortellini and kale. Cover and cook seven to nine minutes
longer. Serve warm with cheese. Add basil leaves for garnish.

January
2016

calendar

 Thursday, January 7

Brian Paulsen Art Flashbax's, through Jan. 29, Dawson Community College Gallery

 Saturday, January 9
Winter Farmers Market, 9 a.m.-noon, Emerson Center Ballroom,
Bozeman

 Tuesday, January 12
Showcase Series: Vince and Mindi, 7 p.m., Beaverhead County
High School Auditorium, Dillon

 Thursday, January 14
Fun Run Sled Dog Races, through Jan. 16, West Yellowstone

 Friday, January 15
NAIFC Ice-Fishing Tournament, through Jan. 17, West Yellowstone

 Saturday, January 16
Winter Farmers Market, 9 a.m.-noon, Emerson Center Ballroom,
Bozeman
Kids n Snow Weekend, through January 17, West Yellowstone

 Tuesday, January 19
Martin Luther King Day Celebration, 6:30 p.m., held at the
n Tour the Hermitage with its priceless treasures, then extend
your exploration to its off-site Storage Facility at Staraya
Derevnya. Comprising restoration workshops and open storage,
this state-of-the-art venue missed by most visitors puts you
behind-the-scenes to see an intricately designed field tent presented to Catherine the Great by a Turkish sultan, Romanov family furniture, a two-level Hall of Carriages and more.
n Be awed by the palaces of St. Petersburg: The Winter Palace
(housing the Hermitage); elegant Catherine Palace; Peterhof Palace, the tsars summer palace, with its remarkable system of
waterworks that dates to 1721 and splashes water over nearly 12
miles and into the Gulf of Finland; Shuvalov Palace, home of the
Faberge Museum and its nine Imperial Easter Eggs.

Information

Vikings Waterways of the Tsars itinerary is offered early

May through mid-October, with three ships sailing on 13-day river cruises. This itinerary includes 11 guided tours and visits to

Emerson Center in Bozeman

 Wednesday, January 20
Million Dollar Quartet, 7:30 p.m., Brick Breeden Fieldhouse,
Bozeman

 Tuesday, January 26
All My Sons, 7:30 p.m., Ellen Theatre, Bozeman
Wolak-Donnelly Duo, 7:30 p.m., University of Montana Western
Beier Auditorium, Dillon

 Thursday, January 27
Montana Winter Fair, through Jan. 31, Fergus County Fairgrounds, Lewistown

 Friday, January 29
Montana Winter Fair Concert: Idle Ranch Hands, 7:30 p.m.,
Eagles Club Grand Hall, Lewistown

 Saturday, January 30
Winter Farmers Market, 9 a.m.-noon, Emerson Center Ballroom,
Bozeman

 Friday, February 5
Livingston Gun Show, through Feb. 7, Park County Fairgrounds
Continued from Travel, Page 17

four UNESCO World Heritage Sites. Contact Viking River Cruises at 800-706-1483; www.VikingRiverCruises.com.

Great News for Seniors 62 yrs of Age & Older!

COMFORTABLE & AFFORDABLE APARTMENTS
Accepting Applications for Independent Seniors

Call (406) 248-9117 1439 Main Street Billings, MT

Rent Based on Income, HUD 202 PRAC
Live On-Site Community Administrator
Free Laundry On-Site Parking
Mailboxes on Premises
Electric, Gas, Water, Sewer, & Trash
Included in Rent
Community Room Available for Social
Gatherings & Meetings

January 2016

19

RSVP

Below is a list of volunteer openings available through the Retired and Senior Volunteer Program (RSVP) in
communities across southern Montana. To learn more about RSVP, call (800) 424-8867 or TTY (800) 833-3722;
or log on to www. seniorcorps.org.

Custer & Rosebud counties

- AARP Tax Assistance program: Volunteers needed.

- CCDHS Wrestling Tournament: Needs
volunteers to sign up to help.
- CNADA: Needs a volunteer to answer
phones and other receptionist duties. You
choose the hours and days.
- Clinic Ambassador: Need volunteer to
greet patients and visitors, providing directions and more, two locations.
- Custer County Council on Aging: Volunteer commodities clerk needed.
- Custer County Food Bank: Volunteer
assistants needed for 8 a.m-1:30 p.m., Mon,
Tuesday and Wednesday, to process donations, stock shelves and more.
- DAV van: Drivers needed to provide
transportation to veterans to medical
appointments.
- Eagles Manor: Volunteer exercise class
leader needed, 1-2 days a week, you pick the
days and the exercise for residents.
- Historic Miles City Academy: Urgently
need volunteers at the thrift store and in other ways.
- Miles City Soup Kitchen: Desperately
seeking servers and greeters Monday-Friday; pick a day of the week you would like
to serve.
- RSVP: Cookies needed for the Annual
RSVP soup supper. Call the office if youd
like to bring cookies on March 10, 2016.
- Relay for Life: Popcorn popper needed
one day per week, two hours in the morning,
at MCC.
- St. Vincent DePaul: Volunteers to assist
in several different capacities.
- VA Activities: Urgent need for someone
to help with activities. Application packet
available at VA Activities Directors Office.
- WaterWorks Art Museum: Volunteer
receptionists needed, two-hour shifts Tuesday-Sunday; a volunteer also needed in cataloging the art collection, one to assist with
historic research of the permanent art collection, and a volunteer to assist in kids classes
when scheduled.
If you are interested in these or other volunteer opportunities please contact: Betty
Vail, RSVP Director; 210 Winchester Ave.
#413, Miles City, MT 59301; phone 2340505; email: rsvp05@midrivers.com.

Fergus & Judith Basin counties

- America Reads: Recruiting volunteers to

read with elementary students.
- Art Center: In need of volunteers on Sat
- Boys and Girls Club: In need of a volunteer to wash and fold kitchen laundry in their
home; detergent is provided.
- Central Montana Fairgrounds: Seeking
clerical support.
January 2016

20

- Community Cupboard (Food Bank):

Volunteers are needed to help any week
mornings as well as with deliveries.
- Council on Aging: Volunteers needed to
assist at the daily Grubstakes meal and with
clerical help during the busy lunch hour.
- Library: Volunteer help always appreciated.
- Office of Veterans Affairs: Seeking clerical support.
- ROWL (Recycle Our Waste Lewistown): Looking for volunteers to join teams
baling recyclables.
- Treasure Depot: Thrift store needs volunteers to sort, hang clothes and put other
items on display for sale.
- RSVP always has various needs for your
skills and volunteer services in our community.
Contact: RSVP Volunteer Coordinator
Sara Wald, 404 W. Broadway, Wells Fargo
Bank building, (upstairs), Lewistown, MT
59457; phone 535-0077; email: rsvplew@
midrivers.com.

Gallatin County

- American Cancer Society-Road to

Recovery: Drivers needed for patients
receiving treatments from their home to the
hospital
- American Red Cross Blood Drive: Two
volunteer opportunities available: an ambassador needed to welcome, greet, thank and
provide overview for blood donors; and
phone team volunteers needed to remind,
recruit or thank blood donors. Excellent customer service skills needed, training will be
provided, flexible schedule.
- Befrienders: Befriend a senior; visit on a
regular weekly basis.
- Belgrade Senior Center: Meals on
Wheels needs regular & substitute drivers
Monday-Friday; deliver meals to seniors by
noon.
- Big Brothers Big Sisters: Be a positive
role model for only a few hours each week.
- Bozeman and Belgrade Sacks Thrift
Stores: Need volunteers 2-3 hour shifts on
any day,Mon-Sat 9:30 a.m.-6 p.m.
- Bozeman Deaconess Hospital: Volunteers needed for the information desks in the
Atrium and the Perk,8 a.m.-noon,noon- 4
p.m.
- Bozeman Senior Center Foot Clinic:
Retired or nearly retired nurses are urgently
needed, 2 days a month, either 4 or 8 hour
shifts.
- Bozeman Symphony: Volunteer greeters,
ushers, set up, and musician treats needed.
- Bozeman Symphony Sunday Matinees:Need volunteer head of concessions,
must be able to stand for long times and able
to lift no more than 50 pounds.

- Cancer Support Community: Volunteer

receptionist needed for the last two Tuesday
of the month from 10 a.m.-1 p.m. The position would be shared with another volunteer
so there could be flexibility in how the Tuesdays are divided.
- Galavan: Volunteer drivers neededMonday-Friday, 10 a.m.-2 p.m. CDL required
and Galavan will assist you in obtaining one.
Volunteers also needed to make reminder
calls and confirm rides for the following
day. Volunteers also needed for morning dispatch.These responsibilities include receiving phone calls/messages and getting information from clients and facilitating the
transfer of information to staff as required.
- Gallatin Rest Home: Volunteers wanted
for visiting the residents, sharing your
knowledge of a craft, playing cards or reading to a resident.
- Gallatin Valley Food Bank: Volunteers
needed to deliver commodities to seniors in
their homes once a month. Deliveries in Belgrade are especially needed.
- HRDC Housing Department Ready to
Rent: Curriculum for families and individuals who have rental barriers such as lack of
poor rental history, property upkeep, renter
responsibilities, landlord/tenant communication and financial priorities.
- Habitat for Humanity Restore: Belgrade
store needs volunteers for general help, sorting donations and assisting customers.
- Heart of The Valley: Compassionate volunteers especially needed to love, play with
and cuddle cats.
- Help Center: Computer literate volunteer
interested in entering data into a social services database. Also volunteers needed to
make phone calls to different agencies/programs to make sure database is up to date
and make safety calls to home bound
seniors.
- Jessie Wilber Gallery at The Emerson:
Volunteers needed on Wednesday, Thursday
and Friday to greet people at the main desk,
answer questions and keep track of the number of visitors.
- Museum of the Rockies: Variety of
opportunities available such as helping in
the gift shop and more.
- RSVP Handcrafters: Volunteers to quilt,
knit, crochet and embroider hats for chemo
patients, baby blankets and other handmade
goods once a week (can work from home).
Items are on sale in our store in the RSVP
office at the Senior Center. *Donated yarn
needed for the quilting, knitting and crocheting projects.
- Seniors: You may qualify for $192-$600
a year for grocery and food assistance. Call
Mary at 333-2537 or 333-2883.
-Three Forks Food Bank:Volunteer needed on Monday and/orThursdayto help with

administrative duties, including answer

phones and questions, some paper and computer work. They will train.
- Warming Center: Volunteers needed for
a variety of different shifts, 7 p.m.-7 a.m.;
training held every Tuesday at the Warming
Center.Please call for more information.
- Your unique skills, interests are needed,
without a long-term commitment, in a variety of ongoing, special, one-time events.
Contact: Debi Casagranda, RSVP Program Coordinator, 807 N. Tracy, Bozeman,
MT 59715; phone 587-5444; fax 582 8499;
email: dcasagranda@thehrdc.org.

rience necessary, training is provided and

begins soon.
- RSVP offers maximum flexibility and
choice to volunteers, matching personal
interests and skills of older Americans with
opportunities to serve. You choose how and
where to serve. Volunteering is an opportunity to learn new skills, make friends and
connect with your community.
Contact: Shelley Halvorson, South Central MT RSVP, 315 1/2 Main St., Ste. #1,
Roundup, MT 59072; phone 323-1403; fax
323-4403; email: rdprsvp2@midrivers.com
; Facebook: South Central MT RSVP.

Musselshell, Golden Valley &

Petroleum counties

Park County

- Central Grade School: Needs volunteer

tutors to encourage children with their reading skills in the America Reads program.
Also volunteers needed to assist younger
students with lunch, clear tables and serve
from the salad bar.
- Food Bank: Distribute food commodities to seniors and others in the community;
help unload the truck as needed.
- Nursing Home: Pianoplayers and singers neededon Friday to entertain residents,
alsoassistant needed in activities for residents to enrich supported lifestyle.
- Senior Bus: Volunteers to pickup folks
who are unable to drive themselves.
- Senior Center: Volunteers are needed to
provide meals, clean up in the dining room
and/or keep records; meal provided.
- Tax aide: Assist low income individuals
and senior citizens with tax filing. No expe-

- American Cancer Society: Needs drivers

to transport locals to Bozeman Deaconess
Hospital for cancer treatments.
- Big Brothers Big Sisters: Mentor and
positive role models to a boy or girl needed
one hour or more a week.
- Fix-It-Brigade: Needs volunteers of all
ages and skill levels for 2 hour tasks, on
your schedule, to help seniors or veterans
with small home repairs and chores, such as
changing a light bulb, mending a fence,
shoveling snow.
- Links for Learning: Requesting volunteers to sit after school 3:45 to 5 p.m. at any
one of the three elementary schools to listen
to children read. No experience necessary.
- Loaves and Fishes:Volunteers needed to
prepare dinner meals.
- Main Streeter Thrift Store: Someone
who enjoys working with the public, greet
customers, label and hang clothes and accept

boundaries will be difficult at first, but stick to your guns and

remind yourself that youre doing this for your self-care.

Keep it cordial

As much as youd like to be done with the relative completely,

youre likely to run into each other at future family gatherings. To
avoid sticky situations, let your family members know its okay
to invite both of you to events. Its not fair to make them choose.
If you dont think you can handle being in the other persons
presence, it should be you who doesnt attend since you were the
one to do the breaking up, says Waxman. When you do see each
other, be cordial. You dont have to get into a full-fledged conversation; simply greet him or her and then move on, Waxman says.
Breaking the ice but keeping contact to a minimum will make the
event less awkward for everyone, she explains. (It also makes it
easier to reconnect with that family member later.)
Another time to take the high road is when you face questions
about what happened. Yes, people will be curious, but its better to
keep the details between the person you cut off and yourself. Dont
talk about how wrong the other person did you; dont gossip
about her, share secrets she once told you, or try to get others to
be on your side. Your goal is peace, not to ignite a family feud.

donations. Volunteer 4 hours a week and get

50 percent off your purchases.
- Meals on Wheels: Substitute drivers to
deliver meals to seniors in their home.
- RSVP: Has many one-time events,
including mailings and fundraising events
that require volunteers. Your unique skills
and interests are needed, without making a
long-term commitment, in a variety of ongoing and special one-time events.
- RSVP Handcrafters: Volunteers to knit
and crochet caps and scarves for each child
at Head Start this winter, also as gifts for
children of prenatal classes, and baby hats
and afghans for the hospital newborns;
Sewers needed to make simple pillowcases
for our soldiers overseas, Thursday, 1-2 p.m.
at the Senior Center.
- Senior Center: Need volunteers, Tuesday, 1 p.m., to cut unsold clothing into rags
to be sold for proceeds to the center.
- Seniors: You may qualify for $192-$600
a year for grocery and food assistance. Call
Mary at 333-2537 or 333-2883.
- Stafford Animal Shelter: Kindhearted
volunteers needed to socialize cats and kittens, and to walk the dogs.
- Transportation: Drivers needed to help
patients keep their doctor appointment in
Livingston and Bozeman. Some gas reimbursement may be provided.
- Yellowstone Gateway Museum: Always
in need of help at the front desk, or with
labeling and cataloging items.
Contact: Deb Downs, Program Coordinator, 111 S. 2nd St., Livingston, MT 59047;
phone 222-2281; debdowns@rsvpmt.org.
Continued from Page 15

causes a lot of emotional upheaval. Its normal to feel anger,

guilt, resentment, and loneliness. Youre sort of mourning the
loss of someone that, presumably, you loved or felt loved by, or
wanted to feel loved by, which can be very tough, Hanley says.
Look for sources of support. Talk to your spouse or a trusted
friend (not family members, to keep down drama) about what
youre feeling, or join a support group. If youre having difficulty
working through the harm the relationship caused or coping with
the dissolution of the relationship, Hanley recommends seeking
professional help.

Have a good support system

Breaking up with a family member can be freeing, but it also

January 2016

21

By Bill Sones and Rich Sones, Ph.D.

What?

Send STRANGE questions to brothers Bill and Rich at strangetrue@cs.com

Q. What are some of the true oddities of the human voice?

A. There are stroke victims who lose their ability to speak but
who can still sing, says Jim Sullivan in Discover magazine. The
theory is that singing is more dominated by the right hemisphere,
speaking by the left (the National Center for Voice and Speech).
Its also why the singers Carly Simon, Mel Tillis and Bill Withers
can ply their trade with no problems, but sometimes stutter in conversation.
Then theres the screaming voice of teaching assistant Jill
Drake of Kent, England, who reached 129 dBA, according to
Guinness World Records. This is equivalent to noise levels at an
AC/DC concert, and about 30 dB louder than a jackhammer. A
conversational voice, by contrast, is about 60 decibels. Holding
the Guinness record for widest musical range is singer Tim
Storms, registering a full 10 octaves about twice that of Mariah Carey and more than three times the average singers three
octaves.
Finally, consider the historical castrati, male singers castrated
before puberty, when boys vocal cords typically lengthen and
thicken. Without the normal adult male testosterone levels, they
remained natural trebles. Castrati were often highly paid, and in less
enlightened times, some parents castrated their sons in hopes of
cashing in.

Q. Elephants have a life expectancy of about 70 years, select

mates for life, provide collective care for their young, and
imbibe alcohol (if given the opportunity). What other surprising
ritual do they perform?
A. Like humans, elephants bury the dead, including other
species. One encounter with a lion found it trapped and unable to
retreat, recounts Dale Peterson in Elephant Reflections. Perhaps as an act of desperation, the lion leaped onto the shoulders
of the matriarch, who using her trunk, ripped him away and
dashed him against the ground. Then she and other group members pulled off nearby branches and placed them over the carcass.
Another report tells of a rhinoceros killed by elephants, then
dragged a considerable distance and buried beneath a pile of vegetation. And when a tiger, accompanied by her cubs, killed a buffalo, an elephant came by and the feeding cats scattered. The elephant then deliberately broke branches off a nearby tree and
used them to cover the buffalos carcass.
Surprisingly, elephants have even been known to bury people:
A photographing tourist to a national park in the old Belgian
Congo foolishly moved too close to a large bull elephant, which
charged, knocked the man down and stabbed him with a tusk.
When the rest of the tourist party returned, they discovered the
January 2016

22

A singer with a
10-octave range?

hapless photographers body buried beneath a pile of vegetation.

Q. Wool, as you probably know, comes not just from sheep
but from alpacas, camels and goats. As Discover magazine
points out, clothing and other wool items have been found in
much of the ancient world, including 3,400-year-old Egyptian
yarn. Wool is biodegradable and can absorb and repel water at
the same time. Yet one of its more unusual features relates to
explosions. Can you explain.
A. Wool actually has a high natural ignition point of 1,382
degrees F, making it fire-resistant, says the magazines Margaret
Shakespeare. And it doesnt drip or melt when it does catch fire,
features that have attracted the interest of the U.S. Army in its
search for clothing designed to protect combat troops from
explosive blasts.
Another kind of explosion one we actually want is
found in baseballs used in the Major Leagues. Inside each ball are
some 370 yards of tightly wound wool yarn, providing resilience
to withstand the crushing impact of a batters hit off high-velocity
pitches.

Q. The worlds fastest roller coaster, topping out at 128 mph,

used to be Kingda Ka of Six Flags Great Adventure, in New
Jersey. Whats the current record holder?
A. Formula Rossa, located at Ferrari World, the planets largest
indoor theme park, opened in Abu Dhabi in 2010, reports Smithsonian magazine. A hydraulic launch system similar to aircraft
carrier catapults drives the coaster, which goes from 0 to 60 mph
in two seconds, topping out at 149 mph in five seconds. In keeping with the Formula One theme, passengers are required to wear
goggles.
According to Italian physiology professor Alberto Minetti, at
this top speed, even dust, that is not normally harmful, is. Even
dust like when you are sitting at your desk, its like bullets in a
way.
Q. You may not be a dog-whisperer, but how is technology
aiding in the care of your canine companion?
A. A Fitbit for dogs named Whistle is a round collar tag
that uses an accelerometer to track how much exercise a dog
should get based on its breed, age and size and allows owners
to track medication and log meals. All data are then sent to a
smartphone app, says Ellen Lee in IEEE Spectrum magazine. For example, the owners of 3-month-old puppy Sara
were warned that she had exceeded her target exercise by 30
minutes and had they acted immediately, they might have
averted a messy cleanup from Sara tearing apart her pee pad

and ripping up her bed.

In another case, Whistle indicated that a dog was unusually
sluggish, whereupon a visit to the vet let the owner know that her
dog had been bitten by a snake. Recently, Whistle Labs acquired
cellular and GPS technology to track a dogs location on a map
and to alert the owner via a text message or email of its whereabouts.
As for cats, the Lab has yet to come up with a suitable design.
Concludes Lee, Somehow it seems appropriate that felines may
be the last resistors in our march toward an always connected,
wearable world.
Q. How might a blind person take a look at the dwarf planet Pluto?
A. Pranav Lal of New Delhi, India, a cybersecurity expert who
was born blind, uses sonification technology called vOICe that
transmits an image from a camera to software that turns it into
sound, says Sandrine Ceurstemont in New Scientist magazine.
Lal frequently uses vOICe for photography, where he picks out
the most pleasant-sounding composition like an image orchestra, so to speak. Different visual features are converted into different characteristics of sound: The position of an object is
denoted by pitch features higher up have a higher pitch and
brightness maps to loudness.
Adept at creating mental images based on the soundscape he
hears, Lal was able to see the first images of Pluto sent back
from space recently. I could make out mountains, but they were
hazy, he says. A patch on the right of the image was clearer as it
was better lit.

What happens here is that visual parts of the brain can learn to
substitute input from other senses. For example, after hearing the
sonification of basic lines and shapes, a volunteer with his eyes
covered could still read words just by listening to the corresponding sounds.
One day, the technology for color vision and night vision may
follow and add to the picture.

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Crossword
Across
1 __ appeal
5 "The Girls Next Door" cocreator, for short
8 Torus-shaped gaskets
14 Lift one's spirits?
15 Pay dirt
16 Secure again
17 Big name in chocolate
19 Against
20 Crme de __
21 Savage
22 NATO member since 09
23 Says "y'all," say
26 Time of one's life
27 Reunion group
29 Beats Electronics cofounder
30 Danube tributary
32 Early 20th-century poet
__ Crane
33 Layer
34 The Beatles, e.g.
35 Loot
38 IQ test name
40 Abu Dhabi is its cap.
41 Sounds from toys
45 "__ run!"
46 AC/DC song with the
words "I'm dynamite"

47 Road challenge
48 Pharm. drop-offs
49 "WarGames" computer
51 Muscle mag subject
52 Lay waste to
55 Biblical escape obstacle
57 Get hot under the collar
58 What four puzzle answers
need to be written in
60 March
61 Big heart
62 Bluster
63 Treat badly
64 El __
65 Energy units
Down
1 Acid producer
2 "Breakfast at
Tiffany's," for one
3 Spot for free
spirits
4 Friend of Mary
Poppins
5 Monopoly buy
6 Big time
7 Early 2000s
"SNL" standout
8 "Blackfish"
creatures

9 Model T contemporaries
10 "__ that special?!"
11 Court surprise
12 Parking places
13 Buffy, for one
18 Tom Jones' "__ a Lady"
21 Shoebox letters
24 Between jobs
25 Rehearsals
28 Double's job
30 Wash. neighbor
31 Steadfast
33 Wash. hours

34 Key for Debussy?

36 Teachers' org.
37 Buddha's Noble Eightfold
__
38 Choice ballpark location
39 "I found what you're
looking for!"
42 Drake or Nelly
43 Letting go
44 Cosine reciprocals
45 Comprehends
46 Stocking stuffer
47 Certain Celt
49 Will Smith's second son
50 Goaded
53 Sting, perhaps
54 Modernize
56 Have the gumption
58 __-Man
59 In this emplacement

January 2016

23

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