Kootenai River
Stampede returns
July 24-25
By Brian Baxter
Libby’s J. Neil’s Rodeo Arena is once again the location for the July 24-25 Kootenai River Stampede PRCA Rodeo. The arena is located at 1301 Montana Highway 37 in Libby.
Gates will open at 5:30 p.m. for the Friday and Saturday evening rodeo, and the events will begin at 7:30 p.m.. Event mainstays include stock contractor John Smith, from JS Rodeo Company, and announcer Brent Jordan. Bull fighters Kaleb Barrett, Dakota Simms, and Sean Peterson, and rodeo clown / barrelman Clint Selvester are returning from last year.
This top notch PRCA rodeo will have traditional rodeo rough stock and timed events. As well as high caliber bucking stock. Events include, Bareback, Saddlebronc, and Bull Riding, Tie Down Roping, Team Roping, Steer Wrestling, Ladies Breakaway Roping, and Barrel Races.
There will also be a Beer Garden, Food and Craft Vendors. This is a professional production, and Trish and Patty wish to thank the Libby area folks for their amazing and outstanding support from local businesses, individual sponsors, and volunteers.
And in turn, the Libby community would like to thank Trisha, the Rodeo Secretary, who makes this rodeo continue to happen for Libby, and our awesome local organizer Patty Rambo.
For more information please email Trisha Davis – Stacy at krslibbymt@gmail.com, or Patty Rambo at prambo2004@yahoo.com.
Come on out and watch the cowgirls and cowboys kick up some dust as they ride and rope, and enjoy the company of friends and neighbors with a backdrop of the beautiful Cabinet Mountains.
Libby local begins mission to endorse Trump via stage coach across Montana
By Mati Bishop
Gene Bushnell’s stagecoach pulled into Libby under overcast skies and cool conditions. It was Saturday June 6, the second day of the team’s “Big Ride” that is planned to follow the route of Highway 2 across the state for 667 miles. As Bushnell worked to iron out the details of how the stagecoach and horse teams are going to work together, observers were baffled by simpler questions like, “where does one get a stagecoach?”
The answer is simple, in the most difficult way possible. Bushnell made his stagecoach. This is the fifth one that he has constructed.
“If everything goes smoothly, I can make one in about six months,” he said. He also noted that things never go smoothly. You can’t just purchase stagecoach parts. There is a lot of custom iron, wood and leather work.
Bushnell handles the carpentry, he’s been a builder most of his life, the iron work and leather tooling he has to contract out to others.
As the team offered rides on the stagecoach to curious folks who showed up to see what they were all about, state senator Mike Cuffe was shooting off emails to the White House to rouse the interest of president Trump and his reelection campaign. The project is in large part dedicated to encouraging people to vote for Trump.
“It’s one man’s dream and he’s making it happen,” said Cuffe about Bushnell. “By the time he gets to Kalispell, I’m betting he’s going to draw a crowd.”
Bushnell believes the dream to ride across Montana on a stagecoach was given to him by God to honor our Montana pioneers. Grace, gumption and grit are the qualities he wants to honor and the qualities he points out are going to help us keep America great.
More information about the Bushnell and his mission is available at the Big Ride Montana Facebook page.
Below: Trump Montana Pioneers Stagecoach. Photo by Mati Bishop, The Montanian.
Local students awarded $1,000 in Cabinet Peaks
Scholarships
Cabinet Peaks Medical Center had the privilege of awarding local graduating Libby and Troy high school seniors with college scholarships.
The scholarships are a gift from the employees of Cabinet Peaks Medical Center and encourage area youth to pursue degrees in the field of medicine. CPMC employees donate to these scholarship funds throughout the year via payroll deduction, and those who donate sit on the scholarship committee that choses that award recipients.
Local students who received the $500 individual scholarships this year were Ashlyn Monigold from Libby and Mazzie Hermes from Troy. The student’s applications were reviewed by the CPMC scholarship committee and recipients were chosen based on their academics, leadership, school activities, and community service. Students were also asked to write an essay on their reasons for choosing a career in healthcare.
In addition to proving their involvement in one of these this program, the students were required to show that they are currently accepted as a full time student at a college, university, or trade school as well as explain their educational and career goals.
“We are thrilled to be able to offer these scholarships to young adults in our service area,” stated Andre Mehan, Human Resources Manager at Cabinet Peaks Medical Center. “We understand the importance of giving back to our youth, and recognize the costs associated with getting a college education. The seniors who receive scholarships from Cabinet Peaks Medical Center have plans to enter the medical field in one way or another, and we know that some of them may consider coming back home to serve the patients at Cabinet Peaks Medical Center. We hope that our scholarships help all of these students achieve their educational and career goals.”
Top: Ashlyn Monigold of Libby High School and (Below) and Mazzie Hermes of Troy High School. Photos courtesy of Kate Stephens.
