The Billings Gazette (Billings, MT) articles from January 2006

The Billings Gazette (Billings, MT) archives from January 2006

Adequate rain spawns hay crop jump of 2 million tons.
January 1, 2006... Byline: Jim Gransbery Jan. 1--Bovine spongiform encephalopathy and international borders provided bookends for the cattle industry in Montana in 2005. Wheat crops were bountiful with prices in the doldrums. And, if Montana has a...

Shiver Shock: Natural gas bills reach breathtaking levels.
January 1, 2006... Byline: Jim Gransbery Jan. 1--"Holy cow! Was the temperature that much lower this month? This is outrageous." Fern Vonderheide, in the kitchen of her trailer home in Lockwood, was recalling her reaction when she opened her December...

Billings Gazette, Mont., Jan Falstad column.
January 1, 2006... Byline: Jan Falstad Jan. 1--ACCOUNTING COMPANY GROWS WITH BUYOUT: Accounting company Galusha, Higgins and Galusha essentially has doubled its size by buying out another local, Jackson, Fekety & Odle, formerly at 820 Division St. by the...

Free tow a hit with revelers.
January 2, 2006... Byline: Jan Falstad Jan. 2--Toddies and free tows home were a popular mix in Billings New Year's Eve. Vicky and Jim Eichel figured they would succeed if they used their towing business to give just one under-the-influence driver and...

1st-class career ends for postal marketing manager.
January 3, 2006... Byline: Angie Buckley Jan. 3--Over the past 37 years, Ted Blazina has seen first-class stamp prices increase from 25 to 39 cents, sorted mail manually and automatically and helped usher the nation through fear of anthrax in the mail...

Tussing, council members sworn in.
January 4, 2006... Byline: Tom Howard Jan. 4--For Ron Tussing, 2005 was an emotional roller coaster filled with moments of triumph and plenty of frustration. But 2006 started off on a high note Tuesday as Tussing, the former Billings police chief, was sworn...

Businesses adapt to higher cost of deliveries.
January 4, 2006... Byline: Mike Stark Jan. 4--High gas prices or not, people need milk, water and groceries. So when prices hovered near $3 a gallon last fall, local companies that deliver those goods -- and heavily depend on gasoline -- had to find a way to...

Rocky's aviation program recertified.
January 5, 2006... Byline: Mary Pickett Jan. 5--The Federal Aviation Administration has recertified Rocky Mountain College's flight school after a formal inspection in late December. During the day-and-a-half inspection, FAA officials conducted...

MSU-B business dean quits.
January 5, 2006... Byline: Mary Pickett Jan. 5--Joe Michels, who has been dean of the Montana State University-Billings College of Business for 3 1/2 years, has resigned for health reasons. Michels said Wednesday that he began a medical leave from his...

Programs help reduce heating costs.
January 5, 2006... Byline: Jim Gransbery Jan. 5--Montana, through the Department of Public Health and Human Services, offers two programs aimed at helping low-income individuals reduce their heating costs. The Weatherization Program helps participants...

Cost of insulating homes also keeps going up.
January 5, 2006... Byline: Jim Gransbery Jan. 5--The number of people adding more insulation to existing homes has tripled since late summer, a Billings insulator says. "We've been going crazy with homeowners," Scott Sannes said. And bags of...

MSU-B eyes money for salaries.
January 5, 2006... Byline: Mary Pickett Jan. 5--University professors' salaries in Montana are notoriously low compared with those in the rest of the country. Those low salaries make it even harder to recruit and keep faculty in highly competitive areas...

Billings, Mont., diner makes way for expanded Dairy Queen.
January 8, 2006... Byline: Jan Falstad Jan. 8--Fans of the all-American burger and homemade pies have been wondering about the fate of The Happy Diner, which closed unexpectedly Nov. 5. The building will be demolished, and a Dairy Queen will be built on...

Judith Gap wind turbines go online.
January 8, 2006... Byline: Linda Halstead-Acharya Jan. 8--When Billings residents plugged in their Christmas lights this year, there's a chance the glow was compliments of a steady breeze through Judith Gap. In late November, the first of Invenergy's...

Montana farmers hope for colder weather to protect winter wheat.
January 8, 2006... Byline: Jim Gransbery Jan. 8--The winter wheat nearest to Steve Becker's house, which was planted first this fall, is looking really good, he reports. That first week of January is not looking so good though, he said. Winter wheat...

America West Airlines' last flight from Billings, Mont.
January 10, 2006... Byline: Jan Falstad Jan. 10--Forty passengers flew America West Airlines' last plane out of Billings, a 50-seat regional jet, when it took off 2 p.m. Monday. In late October, America West decided to stop flying to Billings, Fargo,...

Billings, Mont., businesses participate in interview program at Career Center.
January 12, 2006... Byline: Laura Tode Jan. 12--Students at the Career Center took a nerve-wracking but necessary step toward their futures Wednesday when they interviewed with local business leaders for jobs they'd someday like to have. More than 40...

'06 should please investors, Davidson & Co., brokers told.
January 12, 2006... Byline: Jan Falstad Jan. 12--The Dow Jones Industrial average made up of 30 blue-chip stocks brought smiles to people's faces by climbing over the 11,000 barrier Monday for the first time in four years. D.A. Davidson & Co.'s chief...

Ultrasound technology uses sound waves to produce an image of a fetus.
January 12, 2006... Byline: Diane Cochran Jan. 12--Even if he could reach through a woman's belly and hold her baby in his hands, Dr. David Jackson couldn't determine much about the baby's health. "There are very few things I could tell just by looking,"...

Two Montana County Markets closing.
January 14, 2006... Byline: Jan Falstad Jan. 14--Citing poor profits and a lucrative offer to sell the properties, managers told Montana employees Friday morning that the Central County Market in Billings at the West County Market in Great Falls are closing....

Ashley Furniture opens 43,000-square-foot store in Billings, Mont.
January 15, 2006... Byline: Jan Falstad Jan. 15--After 18 years in the furniture business, Dan and Denise Kennedy finally have a loading dock -- six docks, to be exact. This one upgrade illustrates the Kennedys' long climb toward building their dream...

Panels to hear obscenity plan.
January 17, 2006... Byline: Tom Howard Jan. 17--People wanting to curb obscenity hope to use city and county zoning regulations to place restrictions on sexually oriented businesses such as strip clubs and adult bookstores. The city and county zoning...

Downtown to Metra tax district planned.
January 17, 2006... Byline: Tom Howard Jan. 17--A largely industrial and commercial area between downtown and MetraPark could receive an economic shot in the arm with the formation of a new tax increment financing district. The Big Sky Economic...

YMCA picks new director.
January 17, 2006... Byline: Ed Kemmick Jan. 17--A Florida man has been hired as the director of the Billings Family YMCA. Paul Manning is scheduled to start work on Jan. 30. Manning was hired last month by the YMCA's board of directors to replace Ed...

Most laid-off workers find jobs.
January 19, 2006... Byline: Jan Falstad Jan. 19--The developers who bought three Montana grocery stores last fall say they plan on making the Billings County Market a retail center, and already are negotiating the resale of the Great Falls County Market West...

Veterinarians invest in latest technology to improve the life of pets.
January 22, 2006... Byline: Linda Halstead-Acharya Jan. 22--Copper the beagle was down for the count when staff at Moore Lane Veterinary Hospital shaved his side and turned him into a canine dot-to-dot. He won't remember the allergy test, but the...

Billings Gazette, Mont., entrepreneurs column.
January 23, 2006... Jan. 23--Two years ago, Dirk Frickel found himself at a crossroads. He had graduated from the Western Culinary Institute in Portland, Ore., and was working for a restaurant, describing it as the best job he ever had. Back home in...

New tank farm in Edgar keeps oil flowing to refinery.
January 28, 2006... Byline: Linda Halstead-Acharya Jan. 28--EDGAR -- More oil from tar sands under the Canadian prairies is flowing into Billings, thanks to a new tank farm recently constructed just north of Edgar. Standing in the middle of a harrowed...

Company helps homeowners find energy savings.
January 30, 2006... Byline: Jim Gransbery Jan. 30--Dave Cattnach holds a series of infrared photos in vibrant colors demonstrating the hot and cold spots in a house wall. In one, a small bright spot of yellow beams forth. "That's a mouse in the...