A Fire Burning in Montana Pocket By Ryder Nollan Forest fires can put a huge hole in Montana’s budget. In 2017, it cost 393 million dollars to fight forest fires which made Montana’s budget fall short and a ten percent reduction plan was made for programs. The one that was hit the hardest was the state department of public health and human services and they now 105 million dollars in spending over the next two years. Which includes senior long-term care, child protective services, and addiction and mental health programs. The department of corrections has the third highest amount to cut of $40 million dollars over the next two years, according to the Spokesman-Review. Brent Olson is a district Fire Management Officer (FMO), he’s in charge of catching fires before they become uncontainable. His district runs from Blacktail Mountain, Lake Blaine, and Seeley Lake. Olson said most of their money is spent on personnel, the salary for the firefighters, aircrafts they use to drop water on fires and the contractors. Forest’s were closed for several thousand loggers and truckers along several of Montana’s mills from the shortfall of logs according to Montana Fire Ignite. In 2018 wildfires burned 57,517 acres so far this year according to the national interagency fire center and it cost about 18.1 million dollars to fight these fires according to the Great Falls tribune. In 2017, 1.2 million acres were burned according to the U.S department of agriculture and the damage cost 393 million dollars to fight the fires in 2017. during 2017 Olson was fighting fires from march to mid September and in 2018 was fighting from the beginning of august to mid September. Olson stated “Last year fires were more intense then this year.” Montana is working hard to fill in the gap of their budget.
Why Do We Love Our Sports Teams? By Ryder Nollan Many people will root for a professional sport team, simply because it is local or the team their family roots for, but what happens to those who live in a state without a professional team. There are a lot of reasons why people root for the team they grew up with, despite where they currently living. Brandon Hopkins, a Junior at Bigfork High School, said that he supports the Packers “because I used to live in wisconsin and went to a lot of their games”. Hopkins has attended six, packers games, and his favorite player is Aaron Rodgers. Some sports fans are ‘bandwagons’ people who root for different teams from time to time. Some people hate ‘bandwagons’ because they are always rooting for a good team; Montana is in fact a bandwagon inthe NFL. From 2013 to 2018,Montana had moved between supporting the from Seahawks, Broncos, and Vikings, according to vivid seat. Jackson Abney, a Freshman that likes the Denver Nuggets because he did not want to become as bandwagon and wanted to choose an underdog team. He additionally started rooting for the Denver Nuggets when his uncle bought him a Nugget hat when he was nine. Walker Fisher, a sophomore, said that he likes the Phoenix Suns because his whole family is from Arizona. He also said that he likes his team because he has been to a lot of their games during his visits to phoenix. The best way to enjoy any star pick a team it doesn't matter just root for someone.
Europe 2020 BY RYDER NOLLAN If anyone has ever wanted to travel and see the world, paying little expense, then Charlie Appleby has the perfect trip. Bigfork High School is sponsoring a group traveling trip to go to Europe in 2020 during spring break. Participants will be visiting London, Paris and the Swiss Alps, with the possibility of a two day extension to Prague with a additional fee. The trip will cost around $ 3,455 including almost everything passengers will need. The only things students need to cover are passport and Visa fees, airport baggage fees, lunches and snacks, spending money, and tips. Students who have not signed up yet and really wish to go still have time to sign up. Those interested may visit just go to Mr.Appleby for more information, or contact EF Tours for admission.
Spring Sports Preview Spring sports are here and Bigfork high school students are ready for the challenge. BY RYDER NOLLAN With Spring sports approaching and snow still on the ground, the first week of practice excites many athletes for working at what they do best: their sport. At Bigfork High, some students are ready take on the challenge of track, golf, and tennis. Anton Young, a junior running track this upcoming year at Bigfork, said that he is hoping to win first at state in the mile and two mile. He is one of many people that is running track and ready to compete. On the golf side, Branden Hopkins, another junior at Bigfork High School, is ready for the new golf season. Hopkins said that he is hoping to compete at state and that the whole boys team goes to state alongside him. Tennis is another great sport offered by BHS; senior Ben Johnson is hoping to improve and play at a higher level, and try to get the team to get 1 or 2 at state. Johnson is also looking for some revenge on Teddy Heuchling, a B division tennis player from another school. Last year, during one of his matches at state, they were in an epic battle, where two of their game sets were a tie. Heuchling won their last one, which ended Johnson’s chance at winning state. Not all of these spring sports are just about competition; people participate in sports just to have fun or get better at other skills. For example, sophomore Rylee Smith stated that she is hoping to further her hand-eye coordination skills by playing tennis. Other people, like Hopkins, said some fun things for him in golf include meeting new people and hanging out with the team. Meredith Bedford, who is playing golf for Bigfork, said that her favorite part of the team is getting to be outside and eat bean sticks in Libby. So, if anyone is considering joining spring sports, then the Norse Code encouraged you to do so and have fun, BHS.
Bigfork Getting Starbucks Bigfork could possibly be receiving a Starbucks in the downtown area By RYDER NOLLAN There has been talk at community meetings that Bigfork is getting a Starbucks put in. There have been some ideas as to where to put this Starbucks, such as where the old barber shop used to be on Lake Avenue. The building in downtown Bigfork was torn down to make room for more parking space,but at the community meetings there has been talk that they should put a Starbucks there. Having a Starbucks in Bigfork would attract more tourists to the area bringing in more money for Bigfork. The building would cost around $450,000 to construct. Lance Brooks, one of the planers for the the Starbucks, said that the plans are not finished yet, but they want to start construction on June 20th, 2020. But many people don’t like the idea of having a Starbucks in downtown Bigfork. “I think having a Starbucks in downtown Bigfork will rob our little town of its historic looks, and besides, we already have a coffee shop in Bigfork” said Freshman Callie Martinez of Bigfork High. However, Teanna stanford said “I would like to see a Starbucks in Bigfork because it would be a big profit maker and bring in money from the outside.”. Whatever your opinion about having a Starbucks, Bigfork is going to have it and it is official. April fools Bigfork is not getting a starbucks.
Super Bowl 53 BY RYDER NOLLAN As a viewer of nearly every Super Bowl since a young age, this most recent Super Bowl was shockingly the most boring game I have ever seen. The lack of touchdowns and other scoring was stale and turned into a bland game, save for the incredible punt from the Los Angeles Rams’ offensive lineup. Despite being somewhat the amusing aspect of breaking records with a punt, Johnny Hekker kicked the longest punt in Super Bowl history was 65 yards. Hekker reared up to kick the ball in the Rams’ end zone, and drop-kicked it to the 29-yard line, beating the previous record holder, Ryan Allen, by a single yard. Hekker also is tied for third place for the most punts in a game. Despite the low final score, there are some noticeable things in this game. Tom Brady and Bill Belichick won their sixth Super Bowl title, making Brady the only player to receive this honor. Tom Brady and Belichick have cemented their legacy as the best quarterback and head coach combo in NFL history. However people may feel about the outcome of Super Bowl 53, it is no secret that this game was not filled with as many interesting plays as those that have come before, but it is not to say that there will be more to look forward to with next year.