Photobooks can be an excellent way to capture what it was that made your latest holiday so unique, and if you know how to use them optimally, then you are going to have a lifetime's worth of memories contained in just one small booklet.
 
In this article, we are going to be giving you two tips that will help you create the vacation photobook of your dreams, as well as going over a few of the most common errors people make when it comes to making photo books.
 
Be Picky With The Photos You Choose
 
There is only a limited number of slots in a photo book. You don’t necessarily want to create one with the most recent vacation photos on your camera roll. Not only will this mean you have less space for the photos you actually love, but it could also diminish your relationship with said photobook if the photos are not the best, and you may end up putting it away in a drawer only for it to be never seen again.

 
You need to be extremely selective with the photos you choose when trying to decide what to choose in the photo book maker as you create the book – this is going to lead to the best results. If you want to create a vacation photo book you truly cherish, taking a little time to think about what photos you would like to include is perfectly okay, and this is something that is going to pay you dividends in the long run.
 
Distinguish This Holiday From All The Others
 
Holidays are magical. If you set up your photobook correctly, you should be able to tell exactly where you were and what the atmosphere was like when you were there, and this is a goal you should keep in mind throughout the entire creation process.
 
Including photos that truly represent the location you visited is going to distinguish your most recent vacation from all the others - you don’t just want to open a photobook and be unable to tell exactly which holiday you are looking at.
 
Of course, learning how to take good photos is also going to be incredibly beneficial in achieving this goal; it will be hard to distinguish anything if all of your photos are mediocre and look the same.
 
Making this holiday stand out is absolutely essential for your photobook's longevity, and if you don’t want your recent adventure to blend into the endless sea of other vacations, then taking steps to rectify this is vital.
 
Making a photobook doesn't have to be difficult. If you follow all of the tips we have given you in this article, you should have no problems with making your ideal vacation photo book, and this skill is going to bear fruit for years to come.
 
Words can’t describe just how good it feels to be able to capture a moment of our lives for all of eternity - this is something that you will be able to look back on for as long as you are around.

Two employees of Bridger Bowl Ski Area were recognized for their contributions to noxious weed management and their dedication to promoting healthy plant communities in Gallatin County.

John VanHouten and Josh Thompson received the first-ever Gallatin County Outstanding Noxious Weed Management Award. They were honored at the Gallatin County Commission’s meeting on Tuesday, Oct. 4.

“Gallatin County is always very appreciative of those who go out of their way to manage noxious weeds on their property. Bridger Bowl is doing a lot,” said Gallatin County Commissioner Joe Skinner.

The Gallatin County Weed District wanted to honor these individuals or groups who are a vital part of noxious weed management in our county.

The award recognizes landowners and managers who do an exceptional job of controlling noxious weeds. These stewards are not only caring for their own land but are helping to protect the wild lands and local agriculture that make our county such a wonderful place to live.

The Weed District sought nominations over the summer. The Weed Board then reviewed the nominations and voted to give VanHouten and Thompson the award.

In nominating VanHouten and Thompson, it was noted that Bridger Bowl puts significant effort into promoting native forbs and grasses while reducing and eliminating noxious weeds on their over 2,000 acres of both private and federal land.

Bridger Bowl’s work includes regularly scheduled patrols, mowing and hand pulling to reduce weed seed production on the ski hill’s main runs, spraying to prevent weeds, and paying particular attention to parking lots that bring in outside weeds. If an infestation is identified, it is remediated, and the area is flagged for follow-up. And any areas of disturbance are seeded back to native grasses and monitored for weed germination over the next few years.

Bridger Bowl also collaborates regularly with Gallatin County, the U.S. Forest Service, and their neighbors Bridger Pines and Crosscut Mountain Sports Center.

Steve Saunders, member of the Gallatin County Weed Board, said the award offers an opportunity to educate the public and bring awareness to the importance noxious weed management. But it also is a chance to recognize folks who are truly making a difference.

“That’s what we’re looking for – people who really care,” Saunders said.

If you ask most people what they know about the Blues as a genre of music, they might tell you that it makes them feel sad and is a beautiful expression of emotion, but that’s about it. However, there’s a lot more about the blues that you need to know.

This musical genre has a deep and rich history behind it, and the deeper you go, the more there is to uncover about the Blues and the people who sing them.

The Origins of Mississippi Delta Blues

First, this is where the blues got started, so it makes sense to know the history of Mississippi Delta Blues music. It’s acoustic, raw, and soulful.

The blues was often sung by slaves and plantation workers who were sharecroppers and cotton pickers around Clarksdale Mississippi and Helena Arkansas. They would sing about the emotions going on with them, as well as the homes that they had been taken from. Most of the early pioneers of the blues genre were African, and when it was discovered that they could use drums to communicate with one another, they were banned from having instruments. So the blues actually started as Acappella music on the fields, until the slaves and workers moved to different parts of the country and began not only picking their own instruments back up but also finding the instruments of different locations.

Blues Has Many Different Sub-Genres

Blues music might have started in the delta, but whenever the blues singers found themselves moving from place to place, they adapted their music to what was around them to create new sounds. Now Blues music has countless different types of sub-genres, and many of them are location-based.

Chicago Blues, for example, was created whenever the practitioners of the blues went up north to find a better life. The blues that they sang in Chicago needed to be filled with energy and needed to be much louder in order for the singers to be heard in rowdy Chicago clubs, and it is still quite popular.

Memphis Blues was also created by blues singers heading to Memphis, and they easily adapted to the other entertainment styles of the city. Including vaudeville style, country style, jug band music, and of course jazz. There are a lot of different sub-genres and blends of blues with other types of music, so if you like the blues from one area, try to broaden your scope and see what else you can find.

The Blues Are Packed With Emotion And Stories

Whether they are singing about lost love, lost hope, loneliness, or injustice, it’s pretty easy to have the blues make you feel a little blue too. The blues are songs that are designed to make you feel an emotion and to make you listen to a story. Plus, many of the lyrics also have double meanings and metaphors, both to make you think, and also because when the songs were sung on the fields those double meanings hid the understanding of the song from their masters.

Jazz and Blues Are Similar, But Not The Same

Finally, there’s often confusion between Jazz and Blues, but they are not the same thing. Yes they are very similar and yes they are also able to be mixed together really well, but Jazz is a massive combination of different instruments and sounds, while blues is often a single singer with an instrument. However, if you like one you will also likely like the other, and you can easily find songs that are essentially blues and jazz music melded together. Because that makes a great combination for everyone!

Gallatin City-County Health Department (GCCHD) will hold two (2) walk-in flu clinics in October. The first clinic, held on October 12, will also have an option for individuals 12 years or older to get their COVID-19 bivalent booster dose. This year’s flu vaccine provides protection against the four (4) flu viruses that are thought to be the most likely to circulate in the United States this year.

“It’s very important for residents in Gallatin County to get their flu and COVID-19 boosters this fall,” said Lori Christenson, Gallatin County Health Officer. “We’ve already seen flu cases in Montana in September, which may be an early indicator of a severe flu season, so we ask everyone to take precautions to protect themselves and
others.”

Anyone can get the flu, but it is more dangerous for some people including infants, young children, people 65 years or older, those who are pregnant, people with certain health conditions, and those with a weakened immune system. Flu vaccines are for anyone six (6) months old or older.

Walk-In Clinics This Fall:
● Wednesday, October 12 from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. - located at the Gallatin County Fairgrounds, Building 4 - *Optional COVID-19 Bivalent Booster*
● Friday, October 28 from 8 a.m. to 12 p.m. - located at the health department, 215 W. Mendenhall Street, Bozeman - Flu vaccine only

If you have health insurance, please bring your insurance card. GCCHD will be billing insurance for the flu vaccine only. Most insurances, including Medicare and Medicaid, will cover the flu vaccine as a preventative service at no charge to you. Additionally, for those seeking a COVID-19 booster dose, please bring your current COVID-19
vaccine card.

The flu vaccine pricing:
● Regular price: $42 per person
● No Insurance: $21 per person, payable at time of service
● High Dose (65 and older) – covered by Medicare

There is no waiting period between getting your flu vaccine and getting your COVID-19 vaccine. However, you must wait at least two (2) months after your last COVID-19 vaccine dose to get the bivalent booster. The COVID-19 bivalent booster doses are for those who are 12 years old or older.

The Healthy Gallatin website is the best location for the most up-to-date information on both flu and COVID-19. Please visit us at www.healthygallatin.org

BOZEMAN — Montana State University is celebrating the 50th year of the WWAMI Medical Education Program, which allows students from Montana to pay in-state tuition while earning MD degrees from University of Washington’s top-ranking School of Medicine.

Since WWAMI’s inception at MSU in the fall of 1973, more than 1,000 students from Montana have enrolled, according to the program’s records. More than 350 WWAMI graduates currently serve as physicians in the state of Montana.

“There were two goals at the outset of the WWAMI program,” said Martin Teintze, MSU WWAMI director. “One is to provide an opportunity for Montana students to go a top-notch medical school. The other goal was to provide physicians for the state of Montana.

“The first goal has definitely been met,” Teintze continued. “For the second goal, there are more than 350 physicians practicing in the state that are WWAMI graduates. That’s a significant chunk of physicians in our state.”

In addition to Montana, other states participating in the cooperative medical education program are Washington, Wyoming, Alaska and Idaho. Montana students spend 18 months receiving instruction from MSU professors as well as physicians at Bozeman Health Deaconess Hospital. The next two and a half years are spent doing clinical rotations in a variety of Montana locations, as well as Seattle and other sites in the WWAMI region.

Montana’s first WWAMI class had 10 students. Class size grew to 20 in 1975 and then to 30 students in 2013, with support from the Montana Legislature.

Students complete their first 18 months in Bozeman, which means that two groups totaling 60 Montana students are now educated in the program at MSU each fall.

“There was general agreement when Montana joined WWAMI in 1973 that Montana needed more physicians and this was the way to do it,” Teintze said. “It was also the least expensive way to do it. Building a standalone, Montana University System-run medical school would have been vastly more expensive for the Montana taxpayer.”

Teintze expressed appreciation for Montana lawmakers who supported the state’s joining the program in the 1970s and have increased the number of Montana resident students supported by legislative funding in successive decades. Students who do not end up practicing in Montana within a year after completing their education repay a portion of the subsidy they received from the state.

“We appreciate the ongoing support the program has had from the legislature for the past 50 years,” Teintze said. “It’s a long-term investment in the health of Montanans.”

Montana WWAMI students complete the majority of their clinical training in the state at more than 50 sites under the direction of approximately 650 Montana physicians, Teintze said.

“It has really become a Montana program,” Teintze said.

In the mid 2000s, the University of Washington hired a Montana clinical dean, Jay Erickson, who developed a program called TRUST, which stands for Targeted Rural Under Served Track. The program links 12 WWAMI students in each class to underserved communities. Those students spend a couple of weeks in the community in which they are paired before starting medical school as well as a month between the 1st and 2nd year. Then, in their second year, they spend five months in those communities completing part of their clinical training. There are currently 11 TRUST sites in Montana, from Miles City to Libby and from Dillon to Glasgow.

“The objective is to provide students who are interested in this kind of a work a real experience of what it is like to be a small-town physician, and to make sure they are trained by people who have chosen it as their career path,” Teintze said.

Teintze said TRUST has seen success with its goal of increasing the number of WWAMI graduates now practicing in the state’s rural areas, with alumni of that program now practicing medicine in places like Anaconda, Ronan, Hardin, Havre, Lewistown and Miles City.

“We’re hoping this success will grow,” he said.

Teintze said that, after 50 years in operation, the need for the WWAMI program remains strong.

“The average age of the population in Montana is going up, and therefore the need for medical care is also rising,” he said. “We are also facing a wave of physician retirements at a time when the need for more physicians due to the aging population is increasing, and the situation is even more dire in rural parts of Montana.

“With the time it takes to educate a medical student – four years of medical school, plus three to five years of residency afterwards – we need to be planning now for physicians that we need seven to 10 years from now. The prudent thing is to plan ahead.”

BOZEMAN — The roar of two Navy F-5N Tiger jets will mingle with the final notes of the national anthem in Bobcat Stadium this Saturday, thrilling fans assembled for the 2022 Montana State University homecoming football game against Idaho State and marking a personal homecoming of sorts for one Bozeman family. 

The anthem will be sung by Emily Fraser, a first-year student who often visited relatives in Bozeman while she grew up a military kid, living in three countries and five U.S. states. And one of the jets performing Saturday’s flyover will be piloted by her dad, a Bozeman native and longtime Bobcat fan, Capt. Billy “Kid” Fraser, wing commander of the Tactical Support Wing based in Fort Worth, Texas. 

"Having the opportunity to share the flyover is a cool thing no matter where you are, but to fly over a stadium that you went to all of your younger life watching Bobcat games and where your daughter is singing the national anthem for her school– I don't think that it gets any better than that,” Billy Fraser said. 

His visit this weekend will mark the first time that he has been able to make it back to Bozeman since his family moved here in June — ahead of his retirement in early 2023. He said this MSU homecoming game is a true homecoming for him, his daughter and the whole family. 

"I think that just coming back to Bozeman, moving back home, being able to do the flyover, completes the circle of really great career,” he said. “I’m really thankful for everyone who has been a part of making this happen.” 

The flyover will happen just before the 2 p.m. kickoff for the Oct. 8 game. Joining Capt. Fraser on the flyover will be Fighter Squadron 13 based in Fallon, Nevada, including Cmdr. Austin Coovert from Walla Walla, Washington, Petty Officer 1st Class Nakato Tantillo from Uganda, and Chief Ian Wilson from Appleton, Wisconsin.  

Emily Fraser started at MSU this fall and plans to pursue a degree in political science in the College of Letters and Science. Singing and performing has been a passion of hers for as long as she can remember, and she said getting the opportunity to sing at the homecoming game is surreal. 

"I am very excited to sing in front of my family,” she said. Her mother, Liz, and two sisters, May, 15, and Molly, 13, will be in the audience, alongside her grandparents and extended family and friends.  

“I want to make my dad proud – hopefully make my country, school and Bozeman community proud. It’s going to be a special moment,” she said. “This homecoming game is a really special opportunity because my dad grew up in Bozeman and we’re all finally here now.  

“It's just an incredible moment to share. Bozeman is home.” 

One Montana’s Master Hunter Program is accepting applications October 1, 2022 - November 30, 2022 for the 2023 program. Classes will be held in Billings (March), Bozeman (April) and Missoula (May). Each class will consist of two 3-Day consecutive weekends (Friday – Sunday). A two-day weekend rendezvous in June is also required for qualifications, field exercises, and the final exam. 

The Master Hunter Program (MHP) is an advanced education program for hunters who want to improve and hone their knowledge and skills, build relationships with landowners to aid their wildlife management goals, and be advocates for conservation and wildlife. By creating opportunities for landowners and sportsmen to connect to each other, the MHP helps to deepen knowledge and understanding about ranching and agriculture, and ultimately works to increase access opportunities for future generations.

To date, 291 hunters have successfully completed the program. Graduates belong to a community of likeminded hunters stretching from Whitefish to Miles City who hunt together, keep each other informed, and are knowledgeable voices on issues affecting sportsmen across MT.

In the words of one graduate, “......this class and all the information I gained has already changed my life! I can't wait to see what great work we can do together with this excellent group of individuals". 

The program covers wildlife management, history of conservation, hunting culture and ethics, private land stewardship, and shooting accuracy and precision among other topics. The instructors have a wide diversity of knowledge and perspectives and include ranchers, farmers, university faculty, professional shooting instructors, wildlife managers, wildlife biologists, and MT Fish Wildlife and Parks personnel.    

The program is led by One Montana (1MT), a nonprofit working to sustain a vibrant Montana by connecting our urban and rural communities. The program is supported financially by private foundations, nonprofit organizations, trade associations and industry partners such as the Rocky Mountain Elk Foundation, Bass Pro Shop’s and Cabela’s Outdoor Fund, Montana Stockgrowers Association, Montana Grain Growers Association, Montana’s Outdoor Legacy Foundation, onX Maps, Mystery Ranch, Sitka Gear and others.

Please visit www.mtmasterhunter.com for information about the application process, class dates, and eligibility requirements.

BOZEMAN — HRDC is actively seeking input from residents in Gallatin, Park and Meagher Counties to help inform future initiatives that support community needs across southwest Montana.  

Heather Grenier, HRDC’s CEO, explained the crucial nature of its Community Needs Assessment as it relates to its mission of building better communities. “This survey is one of the most important initiatives we undertake as an agency. Every three years, we reach out to everyone, regardless of circumstance, in all the communities we support to build an in-depth understanding of our communities’ most pressing needs.”

Grenier continued, “Our neighbors have always been so helpful to us in this process. The level of detail we receive paints a thorough picture of the intricacies and challenges that are present. Once we receive the survey data, our Board and our staff can begin our assessment which ultimately helps us originate supportive programs that address the realities many members of our community face. These surveys inform our work for the next three years and are at the very core of our operational model.”

Current HRDC programming is directly tied to the paradigm caused by the lack of affordable housing in our region that is coupled with a much higher-than-average cost of living and lower- than-average wages. HRDC is seeking deeper insight into the specific impacts households are experiencing resulting from this economic situation along with what these impacts could mean for the future of our community structure.

The 2022 Community Needs Assessment is open to everyone through October 31st and can be found at https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/F8GV5T6.

HRDC is a private, not-for-profit Community Action Agency focused on building a better community through nearly 50 different initiatives aimed at combating poverty in southwestern Montana.

Due to staffing shortages, two Gallatin County offices will be temporarily reducing public office hours.

Starting Tuesday, Oct. 11, Gallatin County Justice Court and 911 Records (both located at the Law and Justice Center), will be open to the public from 8 AM to 3 PM. Staff in both offices will remain working from 3 to 5 PM each day; however, that will be uninterrupted time for employees to process accumulated filings and records requests.

Like many employers across the county, state, and nation, Justice Court and 911 Records are short staffed.

Both Justice Court and 911 Records offices have a total of 10 positions each, and each office is down three people due to open positions and retirement.

The reduced public office hours in both offices will remain in place until more staff are hired. We will keep the public updated.

Last month, the Clerk of District Court’s Office also reduced its public office hours to 8 AM to 3 PM. Those hours remain in place.

Gallatin County Justice Court

Justice Court handles misdemeanor citations from the Gallatin County Sheriff’s Office, Montana Fish, Wildlife and Parks, Montana Highway Patrol, Bozeman Yellowstone International Airport, Montana Department of Transportation and processes most of the felony cases during the daily in-custody appearances.

Justice Court also handles civil cases, which includes restraining orders, landlord-tenant and Small Claims.

Justice Court will use its afternoon hours to enable staff to process backlogged filings. The court will continue to receive and process electronic and hand-delivered filings under the court’s window during the hours of 3 to 5 PM.

For questions, please contact Justice Court at 406-582-2191 or justice@gallatin.mt.gov.

Gallatin County 911 Records

Records is the second division to the 911 Communications Department, located behind the window at the main entrance of the Law and Justice Center. The department maintains the records from the Bozeman Police Department, Gallatin County Sheriff’s Office, and the Gallatin County Detention Center.

Records requests can still be made online by emailing supportservices@gallatin.mt.gov. A new website for online records requests is coming soon – we will provide updates as soon as that service becomes available!

For any questions, please call the office at 406-582-2005.

For information on job openings in Justice Court, 911 Records, and all other county departments, please visit www.governmentjobs.com/careers/gallatinmt.

BOZEMAN – Faculty and students from Montana State University’s Mark and Robyn Jones College of Nursing will collaborate on a newly-funded cancer care project aimed at providing easier access to cancer care for rural Montanans.

The $1.9 million project is one of seven nationwide funded by the pharmaceutical company Merck’s charitable arm, the Merck Foundation, in a $20 million initiative. While all seven of the projects focus on underserved communities, the Montana project – which will include collaboration with the American Society of Clinical Oncology, Bozeman Health and Barrett Hospital in Dillon – is the only one focused on rural healthcare. 

“Unless you live in one of Montana’s cities, you are often more than 60 minutes away from cancer services such as infusion therapy,” said Marg Hammersla, an assistant professor in the college of nursing and the primary MSU faculty member on the project. “So, cancer patients must regularly travel to receive beneficial, life-saving therapy.  There is a good possibility that for some patients in Montana, particularly on the eastern side of the state, they will forgo cancer treatment because accessing it is simply too burdensome.”

Lightening that burden is the goal of the collaborative project, which was announced by Merck in early September. Over five years, the collaborating agencies will establish a chemotherapy program at Barrett Hospital, which will allow southwest Montana residents to find more accessible cancer care closer to their homes.

The grant will fund preliminary research to determine what barriers discourage patients from accessing cancer care, which could be anything from travel times to weather restrictions or not having someone who can drive them to appointments if they’re feeling particularly unwell. As the project progresses, pharmaceutical and nursing resources at Barrett Hospital will be updated and expanded to establish the needed chemotherapy capabilities. A nurse practitioner will be hired to oversee chemotherapy infusions and to provide acute care for patients who would otherwise have to drive to a larger hospital like those in Bozeman, Billings or Missoula if they faced a need for acute care. There will also be support for a total of nine on-campus student researcher positions: one during the award’s first year and two during each of the remaining four years.

As a nurse practitioner in geriatric health, Hammersla sees the need for programs like this one every day in her own practice. Recent statistics show that Montana has the sixth highest proportion of residents over the age of 65 – 19.7% – and is the only state in the top ten that lies west of the Mississippi. While not every cancer patient is over 65, Hammersla notes that the older the population, the higher the incidence of cancer. For her, this project is more than research – it is creating access to life-changing therapy for rural people who are experiencing cancer, with the potential to save lives.

“This work will be transformative for our rural communities,” said Hammersla. “We know what needs to happen. But how do we break down the barriers, so rural cancer patients have access to effective cancer therapies? We’re hoping by this time next year these patients will be able to get chemotherapy closer to home reducing the logistical burdens of cancer treatment.”

The goal of the project is that the pilot model established through the collaboration between Bozeman Health and Barrett Hospital will turn into a “hub and spoke” model that can be replicated elsewhere, providing resources to establish medical capabilities that many rural hospitals simply don’t have the bandwidth or staff for. If the initial program is a success, the potential for expansion could be limitless in rural areas across the U.S.

“I think the investment by Merck in a project that’s focused on rural health is really significant, and speaks to the qualifications of the team that put this proposal together,” said Molly Secor, associate dean for research in the college of nursing. “Health outcomes for people living in rural communities are poorer than those for urban dwellers. To solve the challenges that account for this difference, we need to create momentum for system change.  Montana is the perfect state to do that. Merck’s recognition that this is the right place, the right group of people and the right time is very exciting and gratifying.”

The unique nature of the MSU college of nursing also makes Montana an ideal place for this project, says Secor.

“Our nurse practitioners are able to complete their education from a distance,” said Secor. “Our hope is that they’ll stay in their home communities after they graduate to practice and serve Montana’s rural and frontier areas. To truly shift the needle on health outcomes, it will take nurses, nurse practitioners and nurse researchers. Nursing is at the nexus of being able to conduct science and then connect that science to practice.

For Hammersla, the collaboration is a perfect storm, and a chance to do exactly what the nursing profession was created for: to establish authoritative medical knowledge and use it to positively impact the lives of the people who need it most.

“I’m excited to demonstrate that a partnership between nurse researchers at the college of nursing, practice partners and professional groups is a win-win-win for everyone – especially Montanans,” said Hammersla. “This project is literally expanding geographic access to care. There are all kinds of opportunities for health care partners to form beneficial partnerships with the college of nursing, and I’m excited to build these collaborations.” 

Founded in 1937, Montana State University’s Mark and Robyn Jones College of Nursing offers bachelor’s, accelerated bachelor’s, master’s and doctoral-level nursing education to produce nurses, nurse leaders, nurse educators and nurse practitioners for Montana. The college of nursing has campus locations in Bozeman, Billings, Great Falls, Kalispell and Missoula. Montana State University is the largest producer of registered nurses in Montana and is the sole provider of doctoral nurse practitioner education in the state. More information is available at montana.edu/nursing.