Category: Great Falls

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We’ve received several emails and screenshots of some local reaction to President Trumps visit to Great Falls on Thursday.

This first one is particularly relevant because it is Great Falls City Commissioner Mary Moe’s post about some Montana Catholic priests who attended the rally.

Uhmmm, just out of curiosity, how would Mary Moe know that “Jesus wept” because some Montana priests were attending a rally and supporting the President of the United States? Does Moe have some secret connection to the Savior that lets her know when and why He’s weeping? What unmitigated arrogance on her part.

“Uhmmm, just out of curiosity, how would Mary Moe know that ‘Jesus wept’ Because some Montana priests were attending a rally and supporting the President of the United States? Does Moe have some secret connection to the Savior that lets her know when and why he’s weeping? What unmitigated arrogance on her part.”

We also have to wonder what current city commissioner Moe means when she says “…they used to beat boys for back when America was great.” Does Moe have some evidence or knowledge that these priests at the rally are guilty of beating boys in the past? If not then this kind of specific accusation is libelous and may, probably should, result in legal action against Moe. She is a public figure and an elected official accusing these citizens of potential crimes.

Looking further at some of the comments on Commissioner Moe’s post, we also found the following from local Cascade County Democratic Central Committee Chairman, ex con, convicted felon and former cocaine dealer Bill Strizich to be interesting:

“Bill Strizich – Just who are those bozos of the cloth. They should be censored by the Church. It may well be time for the Church to pay taxes.

Bill Strizich – I’m guessing the Pope may not find this image at all amusing. Perhaps these preists (sic) need a reality check with the home office in Rome.”

“Bozo’s of the cloth”?

Just who in the world does Strizich, a disgraced former U.S. Marshall, think he is? It appears that he just can’t wait to find motes in others eyes while the beam in his own goes completely unnoticed by him.

“Just who in the world does Strizich, a disgraced former U.S. Marshall, think he is? It appears that he just can’t wait to find motes in others eyes while the beam in his own goes completely unnoticed by him.”

We believe this is very, very serious. At the very least it is bullying at it’s worse. Moe’s comments are disturbing because she is practicing a form of religious persecution and engaging in a public witch hunt against people of religious convictions who may not agree with her political ideology and who associate with politicians she detests.

Her position as a Great Falls city commissioner is well known and her public comments here are totally inappropriate and uncalled for. She owes the priests and the people of Great Falls and Montana an apology and possibly a resignation from the city commission for her outrageous allegations.

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Read Part 1 here.

Read Part 2 here.

Recently, my wife and I have been looking into a potential job opportunity in Helena. While I haven’t been interviewed yet, it has given us the opportunity to explore what moving back to Montana would look like. We have visited Kalispell, which has grown to be massive compared to what I remember as a young kid. We have stayed in Havre while I working for a couple weeks at the Guard Armory earlier this month, and we stopped in Helena for business and to explore our possible new home. And then we stayed a few days in Great Falls in order to visit family.

When visiting Kalispell, Angie made the observation that it seemed very similar to a nice Canadian town. In other words, it was growing, bustling, and had a good balance between older people and younger people. One of her favourite observations was the fact that it had all the hope and character of a successful Canadian towns, and we could carry a gun! It was that moment I realized that she would make a wonderful Montanan, but perhaps I’m just biased.

We also visited Helena, which had a bustling outdoor mall, lots of beautiful land, and well-kept lawns and seemingly safe areas. I know every town has its bad areas, but nobody can tell me that Helena is in a worse spot than Great Falls.

When we came back to Great Falls, we passed by cops surrounding a house, an ambulance, and a dozen homeless folks in order to get to my mother’s apartment across from the Civic Centre. It was evening, and there were already drunk people galore (it was Friday, admittedly), and a lot of chaos on Central Avenue. It really bummed us out seeing the comparison.

What breaks my heart is the fact of how awesome Great Falls could be. Like I said earlier, it has the most amazing outdoors not even five minutes out of town. There is a legendary river that splits Great Falls in half, a beautiful view of several dams, and Giant Springs park is nothing to underestimate. Great Falls has amazing characteristics.

If we can realize that there is something wrong with Great Falls and make steps to better it, maybe young people like myself will move back to it. In the meantime, however, I have to think about my wife and soon-to-be-born son. As a young adult, husband, and parent, I feel that moving to Great Falls isn’t in the best interests of my family, which is sad. I really want my hometown to grow and be the awesome place it could be!

How do we do that?

First, electing city commissioners that represent the desires of the citizens of the city. To do that, we need to encourage people (young and old) to vote. We need to show people that their vote count. Even my absentee vote way up here in Saskatchewan counts.

“First, electing city commissioners that represent the desires of the citizens of the city. To do that, we need to encourage people (young and old) to vote. We need to show people that their vote count. Even my absentee vote way up here in Saskatchewan counts.”

Second, we need to market our city to businesses, not just non-profits and a slaughterhouse. We want really nice schools and a really awesome bustling downtown? We’re going to need more businesses boosting this city’s worth.

Third, either we need to get our streets safe. Honestly, I have no idea how we do that. I’m not afraid to admit that I’d like your input on how we do that!

Fourth, we need to encourage transparency and further citizen participation in city government decisions. Whether that be at the school district, city commission, or even at some random committee about garbage trucks or something. We need to get involved, and the city needs to realize that they serve the sixty-something thousand people that make Great Falls home before that becomes a fraction of that number.

I am still a proud Montana American, and I am excited to see what the future holds for Great Falls. In Bible College here in Canada, I have had some change some things. From me changing to the fancy British spelling of the word “theatre” to leaving all my guns in Great Falls and adopting the word “eh” as part of my vocabulary (kidding), I have had to make a lot of changes while living up here and respecting the Canadian way of life.

However, when I cross the border and enter America, I arguably must say I’m most excited that I am back in Montana, where I can shoot my guns, fish all I want, hunt all I want, hike all I want, and see some of the most beautiful scenery on Earth. In my opinion, there is almost no place better than Montana. Let’s make it to where there’s no place better than Great Falls.

Part 3 is the conclusion of Scott Miller’s essay.

Read Part 1 here.

When I graduated high school in 2015, I left Great Falls for the Army National Guard, and spent a year in South Carolina, Georgia, and Virginia, before coming back to Montana in 2016. In 2016, I spent a year driving school buses with Big Sky Bus Lines and trying to figure out what to do with my life. After a couple experimental pursuits into a couple different jobs while keeping my job at the bus line, I decided that it was time to go to college. A little before spring in 2017, I met my wife, Angie, who’s from Saskatchewan. Because of our faith, we had a very short courting relationship, and were engaged and married before September of that year. In the meantime, I discovered that the town she was from in Saskatchewan has a bible college that ironically accepts the GI Bill (college assistance from the US Military), and it became a no-brainer.

Not only did I get to spend time with my wife and avoid the year and a half (minimum) it takes to process a green card for her to come to the United States, it let me pursue my faith and desire to go into ministry. Furthermore, it was a way to get out of Great Falls before the Electric City robbed me of my energy. Unlike many of my peers, I wasn’t happy just working until I figure life out, or going to welding school, or smoking pot all day wondering why I was broke: I wanted to do something with my life. Most of the other kids who were ambitious already left for college, the military, or some other reason. I don’t intend to knock on people who want to be welders or figure out their lives. By all means; do it! It just wasn’t for me.

Moving to Canada was a culture shock. Though you may already know, Saskatchewan is only a three-hour drive from Great Falls. I live six and a half hours away. I still have residency in Great Falls, still have an address, and still pay Montana taxes. With my Canadian student visa, I am

also a legal resident in Saskatchewan, and pay taxes up in the “Great North” as well now. I live fifteen minutes away from Moose Jaw, which is half the size of Great Falls but has a very similar industry as Great Falls. It’s a military town (there’s a Canadian Air Force Base), it’s an agriculture centre, it’s a railroad town, and now its also booming because of oil.

When I drive to Moose Jaw, it seems like everything Great Falls could be. Now, I am not saying it’s perfect. In fact, it has some of the same problems that Great Falls has. There’s still domestic crime, drug problems, and some people can seem complacent. However, what city doesn’t? Everyone can agree with that. However, what Moose Jaw has makes it seem way bigger than it really is:

First, it has a plethora of jobs that pay more than minimum wage. Further, most of them aren’t even college-level jobs! I personally drive a school bus here (like I did in Great Falls) for about $18.00 an hour. If I can get myself on a route this fall, I’d make about $21.00 an hour and have medical benefits, and it’s not even a full-time job! And while there is still jobs that pay minimum wage, there’s a lot more diversity in what jobs there are in Moose Jaw. I have seen a posting for a welder right below a posting for an accountant. I can’t say I have seen that in Great Falls, personally.

Second, there is less crime. Maybe it’s because the homeless shelter is a lot smaller? Not trying to bash the Great Falls Shelter; they seem like wonderful people who are trying to make a difference. Personally, I have served at the homeless shelter in Great Falls, and know the important work they do there. However, my observation is that as soon as the addition to the shelter was built a couple years ago, the homeless population in Great Falls spiked, and with that—crime. Correct me if I’m wrong, as obviously I don’t have any statistics, only my perspective.

Furthermore, Moose Jaw has police checkpoints set up on Fridays and Saturdays in random areas of town in order to battle drunk driving and other illegal acts. Does Great Falls do that?

“Furthermore, Moose Jaw has police checkpoints set up on Fridays and Saturdays in random areas of town in order to battle drunk driving and other illegal acts. Does Great Falls do that?”

Third, it’s growing because new business is permitted to build here. Funnily enough, Regina, a city with a quarter-of-a-million people is only fifty minutes away, while Saskatoon (another two-hundred-fifty thousand people) is two hours up the road. Yet, Moose Jaw is also growing too. Partially, I’m sure it’s because of the oil industry at least partially. Whatever the reason, there are a lot of young people getting careers in Moose Jaw that pay decently and include benefits (not all healthcare is free in Canada).

Lastly, the downtown is bustling with people walking up and down the streets. There are people shopping at “mom-and-pops” and cars honking and cruising up Main Street. Regardless as to why Central Avenue in Great Falls is a ghost town, there are no people walking around shopping at mom-and-pop shops at all, it seems. Maybe it’s because shopping is expensive to most Great Falls residents? Since Moose Jaw has good paying jobs, its people are more excited to pay the extra buck to shop at a mom-and-pop shop instead of Wal-Mart.

Stay tuned for Part 3 of Miller’s essay.

I know many of us have been there when we were young: I can’t wait to leave my hometown! I remember being a young teenager thinking that Great Falls was boring. However, when I turned sixteen, I discovered hunting and fishing—or generally speaking: the outdoors. Suddenly, Great Falls wasn’t so bad. I remember the best part of being in Great Falls was all the recreation that was outside of it. That is still what I consider the most powerful selling point that the Electric City still has: it’s abundance of rural recreation quite literally five minutes out of town.

However, as much as I love hunting, fishing, hiking, camping, and just breathing in the fresh air of prairie or the morning dew in the Highwoods, this isn’t about the outdoors. This is about how I, as a young person, had to decide which was more important to myself and the family that I would have. The outdoors; or a future? As a disclaimer, I would like to state that I don’t always agree with the methods of E-City Beat, and have a few critical critiques. However, I find that E-City Beat has become an effective platform to freely speak the opinions of the public without worrying about offending city government or some other bureaucrat.

I grew up in Great Falls. I remember being six years old when I moved to Stockett, and then seven when we relocated to 2nd Avenue South and ninth in 2003. Back then, I remember playing outside very close to downtown, next to arguably one of the busiest streets in town, and nothing bad really ever happening. Maybe it was because I was eight at the time, but I don’t remember seeing any people tweaking out walking down the street, or dangerous thefts (I’m sure they happened), or any general fear for my life. Again, maybe that was just me being young, but I had pretty protective parents. They didn’t seem too worried, either.

I even remember growing up two blocks from Parkdale and right across the street from Longfellow; an area many consider to be low-income or higher in crime, nowadays. Now, I remember most of my peers not living with both parents (or even no parents), a lot of broken homes, and I remember being bullied quite a bit (mind you, I was a pretty intense Star Wars nerd and even admittedly kind of awkward). While I remember those problems, I don’t remember ever feeling scared for my life or anything out of the ordinary happen.

When I went into middle school, a neighbor just two houses away had their house burn down (the rumor was that it was a meth lab). All I remember is seeing the house burnt, and a bunch of cops in the area with yellow police tape. I remember in middle school discovering who in the neighborhood was dealing meth and who had marijuana. These houses were often times a block away (or even across the street) from Longfellow.

“I remember in middle school discovering who in the neighborhood was dealing meth and who had marijuana. These houses were often times a block away (or even across the street) from Longfellow.”

In High School, I remember seeing a lot more problems. It started getting to where going down the street even at nine at night was a guarantee that we would see drunk people or people sleeping on the street. When I turned eighteen, I was still in my senior year of high school, and my friends and I often stayed out late into the night (as is common in your teens). I remember crime getting progressively worse by the month, it seemed.

One time I had the opportunity to do a drive-along with a GFPD officer. I can’t believe how busy they are during the day. The number of calls they go on made the day fly by. The officer I was with intervened on someone about to jump off the Central Avenue bridge, a stolen cell phone, two goose-chases trying to find people with warrants, several traffic stops, and even a domestic disturbance involving someone tweaking on meth. This is the stuff they dealt with in under ten hours—and that was the day shift in the middle of the week. I can’t imagine what it’s like for them now; not even three years later.

Stay tuned for Part 2 of Miller’s essay.

Last week I took a trip to Bozeman, MT and spent a couple of days in the area. Wow, talk about an eye-opening experience! I hadn’t been there in a good many years and I assumed it was pretty much the same Bozeman I knew from back in the day and have since heard about: a smallish college town with the attendant economic and cultural advantages and average growth. Oh boy, that doesn’t even begin to cover it, folks.

The Bozeman area is booming. What do I mean when I say ‘booming’?

Well, just driving around the area for awhile my wife and I were amazed at the new construction going on everywhere, and I mean everywhere. Both commercial and residential – lots and lots of residential.

We went downtown on a Friday morning and there was no place to park for blocks and blocks (no meters either). There was quite a bit of both foot and vehicle traffic in all of the commercial and business areas we visited. A “bustling downtown” would be a big understatement for sure with shops and restaurants and stores all doing a very brisk trade.

I am 63 years old and a lifelong intermittent resident of Montana and Great Falls. I have most all of my immediate family stretching from Conrad to Fort Benton and everything in between. I also have other family members in other parts of Montana.

Every time I have moved back to Great Falls after being absent from 4 years to 19 years, I see differences in Great Falls. A lot of that could be attributed to my station in life (i.e. older and higher financial level). And a lot of Great Falls is no different in what I have seen before. Gone is the once great pride we have had in our city. Cascade County was thought of a lot more highly than it is now but that may be attributed to the now apparent lethargy and dullness of the population of Cascade County and Great Falls.

Voters for one either vote what they are told, believe with minimal research of candidate or measure or some do vote because they like to know what is really happening in our region. You have a mass population of voters spread all over the county (this is all by who I have talked to and associated with) that clearly do not want to get involved. Yes we have some people who have skeletons in their closets that do not want to raise their heads above water and stay out of politics or conversation about the times we are now living in. This can all be broken down even more but I wrote just enough for somebody reading this to get what I am putting down here.

And…what I am putting down here is that I know there are many voters (again people I have talked to) who have buyer’s remorse on issues or candidates they voted for without much information. And it is hard here to get good information. The media here is what I would call fake news, the Tribune I know for a fact allows their reporters to be biased as in an election. I can’t remember the guy but I called him in regards to the sheriff election in 2009. I asked him why he was so skewed in what he said about my chosen candidate Dave Castle. His answer “I just don’t like they guy”. Of course I do not have any proof but I will bet some of you know who I am talking about. What do you expect from a newspaper that is owned by the Gannett Company in Tennessee? I even called them up as I was somewhat miffed by what the reporter said and they told me they had no idea this was going on? So who is in charge to be able to tell me that?

I know of a story about my community that was aired by KFBB TV that was totally false. After I called them up and talked to the responsible parties involved with the stories, they all told me to give the number of the person to call so they could get a hold of them and right this situation. I did that in all circumstances and the people that were misrepresented in the broadcast, told me that they never got a call from anyone.

So, you see (and you have always known) that there is a lot to be said about researching and finding out all you can on the candidates and issues that get thrown up in front of you every so often. This is big stuff that we vote on. You may have the money now to pay for your property tax going up every year with your county and possibly city services keep going down in quality. Just remember in the future you may be making less and may have yourself be one who has now put yourself in a bind financially. That last sentence has already happened to many people that I know and possibly myself and my wife as time goes on.

“So, you see (and you have always known) that there is a lot to be said about researching and finding out all you can on the candidates and issues that get thrown up in front of you every so often.”

In conclusion, everyone has the right to be and vote as they want as we have a constitution at least that says so. If you do dig deeper into things as is one theme of the E-City Beat website, it does not mean you will “get caught” and get into trouble with someone. Use local media if possible, trusted local media that is. Not just Facebook or any of the others. I think E-City Beat looks at information honestly and from what I see, does want to explain the source of their information to be as a recently politically hijacked word “transparent” in what is said here.

So far I see this blog as a good site that talks about the issues and problems that plague us locally at least and you do not see any of that being brought up anywhere else…and that may be one good reason to consider reading up on this website.