The Glendive Ranger-Review

















Yellowstone Newspapers

Thursday,July 24


Deniel Campbell prepares to wash the wounds her horse Reba sustained Saturday evening, in what one Fish, Wildlife and Park official says was probably an attack by a mountain lion. Reba should recover from her injuries, but area residents are trying to be cautious.

Following are abbreviated versions of the week's top stories. This digest is updated once a week, usually on Thursday.

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Mountain lion blamed for attack

By Amanda Breitbach
Ranger-Review Staff Writer

A small horse was attacked Saturday night by what was probably a mountain lion. The horse, Reba, is owned by Ryan and Deniel Campbell but was boarding with Jim and Trish Mires at their home on Colin Avenue.

Jim said he had gone out riding with his daughter and son, from their home to Makoshika State Park. When he and the kids returned around 6 p.m., they unsaddled the horses and put them in a round pen to cool down. The group returned to the house, which Mires estimated to be about 300 yards from the pen. Before going in, Mires heard some noise in the corral and saw his horse kicking with both hind legs.

“My horse was just going plumb crazy and so was Reba,” he said. He watched the animals, but when they calmed down he assumed they had just been irritable from the long ride and dismissed it. About an hour and a half later, Mires went back down to check on the horses and saw that Reba had injured the area near her front shoulder on the fence and also had a wound on her eye.

Mires thought Reba had injured herself when the horses were kicking earlier and busied himself by taking care of the largest wound. The next day Campbell came out to look at her injuries. On closer inspection, the two noticed four large scratches on the horse’s rump as well as smaller scratches around the eye. Based on the size of the scratches, they suspected she had been attacked by a mountain lion.

“When we looked at her really carefully, you could see (that it was a lion),” Mires said. Campbell took the horse to veterinarian Dr. Cara Voss on Monday when the wounds began to swell. Voss shaved portions of the horse’s hide, revealing several puncture wounds and a bite mark at the base of her neck.

That convinced the two that the attack was made by a mountain lion, and they called Howard Burt, a biologist for Fish Wildlife and Parks, to come out and inspect the horse.

Burt looked Reba over on Wednesday night and agreed with Mires and Campbell that a mountain lion attack was a definite possibility. “I could almost say, yeah, that’s a lion. I don’t know what else could do that,” Burt said.

This attack was the strongest evidence he had ever seen of a lion so close to town, he added. Burt said it would be difficult to estimate the local cat population or to tell if it is increasing, but the mountain lion population is clearly linked to deer populations.

“This is a really difficult creature to put your fingers on,” Burt noted, adding that he himself had only seen two in his life. Signs that may indicate a mountain lion’s presence include tracks, or buried, half-eaten game. Domestic animals like dogs and horses will usually smell a lion and act strangely when one is around.

The Saturday attack was unusual because it happened so close to the house and during daylight hours. The family dog accompanied the group on their ride, but may not have smelled the cat because of windy conditions. The dog and horses have seemed alarmed several nights running this week, Mires said. If necessary, Burt said that FWP can call in a tracker from Savage who has worked with the agency several times, using hounds to hunt the big cats.

While he encouraged using caution, Burt did not want people to panic. “It’s a real fine line we have to tread,” he said, explaining why FWP does not publicize sightings of the big cats when there is no concrete evidence left behind. “It’s called urban wildlife. You’ve just got to be smart about it,” he added.

Trish agreed. “I tell the kids it’s like rattlesnakes; you just have to be careful,” she said.

Still, the experience was rattling. “I can replace the horse, but there were little kids over there,” Campbell said. “I won’t ride now without a gun.”

 

Demolition digs up memories of old grocery store

By Melissa Smith
Ranger-Review Staff

Workers this week may have torn down the building that once housed the iconic Crisafulli Grocery Store, but the memories haven’t gone anywhere.

Buried in the rubble, they found a vintage inscribed letter opener, something neighbor Kathy Green said she is sure belonged to her grandparents, Mary and Joe Crisafulli, who built the store in the early 1900s after emigrating from Italy.

Green has since polished the silver piece and will add it to her collection of family memories.

“It really is beautiful,” she said.

Of course, the demolition has also brought up memories for members of the Crisafulli family and neighbors who remember the store in its heyday.

Green’s father, Joe Crisafulli, Jr., now in his 90s, said he remembers living in the diverse neighborhood of immigrants who would come into the store often. The business carried Italian, Greek and American groceries, including some 50 types of pasta, Crisafulli said, adding that his family also raised all of the produce sold in the store.

“My parents’ philosophy was, ‘Have a house; It might not have any floor or windows, but have land as far as you can see,’” he said. “They had a lot of land.”

The store also carried some clothing and hardware, and there was a gas pump out front.

Some of his favorite memories, Crisafulli said, come from the lively meals hosted by his parents with his mother, Mary, acting as cook.

“I loved her pasta best,” he smiled.

“My father made Italian wine, and he’d always go down in the basement to bring a bottle up for dinner. Most of the Italians in the area would be there. The priest was always there. We’d have a house full. My mother was a wonderful cook.

“My parents were wonderful people. Everyone loved them. They were very polite and respectable and they cared about people. We had two big boxes with store credit books.”

In 1913, Crisafulli’s parents set up their household in the back of the store, something that was common practice in that era.

He was the oldest of five children; his brothers Frank and Leonard have since passed away, and his brother Angelo still lives in Glendive. Their sister, Rose Croonenberghs, now lives in Missoula.

It wasn’t always an easy life, operating the family business, he said. There was hard work to be done in the fields, but Crisafulli said he and his siblings were brought up to embrace the work.

“Dad would be up at three or four o’clock in the morning and say, ‘Okay, guys, let’s go,’” he said. “Everything we did, we looked forward to it. He wasn’t slave driving.”

Crisafulli said his father was a natural entrepreneur and developer, patenting his own brands of food, even pop. He also invented the Crisafulli Pear.

“He was one of those people that did a lot for this town,” Crisafulli said.

Green says she has many memories of visiting her grandparents at the store, and, eventually, the house she now lives in.

“I can remember as a child running in and out of the store and playing in this neighborhood and looking forward to all of our visits,” she said.

One of the people she remembers spending time with is Tom Taylor, who lived two doors down from the store and is still in the neighborhood.

Taylor said he has fond memories of Green’s Grandpa Joe.

“He always had a trick to play with you,” Taylor remembered. “He’d put his hand out and say, ‘Put your finger between mine,’ and then he’d always squeeze your finger.”

Taylor said he would go in to the store to buy cinnamon bears, two for a penny.

The Crisafullis sold the store, Green said, in the late 1950s or early 1960s to Noni and Jerry Morasko. Eventually, the building became a residence and became unstable with age. It was condemned and demolished by the county for safety reasons.

Both Green and Taylor said seeing the building torn down this week is an emotional event.

“I looked out last night and could see the house next door to it, and I couldn’t have done that before,” Taylor said. “It’s kind of sad. I’m sad to see it go, but hopefully something good will come out of it.”

“It was kind of a shock seeing it that first time,” Green said, adding that she agrees it was time for it to come down.

Crisafulli said he has not seen the demolished building and isn’t sure if he wants to see it.

“I have a feeling I should, and I have a feeling I shouldn’t,” he said. “I don’t know if I want those bad memories.”

Instead, Crisafulli said, he will hang on to the good memories – the laughter at the dinners, the love of his family and the prime of his parents’ life when people would come from all over to visit their store.

“My family, we’re proud people,” he said. “My parents came here with nothing and they built many things. My family, we haven’t done bad. Actually it’s gone the other way.

“That’s what I want people to remember. ”


Correctional facility garden offers many benefits

By Cindy Mullet
Ranger-Review Staff Writer

Gardening gives inmates at the Dawson County Correctional Facility a constructive activity to do and cuts down on food costs.

Prison officials working with Dawson County Extension Agent Bruce Smith started a garden at the correctional facility three years ago, Warden Steve Ray said. The Correctional Facility garden is one stop on the Glendive Garden Club’s garden tour this year.

They started small, talking with the cooks in the kitchen to see what produce they could use.

They also made a contract with the company that provides food services for the prison in which the company agreed to purchase all the garden produce the prison cooks could use. With a prison population of 175, they use a lot of vegetables, he added.

The first year, the garden was so successful that they expanded to a second plot almost twice the size. They have vine plants at one end of that plot and have chosen varieties that store well. Last year they grew some really large pumpkins which they donated to the Head Start program for Halloween, he said.

Last year their corn crop didn’t do well and Ray debated planting corn this year. So many local farmers have corn that they can usually purchase what they need from them, but in the end he decided to give it another try. He has been checking other corn fields and theirs looks as if it is doing about as well, he said.

This year they have expanded the garden project again, putting up a high grow tunnel below the prison on land that is being leased from the city. They have planted tomatoes and cucumbers in the center of the tunnel and have herbs along the sides. If the herb garden is successful, they hope to sell some locally, he explained.

The garden project is a good fit for the prison since it is labor intensive and inmates have a lot of work hours. Almost all of the garden is planted from seed. Six to eight inmates work in the gardens every morning and again in the afternoons, planting, watering, weeding and then harvesting. Their pride in the work can be seen by how clean of weeds the garden is, he said.

Before they are allowed to work in the garden, inmates must meet certain criteria set by the Department of Corrections for outside activity. Screening for the project is based on inmate behavior. Most of the men who work in the garden are usually nearing their release date.

“It is good for them to help produce food and it reduces the cost of their incarceration,” he noted.

Some of the inmates have had limited experience gardening. For others it is completely new. Prison officials have various levels of expertise in gardening too, so are always looking for volunteers who can give advice and counsel, he said.

Along with the garden project, the inmates have started a small orchard, planting cherry and apple trees. Half were planted last year and half this year. They are looking forward to the trees producing fruit that can be used by the inmates and perhaps sold locally, he said.

The garden work is popular with the inmates. The gardeners look forward to the opportunity to work outside and the challenge of learning new skills. Many may never have taken on a project and been successful with it, so this is a good experience for them, he said, adding that even those who don’t work in the garden enjoy the fresh produce.

“We get a lot of positive feedback for the fresh vegetables,” Ray said. “They really appreciate it.”


 

Obituaries

 

 

The following obituaries appeared in The Ranger-Review the week of July 20, 2008.






Thomas Michael Tillman, 62, of Pocatello, Idaho, passed away Tuesday, July 15, 2008 at a Pocatello, Idaho care facility.

Theophil “Ted” Bonnet, 79, of Glendive, passed away on Wednesday, July 16, 2008 at the Glendive Medical Center.

Darline Smith, 59, of Glendive, passed away on Sunday, July 13, 2008 from injuries sustained in an automobile accident.

 

 

SPORTS




14-15 years olds take state title

By Kevin Miller
Ranger-Review Staff Writer

The Glendive 14-15 year old baseball All-Star team claimed the top trophy this weekend at the state tournament in Whitefish and Columbia Falls.

After finishing 2-1 in pool play, the local team went undefeated in tournament play to capture the state crown. The first place finish moves the All-Stars on to the Northwest Regional tournament in Lewiston, Idaho.

Glendive entered the championship round of play as the No. 2 seed out of its pool. The team’s first round match-up was against Kalispell, who Glendive defeated 3-0. In the semi-final game the All-Stars knocked off South Valley 8-5. Glendive then downed Mission in the championship game 14-3.

Glendive’s first opponent in pool play was Havre. The Glendive All-Stars used a big seven-run third inning to open up a comfortable 8-0 lead. Havre scored single runs in both the fourth and fifth innings to cut Glendive’s lead to 8-2. Glendive answered those two runs with two of its own in the top of the sixth. Havre did not give up, coming back with three in the bottom of the sixth and then tacking on one more run in the bottom of the seventh, but fell by a final score of 10-6.

Kyle Hinebauch pitched five strong innings and retired the first nine Havre batters he faced. Alex Burlison drove in two runs and scored two runs. Bryce Benson hit a home run and scored a pair of runs.

Glendive 017 002 0 10 – 6 – 3
Havre 000 113 1 6 – 7 – 5

Glendive fell in its second contest to Glacier 15-2.

This was a very close contest through the first five innings, with Glacier holding on to a 2-0 lead. Glacier exploded in the sixth inning, scoring eight runs. Trailing 10-0, Glendive was able to score twice to keep the game going. Glacier then added five more runs in the seventh and held Glendive scoreless to win by a 13-run margin.

Tyler Tolan started on the mound for Glendive and pitched a nice game in his five innings of work. Burlison and Charley Cunningham each had a hit and one run scored.

Glacier 010 108 5 15 – 11 – 2
Glendive 000 002 0 2 – 2 – 4

The Glendive All-Stars bounced back in the team’s third game to take care of South Valley (Bitterroot) 12-2. After two and a half scoreless innings, Glendive pushed across four runs in the third, then added another in the fourth.

Glendive had another big inning in the fifth, tacking on six more runs. Trailing 11-0, South Valley scored a couple of runs in the top of the sixth to stay alive. However, Glendive came back with a run in the bottom of the inning to end the game by the 10-run rule.

Pitching and defense were the keys to this Glendive win. Austin Eggert and Charley Cunningham combined on a four-hitter. Cunningham was two for three at the plate with two runs scored. Hinebauch had two hits in four at bats.

South Valley 000 020 2 – 4 – 3
Glendive 004 161 12 – 8 – 1

In one of the most exciting games of the tournament Glendive got by Kalispell 3-0 in nine innings.

Kalispell was the No. 1 seed out of its pool and one of the favorites to win it all. This game was a pitching duel throughout as the two teams combined for just seven hits. Entering the ninth, Glendive had yet to get a hit in the contest. Eli Bachmeier led off the top of the ninth with a single to left field. Cunningham drew a base on balls and Benson followed with a two-run double to break the ice and give Glendive the 2-0 advantage. Cody Clausen followed with a two-out RBI to bring in Benson. Kalispell managed a lead-off single, but the Glendive pitching again came through in the clutch to preserve the win and the shutout.

Hinebauch and Tolan combined on the five-hit shutout. The Glendive win moved them into semi-final action.

“This was the most exciting game I have ever been a part of,” said Assistant Coach Pat Burlison.

Glendive 000 000 003 3 – 2 – 1
Kalispell 000 000 000 0 – 5 – 5

Next up for the Glendive All-Stars was a rematch with South Valley.

Glendive scored twice in the top of the first, only to see South Valley answer, taking a 3-2 lead after the first inning of play. In the top of the third, Glendive was able to push across another run to even the score at 3-3. Glendive put together a five-run fifth inning to open up an 8-3 lead. South Valley kept it exciting as the team came up with two runs in the sixth to cut the deficit to 8-5. Glendive pitching rose to the challenge and shut down the opponent in the last inning to secure the win and move the Glendive All-Star team into the championship game.

Tolan and Cunningham pitched this pivotal game for Coach Pearcy. Cunningham also had a big day at the plate, going three for four with an RBI and two runs scored.

Glendive 201 050 0 8 – 8 – 1
South Valley 300 002 0 5 – 10 – 4

The Championship game pitted the Glendive All-Stars against the Mission All-Stars.

Mission scored first in the bottom of the first to take a 1-0 lead. After a scoreless second inning, Glendive woke up the bats in the top of the third. Four hits led to four runs in the inning for Glendive, giving them a 4-1 lead. They kept things rolling in the top of the fourth inning with another three runs on three base hits. Mission came back with a pair of runs in the bottom of the fourth to cut the Glendive lead from six runs down to four.

After neither team scored in the fifth , Glendive erupted for seven huge runs in the sixth. Mission needed at least two runs in the sixth to keep the game going, but Hinebauch was able to close the door with a 1-2-3 inning. This gave the Glendive All-Stars the 14-3 win and the State Championship.

Burlison, Cunningham, Benson and Bachmeier all had a multi-hit game. Benson had three hits, three runs scored and drove in three runs. Eggert scored three times and Bachmeier and Burlison each had two RBI’s.

Glendive 004 307 14 – 13 – 3
Mission 100 200 3 – 4 – 3

Glendive will face North Oregon in its first round game of the regional tournament on July 28. In round two the team will square off against Idaho. Next Glendive will be up against Alberta, Canada.

The final game in pool play pits the All-Stars against British Columbia, Canada on August 1. The top two teams from each pool will advance to the championship round.

 

-News stories and vital records from current and back issues of the Ranger-Review are indexed at the Glendive Public Library-

 


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