Blackfoot Valley Dispatch - The Blackfoot Valley's News Source Since 1980

Dear Dietitian, Why are nutrition studies so confusing? One day we hear a certain food is good for us; then the next thing we know, the same thing may cause cancer. It's very frustrating! George D. De...

Our mother was out at the clothesline while the rest of us were in the house. Suddenly, she burst through the back door, so frightened and angry she couldn't speak clearly. She kept asking for a shotg...

Dear Reader, The Food and Drug Administration developed a new Nutrition Facts label which was released in the beginning of 2018. The new label more clearly illustrates the serving size and the...

I had been incubating a case of pneumonia for some time before I got sick enough that a woman whose name I didn't even know took action and saved my life. For some weeks, I had been getting weaker...

Dear Dietitian, I have been using sea salt for most of my cooking. It's more natural than table salt, and I feel that it is a healthier alternative. But my husband challenges me on this point. What...

The 2016 20-year anniversary of the capture of the Unabomber, and the recent presence of film crews in Lincoln have prompted a renewed interest and a lot of memories for many of us about that surreal...

Is Coconut Oil Bad for You? Dear Readers, This past week a Harvard doctor referred to coconut oil as “pure poison,” which set off a social media firestorm. What’s all the fuss about? Another...

Along with the beaverslide stackers and teams of horses, the family milk cows have disappeared into the past. I don't think anyone misses them. The state of Montana initiated brucellosis testing of...

Dear Dietitian, My fourteen-year-old daughter was recently diagnosed with celiac disease. We made an appointment with a dietitian, and she is doing her best to follow a gluten-free diet. The problem...

For many years it was traditional for almost every ranch to run 100 – 200 head of sheep. "Farm flocks" they were called. That lasted until to the mid 1970's when the coyotes and prices both got so...

Dear Dietitian, I had a heart attack three months ago and since then have been more conscientious about my diet. I've been eating more fish and a friend was telling me about fish oil supplements. Are...

Matt stood in front of the mirror knotting the $80 silk tie his wife had given him for his birthday. He called to her, asking, "What time to we have to be at the church?" Liz, his wife, answered, "We'...

Labor Day marks the end of summer in Helmville and most of Montana. The hay is baled and the cattle haven't come home from the native pastures. Children are either in school or about to start. For...

What is it about other people's junk that so enthralls us? I was asking myself that question last Friday as my family and I began our second circuit around Lincoln's annual flea market, eagerly...

Old habits die hard. The nights are getting chillier, now, and even though I haven't hunted in over twenty years, I still find myself thinking about the coming hunting season. This came from my father...

During the loose hay years, we kids would get a respite of four days, and that was the tri-county fair in Deer Lodge. It was the high point of our summer. We were in 4-H, so we always had a project,...

Chris was a "pensioner," as they called retired people back in the 1950's. He lived in a little cabin at our place, and died when I was eight or ten years old. I spent a lot of time with Chris,...

The old Helmville school house was an imposing structure. It was two stories high, with a bell tower, and sat on the highest point in town. It was probably built in the late 1800's, and still serves...