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Leskovar Honda Athletes of the Week: Brityn Stewart and Sam Henderson
Butte High seniors Brityn Stewart and Sam Henderson are this week’s Leskovar Honda Athletes of the Week.
The honors come after the Butte High track teams opened the season Tuesday in a meet with Missoula Sentinel in Missoula. The Bulldogs will see their first home action of the season this Tuesday in a meet with Helena Capital and Butte Central on the Charlie Merrifield Track.
Stewart takes home the girls’ honor after winning the javelin with a mark of 115 feet, 3 inches. That mark qualifies Stewart to compete in the event at the Class AA State meet May 22-24 in Kalispell.
There, Stewart will defend her state title in the event. Last May in Great Falls, Stewart uncorked a throw of 130-7 to win the state championship.
Her final track season comes after Stewart wrapped up a remarkable career playing basketball and volleyball for the Bulldogs.
Henderson, who will compete in track & field at the University of Montana, won three events in Missoula, qualifying for the State meet in all of them, to earn the boys’ honor. He won the 110-meter hurdles in 15.06 seconds, cleared 6 feet, 2 inches to win the high jump, and soared 45 feet, 4 inches to top the field in the triple jump.
The big day comes on the heels of a strong indoor season for Henderson, who started his career competing for Butte Central. Henderson placed second in the triple jump and third in the high jump last year at the State meet.
For the third year, Leskovar Honda, home of the 20-year, 200,000-mile warranty, is teaming up with the ButteCast to honor the finest student-athletes from the Mining City to encourage more children to get up, get out and try all kinds of sports and activities.
Photos of Stewart courtesy of Alycia Holland Photography.
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Dougie Peoples again offers chance to train with a champion
Your son or daughter will have the chance to train with one of Butte’s all-time great basketball players again this summer.
Dougie Peoples, a Butte Central legend and current standout for the NAIA National Champion College of Idaho Yotes, will again host “Dougie’s Dribblers” this summer in Butte. “Dougies Dribblers” is a training regimen that will run from June through August. It is open to boys and girls age 7 and up, and training will be held two to three times each week.
Peoples, who hit a 27-foot buzzer beater to lift Butte Central to the 2022 Class A State championship, scored 21 points in the NAIA championship game late last month. He won 2023 Montana Gatorade Player of the Year Award honors. He holds the single-game and all-time scoring record for high school boys in Butte.
During the summer with Dougie, players will learn shooting mechanics and drills and ball handling drills. Training will also focus on the mental aspect of the game. It will include guest coaches and live competitions where players will learn how to compete and become winners.
Call (406) 565-3167 or dougiepeoples10@gmail.com to reserve a spot or for more information.
Only 25 spots are available each session.
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KC basketball schedule
Following is the Knights of Columbus Athletic Club’s four-man basketball schedule for the week of April 7.
Monday
6 p.m. — Cook vs. Poi Time
7 p.m. — Hoopballas vs. ButteSportsTuesday
6 p.m. — Crib Crew vs. Trojans
7 p.m. — Trojans vs. BC
8 p.m. — Someday Starters vs. Parish
9 p.m. — Hertz vs. ButteSportsWednesday
6 p.m. — Cook vs. Rosary Rattlers
7 p.m. — Hoopballas vs. Jellyfam
8 p.m. — Washington Generals vs. HertzThursday
6 p.m. — Crib Crew vs Parish
7 p.m. — Jellyfam vs BC
8 p.m. — Rosary Rattlers vs Poi Time
9 p.m. — Washington Generals vs Someday Starters
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Bulldogs play Maroons Monday
The Butte High vs. Butte Central baseball game has once again been moved, Butte Central announced this morning.
Butte High and Central will now play Monday on Miners Field at 3 Legends Stadium. The varsity game is set to begin at 5 p.m., with the JV playing at 3.
The game was originally scheduled for Tuesday, April 1, but the weather did not cooperate. BC is slated to play in Dillon today. Butte High’s home game today against Lone Peak has been snowed out.
No makeup date has been announced.
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Podcast No. 254: Richard Gibson
He has been called Butte’s “Accidental Historian.”
Richard Gibson was born in Arkansas, raised in Flint, Michigan and educated at Indiana University in Bloomington. You will look long and hard, however, before you find someone who knows more about the history of Butte than Richard.
He is a geologist by trade. That is what Richard studied at Indiana University and the IU Geologic Field Station in Montana’s Tabacco Root Mountains. He analyzed the mineralogy of kidney stones, worked as a geophysicist in the oil industry and interpreted magnetic maps in the former Soviet Union.
Eventually, Richard made his way to Butte because he loved the mountains and the low population. Then he fell in love with the rich history of the Mining City.
Richard started volunteering at the World Museum of Mining and became the education director. He became involved with the Mai Wah Chinese Museum and the local Historic Preservation Commission, and he gave guided history tours of Butte.
He drove and led trolley tours, and he even wrote a book called “Lost Butte, Montana.”
Richard also had a nice run of writing history columns for The Montana Standard. He didn’t just focus on all the stories we already heard about. He instead told us about the obscure, yet instrumental historical characters and places.
Today, you can find Richard on his blog on Substack, where he writes about geology and more. He is currently working on a project on Butte’s Greenway Trail, and I cannot wait to check that out.
Listen in to this podcast as Richard talks about growing up in Flint, his days in Indian and his long road of work that proceeded him coming to Butte. Listen in to hear about the historic “Clown House” he resides in on the Butte Hill. Listen to hear his passion about Butte.
Today’s podcast is presented by Casagranda’s Steakhouse. Eat where the locals eat.
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Henderson qualifies times three as Bulldogs open track season
Future Grizzly wins 110 hurdles, high jump, triple jump
If University of Montana track coaches had second thoughts about signing Butte High senior Sam Henderson, those doubts were erased in a big way Tuesday.
While opening the prep track season in the city of his future college, Henderson attained Class AA State meet qualifying standards in three events in a dual meet with Missoula Sentinel at Missoula County Stadium. (Results)
Henderson won the 110-meter hurdles, the high jump and the triple jump. He finished the short hurdles in 15.06 seconds, cleared 6 feet, 2 inches in the high jump and leapt 45-04 in the triple jump.
While neither were personal bests for the future Grizzly, all three qualified him for State. He was the lone competitor in the triple jump.
In all, Henderson was one of three Bulldogs to reach a qualifying mark on the day. Senior Brett Polich qualified with a victory in the shot put with a launch of 50-1. He also placed third in the discus.
Senior Brityn Stewart, fresh off completing her remarkable basketball career at Butte High, qualified by winning the javelin with a mark of 115-3.
No team scores were kept in the meet, but Butte High saw several other competitors claim victories.
Junior Camden Houchin posted a pair of personal bests while winning the 800- and 1,600-meter races. He finished the 800 in 2 minutes, 4.95 seconds and crossed in 4:38.72 in the 1,600.
Classmate Cohen Andrews jumped 20-1 to win the long jump.
On the girls’ side, freshman Ava Boehmer won the 100 in 13.52, freshman Evelyn Smith took the 800 in 2:34.36 and freshman Penelope Luebke won the 300 hurdles in 59.56. Luebke was the lone finisher in the event.
Also for the Bulldog girls, senior Mylee Demarais took second in the shot put and discus, sophomore Autumn Clary placed second in the 200, freshman Berkli Salusso placed second in the 800, senior Peyton Trabert finished second in the pole vault, and senior Elli Quist took second in the 100. Quist also placed fourth in the 200.
Sophomore Valleria Trabert placed third in the long jump and fourth in the pole vault. Sophomore Millie Guay finished third in the 100, and senior Jaycee Cleveland took third in the javelin.
For the Butte boys, senior Jacob Galle placed second in both hurdles races, junior Ryan Hanson finished second in the high jump and long jump, and senior Mason Leber placed second in the pole vault.
Also, Sam Sampson took third in the 200 and fourth in the 100, senior Matthew Donaldson finished third in the javelin, freshman Brady Hanson finished third in the high jump, and senior Tocher Lee jumped to third in the long jump.
The Bulldogs will be back in action Friday when they head to Billings to take on West and Skyview. Butte High will host a meet with Helena Capital and Butte Central Tuesday at the Charlie Merrifield Track at Bulldog Memorial Stadium inside the Gene Fogarty Complex.
McGee leads BC track team
Butte Central senior Justus McGee led the way with two two-five performances Saturday as the Maroon track team opened the season at the Frenchtown Invitational. (Results)
The future Rocky Mountain College football player placed fourth in the 100-meter race with a personal-best time of 11.66 seconds on the cold day. He placed fifth in the long jump with a leap 19 feet, 5 ½ inches.
The Corvallis boys scored 79 points to win the meet that saw 25 teams score points on both the boys’ and girls’ sides. Hamilton took second at 77, and Frenchtown placed third at 72. Butte Central scored 9 ½ points.
Dillon won the girls’ crown with 92 points. Havre was second, followed by Frenchtown at 69. Butte Central did not score any team points.
Junior Caden Tippett placed 10th in the shot put with a put of 28-3 to lead the BC girls. Senior Keefer McGree was the only other Maroon to finish in the top 10 in an event. He placed eighth in the 400 with a time of 56.04. Senior Michael Peck placed 14th in the shot put with a mark of 37-4 and 16th in the discus with a throw of 108-10.
Senior Patrick Stimatz placed 16th in the 100 in 10.97, while sophomore Danny McCarthy tied McGree for 17th in 12.03.
Friday, BC will compete at Hamilton on Friday before running in Butte High’s meet on Tuesday.
Maroons, Bulldogs set to clash on diamond
Weather made us making us wait a little longer than planned, but Butte High and Butte Central will meet on the baseball diamond of Miners Field at 3 Legends Stadium.
The game was originally scheduled for Tuesday, but moved back to Friday at because of the weather. Game time is 3 p.m. for the varsity game. The JV will follow at 5.
First, Butte Central is scheduled to play Thursday in Dillon. Butte High is set to play its first home game Thursday against Lone Peak.
The Maroons opened the season at home last Thursday, dropping a 9-0 decision to East Helena at 3 Legends. A day later, BC traveled to Livingston and fell 11-4.
Xavier Nunn went 2 for 2 with three walks, three RBIs and three runs scored to lead the Vigilantes. Leadoff hitter Killian Snarr wet 4 for 5. He scored twice. Liam Priebe pitched five innings, striking out eight, to grab the win.
Trapper Stajcar tripled, and Gunner “Goo” O’Brien smacked three singles to lead the Maroons. Colt Hassler worked a pair of walks, and Beau McGree dew one.
Hassler started on the mound and gave up three earned runs. Kelton “Stewie” Keene pitched three innings of relief, giving up two runs.
Liam Edwards drove in three runs, while Brentin Allgood, Ben Ciprani and Coen Braham each knocked in to lead Livingston past BC Friday. Austin Brockett struck out six over five innings to get the win.
Stajcar tripled, singled and stole a pair of bases to lead the Maroons. Treigh Hollow doubled, and Hassler, McGree and Jack Nagle singled. O’Brien struck out five over four and two thirds inning of work. Thanks to BC’s eight errors, he gave up six unearned runs. Aiden Ossello got four outs, two by way of the K.
Butte High lost 7-3 Friday in Belgrade. Less than 24 hours later, the Bulldogs rebounded with a 22-0 win at Townsend.
Junior Jaxon Williamson tossed an abbreviated no-hitter in the game that was called after three innings by the mercy rule. He walked one, and strikeouts accounted for eight of the nine outs he got. Gunner Bushman and Koyde Kjersten homered in Butte’s 12-hit attack. Bushman drove in four runs.
Brooks Vincent smacked three hits, including a double. Cole Solomon hit a double and a single, Evan McEwen doubled, and Tocher Lee, Logan Carden, Karsen McEwen and Tegan Duffy singled.
In Belgrade, leadoff hitter Ryas Olson went 3 for 4 to lead the Panthers, who did their damage on eight singles. The Panthers also took advantage of five Butte errors. Sawyer Olson and Gage Banks each added two singles to to back up Brayton Van Dyken, who struck out seven over six innings to get the win.
Cayde Stajcar, who started on the mound and took a hard-luck loss, homered in a two-hit performance to lead the Bulldogs. Karsen McEwen doubled, and Mathew Donaldson and Duffy each singled.
Maroons pound 12 hits, but fall in Livingston
Butte Central’s softball team smacked 12 hits as the Maroons opened the season Saturday in Livingston.
The Rangers, though, brought their bats, too. Livingston scored four runs in the bottom of the seventh inning to walk off with a 10-9 non-conference victory. After Sophia Rogers hit a two-run double to tie the game, Meleyah Gress hit a single. A fielding error then led to Bronwyn Herman scoring the winning run.
Rogers was on of five Livingston batters with two hits on the game. She drove in four runs from the leadoff spot. Quinci Wood tripled for the Rangers, while Gress, Peyton Coate, Dawson Wood and Chloe Goosey each hit two singles.
Coate pitched four innings of relief to get the win.
Freshman third baseman Kodee Badovinac went 3 for 4 with a triple and a double to lead the Maroon attack. Pitcher Braelynn Schelin and left fielder Cambri Campbell, also freshman, went 2 for 4 with two RBIs.
Junior right fielder Sophia Gelling hit a double and a single, and freshman short stop Natalie Osterman doubled.
BC also got a single from junior catcher Arika Stajcar. Freshman second baseman Evyn Smith joined Stajcar and Osterman with an RBI.
The Maroons are scheduled to play their home opener Thursday against Dillon at Stodden Park. BC is set to travel to Stevensville on Saturday.
Butte Central 053 000 1 — 9 12 2
Livingston 010 301 4 — 10 12 1
Braelynn Schelin and Arika Stajcar; Chloe Goosey, Peyton Coate (4) and Dawson Wood. W — Coate (1-0). L — Schelin (0-1).
BUTTE CENTRAL (0-1) — Schelin 2-4, Cambri Campbell 2-4, Stajcar 1-4, Zayonna Otherbull 0-4, Kodee Badovinac 3-4, Evyn Smith 1-4, Marly Mansanti 0-3, Sophia Gelling 2-4, Natalie Osterman 1-3.
LIVINGSTON (1-0) — Sophia Rogers 2-4, Meleyah Gress 2-5, Tess Goosey 1-3, Kenna Benzel 0-4, Coate 2-4, Wood 1-4, Wood 2-3, Chloe Goosey 2-4, Bronwyn Herman 0-2.
3B — Badovinac; Wood. 2B — Badovinac, Gelling, Osterman; Coate, T. Goosey, C. Goosey, Rogers. RBIs — Schelin 2, Campbell 2, Stajcar, Smith, Osterman; Rogers 4, Gress 2, C. Goosey 2, T. Goosey, Wood.
Panthers put Freese on Bulldogs
Londyn Freese froze the Butte High bats Thursday as the Belgrade Panthers blanked the Butte High’s softball team 4-0 in a non-conference game in Belgrade.
Freese didn’t overpower the Bulldogs. She struck out three and walked three. But she held Butte High to just two hits on the day.
Reese Johnson and Hailey Skeel singled for the Bulldogs. Reese, the second baseman and leadoff hitter, also drew a pair of walks. Skeel walked once.
Ava Lund and Teagan Bowler doubled in runs for the Panthers. Bailee white poked a pair of singles. The Panthers took advantage of three Butte errors, and Ashlinn Mullaney surrendered just one earned run in the loss.
Butte High is slated to play at Missoula Hellgate on Thursday. The Bulldogs will play host to Missoula Sentinel on Saturday.
Before Butte High takes the field again, however, senior first baseman Madisyn Swanson will officially become a Buccaneer. Dawson announced the commitment of Swanson on March 19.
She will sign a letter of intent to play for the Glendive school at 3:15 p.m. Wednesday at the Richardson Gym.
Butte High opens on Missoula courts
Butte High’s tennis teams got in their first action of the season Friday in Missoula. The Bulldogs dropped 8-0 matches to a tough Billings West squad before falling 5-3 in both team matches against the Panthers.
Because of the worsening weather, the matches against Belgrade were scored by pro sets.
Playing No. 1 on the singles side, Butte High’s Matthew Weldon picked up a victory against Belgrade. Tashi Hanley, at No. 3, also grabbed a win. Both won by scores of 8-3.
Butte High’s No. 2 doubles team of Cole Skeel and Drew Hanson picked up an 8-4 win.
For the girls, Butte High got wins out of No. 2 Avery Blue and No. 3 Carliegh Donaldson. Both won with 8-3 scores.
Chloe Jewell and Sieena Bradley teamed for an 8-5 win at No. 5 doubles.
The Bulldogs will play their first home matches of the season Friday, taking on Billings Skyview and Missoula Sentinel at Stodden Park. Missoula Big Sky will also be in town to battle Skyview and Sentinel.
BOYS
Belgrade 5, Butte High 3
Singles
Matthew Weldon, Butte, def. Tallon Blackburn 8-3
Conner Kelley, Belgrade, def. Jason Johns 8-4
Tashi Hanley, Butte, def. Peyton Pittman 8-3
Dexter McKenna, Belgrade, def. Bryce Gratton 8-6
Doubles
Grey Pommerville/Linus McKenna, Belgrade, def. Josh Schrader/Philip Russo 8-7
Cole Skeel/Drew Hanson, Butte, def. Owen Plagmann/Cameron Hansaker 8-4
Stryker Putman/Dylan Delph, Belgrade, def. Hunter LaPier/Kanyon Flynn 8-4
Carl Shaneman/Kasey Clemens, Belgrade, defMaxximus Pearston/James Pearston 8-7Billings West 8, Butte High 0
Singles
Ty Graham, West, def. Johns 6-0, 6-0
Luke Wilkinson, West, def. def. Weldon 6-1, 6-0
David Kauwe, West, def. Hanley 6-0, 6-3
Cole Lozier, West, def. Gratton 6-0, 6-0
Doubles
Dallin Abrams/Anderson Hurst, West, def. Shrader/Russo 60, 6-0
Grant Wassmer/Mathew Paulsen, West, def. Skeel/Hanson 6-4, 6-2
Christian Allies/Camden Worthington, West, def. LaPier/Flynn 6-0, 6-0
Tanner Ludwig/Owen Thayer, West, def. Mason Johnson/Archer Adams 6-2, 6-1GIRLS
Belgrade 5, Butte 3
Singles
Nalalia Smelana, Belgrade, def. Murphy Sullivan 8-1
Avery Blue, Butte, def. Ivory Davis 8-3
Carliegh Donaldson, Butte, def. Isobel Cunningham 8-3
Val Moreno, Belgrade, def. Allisa Pennock 7-2
Doubles
Lexi Thom/Teagan McMahon, Belgrade, def. Sofia Groesbeck/Avya Gerry 8-0
Chloe Jewell/Sieena Bradley, Butte, def. Kimber Andres/Amelia Plagmann 8-5
Ruby Blossam/Delia Turner, Belgrade, def. Isabella Babb/Rachel Law 8-2
Jolene Turner/Kayli Tunrer, Belgrade, def. Rory Trafford/McKenzie Reed 8-1Billings West 8, Butte High 0
Singles
Jennifer Mathison, West, def. Donaldson 6-0, 6-0
Annabelle Peterson, West, def. Sullivan 6-0, 6-1
Anna Beacham, West, def. Blue 6-0, 6-0
Mia Hatzel, West, def. def. Pennock 6-0, 6-1
Doubles
Piper Abrams/Cambry Magone, West, def. Jewell/Bradley 6-0, 6-0
Abbey Thayer/Tiffany Williams, West, def. Groesbeck/Gerry 6-1, 6-0
Marissa Bruyure/Addison Townsend, West, def.Babb/Law 6-0, 6-2
Brooklyn Jepperson/Taylor Atkinson, West, def. Trafford/Reed 6-0 6-0
BC tennis postponed again
Butte Central’s tennis team will start the season. Sometime. It will. Maybe even as early as Wednesday.
BC’s season-opening action was rescheduled for the second time this week because of snow. The Maroons were set to go to Livingston to compete with Livingston, Dillon and Hardin.
That meet has been rescheduled for Wednesday. Of course, that was anything but a certainty to happen on the latest scheduled day.
Central is scheduled to play host to Stevensville Friday at Stodden Park.
Of course, the spring schedule is always subject to change. Click here for Butte High’s updated schedules. Click here for Central’s.
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‘Butte mess’ does not speak well for the ‘Can Do City’
In July of 1987, Butte earned a new moniker.
Things were finally starting to look up in the Mining City after the closing of the mines led to an economic depression in the 1980s. The Our Lady of The Rockies statue had been sitting atop the East Ridge for a year and a half, playground equipment from the Columbia Gardens was being fitted into Clark Park, Emma Park was being built, and the Northwest Little League field was receiving a makeover.
Unemployment was down, people were building, and the tax base was once again growing.
“A couple of years ago, people had written Butte off as dead,” Butte-Silver Bow Chief Executive Don Peoples said at the time.
That summer, we were finally lifting our head above water and looking toward better days.
That is when Peoples did an interview with a reporter from KBLG Radio in Billings. The reporter, who seemed surprised to learn the resilient community had rebounded so well from the economic disaster, referred to Butte as the “Can Do City.”
Peoples loved that, and he turned that into a slogan that seemed to perfectly embody the spirit of Butte. Then, Peoples used that motto for the local government.
Nearly four decades later, Butte’s local government has apparently changed that motto to “Let’s let Helena handle it for us.”
Now, we have legislators scratching their heads and referring to legislation in front of them as the “Butte mess.”
That is because our local government allowed one of Butte-Silver Bow’s biggest in-house disputes to be punted to the Montana Legislature, letting elected representatives from the other 55 counties make an important decision for us.
That is what is happening with House Bill 547. The bill, which has passed the House and is now in the hands of the Senate, would basically change Montana law to strip power from our volunteer firefighters and give full authority to the county’s director of fire services.
This is not to say that House Bill 547 is a bad bill. It is not to say it is a good bill. It is just complicated, to say the least.
Officials and firefighters on both sides of the dispute have made strong cases as to why the bill is either an absolute necessity or an unmitigated disaster.
The Butte-Silver Bow charter currently gives full power to the director of fire services. However, state law gives more autonomy to the volunteer fire departments, which are all led by their own chief.
This has led to some problems.
Many volunteers say they will quit if the bill to change Montana law passes, and it seems like we could see as many as 30 percent of the volunteers resign immediately after the bill hits the governor’s desk.
We could be talking about hundreds, if not thousands, of years of firefighting experience walking out the door.
The bill, which likely would be better if it was worked on with input from both sides, very well could be a good thing. It will probably fix some problems, but it could also cause many new problems.
It is the process behind the bill that stinks. It is the continued lack of transparency from our local government that has eroded the trust and confidence.
That lack of transparency has made an already contentious issue many times worse.
This dispute should have been settled in Butte. It could have been settled in Butte. It would have been settled in Butte if only it was given the chance for some good-faith negotiation and compromise.
We all know about the rift between volunteer and career firefighters that has existed for as long as there have been volunteer and career firefighters. Lately, though, the battle among leaders has made the feud between the Hatfields and McCoys seem like a minor disagreement.
That is a shame because, unlike in Charlottesville, there really are very fine people on both sides of this argument.
There are heroes on both sides of the dispute.
Our career firefighters leave work and say goodbye to their loved ones knowing in the back of their mind that they might not come home when their shift is over. We almost lost one of our firefighters at a house fire a couple of years ago.
Likewise, our volunteers go to bed every night with the realization that they could be awakened to battle a deadly blaze.
When that fire does strike, those career firefighters work well along with the volunteers to protect the people of Butte and Silver Bow County. They might not always agree, but they work together to get the job done.
Time after time, they get the job done.
Now, House Bill 547 is giving all those heroes a black eye.
“It’s a Butte mess,” said Anaconda Representative Scott DeMarois, who carried the bill in the House. “Is it ever,”
This is not fair to the volunteer or career firefighters. It is not fair to the volunteer chiefs. It is not fair to the leaders of the Butte-Silver Bow Fire Department.
It is also not fair to our commissioners.
During Friday’s Senate hearing, a Democratic senator from Missoula referenced a letter she received from a Butte-Silver Bow employee on the subject. Then, the senator berated Commissioner Trudy Healy over the letter that Healy and other commissioners present had not been allowed to see.
Commissioners keep getting varying accounts of the issues behind the bill, too. Whether it’s safety, liability, accountability to taxpayers or something else, we seem to be denied those answers because the whole process lacks transparency.
The truth is that this mess was caused by a vacuum of leadership and openness by our local government.
What we do know now — thanks to a Republican senator asking questions — is the process that led to this bill started in secret America Rescue Plan Act committee meetings in 2022 and 2023.
Who is at fault for the mess, and who is in charge? Well, it depends on who you ask. The fingers are pointing in all directions.
At a heated meeting of the Butte-Silver Bow Council of Commissioners last October, Commissioner Jim Fisher practically ordered Chief Executive J.P. Gallagher to step up and solve the problem, and Gallagher said that he would.
That meeting ended with the understanding that, among other things, both sides would work together. But that, of course, never happened.
House Bill 547 was introduced in November, and the members of the council did not hear about it until the bill was being read in the House in late February.
At a heated commission hearing last week, Gallagher responded to accusations that he helped plan this bill in “secret meetings” by saying he did not know about it until right before its first hearing. Then, almost as a last-minute thing, he decided to testify for it in the House.
He testified for the bill again Friday during the Senate hearing, where angry arguments carried out into the hallway.
Fisher wondered if not knowing that the bill was coming — even though Butte-Silver Bow has at least one lobbyist in Helena — was any better than knowing and keeping it a secret. Fisher replied that either way it was an example of poor leadership.
Whether or not Fisher’s statement is correct or fair is beside the point. That is for history to decide.
No matter what, this issue should have been worked on long before it got to this point. That it was allowed to fester, even though many on both sides have long been vocal about the problems, is unacceptable.
Hopefully the Senate makes the decision that will work out the best in the long run for Butte and Silver Bow County. It is just too bad that Butte-Silver Bow was not allowed to solve a Butte-Silver Bow problem.
Right now, the rest of the state is laughing at us.
They must be wondering what in the heck ever happened to the “Can Do City.”
— Bill Foley, whose heroes have always been firefighters, can be reached at foles74@gmail.com. Follow him at twitter.com/Foles74 or Bluesky at @foles74.bsky.social. Listen to him on the ButteCast on Apple Podcasts, Spotify or wherever you find your favorite podcasts.
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Butte High-Central baseball game rescheduled for Friday
Tuesday’s scheduled baseball game between Butte High and Butte Central has been rescheduled for Friday, the schools announced this morning.
The move was made because of the poor weather forecast for Tuesday.
Friday’s varsity game will begin at 3 p.m. on Miners Field at 3 Legends Stadium. The JV game will follow. It is scheduled for 5.
The Maroons are 0-2, dropping Thursday’s home opener 9-0 to East Helena and falling 11-4 Friday at Livingston. BC will play Thursday at Dillon.
Butte High is 2-2 after rolling 22-0 Saturday in Townsend. That came a day after the Dogs dropped a 7-3 decision in Belgrade.
The Bulldogs are set to play host to Lone Peak Thursday at 3 Legends Stadium.
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Leskovar Honda Athletes of the Week: Jaxon Williamson, Kodee Badovinac
Butte High junior Jaxon Williamson and Butte Central freshman Kodee Badovinac are this week’s Leskovar Honda Athletes of the Week.
The honors come after the two put up some big-time performances on the diamond.
Williamson takes home the boys’ honor after tossing an abbreviated no-hitter Saturday in Townsend. With Butte High’s bats busting loose for 22 runs in a game called by the mercy rule after three innings, Williamson did not have to be perfect. He was close to it, anyway.
The hard-throwing righty did not surrender a hit or run, and he walked just one batter. He got eight of his nine outs by way of the K.
“He was pumping it today, too,” Butte High baseball coach Jim LeProwse said, adding that he figures Williamson was throwing his fastball 83 to 85 miles per hour.
As a sophomore last season, Williamson posted a 3-1 record with a 4.4 ERA. He struck out 28 batters in 27 innings of work.
Badovinac receives the girls’ honor after a big day at the dish for the Butte Central softball team, which suffered a tough 10-9 walk-off loss Saturday in Livingston. Badovinac went 3 for 4 at the plate to lead the Maroons in the season opener.
The third baseman hit a single, double and a triple in the game. She scored three runs, crossing the plate each time she reached base.
Badovinac was a key varsity contributor for the Butte Central volleyball team in the fall. She took home Athlete of the Week honors on Oct. 7.
Badovinac also plays for the BC basketball program.
For the third year, Leskovar Honda, home of the 20-year, 200,000-mile warranty, is teaming up with the ButteCast to honor the finest student-athletes from the Mining City to encourage more children to get up, get out and try all kinds of sports and activities.
Photos of Williamson courtesy of Alycia Holland Photography. Photo of Badovinac courtesy Jacqueline Photography.
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KC basketball schedule
Following is the Knights of Columbus Athletic Club’s four-man basketball schedule for the week of March 31.
Monday
6 p.m. — BC vs. Poi Time
7 p.m. — Cook vs. Jellyfam
8 p.m. — Cook vs. Parish
9 p.m. — Washington Generals vs. HoopballasTuesday
6 p.m. — Trojans vs. Poi Time
7 p.m. — Trojans vs. Someday Starters
8 p.m. — ButteSports vs. Washington GeneralsWednesday
6 p.m. — BC vs. Rosary Rattlers
7 p.m. — Crib Crew vs. Hoopballas
8 p.m. — Hertz vs. ParishThursday
7 p.m. — Jellyfam vs. Hoopballas
8 p.m. — ButteSports vs. Rosary Rattlers
9 p.m. — Hertz vs. Someday Starters
