Harlowton, MT

Larry Steuben, owner of Snowy Mountain Trading Post, has generously provided the community of Harlowton with a plot of land to cultivate into a garden that will serve a diverse group of the town.

Through use of the local newspaper, word of mouth, posters on community bulletin boards, windows of local businesses and fliers distributed within neighborhoods, word is spreading about the Harlowton’s Community Garden. There will be weekly activities revolving around the garden throughout the summer, starting on Thursday, July 10 at 7:15pm. The theme of the first activity will be rhubarb,  involving an educational piece on the dangers of ingesting the leaf, what rhubarb tastes like fresh from the garden and a number of ways to prepare rhubarb. A sampling of prepared recipes will be enjoyed by all that attend.

Groups and individuals have come forward to participate in the growth of the garden, such as H.A.P.Y. (Harlowton Advantage Program for Youth) who came to plant the garden with over 40 youth in attendance. Some of these children had never worked in a garden. Questions arise as the children see me in their neighborhoods; “are the plants growing yet?” or “when can we eat the tomatoes?” The concept of food growing out of the ground is new to many of Harlowton’s youth.

Senior citizens are enjoying participating in the community garden with such comments as: “we have moved to a home that has no space for a garden”, “we enjoy being outdoors and being useful” or something as simple as, “what a wonderful idea”.

Volunteers have come forward from all walks of life represented in Harlowton, especially those who have never volunteered before. I imagine the list of helpers will continue to grow as does the needs and care of the garden.

The garden is built around the idea of growing a community and what better place to grow a community than around a garden.

Please join in making Harlowton’s Community Garden a place where community grows together and learns!

Laughing Yoga has come to Harlowton through a partnership with the Wheatland Memorial Healthcare, Adult Education and Hillcrest Elementary. Adrie Min, physical therapist at Wheatland Memorial, is leading participants through gentle breathing techniques, stretching exercises and laughter.

Classes are available, free, to anyone in the community and meet on a weekly basis, Tuesday evenings, 5:30-6:30pm at Hillcrest Elementary. With all the busy schedules of summertime, classes will resume when schools are back in session mid-August.

Laughing Yoga is something anyone can do!!! There are no age barriers, no socio-economic barriers, no barriers period. The only requirement is the ability to laugh. Classes have a contagious element and bring you back wanting more of that calm and peaceful sensation. Tools that enable us to relieve stresses from our everyday lives helps to create a more peaceful home life, interactions with others can begin with a smile and a sense of wellness is just a laugh away.

Please join in and bring a friend or two for Laughing Yoga classes with Adrie Min.

    On behalf of the Harlowton Ministerial Association, I would like to thank the over fifty volunteers that distributed 8,316 pounds of food during the June 12 Thrivent Food Truck event co-sponsored by the Montana Food Bank Network.  These are amazing numbers, but what is more amazing and inspiring is the enthusiasm with which you went about the hard work of setting up, distributing, and cleaning up.  I believe that we positively affected the lives of 131 families (335 individuals) in our surrounding communities.  This event showed the need that exists outside of our local food bank operations.  The Montana Food Bank Network has graciously donated three more pallets of food.  This food will be distributed after the Harlowton Area Food Bank is relocated to the basement of the Federated Church, 15 1^st NW, Harlowton, sometime this summer.  We also appreciate the use of the ambulance barn – it was a perfect venue!    We are interested in your impressions of this event.  Please blog your comments reflecting upon the following questions:·        What was the best aspect of the distribution?·        What are your suggestions regarding the improvement of the distribution process?·        Were you satisfied with the event?·        Would you participate again?·        In what ways did you participate? Submitted by Pastor Mark

Computer Basics Training

MSU Extension IT Specialist Nick Richardson offered a computer basics training at the Health Education Center on May 28, 2008.  We used the lap tops from Extension’s mobile computer lab so everyone had their own computer.  Nick walked 15 participants from diverse backgrounds and skill levels through computer basics including parts of a computer, what to look for when you purchase a computer, how to protect your computer from viruses and e-mail basics.  Some comments from the class were that “I loved the class and wishes we had one every week, she would take them all” and that it was so fun to learn in such a non threatening environment.  “Now I know enough to ask questions, I used to be afraid of looking silly.”  “Being able to use the computer and e-mail allows me to keep in touch with my grand-kids without worrying about a big phone bill and now I am not afraid to go to the library and use them.”   

Wheatland County receives $400.00 from a Triangle Communications through their Community Vitality Grant to begin their Drug and Alcohol Free Scholarship! 

The scholarship is a positive incentive for youth in the community to remain Drug and Alcohol Free through their school career and to serve on the Youth Team to promote a safe community.  The community is honoring their choice to serve as community leaders and positive examples.  When youth grow up in a culture tolerant of alcohol use, they are likely to continue that cycle. We are working promote a culture where the underage use of alcohol is not tolerated to prevent poverty and alcohol abuse later in life. If you would like to contribute toward the scholarship, please contact Jean Wallace with the partnership for youth or Mandie Reed with the Wheatland County Extension Office. 

Our second Town Hall Meeting on Underage Drinking was held on April 2, 2008 at Hillcrest Elementary School.  Over 45 people attended and broke into small groups to discuss possible action steps to help address the issue of underage drinking in our community.  Each group choose one item as a starting point for action and then presented that item to the group.  The Beginning Action Items are:

• Fundraising for Bowling Alley
• Hang Out for High School and kids under 21
• Panel Discussion or Listening Session with Law Enforcement/Judicial/City and County Attorney/ Youth Probation Officer
• Volunteer Mentoring to help youth complete community service
• Drug and Alcohol free Scholarship
• Survey Adults and Parents regarding Educational needs
• Increase Communication between Parents and Kids

Each member of the community signed up under the action item they felt they wanted to work on and each action has a volunteer chair person. If you are interested in serving on an action committee or have any questions, please contact the Extension Office at 632-4728. 

We have all been deeply affected by the the alcohol related deaths of some of our local children.  It is time to do something to change the underage use of alcohol in our community.  Please join other parents, youth, law enforcement, pastors, educators, and health professionals at Our Town Hall Meeting on March 19th to work together to find a solution to this situation. 

WHAT:  Our Town Hall Meeting

WHEN:  March 19, 2008 from 7:00 until 8:30 

WHERE: Hillcrest Elementary

WHO:    Anyone and everyone who wants to be part of the solution

WHY:    Because we live in a community that wants to stop this senseless loss of our most precious resource—our children.

OTHER: Healthy refreshments will be served and door prizes will be awarded.  Day care will be provided at the Honey Bear Day Care for those who want to attend the meeting.  If you will need daycare, please call 406-632-4728 to let us know before the meeting. 

You must be present to be heard and to learn how you can help.   

When a local book club read the book Three Cups of Tea by Greg Mortenson and David Oliver Relin, the members took Dr. Mortenson’s message to heart. The book club decided they could best spread the message of bringing peace to the world through education — one school at a time by starting at home. When Harlowton High School’s English teacher said she would like to teach the book to her seniors but didn’t have funds in her budget to purchase the novel, the club bought the books for the class. Upon completion of their study in January, the book club will present them with a note explaining why the books were purchased for them and asking them to “pay it forward.”

Harlowton is pleased to have recruited a new V.I.S.T.A, which is a Volunteer In Service To America. A V.I.S.T.A’s responsibility is to aide in areas that are needed around a community. The program is funded by Horizon’s Montana Community Foundation, Harlowton High School, Wheatland Memorial Hospital, and Wheatland County. The new V.I.S.T.A will be working in the field of wellness and health.

Lea comes to us from California where she graduated from the University of California at Santa Barbra. She is very excited to work with all the people in this community, she is here to listen and get involved, to be a service to the people. Lea wants to make connections and reach out to everyone to activate the ideas and goals that people see happening in the community. Her main goal is to uncover the gifts that she knows every person has. Lea is ready to get involved and meet the members of this community.

This community never seems to slow down.  We just keep getting things done, and that impresses me.  The group who attended leadership plenty in the spring decided that rather than decide on one project together as a group, we should each give a little extra in our home, yards, where we work and around the other places that are important to us. 

 We are going to beautify Harlowton one good deed at a time and then, pay it forward.  The idea was so exciting, we could continue working on the projects we were passionate about and make those stronger and better.  The project is designed so that we all have something meaningful to contribute to make our community a better, more beautiful place to live.

If you have a story of Harlowton’s MoMentum, wheather it was your own deed or one you saw someone else doing, Post it here!