Big Sky Blog

Shameless Plug Alert! I know virtually nothing about guns – only fired a weapon twice in my life – but if I was ever going to purchase a gun, I would go to Big Sky Guns. The owner is a friend of mine, and is incredibly honest, smart, and responsible. And he’s based right here in Central Montana. Trust me. Tell ‘em that “Big Sky Dave” sent ya!

AMBER ALERT: Two children who allegedly were abducted by their father in Washington state have been sighted here in Montana in Missoula.
The children are Lars Baugher (age 2) and Remi Baugher (age 4).
the father, John Baugher, is 34 years old, has white with brown hair, green eyes, weighs approx 140 pounds. Possibly 3-4 days growth of beard; last seen wearing green colored shirt, and grey sweatshirt.

If you see any of these three people, please call your local law-enforcement office (or 911) immediately!

UPDATE: Great news:

The children from Walla Walla who were the subject of an Amber Alert have been located safe and sound in Idaho Springs, Colorado. Their father who had been described as dangerous, John Baugher is in custody.

Thank goodness!

The comments in the Pet Food Recall entry below are just heartbreaking…after losing my first cat about one year ago (old age), it just tears me up to think of other beloved pets dying too soon. Thank you to everyone who has taken the time to share their thoughts and heartbreak…maybe there can be some small consolation in communicating with others who are also experiencing this.

And there’s now a website and forum set up to address this issue: Dog Cat Food Recall.

Montanans love their pets, so everybody needs to know about this pet food recall ASAP. UPDATE: No, this is not an urban legend, unfortunately – it’s real.

A major manufacturer of dog and cat food sold under Wal-Mart, Safeway, Kroger and other store brands recalled 60 million containers of wet pet food Friday after reports of kidney failure and deaths. An unknown number of cats and dogs suffered kidney failure and about 10 died after eating the affected pet food, Menu Foods said in announcing the North American recall. Product testing has not revealed a link explaining the reported cases of illness and death, the company said.
The recall covers the company’s “cuts and gravy” style food, which consists of chunks of meat in gravy, sold in cans and small foil pouches between December 3 and March 6 throughout the United States, Canada and Mexico.
The pet food was sold by stores operated by the Kroger Co., Safeway Inc., Wal-Mart Stores Inc. and PetSmart Inc., among others, Henderson said.
Proctor & Gamble announced Friday the recall of specific 3 oz., 5.5 oz., 6 oz. and 13.2 oz. canned and 3 oz. and 5.3 oz. foil pouch cat and dog wet food products made by Menu Foods but sold under the Iams and Eukanuba brands. The recalled products bear the code dates of 6339 through 7073 followed by the plant code 4197, P&G said.
Below are lists of specific brands recalled by Menu Foods, in addition to Proctor & Gamble’s recall of certain Iams and Eukanuba products. Menu Brands lists the brands on its Web site, www.menufoods.com, and advises consumers to call 1-866-895-2708 for more information.
Recalled cat foods
Americas Choice; Preferred Pets; Authority; Best Choice; Companion; Compliments; Demoulas Market Basket; Fine Feline Cat, Shep Dog; Food Lion; Foodtown; Giant Companion; Good n Meaty; Hannaford; Hill Country Fare; Hy-Vee; Key Food; Laura Lynn; Li’l Red; Loving Meals; Main Choice; Nutriplan; Nutro Max Gourmet Classics; Nutro Natural Choice; Paws; Presidents Choice; Price Chopper; Priority; Save-A-Lot; Schnucks; Sophistacat; Special Kitty; Springfield Pride; Sprout; Total Pet; My True Friend; Wegmans; Western Family; White Rose; and Winn Dixie.
Recalled dog foods
America’s Choice; Preferred Pets; Authority; Award; Best Choice; Big Bet; Big Red; Bloom; Bruiser; Cadillac; Companion; Demoulas Market Basket; Fine Feline Cat; Shep Dog; Food Lion; Giant Companion; Great Choice; Hannaford; Hill Country Fare; Hy-Vee; Key Food; Laura Lynn; Loving Meals; Main Choice; Mixables; Nutriplan; Nutro Max; Nutro Natural Choice; Nutro; Ol’Roy; Paws; Pet Essentials; Pet Pride; President’s Choice; Price Chopper; Priority; Publix; Roche Bros; Save-A-Lot; Schnucks; Springsfield Pride; Sprout; Stater Bros; Total Pet; My True Friend; Western Family; White Rose; Winn Dixie and Your Pet.

Also:

A complete list of the recalled products along with product codes, descriptions and production dates was available from the Menu Foods Web site, . The company also designated two phone numbers that pet owners could call for information – (866) 463-6738 and (866) 895-2708 – but callers kept the lines busy for much of Saturday. More information: http://www.menufoods.com/recall

Sources: AP News; CNN website; Yahoo News; MetaFilter

Miami Locksmith

Marbles was a very good dog, as evidenced by the love between him and his family. But then tragedy struck, when Marbles was shot dead on January 8th. The family was heartbroken, of course, but they aren’t taking this the way most folks do: they’ve taken their campaign to the web, and the press is covering the story, too. Susann and Doug Saarel are strong people; I don’t know anything about this sad story beyond what’s on their site, but I admire the way that they are dealing with it – taking action.

OK, I’m not really from Butte, but in honor of the upcoming Saint Patrick’s Day holiday, and for anyone who doesn’t know about Butte’s long and storied relationship with all things Irish, take a stroll through the Big Sky Blog’s “Butte Archives!”

And speaking of Butte, can anyone help Brenda with a genealogy question that she posed in the comments?
“So I have an ancestry question about Butte. Rumour in my family is that our grandfather, James Keane, was born in Butte, shortly after his birth his father and older brothers were killed in a mining accident in Butte – circa 1898. My grandfather and his mother returned to Ireland shortly thereafter. He passed away at the age of 88. Any idea how I might investigate this?

It can be ordered here. UPDATE: If you do order the map via the link provided, you might want to indicate in the comments section that you want the 2007-2008 map. I ordered the map on Thursday, assuming that I would be sent the latest version, but I received the 2006 version in today’s mail.

You probably haven’t heard of the town known as McKinley, because it technically doesn’t exist. Except, that is, in your mind. McKinley is the name of a fictional town along the Rocky Mountain Front; a town that is being developed, created, documented, and considered by you. Yes, YOU. It is an open-source history of a town that doesn’t exist. That means that it is wide-open for whatever you want to place in it. Hunters, shopkeeps, ranchers, kids, teachers, media, builders – whatever McKinley has, it’s because you put it there. Events from McKinley’s past can be created, documented, and shared. For inspiration, you might want to check out A History of Montana by Kodak, or Ghost Cowboy, or lots of other Montana history sites. Anyone can contribute, and all are welcome.

News about two of Montana’s most beloved lady bloggers! First up, go wish our Friendly Neighborhood Geologist – Student – Catholic – Blogger – Duck a super-happy-special (belated, by now) birthday; that’s right, the one and only Kim from Revolving Duck has now entered the second quarter-century! And next, be sure to update your bookmarks for Kit, formerly of ForeverVain, who will be making a move to KiloIndiaTango any day now. Good luck on the move, Kit!

Combining elements of Halloween and St. Patrick’s Day, intertwined with the celebration of the story of an all powerful Persian King, a beautiful Jewish Queen, a loyal “uncle”, and a dastardly villain who gets foiled by his own evil plans and we have ….