Time Capsule: From the archives of local weeklies

Mission Valley News, June 1, 1977

Day Care plans new program

ST IGNATIUS – The Day Care Center  here is trying a new idea this summer: day care for school age children (6 to 9 years).

Working mothers will get first preference, and the enrollment limit is 15. Hours will be from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m.

Local Director Peggy Fleming reports that the Day Care Center will get evaluations of needs and beneficial  programs from the public schools for each child enrolled.

Planned offerings include language skills training, field trips, library trips and training in attitudes toward school and study.

The program won’t deal in competitive academic work, but will measure progress individually. 

Two win Special Olympic medals

ST. IGNATIUS – Two St.Ignatius youngsters came back laden with awards from the Special Olympics held recently in Bozeman.

Both Rowena Rollins and her brother Darrell earned two medals apiece for their efforts in the special events.

Rowena received a gold and bronze medal, and Darrel won a gold and silver. 

MVN, May 25, 1977

Weeds to be tough this year according to Ag Specialist

BOZEMAN – The dry weather isn’t going to have much effect on perennial weeds this year. That’s because they are the first to use moisture due to their established root structures.

Larry Baker, Montana Agricultural Experiment Station researcher and assistant professor of plant and soil science at Montana State University, said infestations of perennial  weeds will not be as affected by dry conditions as annual weeds and crops.

“We figure every 13 acres of cropland will contain an equivalent of one acre of one or more kinds of perennial noxious weeds,” he said. “If we restrict this to irrigated land there are even more weeds because the extra moisture  helps. That figure is about one in 10.”

Mr. Baker noted the Montana weed law prohibits allowing five noxious weeds to go to seed. These include Canadian thistle, wild morning glory, or bindweed, white top, leafy spurge and Russian knapweed.

For crop-fallow people tillage is the best method of controlling weeds, he said. 

“The idea behind this is that most plants grow for a few days, using food stored in the roots,” he said. “If you cultivate at, for example, three-week intervals for Canadian  thistle, you will starve its roots and the weed will die.”

Baker stressed this pattern of cultivating every three weeks is essential throughout the entire growing  season.