Jerry Puffer

The Big Sky Strong Benefit for Jody Brown's coming up tomorrow (Fri) night at the Conrad Moose Lodge. Jody's a Conrad Public Schools teacher, & he's taking the next year away from his teaching career to continue cancer treatment & traveling out of the state for specialized care. Tomorrow night's benefit kicks off at 5, with a BBQ dinner. There'll be a silent auction & LIVE auction, a cornhole tournament & LIVE music by Erik "Fingers" Ray. Donations can be made to the Jody Brown Benefit, at Stockman Bank, at the benefit Friday night or through Venmo. Please contact Kristi Calvery, or Helen Bingarian to donate silent or live auction items or food. Kristi's available at 450 1805, or [email protected]. Helen's contact is 253 370 2577. Tomorrow evening's Big Sky Strong Benefit for Jody Brown, will be free will donation.

You can do all 3 tomorrow (Fri) night at the Dutton Farmer's Market. The farmer's market FUN starts at 5, on the button in Dutton, at the Dutton American Legion, 201 Main ST E, They'll be going full tilt until 8, with booths set up on the lawn, plus several will be in the air-conditioned indoors. You'll see many new vendors this season, & of course, lots of your past favorites. Tomorrow night's Dutton Farmer's Market, will have music, yard games, grilled burgers, brats & hot dogs, Annie's Ice Cream, an Italian soda booth, & the legion bar will be open for refreshments. Don't worry about a thing, they'll have kid's crafts, face painting & a refreshing bouncy water slide! "IF" you can't make it tomorrow evening, there'll be three more markets to go this season...Friday nights, August 7th, August 21st & September 4th. Friday nights in the Big Sky, we'll be puttin'down to Dutton!

This weekend's the 47th Annual Lewis & Clark Festival, & it's a blast. This morning (Fri) already saw the Pet & Doll Parade, & the Lewis & Clark Golf Tournament, at the Cut Bank Golf & Country Club. There's music in the park all this afternoon (Fri) with the Beer Booth opening at 3. The Doubles Horseshoe Tournament's coming up at 4:30 this afternoon, just ahead of the Chili Judging starting at 5. The All You Can Eat Chili, will be served up starting at 6, along with LIVE entertainment by Drew Landry. Why not round out the day/evening with the Street Dance at the Cut Bank stoplight with music from Stanton Creek. If Lewis & Clark, could see Cut Bank this weekend, they would probably write in one of their journals, "From the trail to the town, a town grows here."

I like mine with ketchup, mustard & onions! Please hold the pickles! Chester Summer Market's coming up this Thursday night from 5 to 7, at Chester City Park. The Liberty County Chamber, will be serving hot dogs. Here's where the "educational" part of my blog comes in...the good old hot dog was NOT invented by a single person. Rather, Mr. Charles Feltman, gets the credit for "inventing" the hot dog in a bun in the United States. Feltman, was a German immigrant (I hope with papers,) who began hawking frankfurter sausages in a sliced roll on Corey Island, New York. We'll be enjoying them for sure at Thursday night's Chester Summer Market, in the park. How DO you like your hotdogs? I'd like to hear from you on my Puff Man Blog.

First off, you'll want to attend Annual Kevin Fun Days this Saturday. It's going to be a truly unforgettable experience at the Kevin Annual Classic Car & Motorcycle Show! Registration's at 10, this Saturday morning, with a first entry fee of $10, & a second entry for $5. Trophies will be award to standout entries. Raffle prizes include a kayak, a barbecue & even a pool & fountain to boot! Tickets are a buck each, or 6 for 5. Besides the car & motorcycle show & 50/50 raffle, there'll be face painting, a bouncy house & a dunk tank with a "surprise target. LIVE music too with Wheelhouse, from 5 to 10 this Saturday night. For information on Annual Kevin FUN Days, please contact Curt Logan, at 450 5176, or Beth Tarufelli, at 402 4707, & then wheel on up to Kevin, this weekend!

The American Red Cross has declared the second-ever national blood supply crisis, & they're urging IMMEDIATE blood donations! Blood donations have dropped to a four-year summer low. this summer. This only worsens the emergency shortage & threatens patient care. Here in the Golden Triangle, we're doing our level best to rectify the situation. There'll be a Red Cross Blood Drive tomorrow (Thurs) afternoon at the Shelby Civic Center. Hours will be all afternoon, noon until 6. With just three more donors at each blood drive this summer will end this crisis & stabilize our blood supply. "If" you can, please donate the Gift of Life, tomorrow afternoon at the civic center...

16 year old Mason Olson, of Conrad, was recently diagnosed with cancer. Mason's currently in Denver, with his mom, Jessica, receiving IMMEDIATE treatment! In the coming weeks & months, the Olson family will be experiencing mounting medical expenses along with the challenges of maintaining everyday living costs here at home. There will be a benefit for Mason, THIS Saturday, at the Pondera Golf Course, in Conrad. Food serving will commence at 4 o'clock for $8 a plate. The silent auction will kick off alive at 55. Don't worry about a thing, raffles tickets are now on sale at Ed's Tavern, or the Pondera Golf Course in Conrad. You can call Ed's, 278 9984, & purchase your raffle tickets with a credit card. The drawing for the GMC Trek/Smoker with Wi-Fi capabilities., will be held at 8 o'clock Saturday night.. All of us in the Golden Triangle, are pulling for Mason, & his family.

The Old merchant's name is Antonio, & he's in a play by William Shakespeare. The play, "The Merchant of Venice," is considered a comedy & most remembered for its dramatic scenes. This is another fine presentation from the Pondera Arts Council. Shakespeare in the Park, is a week from this Sunday, on August 9th. Why not pack a picnic, grab your friends & enjoy this world class performance Sunday night, August 9th, at Swimming Pool Park. at 6 o'clock. Don't worry about a thing, in case of rain, the performance will be at Conrad High School. As for Antonio, he shouldn't have defaulted on his loan from Shylock. Pay your debts, Antonio.

Good news this week for military Veterans in Conrad, & Choteau, pertaining to signing up for VA benefits. The Veteran's Affairs Service Officer, will be on duty tomorrow (Tues) morning in Conrad, from 9 to 11, at the Pondera County Courthouse. But WAIT! There's more...the Veteran's Affairs Service Officer, will then be reporting to Choteau, tomorrow (Tues) afternoon at the Teton County Courthouse Annex, from 12:30 until 3. Don't worry about a thing, Veterans Affairs (VA) or Veteran Service Officers (VSOs) are trained pros who help veterans, families & dependents access earned benefits like healthcare, disability, education & housing by guiding them through complex application processes, filing claims & representing them in appeals, often working for organizations like the VFW, or state/county governments to connect veterans with crucial support & resources. I wish "I" was a Veteran. I would ask them to help "ME" with the basketball brackets...

"They say" when your brother-in-law's out of work, it's a recession. When you're out of work, it's a depression! Don't worry about a thing, the Cut Bank Job Service, will have a representative here in Shelby, this Wednesday, at the Sagebrush Food Pantry from from 9 to noon, & over at the Toole County Library, from 1 to 4. The Job Service-Cut Bank, at 501 East Main Street, can assist you with resume writing, interview preparation, veteran services & job applications. They're reachable via phone at 873 2191. Hope to see you this Wednesday, at the Sagebrush Food Pantry, or the library. In the meantime, you can view the Cut Bank Job Service latest listings by searching MontanaWorks.