October 2006
Dances With Words Features Montanan Fantasy Novelsit
Monday, October 30 2006
The University of Montana Western English department is sponsoring a series of readings of area poets and writers during the 2006 Fall Semester titled "Dances With Words."
The next reading features fantasy novelist Patricia Briggs Thursday, Nov. 2, at 7:30 p.m. in The Cup, located on the lower level of the Swysgood Technology Center on the Montana Western campus.
In addition to her reading, Briggs will serve as faculty for the Visiting Writer’s Workshop.
Briggs was born and raised in Butte, Mont. In 1988 she graduated from Montana State University in Bozeman with degrees in History and German.
Briggs lived in Chicago while her husband worked as an aquarist at the John G. Shedd Aquarium and also spent time in Eugene, Oregon and Eastern Washington before moving back to Butte earlier this year.
Briggs’ first book “Masques” was published in 1993. She now has nine titles in print with, “Blood Bound”, her tenth set for publication in February of 2007.
Her last book, “Moon Called”, was on the USA Today bestseller list and has over 100,000 copies in print.
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25th Hall of Fame
Tuesday, October 24 2006
The 25th Annual University of Montana-Western Alumni Association and Booster Club Hall of Fame Banquet is set for Friday, October 27 in the Lewis-Clark Room on the Montana Western Campus. A social hour begins at 6:00 pm followed by the Banquet and Induction Ceremonies at 7:00 pm. 2006 Inductees include Rich Ferris and Jason Truman in football, Cori Amos Chapman in volleyball and Rich Vasquez in wrestling.
Rich Ferris, a native of Dillon, Mont., is a 1997 graduate of Western Montana College (now the University of Montana-Western). During his Bulldog football career, he was a two time first team All-Conference and first team NAIA All-American selection as a defensive back. In 1994, he earned National Player of the Week honors for his play against Carroll College. Ferris was selected as the defensive MVP in the playoff victory over Glenville State. In that game, Ferris intercepted a pass and returned it for a touchdown. In 1995, he was selected as the defensive MVP of the Frontier Conference. Ferris was part of a Bulldog team that won three straight Frontier Conference titles and was the winner of 17 straight conference games. His favorite memories are winning the conference championships and playing in the national playoff games. The Bulldogs made their first ever national playoff appearances in 1994 and 1995. Ferris’s coaches were Mick Dennehy, Bob Beers, Mark Mauze and Nels Kludt. His teammates included fellow inductee Jason Truman, Hall of Famers Bobby Beers and Mike Cutler along with Shane Henderson, Jory Thompson, Dan Chappius, Shawn Hollenback, Taro Goldento to mention a few. After graduation, Ferris played a year of professional football in Germany, was a graduate assistant at Humboldt State and coached and taught at Darby, Mont. He has served as the defensive coordinator at Montana Western for the past six years. Ferris and his wife Trenna are the parents of two-year-old Breck.
Jason Truman, a native of Eureka, Mont., was a member of the Bulldog program from 1993 to 1996. During his career, Truman was part of a Bulldog team that won three straight Frontier Conference titles and was the winner of 17 straight conference games. He was the Frontier Conference “Offensive MVP” in both 1994 and 1995, and a first team All-American selection both seasons. He was a second team All-Conference selection in 1993 and 1996 and a second team All-American selection in 1996. At the end of his career, Truman held seventeen individual school records and helped set six team records. In his 39-game career, he was 905 of 1468 for 11,450 yards and 105 touchdowns. In individual total offense, in 879 career plays, he had 845 yards rushing and 11,450 yards passing for 12, 295 yards or an average of 315.2 yards per game. His completion percentage was 61.6%. He was selected the Frontier Conference Player of the Week 13 times, the NAIA national Player of the week nine times and was selected the offensive MVP in two NAIA Playoff games. Truman was the 1995 NAIA Player of the Year in Bob Griese’s College Football magazine and was nominated for the Johnny Unitas ‘Golden Arm Award. Truman’s coaches at Western were Bob Beers, Mark Mauze and Nels Kludt. His teammates include fellow inductee Rich Ferris, Hall of Famers Bobby Beers along with Shawn Hollenback, Keith Handlos, Nick Howlett, Rex Whitworth to mention a few. After college, he played one year of professional football in Germany. He now works for Ken Grose construction. He and his wife Shannon are the parents of Kelsy, age 7 and Cole, age4.
Cori Amos Chapman, a native of Selah, Wash., is a 1996 graduate of Western Montana with a degree in Early Childhood Education. In her career at Western, she was a first team All-Conference selection twice and an All-Region selection once. Chapman was also selected as the Frontier and Pacific Northwest Player of the Week. In 1996, she set a school record for assists in a season that stood until 2005. Also in 1996, she led the Frontier Conference in serving percentage. Chapman’s most memorable moment was the playoff match against Carroll College. Hall of Famer Jenny Peterson and Cindy Bennett coached her at Western. Her teammates were Julie Shoen, Michelle Babcock, Kyomi Level, Jodi McIntyre, Jami Hope, Tiffany Tschida, Christy Southfield, Katie Weaver and Erin Hamblock. After graduation, she returned to Selah and taught. In November of 1997, she married Mike Chapman. They are the parents of sons Carter and Grant. Chapman coached club volleyball for two years and was the Selah JV coach for two years. She now does medical transcriptions from home.
Rich Vasquez, a native of Columbia Falls, Mont., is a 1997 graduate of Western Montana (now University of Montana Western) with a bachelors of science in physical education with a history minor. He was a two-time District 12 champion, a two-time NAIA All-American and in 1994, an NAIA National Champion at 142 lbs. In 1995, Vasquez placed third at the NAIA national tournament. Vasquez was coached by Hall of Fame coach T.J. Nelson along with Jim Guillo and Dan Troupe. His teammates include Hall of Famers Paul Pownall, Shawn Fossen and T.R. Williams along with Ryan Pesanti, Larry Garrison, John O’Dell, Jade Morton and John Emerson to mention a few. His memorable moments include winning his individual national title and the 1994 team title and having his father participate in his graduation ceremony at Western. After graduation, he coached at MSU-Northern. Vasquez then taught at Rocky Boy High School where he started a wrestling team and a girl’s golf team. From there, he moved to Havre High School and then to Columbia Falls where he coached and taught. In the fall of 2005 he moved to Flathead High School in Kalispell and helped Kalispell win the state wrestling title. He is the father of three children and now spends his spare time with them.
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Booster Club Dinner Auction Set for Saturday,Oct. 28
Tuesday, October 24 2006
The 15th Annual University of Montana Western Bulldog Booster Club Dinner-Auction is Saturday, Oct. 28 in the Straugh Gymnasium. The evening begins with a social hour at 6:00 p.m. followed at 7:00 p.m. with the Dinner and Auction.
Auction items include a Big Sky Resort Package; Golf Package from Beaverhead Golf Course; Two Season Tickets from the Butte Daredevils; Montana Lottery Tickets from Andy Larson; Round-Trip Inner-Island Airline tickets for two from Hawaii Airlines and Leimomi Hall; Float Trip from Dick Sharon; a one week stay at a condo in Kauai, Hawaii; a golf package from Pryor Creek Golf Course in Huntley, Mont.; Berringer wine, a gift certificate from Beaverhead IGA; a Remington model 700 Big Game Rifle from Shedhorn Sports and Keith Handlos of Ennis and many more items.
Tickets, which admit two, are $100 in advance and $125 at the door. Ticket holders will be eligible for door prizes and cash prizes of $1000 for first place, $500 for second and $300 for third. The evening benefits the University of Montana Western Athletic program.
To reserve your ticket, call the Booster Club office at 683-7220.
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Tuesday, October 24 2006
10TH Annual Residence Hall-O-Ween At Montana Western
The Student Life of the University of Montana Western is sponsoring the 10th Annual Residence Hall-O-Ween, Wednesday Oct. 25, from 7 p.m. – 9 p.m.
Kindergarten through 5th graders are invited to dress up and meet at the Keltz Arena at 7:00 pm. Tour guides will then guide the trick-or-treaters through the Residence Halls and through a spooky tour of the Haunted House.
Parents are invited to participate. To reserve a place, call the Student Life Office at 683-7565.
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Pearl Django To Perform At Montana Western
Monday, October 16 2006
The Southwest Montana Arts Council and The Associated Students of the University of Montana Western present Pearl Django Monday, Oct. 23 at 7:30 pm in the Montana Western Lewis and Clark Room.
This special evening of Hot Club style gypsy jazz music will include desserts and beverages. Tickets are available at Bert’s CD’s for $15 with limited seating, call 683-9202. Free tickets are available at the Student Senate office for Montana Western students.
Celebrating more than 10 years in existence Pearl Django continues to be one of America’s most respected and busiest Hot Club style groups. Their music reaches out across the divides of taste to a wide variety of audiences. The band's fervent followers include Django Reinhardt and Stephane Grappelli fans, guitar enthusiasts (and guitarists!), lovers of string music, including bluegrass devotees, who relish nimble, clean, intricate picking, “world music”, fans drawn to French and Gypsy accents, plus jazz buffs and aficionados of the new swing music. Transcending simple categorization, Pearl Django packs in enthusiastic audiences at dancehalls and nightclubs, at folk music festivals and jazz festivals alike. Pearl Django was voted favorite area jazz band 2003, by Seattle Weekly readers!
"Pearl Django play gypsy jazz and they do it with such verve, skill and pleasure that they're pretty much irresistible to jazz and non-jazz listeners alike." Seattle Weekly
The group began as a trio in Tacoma, Washington in 1994. The focus of Pearl Django is to incorporate the music of Django Reinhardt and Stephane Grappelli with American swing music. They quickly expanded to a quintet, adding a violinist and a third guitarist.
In 1999, along with the release of their third and fourth CDs, the group incorporated their own record label, Modern Hot Records and signed a national distribution agreement with City Hall Records.
The October 2000 release of “Avalon” put the group on the national map with seven weeks of Gavin top-forty airplay and sales of 11,000 copies. In May 2001, Pearl Django was featured on “All Things Considered”. In June 2002, Pearl Django performed at the prestigious Festival Django Reinhardt in Samois sur Seine, just outside of Paris, France.
Pearl Django is Neil Andersson and Greg Ruby on Guitar, Michael Gray on Violin and Rick Leppanen on Bass. Their six CD’s are “Swing 48”, 2003; “Under Paris Skies”, 2002; Avalon, 2000 (over 13,000 copies sold); “Souvenirs”, 1999; “Mystery Pacific”, 1999 and New Metropolitan Swing, 1997. Learn more about this exciting group on their website at www.pearldjango.com
“If Paris is the city of love, then Pearl Django’s music is the flirtatious accompaniment.”
—6Moons.com (review of Under Paris Skies)
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10 Minute Plays
Monday, October 9 2006
The University of Montana Western’s Play Production Class will present their Fourth Annual Ten-Minute Play Contest, Friday, Oct. 13, Saturday, Oct. 14, Sunday, Oct. 15, Monday, Oct. 16 and Tuesday, Oct. 17. The curtain rises each night at 7:33 p.m. in the Small Auditorium.
Each night will feature different plays with the audience determining the winner each night with audience favorites presented on Tuesday night. The play with the most votes will be awarded the best play of the event.
Each student in the class selected a play, recruited the actors, designed the set and costumes, and directed the play. Class instructor is Larry Brazill.
Cost of admission is $5.00 and that is good for admission on all five nights.
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Dances With Words Features Missoula Writer
Monday, October 9 2006
The University of Montana Western English department is sponsoring a series of readings of area poets and writers during the 2006 Fall Semester titled "Dances With Words."
The next reading is in the Great Room of the Swysgood Technology Center, Thursday, Oct. 12, at 7:30 p.m. featuring Missoula writer Debra Magpie Earling.
Earling was born in Spokane and grew up in Montana as a part of the Bitterroot Salish Tribe, also known as Flathead Indians. She is a member of the Confederated Salish and Kootenai Tribes of the Flathead Indian Reservation in Polson, Montana
Earling attended the University of Washington in Seattle, where she became interested in writing. She achieved her Bachelor of Arts in English, which she completed in 1986 with Phi Beta Kappa honors, graduating magna cum laude. As a Ford Doctoral Fellow, she studied at Cornell University in New York from 1988-91, where she graduated with a Masters in English. She went on to earn her Master of Fine Arts in Fiction in 1992 at Cornell. From 1991 to 1998, Earling held positions in both Native American Studies and Creative Writing at the University of Montana in Missoula. Currently, she is an associate professor in the English Department there and teaches fiction and Native American Studies full-time.
Although Earling has published many short stories, Perma Red is her first novel and has been receiving critical acclaim and awards ever since its release in 2002. It received the Western Writers Association Spur Award for Best Novel of the West in 2003, the Mountain and Plains Bookseller Association Award, WWA's Medicine Pipe Bearer Award for Best First Novel, a WILLA Literary Award, and the American Book Award. It is a Montana Book Award Honor Book and was chosen by Barnes and Noble as part of its "Discover Great New Writers" series.
Her publications also include stories in The Last Best Place: A Montana Anthology, Talking Leaves: Contemporary Native American Short Stories, Circle of Women: Anthology of Western Women Writers, and Wild Women: Anthology of Women Writers.
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Radio Free Western
Friday, October 6 2006
Radio Free Western is a weekly talk show airing on KDWG Radio, the University of Montana Western campus radio station.
The program airs on Monday from 5 p.m. to 6 p.m. with a repeat broadcast airing on Thursday from 1 p.m. to 2 p.m.
The program is sponsored by The History, Philosophy and Social Science at Montana Western.
Dr. John Hajduk and instructor Jennifer Brown host the program. HPS department members Sean Eudaily, Michael Francisconi, Sara Glagow, Bill Janus and Michael Francisconi have also contributed material for the program.
“Our intention is not to promote a particular partisan position or philosophy,” said Hajduk. “But rather to provide some thoughtful conversation on matters of public concern and provide additional perspective that our listeners may draw on in shaping their impressions of current events.”
Past program topics include health care, science and intelligent design, national security issues, media history, the Supreme Court, land use policy, poetry, religion and politics, the Israel/Lebanon conflict, Constitution Week and the 5th anniversary of 9-11.
Future programs will discuss the upcoming elections, US-North Korea relations, and sports and society. The staff is interested in expanding their list of contributors of programs. For more information, contact John Hajduk at 683-7291 or email at j_hajduk@umwestern.edu.
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Montana Western Musical Calendar
Wednesday, October 4 2006
The University of Montana Western/Dillon Community Choirs are planning several events this fall to not only bring music to Southwest Montana, but also to help fund their Concert Tour of Austria.
The Tour is planned for the spring semester and choir members have been working hard to pay their way. They will be singing in Vienna and in Salzburg. The events planned so far include the following:
Raffle tickets: Grand Prize Trip to London! 1 ticket $5.00, five tickets, $20.00.
On sale now.
Friday, Oct. 27
German Dinner and Silent Auction
Elk’s Club, 5:30-8 p.m.
Tickets: Single $15, Double $25, Child $8, Family $35
Saturday, Nov. 11
Patriotic Community Sing-Along and Pie Social and Bake Sale
Dillon Depot Theater, 7-8:30 P.M.
Tickets: Sing-Along, free admittance, donations accepted. Pie Social, $5.
Monday, Dec. 4
Vocal, Instrumental Recital
Montana Western Small Auditorium, 7 p.m.
Tickets: Free admittance, donations accepted.
Thursday, Dec. 14
Montana Western/Dillon Community Band and Choir Concert
Montana Western Small Auditorium, 7 p.m.
Tickets: Free admittance, donations accepted.
Saturday, Dec. 16
Christmas Community Sing-A-Long and Raffle Drawing
Dillon Depot Theater, 7-8:30 p.m.
Tickets: Sing-Along, free admittance, donations accepted.
Raffle ticket drawing.
For more information and to purchase advance tickets contact:
Dr. Jeri Bonnin
The University of Montana Western
406-683-7046
j_bonnin@umwestern.edu
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English Department Sponsors Screening of Native American Documentary
Monday, October 2 2006
The University of Montana Western English department is sponsoring a screening of the Salish-Kootenai documentary, “The Place of Falling Waters,” Wednesday, Oct. 4 at 7 p.m. in the Great Room of the Swsgood Technology Center.
The 1991 film tells the story of the people of the Flathead Reservation in Montana from the perspective of those that live there. The film includes interviews with tribal elders, archival newsreel footage, stunning aerial photography, and rare photographs dating to the 19th century.
The story is told in three half-hour parts: Part 1 focuses on traditional Salish and Kootanai culture and the deep spiritual relationship they have with the environment; Part 2 takes viewers from the time of extreme poverty brought by the Depression and the Allotment Act, through the construction of the dam; Part 3 focuses on the tribe taking control of the dam in the year 2015 and what that control will mean for the reservation and the people.
Following the film, there will be discussion with filmmakers Roy Big Crane and Thompson Smith.
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