Diane Hipp didn’t have any problem enthralling a room full of first graders last Friday in the Florence Carlton School library with her new book. Of course she had a little help from Stuart and Freckles. Stuart and Freckles are characters from her book called “Stuart the Donkey…a Tale of His Tail.” Stuart, of course, is a donkey (duh), and Freckles is a spotted fawn. They both appear in the form of puppets to help Hipp tell her tale. They act out the story while Hipp does the reading.

In the story Freckles helps Stuart find some self esteem. Not an easy thing for a young donkey to come by in a field of young mules.

It’s a true story, in the sense that it’s inspired by some actual events.

The story behind the story began when Hipp blew her knee out in a skiing accident. Home bound and incapacitated for a while, she did a lot of gazing out her window toward the field where Rod and Becky Knutson were pasturing foals. All except one were mules. It was that lone donkey foal and his mother that intrigued her the most. The young donkey seemed very shy and reluctant to play with the mules. Watching the animals interact, and really needing something to do, she started writing the young donkey’s story.

Hipp had no intention at the time of publishing the story. She was writing it for her five grandchildren. She decided to self publish the story so her grandchildren could all have a copy. Her friend TJ Hill offered to do the illustrations. Pleased with the result, she entered it in the USA Book Contest and much to her surprise won the Children’s Author of the Year award.

“I’m still in shock,” said Hipp.

Realizing that she had something worth sharing outside the family, the books are now for sale on the internet at www.authorhouse.com. Barnes and Nobles in Missoula is sponsoring a book signing on December 4, in the afternoon. She is also willing to share her story with local school kids as she did at Florence Carlton last Friday. She is a great reader and with the help of her puppets keeps the students spellbound as they learn valuable lessons about life.

Hipp is no stranger to helping young children address common problems faced while growing up. She is a Certified Prevention Professional and a certified School Counselor with over 30 years of experience in substance abuse prevention. Her arenas of work have included elementary and secondary prevention education, parenting education, prevention curriculum development and community substance abuse prevention program management.

She has provided extensive training and technical assistance to schools and community coalitions in strategic planning, implementation and evaluation of evidence-based substance abuse prevention. As a senior trainer for Developmental Research and Programs and for the Channing L. Bete Company, Diane developed substance abuse prevention curricula for workforce development, parenting for prevention, and community substance abuse prevention. She is a certified trainer for “Communities That Care,” “Parents Who Care,” “Guiding Good Choices,” “Here’s Looking at You, 2000,” and “Life Skills Training.” She is a Substance Abuse Prevention Specialist trainer, mentor and facilitator.

She’s got a list of credentials longer than your arm. But one worth noting is the hand she played in co-authoring the highly acclaimed conflict management curriculum, "Kelso's Choice," that is being implemented in thousands of schools in the United States and in 11 other countries. Almost all the kids in the library on Friday raised their hands when she asked if anyone was familiar with Kelso’s Choice.

Hipp charges no fee to do readings at the local schools like she did in Florence. She has extended an open invitation to do readings at any school in the valley and hopes they take her up on it. She also intends to write more books. The next has already been started. It’s called “Hermis and Howard.” Hermis is a mouse and Howard is a cat. Howard is also a bully. The subtitle of the story is, “A Bully Finds His Heart.” This one, too, is based on true events.

Stevi FFA wins $1,000 bonus

The Stevensville Chapter of the Future Farmers of America was handed a $1,000 check last week by representatives of Park Plus which sponsors a fundraising campaign for FFA chapters around the nation.

The fundraising program involves the collection of box tops from WIX air and oil filters. FFA members coordinate collection of the box tops with area businesses. Each participating FFA chapter gets 25 cents for every box submitted. This year the Stevi FFA earned over $1,000 for the box tops they submitted. The top six chapters in the nation that collect the most are also awarded a $1,000 bonus. This year the Stevi chapter was one of the top six in the nation.

WIX District Sales Representative Tom Murphy, covering Montana, North and South Dakota and Nebraska, was on hand along with local representative Kenda Gould from Missoula to hand over the $1,000 bonus check. Accepting the check on behalf of the Stevi FFA were President Quinn Basset, Vice President Jessica Hopcroft and Parliamentarian David Hammermeister.

Murphy told the group what an honor it was to place in the top six.

“You are competing with FFA chapters from New York to Dallas to Los Angeles,” said Murphy. He also noted that three of the top six chapters were from Montana this year. The other two were in Big Sandy and Fairfield.

Ag/Ed FFA Advisor Josh Perkins said that local businesses help out by saving the coupons for the project. The FFA members use the money raised to pay for hotel rooms and registration fees for contests they attend throughout the year.

Soroptimist of Hamilton offers financial opportunities for women

Women’s Opportunity Award: Women who serve as the primary wage earners for their families and seek financial assistance to go back to school can now obtain applications for the Women’s Opportunity Award, Soroptimist International of Hamilton’s major service project. Applications are available by contacting Deana at 363-1922. Completed applications must be returned to Soroptimist International Hamilton by December 15.

Since 1972, the Soroptimist Women’s Opportunity Awards program has provided women who serve as the primary wage earners for their families with the financial resources to offset costs associated with their efforts to attain higher education or additional skills and training. The award can be used for tuition, books, childcare, carfare or any other education –related expense. The Hamilton club will provide a $2,000 cash grant to its local award recipient, who will then advance to the Soroptimist Northwestern Region level, where one recipient will receive $5,000. The program culminates with three finalist $10,000 awards.

Soroptimist International of Hamilton is a volunteer organization for business and professional women dedicated to improving the lives of women and girls, in local communities and throughout the world. Founded in 1987, The Hamilton club is part of Soroptimist International of the Americas where almost 100,000 Soroptimists in about 120 countries and territories contribute time and financial support to community-based projects that benefit women.

Violet Richardson Award: Soroptimist International of Hamilton is promoting a program targeted to young women who make the community and world a better place. The Violet Richardson Award honors young women, between the ages of 14 and 17, for volunteer action, such as fighting drugs, crime and violence; cleaning up the environment and working to end discrimination and poverty.

“Soroptimist believes that by acknowledging young women’s volunteer involvement today, they will grow up to be vital, active members of the community” said Katelyn Anderson, president of the Hamilton club.

Applications for the award program are available online by contacting Kathleen Graler at 961-0130, or through counseling offices at all the local schools. Applications must be returned to Soroptimist International of Hamilton by December 1.

Fellowship Award Procedure: Eligibility requirements: This award is presented to a woman living in Northwestern Region who is continuing her education by earning a post-graduate (Master or Doctorate) program. Soroptimist International of Hamilton Fellowship Award is $1,250. This award cannot be given to a Soroptimist or immediate family member. 501(c)(3) rules govern this policy. Applications are due to sponsoring Soroptimist clubs postmarked by January 15. Contact Mary Lou at 363-2476 for an application.

In addition the club provides scholarships through the Pro-Tech Award and honors a woman helping women with the Ruby Award.

For more information on any of these awards and opportunities, contact Mary Lou Amsden at 363-2476.

New store to benefit conservation education programs

The Bitterroot National Forest in partnership with the Bitterroot Resource Conservation and Development Area Inc. (RC&D) has opened a new, one room store, that will sell unique “outdoor and nature related” items. The Discover the Bitterroot store opened to the public last week in the lobby of the Forest Service office at 1801 N. First Street in Hamilton. It features hundreds of conservation/educational items including hiking and camping books, animal and plant guides, games and puzzles, stuffed animals, clothing, even real-life reproductions of actual North American animal tracks including moose, deer and bear.

The store also features a local artist corner and many Forest Service souvenirs including Smokey’s Den – an area filled with Smokey the Bear related items. All proceeds from the store will support conservation education programs on the Bitterroot National Forest. Just in time for the holidays, the store also has a limited-number of items related to the 2008 Capital Christmas Tree including tree ornaments and Christmas cards.

“Our goal is to offer unique educational items that promote getting outdoors and exploring and learning about the forest, nature and wildlife, said Bitterroot National Forest Supervisor Julie King. “We’re excited to partner with Bitterroot RC&D and that all of the proceeds will benefit conservation education programs on the forest. I think the store is going to be very popular with local recreationists, visitors, and even school teachers looking for unique outdoor-related teaching items and tools.”

Another objective of the store is to offer forest visitors interpretive, educational and informational materials and services that will enhance their visit while also teaching them about the natural, recreational, and historic resources of our National Forests.

The Discover the Bitterroot store is open Monday through Friday, 8 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. For more information contact the Bitterroot National Forest at 363-7100 or Bitterroot Resource Conservation and Development at 363-1444, ext #5.

Call for vendors

The Stevensville Main Street Association will host the Christmas Gift Fair at the Old Western States Building south of the library. The Christmas Gift Fair will take place on First Friday, December 3 from 5 to 9 p.m. and Saturday, December 4 from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. Fee for the two-day event is $50. This is a great downtown location. There will be horse and wagon rides on Friday night, open houses at the businesses, the Christmas Story at the center of town, live nativity scene, carolers, warming fires, Santa’s arrival and plenty of hot chocolate! If you would like a space contact the Stevensville Main Street Association at 777-3773 for an application or visit the website at mainstreetstevensville.com to download an application.

Call for Madonnas and Nativity Scenes

Historic St. Mary's Mission will host an exhibit of Madonnas and Nativity Scenes on First Friday, December 3. You are invited to add your special pieces to this one-day event. The display will be in a protected area and treated with care. St. Mary's Mission Visitor Center will be open on Tuesdays and Wednesdays from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. for delivery (closed the week of Thanksgiving). Pick up dates will be Tuesday, December 7 and Wednesday, December 8. To make other arrangements call St. Marys' Mission at 777-5734 or Johni Cellarius-Steinke at 273-5411 or 531-6104.

Page One •	Valley News •	Op/Ed •	Sports •	Calendar •	Classifieds •	Legals •	Links •	About Us •	Back Issues •	Email Us •	Home
©2009 Bitterroot Star This site was Done By Dooney