Press
Mon, February 3rd 2025
Nominate Big Sky on Waterford Senior Living
BUTTE – 2025 Best of Butte & Beyond
Welcome to the Nomination Round!
Welcome to the Best of Butte & Beyond! Help us celebrate the best our community has to offer!
It’s time to NOMINATE your favorite business or person! Nominations are open from January 29 – February 19.
When writing in a person, their first & last name and work place must be included to be approved. Approved write-ins can take up to 3 Business Days before you see your nomination on the ballot.
The 5 businesses with the most nominations in each category will advance to the voting round that starts on March 12.
Tue, November 12th 2024
Veterans food pantry in Deer Lodge seeks help for holiday season
DEER LODGE, Mont. – The Southwest Montana Veterans Food Pantry in Deer Lodge is thriving, but it needs community support as the holiday season approaches.
The pantry, committed to serving veterans, has grown significantly since its opening in 2021.
Jay Wood, a veteran, and his wife Susan have overseen this growth as the pantry’s operators. They provide food, clothing, hygiene products, and even mental health and ride services to local veterans.
“Last month alone was our biggest month ever,” Jay Wood said. “We’re doing 15 counties, and over 4,300 pounds of food went out the door.”
Tue, November 12th 2024
Butte senior agencies start food drive for veterans with friendly competition
BUTTE — Senior service agencies in Butte have started a food drive that will benefit veterans in southwest Montana.
Beginning Nov. 1 and running until Nov. 21, local agencies are asking the public to donate non-perishable food items that will be given to the Southwest Montana Veteran Food Pantry in Deer Lodge to distribute to veterans in the region.
Big Sky on Waterford is one of the drop-off places and has a list of six other places food can be dropped off that will help feed veterans throughout the holiday season.
TUE, December 12th 2023
'Tree Lady' makes Christmas season bright for Butte's senior citizens
BUTTE — Throughout the year, more than 70 Christmas trees are stored in the basement of Big Sky on Waterford in Butte. Now, they may start in the basement, but they end up here on all three floors of the senior center so its residents can enjoy a literal Christmas forest.
“There you go. And now we just have to do about 70 more of them,” said Carolyn Cornelius.
For the last 13 years, Carolyn has been decking the halls of this senior living facility with dozens upon dozens of Christmas trees for the residents to enjoy. She begins right after Thanksgiving, and it takes her about three weeks to complete.
Wed, November 15th 2023
Butte seniors warned of phone and online scams
BUTTE — Scammers are always trying to con people out of their money and unfortunately, their most vulnerable victims live in places like one retirement home in Butte, where some residents say they’ve already had some experiences with these predators.
“Oh yes, I have, several times, especially the ‘Hi grandma, I just got picked up, can you help me with some money?’ And I know, I’ve got two grandsons and I know their voice,” said Big Sky Senior Living resident Margie Fogarty.
This is known as the grandparents scam and one of the reasons a representative from the Montana Commissioner of Securities and Insurance spoke at Big Sky Senior Living in Butte recently.
“Seniors are pretty much the most highly targeted group. Our agency estimates that about 75 percent of the fraud we investigate involves seniors,” said CSI educator Blair Stapleton.
Wed, November 15th 2023
Financial fraud bingo educates Butte seniors
BUTTE, Mont. — Of course, financial fraud is a very serious issue that affects seniors in particular–but that doesn’t mean that learning about it can’t be a little bit fun.
On Wednesday, the residents at Butte’s Big Sky Senior Living educated themselves about the dangers of financial fraud with a variant on an old classic: bingo.
Between placing M&M’s on their bingo boards and winning wonderful prizes, the seniors learned the importance of understanding how scams take place, recognizing the red flags, and reaching to authorities if you suspect a scam.
Remember: if it sounds too good to be true… it probably is.
“We personally at our agency have found that roughly 75% of the fraud that we investigate is perpetrated against seniors,” said Blair Stapleton, investor education coordinator for the state auditor’s office. “It is very much a targeted audience, and it is something that we really try to prioritize in our outreach.”
Mon, September 4th 2023
Butte veterans take to the skies Labor Day Weekend
BUTTE, Mont. — On this Labor Day Weekend, volunteers are giving back to those who served and their spouses by hosting flights in World War II-era planes, providing the opportunity of a lifetime.
“We’re giving these flights in a 1943 Boeing Stearman. It’s an open cockpit biplane, and it’s actually the aircraft that every pilot during World War II learned to fly on. So, it was their primary trainer,” said Roy Remington, Dream Flights crew chief.
Sunday morning, eight seniors from a local assisted living facility were blessed with this incredible opportunity thanks to the non-profit Dream Flights, which is in the middle of their 2023 tour all across the country.
“We have some brave, excited veterans in our facility and our community and so they are just really happy to have the chance to do it,” said Bri Ward, director of life enrichment for Big Sky on Waterford Senior Living.