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Everyone who takes part in a March for Babies event, put on by March of Dimes, has their own stories, but everyone has the same goal — stronger and healthier babies.

This year was the 75th year of research, vaccines and breakthroughs for the organization. This year, March for Babies challenged families to take the “Be Your Best for Babies” challenge to help them celebrate their milestone.

Culbertson mother Tessa Rumsey set her goals and did her best to show she was always fighting not only for her babies, but for others like them.

Rumsey and her team,  Mighty Miracles, participated in the March of Dimes Walk in Sidney April 13. The family team raised $1,520 in about two months and came in second for a family team in fundraising. Mighty Miracles was made up of family and friends who walked to celebrate, honor and remember all of their neonatal intensive care unit friends who have touched their lives.

Mighty Miracles was made up of the Rumsey family, Tessa, Izack and Lauren, as well as Erin, Carson, Brooks and Flint Solem, Mary, Miariah and Sierra Machart, Abby Ator and Shirley and Kayla Fender.

As a team, the friends and family took a 30-minute walk around a three-mile course in Veterans Memorial Park in Sidney. This was the team’s first walk for the March for Babies and, with their next walk in 2014, they hope to raise even more for the March of Dimes than they did this year.

In walking, Rumsey and her team hoped to give to the more than half a million babies born too soon each year. The money they raised supports programs in the community that help mothers have healthy, full-term pregnancies. It also funds research to find answers to the problems that threaten babies.

The organization has been walking since 1970 and has raised an incredible $2 billion to benefit all babies.

This is a cause that hits close to home for Rumsey since her twins were born at 24 weeks gestation. A full-term pregnancy is between 37 and 42 weeks so this was more than just a couple days early. In fact, the youngest baby to survive an early pregnancy was just 22 weeks and six days old. Izack weighed one pound, 11 ounces and Lauren weighed one pound, seven ounces. Both were 13 inches long.

The Rumsey twins spent six months in the NICU at the Children’s Hospital in Aurora, Colo. The NICU at the hospital is a nationally recognized leader in the treatment of critically ill infants and provides 60 critical care beds for infants up to three months of age. It also is designated a Level IIIC NICU, the highest distinction granted by the American Academy of Pediatrics.

The twins received surfactant therapy while in the NICU which was a treatment that was developed and funded by the March of Dimes. March of Dimes grantees helped develop

Everyone who takes part in a March for Babies event, put on by March of Dimes, has their own stories, but everyone has the same goal — stronger and healthier babies.

Jodee Rae Scott has been charged with obstructing a peace officer, fleeing from or eluding a peace officer, tampering with evidence, criminal distribution of dangerous drugs and criminal possession with the intent to distribute.

She appeared in district court at the Roosevelt County Courthouse in Wolf Point on Wednesday, April 24, and pleaded not guilty to all of the offenses.

The Big Muddy River Drug Task Force had been investigating reports of Scott distributing dangerous drugs since around 2010. She has resided in both Culbertson and Poplar, which is within the boundaries of the Fort Peck Indian Reservation, and claimed she was a tribal member during run-ins with the law enforcement in Poplar.

In September 2012, an investigation was being conducted by the Fort Peck Department of Law and Justice regarding Scott and the distribution of dangerous drugs. They obtained information stating that Scott allegedly sold marijuana, methamphetamine and prescription pills and would often take firearms as payment for the drugs. Law enforcement was informed that Scott traveled to Seattle, Wash., two or three times a month to get the methamphetamine that she then sold.

Since Scott claimed she was a tribal member, officers obtained search warrants through the Fort Peck Tribal Court that were used to search her house and storage unit in Poplar. During the search, officers obtained several items pertaining to the use and the distribution of dangerous drugs. The evidence included a prescription medication belonging to others, paraphernalia, packaging material, ammunition, used bindles with suspect methamphetamine residue and marijuana seeds among other items.

The case was then submitted for prosecutorial review. However, it was discovered that Scott was not a tribal member or an associate member of a tribe and, therefore, the tribal charges for distribution could

Jodee Rae Scott has been charged with obstructing a peace officer, fleeing from or eluding a peace officer, tampering with evidence, criminal distribution of dangerous drugs and criminal possession with the intent to distribut

The Froid School District filed a petition to expand their district’s boundaries, a move that the Poplar School District is against because it cuts into their territory.

The hearing for the petition was held in the Roosevelt County Courthouse April 23 and was heard by the former Wolf Point Schools superintendent Paul Huber.

There was a good turnout for the hearing with about 30 people in the courtroom not including each schools’ legal team. The issue is very emotional and it was a very tense courtroom, though Huber made it clear that he was there to go through the facts presented.

Attorney Jeff Weldon from Billings spoke on behalf the Froid Elementary District. He commented that the request to transfer territory from one elementary school to another is a rare occurrence. Weldon presented exhibits such as a map outlining the territory that is proposed to be transferred, the statement later given by Martin Qualley, data showing adequate yearly progress reports of the two districts in question, information from the Montana Office of Public Instruction’s website, test scores from Froid Elementary, budget documents submitted by the districts through the office of public instruction, trustee reports for fiscal years 2011 and 2012 and a series of letters of support written by residents of the territory.

He stated that Froid believes the petition is in the best interest of the students in that area to transfer the property from the Poplar District to the Froid District for the main reason of aligning the high school and elementary district. Aligning the territory with the high school will give the school the potential to become a K-12 school and make the operation of the district more efficient.

It is extremely rare for students to go to a certain elementary school and then have to go into another high school district. Also, the residents who live in the territory cannot vote or serve on the elementary board of trustees and their tax dollars do not go to the school  their children attend, since the elementary children in that area are presently attending school in Froid, not Poplar.

Weldon defined the three areas that were concerned with the transfer as educational opportunity in the transfer

The Froid School District filed a petition to expand their district’s boundaries, a move that the Poplar School District is against because it cuts into their territory.

Chris Dunphy is the newest member of the Culbertson Volunteer Fire Department. He is originally Walbash, Ind., and settled in Culbertson nine years ago.

Dunphy works at the Cul-bertson Schools as maintenance/custodian, but also wanted to give some of his time to helping the community who welcomed him so warmly.

He is a veteran who has been deployed overseas three times in Afghanistan and Iraq and came to Montana after he left the service due to injury.

His time in the service rewarded him with the knowledge and gratitude of helping others and he has wanted to continue this trend ever since.

Dunphy stated he has no fears or hesitations with putting himself on the front line of the blaze considering he spent most of his lifetime defending our country.

He had no formal fire department training at the time of his interview with The Searchlight; however, the fire department had training scheduled for April 16, which he was to take part in. Dunphy is confident in his abilities to become a useful fireman due to his government training in the service.

Dunphy is looking forward to that moment when he helps a family or saves a house from what is supposed to be the inevitable. Helping others is what drives him each day to be better than the day before.

Chris Dunphy is the newest member of the Culbertson Volunteer Fire Department. He is originally Walbash, Ind., and settled in Culbertson nine years ago.