Ok, we’ll admit it whole-heartedly… We’ve been really lazy lately. I’m pretty sure this is the longest any of us have gone without posting. But now, to break the silence, something really worth writing about…

A scholarship fund has been created in the name of Mike Venner, a great father, husband and friend, whose passing this last year was a tragedy that will affect us all for years to come.

To raise money for the scholarships, there will be a “Golf Tournament and Depot Extravaganza” taking place in June.

Here’s the press release:

To memorialize one of Butte’s greatest promoters, the Mike Venner Memorial Golf Tournament, auction, dinner and dance will take place June 8. The golf tournament will take place at the Anaconda Country Club and Fairmont Hot Springs resort, with transportation from the Butte Depot at 8:30am. The Dinner, Dance and Auction starts at 6 at the Butte Depot with live music and many big-ticket items. For details, check out mikevennermemorial.com….proceeds will establish an education scholorship for Southwest Montana students.

Please attend if you can… it’s a great cause in the name of an even greater guy.

Promise we’ll start posting more. :)

Evergreen Healthcare of Butte will be sponsoring a blood drive with United Blood Services on Friday, December 29th. Their bus will be parked at Evergreen, 3261 Nettie (corner of Continental and Nettie) from 1 to 4 p.m. If you have questions, call 723-3225.

The Salvation Army needs Butte’s help. They currently have over 75 angels left to be picked from the angel trees in Wal-Mart, Butte Plaza Mall, and Denny’s restaurant. Each angel has the name, age, clothing sizes, and gift request for one low-income child in our community.

These little angels may go with very little this Christmas if they are not shopped for. Shoppers are asked to return the gifts with the angel tag attched to the Salvation Army Thrift Store at 1229 Harrison Ave. by Wed. December 20 at 5:00 P.M.

Please help out if you can. It’s a great cause and will truly be appreciated.

Butte firefighters will be in front of the Butte Plaza Mall (3100 Harrison) Friday between noon and 5 PM filling up their boots for the Muscular Dystrophy Association. Please have some spare change ready when heading down Harrison and support this good cause.

We hit up the World Museum of Mining today for the 2006 Ghost Walk. It’s sponsored by Butte Cares, The World Museum of Mining and the Butte High History Club (with Butte High History teacher Chris Fisk at the helm).

As per usual, we took a lot of photos for you guys.

One of the most notable moments was the bit about prohibition and the Rookwood Speakeasy, which was done by the folks from Old Butte Historical Adventures and was quite a hoot.

Obviously, a lot of work went into this year’s Ghost Walk and the weather certainly cooperated. We had a great time and a lot of laughs. We’ll be sure to check out future Ghost Walks and we encourage you to do the same.

Check out all our pictures from today and if you’ve got anything to say about the Ghost Walks: comment away!

The 2006 American Cancer Society Relay-For-Life fundraising kick-off will be tomorrow at noon at the Butte Plaza Mall.

Mr. Relay is a beauty contest for the men. There’s a $10 donation each man pays to participate, and the audience votes the Mr. Relay winner by how much cash he earns. Men wear wigs, makeup, jewelry, skirts/dresses, heels and carry a purse.

Swing on by the mall at noon and vote for your favorite man for Mr. Relay.

P.S. Check out the contestants from some other Mr. Relay contests we dug up on the web (click to view in more detail):