Independently owned since 1905
Independently owned since 1905
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A group of firefighters from the Plains-Paradise Rural Fire District are in California helping fight wildfires. Chief James Russell along with Zach Vanderwall, Levi Reed and Callahan Larson left Saturday and arrived in California on Monday. Two engine strike teams traveled together. The Plains-Paradise crew is on Montana Strike Team 1, Russell said. "We send resources out of the district to help support the regional and national firefighting effort," Russell stated. "We want to return the help...
A Thompson Falls High School class experiment has been recognized by a national organization. Doree Thilmony's Planting Science class has been studying photosynthesis and cellular respiration. The class recently completed experiments which they designed. Thilmony said the module is put on by an organization made up of botanists from the Missouri Botanical Society and educational trainers and curriculum from the BSCS Science Learning Center. The Thompson Falls "Plant Busters" team of Olivia...
A 67-year-old Thompson Falls woman was killed following a two-vehicle collision on Highway 200 near Perma. The incident occurred just after 4 p.m. last Wednesday, January 8. A Kenworth truck was traveling eastbound on Highway 200 and making a left-hand turn onto Highway 382 toward Camas Prairie when a Ford Focus traveling west on Highway 200 struck the truck head on, according to a report from the Montana Highway Patrol (MHP). MHP reported that the woman, a passenger in the Ford Focus, was taken to Clark Fork Valley Hospital, while the...
The ongoing devastation in California is just that - devastating. It’s unimaginable to think that 10,000 homes burned. Some news quips are focusing solely on the celebrities who have lost their homes, but most of those homes burned aren’t those of famous people. It’s also a good reminder that bad things can happen to anyone. Fires are ravaging through this very populated area. Just because it’s a metropolitan area does not mean it’s not susceptible to natural disasters. It’s been very sad to watch this horrible event play out on the news, b...
With the completion of the new multi-purpose building at Thompson Falls High School came a welcome change at the school. The school's weight room moved below the gymnasium into the old shop area. The larger space accommodates additional equipment, and Principal Jodi Morgan said eventually the space will include changing rooms and a bathroom for visiting officials. The new weight room is just over 2,000 square feet, about double the size of the old weight room, Morgan stated. Along with some new...
The Savage Horsemen brought home a champion from one of the toughest wrestling competitions of the season last weekend. John Waterbury won the 157-pound bracket at the Cut Bank Invitational, a two-day intense tournament. The Plains-Hot Springs team finished 13 out of 59 teams, securing 103.5 points. Waterbury’s path to the top of the podium started with three technical falls in a row, 16-1, 18-1, 18-1. In the semifinal round, Waterbury pinned Huntley Project’s Ryder Bingen in the first period. That put him in the championship match with Tur...
Hot Springs was back on their home court last Saturday, playing host to the Seeley Swan Blackhawks. The night ended in a loss for the boys and the girls, with the Savage Heat boys losing 64-45 and the girls 46-36. After a slow start to scoring in the boys' game, an aggressive Seeley Swan team pulled away in the first quarter as the Savage Heat struggled with turnovers. Hot Springs would finally get on the board with two good free throws from senior Wesley Adams. The Hot Springs defense started...
The Thompson Falls junior high girls’ basketball team finished last weekend with three wins and Coach Karli Thomas was excited with her teams’ performances. The Hawk A team beat Noxon 33-7 and then won a close matchup against St. Regis 15-13. Marley Robinson led the Thompson Falls scoring against Noxon with 13 points and added eight rebounds, while Audrey Fairbank scored 12 and garnered 13 steals. Fairbank and Robinson each scored four against St. Regis, while Cammie Preston added three and Gabby Taylor one point. Robinson took down eight reb...
Every basketball season is special for Blue Hawk boys' basketball coach Jake Mickelson, but this year is pretty unique in that he has two sets of brothers on the varsity team. In fact, there are four sets of brothers on the team from C team through varsity. "I've had one set of brothers on a team but never two," Mickelson said after practice one day last week. On varsity, seniors Sam Burgess and Bryson LeCoure get to suit up with their younger brothers Ethan Burgess, a sophomore, and Kellen...
Swans and geese hang out on the Thompson Falls reservoir last week....
A Thompson Falls man with two prior federal felony convictions and other state felonies was sentenced last week to five years and 10 months in prison, to be followed by three years of supervised release, for admitting to firearms crimes after law enforcement found numerous guns at his residence, U.S. Attorney Jesse Laslovich said. The defendant, James Vernon Day, Jr., 56, pleaded guilty in September 2024 to prohibited person in possession of a firearm and to possession of an unregistered firearm. U.S. District Judge Donald W. Molloy presided....
Lisa Wadsworth retired at the end of 2024 after just shy of 26 years of working for Sanders County. Friends, family and coworkers gathered to wish Wadsworth well last Monday. "Lisa always goes above and beyond. Thank you for all of your time for Sanders County," County Commissioner Tony Cox said. "You'll be missed. You've helped us through so much," fellow commissioner John Holland added....
Noxon had a rough 2024. Between the fire in February that destroyed three businesses and the bridge closure in July, there was a lot of uncertainty for the community. I've spent quite a bit of time in Noxon lately and thinking about the community. A lot of people have. There have been public meetings about the Noxon bridge. The commissioners are moving forward with how to replace the bridge. Their biggest hurdle is securing funding. On Saturday, a public meeting to engage elected officials was held. Meeting organizer Andrew Cabaccang invited...
A small-town story is finding its way to the big screen in Thompson Falls. The Rex Theater will show Somewhere in Montana on January 10, 11 and 13. After the Saturday, Jan. 11 showing, some of the local actors and Brandon Smith, the film’s writer and director, will be available for a Q&A session. Eden Bryant is one of the film’s producers. She said the film is booked in about 40 theaters in the United States, but that it was important to have it shown in Montana. The movie was filmed in Polson and Ronan. “I think Montanans will appre...
Residents from across the county got together last Saturday to discuss the Noxon bridge. The meeting was attended by about 25 people, including county commissioners Dan Rowan and Tony Cox, as well as Steve Howke from Rep. Ryan Zinke's office. The commissioners talked to residents, who came from Trout Creek, Thompson Falls, Noxon and Heron for the update, about efforts to start planning for the bridge replacement. "We're going to see what else we can do as a contingency plan to keep using the...
A group of locals and visitors started off 2025 with a little run around the neighborhood. The annual New Year's Day fun run was held last Wednesday in Thompson Falls, with the start and finish line at the Clark Fork Valley Elks Lodge. It was technically the second run of 2025 for organizer Sarah Naegeli, who along with her son Logan and his wife Denise, ran Main Street in Thompson Falls at midnight. "We've been doing that for five or six years," Naegeli said. "Sometimes we have cross country...
The county is taking the next step toward replacing the Noxon bridge. Last week, Sanders County Commissioners voted to enter into a contract with Morrison Maierle to investigate further options for the bridge, seek funding and start planning for the project. At a meeting last Monday, the engineering firm discussed the scope of the contract with commissioners. Branton Sorbel with Morrison Maierle said the company was brought on board in the spring of 2024 to look at deck replacement. While they w...
A District Court judge has resigned before even taking office. Last week, attorney Kenneth Britton "Britt" Cotter of Polson submitted his letter of resignation to Chief Justice Michael McGrath of the Montana Supreme Court, citing criminal charges Cotter is facing. According to a press release from the Montana Attorney General's office, an investigation by the Division of Criminal Investigation (DCI) revealed Cotter, 48, tried to purchase cocaine on more than one occasion between March 2022 to May 2023. DCI was originally called in to...
In Camas Prairie, there's a small farm where one woman is living in paradise. Laurie and Adam Cowhig moved to Camas Prairie in 2020, and they call their farm Paradise Found Farm. Laurie has definitely found her paradise in northwest Montana. Cowhig breeds Boston Terriers. She has six of them at the moment, and one – Keaton – is headed to the Super Bowl of dog shows, the Westminster Dog Show, in February. Cowhig is a preservation breeder. "We breed for health and to improve the breed, sti...
A new automotive repair business in Thompson Falls opened in November with a passion for fixing vehicles and helping veterans. Josh and Miranda Helgert operate American Classics Garage at 360 Mount Silcox Drive in Thompson Falls. The business is open Monday through Friday 8 a.m. to 5 p.m., and Saturdays by appointment. Josh said that his love of vehicles and fixing them started when he was 8 years old. "My first vehicle was a 1949 Willys Jeep pickup," he said. "I bought it when I was 8 and put...
The anticipation and the excitement of the new year has come and gone. Now we’re stuck with those pesky resolutions. Did you make a resolution? If so, have you kept it for these first few days of 2025? A friend and I discussed resolutions recently and came to the conclusion that we needed simple, attainable goals for 2025, so I’m sharing that realization with our readers. Instead of saying you’ll exercise or read every day, or you’ll be nicer, try making a resolution with a clear finish line. For example my friend, who like me is in her mid...
The Thompson Falls Woman's Club Pinochle marathon players are halfway through the season, and Trama Shear and Mitzi Hart are keeping a close lead with 23,250 overall points. In second place is Cathy Mills and Joni Mosher with 23,120 points. Mills and Mosher had the high score of 7,600 for December play. Third place overall is Pati Coe and Wendy Kelley with 21,060. Other December scores included Kelley and Ron Beaty, 7,480; Coe and Kelley, 7,160; Kay Rasor and Joyce Hilt, 6,630; Juanita Triplett and Cal Pomrenke, 4,930; Sarah Dramstad and...
Even without a blanket of snow, Quinn's Hot Springs Resort in Paradise is exploding with holiday spirit with dozens of light displays across the property. Rachel Nore with Quinn's said the light displays will be up throughout the month of January....
A group of Plains Elementary School students took time away from classes last week to wrap gifts for the Sheriff's Relief Fund program. Thirty-two members of the sixth grade classes of Meg Feist and Sandra Jirasko raised $412.43 for this year's Tree of Hearts, a program for underprivileged children in Sanders County. The kids gathered last Wednesday for about an hour to wrap the presents for the program. "I think it's a good way for the kids to learn how to give and give back to the community,"...
Sanders County Commissioner Dan Rowan (right) shakes hands with Alisa Garcia after delivering the oath of office to swear Garcia in as the new county Treasurer / Clerk & Recorder / Superintendent of Schools....
