Independently owned since 1905
Independently owned since 1905
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At the Thompson Falls City Pool, safety of visitors and staff is the top priority, Public Works Director Neil Harnett said. With that, the city has decided to keep the pool closed this year so necessary repairs can be done to the pool and surrounding deck area. "I can't see safely using the pool before this is fixed," Harnett stated. When city staff checked on the pool early this spring, they noticed that the concrete deck surrounding the pool had settled several inches. Harnett said he has...
LHC, Inc., contractors for the Highway 200 project east of Thompson Falls, are adjusting their work schedule to help minimize traffic delays. Brandon Coates with RBCI said Friday that crews will begin completing heavy equipment and excavation work at night beginning Sunday evening, with wildlife fencing and rock barrier work during the day. “Crews have noticed traffic picking up already and it’s not even summer yet,” Coates said. “Crews have already been noticing longer lines.” With that, the construction will be changed to account for heavi...
The Noxon High School parking lot will transform into a different kind of car lot on May 3. That Friday, the school is hosting its sixth annual car show. There is no charge for entries, and the car show will run 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. Principal Rhonda Horner said that a donation jar will be available and proceeds will fund a scholarship for a senior who is going into a related trade. The car show is open to old and new cars in the area, and Horner said entrants can just show up the day of the car show. They will have music playing and entrants will...
Former Thompson Falls resident Danielle Wood made her initial appearance in court on Tuesday, pleading not guilty to one count of deliberate homicide in the death of Matt LaFriniere, her former boyfriend. Wood appeared via VisionNet with her attorney, Ashley Morigeau, from the Lake County Courthouse in Polson. Prosecutor Dan Guzynski of the Montana Attorney General's office was in court Tuesday in Thompson Falls for the arraignment before 20th District Court Judge Deborah "Kim" Christopher....
In one of the sure signs that spring has sprung, Thompson Pass officially opened Thursday afternoon. Montana Department of Transportation crews finished plowing the pass on Thursday and confirmed that both the Montana and Idaho sides are open to traffic. Thompson Pass is closed to vehicles in the winter, but is a popular route for snowmobile enthusiasts in both Montana and Idaho....
Voters in the Noxon and Hot Springs school districts will receive ballots in the mail later this week. Ballots were mailed Wednesday, according to the Sanders County Elections Office. In Hot Springs, three candidates have filed for the open three-year position: Michael Mueller, Crystal Graham and Julie White. Ricky Depoe was the only candidate to file for the one-year term in Hot Springs. The Hot Springs School District is also seeking additional funding from voters through a general fund mill levy proposition. The proposed levy would generate...
Two defendants accepted deferred sentences in 20th District Judicial Court on Tuesday before Judge Deborah “Kim” Christopher. Brandon Tollie, from Bigfork, received a three-year deferred sentence with the Department of Corrections on felony criminal possession of dangerous drugs. Tollie also was sentenced to 28 days in the Sanders County Jail, with credit for time served, in accepting the plea agreement that also included misdemeanor night speeding and criminal possession of drug paraphernalia charges. Tollie was arrested during a traffic stop...
The basketball seasons are over and students have moved on to spring sports including golf, track and softball. But Thompson Falls High School gym will be filled with equine hoopsters on May 6 as donkey basketball comes to town. TFHS students and staff will take on a team of alumni and community members. The event begins with a barbecue at 5:30 p.m. and donkey tipoff at 6. Tickets are available in advance from the high school office. Prices are $8 for adults, $6 for students in grades 7-12, and $4 for grades K-6. Tickets at the door will be $1...
The Flat Iron Quilting Guild gathered more than 200 entries in their bi-annual show last Saturday. Guild member Ella Larson said that the show had good attendance, with many people coming from the Kalispell area and places including Drummond and Hamilton. The viewer's choice award went to Peg McCarthy of Plains, and guild members honored Mellissa Compton of Plains with the Guild's Choice award. Compton is a new member of the guild. The top bed quilt awards went to Ella Larson of Trout Creek and...
You may have seen Crystal Buchanan with Sanders County Coalition for Families (SCCFF) and her daughter Jolia out near the Sanders County courthouse last Thursday. The two were placing blue and silver pinwheels throughout the lawn next to the courthouse. Signs posted on the lawn explain the message. There are 835 pinwheels placed in the area, one for each Sanders County child who was affected by domestic or sexual abuse. The pinwheels represent the children who have been helped by SCCFF since...
One person was killed in a single-vehicle crash east of Noxon on Sunday. According to the Montana Highway Patrol (MHP), the crash occurred at 2:40 p.m. Sunday on wet roads. The vehicle was westbound on Highway 200 when it crossed the center line and the eastbound lane and exited the left side of the road. The vehicle then continued down a shallow embankment and struck two large trees, coming to rest about 45 feet from the road, according to MHP. The driver of the vehicle was pronounced dead at the scene. There were no other passengers and no...
The Thompson Falls community came together to support local art last Saturday as the Thompson Falls Main Street hosted the second annual Spring Jamboree fundraiser at the Elks Lodge. Last year, the Main Street committee chose the veterans memorial at Ainsworth Park as the recipient of Spring Jamboree funds. This year, they selected the new initiative promoting art in the community. Micah Grossberg, the Thompson Falls art teacher, spoke to the crowd Saturday. The school will partner with local businesses to add art installations in the community...
The Thompson Falls Chamber of Commerce hosted a Business After Hours social event for chamber members last week. The Thursday event included appetizers from local businesses and offered members an opportunity to network and connect with each other. About thirty chamber members attended the after-hours event. President Michael Scharfe of First Security Bank said the chamber is working on new ways to promote its members. Along with bringing back luncheons, they are looking to add more events like...
The City of Thompson Falls took its first step toward creating a growth policy by voting to create a city planning board. The city will now approach the county on whether they want to create a county/city planning board or let the city proceed on its own. The board will consist of seven members, according to City Attorney Tim Goen. The city council will appoint four people who own land in the city. A fifth member, also appointed by the council, can be a city employee. The sixth member would be any individual appointed by the council, and the...
Arraignment has been set for Danielle Wood, a former Thompson Falls resident who was arrested last month on a deliberate homicide charge. Wood is scheduled to make her initial court appearance before District Court Judge Deborah "Kim" Christopher on Tuesday, April 16. Wood was arrested March 20 on the charge stemming from the May 2, 2018, death of Matthew LaFriniere, 51. She is being held on $1,000,000 bond at the Lake County Jail in Polson. LaFriniere's body was discovered May 3 with multiple...
The filing deadline has passed for open school district and special district positions up for election this year. Bobbi Christenson with the Sanders County Elections Office said that all of the special district elections were canceled due to races being uncontested. With multiple school board candidates filing in Hot Springs and Noxon, both of those school districts will have elections. Trustees in Thompson Falls, Trout Creek and Plains were unopposed, and the school districts canceled those elections. In Hot Springs, a 1-year term and 3-year...
Project ASCENT, a local non-profit that provides free outdoor camps and education for kids, is creating a unique experience for those who attend their spring “Camping is in Tents!” fundraiser. Andrea Fernandez, secretary for Project ASCENT, said that her parents will again be cooking up an authentic Cuban dinner for the fundraiser, set for 5:30 p.m. on Saturday, April 13, at the Clark Fork Valley Elks Lodge in Thompson Falls. Fernandez said she has heard some people question whether the food will be spicy, but she said the meal is not spi...
Most tourists visit Montana's national parks in the summer. Eight Thompson Falls High School students got to experience Yellowstone National Park during the height of winter last month. The students attended the Ecology Project International (EPI) program through the school's GEAR UP program. Students talked about their trip at Monday's school board meeting, detailing how they tracked bison in the park and conducted research projects using the scientific method. The students learned about...
After more than 10 months of investigation, charges were filed last week in the murder of Matthew LaFriniere, a 51-year-old Thompson Falls resident who was fatally shot in May 2018. Danielle Wood, a former Thompson Falls resident and ex-girlfriend of LaFriniere, was arrested last Wednesday on a felony deliberate homicide charge. If convicted, Wood could face no less than 10 years in the state prison. Charges were filed March 19 in 20th Judicial District Court in Sanders County. As of Monday,...
For more than 20 years, the GFWC Thompson Falls Woman's Club has helped give kids a running start to loving reading. The Running Start program is held each spring in Thompson Falls, and this year it has special meaning. Former teacher Eileen Stone, who started the program locally, passed away last year. "We are delighted to sponsor the program in memory of Eileen," said Thompson Falls Woman's Club member Karen Gustavsen. Stone started the program with her second-grade classes at Thompson Falls...
Ronnie Trentham wishes someone had told him about the dangers of chewing tobacco before it was too late. Trentham repeated that statement many times to students in Sanders County last week as he and Greg Bilby took their “Tobacco Tour” to Plains, Thompson Falls and Trout Creek. Trentham is a seven-time cancer survivor. “I was one of the happiest people you’re ever meet, but I had struggles with tobacco,” Trentham said. He detailed how his first cancer was found in his mouth, and the second in his jawbone. During that second battle, doctors t...
Hattie Neesvig says if you're upset about a problem, you need to help be part of the solution. That's a pretty heft philosophy for any adult. Neesvig is just in seventh grade, and already has a passion for helping people. The Thompson Falls Junior High student has a jewelry business, from which 10 percent of the profits are donated to charity. Every three months, she chooses a different charity. The 13-year-old also collects books for children each winter, sewing book bags as well. Last winter,...
A public meeting was held Tuesday evening for Plains residents whose groundwater has been affected by the Montana Department of Transportation (MDT) salt contamination. The meeting was organized by Kimberly Joner, a property owner whose water has been affected by the salt. The area impacted starts from the location of the MDT shop in Plains northwest of town. It then follows a northwest path between Lower Lynch Creek Road and Highway 200 to Lyla Lane. The meeting was led by Laura Alvey from the Montana Department of Environmental Quality...
Spring is here. While the snow has not disappeared from Sanders County, the melting process has begun, with temperatures hitting the high 50s this week. Residents and visitors have noticed the giant snow piles and ice jams in the Clark Fork and Flathead rivers, but county officials say flooding in the main rivers is not a concern at this point. "Looking at the historical records, the flows are a little below normal," Sanders County Emergency Manager Bill Naegeli said. With the forecast of warmer...
Thompson Falls Elementary students helped kick off the Beautification Days preparation last week with their annual poster contest. The Thompson Falls Main Street Committee has scheduled Beautification Days for April 25-27. The event is a way to do some spring cleaning in the community and help neighbors as well. The Main Street Committee judged the posters created by students in grades kindergarten through sixth, picking a winner from each grade. The winners' artwork will be displayed on the...
