Independently owned since 1905
Independently owned since 1905
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Students at Plains Elementary took an adventure through the north and south poles last week. The kindergarten through fourth grades traveled pole to pole on Thursday, learning about everything from animals to snowflakes. Fourth-grade teacher Jill Rice came up with the idea for the interactive lesson on the North Pole and South Pole. The other teachers quickly jumped on board with the idea. They spent about a month preparing for the polar activities, and hours decorating hallways and classrooms...
It wasn’t that long ago that teachers were using chalkboards. The mess of the dust and banging the erasers to clean them off. Then came white boards and the cutting-edge technology of dry-erase markers in different colors. Today, teachers use SMART Boards. The boards are essentially a projection of the teacher’s computer, and allow them to access curriculum quickly. They also function as touch screens, allowing teachers and students a more interactive approach to learning. This year, Tho...
Students at Thompson Falls schools helped give back to their community this Christmas season. Last week, students at the elementary, junior high and high school campuses collected food for Community Harvest Food Bank. At the elementary and junior high schools, students on Friday helped Principal Len Dorscher and teacher Cory Kump deliver 506 pounds to the food bank. "This was great for our kids to do," Dorscher said. Kump added that the fourth-grade class collected the most at the elementary,...
Each year, Sanders County Coalition for Families (SCCFF) asks volunteers to help make Christmas special for Sanders County families in need. And each year, the communities of Sanders County step up. Crystal Buchanan with SCCFF said Sunday that the Adopt-A-Family program would not be a success if it wasn't for everyone involved. Buchanan and volunteers, including students from Explorations in Trout Creek, met at SCCFF in Thompson Falls on Sunday to wrap the presents collected for families. More...
Traffic is flowing a little faster east of Thompson Falls as the first phase of a project to widen 2.7 miles of Highway 200 wrapped up this week. Brandon Coates with consulting firm RBCI said that LHC of Kalispell finished removing stumps, shrubs and rocks along the roadway. LHC will continue to work on fencing in the area throughout the winter, as weather permits. In the spring, the second phase of the project will begin. The second phase will include widening the travel lanes to 12 feet, adding 4-foot-wide shoulders and adding guardrails...
The Thompson Falls City Council is reviewing the way they hold court proceedings. City Attorney Naomi Leisz was recently elected as Sanders County Attorney, and will be leaving the city at the end of the year. With that, the council on Monday signed a two-year contract with Tim Goen to be the new city attorney. Leisz brought up some concerns to the City Council on Monday, noting that with the addition of another police officer, the city court caseload has increased. “The court is not running efficiently,” Leisz stated. She said that means mor...
The Sanders County community's Christmas spirit is bursting at the seams. Holiday bazaars, pictures with Santa, tree lightings and the annual Christmas on Main Street in Thompson Falls had even the grinches singing carols over the weekend. In Thompson Falls, the annual Sanders County Christmas Bazaar welcomed 46 vendors offering arts and crafts, baked goods and other items. Organizer Janie McFadgen, in her second year as leader of the bazaar, said the feedback from vendors and participants was...
On Tuesday, District Court Judge Deborah "Kim" Christopher sentenced Marvin Burrell to five years probation for fraudulently recieving more than $11,000 in unemployment benefits from the state of Montana. Court documents alleged that from December 2015 to June 2016, Burrell reported zero earnings. Audits of that time period showed that Burrell was working for Riverside Contracting, Inc., at the same time, according to charging documents. Judge Christopher ordered Burrell to pay restitution in the amount of $11,966.88. Also in District Court on...
Thompson Falls high school counselor Jodi Morgan shared some good news at the school board meeting Monday. Morgan proudly announced that senior Nathan Burwig received the QuestBridge scholarship, which includes more than $70,000 a year for four years at Tufts University near Boston, Massachusetts. This year, the program received a record high 16,248 applications. Of those, 6,507 were chosen as finalists. Burwig was one of 1,044 students to receive the QuestBridge College Match Scholarship. According to the QuestBridge website, “College Match S...
Two Thompson Falls students saw a problem, and decided to do something about it. Junior Brooke Bowlin and senior Trinity Godfrey addressed the Thompson Falls School Board on Monday about some "serious issues we've been seeing at Thompson Falls High School." The girls detailed to the board inequality and harassment issues they feel is happening at the school. Bowlin said it's happening to boys and girls, and the two students don't feel enough has been done to address the issue. "The inequality...
’Tis the season for holidays, parties and … flu bugs. No cases of influenza have been confirmed in Sanders County, according to Sanders County Public Health Nurse Karen Morey. But the Montana Department of Public Health and Human Services (DPHHS) reports 31 cases in several Montana counties, including Missoula, Big Horn, Gallatin and Lewis and Clark. Morey said that while no cases of influenza have been reported in Sanders County, the office has been busy administering vaccinations. DPHHS and local public health officials encourage all Mon...
A Trout Creek man is facing five charges after allegedly attempting to start a fire at the Lakeside Motel and engaging in an hours-long standoff with police. West Flockerzi is facing felony charges of attempted arson, assault with a weapon, assault on a peace officer and two counts of criminal endangerment. According to charging documents, tear gas and a flash bang grenade was used by officers in apprehending the suspect after a search that lasted two days. Charging documents filed in 20th District Court by Sanders County Attorney Robert...
The FDA on Wednesday released information stating that the romaine lettuce linked to a multi-state E. coli outbreak likely came from California. The specific counties in California identified by the FDA include Monterey, San Benito, San Luis Obispo, Santa Barbara, Santa Cruz and Ventura. According to the FDA, romaine harvested from locations outside of those regions in California does not appear to be related to the current outbreak. The FDA reported 43 cases of E. coli in 12 states in the latest outbreak, and 16 hospitalizations....
Residents on Blue Slide Road between Thompson Falls and Trout Creek may have noticed activity near where a culvert failed earlier this year, but consultant Brandon Coates said the project to replace the culvert has not yet begun. Coates, with RBCI, said that the Montana Department of Transportation (MDT) is still working on the design for the culvert replacement, but that contractors were on-site this week to clear debris from the culvert and the stream above the culvert. Coates said the work would take about three days, with completion this...
Montana’s big game hunting season ended on Sunday, and the Fish, Wildlife & Parks (FWP) check station in Thompson Falls saw a final push of hunters hoping to fill their freezers. “It was incredibly busy Saturday and Sunday,” FWP Biologist Bruce Sterling said, noting that they had mostly white-tailed bucks reported in the last weekend of the season. Hunters reported 57 deer during the last weekend, more than what FWP had seen in total the first five weeks of the season. Sterling said this is typical of the white-tailed numbers, as the rut kicks...
When it comes to affordable housing, the options are limited in Sanders County Patrick Malone of Community Action Partnership of Northwest Montana (CAPNM) led a discussion among about 30 community members and agency representatives Nov. 14 at the state building in Thompson Falls. The group discussed the needs in Sanders County, as well as possible solutions. Malone detailed the needs of the county, highlighting that more than 40 percent of renters in Sanders County live in poverty, meaning they earn less than $20,000 a year. Malone also noted t...
Community members came together over the weekend to prepare and deliver Thanksgiving baskets to 81 area families. More than 50 volunteers gathered at the Community Congregational Church on Sunday to pack and deliver the baskets to families from Thompson Falls to Noxon. Ron Reedy with the Community Congregational Church has been helping to organize the event since 2002. He said that while the number of families signed up for baskets this year was down, the turnout was good, and they were able to...
A Trout Creek man is in custody after a standoff with police that lasted several hours last week. According to the Sanders County Sheriff’s Office (SCSO), West Flockerzi of Trout Creek allegedly tried to start a fire at the Lakeside Resort and Motel late Wednesday afternoon. Dispatch received the call at 5:35 p.m. Wednesday. The caller reported that someone attempted to start a fire at the front door and pulled a gun. According to SCSO, “deputies responded and while speaking with witnesses, the same male returned and fired additional shots int...
Sanders County Elections staff finalized the Nov. 6 general election results on Tuesday with the election canvass. The canvass presents the final results of the election, including any outstanding or provisional ballots cast on Nov. 6. No outcomes for local races were changed with the canvass results. “It went really, really smooth,” said Sanders County Clerk and Recorder Nichol Scribner. During the canvass on Tuesday, 54 provisional ballots were accepted and counted, and 10 were rejected. Scribner said that ballots are rejected if the issue wi...
Area schools and organizations honored Sanders County veterans in remembrance of Veterans Day. While Nov. 11 was a Sunday, area schools made sure to show veterans their appreciation. And last Friday, the City of Thompson Falls and the Thompson Falls Main Street Committee commemorated the veterans memorial at Ainsworth Park. At Ainsworth Park, about 50 braved chilly weather to watch the U.S., Montana and POW/MIA flags be raised at the veterans memorial. Carla Parks with the Thompson Falls Main...
--- UPDATED FRIDAY, NOV. 16, 8 a.m. --- The Sanders County Sheriff's Office (SCSO) reports that they have arrested West Flockerzi, the suspect in the Trout Creek shooting. SCSO reported that Flockerzi, a Trout Creek resident, was taken into custody around 4 a.m. Friday. Law enforcement had been searching for Flockerzi since Wednesday evening. "Information indicated that the male was armed and anticipating a shootout with law enforcement upon service of the warrant," according to SCSO, which requested assistance from the Missoula County...
The Montana Department of Transportation (MDT) began a project east of Thompson Falls this week to make safety improvements along Highway 200. The project is slated to be completed in two parts. The first phase, which began this week, includes stump and shrub removal along the highway, along with rock removal (also called scaling) using an excavator. The project covers 2.7 miles of Highway 200 from the Thompson River bridge going east toward Plains. According to MDT, this section of Highway 200 has a higher than average crash rate, with...
Theodore Gibson Jr., entered a guilty plea Tuesday in the form of an Alford plea to a charge of possession of a deadly weapon by a prisoner in a facility, a felony. With the Alford plea, Gibson testified that he agreed strong evidence of guilt exists and that a plea agreement was in his best interest. Gibson was arrested on March 30 after a 911 call and transported to the Sanders County Jail. In the jail, Gibson allegedly had a knife as part of his belt, according to charging documents. Judge James Manley set Gibson’s sentencing for Dec. 1...
The Cancer Network of Sanders County will once again host a lantern launch to honor those who have lost their battle with cancer, or friends and family who continue to fight the disease. The public can purchase lanterns and write messages on them before they are launched. The event will be Saturday, Nov. 24, at 6 p.m. at the Sanders County Fairgrounds. Sherry McCartney with the Cancer Network said that lanterns can be purchased prior to the event as well. Volunteers will sell lanterns Friday, Nov. 16, from 1 to 3 p.m. at McGowan's in Plains,...
More than 6,100 voters sent in ballots and headed to the polls for Tuesday's general election. Sanders County Commissioner Carol Brooker was re-elected by voters, receiving 3,102 votes to challenger Paul Fielder's 2,768. As the final ballot tallies were released Tuesday evening at the Sanders County Courthouse, Fielder congratulated Brooker on her win. "You're tough to beat," Fielder told Brooker as he shook her hand. Sanders County Sheriff Tom Rummel also was re-elected. Rummel received 4,323...
