Independently owned since 1905
Independently owned since 1905
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The Savage-Horsemen wrestling team brought home plenty of hardware from the Buzz Lucey memorial tournament in Eureka last weekend. Drew Carey finished a champion on Saturday, pinning Flahead’s Brett Chivers in 1 minute, 54 seconds in the championship match. Carey pinned his way to first place, with none of his matches reaching the third period. Carey first pinned Polson’s Daniel O’Roake in 2:45 before making quick work of Ryle Sheppard of Florence, pinning him in 1:04. Carey won his semifinal match against Brayton Fitch of Flathead in 3:34...
Rusti Leivestad presided over her first council meeting as mayor of Thompson Falls on Monday. The meeting was held at the Sanders County Courthouse before an audience of about 40 community members. Prior to the meeting, Carrie Gardner with Great West Engineering provided details about updates to the city's Capital Improvements Plan. Gardner met with the various departments in the city to determine project priorities. A public survey is also available on the city's website through the end of the...
One of my favorite experiences is hearing about Sanders County from someone new to the area. If you grow up here, you tend to take for granted the mountains, fresh air, daily wildlife sightings and outdoor opportunities. One of the most memorable of those experiences was when a friend from Pennsylvania visited in 1998, the year I moved home from Texas. He was just amazed at the beauty of the area and how we could fish almost literally out our back door. Most recently, I met someone at the fair who had just moved here from Spokane. She immediate...
The Blue Hawks hosted what was almost a mini-tournament last Thursday, welcoming five schools for a mixer at Thompson Falls High School. Florence, Bigfork, Mission, Arlee and Eureka traveled to Thompson Falls to compete. While no team scores were kept, Hawk Coach Mike Thilmony said it was good to see competition from throughout the division. The Hawks have five wrestlers on the girls' team this year. Jaden Bewick got a win Thursday against Kayden Dillard of Arlee. Desanie Bewick, Veronica Vega...
Thompson Falls was jingling with holiday spirit over the weekend with the annual Christmas on Main Street festivities. On Friday, Thompson Falls Chamber of Commerce sponsored a holiday stroll, inviting businesses to stay open and offer treats and specials to community members. At the Sunflower Gallery, strollers could get crafty with reindeer candy cane ornaments or gnome ornament creations. The gallery, which features local artisans, also offered a hot cocoa bar with a variety of toppings, and...
In 1984, dozens of the most popular artists got together and recorded "Do they kow it's Christmas" in an effort to raise money for famine victims in Ethiopia. They had a catchy tune and raised more than $24 million. Red Nose Day, Comic Relief's effort to end child poverty, has raised more than $41 million this year. These are just some examples of causes on a larger scale that raise incredible amounts of money to make an impact. However, giving doesn't have to be millions of dollars. In small communities like those in Sanders County, every...
The Thompson Falls School Board continued reviewing the Independent Strategic Action Plan (ISAP) for the district at Monday’s board meeting. Superintendent Bud Scully reviewed the priorities gathered from public engagement meetings and a survey that was available to the community. “Safety will always be the number one priority whether you tell me it is or not,” Scully told the school board. Scully went over the top 10 priorities – additional personnel, course offerings, facility improvements, safety, board issues, human resources, curricu...
Sanders County Elections staff on Wednesday conducted a recount of two municipal races. The votes for Thompson Falls City Council seats in Ward 1 and Ward 3 were recounted at the Sanders County Courthouse. While one count was changed by one vote, the overall results did not change with the recount. According to state law, a candidate can file for a recount within five days after the official canvass if the candidate is defeated by a margin of less than one-quarter of 1% or 10 or fewer votes. The...
The Montana Freedom Caucus (MFC) has called for a special legislative session to address tax concerns. MFC consists of 21 Republican legislators, including Senator Bob Brown and Representative Paul Fielder, both of Thompson Falls. Earlier this year, the Montana Department of Revenue argued that counties should be collecting 95 mills in a state school tax, though several counties. The Montana Association of Counties (MACo) in October filed a lawsuit on behalf of Montana counties seeking "to...
On Tuesday, November 7, I was the only spectator in the lower courtroom of the Sanders County Courthouse as the ballots were counted for the municipal elections in Hot Springs and Thompson Falls. There were three election judges, Sanders County Elections staff members, and me. Municipal elections may not be very important to some people, as evidenced by the low voter turnout earlier this month. During a presidential election year, there have been as many as a dozen spectators as ballot boxes are delivered from around the county. On election...
Members of local Lutheran, Methodist and Catholic churches led an ecumenical Thanksgiving service last week ahead of the Thanksgiving holiday. The joint worship service last Tuesday was led by Jonathan Holland of Plains/Paradise United Methodist Church, Father Jeff Benusa of St. James Catholic Church and Michael Murray of First Lutheran Church, which hosted the evening. Karen Dwyer of Our Savior's Lutheran Church in Thompson Falls was the pianist for the service. Ecumenical events support...
Christmas on Main Street in Thompson Falls is just over a week away, and the annual parade now has a grand marshal. Thompson Falls Chamber of Commerce last week voted Sarah Ball as the grand marshal of the parade. Ball will ride in a sleigh made by the Thompson Falls High School shop classes and lead the parade down Main Street on the evening of Saturday, December 2. Ball said she was very surprised to be chosen as grand marshal for the parade. "It's such a huge honor. It made me feel very good...
With fall sports wrapped up, local athletes are being honored with All-Conference and All-State status. In District 7B volleyball, Thompson Falls sophomore Gabi Hannum and Plains junior Lexi Deming earned All-State status, along with Eureka's Annie Vaughn and Kara Stanger, and Mission's Izzy Evans. All were also named first team All-Conference, along with Eureka's Aubrey Casazza. Athletes named to the second team All-Conference list included Blue Hawks Sarah Koskela and Addi Pardee, Trotters Blakely Lakko and Teagan Saner, Eureka's Sophie...
Sanders County Elections staff on Wednesday conducted a recount of two municipal races. The votes for Thompson Falls City Council seats in Ward 1 and Ward 3 were recounted at the Sanders County Courthouse. While one count was changed by one vote, the overall results did not change with the recount. According to state law, a candidate can file for a recount within five days after the official canvass if the candidate is defeated by a margin of less than one-quarter of 1% or 10 or fewer votes. The...
Monday night's meeting of the Thompson Falls City Council was the most well attended and also the longest in the last five years. At the end of the three-hour meeting, the city had a new mayor. The council unanimously voted to appoint Rusti Leivestad to the position of mayor after the three-hour council meeting, which included 1.5 hours of interviewing three candidates for mayor. Nearly 100 people attended the meeting, held at the Thompson Falls Community Center. The meeting started with acting...
There are certain things that are just better in small towns, as we all know. That's why we live here. The latest example was seen countywide last week as businesses, organizations and schools honored local veterans. These local groups offered free burgers, beers, coffee, lunch, dinner and quilts to veterans last week in observance of Veterans Day. It's always interesting to attend an event recognizing veterans and realize the people we see every day at the grocery store, bank or post office gave part of their life to serve our country. There...
Sanders County Democrats hosted a "Friend-Raising Fair" on Sunday at The Paradise Center, welcoming several state candidates. Among the speakers Sunday at The Paradise Center were U.S. House of Representatives candidate Monica Tranel, State Superintendent of Schools Candidate Shannon O'Brien, and gubernatorial candidate Ryan Busse. Monica Tranel is running against Ryan Zinke to represent Montana in the U.S. House of Representatives and has made several appearances in Sanders County recently. "It...
With only two licensed child care providers in Sanders County, finding child care can be difficult for local families. A new program is looking to help provide solutions for residents needing child care. Sanders County was selected to participate in a program with Montana Child Care Business Connect. The goal of the Community Child Care Capacity-Building Cohort Program is to engage communities and help identify solutions to increase the supply of child care. Zero to Five Montana is a statewide...
Voters in Thompson Falls and Hot Springs turned out this month to elect council members. A total of 270 ballots were mailed in Hot Springs and 809 in Thompson Falls. Ballots were mailed in October for the November election. While most ballots were returned by mail, voters had until 8 p.m. Tuesday to turn in ballots at the Sanders County Elections Office. In Thompson Falls, incumbents Raoul Ribeiro in Ward 1 and Hayley Allen-Blakney in Ward 3 won re-election. Ribeiro received 58 votes and...
Christmas is a matter of weeks away, and Thompson Falls volunteers are busy preparing for the annual Christmas on Main Street festivities. The Thompson Falls Chamber of Commerce is soliciting nominations for grand marshal for the Christmas on Main Street parade. Letters of nomination, including the person or group nominated and why they should be grand marshal, can be emailed to the Chamber at [email protected] by 5 p.m. Thursday, November 16. The Christmas on Main Street festivities will kick off Friday, December 1, with the...
Halloween is over, and it seems like all the advertisements are now geared toward Christmas. As of today (Thursday), there are just 44 days until Christmas. It's time for craft fairs and shopping and all the holiday fundraisers. Last weekend I attended the Trout Creek School bazaar and the Honey Bazaar at the Whitepine Grange. What a wonderful display of craftsmanship at both event. There were people milling about at both events, and it seemed everyone walked out with at least one treasure. I got a head start on my holiday shopping. Then it got...
NorthWestern Energy is looking for ways to help property owners as they move through the relicensing process. Company representatives met recently with residents whose property borders the Thompson Falls reservoir to discuss a proposed dock modification program to help residents update their docks. In the relicensing application, NorthWestern Energy is asking for 2.5 feet of fluctuation from full pool to operate the dam. The current license allows 4 feet. The company performed testing in 2021 and 2022 to study the effects of lowering and...
Voters in Thompson Falls and Hot Springs turned out this month to elect council members. A total of 270 ballots were mailed in Hot Springs and 809 in Thompson Falls. Ballots were mailed in October for the November election. While most ballots were returned by mail, voters had until 8 p.m. Tuesday to turn in ballots at the Sanders County Elections Office. In Thompson Falls, incumbents Raoul Ribeiro in Ward 1 and Hayley Allen-Blakney in Ward 3 won re-election. Ribeiro received 58 votes and...
Thompson Falls Elementary first graders got in the seasonal spirit last week as they decorated pumpkins inspired by some of their favorite books. Teachers Samantha Varner and Lindsey Franklin said 23 of the 33 first-grade students participated in the activity, which included the kids decorating pumpkins at home. There were pumpkins inspired by Hello Kitty, the Grinch and "The Old Woman Who Swallowed a Fly." Varner said she was excited that no books were repeated and everyone had a unique...
One morning last week I got a text from a friend asking if I had heard anything about a bunch of illegal immigrants being moved here and housed at the mule pasture. My first reaction was disgust that this is what is being said about the project to help our community. After I calmed down, I was thankful that my friend reached out to me to see if what she had heard was really true. Let's just set the record straight - the U.S. Forest Service is not going to use the Orchard land in Thompson Falls as a place to bring illegal immigrants. In last wee...
