Independently owned since 1905
Independently owned since 1905
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The Blue Hawks have broken the spell on the "quarterfinal curse." The third time was the charm for the Hawks as they won their eight-man quarterfinal playoff game Saturday at Previs Field, beating Belt 31-10. The previous two years, the Hawks had lost quarterfinal matches to Fairview in 2019 and Scobey in 2020. The Hawks weren't going to let their season end in the quarterfinal round again, and literally hit their home field running Saturday against Belt, with senior Ryan Bucher bringing the...
Voters in Plains and Hot Springs cast ballots Tuesday for municipal elections in which they each chose a mayor and town council members. Sanders County Elections staff released the unofficial results late Tuesday. The results will be validated during a canvass of ballots next week at the courthouse. In Plains, voters elected mayor Dan Rowan to another term. Rowan received 193 voters and Michael Brinson received 90. Plains voters also elected town council members on Tuesday. Joel Banham received 61 votes for the Ward 1, Seat 2, position. George...
It's going to be a busy week for Thompson Falls High School. The Blue Hawk volleyball team, who captured the District 7B championship last weekend at St. Ignatius High School, now host the Western B divisional tournament. Divisional volleyball matches will be played Thursday through Saturday, but that's not the only action Thompson Falls and the Blue Hawks will see this weekend. The Blue Hawk football team hosts Belt for the quarterfinal playoff game Saturday at Previs Field. Thompson Falls...
Thompson Falls was blooming with festive spirit last Saturday. Thompson Falls Community Trails hosted their annual Trick or Treat, Move Your Feet fun run, which was followed by the Thompson Falls Chamber's Fall Festival at Ainsworth Park. Fun run organizer Kathy Conlin said the event, which started and ended at NorthWestern Energy's Power Park, saw 41 participants. The top male finisher was Alessi Rolando, who crossed the finish line in the 5K run in 20 minutes, 52 seconds. Sarah Polmounter was...
The Thompson Falls Blue Hawks finished the regular season 9-0, but the Hawks are not done with their season by any means. Thompson Falls hosted the Circle Wildcats Saturday at Previs Field, running away with a 55-6 victory. Hawk Coach Jared Koskela said his team has been looking forward to the quarterfinals since last season. The Hawks made it to the quarterfinals in 2020 and 2019 and lost both games. This Saturday, however, they will be on their home turf with extra motivation and confidence....
Noxon and Hot Springs traveled to the District 14C volleyball tournament in Superior last week. While both teams' seasons ended at the district tournament, they each fought hard and went out with valiant effort. The Savage Heat opened their tournament play against St. Regis on Thursday, beating the Tigers in five sets. Hot Springs fell 16-25 in the first set, but came back to win two straight, 25-22 and 25-19. The Tigers gained momentum in the fourth set with a 25-22 win, but Hot Springs sealed...
The Noxon Red Devils fought one of their hardest games of the season last Friday as they traveled to Wilsall to face off against the Shields Valley Rebels in the first round of the Class C 6-Man playoffs. Though the Red Devils’ season ended with a tough 55-43 loss in windy Wilsall, Coach Bart Haflich was proud of his team’s performance on the field. “We were a No. 4 team playing a No. 1 team,” Haflich said. “They showed a lot of heart, played hard and I’m proud of the way they stepped up and finished out the year.” Shields Valley scored on the...
The 2021 football season ended Saturday for the Hot Springs Savage Heat as they lost to Froid-Lake 26-20 in the first round of the Class C 6-Man playoffs, but they didn’t go down without a fight. It was a long trip for the Savage Heat, but the 10-hour bus ride to Medicine Lake didn’t stop them from playing one of their best games of the season, and against the number one team in the state. “I’m really happy with the effort the boys put in,” Hot Springs Coach Jim Lawson said. “Medicine Lake hasn’t had this close of a game for two years now.” T...
Carol Brooker of Plains has been a commissioner for Sanders County since 1994. Last week, Brooker submitted her resignation, announcing she will leave her post on December 31. “It’s just time,” said Brooker, in her 28th year leading the county. “I need to spend more time with my family.” She noted that working for the county has been “such a positive experience” and her career in public service has been rewarding. Brooker said that the county has gone through ups and downs during her tenure, b...
Sanders County residents will notice some changes on their property tax bills this fall. Nichol Scribner, Clerk and Recorder and Treasurer for Sanders County, said that the tax bills will show up in mailboxes later this week and next week. First half property taxes are due November 30, 2021, and payments for the second half are due May 31, 2022. On bills, taxpayers will see new information about school levies. Senate Bill 212 directs county treasurers to split out school levy information and designate whether or not the levy was voted on by...
Ballots for the 2021 municipal elections were mailed this week. Voters in Hot Springs and Plains will decide on representatives for their communities. In Hot Springs, voters will vote for mayor and council members for the town. Randy Woods is running unopposed to retain his seat as mayor. Four candidates are on the ballot for the two four-year council terms. Those candidates include Cayla Aldridge, James Arestad, Tracy Dyson and Leslee Smith. In Plains, two candidates have filed for mayor, incumbent Danny Rowan and Michael Brinson. For the...
The crystal clear chilly water of Revett Lake is surrounded by the colors of fall. Though the hiking season is transitioning to the quietness of hunting season, the Revett Lake trail was visited by dozens of people last Sunday, most from Idaho and Washington. The trail begins near the parking lot at the top of Thompson Pass....
It was a busy week for the Thompson Falls cross country teams as they traveled to Arlee last Tuesday for the Fish Hatchery Run and then Polson on Saturday to run at the Lake County Fairgrounds. "Even with the rain at Arlee and the hay bales at Polson, times are dropping and they are looking strong," Coach Sarah Naegeli said of her high school team. "Our runners have been putting in the miles and working hard at practice, which is paying off." Naegeli said Arlee was a fast course, with the first...
Sanders County athletes were among the more than 450 runners to compete at the Thompson Falls Invitational cross country meet last week. Blue skies made for a pleasant competition along the Clark Fork River at River's Bend Golf Course. Thursday's meet was the first competition for the Plains cross country team. Sophomore Peyton Wasson competed in the girls' race, finishing in 29 minutes, 5.97 seconds, and classmate Brenden Vanderwall finished the boys' race in 23:09.62. Thompson Falls Coach...
The Plains Trotters were happy to be back on the court last weekend, playing together for the first time since COVID-19 forced their season to a halt while the school went to remote learning. The team did not practice during the remote learning at Plains High School as well, so Saturday's match against Florence was a welcome return for the Trotters. "Our team is still recovering and we have had to reschedule so many games," said coach Jesse Butcher. "We are seeing growth, but not having that...
An unsuspecting bee fly heading for pollen gets grabbed by what appears to be a jagged ambush bug or possibly a leaf-footed bug, according to Lauren Kerzicnik, a Montana State University extension specialist, with an M.S. and a Ph.D. in entomology. The bee was about to land at a flower when the predator insect nabbed it, pulled it in, then turned it upside down for the kill....
The Thompson Falls school board on Monday voted to move forward with a nearly $1.4 million multi-use building project at the high school. The board called the special meeting on Monday to get more information from Dan McGee with Building Mind and Body, LLC. McGee attended the regular school board meeting last week, but came back this week to provide additional information and answer questions from the board. The board on Monday voted to hire McGee to act as an owner’s representative for the project, guiding the district through each phase. M...
Sanders County cross country athletes got a look at some statewide competition last weekend at the Mountain West Classic in Missoula. "This is a huge meet," said Thompson Falls Coach Sarah Naegeli, "where runners learn about defending their space, how to navigate in a large crowd at the start, and how to use the terrain on the course to their advantage." The race was held Saturday at the University of Montana golf course in Missoula and will be the same course used for the state meet next...
The Blue Hawk volleyball team is keeping their momentum going, coming away with two wins last week, improving their record to 4-2. With various schedule changes due to COVID closures at other schools, the Hawks were scheduled to host Eureka Thursday and host Charlo on Saturday. However, Thompson Falls ended up traveling to Charlo on Thursday and then playing host to the Eureka Lions on Saturday for the team's first District 7-B conference game. "We had a good week," said Hawk Coach Sandra Kazmie...
The Blue Hawk football team scored on their first drive against Alberton-Superior last Friday and never looked back. The Hawks won 49-0 at Previs Field in Thompson Falls. Senior quarterback Elijah Ratliff ran in a 33-yard touchdown during the Hawks' first drive. The Bobcats then turned the ball over on downs and the Hawks came back with another big run by Trae Thilmony, who drive the ball in 29 yards for a touchdown. Ryan Bucher then had a touchdown that was called back due to a Blue Hawk...
The Sanders County Commissioners last week voted to help the Sanders County Community Housing Organization (SCCHO) in applying for a grant to complete a housing project in Noxon. Lisa Fried de Reyes, SCCHO Executive Director, addressed the commissioners at the Thursday public hearing and outlined the proposal for the housing project, which would cost an estimated $2.7 million. The Community Development Block Grant (CDBG) funds available through the CARES Act has allocated more than $10.1 million...
The Thompson Falls City Council on Monday approved new fees for water and sewer hookups in the city limits. The council held a public hearing prior to Monday’s meeting, where a handful of residents expressed confusion over the new fees. Mayor Mark Sheets explained that the new hookup fees are only for things like new construction. Properties that have existing city water and sewer, or that are in the current wastewater project, will not have to pay the new $2,000 hookup fee. The council on Monday also heard a report from city pool manager S...
The Thompson Falls Woman’s Club is gearing up for their annual Pinochle Marathon, which raises funds to support the group’s scholarship program. In the 2020-2021 marathon, which ended in June, 22 players competed on 14 teams, with June Smith and Kay Shanley’s total score of 34,220 taking the top prize. Jo Moore and Letty Marich finished in second with 33,520 points. “Although the funds generated from this year’s marathon were low,” said Lorri Renard with the Woman’s Club, “due to the generosity and response from members of the community, thre...
The Hot Springs Savage heat dominated the North Star Knights Friday. Hot Springs ran away with a 55-0 shutout at home, and Coach Jim Lawson said his team ran the ball pretty well. “It’s hard to get a shutout in 6-Man,” he said. “North Star has some good kids and they put up a good fight.” Lawson said the game against the Knights, who traveled from Rudyard, was a good chance to get everyone on the Savage Heat team some more experience, noting that the younger players got a lot of playing time in the second half. Hot Springs played well on b...
The Red Devils went on the road and brought home their first win of the season last week, besting the Refiners at Sunburst 32-15. “It’s always nice to get a win,” said Noxon Coach Bart Haflich. “We played better on defense. Hopefully we keep improving on both sides of the ball.” Seniors Cade VanVleet and Treven Monagen scored two touchdowns each for the Red Devils, with VanVleet scoring on a 10-yard run in the first quarter and a 9-yard run in the third. Monagen connected on a 7-yard reception from quarterback Derreck Christensen in the secon...
