Independently owned since 1905
Independently owned since 1905
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Sanders County 4-H clubs were represented at the state congress event in Bozeman last week. Juli Thurston, MSU Extension Agent for Sanders County, said seven club members attended the state Congress, with three earning a trip to nationals, which is set for November 26-30 in Atlanta. 4-H members earn a trip to congress with their presentations at Communication Days, held each spring. The three Sanders County 4-H members who advanced to nationals all gave illustrated talks. Thurston said this was...
In June, I celebrated four years of being a business owner. I bought The Ledger in 2017, a month after I turned 37. A friend's mom reminded me then that I had told her in high school one day I was going to come back and buy The Ledger. I always had a dream in the back of my mind of owning a newspaper one day, but I wasn't really ready until all the pieces fell together in 2017. I was the last of Generation X, born in 1980. As I was getting ready to graduate high school, there was no question about whether or not I'd go to college. Cellphones...
The Trout Creek Farmers Market kicked off last Wednesday with an assortment of vendors. Booths featured homemade jellies and artwork, and the Trout Creek Adventist School offered baked goods and produce. The market is open 4-6 p.m. Wednesdays at the Trout Creek Park....
Ainsworth Park was host to Fourth of July activities over the weekend as the Main Street Committee welcomed vendors and entertainment for the holiday. Katie Curry of Billings brought her show pony, Velvet, to the parade on Sunday. Curry rode in a cart with her daughter Adeliah as Velvet pulled them along the walking path at the park. Curry said she was coming to Thompson Falls to visit the Toyias family for the holiday weekend and decided to bring Velvet along when she heard there was a parade....
The Ledger is always thrilled to see the creation of Little Free Libraries like the one mentioned in our June 17 edition. Our community (and society as a whole) should also be pleased. Why so much hype about such a small thing? The need for and continued use of these small, free, nonprofit book exchanges prove that reading is important. We are fortunate enough to live in a country where we can read what we want. Many of us have access to unrestricted internet and free public libraries. Imagine living somewhere that limited access to books,...
Stud's Building and Home opened its second location in Sanders County this week. Joel and Wendy Collett said the new location in Thompson Falls was already busy as they announced the opening of the Thompson Falls store. The new Stud's is located at 4879 Highway 200, just west of Thompson Falls, and was previously a tire shop. The company also still operates out of Plains at 103 S. Hubbard. "This is going to make us more efficient and will help us feel more a part of the community" on the west...
The Thompson Falls Library is closed this week, through July 5, while some much-needed repairs are completed. The library is getting a new roof and needed to close while work is being completed. Crystal Buchanan, director of Thompson Falls Public Library, said the book drop would not be available during construction, but patrons will not incur late fees. Children participating in the Summer Reading Program can leave a voicemail at 827-3547 to let library staff know they met their reading goal for the week, or can report their progress the next...
With the passage of the American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) and House Bill 632 in Montana, local governments are deciding how to proceed with applying for and utilizing potential funds. According to the U.S. Treasury, counties in Montana will have access to more than $207 million in direct funding. Of that, more than $2.3 million has been set aside for Sanders County, as well as an additional $134,484 in possible grant funding. The towns of Plains and Thompson Falls also are including in the ARPA fund disbursement, with Plains eligible for more...
My mom and I went to a few garage sales last weekend. I ended up getting a few things I probably didn't really need. After going through my own things to contribute to our church's garage sale this weekend, I was trying not to take more stuff home. More than searching for those amazing finds and deals, trekking to yard sales is a fantastic social event. We saw people last weekend that we hadn't seen in quite a while. I hadn't driven past the fire station up Cherry Creek Road in a couple of years, and it was amazing to see the new houses and...
Additional candidates have filed for community races in Sanders County, as the filing deadline came Monday evening. Mark Sheets has filed for re-election as mayor in Thompson Falls. He was the only candidate to file for mayor, as were council members Shawni Vaught, Earlene Powell and Larry Lack for their respective positions. In Plains, two races have more than one candidate. For mayor, Dan Rowan has filed for re-election, and Michael Brinson also is running. For Ward 1, Seat 2 on the Plains council, Joel Banham and Goerge Stone have filed. In...
Local candidates have less than one week to file for municipal openings within Sanders County. Voters in Hot Springs, Plains and Thompson Falls will select candidates in the September 14 primary to move on to the November 19 general election this year. Plains Mayor Danny Rowan and Hot Springs Mayor Randy Woods have filed for re-election in their respective towns. Michael Brinson also has filed for Plains mayor. The mayor position in Thompson Falls is also up for election, but no candidates had filed as of Tuesday. Hot Springs has two positions...
While many residents are gathering items to sell at the Sanders Sale-ing countywide yard sale event later this month, dozens came to the Thompson Falls Transfer Site on Saturday to get rid of outdated electronics. The annual e-waste event, sponsored by Montana Department of Environmental Quality (DEQ) and Sanders County Solid Waste, collected more than four tons of electronics over the weekend. Kathy Conlin with Sanders County coordinates the event and said that people were lined up for the...
With the change in seasons comes a change in outdoor recreation. Friends of Scotchman Peaks Wilderness (FSPW) presented its annual Summer Trails Kickoff event Saturday at Big Eddy's. FSPW and other organizations including Backcountry Horsemen, Wild Montana and Cube Iron-Cataract Coalition invited residents to Big Eddy's Backyard for the event. Phil Hough, executive director of FSPW, said they wanted people to come and learn about the different organizations and volunteer opportunities. "We want...
Thunderstorms during Thursday evening last week caused several small forest fires that local crews responded to Friday morning. One fire north of Plains about three miles was contained at half an acre. Others reported in the Plains-Thompson Falls Ranger District, including one below Eddy Peak that was visible from Thompson Falls, were a tenth of an acre or less. The CSKT Division of Fire responded to a fire east of Paradise on the north side of the Flathead River. Approximately 22 personnel and a helicopter were on the scene of the fire, which...
The Rex Theater was filled with the sounds of storytelling last Thursday evening when Tylor & the Train Robbers took the stage at the historic Thompson Falls venue. The Boise-based band played for two solid hours and welcomed Thompson Falls alum Tanner Laws as their opening act. Laws warmed up the crowd of about 70 with his original songs, including one that he finished writing the lyrics for while traveling Thursday from Missoula, where he now lives. Randy Roberts, who coordinated the...
Community members gathered at the Whitepine Cemetery on Sunday to observe Memorial Day and honor veterans who have passed. About two dozen residents gathered at the cemetery in prayer and song in remembrance. Pastor John Wallace of the Whitepine Community Church shared a few words about how grateful he was to all those who served and sacrificed. " I'm very grateful to those brave souls who died giving it all." Wallace also said it's easy to overlook the sacrifices of families on the homefront. "...
Under a sunny Montana sky and surrounded by hundreds of their friends, family and teachers, the Thompson Falls High School (TFHS) class of 2021 graduated on Sunday. The ceremony was held on the football field, a new tradition that began with the class of 2020 due to the pandemic, but continued this year to allow more people to attend. While family members were seated near the graduates, community members brought lawn chairs and sat on the grass as the graduates received their diplomas. The class of 2021 chose teacher Jase Miller as their...
Sanders County students were honored last week for being among the best in the state for the SkillsUSA competition. Mary Heller, director of SkillsUSA in Montana, traveled to Thompson Falls and Plains last week to present awards to students. She noted that the 2020 competition was canceled due to the pandemic, and this year the competition looked a little different. Students competed in the shops at their schools, monitored by their advisors. In Thompson Falls, junior Tyler Battles won silver fo...
A couple of weeks ago, the Thompson Falls Chamber of Commerce hosted a volunteer nonprofit fair. We (I'm a board member for the Chamber) invited local nonprofit organizations to come to the event to connect with community members. More than a dozen organizations came to the event, handing out literature and swag, selling raffle tickets, and even setting up a pen for some cute puppies neededing to be adopted. The organizations were eager to share their missions and plans for the future. It was a busy weekend, and more organizations and...
Big Bull Sports is ready to open in its new location on Main Street in Thompson Falls. Tom Kirkland, owner of the sporting goods store, said he will re-open the business Tuesday, June 1, at 1013 Main Street. Kirkland bought Big Bull Sports in 2015 and operated it out of a building off of Highway 200 between Thompson Falls and Trout Creek. The new location was previously the office space of Realty-Northwest, and in the past was home to First State Bank (before it changed to First Security Bank). Since purchasing the Main Street building,...
The Thompson Falls Chamber of Commerce welcomed the community to a Nonprofit Volunteer Fair Saturday. The event featured more than a dozen local organizations who attended to connect with each other and community members. TRACS, the local animal shelter, made perhaps the cutest connection of the event. The organization brought three puppies that were available for adoption. One puppy found a home with Ron and Yvonne Hawkinson of Thompson Falls. Ron Hawkinson, who volunteers with Project ASCENT,...
The Thompson Falls Chamber of Commerce is connecting local non-profit organizations and residents looking for volunteer opportunities. The Non-Profit Volunteer fair is set for 1-5 p.m. Saturday at the Thompson Falls Community Center. Andrea Christensen, the Chamber board member organizing the fair, said they have more than a dozen non-profits attending the event. Donations were received from Thompson River Lumber, Rex Theater Project and Project ASCENT. The non-profit organizations will meet before the public attends. “We’re encouraging our...
Sanders County voters cast ballot in school board elections this month, with ballots counted and unofficial results coming in late Tuesday evening. In the Noxon School District, Cassandra Hill and Lars Swanson received 255 and 254 votes, respectively, to win positions on the school board. The third candidate for the Noxon School District positions within the Noxon High School voting district was Colleen Hinds, who received 140 votes. For the Trout Creek Elementary portion of the Noxon School District, Norris Bryan was elected to the open...
A national retailer is planning to open a new store in Thompson Falls. Family Dollar will open later this year on the east end of Thompson Falls, near Sweet Design Hair Salon and Lundgren Chiropractic. Dollar Tree, Inc., the parent company of Family Dollar stores, has Family Dollar stores in Libby, Whitefish, Ronan and Kalispell. While the company did not comment on the new Thompson Falls store, construction is progressing on the 10,600 square foot building, said Todd Wakefield, who owns The...
Ballots are being turned in for school board races throughout the county, with May 4 as election day. The Sanders County Elections Office reports that dozens of ballots have been returned as undeliverable. “If you have not received your ballot, please call us,” said Bobbi Christenson, Election Deputy for the county. The elections office had received more than 450 ballots returned in the mail. Ballots are most often returned because voters have not updated their mailing address. Voters can visit the office at the Sanders County Courthouse or cal...
