Independently owned since 1905
Independently owned since 1905
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Donald Trump made history in three ways this month when he defeated Kamala Harris for the presidency. First, some news sources say he might have scored the greatest political comeback in U.S. history: he's only the second man to win the presidency in non-consecutive terms, and the only Republican to do it. The first man to get two non-consecutive victories was Democrat Grover Cleveland, the 22nd and 24th president of the United States, serving first from 1885 to 1889. He then lost to Benjamin Harrison, one of the last Civil War veterans in the...
A Thompson Falls man put his name in the hat for the Sanders County demolition derby contract at last Wednesday's monthly fair board meeting at the fairgrounds pavilion. Rick Sanders handed in his proposal to run the "Carnage on the Clark Fork Demolition Derby" for the 2025 and 2026 to each board member and the fair manager. He said he wanted to make sure they all got it. The 60-year-old Sanders sent in a proposal four years ago, but believes it was not even looked at and was "round filed."...
Members of the Plains Woman's Club gathered at the Paradise Center on Sunday afternoon to celebrate 100 years with an "Anniversa-Tea." Forty-eight people showed up for the two-hour event, where the ladies had finger foods, games, door prizes, a slide show, history lessons, trivia contests, and tea. Thompson Falls resident Karen Gustavsen, president of the General Federation of Women's Club of Montana, was the main guest speaker for the event. She is a member of the Thompson Falls Woman's Club....
Thompson Falls High School soccer is done for the season, but the work for the players continues with an indoor program in an effort to stay sharp for next season. It's called futsal - indoor soccer modified with five players on a team, but in a smaller venue - and several players are participating in the Clark Fork Soccer Alliance program, said Nick Lawyer, head coach for the Thompson Falls Lady Hawks, which includes Plains players. He's also one of the futsal organizers. The participants meet...
It lasted only two minutes, but the gravity of its meaning was sincere and heartfelt. Members of Horse Plains VFW Post 3596 held their fifth annual Veterans Day ceremony at Plains Cemetery last Monday morning. Six men - Randy Evans with the Army flag, Noah Hathorne with the Marine Corps flag, Rocky Hart with the Navy flag, Greg Davis with the Air Force flag, and Ed Foste with the Coast Guard flag - lined up at the military section of the cemetery. Heather Allen, an Air Force veteran and the...
Nearly 200 people showed up Sunday at the Sanders County Fairgrounds pavilion to see their 4-H kids get recognition for their work throughout the year. More than 150 awards were presented to almost 100 kids at the Sanders County 4-H Achievement Day. Club leaders from the Trout Creek Mavericks, Whitepine Happy Workers, Thompson Falls Mountaineers, South Side Sparks, and the Hot Springs Wranglers called their club members to the forefront to receive their Outstanding Member County Awards. Heron-No...
The Costner Family Clinic is moving back to the vicinity of where their medical studies and home life began. The clinic opened in July of 2021 and has served more than 3,000 people and provided primary care to some 2,000 on a regular basis, but David Costner, owner and operator of the clinic, said they wanted to get back to the site of their family roots. "I went to my grandmother's funeral a few months ago, and given the family Bible as the oldest of many cousins, realized there was a calling t...
Dede Johnson looks over material at the table of Janie and Ben McFadden at the Plains Paradise Senior Center Craft and Bake Sale in Plains. There were 15 venders set up at the Saturday craft and bake sale, which went from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. This was the third year for the event, said Linda Bursell, the center's secretary and treasurer. It was very successful,' said Bursell. The center made just over $900, which will be maintenance. Each vendor paid $15....
As the Plains Woman's Club prepares to celebrate its 100-year anniversary, the group has elected a new president. Jamie Schmidt, a Plains resident since 2019 and a club member for the last year, was installed as the club's new president at their September meeting. "Current members thought that it would be helpful to have a new face as president. I have been pretty active in the short time that I have been involved, so I think that it may have come natural to think of me as the new prospective...
The year 1924 was a big year for Walt Disney, who released the first cartoon from his own studio. Macy's Department Store had its first Thanksgiving parade and the Ford Corporation opened its first dealership in Plains. Wade Rehbein and his staff at Rehbein Ford celebrated a century of Ford in Plains in October, the month it opened with the Rehbein name. "I am very proud of where we are today. A lot of the credit goes to everyone that works here. Nobody is more important than the next one. We...
The spirit of Halloween was widespread in Plains this year from the Clark Fork Valley Hospital to Fred Young Park and by baby Ledger Erickson dressed as Elvis Presley to 65-year-old Kim Bay as a pirate skeleton. Festivities began with the school's "Trunk or Treat" and from there spread to another old school, the 138-year-old one-room log schoolhouse run by the Plains Woman's Club, where Debbi Kirschbaum, dressed as a "dead bride," Janet Branden, LeAnn Hafner, and the club's new president, Jamie...
A gathering at Plains School last Thursday wasn't just to gather educational materials, it was to gather goodies. More than 200 kids participated in the school's Trunk or Treat event behind the school on Halloween afternoon. Eight local organizations, along with volunteers representing each class from kindergarten to sixth grade and the school cafeteria staff took part in the event, including the school's front office administrators, who were dressed in "Minions" T-shirts. This was the school's...
Who would have thought that professional musicians from Georgia would have two Plains High School students open their act? Senior Keegan Huffman and sophomore Stanley Decker did just that. The two Plains residents each performed a solo number for the group, the "Jazz Legacy Project" at the Paradise Center on Friday evening. "I thought the students were stellar. If they remain passionate about their music, they could certainly play professionally someday," said Karen Thorson, the Paradise...
Students of Plains Elementary School showed their support for healthy eating by simultaneously chomping down on an apple in the school cafeteria last week. "It's a day of healthy eating from Farms To Schools," said Superintendent Dr. Kathleen Walsh, who joined the 120 kids of kindergarten through third grade to make the statement. A dozen teachers also took part. Walsh said that it was a celebration of National Farm To School Month, local producers and nutritious foods. Before the first bite,...
Pickleball is closer to becoming a bigger reality in Plains with the construction of two outdoor courts at the Amundson Sports Complex. TW Fencing of Trout Creek spent three days last week placing 270 feet of fencing around the two future courts. Kelly Altmiller, president of the Plains Pickleball Association, said they hope to have the courts ready for play once they get the court surfacing and nets in place in the spring. "The members of the PPA are extremely excited that we were finally able...
It's sometimes scary to go to school and last weekend it was especially scary when a vampire from Transylvania came to visit. The Plains Drama Club gave two performances of "Dracula" in the school's multipurpose room and gymnasium Saturday and Sunday. Nearly 120 people attended the Saturday evening show and almost 75 people showed up for the Sunday afternoon performance. "Broadway has come to Plains High School," said Dr. Kathleen Walsh, the school superintendent, who thought it was a great...
A former Plains High School student has found herself back in school and the subject English was the culprit. English was the favorite subject for Alexis Kunzer and now she's teaching English. The 2010 Plains High School graduate was unanimously voted as the newest addition to the school staff and will be teaching English for grades seven through seniors. Kunzer will work until January, at which time she will determine if her teaching hours will accommodate her caring for her infant daughter. Ku...
It looks like the Bean Bug Cafe doors are closing, but another door is opening for owner Suzy VonHeeder. VonHeeder and co-owner Emmalie VonHeeder, her daughter-in-law, started the Bean Bug in December of 2020 and it was a prosperous enterprise, but Emmalie wants to be a stay-at-home mom with her 3-year-old son, Jaxx, and Suzy has been in the food service business for 25 years and wants to try something else. The Bean Bug's last day was Friday and one of its coffee specials during its final week...
The Plains Horsemen finished the football season the same way they started it - with a big victory. The Horsemen defeated the Warriors 19-14 at Arlee on Friday afternoon. The game had been scheduled to be a night game, but because Arlee has no football field lights, it was moved to the afternoon. The game started slow for both teams. Neither could score in the first quarter. But three minutes into the second quarter, Warrior senior Isadore Mitchell caught a short pass for a touchdown. The...
It might smell the same, but it now has a better look and is dust and mud free. The Plains Refuse District - the "town dump" - received a major facelift in October with a new shack delivered to the site on Saturday. Von Construction of Plains did the bulk of the project over the course of about three weeks, finishing the paving portion two weeks ago. Doran VonHeeder, owner of the construction company, said the project was done in three phases, starting with placing several truckloads of gravel a...
Another summer has gone by and the Forest Service’s Big Hole Lookout rental cabin is closed up for the winter, thanks to volunteers from the Wild Plains Back Country Horsemen. John Errecart and Cheryl Burt took their horses and mules up the two-and three-quarter mile Trail #368 to the lookout at the 6,922-foot level last Tuesday to secure the lookout for the winter. It will reopen next June, also by members of the horsemen club, which adopted the lookout when it became a rental cabin in 2021. T...
There was a place last weekend where parents could go and let their kids roam and play and not worry because it was a family friendly place. It was called the Fall Festival" and it was at the 76-acre Waterway Ranch 15 miles west of Plains along Highway 200 and for the third consecutive year it was put on by owners Mark and Elizabeth Riffle. And this year it might have the biggest crowd yet with more than 800 people over the two days from babies to seniors in their 80s, said Elizabeth. The event...
The Plains Town Council unanimously voted to seat John Dossett on the council as a replacement for Councilwoman Connie Foust, who recently resigned and moved to Nevada. The town held a special council meeting on Friday morning to choose between the two candidates who applied for the Ward 1, Seat 1 position - Dossett and Charles W. Bickenheuser - to fulfill the two years remaining on Foust's term. The 64-year-old Dossett was born in New Zealand, but has been a Plains resident for 38 years and...
Members of the Plains Farmers Market had a good year and to thank the community they decided to make a donation to the Plains Paradise Senior Citizens Center. Market coordinator Linda Wilson presented a $1,000 check to Linda Bursell, the senior center's secretary and treasurer, at Fred Young Park on Friday, the last day of the season for the market. "I think this year was a huge success. I think next year will be even better," said Wilson. "We had a nice sum at the end of the year, so we were...
A group of Plains High School science students aimed high for a good grade in their physics class last week. Thirteen seniors and one sophomore built model rockets and fired them into the sky throughout the week to learn how to calculate the average velocity, drag and thrust, said Brooks Sanford, the science teacher, who uses fun activities to illustrate classroom lessons. "The kids enjoyed the project and it certainly helps reinforce learning in the classroom," said Sanford. "This is the third...
