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Putting kids to work isn't always easy, unless they're excited about the next week, when they'll be showing their year long endeavors at the annual fair. More than 100 4-H members and around 60 parents and club leaders gathered at the Sanders County Fairgrounds Saturday morning for Fair Readiness Day in preparation for this week's 4-H competitions. The group spent three hours cleaning the six barns and the pavilion. "The parents and kids did a great job. The fairgrounds look amazing," said Juli...
Yard work can be difficult, especially with the recent heat and for senior citizens, but there's help in the near future. The Plains Beautification Committee had its first planning meeting last week for its autumn cleanup day, scheduled for Saturday, Sept. 21, from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. For the fall Plains cleanup day, they will be doing only yard work, said Lana Dicken, one of six members on the committee, including its newest member, Mary Helliwell, who was a cleanup volunteer at last spring's...
A group of ducks pass a whitetail deer family along Mission Creek on the Bison Range....
The Sanders County Fair Commission gathered last Wednesday evening to discuss some final details for this year's fair Aug. 28-Sept.1. Chairman Randy Woods noted that the fairgrounds looked better than recent years, kudos to the recently hired part time staff worker, Derek VonHeeder, one of a handful of people at the hour-long meeting at the pavilion, along with board members Ted Forkum, Brian Crain, Jim Newman, and Jolene Burke. The board received two nominations for the Sanders County...
The Thompson Falls-Plains soccer team started its inaugural season with practices Friday and Saturday on Previs Field. "I'm very excited for this year," said Michael Scharfe, head coach for the Thompson Falls-Plains Blue Hawks boys team. Nick Lawyer, head coach for the new girls team, also held practice on the Thompson Falls football field Friday and Saturday. The Thompson Falls School Board voted in favor of the co-op fall soccer team last March. The teams are composed of students from eighth g...
It was a happy celebration for the musicians of the Montana Baroque Music Festival, but halfway through their Wednesday performance, security entered and went to the stage to check the identification of bass player Andrew Harmon. Most of the group kept playing as Aaron Cain shined his flashlight in Harmon's eyes for identification verification. Though he was dressed for the part, when a security man arrives on a scene singing in German, it might be a clue that it's part of the performance. "I...
The members of the Plains School took less than 30 minutes to approve two new policies and this year's school sports handbook. Some residents have questioned why the school had no dual sports policy, such as the one Thompson Falls has on hand. The Dual Activities Policy and the Activities Fundraising Policy were both unanimously approved by board members Ellen Childress, Monica Weedeman, Lana Dicken, and chairman Beau French. The two policies were written by the school's new athletic director,...
Artists in Sanders County last week had the opportunity to show people their work at the Paradise Center, where visitors could see and buy paintings, wood carvings, photographs, ceramic pieces, jewelry, leatherwork, or glasswork. Ten artists from Plains, Paradise, Thompson Falls, Superior, and St. Regis spent Thursday, Friday and Saturday selling their goods at the Paradise Center. Two new participants this year - the Clark Fork Valley Artists and the Iron Horse Trading Company - participated,...
The Sanders County Fair is less than two weeks away, but it looks like it’s going to be packed with fun activities, food and sights, according to Kristy Sheehan, the fair manager. The fair this year will perhaps for the first time open with a concert for the first night entertainment event. Country singer and songwriter Levi Blom will kick off the fair on Wednesday, Aug. 28, at 7 p.m. in the fair’s main arena. Tickets for the Butte resident are $20 for bleachers and $25 on the arena floor in front of the stage. With this year’s theme as “Hors...
Members of the Plains Town Council unanimously approved the hiring of a contractor to decommission and demolish the old sewage lagoon last Monday at City Hall. Olympus Technical Services of Helena won the bid to dismantle the old wastewater treatment plant at the end of Helterline Drive with its bid of $71,670. Olympus Technical Services was one of five companies, including one from Sanders County, to bid on the project, said Mayor Joel Banham. The liners from the old ponds will be removed and...
A group of children helped local bees last weekend by making them artificial shelters, compliments of the Eastern County Conservation District and the Green Mountain Conservation District. This was the first time the two county entities teamed up with Studs Building and Home in Plains to construct the six-foot tall and four-foot wide bee houses. Six girls and three boys from 5-13 years old and one adult, all from Plains, took part in the bee house project, which was headed by Emily Baker of the...
Judges might be a little hesitant about getting too close to one 4-H member's entry at the Sanders County Fair competition on Aug. 29. "It's kinda fun when their eyes get real big, but it's kinda nice when they edge a little closer," said 11-year-old John McNamara of the South Side Sparks club, who has shown a tarantula and a snake for his pocket pet project in past years and judges were reluctant to get close to his projects, let alone hold them. This year, McNamara has several projects - photo...
A bison cow and her calf stop for a drink in Mission Creek at the Bison Range....
Plains School Board members held a special board meeting last Thursday in order to get coaches hired before school sports start in August. Board member Lana Dicken made the motion to rehire Kati Mitchell as the head softball coach. The motion was seconded by member Ellen Childress, but before a vote could be taken Mitchell spoke up to give her resignation. "The lack of trust and support from the school board has made it increasingly challenging for me to fulfill my duties effectively as a...
A Plains man is traveling to Helena next week to defend his title at the firing range for the annual Montana Governor's 20 LE Shooting Competition. Chad Cantrell of Plains was the champion in the County Division last year and hopes to repeat his feat again on Aug. 9. "It's fun. I get to hang out with gunfighters," said Cantrell, who retired from the Sanders County Sheriff's Office as a detective in 2020 and is a member of the Plains Town Council. Cantrell is no stranger to the annual...
Rocky Mountain Bank in Plains closed its doors at noon on Friday - an end of an era for the financial institution - but the beginning of Stockman banking in Plains. Stockman Bank added three western Montana banks to its collection of branches throughout the state, including Plains, Bigfork and Kalispell. Over the past weeks, Stockman Bank staffers have been dispatched to the Plains bank to help employees and customers with the transition. They will continue to have additional help over the next...
The Plains School board last Monday voted in a new principal for the high school with unanimous approval. Heidii Fettinger of Great Falls was selected to replace Ryon Noland, who resigned in May after serving as high school principal for the last three years. Fettinger was one of four women and one man to apply for the principal position, which serves grades seven through 12. Plains High School teacher Katie Mitchell was the only candidate from Sanders County, said Beau French, the school board...
The Plains police, firefighters and ambulance service made a special call to Plains School this summer, but it wasn't an emergency, it was part of the Plains School Summer Program. "I absolutely enjoy getting out in the community and starting a positive rapport with the kids of the community," said Plains Police Officer Rob Geenen, who met with the kids with fellow officer, Rick Nickolaus, as part of the fourth year of the school program. Geenen and Nickolaus talked about their jobs, showed the...
Firefighters quickly doused a blaze along the Clark Fork River on a small stretch of wooded area some 10 miles northwest of Plains on Friday. The River Road West Fire was contained by Saturday evening, but firefighters from the Montana Department of Natural Resources and Conservation remained on scene for days mopping up hot spots and making sure the fire was extinguished. DNRC's Jase Sorenson, the incident commander and the department's fire adapted community coordinator, said the fire was the...
Two Plains women were the only local competitors at the "Sparks Fly Showdown Show" at the Sanders County Fairgrounds last weekend. Michele McGuigan of Plains and Lisa Wood of Thompson Falls took part in the two-day horsemanship event Friday and Saturday. A dozen men and women took part in Friday's activity, which was a clinic to help competitors prepare for the next day's competition. Twenty-seven riders took part in the show on Saturday. A dozen more were signed up, but dropped out due to the...
It's not unusual to see a person knocked off a bull at the Sanders County Fairgrounds, but it was a bit unique that it wasn't fair time - it was last Thursday. The fairgrounds were filled with visitors for the first Freedom Festival as part of the Independence Day celebration and a mechanical bull was one of the main attractions with dozens of people demonstrating their cowboy courage. The special Fourth of July event also had 25 vendors, a bouncy house, corn hole contests, clowns, and for the...
The traditional reading of the Declaration of Independence continued this Fourth of July, but with a Marine Corps veteran of World War II leading the charge in the reading of the hallowed American document. The 98-year-old Tom Carlton started the recital by reading the first line - 70 words - of the Declaration, followed by Ken Matthiesen, Jim Gillibrand, Roy Brown, Paul Nowatka, Denis Munson, and Connie Foust, who introduced the reading of the document to the event four years ago. It was part...
Sanders County Fairgrounds fireworks meld with fireworks from people on the beach to brighten up the crisp night....
A whitetail fawn takes a cool puddle break while mom stays near....
The American Legion of Montana recognized the fire chief of the Plains-Paradise Rural Fire District for his firefighting efforts in Paradise. Steve Rogue, commander of American Legion Post 152 in Thompson Falls, presented James Russell with the American Legion Montana Firefighter of the Year Award at Fred Young Park during the Independence Day celebration. Legion District Commander Bob Lehman of Post 137 at Kalispell read the citation that accompanied the award. Lehman said that Russell was one...
