Independently owned since 1905
Independently owned since 1905
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Santa Claus is busy this time of year, but he made a special trip to Plains last Sunday to hand out presents at the old log schoolhouse along Railroad Street. Santa - aka Dave Williams of Plains - and his helpers set up a makeshift workshop at the 134-year-old one-room schoolhouse to hand out homemade dolls, Teddy bears, and wooden trucks and tractors. Santa was joined by Mrs. Claus, Terry Wendell, and elves Ivy Horodyski and her son Alex, 14. All were wearing protective masks and decked out in...
Veterans will soon have another option when it comes to their final resting place, thanks to Joint Operation Mariposa (JOM), which had a columbarium placed at Plains Cemetery last Tuesday. "There was a desire and a need to have a columbarium in Plains," said Dave Williams, president of JOM, a nonprofit organization in Sanders County that helps veterans in several ways. The Navy veteran and Plains resident added there was "a community full of amazing people and businesses willing to help make it...
The Sanders County Fair Foundation is striving to make the fairgrounds a bit more cheery for Christmas by buying new lights and decorations and getting them in place. Foundation members and volunteers worked the last two weekends to install the lights on 10 buildings on the grounds, including 20 lighted inflatable decorations. The fair has not had a Christmas light show since Mike Hashisaki retired as fair manager in 2015, but he was back Saturday working with volunteers Kenny Jones, Howard...
The Plains Woman's Club was getting into the Christmas spirit even before Halloween, working on sewing projects for two different nonprofit groups. "It gets us in the Christmas spirit and it's fun," said Shirley Nettleton, the primary seamstress for the making of one hundred Teddy bears. This is the first year that the club is sewing bears and dolls for Joint Operation Mariposa (JOM), a nonprofit organization that usually works with military veterans, but this year will be handing out presents...
In a short ceremony at the Plains Cemetery, members of VFW Post 3596 commemerated military veterans, past and present. "We gather here today at the 11th hour on the 11th day of the 11th month of the year 2020 to place this wreath in remembrance of those who have served this great nation before us, to honor those who now serve this great nation, and to salute those who stand by them in times of peace and in times of war. May none ever be forgotten and may God bless this great nation," said Matt...
It's arguably one of the best aerobic exercises around. It takes concentration and precise timing, but with the twirling, twisting, and quick stepping comes dancing to the flow of the music, according to Michael Murray, a member of the Montana Mavericks Square Dance Club. Even the COVID-19 pandemic couldn't keep Murray and his wife, Sharon, or the 18 others from attending the first dance of the year for the Plains square dancing club at the Plains Paradise Senior Citizens Center Saturday...
The winner of the Plains Lions Club Halloween costume contest couldn't even be seen. The "Invisible Man" took first place and the top prize of $20 and he was actually a she. Tia Bellinger of Plains dressed in a dark suit and hat and black glasses, which appeared to be suspended. The 10-year-old looked through holes in the suit jacket, but wore panty hose to aid in concealing her eyes and a black ski mask so people couldn't see the top of her head, said Trista Feist, her mother, who made the...
A relatively newcomer to Plains was elected to the top office of the Plains Lions Club and is probably the club's first woman to hold the club's highest office. "It was never my intention to be president of the Lions Club, but I guess someone believed I would make a good president and I was nominated and voted in," said Connie Foust, who moved to Plains from Nevada in 2018 to be closer to her children. When she arrived, she almost immediately got involved in the community by serving on the...
The last steel horse of the Plains greenway will be going up in a matter of weeks, according to its creator, Kenton Pies, who sprayed on a coat of special concrete stain last week and it is nearly ready to be transported. Plains Mayor Dan Rowan said he's waiting for Mountain Range Materials for a small batch of concrete that will be connected to the horse's steel pedestal. Rowan and Pies both hope to get the steel horse installed before winter. Pies has already flagged a spot for the Plains...
COVID-19 has brought sickness, death, mental anguish and unemployment throughout the nation. Though Sanders County had less impact than many other places in Montana, it prompted the end of an era in Plains - the closure of the Dog Hill Bistro, a popular community hangout. Kathy Logan of Plains will shut the doors of her beloved Dog Hill Bistro along Railroad Street in the McGown Mall on Friday after nine-and-a-half years of business. "COVID-19 has taken its toll on small business, and ours is...
The beginning of this year's winter wonderland might be the finish for the little troublesome hopping creatures that have caused a bit of havoc this year in Montana, including Sanders County. They might be small, but they came in big droves and were tough to eradicate and their disappearance is only until spring, according to entomology experts. Grasshoppers were especially troublesome this year, primarily due to the warm and dry conditions throughout the state, according to Kevin Wanner, an...
Keeping people healthy is key to the Clark Fork Valley Hospital, even at a health fair, which is why organizers took special precautions at last week's annual event held at the VFW in Plains. The number of attendees entering the building was limited to 15 at a time. All received a temperature check, hand sanitizer, and a surgical mask at the door, and saw social distancing reminders throughout the room during the Clark Fork Valley Hospital Health Fair last Thursday. They also received a goodie...
Among the issues on the ballot in November are two initiatives dealing with the recreational use of marijuana. Initiative 190 would legalize the possession and use of limited amounts of marijuana for those over 21 years old. Initiative 118 would amend the Montana Constitution to establish the legal age for purchasing, consuming or possessing marijuana, as the law did when it established the minimum age limit for alcohol. The proposed new law might have an impact on medical marijuana providers...
The Cancer Network of Sanders County (CNSC) plans to bring the community a special treat for its “Trick Cancer” themed fundraiser this year. The annual event will take place Friday, Oct. 30, at the Sanders County Fairgrounds pavilion, with the doors opening at 5:30 p.m. and dinner at 6 p.m. There will be silent and live auctions with Kevin Hill once again serving as auctioneer. The cost of the lasagna and salad dinner will be $25 and tickets are available at The Printery in Plains and the Sanders County Ledger in Thompson Falls, as well as Fir...
Over the past few elections, Montanans have voted to change the rules around medical marijuana, sought to impose a crime victim’s bill of rights and changed how absentee ballots can be collected. All these issues required a specific number of voter signatures to land on the ballot and now that rule is, itself, on the ballot. This year voters will decide whether to return the language in Article XIV, Section IX and Article III, section IV of the Montana Constitution back to its original language from 2002. “It’s a clean-up bill,” said Montana...
So, here’s the question: How much power should local governments have to regulate firearms or prevent their possession by felons, minors, undocumented immigrants or people judged mentally incompetent? Not much, according to backers of Legislative Referendum 130, the ballot measure sent to voters by Montana lawmakers last session. Specifically, Legislative Referendum 130 asks voters to remove local governments’ power to regulate the carrying of concealed firearms – or to restrict the open carry of firearms – except in public buildings within a g...
Pine cones are collected year-round by people to make garland, holiday wreaths, centerpieces and floral arrangements, but pine cones are also vital to the replenishment of conifer trees. Members of the Forest Service's Plains Tree Improvement Area (TIA) in Plains are working to ensure that happens. Like a lot of boys, Riley Dopler liked to climb trees, but he probably didn't think he'd still be climbing at age 41 - and get paid to do it. Dopler, a Genetic Resource Forester, has been manager of...
Nearly 100 people showed up to part take in "The Return - National and Global Day of Prayer and Repentance" Saturday afternoon at Fred Young Park in Plains, where a group of people prayed for guidance from God and for the country. "Nobody can recall a time like this in our nation when we have to pray for our nation," said Bill Alde, who coordinated the event with Shelly Rummel and Mary McGann and led the event with the first of many prayers. "Never in the history of our nation has our country...
Volunteers finished erecting an historical sign exhibit for the Paradise Center Walking Trail at the Paradise Center last week. John and Karen Thorson and Don Stamm spent just over three hours last Wednesday putting up the metal signs along the 1,100-foot long paved trail, which encircles the center playground and the old schoolhouse. "When the center is closed people can still get sense of history of the place and the natural environment of the area," said Karen Thorson, a member of the...
When you imagine what “habitat” looks like, what comes to mind? For me, it is easy to picture the forested mountains and numerous rivers and streams of Sanders County, which many fish and wildlife species call home. However, for many pollinator species, you do not have to look any further than your own backyard. Pollinators, like bees, butterflies and moths, live in a wide variety of habitats and rely on many different food sources. When these species visit a flower for its pollen or nectar, they may unwittingly brush against the flo...
The Sanders County Fairgrounds may have lacked the aroma of fair food and carnival noise, but there was still excitement in the air from 4-H kids that spent four days showing their projects last week. Montana State University Sanders County Extension Agent Juli Thurston had to get special permission from the county Board of Health to have the 4-H events, including not having the general public, other than family, on hand to watch the judging. They also canceled the interview portions, although...
It started with a kneeling soldier, a cross and a tattered flag, but the next night, two rows of American flags showed up, and every night for the last week, 22 American flags were added to a Joint Operation Mariposa display on the Plains greenway along Railroad Street. Within a week's time there were 154 flags and by the end of September there will be 660 flags to represent American military servicemen and women lost to suicide, said Plains resident Ed Foste, vice president of the Joint...
The fair was canceled, but 4-H was able to put on their annual competition for its members, starting with the horse show last Saturday. Ten 4-H'ers - half of last year's numbers - from three clubs demonstrated their horsemanship skills for the first show of the week last Saturday at the fairgrounds. The South Side Sparks had five participants, the Trout Creek Mavericks had four and the Whitepine Happy Workers had one. The competition took just over three hours with 21 classes, including...
The United States of Hope teamed up with Joint Operation Mariposa and VFW Post 3596 for the first Veterans & Family Freedom Float on the Clark Fork River from Paradise to Plains. Thirty-eight men, women and children loaded into a flotilla of inflatable rafts, kayaks, canoes, and four-foot long body boards at the Paradise Crossing fishing launch Saturday morning for the eight-mile voyage to the Sanders County Fairgrounds beach. "It's a good outdoors event to get veterans and their families out...
There's now a slight light at the end of the tunnel for those in opposition to the proposed sewer system in Paradise after Commissioner Carol Brooker said she wanted to meet with each resident to hear what they have to say about the project. When someone at the meeting asked the commissioner if the project was a done deal, even if 75% of the community were against it, she said, "It's never too late." Nearly two dozen people attended the back-to-back board meetings - water and sewer - Friday...
