Independently owned since 1905
Independently owned since 1905
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Four members of the Wild Horse Plains Back Country Horsemen gathered at the Sanders County Fairgrounds last week to provide a day of education to the U.S. Forest Service's Youth Conservation Corps. The horseman club spent Friday with the YCC's three girls and four boys for the annual YCC Stock Packing Class, teaching them the proper way to load up a pack mule or horse, which would transport supplies to sites in the field. "Part of the mission of back country horse is to involve youth and to...
The Plains Piranhas Swim Team had only one day of practice before they took off to compete in Hamilton last weekend. Most of them qualified Saturday for the final competition Sunday, but none placed in the top three spots. Nevertheless, their new coach, Jack Couch, said they did the best they could with very limited training. The team could not get into the E.L. Johnson Memorial Pool in Plains for practice until Thursday because of a faulty heater, said team board member Mariah Corbin. "A lot...
It was standing room only at the Plains Town Council meeting at City Hall last week, when council members went through the second reading of the proposed Community Decay Ordinance, which is what the town is now calling it. Rarely is the courtroom filled during monthly council meetings, but it was packed with nearly 50 people that stretched into the hall. The public works committee and the council has been working on the proposed ordinance for months, but few people have taken an interest. At the...
Six members of the Wild Horse Plains Back Country Horsemen volunteered their Saturday to clean the trail leading to Big Hole Peak Lookout, which is scheduled to be on the list of Forest Service rentals next year. The four men and two women, along with four mules and two horses, packed materials about a mile up Trail #368 to the site where two club members the previous week worked on the trail. The work was part of a $600 Challenge Cost Share Agreement that the horsemen club received from the...
The Plains Town Council meeting last week went for nearly three hours, mostly because of the public comment period for a proposed ordinance, which took up more than half of the time. Still, the council was able to vote on six measures on the agenda, including most of the new proposed Community Decay Ordinance. The Junked Vehicles section was tabled until next month’s meeting. Gary Revier, on behalf of the Plains Golf Association, asked for the council’s approval to establish a seven-spot RV park at the golf course. Revier told the council the...
The Plains Town Council unanimously voted in a new town judge at last week's monthly meeting. Tom Collins was sworn in by Mayor Dan Rowan two days later to replace the vacancy left by Joe Eisenbrandt, who retired after 11 years for medical reasons. "I'm very pleased and honored to be doing this," said the 65-year-old Collins, who considered a judge position three years ago in Thompson Falls, but didn't pursue it. He decided to toss his hat into the ring for the Plains job when it recently...
Commissioner Carol Brooker might not be washed up in politics, but she got herself a public bath on Saturday at a dunk tank sponsored by the Plains Lions Club and Plains-Paradise Rural District. Brooker was one of 10 volunteers to sit in the cold seat as part of Plains Days 2018. Tyrel Allen, the first participant, said before the first ball was thrown that he believed he would stay dry. Six softballs were tossed before a youngster hit the target, but didn't trigger the mechanism to drop Allen i...
The three-day holiday weekend has once again come and gone, but members of the VFW Post 3596 in Plains would rather show their respect to lost comrades on the original Memorial Day – May 30. More than 30 community members joined the VFW and VFW Auxiliary members Wednesday evening at Plains Cemetery for a brief ceremony at the gravesite of Walter R. Martin, a U.S. Navy World War II veteran. Although Martin didn't perish during the war, there are a handful of vets who did at the cemetery, a...
Plains will be a hub of activity this weekend with nearly 30 activities planned for this year’s Plains Days, which will begin Friday evening, when the youth take on adults in the first Alumni Flag Football Contest, which starts at 6 p.m. on the school football field. The evening continues with the traditional Alumni Basketball Game in the school gymnasium at 8 p.m. Kevin Meredith, the high school principal and coordinator of this year’s alumni games, said they plan to have only one coed game for each sport. The alumni competition continues on...
The first metal horse of Plains is done, but creator Kenton Pies now has a bigger hurdle to get over – funding his project. "It's quite a relief to have it finished. It's a joy, but I have changes to make on the rest of them – artists are never satisfied," said the 85-year-old Plains artist, who created a steel horse that he hopes will be a sample of the future "Wild Horse Plains" herd, which will be located somewhere along the greenway. Pies started working on the prototype horse last Sep...
The Dixon Cemetery is all but forgotten by most people, but there's one Plains couple that wants to make sure that the military veterans buried there are remembered, at least once a year. The cemetery, situated on a high bluff about one and a half miles southeast of Dixon, is mostly overgrown with weeds. Some of the headstones have fallen over; a couple of them are in crumbles on the ground. Of the near 70 people buried there – those that are visible – a handful are unmarked and only 10 gra...
The Sanders County Fair Board signed two major contracts at last week’s May meeting in preparation for this year’s fair. The board unanimously voted to sign a two-year contract with Powder River Rodeo, which has entertained local crowds for more than 30 years, and a one-year contract with the Sanders County Concessions Group. Don Burrell, president of the nonprofit concessions organization, said they were surprised that the board switched from a percentage to a flat fee. Burrell said his group was under the impression that they would pay the fa...
Betting on the horses is a long tradition in America, but gambling while on horses is part of the Wild Horse Plains Backcountry Horsemen Poker Run, held last weekend at the Historic Jones Ranch, nearly 10 miles northwest of Plains. One hundred and fifty-eight riders registered for this year's 11-mile poker run Saturday, but when the trail dust settled, Jacob Byrne of Kalispell won the big prize with four aces, taking home a custom made horse breast collar by Ron Rude of Plains. Second place went...
Volunteers last weekend might have made a small dent in "Project Clean-Up Days," but they got a big appreciation for their efforts, according to Plains Mayor Dan Rowan, who coordinated the project with council member Sandy Chenoweth. About 50 volunteers Friday and Saturday went to the homes of two dozen residents to clean up yards, mow lawns, and haul away unwanted materials cluttering the neighborhoods. By 5 p.m. Saturday, the town lot across the street from the fire department had a stack of...
I am one of those strange people who read newspapers cover to cover every week. Something about local newspapers just seem to be a hidden reflection of the community that is the heart of small towns. Do I immediately find value or meaning in what I read? No, not always. That’s what the internet and social media are for – immediate relevance. Local newspapers are more like reading chapters in a multi-generational novel. In TV terms “A sweeping saga of many generations as they pass thru time and place.” Confession: I’ve read every line of the det...
Plains High School student Charlie Rehbein considers himself a bona fide Trekkie, which was evident at the school's 2018 Art Exhibition last week when he displayed his "Star Trek Captain's Chair," a rendition of Capt. Kirk's bridge chair on the Starship Enterprise. Even a "Don't Touch" note on the chair didn't stop some people from asking to sit in it, which seemed to please Rehbein even more. "I am a big fan of Star Trek and I wanted to do something from the show," said the sophomore, who stood...
The commander of the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers Seattle Division visited Plains Sunday to take a look at the progress and evaluate the erosion situation at the town's Wastewater Treatment Plant at the end of Helterline Drive. Col. Mark Geraldi spent part of the day looking over the two sites where riprap was placed to halt erosion by the Clark Fork River. A crew was still working on the second site while the colonel was here. Since the previous Sunday, the Corps of Engineers and contractors...
Paint the town red has taken up a new meaning in Plains, although it will include a variety of other colors, now that Rick Harter and Ilene Paulsen are doing large murals on the outside wall of the Garden Gift & Floral. They might even be giving the term starving artists a new meaning because they're doing it for free. The two Plains residents are painting murals on four 180-square foot spaces on the west side of the flower shop concrete wall in an effort to help beautify the town. The two...
Members of the Plains Town Council signed off on the first reading of the proposed amendments to the Decay and Junk Vehicles Ordinance at last Monday’s May meeting at City Hall. Council members spent little time in the discussion phase before unanimously voting in favor of the proposed ordinances, which will be covered under Title 7’s Health and Welfare portion of the Municipal Code of the Town of Plains. “I wish you a lot of luck. I tried to get this done 20 years ago,” Plains resident Tom Charlton told the council members at the meeting...
The Plains Mini Mermaids had a big finish last weekend when the group fulfilled their goal of completing a 5K run – 3.1 miles – at the Amundson Sports Complex. More than 30 people joined the 14 members of the Mini Mermaid Running Club for their Family Fun Run Saturday, marking the end of the six-week program and as a trial run for the Plains Days run, which will be sponsored by the club, said Gena Ferlan, the chief organizer and one of five club coaches. The run started and ended at the old airp...
In the most recent round of Mother Nature versus the Town of Plains it seems the town is losing, but not giving up. With a heavy snow pack, warm weather and strong currents, the river has come within 130 feet of the Wastewater Treatment Facility's UV treatment structure and the river hasn't shown signs of slowing. The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (USACE) arrived at the site Monday with an excavator and an army of dump trucks to place tons of large jagged rocks along the shoreline of the town...
Bringing the ghost of an ex-wife isn't good for a healthy marriage, especially when it leads to the death of the present wife and the return of her ghost. That's what happened to Charles Condomine in Paradise over the weekend in the comedy play Blythe Spirit by the Paradise Players. Nearly 100 people attended the performances, held at the Paradise Center Friday, Saturday and Sunday, when a cast of seven demonstrated their acting skills. It was the first time on stage for Bethany White of Dixon,...
Open burning season in Sanders and Mineral counties ended April 30, and burn permits are now required until fire season begins. Starting May 1 and continuing until conditions are no longer favorable for safe burning, permits are required to burn yard debris or logging slash. Depending on which jurisdiction one is in, burn permits are available at your local U.S. Forest Service, the Montana Department of Natural Resources and Conservation, or from the Confederated Salish and Kootenai Tribes office in Ronan. For people wishing to burn in Sanders...
After 11 years, Plains Judge Joe Eisenbrandt has decided to hang up his robe, but not because he wants to – it's doctor's orders. The 74-year-old Eisenbrandt took a fall on the ice a couple of months ago and suffered a serious head injury. He said that although the CT scan shows improvement, he's decided to retire as the Plains and Hot Springs City judge, a job he's held since 2007 when he was first appointed the job at Plains by then Mayor Dan Bates. The Hot Springs post was added a short t...
by Ed Moreth The Town of Plains is looking to make the community a bit nicer looking for Plains Days and at the same time help people who can’t always help themselves. “Project Clean-Up Days,” nicknamed “Neighbors Helping Neighbors” by Plains Council Member Sandy Chenoweth, is scheduled for 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. on Friday, May 18, and from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. on Saturday, May 19. Volunteers will meet at Fred Young Park at the start of each clean-up day. Children under 18 must be either accompanied by a parent or have a signed waiver. Mayor Dan Rowan...
