Independently owned since 1905
Independently owned since 1905
Sorted by date Results 126 - 150 of 279
JR RATLIFF, Thompson Falls - “I want it to be spring because snow always gets in my boots.” GAUGE LOYA, Thompson Falls - “I want it to stay winter because I hardly have had time to sled and have snowball fights.” CODY BROWN, Thompson Falls - “I want more winter to allow the snowpack to build up.” ANN DONALDSON, Thompson Falls - “I absolutely want an early spring. Let it snow for another month or so, then definitely have spring.” ALAYNA VICTOR, Thompson Falls - “I want an early spring because I can go swimming and won't have to be cold in the...
It didn't feel like winter for the kids that attended the fifth annual Wild Coyote Winter Festival last Saturday. Rain and warm temperatures melted most of the snow. The ice sculpture volcano had melted, but enough snow was still piled for sledding. Manager Karen Fergeson said they normally have the event the third week in January. "There wasn't enough snow for it then. Last year we had a big snowman and ice sculpture." Anita Brown conducted the hot chocolate and hot dog stand outside. "This is...
On August 28, 1930, David Lee Helterline was born the middle child of 10 children in his family. Dave's father was born in Pennsylvania in 1898, and moved to Montana to be a farmer. He and Dave's uncles ran the farm that was diversified, Dave said. "We had cows, wheat, oats, hay and barley." Dave did not want to be a farmer. He had other plans. Sometime after high school graduation in 1948, "I enlisted in the Air Force for four years during the Korean War," Dave recalls. He was an aircraft...
JANESSA SWARTZENTRUBER, Thompson Falls - “Gratitude by Brandon Lake.” TRINITY RIFFLE, Thompson Falls - “Forever and Ever, Amen, by Randy Travis. It was my parents' wedding song.” ERIC ELLIOTT, Plains - “Garth Brooks’ The River. It explains life.” ERIC SCHMIDT, Plains - “Strawberry Roan by Marty Robbins, because it reminds me of the cowboying I used to do.” SARAH TUNNELL, Thompson Falls - “An old hymn, It is Well With My Soul, speaks to me through hard times.” ALEESHA YODER, Trout Creek - “A newer song, Hymn From Heaven by Phil Wickham. It spe...
Thompson Falls High School students participated in the 2023 fall session of the PlantingScience Program. Doree Thilmony’s class submitted their science experiments to the project along with more than 1,200 other students and more than 290 plant science explorations, according to PlantingScience program supervisor, Jennifer A.B. Hartley. “Among these, the Saucy Scientists and Blue Hawk Science Investigators from Thompson Falls High School impressed their group leaders with scientific thinking, positive attitudes, and determination, and were sel...
Professional bowler Rhino Page from Bigfork was in Thompson Falls last week to give individualized bowling lessons. Ginger Ward, the bowling association manager, said she set up the lessons to be held at the Rimrock Lanes last Monday. People pre-booked their lessons two months in advance, according to Page. "Bowlers from Thompson Falls traveled to Bigfork to my bowling alley, Grizzly Lanes, and asked if I could come to their town and give lessons," Page said. He gave seven lessons at the Rimrock...
LYNETTE NIELSEN, Hot Springs - “I like making lots of pasta dishes. They are comfort food.” PAULA STOBIE, Hot Springs - “Fresh soups and chowders, especially Texas Chicken Tortilla Chowder.” GEORGE HEINSELMAN, Hot Springs - “What I do the most is make a huge kettle of vegetable beef soup with all the fresh vegetables available. Or a chicken noodle soup.” CHRISTINE WALSVICK, Hot Springs - “My grandma’s Beef Stroganoff.” CHEYANNE WARD, Hot Springs - “Granny’s Chicken and Dumplings.” LEONARD LARSON, Plains - “Chili homemade by me, and cornb...
Lloyd George Heinselman was born in 1947 in Lakeport, California, north of San Francisco. He grew up in Trinity Alps west of Mount Shasta. "We lived in a house that used to be a stage stop between Redding, CA and Oregon," Heinselman recalls. He talked of going to eighth grade in a saloon while the new school was being built. First the saloon was a mercantile in the 1800s. There was an old carriage house across the street from the saloon/school. His mom taught him how to cook at a young age....
LINDA ZIRELLI, Plains - “The Boys in the Boat, very historical. I highly recommend it.” AMANDA MILLER, Plains - “The bible. I recommend taking it off the shelf, dusting it off and reading it.” GLENN MILLER, Plains - “An autobiography by Daniel Bodkin titled ‘My Back Pages.’ He is an old hippy who is a big Bob Dylan fan. Hence the title.” JAMIE RUSSELL, Noxon - “Fast, Feast, Repeat. I highly recommend it.” SARAH BAILEY, Thompson Falls - “FableHaven, a fun fantasy and adventure book. I read it once a year, and highly recommend.” TEENA GRA...
The new Sanders County Sanitarian, Jeremy Leavitt, is learning the ropes with training in Helena and continuing classes as he takes on the responsibilities of his new position. Leavitt moved to Thompson Falls from Yakima, Washington, where he worked for a large produce company. Leavitt, born in Spokane, grew up in Wenatchee and went to pharmacy school in Eastern Washington. He sold pharmaceuticals when he finished college. "I have a strong background knowledge of environmental health and...
ADAM HUTCHINGS, Thompson Falls - “I like to stay inside and play games unless there is snow for sledding.” MARY HUTCHINGS, Thompson Falls - “Reading a book with a cup of coffee, relaxing. Or taking kids sledding.” MICKI KEMPER, Thompson Falls - “Get up late, take a warm bubble bath, cuddle in front of the stove and watch TV under a warm blanket.” JULIE WELKER, Ronan - “Snuggled in my recliner watching TV if I’m not working.” DEBRA HOWARD, Plains - “In my recliner doing beadwork crafts watching television.” RANA ROOS, Plains - “Stay inside...
A local business is under new ownership. Mickey Manning recently purchased Cindy's Throws. Cindy Bronner, originally from Ventura, California, moved to Thompson Falls about 30 years ago, according to Manning. "Cindy moved to Montana when online shopping became available," Manning said. That is when Cindy's Throws got started. In June of 2023, Bronner was planning to sell her business. Manning's accountant connected the two women. Manning bought the business from Bronner, who ironically...
Melva Arnold was born in June of 1929 in Wisconsin. "I was born at home," she recalls, "as most people were back then." Melva moved to Plains when she was in the sixth grade. Her father had been in the U.S. Navy. "I was the only girl born right in the middle of eight brothers," Welty said. "Mom said she wished I had been twins until one day I lipped off at her. I was 13. She was rolling my hair in rags to curl it to look like Shirley Temple. I didn't like it. I thought she was going to slap me....
Maralee Schall had an experience that forced her to take the leap and open the store that she had been wanting to for years. For eight years Scholl worked from home in her basement. She sold Lularoe clothing and then started buying and selling accessories such as jewelry. Selling the clothing and other items online, Schall said she became bored with the business. Scholl knew that she wanted to do more but was reluctant to leave the security of her home. In July 2023, the decision was made for...
COOPER SPURR, Plains - “I will intend for better health, being a better person to my peers and think more about what I can do to make a change for the good. It’s a new year and I intend for each day as they come to be good.” ZOEY HALDEN, Plains - “I intend to help other people as needed. Every day is a new day to start off good and end good.” JEFF HAINLINE, Dixon - “I intend to keep improving the school lunch program with healthier and fresh locally sourced food for the kids’ meals.” MICHAELA VUKIALAU, Dixon - “I intend to be more actively eng...
A group of runners started their 2024 fitness goals early with the annual New Year's Day fun run in Thompson Falls. Twenty-two runners braved the damp chill and icy roads to bring in the new year with a brisk run. The runners gathered at the Elks Lodge on Monday for the 25th annual fun run, with runners choosing a 5K or a 2K distance. They took off at 9 a.m. "We used to have over 100 runners," said organizer Sarah Naegeli with the Clark Fork Running Club. Other towns started having a New Year's...
Thompson River Animal Care Shelter (TRACS) held the Jingle Paws for a Cause Holiday Raffle to raise money for the shelter. Tickets were sold at businesses in Plains and Thompson Falls through December 15. Tickets were drawn at the Limberlost Brewery on December 16 during their second annual caroling party. Silent auction items were donated, and final bids taken during the caroling party at Limberlost Brewing. The three donated silent auction items were RV repairs from CJ's RV, a $200 gift...
The Natural Resource Conservation Service (NRCS) located in Plains has a long-range plan that was compiled and updated at their October 2022 meeting. “We will be having another meeting sometime in 2024,” Dillon Martini at the Plains office said. The report covers all of Sanders County and includes information from land ownership to the prioritized projects for NRCS’s financial incentive programs. The report looks at population growth in Sanders County and its effects on water usage, soil concerns and forestry. The plan combines local and regio...
The holidays are over and winter is in its full cycle for rest. It's when plants are dormant in their sleep. When days are shorter so we can rest longer, ideally. But too often we continue to rush about in pursuit of whatever drives us: the dollar, the first in line, the better deal, the top of the heap. Stress accumulates because we forget to let go. Yesterday and tomorrow are not with us. Only this moment is all we really have. Focussing on the past and what we did or did not do does not serve who we are right now. Let that time go. Be presen...
From Ireland to Australia, the Plains school students were treated to a day of worldly Christmas traditions before they left for Christmas break. The teachers in each grade level developed lessons from a different country. Kindergarten classrooms had Sweden, first grade had Australia, and second grade teachers had Ireland. The third grade did Mexico, the fourth grade did European Countries, fifth had Russia, and sixth had the Netherlands and Germany. Each room had learning stations and...
For the fifth year in a row the Dixon students were visited by Santa and several helpers to spread gifts and cheer. Some of those helpers come in the form of the Youth Group from Plains Harvest Community Church. When the Dixon school kids send out their Christmas wish lists, the youth group helpers catch wind of those wishes and make it their mission to help with delivering gifts. This year, Thursday, December 21 they delivered. Santa had plans to be there as well with Mrs Claus and their person...
by Shannon Brown The General Federation of Women's Clubs of Montana, Thompson Falls Chapter, has taken on the fundraiser “gotsneakers?” A sneaker recycling organization redistributes and recycles athletic shoes and sneakers nationwide. According to the GotSneakers website , in the United States at least 200 million pairs of shoes end up in landfills each year, taking 30-40 years to decompose while releasing harmful chemicals in the process. GotSneakers’ goal is to repurpose the shoes to new owners or recycle them, thus keeping them out of th...
The Community Ambulance Service of Western Sanders County, also known as Noxon Ambulance, started its service in 1971 as a basic life support, BLS, service. "We serve the communities of Heron, Noxon and Trout Creek," said Teri Burt with the ambulance service. That includes the Montana-Idaho state line to mile marker 33.5 on Highway 200 and on Highway 56 to the county line. The area goes up to 673 Blue slide Road, Burt added. She said they have one ambulance stationed at the Trout Creek fire...
If you listened carefully the last couple of weeks you might have been able to hear all the beautiful music from one end of the county to the other. Like a ripple effect, schools performed their holiday magic for the season. On December 7, Noxon students in kindergarten through fourth grade performed "Christmas Around the World." Grades 5 through 12 held their band and choir concert on December 14. Thompson Falls High School students performed a variety of holiday music on December 5, while the...
Last Sunday the Elks Lodge in Thompson Falls had cookies for children to decorate in order to raise funds for scholarships in Sanders County. Elks Exalted Ruler Charlie Munday said they wanted to come up with an event to help raise money for education. "We created a think tank of people to do that," Munday said. The head of the cookie operation is Nicole Miller, Munday added. Cookies baked by Beagle's Bakery in Thompson Falls offered a variety of cut-out cookies to be decorated by possible...
