Independently owned since 1905
Independently owned since 1905
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Planted, uprooted and replanted... it's a good analogy for what has transpired between Plains resident Jo Ellen Morris and new-found brother Rodney Dillon, a native Australian. It all started roughly 75 years ago when Morris's father, Roy Holt, Sr., served in the Navy. In February of 1945, Holt was one of many who sailed the U.S. Muster Rolls to Brisbane, Australia. Interestingly, it was here where Dillon was born, nine months after the U.S. Muster Rolls docked. "My sister Anne died in a car...
Blackfoot customers from Thompson Falls to Noxon had a quiet weekend after a fiberoptic line was damaged, disrupting voice and data services earlier this week. Just before 8 a.m. on Sunday, Blackfoot was notified of a disruption in services in the Thompson Falls area, company spokesperson Wil Anderson said. A fiberoptic line across the Clark Fork River was severely damaged in winter weather. Customers from Thompson Falls to Noxon had no phone or Internet service. Anderson said crews worked Sunday and discovered the source of the outage in the...
Sanders County Commissioner Tony Cox presided over the swearing in of the newly elected county officials last Thursday. Family, friends and colleagues of the elected officials attended the ceremony, held in the justice court courtroom. The new term for the elected officials started January 1, but the transition will be a smooth one for most of the new appointees, who are retaining positions. Sanders County Commissioner Carol Brooker, Sheriff Tom Rummel, Judge Doug Dryden and Clerk and Recorder...
Back and forth, divided by two sides, like a game of ping pong, Mark French has seen his accusation, trial and dismissal of night-time speeding go. According to French, he has recently received notice that District Court Judge Robert Deschamps has dismissed his heavily-fought speeding ticket through the Sanders County Attorney’s office. It was not a simple process according to French, who took his case all the way to the Supreme Court. The beginning was in March 2016, when French was cited for speeding. According to French he was wrongfully a...
This week we have several examples of making connections in the newspaper. On the front page, you read about siblings who found each other through AncestryDNA after 50 years. One in Plains and one in Australia. Finding each other wouldn't have been possible even 10 years ago. We can't imagine what those two individuals must have felt when they found out about each other. And without vital phone and Internet services, that connection wouldn't have been possible. On page 6, we tell of a different kind of connection. The physical connection you...
5 YEARS AGO • JANUARY 2, 1969 LEDGER LINES by K.A.E. The new year is traditionally a time for making new plans and acquiring new hopes for the future. If we had the power to grant the aims of 1969, we’d grant these: A community water system for Heron. An airport for Noxon. A state park or campground on Trout Creek Bay for Trout Creek. For Thompson Falls, a new high school to adequately take care of the large number of elementary students who will be crowding into the present facility in the years ahead. A museum for the chamber of com...
Before this past weekend, I had a totally different topic in mind for this bi-weekly column. In my last column I wrote about what I believed to be a generation of whimps. After last weekend, I find myself in a position where I have to walk that back a little bit. Last weekend I went to a birthday celebration for a friend of mine who had just turned 21. Although it doesn’t matter for purposes of this discussion, this young man became a friend as an extension of my friendship with his parents. I...
KATIE MOODY, Thompson Falls – “I am a planner. I make lists. I have to before I leave the house. My boyfriend says I’m more organized than he is.” DENISE IKOLA, Trout Creek – “I’m probably a little of both. It seems to work for me.” WILLIAM TUCKER, Trout Creek, – “I try to be a planner. If you don’t plan ahead, you don’t have the money to do what you have to or want to.” MAUREEN KOLODZIEJ, Thompson Falls – “Oh yes I am. I’m really organized about how I want things to be. I want them just so. I make a list starting with the first item an...
A small aircraft had a mishap while in the process of making a landing at Penn Stohr Field, the Plains airport, on Saturday, Dec. 22. There were no injuries, but the airport had to be shut down for a couple of hours, according to Randy Garrison, the airport manager. The aircraft was traveling from Coeur d'Alene, Idaho, to Plains. The pilot was the only occupant. The Beechcraft single engine airplane was making a landing when the landing gear collapsed. The plane slid on the runway 300 to 500 feet, but did not go off the runway, Garrison said....
Ambulances: Noxon, 1; T. Falls, 5; Plains, 2; H. Springs, 3; Dixon QRU, 1. Sunday, December 23 Car in the ditch on Klakken Rd., Noxon. Officer assist for a driver, vehicle disabled when front tire came off, Hwy. 200, Eddy Flat. Wallet lost at the Town Pump, T. Falls. Erratic driver, eastbound Hwy. 200, Plains. Welfare check requested, Plains. Monday, December 24 Vehicle slide-off at Pilgrim Cr. and Lower Lynch, damaged vehicle and fence, Plains. Dog running down Hwy. 200 near the Rimrock, T. Falls. Fender bender on Combest Creek Rd., Plains. Do...
MT Fish, Wildlife & Parks Douglas Belcourt, 21, checking station offenses, $85. MT Dept. of Transportation Joanna Challinor, 43, failure to pay GVW fees, $135. Mason Oberg, 22, operating a vehicle without special permit, $135. Steven Payment, 56, operating without temporary special fuel permit, $85. Sanders County Sheriff’s Office Paige Fickler, 22, night speeding, $70. Rylan Weltz, 17, tobacco possession or consumption under 18 years, 1st offense, $50. MT Highway Patrol Ricky Cotton, 48, seatbelt violation, $20. Gary Rogers, 52, speeding in a...
QUIET OBSERVER – Jan Manning's dog Milo rests in the aisle during a church service at Whitepine Community Church. While Milo is a good listener, he is quite a performer as well. You can see him at events such as the Trout Creek Community Improvement Association's annual Redneck Ball....
The trails in the Scotchman Peaks might be snowed in this month, but Friends of Scotchman Peaks Wilderness (FSPW) and their partners in trail maintenance are making plans now for the summer trail season. Each year, FSPW staff and volunteers partner with the Forest Service and other organizations to help maintain and construct trails in the proposed Scotchman Peaks Wilderness. The recommended wilderness contains trails in three ranger districts on two National Forests; Three Rivers and Cabinet...
Most college students spend their weekends exploring, hanging out with friends, and maybe doing a little studying. Jason Cox of Missoula travels to Sanders County each weekend to shares lessons and experiences with two different churches. Cox became the pastor of the United Methodist Churches of Plains, Paradise and Whitepine. It's unusual for someone to become a pastor before they are ordained. The Sanders County Methodist churches had been looking for a new pastor. John Daniels, the pastor at...
During the past few months the Western Sanders County TV District has received multiple inquiries about reception of several channels that are generally available. In late October there was degradation of the TV signal strength from Pat's Knob to the BN#1 Tower north of Plains. Since it was isolated to Channel 9 (NBC Montana), a temporary fix was accomplished by receiving the signal from the Weeksville tower into BN#1, then retransmitting it to the BN#2, tower southeast of Thompson Falls....
by Annie Wooden Now that winter has arrived in Sanders County, we're ready for soup season. There's nothing like a hearty bowl of chili or chicken noodle to warm the body and soul on a cold winter's day. January also happens to be National Soup Month. The art of making soup has been around for thousands of years. According to daysoftheyear.com, about 20,000 B.C., people would boil concoctions in clay vessels or in watertight baskets or animal hides using heated rocks. The modern idea of soup...
Mykal and Julie Funk underestimated the cost of housing when they moved to Missoula three years ago and spent six months living in their car. Julie, 38, was born with spina bifida. She is paralyzed and uses a wheelchair. Her partner of 17 years is 38-year-old Mykal, who has Asperger’s syndrome and suffers from back pain and other ailments. Medicaid, the state-federal partnership that helps some of Montana’s poor with health care costs, has always covered Julie. But Mykal wasn’t able to get coverage for himself until the 2105 Legislature expan...
It may have been Keg Bowl Lite but it was still the Keg Bowl. The 39th annual Keg Bowl was played at its traditional home at Ainsworth Field Saturday and, in spite of low turnout numbers which forced the sharing of the quarterback position and a slight altering of the rules, the game was considered a rousing success. With old Keg Bowl legend Roger Willhite and new Keg Bowl legend Nate Pavlik sharing the quarterback duties (each played for the Silver Bullets when not under center) for both...
Let's get this party restarted. Fresh off the shutdown holidays, area prep sports teams will hit the mats and the courts this weekend to resume the 2018-2019 seasons. Although the federal government seems far away from resolving the wall or no-wall conflict that has sent many folks into extended vacation, the Montana sports season will resume on schedule. In wrestling, the Thompson Falls Blue Hawks, originally set to appear in the Western Montana Duals in Ronan Friday and Saturday, will instead...
Life happens. And sometimes it happens in the most unexpected ways. As usual in the sports world there were some changes last year as there always are from year to year - new heroes reaching new heights, new teams reaching championship goals but, in 2018, the biggest sports event of the season for Thompson Falls Blue Hawk fans did not happen on a field, a mat or a court - it happened at a meeting of the Montana High School Association board of directors in Helena. At that regularly scheduled meeting of the MHSA, it was decided that Thompson...
I’ll be honest, I did not make the healthiest food choices this holiday season, and I’m not even sorry. Making holiday treats is one of my favorite family traditions, but it’s no fun if you don’t get to indulge a little. I decided to enjoy our traditions and not feel guilty about it. So we made cookies and candies and enjoyed all our favorite holiday meals, complete with loads of carbohydrates. Yes, I have gained a few pounds back, but now that the holiday goodies are gone, I have the tools and know how to lose them again. I have enjoyed...
