Independently owned since 1905
Independently owned since 1905
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The Sanders County drug dog retired last Friday, and many in the community who knew Max's work say he will be dearly missed. The eight-year-old lab worked in the county for over six years. He was trained to detect four substances, including marijuana, cocaine, methamphetamine and heroin. Max had more than 100 drug arrests credited to his work and was one of only 25 drug dogs in the state. However, with the new legislation legalizing marijuana, Max and 19 other dogs are being forced into...
With the new year comes a new election season, and Sanders County voters will be choosing several officials this year, including two commissioners. Candidates have begun filing for several of the positions up for election. Two commissioner positions will be decided this November, the seat vacated by Carol Brooker in District 1, which includes parts of Plains and Thompson Falls, and the seat held by Glen Magera in District 2, including Hot springs and the eastern end of Sanders County. Magera has stated he will not be running for re-election....
A bighorn sheep ram wanders past the Sanders County Fairgrounds and heads west near the Clark Fork River. Fish, Wildlife & Parks wildlife biologist Mike Ebinger said the mature male is likely a member of the St. Regis Cutoff Herd, which travels from the St. Regis area north toward Plains. Ebinger said bighorn sheep sometimes leave their core area on forays, and rams exhibit that behavior at a much higher frequency than ewes. He said that while forays themselves are not surprising, the time of...
The Commissioners and representatives from the Sanders County Sheriff’s Office (SCSO) met last Thursday with possible architectural firms to begin work on the proposed new sheriff’s building. Two firms came to the meeting and gave presentations. One was Slate Architecture, and the other was Schutz Foss Architecture P.C. Both had great interest in working with the county and brought several ideas with them on how to proceed. As for the project, in her original plans SCSO detention and dispatch supervisor Shawna Chenoweth explained it as thr...
For a few years I lived in Texas, where high school football is a pretty big deal. On Friday nights, communities fill stadiums bigger than some college playing fields and coaches are treated like royalty. Watching high school football at that level was fun, but you get even more intensity watching sports in rural Montana. Last week we got to see two undefeated teams battle it out on the court as Bigfork and Thompson Falls girls met for the first time this season. Then Saturday, Hot Springs and Charlo went back and forth until literally the...
Our Senator Bob Brown and our Congressman Paul Fielder, supported by Governor Gianforte, have passed laws paving the way for the newly formed Foundation for Wildlife Management group to inhumanely hunt and kill wolves on any private land they control or on all public lands that we should be able to safely use. The FWM group is NOT affiliated, nor do they have the blessing of, our Montana State Fish and Wildlife biologists. The non-profit group Foundation for Wildlife Management raises money so they can pay $1,500 per head for a wolf. The bag...
With the passing of icon Betty White three weeks short of her 100th birthday, people have been sharing the impact the performer had on their lives. From her roles as sweet Sue Ann Nivens on The Mary Tyler Moore Show, the dimwitted Rose Nylund on Golden Girls, to portraying the deceptive foul mouthed Catherine Piper on Boston Legal, Betty’s nine-decade career provided a diversity of characters and created an enduring legacy, both on stage and screen. Throughout life, Betty shared her d...
The Sanders County Ledger – January 9, 1992 From 30 Years Ago Jobless Rate Posts Higher The jobless rate for Sanders County mirrored the typical seasonal increase as weather and tourism saw reduced activity. For the month of November, the latest month of available statistics, the jobless rate increased to 14.1%, up from 12.4% in October. An additional 53 workers were seeking work while the number of employed workers dropped from 2,640 to 2,594. Statewide, the jobless rate increased 1.2%, up from 6.2% in October to 7.4% in November. N...
JIM ENGEBRETSON, Thompson Falls - “The Bible.” LISA GREGORY, Thompson Falls - “Fifty Shades of Grey.” SCOTT JOHNSON, Thompson Falls - “A Bridge in the Jungle by B. Traven.” RYNE SORENSON, Thompson Falls - “The last book I read was The Trial, by Franz Kafka.” KATRINA NYGAARD, Thompson Falls - “The John Denver autobiography.” CHERIE HAMILTON, Thompson Falls - “The Bible....
Montana Highway Patrol Matthew Shuttle, 55, seatbelt violation, $20; no liability insurance, 1st offense, $85. Keven Lynch, 29, no driver’s license, $235. Mark Yoder, 57, following too closely, $55. Drew Carey, 16, basic rule, reasonable and prudent, 1st offense, $85. Tyler Bowman, 33, speeding in a restricted zone, $65. Trevor Frey, 16, no liability insurance, 1st offense, $85. Anelia Botello, 26, driving while suspended, 1st offense, $285; day speeding, $120. Kevin Kenyon, 59, day speeding, $20. Liam Rogalski, 26, day speeding, $70. Victor S...
Ambulance: Noxon, 3; Plains, 10; T. Falls, 10; Trout Creek, 2; Hot Springs, 4; Dixon, 2. Monday, January 10 Assist miscellaneous, T. Falls. Animal other, Trout Creek. Animal stray/ lost, Plains.’ Motor vehicle crash, Plains. Theft, Trout Creek. Assist motorist/citizen, T. Falls. Fire, Plains. Lost and found, Dixon. Fire, Hot Springs. Protection order violation, Plains. Motor vehicle crash, Plains. Tuesday, January 11 Motor vehicle crash, Heron. Fire, Heron. Littering, T. Falls. Automated alarm call, Plains. Automated alarm call, T. Falls. T...
Sanders County Democrats hosted the second installment of their virtual cinema series, “What Unites Us” this month. January’s program focused on federal funding and how it fuels Sanders County. The hour-long event saw around 30 attendees, including community members from Mineral and Lincoln counties, as well as several guest speakers. “The intention of this six-month virtual video series is to get past the barriers of division in that we hear so much of and the partisanship in our county particularly, and focus on the topics that unite and sup...
It was certainly a good news bad news situation for the Town of Plains last week. Mayor Dan Rowan was notified that the town received the deed for the 10 acres for their new sewer lagoon site. Things were looking up. Then, the mayor got news that only three companies bid on the construction of the new lagoon — not a bad thing in itself — but they were all over $6-million. “I got to celebrate for a few minutes, then I got word of that,” said Rowan, who added that even with receiving $7.3-million in grants, they don’t have enough in the budge...
While funding agencies want the Sanders County Sewer District at Paradise to start work on the new sewer system, those in opposition continue to voice disapproval and would like the project halted. "Everybody gets carried away and you guys start making plans buying land and all this kind of thing, but people still need to vote. It's still my understanding that two-thirds of the people from Paradise do not want this," said LeeAnn Overman, who has attended nearly all the meetings and is generally...
Carla Sanford Hurst passed away at the age of 65 Wednesday, January 5, 2022, after a prolonged illness. Carla is survived by her husband, Jim Hurst; her son and his wife, Jonathan and Rhonda Buys; and four grandchildren, Savannah (Jack) Belcher, Madeline Buys, Benjamin Buys and Jacob Buys. Carla also leaves her former step-daughter-in-law Kelly Kovarik; Kelly's daughter Britney Buys; and Britney's two children Elena and Ryker, with whom she had a long and special relationship. There are no... Full story
Sandy passed away January 9, 2022, after a long, courageous battle with cancer. Sandy was born May 25, 1950, to Kenneth and Lela Wilson of Heron Montana. Raised on a dairy farm at Heron, she learned to milk cows and developed a love of animals at an early age. This continued into later years on her little farm in Plains pinned "Sandy's Mini-chores." There she raised miniature donkeys, miniature horses, pygmy goats, potbellied pigs, llamas and a variety of other interesting animals. She loved... Full story
Larry D. Wade, our real cowboy, rode into the sunset to be with his Savior, Jesus, on Tuesday, December 28, 2021, at Brookdale in Las Vegas. Larry was born November 17, 1941, in Cozad, Nebraska, to the late Don and Della Wade. His family and friends will remember him as enjoying the outdoors. He enjoyed attending and watching the PBR and NFR. Before entering his teaching career, Larry rodeoed for 10 years. In 1965 he won a Regional Championship in saddle bronc riding. Larry taught math and... Full story
Larry D."Lonesome" Loberg, age 65, passed away January 7, 2022, at his home in Plains, Montana, of natural causes. He was an independent logger with over 1 million miles driven, accident free, behind the wheel of his '69 Kenworth. He is survived by his partner and best friend of 18 years, Lisa Wescott; his brother, Rick Loberg of Hot Springs; sisters Marla Loberg and Julie Canedo of Washington; and numerous nieces and nephews. Please join us for a potluck May 14, 2022, 1-4 pm at the VFW in... Full story
A person planning to view the Art on the Walls student exhibit at Clark Fork Valley Hospital will see two first time projects from Plains High School. Students from Kristen Cole's art students from 7th grade to seniors have been working on their projects for months and some were putting in their finishing touches up to the day of turning them in this week to the Paradise Center's arts committee, headed by Joy Nelson, who said they'll be displaying the art the following week. Each county school w...
Breakfast long has been touted as the most important meal of the day. After a good night's rest, breakfast refuels the body and energizes it for the day ahead. Hectic mornings compel many people to skip breakfast. That's especially so for parents who are pulled in multiple directions each morning. There are many ways to streamline breakfast and still get to school or work on time. The following are some tips to save time and enjoy healthy homemade breakfasts each morning. Put your slow cooker to...
The Plains School Drama Club set the stage for its upcoming play, "A Little Piece of Heaven," scheduled for January 27 and 28 at 7 p.m. both evenings in the school's new gymnasium. It took Terri Henry, the school's drama coach, and Cathy Emmett, the assistant drama coach, and sophomore Alexander Horodyski, who portrays Jared Havens in the play, more than five hours Saturday to erect the setting for the play. Most of the cast members couldn't help with the set-up because of illness or previous en...
It was a successful weekend at the Choteau Classic for the Blue Hawk wrestlers, who came home with a champion and two second-place finishers. Senior Trae Thilmony, on a quest for his third straight state title, won the 145-pound bracket as junior Eli Ratliff placed second at 152 and Max Hannum was second at 170. The Blue Hawks placed fifth as a team and coach Mike Thilmony was very happy with that finish. The team had five of their eight wrestlers make it to the second day of the two-day tournament, including Westin Brown, who came up short in...
It was the battle of the unbeatens Tuesday in Thompson Falls, as the 8-0 Bigfork Valkyries took on the 7-0 Lady Hawks in a 7-B matchup. Bigfork kept their undefeated season going, handing the Hawks their first loss of the season, 69-30. It was a physical game against a physical team, with both teams hitting the court in aggressive fashion. Thompson Falls junior Natalie Roberts took a charge in the first quarter as the Valkyries took an early lead. Caity Alexander scored the first basket for the...
The Savage Horsemen wrestling team got to see some tough competition this weekend, but Coach Shane Angle was happy with their performance as they traveled to Fairfield for duals on Thursday and then to Choteau for the two-day Choteau Classic over the weekend. Angle’s team is getting more experienced as the season goes on, and it’s showing on the mat. The team placed eighth in the Choteau Classic, with David Schulze finishing top for the team in second place. Schulze suffered his first loss of the season in the championship match against Tom...
MONDAY NITE GALS W L Dangerous Dames 52 24 Nascar Freaks 48 28 Talk of the Town 39.5 36.5 Rock’n Bowl 39 37 Dolls with Balls 38.5 37.5 Bye 11 65 Team Scr. Game: Dolls with Balls, 476; Scr. Series: Dolls with Balls, 1322; Hcp. Game: Dolls with Balls, 637; Hcp. Series: Dolls with Balls, 1805; Inv. Scr. Game: Brenda Franck, 202; Scr. Series: Brenda Franck, 549; Hcp. Game: Brenda Franck, 248; Hcp. Series: Brenda Franck, 687. OVER THE HILL GANG W L Mixed Nuts 48 24 Leftovers 46.5 25.5 Fun Team 46 26 Joker’s Wild 37.5 34.5 Com’ Bak Kids 30 42 Bye 8...
