Independently owned since 1905
Independently owned since 1905
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With help from programs designed to assist low-income and battered women, Thompson Falls resident Amanda Childers has been able to build a new life for her and her two sons. Montana Job Services invited Childers to share her success story in Helena last Thursday with state representatives, asking for continued funding of Medicaid's extension program, HELP-Link. In less than eight minutes, Childers, who stated she was not nervous but excited, told her story. "For 12 years my sons and I were...
Noxon Senior Citizens (NSCI) and the Women for a Better Sanders County (WBSC) have been notified that the Montana Office of Tourism has awarded them a $9,150 grant to help pay for interpretive signs being placed along Highway 200’s Road to the Buffalo in western Sanders County. Since last fall, with strong support from local communities, the group managed to raise more than $4,000 in matching funds to qualify them to receive the grant. Linda Haywood, WBSC, said, “It is going to take several months to get everything in line, and before we can...
The stage at the Old Paradise School has seen its fair share of semi-famous musicians and performers since becoming a public venue – but none have carried the reputation, ideals and sheer number of hours on national television as the most recent visitor. Cliven Bundy visited the Old Paradise School on Saturday to share his family's story of grazing fee evasion, constitutional protection of private property, skirmishes with federal agents, and armed takeovers of federal facilities as a form of p...
Below is a fitting tribute to former Thompson Falls teacher Frank Rutzke, who recently lost his battle with cancer (see obituary on page 6), from a family friend and former student. It got us thinking about the impact of teachers. You send your kids to school for 7 hours a day, 5 days a week, 180 days a year. Teachers have a huge responsibility. Not just in teaching ABCs and 123s, but in helping your kids become awesome human beings and productive adults. That’s a lot of pressure and a huge responsibility for teachers. In some instances, the t...
Middle School is designed to be a transitional time in the lives of every young person. An opportunity to take on new challenges, begin to adapt to added responsibility and expand their worldview as they gain independence. It is a challenging and often frustrating experience for many, and for myself it was made even more difficult when my family made a sudden move to a small town in Montana called Thompson Falls. The middle school in Thompson Falls takes its description literally. Geographically it is situated between the elementary and high...
When I read the news that the United States government had shut down, my first thought was, “How can they tell?” Then I read that there was some worry that the National Parks would be shut down during the shut down, but since I thought we were going to close the National Parks anyway, that hardly seemed like news. It seems like the individual and collective minds of our elected officials in Congress and the President’s office had shut down, too, but that’s not really news, either. What was new...
WORKING MEN BY MONA LEESON VANEK From Behind These Mountains, Volume 1 The majority of men found woods work profitable. All along the banks of the Clark’s Fork River and the larger side streams feeding into it the lumberjacks swung heavy axes, pulled wide-toothed saws that chewed sawdust in steady rhythm. Strong, resourceful men who lived in tents or small cabins that contained no more than a bunk bed made of rough lumber upon which a bed roll could be placed; a rough plank table constructed of whatever materials were at hand; an enameled b...
Question of the week...
Ambulances: Noxon, 4; T. Falls, 6; Plains, 5; H. Springs, 2. Sunday, January 14 Cattle on Hwy. 382, Perma. Horse running loose inside the city of Plains. Welfare check requested, T. Falls. Theft of items from an outbuilding, H. Springs. Landlord/tenant dispute, H. Springs. Piece of firewood in the westbound lane of Hwy. 200, Perma. Monday, January 15 Arrest made for assault at H. Springs business. Disturbance at T. Falls business. One vehicle rollover crash on Hwy. 200 west of T. Falls. Motor vehicle crash on Hwy. 200, Noxon. Vehicle nearly...
Sanders County Attorney Richard Sheehan, 23, $235, disorderly conduct. Montana Highway Patrol Alissa Witters, 22, $335, driving without a valid license. Jean Morrison, 90, failure to give notice of accident by quickest means possible, 1st offense. Glen Wunderlich, 53, $20, seatbelt violation. Cody Christensen, 23, $20, seatbelt violation. Brittany Carr, 23, $55, speeding in a restricted zone. Jose Barajas Cruz, 59, $85, careless driving. Kim Roberts, 76, $20, seatbelt violation. Jeffrey Hernandez, $85, basic rule, reasonable and prudent, 1st...
Dear Editor Members of Northern Lights, Inc. (NLI), our local rural electric cooperative, are circulating petitions to change two sections of NLI’s ByLaws. According to NLI’s 2016 IRS 990 form, directors typically work 5 hours a week. Partial compensation is $27,942 per year that may be taken in health insurance or cash. Each director receives, in addition, a per diem and mileage for attending meetings. Directors are elected “volunteer” trustees who should negotiate to keep member bills low. Petition one asks for a change in the Bylaws to remov...
Noxon school board members, teachers, and members of the community met Jan. 16 to discuss a strategic plan for their schools. The meeting was hosted by Debra Silk from the Montana School Boards Association in Helena. Silk wishes to hold three strategic planning meetings to get the best idea for the direction and future of Noxon Public Schools. In Silk’s presentation, she outlined that strategic planning is necessary because it helps establish clarity and consensus regarding the direction of the Noxon Public Schools. Planning, she said, also hel...
As technology advances, older familiarities of organization go the way of the Dewy decimal system. So goes the story at the library in Hot Springs Schools. "We got everything online last week with very few bugs to work out," said school librarian and history teacher Robin Miller, "and despite the expected nightmares from a new system, students and myself are thrilled with the new library." Hot Springs is one of many Montana schools that have joined a consortium to create a completely online...
by Shana Neesvig Just when you thought you knew AnnaMaria Curry... Every word Curry speaks is with love and passion, reflecting her respect for life. She is an open book and full of honesty and very little, if any, regret. She was born Dec. 26, 1939 in Bolzano, SÜditrol, Northern Italy. She has accomplished great feats in her 78 years of life. Curry was the middle child of five. Being the only girl, she learned how to be tough and roll with the punches from early on. "My brothers, they were...
Two new candidates have filed for Sanders County posts. According to the Bobbi Christenson with the Clerk & Recorder’s office, current Sanders County Attorney Bob Zimmerman has filed for re-election, and Mark French has filed for Justice of the Peace. Those two join the following incumbents for filing: Carol Brooker, for Commissioner District #1, Nichol Scribner for the newly combined position of Clerk & Recorder/County Treasurer/Superintendent of Schools, and Tom Rummel, who filed for Sanders County Sheriff/Coroner. Rummel is currently f...
Former Thompson Falls teacher Frank Henry Rutzke Sr., much beloved and always-right umpire, called his last game Wednesday, January 17. After ejecting cancer once, and then putting up one hell of a fight the second time around, he was finding each extra inning of the game less fun than the last. Surrounded by family including his prized German Shepherds and his "felonious" therapy cat, Frank heard us talking about how great he looked behind the wheel of his Jaguar, promptly called the game, and...
PREPARING TO MARCH – About 30 pro-life Sanders County residents marched along the sidewalk Monday on the anniversary of the Roe v. Wade decision. Fred Fagan with the Knights of Columbus in Thompson Falls said that the group was unable to secure a permit for the march this year from the state. In previous years, the group travels down Main Street but this year, stayed on the sidewalk....
The Flat Iron Quilting Guild, in conjunction with the Cancer Network of Sanders County, is attempting to provide a handcrafted quilt to people in our county undergoing cancer treatment. There is a need for approximately 100 quilts per year. The Flat Iron guild is a small, local group of 18 talented ladies. But having a small group makes generating enough quilts a challenge. Quilters who want to contribute can supply lap robe sized quilts, (completed or unfinished) quilt tops, blocks, batting,...
When word of Cliven Bundy’s planned Sanders County visit reached opposing ears, the venue’s stewards, Paradise Elementary School Preservation Committee (PESPC), began receiving complaints from citizens upset that the group caretaking the historic school would allow the armed protesters from the Sagebrush Rebellion to hold their meeting there. The detractors seemed to be under the impression the committee was somehow supportive of the Bundy cause and ideology. The Preservation Committee’s John Thorson issued a press release outlining the organ...
From snowshoe stroll to extreme adventure; the Friends of Scotchman Peaks Wilderness winter hikes program has featured both ends of the spectrum and most levels in between over the past dozen years. Once again, this winter promises to be all of that. “In the past, we’ve had winter hikes for just about every level of fitness,” says FSPW Executive Director Phil Hough, “from a walk along Lightning Creek road — groomed in the winter — to late winter climbs to Scotchman and Star Peak. Those are a little more ambitious.” “A little more ambitious...
There's a new owner of Revier Transportation, but one thing he won't have to do is pay for decals for a name change for his fleet of school buses. After 23 years, Larry Revier of Plains decided to retire and sell his school bus business to his son, Chad Revier, who officially took over in January. The elder Revier won't be totally retired. He's agreed to stay part-time to help his son with the business. "I've enjoyed it. I didn't want to be so old that I couldn't do anything when I retired,"...
Students at Thompson Falls Elementary and Junior High School gathered for the second Olweus assembly, highlighting ways to prevent bullying. Four assemblies are planned throughout the school year, one for each quarter of the academic year. This program, developed by Dr. Dan Olweus, a professor of psychology from Norway, has been based on the greatest amount of research on bullying, and happens to be the foremost bullying prevention program in the world. The assembly started with an Empathy...
by John Hamilton The old question was: Do the Thompson Falls Blue Hawks have the wrestlers they need to challenge Eureka for Western B-C division supremacy? The new question could be: Do the Eureka Lions have the wrestlers they need to challenge Thompson Falls for Western B-C division supremacy? Proving to be a powerhouse team in their own right this season, the Blue Hawks swept to the title in their own Ted Kato Invitational at Thompson Falls High School Saturday, crowning five individual...
Short time! KLM 1983-2017 Kenny Marjerrison might not be here in body but his indomitable spirit lives on with his beloved Plains-Hot Springs wrestling team. And not just because his favorite shout of encouragement from the sidelines and his initials are emblazoned on P-HS's team jackets and hoodies this season. You can almost feel it when "his" kids are out there wrestling – they are not competing just for their school, themselves and their current coaches, they are out there doing their b...
Welcome to the Snake Pit, and have fun trying to battle your way out. The Thompson Falls boys basketball team faces one of its most severe tests of the season Saturday when coach Jake Mickelson and company travel to Anaconda to take on the Copperheads in a Western B tilt, in what locals affectionately refer to as the "Snake Pit," Anaconda's own famous home of basketball horrors at Anaconda High School. A native of nearby Philipsburg, Mickelson knows the confines of the Snake Pit quite well, and...
