Independently owned since 1905
Independently owned since 1905
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by Ed Moreth A group of people spent their Saturday knocking down both pigeons and pins and their only regret was not getting them all. They were clay pigeons and bowling pins and it was all part of the annual Plains Trap Club "Bowl 'n' Blast competition. In teams of four, 48 men and six women started out the early chilly morning at the trap club shooting at the disk targets. Each person went to the shooting line 20 times, 10 as a caller and 10 as backup, said Cookie Kunzer, who coordinated the...
by Justin Harris It is always nice to get new stuff. But sometimes, old stuff needs to be moved to make room for the new. That is the predicament Thompson River Animal Care Shelter (TRACS) is in now, and staff hopes to find someone in the community who can benefit from their situation. Following the fire last year that took the shelter’s cattery, insurance has been settled and new arrangements are in the works. “We can’t start progress for the cats until the old building is hauled away,” said TRACS President Wanda Thorpe. “The upside is that t...
Last week the world’s largest celebration of educational choices took place. National School Choice Week’s (NSCW) Director of Communications Shelby Doyle reported that 32,240 events and activities, with an estimated 6.7 million participants, took place nationwide to raise awareness about K-12 educational options. According to Elsie Arntzen, Montana Superintendent of Public Instruction, Montana has more than 800 schools and 400 districts. Many of these districts are “creating new programs outside of the traditional school model that prepa...
Plains/Thompson Falls Ranger District is asking for comments on a proposed salvage project expected to begin this summer. Last year’s Moose Peak Fire created a 250-acre project area, located approximately 22 miles northeast of Thompson Falls near Fishtrap Creek. Proposed action would entail removal of most dead and dying trees at least eight inches in diameter at chest height, in 8-foot length sections, 5.6-inch diameter top and 33 percent sound. Action includes leaving live trees, with exception of a few incidentals requiring removal for l...
As the snow melts in my driveway, it would appear that the earliest blooms of spring are from seedlings of trash, candy wrappers and music equipment components I haven’t seen since Halloween. If I water and care for these newly revealed treasures that seem to multiply as the snow keeps melting, perhaps the wrappers will fill with candy and the now-rusty musical components will mature into fully-functional instruments… or maybe I’ll just have to do some outdoor tidying up. Which brings to mind the spring cleanup event in Thompson Falls known...
Is anyone else in Sanders County disgusted with the welcome mat laid out for the likes of Cliven Bundy? Two hundred people packed a gym in Paradise to listen to this violent, deadbeat, anti-government, racist, con-artist attempt to justify the criminality of his acts and his family? If violent acts and lack of respect for the laws of the USA is the type of abusive behavior approved of in Sanders County I would suggest local law enforcement, employees of State, Federal, and local government be wary of their interactions with citizens and even...
In Montana, we leave gates as we found them. Ranchers don’t graze on their neighbor’s grass without asking or paying for it. We pull one another out of the ditch. We follow the rule of law, which may sound like some pointy-headed academic term, but really it’s simply society’s agreement with itself – we play by the same rules. It’s part of who we are as Montanans and Americans. That’s why it was so disturbing to see a sitting state senator, Jennifer Fielder, welcome Cliven Bundy to our state and speak alongside him in Paradise recently. Muc...
5 YEARS AGO • FEBRUARY 1, 1968 BOY FALLS INTO RIVER BUT SAVES HIS DOG There’s a stronger than normal bond existing between Gypsy, a three-year-old German Shepherd, and her master, Scott Sol. Gypsy owes her life to 10-year-old Scott, son of Highway Patrolman and Mrs. Joe R. Sol. While Scott and his sister, Sherry were playing around their home at Birdland Bay west of Thompson Falls the other day, Gypsy was exploring an iced over inlet in the Clark Fork River nearby when the ice gave way and she fell into the icy water. The two Sol children hea...
MICHAEL HEDAHL, Thompson Falls – “Downhill skiing because I’ve skied a lot over the past 14 years. I’m fascinated with speed. People can go at such high speeds.” SHARON POUND, Thompson Falls – “I like the skiing and snowboarding. I just like it.” JACQUE JONER, Thompson Falls – “Probably ice skating. I like the grace and choreography. “ TILLIE WOLLASTON, Thompson Falls – “I do watch it especially when my favorite programs are not on. I pretty much like all the sports.” CHUCK HAMMETT, Thompson Falls – “I like the downhill skiing. It’s exciting...
Ambulances: Noxon, 2; T. Falls, 5; Plains, 5; H. Springs, 4; Dixon QRU, 1. Sunday, January 21 Check requested on private property where suspicious activity has occurred, T. Creek. Suspicious activity at rural home, T. Falls. Monday, January 22 Evicted renters left behind property and trash, T. Creek. Injured deer along Hwy. 28, Plains. Welfare check requested, Plains. One vehicle slide-off on Hwy. 28. Vehicle vs. deer, Plains. Domestic dispute, H. Springs. Tuesday, January 23 Abandoned vehicle on Hwy. 200, Eddy Flats. Possible animal neglect,...
Montana Highway Patrol Beau Stewart, 32, $175, fail to notify owner after accident resulting in damage, 1st offense; $135, driving without a valid license, 2nd offense. Beau Stewart, 32, $125, operating vehicle without interlock; $735, 180 days jail, 179 suspended, driving under the influence of alcohol, 1st offense. Thomas Cometto, Jr., 20, $20, day speeding; $85, failure to submit for title transfer within 40 days. James Phillips, 59, $85, operating without liability insurance, 1st offense. Trina Huffman, 37, $20, seatbelt violation....
Cliven Bundy was invited to come to Paradise, Mont., to speak about his problems with the federal government. According to Bundy, he is being persecuted for not paying for use of public lands. A brief list of his “problems” is enlightening to say the least. He does not recognize powers of the federal government stating that he has no contract with the federal government. “My 15-second defense is I only graze my cattle on Clark County, Nev. land and I have no contract with the federal government,” he said. “I haven’t had a contract with the fe...
As a person born and raised in Nevada I would like to tell my true story that goes along with this Bundy issue. I should start out by saying that this happened a long time ago, I was maybe 10 at the start of the story. My father was an avid hunter and fisherman and he got me started very early, I got my first shotgun when I was eight, but that’s not what I’m here to talk about. It was the fishing. You may not know but Nevada had some great mountain stream fishing, much better and different than around here. Every summer Mom, Dad and I wou...
Does your belly have two buttons? If so, you might be a "tubie." Next week is Feeding Tube Awareness Week, and Thompson Falls mother and master hair stylist Meikele "Kellee" Needles is all about promotion of this unique condition. Kellee's three-year-old son, Nico, is the inspiration for her support of feeding tube awareness, as he is living the life of a child who struggles to eat and drink food normally. "I feel that unique is the new normal these days," explained Kellee, who home schools her...
Montana Tech recently announced it’s fall semester 2017 Honor Roll, Dean’s List, and Chancellor’s Honor Roll. Nine Sanders County students received honors. A student who earns a 4.0 GPA is placed on the Chancellor’s Honor Roll. Those earning a 3.5 GPA will receive recognition for being listed on the Dean’s List. A full‐time undergraduate student (enrolling in and completing a minimum of 12 credits) who earns a 3.25 GPA during the semester is listed on the semester Honor Roll. Students from Sanders County included: Nathan Gray, Hot Springs, De...
Flathead Valley Community College officials announced the names of students who made the Dean’s List for the Fall 2017 semester. The following Sanders County students earned a minimum grade point average of 3.5: Hot Springs - James W. DeTienne. Plains - Hailey R. Coe, Anna M. Dryden, Grace A. Gamboa and Mahala J. Sweet....
Students from Thompson Falls Elementary and Junior High competed in a Geography Bee. There were 10 contestants competing from grades fifth through eighth. The competition was made up of two rounds, the final round and the championship round. The final round consisted of questions with double elimination, meaning once a student has answered two questions wrong they are out of the competition. Questions were asked until there were only two students remaining who moved to the championship round to...
Laurence Duncan Molzhon left this world to be with the Lord on the morning of January 25, 2018. He was born November 9, 1932, near Vida, Mont., at the family homestead. He spent his younger years in eastern Montana before his family moved to western Montana, to the Ronan/Pablo area, for health reasons. He only went to school to the beginning of the 9th grade, then decided to get his education, as he put it, working for many ranchers, farmers and loggers. In 1962, Laurence and his wife Lillian... Full story
Robert Nash of Thompson Falls, 97, died Monday January 29, 2018 at his residence. A memorial gathering will be held at 7:30 p.m. Friday, February 2, at the Clark Fork Valley Elks Lodge in Thompson Falls. Sunset Hills Funeral Home and Crematory are handling the arrangements.... Full story
Mary Lois Hurd Wonder of Paradise and Plains passed away from a stroke January 27, 2018. She was born May 19, 1915 in Red Deer, Alberta, Canada, to George W. Hurd and Mary Catherine Smith Hurd, Americans who came to Canada to work on a farm. They returned to the United States in 1918, where she grew up first in eastern North Dakota and then in eastern South Dakota. She graduated from high school in 1935 at Rockham, S.D. Lois attended college for one year at Wessington Springs, S.D., and began a teaching career which spanned more than 35 years.... Full story
Our wonderful father, Anton Johnson, died peacefully in his sleep on January 22, 2018 at the age of 94. He lived a long and contented life, even though he entered this world weighing in at only 4 pounds, bearing an enlarged heart and not expected to live. If you had the good fortune of knowing him, you would understand that his heart remained big. Dad was born on July 11, 1923 in Thompson Falls, Mont., and raised on a farm in Trout Creek, Mont. He rose early each morning to milk cows before... Full story
On March 24, 1986 at 3:24 in the afternoon our family celebrated the birth of Nicholas James Phillips in Bellevue, Wash. Nicholas was born with a chromosome disorder. He was medically fragile and faced many special needs throughout his life, but it was all taken in stride with the attitude that his disabilities were going to teach us new abilities. With a life expectancy given to us of six months to one year, life was a roller coaster in the beginning and then became the new normal to which we,... Full story
Approval rating for congress has gone up – at least that of the Thompson Falls Bowling Congress, where strikes on their record is a good thing. Rimrock Lanes held a fundraiser Saturday, Jan. 27, to raise funds for the purchase of new bowling shoes. While half the fun of bowling is the stylish shoes, the ones at the lanes have been long due for replacing. A No Tap Tourney fundraiser was held in October at Rimrock Lanes to bolster the annual $500 scholarship awarded by the congress. In all, $300 was raised with Ginger Ward taking first place, N...
Gospel Mountain Assembly of God Church in Thompson Falls is hosting “The Bait of Satan.” The program is a 6-week DVD series that will be shown Sundays at 6 p.m. beginning Feb. 4. The series, by John Bevere, shows how to escape Satan’s grip, avoid a victim mentality, practice forgiveness, experience reconciliation, and learn how to live free from the deadly trap of offense, and live free in Christ. The series is free and presented at the church, 1120 West Preston Ave. For more information, call 827-9472....
Mark your calendar for the Fly Fishing Film Tour, coming to the Rex Theatre in Thompson Falls at 7 p.m., Saturday, April 28. The Fly Fishing Film Tour is a traveling film festival that features films about the characters, stories and fisheries that make up fly-fishing. Now in its 12th year, this is the first time the tour has stopped in Thompson Falls. The event is sponsored by local organizations and is a fundraiser for the Rex Theatre. For more information about this fun event, visit...
