Independently owned since 1905
Independently owned since 1905
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When Greg Dicken of the Plains Public Works Department takes his package to the post office, he nearly always gets a sour look from the postal employees, but that could be because he's mailing out town sewage samples to a lab in Kalispell, as he's mandated by the state. Dicken doesn't care about the postal reception; he gets a laugh from their reaction. Yet making the postal ladies squeamish is nothing like the thrill he got last week when he was named the Montana 2019 Wastewater Operator of...
It took Plains sixth-grade student Kailtlyn Ducept four rounds to retain her title as Sanders County Spelling Bee champion, repeating for a second year. While Ducept repeated as champion, it was a 13-round battle for the second and third place finishers in Sanders County. Ayleen Keefe, a fifth-grader from Hot Springs, and David Flores, a sixth-grader from Trout Creek, went word-for-word, with Keefe taking the second-place spot. In the 13th round of the two battling for second place, Keefe spelle...
Being prepared for a disaster takes a lot of planning. Sanders County is a step closer to updating its Multi-Hazard Mitigation Plan, which includes strategy to reduce impacts of natural and manmade hazards. County officials have been working since November to update the plan with consulting firm Tetra Tech. The plan must be updated every five years in order for the county to remain eligible for disaster funding from the Federal Emergency Management Association (FEMA). Sanders County received a $50,000 FEMA Homeland Security grant to update the...
At the Thompson Falls School Board meeting on Monday, High School Principal Rich Ferris addressed attendance, saying it’s probably the greatest concern at school. “We need to work together as a community to make sure kids are in school,” Ferris said. School officials plan to meet with county officials to see what can be done about students with many absences or truancies, Ferris said, hoping the school can get support from the county. Ferris noted students are designated as chronically absent if they miss 10 percent of the school days in a yea...
When does an Executive Order usurp the constitutional powers of Congress? Certainly when it directs distribution of funds for a purpose that has not been approved by Congress. Recently the House passed a measure that would revoke President Trump's Executive Order appropriating money to build a wall on the Mexican border. The United States Constitution gives Congress, and only Congress, the power to appropriate and spend American dollars; not the Judiciary, not the Executive. What President...
There is a new word being thrown around that most people haven’t heard of – “infanticide.” Which is most appropriately defined as murder. If your Congress person voted for this, they don’t deserve their office. Gary Thompson, Thompson Falls...
1 YEARS AGO FEBRUARY 13, 1919 NARROW ESCAPE Patrick Duffy who lives three miles west of Heron had the misfortune to lose his team of horses in the Clark’s Fork River last Sunday morning. He was taking them across the river on the ferry, which consists of a cage suspended from a cable by means of blocks and operated by a gas engine. The cable spans the river at a height of 150 feet. When about half way across the sheave of one of the blocks came off the cable and during the delay which ensued in trying to remedy the trouble, the horses b...
DON HOPPE, Noxon – “Someone from Chattahoochee, like an Alan Jackson song.” SANDY DAVIS, Noxon – “Nice downtown people … pretty happy people.” JUDY AUGUSTINE, Noxon – “A good, solid country boy. The kind you can rely on.” JAEDYN MURRAY, Noxon –“Someone who is hard working and crazy.” JAKE MICKELSON, Thompson Falls –“I consider myself off the grid. I consider myself redneck.” (He blacked out his tooth for fun.) DONALD LORD, Plains –“It’s more like a rancher. Someone who was raised on a ranch....
Montana Highway Patrol Christi Groneman, 34, seatbelt violation, $20; driving a motor vehicle while privilege is suspended, $210. Mark Gibson, 30, seatbelt violation, $70. Kody Martin, 25, operating without liability insurance in effect, 1st offense, $175; seatbelt violation, $20; driving a motor vehicle while privilege is suspended, $185. Armin Matt, 43, seatbelt violation, $20; displaying fictitious, altered, etc. license plates, $45; operating without liability insurance in effect, 1st offense, $75. Catalina Mitchell, 41, operating with...
Ambulances: Noxon, 2; T. Falls, 6; Plains, 5; H. Springs, 4; Dixon QRU, 1. Sunday, February 24 Disabled vehicle on Marten Creek, T. Creek. Trespassing, Plains. Criminal mischief, graffiti on a building in Plains. Shoplifting at the Symes Hotel, H. Springs. Welfare check requested, T. Falls. Stray dogs, Plains. Male found sleeping on the floor of Lucky Lil’s, Plains. Monday, February 25 SUV exceeding the posted speed limit near T. Falls Elementary. Dog left outside without shelter, Plains. Intoxicated woman in a snow bank near the Rimrock and H...
The Lakeside Resort's convention room was full of camouflage and blacked-out teeth Saturday night as the rednecks gathered to celebrate their heritage and raise money for the Trout Creek Community Improvement Association (TCCIA). The fifth annual Cabin Fever Redneck Ball kicked off Saturday evening with Dave and Deb Oliver taking the stage as "Thelma Lou and Billy Ray." The duo led the crowd of about 150 people in the Redneck Oath and starting off the entertaining with actual Billy Ray Cyrus...
The September day started out early, before the sun rose, as most expeditions like this do. I laced up my boots, filled my water bottles, and headed out the door with my friend and his dog, a needed companion. After traveling an hour and a half up Bull River Road, we finally arrived at the trailhead, with a sign that read "Leigh Lake Trail." We admired the glorious rock table next to the trailhead, then headed up the steep incline to begin the most marvelous hike of all. We started up at a...
Audrey Nadiene (Colyer) Knapp, 78 of Plains, Montana, passed away peacefully into the loving arms of Jesus on February 21, 2019, after fighting a long battle with cancer. Audrey was fierce in her fight and proved to us over and over just how stubborn she could be by continually pushing forward in her many ups and downs over the last year. Audrey's strong spiritual beliefs kept her peaceful and positive throughout her struggles, she continually amazed us all during this time. "Getting old ain't... Full story
CLARK FORK, IDAHO – Boyd Leonard Davis was born January 10, 1938 and passed away at his residence on February 12, 2019, following a battle with cancer with his loving wife Darlene (Deeter) by his side. He was born in Missoula, Montana, to Roy and Wilhelma (Kline) Davis. A celebration of life will be honored at a later date. Boyd graduated from Thompson Falls in 1957. After high school, he went to work in the timber industry beginning his career with Oliver Logging after he married Betty Jo H... Full story
Next week, students from several Sanders County schools will be spending a day dedicated to "Kicking Tobacco's Butt." Ronnie Trentham, a six-time oral, head and neck cancer survivor, will share his story on Tuesday, March 19 with students from Plains, Thompson Falls and Trout Creek. Trentham's presentation centers on the consequences of his own addiction to smokeless "chew" tobacco. Trentham will be accompanied by Cherokee Nation storyteller Greg Bilby, who offers American Indian stories that...
Cold temperatures have us all looking for a little warmth. Turkeys have been seen huddling to keep warm throughout the county last week. Temperatures are supposed to be consistently above freezing starting next week, as spring is just a couple weeks away....
Plains School was invaded by prehistoric animals Friday, but they weren't the normal dinosaurs. They had names like T-Rex Thompson, Coal Colyer and Big Red. They turned out to be school staff – Casey Thompson, Tyrel Allen, and Kevin Meredith – dressed in dinosaur costumes and they were managed by Paleontologist Pete Thom Chisholm, the school superintendent. The dinosaur raid was part of the school's I Love To Read Program theme "Dino-Mite Book Fair, Stomp, Chomp, and Read!" which is held dur...
HELENA — Montana’s House of Representatives passed a controversial resolution last week that would urge the federal government to deny a bison grazing permit for a Bozeman-based conservation organization. The resolution led to a last-minute meeting of the House Rules Committee before lawmakers voted on it during a floor session. House Joint Resolution 28 is carried by Rep. Dan Bartel, R-Lewistown. It asks the federal Bureau of Land Management to deny a grazing permit requested by American Prairie Reserve (APR), a private organization that, acco...
Two feet of snow on the ground and temperatures in the teens seems to be a good time to start planning for warm weather events. Members of the Plains Business Association gathered at Dog Hill Bistro last Thursday to begin planning efforts for the annual festival of Plains Days. Matt Jaramillo, owner of Big Sky Network in Plains volunteered to be the director of the festival this year. Jaramillo moved from Texas to Plains six years ago and has put on four large events in the Lone Star State,...
It may not look, or feel much like spring yet, but the calendar argues otherwise and high school sports teams in Sanders County will begin practice for the softball, track and field and golf seasons next Monday, come snow or high water or both. Of course, some of those practices set for the coming weeks will be forced indoors or cancelled all together, depending on what Mother Nature has in store for the winter-weary folks of Montana. On the track and field scene, Thompson Falls thinclads will again be guided by Trenna Ferris, who will be...
The high school football careers of Tyler Carr and Tyler Knudsen of Hot Springs and Levi Brubaker of Noxon are not quite over, they have one more game to play, this time as teammates for the Blue squad in the 23rd Annual 6-Man All-Star Football Game at 7 p.m. in Custer June 1. Another senior baller from Sanders County, Edison VanVleet of Noxon, has been chosen as an alternate for the Blue team in the all-star game, which pits players from the Western C and Eastern C 6-Man ranks on the Blue team against all-stars from the Northern and Southern 6...
The west is definitely not the best when it comes to girls Class C basketball. In the only state tournament to be played in Montana last week, the Class C girls met up at Four Seasons Arena in Great Falls and the Box Elder Bears eventually repeated their 2017 championship, defeating Northern C champions Roy-Winifred, whom the Bears had lost to the week before in the divisional championship game, 48-42 in the title game. Charlo and Arlee, the first and second place teams from the District 14C and...
