Independently owned since 1905
Independently owned since 1905
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by Annie Wooden It's a somewhat quiet election season for local Sanders County races this election season. Five county elected officials are up for re-election this year, and only one race is contested. County Commissioner Dan Rowan, Attorney Megan Hansen and Coroner Greg Davis are all running unopposed for their respective positions. Alisa Garcia of Thompson Falls was the only candidate to file for the combined position of Clerk and Recorder, Treasurer and Superintendent of Schools. The...
A 40-year-old woman from Clark Fork, Idaho, was killed in an accident early Sunday morning on Highway 200 near Heron. Montana Highway Patrol reported that the woman was driving a Toyota FJ Cruiser west on Highway 200 near mile marker 1.3 when the vehicle drifted off the right side of the roadway. The driver attempted to correct back onto the road and struck an embankment, overturning the vehicle. The accident occurred just before 3 a.m. on Sunday. The driver of the vehicle was pronounced dead at the scene. A 36-year-old female passenger, also...
A group of local senior citizens had the chance to go back to school, relive the days of their youth, and dance to the music of their generation, including a 102-year-old woman who spent a lot of time on the dance floor. Twenty-five men and women attended the Plains School's "1st Annual Super Senior Prom" in the school gymnasium last Wednesday. Several were Plains High School graduates. Five residents of the Clark Fork Valley Hospital Long Term Care took part in the event and more than a dozen...
Photo by Linda Elliott With daylight saving time comes later Spring sunsets in Sanders County. After some snow flurries earlier this week, temperatures will rise back into the 50s for the weekend. See the weekend forecast on Page 14....
In Montana we have many seasons. There are the four regular seasons, but then there is hunting season and boating season, and probably the most recognizable, wildfire season. In March, everyone is busy clearing up their yards and property. Both Plains and Thompson Falls will be sponsoring beautification days in the towns in an effort to help keep common areas clean and help neighbors clear out leftovers from fall and winter. March also brings open burning season in Montana. It was pretty obvious March 1 when the season started as you started...
Thanks to Chris Hill for his informative letter about the MAGA belief system. The letter helps clarify why Trump and his MAGA followers are so intensely critical of what they call mainstream media. Since the information they get from the MAGA media universe are routinely discredited by fact-based news sources, the MAGA believers have good reason to attack anything like real journalism. It is harder to believe that Trump is committed to our Constitution, if you are aware that he tried to violate the peaceful transfer of power which is spelled...
With a truly broken heart, I am paying tribute to one of Thompson Falls most beloved citizens, Neil Carman. Neil was so reflective of what this community has always been - caring, kind, generous, ever helpful to each other in so many ways. Many of us over many years have been recipients of Neil’s kindness and generosity, and benefited from his hard work on our behalf. Neil dedicated much of his time doing work for others, creating, always thinking of ways to be helpful or make things better. He would remind me he wasn’t college educated, and...
The ability to have a say in government by voting is the bedrock principle of democracy. Because of that, every vote should be of equal value and carry the same weight. That is true for every political office in the United States except for the office of the Presidency where some people’s votes carry more weight than others depending on which state they vote in. Within the boundaries of a statewide or regional office all votes are equal. They are tallied up and the person with the most votes w...
7 YEARS AGO • MARCH 11, 1999 REALIZATION OF DREAM EVIDENT IN NEW CENTER The realization of a long-held dream was shared with over 140 people when the Thompson Falls Senior Citizens formally dedicated their new center east of town. Members of the group were understandingly beaming as they freely gave tours through the building for the many guests. Elthea Butcher, the secretary for the group, said the structure was financed primarily from their savings from years of fundraisers and dues and then the package was completed by a zero-interest l...
KYLIEGH RUEN, Thompson Falls - “I like the Science projects that we do during STEAM Fridays.” SHEA HAAS, Thompson Falls - “Art is my favorite part of STEAM because I am better at it and I like to draw.” BELLA CORK, Thompson Falls - “My favorite STEAM projects involve Math. It is the best subject that I am good at.” ALLAN MCGANN, Thompson Falls - “I’m going to have to say Science and Engineering because they're fun and I like learning about such things as catapults and planets.” JAYDEN ANDERSON, Thompson Falls - “I like Technology because...
After nearly 24 years of serving the people of Lake and Sanders counties as a judge in the Twentieth Judicial District, Judge Deborah "Kim" Christopher has announced her retirement, effective April 5. Christopher first took the bench in 2000, becoming the first female judge to serve the Twentieth Judicial District. Growing up in Polson, but with family ties to Sanders County through her mother's family, Christopher attended law school at the University of Montana, starting her legal career as an...
Ambulance: Plains, 8; T. Falls, 4; Noxon, 2; Hot Springs, 2; Trout Creek, 1; Paradise, 1; Dixon, 1. Monday, March 18 Juvenile runaway, Dixon. General animal call/complaint, Camas Prairie. Civil standby, Plains. Civil standby, Trout Creek. Assist miscellaneous, T. Falls. Search warrant. Suspicious activity, Plains. Business contact, Hot Springs. General animal call/complaint, Dixon. Threats, Hot Springs. Sexual assault, Heron. Civil standby, Plains. Tuesday, March 19 Intoxicated driver report. Animal other, Trout Creek. Fire, Plains. Welfare...
Coming before Judge Molly Owen for his initial appearance, Brent Allen Wiegele entered a not guilty plea to one felony count of burglary on Tuesday. A jury trial was set for July 23, 2024. As alleged in the charging documents, on or around March 22, 2023, Sanders County Sheriff’s Deputy Craig McCarthy was advised of a reported trespass at a property between Thompson Falls and Trout Creek. According to the property owner, they had recently inherited the ranch and its equipment. The first time they had noticed anything amiss was the previous d...
Lolo National Forest Land Management Plan Revision The Lolo National Forest has been reaching out for comments on their proposed actions for their forest plan revision. This comment period ends on April 1, 2024. All to often when the USFS reaches out for comments on any type of project, people feel like someone else will do the commenting or the USFS has made their decision and asking for comments is only a formality. This is not true. Now is your time to put in your ideas on the forest revision plan. This plan covers all issues from forest...
James Douglas Brown passed away peacefully on March 17, 2024, at his home in Whitepine surrounded by his family. He was born May 1, 1943, in Billings, Montana, to Emily (McDonald) and Raymond Brown. The family lived on a ranch outside Molt, Montana, and Jim went to a one-room schoolhouse in Molt until he graduated the eighth grade. He attended high school in Laurel for one year until he moved to Sanders County with his mother, near where his grandparents lived. Jim attended high school in Dixon...
Joanne Webley, 88, of Noxon, Montana, passed away March 15, 2024, at her home in the presence of loved ones. She was born Joan Bonzon on December 4, 1935, in Lewistown, Montana, to Dorothy Bonzon of Grass Range, Montana. The family eventually moved to Seattle, where Joanne would become a big sister to Sandy and Doug and graduate from Cleveland High School. In time Joanne met and fell in love with Cleve Webley. They married on July 30, 1955. Together they welcomed two daughters, Ramona and Cory....
Neil Carman passed away at home on March 23, 2024, under his own terms. He was born January 1, 1946, in Yakima County, Washington. He grew up on the farmily farm with his parents and five siblings. He was a farmer at heart and was always growing something. When he was not working in the dirt, he enjoyed riding motorcycles and woodworking. He and Dixie moved to Thompson Falls 30 years ago and were embraced by the town. They spent time helping the elderly population in the community. There will...
It was students teaching students last week at Plains School where a group of seventh graders read stories to elementary students and showed the younger kids their writing styles. Sixteen students from Kati Mitchell’s Keyboarding and Computer Applications class took classic children’s stories and tweaked them by changing characters and plots and inserting their own creative writing styles and they designed their own graphics for the stories. The team of Miranda Dawson and Reese Meredith altered the story “Frozen” and made their own version call...
Plains High School celebrated their year with prom earlier this month. King and Queen (back) were Zander Czifro and Peyton Wasson. Representing the littles (kindergarten students) were Maverick Mull and Rwyn Niemi (front)....
Hot Springs High School held a "Vintage Vegas" prom on March 23 at Loui's Public House. Senior royalty were queen Anjaleah Sheridan (left) and king Michael Marrinan....
The annual Health Fair was hosted by Plains School on Saturday. This was the first year it was held at the school, in the new gymnasium. Dr. Barbara Steward from Clark Fork Valley Hospital gave the opening speech and did a ceremonial ribbon cutting. A variety of health aspects were presented by various groups and businesses from the Plains area. While most were from CFVH, several were not. Warrior Fitness owner Becky Fields and her son, Maverick, had exercise challenges for free prizes. Situps,...
The Plains golf team hosted a nine-hole match last Friday with Thompson Falls and Superior joining the competition. Thompson brought 10 players, five boys and five girls. The Horsemen/Trotters did not keep score for the match but Coach Lisa Brown says the kids were very excited to get on the course. "Even in an event like Friday, the mindset is way different than practice. Our kids have made some great strides already, and Friday was really good for our golfers who have never golfed in a...
High school baseball season had hardly started when the Plains team was finished. The team folded last week because of a lack of players, said Principal Ryon Noland, who added that it was not an easy decision. He said he met with school board members, athletic director Marie Errecart, and Superintendent Kathleen Walsh, and seriously discussed the matter over the last few weeks. The Horsemen had nine at the first practice and had 10 last week, but head coach Richard Powers had hoped to get a few more. “I let them know what was happening to see i...
SOLUTIONS ACROSS 1. DBMS 5. ENEMAS 11. ERIC 12. BODYGUARD 16. PUSH 17. AT 18. LEVEE 19. INHUMANITIES 24. MR 25. CEASES 26. CAN’T 27. CAB 28. TIPS 29. PENN 30. KAKI 31. ACIDS 33. DONEE 34. UMPIRE 38. MORASS 39. NAIVE 40. SANAA 43. CLAY 44. COCA 45. ABED 49. LOS 50. BORE 51. CABANA 53. AD 54. PALABILITY 56. SOKES 58. AC 59. ALIT 60. PROSECUTE 63. ZERO 64. ORATED 65. EDEN SOLUTIONS DOWN 1. DEPICT 2. BRUNEI 3. MISHAP 4. SCHUSS 5. EBAN 6. NOTICED 7. ED 8. MY 9. AGLET 10. SUES 13. AV 14. REMAKES 15. DERBIES 20. ME 21. AS 22. TANS 23. INN 27. CANA 2...
The Noxon-Thompson co-op baseball team had their inaugural game of their inaugural season, traveling to Polson to take on the Pirates last Saturday. The Red Devils fell 2-20 in just three innings to the Pirates, who won the state championship in 2023. The Pirates came out on top in the first and were swift to strike out the Red Devils. The Devils, getting their own chance, were unable to strike out Polson. The next thing the crowd would see would be a Pirate running across home base. The Red Devils would try to keep Polson to only one run but...
