Independently owned since 1905
Independently owned since 1905
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The primary election is less than two weeks away, and hundreds of absentee ballots have been casted by Sanders County voters. Of the 6,293 absentee ballots mailed in Sanders County, 19% (1,169) had been received by the county elections office as of Tuesday morning. Absentee ballots can be mailed (the elections office recommends mailing by May 26) or dropped off at the courthouse or two election satellite offices in the county. The Sanders County Election Office is operating two satellite offices in the county. The first is open 9 a.m. – 4 p...
Family and friends packed the school gym Sunday to celebrate Noxon's graduating class of 2022. Sixteen seniors donned their red and white robes as they took their seats before the crowd. Superintendent Dave Whitesell kicked off the ceremony and offered a few words of wisdom to the graduating class. Whitesell told the students life is full of boxes to be checked off and graduating high school is only one small box. "Good luck class of 2022," he said. "We will be watching you with a keen eye as...
Racing cars on school grounds is generally frowned upon, but it was actually encouraged by the shop teacher at Plains School last week. Nine students were involved in the race, which had been condoned by the school administration. Shop teacher Kyle Mitchell wasn't sure how fast the cars were traveling, but he guessed most of them were going about 40 mph by the time they hit the finish line. The five boys and four girls raced several times and when it was over, the champion was Tony Schaff in...
Sanders County Commissioner Tony Cox is tired of the sewer project dragging on so long, along with the constant strife between board members. "It's time to poop or get off the pot," he said at the Sanders County Sewer District at Paradise Board meeting at the Paradise Center last Tuesday. Nearly 50 people attended the three-hour long meeting, including Cox and fellow commissioner Claude Burlingame, along with six board members. Pernel Elaine Chapman, who was recently voted on the board, was...
My whole family got COVID recently. Ironically, we were all gathered at a funeral for my uncle, who passed away last fall, from COVID. I'm proud to say my family is fully vaccinated and boosted. More importantly, I'm very glad we all were. I have no doubt some of us would have ended up in the hospital had we not been. COVID is something we are going to have to learn to live with, just like the flu and other bugs that go around. However, we still have a responsibility to keep others safe. For now, the CDC is recommending isolating and then...
Editor I want to express my support for Mayor Dan Rowan in the upcoming election for Sanders County Commissioner. Even though I do not relish the idea of losing him as mayor, I believe he is the best man for the county commissioner position. I served with him for several years on city council and then for the last five that he has served as mayor. He is a straightforward guy and works tirelessly for the people and community he serves. His angle as mayor is always, what is best for the town and the people that live here. He was instrumental in...
If you read the local newspaper with any regularity, it would be hard to not be aware of the turmoil in Paradise over the proposed sewer. This is not a recent development. The Paradise sanitation and public water supply has been a concern since at least 2005. It has been top ranked for the Montana Treasure State Endowed Program and received the maximum number of points for statutory priority #1 for solving a public health and safety need. The Paradise County Sewer District was approved with 57% of the vote October 11, 2011. Tuesday, May 17, 202...
The Montana Primary election is coming up and I have been thinking about the choices I face in my rural Montana county. I don’t ask a lot of county government, just the basics; roads plowed in winter, graded in the spring, a sensible budget, a deputy sheriff within reasonable distance, and most importantly, a county commission that gets along. I’ve lived through my share of the opposite and it’s not good for anybody. A county in turmoil does not attract new businesses or medical providers; even tourists don’t feel welcome, which, now that I thi...
6 YEARS AGO • MAY 17, 1917 RIVER GOES UP, THEN DOWN Stream Swells to Flow of 107,000 Second Feet The Clarks Fork River dropped in flow appreciably last night and officials at the plant look for a steady fall for several days. According to the report of the patrolman on the summit between here and Wallace, five inches of fresh snow fell on the summit Tuesday. The high water has probably not reached here yet. Forest reports show that there remains within the Missoula, Flathead and Bitter Root National Forest boundaries from two to five times a...
APRIL BATEMAN - “I think they are wonderful, they are overworked and underpaid. We owe everything to them!” JAMIE McKENZIE, Trout Creek - “Thank you for your service!” RON FISHER, Thompson Falls - “Thank you to all of those guys and gals because there are lots of women involved too, that kept us able to keep some of them alive so that they could do their work that they had to do. A lot of them gave everything they had and they died.” JERRY WEILAND, Trout Creek - “I would like to thank them for their service. I wish that they weren't so underapp...
Ambulance: T. Falls, 6; Plains, 4; Trout Creek, 2; Hot Springs, 2; Paradise, 1. Monday, May 16 Juvenile criminal, Hot Springs. Warrant service, Plains. Civil standby, Trout Creek. Assist motorist/citizen, Dixon. General animal call/complaint, T. Falls. Assist motorist/citizen, Paradise. Harassment/privacy in communications, Plains. Suspicious activity, T. Falls. Threats, Trout Creek. Animal abuse, Noxon. Tuesday, May 17 Disturbance. Protection order violation, Trout Creek. Assault, Dixon. Assist other agency, Plains. Fire, T. Falls. Wednesday,...
Matthew McCrossen appeared before Judge James A. Manley in the 20th Judicial District Court on Tuesday for his arraignment on multiple charges. McCrossen, through his attorney Britt Cotter, entered not guilty pleas to one count of assault with a weapon, four counts of criminal possession of dangerous drugs and one count each of criminal possession of drug paraphernalia, tampering with evidence, and obstructing a peace officer. Charging documents state that on June 25, 2021, the Sanders County Sheriff’s Office was notified by Mineral County o...
Montana Highway Patrol Jennifer Kosmicki, 31, driving under the influence, 1st offense, 180 days jail with all suspended, $935. Richard Wheeler, 58, day speeding, $70. Jennay Ovitt, 29, failure to carry proof of insurance, 2nd offense, $85; seatbelt violation, $20. Cody Brooks, 31, speeding in a restricted zone, $65. Charles Norris, Jr., 69, seatbelt violation, $20. Maxwell Donahue, 25, day speeding, $20. Abraham Lyons, 25, seatbelt violation, $20. Huston Dayhuff, 33, failure to carry proof of insurance, 1st offense, $275; driving under the...
The City of Thompson Falls has received funding from the USDA Rural Development program for phases three and four of the community wastewater project. Rural Development announced last week that the city will receive two loans for a combined total of just over $3 million, as well as a grant for $6.495 million through the Water and Waste Disposal Loans and Grants program. The funding completes the requirements to start work on the final phases of the project. “USDA Rural Development is helping fund critical infrastructure in rural areas to p...
The Prospects is a business pitch competition for Montana high school students to submit their existing business and potential business proposals to the Montana Chamber of Commerce Foundation. One young entrepreneur from Thompson Falls High School (TFHS) submitted her business into the competition and won. Junior Bethany Burk was awarded $500 to help her business, Rustic by Bethany. The Prospects competition is in its second year running and this year, the Foundation has awarded over $75,000 in...
Members of VFW Post 3596 placed 468 flags at the Plains Cemetery last week ahead of Memorial Day. Above, club manager Gary Jenson and commander Ron Kilbury place the last flag at the cemetery. The group of 23 volunteers and VFW members spent about an hour placing the flags. Quartermaster Heather Allen also said she spent countless hours with a few helpers beforehand walking the cemetery to make their lists accurate. The group created a map for each section to make it easier for everyone to...
Kaniksu Land Trust (KLT) and Sanders County Community Development (SCCD) continue to coordinate as the two organizations implement activities that drive economic development through outdoor recreation. Earlier this year KLT and SCCD worked to create an online map highlighting recreation opportunities in Sanders County. In 2020, KLT participated in a countywide process called Recreation Economy for Rural Communities (RERC). From this process, several goals and actions were identified for KLT’s Recreation and Outreach Coordinator Kayla Mosher t...
Leona Ressler, long-time resident of Trout Creek, Montana, passed away on the morning of May 14, 2022. She was born Leona Marie Bruce on December 25, 1930, in Yuma, Colorado, and married Kenneth Ray Ressler in 1947 in Dayton, Washington. In 1962, Leona, Kenneth and their six children moved from Ritzville, Washington, to Trout Creek and made it their home. Over the past 60 years, Leona worked in the local Trout Creek community and had numerous friends, she was a member and president of the Trout Creek Seniors Center for several happy years.... Full story
Proud parents Hope Slater and Owen Fisher of Kalispell welcomed the birth of their first child, son Walker Lee Fisher, on Friday, May 6, 2022, at 3:37 p.m. He weighed 7 pounds, 10 ounces and measured 20 inches long. Grandparents are Jason and Krystin Slater and Kenny and Candy Fisher. Welcome, Walker!... Full story
Playing a poker card game with ping pong balls might be a little unique, but the Wild Horse Plains Back Country Horsemen found out it's a good way to raise money. Ninety-one riders gathered at the historic Jones Ranch on Little Thompson River Road about 10 miles northwest of Plains on Saturday to participate in its annual poker ride. The day-long event ended with the club's president, Kelsie Blevins, as the big winner with an ace high flush to nab the top prize, a coveted custom made breast...
Members of the Thompson Falls American Legion as well as members of the Plains VFW came together for a flag raising ceremony last Tuesday at the Wild Rose Rebekah Cemetery in Thompson Falls. "A flag raising ceremony takes place when an American flag becomes unserviceable," said Ken Mathieson, Commander of American Legion Post 52. An American flag raising ceremony consists of a 10 step process that is very carefully executed, in this case the process is executed by local veterans. Two of these...
The Western B and C Divisional Track Meet was held in Frenchtown last week. Athletes from class B schools had to place in the top six to go to state while those from class C had to be in the top seven. These are your state-bound tracksters: PLAINS Mason Elliott, 6th, 110 M hurdles, 17.8, also 3rd, 300 M hurdles 43.22 Joseph Martin, 6th, Triple jump, 38-01.25 Alexis Helterline, 4th, 800 M, 2:39.06 Peyton Wasson, 5th, 800 M 2:29.51, also 4th, 1600 M 6:14.06 Alexis Deming, 3rd, Shot put, 34:04.5,...
The Over the Hill Gang enjoyed another busy day on the links Monday as 26 golfers met at River’s Bend. Coming in with low scores were Gary Thompson with a low gross of 40 for the men and Dennis Gripp with the low net of 33. For the women, Jill Fairbank shot the low gross of 54 and Kristy Beaty had the low net of 24. Thompson, Jens Jantzen and Bary Moore all added chip-ins to their score cards on Monday, and Thompson and Ron Beaty had birdies. Bruce Sterling had the long putts on holes 2 and 8, while Gary Moe took those honors on holes 4 and 9...
Whitefish Credit Union were the Wednesday winners of the 13-23-33 fun night last Wednesday, turning in a score of 67. Ricky Hagedorn shot the low individual gross of 42 and Steve Fairbank had the low net round of 34. Mike Thilmony sank the long putt on No. 3 last Wednesday, Rusty Sharp's drive was closes to the pin on No. 5, Carter Meyer was closest to the pin on No. 8, Steve Fairbank hit the long drive on No. 9 and Bruce Sterling hit the long putt on No. 6. Bernie Groshong had the only chip-in of the night, on hole No. 6....
Liz Morkert and Lana Nolen had the luck for ladies' league last Thursday at River's Bend, shooting a low team gross of 114. Katie Miller and Madi Wheeler combined for the low team net of 70, while Wheeler shot the low individual net of 34 and her mom Tina shot the low individual gross round of 49. Morkert also sank the long putt on No. 12, while Chris Gross smashed the long drive on No. 18 and Barb Mosher added a chip-in on No. 16. STANDINGS K. Miller/M. Wheeler 23.5 L. Morker/L. Nolen 23 K. Beaty, D. Toyias 22 C. Gross/K. Pardee 17.5 J....
