Independently owned since 1905
Independently owned since 1905
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The competitions of Plains Days weren't restricted to the high school or sports complex. There were individual contests in downtown Plains and one got quite messy - the annual watermelon eating contest, sponsored by the Plains Lions Club and the Plains-Paradise Rural Fire District. Much of the watermelon remnants were strewn across the folding table and on the ground, but a good portion did make it into the mouths of the 14 participants of the youth divisions, where Emmy Russell, 7, nabbed top h...
Sanders County is helping residents with their annual spring cleaning. The E-Waste Event is set for this Saturday, 9 a.m. to 3 p.m., at the Thompson Falls Transfer Site. The county will collect old electronics – including televisions, computers, printers and other items – for free during the event, which they have sponsored since 2014. While the disposal is free, the county does charge $5 for CRTs (the old, large TV and computer screens that have tubes in them) and for commercial printers. Kathy Conlin with Sanders County said that the cou...
Lucky number 13 will be celebrated this year as the annual Sanders County Yard Sale Event (SCYSE) will once again take place on June 28 and 29. Those who want to participate and reap the advertising benefits of the SCYSE are required to register by June 10. Applications can be found at www.sanders-saleing.com, by emailing [email protected] or by calling event coordinator Robin Hagedorn at 827-2991 (leave a message if necessary). There are two levels of sponsorship participants can apply for: Patron for $50 or Business for...
Last month, the Plains community had a unique opportunity to be a part of history when the World War II Miss Montana airplane did a test flight from Missoula to Plains. Watching the parachutists jump from the plane into an open field was just a small glimpse at what troops experienced during WWII. The Miss Montana then took off to Normandy, France, where this week it will participate in events commemorating the 75th anniversary of D-Day. It's hard to imagine what the troops, and the families back home, went through during WWII. Even when...
Dear Editor, I’ve decided that I alone should be on the road. I believe that I know how fast to drive at any given time and in every given circumstance. So, every vehicle that I pass is going too slow and every vehicle which passes me is going too fast. I find myself hard pressed behind the wheel, and seemingly oppressed by others with whom I am required to share the road. Self-interest, circumstantial preference and a bit too much self-certainty combine to narrow my vehicular operating standards to this level of driving bias. These are not o...
Editor: The approach taken in last week’s letter to the editor section was fascinating. One minute the author stroked Mr. Blackstone with compliments like “smacks of common sense” and “from what I can gather, Mr. Blackstone is a fine man” then attacking him with lines like “sugar high” for anyone politically passionate and outspoken about their beliefs that apparently run contradictory to this “author’s” and proclaiming Mr. Blackstone’s opinions are “……..deeply damaging to the important process of finding common ground…” without any facts or ex...
Memorial Day weekend is a particularly tough one for my older brother and sister. Their dad is still listed as Missing In Action (MIA) from the Korean War. I should explain that my older brother and sister are “technically” my half brother and sister. However, we don’t do the math that way! They’re my brother and sister…period. Here’s the condensed version of the story. My mom was married to my brother and sister’s dad when she was 19 years old. Her husband, James Homer Elliott, had joined th...
5 YEARS AGO • MAY 31, 1969 GRADUATES Members of the 1969 senior class of Thompson Falls High School receiving diplomas at commencement exercises Tuesday night were, Diana Dodson, treasurer, Orin Kendall, president, Jennifer Cuddy, secretary and salutatorian, Richard Brotherton, Donna Riffle Quitt, Steve Lime, Lynne Rosdahl, Susan Larson, Louie LaRock, Walter Borgmann, Irene Pirker, Andy Wilkinson, Lynda Vulles, Kacey Collins, Linda Huffman, Jay Wood, Judy Eaton, Jack Inman, Jeri Eldridge, Russ Grantham, Tom Eggensperger, valedictorian, V...
CHARLIE BARRUS, Trout Creek – “I think it has to be a U.S. citizen to vote for any office.” VICKY MEAGHER, Thompson Falls – “No. They haven’t earned the right.” WENDY KELLEY, “Trout Creek – “Nope. If you don’t earn your way into this country, you are reaching for the stars. Illegals have no rights.” LEONA BEHR, Kingwood, Texas – “No because citizenship gives you the right for input. If you are not a citizen, it’s not your business.” BILL KELLER, Thompson Falls – “No. If you are not a citizen of the U.S., you don’t get a vote. They are letting...
Ambulances: Noxon, 4; T. Falls, 11; Plains, 5; H. Springs, 1. Sunday, May 26 Family civil dispute, Noxon. Sexual assault, Noxon. Abandoned vehicle, Deer Run and Hwy. 200, T. Creek. Disturbance, possible assault, T. Falls. Welfare check requested, Hwy. 28, H. Springs. Monday, May 27 Theft at Conoco, T. Falls. Welfare check requested, Plains. Disturbance, Plains. Coroner requested, T. Creek. Civil standby requested, Plains. Concern for animal welfare, Dixon. Theft at Paradise boat launch. Domestic disturbance, T. Creek. Landlord/tenant dispute, c...
MT Dept. of Transportation James Floyd, 53, operating with expired registration, $85; operating with expired registration, $85. Sanders County Sheriff’s Office Steven Smith, 60, speeding in a restricted zone, $105. Montana Highway Patrol Neil Matteucci, 61, speeding in a restricted zone, $55. Wayne Lacy, 69, day speeding, $70....
Editor: So very glad to read that the Barking Dog Ordinance (Sanders County Ledger, May 30, 2019) has passed giving teeth to Sheriff Rummel’s department to address this issue. Perhaps he and his department would do well to borrow some teeth from these barking dogs in an attempt to stem the overwhelming drug problems faced here, one of the main causes of so many other crimes perpetrated on the citizens of Sanders County. Yes, Sheriff Rummel, METH, and other drugs, is a real problem here, one that might be somewhat curtailed should a proactive a...
I have lived in Sanders County for over 40 years, worked for the Sanders County Ledger as a photojournalist most of that time, attending most of each town’s events and worked in community develop at the Courthouse for several years. I have been elected and served as the Northern Lights electric co-op for more than 30 years working at their office in Sandpoint. As a result, especially because I do the Question of the Week every week. I have pretty much met mostly everybody. Last week, I went to get a hair cut at the mall at Sandpoint. What I d...
New owners Charlie and Christine Munday have been giving the laundromat in Thompson Falls some special attention since they bought it in November of last year. Officially named the Whistle Stop laundromat, the building has remained open during renovations. Originally from San Francisco, California, the Mundays moved to Montana for a change of pace and settled, buying a house between Trout Creek and Thompson Falls. They were in the market to buy a local business and began shopping in the surround...
Jean Marie Worrell passed away, surrounded by family at her home in Thompson Falls, Montana on May 30th. She had been battling cancer for the last 15 years. Jean was born the second child of Archie and Georgette Shelp on Jan 12, 1941 in Carmel, California. Soon after she was born the family moved to Marina, California, where she attended school. She graduated from Monterey High School in 1958. Over 49 years ago, she entered into a marriage with her lifetime partner Bob Worrell. Together they... Full story
Ben Dale Simonson, 74, of Noxon, died April 4, 2018, in Sioux Falls, South Dakota, of lung cancer (though he never smoked) while recuperating from surgery at the veterans hospital there. He had several surgeries prior to that, in multiple organs, for cancer as a result of his contact with Agent Orange while serving in the Navy in Viet Nam. Simonson enlisted in the Navy after graduating from high school in Edgerton, Wisconsin, with three other buddies. While serving on the USS Constitution, he was severely burned when an aircraft attempted to... Full story
Leroy and Kay Wine of Thompson Falls welcomed daughter Kylie Rose Wine on May 23, 2019 at Pend Oreille Midwifery in Sandpoint, Idaho. Kylie weighed 8 lb., 13 oz., and measured 22 inches long. She joins siblings Alexis, Jacob and Zoe. Paternal grandparents are Robert and Shirlene Wine of Lebanon, Pennsylvania. Maternal grandparents are Martin and Rachel Weaver of Downington, Pennsylvania. Welcome, Kylie.... Full story
The Memorial Day picnics and parties were over, but the men and women of VFW Post 3596 wanted to make sure the real reason for the annual commemoration wasn't overlooked, which is why they continue to conduct a ceremony on May 30, the original Memorial Day. "The Monday holiday is an observance day so everybody can have a three-day weekend. We want people to know the real reason of Memorial Day and that's to pay respect to veterans who lost their lives," said retired Air Force veteran Jimmie...
Evelyn “Tootie” Cox, 81, of Thompson Falls, Montana, passed away peacefully on May 17, 2019, due to complications from a massive stroke. Tootie was born October 23, 1937, in the Mabel McKeel Hospital, below the junior high in Thompson Falls, to Cecil and Pearl Johnson. Tootie went all 12 years of school and graduated in 1955. She then went on to marry Lloyd Wood and they had a son, Ronald L. Wood. Later divorcing, she married Donald N. Cox in July 1964 and they had a daughter, Raelyn D. Cox. Tootie worked a great number of years at the Cle... Full story
Summertime use of public lands in the front country was the educational focus at Trout Creek School last week when the U.S. Forest Service, Cabinet Ranger District and Backcountry Horsemen came together for an afternoon of teaching students about outdoor recreation. Daniel Stevens and Matt Etienne featured a Forest Service fire engine and tools used to fight wildland forest fires. A chainsaw, Pulaski, combi, axe, wedge, scrench, hex wrench, gloves, and ear plugs were demonstrated by Stevens. He...
Thompson Falls Chamber of Commerce is ecstatic to announce the return of the “Big Top.” The circus is returning to Sanders County as Culpepper & Merriweather (C&M) have agreed to entertain young and old on Wednesday, June 19 at the Thompson Falls High School lower lot, 601 Golf Street. Two 90-minute shows, starting at 5:00 and 7:30 p.m., will feature “America’s favorite old-fashioned big top circus,” according to C&M, now on their 33rd year of performing. “Our performers are sure to amaze, delight and entertain audience members of all ages be...
The current Plains High School students pitted their skills against past graduates in the Plains Days alumni sporting events on May 31. Flag football kicked off the evening with a popular turnout. The game was played in two 20-minute halves with a running clock. The alumni team relied on a few substitutions from the current students to even out the team numbers. Admission to the game was $2 with the proceeds going to the Plains Mentor Program. There were also alumni t-shirts available for $15 that granted admission to all of the evenings...
Competition ran high on the courts of the 3 on 3 tournament that has become a popular event during Plains Days. There were 11 courts set up to host 54 teams. Concessions were open to get a bite to eat or drink. Dr. Blease, Dr Webb, and Nick Lawyer with Clark Fork Valley Hospital set up in a large tent to provide medical assistance for the players. Deb Warren of Century 21 Real Estate provided a free water bottle for all the players and spectators of the tournament. Under the tent, you could...
Wherever Trevor Paro goes, and whatever sports he competes in, you can count on the championships following, be it in Hot Springs, Montana or Longview, Washington. Since graduating from Hot Springs with significant athletic honors from multiple sports accomplishments in 2017, two more championships and more honors have followed Paro during his time at Lower Columbia College in Longview, where he helped lead the Red Devils to the last two Northwest Athletic Conference (NWAC) baseball championship...
