Independently owned since 1905
Independently owned since 1905
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Even 16-degree weather couldn't keep people from lining Thompson Falls' Main Street for the annual Christmas on Main Street Parade Saturday night. Fifty colorfully decorated units slowly moved through the city with Grand Marshal Annie Wooden leading the pack. Kids were at the ready with an assortment of bags for candy collecting. There were 50 units in the parade, the most since 2009, when Joanne Burk started coordinating the annual event, and possibly the most since it began more than 20 years...
The Thompson Falls Chamber of Commerce helped usher in the holiday season last week, sponsoring the Holiday Stroll on Main Street last Friday, followed by a community Christmas tree lighting. Businesses stayed open late Friday to welcome community members with treats, crafts and specials. At the Black Bear Ballroom, patrons would decorate gingerbread houses. The Ledger offered a Christmas paper chain activity. Local musician Rob Viens has formed a singing group, who walked Main Street on Friday...
Plenty of royal icing, fondant and hard work was put on display at the Sanders County Historical Society's 25th Annual Gingerbread Contest last weekend. With the theme of "Silver Bells, Silver Bells...it's Christmas Time," 10 entries vied for the top prize the Auntie A Award. This award is named after long-time supporter of the contest the late Alice Nakamura. The winner for the fourth year in a row with the most votes was for Aimee Foyil's entry of a bygone Main Street. The creation included a...
The Sanders County Christmas Bazaar offered a variety of creations Saturday at Thompson Falls High School. The event benefits the Sheriff's Relief Fund. The Sanders County Dog Training Club (above) sold treats and toys for dogs. Above, members Carole Jensen, Carol Searl and Debbie Mason work the booth as Cathy Mills shops. At right, Santa poses for a photo with Carrie Viens and her dog Pip....
The Polar Express once again made a stop at Plains last week and it looks like it's staying for about a month. Plains resident Bill Beck and Plains High School Superintendent Thom Chisholm set up the Polar Express train set and an accompanying village in the "Opportunity Room" of the new multipurpose building last Wednesday. Beck had purchased the Polar Express in 2017 and set up the Polar Express Village for three consecutive years at the school. However, this is the first time since the COVID...
The first Plains Public Schools Holiday Bazaar was a big success, according to Debbie Brown, who coordinated the event at the school's new gym and multipurpose room Saturday. It was a bazaar put on by the school's National Honor Society to raise money for an educational trip, said Heather Worrall, the NHS advisor for the second consecutive year. The group had hoped to fetch around $4,000, said Worrall, but they raised only $800. Worrall said they take the trips every other year, and the next...
Plains High School students helped ring in the start of December by giving the town a little bit of Christmas colors. Twenty-five art students added to the early holiday spirit by painting Christmas themes on 17 businesses from the Clark Fork Valley Hospital to 406 Outlet all day Thursday. "I think it looks very professional," said Chrissy Carter, the senior personal banker at Rocky Mountain Bank after Kaylie Peele and Lillian MacDonald finished the bank windows. "They did an excellent job. I...
The Sanders and Mineral Resource Advisory Committees (RAC) are seeking new members. Volunteer RAC committee members serve an important role in recommending how funds received by counties under the Secure Rural Schools Act will be spent on projects that are on or will benefit nearby National Forest lands. “This is a great opportunity for locals to have a direct impact in their community by helping to fund projects that benefit National Forest lands and the broader public,” said Abby Lane, Superior District Ranger. “We have several vacant posit...
Last week during the Holiday Stroll, I had the privilege of meeting several people who had just moved to the area. It's not a secret or anything new that the Sanders County population is increasing. It seems there are new people every time you go into a store or to a fundraiser or a sporting event. I've written before about how we all come from somewhere, and we ended up in Sanders County for different reasons. On Friday, I met a Ledger reader who had very nice things to say about the newspaper. What stuck with me about this conversation,...
There was a time that some look back at wistfully when politics was not so mean, and people of different parties mostly got along. That began changing in the late 1970s when a young candidate for Congress told a group of college Republicans in Atlanta what was wrong with the Republican Party: “One of the great problems we have in the Republican Party is that we don’t encourage you to be nasty.” He then went on to say, “One of the great weaknesses of the Republican party is we recruit middle-...
3 YEARS AGO • DECEMBER 10, 1992 OVER THE YEARS THE HEATERS TRANSPORTED LOTS OF KIDS All school buses are yellow, aren’t they? Fifty-seven years ago, it wasn’t necessarily so. Thompson Falls’ first school bus was red. In 1935 when Thompson Falls Ford dealer Perry Heater and his brother Orie won the bid for the Eddy Flats and Thompson River school bus run, “No one had established yellow as the national bus color,” Perry’s son Richard laughed. Three generations of youngsters rode the Heater family buses. Although Richard and Doris Heater retire...
ROD HART, Thompson Falls - “I try to keep it at a manageable level. I have one decoration, a wreath.” JIM McFEELEY, Trout Creek - “Getting to visit with relatives.” VICKI CROSS, Trout Creek - “Looking at all the lights and caroling.” NANCY LAWSON, Plains - “Trimming the tree, that's what makes Christmas.” DAWN THAIN, Plains - “Alone time with my husband, the fire popping in the woodstove, snow on the trees.” TERESA DAY, Noxon - “Seeing family....
Montana Highway Patrol Thomas Scheffer, 57, driving without valid driver’s license, $235; seatbelt violation, $20. John Wilson, 40, seatbelt violation, $20. Jessica Berry, 41, speeding in a restricted zone, $85. Jo Anna Rides The Grey Horse, 36, night speeding, $70. Yesenia Salgado, 43, night speeding, $70. Richard Ruonavaara, 41, speeding in a restricted zone, $105. Noah Hathorne, Jr., 19, day speeding, $20. Mary Patterson, 59, day speeding, $20. Adam Hetchler, 34, seatbelt violation, $20. Louis Colombo II, careless driving, $85. Luke H...
Ambulance: T. Falls, 4; Plains, 4; Dixon, 3; Trout Creek, 2; Hot Springs, 2; Noxon, 1; Lonepine, 1. Monday, November 28 Motor vehicle crash, Trout Creek. Fish and game, Plains. Request for welfare check, Trout Creek. Assault, Trout Creek. Protection order violation, T. Falls. Motor vehicle crash, T. Falls. Motor vehicle crash, Noxon. Request for welfare check, Hot Springs. Tuesday, November 29 Motor vehicle crash, Trout Creek. Request for welfare check, Lonepine. Request for welfare check, T. Falls. Automated alarm call, Plains. Motor vehicle...
Michael Aaron Charlo appeared before Judge Deborah Kim Christopher in 20th District Judicial Court on Tuesday for his initial appearance on a felony count of criminal possession of dangerous drugs and a misdemeanor count of criminal possession of drug paraphernalia. Charlo entered not guilty pleas to both charges. Judge Christopher set a trial date of April 17, 2023. According to the charging documents, on August 23, Deputy Wegener with the Sanders County Sheriff’s Office was advised of a vehicle that had been reported as parked in the yard o...
By Karen Thorson "A budding young artist," "Quiet and dependable," "Self-motivated," "So creative." These are the terms used by staff at Hot Springs Junior High when talking about 12-year-old Dakota Slonaker. Slonaker, nick-named "Kota" by friends, carries on an art tradition in her family. Her grandmother, an oil painter, was her initial inspiration for painting. Two older sisters are also artists – one of them painted a mural in her bedroom. Watercolor painting is what Slonaker enjoys most, a...
Raymond Edward Wolff of Thompson Falls passed away in the Clark Fork Valley Hospital on November 9, 2022. Ray was born on January 3, 1945, to Edward and Dorothy Olson Wolff of Ryegate, Montana. He was the third of five kids: Betty, Francis, Fred, and Curt. He attended Ryegate school until the age of 17 when he dropped out to help take care of the family after his mother's passing. Ray was a Vietnam Veteran, joining the Navy at the age of 20. He served on the USS Currituck (AV-7), a seaplane... Full story
Pets have often been a traditional gift at Christmastime and two young girls have decided to continue that practice by giving pets to veterans and senior citizens for Christmas presents. "We wanted to give them something special, and now they can take care of their pet rock," said 10-year-old Chloe Monselet, who was making the pet rocks with friend Saydi Carter, 9 years old. The two Plains girls used stones they got from Mountain Range Materials, formerly Plains Ready Mix, which donated about...
Santa Claus said he brought the Arctic cold with him this year during his stop in Plains Saturday. Santa, aka Dave Williams, and Mrs. Claus, aka Callie Timmer, set up their temporary workshop at the old one-room log schoolhouse on the corner of Railroad Street and Clayton Street and for four hours collected requests from kids. Visitors also had the chance to meet the Grinch, who stayed outside most of the time greeting people and occasionally handing out a candy cane or posing for a photo with...
Sanders County basketball kicked off their season in Hamilton last weekend. The Hot Springs Savage Heat girls came home victorious with two wins; Friday night's game against Darby with a score of 40-26 and Saturday's game against Victor with a score of 52-38. On Friday, Lauryn Aldridge made nine rebounds, Lily Detienne scored 12 points and had four steals and Kara Christensen scored 13 points. Hot Springs started out tough on Saturday and held onto the lead by double digits in the first two quar...
The boys and girls basketball teams traveled to Powell County to take on the Deer Lodge Wardens last weekend. The Blue Hawk boys claimed victory over the Wardens with a score of 63-50. Coach Jake Mickelson said that the boys shot around 50% from the field. “We were able to win the rebounding battle which was huge and I was impressed with our shot selection being as good as it was so early in the season,” said Micklelson. Senior Jesse Claridge scored 25 points with 8 rebounds and 5 steals. Bryson LeCoure racked up 20 points with 8 rebounds Ben...
What a race the real estate market has run over the last three years. With COVID's unintended consequences and general instability from what was the old normal, Sanders County has certainly felt the shift. As interest rates climb and we see some semblance of a new normal taking shape post-pandemic, a quick recap of the impact on real estate seems a few measly characters summing up a pretty chaotic time. In 2020, for Sanders County residential real estate as per the MLS, we had an average sales...
Thompson Falls wrestlers traveled to Polson last weekend to compete in the Owen Invitational, which is a two-day event. The Blue Hawks had an exceptional meet to launch the season; out of 18 teams they finished 13th with 59.5 points. “Overall I was very happy with our performance this past weekend. The Owen Invite is always a good test out of the gate and we know we have things to work on this week,” said Coach Mike Thilmony. Senior Eli Ratliff won the championship in the 160-pound weight class. Thilmony shared that Ratliff wrestled very tou...
How much are we loving this cold and snow?!?! If you’re not a reader, you probably hate it. This is my happy weather: grab a mug of tea and a book, huzzah! Thanks to the weather I was able to read three more books than last month. Of the 16 books I read in November, 10 were four stars or better, which is a fantastically high ratio and definitely not the norm. Here are those 10, in no particular order: It’s Ok That You’re Not Ok: Meeting Grief and Loss in a Culture That Doesn’t Understand by Megan Devine is a non-fiction, very emotion...
MONDAY NITE GALS W L Brew Crew 33.5 18.5 Smokin Hot $$ 33 19 Just Us 23.5 28.5 Rock ‘n Bowl 23 29 MDS-Nascar Freaks 22 30 Dolls with Balls 21 31 Team Scr. Game: Brew Crew, 493 Scr. Series: Rock ‘n Bowl, 1270; Hcp. Game: Brew Crew, 717; Hcp. Series: Brew Crew,1935; Inv. Scr. Game: Shelly Wrightson, 208; Scr. Series: Amanda Sandbloom, 543; Hcp. Game: Shelly Wrightson, 256; Hcs. Amanda Sandbloom,705 INDUSTRIAL LEAGUE W L Bernie’s Auto 37 15 Pocket Pounders 28 24 Highlead 34 18 Howard Services 32 20 Mountain Plains 19 33 Giggles 6 46 Team Scr....
