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Independently owned since 1905
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Sometimes even Santa gets delayed by weather. The Museum of Mountain Flying's Red Sleighs Over Montana program was set to take flight this week and visit rural communities throughout the area. However, winter weather canceled the event. A snowstorm Monday prompted the Museum and its pilots to reschedule the flights to Tuesday. However, weather throughout Northwest Montana caused the program to cancel their flights. Dozens of families were excitedly waiting for the holidays flights to arrive by plane or helicopter in Hot Springs, Plains and Thom...
A special publication of The Sanders County Ledger... Full story
After many years of work, Quinn's Hot Springs Resort was able to get the speed limit lowered on the stretch of Montana Highway 135 between Camp Bighorn and the resort. The original speed limit was 70 miles per hour, but now has been dropped in two places. At the turnout from Montana Highway 200 it will drop to 55 and then again down to 45 just before the resort. The limit will then rise again to 70 after Camp Bighorn. According to the general manager of the resort, Denise Moreth, this was...
Hunting season is officially over, but that didn't stop two Plains couples from taking to the woods in search of their quarry. Instead of rifles, they were armed with saws in a quest for the perfect Christmas tree. Brad Stacey and his wife, Diana Reetz-Stacey, cut down an eight-foot Douglas fir about 12 miles northwest of Plains in the Sheep Gap area. The couple paired up in their search for a tree for the second consecutive year with Marc and Ellen Childress, who have been getting their tree...
The Hope For Harlee Foundation is continuing its mission of raising funds for families fighitng cancer with specially created scented candles. Doing so will effectively give two gifts this holiday season, according to Taylor Salmi, president of the Hope For Harlee Foundation and mother to Harlee, the namesake of the foundation. Salmi explained that the candles and sales are the largest source of fundraising for the organization, and that money goes directly to helping families fighting cancer....
On Monday, I read a Christmas book to the kindergarten classes in Thompson Falls. The energy those kids have is amazing. The patience those teachers have is even more amazing. I learned a lot about Christmas from the kindergarten classes. I learned that Santa goes through the door at some houses because the fireplace has a fire going in it. I learned that it's a good idea to leave carrots for the reindeer, as well as cookies and milk for Santa. I learned one kindergartener was just sure that Santa had visited her house Sunday evening. The...
Dear Editor, We are all blessed to be part of an amazing community. Recently, the River Roadhouse in Trout Creek kindly opened their doors for a charity event to help the SCSO Christmas Relief Fund and a local family that recently lost their home and fur babies to a fire. The weather was not in our favor, yet people came out to see Santa, ride with him on wet hay bales while a very entertaining gentleman did his own comedy version of Christmas carols. Local businesses and people donated to a silent auction to help raise money. We ended up...
As I’ve grown older, the glistening promise of the winter holiday has become a little tarnished. That’s not to say I haven’t had wonderful Christmases, because I have, but there have been some horrendous ones, as well. I think that’s true of many people. Presence of the celebration during a time of trial serves to highlight any misery we might be suffering, especially if we are alone. There are also the expectations of the season perpetrated on us by marketers, our sense of tradition and even our own greed; expectations that cannot be realist...
This is a story about a close friend who died and the wonderful message that he sent his dearest companion, Gael, with the help of some very caring, nameless people who took care of him alive, and then not alive. By rights Patrick should have become like the smalltime hoods he grew up with, but he also grew up with a couple of friends whose interests in music and art guided him in a different direction and he chose the path of a thinker and of a self-taught artist. Now, art is a subjective...
4 YEARS AGO MARCH 30, 1900 THOMPSON STREET BUSY IN 1900 From The Plainsman NOTE: At the time this article was written there was no Sanders County, which was established in 1906. What we now know as Sanders County was part of Missoula County. In addition, The Sanders County Ledger newspaper hadn't been established yet. The Ledger began in 1905, one year before Sanders County was born. The Plainsman was established in 1895. Readers also will note that the editor of the Plainsman referred to the...
CHRISTIE YAW, Thompson Falls - “I always looked forward to a book of Lifesavers in my stocking.” JAMES MURPHY, Thompson Falls - “We always put treats for the dogs in their own stockings, individually wrapped.” JASON SHEDROCK, Thompson Falls - “For some reason my mom always put magnets in my stockings.” LARRY LACK, Thompson Falls - “As a practical joke I have put lumps of coal in my grandkids’ socks for Christmas.” VICTORIA WESTHOVEN, Plains - “The best present I ever got in my stocking was a round-trip pair of tickets to go to the Dry Tortugas...
Ambulance: Plains, 4; Hot Springs, 3; Trout Creek, 2; T. Falls, 8; Paradise, 1; Heron, 1. Sunday, December 12 Motor vehicle crash, Camas. Trespass, T. Falls. Road hazard, debris on road, T. Falls. Assist motorist/citizen, T. Falls. Assist motorist/citizen, Hot Springs. Monday, December 13 Motor vehicle crash, Hot Springs. Abandoned vehicle, Hot Springs. Motor vehicle crash, Plains. Message delivery, Plains. Theft, T. Falls. Trespass, Trout creek. Request for welfare check, Plains. General animal call or complaint, Trout Creek. Assist...
Montana Highway Patrol Gerald Sykes, 42, driving under the influence, 2nd offense, $1,476.64, 14 days in jail; careless driving, $120. Cody Carr, 41, day speeding, $20. Kyle Weeks, 21, day speeding, $20. Carson Lilja, 29, seatbelt violation, $20. Richard Novak, 78, seatbelt violation, $20. Jennifer Nabors, 38, careless driving, $85. Marilyn Tillett, 73, driving without a license, $235. Sharon Neilson, 59, expired registration, $85. Sanders County Sheriff’s Office Heather Farmer, 34, no liability insurance, 1st offense, $285. Alton Steinhoff, 3...
Anyone leaning rightward politically was guaranteed to hate President Biden for beating Trump, and plenty of left-leaners don’t like Biden either; add in the big spending bill which must certainly worry anyone who dislikes running the country on borrowed money, and it’s not surprising that Biden’s approval ratings aren’t very shiny right now. Personally, I’m not sure what to think of President Biden, but I’m trying to leave it to historians for those defining opinions which, if they are to be intelligent or realistic, need to come from the lo...
The hustle and bustle of the holiday spirit was alive and in full swing Tuesday morning at the Valley Bank in Thompson Falls as volunteers gathered to help take part in the Sheriff's Relief Fund. Nearly 25 volunteers including Sanders County Sheriff's officers, representatives from Avista, Montana Rail Link and Clark Fork Valley Elks (CFVE) assembled in line to put together Harvest Food tote bags full of items for Christmas dinner to be delivered to families around the county. According to...
MONDAY NITE GALS W L Nascar Freaks 40 20 Dangerous Dames 39 21 Rock’n Bowl 31 28 Talk of the Town 30.5 29.5 Dolls with Balls 30.5 29.5 Team Scr. Game: Rock n’ Bowl, 465; Scr. Series: Rock n’ Bowl, 1258; Hcp. Game: Rock n’ Bowl, 677; Hcp. Series: Rock n’ Bowl, 1894; Inv. Scr. Game: Simone Schilthuis, 206; Scr. Series: Wendy Kelley, 519; Hcp. Game: Simone Schilthuis, 263; Hcp. Series: Lorri Renard, 680. BOWLING BEAUTIES W L Lane Blazers 38.5 13.5 Aspire PT 26.5 25.5 The Dinkers 25.5 26.5 Elliott Realty 25.5 26.5 Sunflower Gals 25 27 Gardner R...
There weren't many agenda items on the monthly Sanders County Sewer District at Paradise meeting last week. The four board members present met at the Paradise water pump house and authorized the purchase of just over $400 for computer equipment and discussed the structure of the future meeting agendas. The meeting lasted a little over an hour, but the board's work continued the following day at the courthouse in Thompson Falls, where board members Terry Caldwell, Don Stamm, Dewey Arnold and...
Arthur George Komanec, 79, passed away on Saturday, November 27, 2021 in Clark Fork, Idaho. Art was born on July 14, 1942, in Hannibal, Wisconsin to Paul and Eleanor Komanec. After his schooling in Hannibal, Art went to work farming. Art married Ellen Granquist on November 30, 1963 in Hannibal. They moved to western Montana to work in the logging industry, and eventually settled in Trout Creek. Art was divorced in 1981 and moved to Clark Fork to be closer to family. There he drove heavy... Full story
Bob Stowe, age 85, died unexpectedly December 11, 2021, in Hot Springs. Bob was born August 16, 1936, in Arlee, Montana. He was raised on a ranch near Baker, Montana, then later moved to Colorado. He served in the U.S. Army for two years and did a tour of duty in Germany, then served in the Army Reserves. After his military time, Bob and his brother Walt Stowe started a roofing company in western Colorado. He loved hunting, camping, and being outdoors. Bob was preceded in death by his son,... Full story
Michael "Melo" Totzauer, 92, of Trout Creek, died peacefully at home with his loving wife of 63 years by his side on November 21, 2021. Michael was born in Pilsen, Czechoslovakia, to Joseph and Maria Totzauer. He escaped Communist Czechoslovakia with two friends and was able to immigrate to Canada where he went to Bible College. He met his wife Beverly Havies while attending college and they were married soon after. Michael and Beverly were constant and loving companions till the end. Michael... Full story
With snow flurries steadily coming down, Santa Claus traded in his sleigh for a 1962 Pontiac convertible and Rudolph for driver Ken Saner of Plains. The Plains Christmas Extravaganza, which has also been called the Family Fun Community Christmas Event, kicked off Saturday in downtown Plains with a Plains-Paradise Rural Fire District truck, followed by the 4-H South Side Sparks Club singing Christmas carols, Marv and Margo Tanner in their vehicle with a big red bow on the front and Santa. The...
Paula Stobie, RN, MN of Clark Fork Valley Hospital and Family Medicine Network was surprised and honored with The DAISY Award For Extraordinary Nurses at a reception that was held for her at Hot Springs Family Medicine on Wednesday, December 15. Homemade cinnamon rolls were served to Stobie and her surprise guests of family members and clinic staff. The award is part of the DAISY Foundation's programs to recognize the super-human efforts nurses perform every day. Stobie began working for CFVH...
Thompson Falls Schools has been working to get a new building project off the ground. Last Wednesday they had a meeting with prospective contractors to look at bids. One contractor, Swank Enterprises, offered to do the project at a rough bid of $1.45 million. The proposal was higher than the school was estimating, so they will have to work to cut the total cost down to meet their $1.3 million expectation. The next step for Thompson Falls Schools is to present the project, and Swank Enterprises, during the next school board meeting for...
Paradise dipped in holiday spirit Sunday when a grouchy old miser proclaimed his contempt of Christmas. Much of his life was apparently wrapped in his disdain for the holiday, but within 90 minutes at the Paradise Center, Butch Murdock changed his tune, as per the script of his character, Ebenezer Scrooge. "Christmas Carol" has been seen on television many times and many versions, but this was the first time it was done on stage by the Paradise Players, but even then, it was done with a bit of...
In recognition of their support of veterans in the community, Joint Operation Mariposa (JOM) presented the Meritorious School Award to Noxon Schools at last week's school board meeting. JOM vice president Heather Allen presented the award to Noxon School Board Chairman David Pafford and Superintendent Dave Whitesell. "We intended to award the school last spring, but because of COVID, we had to wait," said JOM president Dave Williams. "The award is for upholding and exhibiting the values of our...
