Independently owned since 1905
Independently owned since 1905
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GOT USED ELECTRONICS? It is officially time for spring cleaning! You can go to websites like homemadesimple.com and get lots of creative ideas on what to do for your annual cleaning, and they give fun ideas on how to do it all in five days. (Maybe if a friend came to help!) One area of our lives that always needs help is GETTING RID OF OLD ELECTRONICS that we aren’t using and that are taking up space and adding to our clutter. Not to mention creating great spots for dust bunnies and spiders. We can help! The Annual Sanders County E-Waste E...
Thompson Falls Main Street hosted their annual spring Jamboree Friday at Clark Fork Valley Elks (CFVE). A handful of community members attended the event and enjoyed a catered meal, live music and had the chance to bid on a number of items in the live and silent auction. Karissa Lowe, Thompson Falls Main Street secretary, organized the event for the first time this year. While the crowd was smaller, Lowe believes the event was still a success. “The turnout wasn’t what we wanted, but with other events going on, sports and the nice weather, it...
The old log schoolhouse in Plains received a major spring cleaning last week in preparation for Plains Day and other summer events. The project began last Wednesday, when Warren Hill, owner of Blackjack Power Wash, spent about one and a half hours cleaning the outside of the schoolhouse and using his powerful machine to strip off most of the old decaying paint from the building windows and doors. The job would have cost the Plains Woman's Club just over $100, but Hill, a Plains resident for the...
A project that's been in the making for more than 10 years has gone sky high - literally. It's a homemade airplane made at the home of Walt Pickering of Paradise by Walt and his son, Gordon, who will be taking the experimental amateur aircraft back to LaPine, Oregon, where he is a practicing veterinarian. For now, however, FAA regulations dictate that the aircraft be flown for 40 hours before he can fly it 400 miles to Oregon. Gordon flew his new plane for about 30 minutes the first time last...
In honor of Memorial Day, I am reminded of the contributions and sacrifices made by three local veterans. Although Memorial Day recognizes veterans who have passed away – either during military service or later in life – I'm going to include a living veteran who has more than earned our appreciation for his service and sacrifice for our country. First, I want to talk about the Veterans Memorial, which is part of the newly renovated Ainsworth Park. The memorial is the result of several years of...
Big Bull Sports is ready to open in its new location on Main Street in Thompson Falls. Tom Kirkland, owner of the sporting goods store, said he will re-open the business Tuesday, June 1, at 1013 Main Street. Kirkland bought Big Bull Sports in 2015 and operated it out of a building off of Highway 200 between Thompson Falls and Trout Creek. The new location was previously the office space of Realty-Northwest, and in the past was home to First State Bank (before it changed to First Security Bank). Since purchasing the Main Street building,...
There are probably few years that will compare to the challenges faced this past year. This goes for Sanders County seniors graduating from high school over the next couple of weeks. A Thompson Falls High School alum remembers another challenging year. Joyce Jacobson, formerly Joyce Baker, attended Thompson Falls schools and graduated 78 years ago, in 1943. Her graduation took place over a month earlier than planned, as the school board elected to hold graduation May 13, during their May school...
LITTLE BITTY BIRD – A sure sign that spring is underway when the hummingbirds start showing up in droves. A calliope hummingbird takes a break on a bare branch. According to the University of Montana, the western part of the Treasure State is home to rufous, calliope, and black-chinned hummingbirds. Hummingbirds start showing up in western Montana from the end of April to mid May and will remain in Montana throughout the summer, according to the state's field guide. Hummingbirds are extremely t...
6 YEARS AGO • MAY 7, 1916 BREAKING THROUGH THE THOMPSON RIVER CANYON BARRIER SOON Thompson River Road Will Open About July 1 Continued from last week The construction of this road will naturally decrease the distance between Thompson Falls and Kalispell. We in Thompson Falls can normally expect considerably increased tourist traffic, since tourists traveling west on Highway No. 2 may turn at the head of Thompson River, come downstream to Thompson Falls and go west over alternate No. 10. T...
Charee Fielders, Plains - “You’re going to make mistakes. Your friends are going to make mistakes. Support them, but don’t follow them down that road. Learn from your friends’ mistakes.” Carrie Hudson, Thompson Falls - “Always believe in yourself and don’t be afraid to fail.” Stan Cook, Thompson Falls - “Don’t rush into any relationships, try to control your finances and focus on your future.” Brian Warrington, Plains - “You can do whatever you want in America if you put your mind to it. Don’t always believe the news.” Will Shelton, Thre...
The Trout Creek Backcountry Horsemen (TCBH) are looking for new members. The group was started four years ago by Doc Milham and began with over 30 member families and eight individual members. Currently, the group has dropped to no more than six or seven active members. The TCBH is a chapter of the nationwide organization, Backcountry Horsemen of America (BHA) which has over $12,500 members across 13 states. The group holds training courses for both children and adults and provides special...
Youths interested in bird watching and identification are in for a special treat. “Kaniksu Land Trust (KLT) us partnering with 4-H and Montana State University Extension to lead a birding event for kids of Sanders County,” stated Marcy Timblin, KLT Director of Communications. “Learn about the birds in our local area and how to identify them by sight and sound,” Timblin referenced as the purpose of the free event. Two sessions will be held Saturday, June 19 for those interested in attending. In Thompson Falls, “Let’s Go Birding” leaders will...
The Thompson Falls Chamber of Commerce welcomed the community to a Nonprofit Volunteer Fair Saturday. The event featured more than a dozen local organizations who attended to connect with each other and community members. TRACS, the local animal shelter, made perhaps the cutest connection of the event. The organization brought three puppies that were available for adoption. One puppy found a home with Ron and Yvonne Hawkinson of Thompson Falls. Ron Hawkinson, who volunteers with Project ASCENT,...
Congratulations to the Class of 2021!...
The owners of the Washtub Laundromat in Plains takes pride in a clean and efficient establishment, but now it's a lot more appealing, thanks to a group of art students from Noxon High School, who painted a colorful mural for customers to see. Owner Chad Kavanaugh said there were bare walls at the laundromat that needed "perking up." "The mural is great, totally exceeds my expectations," said Kavanaugh, who purchased the laundromat with his wife, Lynne, last October. "It really brightens up the...
6 YEARS AGO • MAY 7, 1916 BREAKING THROUGH THE THOMPSON RIVER CANYON BARRIER SOON Thompson River Road Will Open About July 1 This is news, paramount news. The Thompson River road will be completed, A.H. Abbott, supervisor of the Cabinet announced officially, July 1. A write-up by Mr. Abbott concerning roads built in this district appears in this issue. For the past 6 years the Thompson River CCC camp has been blasting against the great rock barrier which blocks access to the Thompson River country. For miles and miles tremendous rock c...
Samantha Otto, Trout Creek - “I make my bed every single day because it is the most rewarding aspect of a hard worked day.” Mindy Lyght, Thompson Falls - “I don’t pay attention to whether I make my bed in the morning or not.” Victoria Hartin, Falls City, Washington - “Yes! Because if you start with making your bed, that is one task you have completed that day. Even if you get nothing done, you can come home to a fresh made bed.” Elaine Taylor, Trout Creek - “I do, because I might get back in it if I don’t.” Jesse Barret, Priest River, Idaho...
For the month of April, students at Thompson Falls Elementary participated in the annual Running Start reading program. The program started at the beginning of April with a run around the school playground led by Principal Len Dorscher. In the program, presented by the Thompson Falls Woman's Club, students read chapters or books depending on their reading proficiency, and then log those and turn them in. After reaching 21 books or chapters, a participant got an entry into a drawing for a...
Dave Williams with Joint Operation Mariposa, partnered with the U.S. Army to deliver a painting to third and fourth grade students at Trout Creek Elementary School last month. Students gathered outside for the unveiling done by Williams and U.S. Army Sgt. First Class Bill Nicholson. Unlike paintings Williams has previously done, the piece he presented to students was of a mule, the Army's mascot, Williams says. For this unveiling, the painting was left unsigned. "The painting will be with the...
On Wednesday, April 28, seven high school volunteers gathered at the Thompson Falls Public Library to help organize books for the book sale that weekend. "They probably saved us many hours of work," said Crystal Buchanan, the library director. The sale involved books, CDs, DVDs, audiobooks and more. Items were sold either individually or in bags and the sale stretched into the next week, as hundreds of books had been collected for the sale throughout the year. Maggie Leaver, one of the...
“Plains Day 2021 is shaping up to be an amazing event,” said Mary Halling, one of the coordinators on the planning committee that’s setting up activities throughout the day Saturday, June 5. Though the committee hasn’t locked down specific times for many of the events, committee member Connie Foust said they’ll be starting with the Mason Pancake Breakfast at the VFW from 7 a.m. to 11 a.m. One of the most popular activities of years past is returning to Plains this year, courtesy of VFW Post 3596. It’s the crosscut competition, which will...
The Cancer Network of Sanders County (CNSC) kicked off their 2021 season with a special Mother’s Day event titled, "Music for Moms," Friday at the Rex Community Theater in Thompson Falls. According to Kathy Miller, CNSC treasurer, the inaugural event of the season was a success. “It’s our first year back after the coronavirus,” Miller said. “I think people are still a little concerned, but this is a good turnout.” Miller says for the last six years, a Mother’s Day concert has been the kickoff event. “People are out and we want them to enjoy t...
Thousands of animals, big and small, call the Bison Range home, but the biggest land mammal of North America is the refuge's biggest attraction - the bison, also known as the American buffalo - that numbers over 300 at the 18,700-acre refuge. Saturday was the range's season opener when visitors could take a leisurely ride along Red Sleep Drive, a one way 19-mile gravel road that makes a giant loop around the Bison Range, called the National Bison Range before the Confederated Salish & Kootenai...
Since 1968, Patti Jones-Bernhardt has been collecting early 1900s vintage clothing. Jones-Bernhardt grew up loving Model A Fords, having learned to drive in one. She also taught her daughter in one and will be teaching her granddaughter to drive in one this summer. She loves vintage cars and said, "I love everything fast!" Jones-Bernhardt worked for NASA as what she called a "bean counter." She managed the budget for the section of NASA that worked on reentry heat shields. "I'm a mechanical...
