Independently owned since 1905
Independently owned since 1905
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The Town of Plains might become a "Tree City" and get an Arbor Day Grant to financially help with the removal of the aging trees around town. It was Jonalie Comeau, the deputy town clerk, who brought the arbor program to the attention of the mayor and town council in an effort to save the town money when dealing with trees. Mayor Chris Allen said the town has spent more than $8,000 on tree removal this year alone. "Unfortunately, we've got a lot of old problem trees," he said, adding that...
The Thompson Falls City Council had its regular meeting on Monday, hearing complaints from a resident about traffic and businesses in her neighborhood. Tamra Shear appeared before the council to request a street sign and street light at the corner of Broad Street and Maiden Lane. She said that drainage has also become a big issue at the intersection. Shear said she was told there is no easement on either side of the street near the intersection, but she would like to see stop signs and yield...
The Plains-Paradise Rural Fire District gathered with members of the Henry family on Tuesday, August 8, 2023 to honor the efforts of Mary and David Henry. The Henrys began gathering signatures in the upper Lynch Creek area over 30 years ago. Their plan back then was to have a fire hall built to accommodate the residents beyond Blanchards Corner. On Tuesday, the children of the now deceased Henrys donated a part of the Henry land to the Rural Fire Department. "Paul Harvey has been doing the dirt...
The Thompson Falls school board met Monday to approve budgets for the upcoming school year. Superintendent Bud Scully went over expenses of repairs, power bills, water costs and new construction at the high school and the new kitchen floor in the elementary school. “We are down four mills for the elementary school and down six in the high school. We have maxed out the reserves,” Scully said. His idea was that increasing enrollment would help increase the mills. Public comments included those from Chantel Schmitt who was concerned with cla...
The Center for Asbestos Related Disease (CARD) located in Libby has a mobile unit that has been traveling the state to facilitate testing in areas where people may not otherwise get tested. The question asked to anyone who thinks they might have been exposed to asbestos is: Have you lived, worked or played in Lincoln County over 10 years ago for at least six months? “This can have been a separate amount of time as long as the time totaled six months,” according to Pam Martens, the CARD clinic nurse. The mobile unit started in September 202...
Regina Reed is the owner of New To You Consignment & Boutique. She opened her doors on June 23. Reed has been in Sanders County for 12 years. She moved to Whitepine from Florida with her family. “ I always liked the stores in Florida where I rented spaces to sell my things,” Reed commented. She liked the idea of having her own store to sell lightly used items and allow people to bring their things such as items that they could not sell at a yard sale. Currently Reed says she has 58 consignors who have brought their household goods, clo...
KALISPELL — Portions of the Flathead and Clark Fork rivers in Sanders County are closed due to wildfire danger. Montana Fish, Wildlife & Parks is also closing Kookoosint Fishing Access Site, Paradise Crossing Fishing Access Site, and Full Curl Wildlife Management Area south of Plains on Montana Highway 200 due to the River Road East fire. FWP received a request from the fire incident command team to close portions of the rivers and the department’s nearby properties as the River Road East fire continues to grow. Aerial fire operations are occ...
The annual Artists in Paradise show saw four new participants this year with people from Plains, Thompson Falls and St. Regis. Eleven people showed their artwork at the Paradise Center Thursday, Friday and Saturday. People from in and outside of Sanders County stopped in for the three-day showing, including several from out of state who were in the area for the Baroque Music Festival at Quinn's Hot Springs Resort. Many people stopped in all three days, said Ilene Paulsen, the show's primary...
Officials with Montana Department of Transportation (MDT) met with commissioners last week to update the county on projects within Sanders County. Bob Vosen and John Schmidt with MDT presented commissioners with the results of a speed study on Highway 135. In April of 2022, MDT lowered the speed limit on Highway 135 near Quinn’s Hot Springs Resort. The speed limit is now 45 miles per hour instead of 70. A speed study after the project was included in the original project plan. The study showed that the number of crashes was reduced in the a...
One of the reasons people go to the Sanders County Fair is to see the high caliber animals, the cream of the crop specimens. Many are cute, fuzzy and cuddly. John McNamara will be taking a fuzzy creature to show at the fair this year, but he might be the only one to consider his animal cuddly. It's a 6-year-old tarantula he named "Uma Fang" and he's showing his arachnid in the 4-H pocket pet competition at the fair, slated for 1-4:30 p.m. Thursday, Aug. 31, in the Home Economics Building. This...
Appearing before Judge Jessica Fehr on Tuesday, Raymond Lee Horn pled not guilty to felony charges of criminal possession of dangerous drugs, criminal possession of dangerous drugs with intent to distribute, unlawful possession of a firearm by a convicted person, as well as a misdemeanor count of criminal possession of drug paraphernalia. As outlined in the charging documents, in the early morning hours of July 10, Trooper Steve Spurr was contacted by Thompson Falls Police Officer Roy Scott concerning a traffic stop that Officer Scott had just...
Montana Highway Patrol Skyler Cech, 30, driving motor vehicle while privilege suspended/revoked, 1st offense, $285. Doree Handford, 39, speeding in a restricted zone, $65, deferred imposition of sentence. Joseph Oliver, 20, speeding in a restricted zone, $85. Jeffrey Krupke, 49, seatbelt violation, $20. Steven Hubert, 69, unlawful possession of open alcoholic beverage in motor vehicle on highway, $75. Kody Carter, 19, night speeding, $20. Charles Calantone, 29, speeding in a restricted zone, $85. Wyatt Carr, 25, speeding in a restricted zone,...
Ambulance: Plains, 8; T. Falls, 5; Hot Springs, 4, Noxon, 3; Trout Creek, 2, Heron, 1; Dixon, 1. Monday, July 31 Motor vehicle crash, Plains. Assist motorist/citizen. Request for welfare check, T. Falls. Civil attempts, T. Falls. Request for welfare check, Plains. Civil standby, T. Falls. Assist other agency, T. Falls. Harassment/privacy in communication, Noxon. Civil attempts, T. Falls. Lost & found item, T. Falls. General animal call/complaint, Plains. Fireworks, Plains. Suspicious activity, Noxon. Body found/coroner, Noxon. Assist...
Plains Mayor Chris Allen swore in the newest member of the Plains Police Department at City Hall on Friday morning. Rick Nickolaus joined Chief of Police Brian Josephson and Officer Rob Geenen to bring the police department back to full force. Nickolaus replaced Chris Reyna, who was dismissed in May. The town couldn't fill his vacancy until the Plains Police Commission held a hearing to confirm Reyna's termination, which it did two weeks ago. Nickolaus was one of three candidates, all men from...
Weekend precipitation provided a little relief to firefighting efforts in northwest Montana. The Niarada Fire as of Tuesday afternoon had burned more than 20,000 acres. Last weekend, Highway 28 was again closed due to fire activity but re-opened Sunday afternoon. Authorites removed the reduced speed limit on Highway 28 between Elmo and Lonepine, but urge drivers to use caution as firefighters and equipment are still working in the area. The Niarada Fire was listed at 25% contained on Tuesday....
A bat found at a residence in Thompson Falls has tested positive for rabies. County Sanitarian Shawn Sorenson said that three bats have been sent to the state lab for testing and one of those tested positive for rabies. Two of the bats were captured inside homes, and one outside. The bat found outside tested positive for rabies. The homeowner found the bat outside unable to fly during the day, Sorenson said. Sorenson, who has been with the county Environmental Health department for 10 years, said this is the first time he has sent bats in for...
The old mayor of Thompson Falls is now the new mayor of Thompson Falls. The city council appointed Jerry Lacy mayor at a special meeting Monday. More than a dozen people attended the meeting and had the opportunity to ask questions of the two candidates, Lacy and Gunner Junge. Daniel Moore had also submitted a letter of interest to the council for the mayor position, but was ineligible due to residency requirements. "I think I can help the community," said Lacy, who previously served as mayor fr...
The entire northwest region of the state will move to stage II fire restrictions on Saturday. This includes Sanders County. Bill Naegeli with the Officer of Emergency Management said the restrictions go into effect at 12:00 a.m. Saturday morning. Under Stage II restrictions, the following is prohibited: * Building maintaining, attending, or using a fire or campfire. * Smoking, except within an enclosed vehicle or building, a developed recreation site, or while stopped in an area at least three feet in diameter that is barren or cleared of all...
It was the stuff of legends last Thursday at the Rex Theater in Thompson Falls as Marty Stuart and His Fabulous Superlatives played for a soldout crowd. "When we hear about small theaters coming back to life, we will be there," Stuart told the crowd. "We love this town and we love this theater." The band was able to explore Thompson Falls prior to Thursday night's show, stopping at local shops. Stuart expressed his love of small theaters throughout the show, talking about the Marty Stuart's...
A Clark Fork Valley Hospital doctor was recently presented a prestigious honor from the Family Medicine Residency of Western Montana Program. Dr. Jessica Valentine received the 2023 Outstanding Rural Attending Award for her work as a preceptor with family medicine residents at Clark Fork Valley Hospital, which hosts several residents each year. "During their time here they work each day with a preceptor who supervises their work and offers learning opportunities. This is a model similar to...
Forty-seven boats converged on the Noxon Reservoir last weekend for the annual tri-state bass tournament, sponsored by the Clark Fork Bass Anglers. Teams of two anglers turn in their top five fish each day of the tournament to get their grand total. Randy and Amanda Siemens won first place with a two-day total of 38.52 pounds. The Siemens couple swept the weekend, finishing first in the Montana Bass Federation competition in Trout Creek as well as the American Bass Anglers competition for the...
Montana Highway Patrol Teresa Destefano, 69, speeding in a restricted zone, $85. Constance Brooks, 55, day speeding, $70. Davy Troyer, 35, seatbelt violation, $20. Joseph Gonzales, 55, day speeding, $70. Kala Lougheed, 38, day speeding, $70. Joshua Rainbolt, 23, speeding in a restricted zone, $85. Adam Denham, 32, speeding in a restricted zone, $55. Mark Hilborn, 57, day speeding, $20. Cassidy McDonald, 38, day speeding, $70. Caleb Wolfe, 20, failure to carry proof of insurance in vehicle, 1st offense, $285; speeding in a restricted zone, $85....
Ambulance: Plains, 10; T. Falls, 8; Hot Springs, 5; Dixon, 3; Trout Creek, 1; Paradise, 1. Monday, July 24 Assist motorist/citizen, Plains. Animal other, T. Falls. Automated alarm call, Plains. US Forest Service campground check, Trout Creek. Welfare check, Hot Springs. Fire, Hot Springs. Civil attempts. Disturbance, Plains. Other law violations, Hot Springs. Theft, Trout Creek. Trespass, Hot Springs. Welfare check, T. Falls. Warrant service, Plains. Assist other agency. Suspicious activity, Plains. Tuesday, July 25 Abandoned vehicle, T. Falls....
Jason Allen Cooper entered a not guilty plea to a felony count of criminal mischief on Tuesday during an initial appearance in front of Judge Deborah Kim Christopher, who set the case for a jury trial on January 16, 2024. According to the charging documents, on the evening of June 30, Trooper Steve Spurr arrested Cooper under suspicion of driving under the influence near mile marker 11 on Highway 28. After transporting Cooper to Clark Fork Valley Hospital, Trooper Spurr questioned Cooper about a report of him crashing into another vehicle at...
Even during the summer months, Plains School was hopping with kids and at one point it was hopping with bugs. But there was no need for an exterminator, they were just visiting. Brenna Shea from the Butterfly House and Insectarium in Missoula was one of the guest speakers for the Plains Schools Summer Program, which ended last week with a trip to Wild Horse Lavender, a farm and ranch about 12 miles west of Plains. This was the third year the school held this summer program, which Principal...
