Independently owned since 1905
Independently owned since 1905
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Editor: During the “thundering” and lightning storm on Friday, we noticed a small fire across the river and called 911 and they contacted the Forest Service. Within a few minutes the USFS contacted us and we were able to direct them to our home where we had good visibility. Three great guys showed up with their GPS and pinpointed where the fire was. It was up Thorne Creek. All three were willing to hike in to the location but luckily a helicopter was able to pick them up. With the fire out, we can only tell all of those involved …. thank you....
Dear Editor, Many thanks to Callie Jacobson for the fine article on the recent Baroque Festival. There are a couple of clarifications that should be made. A Baroque festival was not my idea. It was THE IDEA which evolved as we (Janet, Monica, I, and then others) came together in their support of it. As I stated in my message at the festival (see Ledger, Thursday, 7/26/2018) which was not reported, THE IDEA came with all the resources to make it happen and I am so grateful to have been a part of this festival idea. It has been a thoroughly...
Dear Editor: Allow me to clarify a misunderstanding in last week’s letter to the editor from Major Jan Manning, U.S. Army (Ret). During my 24 plus years of service to our country, no one ever asked me if I were a Democrat or a Republican. I am not the Vice Chairman of Sanders County Democrats. My intention in writing to the Ledger was to inform my fellow veterans of the successful efforts of Senator Jon Tester in the passage of 10 bills improving our health care under this administration. Doing so required bi-partisan efforts by our Se...
This week, Olympic swimmer Ryan Lochte was banned from competition for more than a year after an investagtion by the U.S. Anti-Doping Agency. A photo on social media showed Lochte getting an injection of vitamins. The substance Lochte was taking wasn’t illegal, but the amount was. At a press conference Monday, Lochte accepted a 14-month suspension and took responsibility for the incident . “As soon as you get to a certain point or level, in any kind of sport career, you’re always going to have an eye on you,” Lochte said. “I think I’ve lear...
As I think of America’s current political impasse(es) there are two quotes that come to mind. Charley Russell wrote a story about a teamster who harnessed up his mules, then picked up a two-by-four and whacked the lead mule in the head. “First, you’ve got to get the mule’s attention,” he explained to a startled bystander. And the other expression my very own mother’s, “You catch more flies with honey than with vinegar.” “Power concedes nothing without a demand,” wrote former slave and abolition...
Editor, I’m writing in response to an editorial in the July 12 paper authored by a U.S. Navy commander, Ret. From Noxon, “Sen. Tester works for veterans”. After reading this letter and hearing TV ads on how Jon Tester is for veterans, I started doing some “fact checking.” However, without knowing all the facts behind the commander’s comment, “I (himself??) began the process of getting hearing aids through the VA Choice Program.” He or himself alone can not just say, or go order hearing aids, on anything else himself. 1. See a doctor in a VA...
Yes, Major Manning, you have caught Tom blue handed. He is an actual Democrat in Sanders County. Although not the vice-chair this year. I am quite sure Senator Jon Tester has not claimed to have “fixed” anything. I do know for a fact though, that him and his crew have been working hard to give vets better access to local health care and timely payments to health care facilities. I am not a veteran and Tom would know much more than I about the veteran’s system. What I see in the public health care system is a lot of dedicated professionals, who...
This month, our small communities have come together to honor veterans, celebrate the U.S., and have a little fun. Each year, Noxon puts on a fantastic fireworks show and parade. Not to mention the awesomeness that comes from watching kids trying to herd their reptiles in the turtle races. In Plains, athletes will gather later this month for a large co-ed softball tournament. And earlier this summer, Plains Day brought out not just the locals, but people from around the region. Thompson Falls used to have a Fourth of July parade, and the...
“The rise of corporate dominance and the theft of human rights.” That grabs your attention, right? It is the subject of the book Unequal Protection — How Corporations Became People, and How You Can Fight Back by Thom Hartmann, and not a new subject by any means. There have always been a few wealthy, aggressive people who seem to want to exercise control over the general population. Before our modern industrial age, it was a feudal system of kings, queens and divine rights. Thomas Jefferson fought hard to include the phrase “freedom from mo...
Editor, Recently, the Thompson Falls Trap Club installed stanchions and provided wooden frames with cardboard to attach targets in the pistol and rifle range. Our goal was to improve the public’s shooting experience at the Thompson Falls Range. The metal stanchions were secured to the ground with four spikes at their base and extended four inches above the ground with a rectangular tube that holds a four or five-foot-tall wooden frame, twenty inches in width, with cardboard attached to the frames that targets are secured to. The stanchions a...
I am horrified by the President’s words at the European Summit and his subsequent meeting with Putin. This is a man who sees himself as the center of the universe; anyone who disagrees with him is “stupid,” including the country which he serves. He is crude, rude, callous and without loyalty. He disdains the experience of the people that surround him. He leaves a wake of lives ruined. Sadly, he also may be the mirror that reflects our future. What have we become, and perhaps even more than we, what have I become? This is a question that each...
Editor: As a disabled U.S. Army veteran who relies heavily on VA for my health care, I respectfully take issue with Commander (Ret.) Thomas Humphreys’ laudatory remarks about Senator John Tester’s effectiveness in supporting veterans’ health care. Tester has not fixed the problem as he claims he has. While I’m glad Tom finally got his hearing aids from VA, I am still waiting for VA to schedule a mammogram which I should have already had done several months ago. The horrible “Veterans Choice” program is still very much alive and well, but the na...
Last month, women in Saudi Arabia took to the streets when the country ended its ban on women drivers. In the era of #MeToo, it’s easy to forget how far women have come in the United States, and how many freedoms all Americans have. We take for granted that we get to live in a country where women have the right to vote, drive, own businesses and property, and live independently. Saudi Arabia is just now giving women the right to drive. But in some countries, women are still forced into arranged marriages, have limited access to education, a...
Now is a good time — a very important time — for Americans to remember the saga of “Tail Gunner Joe.” Only Joe was never a tail gunner who flew numerous combat missions in World War II — he made up that story all by himself. He was a desk jockey. He was, however, a United States Senator from Wisconsin, and as such (and being a bully and a liar) ruined the lives of thousands of Americans in a reign of political and psychological terror that lasted five years, 1950 to 1954. Senator Joseph Mc...
I could write volumes about Senator Jon Tester’s help for all veterans, and specifically his help for me. To say that Jon is the champion of U.S. Veterans in all things would be a gross understatement. After twenty-four years of service in the United States Navy, including two combat tours to Viet Nam, my 20 years in the cockpit took its toll on my ability to hear. In the summer of 2015, I began the process of acquiring hearing aids from the VA but when I attempted to order the hearing aids through the VA Veterans’ Choice Program, I was told th...
In all, America has celebrated 242 Independence Days. After all this time, you would think we had all the details ironed out. Did you know that the 4th of July is not the actual day that America gained independence from Great Britain? According to historians at George Mason University, the actual day was July 2, 1776. “This day the Continental Congress declared the United Colonies Free and Independent States,” printed the Pennsylvania Evening Post, on July 2, 1776 announcing that American freedom had been attained. July 4 was actually the day...
Editor, In response to an article (in the Missoulian) about Chicago Peak in the Cabinet Wilderness Area being a Kootenai Indian Vision Quest site and the possibility of it being a national historic site so that no presence of any mine or construction being able to commerce operations. I am wondering if a vision quest site in the Thompson Falls area (near sheep viewing site) would shut down future highway construction or ever have traffic drive by it. Maybe the state would have to reroute Highway 200 in order to protect it. Professor Carling...
“It’s hit and miss ‘round these parts.” That should be the disclaimer given to outside musicians looking to book a gig in this county. The Rex Theatre in Thompson Falls has seen acts with standing room only and standing ovations, when organizers weren’t sure they could make enough to pay the act – only to have the performer return to less-than-mediocre attendance. It has also seen a nearly empty theater for acts that would have appealed to the majority of the county. When guitarist Mike Beck played the Rex last weekend and recounted h...
The proposed Republican budget for 2019 is being formulated and there are some serious cuts that should disturb many Americans. Slowly but surely those government programs that help people in very real ways are being decimated by Republicans running the country: Medicare, Medicaid, Social Security. Make no mistake about my feelings. I know that they have every right to do this; it is a part of their philosophy, it has been their stated objective for years, and they are in charge. They have...
Senator Steve Daines will be celebrating in Russia as the guest of Vladimir Putin, as reported by news outlets and confirmed by his office. If you aren’t part of that entourage, consider coming to Noxon. We start the day with a Fun Run and a pancake breakfast at the Senior Citizen center sponsored by the VFW. There is a parade down Noxon Avenue, where floats toss candy to the kids and families lined up along the route. Throughout the day there are activities like turtle races, horseshoes, and even chicken poop bingo (I’ve got square #7). Ple...
I have been fielding a number of questions from local folks about the drawdown of the reservoir behind our dam here in Thompson Falls. I fully understand the concern and the questions so I wanted to explain how we managed the high flows this spring and what we have planned for the near future. In May, with extremely high flows and large amounts of debris and logs coming down the Clark Fork, we were forced to release a number of steel spillway beams to allow the larger volume of water, debris and logs to pass safely through the dam. With flows...
On July 5 you can expect to see postings and flyers for “Lost Dogs” on social media and in store windows. The fireworks of Independence Day always send a lot of domestic pets into panic and frenzy, causing them to bolt from their yards and run blindly into the unknown. This season’s thunderstorms are also doing a number on local dogs. A Labrador accustomed to gunfire may react quite differently to a clap of thunder. A terrier who’s brave enough to stand down a badger may become catatonic when he hears firecrackers. Fortunately, respons...
Sanders County is home to many treasures. Not only is the area beautiful, but so are the residents. Perhaps it is because the locals have a certain respect for how things operate in these parts, and respect the old west “rules of etiquette.” As tourist season is upon us, we tend to notice how the rest of the world behaves. If you are a tourist to the area, here are a few tips as you mingle amongst the locals. Although the county is home to 1,733,000 acres, it seems that there are places where you just cannot get away from others. Please rem...
Community Decay is defined as a public nuisance created by allowing rubble, debris, junk or refuse, including junk vehicles, boats, RVs, trailers or other machinery in non-working condition, or refuse, to accumulate, resulting in conditions that are injurious to health, offensive to the senses, or which obstruct the free use of property so as to interfere with the comfortable enjoyment of life or the values of property (Thompson Falls Ordinance 327). The ordinance also states “no person shall be allowed to let stand a structure found to be in s...
We have Veteran’s Day, Memorial Day, Independence Day and Armed Forces Day. There are many holidays that recognize those who have served our country. We honor them, we display flags, we light fireworks, we have a cookout with family and friends. Every once in awhile, we stop the fanfare and think about the sacrifices of our service men and women. We read about the struggles of the military and veterans often. Struggles abroad as they serve, and when they come back home. Recently, we watched the Amazon film Last Flag Flying, in which three V...
