Independently owned since 1905
Independently owned since 1905
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Having health care in rural areas can be taken for granted, but when it is gone the effects are immediately noticeable. Congress’ recent stop gap budget to keep the government running did not take into account community health centers (CHC), which are at risk without a long-term budget. These types of smaller health care clinics serve about 10 percent of Montana (roughly 100,000 residents), a state where there should be one lower tier of population designation past “rural.” The wave of CHCs began with Lyndon B. Johnson’s war on poverty...
It’s easy to look the other way when when it comes to recycling. There are billions of people in the world. So what if you use one little plastic straw, right? There’s an effort called the Strawless Ocean Movement. According to www.strawless ocean.org, Americans use more than 500 million straws each day. That’s a lot. The site explains that most plastic straws end up in the earth’s oceans, and that by 2050, straws will outnumber fish in the oceans (by weight). The movement suggests alternatives to plastic straws including bamboo, metal,...
To the editor: U. S. District Judge Gloria M. Navarro on 01-08-2018 dismissed “with prejudice” all charges against Nevada rancher Cliven Bundy and his sons. “With prejudice” means that the federal prosecutors could not come back again for yet another long, drawn-out, costly trial. Cliven Bundy has already been incarcerated for 700 days. Judge Navarro denounced the government’s misconduct as “especially egregious,” “grossly shocking,” “reckless” and “willful.” She found prosecutors had engaged in a “deliberate attempt to mislead” and had made mu...
In Australia the name of Keith Murdoch is revered as the man who had Australian and New Zealand Army Corps troops (known collectively as “Anzac”) saved from further annihilation in the World War I bloodbath which was the battle for Gallipoli. The Gallipoli campaign was the ill-advised British attempt to defeat Germany’s Turkish allies at the Dardanelles which was the route to Constantinople (now Istanbul) and the Black Sea. A victory there would not only defeat the Turks, but would open the s...
As the snow melts in my driveway, it would appear that the earliest blooms of spring are from seedlings of trash, candy wrappers and music equipment components I haven’t seen since Halloween. If I water and care for these newly revealed treasures that seem to multiply as the snow keeps melting, perhaps the wrappers will fill with candy and the now-rusty musical components will mature into fully-functional instruments… or maybe I’ll just have to do some outdoor tidying up. Which brings to mind the spring cleanup event in Thompson Falls known...
Is anyone else in Sanders County disgusted with the welcome mat laid out for the likes of Cliven Bundy? Two hundred people packed a gym in Paradise to listen to this violent, deadbeat, anti-government, racist, con-artist attempt to justify the criminality of his acts and his family? If violent acts and lack of respect for the laws of the USA is the type of abusive behavior approved of in Sanders County I would suggest local law enforcement, employees of State, Federal, and local government be wary of their interactions with citizens and even...
In Montana, we leave gates as we found them. Ranchers don’t graze on their neighbor’s grass without asking or paying for it. We pull one another out of the ditch. We follow the rule of law, which may sound like some pointy-headed academic term, but really it’s simply society’s agreement with itself – we play by the same rules. It’s part of who we are as Montanans and Americans. That’s why it was so disturbing to see a sitting state senator, Jennifer Fielder, welcome Cliven Bundy to our state and speak alongside him in Paradise recently. Muc...
MICHAEL HEDAHL, Thompson Falls – “Downhill skiing because I’ve skied a lot over the past 14 years. I’m fascinated with speed. People can go at such high speeds.” SHARON POUND, Thompson Falls – “I like the skiing and snowboarding. I just like it.” JACQUE JONER, Thompson Falls – “Probably ice skating. I like the grace and choreography. “ TILLIE WOLLASTON, Thompson Falls – “I do watch it especially when my favorite programs are not on. I pretty much like all the sports.” CHUCK HAMMETT, Thompson Falls – “I like the downhill skiing. It’s exciting...
Cliven Bundy was invited to come to Paradise, Mont., to speak about his problems with the federal government. According to Bundy, he is being persecuted for not paying for use of public lands. A brief list of his “problems” is enlightening to say the least. He does not recognize powers of the federal government stating that he has no contract with the federal government. “My 15-second defense is I only graze my cattle on Clark County, Nev. land and I have no contract with the federal government,” he said. “I haven’t had a contract with the fe...
As a person born and raised in Nevada I would like to tell my true story that goes along with this Bundy issue. I should start out by saying that this happened a long time ago, I was maybe 10 at the start of the story. My father was an avid hunter and fisherman and he got me started very early, I got my first shotgun when I was eight, but that’s not what I’m here to talk about. It was the fishing. You may not know but Nevada had some great mountain stream fishing, much better and different than around here. Every summer Mom, Dad and I wou...
Below is a fitting tribute to former Thompson Falls teacher Frank Rutzke, who recently lost his battle with cancer (see obituary on page 6), from a family friend and former student. It got us thinking about the impact of teachers. You send your kids to school for 7 hours a day, 5 days a week, 180 days a year. Teachers have a huge responsibility. Not just in teaching ABCs and 123s, but in helping your kids become awesome human beings and productive adults. That’s a lot of pressure and a huge responsibility for teachers. In some instances, the t...
Middle School is designed to be a transitional time in the lives of every young person. An opportunity to take on new challenges, begin to adapt to added responsibility and expand their worldview as they gain independence. It is a challenging and often frustrating experience for many, and for myself it was made even more difficult when my family made a sudden move to a small town in Montana called Thompson Falls. The middle school in Thompson Falls takes its description literally. Geographically it is situated between the elementary and high...
When I read the news that the United States government had shut down, my first thought was, “How can they tell?” Then I read that there was some worry that the National Parks would be shut down during the shut down, but since I thought we were going to close the National Parks anyway, that hardly seemed like news. It seems like the individual and collective minds of our elected officials in Congress and the President’s office had shut down, too, but that’s not really news, either. What was new...
Question of the week...
Dear Editor Members of Northern Lights, Inc. (NLI), our local rural electric cooperative, are circulating petitions to change two sections of NLI’s ByLaws. According to NLI’s 2016 IRS 990 form, directors typically work 5 hours a week. Partial compensation is $27,942 per year that may be taken in health insurance or cash. Each director receives, in addition, a per diem and mileage for attending meetings. Directors are elected “volunteer” trustees who should negotiate to keep member bills low. Petition one asks for a change in the Bylaws to remov...
This week, California couple David and Louise Turpin were arrested and charged with torture and child endangerment after their 13 children were allegedly being held captive inside the family’s home. The children range in age from 2 to 29. One of the children, a 17-year-old girl, managed to escape the house on Sunday and called 911 from a deactivated cellphone. Media reports said some of the children were shackled to their beds, and appeared malnourished. The story is unreal, and it’s hard to imagine how people could treat their children in such...
Letter to the editor: Rumors abound in the west end of Sanders County. I can dispel one of those rumors. I am NOT suing Noxon Schools for bazillions of dollars. I did write a complaint against our School Board Chair and the Superintendent. The reason for the complaint is this: I raised my hand during the Public Comment portion of the December Board meeting. I was recognized by the Board Chair. I began reading my comment. I will mention that I had emailed the comment earlier in the day to all members of the School Board. As was heard by...
Editor, Jim Elliot’s recent op-ed explaining how we can vote against ourselves and our best interests and the article about how the community turned out to help Randy Pirker raise money for very expensive medical treatment was ironic. We applaud and support the community that comes together to help out one of our own. Can someone explain why we would not have a health care system that really took CARE of our citizens? The additional irony for this is that the representatives we vote into office are all well provided for health wise at our e...
On Sunday at the Golden Globes, Oprah Winfrey gave a proud speech while accepting the Cecil B. DeMille award for lifetime achievement. Immediately, the Internet was abuzz about whether or not Oprah was laying the foundation for a run for presidency in 2020. As we get older, it seems time goes faster. It’s hard to believe that President Trump is already reaching the end of his first year in office. And who will run in 2020 is the talk of the town. Ronald Reagan was president of the Screen Actors Guild before he became governor of California, and...
Democrats constantly wonder why so many working people vote “against their own economic self-interests.” Their current head-scratcher is the recent tax cut bill, which hands out billions of dollars to the wealthy and big business and peanuts to middle-class working people. And not just peanuts but, according to independent analysts, eventual tax increases and higher health insurance costs. The Democrats’ error is that they believe most people make rational decisions about their lives, when...
Well, winter is definitely here. All of Sanders County has been hit with several inches — and in many places several feet — of snow, and frigid temperatures. While it’s no fun to drive on these winter roads, it’s important that we all do our part to help out those state, county and city employees who are tasked with keeping roadways clear. The normal business routine of going in at 8 a.m. and leaving promptly at 5 p.m. doesn’t apply to those hard-working folks who get behind the wheel of snowplows and loaders to clear parking lots and roads....
Dear Citizens of Lake and Sanders County: Stewardship. It’s an old fashion word but at this holiday season and beyond, it still rings true with the obligations and the opportunities we have to be sure what we were given by those who passed before us is there in a useable way for those who come after us. It was made all the more real by the giants of the past generation who have passed recently for many of us. I have the honor and privilege of serving you as District Judge of the 20th Judicial District for Lake and Sanders Counties since b...
As a young high school American government teacher, I compared our system to an automobile that was useful if it could start, speed up, slow down and stop. When the people thought government needed to be more active, they elected liberal Democrats to press down on the accelerator. When people thought government’s role was getting too large and expensive, they elected Republicans to apply the brakes and slow things down. Our national debt is now $20 trillion and rising. That amounts to about $155,000 in tax liability for the average family of f...
This has nothing to do with Christmas (which I hope was wonderful) or New Year's, (which I hope is great), but often at this time of year folks could stand a good laugh, which I hope this delivers. Whenever I am faced with a daunting task and wonder how I will get it done, I think back 35 or so years ago when I had to face what was then, and may still be, the most dauntingest task in my life. I had been away on a two-week trip to visit family and had left the ranch in charge of my hired man-it...
As 2017 comes to a close, we reflect on the highs and lows of our year. For me, one special moment of 2017 wasn’t even about me. Katrina Nygaard (pictured below) is a math teacher at Thompson Falls High School, and one of my most special friends. Each summer, my girlfriends and I get out on the Clark Fork River for a day float. During our 2017 float trip, we launched our tubes and giant yellow ducky just below the Cascade Campground above Quinn’s Hot Springs and floated to Katrina’s mother-in-law Kay’s house. Just before the Highway 200 bri...
