Independently owned since 1905
Independently owned since 1905
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(A French finance minister of long ago compared collecting taxes to plucking a live goose. The object was to get the greatest amount of feathers with the least amount of hiss. Dogs growl, geese hiss.) Because of the biennial reappraisal of residential property most Montanans are faced with huge increases in the values of their homes and the Montana Department of Revenue has done its best to get our attention. They got our attention by sending us a bill. Well, not actually a bill, they sent us...
Conflict is everywhere – within our families, among our friends, in places of business, on the internet – and while conflict is unavoidable and uncomfortable, it’s necessary for growth and change. But it can also halt progress where we need there to be progress, whether it’s local, national or worldwide issues. We could actually create change and get things accomplished if we were better at giving a little to get a little, but it doesn’t seem like we are willing to do that too often anymore. Have we lost the art of compromise? Watching...
Editor, In response to the editorial, Access to Information Should Not Be Denied, in the July 14 issue, I would first like to share that the widespread "book ban" you address, is nothing of the sort. The Oxford dictionary defines ban as "officially or legally prohibit." The destruction of any material in question is not what's being called for. It is the simple fact that we are dealing with minors who are in the process of vital development. Books that contain information on sexual content and other complex topics have no place in the hands of...
They’re making hay in southwestern Montana, cutting record harvests in the Big Hole, Horse Prairie and the Beaverhead and Madison valleys. These water-rich bottoms are sandwiched between spectacular Montana ranges: the Pioneers, Anaconda-Pintler and Beaverhead, and the Ruby, Gravelly and Madison. These stony sources feed the rivers that coalesce into the Missouri at Three Forks: the Red Rock, Ruby, Wise, Big Hole, Beaverhead, Madison, Jefferson and Gallatin. It is big country, anchored economically to the critters that eat the hay come w...
Plenty of us are torn up that Main Street is torn up. The approximately mile-long project is a needed one, though. Enhanced safety features, smoother surfaces and ADA-compliant sidewalks will make downtown a better place for residents and visitors, especially those using strollers, delivery dollies, wheelchairs, canes or any other assisted-walking devices. Traveling down Main Street – specifically on foot – will be much improved. But oh the pain of getting there. Businesses, many of which rely on summer tourists, are tough to get to this wee...
About once a year I deal with an outfit out of Boise called General Gear or tractorparts.com. I use them when I need parts to repair my crawler tractor which is almost as old as I am and a damn sight better looking. It’s a 1952 Allis Chalmers HD 6B which has served me well over the 45 years I’ve owned it both as a machine and an education. So, when I need parts I go to General Gear. Miracle of miracles they have new parts for my machine. They also seem to have a philosophical bent which inc...
Student absences can wreak havoc with a teacher’s daily lesson plans, so I was at one time pretty impatient about parents who failed to land their kids in school on time and every school day. One family seemed particularly careless about this, and over some months I had come to judge those parents in uncomplimentary terms, particularly since the father was a county law enforcement officer who from my perspective should have been setting a better example. Then early one morning my wife and I were headed west through Thompson Falls, not yet at t...
Last month I wrote on the availability of buying down the rate where the borrower pays an upfront fee to have the rate reduced for the life of the loan. There is another option when buying down the rate that is called a temporary buy down. The most common option is a 2-1 buy down. With a 2-1 buy down, the interest rate is 2% less than the regular rate for the first year and 1% less than the regular rate in the second year. Then, in the third year, the rate changes to the regular or permanent rate (known as the Note Rate) for the remaining term...
In June, Illinois took its own action against groups attempting to remove certain materials from the shelves of public schools and libraries: The state banned book bans. The measure signed into law withholds grant funding to libraries that do not adhere to the American Library Association’s guidelines that say books shall not be taken out of circulation based on personal, political or religious reasons. For 20 years, the ALA has gathered data on attempted book bans, and 2022’s numbers are the highest in history. According to their website, the...
“O say can you see, by the dawn’s early light, what so proudly we hailed at the twilight’s last gleaming…” Francis Scott Key, an American patriot, was sent to negotiate a prisoner’s release from the British while the battle for Fort McHenry raged. The negotiations were discussed on a British vessel tied to his American ship. Once the details were completed, the British kept Key under guard to prevent him from sharing with the Americans any military secrets that he might have observed wh...
by Tina Daugherty June brought a lot of rain, some gorgeous thunderstorms and finally warm weather! The market is seasonally blooming with many more home sales and a decline in land sales. Interest rates continue to rise, which will affect the market. Summer is in full swing with quite a lot of tourist activity and busy highways. This feels like the tale end of the best market I've seen in my 31 years of selling real estate in this and other areas. A correction feels imminent but always takes longer than you think it will. The good news is that...
Whether it’s a serious news story with the latest investigation update or an edgy meme featuring orcas and video-game controllers, we are inundated right now with information about the Titan submersible. There has been no shortage of coverage on the investigation of what went wrong as the deep-water vessel attempted to descend to the wreck of the Titanic, more than 12,000 feet below sea level. Of all the questions being asked right now, though, the one that has struck me from the very beginning is “Why?” I don’t mean “Why did the vessel im...
We celebrate America on this Fourth of July because we are a great nation with great dreams, great ability and great heart. None should feel this more than Montanans, who cherish the notions that “all men is common folk,” (as an old poem has it), that a person’s word is their bond, and that it doesn’t matter who you are as long as you pull your own weight. A place where, when your house burns down, people you don’t even know show up to help you out. We are big hearted, tough and kind. And we do...
The Northwestern Energy (NWE) Thompson Falls Hydro facility is working on the renewal of their Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) license. The last license was issued in 1979. I believe NWE has been and will continue to be excellent stewards of the Clark Fork River and surrounding lands, but with the new license proposal there are a few items of concern. The previous license allowed NWE to draft (lower) the reservoir level up to four feet at any given time. Over the last 45 years or so, NWE chose not to use the 4 foot draft as a normal...
It can be hard to read in summer with all the visitors, vacations, and the phenomenal weather begging you to be out enjoying it. Thank goodness for these amazing summer storms we’ve been having that force a brief break and encourage a bit of reading. Montana booksellers have started a new program called The Montana Bookstore Trail where you stop into any participating bookstore, pick up your passport and get stamps at each bookstore you visit. It’s a great way to combine your summer trips with reading and pick up some fantastic new reads. The...
Independence Day is definitely something to cheer about. It was the start of an amazing nation and should be celebrated every year. It was especially joyous to the people of the colonies, which were under the iron thumb of King George III. Five days after the freedom document was approved by the Second Continental Congress, Gen. George Washington read it aloud to his troops in New York and again it was cheered. It was official — the 13 colonies were separated from Mother England. Free at last. But it wasn’t quite that simple or easy. We actuall...
It’s the summer solstice and I’m walking through my lower briar patch. If you know me, you may know what I mean. If you don’t, you won’t. My stroll is through a place that only about .0000000012% of humans know about, roughly 100 people. I’m one of the few of those few who visit on a regular basis. It’s out of the way, you might say. A good clearance four-wheel-drive is necessary to get to the spot where it becomes necessary to get out and walk. After getting out of said vehicle, a visitor will walk uphill, upstream. And dodge devil’s clu...
The Northwestern Energy (NWE) Thompson Falls Hydro facility is working on the renewal of their Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) license. The last license was issued in 1979. I believe NWE has been and will continue to be excellent stewards of the Clark Fork River and surrounding lands, but with the new license proposal there are a few items of concern. The previous license allowed NWE to draft (lower) the reservoir level up to four feet at any given time. Over the last 45 years or so, NWE chose not to use the 4 foot draft as a normal...
Garage sale season is in full swing. Whether you’ve just finished some spring cleaning, are making room for new items, are moving out of your house, or just want to earn a little money, selling gently used items has more benefits than we may realize. While some might poo-poo the idea of putting our junk on display (and let’s face it – sometimes it can be junk), more often than not, our items for sale are good for another round. Garage and yard sales certainly benefit us at the individual level. Obviously, sellers make cash quickly. There are no...
So far there are about a dozen Republican candidates wanting to be President of the United States of America and most of them are as incensed over the legal threats facing Donald Trump as only a scheming hypocrite can be. The two notable exceptions are former New Jersey governor Chris Christie, who has significant issues with believability himself, and Asa Hutchinson, former governor of Arkansas, who actually appears to be a decent man. They are not running against Trump, no, no, no. They are...
When I was an undergraduate English student I encountered the ivory-tower assumption that being educated had something to do with mankind’s search for what is good, beautiful and true. The corollary was that continuous reading of both current and historic literature was necessary to become truly educated. In other words, wisdom was the goal, familiarity with literature was method. Perhaps a bit conceitedly, practical purposes of schooling were considered less important. This assumption formed the classical education as practiced by Europeans, a...
Each June, National Healthy Homes Month raises awareness on housing-related health hazards and the steps to take for safe, healthy homes. This year’s theme is “Connecting Home, Health, and YOU” to highlight the important relationship between housing quality and health. One substantial way to maintain a healthy home is to keep it smokefree, whether it’s a private home or an apartment. There is no safe amount of secondhand smoke exposure, and the home is the main place many children and adults are exposed. Secondhand smoke can cause damage...
A couple weeks ago, this space was devoted to moments from my weekend spent reconnecting with old friends. Our time together was full of childhood stories, spontaneous laughter, good-natured teasing and “remember whens.” When we parted, we said, “See you soon” and made promises to get together more often. Recently, I got together with another old friend. Our time together was quieter. The conversation was one-sided, the laughter subdued, and the memories all in my head. I was with Sage, our family dog. She has been slowing down the past fe...
What is a slice of life? A glimpse, a moment, a glance at a segment of a well-lived life? As I’ve written this column for a few months now, I’ve covered many different aspects of life. But this past month I’ve been thinking often about what it means to have lived a “well-lived life.” According to a Harvard research study that followed participants for more than 80 years, the key to longevity and happiness, my own interpretation of what a well-lived life might contain, is joy. The outcome o...
by Michael Scharfe We had hoped we would start seeing more of a declining trend in interest rates by now. As we continue to see higher rates, you might be wondering if there is any way to get a lower rate than what is currently being offered. The answer to that question is “Yes!” This comes by way of what is called “buying down the rate.” To buy down the rate, you would do just as the term implies: buy (or pay a fee) to get a lower rate. For instance, if the standard rate available to you at the time was 7% and you wanted to get a lower r...
