Independently owned since 1905
Independently owned since 1905
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Does it seem a bit ironic that Blackstone’s recent column titled “Political agendas get in the way” (February 11, 2021) is based on promoting the political agenda of the right-wing media? The pro-Trump media’s defense of Trump’s indefensible behavior is based on a technique called “whataboutism.” Since there is no credible justification for Trump’s many lies and attempts to overturn the election, the focus of this defense is on trying to claim that the Democrats are somehow worse. But even if the exaggerated claims about Democrats were...
Have you noticed that what appear to be junk vehicles proliferate in this town faster than wild turkeys and geese? Does anybody think those vehicles add to the attractiveness and appeal of Thompson Falls? You know who does like them a lot? Feral animals! Such vehicles provide shelter and protection for mice, rats, skunks, feral cats and, worse yet, a good place to birth even more mice, rats, skunks and feral cats. Besides being a nuisance, these animals can harbor and share disease. Prospective buyers appear to be lacking enthusiasm to...
We've been watching the broadcast and reading the news of the devastation happening in the South due to winter storms. States such as Texas were battered with winter weather, frigid temperatures and several inches of snow. The Dallas-Fort Worth metroplex got between four and seven inches of snow. Powerlines were down and people were stranded without a heat source. Dozens of people have died in the winter storm, some of hypothermia because they weren't prepared. In Montana, we don't even cancel school for four inches of snow. We're prepared for...
I like to listen to music when I exercise. The right beat can motivate me and take my mind off the pain I'm inflicting on my tired old body! A few weeks ago, my granddaughter and her best friend were visiting and I very briefly heard a song they were playing. It had the type of beat I like to exercise to, so I asked the name of the tune (Colt 45) and downloaded it. The next day I played the song and was completely disgusted when I actually paid attention to the lyrics. I deleted the song immedia...
Editor, As a retired high school registrar and former junior high principal’s secretary and office manager, I write to express my deep concern over the recent lifting of the state mask mandate, the lowering of the vaccine priority for our teachers from 1B to 1C and what appears to be stubbornness and/or indifference on the part of the school district administration regarding the danger posed by COVID-19 to our teachers, building support staff, students and by extension, all our families. I believe I heard the CDC will raise the vaccine p...
This week as we were editing articles and putting the newspaper together, we felt good about all the feel-good news. At The Ledger, we aim to provide accurate, engaging local news articles. We want to tell the stories of our friends and neighbors and those friends we haven't yet met. We want to show how local businesses are expanding, report on local COVID-19 effects and your local candidates for upcoming elections. Our sports editor, John Hamilton, works hard each week to make contact with every coach and publish information about every high...
Offered as a respite from current events. Eddie Mulick was the first person I met when I moved to Trout Creek, and that was largely because he owned, what his matchbooks proclaimed was, “The Wayside Bar--finest bar in Trout Creek.” It was also the only bar. Those days I did custom haying in the summer and I had been working George Casteel’s field right across the river. George was a story in himself, an old single-jack gold miner whose cabin floor was liberally littered with rocks of ore and c...
Back in the late 60’s at Warner Barracks in Bamberg, West Germany, Sergeant First Class Schmidt ran a mortar platoon so well that no rank either above or below him questioned his performance. He was big, loud and gruff, with an accent that reminded listeners of his origins in Hungary, from where, as a lone teenager, he had fled ahead of a 1950’s Russian threat. I was a squad leader assigned to the same company, but as a scout rather than a mortar man, when in the summer of ’68 the Russians briefly invaded nearby Czechoslovakia. I thought that...
After weeks of waiting, hundreds of Sanders County residents have been getting their COVID-19 vaccinations. Residents, especially those in the Phase 1B distribution group, have been anxiously waiting for the call from Public Health or Clark Fork Valley Hospital (CFVH) announcing their vaccination appointment. Over the weekend, some of our family members received their first vaccinations at CFVH. The nurses told them that the hospital would be vaccinating about 300 people on Saturday, and the process was seamless. From checking in, to getting...
Who is responsible for the Sanders County parklands? Not the board of commissioners. Glen Magera – although the county provides him with an email, he is incapable of hitting the reply button. Carol Brooker – forwards emails regarding the parks to Tony Cox & the county planner Tony Cox – writes letters that are not enforced and forwards emails to the county planner. Not the county planner. Katherine Maudrone, Director of Land Services, forwards emails to the Sanders County Park Board. Not the members of the Sanders County Park Board. Julie...
We are off and running on a new year with great enthusiasm because it’s 2021 and no longer 2020! Right? And the city government is working on issues of importance to the city and all of us who live in Thompson Falls. I’m not going to talk about those issues specifically because my articles regarding the council have caused concern. So, I’m going to try and skirt the edges to keep myself out of trouble! But I am going to discuss an important element in making city government work for you, the citizens of Thompson Falls. As noted in a previ...
As I write this the D.C. Democrats are one day away from opening their second impeachment of former President Donald Trump. I don’t get it! I’ve been trying to figure out why so much effort is being put into impeaching a man who no longer holds the office. Most scholars agree that moving forward with the impeachment is unconstitutional. Beyond that, everyone pretty much agrees that (like the first impeachment effort), there simply won’t be enough votes for a conviction. So, why are the Democrats...
During last month's windstorm, we saw neighbors stepping up to help neighbors. No questions asked, people just came together to help clean up our county after this devastating storm knocked out power and damaged homes and businesses. That sense of community was nice to see. With this storm came a feeling of belonging. Sanders County is 100 miles long, but in that week after the storm there was no distance. We were one community helping each other and literally weathering the storm. We see examples of closeknit communities here and there. When...
Every word has a definition. You can look that up in a dictionary and call that definition the gospel truth. But many words also have emotions attached to them which are harder to define because they are unique to the individual that feels them. Everybody knows what “patriotism” is. It’s love of country. But just as everyone has their own definition of love they also have their own emotional definition of patriotism. For some it is storming the United States Capitol, for others it is peace...
While serving as the 15th Supreme Court Chief Justice, Warren Burger stated in his June 22, 1983 ,letter to Phyllis Schlafly of Eagle Forum, “I have also repeatedly given my opinion that there is no effective way to limit or muzzle the actions of a constitutional convention. The convention could make its own rules and set its own agenda. Congress might try to limit the convention to one amendment or to one issue, but there is no way to assure that the convention would obey. After a convention is convened, it will be too late to stop the c...
The Big Game is coming up. On February 7, the Kansas City Chiefs and the Tampa Bay Buccaneers will meet in Tampa and play the 55th NFL championship game. The Super Bowl is pretty much a national holiday in the United States. We've often heard chatter the Monday after saying that should be a holiday for offices, especially on the East Coast where the game doesn't start until after 8 p.m. Super Bowl Sunday is a day full of snacks and competitive banter and betting pools amongst your friends. Even more entertaining than the actual game or the cele...
This past December, the Clark Fork Valley Elks Lodge sponsored an “Americanism Essay” contest for students in Sanders County. Student contestants were given the topic, “How Can Patriotism Be Demonstrated?” Then they were tasked with completing a short essay. The top three contestants in two grade categories would be awarded monetary prizes. I recently had the privilege of reading the winning essays (I’m sure glad I wasn’t a judge. All six were great!). In a time when our country is so divided, i...
I do not oppose Article V per se, just all misuse of it. The Constitution is not the problem, amending or rewriting is not the solution. I stand solidly OPPOSED to SJ2 currently before the MT Senate Judiciary Committee. Just enforce the Constitution. The problem? An out of control judiciary and legislature bought and paid for by the same globalist interest that promote the A V Convention plan to undo our law. Our U.S. Constitution is NOT lacking the restraint necessary to stop federal tyranny, it is our current Legislative and Judiciary and...
Sanders County Ledger readers should let their legislative senator (Bob Brown) know that they are not in favor of HB 102. This bill would allow college students to keep guns in their dorm rooms, classrooms, music events, and with them on campus. The addition of guns adds an unnecessary danger in a time young adults are already experiencing big changes. These years are too transitional, suicide too prevalent. If they want a place to keep hunting rifles, campus security will store them. This bill would also allow concealed loaded firearms...
This is in response to Jim Elliot’s columns of Jan 7 and 21 “Montana Viewpoint.” I applaud and agree with Catherine Moore’s Jan. 21st letter. I hope that the authorities have the will and guts to continue to investigate and collect and protect all the evidence in those suspect precincts, including the voting machines and audit listings before it is all destroyed. And then prosecute the perpetrators if wrongdoing is found. I call what was done treason, and I hope it doesn’t take four years to get it done. During the immediate months before the e...
Dear Editor, In regards to the “March for Life” this Friday, January 29, 2021, in our community, I would like to share this thought: “An unborn child was the first to recognize Jesus” Ref: the Holy Bible, Luke 1:39-45. Sincerely, Barb Kunch, Thompson Falls...
Last week in Sanders County, we saw a devastating winter windstorm that knocked out power to much of the county for days. Trees were uprooted, some falling on houses, businesses and other buildings. Before the storm was over, we saw neighbors and strangers helping residents clear trees and roadways. Crews from NorthWestern Energy and Northern Lights worked days on end restoring power to residents. It was amazing to see all the trucks of trees and debris as they paraded to the Sanders County Transfer Site outside Thompson Falls. The pile of...
The Capitol has been trashed by bThe Capitol has been trashed by big boys and girls who should have known better. It is hard to take a bearded, bare-chested man with cow horns on his head seriously, let alone as an adult, but he and others broke windows, beat up cops (killing one, wounding others), had one of their own shot by police and trampled another one of their own to death. This was not just a riot, it was an insurrection. It has resulted in 70 of them being charged with criminal...
Dear Editor, I would like to respond to Jim Elliot’s op-ed “A dangerous game with democracy” (January 7, 2021). There are hundreds of documented instances of irregularities in the last election that I find unexplained to this date. In the recent Georgia senate hearings on the November election, Jovan Pulitzer’s team hacked into the counting system in real time using the local Wi-Fi. In the CNN election night broadcasts, the tallies at the bottom of the screen were shown to slide votes from one candidate to another. From Atlanta, there is vide...
The first time I went to Washington, D.C., as a high school junior, it was for a journalism conference. We were a group of teenagers celebrating the First Amendment and the role we as journalists played in our future. Unfortunately for the three delegates from Montana, it was the year Ted Kaczynski was arrested and Montana was only known for the Unabomber. That first time in D.C., I was in awe of all the history. Seeing the Declaration of Independence gave me chills and so much pride in our country. The second time, I had the privilege of...
