Independently owned since 1905
Independently owned since 1905
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Since the pandemic, there has been this shift in the labor market. There are consistently dozens of job openings listed with Job Service. It seems as almost every business in the county is constantly looking for help. Then comes the dilemma of how to run your business with reduced staff. We see it in businesses across the county. Restaurants have reduced hours, even closing certain days of the week due to staffing shortages. Some businesses you see a different employee every time you walk in. The workforce has changed since our parents' and...
I've always commented that if I had to go back and live in a different time period, I'd live in pioneer days. I could grow and harvest my own food. I could wash clothes in the river. I could write by candlelight. I reread the Little House on the Prairie books about every other year. I'm fascinated by how long it took to get information, or even to get medical assistance. The independence of those families is incredible. There was no social media or cellphones. The distractions weren't like they are now. I really appreciate clean drinking water,...
Dear Readers, A retired geologist, Bruce Bjornstadt, from Richland, Washington, has recently released a drone video about our area. He has a passion for ice age geology. He has written books about the Pacific Northwest ice age floodscapes and has released several videos of the various flood affected areas, including Camas Prairie. The resulting video is about a 10-minute narrative, including maps and background music of the effects of Glacial Lake Missoula on our area, in particular Eddy Narrows. It can be accessed at Eddy Narrows...
The story of America is the story of the individual and the protection of the individual from government, from the powerful, from those who “know better” than we do. Our country was shaped by those who knew the feeling of powerlessness in the face of an oppressive government. Who, as individuals even banding together in common cause against the British government and ruled by a king with near dictatorial powers, felt helpless to control their own destinies. So they resolved that, after we bec...
I remember my first day of kindergarten very well. I remember very distinctly not wanting my mom to leave. I remember standing outside Mrs. Garrison's kindergarten classroom at Thompson Falls Elementary and not wanting to go in. I think my mom finally got me to let go because my friend Brooke was already in the classroom. That first step into kindergarten is huge. For the kids, it's a whole new routine, new first experiences, new friends and a new way of life that will last at least the next 13 years. For the parents, it's a whole new routine,...
From a lucky girl - I’m lucky because I was born up on Gallatin Street when Doc Rosdahl made house calls, went to Thompson Falls schools, and had the privilege of living and working here in this wonderful place. I’m lucky…and grateful. Thompson Falls is a beautiful place to live, work and recreate! I’m so grateful I’ve been able to help with the Thompson Falls Beautification Days yearly clean-up event. The event involves the schools and all sorts of groups and volunteers who work together to clean up the parks, downtown, etc. and most impo...
Dear Elizabeth, Recently I spent the better part of a day at the Sanders County Courthouse. The purpose was to establish custody of a young child. You were impregnated (unplanned) by a young man that lived approximately 2,000 miles from your home town-Noxon, Montana. You went to the clinic in Thompson Falls, Montana, in April of 2021 with a family member and found out you were pregnant. After that a family member accompanied you to all of your prenatal visits. The young man whose child you were carrying did not accompany you to any of these...
Each year, a backpacking trip into a nearby wilderness is undertaken by certain artistic types (ATs), most often plein air painters. ATs follow “guide” Bearly-Seen Svensson (not his real name, for legal reasons) into the wild, stopping often to art their hearts out as Bearly catches up on his rest and decides which obscure and difficult route leads to the next artful spot. This year, the group trundled up a “trail” (haha) into a place unnamed for fear it will be trampled by unguided ATs seeking plein air possibilities and then Search and Res...
Lights, camera, action. The lights are essential. What is a car without lights on? Invisible at night and also in the day. Trucks have always had running lights, I think. The new cars have lights on day or night. In a time long, long ago, when people who had cars had a three-day holiday weekend, the radio would request people to turn on their car light during the day. Why? To save lives. More people on the road, the chance for greater deaths, and there were more deaths. Montana Highway 200 has one lane in both directions. The speed limit for th...
Several days ago I stopped by the Local Store in Trout Creek with an arm full of books for the “Little Library” in front of the store. It was gone! I asked the store clerk about it and she said one morning she came to work and it was gone! If someone took it to make repairs – thank you. If someone stole it – what a jerk and a lousy thing to do. Many of the older folks that do not get out to the library in Thompson falls or Clark Fork, Idaho kinda depend on that little resource at the Local Store. It has been there for years; I would guess s...
The Greek philosopher Heraclitus said “the only constant in life is change.” He sure was right. Everything changes, as history has proven. Sanders County is in a unique situation this fall. All but two of our elected officials are up for election this November. Commissioner Tony Cox’s term is up in 2026. Clerk of District Court is also not up for election until 2024, but the commissioners are selecting a new clerk as Candy Fisher, who was elected in 2020, resigned effective August 15. This fall, voters will elect for the following posit...
Editor: I agree totally with Jim Elliott’s suggestion that voters be given the option to choose “None of the Above Candidates.” I’m guessing a fair number of those who vote in each election find none of the candidates for a position to their liking. When a few candidates lose to “None of the Above Candidates,” the message would be clear that the quality of candidates voters will vote for needs, on occasion, to improve. So often I hear, I voted for the candidate I disliked the least. I have been in that position more often than I like to rem...
This is an open letter to all community members suffering from the deplorable service provided by Verizon throughout Sanders County. As a resident of Thompson Falls and as a longtime customer of Verizon, I, along with numerous other customers are fed up! We need our phones to work. I pay approximately $200 a month for 1990’s service. Businesses in the area have no service half of the time; and come summer and the influx of tourists, there is nothing but dead air all of the time. We should not tolerate this any longer. It is my understanding tha...
Of all the horrors Republicans see in the Democrats’ grossly misnamed “Inflation Reduction Act,” the biggest bogeyman is that the Internal Revenue Service is going to get funding to hire new employees to boost their auditing efforts. Tax auditing, in case you don’t know, is a multifaceted approach to taxpayer compliance; some involve simple individual returns, but the complexity skyrockets when it comes to corporate and millionaire’s returns. Mike Crapo, a Senator from Idaho, complains...
I’ve known Sam and Teri Burt since they moved to Trout Creek. I went to school with their kids. My dad was a volunteer fireman with Sam at the Trout Creek Rural Fire District. I’ve always known they are good people and known that they were involved in the community. What I didn’t know, however, was their level of investment in our communities. When I asked if I could interview them about being grand marshals, they both were very humble. They are honored to be chosen, but they don’t volunteer for the recognition or the glory. Volunte...
In the hutch in my dining room, I occasionally glance at the gavel I was presented with when I was installed as Worthy Advisor of the International Order of Rainbow Girls, Auburn Assembly #11. A beautiful silver gavel my parents proudly surprised me with to celebrate the beginning of a year-long term serving our local community. The year serving as Worthy Advisor I credit with forming the foundation of who I am. My advisor was Barbara Cooksey, an incredible woman who had a heart of service as...
When I describe Sanders County to people who have never been here or are just visiting, I often relay the fact that the county is 100 miles long and has no stop lights. Some might argue the flashing light at the corner of Highways 77 and 28 counts, but not in my world. Take the conversation further with locals and some will say, “if Sanders County ever gets a stop light, I’m moving.” While it doesn’t appear we are close to getting a stop light in the county, we are growing and changing. Our population is increasing and our communities and ser...
On election day, assuming you can still bring yourself to vote, you go down to the polls, or more likely, the mailbox and look at the selection of candidates for various offices. Some are OK, some are not, so you pick your favorite and then you come to a race where both candidates are, in your opinion, bums. Your choice is to choose the lesser of the bums, write in Mickey Mouse, or skip it entirely. But whatever you do, you don’t really get to say “these two people are bums.” I think there...
I met someone recently and after striking up a conversation, quickly found out that she had moved to the area about a year ago. Being the curious person that I am, I asked about her background. I always like hearing people’s stories of how they found themselves in a certain place. When I asked this person where she moved from, she whispered, “California,” and I wondered, “Why the whisper? Was she nervous? Worried?” Whatever the reason, I assured her that it was wonderful and welcomed her to Montana. I like to joke that I was born in a barn in...
You may have heard someone say, “That person is a real character,” generally in reference to a guy or gal who is somewhat, or very — ummm — unique. Some folks achieve status as a real character without even thinking about it, but should you yourself ever want to become a real character, several qualities are required. Some are inborn and some are acquired. Which are which, I’ve not determined, and I’m not sure it matters. To become a real character, one needs luck, a talent, a passion for something, the ability to live on air and an initial...
Hospitals. Schools. Churches. Museums. All valuable buildings that should always be protected. Let’s add libraries to that list. It should come as no surprise that as the owner of a newspaper, I value reading. I love holding a book in my hands, listening to the sound of pages turning one by one, and the way my bookmark tracks my progress while I read. I’m a lover of books and certainly believe in access to information of all kinds. Last week, the city of Thompson Falls met with county commissioners and board members from the Thompson Falls Pub...
Behold state Representative Brad Tschida bringing national attention to Montana by announcing that a woman’s uterus serves no real purpose for a woman, that it is a “sanctuary” for the pre-born. Sort of a condo leased out to a fertilized human egg. I’m not sure what Tschida’s stand is on ovaries and fallopian tubes and the other plumbing that contribute in one way or another to the creation of a human life, but if we view a uterus as a sort of freeloading body organ on standby until it is cal...
The countywide Sanders Saleing yard sale event is a great way to purge items that have been sitting in your garage or basement gathering dust. It’s a great community event. However, there’s a drawback when it comes to the tons of items leftover. What do you do with it? You can pack it up for next year, take it to the dump, or donate it to local organizations and thrift stores. The problem is, many items that should probably be thrown away end up at thrift stores and the organizations end up throwing them away. One of the most shocking rea...
Not to age myself publicly or anything, but back in the dark ages when there were limited sports for girls, I did take a chance and try out for the boy’s flag football team with two friends, Tina and Michelle. Because we were young and fearless and fast, we all made the team. Perhaps our coach was also ready to make a stand for girls in sports. We played one game in our school district before being removed from the team and offered the opportunity to be cheerleaders. Evidently parents from t...
“When in the course of human events, it becomes necessary for one people to dissolve the political bands which have connected them with another, and to assume among the powers of the earth, the separate and equal station to which the Laws of Nature and of Nature’s God entitle them, a decent respect to the opinions of mankind requires that they should declare the causes which impel them to the separation,” wrote Thomas Jefferson — with a little help from his friends — for the first sentence in the Declaration of Independence, a document...
