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Independently owned since 1905
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We are retired Montanans living in all seven counties within District 4 of the Public Service Commission. Most of us are on fixed incomes. Some of us are Republicans and some are Democrats. But all of us are voting for Elena Evans, an Independent candidate for the PSC. We’re voting for Elena because she’s a nonpartisan candidate who is fighting for affordable power and because her opponent, Jennifer Fielder, has cost ratepayers millions. Fielder was the deciding vote against a $9.1 million dollar rebate for NorthWestern Energy customers, and...
Dear Editor, With much interest I read Carl Brooker's Letter to the Editor published in THE SANDERS COUNTY LEDGER on October 3. I would like to offer my thanks and appreciation to Ms. Brooker for taking the time and energy to inform the citizens of this county and state concerning the past behavior of Jennifer Fielder. It certainly seems serious consideration must be exercised by those of us who will vote for the next District 4 Public Service Commissioner. I own a few shares of stock, not many but a few, in NorthWestern Energy. Naturally I wan...
I will be voting for Jennifer Fielder again, she is doing a great job on the Public Service Commission. Under the policies of the current administration, America is trapped with an actual inflation rate of a little over 27%. Consumers are all aware of how this added cost has a negative impacted every facet of our life and eats up our real income. Unfortunately utilities are also struggling with the high 27% inflation rate, and increased property taxes, affecting building service lines, servicing existing lines, and delivering power to us....
I've written the story about how my brother and his buddy, when I was little, told me that deer were aliens and that's why their eyes glowed. I was scared of deer until I could hunt. Then I became a hunter and took out one of those alien deer each year. I don't know if it's age or hormones or what, but I have found myself feeling guilty with hunting these days. The last elk I killed, I felt really bad. I was happy to help provide for my family, and I love eating elk and deer and cows and pigs and chickens, but I just don't want to do the...
President Franklin D. Roosevelt must have known just how today’s Montana Republican leadership feels. Full of important ideas for rebuilding America in the wake of the Great Depression, Roosevelt was stymied by the Supreme Court which ruled that many of his grand plans were unconstitutional. He decided that the most effective means toward having his way was to change the only branch of government that stood against him, and the plan he devised was to expand the number of justices on the court a...
Anybody who read Carol Brooker’s letter in the 3 October Ledger who goes on to vote for Jennifer Fielder is voting solely for the political party and against their own best interests. Please be an informed voter and read the many facts included in Carol’s letter, detailing how Jennifer Fielder has performed her duties as an elected official over a number of years. Unless you are unconcerned about utility rates that continue to rise in the face of enormous profits for utility companies, vote for the change Elena Evans will bring to the pos...
Anybody who read Carol Brooker’s letter in the 3 October Ledger who goes on to vote for Jennifer Fielder is voting solely for the political party and against their own best interests. Please be an informed voter and read the many facts included in Carol’s letter, detailing how Jennifer Fielder has performed her duties as an elected official over a number of years. Unless you are unconcerned about utility rates that continue to rise in the face of enormous profits for utility companies, vote for the change Elena Evans will bring to the pos...
Truly one of the richest aspects of living in a small community like Thompson Falls is reaping the benefits of the many “community-minded” people who chose to call this place home. This community mindedness manifests itself in many ways/occasions. Beautification Days is only one of many. It has been our fortune to witness this on a much “closer to home” scale. Over the course of the last five months, there have been many improvements made to our senior citizens’ center. Among these are: the acquisition of 20 padded chairs with arms, a major p...
A September to Remember! Gorgeous weather and a steady market. This is one of the most abundant closing markets for the real estate season and a beautiful interest rate drop will most certainly help this along. The election is heating up, with instability sending people our way once again. They feel safe in the mountains. . . and so do we! As to the real estate market, the seasonality is setting in with fewer new listings on the market. Those older loans with low interest rate loans are also...
Earlier this summer, in the June 13 edition of The Ledger, the Question of the Week asked people if they read the local newspapers. One of the six people said they read The Ledger. Other answers were getting news from friends or a spouse or a parent, or not paying attention to the news at all. It was a bit shocking to see those answers, but it was also a very good question to ask. Recently someone commented to me about that question of the week and didn't know why we asked it. It's a sobering statistic for local newspapers if only one person...
Sleep: this thing that’s necessary like food and water, shelter and clothing, but also frustratingly impossible for some to obtain. No matter how much money you make, you can’t buy it. Exercise makes it only slightly more within reach, changes in diet same. For me, even pregnancy made sleep only somewhat better for a few crucial weeks before becoming fleeting once again. In my forties, I’ve finally made peace with it. I had tried everything: a dark room, the correct plants, no screens before bed, the correct cool temperature, tart cherry juice,...
I served on the non-partisan Sanders County Commission for 27 years, and I’m proud to endorse Elena Evans, an Independent candidate for District 4 of the Public Service Commission, which includes Sanders and six other counties in Western Montana. I know Elena. She’s a hard worker, a true independent, and laser-focused on lowering our utility bills. I also know her opponent, Jennifer Fielder. You’ve probably heard that Jennifer Fielder voted to raise your utility rates by 28%, which is true. I feel obligated to share additional serious concerns...
by Shannon Brown Whether we are ready for summer to be over or not, it will be leaving us soon. Enjoy the time that is left before the cold arrives. Take time to deep water those perennials, trees and shrubs to allow their roots the moisture they need before dormancy. But don’t forget to ground your own roots and breathe in the cool evening and morning air to prepare yourself for the seasons ahead. We know it’s coming, so enjoy the moment. Each season reminds us of what we relish the most. The brief pocket of time that occurs between gro...
Autumn is always such chaos: back to school, bucking wood for winter, soccer, Noxon’s Fall Festival, 4-H enrollment, STEAM month (Science, Technology, Engineering, Art, Mathematics), Halloween, and Thanksgiving. It feels like there’s no time for reading despite opportunities to get more books, like the upcoming Thompson Falls Public Library Book Sale on October 26. I find my TBR pile expanding, the books on my side table stacking higher, the monthly Wrap-Up from The StoryGraph looking chintzy. Despite the chaos, I read twelve books in Sep...
Sometimes I will go weeks without getting a letter to the editor. Other times, such as this week, there are several sitting in my inbox. There is something to be said for sitting down and putting thoughts together on paper (or in a word processor) and not just spouting off a few words on social media. It forces you to think about your words, compose complete sentences and try to get to a point. There are some weeks when I write my editorial at the last minute, scramble through paragraphs and then still wonder if I have made a point. Other...
I am looking at a copy of a Sunday cartoon that appeared in the St. Louis Post-Dispatch of January 14, 1900. It is called “Woman’s Craze for Animal Pets Versus Babies — what we might expect in the 20th Century”. There are a series of cartoons of stylishly dressed ladies of that bygone and hypothetically happy era walking and cuddling various pets in various years; in 1901, it is a monkey, 1902, a leopard, 1903, a hippopotamus with a blue ribbon tied around its tail, 1904, an alligator on a le...
I submitted an open letter request for written responses to the Hot Springs Board of Trustees and Superintendent on September 10, 2024. My request addressed issues concerning the budget, school audits, spending controls and other items. I tried to get it added to the agenda for the September 12, 2024, board meeting but was told that it was within 48 hours of the meeting. I was told by Superintendent Chuinard and one board member to submit it for the correspondence section of the upcoming board meeting. The board meeting was held and lo and...
Dear Editor, I received a political ad in the mail several weeks ago from the Montana Democratic Party announcing that Tim Sheehy has plans that "...would shutter 49 rural hospitals in Montana". That caught my attention because I think that would be exceedingly drastic. Plus I felt that claim was simply over the top. I did a little checking online and I ended up on the website causeiq.com. That website states there are 56 hospitals in Montana. Simple math of 56 minus 49 is seven. Does that mean that Sheehy will have Montanans with only seven...
A lot of concerns have come into me and Lee Smith with the county garage concerning trucks. There’s been numerous heavy loads of logs, stone, equipment like excavators still using the bridge even with restrictions. Lee has reached out to the state and DOT and Lee said nobody seems to care. So I figured I would try to get it out to the public. Maybe DOT will come do their job and weigh trucks or stop them. Jim Byler, Noxon...
The best time to book your winter getaway is in the fall, when you can take advantage of lower prices and secure prime accommodations before the high season hits. As temperatures drop across Sanders County, the Caribbean offers a tropical escape from the cold. Here are some of the best Caribbean islands to visit this coming winter, each offering something unique for sun-seekers and adventurers alike. Barbados: Best for Beaches and Culture Barbados strikes the perfect balance between relaxation and culture. Its west coast boasts calm,...
Over the weekend, we watched "The Fox and the Hound." I hadn't seen it in decades, and my friend and I remembered it as one of our favorite Disney movies. Seeing the movie again, it's pretty violent. There is also a lot of sadness, as was pointed out to me by a 12-year-old. It's still one of my favorite movies, however. There are lessons about coming from different backgrounds, about growing and changing, and about still being friends in the end. Or, at least, having mutual respect for each other. Copper and Tod grew up playing in the forest...
Fall is falling. Sunday morning, it becomes official. I will — hopefully — be in a spot that cares nothing for the arbitrary Gregorian calendar, but is sensitive to the celestial timetable that inspired such things. The first “calendar” was made about 8,000 BCE by the same culture that 9,200 years later invented golf. Ancient Scot hunter-gatherer tribes built an earthen calendar of twelve pits aligned with the southern horizon, which archaeologists believe were used to keep track of moon phases and seasonal changes. Here we are, 10,000 years l...
Dear Editor, Thank you for your consideration in reading and printing this letter. I am writing as I am appalled at the level to which campaigns are preying on the emotion of residents of the state of Montana. I am especially appalled at the fear mongering being lobbied at citizens by the Tester campaign ad which you ran in your recent edition. While I realize that the majority of the State claims Christian background, and the Constitution of this Country and State are based on Judeo Christian philosophy, I also realize not all follow this...
Dear Hot Springs Community, September 12, 2024 The Hot Springs School Board would like to take this opportunity to explain what has happened since the May 3, 2024, General Fund Levy election, and to inform and answer some questions. During the election, it came to light that not all absentee ballots had been mailed out. Upon knowledge of this, the board began to try and figure out what had happened and how to proceed in making sure it was a fair and legal election with all registered voters being given the opportunity to cast their vote. It is...
As health care providers, hospital leaders, nurses, and support staff who serve or have served rural Montana communities, we condemn the recent television ads and full-page advertisements by Jon Tester's campaign and the absolute lies being told to our fellow neighbors. The ads, some of which use the names and photos of local hospitals, falsely accuse Tim Sheehy of threatening rural hospitals, misleading the patients we serve. Some of us have gotten to know Tim through his and his wife’s philanthropy supporting Montana health care, or have h...
