Independently owned since 1905
Independently owned since 1905
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As I write this, our State Legislature is meeting in Helena, holding committee hearings and meetings regarding what the people of Montana are asking their representatives to move forward in the form of bills during the legislative session. I have always been fascinated with the political system we have in America. I was further intrigued when our daughter was introduced on the House floor in Oregon by Senator Gary George, to read a speech into the House record. While the political process is...
Well, here we are in mid-January. How are those New Year’s resolutions going? The fact that the second Friday in January is called “Quitters Day” provides a pretty clear answer. Even if you made it to this point, research shows that most of us will throw in the towel before the end of January. Why is that? Why are we so quick to quit? New Year’s resolutions are notoriously focused on health – increased trips to the gym, more meditation, promises to diet – so why do we abandon those worthy goals after such a short time? There are many reason...
The United States House of Representatives will be doing exhaustive (and exhausting) investigating into many things like Hunter Biden, Jill Biden, President Biden, and Major Biden (the Biden’s dog, which has an anger management issue). They will also be conducting major investigations into how an enormous amount of money given to the states to combat Covid was spent fraudulently. Good. Sort of. According to real, fake, and suspect news sources, there was a phenomenal amount of waste, m...
One of my favorite parts of the newspaper is the obituary section. It's also one of the most read. Obituaries are such a personal look into a life. I love reading obituaries and learning about people. I discover unknown facts about peopel I've known for years and learn interesting things about people I've never met. I love a good story. That's one of the reasons I became a journalist, and I love telling the stories of others. In journalism school, we had an assisgnment to write our own obituary. In another class, we were tasked with...
Welcome to 2023. Here in the U.S. of A., it so far looks a lot like 2022. Or 2019, for that matter. We’re still stuck in neutral, suffering a lot of noisy engine revving and exhaust fumes from Congress, and getting absolutely nowhere. We‘re held captive by a minority because the majority doesn’t have the guts to stand up to them. In other places — Ukraine, for instance — the suffering is more real than ours. While we whine about gas prices — mysteriously falling — Ukrainian kindergarten teachers and their boyfriends are toting rifles, tossi...
Last Thursday was the swearing in ceremony for the elected officials who won races in the November General Election. With the new year now comes new leadership in some key roles for Sanders County. We have two brand new commissioners and a new sheriff. I’m excited for the future of Sanders County, but also a little nervous. You get in a routine and you get used to how things are run. Sanders County is quite diverse in many aspects, and finding the balance in public service is tricky. You definitely can’t please everyone. I hope our elected lead...
When Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelensky addressed a joint session of the United States Congress, commentator Tucker Carlson was outraged, purely outraged. “As far as we know, no one’s ever addressed the United States Congress in a sweatshirt before, but they love him much more than they love you,” he fumed. This from a man who promotes “testicle tanning” (Tucker Carlson Originals, April 2022) as a means of restoring testosterone levels and hence masculinity for American men. Which, no offens...
Whatcha Readin’? Reading resolutions Every year my husband and I set our reading goals and then track them using apps like StoryGraph or Goodreads. And thanks to apps like Libby where I can read library books for free from anywhere, I’ve been able to keep to or even exceed my goals. For 2023 I’m aiming to read 150 books, but then I count everything: poetry, young adult, self-help… everything. Of the 17books I read in December, seven were four stars or better. Here they are in no particular order: My favorite book this month is an older book by...
Well, another year is coming to an end. It’s this time of year, as we get ready to say goodbye to the old, that people start focusing on renewal and starting over. People will make resolutions, and a few will keep them for the next 12 months. Many resolutions focus on physical health. We say we’re going to eat better or exercise more. Those resolutions are easy to set after all the delicious holiday treats we get in December. Other resolutions concentrate on financial goals. Saving for a vacation or paying off debt are resolutions with tangible...
It’s that wonderful time of year again. Christmas is a wrap; gifts are put away and the effort to toss out the old to put the new in place has begun. For many, not only is there a tossing of old items but a symbolic tossing of old habits. And thus, the New Year Resolution season is upon us. Ask around and you’ll hear many resolutions being bantered about by folks. During my career as a social worker, I was required to attend many seminars. One in particular, comes to mind this time of year. It...
In light of the recent horrific murder of four college students; nearby in Moscow, Idaho. It has shed even more light on the darkness and blatant disregard for life that exists today. It has shaken families, friends, a college, a state and a nation. We pray comfort for all who are dealing with this tragedy and loss. I still have to wonder what any one of the 2,344 voters in Sanders County (who voted against LR-131 “Born Alive Infant Protection Act”), would have done if they had been there at the time. Would they claim to have been “co...
I started out to write about this being a good time of year to be helpful to others and that began to sound so preachy and goody-two-shoes that I thought that maybe I should just thank some people who helped me when I needed it. I first came to Montana in 1969 and had the opportunity to move here five years later. Lots of people say that it was the scenery that compelled them here. For me it was the people. The folks I met in my visits to Central Montana were friendly, kind and generous. The...
The photo on this week's front page of Mya Aquino is priceless. Ed Moreth is great at capturing special moments. When she's older, Mya may not appreciate this photos as much, but it's a memory and a moment is something to which many parents can relate. The screaming kid who will not give up for even one second for a nice photo with Santa. I was that kid. My parents liked to joke that I came out screaming and didn't quit until I was 12. I cried at everything. Let's be honest, I still cry at everything. I'm a sensitive person. After 43 years, I'm...
Several days before Thanksgiving, a collection of tracks appear in my driveway, those of a domestic cat. My neighbors have cats, but they don’t visit. These tracks are everywhere, very visible in the fresh snow. I then realize there are two cats, and I suspect that the border of responsibility had been breached again. I’ve lived near a state border much of my life, during which time people of a certain ilk — one I don’t understand — have dumped unwanted “pets” in our driveway. This decades-long parade of abandoned dogs and cats has been alwa...
Last week during the Holiday Stroll, I had the privilege of meeting several people who had just moved to the area. It's not a secret or anything new that the Sanders County population is increasing. It seems there are new people every time you go into a store or to a fundraiser or a sporting event. I've written before about how we all come from somewhere, and we ended up in Sanders County for different reasons. On Friday, I met a Ledger reader who had very nice things to say about the newspaper. What stuck with me about this conversation,...
There was a time that some look back at wistfully when politics was not so mean, and people of different parties mostly got along. That began changing in the late 1970s when a young candidate for Congress told a group of college Republicans in Atlanta what was wrong with the Republican Party: “One of the great problems we have in the Republican Party is that we don’t encourage you to be nasty.” He then went on to say, “One of the great weaknesses of the Republican party is we recruit middle-...
How much are we loving this cold and snow?!?! If you’re not a reader, you probably hate it. This is my happy weather: grab a mug of tea and a book, huzzah! Thanks to the weather I was able to read three more books than last month. Of the 16 books I read in November, 10 were four stars or better, which is a fantastically high ratio and definitely not the norm. Here are those 10, in no particular order: It’s Ok That You’re Not Ok: Meeting Grief and Loss in a Culture That Doesn’t Understand by Megan Devine is a non-fiction, very emotion...
I used to joke with a friend of mine that I’ll know I'm a big deal the day I get to be the grand marshal in a parade. Well, my time has come. I have the honor of serving as grand marshal of the Christmas on Main Street parade this Saturday in Thompson Falls. What is the grand marshal of a parade, and what does that person do? Typically, the grand marshal is a position of honor and takes the lead in the processional. The duties are often given to a community leader or well-known business person. And when it comes to folks who have held that p...
As I write this it is a week before Thanksgiving, one of my favorite holidays of the year. I am busy planning my menu and ordering amazing pies. I’m preparing beds for the family who will arrive and fun things to do while they are here. And I’m thinking of all the things I am blessed with and grateful for. I am so thankful for my husband and that we have a home our family can travel to, for my parents being able to celebrate with us this year. I’m grateful that I’m able to prepare a holiday...
I just wanted to give a shoutout to our local DMV. I have in the past looked forward to dealing with the DMV (Drivers Licensing) with the same anticipation as going to my dentist for a tooth extraction. The young lady that does drivers licensing at the Sanders County courthouse is exceptional. She was great, very courteous, friendly , I was in and out in just a few minutes and treated very well. I could not have been treated better.Well done, I look forward to getting another renewal. Thank you, Ron Hawkinson, Thompson Falls...
There's a subtle shift happening this week. The energy and adrenaline of summer and fall that built up to the election is giving way to the season of giving and thankfulness. Lately in the stores and at the post office, people have kept their heads down, focused on their tasks, and there hasn't seemed to be as much mingling. Everyone is rushing to the next event or to shuffle kids to activities or to get back to work. As the holidays approach, though, our daily lives get busy with shopping, school concerts, Christmas on Main Street and bazaars...
Regarding the letter from Gunner Junge (Sanders County Ledger, Nov. 17, 2022), there are many points that I could take issue with, but I will focus on only a few. Yes, the United States is a democracy and, yes, the United States is a republic. The representatives of this republic are selected through a democratic process. That is the modern definition of a democracy. Regarding the comparison of election results timing in Florida and Arizona, Mr. Junge appears to be confusing 1) "calling" election winners, and 2) counting all the votes in an...
This is the story — correct that — legend, of a man named Les Webber who ranched and caroused in and around the town of Plains, Montana. When you are leaving Plains, headed to Missoula, you might notice on the right a weathered billboard with a narrow protective roof over it in front of a large Town Pump store. The fact that it is still there at all is, I was told, thanks to the intervention of a longtime sheriff’s deputy who convinced the contractor building the new Town Pump to leave it becau...
It makes me so proud to watch our democracy in action. Last Tuesday on election night, the lower courtroom at the Sanders County Courthouse was a flurry of activity. But it wasn’t the chaos and mayhem that some believe is happening with elections in our country. It was organized. Qualified, trained people worked together to resolve issues on ballots. People with conservative views and liberal views and those who are somewhere in the middle worked with the county elections staff late into the night until they made sure every ballot was a...
DÉJÀ VU: Why we shouldn't believe everything we hear or read. Perceptions and opinions aren't always reality. What a certain person calls "confirmation bias" another rather famous career politician's brother (using his brother's influence for their own international business dealings in money laundering) would call "plausible deniability." Let someone else claim, "There's no evidence of any election fraud in America... or Montana... other than that one case waaaay back in 2011." Case closed. Those who know some recent history would disagree. Ot...
