Independently owned since 1905
Independently owned since 1905
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Dear Editor, I want to go on record saying I support public health and the Sanders County Health Board. I also want to thank Nick Lawyer for his service on the Board of Health, and his passion for the health of others. It’s been said I’m a public serpent, an evil person. I’m not! I’ve dedicated 37 years of my life, with the support of family and friends to serve the people of Sanders County. One person and maybe 150 followers aren’t going to take my good works away from me. There have always been diverse ideas in Sanders County, but we have a...
Last week there was a huge uproar from the left regarding the actions of Border Patrol Mounted Unit agents working the southern border. Photos were released showing Border Patrol agents on horseback working along the Rio Grande River to keep Haitian immigrants from illegally entering the United States. The allegations are that the agents were using their reins to whip the migrants. As we’ve come to expect, the Biden administration is entirely off base. Let’s have a look. First a little bac...
I totally support our County Commissioners actions following the commission meeting with the citizens of Sanders County concerning Mr. Lawyer. Our commissioners are elected by the citizens of our county and they should listen when concerned citizens attend a commission meeting and voice their opinions. Our government is supposed to work that way. Someone said they didn’t know about the meeting? The County Commissioners have their meeting agenda available in the hall at the courthouse for anyone that cares to look it up. All of the treatments a...
Open letter to Greg Hanson CEO of the Clark Fork Vally Hospital Mr. Hanson, When my wife Beverly was in this hospital in 2012, she had those huge blood clots in her lungs. She was misdiagnosed and was told she had the flu. Randy Mack was her primary care doctor at that time, was away on a training session and when he returned a week later, he told her she was not leaving until he found out what was wrong with her. After he got her straightened out and saved her life, you called her to ask if she was going to sue you. She was insulted by that....
I realize that Montana is a very RED State. My sister lives in Tennessee, which is also a red state. She and I can’t agree on politics because I’m not willing to agree that the election was stolen. There is no evidence that it was, just former president Trump and all his supporters. I’ve learned that because of social media and news outlets that are parroting the big lie, people believe what they choose, which is, “us against them.” My sister claims to be a conservative, and she says her beliefs differ from mine. She said, “We just have to lea...
Nothing beats fall in Montana. The cooler weather and the changing of all the colors, it’s truly my favorite time of the year. While time seems to slow down, the work doesn’t stop. It’s time to harvest what is left in the garden which includes any dahlias the honeybees haven’t gotten to, all the kale – which will be a good treat for the chickens - and echinacea for tea this winter. I will also be bringing out my new apple press this year. I plan on making several gallons of apple cider to be enjoyed throughout the season. I went to the junior h...
Heading in to the nearby big cities these days, you see a problem that we're experiencing here in Sanders County. Businesses here, and there, are short-staffed. Companies large and small are working hard to keep providing services and goods with a limited number of employees. It's hard for everyone to keep up. When you go to a big-box store, you'll often find very few checkout lines with an actual cashier. Most stores have gone to offering self-checkout services in a majority of the lines, with one employee serving all the self checkouts. I'm...
I am very disappointed in the decision made by our Sanders County Commissioners to accept Nick Lawyer’s resignation as our Public Health Officer. Nick spoke the truth about lessening the effects of COVID in our county which benefits us all in many ways. Real bad decision on our commissioners’ part and now they become complicit in what is happening in Sanders County. Dave Bennett, Thompson Falls...
This letter is in response to Mr. Falk’s letter (though I think he would prefer to be called Dave). Your letter inspired me to respond. I too am saddened and angry at the burnt mountains we look at every day. When the smoke cleared, my eyes blinked in disbelief at the site of Mount Silcox and the mountains below. There are now torched places with black spots everywhere that I’ve been told were caused by fire balls. Other visible trees are brown with scorched spots going down the side of the mountain, one not far from Highway 200, out by the...
Every once in a while, we meet people who come into our lives for a short moment, and as short as it might be, they leave a very long impression. For me, one of those fellows was a rancher from Livingston named Tom Lane. The way I met Tom was when I was in the Montana Senate and he called me up about a piece of controversial tax legislation I was carrying. To make the explanation simple, it was about Montana being able to collect income tax from out-of-state investors on land that they had sold...
We have now observed what seems to be punishment at the Sanders County Commissioners meeting on September 15 for alleged “inappropriate” medical care. This appears to be an open ploy by a group of county citizens to intimidate public servants, (elected, paid or volunteer) to do their bidding or quit to then have people with similar viewpoints placed in office. Remember, in a mid-August article it was clearly stated that it was the desire to have a “medically trained conservative patriot” on the county board of health. Does Sanders County...
Bob Costa, renowned journalist said, “Actions matter in politics and policy.” A week ago, the Sanders County Commissioners requested the resignation of Nick Lawyer, a member of the County Public Health Board and the County’s Public Health Officer, effectively firing him. This action by the commissioners was on wrong many levels. • The first glaring example is that county residents were not informed of any meetings concerning this action. The decision to request this resignation was not handled appropriately; an off-agenda item can be discussed,...
Do you feel that? Can you sense that in the air? I wish I was referring to the chilly fall mornings that are greeting us in Sanders County these days. No, I'm talking about the tension, the negativity and the uncertainty. Any public event or meeting these days has the potential to become a contentious debate. Whether it's about COVID closures or politics or funding or mandates or the lack of mandates, everything seems to be a conflict. The number of COVID cases in the county (120 as of Tuesday) is consistently higher than we've seen in the...
The recent resignation of Nick Lawyer from the Board of Public Health is a travesty of justice and counter to the overall well-being of our community. A bullying crowd of people attended a recent county commissioners’ meeting threatening commissioners and demanding the resignation of an excellent, thoughtful, community-minded medical practitioner from his position on this board. Nick has repeatedly and rightly informed and spoken out to support well-researched, medically sound practices. To ask for a resignation without this being on an a...
This past weekend I attended a fun gathering in Kalispell known as the Flathead Celtic Festival or Highland Games. The festival celebrates the history and contributions made by the Celtic people who originated from the countries of Scotland, Ireland, parts of France and the general area around Great Britain. These are the peoples who originally spoke the ancient language of Gaelic before the English language was forced upon them. If you are familiar with the television series Outlander where Jamie Frasier is constantly battling the English Red...
I read Jim Elliott’s last column with great interest. He was using his platform to explain his thoughts on Republican versus Democrat methodology in securing votes. The first sentence in the second paragraph stopped me in my tracks and had to be re-read three times to make sure I had understood its meaning. That sentence states, “Republicans try to get results by using emotion and Democrats by using logic;” I thought that was a, shall we say “interesting,” statement considering what we have s...
I'm always amazed at the efforts that go in to the Sanders County Fair for our local 4-H members. I had the privilege of judging some of the entries this year with my mom. The creativity, the drive and the passion that we see in these kids is inspiring. Some of them raise animals, which is a big commitment and investment of their time and resources. They work with their livestock and learn budgeting and time management while caring for something other than themselves. It's a little sad when you see the kids showing their animals for the last...
Political parties manipulate the public mind in order to get their candidates elected. That’s a pretty cynical assessment, but politics is a pretty cynical game because it’s based on the acquisition of power. Individual politicians may have the best of motives, but the parties they belong to, no. The parties are like businesses, they want results. Republicans try to get results by using emotion and Democrats by using logic; very different approaches, each with often successful results, but as...
Editor, This coming Friday, September 17, 2021, the third Friday in September, is POW/MIA Day. This day is set aside to remind us all that service men and women, be they Prisoners of War or those Missing in Action, that they are not forgotten. Mary Huff in 1971 during the Vietnam War wanted a flag made to bring to our consciousness the POW and MIA service members. World War II pilot Newt Herstay designed the flag we have today. It is the only flag flown below Old Glory at the White House. On Veterans Day we recognize those who serve to protect...
Saw an old friend the other day. “How are you Earl – you look a little down?” Well, he said, look to the north of town, Dave. They could have stopped that in an hour, but someone decided that it needed to be burned. They say the hills were too rugged to put it out. They were short on equipment. One hour with a helicopter was all it needed. Look around the whole area — it is steep and hard to climb. A helicopter could have put a crew in to mop it up. There isn’t a mountain that I haven’t been up at least one time. They came to burn it up, thos...
As a lowly U.S. Army E-5 enlisted man in the Viet Nam War, it appears that I knew more about military strategy than the four-star general mishandling Biden’s Afghanistan debacle. The most important point is that you NEVER give up air support. That’s exactly what they did when they closed the American military bases and evacuated our military before evacuating the American civilians. Without air support there is nothing much America can do short of calling out the 82nd Airborne and retaking Kabul. As it is, Biden will claim that all the American...
This Friday, September 17, is Constitution Day, when our Constitution of the United States was adopted. When I was a student at Thompson Falls schools, you had to learn the preamble to the Constitution and had to recite it quite frequently. I don’t think enough education or emphasis is being put on our Constitution and the importance of our Constitution, especially now when we are so divided. We have the freedom and the education. Everyone needs to know what we are standing for. "We the People of the United States, in Order to form a more p...
I was 21 on September 11, 2001, a senior at Colorado State University 1,000 miles from home. My mom called me as I was getting ready to head to class and said a plane hit a building in New York. I didn't believe it until I turned on the television just as the second plane hit the World Trade Center. The first thing I did was go to the student newspaper, The Rocky Mountain Collegian. I didn't know where else to go. I knew I wasn't going to class. I just knew I had to help be a part of making sure our readers were informed. It was an incredible...
Last week my wife and I had the absolute honor to meet and get to know a group of Special Forces combat veterans visiting Sanders County. The Clark Fork Valley Elks lodge hosted a dinner for Operation Healing Forces (OHF) and that’s where I got to meet these amazing people. I’d like to talk a little about this extraordinary organization and the people they sponsor. First, OHF’s Mission Statement: The mission of Operation Healing Forces is to serve our active-duty and recent veteran-wounded, ill,...
I generally avoid opinionizing in print about breaking news because there’s always more to the situations than I’m aware of, so I wind up wishing I’d kept my thoughts to myself. But I can’t stop myself after reading a tidbit in the Sunday news (August 15) which seemed to me so indicative of the politicized thinking that taints American foreign policy practices, and which gets the US into such messes across the globe. Here’s Rep. Liz Cheney (R-Wyoming) from an interview with ABC’s Jonathan Karl on “This Week” on the subject of U.S. withdrawal...
