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Independently owned since 1905
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After the bombing of the airport in Kabul, Afghanistan, a poem by the British poet, John Maxwell, after WWI (1918), has helped me over the years; when many of have questions are hard to pose and answers that are hard to come by. “When you go home Tell them of us, and say: For your tomorrows, We gave our today.” Al Aschenbrenner, Plains...
If you need something uplifting and inspiring, read my story on the front page about the documentary premiering about Miss Montana. If you need to be even more inspired, watch the film or read Bryan Douglass's book. I've seen it and I've read it, and they both have incredible stories of this incredible adventure these incredible volunteers embarked upon. The Miss Montana volunteers literally started out with nothing. Well, they had a run-down World War II plan and an idea. That was enough to get them going though. They worked so hard. Not just...
Dear Sanders County Citizens, We are currently experiencing a resurgence of COVID-19 infections. Over the last few weeks, we have cared for an increased number of patients who are very ill with COVID-19. Many are younger and previously healthy. It is clear that COVID-19 is back with vengeance. We care deeply about our neighbors, friends, family, patients, and community. Most of the severe COVID-19 infections we are seeing are in unvaccinated individuals. About 90% of people who have been hospitalized with COVID-19 in Montana over the past 2...
I am writing this letter in support of our local schools: the administration, the school boards, the teachers and other staff, and the students. Groups of people across the U.S. are opposing any type of mask mandate proposed by schools and supported by local health departments and the CDC, based on the misinformation that they’ve learned, most often off the internet and by word of mouth. These very vocal individuals are encouraging their friends and neighbors to attend school board meetings and voice their opposition, sign petitions, join in l...
KEEPING IT TOGETHER If Americans really want something to worry about, let’s worry about keeping our country together. A politically divided nation is easy prey to its enemies and a weak partner to its allies. Many of us think we know what path the nation and its citizens should follow. But if the philosophy is to prevent the other side from enacting their vision of America by making it impossible to get things done politically, then each side loses, and we are in deep trouble. It is far better to make a deal that gives us all something i...
In 1996, when my brother passed away due to a work-related accident, I met a wonderful friend of his, Charles. Charles was in the late stages of AIDS; his ravaged body was skeletal and his face was marked with multiple open wounds. Almost certainly, his lifestyle was the cause of his illness. Meeting Charles and observing his dire situation, it never occurred to me that I should for a moment condemn and ostracize Charles for any actions that may have caused him to contract a terminal illness. In fact, most of us who recall that period cannot...
It is entirely impossible to overstate the dangerous outcome of Biden’s Afghanistan debacle. We will experience fallout from his idiotic/cowardly decision making for decades. Because of the minute-to-minute changes taking place in Afghanistan, it’s impossible to discuss it in detail. What we know now might be completely different in an hour. Let’s look at Biden’s pathetic job performance from a broader perspective. Early this year, I wrote a column listing 21 predictions about what I thought we...
Dear Editor, I have been a resident of Sanders County and a veterinarian for over 45 years. In that time, I have never before written a letter to the editor. I’m proud to have served as a member of the Sanders County Board of Health for more than a decade. COVID-19 has been by far the most significant health challenge we have had to deal with. Most of the day-to-day work of the Board of Health is done by the county sanitarian, the county health nurse and other county employees. Particularly in these uniquely trying times, we are lucky to h...
Last month, the Thompson Falls Chamber of Commerce (for which I am the secretary) and Job Service Thompson Falls sponsored a job fair at Thompson Falls High School. We advertised in The Ledger and on social media. At the time, there were more than 100 job openings listed at our local Job Service. We had 20 employers and organizations sign up to attend the job fair. Others we spoke with couldn't attend the job fair, but expressed a need for employees. The job fair was held on a Thursday in mid-afternoon, hours that others who hosted job fairs in...
Regarding the Aug. 19 article on the commissioner’s meeting on Aug. 17: No human activity is without error, science included. Science does, however, have a process to correct itself. Theories and publications are reviewed with a robust procedure to verify the accuracy and check for diligent work. Scientists acknowledge errors and disappointing results and those who publish deliberately false reports are discredited in their community and sometime lose their job or license. Facts evolve as new information is discovered and refined. Facebook, s...
Now that kids are getting ready to head back to school is as good a time as any for a little reminder to treat people with kindness. You don't know what someone is going through, what their background is or what training they've had. It takes a while to get to know someone and figure out why they think or act or speak the way they do. Treating each other with compassion and respect is not human nature anymore. Being combative and seeing things as one way or the other with no compromise seems to be the new norm. After more than a year of a...
Editor, Nothing is free. The television we watch is paid for by those that advertise on this media. Logic would have it that you who watch these ads will purchase these items. The reasoning would be the sales would exceed the cost of the advertisement. The pharmaceutical companies, in days long gone by, sold Alca Seltzer, Bromo Seltzer, Bayer Aspirin, Pepto Bismal, etc. as over-the-counter products. You want it, you could buy it. Today we are informed of a plethora of drugs that treat unnumbered kinds of ailment. The catch is only a doctor can...
“We have met the enemy and they are us." — Pogo Possum I am reminded more and more of my belief that the single attribute that sets humans apart from other creatures is that we are the only species capable of causing our own extinction. The ways we are currently dealing with COVID and global warming may validate that belief sooner than later. It was once commonplace to distinguish humans from other species by saying humans were rational thinkers. After observing the irrationality of human thinki...
Sometimes things don't go as planned. This past weekend we had a baby shower for my friend Andrea. She and her husband Rob are expecting a baby next month, and Andrea has been planning this shower down to the last detail for the last several months. What we didn't plan on was the Thorne Creek fire roaring behind their house north of town. Friday evening, fire officials said we "should be good to go" for Saturday's shower. At 7:30 a.m. Saturday, however, Rob and Andrea awoke to a knock on their...
Two topics from last week’s Ledger prompted this week’s discussion. Ed Moreth wrote a letter to the editor regarding the Ledger’s exclusion from covering the Foundation for Wildlife Management event on July 24, 2021. Mr. Moreth argued that The Ledger should have been allowed to cover the event and I agree with him, but only to a point. I believe that to understand the decision, we have to look at why the organization felt compelled to bar media coverage in the first place. A July Gallup poll...
Our friend Glada McIntire recently moved further into her true realm when she became pure spirit and left her shell behind. I say “our,” because Glada had many friends, and some are my friends as well. I am not privy to details of her transition, but I would hope she accomplished that final shedding in an old growth forest — in a rain storm. Glada was Canadian. At one time, she lived in the States, but she moved to her home country because Canada has a health care system that works, and Glada had Parkinson’s disease, which she lived with gr...
If you don’t understand something, it’s hard to tell if it’s right or wrong. There has been a lot of stress and tension over the management of the Thorne Creek fire. I’ve been to the public meetings and heard the concerns. I can see the fire creeping across the mountain in my backyard. I’ve watched it burn close to friends’ properties and them not able to do anything about it. People are concerned with the techniques used to manage the fire. It’s burning a lot of land. Tens of thousands of acres now. It’s heartbreaking to see our beautiful a...
I once had a neighbor who belonged to, or at least sympathized with, a small group of people who resented being told what to do - especially by the government. To this end he and his friends refused to buy automobile liability insurance, primarily because laws passed by the state legislature required it, and they didn’t like being pushed around. Whether or not they couldn’t afford it, I don’t know, but their argument was, besides not wanting to be told what to do, that they were “resp...
I would like to express my appreciation to the community that has embraced the current fire situation. It is not easy being “evacuated” and trying to continue to work and juggle a family at the same time. There are numerous folks who have provided for tangible needs and peace of mind. Thank you for being generous people. Although I do not agree with the fire containment plan, I am very grateful for those who are here on the ground and pray for your safety. Trent Harmon, Thompson Falls...
There’s no doubt that the issue of trapping wolves can be an emotional subject, and the creation of the new Sanders County chapter for the Foundation for Wildlife Management probably heightened that sensitivity. Their first fundraising banquet last month was certainly not without controversy, the biggest of which – for The Ledger – was preventing the media from covering the event. Preventing the press from covering the actual event was wrong, especially when organizers used The Ledger to promote their chapter and fundraiser beforehand. The p...
This wildfire season has no signs of slowing down anytime soon. We've heard of a lot of people wanting to help the firefighters who are here with the U.S. Forest Service working on the Thorne Creek fire, which is part of the West Lolo Complex. We love that everyone is coming together and wants to help. When a wildfire occurs, as we've seen, there is a whole camp of resources set up. This year it is in Plains. They bring in food tents and showers and medical and sleeping tents. It's basically a portable neighborhood. This preparation comes with...
I just returned from a three-day visit to hell (aka California) for a work reunion, and COVID was the biggest topic of discussion, just ahead of the rampant crime problem. I was in Los Angeles County where they had just reinstated the mask mandate for everyone, even those who have been vaccinated. That mandate has caused tremendous confusion and resistance. The media will tell you that the resistance to the vaccine is a partisan issue. The prevailing media theory is that conservatives are...
In the same month we celebrate our nation’s Declaration of Independence, this year we can also celebrate an amazing 50% reduction — at least temporarily — of childhood poverty. In Montana, 15% of our children live in poverty. On July 15, the federal government distributed $15 billion in the first of six monthly payments to the families of almost 60 million American children. This economic transformation was made possible by expansion of the Child Tax Credit in President Biden’s congressionally approved American Rescue Plan. Familys' tax cre...
A few weeks ago I was cleaning out my car and pulled a handful of masks out of the consul. I kept one in there, but figured the rest I could pack away in case we ever need them again. I figured that would probably be the next time I fly. Then last week I dropped something off at a medical clinic and needed a mask to enter. Good thing I had that one in my car. While the county still is seeing some new COVID-19 cases, there's another reason for us to keep those masks handy. Montana is nicknamed Big Sky Country, and we are used to looking up and...
Why do so many Americans get their medical advice from politicians? They don’t take their cars to politicians to fix, they don’t take a sick cat to a politician, and I will guarantee you that politicians know as much about sick cats or broken-down cars as they do about medicine. I will also tell you that the last person I would trust for medical advice is a politician, but they now seem to be the biggest players in the vaccination follies, many of them directly implying that they know more abo...
