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Independently owned since 1905
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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,...
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...
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...
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...
Just when I thought everyone would be complaining about the time change Monday morning, there was something else on peoples' minds — the winter storm. In recent weeks it's been in the back of my mind to drag up the shovel and ice melt from the basement at The Ledger. I kept thinking I had a few more weeks, or at least days. Not so, when I arrived to an inch of snow and some pesky ice Monday. I love that we get to enjoy all four seasons in our beautiful corner of the world. I'm whining about the cold and snow as well, but it's beautiful o...
Tuesday is Election Day. We get to go to the polls and submit our choices for elected officials and initiatives. We get to choose, as a county, who our leaders will be. We get to choose, as a group, whether or not we will collect a county tax on marijuana sales. The common theme here is that we have a choice. I have had people tell me in the past that they don't vote because their one vote doesn't matter. If you looked at the numbers following the primary election in June you realized that yes, every vote matters. I'm thankful that we have a...
Last week's Question of the Week in The Ledger was "who is your role model?" A young man named Nathan Stevens answered, "Superman." It made me chuckle, but it also made me think of a recent conversation about the wonder and innocence of the minds of children. This conversation I had recently centered around art. When you are young, it's just fun to be creative and make artwork. It doesn't matter what it looks like, everyone loves it and is proud of you. You experiment with all types of media and learning composition, but mostly you are just...
This weekend we were sharing first hunt stories. My first year of hunting, my dad was so excited that he bought me an Elmer Fudd-looking orange hat complete with the fuzzy ear flaps. I wore that thing every day we went out because he was so proud of it. When I shot my first deer, it was the same. My dad and our friend Dave Helterline were with me when I shot a buck that first year. I was excited, but my dad was beaming with pride and Dave was elated to be along for the first one. It was a little guy, but I was proud of myself too. That was a...
The Deer Lodge football coach was recently suspended pending an investigation after he recently switched sidelines during a home football game. The school board voted Monday to keep Coach Andrew Verlanic. In an interview with the Deer Lodge News Network (DLNN), coach Verlanic detailed his decision and his disappointment in the lack of support from the school district. “When you get booed at the pep rally as a football team, who wants to go out? Who wants to be a part of it?” Verlanic told DLNN. Later in the interview he continued, “As we stand...
Each spring, Thompson Falls hosts Beautification Days as a way to do some spring cleaning. It's a great community wide effort to keep Thompson Falls beautiful. It's worth mentioning, however, the ongoing efforts of residents and business owners who continually do some sprucing up. Fresh coats of paint are popping up along Main Street in Thompson Falls. On a recent walk we noticed new paint at Sunflower Gallery, Aspire Physical Therapy and Elliott Realty. Beautification Days is a great way to get the whole community involved in keeping Thompson...
At Harvest Foods recently, I saw something I’d never seen before – Pumpkin Spice Cheerios. I couldn’t believe it. Before I moved back to Montana, I remember the start of the pumpkin spice craze. What’s better than pumpkin pie on Thanksgiving? Try pumpkin pie in your coffee. It was special and delicious and you could only get it certain times of the year. It was a treat. Fast forward a decade or so later and pumpkin spice has lost its luster. It’s not as special when you can now buy Twinkies, Poo-Pourri toilet spray and even deodorant with the...
I'm definitely one of those people who rises with the sun. In the summer, I'm up early. Now that the sun is rising later, I'm wanting to rise later as well. People are putting their gardens to bed, putting away lawn mowers and getting out their fall and winter wardrobes and snow shovels. Driving into town this week was a friendly reminder of the change in season and another adjustment we need to make - turning on headlights on our cars during foggy fall mornings. Most vehicles nowadays have the automatic lights that come on and turn off...
Fall is in the air. Leaves are turning, the mornings are cooler, and the sun is setting earlier. The kids are back in the routine of school, and people are putting their gardens to bed for the winter. It’s time to start thinking about the other big activity this fall - election season. Once again, as a county newspaper and a trusted source for factual information, I will be doing my best to provide voters and readers with information to help you make educated decisions on Nov. 8, general election day. As I wrote several weeks ago, we as voters...
Irate Americans are arming themselves and heading to library board meetings to defend children against evil by insisting that the library remove books that offend society. Notice I did not say trying to defend their own children, they mean to defend the children of people they do not know. Listen, they are going about it all wrong. If I wanted to keep my kids from reading a book the last thing I would tell them is that they can’t read it. I spent a lot of time as a kid under the covers with a f...
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,...
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,...
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...
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...
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...
