Independently owned since 1905
Independently owned since 1905
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During last month's windstorm, we saw neighbors stepping up to help neighbors. No questions asked, people just came together to help clean up our county after this devastating storm knocked out power and damaged homes and businesses. That sense of community was nice to see. With this storm came a feeling of belonging. Sanders County is 100 miles long, but in that week after the storm there was no distance. We were one community helping each other and literally weathering the storm. We see examples of closeknit communities here and there. When...
Every word has a definition. You can look that up in a dictionary and call that definition the gospel truth. But many words also have emotions attached to them which are harder to define because they are unique to the individual that feels them. Everybody knows what “patriotism” is. It’s love of country. But just as everyone has their own definition of love they also have their own emotional definition of patriotism. For some it is storming the United States Capitol, for others it is peace...
The Big Game is coming up. On February 7, the Kansas City Chiefs and the Tampa Bay Buccaneers will meet in Tampa and play the 55th NFL championship game. The Super Bowl is pretty much a national holiday in the United States. We've often heard chatter the Monday after saying that should be a holiday for offices, especially on the East Coast where the game doesn't start until after 8 p.m. Super Bowl Sunday is a day full of snacks and competitive banter and betting pools amongst your friends. Even more entertaining than the actual game or the cele...
This past December, the Clark Fork Valley Elks Lodge sponsored an “Americanism Essay” contest for students in Sanders County. Student contestants were given the topic, “How Can Patriotism Be Demonstrated?” Then they were tasked with completing a short essay. The top three contestants in two grade categories would be awarded monetary prizes. I recently had the privilege of reading the winning essays (I’m sure glad I wasn’t a judge. All six were great!). In a time when our country is so divided, i...
Last week in Sanders County, we saw a devastating winter windstorm that knocked out power to much of the county for days. Trees were uprooted, some falling on houses, businesses and other buildings. Before the storm was over, we saw neighbors and strangers helping residents clear trees and roadways. Crews from NorthWestern Energy and Northern Lights worked days on end restoring power to residents. It was amazing to see all the trucks of trees and debris as they paraded to the Sanders County Transfer Site outside Thompson Falls. The pile of...
The Capitol has been trashed by bThe Capitol has been trashed by big boys and girls who should have known better. It is hard to take a bearded, bare-chested man with cow horns on his head seriously, let alone as an adult, but he and others broke windows, beat up cops (killing one, wounding others), had one of their own shot by police and trampled another one of their own to death. This was not just a riot, it was an insurrection. It has resulted in 70 of them being charged with criminal...
The first time I went to Washington, D.C., as a high school junior, it was for a journalism conference. We were a group of teenagers celebrating the First Amendment and the role we as journalists played in our future. Unfortunately for the three delegates from Montana, it was the year Ted Kaczynski was arrested and Montana was only known for the Unabomber. That first time in D.C., I was in awe of all the history. Seeing the Declaration of Independence gave me chills and so much pride in our country. The second time, I had the privilege of...
I want to make it very clear to everyone reading this that I absolutely condemn the violent demonstration we all watched evolve on January 6 in Washington, D.C. In my mind, there is no defending the actions of the individuals who stormed the senate chambers. It was embarrassing to our nation in general and conservative voters in particular. As in any violent demonstration, those involved should be arrested and prosecuted. I have a problem though with the way that whole event has been covered....
As the sun sets on 2020, we look back on the year and, quite frankly, we're not sure what to say. From the pandemic and the economy and the election and everything in between, it was a bit of a rough year. Not that we don't have sickness and tension each year, but the effects were felt worldwide in 2020. We'd just like to point out, however, that 2020 wasn't all bad. We made some happy memories and saw kindness throughout our communities. The anxiety of the pandemic and just the general unknown of 2020 was a lot to handle. It didn't take long...
Christmas time is here Happiness and cheer Fun for all that children call Their favorite time of the year. That famous song from "A Charlie Brown Christmas" usually gets us in the holiday spirit. This year (as of Tuesday evening) we didn't have much for snow to make it a white Christmas. Our celebrations will have a bit less cheer as families limit their gatherings and few are traveling. The joy of Christmas is most evident in the excitement of the children. We got a little sparkle at Thanksgiving when we asked kindergarten students how to...
We have lived through so many uncertainties this year. At the beginning of 2020, there were murmurs of a new virus. Within a matter of weeks, the country was basically shut down. Then it was election season. Though we figured it would be a few days before we had results, we never imagined it would turn into this. Fast forward to December 2020. Here we are, businesses still open, schools still in session, the country still moving forward. This week, the first Americans will receive the COVID-19 vaccine. It will be months before the vaccine is...
. I’ve kind of beat this topic to death so I’ll keep this last (yet complex) story very short and sum it all up from my perspective. Los Angeles Police Department SWAT officers responded to a call of an armed suspect who had barricaded himself inside an auto body shop. During the incident, the suspect exited the building two separate times and fired at the officers, while using his infant daughter as a human shield. The situation came to a tragic end when the suspect’s 17-year-old stepd...
This holiday season, similar to this whole year, looks a little different. We gathered at safe distances last week for Christmas on Main Street festivities in Thompson Falls. Now begins the final preparations for Christmas. The large gatherings and parties won't be happening, and probably few people will be traveling to visit their loved ones. Things will just be different. What hasn't changed is the need to help others in our community. This week, we have published the Guide to Local Giving on page 7. Thank you to First Security Bank for...
Political courage on the Republican side of the political spectrum seems to be blooming in state legislatures and the offices of state and local election officials, but it is scarce in Congress. It’s hard to tell the big boss he is wrong and harder still if it’s a message so unwelcome that he won’t and can’t hear it. But in Georgia’s 2020 election, which Biden won, the Republican Secretary of State and his elections staff have been unwavering in defending the running and the results of the elect...
The number of active coronavirus cases keeps creeping up in Sanders County. As of Tuesday, there were 36 active cases. Even with people recovering and going off the active case list, the numbers are going up. The anticipation of a vaccine being distributed to the public is also increasing. While some will choose not to get vaccinated, we suspect that most people will be eager to get the vaccine and protect themselves. The vaccines will likely first be administered to frontline workers and those at higher risk of contracting the virus. It will...
I received really positive feedback after the last column and people expressed an interest in more of the same. I’m going to share two more stories about incidents I’m personally familiar with and wrap it up with an explanation regarding why I’m sharing all of this. One night while on patrol, I heard a high priority radio call broadcast of a “Domestic Violence/ADW (assault with a deadly weapon) suspect. The broadcast went on to provide a physical description of the suspect, who was said to be a...
Per request of the mayor on behalf of the city, I am reminding you that I am speaking only for myself, not for the city, not for the mayor, and not for other council members. In order to keep myself out of potential hot water, and to keep others comfortable with what I am doing, I’m now and in the future writing these pieces solely as a private citizen, who, because of several years' attendance at council meetings previously as a private citizen, understand quite a bit about city administration. I’m a “communicator” and think systems work be...
You know what? This year has been a rough one. We are still dealing with a pandemic. We are having to make decisions about sending our kids to school, keeping our businesses open, and whether or not to see our families on Thanksgiving. Most of us have never experienced anything like this in our lifetime. The divisiveness that came with election season only added to the stress that we're all feeling. This week, we decided it's OK to feel the stress and feel like 2020 hasn't been that great. Yes, there have been worse years in history. Yes,...
It seems that almost anybody watching someone work believes they can do the job as well or better than the person who is actually doing it, especially if the person watching has never done it before. When I hired on at the brickyard in Lewistown in 1974, the boss pointed to a group of workmen taking wet brick off a conveyor belt and stacking them on small railcars which were then pushed into the kiln for firing. This was called “hacking brick.” “Can you do that?” he asked. “Any fool could do...
Last weekend, I decided to take a road trip to Post Falls to pick up some doors from Craigslist. I don't buy too much on the site, but these doors were cool and I "had" to have them. One of my favorite hobbies is to listen to podcasts on road trips. I'd call myself a true-crime junkie, and let's face it, meeting a strange person in an alley for a couple of doors probably isn't the smartest idea for anyone. So I grabbed a couple of girlfriends and headed across state lines. As I've discussed in this space, I'm also on the extreme end of...
There’s a lot of conversation about controversial police incidents. Most of what I read/hear only tells the story from one perspective, which strikes me as wholly unfair and misleading. I don’t see the situation changing and going in a positive direction anytime soon. So…I decided to share a different perspective. You won’t hear these stories in the media. Why? Good question! I suspect it’s because nobody cares. After telling these stories to a friend, I decided to share several as my way of ge...
One of my friends who is a teacher at Thompson Falls High School has a sign in her classroom that reads "10% of life is what happens to you; 90% is how you react to it." I've been thinking about that a lot this last week, and not just as we watch the presidential election unfold. No one likes to lose. Losing is hard, but try to remember that your reaction to the loss is what really counts and what people really remember. That's the 90% that is going to affect how you move on and how your peers, your community, and your opponent view your loss....
With the passage in Montana of I-190 we have joined California, Washington, Oregon and a few other “liberal” states in making the purchase and use of marijuana jail time free. It has been about 100 years since its use became a social stigma, then illegal in the United States. Marijuana use was blamed for everything from mild insanity to the insatiable urge to massacre hundreds of people at one time. How could something that was once in common use become so bad and then good again? I’d like...
Last week, the Sanders County Commissioners met to discuss if and how to enforce the governor’s mask mandate. Why? Because the country has chosen to pass accountability to the state, the state passed it to counties, and the county has chosen to pass it down to businesses and individuals. The commission’s discussion ended with no real resolution. However, the state Department of Health and Human Services last month did release a complaint form, which residents can use if they see mandates are not being enforced at local businesses. Simply put...
Over the years, I’ve read the phrase “May you live in interesting times,” in fortune cookies and heard the same statement used as a toast. Legend says that the saying originated in China, and, although perceived as a blessing, is actually intended to be a curse. I have no idea which is true, but I don’t think there’s anyone reading this who wouldn’t agree that we definitely live in interesting times. Based on the way 2020 has gone so far, I’m pretty much leaning toward the ‘curse’ defin...
