Independently owned since 1905
Independently owned since 1905
Sorted by date Results 51 - 75 of 577
There are certain things in life that you just have to figure out. We learn to problem solve, especially in a rural area. If you can't get leeks or curry at the grocery store, you learn to improvise. We also have a lot of people here who are experts at random tasks. There are people who can hem pants or fix small car issues with ease. I like being prepared. I like knowing what I'm getting into. If I am going somewhere new for an interview, I will look at the directions several times to make sure I know where I'm going in case there is no servic...
It's time. This week we are focused on the time counting down to 2024. Remembering the moments in 2023 and being hopeful for the next year. There's so much energy put into this final week. Did you go on that trip? Did you make good on those resolutions? Did you have the courage to try something new? Every second is precious. We all experienced loss and had to overcome struggles in 2023. We all experienced joy and friendships. There were moments we hoped would never end and moments we couldn't wait to get out of. What's important is that we are...
It’s been difficult getting in the holiday spirit this year. With no snow, it feels more like a cold fall than winter. But as we were putting together the Holiday Pictorial, the holiday spirit hit me. I was going through photos from the past year, visiting with advertisers and spending some time reminiscing about all that we’ve accomplished this year. Christmas is different when you don’t have small children around. The excitement shifts from Santa and presents to traditions and gatherings. I’ve been trying to shift my holiday focus to the trad...
One of my favorite experiences is hearing about Sanders County from someone new to the area. If you grow up here, you tend to take for granted the mountains, fresh air, daily wildlife sightings and outdoor opportunities. One of the most memorable of those experiences was when a friend from Pennsylvania visited in 1998, the year I moved home from Texas. He was just amazed at the beauty of the area and how we could fish almost literally out our back door. Most recently, I met someone at the fair who had just moved here from Spokane. She immediate...
In 1984, dozens of the most popular artists got together and recorded "Do they kow it's Christmas" in an effort to raise money for famine victims in Ethiopia. They had a catchy tune and raised more than $24 million. Red Nose Day, Comic Relief's effort to end child poverty, has raised more than $41 million this year. These are just some examples of causes on a larger scale that raise incredible amounts of money to make an impact. However, giving doesn't have to be millions of dollars. In small communities like those in Sanders County, every...
On Tuesday, November 7, I was the only spectator in the lower courtroom of the Sanders County Courthouse as the ballots were counted for the municipal elections in Hot Springs and Thompson Falls. There were three election judges, Sanders County Elections staff members, and me. Municipal elections may not be very important to some people, as evidenced by the low voter turnout earlier this month. During a presidential election year, there have been as many as a dozen spectators as ballot boxes are delivered from around the county. On election...
With the end of fall sports comes the end of my first season as a sports writer, well, a writer at all. When I moved back to Sanders County last March I never dreamed I would land a job at the newspaper, let alone writing for sports. For people who know me, they know sports are not my thing. Sure, I played volleyball and basketball in middle school and the first few years of high school but what did someone like me know about football and cross country? Little to nothing, honestly. What I never expected was the warm welcome I got from every sch...
There are certain things that are just better in small towns, as we all know. That's why we live here. The latest example was seen countywide last week as businesses, organizations and schools honored local veterans. These local groups offered free burgers, beers, coffee, lunch, dinner and quilts to veterans last week in observance of Veterans Day. It's always interesting to attend an event recognizing veterans and realize the people we see every day at the grocery store, bank or post office gave part of their life to serve our country. There...
Halloween is over, and it seems like all the advertisements are now geared toward Christmas. As of today (Thursday), there are just 44 days until Christmas. It's time for craft fairs and shopping and all the holiday fundraisers. Last weekend I attended the Trout Creek School bazaar and the Honey Bazaar at the Whitepine Grange. What a wonderful display of craftsmanship at both event. There were people milling about at both events, and it seemed everyone walked out with at least one treasure. I got a head start on my holiday shopping. Then it got...
One morning last week I got a text from a friend asking if I had heard anything about a bunch of illegal immigrants being moved here and housed at the mule pasture. My first reaction was disgust that this is what is being said about the project to help our community. After I calmed down, I was thankful that my friend reached out to me to see if what she had heard was really true. Let's just set the record straight - the U.S. Forest Service is not going to use the Orchard land in Thompson Falls as a place to bring illegal immigrants. In last wee...
Experience. When it comes down to it, experience is more valuable than anything we can learn from a textbook. We can read a manual to change our oil, watch a video to can green beans, or sit through a class to be a teacher. But nothing equates to just doing the thing – good old-fashioned, hands-on learning. That’s true for the previous examples, but it’s especially true when it comes to driving, specifically teen driving. Where do most teens get their experience driving? My guess would be mostly from parents. Parents are the go-to source for a...
“I have been doing good and going the way my doctor wants it … what you have to be doing is be strong, be and think positive, and take it day by day.” This was written in a thank you card to our church last year by Lacey Kinser. Lacey lost her battle with breast cancer last week, and I thought of this card she had sent and how positive it was, despite what she was going through. If you shopped at Little Bitterroot in Thompson Falls, you probably met Lacey. She always greeted customers with a smile and was a hard worker. She loved the Blue...
Our job as a newspaper is to inform our readers, to be leaders of information in local communities. I get a lot of random questions from people every day. Most of the time, if it’s something we’ve written about, I’ll end my answer jokingly with “I read it in The Ledger.” It’s true, though. Looking back on more than six years owning a newspaper, there’s a lot of random knowledge in my brain that I never would have learned if I wasn’t reading the newspaper or covering local events and meetings. The 2023 Local Newspaper Study provides eviden...
The other day I was walking through Rose Garden Park in Thompson Falls with my trusty sidekick Walter the Jack Russell Terrier when I got a text from a friend that said "What are you looking up at?" The truth is, I'm looking up a lot these days. The colors in Sanders County are beautiful. This is my favorite time of year. When you need a sweater in the morning and an extra blanket in the evening, but the days are sunny, warm enough for just a t-shirt and perfect for looking up. This magic time in northwest Montana is awesome because everyone is...
There was a lot of soccer in my life last week. On Monday I went to Plains to watch the Clark Fork girls play Columbia Falls. The Clark Fork teams consist of young men and women from throughout the region and is considered a club sport because it hasn’t been approved by any Sanders County school boards. Then on Saturday I watched kids from age 3 to 12 play various games in Thompson Falls for a full day of fun. There were teams from throughout the county. Plains, Thompson Falls, Hot Springs and Trout Creek competed, as well as Superior. There w...
I was at the Sanders County Fair every day this year for various reasons. On Thursday my mom and I judged entries in the 4-H Home Ec building, Friday I volunteered for the Fair Foundation in the beer booth, and Saturday and Sunday I was there covering various events for the newspaper. I felt like I was at the fair a lot this year, though definitely not as much as the 4-H families and vendors. The Sanders County Fair is pretty special in that admission is still free and the grounds are still covered in grass. The $10 daily parking fee is more...
At the beginning of the summer, I wouldn't have really dubbed myself a Taylor Swift fan. But watching what she has done with her Eras tour has been pretty incredible. The singer could gross nearly $2.2 billion from this tour. I chatted with some locals who went to her concerts, and the consensus is that what she has done is incredible. Getting up on stage to perform for three hours a night, with multiple shows in each city, is pretty incredible. What's even more interesting is how she has turned her singing career into a very profitable...
I was a 4-H kid for many years. I was a proud member of the Whitepine Happy Workers. I did photography and sewing and cooking projects, but no animals, even though we raised cattle and had horses at home. When I was a sophomore in high school, something had to give. Between school and work and sports and 4-H, I had to let something go, and I decided to let 4-H go. Several times over the weekend at the Sanders County Fair, I told myself that I should have stayed in 4-H thorugh high school. I couldn't really let school go and I worked at the...
The rush is on. School starts soon. High school sports teams are practicing. The great zucchini trade is on as people start harvesting their gardens. As the days get a little shorter, it seems everyone is in a rush to squeeze in last-minute vacations, days on the water and other summer activities. As we soak in the last few weeks of sunshine and making summer memories, it’s a good time for a gentle reminder to watch out for others. Driving to and from the Huckleberry Festival last weekend, several motorists had collided with deer along the w...
It’s hard to sit back and do nothing. As I sat in my office Monday morning writing the latest update on the River Road East Fire, waiting for the rain that eventually came pouring, it was numbing. It’s hard to focus when we know what is happening to the east. On Sunday, I spoke with people who had lost their homes from the River Road East Fire. We’ve asked in the question of the week previously what people would take in case of a wildfire. I’d grab my dog and my phone, some clothes and the box of photos that aren’t digitized. Some of the resid...
In my first few years as a newspaper publisher, I was hesitant to use my editorial space to find fault in things I saw in our area of coverage. Everything was “rainbows and unicorns,” as I like to say, and I had a pretty positive angle. Recently, “Our Viewpoint” has been critical of several happenings in Sanders County. That’s necessary, too. But the definition of critical is to identify the faults and the merits of something. A few months ago, I decided I needed to take a year off. Don’t worry, it’s not what you think. After serving as a...
Before I bought a newspaper, there was a lot I didn’t know about our county and our community functioned. I was happy to work, play and just let the officials officiate. More than six years later, I know more than I ever thought I would. Part of keeping the community informed is going to meetings - lots and lots of meetings. There are budget meetings, council meetings, meetings about ambulance services or meetings about ordinances, and sometimes even meetings about scheduling more meetings. We go to a lot of meetings, and we do our best to p...
Some of you know me as Annie Wooden, daughter of Barb and Gene. Some of you know me as Annie Wooden, cake maker, golf partner and dog mom. Some of you know me as Annie Wooden, publisher of The Sanders County Ledger. And some of you don’t know me at all – you only know the words I write here each week. I wear a lot of hats, like most people do. We can play the role of parent, student, son, daughter, co-worker, boss or friend, and we can play multiple roles simultaneously. Sometimes it can even be difficult to turn off those roles. I’m alway...
Conflict is everywhere – within our families, among our friends, in places of business, on the internet – and while conflict is unavoidable and uncomfortable, it’s necessary for growth and change. But it can also halt progress where we need there to be progress, whether it’s local, national or worldwide issues. We could actually create change and get things accomplished if we were better at giving a little to get a little, but it doesn’t seem like we are willing to do that too often anymore. Have we lost the art of compromise? Watching...
Plenty of us are torn up that Main Street is torn up. The approximately mile-long project is a needed one, though. Enhanced safety features, smoother surfaces and ADA-compliant sidewalks will make downtown a better place for residents and visitors, especially those using strollers, delivery dollies, wheelchairs, canes or any other assisted-walking devices. Traveling down Main Street – specifically on foot – will be much improved. But oh the pain of getting there. Businesses, many of which rely on summer tourists, are tough to get to this wee...
