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Across Montana, thousands of students are headed back to school to begin a new year of learning and growth. Unfortunately, many students in rural Montana remain at risk of falling behind due to the lack of broadband access in their communities. Broadband Internet has become indispensable both in the classroom and at home for students to become prepared to compete in the 21st Century economy and complete and submit their assignments. A top priority of the Montana Rural Education Association is to ensure our rural schools and communities are in...
I hope that whoever decided to move the 2019 Sanders County Rodeo start time back to 7 p.m. was sitting in the west-facing bleachers between 6 p.m., when many people arrive, to 7:30, when the sun went behind the hills. We were scorched and blinded by the setting sun, and even the announcer had to apologize to the crowd. We took our small grandchildren for the first time, and we were all completely miserable. We couldn’t see anything going on in the arena for the first half hour of the show. Please reconsider your ill-advised decision to c...
Mr. Blackstone sounds concerned about the rule of law and complains about the many illegal immigrants in America, especially in southern California where he worked in law enforcement (Sanders County Ledger, 8/29). Of course, he puts all the blame on liberal Democratic party policies. How convenient that he fails to mention the illegality of the employers that hire those illegal immigrants, creating the high demand for their cheap labor. It just happens that many of those employers are rich agri-business owners that contribute generously to the...
Dear Editor, I can see with the recent “barking ordinance” why there is a sudden fear of barking dogs. It has been argued both ways to great length. As a dog parent I see it as yet another hurdle to cross having a dog while I also remember my pre-dog days and how barking dogs were annoying. I decided against reaching out for the offered help on barking because I disagree with any negative training methods. I have rescue dogs and without knowing their full history, I will not subject them to shock collars or risk an allergic reaction with the...
Dear Editor, I would like to thank Kevin Hill for volunteering his time and talent to the Huckleberry Festival. He also donates an ice chest with a prime rib and a bottle of wine (approximately $150 value) to one of the bidders. Every time someone wins a bid their bidding numbers is put in the drawing. At the end of the auction a winner is drawn. This year my number was pulled, and I won. I wanted everyone to know that Kevin and his wife Pat are truly assets to our community. By the way, we are not related, just share the same last name. I...
Having spent 25 years evaluating writing samples from high school students, I long ago developed the somewhat neurotic habit of being judgmental about other peoples’ writing. I no longer get paid to judge, of course, except through moments of disgust, or sometimes glee, but two categories continue to feed my habit: advertising, and political slogans. For example, on the back cover of a recent Leatherworkers’ and Saddlers’ Journal, Tandy Leather Corporation expounds “Introducing new, everyday HONEST pricing.” Now, maybe there’s some recent accus...
Editor, I wish to extend my personal thanks to everyone who supported the Road to the Buffalo interpretive signs project. The final sign is now in place. It is because of your generosity that this project was completed. Peggy Johnson and the Women for a Better Sanders County worked tirelessly to put together a fundraiser in Noxon. The funds that were raised qualified for a matching grant from the Montana Office of Tourism (MOT). Donna Anderson and the Noxon Senior Citizens were designated as the grant managers. As each phase of the sign...
Letter writer Sharon Donegan (July 25, 2019) purports to be the spokesperson for millions of Americans, while Mr. Blackstone is only allowed to speak for himself. However, he speaks the truth, which is the value of the majority of Americans. “Adhering to Our Values” (July 18, 2019) was the correct heading for his column. I have endured a lifetime of health issues resulting from the Korean War and I resent the people who disrespect the flag and the national anthem. They abuse the freedom we enjoy, provided by the founders of our country and ens...
Mr Blackstone. We thought maybe you were veering away from political arguments but sadly, that’s not the case. 1. President Obama did not remove the citizenship question from 2010 census. If you research it, that question has come and gone for years on the questionnaire. In the beginning it only counted white adult males. Eventually even white females. 2. Colin Kaepernick and Megan Rapinoe are using their constitutional right to peacefully protest, one by kneeling and one by politely standing without hand over her heart. Kaepernick’s sil...
Mr. Blackstone, I am in favor of you being allowed space to have your say in the SCL. And indeed of SCL hosting many differing viewpoints. When, as you have, the power of a continuing prominent platform that gives you a certain power, how you use it has real impact. And I object to the way you are using it now. Content in your article “Adhering to Our Values” was discarded in favor of potshots by focusing on half-truths and obscure incidents; the flip side of the Democrats who are still throwing hissy fits over Trump being elected. The title mi...
I saw an interview with a politician this morning. I was quite impressed. He had some good ideas and he behaved like an adult. His name is Joe Biden. Rob Kjos, Heron...
As I watched our new drug store owners tussle with insurance companies (been there) as they took over this past week, it reminded me how tough it can be to run a small business, especially in a small town. And as I watched, and heard reports, of their efforts to work through the difficulties, even to the point of offering home delivery, I was reminded how different it is when the business owners are part of the community, not just a corporate entity. We are fortunate that, as Doug Shear retires, we have another local taking the reins. I wish...
Two writers caught my attention in the Sanders County Ledger (Opinions page, June 13, 2019). First was a Jean Morrison of Plains advocating the benefits of zoning. I’ve lived in three areas in which each time I moved into them, zoning was a “new idea” that would do all the things Ms. Morrison claimed. However, the only benefits of zoning have been to government growth. The first, in Gloucester, Virginia, in 1973 on, during which, while the population barely has double to the present, the cost to taxpayers has quadrupled, most due to zonin...
Editor: July 5 is the busiest day each year for animal shelters around the country. Pets who are frightened by Fourth of July fireworks and firecrackers escape the confines of their yards and run in a blind panic, often becoming lost. If the dogs have no identification on them, caring citizens and law enforcement will pick them up and deliver them to an animal shelter until owners can be located. Sanders County Dog Training Club would like to remind all pet owners to keep their animals safely contained during fireworks season. Keep your dogs...
Zoning protects the value of one’s property. For example, if I purchase a piece of property and maintain it - keep it free from unsightly debris as broken-down vehicles, storage of items, clutter, etc., it also projects my neighbors from varmints and possible accidents. A community that enforces zoning laws, increases in value. For example, zoning requires a community to constantly monitor changes its’ residents make via improvements. If I want to make a modification, I notify the Town Hall so that their building inspector can approve and eva...
Dear Editor, I’ve decided that I alone should be on the road. I believe that I know how fast to drive at any given time and in every given circumstance. So, every vehicle that I pass is going too slow and every vehicle which passes me is going too fast. I find myself hard pressed behind the wheel, and seemingly oppressed by others with whom I am required to share the road. Self-interest, circumstantial preference and a bit too much self-certainty combine to narrow my vehicular operating standards to this level of driving bias. These are not o...
Editor: The approach taken in last week’s letter to the editor section was fascinating. One minute the author stroked Mr. Blackstone with compliments like “smacks of common sense” and “from what I can gather, Mr. Blackstone is a fine man” then attacking him with lines like “sugar high” for anyone politically passionate and outspoken about their beliefs that apparently run contradictory to this “author’s” and proclaiming Mr. Blackstone’s opinions are “……..deeply damaging to the important process of finding common ground…” without any facts or ex...
Editor: So very glad to read that the Barking Dog Ordinance (Sanders County Ledger, May 30, 2019) has passed giving teeth to Sheriff Rummel’s department to address this issue. Perhaps he and his department would do well to borrow some teeth from these barking dogs in an attempt to stem the overwhelming drug problems faced here, one of the main causes of so many other crimes perpetrated on the citizens of Sanders County. Yes, Sheriff Rummel, METH, and other drugs, is a real problem here, one that might be somewhat curtailed should a proactive a...
I have lived in Sanders County for over 40 years, worked for the Sanders County Ledger as a photojournalist most of that time, attending most of each town’s events and worked in community develop at the Courthouse for several years. I have been elected and served as the Northern Lights electric co-op for more than 30 years working at their office in Sandpoint. As a result, especially because I do the Question of the Week every week. I have pretty much met mostly everybody. Last week, I went to get a hair cut at the mall at Sandpoint. What I d...
To the Editor, I expect there will now be a lot of passionate letters for and against Mr. Blackstone’s column. To me this highlights the downside of featuring intensely partisan opinions in our local paper. I like to think of Sanders County as a very friendly place, where we tend to know and help our neighbors. We work together on many community events and projects. It seems we frequently impress newcomers with our open and helpful nature. This tendency is a welcome contrast to the partisan bickering and conflict that is taking hold in our coun...
Dear Editor, In reference to Blaine Blackstone’s Column “Leadership is a Privilege,” I have a copy of the book Extreme Ownership that Blaine refers to. It was required reading by my employer for the application it offers to businesses to attain more efficient operation. I have read it, initially under protest, simply because it was REQUIRED. However, I’m glad now that I did read it. It was very enlightening, all be it graphic. It was a good read and quite applicable. It reflects the real world in which those who protect our rights and freedom...
I have never met Blaine Blackstone, but I appreciate his articles in The Sanders County Ledger. I know many conservatives that have not subscribed to the Ledger in the past because of the newspaper’s past liberal slant. It makes good “business sense” for the Ledger to now present articles, such as those from Mr. Blackstone, that offer a conservative viewpoint to the readers of the county. Recent election results show that Sanders County votes “conservative” or “non-liberal.” In the 2018 general election, 63% of the Sanders County voters voted...
I had the opportunity (as did you) to attend the May 9 Sanders County Commissioner meeting on ordinance No. 2019-01: an ordinance to control barking dogs within Sanders County and to establish procedures for enforcement. Our commissioners amazed me with the patience and willingness to give everyone an opportunity to talk. What could have been a half-hour meeting took one-and-a-half hours! This is why I would not want to be a commissioner: 1. After the third or fourth person stated the same issue they had with the proposed ordinance (which was...
I was wondering when the coordinated attacks on the Blaine Blackstone column would occur and now, I see that they have started. Just like the beginning of Conservative censorship on Facebook and Twitter, or the algorithm on Google which tends to ignore conservative ideas, the “hard left” even here in Sanders County can not stand a differing viewpoint from that of their own. They call it “divisive rhetoric.” Although what could possibly be more divisive than the entire “Resist Movement” which has as its goal the removal of a duly elected pre...
Wow, Mr. Blackstone really has the ladies fired up. One of them even using your first name (Annie) in a personal appeal to dump him. Pretty sure I’m a member of a silent majority in Sanders County (I checked the results of the last election) and these ladies do not speak or think for me. I’ve been a Ledger subscriber for well over 30 years (Doc Eggensperger days) and Mr. Blackstone’s opinion column is the most interesting and thought-provoking thing to appear in this newspaper in that time. Do I agree with Mr. Blackstone 100% of the time?...
