Your Best Source For Sanders County News
Your Best Source For Sanders County News
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Most people who shop at True Value in Thompson Falls know Jared Shear as the person who can sell them hoses, fasteners and other hardware. There's another side to Shear however, that of the artist. Last week, Shear presented a series of 24 paintings inspired by Herman Melville's classic "Moby Dick." The pieces are part of a show at the Radius Gallery in Missoula that runs through August 24. The show, True Places, features work from Shear, Kaetlyn Able, Jennifer Indreland and David Swenson....
The new Town Pump store in Thompson Falls is on schedule to be open by the end of the year, the company said last week. Bill McGladdery, Director of Communications, said the utilities are in place at the site and the framing work on the nearly 14,000 square foot building should be completed by August 1. "I think the community is going to be really excited about the new store," McGladdery said. "It will be a much better layout." The new store will be 10,100 square feet, with the Lucky Lil's...
The big news in politics this week is President Joe Biden announcing he won't seek reelection and the Democratic party is deciding how to pick a new nominee. However, the big news isn't the big business. Montana's Senate race has gained national attention for the big dollars raised. According to the Montana Free Press, as of July 17, incumbent Sen. Jon Tester, a Democrat, has raised $43.7 million in campaign funds, while Republican candidate Tim Sheehy has raised $13.7 million. By contrast, in the race for U.S. Representative for District 1,...
Sparks from a passing train ignited fires near both the West and East ramps in Thompson Falls last Wednedsay. Residents and officials responded to two separate fires along the railroad tracks. Witnesses reported seeing sparks coming from a train engine traveling west through Thompson Falls, after which two grass fires started. "We were stopped at the tracks waiting for the train to go by. As it went by, I noticed that one of the engines was blowing very heavy black smoke. I thought it was odd....
Thompson Falls High School alumni came from across town and across the world for reunions last weekend. The TFHS class of 1964 celebrated their 60th school reunion by inviting the classes of 1961-1966 to join them for a weekend of fun. The reunion had 54 people attend the main banquet on Saturday at the Rimrock. Alumni and family members shared memories, looked at old photos and caught up on their lives as they celebrated the milestone. On Friday night, the group also met at the Rimrock for a so...
The Over the Hill Gang had some fun on Monday with a game of “Mutt and Jeff,” which had golfers adding up their scores on the two par three holes (5 and 8) and the two par fives (2 and 3) for a total. Rick Kendall won the Mutt and Jeff game with a 17, and also had the low men’s gross of 42 of nine holes. Wally Give and Randy Hojem were second and third, respectively, in the fun play. Larry Eddy had a 31 for the low men’s net and Kristy Beaty a 32 for the low women’s net. Beaty also had the long putt on No. 3. Kendall’s drive was closest to...
There was an invasion in Sanders County, a MINI invasion. Thousands of MINI owners joined a rally from Albuquerque to Seattle last week. An estimated 600-800 joined each day of MINI Takes The States (MTTS) as they traversed through five states in the western United States. On Friday, the MINIs traveled from Missoula to Spokane, with many stopping in Sanders County to shop and eat. Some residents first noticed the abundance of MINIs as they were on their way to Missoula on Friday, alerting The Le...
In February, the town of Noxon suffered the loss of three businesses to fire. Now, the community is facing another challenge. On Friday, the Montana Department of Transportation (MDT) ordered an emergency closure of the Noxon bridge after cracks in the structure were discovered in an inspection of the bridge. Now the county is working to find a solution and reopen the bridge. The Noxon bridge connects the town to Highway 200 and is the primary entrance and exit for the community. There are...
Sanders County Commissioners on Thursday signed a resolution enacting Stage II fire restrictions. The order went into effect at 2:30 p.m. on Thursday. On Wednesday, residents and officials responded to two separate fires along the railroad tracks in Thompson Falls. Witnesses reported seeing sparks coming from a train engine traveling west through Thompson Falls, after which two grass fires started. "We were stopped at the tracks waiting for the train to go by. As it went by, I noticed that one...
The Hot Springs school levy election from May 7 has been voided after a district judge issued a ruling last week. The school district is now working to rerun the election. On June 21, Hot Springs school board member Jennifer Christensen filed a petition requesting the election be voided after it was discovered that more than 100 absentee ballots were not mailed to voters for the May election. In the filing, Christensen stated that at the May 15 school board meeting, "the election administrator a...
A bull moose traverses across Highway 200 near Whitepine....
Growing up, I loved "Little House on the Prairie." I loved the show and the books. I read the whole series over again every couple of years. I've always said if I could go back in time, I'd be a pioneer. I believe I could figure out how to grow things and make clothes and I think I'd be a pretty good homesteader. In those days, the communities rallied around families in need. In one "Little House" episode, Charles Ingalls gets hurt falling out of a tree right at harvest time, and Walnut Grove helps with the harvest so he can keep his oxen. Time...
UPDATED JULY 13: The Noxon bridge remains closed after cracks in the structure were discovered during an inspection on Friday. Sanders County Commissioner Tony Cox on Saturday said the county is developing a plan to re-open the structure. A contractor, Neal Structural Repair, has been procured and will be working on repairs this week. NSR will work on a plan with the county and engineering firm Morrison-Maierle, who recently completed a study on the bridge for Sanders County. On Friday, commissioners declared a state of emergency in order to...
Noxon was bursting with community spirit for their annual Fourth of July celebration at the Noxon Bicentennial Park on Saturday. In February, a fire destroyed three businesses in Noxon - Toby's Tavern, Angry Beaver General Store and Noxon Mercantile. After the fire, many people wondered if the Independence Day celebration would continue. On Saturday, there was no question about Noxon's revival as hundreds of people gathered for the event. Along with showing off the community spirit, organizers...
The Montana Department of Transportation (MDT) and Frontier West have substantially completed work on the Flathead River – Perma Bridge project. The goal of this project was to rehabilitate the bridge that carries Secondary Highway 382 traffic over the Flathead River near Perma. Traffic control has been removed over the bridge. Crews will return later this summer to complete minor tasks and apply final pavement markings. Traffic control will be in place while this final work takes place. Travelers should expect intermittent single-lane t...
Last year driving through Paradise on the day the River Road East fire ignited, it was something I had never experienced. I have seen documentaries about fast-moving wildfires in other parts of the country, but watching sparks fly over Highway 200 and the growing fire cloud swirling across the mountain was just incredible. In 2021 when the Thorne Creek fire roared above Thompson Falls, I would sit every night and watch the fire creep across the mountains. Again, it was an eery, incredible sight to take in. It seems that we are getting more and...
The United Methodist churches of Plains, Paradise and Whitepine have welcomed a familiar face. Steve Hermes of Paradise recently took over as pastor for the three churches. Hermes' family lived in Alaska until he was 12, when they moved to the family ranch just east of Paradise. He went to seminary in 1984 and recently retired after 38 years of serving as a United Methodist pastor. Hermes moved back to Paradise two years ago with his wife Chris, who he met in college. "Every generation has to...
The Over the Hill Gang embraced the summer heat on Monday, enjoying a Baja Scramble round at River's Bend Golf Course. Winners of the scramble with a score of 31 were Dennis Gripp and Gary Moe. Al Luckow and Tom Pride combined for second place and Chuck Manry and Doug Deck placed third. Moe had a chip-in on No. 5, while Mike Normandin put one in off the green on No. 3. The putts were aimed just right on Monday as Rich Hooten sank the long putt on No. 2, Jens Jantzen on No. 3, Dave Garr on No. 6, Chandler Wilkenson on No. 7, Jesse Mack on No. 8...
The new Montana record largescale sucker was caught right here in Sanders County. Wade Merschat of Trout Creek landed a 6.72-pound largescale sucker from the Noxon Reservoir on June 19. "The river bottom is covered with suckers right now," the 12-year-old said. "I saw the big fish, threw my line out and got the perfect drift." He said he was only using 6-pound monofilament and the fish got into some tree branches when he was reeling it in, so he had to be careful not to break the line. Merschat...
Running enthusiasts from Sanders County took to the streets of Missoula on Sunday for the annual Missoula Marathon. Mike Lilly of Thompson Falls finished 129th overall in the full marathon and 19th of 100 in his age group of 30-39. He finished the 26.2-mile course in 3 hours, 31 minutes, 17.55 seconds. Thompson Falls graduate Jacob Naegeli, who now lives in Green Bay, Wisconsin, was 42nd in the same age group, finishing in 3:04:17.59. Marlaina Mohr, 66 of Thompson Falls, also competed in the...
The county will be buzzing this weekend as visitors and residents hit the highways for the annual Sanders Saleing county-wide yard sale event. The two-day yard sale event, hosted by the Thompson Falls Chamber of Commerce, will run Friday and Saturday, featuring more than 80 sales throughout the county. Participants signed up to have sales in Heron, Noxon, Trout Creek, Thompson Falls, Plains, Paradise, Hot Springs and Lonepine. Chamber of Commerce President Dennis Spurlock of Alera Group in Plains said he’s excited to see what types of t...
Sanders County will take over the Hot Springs refuse site next month. The decision comes after the Hot Springs Refuse District voted in May to have the county take over the site and the county commissioners unanimously voted last week to take over the site. “I thinks it’s very positive for the community of Hot Springs,” Commissioner John Holland said. “It takes the pressure off of Hot Springs with having to make do with what they could afford and the county can offer more flexibility financially if something comes up.” Holland also said that...
There were acrobatics, a lion, fire, unicycles and smiles and cheers from circus fans of all ages Saturday in Thompson Falls. The Culpepper & Merriweather great combined circus returned to Thompson Falls on Saturday with two shows for community members. The circus comes to town every two years and is sponsored by the Thompson Falls Chamber of Commerce. Hundreds of residents gathered near the football field at Thompson Falls High School for the event. The circus tent was raised at 9:30 a.m. and...
You don't need a plumber, until you do. You don't need a cup of sugar, until you do. You don't need an ambulance, until you do. We had a scare in our family last week which required my dad to take a trip to the hospital. My parents live between Thompson Falls and Trout Creek. Like many areas of Sanders County, you're at least 15 minutes from anywhere. The Thompson Falls Ambulance arrived quickly and got my dad to the hospital where he received excellent care. He is on the mend and everything will be fine. Every day when I drive out to my...
