Independently owned since 1905
Independently owned since 1905
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by Ed Moreth Dozens of small colorful boxes lit up the dark sky over Plains last weekend with sentimental messages and seasonal greetings. The annual Cancer Network of Sanders County "Lantern Launch" was held along the greenway at downtown Plains on Saturday night following the Christmas Light Parade. The nonprofit organization raised $450, which goes directly back to county residents going through cancer treatment. "Our goal is to show our local community members that they are not alone in thei...
Kris Kringle made a special stop in Plains last week, coming into town this year on a borrowed sleigh and meeting with kids along the greenway. With a little chill in the air, more than 200 people lined Railroad Street along the greenway for the Parade of Lights Christmas Parade on Saturday evening with a decorated Plains Community Ambulance leading the way. Forty-two vehicles - the biggest yet - made their way through Plains with Santa, Mrs. Claus, and their elves, Cooper and Kendall, on the...
Nearly two dozen military veterans will be getting a taste of home for Christmas, thanks to a group of VFW Auxiliary members. Six women and one man gathered at the Wild Horse Plains VFW Post 3596 last week to prepare packages for 20 veterans as part of the Goody Boxes For Service Personnel program. Last Monday, they met to sort the donated items from combs to candy and from socks to caps. And on Friday, they finished the packing, ready to be mailed. "They had a good variety of things in the...
It was a one-woman crusade to help make Plains parks a cleaner place for residents and visitors, especially the four-legged kind. Cori Kerner spent four days on her "Dollar Days Sale" fundraiser at the Sanders County Fairgrounds pavilion last week. Her goal was to raise money to purchase several dog waste dispensers for the greenway along Railroad Street and the town's two parks. The sale reached just over $1,000 by Saturday and after her four-day sale, Kerner was able to raise almost $1,400 to...
A turkey searches for just the right fruit in a tree west of Plains....
The Plains Woman's Club once again took to their sewing skills in an effort to help make a brighter Christmas for Sanders County children. Eight members of the club gathered at the United Methodist Church in Plains to sew Christmas stockings for the Sanders County Coalition For Families (SCCFF) after their club meeting on Friday afternoon. The volunteers included Shirley King, Deb Cleveland, Donna Maughlin, Janet Brandon, Linda Zirelli, LeeAnn Hafner, Samantha Bebb and Julie Thomas. Not all...
It was a full meeting for the Plains School Board last Monday, when several students were recognized for special feats and new school hires were approved, but the meeting began with a teacher rebuking a board member for allowing personal feelings to interfere with a school program. Shop teacher Kyle Mitchell told the board that the school had the opportunity to hire Trista Brown at the October meeting to begin the SkillsUSA junior high chapter, but did not because of a "low turnout by the board...
Donald Trump made history in three ways this month when he defeated Kamala Harris for the presidency. First, some news sources say he might have scored the greatest political comeback in U.S. history: he's only the second man to win the presidency in non-consecutive terms, and the only Republican to do it. The first man to get two non-consecutive victories was Democrat Grover Cleveland, the 22nd and 24th president of the United States, serving first from 1885 to 1889. He then lost to Benjamin Harrison, one of the last Civil War veterans in the...
A Thompson Falls man put his name in the hat for the Sanders County demolition derby contract at last Wednesday's monthly fair board meeting at the fairgrounds pavilion. Rick Sanders handed in his proposal to run the "Carnage on the Clark Fork Demolition Derby" for the 2025 and 2026 to each board member and the fair manager. He said he wanted to make sure they all got it. The 60-year-old Sanders sent in a proposal four years ago, but believes it was not even looked at and was "round filed."...
Members of the Plains Woman's Club gathered at the Paradise Center on Sunday afternoon to celebrate 100 years with an "Anniversa-Tea." Forty-eight people showed up for the two-hour event, where the ladies had finger foods, games, door prizes, a slide show, history lessons, trivia contests, and tea. Thompson Falls resident Karen Gustavsen, president of the General Federation of Women's Club of Montana, was the main guest speaker for the event. She is a member of the Thompson Falls Woman's Club....
Thompson Falls High School soccer is done for the season, but the work for the players continues with an indoor program in an effort to stay sharp for next season. It's called futsal - indoor soccer modified with five players on a team, but in a smaller venue - and several players are participating in the Clark Fork Soccer Alliance program, said Nick Lawyer, head coach for the Thompson Falls Lady Hawks, which includes Plains players. He's also one of the futsal organizers. The participants meet... Full story
It lasted only two minutes, but the gravity of its meaning was sincere and heartfelt. Members of Horse Plains VFW Post 3596 held their fifth annual Veterans Day ceremony at Plains Cemetery last Monday morning. Six men - Randy Evans with the Army flag, Noah Hathorne with the Marine Corps flag, Rocky Hart with the Navy flag, Greg Davis with the Air Force flag, and Ed Foste with the Coast Guard flag - lined up at the military section of the cemetery. Heather Allen, an Air Force veteran and the...
Nearly 200 people showed up Sunday at the Sanders County Fairgrounds pavilion to see their 4-H kids get recognition for their work throughout the year. More than 150 awards were presented to almost 100 kids at the Sanders County 4-H Achievement Day. Club leaders from the Trout Creek Mavericks, Whitepine Happy Workers, Thompson Falls Mountaineers, South Side Sparks, and the Hot Springs Wranglers called their club members to the forefront to receive their Outstanding Member County Awards. Heron-No... Full story
The Costner Family Clinic is moving back to the vicinity of where their medical studies and home life began. The clinic opened in July of 2021 and has served more than 3,000 people and provided primary care to some 2,000 on a regular basis, but David Costner, owner and operator of the clinic, said they wanted to get back to the site of their family roots. "I went to my grandmother's funeral a few months ago, and given the family Bible as the oldest of many cousins, realized there was a calling t...
Dede Johnson looks over material at the table of Janie and Ben McFadden at the Plains Paradise Senior Center Craft and Bake Sale in Plains. There were 15 venders set up at the Saturday craft and bake sale, which went from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. This was the third year for the event, said Linda Bursell, the center's secretary and treasurer. It was very successful,' said Bursell. The center made just over $900, which will be maintenance. Each vendor paid $15....
As the Plains Woman's Club prepares to celebrate its 100-year anniversary, the group has elected a new president. Jamie Schmidt, a Plains resident since 2019 and a club member for the last year, was installed as the club's new president at their September meeting. "Current members thought that it would be helpful to have a new face as president. I have been pretty active in the short time that I have been involved, so I think that it may have come natural to think of me as the new prospective...
The year 1924 was a big year for Walt Disney, who released the first cartoon from his own studio. Macy's Department Store had its first Thanksgiving parade and the Ford Corporation opened its first dealership in Plains. Wade Rehbein and his staff at Rehbein Ford celebrated a century of Ford in Plains in October, the month it opened with the Rehbein name. "I am very proud of where we are today. A lot of the credit goes to everyone that works here. Nobody is more important than the next one. We...
The spirit of Halloween was widespread in Plains this year from the Clark Fork Valley Hospital to Fred Young Park and by baby Ledger Erickson dressed as Elvis Presley to 65-year-old Kim Bay as a pirate skeleton. Festivities began with the school's "Trunk or Treat" and from there spread to another old school, the 138-year-old one-room log schoolhouse run by the Plains Woman's Club, where Debbi Kirschbaum, dressed as a "dead bride," Janet Branden, LeAnn Hafner, and the club's new president, Jamie...
A gathering at Plains School last Thursday wasn't just to gather educational materials, it was to gather goodies. More than 200 kids participated in the school's Trunk or Treat event behind the school on Halloween afternoon. Eight local organizations, along with volunteers representing each class from kindergarten to sixth grade and the school cafeteria staff took part in the event, including the school's front office administrators, who were dressed in "Minions" T-shirts. This was the school's...
Who would have thought that professional musicians from Georgia would have two Plains High School students open their act? Senior Keegan Huffman and sophomore Stanley Decker did just that. The two Plains residents each performed a solo number for the group, the "Jazz Legacy Project" at the Paradise Center on Friday evening. "I thought the students were stellar. If they remain passionate about their music, they could certainly play professionally someday," said Karen Thorson, the Paradise...
Students of Plains Elementary School showed their support for healthy eating by simultaneously chomping down on an apple in the school cafeteria last week. "It's a day of healthy eating from Farms To Schools," said Superintendent Dr. Kathleen Walsh, who joined the 120 kids of kindergarten through third grade to make the statement. A dozen teachers also took part. Walsh said that it was a celebration of National Farm To School Month, local producers and nutritious foods. Before the first bite,...
Pickleball is closer to becoming a bigger reality in Plains with the construction of two outdoor courts at the Amundson Sports Complex. TW Fencing of Trout Creek spent three days last week placing 270 feet of fencing around the two future courts. Kelly Altmiller, president of the Plains Pickleball Association, said they hope to have the courts ready for play once they get the court surfacing and nets in place in the spring. "The members of the PPA are extremely excited that we were finally able... Full story
It's sometimes scary to go to school and last weekend it was especially scary when a vampire from Transylvania came to visit. The Plains Drama Club gave two performances of "Dracula" in the school's multipurpose room and gymnasium Saturday and Sunday. Nearly 120 people attended the Saturday evening show and almost 75 people showed up for the Sunday afternoon performance. "Broadway has come to Plains High School," said Dr. Kathleen Walsh, the school superintendent, who thought it was a great...
A former Plains High School student has found herself back in school and the subject English was the culprit. English was the favorite subject for Alexis Kunzer and now she's teaching English. The 2010 Plains High School graduate was unanimously voted as the newest addition to the school staff and will be teaching English for grades seven through seniors. Kunzer will work until January, at which time she will determine if her teaching hours will accommodate her caring for her infant daughter. Ku...
It looks like the Bean Bug Cafe doors are closing, but another door is opening for owner Suzy VonHeeder. VonHeeder and co-owner Emmalie VonHeeder, her daughter-in-law, started the Bean Bug in December of 2020 and it was a prosperous enterprise, but Emmalie wants to be a stay-at-home mom with her 3-year-old son, Jaxx, and Suzy has been in the food service business for 25 years and wants to try something else. The Bean Bug's last day was Friday and one of its coffee specials during its final week... Full story
