Your Best Source For Sanders County News
Your Best Source For Sanders County News
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Stud's Building and Home is in the process of opening its second location in Thompson Falls. With the flagship store in Plains, owner Joel Collett said he has been planning to open a second location for a few years now. "It was an opportunity more than anything," he said. "The opportunity came up to buy the building from the bank, so that's how it all began." The business, located at 4879 Montana Highway 200, where Les Schwab Tire Center used to be, will be a similar model to the Plains location...
"I'm a romantic and I just thought that day would be a good day to get married," said Pam Brophy, when asked why she and her husband Mike decided to get hitched on Valentine's Day 50 years ago. "I think we both figured out that it would be too hard to break somebody else in," said Mike, as they laughed, talking about why they have been together so long. The couple met when Pam was a junior in high school. At the time, they both lived in Spokane, Washington. Pam threw a party with some of her...
Clark Fork Valley Hospital (CFVH) continues to administer COVID-19 vaccines to residents of Sanders County. On Monday, CFVH CEO Dr. Gregory Hanson said that 880 doses of the Moderna vaccine have been given at the hospital. All residents in Phase 1A (healthcare workers) have received both required doses, while 476 residents in Phase 1B (age 70 and older and age 18-69 with certain health problems) have received their first vaccine and 253 residents in Phase 1B have received their second...
According to the demographers at the U.S. Census Bureau, in 2020 there were over 90,000 centenarians on record. Julian Lofthus, a resident at Cherry Hill Assisted Living in Thompson Falls, has now joined the elite group. "I don't really feel like I'm that old," Lofthus said. "But I don't feel like I did when I was in my teens." While Lofthus said it is harder to get around these days, he's in no hurry. "I'll get there sooner or later," he chuckled. Born on January 5, 1921, Lofthus celebrated...
This week as we were editing articles and putting the newspaper together, we felt good about all the feel-good news. At The Ledger, we aim to provide accurate, engaging local news articles. We want to tell the stories of our friends and neighbors and those friends we haven't yet met. We want to show how local businesses are expanding, report on local COVID-19 effects and your local candidates for upcoming elections. Our sports editor, John Hamilton, works hard each week to make contact with every coach and publish information about every high...
Offered as a respite from current events. Eddie Mulick was the first person I met when I moved to Trout Creek, and that was largely because he owned, what his matchbooks proclaimed was, “The Wayside Bar--finest bar in Trout Creek.” It was also the only bar. Those days I did custom haying in the summer and I had been working George Casteel’s field right across the river. George was a story in himself, an old single-jack gold miner whose cabin floor was liberally littered with rocks of ore and c...
Back in the late 60’s at Warner Barracks in Bamberg, West Germany, Sergeant First Class Schmidt ran a mortar platoon so well that no rank either above or below him questioned his performance. He was big, loud and gruff, with an accent that reminded listeners of his origins in Hungary, from where, as a lone teenager, he had fled ahead of a 1950’s Russian threat. I was a squad leader assigned to the same company, but as a scout rather than a mortar man, when in the summer of ’68 the Russians briefly invaded nearby Czechoslovakia. I thought that...
7 YEARS AGO • JANUARY 17, 1951 WWP GETS APPROVAL ON CABINET GORGE; CONSTRUCTION WILL BE PUSHED The Washington Water Power company has received the “go ahead” signal on its request to build the Cabinet Gorge dam. Heads of the company received word from Washington, D.C., that the federal power commission had granted a permit to construct the high power dam which will provide an additional 200,000 kilowatts of power to serve the company’s customers. For the past few weeks contractors for the company have been constructing access roads to the dam...
APRIL REILLY, Trout Creek - “Anything below 20 degrees, I’m inside.” DARCY FARLAN, Thompson Falls - “When the weather is below zero, that is definitely too cold.” RICK DELANEY, Belknap - “When it is below zero, that’s too cold for me.” ROD HART, Thompson Falls - “I believe about 31 or 32 below zero, because anything below that starts to damage the lungs.” THAILA BONNEY, Trout Creek - “It would be too cold for me to go outside when I have to bundle up in layers and it’s almost to the negatives.” JOELLE MAYFIELD, Thompson Falls - “When th...
In continuing with efforts of the Thompson Falls Police Department to get the community more active in crime prevention, the department hosted its third neighborhood watch meeting on Monday. The meeting was led by officer Roy Scott, who introduced guest Jennifer McPherson, a Western Montana Mental Health Center prevention specialist for Lincoln and Sanders counties, as well as the vice chairperson for the Sanders County DUI Task Force. During the meeting, McPherson spoke about funds she has...
Ambulance: Hot Springs, 3; Plains, 9; T. Falls, 8; Paradise, 1; Noxon, 3; Dixon, 1 Sunday, February 7 Road hazard/blockage, Heron. Fire, Hot Springs. Nuisance complaints, Paradise. Animal other, Heron. Coroner called, Plains. Assist motorist/citizen, T. Falls. Suspicious activity, T. Falls. Monday, February 8 Informational case, Plains. Trespass, Paradise. Automated alarm call, Hot Springs. Animal other, T. Falls. Informational case, Plains. Assault, T. Falls. Motor vehicle crash, Plains. Tuesday, February 9 Assist miscellaneous, Plains....
Montana Highway Patrol Paul Williamson, 79, failure to yield, $45. Robert Meyer, 43, seatbelt violation, $20. Emery Kinsinger, 23, seatbelt violation, $20 Gary Bradley, 17, seatbelt violation, $20. Emery Kinsinger, 23, night speeding, $70. Charles Wilkerson, 41, driving while suspended, $285. Kyle Burbach, 29, open container, $75; careless driving, $85. Carson Christensen, 19, day speeding, $70. Cheryl Jackson, 72, day speeding, $70. Sanders County Sheriff’s Office Arnold Tikka, 20, shooting from across road, $135. Barry Leaf, 74, day s...
Amtrak says they will work with Big Sky Passenger Rail Authority and act as a conduit in the effort to bring back passenger rail service to southern Montana. In the Rail Authority’s second-ever meeting at the end of January, Amtrak offered their support to make the idea of passenger rail service happen. Rob Eaton, Amtrak Director of Government Affairs, cautioned and encouraged the Rail Authority as they continue working towards their initial steps of bringing rail passengers across the state from Wibaux to Sanders County. “It’s going to be a...
February is not only for Valentine's Day celebrations. It is also "I Love to Read" month. Noxon Elementary School teachers commemorated the theme last Thursday by dressing up as their favorite book characters. Teachers in grades pre-kindergarten through fifth collaborated to dress the parts of Laura Numeroff's "If You..." series. Meanwhile, "Students were dressed up as popular story characters such as Pete the Cat, Ladybug Girl, Elsa, and Calvin from Calvin and Hobbes to name a few," shared...
The Plains and Paradise Senior Center was challenged by COVID-19 this last year to continue serving the senior citizens of Sanders County. Despite these challenges, home delivered meals continued without interruption. According to the center, sit-down meals were discontinued but grab-and-go meals were implemented. Income is down considerably, while expenses remain approximately the same. The Plains Paradise Senior Center is asking for the community’s help. Last year they discovered the air conditioner needed to be replaced and the cost will b...
Patricia Kazmierczak, 80, of Thompson Falls, passed away on Sunday, February 7, 2021, after a short illness. She leaves behind a rich tradition of love and laughter for all who knew and loved her. Pat was born November 18, 1940, in Pomeroy, Washington, the daughter of Anna and Edward Klavano. She grew up in Pomeroy on the family farm and graduated from Pomeroy High School. She met her husband Ron while he was a student at the University of Montana. They later married in Aberdeen, Washington....
March 23, 1945 – February 9, 2021 Frank Hayden Owens was born on March 23, 1945 in Townsend, Montana, to Gomer and Lois Owens. He was the youngest of three children. The family moved to White Sulphur Springs, Montana, while Frank was in elementary school, where he was raised alongside his sister Mary Jane and brother Jim until graduating high school in 1963. Frank spent summers of his teenage years logging in the mountains with his dad. It was there he developed a life-long love and a...
SOLUTIONS ACROSS 1. IBM 4. CHOSEN 10. SEI 11. MADAME 12. CT 14. LAR 15. RIMU 16. HELENA 18. ROILING 22. ACETIC 23. YUCATAN 24. THYSELF 26. CS 27. TERA 28. EIRA 30. EMIR 31. MAM 34. SNARE 36. SSR 37. OPEC 39. ATAR 40. LASE 41. TL 42. YESHIVA 48. ACANTHI 50. CHASED 51. RESTART 52. TERMED 53. ARUI 54. ILL 55. PS 56. BUSMEN 58. NBE 59. PRISSY 60. GYM SOLUTIONS DOWN 1. ISLETS 2. BEANIE 3. MIRACLES 4. CM 5. HARRY CARAY 6. ODIOUS 7. SAMIC 8. EMULATE 9. NE 12. CHAT 13. TECH 17. LEY 19. ITEMS 20. NARIS...
by Ed Moreth Clark Fork Valley Hospital has two new full-time medical professionals, although one is no stranger to local patients. Physician Assistant Randy Mack has lived in Plains since 2002, when he first started at the hospital's Plains Family Medicine office, a job he held for 12 years before he left to show his medical proficiency in Hawaii and Washington. However, Mack returned to the Clark Fork Valley Hospital system in January, now working at Hot Springs Family Medicine. New to the...
Ben Williams has been working construction for over 20 years and has lived around the country. Originally from Washington, he moved to the Thompson Falls area when he was young and grew up in the area. His father owned a construction company locally, and Williams grew up in the trade. "I guess you could say the first time I swung a hammer was the first time I could hold one," said Williams. Recently, Williams, with his wife Mary, moved back to the area after living away for several years, and...
Even with the weather in single digits, at least 180 riders showed up last Saturday to participate in the Cabinet Ridge Riders (CRR) annual snowmobile fun run. According to Alexis Dean, secretary for CRR, they may have lost a few people to the cold, but it was still an impressive turnout. She said that generally the event attracts anywhere from 150 to well over 200 people. This was CRR's 30th year holding this event. The Poker Run was hosted at the Lakeside Motel, where participants showed up...
The Montana House of Representatives has approved two bills seeking to expand the season and methods by which Montanans can trap the state's gray wolf population. Rep. Paul Fielder, R-Thompson Falls, a wildlife biologist of 31 years, sponsored both measures and introduced them to the full House during a floor session Wednesday. House Bill 224 would allow trappers licensed in Montana to also use snares to trap wolves. Fielder said the measure would help keep wolf populations down in the state....
Those refuse-to-lose Blues, better known as the Thompson Falls Lady Hawks. Faced with a serious challenge from Bigfork on their own court Saturday, the Lady Hawks simply would not let the game go, and stayed with it to the end in fighting off the visiting Vals 60-53. Although the final score was fairly close, the Lady Hawks were never really in danger of losing after having built a lead of as many as 18 points early in the fourth quarter. Bigfork junior Emma Berreth did her best to keep the...
Until we meet again then. Hoping for another shot at the Bigfork Vikings in the next few weeks, the Thompson Falls Blue Hawk boys fell to those Vikings 67-60 Saturday in the de facto District 7B championship in Thompson Falls Saturday. Since the Hawks had defeated Bigfork in Bigfork earlier this season by only six points, the Vikings' 7-point win was one-point good enough to give Bigfork the tie-breaker, meaning the Vikings will be the No. 1 District 7B seed and the Hawks No. 2 into the Western...
By the time you read this, the District 14C boys and girls tournament semifinals will be set. The 14C boys and girls tournaments are to be played entirely remotely later this week, with the higher seeds hosting. Opening each tournament with first round games played at the higher seeds’ school Tuesday night, the results of those games were not available at press time this week. The semifinals are set to be played Thursday, loser-out games will be contested Friday and the consolations and championships will be on Saturday. If necessary, c...
