by Annie Wooden

and Shannon Brown

It's so cold people look forward to getting a fever.

It's so cold I saw a Greyhound bus and the dog was riding on the inside.

It's so cold the sheep want their wool back.

However you put it, it was cold in Sanders County last weekend. While much of the nation last week was under weather alerts, Sanders County experienced the biggest snowstorm of the season followed by some record-breaking cold temperatures.

Schools, athletic events and businesses were affected by the bitter cold. The official coldest temperature last week recorded at the Thompson Falls dam was -22 early Saturday morning. The record coldest temperature for Thompson Falls, according to NOAA, was -26 on January 14, 1972.

On Monday, businesses in Thompson Falls were busy with residents buying heaters, insulation, heat tape and shovels. At Studs in Thompson Falls, staff said last Friday was busy for ice melt, and on Monday they sold more than 20 heaters. Jared Shear at True Value said Monday that the store was busy with people buying heaters, pet beds, boots, hats and gloves.

Last Friday saw most of Sanders County schools closed due to extreme temperatures as the thermometer read -29 in some areas. Blowing winds created colder wind chill and poor driving conditions. Schools in Trout Creek, Noxon and Thompson Falls were closed due to snow and temperatures on Friday. Plains School had already scheduled the day off. On Monday, Trout Creek and Plains closed due to heaters not being able to keep up with the subzero temperatures. "The custodians are working on the classroom heaters to get the temperatures up for comfort. The school board meeting is canceled as well," school board member Ellen Childress said.

"We had some issues with heaters because of low propane but Johnny Thomas from Energy Partners got us up and running. Jared Shear at True Value donated seven space heaters for us to put in the classrooms until we got the propane," Thompson Falls Superintendent Bud Scully said Monday. "Our maintenance guys Trent and Josh have been working to make sure everything else is working, too. So we are doing well and thankful for the great community support."

Dixon school had a scheduled day off Monday, in honor of the Martin Luther King Jr. holiday. School was canceled last Friday.

Sara Dana's horse Henry captures snowflakes on his tongue at their home near Trout Creek.

Hot Springs school canceled elementary classes Monday. "We shut down the elementary classrooms so we can get someone to address the problem we are having with the boiler that heats the classrooms," said Superintendent Gerald Chouinard. "The lunch room is still heated, however. We hope to get it taken care of today (Monday) by an outside vendor from out of town. The teachers will be working remotely but the junior high and high school is still in session."

Noxon schools fared pretty well, according to superintendent Dave Whitesell. "We closed Friday due to the storm and temperatures but we didn't have any serious issues. The heating is electrical so all was good. I was at the school on Saturday and Sunday checking every room. We did lose power last Thursday night," Whitesell said. "The county and state did a fantastic job of keeping the roads cleared and JMAX company did a great job of clearing our parking lots."