Thursday, January 20
Daniel J. 'Mick' Doyle
POLSON — Daniel J. "Mick" Doyle, 88, of Polson, died Jan. 16, 2005, at Evergreen Health & Rehab Facility in Polson.
Kent A. Pederson
POLSON — Kent A. Pederson, 59, of Polson, died Jan. 13, 2005, at Evergreen Health and Rehab. Center, Polson. Cremation has taken place and a memorial service may be announced later.
Orville S. Solberg
POLSON — A memorial service for Orville S. Solberg, 77, will be held Jan. 22 at 4 .m. in the New Life Christian Center.
Water-rights meetings prove to be contentious
POLSON — Last week's water-rights meeting had all the elements one has come to expect in this issue — unsure Realtors, skeptical ranchers, angry property-rights proponents — and two state and one Tribal representative in the middle of it all, trying to address the myriad of questions and concerns surrounding the proposed interim agreement.
Pirates top 'A' school at Rocky Mountain Classic
The Polson Pirates wrestling squad returned home rather victorious after last weekend's Jug Beck Rocky Mountain Classic, in which the team finished tied for third out of 21 schools, and beating out a number of AA schools in and out of state.
Josephine Virginia Miller
POLSON — Josephine Virginia Miller, 86, of Polson died Wednesday, Jan. 12, 2005, at St. Joseph Hospital in Polson.
Wilderness is a wonderful thing
Roger Sherman and Daphne Herling, Montana Wilderness Association
Move to Senate was good transition
John Brueggeman,
Phyllis Yvonne Clairmont
POLSON — Phyllis Yvonne Clairmont, 65, of Polson died Jan. 12, 2005, at St. Luke Extended Care Facility in Ronan.
Wellhead protection plan passes
POLSON — City council members approved a wellhead protection plan Tuesday night, capping a comment period in which some residents expressed concern that the plan reduced protection of the city's water supply instead of providing more.
Education is a top priority
Jeanne Windham
Students chair the arts
POLSON — Cherry Valley Elementary School students gaped as they looked at the finished products from their Art Docent program — painted chairs in the style of famous artists.
Maidens' perfect season ends with loss to Bigfork
RONAN — Perfection was fleeting for the Maidens after their conference-opening victory against Whitefish on Friday ran their record to 7-0. Yet it was Bigfork's free-throw shooting and zone defense that proved too much the next night as the Vals eked out a 48-44 win versus Ronan.
Vikings pull out last-second win over Eagles
Craig Moore
Holding down spending will not be easy
Janna Taylor, House District 11
Louise Ellen Church
POLSON — Louise Ellen Church, 87, of Polson, died Jan. 10, 2005, at St. Luke Extended Care in Ronan.
Thursday, January 13
Michael Eugene Cote, Jr.
May 12, 1977-Jan. 6, 2005
John D. Malinak
HOT SPRINGS — John D. Malinak, 78, of Hot Springs died Jan. 6, 2005, at the Clark Fork Valley Hospital.
Lady Pirates drop Vals but have trouble with 'Dogs
POLSON - The Lady Pirates held off a surging Bigfork team last Thursday to get the 49-46 win, but didn't have enough gas in the tank to beat Whitefish, going 1-1 in conference play for the week.
Density map comment period extended until May
Ethan Smith
Community support
The news was devastating — more than 150,000 dead after an earthquake and resulting tsunamis struck different Asian countries, India, and parts of Africa. Even to journalists accustomed to dealing with issues of human tragedy, the number is staggering.
Letters
Computer virus bugged Cruisers' ad
Community raises $4,500 for tsunami victims
POLSON — Hundreds of folks turned out to raise money for tsunami victims at the Lake City Bakery and Eatery last Saturday evening, generating almost $4,500 on behalf of victims from last month's tragedy.
Lillian Mae Jones
McCLEARY, Wash. — Former Polson resident Lillian Mae Jones died of natural causes Oct. 26, 2004, in her home in McCleary.
Ronan parents express concern over athletes' fate
RONAN — Frustrated parents and emotional speeches punctuated Monday night's Ronan School Board meeting where several people expressed their concern over recent high school students' suspensions.
Pirates prove their poise
RONAN — Polson dominated the competition at last weekend's Ronan Wrestling Invitational as the Pirates tune up for the Missoula Classic this Friday. None of their duals were close as Polson used the meet as an opportunity to get mat time for their wrestlers.
Russell Gordon Feightner
POLSON — Russell Gordon Feightner, 49, of Polson, a mountain man, and a beloved son of God, died in his sleep, Jan. 5, 2005.
Cameras really have changed in 50 years
While looking at the pictures in the 2004 pictorial review section, I thought about the different generations of cameras I've used over the years.
Two Eagle boys pick up first win
LINCOLN — Coach Rob Bird and his Eagles picked up their first win on the road as the Two Eagle boys defeated Lincoln 93-88 last Saturday.
Donald William Stephen
POLSON — Donald William Stephen 68, of Polson died Sunday, Jan. 2, 2005, after a sudden illness.
Wednesday, January 5
Booze fuels county's vehicle crash rate
When it comes to drinking and driving, Montana is one of the worst states in the country, and Lake County drivers aren't doing much to help that.
Grover F. Botkin
Grover F. Botkin, 80, died on Sunday, Dec. 12, 2004.
Donald W. Stephen
POLSON — Donald W. Stephen, 68 of Polson died of natural causes Sunday, Jan. 2, at St. Patrick Hospital in Missoula.
Polson wrestlers top Columbia Falls
Casey Dunn
Chiefs top Hamilton, 68-65
Craig Moore
Letters to the editor
People too easily relinquish rights to High Court
Kenneth Gale Noland
BILLINGS — Kenneth Gale Noland, 70, former Ronan resident, died Dec. 23, 2004, after a courageous decade long struggle against rheumatoid arthritis.
Donors come through for Boy Scouts
POLSON — Talk about coming down to the wire …
Supreme Court gives HD 12 race to Windham
After a tie vote, weeks of suspense, three recounts, an earlier Supreme Court refusal to hear the case, a district court decision upholding the recount board's decision and, finally, the Supreme Court's overturning the district court's findings, Democrat Jeanne Windham of Polson is the House District 12 Representative.
Earl Dale Gierke
POLSON — Earl Dale Gierke, 83, of Polson died on Dec. 28, 2004, at St. Joseph Hospital, Polson.
Legislators must allocate wisely
Last Monday was a very interesting day at the Legislature. I started at 8 a.m., more than four hours before I was sworn in. The early meeting was a joint House Appropriations and Senate Finance Committee. Wisely, the State Constitution requires the legislature to balance the budget. Meeting every other year, we need to propose a budget for the next biennium. We compare the budgets prepared by the Legislative Fiscal Division, the previous administration, and that of our new governor. When we've decided how much we can spend, we have to decide how to best use our money. Only it's not quite that easy. But I asked for the Appropriation Committee. I promised the voters of House District 11 that I would make sure that our tax money is spent wisely.
Frank J. Charette
ST. IGNATIUS — Frank J. Charette, 85, Jan, 2, 2005, at St. Luke Hospital in Ronan from a massive heart attack.
Rev. John Dutzar
POLSON — Memorial services with military honors were held Dec. 30 in the First Presbyterian Church of Polson for the Rev. John Dutzar, 89, who died at Sacred Heart Hospital in Spokane, Dec. 27, 2004.
