Ellington

Will was right

Among Other Things

We’ve run this column before – in 2005 as I recall. But Will Rogers’ comments on national and international affairs made decades ago are so timely today that it seems to be a reasonable way to wind up this sometimes chaotic, confusing and choleric year of 2009 and hopefully create a more reasonable 2010. Admittedly, prospects are challenging as 2010 is an election year!

Obituaries, Dec. 31

Larsen, Lytle, Piedalue, Walker, Hatlin

Online bragging rights

Hunters don’t like to brag about their big kills.

News Briefs

Dec. 31

Lady Bulldogs earn break after busy schedule

EUREKA — After playing four games in five days last week, the Mission girls’ basketball team has eight days to prepare for its next game.

Charlo boys hold strong for win

HOT SPRINGS — Sticking to the game plan paid off for the Charlo boys’ basketball team in its 46-38 win over Hot Springs last Tuesday.

A look back as 2010 begins in Lake County

Year In Review

The first decade of the millennium comes to a close this year. As each year does, 2009 brought joys, smiles and some sorrow to the Mission Valley. Here is the year in review of highlights from the past 52 issues of the Lake County Leader.

Ronan wrestlers end 2009 on a high note

ST. IGNATIUS — The Ronan wrestling team is heading into the new year with two wins.

Letters to the editor

Dec. 31

Births, Dec. 31

Dentler, Jungwirth, Granley, Spotted Eagle, Hammer, Acosta

Warriors drop two duals

ST. IGNATIUS — Arlee junior Cole Rice registered his 100th win last Tuesday when his team took part in duals hosted by St. Ignatius.

Giving back in droves

Each year, Share the Spirit collects gift tags from families across the valley who are in need of a little boost during the holiday season. The tags are distributed to trees to be picked up by anyone who wants to help.

Viking ballers earn three-game winning streak

NOXON — The tables were turned on the Vikings against Noxon last Saturday.

Arlee girls win twice

ST. REGIS — The Arlee girls’ basketball team is getting used to playing on the road. The Scarlets will play six home games while traveling for 12.

Incumbents sweep Tribal Council election

Final tabulations in last Saturdays’  Confederated and Salish Kootenai Tribes Tribal Council election were announced on Wednesday.

Reappraisal mars county budget

LAKE COUNTY — Officials here are saying the effects of the statewide property tax reappraisal process that has angered taxpayers this year have also begun to weigh heavily on Lake County. 

Mission/Charlo stays solid in team competitions

ST. IGNATIUS — The Mission/Charlo wrestling team opened up competition by hosting a five-team dual competition last Tuesday.

Orr hangs himself in prison

UPDATED DEER LODGE — A Polson man convicted of a 2006 murder was found dead in his state prison cell on Saturday.

Ronan sees areas of improvement

POLSON — The Ronan girls’ basketball team was shown right where they are at last weekend in the Tip-off tournament.

Fire board considers starting focus group

POLSON — Todd Crossett, Polson city manager, approached the Polson Rural Fire Board about possibly starting what he called a “stakeholders group” at last week’s monthly meeting.

Community Notes

Dec. 17

BREAKING NEWS Man who killed mother takes own life

Brandon Orr was found guilty of murder in 2006

Brandon Orr, 28, was found hanged in his cell on Saturday evening at the Montana State Prison in Deer Lodge, said Linda Moodry, public/ victims information officer for the MSP.

Polson woman big winner in Mustang raffle

RONAN — Mandy Smith left for a four-day vacation to Las Vegas with dreams of winning big. She had no idea she wouldn’t even need to leave Lake County to hit the biggest payday of them all: a 1967 Ford Mustang Coupe.

Polson doesn't have to pay interest in deck collapse case

POLSON — The Montana Supreme Court last week overturned a Lake County District Court ruling  forced the city of Polson to pay interest in a case involving a man injured after a deck collapsed at a local bar in 2004.

Expo highlights reservation business to-dos

PABLO — When Margo Gray-Proctor visited Pablo Dec. 2, she had a pretty simple message: shaping the Flathead Reservation economically all starts with the people living here.

Chiefs hold annual scrimmage

RONAN — Before the start of the regular season, the Ronan boysl basketball team held its annual Black and Orange scrimmage.

Tribal Council vote Saturday

FLATHEAD RESERVATION — Voters around the reservation will have a chance to cast their votes for several Tribal Council seats during the general election this Saturday, Dec. 12. Polls will stay open from 8 a.m. to 8 p.m.

Thompson still loves it

CHARLO — The day Bret Thompson wakes up in the morning and doesn’t want to go to basketball practice, he won’t.

Soups On offers free lunch, smiles and more

POLSON — After attendance at free Friday community dinners around Polson ballooned this year, the hunt was on to organize another meal option to help cover the growing needs of anyone struggling to make ends meet.

Area animal crossing featured in documentary

PABLO — There have always been jokes about why an animal, usually a chicken, crossed the road.

Obituaries, Dec. 10

Stockhill, Plank, Mays, Johns, Fiddler, Yancy, Burau, Stasso, Miller

Polson and Ronan all-state and all-conference football selections

LAKE COUNTY — Class A football coaches recognized the top 64 players as all-state.

Ronan gets first win at first meet

LIBBY — The Ronan wrestling team started its season off on the right foot.

Bulldog wrestlers begin season

POLSON — Last weekend was all about gaining experience for the Mission/Charlo wrestling team.

Groups divided on Condon move

SEELEY-SWAN — With an audience of the Lake County and Missoula County commissioners, residents of Condon argued both sides of the heated debate surrounding the proposed secession of the town from Missoula County to Lake County last Thursday evening.

Property tax troubles continue

Do you understand all about property taxes in Montana? It is so confusing, and the blame in editorials and articles from our governor and the bill sponsors do not help.

Births, Dec. 10

Sandford, Blood-Hando, Hunstman, Brookman, Gohl

Community Notes

Dec. 10

Papa Dons opts out of city lease

POLSON — Papa Don’s owner Stephanie Clement told the Polson City Commissioners on Monday that the restaurant would not be renewing its lease with the city.

Letters to the editor

Dec. 10

Saturday voting sounds good

The polls will be open for 12 hours (8 a.m. to 8 p.m.) on Saturday for the Confederated Salish and Kootenai Tribes Tribal Council general elections.

Ronan adjusting to new coaching staff

RONAN — To start the season, the Ronan girls basketball team opened with its annual Black and Orange scrimmage.

AIDS awareness saves lives

    World AIDS Day 2009 in Montana

Pirates fourth at home tourney

POLSON — The Pirates hosted the Polson Invitational last weekend where it took fourth place, four points above fifth-place Corvallis.

Polson Parade of Lights

Brave souls Devlin Forbert, left, and Madison Hunter, in blue, wow the crowd at the Polson Parade of Lights this past Saturday. The Polson High School juniors were riding on a portion of the Three Dog Down float, and said they weren’t too cold. Holiday lights cut through the cold on Saturday night as the brave lined the streets to watch Polson’s annual Parade of Lights. The story throughout the area had been the record lows, but still more than 15 floats glided down the streets to celebrate the season. Most were decorated with outdoor lights. Stopping at Main Street near Glacier Bank, Santa and Mrs. Klaus helped light the town tree. Then, they handed out goody bags and took pictures with children. Due to technical difficulties, popcorn was not available. The Leader and Montana Ace apologize for the inconvenience. The parade was put on by the Leader. Float winners were: First place: Skyliner 4x4 club; second place: Three Dog Down; third place: Finley Point Fire Dept.

Yoga: An alternative to the treadmill

During the summer, there are ample opportunities to get a good work out in. Running, biking and anything outdoors is available.

Ronan parks get boost

RONAN — Receiving a $1,250 check is just another major piece of the puzzle for Jennifer Rolfsness. The director of the city of Ronan Parks and Recreation Department, Rolfsness accepted the money on behalf of the department at last Thursday’s Ronan Area Chamber of Commerce meeting.

WEB EXTRA Ronan girls' basketball

The preceding season for the Ronan Maidens is one they would like to put behind them.  While they were competitive in several games during the schedule, they couldn’t quite close the door on opponents when they held a narrow lead.  In other contests where they were able to pull within reach, they couldn’t secure those timely baskets to get over the hump.   But when it is all said and done after a season that fell shy of higher expectations, they can all say they played against Stanford-bound and prospective future NCAA All-American Joslyn Tinkle when they took the court against two-time Class AA state  champion Missoula Big Sky.

Plates overflow in Ronan

RONAN — More than 100 volunteers put the “giving” back in Thanksgiving during last Thursday’s Ronan Community Thanksgiving Dinner at the Community Center.

WEB EXTRA Polson girls' basketball

Last season the Polson Lady Pirates  (5-5 conf., 10-12 overall) finished fourth in conference at the end of  the regular season, but moved up a notch when they captured third at divisionals.  Highlights included dealing Columbia Falls their only conference loss over the protesting arms of the twin tower DeWit sisters.  After an opening round loss to Whitefish at divisional,  the Lady Pirates redeemed themselves by squeezing by Libby by a mere point, though at the cost of losing senior guard Cali Hislop to a torn ACL.  That set up a rematch with Whitefish and another chance to shut down conference scoring leader Kate Klundt, who had burned them for 32 points in the first contest.  The Lady Pirates prevailed the second time round, applying better defense which held Klundt to less than half  her total from that first meeting, thereby netting  Polson the consolation championship.  That victory set up a challenge game against the multi-talented Bigfork Valkyries for the right to go to state,  the purple and gold falling short to end their postseason run.

Festive events fill calendar

The hustle and bustle that is the holiday season will kick into high gear this weekend.

WEB EXTRA Polson boys' basketball

Last season the Polson Pirates finished third in their conference regular season (5-5 conf, 11-11 overall).  Highlights included a narrow sweep of Columbia Falls, but several games on both sides of the ledger happened to be barn burners that weren’t decided until the waning moments.   At divisional the Pirates successfully advanced through the first two rounds, squeezing by the higher seeded Libby by a mere point to make the championship, where the Columbia Falls Wildcats came out on top as division champs.   That loss opened the door for a challenge game in which Whitefish usurped the Pirates for the right to go to state, the balance being ever so close to tipping in Polson‘s favor had the shot by Waylon Michel in the waning seconds been able to split the net instead of rim out.

Home of: Birdie Raze

Birdie Raze has well over 500 grandchildren, ranging from elementary schoolers to high schoolers. That large number isn’t all blood-related relatives though. Raze has been a foster grandparent at Linderman Elementary School in Polson for more than eight years, adding more and more friends to her stable of “grandchildren.”

Wonderful choices to be made

Christmas ‘82. We are rewinding the editorial tape this week.

Boys basketball gears up

LAKE COUNTY — With the start of the boy’s basketball season  on Saturday, each coach was sent a survey asking about their team and upcoming season. Following are the surveys received by the Leader:

Community Notes

Dec. 3

Lady Bison drop holiday game

PABLO — The Salish Kootenai College women’s basketball team ended November with a 96-71 loss to Williston State College.

What to expect in Justice Court

For those caught speeding on Montana Highway 35, or driving under the influence of alcohol on U.S. Highway 93, they can expect to meet Judge Chuck Wall in Justice Court.

2009 Turkey Trot Race Results

POLSON — More than 200 runners made some extra room for their Thanksgiving feasts on Thursday morning and braved the thick fog for the 2009 Polson Running Turkey Trot.

New wrestling season begins

LAKE COUNTY — With the beginning of the wrestling season on Saturday, each coach was sent a survey asking about their team and upcoming season. Following are the surveys received by the Leader: