Ellington

Commissioners approve pay raise

POLSON - A continuation of a meeting on elected county officials compensation last Wednesday brought a recommendation from the county compensation board to increase longevity pay for elected officials to two percent, retroactive to 2005, and give a base wage raise of .50-cents per hour. Two commissioners of three need to vote in favor of the recommendation to pass it, but with Chairman Chuck Whitson absent, Commissioners Paddy Trusler and Bill Barron decided to wait on an official vote.

Streetscape update, week seven

After seven weeks of construction, streetscape has made its way down Main Street in Polson. Here is an update as of week seven:

Ronan PD investigating suspicious activity around Ronan schools

Over the past two weeks the Ronan Police Department has been investigating two separate and unrelated incidents of suspicious activity related to possible child abductions around Ronan Schools. At this time both cases appear to legitimate contacts and not an attempt to abduct any children.

RTC receives grant

RONAN - A local company recently received a big chunk of change to revolutionize the way Northwest Montana receives, uses and pays for high-speed Internet connections.

Milner earns recognition

POLSON — Lieutenant Colonel Christopher W. Milner, a 1986 graduate of Polson High School, received the Air Force Commendation medal (second Oak Leaf Cluster) for outstanding achievement. The son of Peggy and Clao Milner, of Polson, distinguished himself by outstanding achievement as Director of Lessons Learned, United States Air Forces Central, Air Force Forces, Al Udeid Air Base, Qatar. During this period, Lt. Col. Milner provided exceptional leadership and direction to the Lessons Learned program. His vision resulted in the development of the first ever Unites States Air Forces Central Annual Lessons Learned Collection Plan increasing the ability of the Lessons Learned office to meet the commander’s requirements in a more predictable manner.

Through the lens

POLSON - Drawing on his character qualities of patience and persistence, as well as his spirit of adventure and physical might, wildlife photographer Eugene Beckes has spent countless hours exploring the Mission Mountain wilderness. He said he can sit for hours, camouflaged, in a remote place, waiting for the light and the creatures to reveal themselves to his lens.

What is your favorite fall activity?

What is your favorite fall activity?

Single vehicle accident kills one

DAYTON — A Dayton man died Thursday morning in a single-vehicle accident on U.S. Highway 93.

Community notes, Sept. 23

Thursday, Sept. 23

Senior news, Sept. 23

St. Ignatius senior center

Law enforcement and court records, Sept. 23

Lake County District Court, Judge McNeil presiding

Moving Forward

Chief's corner

Births, Sept. 23

Gage Hasselmann

Letters to the editor, Sept. 23

*Editor’s note: The Lake County Leader welcomes letters to the editor. However, writers should limit contributions to 500 words and must include their signature, address and phone number for verification.

Irrigating woes,with miles to go...

This month marks the end of the irrigation season and according to Gordon Wind, project manager for the Flathead Indian Irrigation Project, there will be no more water orders approved from now on. As things wind down, Wind and assistant project manager Pete Plant will begin to ramp up on an ongoing list of maintenance projects and repairs.

Driver pleads not guilty in fatal crash

POLSON - A man accused of driving his car off a cliff into the Flathead River and killing his two passengers in April appeared in District Court last Thursday to respond to two counts of negligent homicide.

Ernst enters not guilty plea in murder case

POLSON — A man facing a felony charge in connection with the 2005 murder of Harold Mitchell appeared in Lake County District Court last Wednesday.

Starkey fourth among region's best

MISSOULA - Hundreds of runners from across the Pacific Northwest gathered at the 2010 Mountain West Classic last Saturday in Missoula and a freshman from Polson nearly led them all. Aja Starkey finished fourth (17:59.27) and helped lead the Lady Pirates to 10 place. Three more Polson girls placed in the top 70 to get a big boost in scoring.

Towns collide

Arlee and Charlo battle for conference supremacy and county

Lake County golfers ready for divisionals

LAKE COUNTY — Golf is normally a leisurely sport, but things are starting to ratchet up for the Ronan and Polson high school teams. Divisionals in Ronan on Saturday are looming ahead for many area golfers, some who could make big splashes in the conference.

Mission gets its revenge

ST. IGNATIUS - Mission wanted revenge.

Sickness nips Ronan

RONAN — The sickness bug hit the Ronan Maidens (1-2) last week as eight girls were out with sickness, causing head coach Naomi Mock to make some adjustments to the team’s rotation in their Thursday night home against Whitefish.

Arlee wins two

ST. REGIS — The Arlee volleyball team (4-1 overall, 2-0 conf.) had a little extra motivation on Friday against St. Regis, as they wanted to be able to make it back in time to catch the Arlee-Charlo football game. The Scarlets went to work, winning 3-0 and getting the early bus ride back home that they wanted with 25-17, 25-16, 25-10 game wins.

Soccer roundup

WHITEFISH — The Polson Pirates (1-0-1 conf., 1-3-1 overall) haven’t played matches for the faint of heart.

Ronan passes by Corvallis

RONAN — The Ronan Chiefs (2-2) received a nice pick-me-up tonic before moving into conference play next week.

Lady Pirates fight for two wins

STEVENSVILLE — It wasn’t easy, but the Polson Lady Pirates (3-0, overall, 2-0 conf.) gutted out a road win 25-13, 25-20, 21-25, 28-26 over Stevensville on Tuesday night, 3-1, after losing the third game and giving some of the momentum away to the Yellowjackets.

Lake County sports roundup

Charlo improves to 6-0

Awareness hits classrooms

LAKE COUNTY - Students from school districts across the Flathead Indian Reservation will participate in Native American Awareness activities this week, and some events are also free and open to the public.

Class shows safety first

ARLEE - Educators and community members from across the Mission Valley gathered in Arlee last week to learn the ins and outs of bicycle safety in a two-day, plus four hours on-line, training workshop.

Home of: Denver Holt

CHARLO - He might be well known locally for his annual "Hat Party" fundraiser, but Denver Holt's Owl Research Institute in Charlo has garnered him and his colleagues international acclaim as leaders in researching the bird.

SKC welcomes new leader

PABLO - Amid applause, standing ovations, speeches and smiles, Dr. Luana Ross became the third president in Salish Kootenai College's 32-year history.

Corridor study focuses on future

POLSON — Jeff Key, a transportation planner with the firm CDM in Helena, spoke to a packed house at the Polson City Library meeting room last Thursday night. Key came to town for the first of several community involvement meetings regarding the Polson-area corridor and transportation studies, which will be ongoing from now until next July.

MVAS raises money after theft

POLSON — The Mission Valley Animal Shelter raised more than $3,800 at the Doggy Dash last weekend in Polson, but unfortunately, those donations will now go to off-set a break-in and robbery at the shelter’s thrift store, Seconds 2 Go, last Wednesday night.

(New) Home of: Lindsey Matkovich and Brittany Northrup

POLSON - As Lake County says goodbye to vacationers and visitors alike, the Lake County Leader says hello to two new faces in our office.

Peace Fest

Ronan football vs. Butte Central

Last festival of the summer: Dayton Daze

DAYTON — One of summer's final celebrations occurred last Saturday as hundreds came out to enjoy the 19th annual Dayton Daze.

Letters to the editor, Sept. 16

Green party walk

Ahh, progress

Among other things

Polson BOE learns about lunch and high school roof

POLSON — If the only complaint about school lunch is the long line, something is being done right.

Ronan city council increases water rates

RONAN — Citizens voiced heated opinions at a well-attended public hearing on increased water rates that preceded the regularly scheduled city council meeting Monday night.

Polson city council axes overtime

POLSON — For the upcoming fiscal year, City of Polson workers will see a wage freeze. Along with that freeze, will be an overtime freeze where no worker will be able to work overtime in order to balance the 2010-11 final budget.

Law enforcement and court records, Sept. 16

Lake County District Court, Judge McNeil presiding

Births, Sept. 16

Emmy Walhood

Community notes, Sept. 16

Thursday, Sept. 16

Senior news, Sept. 16

Ronan Senior Center

Fitzpatrick's fun ride

RONAN — Payton Fitzpatrick got an early run in the 2010 Miniature Bull Riding Association Finals last Saturday in Ronan and made the most of it. The 15-year old was able to score 69 points on the bull Hotwire and had enough points in the MBRA standings to qualify for the Northwest Regionals.

Mission CC takes third

EUREKA — Starting a new cross-country program, you might expect Mission to have some growing pains in establishing a good group of runners. However, after last Friday at the Eureka invitational, it seems that they’ve skipped that step.

Mission volleyball keeps streak alive

Lady Bulldogs unbeaten in three-straight conference matchups

Arlee cools off Hot Springs

ARLEE — Teams want to be playing their best when rivals come to town and the Arlee (2-0 overall, 1-0 conference) volleyball team looked especially dominating last Thursday night at home against Hot Springs (1-0, 1-1). After working out some early nerves, the Scarlet’s handed the Savage Heat a 3-0 defeat, winning 25-12, 25-11, 25-11.

Charlo likes turf

RONAN - The already speedy Charlo Vikings got a big boost when they played on the turf at Ronan last Saturday against the Ronan JV team. Senior quarterback Chico Stipe scored the Vikings first two touchdowns on runs as the Vikings jumped out to a 27-0 lead in the first en route to a 57-6 victory.

Tournament throws challenge at Charlo

PHLLIPSBURG — Charlo volleyball’s team motto is “hard work, trust, respect and discipline” and head coach Sheryl Kain wants to see a little more of that from her team after the Phillipsburg tournament last Saturday.

Road trip for TER

ST. REGIS —Two Eagle River had a strong second match but lost 3-0 at St. Regis last Thursday, 25-6, 25-15, 25-1.

Field size hurts Polson

BELGRADE - While three loses are not the way Polson head coach Jess Kittle would like to start the season, there are some very promising things that he has seen so far.

Flathead Invitational round up

KALISPELL - Several Lake County runners placed high during the Flathead Invitational last Saturday in Kalispell. Despite having competition from several AA schools, Ronan and Polson both had stars on the course. Polson freshman Aja Starkey once again proved to be a prodigy, finishing second with a time of 18:59

Lady Pirates tie

LIVINGSTON — With junior defender Jamie Young going down with an ankle injury in the Lady Pirates (1-2-1) game against Park on Saturday, Polson head coach Michael Hewston needed somebody to step up.

Maidens excel at Tip-off

COLUMBIA FALLS — Ronan is showing they’re one of the better volleyball teams in the conference after a strong performance in the Tip-off tournament last weekend in Columbia Falls. They finished second in the Northwest A standings for pool play just behind Polson as the teams from the north faced the teams from the Southwest A conference.

Arlee falls to Drummond

DRUMMOND — The defending Class C state champions handed Arlee (1-1) their first loss of the season, defeating the Warriors last Friday 26-6.

Bagnell has big night

POLSON - Polson (3-0) won their first game through the air and their second on the ground. For their third game, defense and some late-game heroics were instrumental in a 14-3 win over Hamilton last Friday night.

Arlee CC runs together

The Arlee cross country team got off to a blazing start with a strong showing at the Lincoln Invitational last Thursday.

Polson takes first

COLUMBIA FALLS— Polson head coach Jan Toth used the Tip-off Tournament in Columbia Falls last weekend to make some adjustments.

Sports briefs, Sept. 16

If you have a sports note you’d like to see in briefs, please send an e-mail to sports@leaderadvertiser.com.

Mission falls to Troy

TROY - Down 16-0 after the first quarter Friday night against Troy, it would have been easy for the Mission Bulldogs to roll over and play dead. Instead, the team came roaring back with two touchdown runs by Dylan Evans and cut things to 16-13.

Fireboard sees six new apps

POLSON — Six new applicants hoping to become volunteer firefighters was some good news Chief John Fairchild had for the Polson Rural Fire Board during its monthly meeting last Wednesday evening.

News briefs, Sept. 16

Duryee reinstated

Mastering the mountain

I've always believed the best adventures begin before you have time to think them all the way through. My boyfriend, Mike, would disagree.

VIDEO: Peace fest

ARLEE - A vibrant blue sky was the backdrop for a day dedicated to celebrating peace at the Garden of 1,000 Buddhas in Arlee. Between 600 and 800 people were in attendance for the 6th Annual Peace Festival, an event that strives to look at how spiritual practices and principals can be solutions to social and cultural problems.

Outside painting

POLSON - Painters from Brazil to India - as well as 16 from Polson - participated in the 8th Annual World Wide Paint Out Saturday, according to organizer John Davis.

Military jet joins fly-in

POLSON - Thirteen-year-old Nehemiah O'Connor knows a thing or two about airplanes, but at last Saturday's Polson Fly In, he saw something he had never seen before. A Cold War-era L-29 Dolphin, designed as a military fighter training jet, the very first jet aircraft design of the former Czechoslovakia.

SRT suspended

LAKE COUNTY - The Mission Valley Special Response Team has been suspended indefinitely effective last Wednesday, Lake County Undersheriff Jay Doyle said.

Tribal Health celebrates with open house

POLSON - A few months after opening for service, the brand new Tribal Health Building held an open house last Wednesday for all to explore the interior of the three-story structure on the corner of 1st St. West and Third Ave in Polson.

New gallery in Elmo open

ELMO - The talent has begun to come out of the woodwork in Elmo and artists are showing off their creations at a new gallery in town.

Winning never tasted so good

DAYTON - The Sonoma Valley would be hard pressed to beat the views and atmosphere of the Mission Mountain Winery. And that's not even talking about the vino itself.

Home of: Ron Buzzard

POLSON - Move over John Wayne, there's another cowboy in town.

Hand-crafted masterpieces

POLSON - When Polson artist Martin Mumma looks at a stump or slab of wood, he doesn't see the same thing you or I see. He sees the wood as a potential bowl, a dining room table, or a chair. Sometimes, it takes a long time before the true art form comes alive in his mind, and even more time before it is completely transformed.

Suspect in custody

POLSON - A Kalispell man is in custody as a suspect in two thefts at the Polson Wal-Mart. Timothy Polly, 38, was arrested for theft after witnesses gave a description and license plate number of a vehicle fleeing the scene after the latest incident on Aug. 31. The vehicle allegedly was stolen.

Trail of the 'Big Burn'

Standing at the mouth of a dense forest, Placer Creek rambling by on a cloudless day, it's hard to imagine the scene 100 years prior here in Wallace, Idaho.

Corridor study comes to town

POLSON - A new study by the Montana Department of Transportation (MDT), in cooperation with the Confederated Salish and Kootenai Tribes, Lake County and the City of Polson will seek to determine financially feasible improvement options and safety, environmental and geometric concerns along U.S. Highway 93 near Polson.

Doggy dash for shelter

POLSON - Mission Valley Animal Shelter manager Brenda Jones knows how quickly things can turn for the better. During one very normal day at work, she received a call from a man who said he would give the struggling animal shelter lots of money.

Brent Arthur Wilson sentencing, Part II Sept. 9, 2010

Brent Arthur Wilson sentencing, Part I Sept. 9, 2010

Community notes, Sept. 9

For this week’s full community notes, check out www.leaderadvertiser.com.

In-VINCE-ible

Polson’s junior quarterback Vince DiGiallonardo runs over

Arlee runs to victory

PHILIPSBURG - Arlee is off and running. Specifically, junior running back Zach Tameler is off and running as he had four rushing touchdowns in a 46-20 victory over Philipsburg last Friday.

Canal run opens season

RONAN - It was a series of firsts at the Ronan Canal Bank meet as it was not only the first action of the season for cross country teams, but also the first meet ever for the Mission High School team.

Two Eagle shows improvement

PABLO - The Two Eagle River volleyball team showed signs of growth in their two matches last week and it seems all that hard work in practice is paying off.

Scarlets rally from deficit

ARLEE - It takes toughness and determination for a volleyball team to come back from two sets down, but the Arlee Scarlets (1-0) did just that against Philipsburg last Thursday, winning in five games 3-2.

Mission knocks off Eureka

EUREKA - After finishing undefeated in their home tournament two weeks ago, the Mission Lady Bulldogs (1-1) got a rude awakening, losing to Superior 3-1 in their first game of the season. However, the team bounced back and defeated a tough Eureka team 3-1.

Ronan splits the weekend

RONAN - Ronan (1-1) split their games this weekend, losing to Stevensville 3-1 on Thursday but then winning an important conference match-up against Columbia Falls 3-2 on Friday.

Bulldogs with bite

Mission football wins first game since 2008

Kelley strong for Polson

WHITEFISH - Whitefish is a loud place to play. Polson volleyball head coach Jan Toth knows first hand. She led Whitefish to their first state championship in volleyball in 1989, so you might say that last Thursday's matchup was a bit of a homecoming for her.

Charlo big in first quarter

SEELEY - The 35-point clock in eight-man football is a running clock after one team goes up by 35 points. It's designed to make a game go quicker and lessen the ridiculous number of a blowout by not stopping, regardless of play. Charlo was so good last Friday night, they had the 35-point clock rolling in the first quarter en route to a 60-0 victory over Seeley-Swan.

Soccer roundup

Polson boys’ and girls’ teams learn from first games of the

Lady Vikings take two

DRUMMOND - Charlo turned in a tough performance against Drummond, defeating them 3-1 in a non-conference match last Tuesday on the road. It was such an impressive display that Lady Vikings head coach Sheryl Kain thought that her players looked much better that night than their 3-0 road sweep of Seeley-Swan on Thursday.

Chiefs fall on road

STEVENSVILLE - Stevensville attacked through the air, racking up 312 yards and handed Ronan football their first loss of the season, 37-8. Stevensville used a 22-point third quarter after Ronan had played them closely, going into halftime trailing just 15-8.

Science inspires art, new show

POLSON - If you had stopped by Polson's Sandpiper Art Gallery and Gift Shop last Wednesday afternoon, you never would have believed there was an opening reception slated to take place Friday evening. With bare walls and empty shelves, the gallery was cleaned out from head to toe last weekend because of the possible damage that Main Street construction could have caused to the fragile work.

Home of: Dr. Stephen Irwin

POLSON - When you walk into Dr. Stephen Irwin's office at St. Joseph's Medical Center, you'll get a good idea of his hobbies. A large, stuffed Cape Buffalo head and a Lichtenstein's hartebeest sit in front of his desk. Next to his computer is a photo of Irwin and a leopard he shot in Tanzania, and in his bookcase he has a large book about Teddy Roosevelt.

Combing the county

LAKE COUNTY - It's Friday afternoon, around 5 p.m. An 18-year-old, we'll call him "Bob," walks into a bar, orders a beer and sits down. Not knowing the kid, the bartender asks for his identification. The high school senior reaches into his pocket and pulls out his real ID. After a quick perusal, the bartender opens a bottle of Bud, sets it on the counter and says "$2.50 please."

Births, Sept. 9

Berlin Miah Rae Bird

Law enforcement and court records, Sept. 9

Lake County District Court, Judge

Lake County helps paint the state

LAKE COUNTY - An Aug. 20 ceremony in Helena celebrated the winner's of the "Paint the State" contest, including the top three entries from Lake County.

LCSO Reserve Deputy's poaching case part of broader probe

State investigating other possible violations

Ride the 'Reds'

Among other things

Letters to the editor, Sept. 9

Parade signs

Senior news, Sept. 9

St. Ignatius senior center

Mollman Pass Trail closed

The Division of Fish, Wildlife, Recreation and Conservation has extended the temporary closure to all human use for the entire 3.5 miles of the Mollman Pass Trail in the Mission Mountains Tribal Wilderness (also known as the Mollman Lake trail). On Thursday, Aug. 19, Tribal Game Wardens confirmed a report of dead horses near the trail. Mollman Lake Trail is located east of Kicking Horse Job Corp Center and southeast of Ronan.

2010 Dixon Melon Days

VIDEO: Melons celebrated in Dixon

DIXON - Bumblebees, battling bighorns and cowboys dressed in pink - by all accounts, the Melon Days parade went off without a hitch last Saturday.

Polson knocks off champs

FRENCHTOWN- There's the old adage that experience trumps talent but it didn't hold true last Friday for the Frenchtown Broncs. The fresh-faced Polson Pirates started 16 new players while the defending Class A state champions had 10 returning starters on both sides of the ball.

Charlo rolls to strong start

CHARLO - It was a busy season debut for the Charlo volleyball team as they defeated one of their strongest rivals on Friday, then advanced to the semi-finals of the Drummond volleyball tournament on Saturday.

Mission: accomplished

With starters out due to illness, Lady Bulldogs still go 10-0 in home tournament

What is your favorite summer festival in Lake County?

Catch me if you can

Charlo senior quarterback Chico Stipe looks strong in scrimmage

Bulldogs get set

ST. IGNATIUS - After a tailgate session put on by Mission parents, a crowd of between 50 and 60 people showed up for the Mission Towel Football Scrimmage last Friday in St. Ignatius.

Ronan runs over Browning

BROWNING - Adversity had already hit the Ronan Chiefs by the second quarter of their game against Browning. Two of their running backs were out. They were on the road. Browning was leading 8-6.

Arlee overcomes missing starters

DRUMMOND - Even with three starters missing, the Arlee volleyball team split with Charlo and defeated Alberton during the Drummond volleyball tournament last Saturday.

Sports briefs, Sept. 2

If you have any sports news please send it to sports editor Brandon Hansen at sports@leaderadvertiser.com

Arlee ready for P'burg

ARLEE - Arlee head coach Scott Palmer got a thorough look at his team as they scrimmaged last Friday in preparation for the beginning of the season. It's a good thing, too, as their first opponent, Phillipsburg, is riding high after a 26-24 nail-biting victory against Sheridan last weekend.

Home kind to Pirates

Polson boys and girls finish high atop the leader board for Tri High School meet

New-look Maidens have good weekend

WHITEFISH - Ronan's new volleyball coach Naomi Mock liked what she saw over the weekend during the Whitefish volleyball tournament last Saturday. Her squad went 5-3 and finished second in Pool A of the event.

Polson goes 6-2

WHITEFISH - Polson lost their first game of the Whitefish Volleyball tournament last Saturday and never looked back.

Top (chili) chef

POLSON - A cool, overcast Saturday proved perfect for enjoying plenty of chili during the Rotary Club's Festival for Youth at Riverside Park.

A different type of pet

POLSON - Alligators, eagles and hawks. Oh my.

Pertussis warning

Public health

News briefs, Sept. 2

Duryee on administrative leave

Letters to the editor, Sept. 2

Ronan library thanks

Law enforcement and court records, Sept. 2

Lake County District Court, Judge McNeil presiding

Wild, wild west

Matt Cheff must know everything there is to know about horses, or at least that's the impression my mom, her friends and I had after a two-hour horseback riding adventure with Charlo's Cheff Guest Ranch and Matt Cheff as our guide.

Polson city council hears budget woes

POLSON - In order to keep the budget balanced, each City of Polson department was asked to cut their budget lines, not dealing with personnel, by five percent.

Community notes, Sept. 2

Friday,

Births, Sept. 2

Jewell Lee Reum

Senior news, Sept. 2

St. Ignatius senior center

Shakespeare in the Park, St. Ignatius, Aug. 29, 2010