Year in Review: Part II
The saga continues... follow along as we recount the good, the bad and the unique Mission Valley news stories that made headlines this past year.
May
May 5 - After two and a half days of matches and a whole lot of winning, the Ronan Robotics Team made Montana history when it won the FIRST FTC World Championship. Polson’s Salish Point Committee kicked off a new fundraising campaign with hopes to raise $190,000 for the building of a new pier. A 24-year-old Polson woman pleaded innocent to allegedly trying to steal a painkiller patch off a hospital patient. Charlo schools enacted a participation fee, a flat sum students pay once a year to attend school events, in addition to the already established activity fee. Volunteers met in Polson for the first annual Clean Up! Green Up! event. Over 70 local elementary and middle school students performed “The Travails of Mother Goose” at the Ronan Performing Arts Center. In world news, Osama Bin Laden was killed.
May 12 - Community volunteers for the 18th Annual Ag Day event once again gave area fourth graders exposure to the agriculture industry and promoted environmental stewardship. Artists in Ronan put on the Third Annual Starving Artists Show with profits benefiting Safe Harbor. A St. Ignatius man pleaded guilty to the intent to distribute dangerous drugs, for the second time, after an April 2009 drug bust by local law enforcement. Two newly-elected Polson School Board trustees took their seats amid ongoing and controversial budget talks. Polson’s Farmer’s Market kicked off its 2011 season under warm sunshine. Mission Valley communities celebrated spring with the Third Annual Bike Path Appreciation Day in Pablo. A man armed with a handgun allegedly robbed the Gray Wolf Casino in Evaro and left with an undisclosed amount of money. Singers and dancers descended on the 31st Annual Kicking Horse Job Corps Powwow in Ronan.
May 19 - Two Eagle River School’s annual Art Slam offered students an outlet for personal expression. Lake County third and fourth graders celebrated Mother Earth’s plenty at the annual River Honoring on the banks of the Lower Flathead River. County commissioners issued a disaster declaration because of high waters and the increasing risks of a countywide flooding emergency. The Women 4 Wellness Fair took place in Pablo, offering women a number of health-related tests and information. Polson elementary students walked 1,948.2 miles to raise funds for the Polson Elementary Parent Teacher Organization. Polson’s city manager Todd Crossett was rehired for another two-year term by a 6-1 vote at the Polson City Council meeting. A grizzly bear was killed in Ronan after the 2-year-old female allegedly killed the landowner’s chickens. Community members gathered at the Yellow Bay Clubhouse for the annual Cherry Blossom Festival. The CSKT and reservation community honored Ronan Marine Tomy Parker with the Warrior’s Medal of Valor.
May 26 - State prosecutors dismissed criminal charges against Nathan Ross and Nigel Ernst, two men accused of killing Harold Mitchell Jr., an elderly St. Ignatius man, in 2005. Polson board of educators passed the district’s budget, attempting to minimize personnel cuts. Lake County recycled 8.5 tons of e-waste during the Second Annual E-rase Your E-waste Electronics Recycling event. Cherry Valley and Linderman students enjoyed an interactive science exhibit provided by SpectrUM Discovery, a program from the University of Montana, and sponsored by the district’s elementary PTO. American Legion members got together to spruce up white highway crosses, which aren’t memorials, but rather warning symbols, alerting drivers to dangerous stretches of road. Lake County potato growers encouraged home gardeners to help their efforts in protecting, controlling and monitoring another outbreak of late blight, a dangerous spore that hit the county hard in 2010. Two Eagle River School celebrated its graduating class.
June
June 2 - Lake County commemorates Memorial Day with ceremonies around the area. High school seniors at Charlo, Arlee, Ronan and MVCA enter a new chapter in their lives as they graduate. An Arlee parent banned from attending school events after punching a coach said he deserved a chance to rejoin the school community. Polson High School senior Amy Williamson received the prestigious John Philip Sousa award during the school year’s final concert on May 24. The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers projected that Flathead Lake would exceed its full-pool elevation due to high inflows of water.
June 9 - Marvin Camel pleaded not guilty to the felony charge of assaulting his 5-year-old son. Molly Billedeaux returned to the classroom after her position as IEFA specialist was cut from the Polson school district. Polson and Mission High School seniors move on at graduation. CSKT of the Flathead Nation received $200,000 to remove 2,500 cubic yards of petroleum-contaminated soil along US Highway 93 in Elmo. The National Weather Service issued a flood warning in Lake County, predicting additional rainfall and snowmelt runoff would lead to significant flooding across Northwest Montana.
June 16 - Polson teenager Aaron Jess Spang received 45 years in jail for the murder of his mother’s boyfriend. Polson resident Tom Eddy filed a petition for declaratory judgment against the Polson Rural Fire District’s crash fee. Arlee residents and volunteers spent three days filling sandbags to combat rising water along a number of local stream beds. Robert Denault, 41, pleaded guilty to two amended offenses of sex crimes against minors. The North Lake County Public Library announced a technology upgrade, including new computers, laptops and other assets. Justice of the Peace Chuck Wall dismissed a restraining order filed by city manager Todd Crossett against Rory Hornung based on a lack of imminent bodily harm.
June 23 - The Finley Point/Yellow Bay VFD responded to a landslide on the northbound side of Hwy. 35 which blocked one lane of traffic. Campers at the Port Polson Players’ performing arts camp put on two showings of “Truth is Marching On.” Lake County Undersheriff Karey Reynolds was required to attend the Montana Law Enforcement Academy to obtain required certification due to a lapse in law enforcement service. Participants celebrated life and honored cancer victims in the annual Relay for Life event. Jana Marie Baker pleaded guilty to vehicular homicide while under the influence for the 2008 death of Shari Ann Tiger.
June 30 - Clifford Old-Horn, 24, was found guilty of the July 7, 2005 murder of 73-year-old St. Ignatius man Harold Mitchell Jr. Mission Valley Aquatics began construction on a new swimming facility. The Salish and Kootenai Housing Authority will receive $4,219,352 as part of the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development’s $210 million Indian Housing Block Grant allocations to 146 tribes in 25 states. The city of Ronan lost power for about two hours as a lightning strike damaged an insulator, which failed the following day. To help Montana farmers and municipalities coping with flood damage, Governor Brian Schweitzer signed an emergency declaration temporarily suspending point-of-diversion changes for water right owners.
July
July 7 - Fireworks set a Polson home ablaze, doing an estimated $100,000 in property damage. Three people were killed in a head-on collision on Hwy. 93 near Arlee. Lake County celebrated Independence Day with multiple parades. About 60 community members enjoyed the Dayton Presbyterian Church’s centennial celebration. A 12-month study of Hwy. 93 concluded, determining what needed to be done to improve the road.
July 14 - Ronald Lee Phillips was booked into Lake County Jail on five charges after the makings of a meth lab were found in his car at a traffic stop in Pablo. Polson’s Showboat Cinemas make the switch to digitized film. Kathleen Sammons of Charlo was sentenced to 30 days in jail and five years of supervised release in federal court for her role in embezzling and laundering money from the Whitefish Credit Union. Local musicians and family-fun events highlight “Celebrate Our City Center, Light up the Town” in Polson. Conan Louie, 33, turned himself into police and later pleaded guilty to sex crimes against a minor. Five local builders each contributed one house to an auction to raise money for the St. Joseph Medical Center nursery at “Street of Dreams.”
July 21 - A pair of Two Eagle River students witnessed NASA’s final shuttle launch in Florida. Thousands turned out for the Polson Main Street Flathead Cherry Festival. Leonard James Irvine was sentenced to 25 years in the department of corrections with 15 years suspended after pleading guilty to criminal distribution of dangerous drugs. Two accidents in three days along the curve in U.S. Hwy. 93 near Melita Island Rd. sent four people to the hospital for treatment. Polson nurse Michelle Nault pleaded guilty to stealing a painkiller patch off a disabled patient.
July 28 - St. Ignatius’ Good Old Days brought neighbors together for fun family activities in the summer heat. Deidre Bush of Polson pleaded guilty to felony criminal endangerment after leaving her baby in her car in 10-degree weather for over two hours while drinking at a bar. The Polson Board of Education took action on several financial agenda items, highlighted by the timing of staff payments. Traditional Native American singing meshed with 17th century Western Classical music at the Culture Exchange concert in Pablo. About 400 people attended the Cold Hard Cash concert at the Polson Fairgrounds to enjoy Johnny Cash cover songs. Members of the Flathead Basin Commission celebrated notable achievements and planned for future projects, including studying shallow groundwater systems.