Tribal settlement checks issued

POLSON — The checks have been issued, and for enrolled members of the Confederated Salish and Kootenai Tribes, the money is in (and in many cases, out of) the bank.

“We’ve gone through an awful lot of folks cashing checks,” said Eagle Bank president Martin Olsson, describing his busy week.

“On Wednesday, Thursday and Friday of last week, we handled approximately 2,100 transactions, which is quite a bit higher than we anticipated we’d be able to handle,” Olsson said.

Olsson reported that thanks to his hardworking staff and understanding customers, “there were no problems whatsoever.”

Customers remained patient while standing in long lines that stretched far beyond the front door. The longest wait that had to be endured was three hours, which occurred when activity peaked on Wednesday.

Order was maintained elsewhere, as well.

Lake County Undersheriff Dan Yonkin said that law enforcement activity was “happily uneventful” in the last week for both his department and Tribal Police.

“We haven’t seen a change in behavior or patterns since last Wednesday,” said Yonkin. “We’re certainly grateful for that.”