Ellington

William T. Suttenfield

William T. Suttenfield, Jr., age 75, passed away on Friday, April 18, at his residence in Polson, after fighting a valiant two year battle with cancer.

Egg-celent Easter

RONAN — What better time than Easter for a labor of love?

Fire destroys shed, RV

A controlled burn turned horribly wrong for one resident of Minesinger Trail Monday afternoon.

Irrigation Challenges: District tries to restore prior structure

ST. IGNATIUS _ On the heels of a successful recall of two commissioners and a strongly worded press release, the remaining Mission Irrigation District board member moved quickly to appoint two new members, re-hire a long-time attorney and move towards re-uniting the irrigation districts.

A letter from former Ronan softball coach Brad Benson

After the articles in the Leader and Missoulian, I feel like I owe the community a brief explanation.

Mack Days update - Week 6

2014 Spring Mack Days anglers have completed their sixth weekend of lake trout fishing with a total of 15,075 lake trout entries being turned in by 199 of the 760 registered lake trout anglers.

Montana lawmakers support disaster assistance request

LAKE COUNTY – Lake County could receive an estimated $1 million in federal disaster funds to repair rural roads damaged by the March flooding, said Commissioner Bill Barron.

Petersen signs with Arizona State

CHARLO — With 82 students in high school, opportunities like Jacen Petersen’s don’t come around too often for Charlo, Montana.

Mission Irrigation District trying to restore structure

ST. IGNATIUS — On the heels of a successful recall of two commissioners and a strongly worded press release, the remaining Mission Irrigation District board member moved quickly to appoint two new members, re-hire a long-time attorney and move towards re-uniting the irrigation districts.

Prep Track Results - April 24

Thompson Falls Invitational

Letters - April 24

Fort Connah a local gem

Law enforcement and court records - April 24

District Court, Judge Manley presiding

Calamity Matt places fourth at Grizzly Triathlon

MISSOULA — Nearly 20 Lake County triathletes competed in the Grizzly Triathlon Saturday, highlighted by Polson’s Matt “Calamity” Seeley, who took fourth overall in the race.

Prep Softball Roundup - April 24

from Thursday, April 17

Prep Tennis Roundup - April 24

from Saturday, April 19

Special Olympics athletes train for regional event

POLSON – For some kids, it’s just about having the chance to compete.

AMONG OTHER THINGS: Planning a car trip?

For many years springtime was the time to start dreaming and then planning a vacation car trip with the family.

Citizens halt drunk driver in Mission

ST. IGNATIUS — It must have been a strange sight for Robin Frye and Caleb Williams Saturday evening on U.S. Highway 93 just north of St. Ignatius: a Subaru driving south in the northbound lane.

Huerta chooses to throw at Great Falls

POLSON — It was as simple as fast food for Chloie Huerta.

Maidens take own tournament

RONAN — Missoula Loyola had the medalists while team titles went to Ronan’s girls and the boys from Thompson Falls on Tuesday at the Ronan Invitational golf tournament.

Prep Softball - Bagnell no-hits Fergus in Belgrade

BELGRADE — Polson’s Jessica Bagnell had a day to remember Saturday at the First Pitch Invitational when the senior tossed a five-inning no-hitter in the Pirates’ 8-0 win over Fergus County.

Mack Days update - Week 5

Almost halfway through the 34-day 2014 Spring Mack Days Fishing Event, there is a large fish entry.

Against the wind

Polson hosts first home track meet of the season

POLSON — They were likely too wet and cold to care about team scores at the Polson High School track on Saturday, but if they had, the Pirates would have likely taken the title in their triangular meet with Anaconda and Butte Central.

Swan shooter charged

PABLO — Two men have been fined for shooting a trumpeter swan with a high-powered rifle earlier this year.

Prep Tennis Roundup - April 17

from Friday, April 11

Local Track Bests - April 17

William (Bill) Robert Repnak

William (Bill) Robert Repnak, 83, passed away at his home in Lakeside on April 8 from a degenerative heart condition.

Letters - April 17

Former CME employees

Law enforcement and court records - April 17

Local Bowling Results

Week of April 8

Boats beached by Saturday's storm

FLATHEAD LAKE — After beautiful weather the week prior, Mother Nature reminded boaters just how unpredictable she can be Saturday when strong winds, snow and rain pummeled fisherman on Flathead Lake.

Births - April 17

COMMUNITY CALENDAR April 17-23

FIND ALL YOUR EASTER WEEK ACTIVITIES HERE

THURSDAY, APRIL 17

City selects $18M treatment plant

City hopes ratepayers don’t get sticker shock Must pay for $18.3 million over next 20 years

POLSON — Concerned about funding construction of an $18.3 million wastewater treatment plant, city officials hope to phase in rate increases to ease customers’ added burden and shock.

Flathead Lake water quality

System needs help meeting $1M grant match

Experts believe wastewater discharge and non-native animals are compromising the lake’s clarity and ability to sustain life as more residents and recreationists use the world-renowned clear lake.

OFF THE MARK - Instant replay makes me sick

Instant replay is ruining sports.

Further change in Ronan

More coaching changes shock the Lake County high school

RONAN — You'd think there was an earthquake in Ronan the way things in the high school's athletic department have been shaken up recently.

Mack Days update - Week 5

Almost halfway through the 34-day 2014 Spring Mack Days Fishing Event,ß there is a large fish entry.

Locals shine in Speedwagon race

POLSON — Local cyclists again proved they belong with the elite in the state of Montana, this time on their home turf.

Windy conditions increase fire danger

LAKE COUNTY — Spring is the time for clearing unwanted brush and grass, but local fire officials are warning residents to take caution where and when they burn.

Charlo boys win season's first meet

Area track teams did their first traveling of the season as all six county programs headed to various venues for early-season meets.

Polson council must make expensive decision Monday

POLSON – Polson sewer ratepayers face much higher monthly bills over the next 20 years as EPA regulations force hamstrung city officials to build a new wastewater plant that will cost at least $15.7 million.

MAC errors push Ronan to victory

ST. IGNATIUS — Ronan’s bats came alive and Mission-Arlee-Charlo’s gloves went to sleep in the third inning, and that was all the Maidens needed to carry a 16-7 victory Saturday in the first cross-county softball game of the 2014 season.

TENNIS: Pirates bitten by injury bug

POLSON — Corvallis completed a sweep of the Polson boys and girls tennis teams on Saturday afternoon, using a dominant singles round to take down the Pirates.

Sisler gives back with Eagle project

POLSON — Among the Boy Scouts of America, the Eagle Scout Project is a true marker of growing up.

Missing child found

ST. IGNATIUS -- The child reported missing and endangered yesterday in St. Ignatius was found safe today by CSKT police.

Pirates sack the Bitterroot

RAVALLI COUNTY — Polson’s softball team knows now what they’d thought up to this point: the Pirates are still elite in Class A.

Away for life

Melvin Madplume, Jr. sentenced to life without parole for the rape and murder of his cousin, Laurence Kenmille, last May

POLSON – After listening to Laurence Kenmille’s family members fight through quivering voices and muffled sobs during victim statements Monday, District Court Judge John Larson wasted little time sentencing Melvin Madplume to life in prison without parole.

Ronan begins golf season in Missoula

MISSOULA — Ronan’s golf teams opened the season at Missoula Country Club last week.

Perch bite is on

It is that time again. The perch bite is on at the east side of Polson Bay on Flathead Lake. Miles Marchi and I made a foray out there April 3. Miles had a couple of real jumbos.

Class B tennis season begins

ST. IGNATIUS — Ronan and Mission’s girls tennis teams fought to a 3-3 tie in both teams’ season-opening match last Thursday.

None injured in accident near Minesinger Trail

PABLO—Sheryl Steele was driving home early from work Monday expecting to do some spring gardening. But when an SUV pulled in front of her, she had to change her plans.

Pluff resigns as Polson coach

POLSON — Polson’s boys basketball team will have a fresh face on the bench next season.

LOCALS IN COLLEGE: Softball update

Several Mission Valley softball stars have gone on to continue their illustrious careers at the college level and are enjoying tremendous success in the 2014 campaign. In fact, five local products now at community colleges boast gaudy batting averages in excess of .400. Here’s a quick peek at the eye-popping numbers they’ve been putting up for their new schools, partway through the season.

Local Bowling Results

BIA to manage irrigation project

PABLO — After nearly four years of governance by a cooperative management entity (CME), the Bureau of Indian Affairs will resume the operation and management of the Flathead Indian Irrigation Project (FIIP) in the coming weeks.

Lake Monsters swim in state masters meet in Missoula

MISSOULA — Nine swimmers represented the valley’s Lake Monsters swim team at the Montana Masters State Swim Meet at the Grizzly Pool in Missoula over the weekend.

Elks honor scholarship winners

POLSON — The Mission Valley Elks Lodge praised six outstanding high school seniors with scholarships Saturday evening.

Launching Pad

Ronan hosts the state's first track meet of the season

RONAN — Lake County hosted the Treasure State’s only track meet of the weekend, kicking off a spring sports season through the rainy conditions.

Among other things: Rockin' and shakin', Alaska style

It doesn’t seem like 50 years ago, but it was – Good Friday afternoon, March 24, in the Anchorage area of Alaska. Several Flathead and Mission Valley people were living in Anchorage, Wasilla, Kodiak Island, Valdez and Seward. Many of them wrote letters to relatives and friends in Montana describing their experiences. We reported excerpts in the Flathead Courier.

Polson off to strong start

POLSON — Polson’s tennis team put on a dominant performance in its season-opening weekend, taking care of Libby and Hamilton’s teams on both the boys and the girls side.

Polson takes second in Little Guy Wrestling championships

KALISPELL — The Polson Wrestling Club took second place in the Western Montana Little Guy Wrestling Championship Tournament held in Kalispell on Friday and Saturday, March 28 and 29. In all, 17 Polson wrestlers placed in the top four or their brackets. 

Robert H. Schall

Robert H. Schall, Jr., 63, from Arlee, passed away Friday, March 21, 2014, after a two year battle with cancer. He was born June 25, 1950. He spent his entire life in Arlee, most of it on the Schall Ranch. His rodeo career is legendary. He was an accomplished bareback rider, team roper, and steer wrestler, winning countless championships in the PRCA, NRA, and other regional associations. He traveled extensively throughout the US and Canada and on occasion to Australia. He was an MSU alum, being most proud of his membership on the 1972 NIRA National Championship Men’s Rodeo Team and of being a member of the MSU Athletic Hall of Fame. He won the coveted PRCA Linderman Award in 1986. He was a past president of the Northern Rodeo Association. He was recently inducted into the Montana Cowboy Hall of Fame and is listed on the Montana Rodeo Wall of Fame at Metra Park in Billings. He was a dear friend and mentor to many. Bob was incredibly proud of being a father to Emily — she was the light of his life. He never missed an opportunity to be with her or support her throughout her youth. He drove many tireless miles to be wherever she may need him.

Laura "Laurie" Corcoran

Laura “Laurie” Corcoran passed away in Missoula on March 20, 2014 after a very long and courageous battle with renal failure and cancer. Laurie was born in Missoula on Dec. 11, 1950 to Fred Erickson and Betty Hart Erickson. She grew up in Polson and graduated from Polson High School in 1969. Laurie married Jim Corcoran on Feb. 14, 1980. She was a loving wife, mother, grandmother, great-grandmother, and a very special daughter and sister. Laurie was always a hard worker and had several careers in her lifetime including owning and operating her own beauty shop, café owner and manager, tax clerk for Lake County, and she had a daycare for several years. She obtained a degree from Salish Kootenai College in Early Childhood Development and lacked one credit in a Social Work degree, which she was forced to give up due to her illness.

Pirates start season 2-0

POLSON — For the first time in a long time, pitching was the big question for the Polson softball program heading into Saturday’s season opener.

Maidens win in extras

RONAN — Kenzie Dulmes knocked in the winning run with the bases loaded in the bottom of the eighth inning, sending the Ronan Maidens to a thrilling 9-8 win over Deer Lodge in their season opener. The walk-off victory completed a dramatic comeback in which the Maidens overcame an 8-2 deficit they faced midway through the fifth inning.

Law enforcement and court records - April 3

Births - April 3

Letters to the editor - April 3

Mackay pleads not guilty

POLSON — Desmond Alan Mackay, the Polson man who allegedly attacked his father-in-law and brother-in-law with a hammer last month, was arraigned in Lake County District Court last Thursday.

Senior News - April 3

Arlee

Jane W. Winkley

Jane Wells Winkley, 77, was born in Norwood, Ohio on June 22, 1936 to John and Ruth (Morgan) Wells. She joined her brothers Ralph, Don, Ivan and sister Mary. She passed away peacefully on Thursday, Feb. 27, 2014 at Kalispell Regional Medical Center.

Earl W. Wharton

Dr. Earl W. Wharton, “Doc” to his friends, and “Honey” to his wife, Betty, was born in Akron, Ohio on July 2, 1925, to Dr. L. Earl and Neva Wharton.

Betty M. Montgomery

Betty M. Montgomery passed away Tuesday, March 11, 2014 in Vancouver, Wash., after a long illness with Pulmonary Fibrosis. Betty was born on July 4, 1938 in Big Arm, to William and Mabel Montgomery, one of nine children.

Joshua Ryan Christiansen

Joshua Ryan Christiansen “Josh” passed away in his home on Wednesday, March 12. He was born to Scott Christiansen and Tracy Robinson on April 2, 1991 in the Ronan hospital.

Linda Lee (Dickson) DeYoung

Linda Lee (Dickson) DeYoung passed away March 15, 2014 in Mesa, Ariz. She met John Wesley DeYoung and after two years of being high school sweethearts they were married in 1963 and were together for 51 years. Linda was born May 21, 1946 in Polson to Clair and Erma Dickson. In addition to her loving husband John, she is survived by her son John Darrell (spouse, Jodie); grandchildren Steven (22), Brandon (19), and Terran (16) from Missoula and her son Sean Terrence of Mesa, Ariz. She also leaves behind relatives and friends who will miss her and remember her in their hearts always.

Barbara Toycen Amestoy

With the passing of a family member, mom would always say “one less spoke in the wheel,” meaning one less member in our family circle. It has now become her turn. Mom was a true Montana lady. Born in Kalispell and passing in Kalispell, she never wanted to call any place but Montana home. She marveled daily at the beauty and treasures Montana offered. She lived and loved the country life until she could no longer live alone.

Petersen to grapple for Sun Devils

CHARLO — Jacen Petersen will be wrestling for Arizona State this time next year.

Madplume's murder, rape sentencing pushed back

POLSON — Ronan resident Melvin Madplume, Jr. will have to wait awhile longer to learn his fate after a delay in his pre-sentencing psychosexual evaluation caused his sentencing to be pushed from March 28 to April 8.

Mack Days update, Week 3

The bucket almost wasn’t big enough for the four fish entries from Bob Christensen of Missoula. Friday, March 28 was the first of the three day competition for the largest Bucket of Fish during 2014 Spring Mack Days on Flathead Lake. Anglers mark or pick out what they believe is their four heaviest fish to be put in a bucket and a weight taken. Coming in at 28 pounds, 13 ounces, Christensen easily won the $200 prize and 10 points. The bucket lake trout have to measure in under 30 inches to qualify — that is the requirement for any of the lake trout that get entered for tickets unless it is an entry for the largest fish which has to measure over 36 inches and weigh over 24lbs ?— there have been no large fish entries. One lake trout of the winning bucket fish measured in at 29 and three-quarters inches — good day to catch one of that size.

LCSO detention officer on leave following arrest

POLSON — Lake County detention officer Tristen Flagen has been placed on paid administrative leave following her arrest in Sanders County on the evening of Sunday, March 30.

Local Bowling Results

Tuesday Moonlighters

County commissioners approve Canal Road improvements

RONAN — While county commissioner Gale Decker was out on vacation, Lake County commissioners Bill Barron and Ann Brower approved a rural improvement district to improve part of Canal Road.