Ellington

Polson schools cancel activities, send kids home early

POLSON - In the midst of a significant winter snowstorm, Polson School District administrators are encouraging parents to come get their children whenever possible on Friday. Buses will be operating as planned throughout the afternoon, in case parents or guardians are unable to arrange an early pick-up.

Dribble Therapy

SKC's Abdel Russell is getting a second chance at school, basketball

If you click through Salish Kootenai College’s basketball roster, you can see the players’ majors.

Wind in his sails

Things are falling into place for Polson junior Andrew Curley

As they pulled his new bedsheets out of the plastic packaging, Andrew Curley stopped what he was doing and looked up at Thom Peck.

Polson hoops teams seeded fourth

POLSON — Both Polson’s boys and girls basketball teams head into the weekend’s Northwest A divisional tournament as the No. 4 seed.

Local Bowling Results

At the ready:

CPR training can save lives in unexpected emergencies

Imagine you are at home and your children are laughing in the living room while you are in the kitchen, washing dishes or cooking dinner, humming to yourself. Suddenly the laughing stops, you hear a scream and as you enter the room a member of your family in on the floor unresponsive. Do you know how to respond?

Taking the plunge

Leader editor Bryce Gray tags along with the ice rescue unit

POLSON — “You’ll feel like a Teletubby,” warned Matt Sisler, as I prepared to shadow the Polson Fire Department’s ice rescue team during a recent training exercise.

Answering the call

ST. IGNATIUS — When people look back on Valerie Umphrey’s legacy, the record books will have it wrong. Recently awarded for more than 20 years of volunteer emergency medical service, Umphrey admitted it has been closer to 30 years.

Scarlets tame Tigers for District 14C title

RONAN — Arlee’s girls basketball team continued its District 14C success in the league’s tournament this weekend, winning the district crown in decisive fashion, 58-40, over second-place St. Regis.

Class B teams to return to Hamilton

HAMILTON — Ronan’s girls basketball team and Mission’s boys basketball team struggled at the District 6B tournament in Hamilton over the weekend.

B-I-N-G-O!

ST. IGNATIUS — The room was packed with families, every person waiting in anticipation for the next announcement to come over the loud speaker. Tensions ran high and even the littlest players were on the edge of their seats.

Walking on Water

A Southerner's first ice fishing experience

PABLO RESERVOIR — Dick Zimmer and I got out of our vehicles and faced the gusting wind and blowing snow of February’s most recent storm on the dike at the east end of Pablo Reservoir.

Main Street looks to rebound

POLSON — The restaurant Ricciardi’s on Main closed its doors last week, reportedly for being unable to withstand the slow winters with which its owners had to contend.

Trumpeter swan found shot

Confederated Salish and Kootenai Tribal officials are investigating the discovery and recovery of a dead Trumpeter Swan. Tribal Game Wardens received a call on Tuesday, January 21, 2014 that a dead Trumpeter Swan had been discovered near Buffalo Bridge on the Lower Flathead River.

Peck turns down Libby's offer

CHARLO — Thom Peck will remain at the helm of Charlo schools after declining an offer to become the next superintendent for the Libby School District last week.

Which type of social media do you use most?

Six Polson grapplers place in Billings

BILLINGS — Bob Owen has taken quite a few wrestling teams to state in his 39 seasons as the Polson wrestling coach.

Lavon Leroy Barnby

Lavon Leroy Barnby passed away Jan. 17, 2014. His beloved pet of 35 years, Whiskers, has joined him with our creator.

Senior News - Feb. 20

Ronan

Among other things: Foresight vs. hindsight

As if it weren’t already under way for months, the official  opening of the political  season is here. With all the emotional debate, charges and counter-charges, and heated discussions that have taken place during the past several months, I remembered a column I wrote for the Aug. 21, 1975, Flathead Courier. Somehow it still has a timely application:

Letters to the editor - Feb. 20

Support Issue I-168

Law enforcement and court records - Feb. 20

Community Calendar - Feb. 20

Affordable Care Act explained

Perfect 48-0!

Jacen Petersen finishes his second straight undefeated season, leads Bulldogs to seventh place in state

BILLINGS — The field probably hoped he was taking it for granted.

Local Bowling Results

Prep girls basketball roundup

Prep boys basketball roundup

Fire and ice

When Flathead Lake freezes over, the Polson Fire Department's ice rescue unit puts it all on the line

POLSON — With a sheet of ice once again blanketing Polson Bay, the Polson Fire Department’s emergency ice rescue team is ready to spring into action at any moment.

Ag Expo rounds up Lake County

The cold weather may have kept most of the livestock home, but it wasn’t enough to keep stalwart members of the agriculture community away from last weekend’s event in Ronan.

Umphrey, Lewis honored in Helena

HELENA — If actions speak louder than words, Valerie Umphrey and Sgt. Chuck Lewis may as well be shouting.

Who was the best president?

Decades of Love

On his own two feet

Ronan's Tanner Mead has battled through two ankle surgeries. Now he's state bound.

RONAN — Tanner Mead played sports like any other kid: football, wrestling, basketball.

SKC in need of volunteers for tournament

PABLO — Salish Kootenai College is seeking volunteers to work game clocks and scorebooks or assist with the front gate at the 2014 American Indian Higher Education Consortium’s National Basketball Championship Tournament, which will be held at SKC’s Joe McDonald Gym on Feb. 27-March 2.

Toddler abuse case reaches court

GREAT FALLS — As the Leader went to press on Tuesday, a trial had begun in Great Falls for a man who allegedly beat a toddler with ties to the Mission Valley in Jan. 2013.

Church "Souper Bowl" collects 4,000 cans

RONAN — The Seattle Seahawks weren’t the only ones to put up big numbers on Super Bowl Sunday, as the Seventh-Day Adventist Church in Ronan enjoyed its most successful “Souper Bowl” ever, collecting 4,004 cans of soup that were split between the Bread Basket in Ronan, and Polson Loaves and Fish Food Pantry.

From your Representative

As we roll out of the holidays and look forward to the arrival of spring, your legislature continues to conduct interim committee meetings. The Economic Affairs Interim Committee, of which I am a member, met on January 27th and 28th.

Beulah O. Sept

Beulah O. Sept, 88, of Missoula, formerly long-time resident of Polson, passed away peacefully Saturday, Feb. 8, surrounded by her loving family. At the time of her passing, Beulah was under the compassionate care of the staff at Village Health Care Center where she was recuperating after a hospital stay.    

Paul C. “Bogie” Bower

Paul C. “Bogie” Bower, 84, died on Saturday, Jan. 25, 2014 in Surprise, Ariz. “Bogie” as he was so well known by friends and family grew up in Montana and graduated from Polson High School in 1948. He married Liberty Dupuis in 1956 after returning from the Army where he served in Korea. The couple raised three daughters in the Missoula/Plains area before building and making a home on a ranch south of Polson in the Pablo area.

Daniel Ryan Tuller

Daniel Ryan Tuller, 43, of Moses Lake passed away at Sacred Heart Hospital in Spokane, Wash. on Dec. 27, 2013, from complications associated with influenza A.

Donna Jean Mikkola Rolfson

Donna Jean Mikkola Rolfson was born on April 20, 1944, to Auna Nordling Mikkola and Filmore John Mikkola. She died on Jan. 28, 2014, from complications of lupus and pneumonia at what she called “her second home,” St. Joseph’s Medical Center. Donna always had a smile, a laugh and a sassy comment. She joked that she purchased the second floor wing of the hospital. Donna said she and God had a good relationship, and she was at peace with the Lord. A very spiritual person, Donna was comforted by her Lord’s presence in her life. She was so grateful for the compassionate staff at St. Joseph’s, including John Payne.

Senior News - Feb. 13

St. Ignatius

Letters to the editor - Feb. 13

America The Beautiful

Law enforcement and court records - Feb. 13

District Court, Judge Manley presiding

Births - Feb. 13

Hailey Pearl Ogden

Mission honors coach, friend

ST. IGNATIUS — Les Rice spent 33 years serving the Mission community as a coach.

Prep Girls Basketball Roundup

Prep boys basketball roundup

Pirates send 10 wrestlers to state

LIBBY — Despite finishing just third as a team in the Northwest A divisional tournament, Polson will send 10 grapplers to the Class A state tournament in Billings this weekend.

Best in the West

Mission-Charlo wins three weight classes en route to Western B-C championship

RONAN — Lyle Cronk almost knew it before his wrestlers hit the mats on Saturday.

Local Bowling Results

New chief optimistic for future of department

Ronan’s new chief of police, John Mitchell, is still reeling from being appointed to his new position.

Polson business burglarized

Thieves break in, steal beer

POLSON — Yet another local business was the victim of a break-in early Tuesday morning when a suspect shattered the glass door of Polson Main Street Market, entered the store and stole a case of beer.

New bridge replaces worn log structure

RONAN — Seventeen residents of a remote area east of Ronan have now been outfitted with a secure connection to the outside world following the completion of a new bridge on Michel Road, near the base of the Mission Mountains.

Josh of all trades

Josh Reed is getting used to the spotlight.

Births - Feb. 6

Rue Helena Michel

Lyrically largesse

Chinese New Year dinner, talent show raises money to help Ronan family adopt

RONAN — Smells of rice, chicken and egg rolls still hung in the air when the first act took the stage at Lighthouse Christian Fellowship in Ronan last Friday night and it wasn’t long before the air was filled with music, laughter and love.

XC star Hewston commits to UGF

POLSON – Claudia Hewston is one of the most decorated cross-country runners in Polson High School history.

Publisher transferred

Last week, the Leader’s parent company, The Hagadone Corporation, announced that longtime Leader publisher Dan Drewry had been reassigned to The Whitefish Pilot, where he will assume leadership of the company’s weekly newspapers in Whitefish, Columbia Falls and Bigfork.

Madplume convicted for rape, murder

Prep boys basketball roundup

Prep Girls Basketball Roundup

Prep wrestling roundup

"Owl" be back?

Popular guests from the past two winters may have flocked to the eastern U.S.

POLSON — Another year and another historic irruption of snowy owls.

Ronan police chief ousted

RONAN — For the second time in less than three months, Ronan has a new chief of police. At the city council meeting on Jan. 21, officer John Mitchell was selected to replace Valent Maxwell, who was removed from his post at the Jan. 7 Ronan City Council meeting.

Twice as nice

Second installment of FLIC exceeds expectations

POLSON — The success of a film festival can be reflected in the numbers and Flathead Lake International Cinemafest (FLIC) exceeded all expectations in online sales, attendance, numbers of films screened, and the number of filmmakers and crew members in attendance.

Duplex damaged in Polson apartment fire

POLSON — A Polson apartment sustained approximately $120,000 in damages during a blaze that ignited last Thursday morning.

What ever happened to plain old football?

I don’t like the Super Bowl anymore.

Local Bowling Results

at Sportspage Bowl