Indian Lands Sold, Another Stab at Dog Laws, Walt McDonald Remembered
Flathead Courier, March 10, 1932
Indian Lands to be Sold April 21
The lists of Indian lands to be offered for sale by the superintendent of the Flathead agency at Dixon on April 21 have been printed by the Courier and are now being distributed advertising the sale. Sealed bids on the lands are to be opened at Dixon at 2 p.m. April 21.
Tell Editors of Polson and Valley
The publicity which Polson and this valley will get in connection with the convention at Missoula next summer of the National Editorial Association and the visit of the editors at Polson will be inestimable benefit.
In order to stimulate interest among newspaper men all over the United States in the convention and secure the attendance of as many as possible at the convention, publicity matter telling of the sections which the editor will visit on their trip to Missoula and return is now being sent out to newspapers everywhere.
Information about Polson and the valley is being compiled by the Commercial Club. Three articles of 300 words each dealing with three different phases of this section’s resources are being prepared by three different persons in Polson.
Flathead Courier, March 9, 1972
Mayor Urges Dog Law Compliance
At the city council meeting Monday Mayor Noreen Mosley reminded dog owners in the city that the final licensing date for the animals was Feb. 15 and any dog without a license will be caught and held for 48 hours before being disposed of.
The city leash law also went into effect March 5 and will be effective until Sept. 5. Dogs without leashes will be caught and held 48 hours before disposal. Owners will be responsible for picking up their dog and paying all fees connected with the capture and boarding of the animal.
Four Candidates in Field Now for School Board
With the filing deadline just a few days away, a four-person contest is shaping up for the District 23 school election.
Filing nominating petitions this past week were Mrs. Jerry Harball, Dennis Newby and the Rev. Sid Corl. Filing earlier was incumbent Leonard Hern.
Near Record Snow Depths, Water Contents Reported in Surrounding Mountains
Flathead Irrigation Project snow course readings bout March 1 show that all courses are at near record snow depths and water contents. Water contents of courses adjacent to the Mission Valley and Jocko lands are 137 percent of normal.
Courses adjacent to the Camas Division are 157 percent of normal … It is expected all Camas Reservoirs will reach maximum capacities. This has not occurred since 1962.
Lake County Leader, March 12, 1992
Peacemaker Remembered
In the foyer of the Catholic Mission Monday morning, two sounds mingled. From inside the church swelled the strains of Amazing Grace and from outside, the whinny of an impatient horse tossed across the starched March breeze.
It was an apt salute to Walt McDonald, who died Friday. A patriarch of the Flathead Reservation, he was known both for nobility and, in the words of nephew Joe McDonald, “straight shootin’.”
… He was elected to the Tribal Council in 1941, just five years after the federal government allowed tribes to govern themselves, and served as chairman for 16 years.
In a formative era in tribal history, he helped created a credit program that has swelled into a multi-million-dollar loan program; diverted an Army Corp of Engineers’ scheme to dam the Flathead and Clark Fork Rivers’ and battled a federal effort to terminate the Tribes …
He was a peacemaker who, in the words of Joe, “looked at both sides of things and realized that somewhere down the middle is the truth.”
Project Turnover: Strife makes national news
The strife over who should run the Flathead Irrigation Project made page 2 of the Washington Post last week after both sides in the argument flew to the nation’s capital to lobby their positions.
During a meeting here Monday night, the Flathead Joint Board of Control’s executive director, Alan Mikkelsen, discussed his trip to Washington, D.C., and allegations that surfaced Feb. 24 in a letter from the Tribes, urging Secretary of Interior Manuel Lujan to withdraw him commitment to turnover negotiations and a Sept. 1 deadline for completing those talks.
“The Tribes have made a very strong and concerted effort to blow the negoitations out of the water,” says Mikkelsen. “The 11-page letter was simply their opening broadside.”