Clark Fork Valley Press | Mineral Independent

January 8, 2014 12:43 p.m.

Lady Tigers stomp the competition at Noxon

ST. REGIS – The St. Regis Lady Tigers claimed a strong victory against the Noxon Lady Red Devils in their away game on Friday, December 3.

August 22, 2014 12:27 p.m.

Dixon Melon Day canceled

DIXON – This year the sweet smells of melons will no longer line the streets of Dixon for the annual Dixon Melon Day celebration.

May 2, 2014 3:29 p.m.

Biomass fuel a good alternative

SUPERIOR – Biomass heating systems save residents and business owners more money compared to conventional fuels like oil, said the Montana Department of Natural Resources.

October 17, 2014 5:57 p.m.

Sanders County prepares for flu season

SANDERS COUNTY – With colder weather in the not too distant future for Sanders County it will not be long before flu season is in full swing.

December 18, 2013 1:06 p.m.

St. Regis Tigers breaking losing streak at home

ST. REGIS – The St. Regis boy’s basketball team broke a 78 game streak of losses last weekend as the Tigers went 1-1 against Victor and Alberton.

May 21, 2010 11:14 a.m.

Students place in top ten at BPA Nationals

The seven Superior Business Professional of America students weren't sure if they were going to get enough money to go to the BPA National Conference, but from May 6 through May 13, the students were in Anaheim, California, thanks to the support of the community.

March 30, 2011 11:46 a.m.

Lady Hawks lose opener to Loyola

The problem with being on top is that there’s nowhere to go but down.

August 19, 2009 midnight

Start of school looms on the horizon

Danielle Switalski

April 6, 2022 midnight

Unique items get second life at Two Rivers Thrift

St. Regis resident Becky Palmer is a thrift store queen. And any self-proclaimed penny pinching, bargain hunter can attest to how rewarding it is to find something special and give it a second life.

November 24, 2021 midnight

Letter writer opines on freedom

Our American founders recognized the source of freedom is from God.

November 16, 2022 midnight

COLUMN: That's a wrap for fall sports

Wow! Can it really be three sports seasons have sped by in my retirement days of writing for the Valley Press and Mineral Independent?

April 30, 2014 12:46 p.m.

First responders participate in emergency drill

THOMPSON FALLS – What if an epidemic was to hit Sanders County? Would the county be ready?

March 5, 2014 2:42 p.m.

Forest Service employees snowed in to desk jobs

SUPERIOR – As hard winter weather and blizzard-like conditions hit the area last week, the Forest Service was forced to delay some of their plans. Tawnya Brummett, district ranger for the Superior Ranger District, said a number of small projects are underway. There have already been a few survey crews out investigating places for future projects. While most of these were in lower elevations, the higher than average snowfalls have caused a few delays in the schedule this year. Most of the delays have not been too serious. There are a number of areas in higher elevations where the Forest Service expected delays to occur. In recent years, they have been able to work on some projects in lower elevations all through the winter. This year has been different for the crews as snow has built up in lower elevations. “[The winter weather] impacted us slightly, I would say, just in some of our low elevation projects,” Brummett said. While a number of areas are buried under feet of snow, the Forest Service has had plenty more fieldwork to do in the winter months. With how many winter recreation opportunities there are in the area, lots of work goes into making sure everything is safe. To this end, one thing the Forest Service does is keep an eye on avalanche risks in the area. Each week, rangers go out to look at the avalanche dangers to assess the risks in an area. The Superior Ranger District coordinates their efforts with the Missoula area and ranger districts in the Idaho panhandle to keep an accurate idea of the area’s condition. According to Brummett, the area around the Idaho state line has had especially high avalanche danger the last few weeks. While there have not been any avalanche fatalities in Mineral County, she said there have been a few around other parts of western Montana. Brummett said the Forest Service crews are looking forward to the warmer weather. Once the weather clears and the ground thaws they will be able to start work on more field projects. Until the weather improves the Forest Service employees are busy with office work, such as requesting grants to fund many of their activities. Brummett described this as possibly the least favorite part of the job for many of the employees at the Superior Ranger Station. She said most of them would rather be out in the field working on projects than stuck behind a desk. “There’s always a lot to do,” Brummett said. “But my folks would definitely rather be out in the woods doing it.” The Forest Service has also begun planning their controlled burns for the spring and summer. Brummett said it was also too early to say how the fire season this year would be effected by the snowpack. She said the precipitation in the area was looking good and the moisture levels were healthy. However, a particularly warm period could dry things out quickly and increase the fire risks. The Forest Service has begun hiring for their temporary summer jobs. The most common jobs available are for firefighters and fire support crews. There are also positions available on trail and timber maintenance crews as well as on the Mineral County Resource Advisory Committee. Brummett said she wanted to get the positions filled early so everyone can be ready to go once the season starts.

March 5, 2014 2:01 p.m.

Eighth grader hits the varsity court early

ALBERTON – The varsity team is the big leagues, where the big games are played and athletes get their last chance at victory in high school sports. For 13-year-old Creighton Callison, it is the starting point of his high school athletic career. Callison is an eighth grader in the Alberton Public School’s junior high program. He joined the junior high basketball team and was brought up to the varsity team with kids as much as four to five years older than him. This was done to expand the team. This season the Panthers did not have enough kids join to give them a healthy team. While there were enough players to fill the varsity team they had no replacements. Any injuries or exhaustion would have devastated their ability to play. The school also wanted to field a junior varsity team. This is where the eighth graders come in. Alberton petitioned the Montana High School Association for a waiver to bring eighth graders onto the varsity team. The exception was allowed and the players were brought up. Callison and fellow eighth grader Kolton Hensleigh were selected to join the varsity basketball team. Fresh from the junior high season the two almost immediately began practice with their new team. “They were originally going to bring in all the eighth graders,” Callison said. “But a couple of them lived out of the district so they couldn’t and it was only me and [Hensleigh] that could.” The varsity team had recruited from the middle school before. As a result the junior high team was not too surprised when two of their members were promoted. What surprised them more about Callison’s selection was how he had beaten out four freshmen who were also under consideration for the spot. The experience was a challenge for the eighth graders as they played against athletes who were older, bigger and often had years more experience. It was a trial by fire and they had to adapt quickly to the new pace of the game. The year was fun for Callison. There was little concern about the size or speed differences he faced. The hardest part of the experience was getting used to the faster pace of the varsity games. Middle school games are half as long and have a slower pace of play. While Callison took to the new pace quickly in practice, it was three or four games before he got used to how varsity worked and was over the nerves. “It took [awhile] to kind of get used to the rhythm and stuff but with practices I was confident I was fine,” Callison said. Despite the initial reservations, Callison had a good season this year and brought in a number of points throughout the season. This was a surprise for him at the time because he did not think he would have been able to score against some of the seniors the team faced. The difficulties have not changed his feelings for the sport. Callison plans to try out for the basketball team when he enters high school as a freshman next year. He looks at this as a learning experience to prepare himself for what is to come as he enters his high school athletics career. “The year was mainly just about trying to learn what it’s like to play, so next year I’ll be ready for it,” Callison said.