Clark Fork Valley Press | Mineral Independent

October 11, 2023 midnight

Trotters moved into 3rd place with pair of volleyball wins

This time of year, with playoffs on the not-too-distant horizon, fans are looking for that “team to watch.”

October 16, 2013 11:53 a.m.

Hot Springs' new teacher causes a stir in town

HOT SPRINGS –Meet Bart Granlund, fifth grade teacher and the hottest thing at Hot Springs Elementary School. Granlund is a Montana native who has had the unique opportunity to travel all over the world and teach.

May 5, 2010 10:40 a.m.

Sporting goods come to county

Shopping local will be even easier as S and S Sports celebrated its grand opening on Saturday, offering supplies and services Sanders County residents usually travel far out of town to purchase.

March 5, 2014 1:16 p.m.

Tricon healthy after Tester visit

ST. REGIS – In the wake of a visit by Senator Jon Tester (D-Montana), Tricon Timber has continued to encounter delays on some projects. The recent snow storms have also caused problems for the mill. Tester helped Tricon get out of a deal, which would have bankrupted the company. The contract was for logging an area with helicopters, helping to remove the timber. When the Great Recession began, fulfilling the project made the costs involved unreasonable for Tricon. Tester visited Tricon in mid January. He wanted to get more familiar with the operation. The senator also talked over other issues Tricon and the community needed help with. These included several projects and timber sales the company needed help getting started. While Tester said he would look into solutions, the projects are still running into problems. Angelo Ververis, general manager at Tricon, said it has been difficult getting the Forest Service to move forward with them. This included the Cedar Thom project. The project includes several timber sales, which could be harvested to benefit the mill. The Forest Service said they would have some progress in December, but there has been no word on a timetable. “It’s still not a good answer, I guess, as far as the community goes,” Ververis said. “It’s a big project for the community. We need it to move forward, it means work, it means jobs, stability. There’s a whole bunch of things it means to the community and here we are without a project still.” The West Mullan Fire salvage was another project Tricon wanted to speed up. The project would allow companies to collect wood, which was still usable after the fire. The Mineral County Resource Advisory Group received a response from Faye Krueger, the regional forester, saying the Forest Service did not want to move forward with the project. Tricon still wanted to pursue the project and had begun to work different angles to get it started. Ververis hoped the farm bill recently put before the senate by Tester would help with this. MCRAG and Tricon have also looked to the Mineral County Commissioners for their support on projects. The commissioners are able to suggest projects to the Forest Service and have worked with MCRAG to prepare letters of support. According to Ververis, Tricon has had no interaction with Tester’s office since the visit. The heavy snows and blizzard-like conditions in the area have also had an impact on Tricon’s operation. One of the biggest problems has simply been the ability to move in the snow. With up to two feet of powdery snow in places, the loggers have had trouble moving around the forest. This has also been a problem at the mill as the new fallen snow needs to be moved so vehicles and personnel can move around the facility. Ververis felt the bigger issues were the conditions in the forest. He said logging crews had trouble getting logs out of the brush. “Trying to log in this weather is difficult,” Ververis said. The deep snow has put some logging crews on hold until conditions improve. “It’s right up to their waist and armpits,” Willy Peck, a resources manager at Tricon, said. “They’re unable to work down there.” According to Peck, the trees are instantly buried by snow in these conditions. He said the trees were only visible as limbs sticking out of the snow once workers got to them. This meant the workers had to dig through the snow to find the end of the log. “You can imagine this tree just got buried with snow, so now you’ve got this person trying to wrap a cable around a tree they can’t even find,” Ververis said. The delay is a problem for Tricon because the company normally builds up inventory during the winter months. Without the logs, the mill cannot function. Ververis said it is slightly less of a problem at the moment because Tricon was able to build up a good stock before the snow hit. The sales are not expected to be closed for long. Ververis and Peck said work would likely continue once the snow had settled. With warmer temperatures and rain predicted for this week, the snow is expected to pack down, making it easier for the crews to walk on. Ververis said he was impressed with the Tricon employees. Even as schools closed down and people stayed home to wait out the snow, the workers made the drive to the mill. He said they pushed through, despite the dangerous road conditions, to keep things running. “I can’t tell you enough how impressed I am with the contractors working through the harsh conditions,” Ververis said. “Sawmills just can’t have snow days.”

March 15, 2017 12:51 p.m.

Donkey basketball brings fun to Hot Springs

There were approximately 50 people in the old Hot Spings gym Friday to watch and support the senior class take on the staff, juniors, and a team known as “random misfits” in several friendly and fun games of donkey basketball.

January 2, 2013 8:14 a.m.

Arson fire devastates tire facility

HOT SPRINGS - Arson was the cause of the large fire at Enviro-Tire near Lonepine on Dec. 22, and according to officials, new leads have not arisen despite the $3,000 reward offered for any information.

January 16, 2013 10:25 a.m.

Lookout Pass brings in crowds

LOOKOUT PASS — For years, skiers, snowboarders and snow lovers have flocked to Lookout Pass Ski Resort, nestled in the mountains of the Silver Valley, even though the destination tucked away on the Montana-Idaho border can seem a million miles from anywhere.

April 2, 2014 2:16 p.m.

School addition to be dedicated by Grand Lodge

PLAINS – The foundation walls of the new school addition are securely in place and as the project progresses a dedication ceremony is not far away.

April 24, 2024 midnight

St. Regis Senior Citizens Center becomes host of commodities program

“It’s going great!” beamed Dave Hannah, president of the St. Regis Senior Citizens Center. “These volunteers know what to do and they jump right in and do it. You can’t ask for better people.”

March 29, 2023 midnight

Proof of the power of science-based forestry

John Bernard Leiberg was the first scientist to see the Lolo National Forest.

October 18, 2023 midnight

Mineral County reduces school property tax mills

Mineral County Commissioners on Oct. 12 voted 2 to 1 to reduce the amount of state school property taxes it plans to collect, a move that falls in line with many other counties across the state.

July 12, 2023 midnight

Montana GOP grew government, raised taxes

Less government and lower taxes. You hear that political slogan from Republican candidates early and often while they are campaigning.

November 6, 2013 12:30 p.m.

To candidates seeking office

For those seeking the open National Senate and Congressional Seat in 2014, campaigning has already been underway for a while. For the first time in years, it is quite likely that we will see both a new Congressman and Senator join the ranks of only three that represent Montanans in DC.