Sanders Co. Commissioners will consider refuse fee increases

Written comments are encouraged and will be reviewed by the commissioners prior to a hearing if received by the Sanders County Commissioners’ Office at least three business days prior to a hearing.

Bluehawks hinder Horsemen

A 22-4 advantage in the third quarter helped the Bluehawks complete their sweep over Distrit 7-B rival Plains on Thursday. Thompson Falls emerged with a 57-37 victory and finished the regular season in fourth place at 5-5 conf., 9-9 ovr.

A basketball tradition

GREAT FALLS – Last week the Plains Trotters were in Great Falls, competing in the State B Girls’ Basketball Tournament.

Medicare classes to be offered in Sanders County

SANDERS COUNTY - The Agency on Aging will be offering free three-hour Medicare 101 classes in Sanders, Mineral, Lake and Lincoln counties in October to help you with this milestone in your life. When approaching Medicare age there are decisions that need to be made in a timely manner. At first it can seem confusing and maybe even overwhelming.

Manhattan Christian wins C title

Manhattan Christian, Bigfork and Wolf Point captured championships at state basketball tournaments held last week.

Plains remembers fallen on Memorial Day

Melissa Oyer

Class B and C boys wrap up state meets.

The boys 2012 Class B and C State Track Meets have come to an end, with Thompson Falls placing fifth with 30 points, and Plains finishing tied for 15

Candidates unanimous in opposition to USFS, Obamacare, and CSKT Water Compact

Record turnout for 10th annual Baroque festival

PARADISE – The 10th annual Montana Baroque Music Festival hit Quinn’s Hot Springs Resort and brought in record numbers.

Trotters lose two

The Plains Trotters fell twice at home, 0-3, to Mission on Thursday and Eureka on Saturday, last week.

Rams end Hawks season

The Thompson Falls Bluehawks were 18 points away from going to the state championships after being defeated by 7-B champions, the Loyola Rams 72-54, in a challenge game Monday night at Polson.

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.”

Superior Bobcats fall to Fort Benton, 44-30

For the first half of the game, it was as close as it gets. But in the second half, the third quarter to be precise, Fort Benton managed to pull away from Superior as the Longhorns kept their post-season Montana Class B football hopes alive with a 44-30 victory over the visiting Bobcats.

Thompson Falls' Koskela named Coach of the Year

Prior to the start of the season, Thompson Falls football coach Jared Koskela was asked what he would like to see from his 2021 team.

Burn permit season begins

MINERAL COUNTY - On Thursday, May 1, fire season officially begun and burn permits will now be required for all outdoor burning in Mineral County.

SVFD Mutual Aid request brings much needed support

Montana Mutual Aid was established in 1995 by the state legislature in an effort to allow fire departments without existing mutual aid agreements in place to assist each other without the worry of liability issues.

Mineral County Roundup

Brian Coon won a truckload of fire wood donated by Tricon Timber. It was a raffle held by the Clark Fork Mountain Cats football team with proceeds used to benefit the team. Coach Jeff Shultz and the team wanted to thank Tricon for their donation and for supporting the team.

DNRC trains personnel on helicopter tactics

Department of Natural Resources and Conservation firefighters from around the region gathered outside Plains on Thursday to train with a helicopter crew from Kalispell. Firefighters were taught the proper methods for attaching equipment to the helicopter as well as radio protocol for calling in a water drop.

County resident accused of shooting father in Trout Creek

A Thompson Falls man is lodged in the Sanders County Jail after authorities say he tried to kill his father during a recent domestic incident.

Busy summer ahead for area Forest Service crews

Forest Service agencies are gearing up for a busy summer with a number of projects in the works. Nate Kegel, and Carole Johnson with the Superior Ranger District met on separate occasions, with County Commissioners regarding the status of several projects in the Superior Ranger District. There was also a community meeting with the Ninemile Ranger District regarding updates on the Soldier Butler fuels reduction project, as well as other projects in the area.