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.

Plains cross country team returns from state with hardware

PLAINS – In an unexpected series of events, the Plains Trotter Harriers brought home a third place victory from the State Championship meet in Missoula.

Legals for June, 19 2024

De-stress for the holidays

Relax, slow down, and enjoy the holiday season and learn some new tools for the rest of the year, too. When stress is at its peak, it is hard to bring it down; try to prevent stress and depression in the first place, especially if the holidays have taken an emotional toll on you in the past. Start now and relax later. Here are 40 ways to try to get ahead of it:

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.

Lady Tigers fight hard for two weekend victories

ST. REGIS – The Lady Tigers continued their winning streak last week with two home games against Two Eagle River and Darby.

FWP announces fisheries sampling on walleye on Noxon Reservoir

NOXON - FWP will be initiating walleye research on Noxon Reservoir beginning in early April. Biologists will collect data to determine population demographics, reproductive potential, dietary habits and PCB concentrations within edible portions of walleye. The information will be used in the revised draft Environmental Assessment (EA) and determine if additional consumption advisories are necessary for Noxon’s sport fish.

Piranhas head up to Colombia Falls

After hosting their home swim meet last week, a smaller Plains Piranhas team traveled to Colombia Falls this weekend. Despite their youth and small size, the team competed very well.

Quilts of Valor

Once again local veterans were presented with a gift for their years of service. The Joint Operations of Mariposa presented a small number of men and women with handmade quilts as part of the Quilts of Valor project.

Harvest ahead of last year as season ends

NORTHWEST MONTANA - At the six northwest Montana check stations, whitetail deer harvest finished ahead of last year’s totals as the season wrapped up on Sunday.

20th Spring Mack Days kicks off March 19

The lake trout angling event, which ends Sunday, May 16, is sponsored by the Confederated Salish and Kootenai Tribes...

Comfort in the face of adversity

THOMPSON FALLS - Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS), also known as Lou Gehrig’s disease, according to the ALS Association, “Is a progressive neurodegenerative disease that affects nerve cells in the brain and spinal cord. Motor neurons reach from the brain to the spinal cord and from the spinal cord to the muscles throughout the body. The progressive degeneration of the motor neurons in ALS eventually leads to death.” This means that as the body’s muscles lose connection with the brain, the person with ALS will go through atrophy and eventually lose his or her muscles and eventually become paralyzed and die.

Study says there are too few homes for growing population

The rub, Horowitz said, is that Montana’s population increased by 10% between 2010 and 2020, according to U.S. census data, while the number of housing units in the state grew by only 7%.

Commission to discuss elk hunting access, bird dog seasons

Montana Fish, Wildlife & Parks is seeking public comment on several proposals slated to go to the Fish and Wildlife Commission in June. Comment is open through May 11.

SCSO talks budget, changes

THOMPSON FALLS – A number of issues were covered on Wednesday morning at the Sanders County Courthouse as the monthly sheriff’s update was held in the building’s conference room.

FWP visits Trout Creek school program

TROUT CREEK – Children at the Trout Creek after school program at Trout Creek School were in for a special treat last week.

High school soccer coming to Thompson Falls and Plains

The sport, often described as the number one spectator sport in the world based on the number of fans who watch and follow it across the globe, is coming to Sanders County and beyond this fall as a high school sport.

911 calls and bears top Hot Springs council agenda

The Hot Springs town council met last Tuesday evening to discuss several important agenda items.

Tigers struggle through week of Warriors and Devils

ST. REGIS – The St. Regis Tigers took two defeats in their games last week when they played against the Noxon Red Devils and the Arlee Warriors.

Hot Springs adds grant for college readiness

HOT SPRINGS – The Hot Springs School District has been awarded another grant for the school year.