“The boy is finally home.”That is what my nephew wrote in a text when my wife, son and I moved back to my childhood home, Superior, a few months ago.I graduated from Superior High School in 1974. My family operated a small ranch just east of town. My father, Lee Moats, died that year of a heart attack at the young age of 51. One of my eight brothers (I have one sister) continued to operate the ranch for a while, but now there are just a couple of horses in the fields. “Town” has steadily grown out to our...

Despite what the scoreboard read at the end of the game, this was maybe the sign the Plains Trotters softball team has been waiting for.The young Trotters, who have yet to win a game this year, battled to the end with 7B conference partner Eureka before finally falling 24-7.But the real story may have been how the Trotters came back, avoiding another Mercy Rule shortened game until the last out of the fifth inning.In doing so, they thwarted the Lady Lions' attempt to close them out after three innings.It can be viewed as a hopeful sign.That youth extends to the...

This may as well have been a preview of next month’s Montana high school track and field postseason as a pair of local teams strutted their stuff at the Thompson Falls Invitational meet this past Tuesday.Host Thompson Falls and Sanders County rival Plains basically went toe-to-toe in the team competitions, with both schools showing individual and team depth up and down the line-up.T Falls won the women’s team title by four points, 86-82 over the Plains Trotters, while the Plains mens’ team finished third with 64 points and T Falls guys finished fifth with 53.Troy won the men’s team title...

There is a saying in softball/baseball circles that chicks dig the long ball, a reference to fondness for home runs.Some teams, like T Falls, rely on “small ball,” the description attached to scoring runs the other way, with single base hits and aggressive base running.The Lady Hawks were in on both forms of softball this past week, splitting a pair of home games in what is shaping up as a very competitive march to post season play.T Falls began the week with a convincing 16-1 win over Class A Whitefish this pastWednesday at Pirk’s Place, their home field adjacent to...

John T. Spangler, John Spangler Law Office, P.O. Box 567, Superior MT 59872-0567, Telephone 406-822-3440, Attorney for Personal Representative,  MONTANA FOURTH JUDICIAL DISTRICT COURT, MINERAL COUNTY DEPT. NO. 5 PROBATE NO. DP-2024-2  IN THE MATTER OF THE ESTATE OF TROY S. GERARD, also known as Troy Sharan Gerard, Deceased.  NOTICE TO CREDITORS NOTICE IS HEREBY GIVEN that Mary Jane Hallack has been appointed Personal Reprsentative of the above-named estate. All persons having claims against the decedent, Troy S. Gerard, are required to present their claims within four months after the date of the first publication of this notice or said claims will be forever barred. Claims...

With discussions with the Governor, the filing application deadline for the property tax assistance program has been extended until June 1, 2024.   This program can help citizens on a fixed or limited income by reducing the tax rate on their home. To be eligible there are three important facts.You must own or currently be under contract to purchase a home or mobile/manufactured home.You must live in the home as a primary residence for a least seven months of the year.You must have a 2022 Federal Adjusted Gross Income, excluding capital and income losses less than:  *single $27,621 or *married or head of household $37,019.  The assistance level can be from a 30% to 80% reduction of the normal tax rate.   To find information on your status, contact your local State Department of Revenue office or call the state office in Helena at 406-444-6900.— Rep. Denley M. Loge, R-St. Regis

Last week, a special awards ceremony was held in Mrs. Nytes’ eighth-grade class at Superior School. Three students received recognition for their knowledge of American history during its formative time 200 years ago from the two veteran organizations in Mineral County: American Legion Post 13 of St. Regis and Veterans of Foreign Wars Post 6238 in Superior. “This year, the social studies classes of Mrs. Nytes' eighth grade at Superior and Mr. Stanek's senior class at St. Regis participated. The program is open to all schools in the county and we look forward to more and more participation as we develop...

“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.” This was said on Wednesday, April 17 at 209 Lobo Loop around 9:45 a.m., as it was the first time that the food supplement program used the facility. Most locals refer to this program as simply "commodities," which is serviced by the Western Montana Area VI Agency on Aging in Polson and has been under the umbrella of the Mineral County Pioneer Council, until recently. The SRSCC...

Edward Thompson, 76, a longtime resident of Thompson Falls, passed away Tuesday, April 9, 2024 at the Montana State Hospital in Warm Springs. Services will be announced at a later date. Online condolences may be left at gardencityfh.com.Edward Roger Thompson, son of Joseph and Verna (Tresness) Thompson, was born March 11, 1948 in Superior. He graduated from St. Regis High School in 1966 as co-valedictorian and continued his education at the University of Montana obtaining a bachelor’s degree in business. Ed met the love of his life, Terry Sanders, at a 4th of July Dance and the couple was united in...

It would be a massive understatement to say the sports teams at Loyola Sacred Heart in Missoula are having a good year.They have been at the top of the ladder all year long, and after sorting through the results of the Seeley-Swan Invitational track and field event in Missoula this past weekend, one would likely conclude the assessment with a “here we go again”.Last year it was Bigfork’s teams that enjoyed outstanding success on a grand scale, this year the Heart Breakers appear poised to assume the mantle.The Loyola women’s high school track meet dominated the field of 20 teams...

If tennis is your sport, Superior High is a good place to be.The Lady Bobcats tennis team, the only tennis team in either Sanders or Mineral counties, cruised through a potentially tough three-game week and came out mostly unscathed.With senior Lanie Crabb back in the line-up and a state qualifying doubles team from last year, Olivia Greuter and Ireland Heimeich, the Cats swept Philipsburg, Mission and Ronan this past week.And in the process they lost only a few sets in those three matches.Superior opened the road show against Mission and got a quick singles win, 6-0, 6-1 to open the...

It was, as Thompson Falls head golf coach Doree Thiilmony said, “lots of golf.”This past week, T-Falls and other high schools with golf programs in this area and beyond had a links feast, beginning this past Wednesday and Thursday with the Tobacco Valley Invitational hosted by Eureka’s Lincoln County High.And Saturday was another bigger golf event, the Gary Thompson Invitational, T Falls High’s annual event at River’s Bend Golf Course.It was lots of golf, and lots of good golf for golf fans.Anaconda High won the boys team title at the Eureka event, which was played over two days at two...

Curtis Cochran was born in Montana and was raised on a cattle ranch. He learned early that hard work, teamwork, and integrity is the Montana brand. Curtis is running for House District 90 that includes Mineral County, parts of Missoula County, and Sanders County. He has my vote for the following reasons. Over 50 years ago he moved to the St. Regis Community and helped our community develop the town park, the Community Center, and the annual St. Regis Flea Market. I have observed firsthand his dedication to community and his understanding and support of the Montana Republican Party principles. Curtis’s leadership position on the Mineral County Republican Central Committee and his knowledge of the issues will allow him to “hit the ground running” in the upcoming legislative session in 2025.His career in the timber industry and his understanding of the challenges and opportunities of living in western Montana — which include urban/wildland fire interface, public access, block management, and property insurance coverage, etc. — all make him an ideal candidate. Curtis’s yard signs are maroon and silver, enough said! Please consider casting your vote for Curtis J. Cochran. — George Bailey, St. Regis

An informational public meeting was held Thursday evening in the Plains school library concerning the school district's proposed $100,000 levy request. Ballots were sent out last week with election day being May 7.Superintendent Dr. Kathleen Walsh was on hand to discuss the impact of the proposed levy on local residents. “I’m using this (meeting) as an opportunity to engage the community in the process,” Walsh told attendees. The school district is losing two teachers to retirement and three paraprofessionals are retiring. Two positions need to be filled for next year: one in high school and one in elementary school. "We have good people...

Benjamin Franklin stated in 1747, “Lost time is never found again.”Yet long before this famous quote, came the dawning of keeping time at all. First with sundials, then water clocks, sands sifting through the hourglass, and even astronomical method. In the 15th Century, the first spring-driven clock was invented, shortly after the pendulum swung into existence, and the most recent was the atomic clock in 1955. All various instruments and conceptions of observing time.Horology is the study of time and the art of measuring it. It encompasses the design, construction and maintenance of clocks, watches and other timepieces. Horology is...

As comedian Jerry Seinfeld used to always say, “what is the deal with….?”. In this case, insert the word steeplechase at the end of that inquiry.It is a centuries old human endeavor that began, one source said, with people running from church steeple to church steeple in old times, presumably looking for more religion or possibly running between the two tallest and thereby most visible structures in towns and villages. Heavenly race guides, if you will.The steeples, it seems, were a guide for the participants.But it actually began when someone who was watching horses run and jump in an equestrian...

Move over win column number, you’ve got company.The Noxon-Thompson Falls co-op Red Devils baseball team went crooked number in the victory column last week with a 13-2 win over the visiting Troy Trojans, giving them their second win of the year in their first season of varsity baseball.Sophomore center fielder Payton Chambers went two for three at the plate for the Red Devils, driving in a team and game high four runs in the contest, which was played at Noxon’s Pilgrim Park. The win lifted Noxon-T Falls to 2-3 on the year.Troy got on the scoreboard in the top of...

The Northwest Indian Bible School used to have six taco sales per school year, but cut it down to four.“It’s a tremendous amount of work, even with so many pitching in,” said Doug Smith, who along with his wife have been the head cooks for 22 years at the school in Alberton. “The taco sales were going on when we got here so I really don’t know how long the school has done this.” The money raised goes to different departments and functions and their final taco sale of this year was last Monday and the money raised is for the...

A veto override effort on a much-debated marijuana revenue bill that initially passed the Montana Legislature with overwhelming bipartisan support last year has failed, according to poll results released Friday afternoon.The override poll, conducted by a mail ballot by the Montana secretary of state’s office over the last month, attracted only 41 “yes” votes from state representatives and 24 from state senators — well short of the 67-vote and 34-vote two-thirds margins required for a successful veto override.An additional 14 representatives and 2 senators voted against an override. The state’s remaining lawmakers didn’t respond to the poll, which has been...

A Lincoln County jury found the Eureka man accused of trying to kill Montana Highway Patrol Trooper Lewis Johnson in 2023 guilty on all counts Friday afternoon.Jason Allen Miller, 42, was convicted of felony attempted deliberate homicide, criminal endangerment, aggravated kidnapping, possession of dangerous drugs and criminal mischief.Johnson suffered life-threatening injuries in the Feb. 16, 2023 incident near Rexford and is still recovering.Jurors began deliberating late Friday morning and returned with a verdict after about two total hours.Flathead County District Court Judge Danni Coffman, hearing the case in place of Lincoln County District Court Judge Matt Cuffe, scheduled sentencing for...