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Lake County Leader • August 7 2023

Orphaned Mission Valley grizzlies thriving at Maryland Zoo

A pair of grizzly cubs found starving near St. Ignatius in 2016 have adapted well to their new home at The Maryland Zoo in Baltimore, according to their caretakers.

Lake County Leader • August 1 2021

Boulder 2700 Fire hops Highway 35

A wildfire in the Mission Mountains east of Flathead Lake that began early Saturday morning rapidly spread overnight, destroying several structures and forcing mandatory evacuations of the Skidoo Lane area and Finley Point.

Lake County Leader • August 3 2021

Residents cautiously return to Finley Point

Following nearly 48 hours of worry, exhaustion and frustration, Finley Point residents who had been displaced by the Boulder 2700 Fire received some welcome good news Monday night when Lake County Sheriff Don Bell announced that most would be allowed back into the area starting Tuesday afternoon.

The announcement came during a community meeting at Polson High School that drew approximately 300 people to the school’s gymnasium. Several hundred others attended the meeting remotely via Zoom, thoug

Lake County Leader • August 7 2023

Speaking for the silenced

ST. IGNATIUS — When 23-year-old Jermain Charlo, a mother of two from Dixon, went missing from the streets of Missoula on June 16, 2018, friends, family and an entire community were left with a wave of questions, few answers and an undeniable sense of hopelessness.

Lake County Leader • August 7 2023

Mr. Lunceford’s hog pen project a perfect teaching tool

The old livestock barns at the Lake County Fairgrounds in Ronan have solid bones, according to Fair Manager Sjaan Vincent, but some improvements certainly are in order after years of use.

Lake County Leader • August 6 2023

Ronan's Casey Lunceford awarded $50,000 teaching prize

RONAN — Ronan High School vocational agriculture teacher Casey Lunceford is among 18 educators across the nation who were selected as recipients of a 2021 Harbor Freight Tools for Schools Prize for Teaching Excellence.

Lake County Leader • December 10 2020

CSKT leaders say 'Big Sky' producers exploiting tribes

PABLO — Leaders of the Confederated Salish and Kootenai Tribes are calling out ABC Studios for actions they deem exploitative regarding the production of the network’s new fall prime-time drama “Big Sky,” which is set in Montana.

Wallowa County Chieftain • August 7 2023

Verbal threat at school prompts ‘threat protocol’ in Wallowa

A classroom conversation during normal school hours at Wallowa High School on Wednesday, Jan. 27, prompted school officials to contact law enforcement agencies and to initiate the school’s “threat protocol.”

Government

Lake County Leader • August 6 2023

County presses state for law enforcement funding deal

Attorneys representing the Lake County commissioners sent a letter to Gov. Greg Gianforte last week in the hopes of finding a resolution to a longstanding dispute regarding costs of law enforcement on the Flathead Indian Reservation.

Cut Bank Pioneer Press • August 7 2023

Glacier Hotel's fate in EPA's hands for now

It's been nearly a year and a half since the Glacier Hotel in Cut Bank was destroyed by a late-night fire, and the community should soon learn whether a federal crew is on the way to clean up the site.

Lake County Leader • August 7 2023

Class action suit filed over Lake County jail conditions

A class-action lawsuit alleging inhumane and discriminatory conditions at the Lake County jail was filed in Missoula County District Court last week on behalf of 38 current or former prisoners.

Lake County Leader • April 15 2021

Planning Board recommends denial of outdoor recreation park zoning request

During a lengthy, emotional meeting that began Wednesday night (April 14) and wrapped up early Thursday morning, the Lake County Planning Board voted unanimously to recommend the county deny an Upper West Shore zoning amendment request that is part of a proposal to create an outdoor recreation park on about 17 acres between Lakeside and Rollins.

Lake County Leader • August 6 2023

Return of the resort tax

Members of the Polson City Commission agree that the city’s streets are a major problem. In fact, the city’s most recent long-term strategic plan, adopted in 2018, lists street improvement projects as a top priority.

Wallowa County Chieftain • August 7 2023

Who pays for fire protection?

Wallowa County’s so-called fire protection “donut hole” — interior land vulnerable to fire but not currently assessed a fire protection fee — may be a thing of the past starting in 2017.

Wallowa County Chieftain • August 7 2023

State approves lethal action against Imnaha pack

The Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife on Thursday shot and killed four wolves from the Imnaha pack in Wallowa County following five confirmed depredations on private land in the Upper Swamp Creek area in March.

The SKQ Dam in Polson.

Lake County Leader • August 7 2023

Tribal Council ratifes water rights compact

The Tribal Council of the Confederated Salish and Kootenai Tribes unanimously ratified a water rights compact with the state and federal government during a Dec. 29 meeting, one day after President Donald Trump signed it into law as part of a $4.8 trillion fiscal year 2021 federal budget.

Lake County Leader • August 7 2023

Gov. Gianforte visits Polson vaccination clinic

Montana Gov. Greg Gianforte made a swing through the northwest region of the state to visit COVID-19 vaccination clinics in Kalispell and Polson on Friday, the same day he signed an executive order allowing a statewide mask mandate expire.

Crime/Courts

Lake County Leader • August 7 2023

Hesse sentenced to 80 years for Ronan man's beating death

William Lowrey Hesse, 55, of Denver, was convicted of deliberate homicide and tampering with evidence in relation to the death of 63-year-old Gyme Kelley in Kelley’s fifth-wheel trailer at Mission Meadows RV Park.

Lake County Leader • August 7 2023

Third man sentenced for 2018 storage unit gold theft

A Bigfork man with a lengthy felony history was sentenced to 10 years in prison with no chance for parole Wednesday, Feb. 3 in Lake County District Court for his role in a high-stakes 2018 storage unit theft involving gold bars, coins, valuable artwork, guns, talk of a treasure map and, eventually, a race car.

Lake County Leader • August 7 2023

St. Ignatius man, mother plead guilty to roles in fatal crash, cover up

A St. Ignatius man and his mother have pleaded guilty to felonies related to their roles in a January 2021 fatal crash and attempted cover up that sparked widespread calls for justice for the victim of the crash.

Lake County Leader • May 17 2022

Ronan man charged with arson for Boulder 2700 fire, two others

The Lake County Sheriff’s Office announced Tuesday that a Ronan man suspected of igniting the Boulder 2700 fire that burned several structures last summer is in custody and has been charged.

Lake County Leader • September 10 2021

Community mourns abrupt loss of Amanda Farley

Authorities in Colorado confirmed Friday that a woman whose death was the result of a homicide Sept. 5 in Aurora, Colo., is Amanda Lynn Farley, 20, of Polson.

Lifestyles/Business

Lake County Leader • August 7 2023

Turning the corner in Pablo

When longtime contractor and stock car driver Tony Undem took on the challenge of operating a local racetrack a few years back, he had just the team in mind to help him make a go of it.

Lake County Leader • August 7 2023

Orphaned Mission Valley grizzlies thriving at Maryland Zoo

A pair of grizzly cubs found starving near St. Ignatius in 2016 have adapted well to their new home at The Maryland Zoo in Baltimore, according to their caretakers.

Lake County Leader • August 7 2023

Popular Polson bar reopens as The Durham

The former Lake Bar in downtown Polson has been dismantled, remodeled and reborn as a new food and drink establishment known as The Durham. The bar was shuttered last fall for the remodel, with plans to reopen under the new name by the first of the year.

Lake County Leader • August 7 2023

Dynamic duo: Homegrown film company brings local horror movie to the big screen

It’s not often that a location’s availability serves as the starting point for a feature film project, but when you’re running a fledgling production company you need to seize your opportunities as they arise.

Lake County Leader • August 7 2023

Quick response limits barn fire damage at Miracle of America Museum

A bit of Lake County history went up in smoke Friday A bit of Lake County history went up in smoke Friday morning as a fire destroyed a barn full of agricultural equipment and artifacts at the Miracle of America Museum southeast of Polson. The good news is things could have been much worse.

Sports

Lake County Leader • August 7 2023

Polson's Shipley a rising force in cycling world

Polson native Gabriel Shipley’s ascent to pro cycling’s biggest stages shows no signs of slowing.

Lake County Leader • August 7 2023

BJ Tidrick claims second Montana 200 championship

BJ Tidrick of Kennewick took a wild ride to the checkered flag in the Montana 200 Saturday night at the Mission Valley Super Oval and came away a two-time winner. Tidrick had planned a weekend of working in the garage, but his father called him Friday morning, offered his No. 21 car and urged him to head to Montana.

Wallowa County Chieftain • August 7 2023

At long last, Friday night lights in Wallowa

In Wallowa, the thrill of renewed competition came with a huge helping of community pride Friday night when the Cougars hosted football action under the lights for the first time in the school’s lengthy history.

Lake County Leader • April 20 2021

Sun and fun at the Dilly Bar Invitational

RONAN — Saturday was a beautiful day in the Mission Valley for track and field and ice cream. Six area teams from multiple classifications competed in the annual Dilly Bar Invitational track meet at Ronan High School under clear skies on what felt like a summer day.

Editorials

Wallowa County Chieftain • February 11 2016

63-mile trail in need of one bold step

For several years now the people of Wallowa and Union counties have been hearing of a plan to build a pedestrian/bike trail along 63 miles of railroad from Joseph to Elgin. We’ve reached the point where that talk must either make room for action or slowly diminish as another fine idea that just couldn’t take shape.

Lake County Leader • August 7 2023

A blemish on an otherwise beautiful parade

After a year of isolation, Ronan offered up a refreshing, well attended public event last Wednesday evening with its St. Patrick’s Day parade.

Ed Sparks of Wallowa watches as one of his poles, deemed of too small a diameter for commercial milling, is peeled by his 1965 peeler. Sparks says he gets enough call for thinning and forest restoration to put two more crews in the woods, but has enough work for himself to take him to retirement and would rather recommend other local guys.

Wallowa County Chieftain • August 7 2023

The long road to resiliency

Several dozen Wallowa County residents showed up March 29 for our local version of the latest public meetings regarding the U.S. Forest Service’s regional Forest Resiliency Project. The project is intended “to accelerate the pace and scale of restoration in the area, restoring the Blue Mountains to healthier condition and lowering the risk of severe wildfires.”

R. Scot Heisel Journalism Portfolio

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