The Blackfoot Valley's News Source Since 1980
The Blackfoot Valley's News Source Since 1980
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Senator Steve Daines paid a virtual visit to Hi Country Snack foods Thursday, April 7 to hear about challenges rural small businesses are seeing as the COVID pandemic winds down and inflation increases. Daines originally planned to visit in person, but had to change to a virtual tour due to scheduling conflicts in Washington D.C. He joked with Hi Country owner Travis Byerly, Chief Operating Officer Steve Fehrs and Chief Financial Officer Jeff Hollingworth that they had some...
Despite a forecast calling for blustery, rainy weather, Lincoln's annual Putt Putt mini golf tournament saw its largest ever turnout, with about 400 people in 78 teams hitting the portable links around town May 7. In its 12th year – after a one-year COVID-19 break in 2020 – the annual fundraiser brought in an estimated $10,000 that will go to various local organizations. Bonnie Christian, who has organized the event since its inception, had a theory about the unexpectedly hig...
Blackfoot Pathways: Sculpture in the Wild recognizes International Sculpture Day Most of the visitors to Sculpture in the Wild Saturday were unaware it was International Sculpture Day but seemed delighted to find out they had chosen to visit Lincoln's sculpture park on the unofficial holiday. International Sculpture Day falls on the last Saturday in April every year. It was set up by the International Sculpture Center as a worldwide celebration of sculpture and to increase...
The calls of sandhill cranes echoed off the nearby hillsides above Alice Creek Ranch. On the ponds below, the calm surface of the water was broken only by handmade flies, the occasional spinner and a rather large muskrat. With the end of the school year on the horizon, Lincoln School science teacher Nancy Schwalm and a handful of students took advantage of a surprisingly mild evening Wednesday June 1 to fish the ponds at the historic ranch property and enjoy a tailgate...
Between 180 and 250 off highway vehicles, including side-by-sides, three- and four- wheelers, motorbikes, and the odd jeep, swarmed the hills around Lincoln over the weekend for Saturday's annual Memorial Day Fun Run and the Blackfoot Valley Optimists Club OHV Scavenger Hunt Sunday. While the Memorial Day Fun Run has been a fixture in Lincoln for many years, Chad Sutej introduced the Optimist Club's Scavenger Hunt last year, inspired by a similar ATV jamboree in Conconully,...
Mountain Bikers travelling the Great Divide Mountain Bike route for the 2022 Tour Divide have been a common sight in Lincoln since the race started June 10, but they're not the only folks on the trail. On June 3, Karen Selle and her son Doug Gnida of Edmonton, Alberta, set off from Columbia Falls to travel the route on horseback to travel as far south as they can, with an eye toward at least reaching Pie Town, N.M. Although the GDMBR is thought of as a bike trail, much of it...
Commissioner Jim McCormick asked Lincoln Fire Chief Zach Muse for an update on the fire department and fire season. Muse said everything is going well and the Lincoln Volunteer Fire rescue has been pushing hard on their wildland fire training "We're green right now," he said. "May and June are our wettest months for rain. In May we had 1.4 inches, which really isn't that much. But it was cool, so that helped." He said Lincoln averages five to six inches in June, and the...
When Lewis and Clark County officials opened the bids for the chip seal projects on the Rural Improvement Districts in Lincoln and Augusta, they weren't sure what to expect. Although they had anticipated a substantial increase in the cost of the project, they found when they opened the bids May 24, rising costs had far outpaced what they expected. "The bid we received, with anticipation of inflation and fuel costs, was higher than we predicted.," County Public Works Director J...
With the school shooting in Uvalde, Texas last month and the May 31 threat of shooting in Helena that led to the arrest of a 23-year-old Helena man, , Lewis and Clark County Sheriff Leo Dutton addressed some of the challenges facing school security. Dutton said he has been stressing the importance of a single point entry for schools where a potential threat can be contained. He said the Helena School District has worked to make that happen through new construction and...
Lewis and Clark County Commissioners approved a resolution of intention to increase the solid waste disposal fee from 90 to $100 during a public hearing at the Lincoln Government Day meeting Commissioner Andy Hunthausen said the fees pay for the cost of running the container site, the disposals of that waste to Great Falls., under contract with Republic Service. and the recycling bins by the Lincoln Senior Center. County Finance Coordinator Misty Edwards said the assessment had been decreased from $100 to $90 in 2019 due to...
Lincoln Middle School history students presented their final presentations for the year during a pair of "Wax Museum" displays, open to the public, at the Lincoln School gym Tuesday morning, June 7. The students, dressed as various historic figures, waited for visitors to hit a "play button" that launched them into their presentation on the person they represented. The morning started with the 7th grade World Cultures and Geography class, who portrayed figures from world...
"Imagine going to a school; a school that is small but safe; a school where everybody knows everyone; where peer and friend mean the same thing. Imagine going to a school where you're not just a number, but a priority; a school where you are loved; where you consider your teachers and classmates, coaches and teammates to be a second family, and school your second home. This is Lincoln Public School." With those words Jenna Templeton opened her valedictory address at Lincoln's...
Volunteers cleaned up old flowers, pulled weeds, raked grass and pine needles, and fixed the cemetery fence during the annual clean-up of the historic Lincoln Cemetery Saturday, May 28. About a dozen folks were on hand to help out, including four of the five remaining members of the Lincoln Cemetery Board. Lincoln Cemetery District Chairperson Bonnie Shown said they didn't have quite the crew they've had in the past, but said, "these people are all very devoted." "I think the...
A handful of volunteers turned out Saturday May 21 to help get Hooper Park ready for the summer by raking pine needles, cleaning trash out of the fire pits and sundry other tasks. With only about ten people on hand, including two park board members, volunteer turnout for this year's clean-up was down by about a third, but those who did show up put in plenty of effort. "It's important because it's our community," said Renee Lundberg, whose husband Ernie is on the park board....
An event called Mil/Vet Connect gave Lincoln-area veterans the chance to connect with resources that are available to them through the Veterans Administration and other organizations around the state. "We're trying to go to smaller communities," said Jennifer Thomas with Veterans Inc., the organization that worked with Montana Joining Community Forces to bring the event to the Lincoln Community Hall May 26. "In October we did one in Townsend. Next October we'll do Boulder....
The Lincoln Rural Fire District board approved their proposed budget for Fiscal Year 2023 at their May 26 meeting, but ongoing increases in fuel costs have added a degree of uncertainty. LRFD chairman Dick Birkholz said the district currently has regular base funding of $63,480. Additional funding from a pair of $34,198 mill levies for Fire and Emergency Medical Services brings their total tax base revenue to to $131,876. Birkholz said they adjusted a few things in the...
Lincoln Veterans and community members gathered at the Lincoln Community Hall Monday morning to honor the memories of American service members who have lost their lives both in war and in peace. Post 9 Adjutant Doug Vulcan delivered the remarks this year, reminding people that "Memorial Day in not about picnics and parades, though there's nothing wrong with enjoying our American life. Memorial Day is about gratitude and remembrance. It is about honoring the men and women who...
"Ask first and respect the answer" is the main thing Mike Domitrz wants people to take away from his SAFER Choices presentation, which looks at attitudes surrounding sex and intimacy among high school and junior high school students, as well as their parents. On Wednesday May 11 Domitrz hosted three separate presentations, talking first with the 5th through 8th eighth grade students, then with high schoolers and finally with parents that evening. The decision to have Domitrz...
An ambulance call Sunday evening, May 15, led to the arrest of the man Lincoln EMTS were trying to help, after he allegedly pointed a loaded gun at one of them. Dennis J. Doll of Lincoln was arrested on a felony charge with assault with a weapon after Emergency Services arrived at his residence about five miles east of town in response to a call that he had been on the floor having convulsions. According to court documents, Doll regained consciousness and began fighting with...
Lewis and Clark County Sheriff Leo Dutton joked about the fact hardly anyone comes to Lincoln Government Day meetings when he comes to visits, but with the meeting room at the Lincoln library crowded, he figured there must be something about roads on the agenda. The May 6 meeting served as both the regular monthly meeting of the Lewis and Clark County Commission in Lincoln and as the public hearing on the third and final hearing on both the Lincoln and Lambkins Rural...
The results of a survey designed to gather feedback for the development of a master plan for Lincoln revealed an overwhelming desire to see the town remain a small town, with a high value placed on its character, it's people and the sense of community. Two weeks ago, Dustin deYong of Freestone Development, the consultant hired to guide the master planning process, provided an initial look at some of the results from the online answers to the community survey. At the second...
Headed into town but wonder what things are looking like? Now you can get a live view of downtown Lincoln through a live stream from the store front of Rusty Relics and the BVD. Livestream Montana installed the camera in March as part of a network of cameras in several small towns in the region. Livestream Montana began at Live in Montana, a real estate company based in Augusta. Their first camera began live streaming from their business in Augusta 2020, followed by another...
County taxes are often a source of chagrin for Lincoln residents, with indignation often leveled at road maintenance in the area, but a look at county expenditures on roads reveals those long-standing complaints may not reflect current reality. The fact that roads in the Lincoln area are in constant need of maintenance hasn't changed. Potholes develop every winter and spring, dust and washboards plague the unpaved roads every summer and fall. But the belief that Lincoln is...
A town hall meeting planned for next Wednesday, April 27 will look at the full results of the Lincoln Master Planning Community survey that was in circulation around town and online from early March until April 8. The responses will help guide the development of a master plan by highlighting common concerns, what Lincoln community members would like to see and what they are dead set against. As March drew to a close, the Lincoln Master Plan Steering Committee extended the...
