The Blackfoot Valley's News Source Since 1980
The Blackfoot Valley's News Source Since 1980
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LINCOLN - Lewis and Clark County deputies arrested a Lincoln man Tuesday morning, March 2, and charged him with two counts of assault with a weapon after an extended standoff at his home along Highway 200, four-and-a-half miles west of Lincoln. Gregory Scheele, 60, surrendered peacefully to deputies at 11:30 a.m. after about four-and-a-half hours. The standoff led to the closure of Highway 200 for about three hours as Sheriff's Office personnel negotiated with Scheele to...
Ponderosa Snow Warriors President Forest Mercill reminds snowmobilers that avalanche safety should be at the forefront of their minds as they head out to ride. "It's a weird, scary year with the ice, and the sugar (snow) and the deep on top of it," he said. According to the Feb. 27 missoulaavalanche.org advisory, there is considerable danger of avalanche as snow conditions across west central Montana include wind slab and persistent weak layers within the snowpack. They recomm...
Lincoln's second drive-through COVID-19 vaccination clinic saw about 100 people show up to receive a dose of the Pfizer vaccine. Lewis and Clark County Public Health opened their vaccination clinics to all Phase 1b eligible individual in the county, which includes anyone older than 70 years old, or anyone between the ages of 16 and 69 with medical conditions that make them high risk for COVID-19. Friday's clinic at Lincoln Public Schools, provided second doses for individuals...
Lincoln's second drive-through COVID-19 vaccination clinic saw about 100 people show up to receive a dose of the Pfizer vaccine. Lewis and Clark County Public Health opened their vaccination clinics to all Phase 1b eligible individual in the county, which includes anyone older than 70 years old, or anyone between the ages of 16 and 69 with medical conditions that make them high risk for COVID-19. Friday's clinic at Lincoln Public Schools, provided second doses for individuals...
Lincoln Prosperity During last week's Upper Blackfoot Valley Community Council meeting, the council heard from Jordan Reeves of the Wilderness Society on the status of the Lincoln Prosperity Proposal, which was developed by a diverse group of local and area individuals and groups who agreed "the status quo isn't working" when it comes to forest management on the federal land surrounding Lincoln. The work of the Lincoln Prosperity Group is poised to take a major step forward...
The Lincoln Valley Chamber of Commerce ended their February meeting with two new board members, a re-organized board and new focus on promoting Lincoln. Tammy Jordan and Bob Weatherston, who chose to step down at the expiration of their terms, left the board with two open seats that were filled by Shelby Brookie of Rev Mountain Entertainment and newcomer Jeff Hollingsworth, the new Chief Financial Officer with Hi Country Snack Foods. When the board reorganized at the end of the evening, the LVCC officers were completely...
Two new emergency response vehicles have been turning heads in Lincoln in the last week. Taking advantage of a grant program using CARES Act funding to respond to public health needs, Lincoln Volunteer Fire Rescue purchased and outfitted two new Dodge pickups for use as immediate response vehicles. "It was 100 percent grant. No local funding was used for it," said Aaron Birkholz, the LVFR EMS manager. The new vehicles replace two older Ford Excursions that served as the...
The Lincoln Volunteer Ambulance and Lincoln Fire Rescue responded to a snowmobile accident about a mile east of the Ponderosa Snow Warriors clubhouse on Sucker Creek Road Saturday evening. A middle-aged woman riding a snowmobile missed a corner on the trail, went over an embankment and hit a tree about 15 yards down the hill. Aaron Birkholz with the Lincoln Volunteer Ambulance said she had been wearing a helmet, but nevertheless sustained potentially life-threatening injuries....
Governor Greg Gianforte last week announced his order allowing the statewide mask mandate that has been in place since July 15 to expire, but a mask order remains in effect for Lewis and Clark County. Under Executive Order 2-2021, Gianforte encouraged Montanans to continue to wear masks but highlighted personal responsibility as the best tool to combat the spread of COVID-19. However, state law allows local jurisdictions to enforce health directives that are stricter than thos...
A public access easement agreement approved by the Lewis and Clark County Commission during the Feb. 5 Lincoln Government Day brought an end to questions about access to National Forest land using Stonewall Creek Road. Concerns about use of the road emerged in 2018 following the installation of two gates on the road where they crossed onto private property in the Parlin Park area three and a half miles northwest of Lincoln. Crystal Ness, the county development services...
A Great Falls man was killed Monday night, Feb. 1 while walking down Highway 200 west of Lincoln. According to the Montana Highway Patrol, the man was walking westbound in the middle of the westbound lane of Highway 200, near the intersection of Beaver Creek Road, when he was hit by a westbound Dodge pickup driven by a 66-year old Lincoln man. Lewis and Clark County Sheriff/Coroner Leo Dutton identified the victim as Forrest William Deaton, 42. He was pronounced dead at the...
Undeterred by a snowstorm, Lincoln senior citizens took advantage of the mobile COVID-19 vaccination clinic that came to Lincoln Friday, Feb. 8 for the first dose of the two-dose series Pfizer vaccine. Lewis and Clark Public Health and PureView Health Center planned and announced the drive through clinic Tuesday, Feb. 2 after the county received its shipment of vaccine and determined they had received enough to provide 100 doses for a clinic in Lincoln. "It went really well....
With COVID-19 vaccine still in comparatively short supply in Montana, it's unclear when mobile vaccine clinics may be dispatched to Lincoln or other outlying communities in Lewis and Clark County.* (Editors note: The county receives vaccine allocation information Tuesday morning. On the morning of Feb. 2 they had received enough to conduct a mobile vaccine clinic in Lincoln at the Lincoln Fire Hall Feb. 5 for Lewis and Clark County residents. The information wasn't available...
Jim Oly, who debuted his drumming for Lincoln on Dec. 6 - while dressed as Santa to spread some cheer - kept folks around parts of western Montana entertained with his musical endeavor and offbeat humor during the holidays. He returned to Lincoln for the encore performance as a benefit for the Lincoln Food Bank. During his two hour 'set,' a number of people stopped by, donating about 100 pounds of food, as well as some cash, for the Food Bank. Oly said the effort was in honor...
The Lincoln Ranger District is losing another familiar face in February as Natural Resource Specialist Josh Lattin moves on to a similar position with the Pintler Ranger District on the Beaverhead-Deer Lodge National Forest. Lattin, who has managed the Lincoln Ranger District's recreations program since the late spring of 2014, is set to begin work in Philipsburg Feb. 16. Although he would like to stay in Lincoln, Lattin said he applied for the new job to help advance his...
Nagging injuries, COVID-19 and other illnesses prompted Lincoln Athletic Director Shane Brown to sideline the Lincoln basketball teams last week, forfeiting games against Seeley Lake and Granite High schools "The girls and the boys are kind of banged-up and sick, so we don't know if we're going to be able to suit five to start the game," Brown said. Due to concerns about COVID-19, both the boys and girls teams are playing with a bare minimum of players. The girls team has...
Lewis and Clark County Public Works told the Upper Blackfoot Valley Community Council they favor pushing back a planned chip sealing project for Lincoln streets until 2022, to provide time for public meetings and feedback after COVID-19 restrictions ease up later this year. The discussion dominated the Jan. 19 meeting, which provided the first opportunity to dig into the details of the maintenance project that was slated for this year. The streets on Lincoln's, Lincoln and...
Upcoming board opening, the pending launch of an interactive map website, op-portunities to promote and market Lincoln, and the future of Skijoring all came up for discussion during the Jan. 14 meeting of the Lincoln Valley Chamber of Commerce. As the LVCC heads into 2021, the seven-member board will have three open board seats, due to expiring terms, with Bob Weatherston of the Three Bears Motel and Goldieknots' Tammy Jordan stepping down after last weeks' meeting. The seat...
Strong winds that tore through western Montana last week up trees, damaged buildings and led to power outages throughout the Upper Blackfoot. An extended period of abnormally strong, gusty wind began Jan. 12 and intensified throughout much of the day Jan. 13, with peak wind gusts recorded in the early afternoon Wednesday. The weather station at the Lincoln Ranger District, near the Lincoln airport, reported a peak wind gust of 41 miles per hour at about 2 p.m. The reading was...
Update: Phase 1b of the Lewis and Clark Public Health vaccine distribution plan, which includes residents 70 years of age and older, Montanans 16 to 69 years old with severe underlying severe medical conditions such as Cancer, COPD and diabetes, and Native Americans or people of color who may be at risk for complications, begins Friday. Vaccination drive-thru events are scheduled Tuesday, Jan . 19 and Wednesday, Jan. 20 at the Lewis and Clark County fairgrounds, but will be...
The Lincoln School Board, in their regular meeting Monday Jan. 11, heard a number of updates on how the faculty and students are handling the return to school. Classes resumed in-person Jan. 4, after more than a month of online distance learning prompted by an increase in possible COVID-19 cases and close contacts in the community. Both Lincoln High Senior Lindsey Weisner, the student representative in the meeting, and Lincoln Schools Superintendent Jen Packer noted initial...
Lincoln Fire Rescue responded to two structure fires in the space of three days last week. At about 5:30 a.m. Saturday morning, the Fire Department responded to a vehicle and garage fire at the Nicolai residence on Nicolai Lane west of Lincoln. "The truck caught the garage on fire," said Lincoln Fire Chief Zach Muse, who was first on the scene. "It appears to have started from the block heater. I don't know if it was faulty, but I'm pretty sure that's where it started." Muse s...
A sizable group of people gathered east of Lincoln on New Years Day to take advantage of the warm weather for a bit of classic wintertime fun....
Eight years ago, the idea of an international sculpture park in Lincoln seemed like a pretty crazy idea, but as 2020 – a notably crazy year itself – drew to a close, Blackfoot Pathways: Sculpture in the Wild added another feather to its cap as one of five honorees recognized with the Montana Governor's Arts Award. In a Dec. 29 press release from the Mon-tana Art's Council, Gov. Steve Bullock announced the awards, which are bestowed on individuals and organizations that "de...
Despite the relatively thin snow around Lincoln, the Ponderosa Snow Warriors kicked off both the new year and the snowmobile season Jan. 2 with a virtual fun runt and food at the club house on Sucker Creek Road. "This was the first thing we were going to try to do because we had to cancel the club dinner," said the club's new president Forest Mercill. Mercill took over as president last fall from Ron Zarr, who stepped down due to work and other commitments. Attendance to the...
