The Blackfoot Valley's News Source Since 1980
The Blackfoot Valley's News Source Since 1980
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After a month and a half of online schooling and a Christ-mas break, Lincoln students returned to their classrooms Monday morning. The school had been closed since Nov. 19 out of concerns about COVID-19 and close contacts with infected individuals that impacted both students and staff. The Lincoln School Board opted to return to in-person classes at a special Dec. 28 meeting via Zoom, due largely to the impact distance learning was having on the students. "A lot of the high sc...
After more than an hour of weighing the pros and cons of the local COVID-19 situation in, the Lincoln School board voted Monday night to return to in-person classes Jan. 4. The School Board held the special meeting via zoom Monday evening to discuss where things stood following more than a month of school closure and online classes. Lincoln Schools first closed Nov. 16 following a number of close contacts among students and staff. On Nov. 25, the board extended the closure to...
With Christmas music blaring and their fire trucks decked out in Christmas lights, the Lincoln Volunteer Fire Department toured the Lincoln area Wednesday night, Dec. 23 to spread some holiday cheer to the community. Mirroring the tour on Easter this spring, the drive gave people who missed holiday events canceled by COVID-19 a chance to get in the Christmas spirit...
In their first year, Red Sleighs Over Montana paid a visit to the Lincoln Airport Wednesday afternoon, Dec. 23. "We thought we'd send some cheer to smaller towns," said pilot Bryan Douglass, who flew into Lincoln with his daughter-in-law and acting elf Jackie Douglass to drop of goodies for Lincoln kids. "Smaller towns don't always get the attention." Lincoln was the last stop for Douglass, who had also visited Cut Bank earlier in the day. The event was organized by the...
Susan Good Geise ended her tenure on the Lewis and Clark County Commission Tuesday morning when Montana Attorney General Tom Fox swore in Tom Rolfe as the newest commissioner filling the District 2 seat she's vacating. Last week, Geise was looking ahead to the end of her time in office, and reflecting on her time with the commission. "Mostly what I am is profoundly grateful," she said. "Really, really grateful because I thought my time in politics was over. I had one last...
A man driving from Missoula to Great Falls fell asleep at the wheel and struck a power pole in front of the Power House Gym in downtown Lincoln Thursday, Dec. 17. The driver walked away from the accident without any injuries, despite sheering off the bottom 12 or so feet of the power pole. "He admitted to falling asleep," said Montana Highway Patrol Trooper Brian Inman, who investigated the accident. "Everything shows that he fell asleep as well. He drove off the road asleep...
This year's Lincoln Lynx basketball season, which was already delayed due to COVID-19, is hanging on the rim as Lincoln school athletic director and boys basketball coach Shane Brown works to get a handle on the number of students who will turn out to play this season. Brown and girls basketball coach Curtiss Janzen began practices Saturday in an effort to get enough of them in to start the season Jan. 8, but he said the numbers are extremely low. "(For the) girls, we're...
Verifiable numbers of COVID 19 cases for the community of Lincoln remain hard to verify, but Lincoln Volunteer Ambulance President Aaron Birkholz said there are currently 13 cases being reported in Lincoln through the state system. "They're still in the active cases," he said Sunday, "so they're still within their quarantine time." With family members included he estimates there are about 25 people here currently in quarantine for the virus. He said there have been a total of...
Lincoln, Mont. – Beginning in mid-January, Tory Kendrick will take on the role as the Acting District Ranger for the Lincoln Ranger District for 20 days. It's a new challenge," said Kendrick, who has been the Base Manager for the Missoula Smokejumper Base for the last five years. "I've been with the forest service for 25 years. It's something I've always wanted to do." Kendrick visited Lincoln last week to spend time with departing Ranger Michael Stansberry to get a feel f...
Lincoln District Ranger Michael Stansberry will be leaving Lincoln next month to take over as the Forest Supervisor for the Chippewa National Forest in northern Minnesota. Stansberry, who will end his tenure here Jan. 15, said the move is both a promotion and an opportunity to be closer to his family, including his twin daughters who have scholarship offers in Wisconsin and his son, who may be moving to Michigan. "There are lot of unknowns here but this is about being close...
"If we can come to a broad consensus, that has the potential to give us power. A new kind of power that will let us figure out that maybe we can affect some change. It may take decades, it may happen a long time after I'm gone, but it begins with the first step and that's what this is about." Paul Roos made that comment in the spring of 2014 while talking about community movement he had been spearheading since the year before. Paul passed away Nov. 10 after a short battle...
The Lewis and Clark County Commission unanimously approved the application for a $20,000 grant from the Montana Main Street Program during the Friday Dec. 5 Government Day meeting held via Zoom. Although the grant would be for the community of Lincoln, Lewis and Clark County is technically the applicant, as the local government with jurisdiction over the town. If approved, the grant and $5000 in matching funds raised by Envision Lincoln will provide approximately half the fund...
Although Santa's Workshop couldn't be held in its usual form at the Lincoln School gym, a group of volunteers joined the Lincoln Council for the Arts, American Legion Post 9 and Rick and Patty Freeland to make sure Lincoln kids could enjoy a semblance of the Lincoln holiday tradition. The Freelands donated hats, coats, boots and the use of the Powerhouse for the occasion. Post 9, a staple of the Workshop every year, provided treats and warm drinks in their trailer, while a...
Envision Lincoln is preparing to submit the first of two applications for grants that will hopefully fund a Downtown Master Plan for Lincoln. The community development organization had been working in collaboration with Lewis and Clark County, the Lincoln Valley Chamber of Commerce, Heart of the Rockies, and the Montana Business Assistance Connection on a $20,000 grant application through the Montana Main Street program since August. The grant cycle opens Dec. 8 “We had kind of a final review of the application Wednesday. I...
The Lincoln School Board voted to extend the school closure and to continue distance learning until Jan. 4 during an emergency meeting Nov. 25. Classes were initially set to resume at the school Monday, after the school was closed Nov. ?? due to several students and staff members found they had been in close contact with a person who was confirmed to have contracted the coronavirus. Since then, the number of both confirmed and suspected cases of COVID-19 continues to climb...
On Dec. 5, 1980, a small, still unnamed newspaper began circulating in Lincoln. Sporting a series of question marks where the publication's name should be, the front page included the issue's only story - a message from the publishers - and a photo of a then-new Ponderosa Snow Warriors Clubhouse and information on the club's open house and Christmas dinner. The remainder of the issue was almost entirely advertisements, save for an announcement about the VFW Post 3669...
Following an emergency meeting, Wednesday evening, Nov 25, the Lincoln School Board voted to continue distance learning and extend the school's closure a through the end of the year. In person classes are currently slated to resume Jan. 4. The move comes as COVID-19 cases within the community continue to increase and as several families with school-aged children have quarantined due to possible exposure to the virus. Lincoln School Board President Aaron Birkholz estimated up...
This week, PureView Health Center began offering COVID-19 testing at Parker Medical Center to members of the public in Lincoln who are showing symptoms or who have had close contact with a case. Previously, testing had been limited to Parker Medical patients, but as the number of cases increases throughout the county and in Lincoln, PureView has opted to expand testing to non-patients as well beginning Monday, Nov. 23. "I think it's increased enough to have the staff say we...
It was Christmas Eve in McClellan Gulch in 1867 when a young man wrapped up some late evening grocery shopping before heading to saloon to have a drink to celebrate the holiday. Among the miners celebrating the holiday, John Smoot soon found himself in an affray that would cost him his life and lead to an important - but almost entirely forgotten - milestone in the history of Montana jurisprudence: the first legal murder conviction in Montana Territory. The tale of the event...
Last week the BVD published a story regarding COVID-19 cases in Lincoln, based on information provided by Lincoln Volunteer Ambulance President Aaron Birkholz. I published the story because I felt it was timely, given the increasing caseload in the county, and important for people to recognize there is a far higher COVID-19 risk in Lincoln than most people are probably aware of. Last weekend I learned that, following the story, Aaron has received negative backlash for the info...
During a Tuesday afternoon press conference Nov. 17, Montana Gov. Steve Bullock announced three new directives aimed at curbing the spread of COVID-19 within the state as winter approaches. COVID-19 cases began to increase markedly throughout Montana in September, with even rural areas seeing an increase in confirmed cases. "We're all sick of this virus," Bullock said. "We all have to collectively recognize that this virus won't stop spreading in our communities any time soon...
COVID-19 cases are spiking throughout Lewis and Clark County, and Lincoln Volunteer Ambulance President Aaron Birkholz, has serious concerns that the number of cases in Lincoln is far higher than officially reported. On Monday the county reported a total of 1850 cases since March, with 860 currently active cases, 11 hospitalizations and nine deaths. Case rates in the county began taking off in late September and on Nov.12 hit a high (so far) of 96 cases reported that day....
During a Tuesday afternoon press conference, Montana Gov. Steve Bullock announced three new directives aimed at curbing the spread of COVID-19 within the state as winter approaches. COVID-19 cases began to increase markedly throughout the Montana in September, with even rural areas seeing an increase in confirmed cases. "We're all sick of this virus," Bullock said. "We all have to collectively recognize that this virus won't stop spreading in our communities any time soon...
Lincoln's American Legion Post 9 moved their annual Veterans' Day observance from the Community Hall to Hooper Park Nov. 11, due to concerns about COVID-19. Despite the abbreviated ceremony and cold weather nearly two dozen people attended to show their respects....
Lincoln Schools suspended in-person instruction and shift to remote learning for two weeks Monday morning after a person intown who had cloe contact with several students and staff members tested positive for COVID-19. With no confirmed cases in the school itself, the decision to shift away from in-person learning was largely precautionary. "Until we get those results back we're not sure the impact that would have on our school, so to be on the safe side we decided to close...
