The Blackfoot Valley's News Source Since 1980
The Blackfoot Valley's News Source Since 1980
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Summer in Ovando is shaping up to be a quiet one this year. Business has been picking up for the small community in the last two weeks, after the state lifted the 14-day quarantine requirement for out-of-state visitors, but some mainstays of the community's summer will continue to feel the impact of restrictions related to the COVID-19 pandemic. Last week, after about a month-and-a-half of discussion that involved more than 20 members of the community, the town opted to call...
A new set of metal bleachers will give spectators with disabilities a better experience and increase the number of seats available at the Helmville Rodeo Grounds this year. Funding for the new seating came from the successful effort to raise funds to save and renovate the historic grandstands at the rodeo grounds in 2017. "There are so many people who gave to the (grandstand) project, we said if we had money left, our goal was to do ADA seats at the rodeo grounds," said...
Howie and Peggy Fly’s sale of their buildings in downtown Ovando has meant a move for them, but they haven’t gone far. The home they had been living in - the old Boyd Ranch house that was moved to Ovando in 1968 - was part of the sale, which prompted them to find a new home. Or in this case an old one. “So, we bought this house, and it’s got just as much work that needs to be done,” Howie said. Their new home on the west edge of the town began its life as the school house at Browns Lake. “There were ranches and homesteader...
The Upper Blackfoot Valley Community Council discussed a wide number topics at their July 21 meeting, including updates the Mike Horse road and restoration project to an Envision Lincoln grant award to COVID-19. Mike Horse Information provided to the UBVCC indicated construction work at the UBMC is nearing completion, and work on Mike Horse Road is finished, with a “heavily armored” ford in place across the Blackfoot River. According to the update read by UBVCC Chairman Zach Muse, the road “is still in place and trave...
Welcome to the new and improved Blackfoot Valley Dispatch. This issue marks our first as a broadsheet since the mid 1990's. It's a return to a format we hope our readers will appreciate. Last week, the BVD earned a somewhat dubious spot in the history of newspaper publishing in Montana when our final issue in the tabloid format became the last newspaper printed on the Goss Community press at River's Edge Printing in Great Fall. The Great Falls Tribune wound down its press oper...
Investigators and deputies from the Lewis and Clark County Sheriff's Office Investigated a death at a residence in the Sleep Hollow Trailer Park July 17 that was initially believed to be have been suspicious. A woman dropping off a new washing machine for the home reportedly found Dorthy Gonzalez unresponsive after breaking into the home to check on her when she got no response at the door. Members of the Lincoln Volunteer Ambulance responded and found that Gonzalez was...
The drive-through testing event at Parker Medical Center Wednesday July 15 became the last of PureView Health Center's planned mass testing events for asymptomatic individuals, after one of the labs used to process results stopped taking tests from Montana. Jill Marie Steeley, the CEO of PureView, said the Lincoln event proved to be a slow one, and only drew 100 people who stopped to get tested. The second testing event planned for Lincoln Aug. 12, as well as the Aug. 5 testin...
Skateboarders from Helena, Lewistown and Stevensville joined Lincoln skaters Saturday July 11, to celebrate the formal grand opening of the new Lincoln Skatepark. "It's been a long process, but as you can see it was well worth it, so thank you everybody," Jeff Ament said after cutting the ribbon to officially open the Lincoln Skatepark Saturday afternoon. "Thanks for giving us a reason to come back to Lincoln." Behind him, local kids and members of the Lincoln Skatepark...
Next week you will see a change in the Blackfoot Valley Dispatch. Seven years ago, we made the jump from a newsletter format on office paper to a tall tabloid on newsprint, returning the BVD to standard newspaper format. This issue of the BVD will be the last to be printed at River's Edge printing in Great Falls. Next week we'll transition to a new printer, with the Livingston Enterprise, as well as to a larger format, as a traditional, full-size broadsheet. While we had been planning to revamp the BVD's design, the...
A recent successful grant application to the Town Pump Charitable Foundtion funded four Zoll Automated External Defibrillators for most of Helmville's public buildings. Kate Appleford, who owns the Copper Queen Bar with her husband Tommy, said she was prompted to write the grant when she started training to become an Emergency Medical Technician. "We realized Helmville really doesn't have any in public areas, and we're an aging community," Kate said. The only one the...
Last weekend, Lincoln became one of only a few communities in Montana to host an Independence Day parade, rodeo and fireworks this year, after most events around the state were canceled out of concern for COVID-19. The influx of up to 2000 people to the community for the Independence Day parade and rodeo, Saturday July 4th, has prompted both praise, for moving ahead with celebrating the nations birth, and criticism for holding public events amid the COVID-19 pandemic....
Face coverings Recommended. Lincoln Volunteer Ambulance President Aaron Birkholz recommends using some type of mask or face covering during the upcoming holiday weekend to help prevent potential spread of COVID-19. “I would recommend people who are here on the Fourth to wear a mask,” Birkholz said. “It would be a real shame if all a sudden we get a spike from the Lincoln parade and rodeo.” He recommends people use something to cover their nose and mouth while interacting with others, even if it’s a basic bandana. “Really a...
Social distancing and personal responsibility will be paramount during this year's annual Independence Day Parade and Lincoln Rodeo. Both events, which have historically been vital to Lincoln's economy, were at risk of being cancelled due to challenges this year related to COVID-19 restrictions, but "robust" discussions at the county level, sparked by an announcement the parade had been canceled, helped clear the way for them to move ahead. Last Thursday, June 24, Lewis and...
With a number of July 4th events canceled around Montana, Lincoln stands to see a major influx of visitors hoping to experience a traditional Independence Day Parade and Rodeo. Christ Lewenight, president of the Lincoln Rodeo Club said the rodeos that have moved ahead in the state so far this year have seen a good turnout, with some high-level pro riders showing up, since there aren’t as many rodeos this year. “We could end up with some really good riders this year,” he said. The expected increase in visitors has promp...
Lincoln firefighters and volunteers spent most of the day Saturday cleaning out the Lincoln Rural Fire District's new Station 4, just north of the main fire station on Stemple Pass Road, The LRFD purchased the building and the adjacent property between the two buildings in 2019. The building, which was formerly home to Chris Waits' Lincoln Center for the Performing Arts', and before that Chris' Repair & Tune Up, will serve to house some of the Fire Department equipment current...
Lincoln was the first pit stop for the vintage automobiles, which left from Helena at about 8 a.m. Monday and reached Lincoln at about 11 a.m. From here they headed out for Fairfield for a lunch stop. The cars cover about 200 miles on the first day of the event, 200 miles on the second day and 100 miles on the third. This year marks the 60th running of The Montana 500, which began in 1961 with a run along highway 200 (then Highway 20) from Missoula to Fairview near the North...
With fire season on the horizon, the Lincoln Ranger District is preparing to tackle wildfires in a different way. Amid the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, the large fire camps that spring up during fires are generally off the table, as the camp crews that normally manage the camps and feed the fire crews aren't available this year. Likewise, concerns about the potential for coronavirus spread means the district won't bring in fire crews and fire management teams from around the...
"It's a wind game," said Rich Debick as he described the key component of competitive shooting Saturday afternoon, June 13.* Gusty cross winds gave members of the Lincoln Sportsman Club a chance to tackle that game during a demonstration of proper bench rest shooting and flag reading at the clubs new range on Wendell Weavers property, off Cooper's Lake Road east of Ovando. Debick, who shoots competitively, brought three of his rifles along to give club members the chance to...
There will be modifications coming to the way the Blackfoot Valley Dispatch does business, but like it or not, you're still stuck with us Rather than pull the plug on the BVD before it reaches its 40th birthday this December, we decided in April to survey both our readers and advertisers, and to take some time to re-evaluate our business model and our future in the wake of the COVID-19 economic downturn. Thank you to everyone who took the time to share your opinions in our surveys, which brought us a better response than we...
The concern surrounding COVID-19 has led to the cancellation of Lincolnstock, the annual music festival held at Hooper Park that had been scheduled for Aug. 1. Gary Zadick, who organizes and funds the free concert for the community as part of his annual family reunion, announced the event's cancellation earlier this month. "I didn't want to have any fuss," he said, adding the ongoing pandemic raised concerns about people gathering close together at the event. "I do it for...
People were invited to bring chairs and enjoy the movie from the Lincoln School football field, or to watch it from their cars, with audio provided via FM radio. For more on how the showing came about see our Lincolnstock story....
A ruling in federal district court in Missoula last week rejected legal challenges to the Willow Creek Vegetation Project and cleared the way for treatment of 2,140 acres of timber affected by insects and disease in the Dalton Mountain area southwest of Lincoln. In a June 3 decision, U.S. District Court Judge Donald W. Molloy rejected all six claims leveled against the project in a suit filed by the Alliance for Wild Rockies and the Native Ecosystems Council last June. "We...
Bridge Replacement The Dalton Mountain Bridge replacement is moving ahead under the Montana Department of Transportation, but construction of the new bridge is probably still about two years off. Lewis and Clark County signed a two-party agreement with the State of Montana Tuesday, June 2 that formalizes the project as an MDT project. The agreement provides MDT with the $600,000 in Treasure State Endowment Program funding awarded to the county by the 2019 Legislature.The TSEP...
Lincoln's resident Deputy Robert Rivera said he knew something was up when his whole family was at the Lincoln Government Day meeting June 5. Lewis and Clark County Sheriff Leo Dutton used the occasion to recognize Rivera for a pair of accomplishments dating back to February. Dutton awarded Rivera with the Lifesaving Award for his actions Feb. 29 to help save the life of a choking man. Rivera responded to a call that evening for an individual who was choking and not...
Stormy weather threatened the first outdoor graduation ceremonies in Lincoln last Saturday, but held off long enough for the Class of 2020 to bid farewell to a turbulent senior year. The senior class capped off a day of ceremonies that included a kindergarten graduation that morning, and an 8th grade graduation earlier in the afternoon. The 2019-20 school year was marked by school closures and the cancellation of all manner of school due to concerns about COVID-19. "I felt...
