The Blackfoot Valley's News Source Since 1980
The Blackfoot Valley's News Source Since 1980
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The Lincoln PTSO fireworks stand, which has had a home along Highway 200 just west of Coyote Coffee for the past three years, was welded onto the new heavy duty trailer and hauled to property owned by Brent and Carla Anderson west of Lincoln, where it will be stored during the off season. The stand, housed in a re-purposed shipping container, has been set up and stored in various locations around town over the years. Aaron and Kristen Birkholz gave it a home in front to the...
The Lincon Valley Chamber of Commerce Hosted the 45th Annual Lincoln Community Benefit at the community hall Saturday Nov. 2. This year's benefit featured the annual performance by the Lincon Community Players, who put on their version of the TV classic western Gunsmoke. 'Gunsmoke: A Fractured Fairy Tale' was a mashup of Gunsmoke and Snow White tells the tale of a group of gold mining dwarves and their money-hungry boss, Snow White, upsetting the peace in old Lincoln. Stu...
Restoration work at the Upper Blackfoot Mining Complex wrapped up for the year due to weather and the Forest Service re-opened Meadow Creek Road to the public Oct. 31. "That area is now officially back open," Lincoln District Ranger Michael Stansberry said at the Lincoln Government Day meeting Nov. 1. "At this point it's a month earlier than we normally open." National Forest land in the area has been closed to the public since the end of May, as work to clean up mine waste in...
In the coming weeks, the Montana Department of Transportation will begin soliciting design consultants for work on a new Dalton Mountain Road Bridge, Roger Balz, Lewis and Clark County Chief Administrative Officer, reported at the Lincoln Government Day meeting Nov. 1. County Engineer Dan Karlin told the BVD earlier last week that MDT accepted the bridge replacement project into their off-system bridge program in July, when they began requesting the county send them...
With Lincoln Telephone Company ending cable TV service to the community Dec. 31, cable subscribers only have two months left to settle on their future entertainment options. The company's decision to drop cable comes amid a growing nationwide "cord cutting" trend that has seen users move away from cable services and toward online streaming options. Lincoln Telephone is one of the last communication companies in the state to abandon cable service. 3 Rivers Communication in...
After a month with only one trustee, The Lincoln Hospital District board has been reconstituted with the swearing in of four new trustees at their meeting Tuesday Oct. 22. The new members include Sherri Wood as the board Chair, Josh Lattin as Vice Chair, and Jim Agner as secretary and Tracy Daniel as the fifth at large trustee. Karen Frank-Plumlee, the sole remaining trustee following the resignations of Judy Spath, Shane Brown and Maryanne Brown in September, remains on as...
After two months as the new executive Director of the Blackfoot Challenge, Seth Wilson is settling into the role that brought him back to the Blackfoot Valley. Wilson, who served as the first Wildlife Coordinator for the Blackfoot Challenge from 2001 to 2014, took over the position Sept. 3 and has been re-acquainting himself with the watershed and the organization's partners. "As I get a bit more settled in as executive director, I am grateful to our amazing Board of...
Lincoln Fire Rescue added another vehicle to its inventory last week with a "new" Rescue Response Truck acquired from the Helena Fire Department. The specialized vehicle, built on a 4x4 2000 Ford F550 chassis, sports a red, white and gold paint job, resembles an ambulance and is outfitted to carry everything needed for rescue operations, from the department's extrication tools and rescue equipment to hazmat gear, basic medical supplies and fire extinguishers capable of...
A Blackfoot Valley Dispatch subscriber told the BVD Monday that they had received a call from our phone number requesting payment for a subscription. The caller claimed the subscription had expired and requested payment information. The call did not originate from the BVD; instead the call came from a scammer who spoofed our phone number. The BVD will not call subscribers requesting payment information. Instead, we send out reminder cards for subscription renewals. If you’re uncertain about your subscription’s expiration dat...
With the activity at the Lincoln Airport this year, including construction of a new taxiway that will provide space for several more hangars, Lincoln Airport "guru" Jerry Cain felt the time was right to create a formal organization to assist the Montana Aeronautics Division with the upkeep of the facility. For several years, Cain has been coordinating events and maintenance at the airport and he said circumstances came together this spring, including the arrival of snow...
At the end of next week, voters in Lewis and Clark County will be receiving ballots for the Nov. 5 election. Outside of Helena, voters will see a ballot with only one issue to decide: whether to allow non-partisan elections for county government. The question comes after the 2019 Montana legislature approved House Bill 129, which allows county governments in the state to legally put the question before voters, and it's something Lewis and Clark County Commissioner Susan Good...
Last Thursday's annual Adopt-a-Species assembly for Lincoln grade schoolers came up short a few feathered friends, but Rebecca Skeldon, the education coordinator with the Montana Discovery Foundation, kept the youngsters engaged with a look at "The Life that Fire Brings" to the landscape. Every year the Montana Discovery Foundation hosts an adopt-a species assembly, with a visit by native raptors being one of the assembly's highlights. Unfortunately for the kids, the folks wit...
The seven varsity players of the Lincoln Lynx football team are getting a lot of experience in the school of courage these days, facing down teams with twice as many players, week in and week out. Standing across from the numerous Sheridan Panthers Thursday night, Oct. 3, the sturdy Lynx were ready to rumble even though only six Lincoln men were dressed out because Noah Belcher was still nursing an injured knee. Fighting through the pain of recent injuries, Senior Nathan...
The Lincoln Hospital District board of Trustees is down to just a single member following the resignations of three of the remaining four members Monday, Sept. 23. Secretary Judy Spath and Trustee Mary Anne Brown both submitted their resignations to board Chairman Shane Brown prior to the scheduled monthly meeting Sept. 23, which was cancelled due to the lack of a quorum. Shane Brown, who said he had been considering his own resignation for several months prior to the...
Lincoln got off light during the winter storm that blanketed most of western and north central Montana in deep snow. According to the National Weather service, the Lincoln area only received about five-and-a-half inches of snow, on the lower end of a list that saw areas east of the mountains covered in several feet of snow. The towns of Babb and Browning topped the list, with snow depths of 48 and 42 inches, respectively, while Augusta and Choteau both saw a total of 19 inches from the storm. Montana Gov. Steve Bullock declar...
The early winter storm that brought heavy snow to the much of Montana Saturday and Sunday prompted visiting Blackfoot Pathways: Sculpture in the Wild artists Stuart Ian Frost and Alison Stigora to head out a day early to beat the weather and nearly led to the cancellation of the official launch of the new work. But a handful of locals braved the cold and showed up Saturday afternoon to check it out regardless. BPSW President Becky Garland and Artistic Director Kevin O'Dwyer le...
Drivers in the Lincoln area arrested for driving under the influence won't have a chance to sober up before having their blood drawn, thanks to a new contract approved by the Lewis and Clark County Commissioners last week. Commissioner Susan Good Geise told the Upper Blackfoot Community Council that the commission approved the contract with the Lincoln Volunteer Ambulance to provide local on-call blood draws for alcohol testing, rather than forcing deputies or Highway Patrol...
Hi Country is officially under new ownership for the first time since it was founded in 1976 and Travis Byerly has big plans for the future of the brand, Byerly took over full ownership of the meat snack company earlier this month after Lewis and Clark County commissioners approved a loan servicing agreement for part of the funding package for the purchase that Byerly has been working toward for about two years. Until this month, he had been a minority stakeholder, owning...
The Lincoln Airport has become a lot more visible in the last couple weeks, following the removal of the trees and old building east of the aviation facility’s main gate. “Everybody hated to see the trees go away, but that’s what had to happen,” Jerry Cain, the de facto caretaker and long-time promoter of the Lincoln Airport, said. The area was cleared and work has been underway to construct a new looped taxiway behind the existing row of hangars, The work is designed to add space for up to 24 new hangars at the airport...
Representatives from the partner agencies involved in the cleanup of Upper Blackfoot Mining Complex gathered at the repository along Highway 279 Thursday, Sept. 5 to celebrate the arrival of the final load of contaminated material from cleanup effort that began actively removing waste from the Mike Horse area in 2014. "The hauling is done," said Dave Bowers, the UBMC Project Manager for DEQ. "Highway 200 is going to be free from our menace pretty much for good now. And the...
The Lewis and Clark County Commission approved an agreement Thursday, Sept. 5 that would end the county's relationship with PureView Health Center. The PureView Board of Directors voted June 5 to end the 25-year partnership with the county and to begin operating as an independent nonprofit effective March 1, 2020, but news of their decision raised concerns from the Lincoln Hospital District about PureView's future at Parker Medical Center. PureView held their September board m...
This year's rodeo was dedicated to the memory of Kathy Daniels, a lifelong Helmville resident who dedicated more than 45 years of service to the Helmville Rodeo Club. https://www.blackfootvalleydispatch.com/photos...
A small horse pulling a tiny covered wagon is an interesting sight. A small horse pulling a tiny covered wagon from the Mexican border to the Canadian border, following the Great Divide Mountain Bike Route, is an extravaganza. Rani 'Narni' Merz of White Salmon, Wash., has been driving her "rockstar pony" Chirpa, north on the GMDBR since April 30, when "Narni's & Pappy's & Chirpa's Geriatric Great Divide Extravaganza" started its journey at the Mexican border at Antelope...
Lincoln’s aging sewer system is getting a much-needed upgrade with the help of two loans for the State Revolving Fund approved last month. Governor Steve Bullock officially announced the approval of $538,900 in loans in an Aug. 26 press release. The Lincoln Sewer District received one 30-year SRF loan for $430,000 with a 2.5 percent interest rate, a second $108,900 SRF loan that may be forgiven if the district meets certain conditions and a $125,000 Renewable Resource Grant from DNRC for the project. According to the press r...
Lincoln Firefighters spent several hours Thursday evening, Aug. 22, battling a fire burning deep inside a large cottonwood on the southeast corner of the Sleepy Hollow Trailer Park, at the edge of town next to Stemple Pass Road. Lincoln Fire Chief Zach Muse said the fire was most likely a holdover from a lightning strike on July 13. He said a limb from the tree fell onto the road that day, but at the time it wasn't clear the tree had been hit by lightning. "It was just a...
