The Blackfoot Valley's News Source Since 1980
The Blackfoot Valley's News Source Since 1980
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"We just liked rodeo. We didn't have no place to ride, so we built it," Eddie Grantier said while sitting in the shade near the Lincoln Rodeo Grounds snack bar during the rodeo Sunday, July 3. In 1952, the newly chartered Lincoln Rodeo Club hosted its first rodeo on Labor Day on property a couple miles west of Lincoln leased to them by Gilbert Zimbleman. Just 17 years-old at the time, Eddie was a young bareback rider and one of the club's 22 or so first members. Today, he is...
In late May, the community of Ovando unveiled stickers listing the top six commandments for tent camping in bear country. The stickers are the latest effort by the town to ensure the safety of visitors after a young male grizzly bear killed cyclist Leah Lokan of Chico, Calif. last year. Lokan was camping in a tent near the Brand Bar Museum near the center of the town in the early morning hours of July 5 when the bear attacked her. Kathy Schoendoerfer, owner of the Blackfoot...
At a rodeo, the stars of the show tend to be the bull and bronc riders, the ropers, steer wrestlers and barrel racers. The bullfighters, who dodge bucking bulls to help riders, also draw a lot of eyeballs. But it may be easy to overlook pickup men like Pete White and Jesse Johnston, who every year play a vital role in pulling off a safe and entertaining Lincoln Rodeo. "If you don't notice us, we're doin' our job," said White, who has been picking up the Lincoln rodeo for 19 ye...
A passing rainstorm and sunlight cutting in under the clouds at sunset created the perfect condition for an epic double rainbow to develop over the Lincoln Valley. The unusually brilliant rainbow was the subject of dozens of photographs by nearly everyone who saw it and had a camera or phone on hand....
The Lincoln Rodeo club, formed in 1952, hosted it's 70th Annual Lincoln Open Rodeo over the weekend of July 2 and 3. https://www.blackfootvalleydispatch.com/photos Lincoln Rodeo Results Saddle Bronc 1st Kolby Kittson 77 Tie Down Roping 1st Colton Rauch 9.13 2nd Jimmy Racine 12.05 3rd Cody Helm 15.33 4th Neil Tatsey 16.10 5th Lincoln Yarama 20.02 Breakaway 1st Nichell Marmon 3.45 2nd Hunter Brewer 4.12 3rd Reagan Langer 5.50 4th Maddison Harris 13.72 5th Maci Meyers 13.93...
Eighteen co-ed softball teams descended on Hooper Park last weekend as the 39th Annual Bob Purdy Softball Tournament got underway. Tournament organizer Doug Richards said the teams had a great time and they all want to come back again next year. Laurie Richards said two of the teams that had never been to the tournament before said they'll make a point never to miss it. "They had a great time." Doug and Laurie continue to organize the tournament as they've done for years, but...
For the last two years, the Music in the Wild performances in the Delaney Mill Teepee Burner have brought some of the state's best musicians to town nearly every weekend throughout July and August. It provides a free, unrivaled chance to hear a wide variety of musical styles – from blues to jazz to country, as well as the occasional guest speaker – in a one-of-a-kind setting....
The Lincoln Rodeo grounds was the site of "full blown chaos" as nearly 16,000 water balloons, 40 or 50 kids, a couple dozen adults and two fire trucks came together for a wet and wild water balloon fight Saturday, July 30. Before the melee got underway, adults gathered around several heavy rubber stock tanks filling balloons as the kids waited impatiently in the shade of the large camouflage net by the rodeo grounds snack bar. Several of them pressed up against the arena...
Chip sealing of the streets in both the Lincoln and Lambkin's Rural Improvement Districts is scheduled for Aug. 16 – 17. Lewis and Clark Public Works director Jenny Chambers reported at Lincoln Government Day that crews have completed pothole patching on the streets in town in advance of the surface preservation project. Additionally, the corner near the Hotel Lincoln, which was little more than a mass of potholes, has been blade patched to improve drainage. Chambers said t...
The Wheel Inn marks is 75th year with a change in ownership. Shea and Melissa Forkan took over ownership of the historic tavern two weeks ago after four months of wading through red tape and the state's bureaucracy to meet the requirements for buying the tavern. The Forkans signed the final paperwork Thursday, July 28, taking over the bar from Doug and Laurie Richards, who owned it for 33 years. Given the long-term success of the Wheel Inn under the Richards tenure, the...
While the annual Lincoln Clothing Giveaway has been a success every year, organizer Nadine Yonkovich said they like to think every year is better than the last. And this year may have been the best in its 35-year history, even surpassing last year's donation windfall. "Last year it seemed like we had more donations than ever before, because the tables were just mounded. But this year I'm saying we got more donations than even last year," said Yonkovich. "It is just amazing...
After nearly 10 years publishing the Seeley Swan Path finder in Seeley Lake, Andi and Nathan Bourne sold the newspaper to brothers Jesse and Lloyd Mullen, owners of Ponderosa Publications. The newspaper will be managed by the Mullen Newspaper Company, with Andi staying on as editor during the transition, which they hope to have completed by Sept. 1. "After nearly 10 years, we recognized that we had taken the Pathfinder as far as we could and were getting burned out," Nathan said in the Pathfinder article on the sale. "We...
At the end of June, the Lewis and Clark County Commission approved a $55,000 request from the Lincoln Rural Fire District to use funds allocated to the county through the American Rescue Plan Act to develop a water filling station at Hooper Park. The proposal called for creating a pumping and filling station at the park, which has a wellhead near the main parking lot. The plan for the filling station, which Lewis and Clark County Public Works has the lead on implementing, would include a buried pressure tank and use the...
A crew with the Montana Conservation Corp spent five days at the old Lincoln cemetery in Lincoln Gulch this month to help Lewis and Clark County Heritage Preservation Officer Pam Attardo with a pair of projects in the historic site. Setting to work July 9, the six-person crew – four teenage girls and two adult crew co-leads – spent the next three days building a series of stone bollards delineating the boundary of the original pioneer cemetery dating to the 1860's under the...
For the last month or so, the open lot just east of Stonewall Storage has been the site of some conspicuous activity as work got underway for a new branch location for Ox and Son Towing & Recovery. With the Great Falls-based company doing plenty of business in the area, Ox and Son has been working toward developing a location in Lincoln for nearly four months. "It looks like we'll be opening probably within the next month," said Jennifer Klinker, owner of Ox and Son, and wife...
Joe And Tammy Haas and their family jumped into the restaurant business with both feet this month. The couple re-opened Bushwackers restaurant and bar in time for the July Fourth weekend, with the Lincoln Bike Rally following the next week. "It was kind of a crazy first two weeks," Tammy said. The couple have been in Lincoln for just over a year, but their journey to becoming Lincoln's newest restaurant owners began in 2020, with a desire to expand their laser engraving...
The Lincoln Community Hall got a long-needed upgrade to its roof last week after years of problems with leaks and the buildup of ice and snow in the winters. Schrock Roofing of Victor tackled the task of re-doing the roof of the century-old building, following a search for a roofer who would be willing to take it on. Renee Lundberg, Community Hall Association treasurer, said the roof of the hall was re-shingled about a decade ago, but problems with leaking have gotten worse...
Ovando's Juy 4th parade celebrated the memory of riding bicycles as a kid, as well as the bicyclists who visit the community every summer. https://www.blackfootvalleydispatch.com/photos...
Lincoln celebrated Independence Day with a Thank You to veterans. This years parade featured WWII veterans and grand marshals Steve Stocks and Harry Arvidson, joined by Barb Solvie. (Unfortunately, a glitch during our image download deleted the BVD's images of the trio.) Parade Winners Best Youth Entry : Power House Best Auto: Model T - John Rummel Best antique farm machinery: Ford Tractor - Richard Walp Best Equestrian: Melody Perry & Shayne Pater Best themed Entry: American...
Lincoln American Legion Post 9 saw six of the flags that they put out during every holiday stolen over the Independence Day weekend. Dawn Charron said one of the flags was taken at 12:28 a.m. July 2. Another five were stolen after midnight on the morning of July 4. Charron said a group of people waving the flags and 'sword fighting' with them were picked up on a security camera at about 12:45 a.m. heading west toward the Wheel Inn. The flags were taken from the corner of...
Lincoln annual July 4th fireworks show, both the official sho put on by the Lincoln Valley Chmber of Commerce and the show at Hooper Park put on by visitors and members of the public, illuminated the night sky and created an eerie glow over the east end of Main Street as thick fog that rolled in diffused the myriad colors....
Brody Skillicorn, the grandson of Doug Vulcan, Lincoln American Legion Post 9 adjutant, found himself taking part in the June 14 flag disposal ceremony at Hooper Park after telling his grandfather he'd never been to one. Post 9 Commander Rick Foreman, whose grandson Kade Sampson also took part in the ceremony, estimated they had more than a hundred unserviceable flags to dispose of during their annual ceremony on Flag Day. "We've been collecting them at the senior center,"...
Development of the Lincoln Community Master Plan continues to move forward after six focus group discussions met June 9 and 10 for a more detailed look at the major concerns identified in a survey circulated in March. Dustin De yong of Freestone Development, the contractor hired to develop the master plan, facilitated the discussions, which combined in person meetings and Zoom participation for those who couldn't be in Lincoln. "I know it was difficult for some people to...
With the busiest weekend of the year on the horizon, members of The Lincoln Rodeo Club have been hard at work preparing the rodeo grounds for the 70th Annual Lincoln Open Rodeo held every year during the weekend closest to Independence Day. Sharla Lewenight, the club's secretary/ treasurer, said the work to get the rodeo grounds up to speed this year has gone better than it has in the past. "There's been less work. I don't understand why, but it's actually been pretty easy," s...
Doug and Laurie Richards celebrated 33 years of owning and operating the Wheel Inn on June 18 with a get together that brought in customers both old and new, and served up a lot of memories. The celebration was also intended to mark the hand off of the business to Shea and Melissa Forkan. "We scheduled for the closing date for June 17. That's the date we picked because it was going to be our 33rd opening anniversary." However, the closing date was pushed back as the Forkans...
