The Blackfoot Valley's News Source Since 1980
The Blackfoot Valley's News Source Since 1980
Sorted by date Results 1 - 21 of 21
HELENA - As Montanans look to enjoy the great outdoors this spring and summer, state and local public health officials urge everyone to follow a few simple steps to prevent tick bites and their illnesses: Limit, repel, and inspect. Officials say the best way to prevent tick-borne disease is to prevent tick bites. State and local health officials receive reports of tick-borne illnesses every year and nationally tick-borne diseases are on the rise. Commonly reported tick-borne...
The Cyr Family, owners of BC horses and Scapegoat Wilderness outfitters, move their string of horses and mules through town Sunday afternoon, May 20....
Spring returns to the Lincoln Valley and brings with it new growth to areas burned last summer....
Lincoln Council for the Arts invites you to the first of possibly several summer dances! On June 2 at the Community Hall we will present the live music of the Montana Country Comfort Band, a popular group that has been pleasing audiences for thirty-two years! The leader of the band, Joe Thompson, started his first band at the age of sixteen, has a master’s degree in music and can play most instruments, specializing in tenor sax, flute and guitar. Besides being talented instrumentalists, the band members are extraordinary v...
According to the 2017 Montana Gray Wolf Program Annual Report, population estimates suggest there are approximately 900 wolves in Montana. This marks the 13th consecutive year that Montana has far exceeded wolf recovery goals. FWP now estimates wolf numbers using a method called POM, or Patch Occupancy Modeling. The old way of trying to count wolves from an airplane became a less and less accurate picture of wolf numbers as the wolf population grew beyond anyone's ability to...
Don't forget – the deadline to apply for Resident and Nonresident Deer B, Elk B, Antelope and Antelope B licenses is Friday, June 1. Residents and nonresidents can participate in the bonus point system to increase their chances of success in the drawing. Bonus points are $2 per species for residents and $20 per species for nonresidents. Sportsmen and women must have a 2018 conservation and base hunting license as a prerequisite to apply. Applications may be applied for o...
Helena- To kick off the 2018 Click It or Ticket seat belt initiative with the highest level of support, the Montana Highway Patrol is partnering with the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) to participate in Border to Border (B2B), a one-day national seat belt awareness event coordinated by participating state highway safety offices and their respective law enforcement liaisons. The B2B program aims to increase law enforcement presence by coordinating...
At a recent book signing, a gentleman who knew quite a bit about the Judith Basin country explained how Utica, a small town in the basin on the road into the Little Belt Mountains, received its name. He mentioned that one of the early arrivals onto that landscape thought folks would have to be crazy to live there. (We can't figure out why, as it's a beautiful piece of geography, but perhaps he showed up in the winter when strong winds were blowing and piling up drifts of...
Envision Lincoln recently announced the winners a poster contest they sponsored at for Lincoln High School graphic design students as part of an effort to remind Lincoln-area residents to call 911 during emergencies or when they see something suspicious. Alyssa Rios took first place and the $50 prize with her straightforward design featuring 911 in bold red numbers. Mackenzie Storey's design, featuring the tag line "Small things matter, don't be afraid to call," took second...
Lincoln's Hooper Park will once again be kicking off the summer with porta potties instead of restrooms, but plans call for that to change by July 22. The Lewis and Clark County Commission awarded Thompson Contracting of Libby the $155,000 contract to build the long-awaited cast concrete restroom and shower facilities for the park on April 24. To allay concerns another situation like the one with the original contractor, UBC Precast of Blackfoot, Idahomay arise, County Finance...
The annual Lincoln Cemetery Clean Up Day, scheduled for May 26 , has been canceled until further notice. Recent flooding washed out a section of Linvcoln Gulch Road and has impacted the road near the cemetery in several spots, limiting access to the cemetery....
Two member of the Lincoln Track team are headed to Great Falls this Friday to compete in the State Class C track meet. Senior Payton Peterson qualified to compete in the discus event after a third-place finish at the Western C Divisional track meet Frenchtown last week. Payton set a personal record with a throw of 121 feet, seven inches. Peterson will represent Lincoln alongside fellow senior Hunter Woodward, who will be competing in pole vault. Woodward scored Lincoln's sole...
It's not every day you hear a catchy tune about the Plague, but the students at Ovando School found one to dance to. Every spring students at Ovando School cap off the year highlighting the topics they've been studying in history during a performance at the school's annual May Day Tea. This year, with their studies spanning from Viking invasions through feudalism and the dark ages and into the Renaissance, supervising teacher Leigh Ann Valiton said the performance was a bit...
Howard Thomas "Howie" Harper, 70, of Lincoln, was received into heaven on April 28, 2018. Howard was born in Missoula County on July 15, 1947 to Thomas and Katherine Harper. Howard spent his childhood in Ovando and western Montana. After graduating from high school, he enlisted in the Navy and then the Air Force. After his time serving, he spent time working in the forest, milling, driving truck and eventually flagging until he retired. Howard's heart will forever live in the...
Rain and hail hammers into puddles along main street during a storm Wednesday, May 16. According to Zach Muse, who recently installed a rain gauge provide by the National Weather Service, the area received .4 inches of rain in 30 minutes that afternoon. By the following morning the town had received .57 inches of water. To top it off, the lightning that accompanied the storm set fire to a tree in the Park Creek Fire area. Despite the recent high water and flooding, the rain...
Work on the Lincoln Ranger District's first dedicated mountain bike trails and on a series of off-highway vehicles connector trails should get underway late this summer thanks to a $82,393 grant awarded to the district this month under the Recreational Trails Program administered by the Montana State Parks. The Beaver Creek Trails Project includes development of seven to eight miles of mountain bike trails, as well as a series of connector trails that will create looped...
Almost four years after it closed, the Montanan Steakhouse is on the cusp of re-opening with new owners, who plan to focus first and foremost on the quality of the food they serve. "We're just gonna start with food and knock it out of the park with that," said Greg Smith, who owns the restaurant with his partner Julia Johnson. Smith said the plan is to have an unadvertised soft opening Memorial Day Weekend, with a focus during the first couple weeks on ensuring the staff is...
Re-opening the Montanan after four years may seem like a major challenge, but Greg Smith said one of the most vexing issues he and Julia Johnson have faced in the past couple months has simply been trying to find a place to rent in Lincoln. The new owners of the Montanan Steakhouse had been splitting their time between Lincoln and Malta, but as the re-opening of the steakhouse approaches, Smith has remained in Lincoln, living in a camper. With Lincoln rapidly becoming their home, Smith said they are in desperate need of a...
I would like to reiterate the comments of Dennis Conkle in the Blackfoot Valley Dispatch’s May 9, 2018 paper about wood cutters and gatherers keeping the roads and ditches clear of all brush and logs at the end of your wood gathering. Road maintenance is contagious. My husband’s and my experience with wood gatherers on Moon Drive is unfortunately disappointing. Many gatherers leave brush and sticks and logs in the road and in the ditches which we must clear. This hampers snowplowing efforts and on one occasion caused a fri...
Montana Senator Jon Tester ruined a mans reputation by taking a handful of rumors and running to CNN without first verifying their validity. A professional would have went to the committee and brought up the rumors. In a commercial, Tester holds up eight fingers. That stands for eight years that he hid from view under Obama. He voted as Harry Reid demanded and now he follows Chuck Shumer’s lead. His votes have no concern for Montana’s needs or wants. In another commercial, a group of ‘hopefully’ veterans brag about all the...
I do not know if this community really knows how fortunate & lucky we all are that we have so many dedicated Ambulance & Fire Volunteers. They are on call 24-7. I hope people realize these volunteers drop everything to respond. There are many breakfasts, family dinners & family activities they miss to serve the Lincoln Community and help the Helmville volunteers. I am not sure we could have a viable community if we did not have our Medical Center, Ambulance & Fire Facilities. I hear that someday soon the older ambulance will...
