The Blackfoot Valley's News Source Since 1980
The Blackfoot Valley's News Source Since 1980
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In our Nov. 26 issue, we looked at the murder of John Smoot, a man from Blackfoot city murdered in McClellan Gulch on Christmas eve, 1867. Blackfoot City is often referenced in the stories of Lincoln's early days, but we realized that not many people today may know much about it. It was an important hub for miners en route the the Upper Blackfoot, but by the turn of the 20th century, it had effectively faded from Montana's history. This story appeared in the Melstone...
Just wanted to send out a little Hey Howdy Hey of thanks to the Blackfoot Valley Dispatch. When I left Lincoln this last time it was mainly because I was worried about my dog. He was needing a little surgery done and with his age I thought it would be best that he be closer to his vet. His surgery went well, and he is doing great now. After we had left Lincoln, we went on close to a month long camping trip. We stayed at Flint Creek Campground between Philipsburg and...
"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...
I’d like to take a moment to thank everyone who helped make Santa’s Workshop 2020 a reality for our local kids, and for all of the flexibility around getting the crafts to the kids who would have normally participated in person at the school. First, a thank you to the Lincoln Council for the Arts for their continued financial support. To Jill Frisbee, who normally puts everything together, for sitting down and meeting with the committee and getting us items to put together in kits for the kids. To volunteers Laura But...
Zach Muse enlisted in the Navy on Sep. 1, 1990 and served in navigation during Desert Storm as a Master Helmsman. He was also a Master of Arms during his time in the Navy. "I knew I was gonna go in the military," said Muse, "just cause everyone in my family goes. I'd flown over the ocean, but I'd never really been in the ocean or anything." Muse grew up in Great Falls and waited for the next round of boot camp to start after high school. "Once I got out of boot camp and my...
Lincoln resident Chad Sutej was recognized as the Blackfoot Valley Optimist Club’s Optimist of the Year for 2019-2020. “There was really no question in my mind as to who should have received this award. Chad is always willing to help out,” Optimist President Shayne Lindsey said. “He goes above and beyond, and has been involved and instrumental in everything we do from the very beginning. He embodies everything that the Optimist Club stands for and has helped raise a lot of money to give back to the youth in our local communi...
Paul Steven Roos left this world in the early hours of November 10, 2020, seven weeks after the discovery of advanced and aggressive cancer. Paul passed away with family at his side in his Lincoln home. Paul was born on June 30, 1942, to Maxine and Donald Roos. He spent his early days in Lincoln where he felt the strong pull of the woods and streams of the Blackfoot Valley. Paul married his high school sweetheart, Kay Vandeberg, in August of 1961, a year after their graduation... Full story
So, an Irishman and a logger walk into a Seattle bar. Imbibing spirits, they bond over their interest in knives, solve the world's problems, and by the end of the night the two new BFFs think that with no source of funding, building a massive 26-acre outdoor art gallery in the middle of woods in Montana and getting renowned international artists to participate is a swell idea. And, just like that... Blackfoot Pathways: Sculpture in the Wild was born. Well, that's my short...
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...
With COVID cases on the rise, both statewide and locally, Jill Frisbee made the hard decision to temporarily close the Lincoln Pit Stop. When Frisbee first closed the Pit Stop, she began by extending the closure one or two days at a time. However, in a Facebook post on Nov. 25, she shared that the restaurant would be closed through Dec. 8. The closure is an “effort to keep our team and our customers safe and healthy,” according to the post. “I think it’s just trying to stop the spread, keep my manpower, and I’ve got famil...
Thank you to the Blackfoot Valley Dispatch for publishing the Nov. 12 article, "Ovando Residents Donate to Lincoln Volunteer Ambulance." We have many unsung heroes in our communities, and they come with different talents and skills, and from different walks of life and different zip codes. One thing they have in common: service and appreciation. As always, my thanks go out to Aaron Birkholz and the rest of the crew at the Lincoln Volunteer Ambulance for their dedication to...
Reconstruction of the walls of the historic Matt King House began last month, but is winding down for the year due to weather. The Upper Blackfoot Valley Historical Society project began in 2015 and UBVHS President Erin Dey says she hopes it will be fully restored and open to the public next year. Exterior walls on the first floor and part of the second are almost completed at the front of the house. UBHVS Board member Bill Quay spent much of the summer preparing the logs to...
The Montana Business Assistance Connection has been working in Lewis and Clark, Broadwater, and Meagher counties for more than two decades to support local economies and livability. MBAC mentors businesses through collaborative work with partners like the Service Corps of Retired Executives, the Small Business Development Center, and Chambers of Commerce to help local business owners identify ways to support the unique needs of their community. MBAC has supported a number of...
Marion Leith Routzahn, 84, passed away peacefully on Nov. 4, 2020 at Son Heaven Assisted Living in Helena, Mont. Marion was born on Sept. 27, 1936 to Tom and Esther Lanning in Havre, Mont.. In Marion's early years, she and her family lived in Big Sandy before relocating to Helena when she was in the fifth grade. Marion graduated from Helena High School and then pursued a teaching certificate from Northern Montana College in Havre, before finishing her bachelor's degree at Carr... Full story
Following their Oct. 20 meeting, the Upper Blackfoot Valley Community Council drafted a letter to the Montana Department of Transportation objecting to the findings in their proposal to lower the speed on a one-mile stretch of Highway 200 just east of Lincoln. Early last month, in response to an August request from Lewis and Clark County for a a speed study in the area, MDT proposed lowering the speed limit from the east end of Lincoln to Airport Road from 70 mph to 60 mph....
Fred and Leigh Ann Valiton, owners of the Blackfoot Commercial Company in Ovando, paid a visit to the Lincoln Volunteer Ambulance Nov. 3, to present the service with a donation from the Ovando Community. Anonymous donors in Ovando pulled together a total of $9000 for the ambulance. "This kind of jumped up on itself almost. We did not go out begging for this, by any means. Several in our community felt like we could put enough cash together to make it worthwhile," Fred Valiton...
In November, the Lincoln Branch Library will be focusing on two main programs, with some additional programming for children. Every Friday at 11 a.m., the library is hosting an online story time. Anyone who is interested can call or email Kate at the Library to get the link to join in for songs and stories. They will also have a new take and make craft available every week for families to pick up. In addition, they are still offering Library Packs. Patrons can choose between a story time pack with picture books, a genre pack...
The Christmas season in the Upper Blackfoot Valley is likely to look a bit less festive this year, as COVID-19 precautions take their toll on events. Among the casualties this year are Ovando’s Old West Christmas Fest and Lincoln’s annual Christmas Bazaar. Leigh Ann Valiton, one of the organizers of the Old West Christmas Fest, said social distancing requirements were among the primary reasons Ovando opted to call off their annual celebration. Valiton said the impact on the craft show, which is held every year in the Ova... Full story
Lincoln's Post 9 of the American Legion held their monthly meeting at the Community Hall this past week. We had all kinds of things to cuss and discuss. The two big things we talked about were Santa's Work Shop and Veterans Day. We came up with a great plan for our portion of Santa's Workshop. We're excited to share it with our annual participants on Dec. 5. We're still working out the details of how we are going to get the gift kits out to everyone, but it will be so much fun...
The Lincoln Prosperity Group - formerly the Upper Blackfoot Working Group – hosted a Virtual Open House Oct. 19 to gather feedback on the Lincoln Prosperity Proposal from Helena-area residents. The event was the first in a series of virtual open houses planned over the next three months, to introduce Montanans outside the Upper Blackfoot to the collaborative plan for public land management in the Lincoln area. The open houses are part of the final push to refine the proposal w...
The BVD picked up 15 awards in the 2020 Montana Newspaper's Association's Better Newspaper Contest. The Dispatch, a Division 1 newspape with a circulation of fewer than 1250, picked up seven first-place awards, three second-place and five third-place awards. This year marked the most awards Lincoln's newspaper has won since first entering the annual contests in 2014. The BVD won a first place award for page design for the page featuring Lincoln High School Entrepreneur Class'...
The storm last weekend that dropped about five inches of snow in Lincoln resulted in a handful of slide-offs and accidents along Highway 200 in the Upper Blackfoot. Lincoln Fire Rescue and the Lincoln Volunteer Ambulance started Saturday morning off with a 5 a.m. call concerning an accident about 16 miles west of Lincoln, between the Highway 141 intersection and Browns Lake, but both were called off before leaving Lincoln because other responders were already on scene. A...
"The planted larch trees are burnished gold. What a wondrous forest they have become." -Tomonari The western larch, or Larix occidentalis, is also known as the western tamarack or hackmatack. Montana is home to a second species of larch, the Larix lyallii, also known as the subalpine larch, the alpine larch, and the woolly larch, but these usually grow at a higher altitude than the western larch. Larch trees are known as deciduous conifers, meaning that although they may look...
A new book by Dr. Amy Dempsey, entitled Destination Art is set to showcase Blackfoot Pathways: Sculpture in the Wild as one of only about 200 worldwide art destinations. This is the second edition of the book Destination Art published by Thames & Hudson and is due out April 2021. It will be the first time BPSW has been featured in a book. Kevin O'Dwyer, artistic director and curator of BPSW, had a previous project called Sculpture in the Parklands included in the first...
This past weekend was the annual Alpine Artisans Tour of the Arts. Artists were featured at galleries through the Seeley Swan Valley, Ovando and Lincoln. With advertising in Helena, Missoula, Great Falls, Seeley and Lincoln newspapers, people came from as far as Idaho and Billings to see artists and their artwork in the Blackfoot Valley. While some galleries saw more traffic than others, Lincoln artists Lisa Gibson, Sally Bogart, Gwendolyn Hendricks, and Tammy Jordan, all disp...
