The Blackfoot Valley's News Source Since 1980
The Blackfoot Valley's News Source Since 1980
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A few random photos that didn't make into print....
Update: Phase 1b of the Lewis and Clark Public Health vaccine distribution plan, which includes residents 70 years of age and older, Montanans 16 to 69 years old with severe underlying severe medical conditions such as Cancer, COPD and diabetes, and Native Americans or people of color who may be at risk for complications, begins Friday. Vaccination drive-thru events are scheduled Tuesday, Jan . 19 and Wednesday, Jan. 20 at the Lewis and Clark County fairgrounds, but will be...
The Race to the Sky board met on Jan. 10 to make final decisions about the race and whether or not to proceed. "We canceled for this year because of COVID," said race manager Chris Jewett. "We couldn't make it work. The rock got too hard to push up the hill." The race had been scheduled from Feb. 12-16. Jewett attributed many factors to the overall cancelation, and noted that all of them were related to COVID-19. "We're sorry it got canceled, because everybody looks forward...
The Lincoln School Board, in their regular meeting Monday Jan. 11, heard a number of updates on how the faculty and students are handling the return to school. Classes resumed in-person Jan. 4, after more than a month of online distance learning prompted by an increase in possible COVID-19 cases and close contacts in the community. Both Lincoln High Senior Lindsey Weisner, the student representative in the meeting, and Lincoln Schools Superintendent Jen Packer noted initial...
Week one of the 67th session of the Montana Legislature kicked off on Monday, Jan. 4. House Republicans are energized and have an aggressive agenda. We are focused on passing the Constitutionally-required balanced budget with no net tax increase, while creating a pro-business environment to strengthen our economy. At the same time, we are dedicated to defending our Montana values, our rights and individual freedoms, and our outdoor heritage. And to make sure all Montanans are...
Lewis and Clark County 911 Center received thirty-five calls for service during the week of Jan. 3 to Jan. 9, 2021 in the Lincoln area. Deputies performed nine traffic stops. Five of those calls for service generated a case report last week: Jan. 5. A deputy responded to a reported house fire in the 700 block of Second St. Lincoln Fire was able to extinguish the fire. A report will be completed due to property damage. Jan. 8. Deputies responded to a welfare check in the 300 bl...
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...
Lincoln Fire Rescue responded to two structure fires in the space of three days last week. At about 5:30 a.m. Saturday morning, the Fire Department responded to a vehicle and garage fire at the Nicolai residence on Nicolai Lane west of Lincoln. "The truck caught the garage on fire," said Lincoln Fire Chief Zach Muse, who was first on the scene. "It appears to have started from the block heater. I don't know if it was faulty, but I'm pretty sure that's where it started." Muse s...
After a month and a half of online schooling and a Christ-mas break, Lincoln students returned to their classrooms Monday morning. The school had been closed since Nov. 19 out of concerns about COVID-19 and close contacts with infected individuals that impacted both students and staff. The Lincoln School Board opted to return to in-person classes at a special Dec. 28 meeting via Zoom, due largely to the impact distance learning was having on the students. "A lot of the high sc...
A sizable group of people gathered east of Lincoln on New Years Day to take advantage of the warm weather for a bit of classic wintertime fun....
Heidi and Jim Agner have lived in Lincoln since 2013 and are the husband and wife duo behind Lincoln Gulch Engraving and Leatherworks. They live with their two dogs, Shep, a collie, and Sally, a springer spaniel. Heidi handles the leatherwork part of the business, and Jim does the en-graving, though they got their starts at different times. Heidi began working with soft leath-er over 30 years ago, she said, using deer skin and similar materials. She eventual-ly started...
Lewis and Clark County Com-missioner Tom Rolfe was sworn in Dec. 29, 2020 for his first term. Rolfe, who was elected to the position Susan Good Geise vacated, said he started attending meetings almost two years ago, working to decide if running for County Com-missioner would be a good fit. "I've been interested in public policy all my life," said Rolfe, who was elected to the Montana Legislature as the Bozeman and Livingston area representative for the 1973-74 term. "I spent...
Eight years ago, the idea of an international sculpture park in Lincoln seemed like a pretty crazy idea, but as 2020 – a notably crazy year itself – drew to a close, Blackfoot Pathways: Sculpture in the Wild added another feather to its cap as one of five honorees recognized with the Montana Governor's Arts Award. In a Dec. 29 press release from the Mon-tana Art's Council, Gov. Steve Bullock announced the awards, which are bestowed on individuals and organizations that "de...
Despite the relatively thin snow around Lincoln, the Ponderosa Snow Warriors kicked off both the new year and the snowmobile season Jan. 2 with a virtual fun runt and food at the club house on Sucker Creek Road. "This was the first thing we were going to try to do because we had to cancel the club dinner," said the club's new president Forest Mercill. Mercill took over as president last fall from Ron Zarr, who stepped down due to work and other commitments. Attendance to the...
Lewis and Clark County 911 Center received twenty-two calls for service during the week of Dec. 27, 2020 to Jan.2, 2021 in the Lincoln area. Deputies performed two traffic stops. None of those calls for service generated a case report last week. Other calls for service in the Lincoln area last week were one 911 hang-up, one alarm, one citizen assist, one possible domestic, eight false alarms (six being from the same residence), one suspicious call, one trespass issue, and...
Blackfoot Pathways Sculpture in the Wild looks forward to a full event season in 2021, after the cancellation and postponement of last year’s events and artists due to the COVID-19 pandemic. BSPW will welcome three artists in residence and one composer in residence to Lincoln this year. Three of the creators are based in Montana. Michael Brolly and Bently Spang had previously been selected for 2020, but their residencies were postponed due to the pandemic. Spang is a Montana artist and has shown work throughout North America,...
The Lewis & Clark Library was again the recipient of a National Endowment for the Arts Big Read grant this year, which supports a community-wide reading program. The $15,000 grant helped purchase copies of the selected book, "Into the Beautiful North" by Luis Alberto Urrea, and fund programs throughout the county. "Into the Beautiful North" follows the adventures of a 19-year-old Mexican woman and her friends as they travel from Mexico to the United States in search of seven...
After more than an hour of weighing the pros and cons of the local COVID-19 situation in, the Lincoln School board voted Monday night to return to in-person classes Jan. 4. The School Board held the special meeting via zoom Monday evening to discuss where things stood following more than a month of school closure and online classes. Lincoln Schools first closed Nov. 16 following a number of close contacts among students and staff. On Nov. 25, the board extended the closure to...
Bob Armstrong joined the National Guard as a junior in high school and served two years, before going on to serve two years in the Army and four more years in the reserve, half active and half inactive. Armstrong attended high school in Dickinson, ND and graduated in 1954. "They took our Guard unit that they had in town to Korea," said Armstrong. "When they did that, they started up a new unit there in Dickinson." Students had to get the permission of their parents to join ear...
With Christmas music blaring and their fire trucks decked out in Christmas lights, the Lincoln Volunteer Fire Department toured the Lincoln area Wednesday night, Dec. 23 to spread some holiday cheer to the community. Mirroring the tour on Easter this spring, the drive gave people who missed holiday events canceled by COVID-19 a chance to get in the Christmas spirit...
In their first year, Red Sleighs Over Montana paid a visit to the Lincoln Airport Wednesday afternoon, Dec. 23. "We thought we'd send some cheer to smaller towns," said pilot Bryan Douglass, who flew into Lincoln with his daughter-in-law and acting elf Jackie Douglass to drop of goodies for Lincoln kids. "Smaller towns don't always get the attention." Lincoln was the last stop for Douglass, who had also visited Cut Bank earlier in the day. The event was organized by the...
Susan Good Geise ended her tenure on the Lewis and Clark County Commission Tuesday morning when Montana Attorney General Tom Fox swore in Tom Rolfe as the newest commissioner filling the District 2 seat she's vacating. Last week, Geise was looking ahead to the end of her time in office, and reflecting on her time with the commission. "Mostly what I am is profoundly grateful," she said. "Really, really grateful because I thought my time in politics was over. I had one last...
Lewis and Clark County 911 Center received thirty-five calls for service during the weeks of Dec. 13 to Dec. 26th, 2020 in the Lincoln area and deputies performed three traffic stops. Six of those calls generated a case report last week: A deputy took a theft report Dec. 13, regarding exploitation of an elder. This investigation is complete, and charges were submitted to the County Attorney's Office for review. On Dec. 14, a deputy took a report of privacy in communications....
Hooper Park in Lincoln recently received an anonymous $3,000 donation. “They wanted half of it to go to the skatepark, enhancing the skatepark, the other half to the park itself,” said Nyle Howsmon of the Lincoln Park Board. The Park Board plans to meet in January to discuss some of the options for the skatepark, which could include benches, potentially some shelter, as well as an improved parking area. “We need some kind of better irrigation system there,” added Howsmon. For the main portion of the park, Howsmon said th...
A man driving from Missoula to Great Falls fell asleep at the wheel and struck a power pole in front of the Power House Gym in downtown Lincoln Thursday, Dec. 17. The driver walked away from the accident without any injuries, despite sheering off the bottom 12 or so feet of the power pole. "He admitted to falling asleep," said Montana Highway Patrol Trooper Brian Inman, who investigated the accident. "Everything shows that he fell asleep as well. He drove off the road asleep...
