The Blackfoot Valley's News Source Since 1980
The Blackfoot Valley's News Source Since 1980
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Harry Arvidson was a Navy submariner during World War II and was part of the crew to which the Japanese "super submarine" I-400 surrendered at the end of the war. "I went in the service in July of 1942. We had gotten into the war on Dec 7 of '41, and I was just turning 17 and so I was going to have to register for the draft, and I didn't want to go into the Army, so I joined the Navy," said Arvidson. "I finished my sophomore year and then I quite high school and went in the...
Stemple Pass is well known landmark in the Lincoln area. Once a primary route between Helena and Lincoln, today it's a popular byway that provides access to outdoor activities year round. But who was this pass, and the surrounding mining district, actually named for? John Adam Stemple was born in Preston County, W. Va., March 16, 1834. His family is reportedly settled in Virginia in 1774, after two brothers arrived in the colonies. Members of the Stemple clan are also said to...
LINCOLN - The Montana Department of Transportation would like to announce and invite the public to comment on a proposal to replace the bridge on Dalton Mountain Road that crosses over the Blackfoot River in Lewis and Clark County. Proposed work includes removing the existing bridge and constructing a new bridge. The roadway approaches will also be reconstructed as needed to match the grade and width of the new structure. The project is tentatively scheduled for construction...
Ken Gellatly joined the Army in 1961. "I got drafted, but they beat me to it. I was just getting ready to go enlist, but I wasn't sure I was going to go to the Army. I was maybe going to go into the Air Force. I wanted to be a pilot," Gellatly said. Gellatly served his basic training in Fort Ord, Calif., then got shipped to Fort Campbell, Ky. as a mechanic in the 101st Airborne. "I was in the rec room playing pool the day Kennedy got shot," he said. After that, he got orders...
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...
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...
There is a lot of controversy swirling around the Presidential election at the national level, despite media outlets declaring Joe Biden the winner, but at Lincoln School, Donald Trump was the clear choice among students, taking 55 votes to Joe Biden's nine. Lincoln students got a taste of the political process Nov. 3 as High School and Junior High students, joined by Stacey Mannix's 5th grade class, cast votes for President of the United States, Montana Senator, Montana...
Montana Governor Candidates Greg Gianforte- - Kristen Juras Mike Cooney - Casey Schreiner Lyman Bishop - John Nestor Montana Statewide Gianforte/Juras (R): 325,506 - 54% Cooney/SchreinerD): 249,248 - 42% Bishop/Nestor(L): 23,838 - 4% Lewis and Clark County Gianforte/Juras (R): 21,020 - 49% Cooney/Schreiner(D): 19,967 - 47% Bishop/Nestor(L): 1,448 - 3% PCT 31 - Lincoln Gianforte/Juras (R): 534 - 72% Cooney/Schreiner (D): 170 - 23% Bishop/Nestor (L): 34 - 4% PCT 32 – North L...
CONSTITUTIONAL AMENDMENT C-46 Constitutional amendment to change constitutional amendment signature requirements. Montana Statewide Yes: 416,607 - 77% No: 124,784 - 23% Lewis and Clark County Yes: 30,692 -77% No: 8,836 - 22% PCT 31 – Lincoln Yes: 511 - 74% No: 175 - 25% PCT 32 – North Lincoln Yes: 62 - 82% No: 13 - 17% Powell County Yes: 2,087 - 71% No: 851 - 28% PCT 14 – Ovando Yes: 149 - 80% No: 35 - 19% PCT 12 - Helmville Yes: 119 - 73% No: 44 - 26% -----...
President We may not yet know who won the presidential election at the national level, but with 96% of precincts fully reported, we know how the candidates for federal office fared in Montana Candidates: Donald Trump - Michael Pence (R) Joseph Biden - Kamala Harris (D) Jo Jorgensen - Jeremy Cohen (L) Montana State: Trump - Pence(R) 340,586 57% Biden - Harris (D) 243,223 41% Jorgensen - Cohen (L) 15,047 3% Lewis and Clark County Trump - Pence(R) 21,407 50% Biden - Harris (D)...
Shooting Stars "I'll toss my coins in the fountain, Look for clovers in grassy lawns Search for shooting stars in the night Cross my fingers and dream on." ~ Tracy Chapman Lincoln, Montana is lucky enough to see two varieties of shooting stars over the course of the year. Dodecatheon pulchellum, also called the darkthroat, pretty, or prairie shooting star, is native to Montana and shows up in early spring. The meteoric variety of shooting star is visible locally in the night...
Editor's Note: As many of our readers are aware, the Lincoln-area has a significant population of veterans of the Armed Services. In honor of Veteran's Day this year we are kicking off a what we hope will be a regular series of features highlighting individual veterans and their service. Don LaRoque served in the Navy submarine service for 14 years as a sonar technician. LaRoque grew up in Great Falls and joined the military a few months out of high school, in 1978. "I always...
November, of course plays host to Thanksgiving. For me, it's a sign that "fall" is really here. There is a quote I've seen over the last few years that says, "The trees are about to show us how lovely it is to let things go." Maybe that's why I think of fall as more of my new year, and a time of year that signifies new beginnings. What better way to start anew than to let go of the old? As I began writing my column for this week, it occurred to me that with the weight of...
Royal Richard Olson, 99, passed Tuesday, Oct. 13, 2020. He was born on Aug. 19, 1921 in Marquette, Neb. to Albert and Dora Olson. He joined two older sisters, Dorothy and Gloria, and was later joined by a younger brother, Norman. The family moved to Minnesota when he was four years old and lived on several different farms. Growing up in Minnesota Royal attended Deer Park School and worked the farm. He learned to drive gravel truck while working for Vern Engstrand and Bill...
Charles (Chuck) Michael Sutej, age 73 of Lincoln, Mont. passed away peacefully Oct. 24, 2020. There will be a Celebration of Life next summer. He requested there be no funeral. Burial will be at a later date. Chuck was born in Great Falls to Charles Edward and Bonnie Ruthell Sutej on June 21, 1947. Chuck attended and graduated from Great Falls High School in 1965, the last graduating class before CMR was opened. He enlisted in the Montana Air National Guard in 1966 -1981 as a...
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...
Lincoln resident Theresa Proff raises a variety of animals on her property, most notably bobcats and African cats. Proff bought her first bobcat after she got married and moved to Montana from Alaska in 2011. "I've been a cat lover all my life. We had an opportunity to buy a bobcat kitten from a breeder in Arkansas, so that was the start," she said. The bobcat, Lakota, is now eight years old. "I got another bobcat kitten from a breeder in Montana," said Proff. His name is Tund...
Ken Crymble has worked with the Lincoln Volunteer Fire Department for about 15 years, and recently celebrated his 50th year as a firefighter. Over the years, Crymble has worked in city fire departments, in mines and in rural departments like Lincoln. Crymble started out fighting fires in February, 1970 when he first got on with the Fire Department in Riverton, Wyo. "Then I got into the EMS part of it, too," said Crymble, who was part of the second group in the state of...
An accident late on Beaver Creek Road Wednesday night, Oct. 21, claimed the life of Lincoln resident Chris Buster, 44, when his pickup went off the road about five miles north of Highway 200. Lewis and Clark County Dispatch received word of the accident at 10:40 a.m. Thursday Buster failed to return to his home in Lincoln Wednesday night after spending the day scouting for elk. Bobbijean and friends discovered the accident Thursday morning. Montana State Highway Patrol...
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...
Montana has recently seen a drastic uptick in the number of COVID-19 cases, with 622 new cases reported Monday, Oct. 26. Of those, 29 were in Lewis and Clark County. According to the Lewis and Clark County Public Health Department's COVID-19 Dashboard, the county had 598 active cases Monday. Those numbers have been increasing by between 20 and 30 new cases per day throughout October. "Montana is in a critical situation right now with COVID," Eric Merchant, Administrator for...
I must admit, I was very glad to see the Montana Department of Transportation conducting speed studies on Highway 200 on the east side of town where the Sculpture Park and Ranger Station are, and I'm glad they are addressing concerns surrounding those destinations specifically. One of the questions I have is whether or not is has ever been proposed, or a study conducted in order to put a stop sign in at the end of the Sculpture Park driveway as cars head onto Highway 200? I...
Lincoln School reopened Monday morning after being closed last week due to concerns about a possible close-contact coronavirus exposure. The closure resulted from a message about a possible close contact with someone who had COVID-19 and was largely a precautionary measure, said Shane Brown, Lincoln Elementary School principal and the COVID-19 response team leader. Brown saw the message, sent late Monday night, at about 4 a.m. Tuesday morning. "That's when we started doing...
