The Blackfoot Valley's News Source Since 1980
The Blackfoot Valley's News Source Since 1980
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Summer in Ovando is shaping up to be a quiet one this year. Business has been picking up for the small community in the last two weeks, after the state lifted the 14-day quarantine requirement for out-of-state visitors, but some mainstays of the community's summer will continue to feel the impact of restrictions related to the COVID-19 pandemic. Last week, after about a month-and-a-half of discussion that involved more than 20 members of the community, the town opted to call...
Dozens came to a party for Rhonda McClure last Wednesday to wish her well on her move back to Wisconsin after 40 years in Montana, most of those spent here in Lincoln with her husband Bob. Rhonda first came to Montana in 1980, when she was stationed at Malmstrom Air Force Base in Great Falls. Although she'd won a four-year scholarship to college in Wisconsin, Rhonda chose instead to enlist. Her parents wouldn't sign for her, so she waited until she turned 18 the summer after...
With progress being made toward reconstruction of the historic Matt King House, it seemed like a good time to take a look at what 'Goldpans and Singletrees," the history of the Lincoln area published by The Upper Blackfoot Valley Historical Society in 1994, has to say about the man . On the edge of some tall pines, one-half mile north of Highway 200 lies some of the richest farm land in the Lincoln valley, its fields irrigated by Spring, Keep Cool, Sucker, and Liverpool...
A ruling in federal district court in Missoula last week rejected legal challenges to the Willow Creek Vegetation Project and cleared the way for treatment of 2,140 acres of timber affected by insects and disease in the Dalton Mountain area southwest of Lincoln. In a June 3 decision, U.S. District Court Judge Donald W. Molloy rejected all six claims leveled against the project in a suit filed by the Alliance for Wild Rockies and the Native Ecosystems Council last June. "We...
The Matt King House was moved last week to the property where it will be reassembled on the east end of Lincoln's Main Street. Work on a foundation for the building is expected to begin soon, and efforts are underway to find logs large enough to replace those that rotted over the last century. The Montana History Foundation awarded the Upper Blackfoot Valley Historical Society a grant of $10,000 earlier this year to effort to re-build the historic ranchouse. Funding for the...
After a long year of waiting, On the Rocks Liquor Store has new owners and a new location. Chad and Olivia Dietz became the official owners of the establishment earlier this year. The process began approximately a year ago and came to fruition with the grand re-opening of the store at their new location in late May. The Dietz's purchased the building at 224 Main Street, across from the post office, and began renovating it themselves in March. In addition to the liquor store, t...
Amid concerns about COVID-19, rodeos across Montana have been canceled, but the 68th annual Lincoln Rodeo will go ahead as planned this year, on July 4 and 5. Sharla Lewenight, secretary and treasurer of the Lincoln Rodeo Club, said the club had been waiting for Phase Two of the Reopening the Big Sky plan to go into effect, which happened June 1. "I called our insurance. That was a go," said Lewenright. She said the Health Department also gave the event the go-ahead. "This is...
The death of George Floyd at the hands of a white police officer in Minneapolis last month has sparked both protests and riots across the country, fostered tension between minority communities and law enforcement and has recently driven calls to defund or dismantle police departments. With protests happening throughout Montana last week, Lewis and Clark County Sheriff Leo Dutton addressed the issues at the Lincoln Government Day last Friday. “You’ve probably seen it in the world, but I want to bring it in closer to you, to...
Lewis and Clark County 911 Center received seventeen calls for service during the week of May 17 through May 23. Deputies performed one traffic stop in the Lincoln area. No calls for service generated a case report this week. Other calls for service in the Lincoln area last week were two 911 hang-up calls, two injury crashes, two non-injury crashes, one animal complaint, two campsite checks, two citizen assists, one drug report, one DUI report, one extra patrol performed and o...
The old Mike Horse Creek Road is closed while the last of the remediation work in the Upper Blackfoot Mining Complex is completed during the next two months, but it will remain a public county road for access to public land once work is done. The road remains intact from Highway 200 to Shaue Gulch, but the river crossing to the intersection with Meadow Creek Road was removed as part of the clean up. Four-wheel drive vehicles should be able to cross the river using a hardened...
Lincoln Skatepark construction wrapped up Memorial Day weekend, apart from some remaining dirt work, paint, landscaping and signage. The park won't be open for use until after park rules signs are posted, said project coordinator Karyn Good, who will consult with the county to determine that date. The grand opening is not scheduled yet, either, but Good is planning for the event this summer. "Jeff Ament will be attending the event, so I'll work with him to come up with a date...
Envision Lincoln has applied for two new grants to support in-town trails efforts and is in the beginning stages of gathering input regarding how to move forward as a Montana Main Street member. A USDA Rural Business Development Grant will support further planning related to trail cost estimates, trail surface design, easements, tree removal and wayfinding, according to Envision Lincoln's lead organizer Karyn Good. "The USDA grant would support trails planning by encouraging...
During the late summer of 1959 a peculiarly-shaped building rose on the east end of Lincoln's main street. Sporting a design that looked like a square sheet pinned down on opposing corners, yet ready to take flight, Lincoln's Community Methodist Church soon became a landmark for travelers between Missoula and Great Falls. Technically called a hyperbolic paraboloid , the uniquely mid-20th century building soon became affectionately known as the Flying Diaper. This week marks...
Lanna Zobel is the Family Nurse Practitioner currently heading up the medical team at Parker Medical Center here in Lincoln. Zobel hails from Milwaukee, Wis. She and her husband of seven years, Derek, relocated to Lincoln to be closer to family and for their love of Montana. "We have family in Elliston and have been coming out to Montana more and more, over the years. The saying live where you want to vacation stuck with us. Lincoln has everything we love and more. A small...
Lincoln resident Luke Shimer won the Backcountry Hunter's and Angler's national 2020 turkey calling competition, the Struttin' and Cluckin' Calling Classic. Beginning in mid-April, Shimer recorded a series of turkey calls for the digital competition which took place on Instagram. Up to eight callers participated in each state competition. There were more than 250 competitors overall. Shimer advanced through each of the rounds to take first through a combination of judging and...
Right up front I have to admit a positive bias toward the LVA. My wife had a medical emergency that required the Ambulance to Helena. The care and dedication of Bill Frisbee and the entire crew was remarkable. Regardless of my feelings about the LVA, I can see several reasons why leasing space in the ambulance building and having the Sheriff onsite is good for Lincoln. The ambulance building and Parker Clinic have expensive equipment and probably narcotics onsite. A conspicuous Sheriff’s office may act to deter any m...
The Lincoln Airport received $20,000 in funding through the CARES Act to support operations and maintenance. The Lincoln Airport had a series of projects lined up to use Federal Aviation Administration grant funds through the Airport Improvement Program, which funds projects at 90 percent and requires a 10 percent match in local funds. "About $140,000 in local match money is required for these projects," said Conway. "$20,000 will come from the CARES Act allocated to the...
The Farmers Market is slated to return to Lincoln beginning the first weekend in June, with plans to run each Saturday, June 6 until September 26, from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m., weather permitting. Previously held in Hooper Park and by the Envision Lincoln's Health and Wellness team, the market will now be held in the Montana Heritage House on Sucker Creek and managed by Jason and Tiana Valler. Without adequate time and resources to commit to the Farmers market, the team reached out...
The 2020 Voter Survey on Public lands, a bi-annual University of Montana survey of opinions and attitudes toward the importance of public lands, included a question about the Lincoln Prosperity Proposal (formerly the Lincoln Valley Public Lands Proposal) that showed it had an unexpected level of statewide support. The survey shows nearly 72 percent of respondents generally support the Lincoln-area legislative proposal. Twenty-three percent were generally opposed to it. "We...
At age 88, Bob passed away in his home of 47 years in Lincoln, Montana on April 17, 2020. He was born in Eddie, Texas to Claude and Emma Belle Pryor on Jan. 27, 1932. He served in the United States Air Force. He specialized in electronics, radio communications and S.A.C. served in both the Korean and Vietnam wars before he retired. He is survived by his wife Ann of 55 years of marriage and his children: Michelle Rider of Sand Springs, Okla., Robert T. Pryor of Claremore,...
Mother’s Day is quickly approaching and the Montana Heritage House and the Power House Gym have joined forces to do something special to celebrate all mothers in Lincoln this coming weekend. Tiana Valler of the Montana Heritage House will be baking, and the Rick & Pat Freeland of the Power House Gym will be providing flowers. Valler said, “We wanted to do something to honor all the mothers in Lincoln and give them a token of love and let them know they are appreciated.” Kids and families alike are encouraged to stop by the Mo...
A nascent idea to sublease a part of the Lincoln Volunteer Ambulance building to the Lewis and Clark County Sheriff's Office for use by deputies has prompted the Lincoln Hospital District to take the idea to the residents of Lincoln for input. Lincoln Volunteer Ambulance President Aaron Birkholz broached the idea with the hosptial district board during their April 28 meeting, and LHD treasurer Karen Frank-Plumlee discussed the issue last week at the May 1 Lincoln Government Da...
The Lincoln Blood Drive had a full schedule of locals signed up to donate blood Tuesday, April 28 at the Community Hall. Procedures were a little different than in the past, but the mood was positive and people were glad to be there. Upon entering the hall this time, the one noticeable difference was that everyone, donors and collectors alike, were wearing masks. Red Cross employees were also wearing gloves, and changing them often between donors. Blood drive volunteers took...
Born April 2, 1969, Marci passed away at her home in Lincoln, Montana on April 26, 2020. Born in Santa Maria, Calif. To Gene and Shirley Smith, marci lived in Lincoln and worked as a housekeeper. Her favorite Hobbies and activities included snowmobiling, playing with her dogs and reading. She is survived by her children Jacob Smith of Atascadero, Calif., Jayson Montgomery of Corvallis and Dustin Williams of South Dakota; by her parents Gene and Shirley Smith, Atascadero,...
Construction of the Lincoln Skatepark began at Hooper Park last week after the project unexpectedly received $150,00 in funding. The funding – a $100,000 donation from Pearl Jam bassist Jeff Ament’s Montana Pool Service Foundation and a $50,000 donation from the Montana Skatepark Association – came as a welcome surprise to the Lincoln Skatepark Committee, a group of Lincoln school students who have been committed to the creation of the facility since 2018. “It came to my atte...
