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...
Resident and nonresident hunters will be able to sign up for the new Surplus License List, with some sign-ups starting next week. Surplus licenses are leftover licenses from the special license and permit drawings FWP conducts each year. To sign up for the Surplus License List, resident and nonresident hunters can sign up through the MyFWP portal: https://myfwp.mt.gov/fwpExtPortal/login/login.jsp. As licenses become available, the list will be randomized. Hunters at the top...
Most summers, Lincoln welcomes hikers from the Continental Divide Trail as well as cyclists from the Great Divide Mountain Bike Route, many of them participating in the Tour Divide Race. This year, COVID-related closures have affected both trails. According to the Continental Divide Trail Coalition, closures of the CDT in Montana include the sections running through the Blackfeet Nation and Glacier National Park. COVID-19 restrictions also closed the GDMBR's Canadian border...
Missoula - Montana Fish, Wildlife & Parks is seeking input on a proposed fisheries conservation project on the North Fork Blackfoot River that would establish a conservation population of native westslope cutthroat trout upstream of North Fork Falls. FWP will host an online meeting Wednesday, July 22, beginning at 6:30 p.m., to discuss the proposal, answer questions and take comment. The proposal calls for first reducing the number of hybrid trout above North Fork Falls to the...
Next week you will see a change in the Blackfoot Valley Dispatch. Seven years ago, we made the jump from a newsletter format on office paper to a tall tabloid on newsprint, returning the BVD to standard newspaper format. This issue of the BVD will be the last to be printed at River's Edge printing in Great Falls. Next week we'll transition to a new printer, with the Livingston Enterprise, as well as to a larger format, as a traditional, full-size broadsheet. While we had been planning to revamp the BVD's design, the...
A recent successful grant application to the Town Pump Charitable Foundtion funded four Zoll Automated External Defibrillators for most of Helmville's public buildings. Kate Appleford, who owns the Copper Queen Bar with her husband Tommy, said she was prompted to write the grant when she started training to become an Emergency Medical Technician. "We realized Helmville really doesn't have any in public areas, and we're an aging community," Kate said. The only one the...
A Helena man faces three counts of felony endangerment and a misdemeanor DUI after Lewis and Clark county deputies responded to reports of an intoxicated person shooting into the air at the Lincoln Rodeo Grounds July 5. Deputies arrested Cody James Wortman, 28, at a traffic stop after learning he was headed east in a grey Chrysler. According to court documents, Wortman had reportedly been in a fight and was threatening other people. After his arrest, Wortman claimed he had...
Helena – Effective Wednesday, July 8, at 12 am, Lewis and Clark Public Health is issuing a Public Health Order limiting events and gatherings to no more than 250 people. Governor Bullock's Phase 2 "Reopening the Big Sky" directive says non-essential social and recreational gatherings of individuals outside of a home or place of residence of greater than 50 people is not advisable, if a distance of at least 6 feet between individuals cannot be maintained. Events with groups lar...
Last weekend, Lincoln became one of only a few communities in Montana to host an Independence Day parade, rodeo and fireworks this year, after most events around the state were canceled out of concern for COVID-19. The influx of up to 2000 people to the community for the Independence Day parade and rodeo, Saturday July 4th, has prompted both praise, for moving ahead with celebrating the nations birth, and criticism for holding public events amid the COVID-19 pandemic....
Helena, Mont— Montana Veterans enrolled in the Montana VA Health Care System (MTVAHCS) are eligible for free COVID-19 testing in a second round of swabbing events across Montana. The first round of COVID-19 testing under Governor Bullock’s surveillance program for asymptomatic Veterans began on Thursday, June 25. As of July 1, 680 Veterans have been swabbed at thirteen different MTVAHCS sites across Montana. Starting July 7 through July 14, swabbing will be available in Cut Bank, Billings, Glendive, Hamilton, Helena, and Kal...
Beef prices have risen steeply for consumers since COVID-19 hit. At the same time, beef prices for ranchers have dropped. Much of this is due to supply chain disruptions caused when meat processing plants closed in April. Although local restaurant owners say prices have begun to go back down, they're still much higher than in previous years. Jill Frisbee, who owns the Pit Stop, said that all of her meat is at least 25 percent higher in cost, with some up as much as 35 percent....
Parade Lincoln Valley Chamber of Commerce President Kate Radford said the LVCC is working to include many of the guidance strategies from Public Health’s Phase 2 Event Planning guidelines. The parade route will be extended down to Sucker Creek Road to give attendees more space to park and socially distance. Attendees are encouraged to wear masks in addition to practicing social distancing. A small number of masks will be available outside Rusty Relics near the center of Lincoln. Anyone feeling sick is encouraged to stay a...
Social distancing and personal responsibility will be paramount during this year's annual Independence Day Parade and Lincoln Rodeo. Both events, which have historically been vital to Lincoln's economy, were at risk of being cancelled due to challenges this year related to COVID-19 restrictions, but "robust" discussions at the county level, sparked by an announcement the parade had been canceled, helped clear the way for them to move ahead. Last Thursday, June 24, Lewis and...
A Volvo sedan sits in the road near Lambkins as Lincoln Fire Chief Zach Muse directs traffic around scene of the accident it was involved in Wednesday evening June 24. The driver of the Volvo attempted to turn left onto Highway 200 and collided with a passing logging truck. Video of the accident captured on the BVD's security cameras shows the driver of the car waiting at the intersection for 20 seconds before attempting the turn and impacting the front right bumper and...
With a number of July 4th events canceled around Montana, Lincoln stands to see a major influx of visitors hoping to experience a traditional Independence Day Parade and Rodeo. Christ Lewenight, president of the Lincoln Rodeo Club said the rodeos that have moved ahead in the state so far this year have seen a good turnout, with some high-level pro riders showing up, since there aren’t as many rodeos this year. “We could end up with some really good riders this year,” he said. The expected increase in visitors has promp...
Grizzly bear populations continue to become denser and more widespread in Montana, increasing the likelihood that residents and recreationists will encounter them in new places each year. That means being prepared for such encounters is more important than ever, both to keep people and property safe and to cultivate healthy bear behavior. In a recent example, Montana Fish, Wildlife & Parks became aware of a video depicting a bear in the Highwood Mountains, east of Great...
With fire season on the horizon, the Lincoln Ranger District is preparing to tackle wildfires in a different way. Amid the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, the large fire camps that spring up during fires are generally off the table, as the camp crews that normally manage the camps and feed the fire crews aren't available this year. Likewise, concerns about the potential for coronavirus spread means the district won't bring in fire crews and fire management teams from around the...
The Lincoln Solid Waste Board has decided to pause plastics recycling for one year, starting July 1, 2020 and ending June 30, 2021. One of the reasons for the move is the COVID pandemic, said Misty Edwards of the Lincoln Solid Waste Board. “We don’t necessarily want the attendants handling plastic,” she said. Edwards said the larger reason for the pause in recycling is changes in the market. “We don’t have a market for plastics right now. Our plastics used to be grouped together in a co-op and sold to China. China changed w...
Hooper Park, had a delayed opening this year due to maintenance issues, but the park's camp host position has been filled for the first time in about three years, said Lincoln Parks Board chairman Nyle Howsmon. The bathrooms at Hooper Park, which reopened last summer after a two-and-a-half-year closure, needed repairs this year and caused a delay in the park's seasonal opening this year. "We actually missed Memorial Day," said Howsmon. "There were a couple of repairs from the...
The Lincoln Branch Library will be open June 22for browsing Monday-Wednesday from 3-6 p.m. and Thursday – Saturday from noon-3 p.m. One individual or family of up to three will be allowed in the building at a time. Curbside holds pickup and Library Pack pickup will also be offered during these times. Patrons will be able to make an appointment to use a public computer for 30 minutes but must make an appointment 24 hours in advance. "One computer will be available for two 30 m...
The concern surrounding COVID-19 has led to the cancellation of Lincolnstock, the annual music festival held at Hooper Park that had been scheduled for Aug. 1. Gary Zadick, who organizes and funds the free concert for the community as part of his annual family reunion, announced the event's cancellation earlier this month. "I didn't want to have any fuss," he said, adding the ongoing pandemic raised concerns about people gathering close together at the event. "I do it for...
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...
Lincoln's resident Deputy Robert Rivera said he knew something was up when his whole family was at the Lincoln Government Day meeting June 5. Lewis and Clark County Sheriff Leo Dutton used the occasion to recognize Rivera for a pair of accomplishments dating back to February. Dutton awarded Rivera with the Lifesaving Award for his actions Feb. 29 to help save the life of a choking man. Rivera responded to a call that evening for an individual who was choking and not...
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...
