POLSON — The Polson firefighter pager tones went off at about 5:45 p.m. on Aug. 31 as 16-year-old Cash Sisler was hanging out in his living room. Lake County dispatch relayed reports of a tree on fire at Camp Marshall on Melita Island Lane. Since Sisler’s mom is the caretaker at Camp Marshall, he ran over to the camp buildings. Sisler saw 5-foot flames in about a 10-square yard area. He grabbed a 5-gallon bucket, ran down to Flathead Lake, filled the bucket and threw the water on the fire. Sisler said without the response from people in the area, 15 to 20 people who came by car and boat, the fire would have been four times worse. Sisler, a junior...
“Deplorable.” “Awful.” “Horrific.” “Beyond description.” “Have you seen ‘Hoarders’ on TV? Imagine that times 100.” These are just a few descriptions offered by police officials and local residents in regard to the li...
POLSON — In preparation for a trip to Ireland in 2008, Maggie Plummer read a travel guide. A few lines about Oliver Cromwell’s reign of terror during the 1650s captured Plummer’s interest and provided the seed for her next book, “Spirited Away.” In an effort to rid Ireland of...
RONAN — For many people in the Mission Valley, Bud Cheff Jr. is a storyteller of the highest caliber. Growing up in the Mission Valley, Cheff became fascinated by history and literature at an early age. He soon began collecting historical artifacts, many of which can be seen today in the Ninep...
POLSON — The track at Linderman Elementary School went to the dogs Saturday morning, but these canines were quite well-behaved … mostly. The Mission Valley Animal Shelter’s annual Doggy Dash, a fundraiser where dog owners can collect pledges for walking laps with their pets to sup...
POLSON — With sunshine and cool temperatures, weather was good as retired pilot Elsie Culver celebrated her 95th birthday at the Polson Fly-In on Saturday. In her youth, Culver learned to fly when she worked at the legendary Johnson Flying Service in Missoula. She thought she should become a pilot sinc...
PABLO — Wilderness lands, national parks and roadless areas occupy a fraction of our modern world. It can be easy to forget what the land looked like before modern civilization, what the animals, trees, rivers and streams once were and what they once meant — and still mean — to the indigeno...
POLSON — A man in town for a relative’s funeral was struck and killed by a power boat while swimming in Skidoo Bay, northeast of Polson, at about 5:30 p.m. on Friday, Sept. 7. John G. Darrah, 45, Cambridge, Mass., was swimming approximately 300 feet from shore, according to witnesses, when the...
POLSON — A 67-year-old Polson-area resident with nine DUI convictions under his belt was charged with a 10th last week in Lake County District Court. Gerald Johnson, an employee of the Jolly Pack Rat secondhand store, whose driver’s license bears an Oldtown, Idaho, address, pleaded not guilty to ...
POLSON — With a public meeting on Sept. 4 from 7 to 10:30 p.m. and a negotiating session on Sept. 5 at 9 a.m., water rights were on the front burner at the KwaTuqNuk Resort and Casino last week. At the evening public meeting, Wade Irion, a professional engineer with DOWL HKM, a regional engine...
