The Valley Journal newspaper Ronan, Lake County, Montana

Melea Burke/Valley Journal

A search plane flies above the Lower Flathead River Tuesday morning just west of the National Bison Range in Moiese. Lake and Sanders Counties Sheriff's Offices were running the search and rescue operation for four people aboard a missing single-engine airplane from a unified command center set up at the National Bison Range.

By Melea Burke
Valley Journal
(Editor's note — After this story was published, the wreckage of the missing plane was located Wednesday afternoon in a mountainous area above Revais Creek, west/southwest of Dixon. Search and rescue personnel rappeled into the crash scene and confirmed that all nine passengers perished on impact. The bodies of the two men and two women were lifted out of the crash site Thursday evening.)

MOIESE — The hunt for a small plane lost Sunday afternoon with four people aboard continued into Wednesday morning as search and rescue teams combed a huge search area just west of the National Bison Range and south along the Flathead River to its junction with the Clark Fork River. An electrical storm Tuesday evening halted the search overnight and put telephone lines out of service at the National Bison Range Visitor Center, where Lake and Sanders County Sheriff’s Offices had set up a unified command center, Lake County Sheriff's spokeswoman Carey Cooley said.
Without land lines, communication among searchers and authorities was limited to radios and mobile phones in an area with spotty cell service. But searchers on ATVs, sonar-equipped boats and 10 aircraft headed out again first thing Wednesday morning, Cooley said.
The missing aircraft, a blue and white 1968 Piper Arrow..........
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Melea Burke/Valley Journal

Boaters are urged to look for tiny mussels that could pose a huge threat to aquatic life in Flathead Lake.

By Melea Burke
Valley Journal
Flathead Lake is the largest freshwater lake west of the Mississippi, but two of the greatest threats to its health are scarcely larger than a fingernail. And the public — whether boating, fishing or just swimming — is the first line of defense against the invaders.
Zebra and quagga mussels are two of the most feared aquatic invasive species present in the United States, and Montana is one of the few places left where the creatures haven’t spread. The mussels clog filters and water intake pipes and pumps, coat boat propellers and steal nutrients from native invertebrates, fish and wildlife. Both types of mussels reproduce rapidly and can wreak havoc on the ecosystem of infested waters.
According to the United States Geological Survey, zebra and quagga mussels were introduced to the United States in the late 1980s, when one commercial cargo ship traveling from the Black Sea (the native home of both mussel species) to the Great Lakes released larval zebra mussels during ..........
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Kate Haake/Valley Journal

A bridge that formerly spanned the width of Crow Creek is now partially underwater, while misplaced horses and donkeys wander around the open road leading to the Cates residence off of U.S. Highway 93.

By Kate Haake
Valley Journal
RONAN — The recent onslaught of spring showers has flooded basements and roads and left some Lake County residents anxiously waiting for the sun to dry the saturated fields and overflowing creeks.
Lake County and Confederated Salish and Kootenai Tribal officials have been monitoring the flows closely this spring, ensuring that flooded lowlands and creeks will have minimal damage on roads on residences.
“We’ve been out in the field and have been looking at stuff,” Office of Emergency Management Coordinator Steve Stanley said.
He added that the irrigation ditches and creeks are full throughout the Flathead Reservation.
From U.S. Highway 93, Crow Creek looks more like a pond than a flowing body of water.
The creek that borders Bev’s Bloomers and runs through the Cates’ and the Luedtkes' properties has overstepped its bounds this year.
But according locals, it’s not the first time the creek has ..........
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By Berl Tiskus
Valley Journal
POLSON — Traffic slowed to a crawl Monday on the Armed Forces Memorial Bridge as road crews once again blocked off a lane, prompting locals to voice concerns that construction would interfere with the upcoming holiday weekend.
But Lori Ryan, Public Information Specialist for the Montana Department of Transportation, said area residents can expect only a couple of days of one-way traffic on the bridge and that the project will be completed long before the Fourth of July.
On Monday, crews were completing sealing joints and surfaces.
Then all that remains to be done is striping the bridge, according to Ryan. ..........
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Boone Goddard/Valley Journal

Lovell Beaulieu sits along Flathead Lake after arriving in his new home last week from New Orleans. Beaulieu started his first week breaking in as the new editor at the Valley Journal.

Valley Journal
Lovell Beaulieu, an award-winning journalist who has worked at some of the nation’s top daily newspapers, has been named editor of the Valley Journal.
Beaulieu’s appointment is effective Monday, July 5, 2010.
A native of New Orleans, Beaulieu has worked at newspapers such as the Columbus Dispatch in Ohio, the Des Moines Register in Iowa and the Times-Picayune in New Orleans. He has been a reporter, bureau chief, editorial writer, columnist, editorial page editor and managing editor. He has also been an adjunct journalism professor, a community college newspaper adviser, a high school English and journalism teacher and a boys and girls basketball coach on the elementary and high school levels.
After a brief hiatus from newspapers, Beaulieu returned to daily journalism as editor of the North Lake Edition of the Post Tribune in Northwest Indiana, a newspaper owned by ..........
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Kate Haake/Valley Journal

Kate Young and buddy Kaylee Koenig work on their art skills, while having tons of fun at the Charlo Art Camp on Thursday.

By Kate Haake
Valley Journal
CHARLO — For ten years Charlo has provided a little structure and summer fun for local students in the form of an art camp.
And this year’s camp was more popular than ever with 79 kids participating in the creative event.
“I had kids in school and it was just a fun idea for a summer camp,” Judy Shafter explained.
Shafter and a few members of the Parent Teacher Association put together the first art camp in 2000. They thought it would be beneficial to offer an activity other than the summer sport camps.
Since 2000, it has evolved and grown and this year the camp was funded by the Ninepipes Art Group, in coordination with a 21st Century Grant and the Lower Flathead Valley Community Foundation. Art teachers from Missoula to Polson conducted classes that centered around the year’s theme, while volunteers, parents and grandparents assist in each class’ attempt at artistic grandeur.
“We really depend on the parents and grandparents to help us out in the classroom,” Shafter said.
Every art teacher had from 15 to 30 years of experience teaching art, and Shafter reaffirmed ........
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No Dixon dances to be held in July, August
By Martha Swonson
for the Valley Journal
DIXON — Summer is finally here. The sun and warm temperatures will help our tomatoes and other plants and help with successful outings and picnics this 4th of July weekend. There is so much going on this time of year in our valley. I have to see a parade every year – what choices there are.
I will be sharing this beautiful area with company from Alabama. I can’t wait until they see the Missions.
We have a great bit of news from the Dixon area. Boone and Mary Cole just welcomed a lovely baby girl, Jubilee Rose. This makes me a proud aunt and Sharon Cole is the delighted grandmother. There hasn’t been a baby in the family for a very long time. Thanks, kids.
There will be no meal served at the center on July 5. Regular meals are ..........
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Courtesy photo

An antique photograph of the Flathead Agency is contrasted with a photograph taken this year from the same viewpoint in an exhibit called “Then and Now,” opening July 4 at the Jocko Valley Museum in Arlee.

By Melea Burke
Valley Journal
ARLEE — Fourth of July weekend in Arlee is packed with outdoor activities like the powwow, rodeo, basketball tournament and parades, but the Jocko Valley Museum offers a break from the heat and a look at the area’s rich history.
The museum opens July 4 with several exhibits commemorating various events in the Flathead Reservation’s past. “People, Place and Time – Creating Connections with People, Cultures and Communities” is a traveling exhibit on loan from The Confederated Salish and Kootenai Tribes for July 4 only, featuring large photographs and stories of important events and people of the Flathead Reservation.
“(The exhibit) is quite an event in and of itself,” Arlee Historical Society board member Merrill Bradshaw said.
Bradshaw put together another exhibit titled “Then and Now,” a collection of century-old photographs of various places in the Jocko Valley and surrounding areas contrasted with ..........
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Melea Burke/Valley Journal

Colorful fringe swirls around a dancer’s feet during the 2009 Arlee Celebration. This year’s celebration runs June 30 through July 4 and offers more than $50,000 in dance prize money and more than $10,000 in the singing and drumming contests.

By Kate Haake
Valley Journal
RONAN — After being thrown out of the Second Chance Saloon and the Ronan Liquor Store, a stray feline found her home in the most unlikely of places: the Ronan City Hall.
Originally known as Alley, because of her humble beginnings on the street, the new city mascot took shelter in city hall in the middle of a horrendous storm during the first week of June and has been a cute, calico fixture in the building ever since.
Ronan City Clerk Kaylene Melton took the liberty of buying her new furry friend a litter box, food and a mouse toy, while the cat slept off her rambling ways the first few days.
“It’s like she needed to rest up,” Melton said.
But this cat is anything but a freeloader.
Since her rescue, Alley has found her niche in city government. The cat is paid in ..........
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By Kate Haake
Valley Journal
RONAN — At a meeting on Monday, Ronan City Council members voted unanimously to follow the planning board’s recommendation prohibiting the sale, growth and distribution of medical marijuana within the city limits.
Previously, the Ronan City Council issued a temporary moratorium, restricting medical marijuana distributors and growers to a specific highway commercial zone on the south end of town.
After a month, the council revisited the medical marijuana zoning issue and voted to prohibit medical marijuana distribution, sale or growth inside the city limits altogether. The council wanted to discuss the issue further, pending recommendations from the planning board and more information.
The planning board’s decision came after receiving little feedback from community members during two public forums, and the decision from the Confederated Salish and Kootenai Tribal Council that prohibited any CSKT member from using medical marijuana.
“I just think it’s a hassle that we don’t want to get involved in,” council member Marcia Ganieany said.
Mayor Kim Aipperspach insisted that the city will be affected by the medical marijuana ..........
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Berl Tiskus/Valley Journal

Charred beams and soot-streaked shingles in a burned-out shell are all that remain of the building at Elmo Fishing Access. Kids shooting off fireworks are believed have caused the fire.

By Berl Tiskus
Valley Journal
POLSON — School’s out and 34 kids interested in theater were signed up for the Port Polson Players Summer Kids Camp. The camp was held at the John Dowdall Theater during the week of June 14-19.
The kids learned their lines, memorized the songs and performed the play “100 Candles” on June 19.
Sarah Kinzle, 6, had four lines, and she was very excited about saying her them during the play.
“100 Candles” honors Polson’s Centennial according to Karen Lewing, Port Polson Players Artistic Director.
The camp wasn’t all work, however. There was the annual hat parade where kids constructed headwear at home — bunches of balloons, giant birthday cakes, even a hat with feathery greens and a bit of orange carrot peeping out of a brown felt hat.
Camper Kellen Wright liked making his hat. It “a giant snake on top of a weed-whacker.”
Other fun camp events were a historical figure day and favorite president or ..........
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