Articles Written By: Tetona Dunlap
MISSOULA — Boys and girls line the floors of the Ballet Arts Academy, their backs against the mirrored wall, sitting with their legs extended. A young woman stands center stage, her pink tiptoes making a soft thud with each jump, hands elegantly placed above her head. Elaina Baldwin, 6, watches with...
ST. IGNATIUS — The celebration began at the top of Ravalli Hill, led by a fire truck, with its lights flashing red and about 10 vehicles following, horns honking. The parade snaked its way through town and ended in front of St. Ignatius School, where middle school student Emilio Bravo got a hero’...
ARLEE — Cortney Dix discovered the game of volleyball when she was in the sixth grade, and ever since she’s felt at home on the court. “I just loved (volleyball) when I found it,” Dix remembered. Now that love will take her from the gymnasium in Arlee to the campus of Montana Te...
ST. IGNATIUS — Ron and LaVonne Olmstead remember when the Christmas tree lighting first started in Mission, the now 40-foot tree stood about half its size. But over the years the green boughs have grown along with the small event’s popularity. “Once you start this kind of event, the fami...
It isn’t very often a state senator visits the campus at Kicking Horse Jobs Corps. But Sen. Jon Tester set aside an hour to talk with students and administrators during a tour of the facility on Dec. 3. “It’s big for us,” said center director Charles Camel. “(Senators) don&rs...
ARLEE — For years, people in the local food industry have been working to create a sustainable food infrastructure and networking system in Western Montana. “We looked at this beautiful region with all its rich resources, and we thought ‘How do we get these valleys together (and) how can...
ARLEE — The Jocko Valley Food Pantry started as a local church effort to help feed the hungry. Today, this effort still provides food for families and individuals and has become a community project. Community volunteer Andy Fisher said local individuals, organizations and entities provide all food d...
Imagine getting a phone call and it’s a relative who needs help. Your loved one has been involved in a car accident in Peru and needs $4,200 to help pay for the damages. Sounds like the makings of a scam, right? But this person knows information that only this relative would know, and there is even a p...
For the members of the Arlee Singers, drumming is more than an after-school activity: it’s a way of life. “Everything evolves around the drum. It’s the heartbeat of our people,” says 15-year-old Zach Felsman during a session long after all the other students have gone home, and the sq...
ARLEE — Donovan McDonald always had a natural running ability. But the tall, lanky 15-year-old didn’t know just how good he was until this year, when he decided to join the cross country team. McDonald had a late start to the season but quickly proved himself a running force. He only ran in tw...
