DRUMMOND – The Cenex gas station in Drummond will start changing its form and function in the near future, with the convenience store portion of the facility closing in October.. According to Mark Lalum, General Manager of the CHS Mountain West Co-op (CHS) in Missoula and parent company of the local business, the economics of the Drummond convenience store make it a drain on the operation as a whole. “Sales within the store have been very low,” said Lalum Monday. “That store makes about $65,000 a year in sales, about $20,000 of which are LP Truck (propane) sales. It has about $95,000 in wages, so you can see the problem.” Lalum stated that CHS didn’t want to lose the entire facility and that

DRUMMOND – It took a little longer than most folks expected, but the Lady Trojans got the expected result Saturday as they beat the Tigers of St. Regis in straight sets 25-18, 25-21, 25-20. “They (St. Regis) are going to play up and we played a little hesitant because we have something to lose,” said DHS Head Coach Brooks Phillips. “It took us a while to wake up. When they warmed up they looked fine but when they went out and lost that first serve, they went ‘ugh’. But they got it back together and pulled it back out.” After taking a lead and pacing the visiting Tigers in Set 1, the Lady Trojans started very slowly in Set 2. St. Regis managed to create a 7-1 lead that took Drummond until 13-

CHARLO – The Granite Girls Volleyball Team was unable to get their game in motion Saturday night in Charlo, falling in straight sets to the Vikings. “Our goal is to refocus and start pushing ourselves and each other to improve,” said GHS Head Coach Jennifer Graham. Lucia Lee led the Lady Prospectors with four kills, three assists and a service ace. Anna Belle Locke had four digs and Asha Comings was tops in blocks with 6.5. Locke, Comings, Summer Phillips and Amelia Hill each had an ace along with Lee. There’s little rest for Granite as they come home to face Valley Christian Tuesday. Games start at 5:30 p.m.

CHARLO – The Charlo Vikings found out there are two places you don’t want to be in 2020. The first – On the locker room wall of the Flint Creek Titans. The second – On the other side of the ball after said Titans have fully digested your pregame quotes. Flint Creek took to heart some critical remarks made by Charlo Head Coach Reese Cox earlier in the week and decided to make a statement in a game of unbeatens, blasting the home Vikings 46-0 Friday night. The win elevates the Titans to 4-0 while Charlo falls to 4-1. The comments made by Cox to 406mtsports Wednesday proved to be the spark that set off a powder keg of emotions by the Titan players. Cox had stated that his quarterback was better

MISSOULA – After back to back losses home last week, the Drummond Lady Trojans found a way to get back on the winning track with a four-set win over the Eagles of Valley Christian, 25-16, 15-25, 25-21, 25-12. The victory elevates the locals to 6-2 on the year. After splitting the first two games with the hosts, Drummond used a an 11-point service run from sophomore Jessie Struna to turn the tide and take a lead they would never relinquish. Struna collected four of her six service aces in the string to go along with her 23 assists as the team’s setter. Senior Sydney Phillips was back on track for the Lady Trojans, leading the squad in Aces (7), Kills (12) and blocks (4). Freshman Holly Hauptm

GRANITE COUNTY – Fans wishing to watch the Titans take on the Vikings in Charlo Friday night will need a team connection to get a seat. Charlo High School is limiting access to fans based on the Flint Creek roster. Senior players are receiving four tickets each with all other underclassmen get just two. Charlo made the decision prior to the season and have maintained the standard thus far through the 2020 schedule as part of its COVID-19 protocols. The Flint Creek Courier is currently working with Charlo High School officials to try and find a way to bring the game live to Titans fans. Like Granite and Drummond, Charlo has received and mounted their Pixellot cameras. However, these cameras h

DRUMMOND – A busy week with tough opponents added up to a Saturday loss for the Drummond Lady Trojans, falling in three close straight sets 25-23, 25-21, 25-23. “It's been a long week with little practice and three great competitors and everyone is exhausted,” said DHS Head Coach Brooks Phillips. “But that isn't to take away from Seeley. They are a good team and Klaire Kovatch is very strong in the net. “I think the whole team is looking forward to some good practices and sleep!” Unlike their previous matches this week against Clark Fork and Charlo, The Lady Trojans started more slowly and allowed the visiting Blackhawks to get into a rhythm that proved to be tough to break all match long. S

DRUMMOND – It wasn’t the same team that the Titans faced a year ago on opening night, but for some of the guys the win was a sweet way to gain redemption. Flint Creek struck early and often as they posted a convincing 64-12 victory over Clark Fork in Drummond Friday night. The Titans advance to 3-0 on the year with the Mountain Cats dropping to 2-2. “Revenge a little bit,” said senior Preston Metesh. “We spent all summer in the weight room and it really helped.” The flip proved to be the last thing that visiting Clark Fork would win all night. After giving the ball back to Flint Creek on downs just 85 seconds into the game, the locals needed just two minutes to find pay dirt. And who else bu

GRANITE COUNTY – The official Sample Ballot for Granite County for the coming November 3, 2020 General Election.

GRANITE COUNTY – Friday night’s football game will be more than just a matchup of two teams trying to get a leg up in the 8-man standings. For the Titans of Flint Creek, atonement will be part of the game plan. When the two teams met in Week 1 of the 2019 season, Flint Creek was riding the crest of a 25-game win streak over the previous two seasons that had garnered them back to back state titles. They had lost a lot to graduation, but still had the core of a strong senior trio that could lead the rest of a younger, less experienced roster. As it would turn out, Clark Fork was an up-and-coming program with a lot of upper classmen that were far larger than the average Titan. They would eventu

DRUMMOND – Drummond suffered its first loss of the season Thursday night, falling to visiting Charlo in five sets 25-22, 25-15, 9-25, 19-25, 14-16. The Viking came in having lost just one set all season. The Lady Trojans jumped on them Vikings quickly, winning games and threatening to sweep the highly ranked visitors. “”We shocked them with our net play,” said DHS Head Coach. “Charlo made some adjustments (in the third set) and we struggled with receiving.” The Vikings rallied to win the final three games and escape with the match. Syd Phillips had a team high seven kills at the net while chipping in three blocks and nine digs. Deana Parke and Hannah Bradshaw each had four service aces, with

PHILIPSBURG – It was a welcome victory by the Lady prospectors to be sure, getting themselves back on the winning side of the ledger after a hard-fought loss to Valley two days earlier. But despite the three-game sweep of the visiting Pirates for Homecoming, GHS Head Coach sees areas where her team can still make improvements. “We played to not loose, back on our heels,” said Graham, whose squad posted a 25-23, 25-19, 25-14 victory. “We couldn’t get out of our head. It’s all a mental game. It’s something we need to work on and get better at. … We need to mentally mature.” Once the mental cobwebs cleared, Granite started dominating Victor the way the clearly could have in the first two games.

HELENA - The following is an alert from National Weather Service. Air Quality Alert in effect until Friday, 9:00 AM MDT. Source: U.S. National Weather Service. The Montana Department of Environmental Quality has issued an air quality alert for Beaverhead, Broadwater, Deer Lodge, Fergus, Flathead, Granite, Jefferson, Judith Basin, Lake, Lewis and Clark, Lincoln, Madison, Meagher, Mineral, Missoula, Powell, Ravalli, Sanders, and Silver Bow counties in effect until 9/17/2020 9AM due to heavy wildfire smoke and elevated particulate concentrations. This alert will be updated again at 9/16/2020 9AM. An Air Quality Alert means that particulates have been trending upwards and has exceeded the 24 hou

BILLINGS - The Montana Department of Commerce this week launched the 2020 Census State Championship to encourage counties and tribes in Montana to compete for the highest increase in self-response rates to the 2020 Census from now until September 30. With only 14 days left in the 2020 Census count, the Commerce Department and the Montana Complete Count Committee are urging every Montana resident to respond to the 2020 Census before the shortened deadline of September 30. “This is the final countdown for the 2020 Census,” said Lt. Gov. Mike Cooney, the Chair of the Montana Complete Count Committee. “The counties and tribes that win the 2020 Census State Championship will get not only bragging

Dear neighbors, It’s September in Granite County. As your County Commissioner, there is a pressing topic that I would like to visit about with you, one which is often out of sight and out of mind compared to other priorities: the 2020 Census. I am concerned because only 29.7 percent of Granite County households have self-responded to the Census as of September 13th. That is the second-to-worst self-response rate of any county in Montana, placing Granite County as the 55th lowest response rate out of 56 counties. Census efforts have been compromised by the COVID-19 shutdown, like so many other aspects of our economy and daily lives, and that means it is up to us to get every single Granite Co

MISSOULA – The Granite Lady Prospectors lost a hard-fought, five-game match with the Eagles Tuesday night, 21-25, 25-18, 25-16, 25-20, 15-10. The defeat drops them to 4-2 on the young season. “It was a hard fought game and unfortunately we let our errors, especially serving, get the best of us,” said GHS Head Coach Jennifer Graham of the match. “The girls need to regroup as we head into homecoming and our district match against Victor.” The Lady Prospectors posted some solid statistics despite the loss, with Reece Pitcher notching nine kills and Lucia Lee getting 10 of Granite’s 20 team blocks. Rachel Ward had 19 of the locals 29 assists while Pitcher and Asha Coming had seven service aces e

DRUMMOND – The Lady Trojans rolled on to a perfect 5-0 record Tuesday night, sweeping the Clark Fork Mountain Cats 25-23, 25-19, 25-20 to open a three-game home stand that will culminate with Homecoming Saturday against Seeley Swan. “I think the big difference is we’re more like a family,” said senior hitter Sydney Phillips. “We’re not just a team. We have each other’s backs and we know that.” That cohesiveness has allowed Drummond to get off to its fastest start in years, sweeping its last two opponents after battling Granite to a win in five games. Tuesday night’s win over the Mountain Cats put on display the Lady Trojans fluidity on the court, with solid coverage on hits by opposing playe

HELENA - The following is an alert from National Weather Service. Air Quality Alert in effect until Wednesday, 9:00 AM MDT. Source: U.S. National Weather Service. The Montana Department of Environmental Quality has issued an air quality alert for Beaverhead, Broadwater, Deer Lodge, Fergus, Flathead, Granite, Jefferson, Judith Basin, Lake, Lewis and Clark, Lincoln, Madison, Meagher, Mineral, Missoula, Powell, Ravalli, Sanders, and Silver Bow counties in effect until 9/17/2020 9AM due to heavy wildfire smoke and elevated particulate concentrations. This alert will be updated again at 9/16/2020 9AM. An Air Quality Alert means that particulates have been trending upwards and has exceeded the 24

GRANITE COUNTY – Following are the individual races as they will appear when you vote in the Nov. 3 General Election. United States President Donald Trump (R, Incumbent) Joseph Biden (D) US House Montana At-Large District Kathleen Williams (D) Matt Rosendale (R) Congress US Senate Steve Daines (R, Incumbent) Steve Bullock (D) Statewide Offices Montana Governor Mike Cooney (D) Greg Gianforte (R) Lyman Bishop (L) Montana Secretary of State Bryce Bennett (D) Christi Jacobsen (R) Attorney General of Montana Raph Graybill (D) Austin Knudsen (R) Montana Superintendent of Public Instruction Elise Arntzen (R, Incumbent) Melissa Romano (D) Kevin Leatherbarrow (L) Montana Commissioner of Securities an

GRANITE COUNTY – Following are the Ballot Measures as they will appear when you vote in the Nov. 3 General Election. C-46 (HB 244) Subject: Constitutional amendment to change constitutional amendment signature requirements. Type: Constitutional Amendment Status: Legislature referred HB 244 to the 2020 General Election Ballot. Fiscal Note: No Fiscal Note C-47 (HB 245) Subject: Constitutional amendment to revise initiative signature requirements. Type: Constitutional Amendment Status: Legislature referred HB 245 to the 2020 General Election Ballot. Fiscal Note: No Fiscal Note BALLOT ISSUE #11 – CI-118 Subject: Under the Montana Constitution, a person 18 years of age or older is an adul