Unofficial results for municipal elections announced by Kristi Niemeyer for the Valley Journal
LAKE COUNTY — Excitement and optimism were the themes struck by three incoming mayors chosen by voters during last Tuesday’s municipal elections in Lake County. The vote saw two incumbent mayors lose their seats and the race for a council seat in Ronan end in a tie vote. According to unofficial results posted Nov. 2 by the Lake County Election Office, Daren Incashola was elected mayor of St. Ignatius, edging out incumbent Steve McCollum by 10 votes (90 to 80); and councilman Chris Adler unseated longtime Ronan Mayor Kim Aipperspach 155 to 125, with 57 votes going to Robert Sager. Both Adler and Incashola are currently serving on their respective city councils, which will be tasked with finding replacement representatives for the New Year. “I’m very excited and humbled by the opportunity to serve as mayor,” said Incasho-
“I’m very excited and humbled by the opportunity to serve as mayor.” - DAREN INCASHOLA, NEWLY ELECTED MAYOR OF ST. IGNATIUS
la. “I am looking forward to working with the council and hope to find a way to have more community involvement.” He’s midway through his second term as a councilman, and works in the IT department at the Lake County Courthouse, after serving as a detention officer, dispatcher and reserve deputy with the Lake County Sheriff ’s office. Incashola also served as a volunteer fireman in St. Ignatius and as an EMT with Mission Valley Ambulance. Adler, who works as a mechanic for Polson School District and serves as Ronan Fire Chief, thanked voters for turning out and congratulated all of Tuesday’s race winners across the county. “Now let’s get ready to work together on up-and-coming challenges that we will surely face,” he said.
Also in Ronan, incumbent councilwoman Marilynn Tanner and Ryan Corum each received 68 votes in their quest to represent Ward 1. Allysen Jones was chosen to serve as Ronan city judge with 192 votes, while Zachariah Miller posted 134. According to Lake County Election Administrator Toni Kramer, the Ronan tie may be resolved when provisional ballots are counted Monday (after press-time). Votes are certified at 10 a.m. Wednesday during the official canvass. In Polson, Eric Huffine will become mayor in January after earning 621 votes vs. 542 for Rachel Wanderscheid. Incumbent Paul Briney did not file for reelection. “It’s exciting to know I have an opportunity to make a difference,” Huffine said over the roar of the Polson Pirates’ playoff football game on Sat-
urday. The local entrepreneur owns Riverside Recreation, a boat rental adjacent to Riverside Park, and Wall and Slab, a concrete construction business. In Polson’s Ward 1, Jake Holley bested Jen Ruggless, 110 to 86 to replace outgoing commissioner Lou Marcello. In Ward 2, Laura Dever, who was appointed to fill a vacancy in July, outpaced David Coffman, 253-219. Brodie Moll, who was unopposed for a second term as Ward 3 commissioner, received 361 votes. Voters who reside outside of incorporated communities overwhelmingly passed the Rural Maintenance Mill Levy, 3,064 to 1,951. The four-mill levy will be collected in two installments of two mills each, beginning in November 2022, and is expected to raise about $221,241 annually. Those funds are used to buy the oil needed to chip-seal surfaces on the county’s 1,200-mile network of gravel and paved roads. Lake County voters cast a total of 6,710 ballots in last week’s election.
Lawsuit challenges vaccine mandate for Montana employers News from Governor Gianforte
HELENA — Governor Greg Gianforte issued the following statement on Nov. 5 supporting a lawsuit filed by Montana Attorney General Austin Knudsen, other state attorneys general, and employers seeking to block President Biden’s illegal vaccine mandate for private employers: “President Biden’s heavy-handed vaccine mandate is illegal in Montana,
and I stand with Montana employers and Attorney General Knudsen as he joins other states to challenge the president’s unlawful overreach,” Gov. Gianforte said. “Not only does President Biden’s mandate violate Montana law banning vaccine-based discrimination, but also it will further strain Montana employers already facing a worker shortage. We will use all tools at our disposal to protect Montanans against this gross, unprecedented federal
overreach.” The lawsuit challenges the federal vaccine mandate issued by the Occupational Safety and Health Administration. Pres. Biden’s Emergency Temporary Standard mandates employers, with 100 or more employees, require their workers to receive a COVID-19 vaccine. The Biden OSHA mandate will apply to 142,000 private-sector workers in Montana, according to the Montana Department of Labor and Industry.
Valley Journal
Sharon Whitworth
Polson woman jailed, charged for intentionally killing another woman with her vehicle News from the Lake County Sheriff’s Office
POLSON — On Oct. 31, just before 6 p.m., Lake County 911 took a report of a vehicle vs. pedestrian crash on Huckleberry Lane, southeast of Polson. Lake County Deputies and Montana Highway Patrol were dispatched to the scene. Their investigation determined that the operator of the vehicle, identified as 56-year-old Sharon Whitworth, of Polson, intentionally ran over 63-year-old Tonya Charles, of Polson, causing her death. Whitworth was jailed on a charge of deliberate homicide and remains in the Lake County Detention Center. The Lake County Sheriff ’s Office sends our condolences to Ms. Charles’s family. No further information on the investigation will be released at this time.
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