Community

ENNIS—The wrap-up to Ennis’s summer season brought hundreds of fly fishing enthusiasts from all over the west to Peter T’s park last weekend. The Fly Fishing and Outdoor Festival featured something for everyone: dozens of vendors, several films, art, speakers, clinics, food and music.

ENNIS—As the Southern California Incident Management Team (IMT) began setting up camp in Ennis on August 13 to begin work on the Wigwam and Monument fires. But as the arrived, one key element was still missing:

SHERIDAN—The Moriah Motel has been in search of new owners for several months, but when Mark Johnson first drove down the Ruby Valley in June, he knew he’d come to the right place.

“I knew driving down that if the motel was anything like the rest of the valley, it was a done deal,” Johnson says. 

ENNIS—When Lorraine and Chuck Ravis were evacuated from their home on August 12, they signed next-of-kin paperwork, uncertain whether they’d see their home again.

TRAIL CREEK – “Most people know me bent over better than face-to-face,” says a chuckling Kristi Reeves, while she trimmed the hooves of “Johnny,” a big bay quarter horse. “They don’t recognize me standing up. But they know I usually wear Wrangler jeans and have a (hoof) knife on the right side,” she continued.

ENNIS—As the days get hotter and drier, it’s important to watch the ground while hiking, running, horseback riding and walking dogs. The Madison Valley is home to several species of snakes, including Montana’s only venomous one: the prairie rattlesnake (also known as the western rattlesnake).

WHITEHALL - What’s the first thing you think about when you hear the word bat? A thing you hit a baseball with, maybe what the Brits use to play cricket?

How about that strange critter of twilight that flits, swooping, around the house? 

ENNIS—The Madison Conservation District welcomed Emily Osborn to its team earlier this summer. Osborn takes over the administrator position for the MCD from Cori Koenig.