Robert Walter Sanderson

Robert Walter Sanderson, age 57, died on Thursday, Oct. 13, 2005 at his residence in Columbia Falls. He was born on May 18, 1948 in Reno, Nev., to Donald and Rosemary (Staszkiewicz) Sanderson.

Robert received his early education in Reno. He graduated from the University of Nevada in the mid-70s and became a CPA. He married Janet Marie Anderson March 30, 1968 at Fullon, Nev.

From 1977-1980 he held the position of resort controller at Squaw Valley Ski Resort and in 1978-1980, he was with the CPA firm of Kerry S. David & Company in Lake Tahoe, Nev. In 1980, he moved to Ely, Nev. and managed the Hotel Nevada.

He moved to the Bigfork/Ferndale area of Montana in 1984 to buy and operate the Junction Bar in Ferndale and purchase land to raise his family. In 1985 he was disabled. He enjoyed hunting, fishing and Fantasy Football.

He is preceded in death by his parents and two children, Robert Walter JR. and Tracey Dawn.

He is survived by his wife Janet Sanderson of Columbia Falls; three daughters, Kacey Kraus and husband Ryan, Brandi Simpson and husband Robert all of Evergreen, also Lisa Buhman and husband Ernest (J.R.) Buhman of Sutton, W.Va.; two half-brothers, Richard and Frank Sobchinsky.

Graveside services Robert Walter Sanderson will be held Thursday, Oct. 20, at 1 p.m., at Glacier Memorial Gardens, in Kalispell. There will be no visitation.

Johnson Mortuary & Crematory is caring for Robert's family.

Al Rierson

Former Flathead County Sheriff Al Rierson died last Tuesday (Oct. 11) at the age of 86.

Rierson was a colorful character. He got his start in law enforcement with the Montana Highway Patrol in 1949. His beat was from Columbia Falls to Marias Pass.

Rierson was the first highway patrolman assigned to the Canyon, and his main beat was the Hungry Horse Dam project, where he administered hundreds of drivers license tests to dam workers who wanted resident fishing and hunting licenses.

He drove a 1949 Ford back and forth from Columbia Falls to Marias Pass with no radio.

"We'd drive right past each other without being able to talk to each other," he said in a 2002 interview. "We had these old FM radios, so we could only talk to the base. Then, in 1950, we got two-way radios."

The Canyon boom towns were like any other Wild West towns, Rierson remembered. There were prostitutes on Sugar Hill in Martin City and gambling in all the bars.

"I only drew my weapon once," Rierson said. "I had chased a speeder all the way through Coram and Hungry Horse, and when we stopped he came at me with a construction bar. I gave him a warning and he dropped the bar. A deputy put the cuffs on him and we fined him $1,000."

Once he and a deputy stopped a "gambling syndicate" in Martin City where the dealers had shaved the edges of cards in the diamond suit.

"When I was on patrol, I was like a referee," Rierson said. "You couldn't make political decisions, and you had to make decisions now. Who would make a decision if a tornado or a flood happened?"

In 1975, after 25 years with the Highway Patrol, Rierson decided to run for Flathead County Sheriff.

Rierson served as sheriff for two terms, losing to Chuck Rhodes in 1982.