Annual Easter Egg hunt warms chilly morning in St. Regis for dozens of kids
Kathleen Woodford Mineral Independent | Hagadone News Network | UPDATED 7 years, 9 months AGO
It was a chilly 37 degree morning when residents across Mineral County prepared for annual Easter egg hunts. They were held in Alberton, sponsored by the Alberton Ridgerunners, and by the Mineral County Search and Rescue in Superior. In St. Regis the hunt took place in the town park and was sponsored by the local community council. Kassie Perkins sat at a picnic table and wrote kids names on tickets for two bicycles to be raffled off. The bikes were donated by Tricon Timber, and the Lincoln $50,000 Bar and The Gift Shop in St. Regis donated a lot of the other gifts which lined tables under the covered picnic area. Perkins said other businesses in the area, as well as in Missoula also donated items for the event. The St. Regis Community Council also donated $300 for gifts.
Plastic eggs dotted the lawn around the baseball field, filled with candy and slips of paper which represented the prizes. Some were for specific items, the other slips said “pick a prize” and kids could choose what they wanted. As the crowd waited, kids wandered between the tables and scouted out the prizes they wanted to take home. The Easter Bunny, a.k.a. Amanda Scott, hopped between groups and took selfies with friends and photos with the youngsters.
The sun peered out periodically from behind cloudy skies, warming the crowd as they waited for the hunt to begin. The preschool kids would go first, and waited near their mark with baskets, plastic shopping bags and even a Halloween plastic pumpkin. Whatever it will took to fill up with candy and treats.
The next group to go were five and six year olds, followed by seven and eight. They all took a scattergun approach to the field of goodies and scooped everything up in sight within a few minutes. Then the older kids raced around the ball field and the flag pole to retrieve their pastel colored eggs and candy.
As each group finished, they presented their slips of paper to volunteers at the tables who handed out tons of toys to the excited youngsters. The last item on the agenda was the bike raffle, where five-year-old Marley Downing won the pretty pink bike, and eight-year-old Austin Hotchkiss won the boys bike.
More photos on Page A3
ARTICLES BY KATHLEEN WOODFORD MINERAL INDEPENDENT
Mineral County sends tax bill to Forest Service
The Forest Service will be receiving a property tax bill from Mineral County this year. County Commissioners Laurie Johnston, Roman Zylawy and Duane Simons signed the letter March 9 requesting property tax revenue for 2017. The “historic letter” as defined by Rep. Denley Loge, describes the plight Mineral County is facing as options to fund the county have dried up.
Colorado woman dies after vehicle gets stuck
An early evening call received by Mineral County dispatch on Friday, March 17, ended in tragedy. The body of Colorado resident Debra Ann Koziel was found in the Fish Creek area by a search team the following Tuesday afternoon. Her death was determined to be the result of exposure to weather.
No major flooding as snow thaws
“As the ground starts thawing, the rocks start falling,” was a post made on the Mineral County Sheriff’s Office’s Facebook page last week. A photo accompanied the post of a big rock which had come down on Mullan Road East near the Big Eddy fishing access in Superior on March 11. “Please be aware of your surroundings and pay attention while driving,” they warned in the post.