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With signs popping up at various loca-tions, it’s clear the Stevensville-based Bit-terroot Valley Ammunition Co. is progress-ing and expanding. Started in January 2008 to capture a shortage in the market, the Bitterroot Val-ley Ammunition first began manufacturing ammo for law enforcement. “I was in the industry for 20 years be-fore I started my own business,” said owner Darren Newsom. “This is an industry that has a lot to do with who you know. So the timing with the (presidential) elections and the shortage in ammunition helped us take

advantage of the situation by catering to markets that were being ignored. “While most manufacturers went after a retail market where there was more money to be made, I went after the markets where long-term relationships could be estab-lished and maintained,” he said. “As the economy gets worse, crime goes up and law enforcement uses more ammo, and we keep them supplied.” He continued to pursue other contracts and found “we were getting shelf space when no one else would supply them,” he said. “Once you get your product in a store and you get shelf space, and you’re sell-ing, they keep the guy that helped them out when they really needed it. And we’ve been able to maintain those contracts.” Newsom also gives credit for the com-pany’s success to “key employees that live here in the valley that were able to help me out.” BVAC has new dealers through several hunting and outdoor-related businesses in western Montana, including the Elusive

Moose in Victor. Newsom said the company has several thousand vendors throughout the United States and decided to open a retail store of their own. The BVAC outlet is on U.S. Highway 93 just north of Stevensville and is the compa-ny’s first retail store, with another recently opened in Plains. The manufacturing plant is still located south of Stevensville on East-side Highway. Angela Adams has worked at the outlet store since June and said they carry a wide variety of hunting accessories, including backpacks, gun cases, scopes, target sheets, sleeping bags, gun-cleaning supplies and law enforcement accessories. “We have the best selection in the valley for ammo,” she said. “It’s a great place to work.” The BVAC outlet store is open 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday through Friday, and 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. Saturday. It is closed Sundays.

Bitterroot Valley Ammunition Co. Owner: Darren Newsom • 3616 Eastside Highway, Stevensville, 777-5670

While Hamilton’s first bank may have relocated in 1962, the historic building on Main Street has new life with busy busi-nesses both upstairs and down.Taco del Sol opened for business on Sept. 8 and is brightening the restaurant space on the bottom floor. Owner Tia Morello said there has been great response from new customers as well as fans of the Missoula-owned franchise.The remodeling was an extensive project. “We replaced all the windows right away,” Morello said. “They were heavily tinted and so now the light really brightens the space. We redid the flooring, replaced lighting, peeled a lot of wallpaper and painted.” She said they tore out a corner to open the kitchen space and closed off a doorway that connected to the vault.“We intentionally chose to be downtown even though it was a big project,” said man-ager Dave McAdoo. “We wanted to encour-age a lively Main Street and be part of a vibrant downtown scene.”The Banque bar has extended its hours to

more closely match the restaurant hours and hopefully share the foot traffic, said an employee of the bar.Upstairs, the old bar and conference space has been replaced with offices for Ravalli County Bank’s Home Loan Center.“We’re not just occupying space on Main Street with our new offices,” said vice president Dale Linhart. “We have purpose-ful attachment to the building since it’s our original location, so there’s a reason we’re doing what we’re doing.”The new Ravalli County Bank Home Loan Center opened in mid-November and, ac-cording to Linhart, “We did salvage a small part of the bar in our renovations but the community room will be used for bank meetings.”Chuck Shonkwiler, the bank’s president, said they are pleased to own and occupy the historic building once again.“It was built for Marcus Daly for the bank he founded in 1895,” said Shonkwiler. “As the oldest active state-chartered bank, it will be nice to generate loans from our original headquarters.”

The Banque Building Taco del Sol, The Banque, Ravalli County Bank Home Loan Center 225 W. Main St., Hamilton

Picture THe

PRogReSS SToRieS And PHoToS By STACie duCe

As 2010 draws to a close, Bitterroot Valley businesses celebrate a year of successful launches, expansions and renovations, with an eye toward continued growth in the new year.

Ravalli Republic, Wednesday, December 22, 2010 - Page 1

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Page 2 – Ravalli Republic, Wednesday, December 22, 2010

While risky real estate ventures are not common in the current economy, Realtor Brooke DeVries garnered courage from her recent success and left a franchise to open

her own office last August. “I want to be the best real estate agent and needed to make a bold statement,” she said. “Franchise fees are so expensive that investing in my own office turned out to almost be a wash. So it made sense for me to make the move.” She and her husband bought a home on the corner of Main and Fifth streets in Hamilton and started renovations. “We totally gutted the building,” she said. “After ripping off all the siding we found out it was a Marcus Daly log home, one of the old company homes and built with the logs from his company. We were going to preserve it, but the chinking was done with horse hair and newspaper. It was

cool.” While it’s still a log underneath, they covered it with rustic, rough-cut wood sid-ing. DeVries Construction also has offices in the building. After 10 years of developing and building and six years in real estate, the DeVrieses are not about to give up yet. “I’m looking forward to normality,” Brooke DeVries said. “We’re hoping the market maintains and gets better for every-body.” Hours: DeVries is available for appoint-ments seven days a week.

Brooke deVries Real estate 500 W. Main St., Hamilton, 375-0088

As of mid-November, Brosious Carpet and Floors has a new home in the Sheafman Creek Business Park. For six years, it has operated from a smaller space in a building

nestled behind. “We used to corner the market with builders in the valley,” said store manager Robin Pearson. “To compensate for the slowdown, we’re giving ourselves a little more exposure on the highway. More room will also let us have more product on hand for a more diverse population.” Pearson started installing flooring 28 years ago and began working for Brosious in 1983. “Then Joe offered me the opportu-nity to manage his store and it’s worked out great.” Pearson said that although custom homebuilding has declined in the valley, “the remodeling projects are on the rise and people are replacing their flooring, which

gives us the business we need to expand.” He also said those who are taking advan-tage of the market to build a new home “are building much larger than they would have three years ago,” which means they need to buy more flooring. “We’re getting a feel for what people are doing and we want to offer more samples and more stock. Lately we’re seeing less high-end flooring and more carpet and vi-nyl, but you never know, things could swing the other way again in an instant – we’ll be ready.” With a bigger store, Pearson joked he’d have to get a bigger candy bowl on the front table as well, “We want to keep everybody happy who comes here,” he said.

Brosious Carpet and Floors Owner: Joe Brosious Manager: Robin Pearson • 1345 U.S. Highway 93 North, Victor, 961-3555

When Tom Winger first starting cutting hair, he knew he’d found his career. “You find something and it just feels right, that’s what it was like for me,” he said.Seventeen years later, Winger sold his Mis-soula barbershop to his partner and bought a house in Victor.

“I decided to stake a claim in Hamilton and see if I could make a living,” he said. His shop opened Aug. 3 and he said, “I’ve had a lot more business than I would have expect-ed right from the start.” New customers aren’t the only ones keeping him busy. Bill Benjamin has been Winger’s client for years and doesn’t let a drive to Hamilton stop him from getting the right trim. “I live in Stevensville and work in Mis-soula and stopped by his place on my way to work,” Benjamin said. “Now that he’s here, I come to Hamilton. I went to the same bar-ber for 20 years in New York before I moved here. I don’t like to switch barbers because they get used to your head and you get used to the way they trim it. There are very few barbershops anymore. I tried a couple of hairstylists and that was a big mistake. So I

come here.”Winger offers $12 haircuts and plays old movies on a large television in his shop on the corner of State Street and First Street in Hamilton. Friendly Boston terriers, Lacey and Yankee, welcome guests and provide entertainment as well.His space was formerly a flower shop, so Winger only had minor remodeling to do, including new flooring and building his corner station.Winger offers a full service barbershop with haircuts, trims and shaves. And every client can leave with a slap of cologne.“A haircut isn’t a haircut without some bay rum (cologne),” joked Benjamin.Hours: Tuesday through Friday 9 a.m. to 5:30 p.m., Saturday 9 a.m. to 4 p.m.

Blades Barber & Styling Owner: Tom Winger • 113 South First St., Hamilton, 375-9511

With the slump in the construction industry, Dau Dang has learned to excel in a new trade – building acrylic nails. Dang’s wife, Linh Tran, owned a nail salon in Kent, Wash., for more than five years when they realized they needed a change in scenery. “We came to visit some friends in Ham-ilton and decided we really liked it here,” she said. They sold her salon and brought their two sons to the Bitterroot for a new start. Dang remodeled the Main Street space to accommodate a salon by tiling the floors, building a partition, repainting and other

extensive work. They opened their doors to the new salon last February. “I do manicures and pedicures and my husband is good at acrylic nails,” Tran said. They also offer waxing services and cli-ents seem to especially enjoy the massage chairs during their pedicures. “We like it here, especially when the snow stays in the mountains,” said Tran. Hours: Monday through Saturday, 9:30 a.m. to 7 p.m.

Bitterroot nail Salon Owners: Linh Tran and Dau Dang • 110 W. Main St., Hamilton, 363-5072

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Ravalli Republic, Wednesday, December 22, 2010 – Page 3

After a wildly successful Halloween party with a great turnout, fans of the new Cowboy Troy’s restaurant and bar in Victor are left ask-

ing the new owners, “So, what’s the next big thing?” Owners Clayton Scherer, Renee Abbe and Troy Patton not only want to serve great food but create an atmosphere for a great time, and they’re succeeding on all accounts. They regu-larly offer promotions including drawings for trips to Las Vegas as an incentive to karaoke. With experience in more metropolitan res-taurants, Sherer said, “It’s been great to be part of a smaller community and find our niche. We already have great friends and supporters, and it’s easier for us to hear constructive criticism because we know people care about our busi-ness and want to nurture us along to success.” Opened in May, the building underwent

extensive remodeling and updating. Patton and his buddies built the brick fireplace and all the tables as well as stylized local Western-themed photographs to look vintage. “We not only use local beef and ingredients in our menu, but when we remodeled, we used all local contractors, local wood, local brick, everything.” said Sherer. Dusty Mattern has worked at the restaurant since Day One. “Everyone tells us we have the most unique pizzas in town, and no one can top our white sauce and garlic base,” she said. “I have good bosses and it’s a great place to work.” Hours: 11 a.m. to 10 p.m. daily.

Cowboy Troy’s Owners: Clayton Scherer, Renee Abbe and Troy Patton • 2359 U.S. Highway 93, Victor, 642-3380

The dusty corner where people often parked cars to sell is now the site of a sprawling

Town Pump convenience store, casino and gas station. Opened for business on Sept. 17, the Conoco franchise with 16 gas pumps has seen sales increase every day, according to manager Jocelyn Sherman.“A lot of Corvallis school kids come for lunch and wipe out our cold case and hot case every day,” said Sherman. “Our deli is very successful, which is nice. My deli man-ager works very hard and she does a good job.”With 12 other employees at the location, Sherman said it’s a great place to work. “We start a little higher than minimum wage and we offer a great benefits package,” she said.

“I started as a graveyard clerk 4 1/2 years ago and worked my way up. I was going to school to be a teacher and never thought I’d be here this long but it’s so good to work for a company that cares about its people. When you put in eight to 10 hours a day somewhere, you’d better like it and I do.”The building project also put many local contractors to work this summer. “They did a great job and everything is going very well,” said Sherman. “I think it’s a great sign of progress here.”

Corvallis Town Pump Manager: Jocelyn • Sherman Corner of U.S. Highway 93 and Dutch Hill Road, 961-0121

Moving to Main Street often means a business owner learns a lot more about lo-cal history and all its quirks. Steffeni Hakes

opened her variety store on Hamilton’s Main Street in July and it wasn’t long before a man came in to tell her of the hardware store his family operated in the same space more than 50 years ago. “If you’re really quiet, you can hear the irrigation ditch that runs under the building in the summertime,” he said. Sure enough, Steffeni stopped to hear the water run and realized her business is more than just a place to sell wares, but a place to continue the legacy of a town. Real estate offices occupied her space until a few years ago. The building owners took down partitions and walls that sepa-rated the eight cubicles and two offices.

They installed new carpet, new lights and raised the ceiling. “I offered to paint so I could pick the color,” Hakes said. She brought in display cases and has been busy selling holiday and seasonal items. Behind her store, more than eight win-dowless rooms and a conference room are still available to rent for storage or other businesses. “These old buildings have quite the ca-pacity and a lot of potential,” she said. Hours: Monday and Friday, 10 a.m. to 6 p.m.; Tuesday through Thursday, 10 a.m. to 5 p.m.; Saturday, 10 a.m. to 4 p.m.

Funkie Lil’ Shaque Owner: Steffeni Hakes 248 N. Main Street, Hamilton, 363-4035

Celebrating their business’s first an-niversary, Bill and Dawn Marie Thelen are pleasantly surprised and very grateful. “We started with an idea to deliver good food to Corvallis businesses and it’s just

grown from there,” said Bill. Housed in a 100-year-old building they own and remodeled extensively a few years ago, their walk-in business for lunch and dinners has grown steadily. “We offer a basic menu of wraps, burritos and soups,” said Bill. “We have daily spe-cials cooked each day like lasagna, quiche or chicken marsala and she bakes every morn-ing.” Dawn Marie has always loved to cook and was trained as a personal chef in California.“She’s always wanted to open a shop and we finally made it happen here,” Bill said. His construction company installed her com-mercial kitchen, and during the remodel they stripped down most of the inside but kept the original wood flooring and front

door. “It’s fun to have a building with history because we have regular customers who come and share stories all the time, like one couple who had their wedding reception here in 1964,” he said. For the holiday season, they’re now of-fering food baskets and unique gifts import-ed from Italy, France and California, includ-ing olive oils, pastas and interesting cooking utensils. “People have suggestions for the menu and we try to accommodate,” said Bill. “We stay connected with fans on Facebook and want to be accessible to our customers.” Hours: Monday through Friday, 11 a.m. to 7 p.m.; Saturdays, 11 a.m. to 3 p.m.

gourmet to go Owners: Bill and Dawn Marie Thelen • 1121 Eastside Hwy, Corvallis, 396-4278

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Page 4 – Ravalli Republic, Wednesday, December 22, 2010

Gregory Vaccaro has been strategizing his business plan for more than 20 years. He first bought vacation property in the Bitterroot Valley in 1989, bought commercialproperty in Victor in 1993 and began designing a mar-tial arts learning center. “I worked hard in Connecticut, saved my money and the day came when I sold my home there and used the profit to build our building here,” he said. “I wanted to make a commitment, not have a fly-by-night busi-

ness that opens and then closes the next year. I planned it out and knew if we built our own place, we’d be here to stay.”Vaccaro has 40 years experience in the mar-tial arts and with his wife Vikki and 13-year-old daughter Dakota, they run a family-val-ued center just off U.S. Highway 93. “We teach a wide variety of martial art programming,” he said. “Everything from preschool level to senior classes.” Vikki teaches Tai Chi and Qi Gong, and many of her students are in their 70s and are working through healing processes or strength training. Gregory offers a wide va-riety of disciplines including Arnis, Hapkido and essential martial arts. They provide an ongoing anti-bullying program “which teaches kids strategies to handle a bully without using violence,” he said. “We do a lot of role playing and practic-ing how they would handle a tough scenario.” This summer, they plan to expand an out-door education pro-gram that teach kids

how to track, read animal sign and identify local plants of the area. “We offer a lot of naturalist-type pro-grams for kids because movement through the martial arts requires a high level of awareness and knowing what’s in your envi-ronment,” he said. The Vacarros’ 4,000-square-foot building currently houses another tenant with a long-term plan for future expansion for classes or other kinds of healing services. With five acres and access to the Bitterroot River, the Vacarros are anxious to build an outdoor training facility and a beautiful martial arts garden. “We’ve already fenced off an area and next spring we’ll landscape and begin the next phase of our project,” Vacarro said. “In our first year, the community has been very supportive. We’re growing nicely with a high caliber of students. It really is a vision come true.”

Legacy Martial Arts Owners: Greg and Vikki Vaccaro • 1100 Eagles Way, U.S. Highway 93 frontage, Victor, 961-5309

Over the years, the commer-cial building that houses Lon-griders Bar-B-Que has been a fire station, a tire shop, a laun-dromat, a café and an ice cream shop. But nothing can compare to the new aroma of barbecue wafting from the kitchen owned by Chris and Kristine Rausch. Chris said they specialize in traditional barbecue but also of-fer hand-tossed pizzas, burgers, hot wings and salads for take-out. “We’re the perfect spot for busy Florence families who are coming home from work or from the game and need something good to eat,” Chris said. For many years, Chris ran his catering business from a mobile catering trailer but likes the fact that he’s settled in one spot. “That way my family can be involved as well,” he said. Kristine manages the books, shopping and catering events.

Fourteen-year-old Matthew works with his dad in the kitchen and 10-year-old Nick has become a whiz at the front counter. “Since I’m here 12 hours a day, six days a week, it gives me a chance to spend time with them,” Chris said. When they moved the busi-ness in, they built a half-wall and counter, painted the whole building inside and out, up-dated the electrical and lighting, installed new flooring as well as a hood and fire suppression system. “We also put a new sign and were ready for business,” Chris said. “Cooking has always been my passion since I started as a dishwasher at age 14. I’ve been trapped ever since and now it’s a great way to provide for my family.”

Longriders Bar-B-Que Owners: Chris and Kristine Rausch 5439 Highway 93, Florence, 273-2552

A $3 million project to improve the Ham-ilton sewer system has a lot of people smiling – especially those who work at the upgraded site. By next spring, west-side neighbors to the facility will be smiling as well, as the regular pungent smells will all but disappear. “It’ll take about a year to get caught up,” said foreman Ed Barrett. “We still have some leftover sledge, but we’ll be able to incorpo-rate it through the process all winter, which we’ve never been able to do before.” The investment bought upgraded and more efficient equipment as well as built a

covered compost building and a new blower system that allows composting year-round. Barrett said the new screw press runs a bit slower but can go 24 hours a day and doesn’t require nearly as much manual work and monitoring. “It’s all automatic and allows our em-ployees to multitask rather than baby-sit the machine all the time,” he said. The new screening system allows them to reuse wood chips for compost, “which is a really nice upgrade and a huge cost savings since it’s getting harder and harder to find wood chips.”

Hamilton Sewer Foreman: Ed Barrett • 1001 New York Ave., Hamilton

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Ravalli Republic, Wednesday, December 22, 2010 - Page 2

A little bell jingles throughout Marcus Daly Memorial Hospital every time a baby is born, and the bell has been ringing a lot in December. Luckily, a new board-eligible obstetri-cian/gynecologist, Dr. Mary Camden, ar-rived in mid-August to work with Dr. David Laraway. Together, they see patients in the newly built facility on the north side of the hospital campus. Hamilton Obstetrics and Gynecology opened in August and was designed to be

female friendly, including a play area for children, warmly decorated exam rooms with natural light and flat-screen televi-sions mounted to the ceiling for comforting distractions during sometimes uncomfort-able examinations. The facility also offers private offices for the physicians and a consultation room with plush furniture for private family mo-ments or conversations with the doctor. Susan Wilkins, physician services direc-tor, said attention went into details small and large when designing the new space – from the placement of the dreaded scale to technological capabilities that would allow for advanced services in the future, as well as impressive 4D ultrasounds now. The new facility was definitely attractive to Dr. Camden when committing to Ham-ilton, as she interviewed across Montana following her residency at Carilion Clinic in Virginia. She recently performed her first laparo-scopic hysterectomy and said her patient will recover much faster than a traditional

abdominal hysterectomy that would have kept her in the hospital for three days with a large incision and a longer recovery. Camden said she’s been specially trained for other minimally invasive procedures that will improve the health and well-being of women from pregnancy through the aging process and can be performed in the new office. During 2010, MDMH progressed through many building projects, including comple-tion of the new Convenient Care in January, the new operating room suite, and initiating construction on the new clinic in Corvallis for Dr. Yvonne Courchesne and new phy-sician Dr. April Weinberger to be finished early next year. The hospital also donated land west of the hospital to Ravalli County, where con-struction is under way on a new crisis stabi-lization center. “Everything is so nice,” said Dr. Camden. “It felt like home for us and we really like it here.”

Marcus daly Memorial Hospital 1200 Westwood Drive, Hamilton, 363-2211

With award-winning recipes in hand and a shelf of barbecue trophies to display, Bill and Paula Wright are back in business with a new downtown Hamilton location. Former partners in Grumpy’s Barbecue, their coast-to-coast menu of Texas brisket,

California tri-tip, Carolina- and Georgia-style pulled pork, Memphis- and St. Louis-style ribs are available and prepared on site. “We smoke everything here, out back of the restaurant, which some people find hard to believe,” said Bill. Together they make their own sauces, sweet tea, potato salad and coleslaw, as well as fresh corn bread – hot from the oven throughout the after-noon. They offer hearty Brunswick stew and have been experimenting with a new no-bean chili recipe featuring smoked beef brisket “which is out of this world,” said Bill. Their restaurant space in a building owned by part-time residents Tom and Karen Talbot has been extensively remod-eled with a new Western flair.

“We have new floors, new paint, new fixtures and we’ve taken out the wall so our kitchen is open,” said Bill. “People can see what’s going on while we cook – we have nothing to hide but secret recipes.” The Wrights have also added a gift shop that will grow over time. “Right now Paula has homemade jams and jellies for sale as well as holiday gifts,” he said. “We also sell Charbonneau’s chocolates brought down from Stevensville.” While the Wrights have considered myriad business options, “We’re a mom-and-pop family business and want it to stay that way.” Hours: Monday through Thursday, 11 a.m. to 7 p.m.; Friday and Saturday, 11 a.m. to 8 p.m.

Moose Creek Barbecue Owners: Bill and Paula Wright • 105 N. Second St., Hamilton, 363-9152

Sometimes progress in business requires merging and readjusting long-term plans. Kate Ojala and Elke Olbricht both achieved the typical climb to success for hair styl-ists: go to cosmetology school, rent space, build a clientele and eventually own your own salon. Somewhere along the hard-fought jour-ney, they found themselves business own-ers with a business that owned them. “I’ve always considered myself a full-time mom and a part-time hairdresser, but at some point I realized my priori-ties weren’t matching up,” Olbricht said. “When you own a salon, you always have to be there and while I had the flexibility to close up shop if I needed to, it just felt weird to have my doors locked in the mid-dle of the day.”

Olbricht occupied space on Hamilton’s Second Street for nine years but on Nov. 15 moved to share Ojala’s space and co-own Salon 21. When Attitudes Salon closed shop after 20 years in 2009, Ojala took over the lease and set to work remodeling the space.“We peeled the linoleum and stained the concrete,” she said. “We restored the wood beams, added new lighting and took out a stair-case.” The new work-space is perfect for the Olbricht/Ojala team. “Elke and I look forward to not be-ing so tied down to individual locations and supporting one another,” Ojala said. “People need to team up to make it in this economy,” Olbricht said. “There’s no drama, I don’t need to be

in charge and neither does she. We’ll share this space and just enjoy being with some-one who ‘gets it.’ ” They are joined by stylist Crystal Smith, nail technician Cammy McFadden and es-thetician Kay Boudreaux.

Salon 21 Owners: Kate Ojala and Elke Olbricht • 840 S. First St, 363-0021

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Page 6 – Ravalli Republic, Tuesday, December 14, 2010

RAVALLI EARLYHEAD START

S erving families of children ages 0-3 and pregnant women, Ravalli Early Head Start provides programs and services designed to enhance parents’ knowledge about their child’s development, health, nutrition, & well-ness and helps families set goals and access resources in the community. Ravalli Early Head Start is currently enrolling income eli-

gible families for our home based and prenatal programs and is

accepting applications for our onsite childcare center.

gible families for our home based and prenatal programs and is

accepting applications for our onsite childcare center.

Call 363-7412ext. 203

for more information

Big Creek Coffee Roasters roasts small batches of fi ne coffee beans from around the globe.

Purveyor of fi ne whole bean coffees

1091 S. 1st Street, Hamilton • 406-880-6884www.bigcreekcoffeeroasters.com

After seven years in the business, leas-ing a building at the fairgrounds or hosting an auction on-site, Rick and Sally Peverley finally have a place for their business to call

home. When the outbuildings from the Moun-tain Log Home business went up for sale, the Peverleys bought a large shop last May and hoisted a sign. “We’d been looking for a building for a while and were fortunate to get this one,” Rick said. “We remodeled it, added 1,600 square feet to the existing 4,200 square feet and then painted and cleaned everything up.” The building stores inventory and pro-vides a place for auction events. “We’re primarily running two auctions a month – one on a Sunday and one on a Tuesday,” he said. “Business has been very

good this last year. Historically, auctions thrive during hard times. People are sell-ing stuff they ordinarily wouldn’t sell and prices have been quite good. Our business is doing very well.” “It’s a career change for me and I enjoy it quite a lot,” Rick said. “We were in the out-fitting business for the last 29 years in Idaho and Kansas, hunting whitetails on leased private ranches, but we’re phasing out.” “We’re going to continue to do what we’re doing, keep tweaking it and we’d like to get into more real estate and farm sales in the future,” Rick said. “We’ve got a really good crew and we run a fast-paced auc-tion.”

RLP Auction Owners: Rick and Sally Peverley • 770 Old Fogie Lane, Corvallis, 369-2640

With more than 1,800 stores nationwide and 12 in Montana, Safeway has now in-vested in its Hamilton location with a fresh face-lift and renovation.

“It’s really quite an investment for Safe-way to do this,” said district manager Dan Cruson. “I think the community will be quite pleased when they come in and check it out.” The six-week renovation puts the Ham-ilton store on par with other Safeway “life-style” stores and what Cruson called “our latest generation of décor and layout.” The store was repainted last year in preparation for its makeover and now has new flooring, new fixtures, new signage and some new cases. “We changed the layout of the front, shortened some aisles and turned them the other direction to improve the space and give it the feeling of a bigger store,” said

Cruson. “We have new equipment at the checkouts and are expanding the floral and deli departments.” While Cruson said there’s still a bit of work to do in the produce department and other places, the company plans on finish-ing in time for a grand reopening in early December. “We’ll have hot prices and many specials for several weeks,” said Cruson. He said the store will hire new employees to help with “A Taste of Safeway” – an extended promo-tion to invite customers to sample products sold exclusively through the grocery chain. “It’s an exciting project,” said Cruson, “and something we hope the community appreciates.”

Safeway 101 E. Main Street, Hamilton, 363-2270

Federal stimulus money has turned a metal warehouse into a vibrant learning center for some of the youngest Ravalli County residents. Brittany McKenzie, director for the new Early Head Start facilities in Hamilton, is thrilled with the outcome of the project. “We took an old shed, a shell really, and turned it into a high-quality early learning center,” she said. “It really is wonderful.” The building sits between the Westview Center and Hamilton High School’s football fields on Ninth Street. Previously used as a storage building for the school district’s theater costumes, contractors gutted the inside, added windows, doors, water, sewer, two bathrooms, a full kitchen and new paint, and surrounded it with pavement and landscaping. Inside, 16 children – from infants up to 3 years old – come to play and learn five days a week while their parents are working or going to school. The Early Head Start offices are located in the neighboring Westview Center and administer programs to help a mother from pregnancy until the time her child turns 3.

“We help mothers prepare for the birth of their baby – emotionally as well as physi-cally – and help them get their space ready to raise a child,” said McKenzie. “We guide them to available resources as well as make sure she has medical and dental while she’s pregnant. Once the baby is born, we help families with the transition through our home-based program. We help them work on their relationships, teach child develop-ment, make sure they have access to re-sources and health care, and really just help them complete their family goals.” While Early Head Start can serve only 16 children at the learning center, it can assist up to 50 families through its home-based program and at least six pregnant women at a time. “We’re full at the learning center, but we’re not quite there yet as far as the fami-lies we serve. We hope to help a lot more,” she said.

Ravalli early Head Start Director: Brittany McKenzie • 103 S. Ninth St., Hamilton, 363-7412

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Since 1889

Ravalli Republic, Wednesday, December 22, 2010 – Page 7

For a girl who grew up in a poor but hard-working family in a tiny Idaho town with no running water or electricity, Sheila Welke has come a long way. She dropped out of school at 15, but fed her thirst for knowledge through books from the thrift store. At 27, she earned her GED and added eight years of professional experience and now is suc-cessfully growing her Hamilton business.

SS Staffing is an employment agency that thrives on matching jobs with the talents of potential employees and is a job Welke says she loves.“I was laid off and looked for other em-ployment, but realized I loved my job at an employment agency,” she said. She found an investor to get her up and running, built enough clients and eventually bought the business from him in May 2009.Her location next to Chang’s Family Res-taurant and the UPS Store brings new cli-ents in all the time.“When the economy is bad, my business offers services that people really need,” she said. “I hear a lot of sad stories, that’s the hard part. But when I find the right job for the right person, it is very rewarding. Even if all I can do is give them a temporary job to feed their family and help them get by,

that’s rewarding too.”Welke’s business has tripled in the last year and although she expected a slowdown at the end of the year, she has been surpris-ingly busy with a variety of less traditional businesses.“Business owners don’t seem as hesitant,” she said. “There’s a lot of seasonal work here in the valley with landscaping and construction, but I’ve been working with a lot of other businesses which is unusual this time of year. I have really wonderful clients right now and some great employees.”Hours: Monday through Friday from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m.

SS Staffing Owner: Sheila Welke • 610 N. First St., Suite 5, Hamilton, 363-7668

Valley irrigation Owner: Loren Hawkinson 1029 Sleeping Child Road, Hamilton New location: 1316 Eastside Highway, Corvallis – next to Cowpoke Ranch Supply, 363-3599

Up until the 1960s, Valley Irrigation was located on the “edge of town” where BJs Restaurant now operates, said owner Loren Hawkinson. When his parents, Aaron and Sharon Hawkinson, bought the business from Howard Finney in 1974, they moved to Sleeping Child Road where it has thrived for the last 37 years. “I basically grew up in the business,” said

Loren. “I left for a few years after graduat-ing from high school, but came back in 1998 and have been involved ever since.” Loren recently bought the business from his father and decided to move to Corvallis. “I decided it was time to make a move and separate the business from the property where our house is,” he said. “Plus, we’d like to be more centrally located in the val-ley since business seems to be expanding toward Missoula right now.” Valley Irrigation designs, installs and repairs agricultural-based irrigation sys-tems and at the new location plans to open a retail store as well. “We’re going to have a 2,500-square-foot retail store at the new facility,” he said. “We’ll have lawn and garden, and our long-term goal is to sell some agricultural-based hardware as well – bolts, nuts, hand tools.” Loren bought land from Wally and Donna

Weber and will build his business next to Cowpoke Ranch Supply, owned and oper-ated by Wade Weber. Before the freeze, contractors were moving dirt and prepping for a foundation. “Depending on weather, we hope to be in there by spring, at the beginning of the next irrigation season,” he said. Although the work he did for subdivi-sions has slowed, “We’re still viable,” said Loren. “The biggest change in our business has been interest from the north – Florence, Lolo and Missoula. I think we have compet-itive pricing and great service. The people we have dealt with are really impressed with our service and quality. That’s what we’ve based our business on all these years.”

The Right to Life semi-annual rum-mage sale has historically provided plenty of funding for the local nonprofit group, but recently the name, location and fundraising tactics of the organization have changed. Now known as “A Voice for Life,” the volun-teer group runs a thrift shop north of Ham-ilton that opened last spring. “We changed the name for insurance purposes,” said president Brandie Coombes of Stevensville, “but it actually fits better because we work for pro-life for families, not just the unborn.” With the downturn in the economy, the group has responded to the rising need for safe cribs. “We’ve given out 30 cribs this year and are dying for funding for more cribs,” said volunteer Bernice Nadeau. “In the past, we’ve averaged 10 to 12 cribs per year, but the need has been really high this year.” Coombes said the cribs are given free of charge to many families, including young mothers, families with multiple children who may have a hand-me-down crib with missing slats, or grandparents who are

helping to raise grandchildren and need new equipment. The thrift store features holiday decora-tions, clothing for all ages and sizes of chil-dren and adults, as well as toys and house-hold items. “Now it’s nice, because if you need something, you can come anytime instead of waiting for the sale twice a year,” said Nadeau. She hopes to increase the shop’s business hours when the number of volun-teers increase. Coombes said the organization is sup-ported by four officers and more than 30 active volunteers, but they’re always look-ing for more help and donations. “We have volunteers who work in the shop and oth-ers who bake cookies for our open houses or work from home washing clothes for the store.” They coordinate with SAFE and other crisis centers for pregnant women and families to provide clothing in time of need. While business has started out slow, new signage has helped and the group hosted a grand opening during the first Saturday in

December. “We try to keep our prices low and of-fer quality, clean items,” said Nadeau. “We hope more people will come by and shop soon.”A Voice for Life has new neighbors who have also moved into Selway Commons during the last year: Patchwork Quilts, Blondie’s Salon, Hearing Instrument Specialists and the Tack Shack consignment store.Thrift store hours: Tuesday, Friday and Sat-urday from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m.

A Voice for Life President: Brandie Coombes • Selway Commons Shopping Center, Hamilton 363-3142

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Since 1889

Page 8 – Ravalli Republic, Wednsday, December 22, 2010

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After 20 years in the construction busi-ness in Manhattan, Mont., the wear and tear on Brad Smith’s body motivated him to look for a second career. He loved to hunt and fish and wanted a job related to his passions. “Then I fell into taxidermy, and now it’s my passion and I love it,” said Smith. “But I still can’t get away from the woodworking and build my own plaques.” Smith is a former instructor from the Second Nature School of Taxidermy in Mis-soula and recently opened a new shop in Hamilton. He was open seven days a week during hunting season, but will cut back to regular business hours for the winter.He works out of a building that was former-ly the cosmetology school, then a second location for Quality Cars and then Seismic Signs. He remodeled the garage area for his

workshop and hopes to turn the upper level into a gift shop someday. “One of the main reasons I came to Ham-ilton is because I feel there is a market here,” he said. “There’s not a lot of taxidermists who do fish, but I do and with the excellent fishing in the Bitterroot, I want to give fish-erman a way to remember their big catches.” Smith creates skin mounts as well as re-productions and hopes for steelhead proj-ects in the near future from those successful on the fall run. “Reproductions are becoming more popular because of all the catch and releas-es,” he said. “If you catch a trophy bull trout you have to let it go, but all I need is a good photo and measurements and I can repro-duce it.” Aside from impressive big-game ani-mals, Smith enjoys building small mammal

mounts, and his most recent client is bring-ing in a skunk and a badger. “I plan to be here for the long haul and really love what I do,” he said. Hours: Monday through Friday – 9 a.m. to 6 p.m.

The Wildlife Factory Owner: Brad Smith • 2000 N. First St., Hamilton, 961-9019

Physical therapist Jeff Humphrey admits building a new medical office was a big de-cision. “We were forced to do it really, because we outgrew our building, had no more space for patients and really couldn’t find another

place to move,” he said. “Plus we wanted the atmosphere of the building to reflect the attitude of our practice, and that was some-thing we had to create.” Situated just off Eastside Highway in Corvallis, they opened the new location last year. “We didn’t want generic white walls,” Humphrey said. “That’s why we have wood floors and each room is painted a different color with a real lodge feel. We want our patients to relax and feel at home here. We get more compliments on the atmosphere than I ever would have imagined so I guess we captured it.” Humphrey’s building reflects his pro-gressive physical therapy practice as well. He is currently the only therapist in Mon-

tana certified to treat temporomandibular joint disorder and has just received training on a new Astym procedure that has signifi-cantly improved the health of patients with sports injuries, bursitis and other painful conditions. Several new therapists have also joined the Willow Creek team in the new facility, as well as the satellite office in Victor. “One of the best reasons for our contin-ued growth is my staff,” said Humphrey. “I’ve got the coolest employees in the entire world, and it’s a great place to work. With our new building and the morale of my staff, we’re really building for the future and I’m excited about that.”

Willow Creek Physical Therapy Owner: Jeff Humphrey, DPT, MTC • 1016 Brooks Ave., Corvallis, 961-3841

As a business owner, Fred Thomas works not only for the progress of his company, but of the community as well. His new building on Main Street in Stevensville is a credit to his success, but he’s just as enthu-siastic and proud of another project – re-

planting Marcus Daly’s cottonwood trees. “Last August, we coordinated, raised money and organized the delivery, planting and irrigation project that planted 30 trees at the county fairgrounds,” he said. While approximately 15 century-old trees were removed along Fairgrounds Road, Thomas and his employees were involved in replac-ing those as well as others lining the fence around the rodeo arena and adjacent to the county road department building. “It was a very nice project to be involved in,” he said, “and one the community really appreciated.” He’s received the same community sup-port for his new office building in Stevens-ville. “The No. 1 thing we wanted was for the building to fit in and complement Main

Street Stevensville,” he said. “We’ve re-ceived hundreds of compliments from the public since it’s been finished, which is very gratifying.” Thomas almost exclusively hired con-tractors who were also his insurance clients to build the structure as energy efficient as possible. “While we increased the square footage of our offices, we actually cut our utilities by more than half,” he said. The family business was housed down the street for more than 30 years and has al-ways been involved in community improve-ment projects. “We’ve been involved in the Bitterroot community for years and years and intend for that to continue,” Thomas said.

Western States insurance Owner: Fred Thomas • 316 Main St., Stevensville, 777-5005