Bandit Bar closed by temporary restraining order
The Bandit Bar closed last week after the owner’s wife obtained a temporary restraining order against her husband. The bar, on Nucleus Avenue, is billed as the oldest bar in Columbia Falls.
Bar owner John VanValkenburg told the Hungry Horse he plans to go to Flathead County District Court on Wednesday, Aug. 28, and get the bar reopened.
The domestic dispute surfaced in Flathead County 911 dispatch records on Aug. 17 about 12:24 p.m. when Kandice VanValkenburg called to report that her husband beat her up the previous night. She refused medical attention and refused to pursue charges.
About half an hour later, Mrs. VanValkenburg called again to report that her husband had taken a .357 magnum handgun from their vehicle. She said the gun was community property, and she wanted it reported stolen.
Flathead County 911 dispatch got a hold of her husband on the phone. Mr. VanValkenburg told them the .357 magnum handgun was in a friend’s vehicle that he was driving in Kalispell.
Mr. VanValkenburg also told dispatch his wife had beaten him up the previous night, and he didn’t want her to have the gun because he was scared she might shoot him with it.
Mrs. VanValkenburg contacted 911 dispatch on Aug. 21 around 10:44 a.m. to say a temporary restraining order was being served against her husband. The temporary restraining order was issued in Columbia Fall City Court.
That night around 10:29 p.m., Mrs. VanValkenburg contacted 911 dispatch to report that she lived in an apartment above the Bandit Bar and that her husband had shut off her cell phone, seized her accounts and left her with nothing. A Columbia Falls police officer advised her to get an attorney.
The next day, Aug. 22, around 11:11 a.m., the manager of the bar, who is Mr. VanValkenburg’s daughter, called 911 dispatch to report a truck with a trailer was in the alley behind the bar to remove furnishings. She said she suspected her stepmother. Mr. VanValkenburg’s daughter also told officers the Bandit Bar was shutting down because of the temporary restraining order.
Mr. VanValkenburg later told the Hungry Horse News that Columbia Falls police officers were at the scene when the person with the truck opened up the rear door to the bar and stopped him. He also said it was his decision to shut down the bar and remove the alcohol, and that he had contacted the Montana Department of Revenue to let them know.
The next day, Aug. 23, around 7:19 p.m., officers informed Mrs. VanValkenburg that no alcohol was allowed in the bar because of the temporary restraining order. Mr. VanValkenburg told the Hungry Horse News that his wife had tried to reopen the bar that night without his permission so a DJ could perform.