Local woman moves on to 'Survivor' series finale

The Daily Inter Lake

Kalispell's Amanda Kimmel won immunity Thursday evening on the television show "Survivor" - guaranteeing herself a spot on the series finale on Sunday.

Kimmel, 23, competed against four other players in a series of throwing, eating, chopping and ball-bouncing contests to become exempt from being voted out of the competition.

Going into Thursday, Kimmel had been a strong, but low-key player who has been part of an alliance of four players.

However, she did not trust her closest partner - flight steward Todd Herzog, 22, of Pleasant Grove, Utah - who has plotted against a significant number of players in the game.

Unknown to her, Herzog also plotted against Kimmel in Thursday's episode.

Kimmel sent out feelers to two players who felt they were in weak positions - Denise Martin, a 40-year-old lunch lady from Douglas, Mass., and Peih-Gee Law, a 29-year-old jeweler from Marina Del Rey, Calif.

Law was not part of the four-player alliance. Martin felt she would be the first to be voted off among the alliance, which included her, Kimmel, Herzog and 26-year-old New York City waitress Courtney Yates.

Law was willing to join Kimmel against Herzog.

But Martin wanted to keep Herzog in the game - noting he would be unpopular among seven voted-off contestants who would pick the final winner.

Consequently, Kimmel stuck with her alliance to vote off Law 4-1.

Kimmel is a former Red's Wines and Blues waitress and former Herberger's clerk. She moved to Los Angeles last year to live with her sister and to venture into the fashion industry.

Her mother Peggy Small and stepfather Larry Small live in the Kalispell area, and flew to Los Angeles on Thursday to attend the finale's broadcast.