Sorted by date Results 51 - 75 of 2089
SEELEY LAKE – As has been the tradition for the past 18 years, music directors from across Montana gathered at Camp Paxson for the annual Montana Bandmasters Association (MBA) Rendezvous June 20-23. Not only is the four-day schedule jam packed with hands-on and technical educational sessions, it also affords a relaxed atmosphere that fosters relationship building, networking and an opportunity to unwind. The idea for the Rendezvous was birthed 19 years ago. Now retired Swan Valley School and S...
OVANDO - Ovando residents and visitors gathered July 4 for the annual parade, beer gardens and barbecue sponsored by the Ovando Fire Department and Helmville Quick Response Unit. This year's parade theme was "Remember when you rode a bike?" Participants decorated their bicycles with all kinds of fun noise makers and a few riders from Germany, Canada and Colorado joined the celebration....
SEELEY LAKE – "There is true grit Roger and Rhea [Johnson]," said Pyramid Mountain Lumber Vice President Charlie Parke pointing to the Johnsons at Roger's career celebration. "They survived because they care about the people." President and owner Todd Johnson said Roger Johnson's leadership, perseverance, willingness to take risks and ability to surround himself with good people that cared as much about the company as he did, built and made Pyramid Mountain Lumber, Inc. what it is today. A...
SEELEY LAKE – At their June 21 meeting, the Seeley Lake Fire Board approved a four percent raise for Chief Dave Lane with a vote of 3-1. Chair Scott Kennedy and Trustees Rita Rossi and Connie Clark voted for, Trustee Jon Kimble voted against and Vice-Chair Gary Lewis was absent. This was following a closed executive session to discuss Lane’s performance and pay scale. In other business, Lane provided several updates, the board reviewed new policies and Rossi and Kennedy addressed previous public questions and concerns during the public com...
SWAN VALLEY – In September 2018 members of Condon Community Church stood around a blue cross painted on the ground and prayed for the expansion project for their church. "We are going to break up this cross but it is always going to be here and always going to be a symbol for our church," said Pastor Bruce Rippy as he sunk the shovel in the sand. From its humble start meeting at the Swan Valley Community Hall for the first 24 years, Condon Community Church's dream of a larger sanctuary became r...
The Garnet Preservation Association hosted their annual Garnet Days June 18 to raise awareness and funds to maintain Garnet in its "arrested state of decay." Attendees strolled the streets of the ghost town enjoying live music, gold panning, listening to stories of Garnet during the living history program and stopping at the saloon for shots of root beer and to pick up taffy at Davey's General Store....
SEELEY LAKE – The Bitterroot Hot Shots Fire Crew rolled up to their assignment on the edge of a fern farm. As they approached the property, they saw all kinds of trucks labeled "Red Neck Fire Brigade." "It was like stepping into Deliverance. We didn't know what to expect," said Phil Shelmerdine, a squad boss on Hot Shots at the time. By the end of the crew's time on the farm, the landowner named all the roads after the girls on the crew and hosted a barbecue for the crew at the beach during thei...
Editor's Note: The opening paragraph was updated June 16 to include that IMEG said the Developer did not agree to all conditions as presented. GREENOUGH – At their June 7 meeting, the Missoula Consolidated Planning Board approved the Clearwater Meadows Ranch 20 residential lot subdivision proposed approximately one mile west of Clearwater Junction. Approval included the contentious condition that required expansion of the proposed common area around Blanchard Creek from 8.64 acres to nearly 2...
SEELEY LAKE – Despite temperatures barely reaching 50 degrees, the stands were packed April 28 for the kickoff scrimmage of the Seeley Lake Baseball Club. More than 85 children, three-years-old through eighth grade, registered to play for the season and the Club swept the 2022 Blackfoot Little League Tournament June 11. "For the first year we were just trying to get as much interest as possible, as much participation as possible for the most amount of kids possible," said Organizer Nathan M...
SEELEY LAKE – Side-by-sides, UTVs and ATVs took to the Forest Service Roads from Seeley Lake to Ovando Saturday, June 11 for the Western Montana Shrine Club Backroad Poker Run and Live/Silent Auction.Winners received $3,500 in payouts and prizes and the event raised $10,000 from the poker run and auction that will benefit the Shriners Children's Hospital in Spokane, Washington. "The people of Seeley and their fans know how to enjoy life and have fun and are as generous as I have ever seen," s...
SEELEY LAKE - The Fourth of July Committee and the Seeley Lake Area Chamber of Commerce have been working for the past month to organize this year's Fourth of July celebration in Seeley Lake. This year's theme is "Summer in Seeley - From Pirates to Patriots" with Pyramid Mountain Lumber's Roger Johnson and his wife Rhea honored as the Grand Marshals. This year the Seeley-Swan High School Art Class students made posters to help promote the Fourth of July activities. The Committee selected Aubrey...
SEELEY LAKE – Author Betty Vanderwielen met with Seeley Lake Elementary school students May 25 to share about her new book "Raccoon Summer." Students not only learned about how she came up with the idea for the book but also the process of getting it published. In the mid-1970s, the Vanderwielens volunteered with an animal rehabilitation program through the Kalamazoo Nature Center in Kalamazoo, Michigan. For nearly 10 years, they took in small animals including raccoons, birds, possums and squir...
SEELEY LAKE – The Seeley-Swan High School Drama Class wrapped up the semester with the premier production of "Catch Me As I Fall" May 25. SSHS Senior Beth Homen wrote, helped produce and played the main character Yasha in this modern-day play set in New York City. The title of the play "Catch Me As I Fall" was important to Homen. She felt it captured the story of Yasha. Yasha, a 25-year-old English professor, escaped from the mafia at age 17. When she escaped she left her younger sister MJ a...
SEELEY LAKE – Brooke Woodside has participated in the opener on the Blackfoot-Clearwater Wildlife Management Area, known locally as the Game Range, nearly every year since she was 13 years old. She knows the area well and has found a lot of sheds. However, this year's 6X6, 28-pound rack and skull were the biggest she has ever found. Woodside has lived in the area her entire life. Hunting for sheds opening day of the Game Range is a family tradition. "I started out doing it with my mom and dad a...
MISSOULA – Glacier Country Tourism, the officially recognized marketing, management and stewardship organization for Western Montana, recently awarded $58,000 to seven visitor information centers throughout the region including $8,000 to the Seeley Lake Historical Museum and Visitor Center. Glacier Country Tourism has long supported community-based visitor information centers (VICs) with training and financial assistance. “Studies show community-based VICs are more likely to be used by first-time visitors traveling to an area,” said Glacier Cou...
SEELEY LAKE – After no interest in the firefighter/paramedic position previously posted, Seeley Lake Fire Chief Dave Lane requested at the May 17 meeting that the Fire Board consider approving a firefighter/EMT (FF/EMT) position. He has an interested candidate. The Board held a special meeting May 20 and unanimously approved the position. At the regular board meeting, Lane advised he felt the District was offering a competitive wage for the firefighter/paramedic position. However, housing is a...
SEELEY LAKE - "We are trying to clean up the school forest to protect it from future wildfires," Seeley-Swan High School senior Walker McDonald said. "We are looking to use this as an example for the community and a standard and try to get motivation throughout our community to clean up their property. We know how wildfires have been in the area and we know it is only going to get worse." McDonald along with six other students in Gretchen Watkins' chemistry class won the 2021-2022 RISE Challenge...
SEELEY LAKE – The Seeley Lake Fire Department opened their doors for the Open House in celebration of Emergency Medical Services (EMS) Week. Attendees enjoyed a complimentary taco lunch catered by Casa Caro, toured the station and the equipment, and received free blood pressure checks. Partnership Health Center had an informational table that offered informational materials on heart attacks and strokes. Jon Kimble won their raffle basket, a summer fun cooler filled with goodies donated by the S...
GREENOUGH – Inspectors at the Clearwater Junction Watercraft Inspection Station staff intercepted a mussel-fouled sailboat coming from Lake Ontario en route to Flathead Lake on Thursday, May 5. Missoula County Weed Prevention Coordinator Chris Mascari said this was the second inspection station the sailboat had gone through in Montana. State wildlife authorities were notified and a mandatory dry time of two weeks minimum was applied to this vessel. Mascari added this is a good reminder for a...
SEELEY LAKE – The Seeley-Swan High School Drama Class returns to the stage May 25 for the premier production of “Catch Me As I Fall” written by SSHS Senior Beth Homen. The community is encouraged to attend the performance Wednesday night at 5:30 p.m. in the Seeley-Swan High School Auditorium. There is no cost to attend but donations will be accepted to help support the drama program. Homen loves to write. When SSHS Drama Teacher Katy Pellet told her drama students to write a short play in Augus...
SEELEY LAKE – Seeley Lake Fire Foundation (SLFF) Movie Night at the Seeley Lake Fire Department, 200 Firehouse Lane, resumes May 28 with “Encanto” on the big screen. Children ages five – 12 are welcome. The doors open at 5:15 p.m. with a nacho dinner. Movie starts at 6 p.m. Please call the District 406-677-2400 or comment on the “Seeley Lake Volunteer Fire Company - Fire & QRU” Facebook page to RSVP for dinner. It has been several years since the Department hosted their movie night in the bays. SLFF Movie Night Coordinator and Seeley Lake...
SEELEY LAKE – When Joel Roesner was diagnosed with stage 3 colon cancer in October 2019, he followed all the recommendations of his oncologist. However, after six months of chemotherapy and three major surgeries, he was told there was nothing else they could do for him. Giving up was never an option for Roesner and his wife Jeanette. Instead he did his own research on alternative treatments, switched to seeing a natureopathic doctor and returned last month from three weeks of treatment at C...
SEELEY LAKE – Large, brightly colored paintings decorated the walls, upbeat Spanish music played and customers were welcomed with chips and salsa. Despite the snow flurries outside, inside the atmosphere rivaled stepping into a Guadalajara restaurant. The Caro family moved quickly between tables, effortlessly switching between Spanish and English and bringing out hot plates with Mexican specialties. After months of waiting, Casa Caro Mexican Restaurant was finally open. "We want to offer q...
POTOMAC – Just after 9 p.m. Tuesday, May 3, Greenough-Potomac Volunteer Fire Department was paged to a structure fire on Swanson Lane. Nearly 20 volunteer firefighters from Potomac and Missoula Rural responded and the scene was secured just after midnight. While there were no injuries, the structure was a total loss as well as the pump house inside that supplied two other structures on the property. When 9-1-1 gave the address, Greenough-Potomac Fire Chief Ryan Hall realized the fire was at his...
HELENA – The Seeley-Swan High School quartet "Homeward Bound" sang their way to a Superior rating at the State Music Festival, May 6. This is the highest rating they could have received. SSHS Music Director Janet Morgenstern said the group gave their best performance of the year and the judge was impressed with their confidence and positive attitudes. "Homeward Bound" ensemble included Wesley Stevenson, Cadence Mauldin, Sky Burckhard and Tyler Neher. They were the only group to receive a S...
