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At a Glace Length: 3.5 mile long river trail, 1.5 mile return hike to start Directions: From Seeley Lake, drive four miles north on Highway 83. Turn left at the Clearwater Canoe Trail sign and drive 0.5 miles to the put-in. The canoe takeout and start of the return hike is at the Seeley Lake Ranger Station. Difficulty: Very easy- All ages Overview: At the put-in there is room for about six vehicles and there is a pit toilet. The put-in starts you off in a bend of the river with virtually no... Full story
BOZEMAN - Three Seeley Lake natives competed in the USA Track and Field Junior Olympic championship meet in Bozeman June 9-10. The USATF Montana Association meet featured youth from across the state. Athletes competed in age categories ranging from 17-18 year-olds at the top end, and an 8 & Under division for the youngest competitors. Seeley Lake residents Mitch Parcell, Tyler Haines and Owen Hoag made the trip to Van Winkle Stadium on the Montana State University campus to compete. Parcell...
HELMVILLE - Montana Highway 141 is a 32-mile-long road that meanders through western Montana without passing through a single town. Close to the northern end of the highway however, a mere mile long deviation will land you in the collection of buildings that make up Helmville. Less than 250 people call Helmville home. But once a year, nearly 2,000 people descend upon the community for a weekend, swelling the population enough to jump into the top 50 most populous cities in the state. The...
OVANDO - Leigh Ann Valiton paces back and forth down the two aisles of the Blackfoot Commercial Co. Her store, and attached Inn, is open until 7 every evening, but it's currently 10 p.m. and she shows no sign of leaving. Every few minutes she goes to her desk and refreshes the GPS tracker on her phone. She looks up, "It says she's here. Do you see her?" The woman in question is Fay Cunningham from New Zealand. Cunningham is competing in the Tour Divide Race, a 2,735-mile long mountain bike race...
SEELEY LAKE - Students and teachers from a Washington, D.C. suburb spent the first week of their summer vacation in Montana at the Rich Ranch. The middle school classes at the Bullis School, an independent, private K-12 school in Potomac, Md. takes an annual trip every summer. Last year they visited the Florida Keys. This year 11 students and two teachers spent six days, June 11-16 at the Rich's Montana Guest Ranch to experience small-town America and the Wild West. "For them to choose Montana...
Designing and building a car is hard. Designing and building a car that goes fast? Even harder. Carson Geary loves that challenge. The Drummond High School sophomore from Ovando took part in his school's F1 in Schools competition for the second year. The competition started in Montana three years ago. When Geary's science teacher Darcy Schindler mentioned the program in class, he was hooked. "It was just the excitement of being able to race a car and going different places and getting to meet...
GREENOUGH - Stoney, the iconic cow that guards the intersection of Highway 200 and Highway 83, answers to a new owner. Last month Scott McIntyre and his associates bought Clearwater Junction-the convenience store, gas station, bar and yes, the cow. "I've been going up there since I was a kid and we just thought we'd make an offer," said McIntyre. McIntyre is best known for owning the Badlander Complex, a series of bars in downtown Missoula that includes the Badlander, Golden Rose and the newly...
SEELEY LAKE - On a Tuesday afternoon, June 6, I set out for my first real adventure since moving to Seeley Lake. After a few weeks of running around town with the Morrell Mountain looming as a backdrop, I decided I needed to see the view from the top. I wanted to make it an all day activity, so I grabbed a bike and headed off towards the mountain. From Seeley Lake, it was a fairly easy eight-mile ride to Morrell Mountain road. Although I haven't been on a bike in a few months, I got to the base... Full story
SEELEY LAKE – Verizon Wireless customers can expect better service in and around the Seeley Lake region. Andesite Properties LLC installed a new cellular tower on Redwood Lane approximately one block from Highway 83. The tower is 150 feet tall. The tower currently has only one tenant, Verizon, but J.R. Reger, a member of Andesite Properties, said that it can hold up to five. Reger has contacted Sprint, AT&T and T Mobile about utilizing the tower as well. Reger said that Seeley Lake needed a towe...
SEELEY LAKE-Mountain bikers have begun to trickle past Seeley Lake. The frontrunners of the 2017 Tour Divide bike race passed the Seeley Lake airport enroute to Ovando Sunday, June 11. The Tour Divide, billed as the hardest bike race in the world, is a single-stage, self supported mountain bike race along the Continental Divide. Riders left en masse from Banff, Canada June 9 and the winners hope to reach Antelope Wells, New Mexico in just more than two weeks. Seeley Lake is approximately 523.5...
SEELEY LAKE- Warm weather means it's time to head outside and shop local vendors every Sunday. The Seeley Lake Farmers' and Crafters' Market opened for its ninth season on a sunny morning June 11. Located at Littlebird's Lawn on Larch Lane from 10 a.m. until 2 p.m., the market features about 25 vendors each week. "Happy first market of season number nine everybody," exclaimed an excited Vicky Voegelin who has organized the market since its conception almost a decade ago. "It's a great opening...
SWAN VALLEY - The Swan Valley Community Foundation will be hosting Swan Valley First! June 21 from 3–8:30 p.m. at the Swan Valley Community Hall. The event will be an interactive, facilitated hands-on workshop for Swan Valley residents and business owners and will focus on promoting a “sustainable local economy.” “This is a project the Swan Valley Community Foundation has been interested in for a very a long time,” said John Mercer, the president of SVCF. “The economy in the Swan Valley is something that hasn’t received very much attention in...
SEELEY LAKE - The Seeley Lake Community Foundation is looking to add a little character to its vanpool fleet. The SLCF is holding a naming contest through the end of the month. The fleet currently has two six-passenger vans—one is wheelchair accessible—and on June 30, each will have its own identity. The van names will be painted on the sides of the vehicles and they will be driven in the Fourth of July Parade. The contest is open to anyone. The winning name for each van will win a free ticket to the Bob Marshall Music Festival. A little more t...
SEELEY LAKE - For three days a week all summer, local kids will be able to explore the surrounding trails, mountains and waterways on foot, bike and paddleboard. SLE Outside is once again hosting the 21st Century Adventure Club this summer. The program, which began last year, is a three-day a week outdoor camp for youth ages 8-14. "It's this amazing program for very little cost," said Bridget Laird, the programs organizer. Laird said that the goal is to keep kids active and engaged during the...
POTOMAC - Every few minutes a balloon popped and every few minutes the gym full of people flinched and then laughed. Kindergartners and eighth graders alike grabbed at the maroon and gold balloons that decorated the stage and stomped, poked and popped them in celebration. A few tried to suck out the helium to let out a special high-pitched "Hoorah," adding hilarity to the bittersweet vibe that filled the gym. Eighteen students graduated from Potomac Elementary School Wednesday, June 7. Nine...
SEELEY LAKE- Seeley-Swan High School Head Golf Coach Wayne Cahoon was named Boys' Class C Golf Coach of the Year. The Montana Coaches Association members voted for the nominees. "I feel honored and blessed," said Cahoon who was voted Coach of the Year in 2014 and 2015 as well. Cahoon lead the SSHS golf team to their second state title in three years during their spring season. Cahoon is quick to shift the spotlight and credit away from him. "I've had wonderful kids to work with and wonderful...
SEELEY LAKE, MONT. - Thursday evening, June 15 Gary Johnson slowly walked across Highway 83 in Seeley Lake, carrying his wrapped up leftovers from dinner at the Filling Station and shivering. He looked his 64 years of age. Johnson shuffled up to the window of the Ice Cream Place and ordered a large chocolate milk shake. "I'm doing the Tour Divide Ride," he told the girl at the window. "I need all the sugar." Typically Johnson doesn't eat sugar in his diet-he also hasn't had a drop of alcohol in...
SEELEY LAKE – Seeley Lake author Tanya Fyfe will be hosting a book signing at the Double Arrow Lodge from 4-6 p.m. on Friday, June 9. Fyfe will be promoting her latest book, "Secrets Abound in Missing Lake," which was released on April 27. This is the third book in her Missing Lake series, which follows the fictional teen Luke Houser as he navigates the challenges of living in a tiny Montana mountain community. "Secrets Abound in Missing Lake," picks up where the last one left off. Luke b...
Got grizzlies? Defenders of Wildlife can help. The Defenders have an electric fencing incentive program to help landowners protect their yards, garden and animals-without endangering bears. The Defenders are offering to reimburse landowners for 50 percent of the cost of bear-resistant electric fencing, up to $500. The incentive is both a technical and financial assistance program. "Humans by and large generate things on the landscape that bears love, like bear snacks basically," said Russ Talmo,...
Missoula County officers arrested a 44-year-old homicide suspect after she stopped for gas at Clearwater Junction. Officers found Pamela Jean Courtnage, and the vehicle she had stolen, over Memorial Day weekend. “Ultimately we got her without a struggle,” said Sheriff’s Deputy Mike Sunderland, one of the officers that found the truck sitting at the gas pump. Courtnage was charged with deliberate homicide and theft and has been returned to Great Falls for trial. An incident at the group campsite west of the Clearwater River off of Highway 200 l...
SWAN VALLEY - Condon held its annual bear fair, put on by Swan Valley Bear Resources Saturday, May 4. The afternoon event featured representatives from various Montana outdoor groups and aimed to educate the public on the state of bears in the area and how to safely co-exist with bears. It was standing room only in the Swan Valley Community Hall for the presentation part of the day. Lori Roberts, a bear researcher with Montana Fish, Wildlife & Parks talked about the ongoing Grizzly Trend...
SEELEY LAKE - During the Seeley Lake Elementary eighth grade graduation ceremony June 1, staff recognized exceptional students with a variety of awards. 2017 Presidential Academic Achievement Award went to students receiving at least an A- grade point average in seventh and eighth grade and achieved at or above the benchmark for science, math and English in MAP testing. Recipients this year were Bethany Hoag and Klaire Kovatch. Emily Howard received the 2017 Technology Award. Howard received...
SEELEY LAKE - Seeley Lake Elementary held their kindergarten completion ceremony June 1. Twenty-two students are ready to start as first-graders next year....
SWAN VALLEY - Friends and family of Swan Valley Elementary students gathered to celebrate the graduation of three kindergarten and five eighth graders. The ceremony, which took place at the SVE gym on May 31, honored Camden Gleason, Ethan Kennedy and Elijah Nelson who successfully completed kindergarten. "I am 100 percent confident they are ready for first grade," said teacher Susan Bracha. After they were presented with diplomas, the focus shifted to five students who finished their tenure at...
SEELEY LAKE - On May 30th, Bradley Miller spent his afternoon working out. The recent Seeley-Swan High School graduate did a dynamic warmup, ab exercises and a lot of sprints. It took longer than he expected. Two days earlier the athletic director at Rocky Mountain College had sent him his workout schedule for the summer. Technically, it was the first day of Miller's career playing collegiate basketball. Miller signed his National Letter of Intent, committing to play basketball for the Billings...
