Sorted by date Results 1 - 22 of 22
SEELEY LAKE - On two different nights, Wednesday, Jan. 20 and Friday, Jan. 22, the Clearwater Mini Storage Units were broken into. Missoula County Sheriff’s Deputy Heath Hanson said the cases are still under investigation. He invites anyone with information to call Crimestoppers, 406-721-4444 or place a non-emergency call to 9-1-1 and ask to be connected to him. Deputy Hanson said that eight units had the locks cut off on Wednesday night. An employee from Clearwater Reality, the unit manager, reported the break-ins. Hanson said there was n...
SEELEY LAKE - The Seeley Lake Chamber of Commerce and Alpine Artisans Inc. (AAI) offered up multiple cures for the winter woes at their annual fundraising banquet entitled "Cabin Fever Tonic." Whether it was wine, wit or winter fun, attendees had an opportunity to join with family and friends and cure their cabin fever for the evening. After a dinner of beef stroganoff and chicken carbonara, local talent took to the stage to entertain and impress. Musicians Katie Williams, the Feigleys, Kaytee...
SEELEY LAKE – William "Willy Bill" Gehrke met his wife Ardyce on a blind date in 1950 at a picnic in Wisconsin. Married 65 years, they raised six children, ran the Stihl dealership in Seeley Lake for 21 years and enjoyed their time during retirement traveling across the country. The Gehrke family invites the community to their Open House Jan. 30 from 1-4 p.m. at the Seeley Lake Senior Center to help them celebrate their anniversary and Willy Bill's 90th birthday. Because there was no work in W...
POTOMAC – The Potomac eighth grade class team "Bring It On" not only obliterated the competition to win the Potomac 8th Grade Dodgeball Tournament, they also raised more than $1,400 towards their eighth grade trip to Catalina Island at the end of May. This leaves the seven, eighth-graders with just a little more than $1,000 still to raise for their trip. Eighth grade parent and Potomac School board member Craig Nelson said the idea for the tournament came to him on the spur of the moment. "We w...
Remember when you were 18, finally becoming the adult that your parents expected you to be. Remember the good times with friends, staying out late, having a few drinks now and then. Wasn't it great? Now, as an adult, you have children of your own. They're growing up to be like you; staying out late with friends and having the best time of their lives. But they're not having as much fun as you used to because they're too young to drink alcohol. Think about this, boys at the age of 18 are being...
We never grew up owning one, single mare in my entire childhood. Every male on the ranch preached time and time again about what a pain in the hind parts they were to have on the place. Of course I was always slightly offended by these nonsensical statements. Mares, in my opinion, were always far superior in the looks department, and yes, that theory was entirely based on the fact that I was in fact a female. So naturally, it only seemed right to learn to identify with the female animals that...
SEELEY LAKE – The Lolo National Forest (LNF) is proposing land management activities within a 61,300-acre project area for the Center Horse Landscape Restoration project located about 14 miles north of Ovando, Mont. on the Seeley Lake Ranger District (SLRD). Members of the community attended the public meeting and made comments on the Draft Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) Tuesday, Jan. 19. The 45-day comment period on the draft EIS ends Feb. 16. The Center Horse project area is part of the Southwest Crown Collaborative (SWCC). In 2010, t...
HELENA – Last spring the 2015 Montana Legislature passed House Bill (HB) 167 and HB 300. The new legislation updates snowmobile and off-highway vehicle (OHV) permits in order to increase funding for trail maintenance and grooming programs across Montana effective Oct. 1 HB 300 enacts a new Snowmobile Trail Pass for Montana residents. All Montana residents operating mechanized equipment on designated groomed snowmobile trails will need to purchase a Snowmobile Trail Pass for each vehicle. M...
While presidential nominee hopefuls take turns slinging mud at one another and an armed militia declares a war on public lands, the Blackfoot Challenge and partners continue to work below the headlines, finding lasting solutions by working together. As this onslaught of “political theater” grabs the attention of the media, I’m reassured by the alternative approach many are taking, and have been for decades, to solving conflicts. I’m reminded of the 80/20 rule, coined by third-generation Helmville rancher David Mannix and Blackfoot Challen...
Winter plowing the Blackfoot is in full swing for the Montana Department of Transportation (MDT) snowplow drivers. The Missoula section includes 17 total sections including Montana Highway 200 to Greenough (Blackfoot) and Seeley Lake. The Missoula section has seven snowplow trucks with one or two trucks covering the Blackfoot. That stretch of road is from Bonner to Greenough Hill. The Seeley section has five snowplow trucks. Snowplow drivers need to have their commercial drivers license,...
SEELEY LAKE - Managers for the Seeley Lake Sewer District (SLSD) updated the board on the funding package from the United States Department of Agriculture Rural Development (RD) at their Jan. 21 meeting. The board also discussed their vacant board position. According to District Manager Greg Robertson, the federal budget deal that was passed in late Dec. 2015 contained funding through RD for Seeley’s sewer project. In the last month, RD has been allocating funds to the states. The RD informed Robertson that a 26-page funding package has been p...
SEELEY LAKE –Although food drives in Missoula get media coverage and bring in large quantities of food to the Missoula Food Bank (MFB), Seeley-Swan Community Food Bank (SSCFB) President Karen Montgomery said the food bank in Seeley Lake receives none of that bounty. The reality is SSCFB has some empty shelves that should be stocked with cans of food. While both SSCFB and MFB are part of the Montana Food Bank Network, the two groups operate independently. Each receives the entire benefits from i...
While reading a recent article in the New York Daily News, I was once again reminded that we often miss the point of prayer. This article criticized Republican presidential candidates for tweeting that they were praying for those affected by the mass shooting in San Bernardino, Calif. This same article praised Democratic candidates for tweeting their support for greater gun control laws. The cover of the tabloid screamed, “God Isn’t Fixing This,” followed by, “As the latest batch of innocent Americans are left lying in pools of blood, cowards w...
SEELEY LAKE - When Ailed Caro-Arteaga first came to the United States (US) in 2005 on a six-month tourist visa, her goals were simple: Practice English and return to Mexico to go to college. After meeting her future husband Luis Caro in Missoula, Mont. her plans changed. She moved to Montana, married Caro and has helped him run his drywall business, Caro Drywall, in Seeley Lake. Last Thursday, Jan. 21, Caro-Arteaga gained her US citizenship at a naturalization ceremony in Helena, Mont....
SEELEY LAKE - The Seeley Lake Elementary (SLE) drama club's annual production this year was "A Christmas Carol" by Charles Dickens. The Jan. 20 performance involved a cast and crew of more than 20 students from the fifth through eighth grades. The students worked on the production during the second quarter....
SEELEY LAKE – The Seeley Lake Rural Fire District Board approved a $60 per trip stipend for patient transports to Missoula, Mont. between the hours of 8 p.m. – 8 a.m. effective Jan. 19. Seeley Lake Fire Chief Bob Vanden Heuvel also informed the board that he took the opportunity to acquire a 1987 Type III fire engine. The board has been discussing the Quick Response Unit (QRU) night transport stipend since mid-summer. At the July 21, 2015 meeting, the board, excluding members Gary Lewis and Al Rogers who were absent, unanimously approved $75...
Goal: Gary Freyholtz, owner of Swan Valley Log Crafters, LLC specializes in handcrafted log home shells, pole buildings, railings and stairs. His goal is to create a log structure that is a lasting, well built home that the customer can enjoy for years to come. History: Freyholtz said he originally learned how to build a log house at Rustics of Lindbergh Lake in Condon when he started in July, 1984. He worked for two other log home businesses in the 1990s. In 1998 he started Swan Valley Log...
SEELEY LAKE - In many ways, the Jan. 23 SLE Ice Run was the junior version of Seeley Lake's Snow Joke half-marathon run. For one thing the Ice Run was about half the distance of the half marathon. Another difference was that the Ice Run was organized and run by a junior crew – fifth through eighth-graders from Seeley Lake Elementary School (SLE). The project was guided by SLE fifth-grade teacher Andrew Wyatt. Wyatt said when he raced in the 2015 Snow Joke he noticed some elementary students raci...
SWAN VALLEY - The Warhawks "B" team played well on Friday night against Helmville but ended up with a tie 14 to 14 at the end of regulation play. As league rules dictate, the game ended. The Swan team played well but couldn't get a commanding lead despite balanced scoring with Kyla Conley and Kase Anderson. They each scored 4 while Mara Beckstrom, Chris Auchenbach, and Connor Mathew each scored 2. Lots of hustle and hard work by both teams kept the game close throughout the night. Coach Katie Gl...
The Seeley-Swan Lady Blackhawks dominated the Valley Christian Eagles on the home court last week before falling to the Trojans in Drummond. The loss is the first for the Lady Blackhawks this season and gives them an overall record of 11-1. Versus Valley Christian The Lady Blackhawks hosted the Valley Christian Eagles Jan. 21. The Ladies took a 16-point lead in the first quarter to 62-30 victory over the Eagles. Paige Holmes led the Lady Blackhawks hitting 3, three-point shots as part of her 13...
The Seeley-Swan Blackhawks dropped both their games this week against Valley Christian and Drummond degrading their overall record to 4-8. Versus Valley Christian The Blackhawks took on the Valley Christian Eagles at home Jan. 21. Earlier in the season, the Eagles stomped the Blackhawks, more than doubling their score. After getting off to a slow start, the Blackhawks worked hard in the second quarter to head into the second half tied. They were unable to keep their momentum but kept it from...
Swan Valley AARP Meeting Feb. 1 SWAN VALLEY – A month’s journey in Germany, France and Italy will be the Monday, Feb. 1 program for the Swan Valley AARP Chapter. Local residents Steve and Betsy Ellis will show color slides of their recent trip. The group will meet at noon for potluck at 12:30 p.m. The program will start at 2 p.m. The Ellises will be the host for the occasion. The public is invited. Artist-Wilderness-Connection, Artist-in-Residence Program Application Period Open KALISPELL - The Flathead National Forest, Bob Marshall Wilderness...
