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SWAN VALLEY – Owner of the Mission Mountains Mercantile Len Kobylenski and his partner Grace Siloti hardly stop to take a break as they close in on the opening of the newly built Mission Mountains Mercantile. If everything goes as planned, by the end of April, Swan Valley residents should be able to purchase gas and groceries with the grand opening celebration planned for June 23. While the store has the latest technology and will offer many new products and services, the biggest change is t...
SEELEY LAKE – After holding an intervention between Frosty the Snowman and the Easter Bunny, the Seeley Lake Lions Club reached a resolution. While they were unable to get rid of the snow, the annual Easter Egg Hunt carried on as planned Saturday, March 31. The freezing and snow flurries did not stop the children from racing out into the snow covered field, punching through the hard snow crust and filling their baskets, buckets and bags as quickly as they could. The Lions and Leo Club members f...
SEELEY LAKE – Seeley Lake Elementary Junior High Teacher Patti Bartlett Gladstone and her students were busy paying it forward this last month. After hearing about the extreme weather conditions facing residents on the Blackfeet Reservation, the students gathered donations of water, food and other personal necessities. Bartlett Gladstone made two trips with donations, one for the students in Browning and the other to residents in Heart Butte. Bartlett Gladstone first came up with the idea to col...
SEELEY LAKE – “Your files have been encrypted,” were the words on a black screen for the file servers at Pyramid Mountain Lumber March 15. Pyramid’s entire network fell victim to the ransomware attack. Not willing to deal with criminals, they started rebuilding the three network servers and three workstations from scratch. It could take up to three months to get all the systems running like they were before the attack. However, all the historical records are lost. Pyramid’s Network Administrator Mark Meissner is a Microsoft Certified system en...
SEELEY LAKE - Mud and pothole season is in full swing. The snow and cold weather on Easter had some questioning if winter is really over but at the county shop in Seeley Lake, the atmosphere on April 1 was more like Christmas. Road department workers were eagerly unwrapping and assembling the county shop's latest acquisition, the PH-410 system. The PH-410 system allows for snow removal equipment to be utilized into the mud and pothole season by attaching three 10 in blades to existing...
SEELEY LAKE - The story “Snowmobiler Rescued Near Marshall Lake” that ran in the Pathfinder’s March 8 issue about my snowmobile wreck near Marshall Lake March 1 has a lot of things wrong. My riding partner Dave McDonald, also from Frenchtown, did get me out from under snowmobile by himself. He drug me up the creek and got me out of the water by putting me under a big boulder (pictured with the story) on top of a rock and ice. Then he gave me stuff to start fire with and he rode out to get help. At the trailhead he called search and rescu...
Regarding the Editor’s Note about media coverage of local government meetings on March 15, that was a well-written piece and deeply appreciated. Having served on boards I have seen board members tempted to be secretive and avoid transparency. But in the end, transparency is always better for all involved, including the board members. I’m pleased that most boards in this area are quite open and forthcoming. Only a very few local board folks seem not to understand this. Those paid board administrators and/or elected or appointed board mem...
SEELEY LAKE – As I read the March 22 issue of the Pathfinder, I walk over to the wall and beat my head against it. I am very amazed how a board of individuals that are supposed to be representing the citizens of Seeley Lake have posted false info and did a protest in the middle of winter that was unconstitutional to the voters to try and pass the bonds there. This is very unprofessional and is deceptive practice by giving a number and not being honest to the voting people. The board has no idea of the routes needed for the project. So how c...
“Obfuscation” – to make obscure or unintelligible. Governor Steve Bullock and his party have been considered very environmentally conscious, but it seems they are forging a new direction. North Dakota is not currently allowing the disposal of Bakken Oilfield radioactive or hazardous garbage. But the Montana Department of Environmental Quality (DEQ) is moving briskly to welcome a veritable torrent of those toxic materials to a site near a Sidney subdivision and a rural school. Imagine having your home on a scenic plateau overlooking the Yello...
Some of this was from my book "Journey to the Backwoods" When I was lad and ol' Shep was a pup, we lived for a spell in an old homestead on the end of a dirt road. Weren't no modern conveniences but was a great place for a boy. No electricity for a few years, good thing Mom was a pioneer type, nothing fazed her. She did the wash on a scrub board in the same tub that us kids got our Saturday night bath. The outhouse was a two holer out behind the woodshed. I still remember those 30-40 below...
SEELEY LAKE – Through the Safety Award program, Pyramid Mountain Lumber has put $2,500 in the past five months back into the economy of Seeley Lake. While this is not a new program, the approach changed in October to help support the community and the local businesses. Every month Pyramid gives employees who have had perfect attendance an incentive check. If there has not been a lost time accident at the mill, anyone who received the attendance award is also put in a drawing for the safety award. Between 60-70 employees meet the attendance r...
SEELEY LAKE - Have you ever had ground squirrels eat all your freshly sprouted peas? Wondered how to get rid of black spots on potatoes? Asked if row covers will keep bugs off your vegetables? Master gardener and columnist Molly Hackett will soon be in Seeley Lake to answer your gardening questions. Hackett is the guest speaker for the Clearwater Resource Council's spring gardening workshop at the Seeley Lake Community Hall on Saturday, April 7 from 1-2:30 p.m. for our Clearwater Partners...
Dear Seeley-Swan residents, Happy Spring! As you know Missoula Aging Services (MAS) opened a branch office at the Bison & Bear Center in the fall of 2016 called Seeley-Swan Resource Center. I am able to make a complex system of benefits and services more easily accessible through education, referrals and individualized, person-centered consultations. Please make an appointment with me by calling 406-541-7688. This month I am highlighting the many educational opportunities available through MAS...
SEELEY LAKE – When 14-year-old Kya Smith's mother Lauren Callahan signed her up for the Montana Conservation Corps Middle School Expedition as "her summer experience" she was less than thrilled. With her usual summer camp experience no longer financially feasible, Smith joined five other youth and two MCC leaders for a five days backpacking adventure documenting trail conditions outside of Missoula. Callahan said the self confidence, self worth and pride in the work accomplished that her d...
SEELEY LAKE - If you are overwhelmed by the number of candidates who are running for the U.S. Senate, the U.S. House, Fire District, Sewer District, County Commissioner, Sheriff, etc. come to the Seeley Lake Community Council’s Candidates Forums next week. Hear the candidates who are vying for your vote and grill them on the issues that are important to you. Because of the many contested races this year and the sheer number of candidates, we decided to hold two forums. Monday, April 9, 5:15 p.m. at the Community Center: U.S. Senate, Missoula C...
SEELEY LAKE – Seeley Lake resident Lizza Kelley has brought the Seeley Lake Rural Fire District Auxiliary back to life. What started as a desire to volunteer her time to support those serving the community has turned into an opportunity for anyone in the community who doesn't want to become a first responder or firefighter to help as well. "Frankly, I was tired of being stuck at home when [my husband] Kody responded to calls," said Kelley. "I wanted to volunteer my time for things that I c...
SEELEY LAKE – The Seeley Lake Fire Board invited EMS and Trauma Systems Section Supervisor for the state of Montana Jim DeTienne to review the current progress of the department and speak about some of the district concerns regarding other professional licensed medical providers that continue to undermine and discredit the department’s efforts moving forward. He spoke at a special board meeting March 29. During public comment, retired Police Chief from New Jersey and past maintenance worker for the Seeley Lake Rural Fire District Doug Waldron s...
I believe we can all agree that the truth is a very elusive commodity in this day and age. It is rare that you get the same story on TV, newspapers, internet or radio as most of the stories seem to be slanted toward a particular agenda or thinking. It’s called “spinning the news” by omitting pertinent facts or statements that don’t allow the receiver to get the whole story. You know what I mean. We all experience this every day. Truth is often defined as “that which conforms to reality, fact or actuality” but this definition leaves many questio...
CORRECTION SEELEY LAKE - In the coverage of the Seeley Lake Fire Board in the March 29 issue, the Seeley Lake Rural Fire District received a $15,000 grant from the Montana Community Foundation, not the Missoula Community Foundation as stated. Chamber of Commerce July 4th Poster Contest SEELEY LAKE - Be a part of your community and contribute to the Seeley Lake Area Chamber of Commerce’s Fourth of July Parade and Firework Show! “We want you and so does Uncle Sam, to join in the fun! We’re looking for a Proud American to represent our Great...
FRENCHTOWN - With more than half the team out for spring break and other reasons, the remaining Seeley-Swan Blackhawks still had a great showing at the Jim Johnson Invitational March 29. The Boys took second and the Ladies took fifth out of more that 20 A, B and C class teams. The Boys relay team consisting of Logan Robinson, Soren Moon, Hunter Shelmerdine and Dakota Wood won the 4x400 and took second in the 4x100-meter. Nate Samuli earned the Boys only individual first place in the javelin....
A teenager who stayed out past curfew and got bombarded with questions upon his return home might tell his friends the next day, "Boy, my dad really put me through the wringer last night." Or perhaps not. The phrase is more likely to be spoken by someone of the older generation who actually remembers doing laundry using an old wringer washing machine. Unlike its modern descendants with their spin cycles that use centrifugal force to pull water out of the clothes in preparation for being spun...
Russ Fagg is the obvious choice for the US Senate race. He is: • Pro-second amendment, • Pro-education, • Pro-limited government, • Pro-life, • Pro-jobs, and • Pro-balanced budget. Russ will represent our Montana values in DC. He will vote for small businesses, economic growth, and tax cuts. With his background, he understands the importance of upholding the rule of law and is not afraid to make the hard decisions. Russ Fagg is the clear choice for the US Senate. Russ Fagg is the clear choice for Montana....
Wow, Jon Tester’s ads tell us he’s “out of fingers” counting the ways he’s just like Donald Trump. Truth is, he WISHES Montanans would run out of fingers when remembering the times he bowed to Obama, Pelosi, Clinton and Shumer and left Montana stained with his collusion. Jon, some may clutch their noses and swallow the pasty grime that you’re “not finished getting things done for Montana” but the facts are you never started – you didn’t dare! Montanans remember how you voted a straight Democrat Party line and forsook us for party politics on do...
