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MISSOULA COUNTY - Missoula City-County Health Department (MCCHD) is shortening their quarantine period to seven days for COVID-19 close contacts who meet Centers for Disease Control and Prevention criteria. Close contacts are defined as individuals who have collectively spent 15 minutes or more within six feet of a person infected with COVID-19 during a time period when the infected person was considered contagious. Close contacts who remain symptom-free since their exposure and receive a negative Polymerase Chain Reaction (PCR) test result on...
OVANDO - Ovando citizens came together Tuesday, March 30 in the Ovando School gym for a community meeting to review updates from local town boards and discuss upcoming events. Events discussed were Town Clean-up Day, Fourth of July, and the citywide garage sale and farmer's market. Blackfoot Challenge Office Administrator Deb Dillree and Ovando School Supervising Teacher Leigh Ann Valiton facilitated the meeting. Organizers confirmed that Town Clean-up Day will officially take place at 10 a.m....
SEELEY LAKE – There were a lot of smiling children Saturday, April 3 as they traveled through the Seeley Lake Elementary School parking lot and received an Easter basket at the Seeley Lake Lions Club Easter Hop-n-Bop. While the Lions hope they can return to the traditional Easter Egg Hunt and Scavenger Hunt next year, they were happy to be able to offer this to the community. Organizer Lion Michelle Saalfeld said the biggest challenge was figuring out how they could still hold the event and g...
SWAN VALLEY - Area residents got into the Easter spirit a day early as they participated in the community's annual Easter Egg Hunt, Saturday, April 3 in the Condon Community Ball Field. The event allowed participants of all ages to get involved in the search of 3,000 eggs. Hunts were separated into three sections: 0-5, 6-20 and 21+. Outside of the expected candy, some of the eggs in the 21+ group contained drink tickets while eggs in the younger categories offered chances to win trinkets, toys...
MISSOULA COUNTY - Following a nationwide search, the Missoula City-County Board of Health selected D’Shane Barnett to replace outgoing Health Officer Ellen Leahy in June. He will begin his new role May 17. Barnett has worked in the American Indian health field for over 20 years. He is the former director of the National Council of Urban Indian Health in Washington, D.C., and currently serves as the executive director of All Nations Health Center in Missoula. He has a bachelor’s degree in sociology and is currently completing his doctorate in...
To The Editor: The Merriam-Webster dictionary provides a definition of “relic” as “a trace of some past or outmoded practice or belief. That, I believe aptly describes Dale Terrillion and his contribution in the letters to the Pathfinder (“My two cents on wildlife bills” in the April 1 issue). His disdain for science and by association scientists, displays one of the things that is currently a major problem in this country. I for one place more faith in science and in the recommendations of the 53 signees to the letter (“Bills are harmful to...
Warming temperatures and clear skies have started to thaw the valley floor. Even though snow will remain at high altitudes for a while longer, grizzly and black bears have emerged from their winter dens. These bears have spent the last few months in torpor, not hibernation- a common misconception! Torpor, defined as a state of physical or mental inactivity, differs from hibernation in one surprising way- bears can- and do- wake up! For example, female bears will awaken from torpor to give birth...
SEELEY LAKE - The April 12 meeting of the Seeley Lake Community Council will present an informative program on topics important to our area. Featured speakers are as follows: • Racene Friede, President and CEO of Glacier Country. Racene will discuss trends in Western Montana tourism and expectations for the 2021 season. • Nick Holloway, Project Manager for vaccination programs, Missoula City County Health Department. Nick will review the current state of vaccine programs. • Quinn Carver, USFS Seeley Lake District Ranger, will give an update abo...
While the Missoula County Elections Office received many valid candidate filings, several board positions remain unfilled, as indicated in the list. Commissioners are seeking applicants to fill these board positions, which will become vacant May 31. Applicants must be residents of Missoula County and at least 18 years old. Additional residency requirements may apply. All board positions are served on a volunteer basis. Applications for vacant positions are available at https://boards.missoulacounty.us/apply/. Submissions may be filed...
SEELEY LAKE – Join Chris La Tray and the Open Book Club via Zoom Saturday night at 7 p.m. as La Tray reads his amusing poetry from his collection of life in Montana titled "One-Sentence Journal: Short Poems and Essays from the World At Large." La Tray is an enrolled member of the Little Shell Tribe of Chippewa Indians and lives near Missoula. "One-Sentence Journal," La Tray's first book, won the 2018 Montana Book Award, 2019 High Plains Book Award for best first book and was a finalist for t...
Although anyone who knows me knows that I'm a "certifiable" botany and native plants nerd, I love everything nature. In particular, I share a love of birds with one of my sisters. On a trip together one October, we went to a wild bird rescue facility (Vermont Institute of Natural Science) to attend one program, and ended up staying all day, much to our mutual delight. We often send each other articles, pictures, and messages about birds back and forth from our homes in Montana and...
Each spring, Montana Fish, Wildlife & Parks (FWP) receives calls from people who have picked up deer fawns or other wildlife. It's important to remember that Montana Fish, Wildlife & Parks no longer accepts, holds or rehabilitates moose, deer, elk and most other animals. Often times, people think they are rescuing an orphaned animal. However, it's important to understand that wildlife care for their young much differently than humans. They have strategies to provide the highest chance of s...
SEELEY LAKE - Chelsea Cahoon is hoping to offer Seeley Lake residents and visitors a unique recreational service with her new business venture - Big Dog Dad's Indoor Golf Simulator. Along with offering leagues in the fall and spring, golfers of any level can keep their skills polished during the offseason. Cahoon officially opened the virtual experience Jan. 28. Her father Wayne purchased the simulator last year. Wayne was the head coach of the Seeley-Swan High School golf team who allowed team...
SEELEY LAKE - The week leading up to Easter, six area churches joined in a cooperative effort and distributed a DVD of the "Jesus" film along with Easter goodies to 300 families in the Seeley Lake area. The intent of the project was to bring a message of hope to residents in Seeley Lake and serve as an invitation for residents to reach out to the various churches for help and assistance. Volunteer with the project Phyllis Campbell said the local Christian community has been praying for ways to...
Because a spirit cannot die without a body, the Word of God humbly and obediently took on flesh from the Blessed Virgin Mary as Jesus, Son of God, to be the perfect sacrifice meriting our redemption from the slavery of sin. Amazingly, the Word of God who is the summation of the entire revelation of God in Christ Jesus (2 Corinthians 1:20) offers us sacrificial, merciful love because of our sins so by cooperating, we can spend eternity with Him. In the Old Testament, God commanded the Israelites...
SEELEY LAKE – The Seeley Lake Community Foundation is launching the sixth annual Change Your Pace Challenge again this summer. Applications for local organizations that would like to participate in the fundraising efforts are due Friday, April 30. The Seeley Lake Community Foundation’s Change Your Pace Challenge is a campaign for community-wide giving throughout June. During this month-long fundraising period, the Challenge motivates community members to give to their favorite participating local nonprofits, knowing their dollars will be str...
MISSOULA – Montana's COVID-19 vaccine distribution is among the most efficient in the nation, but closer examination reveals a patchwork of systems among counties and tribal governments that will be put to the test as the state opens vaccine eligibility to all people 16 and older starting this month. KHN, Montana Free Press and the University of Montana School of Journalism surveyed all 56 counties and eight tribal governments to find out how vaccine distribution has worked over the past four m...
Clarification and correction SEELEY LAKE – In the April 1 issue, it was stated in the article “Seeley-Swan golfers come out swinging” that Head Golf Coach Wayne Cahoon only had one golfer in 2018 and 2019. While Cahoon had only one golfer in 2018, in 2019 he had a team but only one qualified for state. The team continued to grow and five girls and eight boys were on the team at the start of the season in 2020. However due to COVID, all meets were canceled and Cahoon didn’t have the opportunity to coach another team at state. Death Notice...
MOSCOW, IDAHO - Robert "Bob" C. Mock of Moscow, Idaho died Sunday, March 28, 2021 at Good Samaritan Moscow Village. He was 87. Bob was born March 8, 1934 in Downey, Idaho to Clinton and Winnifred Evans Mock. He was raised in Montana and Idaho and graduated from Gallatin County High School in Bozeman, Montana. Bob met Evelyn Faye Powell while attending Gallatin County High School. They were married on April 29, 1952 in Bozeman. Bob attended Idaho State University in Pocatello, Idaho for one...
SEELEY LAKE - Richard “Dick” Allen Koepplin, 73, passed away from natural causes on March 30, 2021 at his home at Seeley Lake. Dick was born in Missoula on July 23, 1947 to Wilhelm and June Koepplin. From an early age he loved working in the fields with his dad. His mom loved to tell how Dick ran away from home thirteen times in one morning to be in the field with his dad. Fresh out of high school Dick married Pam MacArthur and also began his long career as a mill worker. Dick loved the Mon...
BIGFORK - Seeley-Swan Lady Blackhawk Klaire Kovatch furthered her own school discus record and shattered the Bigfork Invitational meet record on April 3 with a throw of 159 feet 3 inches. The throw moves Klaire up to eighth in the nation for high school discus throws this year. After the throw Klaire said she has been feeling good all week and some of the things she has been working on were starting to click. "I knew that if I got a hold of one it was going to go," Klaire said. She bested the...
Three bills debuted in the Montana Legislature during the week of March 29 with vastly different approaches for regulating voter-approved recreational marijuana in the state, and all of them moved forward after a week of whirlwind hearings that nearly left Republican leadership’s favored approach dead in committee. After Montana voters legalized the sale and consumption of recreational marijuana last year by ballot initiative, the Montana Legislature was tasked with implementing a program. The three major proposals -- House Bill 670, 701 and 7...
Montana House Approves Draft of Bill to Spend $3 Billion in Federal COVID-19 Relief; Senate Panel Advances Budget Ahead of a key deadline on April 8, the Montana Legislature is quickly advancing a bill to spend billions in federal COVID-19 dollars as guidelines for how that money can be spent continue to roll in. House Bill 632, sponsored by Rep. Frank Garner, R-Kalispell, and dubbed the “Beast Bill” by lawmakers, advanced out of the House Appropriations Committee on Monday, March 29, and cleared the full House on an 83-14 vote just three days...
HELENA – Governor Greg Gianforte today announced that the Montana Emergency Rental Assistance program is taking applications from Montanans who have lost income and are at risk of housing instability due to the COVID-19 pandemic. “The last year has brought real, serious challenges to hardworking Montana families through no fault of their own,” Governor Greg Gianforte said. “Emergency rental assistance will help Montanans, who have struggled financially through this pandemic, get back on their feet and remain secure in their homes.” Funded th...
