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HELENA - Last Thursday a delegation from the Seeley Lake Community Council (SLCC) appeared before the MT Transportation Commission to plead the case for lower speed limits in town. After testimony and back-and-forth questions, the commission voted to postpone a decision until their next mee...
The Swan Pond is a spring fed gravel pit owned by Montana Department of Natural Resources (DNRC) It has been open since 2005. The Swan Pond is for the benefit of young people. Anglers 15 years of age and younger can keep one fish a day. It is catch and release for those older. Trout culturist Mark Setzer from the Montana Fish, Wildlife & Parks hatchery in Anaconda, Mont. (left) prepares to send the 500 westslope cutthroat trout into the Swan Pond through the pipe. The tank, which held the...
SEELEY LAKE - The Missoula County Public Schools (MCPS) School Board unanimously approved the $1,596,600 construction bid for the Seeley-Swan High School expansion and renovations at their May 24 meeting. Wadsworth Builders Company of Great Falls, Mont. was the lowest bidder of four bids. They will begin the project as soon as school adjourns contingent on successful contract negotiations. Four contractors bid on the project. Langlas & Associates, Inc. of Missoula, Mont. was the highest bidder at $1,946,250. Sletten Construction of Great Falls...
MISSOULA - The Seeley-Swan Lady Blackhawks finished out their season earning second place at the State Class C Meet May 28. The team finished with 62 points, four short of first place Plains with 66. All six of the Lady Blackhawks who went to state came home with at least one medal. The Lady Blackhawks set a new State Class C Record and school record in the 1600-meter relay. Teammates Alex Bohlman, Paige Holmes, Stephanie Robbins and Lily Mercer competed the relay in 4:03.92. They shaved more...
SEELEY LAKE - Now that the badly-planned central sewage treatment system is proving to be unaffordable, it’s time for city mothers and fathers to step back and consider a new approach for Seeley Lake. In the world of sewage treatment there are three steps: collection, treatment and disposal. The most expensive aspect is generally the collection...that often represents two thirds of the cost of building a treatment system and easily 90 percent of the subsequent operation and maintenance, as the local sewer board is finding out. There are new t...
MISSOULA - I have read with interest several letters in the Missoulian and the Pathfinder for or against each of the Democratic Party primary nominees for County Commissioner. Regardless of my political affiliations, I am a supporter of Commissioner Stacy Rye, who I have met on several occasions, with whom I have communicated frequently since her appointment to the Board of County Commissioners and whom I believe has the interests of we, the people, uppermost in her activities as a commissioner. But in favoring Mr. Dave Strohmaier over...
MISSOULA - I was surprised to read the vindictive letter Jean wrote about Stacy Rye. Is Jean afraid of losing her power she has held for to long? If Jean checked she would know Stacy is in Helena Thursday, May 26 trying to get the state to lower the speed limit in Seeley Lake and other smaller communities. There are people going at least 60 miles per hour as they go through our town and I am sure it is that way with other small towns. Stacy is working for Missoula but also for our small communities. Jean endorses Dave because he is also as Mr....
MISSOULA - Several months ago the two voting Commissioners selected Stacy Rye as the best person – on their very first ballot – and appointed her to fill the third Commissioner’s position. Now, after working with her for only seven months, one Commissioner has said Stacy’s management style is not a good fit for the Commission and has endorsed Dave Strohmaier. The other Commissioner is not endorsing Stacy. A county board that appears to have become dysfunctional in such a short time does not bode well for an effective county government over th...
I fell in love with Montana during a pack trip in the Bob Marshall wilderness when I was eight years old. Twenty years later, I’m still finding new streams, lookouts, forests and ridgelines that amaze me every time I head out. One of the best parts about living and working on the land (as I do during the summers) in Missoula County is that you don’t have to go too far out your front door to access this beauty. In the face of expected development and a changing climate, though, we need to elect a county commissioner devoted to conservation and...
KALISPELL – Flathead National Forest campgrounds started opening in early May and all campgrounds, weather permitting, opened Memorial Day Holiday Weekend. Holland Lake, Swan Lake, Emery Bay, Murray Bay, Devil Creek, Lid Creek, Lost Johnny Camp and Lost Johnny Point, Doris Point Camp and Boat, Riverside, Big Creek, and Tally Lake Campgrounds are open. These campgrounds and recreation areas are operated by the forest concessionaire Flathead Valley Campgrounds. The one change this year is that Holland Lake Campground has a day use fee of five d...
Well, it seems I put the cart before the horse on saying we have curbed the running dogs. After driving down Riverview every other day, I saw a pack of five dogs running all together on the street and on the sidewalk. People, this is nuts. What are you thinking? Yes, I recognized four of the dogs so beware, I have called animal control. The people who live on this street do not have to put up with this. They can’t even walk the sidewalk or walk their dogs on a leash without harassment. People, you are going to end up with big fines when t...
State and local public health officials are reminding Montanans to be aware of the risk for exposure to rabies as summer approaches. From 2009 to 2015, 162 animals submitted for testing to the Montana Department of Livestock (DOL) were positive for rabies. Most of the animals were bats, some were skunks, and a few were other wild and domestic animals. Rabies is a fatal disease. The rabies virus is carried in the saliva of infected warm-blooded mammals and is usually transmitted to people and other animals through a bite. Bats are a great...
HELENA – The Blackfoot Clearwater Stewardship Project (BCSP) announced a monthly video series to showcase the conservation, recreation and forest restoration plan the community has spent a decade vetting. The goal of the increased communication efforts is to influence the Montana delegation to move forward with a plan to see the citizen proposal completed through federal legislation. The first video in the series can be viewed at www.blackfootclearwater.org. “Enough is enough. Some of us are nearing the end of the trail and we can’t wait anoth...
“Montana’s National Forests BURNING AN EMPIRE” is the title of the Spring 2016 edition of “Evergreen” magazine. The title creates a dire picture facing Montana forests. According to Montana State Forester Bob Harrington, “Nearly 50 percent of Montana’s forest lands have been significantly affected by insects, diseases and wildfire.” Many factors come into play creating today’s forestry issues. Early day logging practices took the best quality trees, fire suppression and a cool, wet period that began in the 1930s allowed a growth in shade t...
The Seeley Lake Community Council hosted a candidate forum, May 9, at the Seeley Lake Community Hall. Candidates from the Public Service Commission (PSC) District 4, House District (HD) 92 and Missoula County Commissioner races answered various questions from moderator Klaus von Sutterheim and the audience. This week the Pathfinder features the candidates for Missoula County Commissioner. The PSC and HD 92 debate is available on the Pathfinder's website, www.seeleylake.com Three commissioner can...
Lieutenant Colonel Matthew W. Cooper, son of Loretta Cooper of Seeley Lake and 1987 graduate from Seeley-Swan High School, graduated from the Air War College, May 19, Maxwell Air Force Base, Montgomery, Alabama with a master's degree in Strategic Studies. He spent ten months studying with emphasis on critical thinking, writing and travel that included counterinsurgency and critical role of cyberspace in modern warfare. He is returning to Camp Murray, in Washington, as a full time National Guard...
SWAN VALLEY - The Whalen homestead cabin is now at home on the Swan Valley museum site. It was located on the Donald property visible from the Kraft Creek road. Sharon Gressle a descendant of the homesteaders along with her relatives donated the cabin and the moving costs to the Upper Swan Valley Historical Society. The Swan Valley Museum and Heritage Site opened to the public on Memorial Day weekend. It will now be open every Thursday through Sunday through Labor Day weekend...
Proud parents Laura and Blaise Devins welcomed baby Hale Denton Devins into their lives with help and guidance of grand parents John and Sheila Devins of Seeley Lake and Alan and Gloria Wahlin. With all of his finger and toes, Hale was born into this world at 11:37 p.m. April 9 into the candlelight and peace of his loving home. Hale was 6 pounds, 2 ounces and 19.5 inches in length....
POTOMAC - The Ten Mile Drivers Club (TMD) from Helena arrived in Potomac May 27. With a recreational permit from the Montana Department of Natural Resources (DNRC), they explored the local forests and roads using horse and mule drawn wagons, carts and mounted riders. They stayed with Potomac residents Ray and Brenda Woodside. The TMD hosts monthly driving events and clinics around the state. The Memorial Day weekend in Potomac was the first pleasure get-together drive of 2016 for the club. More...
Everyone is invited to the Swan Valley School Graduation June 8 at 6:30 p.m. at Swan Valley School...
Everyone is invited to the Salmon Prairie School Graduation June 2 at 6 p.m. at Salmon Prairie School...
Everyone is invited to the Seeley Lake Elementary (SLE) for the Kindergarten Completion Ceremony June 9 at 12:30 p.m. and Eighth Grade Graduation, June 9 at 6 p.m....
SWAN VALLEY - The Swan Valley Regional Planning Committee (SVRPC) meeting held May 26 was led by the new chair Ken Donovan. Edits to the draft regional plan continued focused on recommendations from the Swan Valley school board. The SVRPC made edits to the Draft Plan using comments from School District No. 33 School Board. The school board pointed out in its comments that the word ecosystem was not used correctly in the 1.0 Element named Natural Resources and Environment. According to the comments, ecosystem is too broad a term to use when...
“Let me not pray to be sheltered from dangers, but to be fearless in facing them. Let me not beg for the stilling of my pain, but for the heart to conquer it.” -Rabindranath Tagore (cited in Thriving Through Tough Times, by Deidre Combs, 2012) For some of us, conflict is a dirty word. We try to avoid it all costs. We pray for pain to go away. We steer clear of any person who makes us uncomfortable. We tend to leave those situations where we do not have control. Avoidance is a common flight response to fear, uncertainty and major dis...
