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SEELEY LAKE – Seeley-Swan Search & Rescue coordinated with the Flathead County Dive team to recover the second snowmobile that went through Seeley Lake this past winter. The first snowmobile was removed Feb. 25, the day after it fell through. The evening of Feb. 24, two snowmobilers went through the ice on the north end of Seeley Lake. Both drivers were able to get out of the water and sustained no injuries. One snowmobile was completely submerged while the other remained partially exposed. SSSAR recovered the partially exposed snowmobile t...
SEELEY LAKE - Seeley-Swan High School graduated 28 seniors on June 3, in a ceremony that celebrated their achievements and carried important lessons about the meaning of happiness and success. Dr. Kathleen Pecora, Seeley-Swan's principle welcomed the students and families, the school board members and administrators who were present on that day. Keaton Johnson gave the Salutatorian address. He reminded his fellow classmates of important lessons they could take with them as they moved on from...
SEELEY LAKE – Seeley-Swan High School seniors and their parents gathered for the annual senior awards ceremony May 31. While many awards and scholarships had already been awarded, some students continued to add to their list of recognitions with class awards and local scholarships. Six students received their honor chords for National Honor Society. Their membership is based on academic excellence, citizenship, leadership and service. "These students are exemplary examples of those s...
Lana Higgins graduated from Glacier High School with a 4.0 GPA. She will be joining the Air Force next fall working in Administration. Kylee Whitman graduated from Bigfork High School. She is the first person from her family to graduate high school. She will be working at the Sitting Duck Bar & Grill in Woods Bay as a waitress and cook. She looks forward to pursuing culinary arts....
SWAN VALLEY - "So long Sarge," said Swan Valley American Legion Post 63 Commander Rick Ferguson after sharing the story about his platoon sergeant William Washington Hence who was killed in Vietnam June 2, 1968, "Gone but never forgotten." The Swan Valley remembered and honored all men and women who gave their lives in service to the Nation on the traditional Memorial Day May 30 at the Cold Creek Bridge. Ferguson also recognized WWII Naval Gunner Dick Wilhelm and Vietnam Specialist Four Richard...
SWAN VALLEY – As Swan Valley resident Chuck Pyle headed out to go black bear hunting a few weeks ago he flippantly told his wife he would be home later that evening, “if I don’t get eaten.” Later that day, his close encounter with a grizzly bear could have made his comment a reality. Pyle drove as far as he could up Cold Creek Road in his Jeep Wrangler. Once the snow made it impassible with his vehicle, he parked and started walk. He walked for about a mile and a half before the snow was too deep to continue without snowshoes. Having seen no...
SEELEY LAKE – When Glen Knopp died June 9, 2017, his obituary included the message, "In lieu of flowers, donations can be made to the Veterans and Families of Seeley Lake." It was a fitting recommendation, one everyone who knew him understood. After Knopp's move to Seeley Lake following his 2001 retirement from Smurfit-Stone, much of his life centered around serving the veterans of Seeley Lake. Knopp came from a background of service. His father was a Colonel and his mother a Major in the C...
I walk through the mountains, my staff in hand. I journey on the path that crosses the peaks where winter sits and admires all things new. My sheep being guided by me, who is guided by the stars. I walk where the glacier springs sprout from the ground, where trout spawn their young and the sun glistens off the glass lake top. At night when the moon smiles on sleeping sheep, the dawn seems so distant from new marrow. My staff in hand as I sit on a solid rock that lay view to the open...
"We take pictures as a return ticket to a moment otherwise gone." ~ Unknown People ask me how I got into photography. I've always loved the same things as the next person... the pretty, scenic overlooks, rugged mountains, showy morning and evening skies... but when I moved to Havre a few years back, I couldn't see the forest for the trees. I couldn't see definition or change in landscapes or find beauty in the old, brown wheat rows. I had to look for it and you know how it goes when you look too...
To our dirt road friends and neighbors of the Glacier Creek, Styler and Remicks area, Your considerate driving makes the air around the area cleaner. If particulate in the air were compared with other parts of the valley, ours would be cleaner. Not just because of the dust abatement participants but because so many of you drive slower during dust season. More than a dozen local residents walk, jog, bike and horseback ride these neighborhoods throughout the year, especially the dusty months. Thanks for driving slowly on dirt roads in the...
Floodwaters have receded enough that Montana Fish, Wildlife & Parks (FWP) reopened all west-central Montana fishing access sites (FASs), Council Grove State Park and the Blackfoot River, from Weigh Station to the confluence with the Clark Fork Monday, June 4. However, the Clark Fork River, from Reserve Street Bridge to the upstream boundary of Kelly Island FAS, remains closed to all floating, swimming, angling and other recreation, due to dangers caused by downed power lines in the river. In addition, some river access sites are not yet open...
Q: My vegetable garden has been invaded by purslane. What should I do? Hoe it? Leave it to cover the paths? How can I keep it out of the plants? A: Purslane--that flat succulent weed which grows to enormous circles, and has small yellow flowers in midsummer--is an annual, like most other garden weeds. Like all annuals, purslane can appear next year only if its seeds are in the ground, ready to sprout. Eliminate its seeds and it will be gone. However, purslane seeds are not the easiest to...
SEELEY LAKE - The future of the Seeley Lake Community Council’s Trail Committee will be the topic at the next Council meeting. Committee Chair Ron Cox and the Council have been contemplating transferring its Trails Committee projects and funds to another organization in Seeley Lake, yet to be identified, that also is active with trails. The Council has also invited Montana Department of Transportation to attend the meeting and speak about the planned repairs to Highway 83, what the new bridge across Morrell Creek will look like and when this p...
SEELEY LAKE - Alpine Artisans’ Open Book Club presents Valerie Hemingway who will be reading from and discussing her memoir, “Running With the Bulls: My Years With the Hemingways” 7 p.m., Saturday, June 9 at the Grizzly Claw Trading Company. There is no charge to attend and all are welcome As a young Irish reporter, newly arrived in Spain, Valerie Danby-Smith met with Ernest Hemingway in his hotel room for an interview. The interview was awkward and brief but before it ended something had clicked into place. Thus began Valerie’s life as his...
With Memorial Day just passed, I am acutely reminded of all the benefits we enjoy in our country due to the service and sacrifices of United States veterans. The purpose of today's Note from Linda is to explain the Veteran Directed Home and Community Based Services Program (VD-HCBS). VD-HCBS is an outstanding benefit available to veterans who are currently enrolled in the VA health care system. Many services are available from the VA health care system, provided through VD-HCBS at no cost to the...
The peaceful grandeur contrasted against the wild beauty here in the Seeley-Swan Valley is enough to convert a visitor into a full-blown Montanan. Seeing my first elk, identifying the numerous birds that call the valley their home, meeting friendly locals, hunting for wild morels and playing in the colorful wildflowers have all been highlights of my time spent here so far. Deciding to move to Montana was one of the easiest decisions of my life. Living nearly twenty-one of my twenty-four years in suburban Cleveland, Ohio, I felt the plainness of...
Montana families and visitors are invited to participate in an outdoor contest this summer intended to connect more people with Montana's State Park system. The Montana State Parks Adventure Challenge is a new partnership between the Montana State Parks Foundation and Montana State Parks intended to encourage the public to explore Montana's state parks and share their positive experiences through photography. The public is invited to participate by completing one or more of eight unique photo-ba...
POTOMAC - Like clockwork from May to June, small brownish birds with long legs and long beaks are seen on fence posts and in wet grasses near water around Potomac. The 'snipe hunt' has been told as a fool's errand by pranking people. It has also been spoken of in Native American legends and portrayed as a colorful bird in the movie 'Up' as well as mentioned in an autobiographical children's novel. The local Wilson's Snipe is a type of sandpiper bird in the family Scolopacidae. It is a species...
State and local public health officials are reminding Montanans to be aware of the risk for exposure to rabies as summer approaches. Encounters between humans and wild animals often increase in spring and summer months because of the time spent hiking and engaging in other outdoor activities. 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 concern in Montana because a bite may not be noticeable, and they...
It may seem like there's something fishy going on in the region's lakes, something involving net fences and two scientists in a boat, but the goings on are only fishy in the literal sense of the word. While Fish, Wildlife and Parks biologists Ladd Knotek and Caleb Verling were preparing their boat to check nets in Lake Alva for fish on the morning of Wednesday, May 30, a man camping nearby came up to inquire about what the nets were doing in the lake. "We get that a lot," Knotek said. "People...
MISSOULA – Nearly three-fourths of all Montanans participate in outdoor water recreation activities, and this year 87 percent of those residents are aware of the invasive aquatic mussel issue in Montana. The numbers indicate an overall increase of 20 percent from a similar 2017 awareness study, according to figures released by the Institute for Tourism and Recreation Research at the University of Montana. Larvae of aquatic invasive mussels were found in Tiber and Canyon Ferry reservoirs in N...
Although Ovando was recently recognized for the community's welcoming attitude and hospitality toward cyclists, one of the major cycling events that used the town as its base fell victim to last year's fire season and the realities of declining fundraising. Last fall, as the enormous Rice Ridge Fire burned through the hills north of Ovando, the Missoula Symphony made the call to cancel their annual early-September Ovando Gran Fondo mountain bike ride. "I think the decision at the time was a...
According to the 2017 Montana Gray Wolf Program Annual Report, population estimates suggest there are approximately 900 wolves in Montana. This marks the 13th consecutive year that Montana has far exceeded wolf recovery goals. FWP now estimates wolf numbers using a method called POM, or Patch Occupancy Modeling. The old way of trying to count wolves from an airplane became a less and less accurate picture of wolf numbers as the wolf population grew beyond anyone’s ability to count it. Additionally, the old method was expensive and took up a l...
SEELEY LAKE - The Seeley Lake Fire Department welcomed a new chief and promoted several members of their company in a ceremony June 2 that was then followed by food and games for the community. Interim Fire Chief Michael Greer gave a speech about the importance of leadership as he awarded several members of the company with honors as well as promoting new officers. Greer then announced James Sackett's promotion to the department's official safety officer, which had previously been a rotating...
Good neighbors deserve recognition. The Montana Neighbor Awards wants to celebrate good neighbors and is soliciting nominations for its annual awards. Deadline for nominations has been moved to June 14. The Montana Neighbor Awards is a working group made up of conservation organizations from around the state including Montana Fish Wildlife & Parks, Montana Association of Land Trusts, Montana Farm Bureau, Artemis Common Ground, The Nature Conservancy of Montana and Montana Council of Trout Unlimited. Awards are based on four criteria: cooperatio...
