Sorted by date Results 1 - 21 of 21
BONNER, MONT. – Standing on the banks of the Blackfoot River, U.S. Senator Jon Tester announced Friday, June 7 that he is reintroducing his Blackfoot Clearwater Stewardship Act. The Blackfoot Clearwater Stewardship Project was developed through more than a decade of local discussions among conservation, recreation and timber groups in the Seeley Lake area. The project provides for forest restoration activities to support local timber jobs, the development of additional recreational trails and th...
SEELEY LAKE – Residents attending the Seeley Lake Sewer District Board’s special meeting to discuss the draft User Agreements (UA) June 6 had a lot of concerns and asked many questions. Most circled back to the landowners’ pocketbook and the million-dollar question: How many million dollars is this project going to cost? District Manager Jean Curtiss explained that the UA were sent to just landowners in Subdistrict/Phase 1 and it was mistakenly sent without the word “draft” across it. Curtiss said that the UA references the Rules and Regulatio...
SALMON PRAIRIE - Friends and family of Salmon Prairie School gathered to celebrate the graduates June 3. All three students at the school graduated, Levi Webb and Kase Anderson from eighth grade and Stetson Hulett from kindergarten. Each graduate and their teacher Holl Hubbard spoke to those in attendance about their experiences at Salmon Prairie. The graduates' grandmothers presented them their diplomas. Anderson said he was glad and lucky that he has spent nine years at Salmon Prairie...
SEELEY LAKE - Are we, Seeley Lake, in need of a centralized waste system we clearly can’t afford with so many questions still unanswered? If septic systems are affecting our ground water, thus the lake, is it all systems in all areas or just defective systems in need of replacement? Are all waste disposal systems around Seeley Lake functioning properly? Should properties on the lake have holding tanks that are periodically pumped out? Are the 500+ lots in the sewer district really the cause of the problems, or should the entire area north a...
We all know the saying, “A fed bear is a dead bear…” This is one that Montana Fish Wildlife & Parks Game Warden Bill Koppen knows all too well. Being a retired local law enforcement officer myself from New Jersey, I know all too well the frustration Game Warden Koppen feels on a daily basis, “Why won’t people listen.” A week or two back I spent time with Bill, vexation was at his highest I’ve seen in some time. He takes his job very serious as well he should - wild animals being fed with scrap human food, in a number of areas. Garbage is le...
SEELEY LAKE - I wrote a letter a couple of years ago urging the “Sewer Board” to change its name to the “Seeley Lake Water Improvement Board” because that is what it should be addressing. Since that time, the Sewer Board continues to push forward on the sewer, as if this is going to solve all the problems in the lake. From the meeting I attended on Thursday, it sounds like it will cost $40+ million to build the system, which will ultimately serve some 500 homes and businesses. The number $83,000 per lot was tossed around. In addition, the annua...
SEELEY LAKE - Eighty thousand dollars per lot – that is roughly what Sewer District residents will pay for the proposed sewer. If your home happens to sit on two lots you will may be obligated for $160,000 of the roughly $40 million, 40-year bond debt obligation. That works out to more than $100 per month per lot (after subsidies) for sewer service in one of the lowest income communities in the county. Subdistrict (Phase) 1 residents who will get a revised user agreement in the mail must just say NO. DO NOT SIGN THE AGREEMENT. If you do, you o...
I know most of you reading this do not hand load your own ammo. Let me attempt to convince you that you should. These are my reasons. First is always economy. It doesn't matter what cartridge you want to load, once you have the empty cartridge case, that you will throw or give away if you don't reload it, you will be able to load it for at least a 50 percent savings. If you cast your own bullets (primarily for handgun cartridges) the savings is approximately 90 percent. I have saved ammo compone...
SEELEY LAKE – Seeley Lake ROCKS received a $30,000 grant from the Recreational Trails Program (RTP) administered by Montana Fish, Wildlife, and Parks for use on Phase 1 of the Hill 16 Community Trail System (CTS). They look forward to continued work on the Lake View Trail within Phase 1 of the project this summer. The Hill 16 Recreation Area lies between the community of Seeley Lake and Placid Lake including Placid Lake State Park. Hill-16 CTS was deemed a priority project in the Seeley Lake Trails Plan. This plan was the result of three y...
SEELEY LAKE - The Seeley Lake Community Foundation's Change Your Pace Challenge is a campaign for community-wide giving, celebrating the people and organizations that make our community great. During this six-week fundraising period, June 14-July 26, the Change Your Pace Challenge motivates community members to give to their favorite participating local nonprofits, knowing the impact of their gift will grow thanks to the CYP Match Fund. Fourteen local organizations are participating this year,...
In New Delhi, India, the summer air is heavy with humidity while the stifling heat serves to wring every last bit of magic out of a gin and tonic, long on gin, but short-changed with precious ice. The smog can be oppressive, hanging over the ancient city like a bad dream. The constant racket of the rickshaws' (tuk-tuks) horns and bells can wear on the traveling soul, like fingernails dragging endlessly down a chalkboard. The sea of humanity seems to have no beginning, no end. Waves of people,...
SEELEY LAKE - The Seeley Lake Market, formerly the Seeley Lake Farmers' & Crafters' Market, will open for the season Sunday, June 16 from 10 a.m. - 2 p.m. The Seeley Lake Community Foundation is excited to reshape the market to promote local businesses alongside local produce and artisans. According to Foundation President Carla Schade, they were approached by Vicki Voegelin to sponsor the market after she ran it for 10 years. Voegelin said her decision to ask the Foundation to continue the...
BIG SKY, MONT. – The Seeley Swan Pathfinder won 10 awards in the 2019 Better Newspaper Awards Division at the 134th Annual Convention of the Montana Newspaper Association, June 8. Seven of the awards including articles, photography and advertising were first place finishers. The Pathfinder's first place awards included: Best Continuing News Coverage: The continuous coverage of Addy 'Boo' and the Trevino family's fight with Diffuse Intrinsic Pontine Glioma (DIPG) by Andi Bourne spanned from J...
SEELEY LAKE - Three Seeley-Swan High School students were nominated for the 2019 Father Jim Hogan Search for Peace Award through the Jeannette Rankin Peace Center in Missoula due to their efforts in the classroom. SSHS educator Crissina Quinn nominated juniors Emma Stevenson, Kara Good and Blake Lindemer for their work in her American Studies course, a hybrid between U.S. History and English. Quinn nominated the three students based on their assignments for journalistic writing as well as...
SWAN VALLEY - On June 4, four eighth graders and a single kindergartner graduated at the Swan Valley Elementary School. Students reflected on memories they had created together, and celebrated a new chapter in their lives. The ceremony included speeches made by the eighth graders that was directed toward their fellow classmates. They wished this year's sixth and seventh graders good luck in the future and spoke of their appreciation for them. Relief bus driver Dan Maloughney and secretary Katie...
SWAN VALLEY – An important migration corridor for elk, grizzly bears, Canada lynx and other wildlife is now permanently protected and open to public access in Montana's scenic Swan Valley. The Rocky Mountain Elk Foundation and the Lolo National Forest worked with a landowner to purchase and convey the 638 acres to the U.S. National Forest (USFS). It is now under the management of the Lolo National Forest. "This property sits in a wildlife movement corridor between the Bob Marshall Wilderness C...
SEELEY LAKE - Faculty and staff at Seeley Lake Elementary celebrated the accomplishments of its 26 eighth grade graduates Wednesday, June 5. Keeping with Seeley Lake tradition, the eighth graders presented loved ones with flowers at their graduation ceremony. "I would like to point out a teacher, for being like a second mother to us, pushing us and encouraging us to be better, thank you Mrs. Bartlett for being such a great teacher to us all," said Tyler Neher and Dakota Gonzalez. The 2019...
Surrounded by loving family & friends, Julie Ann Peterson Arispe, passed away on Tuesday, June 4. She was born in Seattle, Wash. on Nov. 5, 1968. She grew up a member of a loving, lively and caring family. She attended Lawton Elementary, St. Josephs Middle School, Bishop Blanchet High School and the University of Montana. At the University of Montana, she was a member of the Kappa Alpha Theta Sorority and worked during school with "Society Expeditions" which took her to such parts of the world...
By and large, humans are innately self-centered. We are consumed with the pursuit of pleasing ourselves, doing what we want and getting what we want. So often our priority in life is SELF-LOVE. We are self-focused, self-indulgent, self-centered, self-absorbed, self-important, self-promoting, etc. Our perspective is inward, and we exude a single-mindedness toward self-satisfaction. Let’s face it, even if we don’t say it out loud, we all generally think “life revolves around me!” With the explosion of technology and social media, particularly wit...
SWAN VALLEY – Swan Valley School Warhawks made great improvements and set several new school records this track season. Coaches Danni Parcell and Judd Binley were proud of how well the students did in competition as well as all of their personal accomplishments this year. The Warhawks had nine students between fifth to eighth grade participate in track and field this year. Binley, a retired educator and coach of 30 years and US National Team member in the discus, recently moved to Lindbergh L...
Boats and boat operators still needed for Kid’s Fishing Tournament SEELEY LAKE – The Kid’s Fishing Tournament is still looking for volunteers to take kids ages 7-13 out fishing Saturday, June 22 on Seeley Lake. The tournament starts at 7 a.m. from Big Larch Boat Ramp. Weigh-in will be around 11 a.m. followed by a barbecue. Tournament applications for children who would like to participate are available at Rovero’s, Cory’s Valley Market and Pop’s Place Restaurant. Deadline for applications is June 15. For more information and/or to volunteer c...
