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SEELEY LAKE - Fishermen and women braved the weekend weather to finish out the annual Mr. Pike tournament June 13 and 14. Though less than 10 teams fished the event, it was still a celebration. "It is just about us friends coming out and having fun while trying to beat each other," said organizer DJ Harris. "Just another fishing trip." Harris, who with teammate LeeRoy Walz, finished first in the tournament with a total of 37.8 pounds including the largest fish of the tournament weighing 8.6...
SEELEY LAKE – When the Seeley Lake Area Chamber of Commerce canceled the community Fourth of July parade and fireworks due to COVID-19 restrictions, owners of the Tamaracks Resort Jeff and Jessica Kimmel decided to throw a celebration. “We knew the rules that the Chamber would have to follow in order to provide safe social distancing per the governor’s directive and that it was impossible for them to comply,” wrote Kimmels in an email. “In trying to bring people together and offer solutions to the problem, we did the research to see what woul...
The 68-year-old old poultry farmer pointed out the hen houses he built decades ago, providing details of each wooden tenement's residents. Hugh Spencer built the hen houses and accompanying grain bins, which look like high-density housing for chickens, shortly after he and his wife Viki purchased the land in 1981. Spencer's 48-week-old hens are kept in the northernmost house. The pullets (or young hens) are kept in the center house. The veteran, 90-week-old hens huddle together in the southernmo...
POTOMAC - Signs and banners decorated the highway in front of Cullys and along Potomac Road in celebration of the Potomac School graduating classes of 2020. Both the kindergarten and eighth grade graduations had to comply with Missoula County Public Health Department rules regarding social distancing and disinfection. The events were by invitation only and were held outside. On Thursday evening, June 11, nine Potomac School kindergartners graduated. The ceremony was held in the athletic field...
The “Hungry Horse News” reported that, “Two horsemen on a recent trip into the Bob Marshall Wilderness said they found something they never expected: A couple fishing on a sandbar of the South Fork of the Flathead after allegedly landing a helicopter there.” https://hungryhorsenews.com/news/2020/may/28/forest-service-investigating-helicopter-10/ It was May 16, the opening day of fishing season. The owner of the helicopter Sara Schwerin is a former NYC banking executive now living in Montana. When questioned by the horsemen “what makes you...
With all the things that are going on in the country right now I am worried about fairness and balance in the media, especially after The New York Times capitulated to the left wingers demanding a letter from a prominent republican (Tom Cotton) be retracted and apologized for. The one comfort I was afforded was that at least our fair and balanced local paper still holds to the values that everyone is entitled to their opinion. Heaven knows that even I get tired of certain people droning on and on about issues that are important to them. My...
COVID-19 deaths in the U.S. are at more than 100,000, more than 40 million people have filed for unemployment and the U.S. economy is officially in “recession.” While Montana has experienced relatively few deaths, its economy, too, is taking a substantial hit as people socially isolate and “non-essential” businesses have been shuttered. Montana is one of the very few states that does not have a general sales tax and instead relies on the property tax to fund its state and local governments. States which do depend on the sales tax have had to...
In defense of Roxie Sterling, I think the first amendment is still in effect. But the way things are goin,’ it may not be for long. She has a right to express her political views. Some may not like it but that’s her right as an American. Perhaps she hasn’t figured out how to be politically correct. Mr. Ashmore gave some good advice though, register some voters. Anyway, all those who can’t get beyond the hatred for Trump, try and think of more pleasant things. Lower your mask – take a deep breath – quickly wash your hands (at least 20 seconds)...
I wanted to take this opportunity to thank the residents and voters of Missoula County for supporting the two-cent local option fuel tax. This new funding helps us complete much needed road maintenance and improvements – and distributes a portion of the cost to the folks who visit Missoula County. The results were close and we recognize our responsibility to use this funding in an impactful way that benefits all residents of the county. For many years, we’ve struggled to keep up with the cost of providing good roads. The federal gas tax has...
SEELEY LAKE - Seeley-Swan High School is upgrading its pipes over the summer after discovering a high concentration of lead back in 2017. The project, made possible by a $400,000 grant, will replace all the domestic water piping entering the high school. “It is huge first off from a safety standpoint,” said SSHS Principal Kellen Palmer. “Everyone who enters our building, whether that’s students, staff, or community guests, will have peace of mind knowing everyone can go drink out of the drinking fountain and not have to worry.” The new pipes...
Every 10 years we are asked to do one of the easiest, safest and most important things we can do for our communities: fill out our Census form. It doesn't sound exciting or glamorous, but without Census data, our communities, neighbors and families risk losing out on federal money they deserve. An accurate count determines how all the federal taxes we pay come back here to support our communities. It will determine the funding we receive for everything from planning for wildfires and highway...
With the unexpected arrival of a pandemic, thousands of Montanans are out of work. For many, it could be the first time navigating the government’s policy on unemployment or business support funding. The Pathfinder looked to answer questions raised by changes in state and federal unemployment benefits, as well as members of the community. The following questions and answers were researched through the Montana Department of Labor and Industry and The Missoula Job Office. Questions appear in bold followed by the answer. History of how unemploymen...
As we all learn to adjust to the changes that COVID-19 has had on our day-to-day lives, there is one thing that has remained the same: weeds continue to grow! This spring, the weed district has seen a significant increase in calls from landowners and backyard gardeners frustrated by nuisance and noxious weeds getting in the way of their spring projects. And with everyone having to spend a lot more time at home, we wanted to let you know that we will continue to provide you with the information a...
Now is a very good time to attack the houndstongue noxious weed. Some plants are classified as "noxious weeds" because of some conflict with livestock or agricultural production. Houndstongue is not only legally noxious, it is very obnoxious to residential people and their dogs. Individuals may have their property scott free of the weed one year but find a new invasion the next. It spreads as fast as a virus using the neighborhood deer herd as a vector. Popular herbicides run off it like water...
The Blackfoot Board of Trustees was pleased to award a total of $31,500 in academic scholarships to 46 outstanding students residing within the company’s Montana and Idaho rural service territories. The scholarship recognizes students who have demonstrated academic success, as well as a commitment to bettering their community. Blackfoot’s scholarship fund is intended to support pursuits in higher education. Congratulations to our all of our recipients! Local scholarship recipients from District 1 (Condon, Seeley Lake) and District 3 (Avon, Ell...
SEELEY LAKE - DJ Benton, of Seeley Lake, rode towards Mount Morrel on his 47th birthday May 10 with a goal to match his miles traveled to years lived. While he watched the trees and mountains pass him by on his ride, he discovered a herd of elk. "It was fantastic. They weren't sure what to make of me," Benton said. "[Biking] makes me humble because you slow down. Me being a rookie cyclist, I am not fast anyway." The nurse practitioner recently got into cycling to stay in shape during the...
SEELEY LAKE - Korinne Treser and Ashly Berentsen each received $1,000 college scholarships this June from Grizzly Claw Trading. The scholarships are funded through the sales of used books donated by the community, friends and Grizzly Claw Owners Dee and Susan Baker. This year marked the "going over" of the $9,000 mark since the fund was started. The goal was to pass the $10,000 mark this year but the COVID-19 shutdown made that impossible. Treser will be attending Montana Tech this fall. She...
POTOMAC – Potomac Principal John Rouse set up a classroom with six feet between desks, hung signs as reminders about handwashing and hand sanitizer use and had a package of masks available to use for the June 8 school board meeting. This was an effort to visually show the board what returning to school in the fall could look like as they launched into the Montana School Boards Association (MSBA) 1900 Series Knowledge-Based Decision-Making Template. In other business, the board approved signing the annual lease with the Potomac Greenough C...
April 29, 2020... It was so hot out today, my body felt like it was burning because I haven't experienced heat like that since summer. Oh how I miss summer. I miss those long nights sitting around a campfire eating those gooey, but delicious s'mores. Having family and friends come over, barbecuing steaks for dinner. I told myself that those times will come again... once all this blows over. Today, my mom and I went to get our favorite drinks at our local coffee shop - Chai tea with oats milk...
Don Larson has spent the last 22 winters fishing and cruising off the Central America coastline. Due to the coronavirus, both Larson and his partner Rosie Strope ended up staying out on the open waters a lot longer than expected. "This year we got down and got our boat ready to go, got out there and they closed all the borders," Larson said. "We were marooned for three months!" According to the news company Reuters, many Central and South American countries opted to close their borders as early...
SEELEY LAKE – The Seeley-Swan Hospital District received updates from Partnership Health Center’s new chief medical officer and discussed the community artwork on display at their June 9 meeting via conference call. As of April 1, Dr. James Quirk was hired as PHC’s new Chief Medical Officer. He has done site visits as well as has seen patients in Seeley Lake since starting at the Medical Officer. He said that the staff at the Medical Center has been doing an excellent job and has helped lead the way for PHC with their thoughtfulness on how t...
SEELEY LAKE - When program director of the Montana Mrs. America pageants Cindy Archer canceled the statewide competition due to the coronavirus, she remembered talking with Jessica Kimmel about a new outdoor venue at the Tamaracks Resort. Months later, Miss Montana for America and the Mrs. Montana 2020 competed and were crowned in Seeley Lake June 13. "So we are so lucky and blessed to be in Montana," Archer said. "The event place was spread out in open air and the cabins provided a place to...
SEELEY LAKE - Terry Antonich spent his youth on Lake Inez, and hoped one day he would be able to find a career in Seeley. So when Dick Lewis decided to retire from Rent-All, Antonich took over. "Having always wanted to own my own business and putting myself in a financial position to take advantage of a business opportunity, I jumped on the opportunity to purchase an established business in Seeley Lake," said Antonich. Antonic graduated from the University of Montana in 2000 with a degree in...
MISSOULA - The Missoula County Public School District released guidelines about students returning to class for the fall semester. Notably, the District is putting Seeley-Swan High School in a different category from the other schools. “Seeley-Swan High School, Willard Alternative Learning High School Program and Jefferson Early Learning Center have smaller student populations and will be able to host more students in a face-to-face instructional setting,” the MCPS press release said. As MCPS prepares for students to be back in class in Aug...
SWAN VALLEY - Leonard was born in Pablo, Mont. May 29, 1926 to the parents of George and Fern Moore. He was the the oldest of three siblings. He had a long and adventurous life in the Big Sky country. He grew up in the Flathead, Blackfoot and the Swan Valleys. On Dec. 11, 1943 at the age of 17, he married Ethel Minster. In 1944, he took his new bride and a team of geologists, via horseback, into the Bob Marshall Wilderness where they spent their summer. He would transport rock samples out and...
