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Local 4-H clubs are preparing for the 2018 Western Montana Fair Aug. 6-11 at the Missoula County Fairgrounds. This is the opportunity for 4-H members to share their projects that they have been working on for the past 4-H year. Potomac Valley 4-H Club members Gavin Kelly and Haley Helena are taking projects including leather craft, vet science and food preservation. For more than 500 years these skills have been important to daily life. This was Kelly's second year taking leather craft and food...
When Rep. Greg Gianforte voted in committee in favor of HB 1349, a bill that would allow mountain biking in some wilderness areas, it drew a response from mountain bikers who supported the new bill as well as strong dissent from groups like the International Mountain Biking Association. After hearing from mountain biking and conservation groups in Montana, Gianforte later backpedaled, saying he no longer supported the bill and would vote against it in the unlikely scenario it reached the House...
SWAN VALLEY – In 1918, Swan Valley residents built three one-room schoolhouses to accommodate their growing families and the influx of new pioneers. On Aug. 4, 100 years later, the Upper Swan Valley Historical Society invited residents and visitors to tour the valley and see what became of those and subsequent early school buildings. Some were destroyed, some repurposed and some are part of the valleys continuing education story. Those first three schoolhouses were built near Swan River t...
Letter to the Community of Seeley Lake - I have worked with the Seeley Lake Sewer District Board for almost 18 years. The hard work of these dedicated volunteers has resulted in almost $16 M in grants and loans to fund this first phase of the project. The funders for the project are concerned that the project seems stalled. A majority of the property owners in the Seeley Lake Sewer District did not protest the proposed levy of special assessments for the district last November, giving the board the authority to go forward with the designed...
Dear Mr. Boltz and Sewer Board Members: The Missoula City-County Board of Health strongly and wholeheartedly supports the Seeley Lake public sewer project and urges the Seeley Lake Sewer District Board to take the actions needed to keep the project moving forward. The concentration of homes and businesses using septic systems in the Seeley Lake area, combined with the area’s geology and groundwater movement, have led to elevated nitrate levels in the groundwater. In some places in the Seeley Lake community, nitrate concentrations in g...
SEELEY LAKE - Alpine Artisans' 2 Valleys Stage Performing Arts Series opens their 2018-19 season with the annual performance by Montana Shakespeare in the Parks at The Double Arrow Lodge Grounds Aug. 23 at 6 p.m. This company hails from Bozeman, Mont. and their mission is to bring professional productions of Shakespeare to both rural and underserved communities through education outreach. Their goal is to inspire creative expression and appreciation of the arts in their audiences. For the first...
LINCOLN - The Lincoln Arts Festival is a two-day open-air event showcasing area artists and live music in the beautiful Blackfoot Valley. Artists showcase their wares from 9 a.m. - 6 p.m. Saturday, Aug. 11 in the open-air of Lincoln’s Downtown Hooper Park. You can browse artists booths to your delight before heading to the beer tent to try some of Montana’s finest Micro-Brews provided by Jeremiah Johnson Brewing Co. Live music from some of Montana’s most talented blues, rock, jazz, and blue-grass musicians can be heard from 12 – 10 p.m. Fo...
Montana Fish, Wildlife & Parks is proposing an administrative rule to codify the population objectives detailed in the conservation strategy for grizzly bears in the Northern Continental Divide Ecosystem. The Fish and Wildlife Commission will vote on the proposed rule during their Aug. 9 meeting. If the proposed rule is approved by the commission, it will move into a public comment period by late August and ultimately go back to the commission for final approval in December. “By proposing this administrative rule, we are committing to k...
I would like to take this opportunity to thank this community of Seeley Lake for the warm welcome that my wife and I have received since our arrival. We are enjoying our new home and the many welcoming smiles from literally everybody that we meet! This community has been served by the Seeley Lake Rural Fire District since 1984. During this time there have been many opportunities to share our support to you by providing the fire protection and emergency medical care that you deserve. We have public functions such as the pancake breakfast and...
HELENA – As we move full blown into summer, the public is urged to keep an eye out for Harmful Algal Blooms. HABs are a seasonal phenomenon on Montana’s lakes, reservoirs and ponds that can make people sick and even kill pets and livestock. The Montana Department of Public Health & Human Services and the Montana Department of Environmental Quality are enlisting the public’s help with identifying suspected HAB sites. The agencies remind the public of the HAB reporting website – www.hab.mt.gov – as well as a 24-hour hotline at 1-888-849...
MISSOULA – The MADE Fair Marketplace, a fine art show Aug. 7 – 12, is new to the Western Montana Fair this year. Seeley Lake photographer Juan de Santa Anna is one of the artists and will feature his rodeo photos along with other works. The MADE fair is a competitive juried show. The MADE Fair's mission is to increase awareness of handmade goods as an alternative to mass-produced items and support local and regional small craft business by providing a place to sell their goods. The new MADE fai...
MISSOULA – The 4-H and Future Farmers of America livestock and exhibit buildings are open to the public Aug. 7 – 11 during the Western Montana County Fair. The Country Fair is an opportunity for 4-H members to show off their projects and hard work. Livestock and other projects are highlighted in shows and on display for fair attendees to enjoy. Saturday, Aug. 11 is the Western Montana 4-H and FFA Livestock Auction where projects are sold to the top bidder. In Missoula County, more than 400 youth are enrolled in the 4-H program. Every 4-H mem...
When the Olson family's dog Balto started acting sick in the mountains, they had no idea what could be affecting him - they just knew they needed to get him down right away. Even when he was brought into the vet, the mystery of what was causing Balto to vomit and have extremely high blood sugar remained. "When he got here he was still not able to stand and had some really unusual lab work," Dr. Shoni Card, Balto's veterinarian said. "His blood sugar was super high, his kidney values were...
SWAN VALLEY - Iriey Anderson of Condon signed with the rodeo team and the University of Montana Western where she will study business and equine science. She was awarded a full-ride tuition scholarship and half housing scholarship. "It meant so much to me the day University of Montana Western's rodeo coach told me they wanted me," she said. "It felt great, but it even felt better knowing that I earned and deserved it." For as long as Anderson can remember, she has always wanted to be a barrel...
SEELEY LAKE – The Seeley Lake Elementary School Board hired Robin Gaither as the new kindergarten teacher and Rachael Bemis as the new second grade teacher to teach the split class for the 2018-2019 school year at a special meeting Aug. 2. Last year’s kindergarten teacher Sheila Devins moved into the open first grade position. “This was probably one of the strongest candidate pools that we have had in the [nearly 11] years I’ve been doing it,” said SLE Superintendent Chris Stout. “I think the interview committee can attest to the fact that w...
Fran Sadowski has seen firsthand the dangers of limited options. During a study on services for "dually diagnosed" individuals with both developmental disabilities and mental illness, the CEO of Missoula Developmental Services Corporation shared the story of a 28-year-old client. The client was living in a community-based facility when he became seriously self-injurious. Because the state legislature had ordered the closure of the Montana Developmental Center in Boulder, there was no place for h...
SEELEY LAKE - At a recent sewer board meeting Missoula County Commissioner Jean Curtiss delivered a warning that has been echoing throughout the county for decades: "Look what happened to Linda Vista when they turned down funding offers." These warnings have come with all sorts of figures and statements attached about Linda Vista residents such as "They had to pay $20,000 to $30,000 each," "They could have had 90 percent paid by grants" and "They had to pay for it all with no grants." Residents...
SEELEY LAKE - “Papa” James Michael Sackett, was born Jan. 23, 1950. He grew up in a little cabin in the Appalachians with little to nothing. He learned to be self-sufficient at a young age by having to hunt small game so they could have meat for supper! He had a younger brother, Jerry. He was always protective of his little brother which is how he ended up in the Marines. Giving up a dream of becoming a veterinarian, he joined hoping it would prevent his brother from being drafted. That was Jim. Even from a young age he was always putting the... Full story
I still enjoy visiting libraries. I appreciate the opportunity to borrow books without having to purchase them and being exposed to various titles that I was not aware of. But part of me (a small part) misses the nostalgia of the little card catalog drawers. Back in the “olden days,” with covered wagons and the pony express…we searched for information on card catalog cards according to subject, author and title. Nowadays, it is common (yes, for myself) to simply search on the Internet. Admit...
Temporary Closure in the Wild Bill Area SWAN VALLEY – Forest roads 9888 and 9891, which are part of the 920 Truman Creek Trail, will be closed to off-highway vehicle use, Monday-Friday from Aug. 2 – Sept. 7. This road restriction is in place for public safety during logging and hauling operations associated with the Swan Lake District, Dewey Stewardship Sale. While recreating on the Flathead National Forest, users are advised to use caution on roads and not to block gates on haul routes. Additionally, please report any road damage, or road iss...
I wanted to take this opportunity to thank Senator Jon Tester for remaining accessible to his constituents. Only about a million people live in Montana, but we’re an enormous state. In fact, from the border of Idaho to the border of North Dakota, it’s a 12 hour drive across Montana. This hasn’t stopped Jon from doing everything he can to travel across the state to meet with the Montanans he represents. If you haven’t met Jon yourself, you almost certainly know someone who has, whether they asked Jon questions at a town hall, talked with hi...
