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Montana's environment agency said wastewater from Holland Lake Lodge could be leaking above state-approved levels after nonprofit Save Holland Lake made an official complaint that the site could be contaminating groundwater. The Department of Environmental Quality then asked the Forest Service in an August letter to complete an analysis of the site by Sept. 17. Officials from the Forest Service requested a two-month extension of the study, a letter from the Forest Service said. DEQ said in its...
Both Montana Senators passed their separate public lands bills from a committee in the Senate, opening both bills up to a final vote as the federal government debates a potential shutdown. Sen. Jon Tester passed the Blackfoot Clearwater Stewardship Act (BCSA) out of the Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee, while Sen. Steve Daines passed the Montana Sportsmen Conservation Act out of the same committee. The Blackfoot Clearwater Stewardship Act would reclassify roughly 79,000 acres near...
The Seeley Swan Hospital district had a busy two-hour meeting last week, adding new board members, looking into maintenance and preparing to welcome Lazy Acre RV Park owner to its next meeting, with one member calling the upcoming talk “drawing a line in the sand.” The district approved two new board members, Martin DeHaven and Suzette Baker, to a three year term and eight month term, respectively. Martin took the position from Twyla Johnson, who wanted to leave the board. Suzette took over Bruce Richardson’s spot, who recently moved out of st...
Guest speakers at the Seeley Community Council’s latest meeting went over several big projects happening around town, from the Lazy Acres RV Park to the future of the Boy Scout Bridge. Traffic talk Shane Stack, director of public works at Missoula County, said a speed study along Highway 83 from Salmon Lake to Condon will likely take place next summer. The council previously recommended the county do a study of traffic near Double Arrow Ranch. “It’s kinda a long process,” Stack said. “I know (the Montana Department of Transportation) has a bac...
A Seeley Lake man died on Sept. 12 after an industrial accident involving heavy machinery at Pyramid Mountain Lumber. Missoula County Sheriff's Office released the name of the man on Monday, Sept. 18. The man was identified as Matthew Raimondi, 56, from Seeley Lake. The sheriff's office said their heart-felt condolences go out to the family and friends during this very difficult time. Shortly after 5 p.m. on Sept. 12, members of the Missoula County Sheriff's Office, firefighters and EMS...
The 2023 legislative session wrapped up less than five months ago. Many bills don’t go into effect until October 1st of this year, January 1st of next year, or later. But several of the bills that became law this spring and summer are already having a noticeable impact in Montana. Perhaps the most stark example of this is prosecuting human trafficking. Before the 2023 Legislature, no one had ever been convicted under Montana’s old laws against human trafficking, with the outdated laws not providing law enforcement the tools they needed. That ch...
The federal Credit Card Competition Act of 2023 (CCCA) has been touted as a means to reducing the credit card interchange fees businesses pay to process credit card transactions. But as can often be the case, government schemes to intervene in free-market transactions inevitably create distortions, misaligned incentives, and unintended consequences. Unfortunately, the CCCA would create more problems than it purports to solve. Interchange fees aren’t just arbitrary costs. They cover a plethora of services: fraud protection, transaction f...
(Disclosure: Mullen is the owner of the Seeley Swan Pathfinder and several other local newspapers in western Montana. The Pathfinder is editorially independent from Mullen) Montana holds a special place in our hearts. It’s not only a place of breathtaking landscapes, rugged mountains, and endless horizons - it’s where I’ve built my life, my business, and where I’ve witnessed, time and time again, the strength and resilience of its people. I’m Jesse James Mullen, and I’m running to be your Secretary of State because I believe in Montana’s p...
One of the most common reasons people go to the dentist is to “see if they have cavities,” but do most people really know what a cavity is or how they can be prevented? The short answer is, maybe, but most people probably don’t know much more than the fact that a cavity is a hole in the tooth that will need an anesthetic injection and drilling to fix. While this is often true, do you know why you get cavities? Do you know that they can be reversed in early stages? Did you know that they are 100% preventable? Check it out! Simply defined, a cav...
9/8 1:26 p.m. Trespassing 400XX Paws Up Road, Greenough 9/8 2:14 p.m. Offenses Against Family/Children 4XX Pine Drive, Seeley Lake 9/9 7:34 p.m. Suspicious Activity 343XX Ninemile Prairie Road, Greenough 9/10 10:30 a.m. Trespassing 6XX Glacier-Elk Creek Road, Condon 9/10 11:19 a.m. Intimidation 1XX Chipmonk Court, Seeley Lake 9/10 4:46 p.m. Accident - Injury Camas Road, Potomac 9/10 5:20 p.m. Disturbance 33XX Highway 83, Seeley Lake 9/10 9:59 p.m. Accident - No Injury ` 30XX Highway 83, Seeley Lake 9/11 7:36 a.m. Accident - Injury 5X Highway...
9/11/2023 Accident Highway 83/Hemlock Drive 9/11/2023 Medical Highway 83 9/11/2023 Medical Evergreen Drive 9/12/2023 Medical Highway 83 9/12/2023 Medical Boy Scout Road 9/12/2023 Accident Morrell Creek Road 9/13/2023 Medical Hauser Drive 9/14/2023 Accident Highway 200 9/14/2023 Medical Boy Scout Road 9/14/2023 Medical Whitefish Drive 9/15/2023 Medical Highway 83 9/16/2023 Medical Highway 200...
I bought a used snowblower on a 78 degree day. End of summer in Montana, I think we spend six months planning for winter and six months living winter. Everyone is buying, cutting, splitting and stacking firewood in anticipation of snowy cold weather. Amazing. Last week it was 9-11, a day that lives in our memories and we all have stories to tell about where we were and thoughts evoked as the news got out. After that day, the thoughts that have woven their way throughout our society and way we live, are interesting to contemplate. There are...
This article is the second in a series of articles intended to inform the residents of the Clearwater Valley about the Bear Smart working group and invite anyone interested to join in the community wide efforts to reduce bear-human conflicts in the area. The first article summarized the mission of the group and shared the work and activities to date. This article will focus on the concept of a Bear Smart community and the history of the Bear Smart movement. Based on historical data and the events of last summer it is evident that there are...
The Seeley-Swan High School football team took a big win at home, taking down Sheridan 42-12 on Sept. 15 for homecoming weekend. The Blackhawks looked for a much-needed victory after going 1-1 on the road, first winning against Powell County High School and then losing to Manhattan Christian. Seeley-Swan took control of the game early with a touchdown by Kolten ZurMuehlen, followed by a two-point conversion run by Seth Dunster. The Blackhawks found paydirt again with a long run from Cannon...
The abnormally wet August and early September put an end to the wildfire risks that Seeley Lake was again facing this summer. The Colt Lake and Big Knife fire starts brought back memories of the Jocko Lakes, Rice Ridge, Liberty, and other fires that threatened the community and produced evacuations, closures, and other impacts. Without this year's timely moisture, these fires could have put the Seeley Lake community in another tenuous position. What can we do to reduce wildfire risks to our...
When he was a young boy, my son Matthew spent Saturdays at the fly shop with daddy. He had just turned four when he approached my fly tying bench and asked, "Daddy, what kind of a bug is that you're making?" He called all flies that we tied bugs, and enjoyed tying his own - with a little assistance when needed from daddy. We'd fish our bugs on these latesummer and fall evenings. We'd find places where he could fish with little or no wading on the inside corner of a gentle riffle, where he could...
Beautifully written, The Cold Millions by Jess Walter invites readers to take a deep dive into early 20th century America. The setting is Spokane, Washington and the extreme tension between the captains of industry and the cheap labor they relied on for their wealth. There are even brief scenes in Missoula and mention of Butte. The book opens in the year 1909. Spokane had just outlawed public speaking. As the tensions surged, unions geared up for protests and police were ready to knock them all...
Condon, MT – Community Firewood Day has lived up to its name by becoming a staple in locals' calendars each October. Swan Valley Connections celebrates the small-but-mighty populus of Condon (a mere 350 people) by hosting an annual volunteer event to provide firewood for people in need in the area. For the last 22 years, Community Firewood Day has provided an average of 20 households with one or more truckload(s) of firewood, delivered and stacked as the resident requests. Volunteers gather at t...
Requiring bear resistant garbage cans across parts of the county was discussed at the Missoula County Commissioners meeting Sept. 14. The Commissioners expressed their intent to adopt resolutions to the City-County Health Code requiring bear resistant garbage cans in Missoula and Potomac's Bear Buffer Zone. "There was a time in the past when saying thou shalt have a bear resistant garbage can was unthinkable," County Commissioner Josh Slotnik said. "It's only because of time spent working in...
The Clearwater Resource Council (CRC) is expanding its watershed and forest health programs to better address the driving natural resource issues that are harming the ecological health and beauty of the Clearwater Valley. Our goal is to work on behalf of our community to assess and educate people and develop projects that benefit natural resources and the rural lifestyle of the Clearwater Watershed for present and future generations of people to enjoy. With this in mind, we must create innovative approaches to engage and educate people and...
Twenty Years Ago Thursday, Sept. 18, 2003 Volunteer crews grinding out new Lake Trail system By Ron Cox What caused the long narrow strip of trees to fall down alongside the Boy Scout Road from Highway 83 to C Street? A tornado? No, a whirlwind crew fell the trees Sunday, Sept. 14. The trees were cut to begin the clearing on an all-purpose trail for bicycles, snowmobiles, walkers, joggers, horse riders and others off road. Eventually the trail will reach clear around Seeley Lake. Another...
