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SEELEY LAKE - Reimagining Rural's second of three sessions focused on improving smaller communities with already available resources. The presentation was led by Deb Brown and Becky McCray from SaveYour.Town. McCray is from Oklahoma and Brown is from Iowa. It took place Tuesday Sept. 29 at the Seeley Lake Historical Museum and Visitors Center. McCray opened her presentation by reminding attendees that their small towns "have survived before." "Rural communities have endured boom and bust...
SEELEY LAKE – Homecoming week and weekend festivities for Seeley-Swan High School look a little different this year due to COVID-19 restrictions. SSHS Principal Kellen Palmer said they are still trying to make it fun throughout the week. The homecoming parade typically held on Saturday morning has been canceled. While the games will be played Saturday, spectators are limited. The SSHS Booster Club members and other volunteers decorated Airport Road to the High School and along Highway 83 on S...
SALMON LAKE – Thursday afternoon, Oct. 1 Clearwater Resource Council collected samples of a possible blue-green algae south of Salmon Lake State Park after getting a report of the bloom. The Flathead Lake Biological Station confirmed Monday morning that it is Anabaena. This genera may produce different toxins including anatoxin and microcystin that can make people very sick and be deadly to animals. Anatoxin is a neurotoxin that affects the nervous system. Signs can appear within 15 -20 m...
Author John Fraley has spent years capturing the stories and history of those who have ridden and hiked through the Bob Marshall Wilderness. In his newly released book, "Heroes of the Bob Marshall Wilderness," Fraley covers a plethora of figures involved with the region, but the longest section is dedicated to the work of Montana outfitter Joe Murphy. The second chapter, "Wilderness Cowboy," covers Murphy's life from his birth in 1890 to his death in 1972. Fraley describes him as "the first big...
I am a long time resident of the Swan Valley. I am voting for Monica Tranel because she knows her stuff! Take a moment to learn about her, she is the right person for this job. In addition to two decades of experience working directly with the Public Service Commission, Monica served as a staff attorney for the PSC from 2001 to 2005 and worked for the Consumer Counsel from 2014 to 2016. She currently runs the Tranel Law Firm, which is focused on regulatory issues before the PSC, water and property rights, and represents clients who want to inve...
With all the “grades” being issued by the National Rifle Association (NRA) for Montana political candidates I’d like to offer some perspective on this highly partisan organization. I am 74 years old and have hunted for nearly 60 years in Montana. When I was honored to be elected as a Democrat to the Montana House of Representatives back in the 1990s I earned a “D” rating from the NRA the entire time I was in office. The Republican gentleman who defeated me in my fourth bid for re-election had never hunted, fished or owned a gun but received...
With numerous important voting issues, none is more critical than life. God’s Commandment states: “You shall not kill,” meaning to not kill unjustly. Even though science concurs with the Church that an individual human being exists at conception, 60+ million abortions have been wickedly legal in this country since 1973. However, God’s laws overrule man’s laws. We know the mantra: “It’s a woman’s choice; it’s her body”; not according to our Creator: “It is I who bring both death and life…” (Deuteronomy 32:39). Anyone who votes for a political...
By next week, your ballots will have arrived in the mail. For whatever it’s worth, here is how I am voting. You can view a sample of my ballot at http://kvs.org/vote/ballot2020.pdf I will start out with the parts that baffle many people. Propositions and Initiatives: Initiative # 118: would allow adults to possess marijuana (more below). I am voting YES Referendum # 130: Would prohibit local governments from establishing firearm restrictions. “It repeals local governments’ authority to prevent the possession of firearms by convicted felons, adj...
When I looked out the window this morning, the fog was partially concealing our valley. As the sun rose, the fog lifted and I was staring in awe at the brilliant reds, oranges and yellows that greet us most mornings in the fall when you live in this magnificent valley. Since I was a boy in the 50’s, I have always greatly valued waking up to the ever-changing beauty of our vista at Placid Lake. I always knew that Placid Lake would someday be my home. Don’t we all value the beauty of the vistas we experience wherever we are in the See...
As a resident of East Missoula, I am writing to put my support behind Tom Browder for House District 92. I haven’t known Tom for a very long time but what I have seen is an honest, knowledgeable, generous, dedicated and helpful person. I was first introduced to Tom on a blisteringly hot summer day when he was manning a community food drive in the parking lot of Ole’s Conoco Station. The heat was melting the asphalt but there was Tom, smiling and laughing, under his sun umbrella. He was there all day and it was a LONG day. I next met Tom whe...
With the vitriol and enmity permeating politics on the national level it is easy to become jaded and disengage. It often seems that we are relegated to choosing the least onerous candidate. It is difficult to get enthused. Fortunately, for a change, we have a local (and Tip O’Neill said “All politics is local.”) candidate who generates excitement. Tom Browder is running for the Montana House District 92 seat. Browder’s experience in the business world required him to work collaboratively to successfully mitigate problems. Browder will not onl...
I have known Tom Browder for quite some time and have found him to be an interesting, energetic person. Now, he wants to serve the eastern area of Missoula County in the State Legislature. In my opinion, this is good for both this area and the state of Montana. Tom is a very thoughtful person who wants to help make a great place even better. People in the Seeley, Swan area know Tom as a person involved in the community and working for progress in the areas of: a strong public education system; quality healthcare; affordable housing and keeping...
Death and taxes, two realities of life. My opinion today comes from being in the insurance industry for 30 years as a broker, agency principle and insurance company board member. The politicians today are misrepresenting the fact about your health insurance. The facts are your health insurance is already controlled by federal and state regulations and has been for years. The Affordable Care Act did one major thing, the requirement that all pre-existing conditions be covered - probably the most defining moment for many of you. You no longer had...
We often wonder at what politicians must be think'n when they take their oath to uphold the Constitution, then turn right around and do just the opposite. Perhaps they're think'n--well God knows politicians are prone to lie – it's just the way it is. I like to remind them when they take this oath, they do say "so help me God." Do they even know that their days are numbered? Is it greed or power that clouds their integrity, or perhaps both? Almost every one of them become multi-millionaires in a...
The next meeting of the Seeley Lake Community Council will be on Monday, October 12 via Zoom. Instructions for sign-on are at the end of this release. The first speaker will be Josh Slotnick, County Commissioner, who will talk about the major projects the Commissioners are envisioning. He will be followed by Cindy Farr of the Missoula City County Health Department. She is in charge of the County’s response to the COVID-19 virus. Cindy will give an update on COVID cases in Missoula County and the County’s response. Next will be Josh Gibbs, the...
SEELEY LAKE – The Forest Service invites the public to participate in a virtual meeting on Thursday, Oct. 15 from 5:30 - 7:30 p.m. The goal of this meeting will be to share information and gather input about the Westside Bypass Wildfire Resiliency Project on the Seeley Lake Ranger District. The project is located north and northwest of Seeley Lake in Missoula County and focuses on improving forest health and hazardous fuel conditions that have increased the concern of severe wildfire and f...
SEELEY LAKE - The annual trick or treating event, Trunk-or-Treat, will return for its seventh year on Halloween night. From 5-7:30 p.m. Oct. 31, children will be able to pick up goodies in the Seeley Lake Elementary parking lot. The event will feature Dracula’s Castle in the SLE entrance, free of charge. When attendees and volunteers are in the Trunk-or-Treat area, masks are needed. Organizer Toni Sexton said there are a few advantages to Trunk-or-Treat versus the more traditional method of going door-to-door. “Number one there’s no drivi...
The mission of the Blackfoot Challenge is "to coordinate efforts to conserve and enhance natural resources and the rural way of life in the Blackfoot watershed for present and future generations." A long history of poor mining, logging and livestock grazing practices as well as increased recreational use led to invasive weed spread across fence lines and ownership boundaries. The Blackfoot Challenge officially formed in 1993 as private landowners and public agencies recognized the need for a...
SEELEY LAKE – After attending the candlelight vigil at the Cahoon's home Sept. 17, six-year-old Kaylee Cahoon told her grandparents Tira and Steve Beary she wanted to make a yard sign that said #CahoonStrong. She said she is a Cahoon and wanted to show support for her daddy Christian who was injured in a plane crash Sept. 2. With a little help from Dee Schmitz at Heritage Office Stop, not only did she design a yard sign for her yard and bedroom, she is selling them as a fundraiser to help her d...
SEELEY LAKE - Tamaracks Resort is hosting their first ever Tricks & Treats event on Halloween night. Tamaracks Event Coordinator Tera Wold said their goal is to have all 17 cabins booked for the event with business, non-profits and individuals handing out candy. They look forward to welcoming the community to the Resort on Halloween. The event will go from 6 to 9 p.m. for trick or treating with music playing over speakers until 10 p.m. Staff will hand out maps containing the names of those who booked cabins. The map will come with a card for...
SEELEY LAKE - The Seeley Lake Ranger District is collaborating with Montana Department of Transportation Missoula District to remove any standing dead trees, or snags, and dead branches from both sides of Highway 83 north of Seeley Lake before winter. Ideally, all snags that could potentially reach the highway will be cleared all the way to the Summit prioritizing the worst areas first. Chad Pearson, maintenance superintendent for the Missoula District, said the project is intended to avoid...
SEELEY LAKE – A family from Missoula coming to enjoy a day on Seeley Lake might load up the car with a cooler, beach chairs, sand toys, blow-up floats, fishing gear, snorkels ... At which point dad will probably say, "My gosh, we're taking everything but the kitchen sink!" It's unknown just how that phrase, and its variant "...kitchen stove," "kitchen range" came about, but it has been in use since the early 1900s. A May 6, 1906 article in "Scribner's Magazine" carried the sentence, "She had o...
SEELEY LAKE - Scott Thompson is a woodcarver and acrylic painter who is one of several participating artists in Alpine Artisans' upcoming Tour of the Arts. Thompson is originally from Butte, but he moved to Willow, Alaska in 1990 where he currently lives. He bought property in Seeley Lake two years ago and now plans to spend three to four months out of the year in the area. He chose to move to Seeley Lake because his family would frequently drive through the town on their way to Kalispell. In ad...
God does not make sin nor does God cause sin to happen. God created the world and is still creating the whole universe good. God blesses it all, breathing life into the whole creation, so that life, abundant life, would grow exponentially-so that blessing would extend beyond anything we could ever imagine. This is still God's way-God's modus operandi: To bless, to give life, that all of creation may experience blessing and thrive. To bring healing, wholeness and restoration. To bring truth,...
In the early history of Seeley Lake is intertwined with the lumber industry, the rise of the United States Forest Service is incontrovertibly intertwined with Seeley Lake and in particular with the Big Blackfoot Timber Sale of 1907-1910. Historian and member of the Camp Paxson Preservation Board Gary Williams has been researching that sale. The Seeley Swan Pathfinder will be bringing some of the interesting bits of information he has discovered about logging in the Seeley Lake area and also...
