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POTOMAC - Potomac School is preparing for students to return Aug. 26 since remaining closed after spring break in March. Principal John Rouse presented the re-opening plan and recommendations to the School Board at their Aug. 10 meeting. They agreed to open in-person with the opportunity for parents and students to engage in online at-home learning. The board also addressed several topics regarding the re-opening plan including face coverings, athletics and the eighth grade trip funds from last year. Rouse created a Safe Learning Plan which... Full story
When I first took office in January 2011, like most elected officials I had little idea what my position would entail. County Superintendent of Schools is an unusual position. While my duties are outlined in statute, what the job requires on the ground varies widely by county and is certainly different from what principals and hired superintendents do on a day-to-day basis. In my position, I serve as the sole administrator for Sunset School in Greenough and Woodman School on Highway 12....
The Montana High School Association (MHSA) released a plan for returning to sports in light of the coronavirus. The 20-page document details restrictions for fans and athletes during games, but emphasized youth sports will return for the fall school year. “MHSA Executive Board believes the resumption of sports and other activities is crucial to the growth, development, and mental and emotional wellness of our Montana youth,” the release stated. “These requirements, both general and activity specific, attempt to reduce the possibility of trans... Full story
SEELEY LAKE - The Seeley Lake Community Foundation is proud to announce the recipients of the 2020 SLCF Scholarship. Hunter Shelmerdine, Lily Mercer and Chance Johnson each will receive $500 towards university expenses. These students had to learn how to navigate their freshman year of college during a very unusual time due to COVID-19. Shelmerdine graduated as valedictorian of the Seeley-Swan High School Class of 2019. He is currently pursuing a Bachelor of Science in Chemical Engineering at Mo...
SEELEY LAKE – Seeley Lake Elementary Superintendent Josh Gibbs shared SLE’s proposed reopening guidelines Friday, July 31 via video. He emphasized this plan is fluid and will change based on the state and local restrictions and case counts in Missoula County. These guidelines will be included in the reopening plan that will be presented and approved by the SLE School Board at their meeting at 5:30 p.m., Aug. 17. Gibbs said the guidelines utilized the best information and guidelines currently available from the Center for Disease Control, Mis... Full story
When I volunteered to write a "commissioners' first year in review" column last summer, I didn't anticipate it would include pandemic, threat of economic collapse or efforts to dismantle structural racism. "Droplet" wasn't in my vocabulary. I couldn't imagine bars, restaurants and schools closing and that many of those still employed would be working from home while homeschooling their children. On my first day, July 1, 2019, the commissioners had a meeting with Chief Administrative Officer...
Governor Steve Bullock directed $75 million from the Coronavirus Relief Fund to Montana K-12 schools to cover expenses incurred due to COVID-19 and take precautions to keep students and staff safe this fall. This includes nearly $140,000 to elementary schools in Potomac, Ovando, Seeley Lake and the Swan Valley and more than $1.5 million to Missoula County Public High Schools. “We know that our schools, along with teachers, administrators and parents, are tackling so much to prepare for students to return to some normalcy this fall. Things w... Full story
MISSOULA - Missoula County Public Schools plans to bring back students for the Fall 2020 semester. In the July 14 board meeting, officials addressed what the district can do to keep students in the classroom without furthering the spread of COVID-19. Plans will be finalized in August before students return to school. “We are committed to some type of in-person learning,” said MCPS Superintendent Rob Watson. MCPS published guidelines for students to be back in classrooms based on Gov. Steve Bullock’s Safe and Healthy Schools in Montana plan,... Full story
MISSOULA - The Missoula City-County Health Department board voted unanimously to require facemasks in every indoor public space in the county at their July 9 meeting. They received over 4,000 comments from the public before the hearing, of which roughly half were processed. The processed comments showed 80% support for the initiative. The ruling goes into effect immediately and makes face masks the new normal as coronavirus cases continue to rise across the county and Montana. “Our cases are up and they continue to go up, our number of c...
MISSOULA - The Missoula City-County Health Department board voted unanimously to require facemasks in every indoor public space in the county at their July 9 meeting. They received over 4,000 comments from the public before the hearing, of which roughly half were processed. The processed comments showed 80% support for the initiative. The ruling goes into effect immediately and makes face masks the new normal as coronavirus cases continue to rise across the county and Montana. “Our cases are up and they continue to go up, our number of c... Full story
Many unforeseen changes have unfolded in our local communities since the Montana Department of Public Health and Human Services announced the state's first cases of COVID-19 on March 13. Schools, businesses and churches were closed. Working from home, social distancing, teleconferencing and distance learning became a way of life. In today's world, preventative measures to protect the masses from the coronavirus are practiced regularly including hand sanitizing, diagnostic testing and contact...
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...
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... Full story
SEELEY LAKE – The Seeley Lake Sewer District Board passed a budget for the 2021 fiscal year at their June 4 special meeting that is a little more than double last year’s budget. They tabled the decision on how to spread the assessment over the landowners. In other business the Board didn’t take action to authorize the project to go to bid because there are still a handful of things that are incomplete. District Manager Jean Curtiss presented the Board with a proposed budget between $224,329 and $283,329. The $59,000 difference was what was b...
On May 25 our nation witnessed the horror of George Floyd dying with a police officer’s knee pressed into his neck. Mothers everywhere, from Minneapolis to Maine to Missoula, winced hearing a dying man call to his own. This act is but a snapshot of hundreds of years of oppression. Much of the United States was built on stolen land with stolen labor, and these centuries old crimes still echo today, across generations. As your Missoula County elected officials, we share a vision of a just future, yet do not pretend to know the exact path f...
SEELEY LAKE – Built 80 years ago, Camp Paxson, on the southwest shore of Seeley Lake, has been a confluence of natural, cultural and commercial history hosting a summer camp for boy scouts and various other youth organizations, events and schools. This year it returns to a historical use, opening its doors to welcome firefighters. In the early 1940s, it was the place were conscientious objectors trained to be smokejumpers. Today, it is lodging the Seeley Lake Ranger District fire crew in l...
SEELEY LAKE – Friday afternoon Seeley Lake Elementary staff Toni Sexton, Suzie Teafoe and Janina Bradley hung banners recognizing the eighth grade graduates at SLE on the fence facing School Lane. "We have known some of these kids since they were in preschool. It just doesn't feel right to not somehow honor them," said Teafoe. "Even if it is in just this small, little way." Missoula County Substance Abuse Prevention Specialist Shannan Sproull said ever since schools have been closed and g...
SEELEY LAKE – With all of the local schools in distance learning and social distancing still required by Governor Steve Bullock in the Phase 1 reopening strategy, plans for graduation ceremonies and end of the year celebrations are slowly coming together for area schools. According to the Missoula City-County Health Department's graduation ceremony order issued May 8, organizers must submit a Graduation Ceremony Operation Plan that shows how they will meet the minimum requirements and submit it...
SEELEY LAKE – The Missoula Education Foundation and Missoula County Public Schools recognized senior Levi Reinitz and sophomore Crystal Lopez as a Most Inspiring Student at Seeley-Swan High School. SSHS Principal Kellen Palmer presented the awards at their home May 18. The award recognized the students' achievements and commitment to their education. Reinitz was a library aide for the past two years. He worked to ensure the student program would continue and created a job description and b...
SEELEY LAKE – Every few minutes the phone rang at All Decked Out on Monday. Owner Becki Robbins did her best to work her customers in but she is booked solid for this week and into next. Robbins was shut down March 23. She doesn't qualify for grants because she doesn't have any employees. While she could get a small business loan she declined and has continued to use her two months of reserve to pay bills through this unexpected emergency. "Being in business in Seeley is so unstable," said R... Full story
The Seeley Lake Elementary voted unanimously May 1 to continue with distance learning through the end of the school year June 4. They also adopted a declaration of unforeseen emergency due to the coronavirus pandemic that allows them to continue to receive state funding through June 30. Following Governor Steve Bullock’s announcement to allow schools to reopen May 7, SLE Superintendent Daniel Schrock elicited feedback from SLE staff and parents and consulted with the Western Montana School Administrators, Missoula County Public Schools and S... Full story
After deliberation and consideration of public input, the Missoula County Public School Board of Trustees voted Friday, May 1 to keep the 18 elementary and high schools on their remote learning plan through the remainder of the school year. All school campuses, office buildings and playgrounds will remain closed until further notice. At their next meeting, the school board will further discuss plans for graduation ceremonies and other year-end activities. Some of the key issues that were... Full story
Missoula Health Officer Ellen Leahy updated local orders that were initially issued on April 24, 2020. The orders allow businesses and individuals providing grooming, beauty, body art, piercing, massage, spa, and similar services to open May 11 with a service plan that supports employee health screening, social distancing, face-covering use, and enhanced cleaning and sanitizing. The limit on events and gatherings such as fairs, concerts, races and sporting events, and private parties outside the home was raised to 50 people. Events with 50 or... Full story
MISSOULA, Mont. – The Missoula Resource Advisory Committee (RAC) is now accepting new project proposals. The application deadline is Aug. 1. The committee has approximately $151,500 in project funding to award. Funding and administration for the RAC is provided under the authority of the Secure Rural Schools and Community Self–Determination Act (Title II). Projects must benefit National Forest System lands and ecosystems in Missoula County. The Secure Rural Schools and Community Self-Determination Act of 2000 was passed by Congress to restore s...
SEELEY LAKE - "Health should come before homework, family should become before frustration and learning should come before letter grades," said Missoula County Public Schools Superintendent Rob Watson said in the Missoula County COVID-19 update April 15. "It's not about your letter grade at this point it is really about learning. If we can keep students engaged in learning activities through the closure, it will help when we get finished." Seeley Lake Elementary and Seeley-Swan High School teach...
