Sorted by date Results 51 - 75 of 273
MISSOULA - With the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention signing off on the Pfizer COVID-19 vaccine for ages 5 to 11 earlier this week, local healthcare providers and public health officials are encouraging parents to make an appointment to get their child vaccinated. Several healthcare providers in Missoula are offering vaccine clinics for children ages 5 to 11, including the Missoula City-County Health Department and Community Medical Center, starting this week. Missoula County Public Schools is also offering a clinic in partnership... Full story
SEELEY LAKE – Conversation was lively following the "Tell Us Your Story" event Oct. 14. New connections had been made simply by listening to each share about their life and experiences - "I didn't know we both rode the bus to Missoula for high school," "Now I know who you are when I see you at the gym," "You're the one who works with that organization...I need to talk to you." The storytelling event featured residents who shared their stories about why they moved to the area and why they love it...
MISSOULA – At their Oct. 12 meeting, the Missoula County Public School Board extended the mask mandate for MCPS schools with a vote of 8-2. The board will reevaluate the decision at their November meeting where they also hope to also consider parameters created by the MCPS COVID Task Force that would give them metrics and measurable targets to lift the mask mandate. Superintendent Rob Watson presented various COVID statistics for MCPS. As of Friday, Oct .8, there have been 283 total cases since the start of school including 240 students, four o...
MISSOULA COUNTY – With the seven day rolling average of active cases per 100,000 people hitting a new record high of 87 on Friday, Sept. 17 and active cases above 1,150, Missoula County leaders made a plea for residents to get vaccinated, social distance and go back to the basics of wearing a mask, hand washing, limiting social circles and staying home if sick. Missoula City-County Health Officer D'Shane Barnett said the numbers are such that mask mandates and other regulations including l... Full story
Editor’s note: Wetzel was a writer and died in 2018 at the age of 102. Her husband was Winston Wetzel, the superintendent of the Missoula County High School system who accompanied the development and realization of the Seeley-Swan High School. This tale is printed with permission from her daughter Gretchen von Rittberg. How would you feel if your children had to ride a bus for five hours a day to attend high school? Shooked? How would you feel if your neighbors’ kids rode a bus for five hours a day? Indifferent? In Montana a community that car...
SEELEY LAKE – The Seeley Lake Sewer District Board discussed a variety of items at their Sept. 16 meeting including paying plaintiff’s legal fees for failed lawsuits against the District, funding for a high school water testing program and dissolving the District. Board President Tom Morris received a letter from Don Larson asking for “help from the community” to pay legal bills related to a pair of lawsuits Larson filed to fight the proposed community sewer. In the letter, Larson states that he has already paid $84,000 and has been billed for...
SEELEY LAKE - New Seeley-Swan High School math teacher Melissa Lapka is excited to kick off the school year and engrain herself in the school and community. "I'm just looking forward to incorporating myself into this new school and [getting] to know all the kids, the families, [as well as] going to see all the extracurriculars," she said. Lapka will teach Algebra 1 and Geometry classes. She graduated from the University of Montana with degrees in secondary math education and psychology. She...
SWAN VALLEY – After building the music program at Huntley Project Schools from a handful of students to three choirs and two bands in junior high through high school, Aaron Morgenstern left teaching and went into business management. As the new Swan Valley School principal and music teacher, he looks forward to combining his love of working with children and experience teaching music with his ability to manage people through building relationships and working towards a common goal. He looks f...
MISSOULA - At their Aug. 24 meeting, the Missoula County Board of Health voted unanimously to follow the Center for Disease Control (CDC) guidelines regarding quarantine that differentiates between vaccinated and unvaccinated individuals. While still unchallenged in court, this decision has the potential to violate House Bill 702 which created vaccine status as a protected class under the Montana Human Rights Act, a state law that prohibits discrimination. Prior to the discussion Missoula City-County Health Officer D’Shane Barnett explained t...
Summer is drawing to a close and area elementary schools will be beginning classes in the next week. Seeley Lake Elementary, Sunset School and Swan Valley Elementary Schools are all welcoming new teachers, adding new programs and learning tools and have been making upgrades to their facilities. Since all elementary schools are separate Districts from Missoula County Public Schools, their school boards have approved their own reopening plan and COVID mitigation measures. These three schools made very little revision to their reopening plan from...
SEELEY LAKE – Seeley-Swan High School welcomed freshman and new students Aug. 30 and resumed Aug. 31. New Principal Shawn Holmes is excited to welcome new and returning teachers and students and continue learning and growing together while prioritizing student and staff safety in light of the ongoing pandemic. COVID Accommodations Holmes said while they had students out because they were identified as a close contact, SSHS did not have a positive COVID case in the school last year. "Our kids r...
MISSOULA COUNTY - At their Aug. 10 meeting, the Missoula County Public School Board of Trustees approved their reopening plan and voted 6-3 in favor of approving their face covering guidelines for all K-12 public school students in the county including Seeley-Swan High School. The trustees will review the guidelines at their first meeting in October. Superintendent Rob Watson made a presentation on MCPS’ reopening plan. He said their COVID-19 mitigation strategies from last year will shift this school year. Watson told the Board there were s...
CHICAGO, ILLINOIS- In its 36th year honoring the nation's best high school athletes, Gatorade named 2021 Seeley-Swan High School graduate Klaire Kovatch its 2020-21 Gatorade Montana Girls Track & Field Player of the Year. Kovatch is the first Gatorade Montana Girls Track & Field Player of the Year to be chosen from SSHS. The award recognizes not only outstanding athletic excellence but also high standards of academic achievement and exemplary character demonstrated on and off the field. Now a...
SALMON PRAIRIE - "We talked the teacher into letting us go up in the attic to see if we could kill some of the pack rats that were always up there. She went along with us for awhile until she couldn't get us to come down. I made the mistake of telling my folks about what I was doing instead of my studies." Karen Conley, a former student of Salmon Prairie Elementary School, told this story as it was recorded and published in the book, "Lake County School History, Vol. II' in the chapter on Swan...
SEELEY LAKE - Al died peacefully at home of natural causes, surrounded by his family. He was born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania to Kenneth W. Foucar and Dorothea Allen. After serving in the Marine Corps, Al attended the University of Idaho, where he was a proud Kappa Sigma, earning a BS in Forestry. During these years he met and married the love of his life Barbara Rydell of Great Falls, who was studying nursing at Sacred Heart in Spokane. They spent 62 years as partners until her death in... Full story
SEELEY LAKE – Last Friday, Missoula County Public Schools Superintendent Rob Watson recommended Seeley Lake's Shawn Holmes to serve as the new principal at SSHS. He accepted the position and will replace current Principal Kellen Palmer who transferred to Washington Middle School in Missoula, Montana. Watson said in a letter to SSHS parents that they had many qualified candidates for this position. The interview and selection process was rigorous and thorough including a formal interview with sta...
SEELEY LAKE - The Missoula Education Foundation and Missoula County Public Schools recognized Seeley-Swan High School seniors Kess Victor and Quinlan Ream as the school's Most Inspiring Students. The students were presented with their awards at the MCPS banquet April 22. According to Principal Kellen Palmer, the nominators look for students who have overcome adversity and have been an inspiration to staff and students alike. "It's just someone that's gone above and beyond and has really set a...
5 Montana Legislature Adjourns after Near-Marijuana Meltdown and Bill-Resurrecting Blitz The 67th Montana Legislature adjourned on Thursday, April 29, following a week filled with policies brought back from the dead and capped by a failed high-stakes gamble by conservative Republicans to rewrite a major portion of the recreational marijuana plan passed just days earlier. Both chambers adjourned “sine die” -- a Latin phrase meaning “without assigning another day to meet” -- just minutes apart, with Republicans touting a laundry list of bill... Full story
SEELEY LAKE - Seeley Lake community members and visitors had the opportunity to meet the top five candidates for the Seeley-Swan High School principal position at a Meet-and-Greet event April 30. Current Principal Kellen Palmer resigned his position effective at the end of this year. Candidates included Daniel Grabowska, John Stilson, Thomas Vail, Shawn Holmes and Edward Norman. Attendees were able to ask candidates questions and provide written feedback on forms outside the event. Missoula...
The 67th Montana Legislature has adjourned, capping four months of work in an unprecedented hybrid session as the state and the nation struggle to end the COVID-19 pandemic. With more than 1,300 bills introduced, 500 passed and 350 signed into law, the 2021 session saw conservatives advance a flood of legislation to the governor’s desk, fueled by the presence of a Republican in the state’s highest office for the first time in 16 years. Much of that legislation dealt with fallout from the pandemic, even as the Legislature combated the virus in... Full story
The Missoula Education Foundation (MEF) announced their #406vaxxedandproud incentive campaign Monday, April 26. The campaign’s goal is to get all 16-18-year olds in Missoula County vaccinated against COVID-19 by June 1. This will help reach the goal of 75% of the community vaccinated to achieve community immunity. Any 16-18-year-olds who live in Missoula County and are currently enrolled in a participating high school can enter once they have completed their first dose. Deadline to show proof of first dose is June 4. Students can show their vac... Full story
The Seeley-Swan High School track team competed at two meets last week starting April 13 at the Darby-Florence Invite in Corvallis and then back at Frenchtown for the Bronc Open April 16. This week the team competes April 22 at the Sapphire Twilight Meet in Corvallis and then hosts the SSHS invitational at the Missoula County Public Schools stadium in Missoula April 24. Seeley Swan’s full stats from the Darby-Florence Invite. PR indicates Personal Record Girls 100 - 5. Emily Maughan, 13.65 PR; 9. Hannah Ayers, 14.11; 18. Trista Alexander, 1...
Loving Hearts now open Saturdays SEELEY LAKE – Loving Hearts Thrift Store is now open Saturdays from 9 a.m. – 12 p.m. This is in addition to regular hours on Wednesday from 11 a.m. – 3 p.m. Loving Hearts is fully stocked with clothing, household goods, books, toys and more. Volunteers manage and staff the store and all the proceeds go back into the Seeley Lake community. They appreciate your patience and understanding through the pandemic and look forward to seeing you. Masks are still required to be worn in the store. Community Meet-...
OVANDO - Ovando citizens came together Tuesday, March 30 in the Ovando School gym for a community meeting to review updates from local town boards and discuss upcoming events. Events discussed were Town Clean-up Day, Fourth of July, and the citywide garage sale and farmer's market. Blackfoot Challenge Office Administrator Deb Dillree and Ovando School Supervising Teacher Leigh Ann Valiton facilitated the meeting. Organizers confirmed that Town Clean-up Day will officially take place at 10 a.m....
Montana House Approves Draft of Bill to Spend $3 Billion in Federal COVID-19 Relief; Senate Panel Advances Budget Ahead of a key deadline on April 8, the Montana Legislature is quickly advancing a bill to spend billions in federal COVID-19 dollars as guidelines for how that money can be spent continue to roll in. House Bill 632, sponsored by Rep. Frank Garner, R-Kalispell, and dubbed the “Beast Bill” by lawmakers, advanced out of the House Appropriations Committee on Monday, March 29, and cleared the full House on an 83-14 vote just three days... Full story
