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Completing a Girl Scout project to replace the Condon Community Sports Court in 2022 earned Isabella Cruz her first Gold Award from Girl Scouts. The Gold Award is the highest honor and only 5.4% of Girl Scouts complete it. She completed a second Gold Award in October 2022 and will be recognized with the Congressional Gold Medal this spring. "While finishing the Condon Community Sports Court, her best friends had some very scary experiences," said Patricia Cruz, Isabella's mother. "Isabella...
Pathfinder Archives March 9, 2023 1988 Ranger Pushes For New Era In Timber Dennis Johnson is becoming concerned by the cumulative impacts of timber harvest in the Seeley Swan Valley. Johnson, district ranger for Seeley Lake, made his concerns known at last week's meeting of the Wilderness Sportsman's Club. Citing the impact of overcutting in certain areas, Johnson said, "The watershed has the greatest potential for disaster. We're not worried about catastrophic rain...we're worried about normal...
Celebrate an early St. Patty's Day with the internationally renowned Celtic band Men of Worth on Sunday, March 5, 3 pm at the Swan Valley Community Hall. A program of Alpine Artisans' 2 Valleys Stage, this duo will entertain and amuse. Tickets are available at the door: Adults $14, Seniors $12 and students are free. Refreshments will be served. Men of Worth was formed by James Keigher (Ireland) and Donnie Macdonald (Scotland) in 1986. Both exiles, it was through the Celtic music scene in...
Back in 2015, Swan Valley Connections (SVC) had been contracted by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS) to conduct vegetation surveys and create a map of vegetative communities across the entire 1,979-acre Swan River National Wildlife Refuge (refuge). The refuge is managed by the USFWS and was the first step to restore hundreds of acres of wetlands previously manipulated prior to the USFWS purchasing the property in 1973. The manipulations began in the 1920s when there was the nation’s largest muskrat fur farm on the property. The land w...
26 Neighborhood Watch Organized Seeley Lake businessmen are organizing a Neighborhood Watch program and will meet on March 9, 7:30 p.m. at Barney's Bar & Cafe to discuss ways to implement the program. Local law enforcement officers have already seen the positive effects of the program in Seeley Lake. According to Deputy Scott McDonald, about two weeks ago a local business owner called in to report a suspicious vehicle parked behind 1st Valley Bank during the predawn hours. Deputies...
SEELEY LAKE - "Dani is now one of seven percent," said Seeley-Swan High School Head Volleyball Coach Janelle Greenwood. "In the nation, only seven percent of high school athletes play at the next level." Danielle "Dani" Sexton will be among 12 other players on the Carroll College Halos Junior Varsity Volleyball team for the 2023-2024 season. She signed to play with the Halos this past January. "It's always been my dream to go to the next level and play," Sexton said. "I'm excited to still be...
Pathfinder Archives February 16, 2023 1988 Graham Takes Fourth In Governor's Cup Bruce Graham of Seeley Lake placed fourth in the Governor's Cup 500-mile Sled Dog Race held last week. Just finishing this year's Governor' Cup was an accomplishment according to the mushers who ran the race. Graham, who was sponsored in part by the town of Seeley Lake, finished with a seven-dog team after starting out with eleven dogs. According to Kathy Christian, handler for the Graham team, everyone was thrilled...
By Elaine Caton, Blackfoot Challenge Education & Swan Program Coordinator The Blackfoot Challenge and the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service began working together in 2005 to restore trumpeter swans to the Blackfoot watershed. Thanks to the support and hard work of many partners, landowners, teachers, and schoolkids over the years, we met our project goal in 2022, and the swan population here is now considered officially restored! The goal was to have at least seven successful nests for at least...
SWAN VALLEY - Dennis W. Jette, a long-time Swan Valley resident, passed away in Kalispell January 27, 2023 with his beloved wife, Billie and his step-daughter, Charlene Bartell, at his side. Dennis was born March 20, 1937 in Missoula to Evelyn and Art Jette. His early schooling was at St. Francis Xavier elementary school in Missoula. He, his parents and four siblings moved to the Swan in 1951. He went to eighth grade in the Swan at Smith Flats school. There was a total of 13 kids at Smith... Full story
26 Pollution in Seeley Lake? Report Is "Inconclusive" A report has recently been published which summarizes a two-day pollution study on Seeley Lake. The results of the study are "inconclusive," according to the report's author, Dr.Richard Hauer. Hauer, who is a researcher from U of M's Yellow Bay experimental station, conducted the study last August on behalf of the state's water quality bureau. OSCR Racers Faced Tough Trail Over 60 smiling skiers crossed the OSCR finish line this year, but... Full story
The Feb. 14 meeting of the Condon AARP will feature a presentation by Blossom Savage, a certified equine gestalt therapy coach. The public is invited to attend. The 1-hour presentation will begin at 2p.m. at the Condon Community Hall, Milepost 42 Highway 83, in Condon. The group's February theme is "Following your Passion ‑- Whatever Your Age! Blossom's passion enlists the horse as a partner in relieving pain and suffering for humans. Blossom is a 1980s U of M Graduate in Communication S...
Equipment and training for podcasting and videotaping was recently received by Seeley Lake Library from Missoula Community Access Television (MCAT). “I remember it like Christmas!” said Michele Holmes, Seeley-Swan High School librarian and Business and Technology Teacher. “MCAT asked what types of multimedia equipment we would want...I immediately thought of the upcoming elective that I am teaching--videography. I had already received a grant from the Seeley Lake Community Foundation for a high quality video camera, so I thought--why not have...
Dear Editor, Flathead National Forest (FNF) rejected POWDR’s Master Development Plan (MDP) for Holland Lake Lodge, creating a temporary calm after residents of Condon overwhelmingly rejected POWDR’s MDP proposal. The FNF did not consult the Condon community or Confederated Salish and Kootenai Tribes (CSKT) prior to MDP submission. On September 14th, during the public comment period, FNF Supervisor Kurt Steele wrote on the USFS website that he will consider what “is in the best interest of the American People”. Having grown up in Condon and now...
26 Snowball Softball Tourney February 13th The 2nd Annual Snowball Softball Tournament sponsored by the Filling Station will be held Saturday, February 13th starting at 9 a.m. at the Seeley Lake Community Park. The number of tournament entries is expected to double from six last year to at least twelve due to an expanded mailing list which includes all 40 teams that played in the Missoula Snow Joke softball tournament. Vorhauer Gives $50,000 to U of M Library University of Montana Foundation... Full story
Mary Holmes passed away peacefully on January 1st, 2023 at North Idaho Hospice with her daughter, Carolyn Holmes and husband, Ron Wooley, and eldest son Hank Holmes by her side. Mary graduated from the University of Montana with a degree in Economics. She was recruited to be a teacher at the Swan Valley Grade School in Condon, MT and taught for many years. Mary was predeceased by her husband Robert (Bob) Holmes and two of her sons, Robert Holmes and Dirk Holmes. Mary has 8 grandchildren and 10... Full story
SEELEY LAKE - Seeley-Swan defended their home court from the Victor Pirates Jan. 22. The Lady Blackhawks wasted no time keeping the Pirates at bay outscoring them 18-3 in the first quarter and finished them off 54-18. Two Lady Blackhawks scored into the double digits with Kyla Conley putting up 13 points and Emily Maughan scoring 10. Rilyn Richardson was dialed in from the free throw line hitting a perfect 4 of 4. In the Boys game, the Pirates gave the Blackhawks a little more grief, mainly from...
A sizeable wetland within a key wildlife corridor will remain open and protected for grizzly bears and many other wildlife species in Montana’s Swan Valley after the Vital Ground Foundation completed a conservation agreement in the Salmon Prairie area near Condon this week. Working with conservation-minded landowners, Vital Ground collaborated with Montana Freshwater Partners in support of the 30-acre conservation easement. The land will remain in private ownership with a new habitat restoration plan for portions of the wetland previously c...
A storytelling event that began in October 2021 with the aim of bringing people together through common values will continue on Feb. 1 at the Seeley Lake Community Foundation Building starting at 7 p.m. - but more storytellers are being sought out to get involved. “Why Did We Come Here, Why Do We Stay” has hosted 40 storytellers since its inception, all members of the Seeley Lake region with a strong pull to the area. Organizer Tom Beers said that the idea for the event first started as a question: “How do we communicate with each other when...
Victoria Howell has been named publisher of four Mullen Newspapers-owned papers: the Bitterroot Star, the Philipsburg Mail, the Seeley Swan Pathfinder and the Silver State Post. Howell joined the Mullen Newspapers team in 2021 as editor of the Bitterroot Star. Prior to that, she and her husband Michael owned and operated the Star for 35 years before selling it to Jesse Mullen in 2020. The Howells founded the Star in 1985 and grew it from a tiny paper that covered only Stevensville news to a 7000...
OVANDO - Three basketball games are scheduled in Ovando for the first time in ten years. The 2022-23 season of the Blackfoot Valley Basketball League welcomed the Ovando Colts with 12 players for the "B" and "C" squads. For the last ten years Ovando and Helmville have had a co-op team that met in Helmville as neither community had enough kids for full teams. The basketball collaboration between Ovando and Helmville began in 2013 when Brady Stone was invited to play in Helmville when Ovando did...
SEELEY LAKE - When Seeley Swan Community Food Bank President Lulu Rodriguez opened the door to the Food Bank Monday evening, Dec. 26, water poured out the door. "There was two to three inches of water [in the front room] and then it was gushing from [the back storage room]," said Food Bank Volunteer Coordinator Sally Johnson. Seeley Lake Elementary School Superintendent Josh Gibbs said a pipe broke in two places spraying water for one to three days. This affected the school's storage area and...
By Gwyneth Hyndman SWAN VALLEY - A new non-profit has formed with an aim to conserve and enhance the natural resources and rural way of life in the Swan Valley, largely in response to the controversial proposed expansion of Holland Lake Lodge. Founder Grace Siloti, a Condon resident since 1976, said that the fight over the proposed development at Holland Lake Lodge by Utah-based group POWDR - a project that was sent back to the drawing board by the Flathead National Forest just before Thanksgiving - “has really shaken people up” and she add...
On Thursday, December 22, 2022, Harry Conner Wood stepped into heaven with his famous smile. He was 92. He was born in Royalton, Minnesota to Daniel and Mildred Wood. Harry finished the 8th grade, then started working on the family farm. He was and always will be a Marine. He loved his country and served from 1952 to 1954. After serving, he moved back to Minnesota where he was a machinery operator in the iron mines. While working around Ely, he met and married his sweetheart Clarice J. Pennala,... Full story
If you were to look at a map of the Mission Mountains 100 years ago, you would see a lot of blank space. Except for verbal descriptions and sketches shared by the early-day Native people, priests, trappers, hunters, and prospectors, the Mission Mountains were, for the most part, uncharted at that time. McDonald Peak was one of the few mountains named on the early maps. Most of the mountains, lakes, streams, and other features were not shown. Many of the place names on the present-day maps of...
SWAN VALLEY - While all the reindeer cadets attending the School of Reindeer in the North Pole thought flying would be a piece of cake, they quickly realized it was not as easy as it looked and Reindeer Cadet Angel (Jade Arnold) was disappointed there was no cake. Despite sub-zero temperatures the evening of Dec. 21, the gymnasium was packed for the Swan Valley School's performance of "How to Train Your Reindeer (to Fly)." Professor Atticus Antler (Kalli Braulik) and Schoolmaster Joe Buck (Stets...
