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Before the last week of the regular basketball season, the Seeley-Swan Blackhawks saw victories against Victor and Phillipsburg over the weekend, along with a forfeit for the men's team on Saturday against Granite High School in Phillipsburg. Against Victor on Friday night, the women's team won 59-13, and the men took it away with 46-18. Men's basketball coach Michael Haines said the team played good defense, but the "offense just wasn't clicking." He said he hopes that comes around for...
Alpine Artisans' 2 Valleys Stage is showcasing the Oregon “Glam Rock” duo, Champagne Sunday, on Sunday, Feb. 4 at 3 p.m. at the Swan Valley Community Hall in Condon. Husband and wife members Jessi and Jared Fredeen tear up stages and crowds nationwide with their unique, upbeat, roller-coaster-style shows, firing off gypsy-punk rock songs alongside everything from intimate tear-jerkers to anthemic foot-stompers, peppering their sets with compelling stories behind their music. Champagne Sunday is one of the rare original acts that performs wit...
For time immemorial Indigenous people burned low-intensity fires across this landscape to manage forests for people and wildlife. Wildfire suppression actions over the last 100 plus years have created dense forests with high wildfire risk. Forests that were once open with widely spaced trees created by regular low intensity fires are now crowded with thickets of small trees no longer regulated by fires. Removal of fire from the landscape has affected the historic mosaic and patchwork of differing ages and size classes of trees. We now see...
Rural planning official speaks out Missoula County's future: timber, tourism, or both? Last May 14, the Missoulian featured coverage of the timber industry's Great Northwest Log Haul. Tucked innocently, but perhaps prophetically, into a sub-headline underneath this story was the notation to look on the following page for information for possible recreational opportunities on Lolo Peak. Five months later on Oct. 14, Forest Service Chief F. Dale Robertson admitted that "fish, wildlife and recreati...
As an intrepid member of the Fourth Estate, I ventured out into the frigid night, determined to shine light on the Swan branch of the Deep State. Parenthetically, the Fourth Estate refers to the press. I’d never actually known what the first three are, so I looked it up (as older people say rather than Googling). The monarchy, barony (people with titles), and the Commons are the first three, with the fourth apparently keeping an eye on the first three. There is now a Fifth Estate, that being social media and other online sewage systems. When a...
Joel Robert Roesner, of Seeley Lake, Montana, joined eternity with our Lord on Jan. 12, 2024, after an admirable four-year struggle with colon cancer. He died at home, with his wife constantly by his side and immediate family surrounding him. He was 44. Joel was born in Whitefish, Montana, on Nov. 23, 1979, to Quentin and Kristi Roesner, joining his sister, Shani. He spent his youth in Missoula and Seeley Lake. A cute, fat, round-eyed baby, and a busy little boy, Joel kept his parents on their... Full story
The Seeley Swan High School Boys Basketball Team could not make enough shots on the road against Lincoln on Jan. 19, but rallied back against Valley Christian for a win at home on Jan. 20. Head Coach Mike Haines said the team started strong against Lincoln, leading in the first quarter. He said the team simply couldn't make shots. "If we were making baskets like we were in the first quarter, we would have been in it," Haines said. Lincoln beat the Blackhawks 51-37. Haines said he was proud of...
The Seeley Swan High School Girls Basketball Team was dealt a narrow road loss against Lincoln High School on Jan. 19 and then took a commanding victory over Valley Christian on Jan. 20. The Lady Blackhawks went back and forth with Lincoln early, taking a tight 22-21 lead going into halftime. The teams were tied 31-31 after the third, but the Lady Blackhawks couldn't finish out the game, and lost 41-35. A different story happened for Seeley Swan the next day, starting slow against Valley...
Through volunteer efforts, the Upper Swan Valley Historical Society (USVHS) has been delving into local history through word and deed for 36 years. Twenty-five years ago on March 10, 1988, the first meeting of the USVHS was held at Evelyn Jette's residence. Meetings moved to the Swan Valley Library and Librarian Fern Kauffman began recording and archiving local historical information. In the early days the work began with copying historical photos that people brought into the library. Gradually...
The newly-hired Flathead National Forest Supervisor said he's always admired the natural beauty and extensive wilderness of western Montana. Now he gets to oversee three district rangers across northwestern Montana. Anthony Botello has been working in the Forest Service for the last 35 years, starting as a wilderness ranger. He said he worked his way up from his field job to a program manager position and said he enjoyed leading folks in natural resource issues. Since 2010, he has worked as a...
January marks the beginning of the second year of the Missoula County Rural Grant Program, Commissioner Juanita Vero said. Both Micro Grants for up to $500 and Impact Grants for projects $501 to $4,000 are designed to support community projects outside of city limits. Missoula County has opened the second round of Impact Grants and is continuing to accept Micro Grant applications to support community-driven projects that enhance the quality of life in rural areas of Missoula County. Following a...
The Board of Directors of Swan Valley Connections (SVC) is pleased to announce a new leadership team following the departure of Executive Director Rebecca Ramsey. The organization is restructuring to welcome three managing directors to lead SVC into a more sustainable future. All three managing directors will guide the vision of the organization, with each managing director having an area of focus, and all three bearing responsibility for the success of programs, operations, and fundraising. The transition is in progress as of January 1, and...
Dear Editor, We live in a confusing time. A time when we protect unborn whales and pandas, but not unborn human children! Statistics say that in America there are an average of 90 human abortions every hour. In 1984, President Ronald Ragan proclaimed January 22 a Sanctity of Human Life Day. This year celebrates forty years of the Sanctity of Human Life. The dictionary defines sanctity as the state or quality of being holy, sacred, or of ultimate importance and inviolability. At Sparrow’s Vine Pregnancy and Parenting Resource Center we b...
Thirty-five years ago... Thursday Jan 12, 1989 Weatherman watches Jan. snows pile up, It might be a 'regular' Montana winter, says Kux SWAN VALLEY–More than 30 inches of snow fell at Lindbergh Lake during the month of December, but that's still less than the 30-year average (33.3 inches) for the month according to Swan Valley weather observer, Marty Kux. The record high snowfall at Lindbergh Lake during the past 30 years was 84.8 inches in 1977; the record low was 10 inches in 1965. On Dec. 3...
Seeley Lake and the rest of western Montana has continued to see drier and warmer than average conditions, as mountain snow levels continue to stay below 65% of normal, according to the National Water and Climate Center. "We're in a classic El Niño pattern this winter," said Meteorologist Luke Robinson of the Missoula National Weather office. "There are some indications that it might change in mid-January, bringing some snow and cooler temperatures." The El Niño weather pattern is caused by warm...
Well-known author and forester Bud Moore began trapping at the age of fourteen and spent several winters in the 1930s running trap lines in the Lochsa backcountry. After working over 40 years with the US Forest Service, he retired in 1974. Anxious to get back to his roots and the land, he and his wife Janet moved to Swan Valley where they managed their 80-acre Coyote Forest. Later, he wrote the book, The Lochsa Story: Land Ethics in the Bitterroot Mountains. Beginning in 1983 at the age of 66, he spent a couple of winters living out of a tent...
As bears rest in their dens and families gather for the holidays, there is much to celebrate in the world of wildlife conservation-and much more work ahead. For grizzly bears, the slow march toward durable recovery in the lower 48 states continues, with populations making gradual gains in 2023 and bears reclaiming historic range, including the first documented grizzly sighting in the Missouri River Breaks region of North Central Montana in more than a century. As the grizzlies' numbers and...
Thirty-five years ago... Thursday, Dec. 29, 1988 Young inventor inspired by accident Kia Jette is probably the only 12 year-old in Seeley Lake that will be applying for a patent. She was selected as the 1988 state award winner for the "Invent America" competition with a design of an arrowhead protector. Kia's inspiration for her invention came when her brother, Jeff, had a serious accident with an arrow tip as he was assembling a razor-sharp tip into the shaft of an arrow. His accident required...
Students across the Swan Valley got an extra Christmas present this year, as the Swan Valley Library and Swan Valley School worked together to gift a book to each student. Swan Valley Librarian Jenny Kauffman said this is the second year the books were given out, but this year Kauffman and others handpicked each book from stores across western Montana. Each book was matched to a student by the teachers. Volunteers then wrapped each book and delivered the goods just in time for...
A holiday bazaar, whether church or community, is deeply nostalgic for me. Memories of the green-tiled basement of the Methodist Church in Missoula in the 1960s evoke taste memories of butterscotch bars, riots of color in quilted art and remarkable expressions of creativity from souls that otherwise appeared so conventional. When the opportunity to have a stall at the Upper Swan Valley Historical Society "Frostbite Bazaar" presented itself, I saw an opportunity to sell some of my books, and to...
A new communications tower could come to the center of Condon in the future, but little has been shared on what purpose the tower has, when it could be built or what cell services will be carried on it. The Pathfinder originally published the public notice of a new cell tower on Nov. 30. It is unclear why the notice was published. The tower would be owned by Harmoni Towers, one of the largest tower companies in America. Since the land is unzoned, there is no requirement from the state of... Full story
The Swan Valley Community Council approved its members for a planning committee that could solidify some regulations and zoning for the Condon area at its Nov. 21 meeting. The Community Council is working to update the area’s community plan for the first time since 1996, and this time it could include more powerful rules like zoning limits for the first time ever. Council member Grace Siloti asked the board to approve the list of nine people and a three person advisory committee. The planning members will be Luke Lamar, Johnny Simons, C...
More than a dozen residents stood by the confluence of Holland Creek and the Swan River to hear from Forest Service officials and their plan to log and restore roughly 6,000 acres of land from Rumble Creek to Owl Creek. The field trip was part of the plan's public meeting, which featured experts in fire, forest health and wildlife. The Forest Service argued that the area needs alteration after previous managers suppressed fire for one hundred years, leaving thick stands at risk for wildfire and...
The teacher shortage in Montana hits communities like the Seeley-Swan Valley hard, and that is particularly true with music teachers. The most recent music teachers for Seeley-Swan High School, Seeley Elementary and the Swan Valley School left for other teaching jobs after several years in the schools, leaving our schools searching to find replacements. Seeley Elementary was able to persuade former kindergarten teacher Sheila Devins, a 2022 finalist for Montana Teacher of the Year, to stay on...
After I finished high school, I underwent 16 years of additional training—college, medical school, surgical residency, surgical fellowship—before I started a real job. I was 34 years old and deep red broke. Finally, I thought, I am done with the educational waterboarding. Not so fast. The last 32 years have been a continuous, Sisyphean series of courses, seminars, meetings, recertifications, and general shakedowns to make sure I am “up to date.” All these, of course, involve substantial fees. If you do not pay these fees you will be listed...
