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The Swan Valley Community Council is going ahead with a long-term process to add potential zoning and community plans to the area, which split the crowded room over what would be appropriate to keep landowner rights. The council also heard a plan to get 24 hour coverage from the sheriff's department, got an update from its Montana State legislature representatives and listened to the community club during a two and a half hour meeting on Oct. 17. Missoula County Planner Andrew Hagemeier told...
New Bear Buffer Zone regulations will go into action after Missoula City Council finalized the decision to expand the zone, including new regulations around garbage storage in the Potomac Valley. Potomac will be requiring bear resistant garbage cans by Sept. 1, 2024. The ordinance revising the Missoula municipal code will be instituted over a three phase multi-year plan. The proposed rules are an outcome of the work of the Bear Smart Working Group, which is a public-private partnership of bear experts, agency representatives, and concerned...
Seeley Lake, Condon and Ovando schools welcome several new educators for the 2023-2024 school year. Seeley Lake Elementary had two new teachers join its staff: third-grade teacher Ali Williams and first-grade teacher Janet Kiely. Swan Valley Elementary welcomed Angela Mock as its new principal. Seeley Swan High School has recruited two new teachers as well: Warren Bunde and Lori Skyrud. Former SLE science and math teacher Patti Bartlett joined the Ovando School staff. Angela Mock is a 17-year...
Thirty-five years ago... Thursday, October 20, 1988 Swan Valley girl recognized for 'superior talent,' poem to be published in national book. Tracy Kearney, Swan Valley 15- year-old, recently received notice that one of her poems will be published next spring in a book titled "Days of Future Past" published by the National Library of Poetry. The publication is considered to be a major poetry anthology which showcases the most popular poets and songwriters in America today. More than 20,000...
Thirty-five years ago... Thursday, October 13, 1988 Opposed to seatbelt law In a few weeks we will be going to the polls and voting for candidates and initiatives that are on the ballot. Initiative No. 110 will be on the ballot. This initiative will repeal the Montana Seatbelt Use Act. The Montana Seatbelt Use Act requires the occupants of a motor vehicle to wear a fastened seat belt. If caught without fastened seatbelts the driver will be fined for all occupants unbelted in the vehicle. Please...
Showcasing a real-life project where the Colt Fire and a forestry management unit interacted was the purpose of a tour held Tuesday, Sept. 26 on the burn area. Attendees included regional Forest Service, DNRC and BLM personnel plus members of the Montana Forest Action Advisory Council. "Fire doesn't stop at fence lines and property boundaries, and forest and fire management shouldn't either," said Quinn Carver, Lolo Forest Service district ranger. "We always get more done working together than...
Fly fishers are a curious lot: They'll leave home and drive halfway across the state or into another, burning up two tanks of gas at today's prices to haul hundreds if not thousands of dollars' worth of gear with them to use for a few hours when they arrive. They do this because they heard rumors of a flurry of harmless bugs flying over the water somewhere else. Here in Montana that's considered normal behavior. This time of year we see lots of little bugs, some medium-sized ones, and a few big...
Betty Mae (Smestad) Johnson entered into eternal life Friday, Aug. 18, 2023. Betty was born May 23, 1928, in Bainville, Montana to Hans and Delia (Grindland) Smestad. She was the sixth of seven children and third of three daughters. Her father homesteaded in Bainville in 1915 where she was raised. She graduated from Bainville High School in 1946 and attended Concordia College in Moorhead, Minnesota hoping to be a business teacher. Prior to graduating from Concordia, Betty married Dale LaVerne...
Carol Ann Jacobsen, 77, of Helena, passed away Aug. 11, 2023 of natural causes. She was born May 9, 1946, in Missoula, to Harold and Hazel Jacobsen of Ovando. She lived with her family on the Ovando family ranch. She worked for her dad in the hayfield summers in between high school and university school years. Her dad used to proudly say that she was a better worker than any hired man he'd ever had. Carol Ann attended the one-room Warren Creek Grade School until the school consolidated with...
A newly-graduated resident of Seeley-Swan High School Grace Mercado has a mural painted on the side of the Chicken Coop with the message to stay away from dangerous drugs, especially methamphetamines. "I decided to work on this project because I knew it was such a good cause, I wanted to make my statement about the project and hopefully help others see this poster and see the horrific impact meth has on someone," Mercado said. Mercado took two tries to paint "Abstract Horrors of Meth's...
The Mannix Ranch, Helmville, hosted a tour June 20-21 of their ranch and discussion of ranch practices as regional winners of the Montana Stockgrowers “Raise the Steaks” Environmental Stewardship Regional Award (ESAP) awarded for the 2022 nationwide contest. A system of values changing over time is part of the flow that the Mannix family spoke about as they shared their evolution as ranchers seeking resilient ways of tending the land and livestock they manage. “What seems right today might be pr...
Griffen Smith of the Pathfinder Sam McKenzie looked over the various drums in the back of the Seeley-Swan High School Auditorium, ready to give out lessons for hungry minds. "You want to focus on getting the rhythm right more than any accents of the instrument," McKenzie said. Rather than high school students who would normally sit in the band pit, McKenzie's audience all teach music to students across the state or are just professionals looking to brush up on their skills. The workshop was one...
There is a new editor of the Pathfinder. I know that you have all heard that line before, but I am excited to be here to usher in a new era of reporting in the Seeley-Swan area. To those who do not know me, I am Griffen Smith, a young 22-year-old journalist. I grew up west of Austin, Texas, yet I know the western Montana area well. My mother's side of the family has lived in the area for generations - including the Turner family, one of the founders of the Tamaracks Resort. I met some of you when I worked as the Pathfinder intern in summer...
William Richard Campbell, 83, from Seeley Lake, MT, a loving father, husband, and faithful servant of the Lord, peacefully passed away on June 7, 2023. He was born on October 18, 1939, to Myron and Margaret Campbell. With his passing, the world has lost a remarkable individual who left an indelible mark on those around him. William is survived by his beloved wife, Phyllis Madinger Campbell, his dear children, Wendy (John) Spencer, Tim (Sue) Campbell, and Tod (Ann) Campbell; his stepchildren...
Game wardens from as far away as Kentucky and Ohio descended upon Seeley Lake May 9-11 for a Wildlife Field Forensics Seminar hosted by Wildlife Field Forensics. The 58 state, federal and tribal officers had lectures and field training for learning skills needed in forensic analysis of wildlife cases. Seminar classes included investigating wildlife-human conflicts, decomposition stages for forensic analysis, firearms evidence field analysis, entomology related to crime analysis and field...
SEELEY LAKE — Have you ever been to a frustrating meeting? Want to know how to create meetings that actually get things done? This week-night session will be interesting and action-packed! The Seeley Lake Community Foundation (SLCF) is bringing nationally recognized trainer Shannon Stober to Seeley Lake to present an evening session called ‘Tips for Constructive Meetings’. This short, useful, and free session will help participants receive an overview of how to properly plan and deliver constructive meetings. Specific topics include desig...
The Montana Chamber Foundation’s winners of The Prospects Awards were announced in a virtual awards ceremony last week. Two Seeley-Swan High School students took top places in the competion this year. For the third year, the statewide youth entrepreneurship competition offered scholarships and cash prizes for high school and middle school students with new ideas and existing small businesses. “When we engage with our youth, we know we are investing in the future entrepreneurs and business leaders of Montana,” said Todd O’Hair, Executive Directo...
HELENA -- Less than half of Montana’s students are able to read as well as they should for their grade according to a report from the Office of Public Instruction. A bill that would help them catch up and meet reading goals for their age group passed a final vote in the Senate 27-to-23 Thursday. House Bill 352 would establish an optional reading intervention program for districts that would expand the resources they have to help kids practice reading both at school and at home. Sen. Shannon O’Brien, D-Missoula, carried the bill in the Sen...
The first week I started selecting content I remember choosing a public release about a herpes outbreak among horses in the Flathead Valley and thinking “Oh god, I hope that doesn’t end up on the kid’s page.” It didn’t. It ended up below the Passages column. But since that week I’ve been very mindful of what I add to the top of that page. I’ve opted to use stories about public parades or about the schools because I feel that it’s an almost sacred space. Literacy is something sacred to me, and as a writer it is something I want to keep sacred...
George N. McCabe was born on December 25, 1930, in Great Falls, MT to George N. McCabe, Sr. and Helen Florence O'Day McCabe. He was raised in Cut Bank, MT. He was an accomplished musician, playing the trumpet and saxophone. He played in the high school band. On weekends, he played in Cut Bank dinner clubs with his own band. He graduated high school as the Valedictorian in 1949. After graduating, George attended Gonzaga University in Spokane, WA. He was a member of the Army ROTC. After 3 years...
Roughly once per month a small film club meets in the hayloft of the Seeley Lake Historic Museum for a curated selection of films with one common theme, a connection to the state of Montana. "We've done writings of a well-known Missoula writer named Dorothy M. Johnson, three of whose books were made into movies," said Tom Browder, who organizes the event and is part of deciding which films to show. Johnson, who was a prolific author of western-themed books, and an instructor at the University...
A potential gravel pit is being proposed for an undeveloped area near Elbow Lake, in Greenough, and the residents of the area are voicing concerns about noise pollution and disruptions to wildlife in hopes of stopping the project from moving forward. The 21.2 acre gravel pit would be just off of Highway 83, south of Salmon Lake and near Elbow Lake in Greenough. LHC Construction, the Kalispell-based outfit being subcontracted by Kiewit for the project, says the pit and its accompanying asphalt...
SEELEY LAKE– University of Montana graduate student Kristen Cram spent several weeks this spring semester diligently hunting for strong internet connections in Seeley Lake, Montana. Her search for a robust link had nothing to do with taking an online class or watching a favored social media channel, but was needed for a capstone project she is conducting, which will help the Missoula City-County Health Department study air quality in the resort community 52 miles northeast of Missoula. The W...
HELENA -- The House State Administration Committee voted unanimously to advance a bill Thursday designed to address mental health in Montana’s prisons by expanding a program that teaches inmates to train dogs. Rep. Gregory Frazer, R-Deer Lodge, is the sponsor of House Bill 941. “I think that’s a great program. Especially due the fact that there is a lot of therapeutic value in having the inmates work with animals. Teaches them compassion, patience, a little bit of respect. Those are all positive benefits that these individuals can apply to th...
HELENA -- A program run through Montana Fish Wildlife and Parks compensates landowners in Montana for opening their land for public hunting access. Now, a bill that could double the amount of money they get is just a few steps away from reaching the governor’s desk. In 2020, there were 7.1 million acres of private land open for public hunting in Montana because of the block grant management program. Current law caps payments to landowners who allow hunting on their property at up to $25,000. Sen. Steve Heinbauch is the sponsor of Senate Bill 5...
