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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...
SEELEY LAKE – Despite the rain this weekend, the Seeley-Swan High School Leos Club decided to get out and do some community service. They decided sweeping the parking lot at the Seeley Lake Senior Center, something they have been asked to do in the past, was a perfect fit since it allowed them to maintain the District's standard for social distancing. "We talked about calling and asking first until one of the kids stated the obvious, 'They aren't going to say no. Let's just surprise them!'" s...
MISSOULA COUNTY - The Missoula County Resource Advisory Committee (RAC) unanimously approved $63,699.19 in funding for seven projects intended to improve the Lolo and Flathead National Forests during a meeting Thursday, April 29. Seeley Lake Ranger District’s Placid Gold Phase 1 Herbicide Application received $15,719.19 in funding, $281.19 short of the amount requested. The RAC approved the lower amount to remain within their budget while having minimal impact on the project’s objectives. The objective of the project is to manage invasive spe...
SEELEY LAKE - Residents and visitors will be able to pick up the new Blackfoot, Clearwater, Swan Valleys Visitors and Resource Guide entitled "Dream, Explore, Discover." The guide will be available at the Seeley Lake Historical Museum and Visitors Center or local businesses throughout the area. The last time a visitors guide was produced for the area was in 2013. Seeley Lake Area Chamber of Commerce Executive Director Lisa Hayhurst said readers can expect to see new content with "larger,...
SWAN VALLEY - With winter activities converting into summer ones, recreationists and national forest staff reflect on an illegal activity that has seemingly gained more prominence in recent years, snowmobile trespassing. The Flathead National Forest offers approximately 800,000 acres of recreational land including groomed and ungroomed trail opportunities. According to their website, some areas are closed to snowmobiles including the Bob Marshall, Great Bear and Mission Mountains Wildernesses. The Flathead National Forest offers free over-snow...
SEELEY LAKE - An outbuilding and nearby private property located just north of the Clearwater Heights Condo complex burned in a wildland fire Wednesday, April 28. Seeley Lake Fire Chief Dave Lane said the possible cause is under investigation and that one person was transported for an undisclosed reason. Kate Jerman, Public Affairs Officer for the Lolo National Forest, said that a call for the fire was made at 6:31 p.m. There is joint response jurisdiction in the area which means that Seeley...
SEELEY LAKE - Around 20 firefighters from the Seeley Lake and Lincoln Ranger Districts held a prescribed burn Friday, April 30 to treat 40 acres of the Mountain Creek area, three miles east of Seeley Lake off of Cottonwood Lakes Road. Seeley Lake District Ranger Quinn Carver said prescribed burns are necessary to the area for two reasons: biological and social. The ecological reason is that intentional burns allow the forest to regenerate itself and be more resilient to wildfires in the future....
SLE Special Board meeting to discuss mask policy, May 5 SEELEY LAKE – The Seeley Lake Elementary School Board will be holding a special board meeting at 6:30 p.m. Wednesday, May 5 in person in the SLE gym. The board will discuss and take action on how the District will proceed for the rest of the school year after Missoula County lifts the face covering mandate May 11. Potomac School Board meeting changed to May 13 POTOMAC - During a special meeting Monday, May 3, the Potomac Elementary School Board unanimously voted to move their regularly s...
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...
MISSOULA COUNTY - According to the Missoula City-County Health Department, Missoula County met its vaccination goal to move face coverings from a mandate to a recommendation as of Monday, May 10. In a public statement, Health Officer Ellen Leahy said that 60% of the county’s eligible population has received at least one dose of the vaccine, reaching its intermediate vaccination goal. The county’s case incidence rate has also stayed below 25 new cases daily per 100,000 population on a seven-day rolling average. In April, the County Health Boa...
SEELEY LAKE - Clearwater Resource Council (CRC) invited members of the public and local organizations to celebrate Earth Day with them at a chili tailgate Thursday, April 22. Attendees were welcome to have some complimentary chili and lemonade with reusable utensils while listening to organizations present their messages. CRC Executive Director Caryn Miske said they had been organizing the event for a little over a month. This is the first time an event like this has taken place for them. "The...
SEELEY LAKE - Parents and community members will have an opportunity to meet the candidates who are applying to be Seeley-Swan High School’s new principal for next school year. Attendees can ask candidates questions and provide feedback to those doing the hiring. The meet-n-greet will take place from 5 - 6 p.m. Friday, April 30 in the school’s large gym. Masks will be required. The five candidates, in alphabetical order, and their experience are the following: Daniel Grabowska received a Bachelor of Arts degree in English and history from Mon...
SEELEY LAKE – At the Seeley Lake Fire Board's monthly meeting Tuesday, April 20, Fire Chief Dave Lane presented the idea of a feasibility study and hosting a board workshop to discuss hiring personnel and accompanying tax levy to cover the cost. He also promoted volunteer Emergency Medical Technician Rita Rossi to Emergency Medical Services Lieutenant and volunteer firefighter John Homen to Fire Captain. In other business, the cost for the current medical director was questioned and the board u...
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...
SEELEY LAKE - Lisa Hayhurst, Executive Director of the Seeley Lake Area Chamber of Commerce and Eric Hayhurst, Chairman of the Board, have been volunteering for the Chamber since 2017. Their last day will be May 1. Ariana Richards, a current Chamber Board Member, will continue serving on the Board. With no response to the open vacancies, the Chamber will hold off conducting or coordinating future events until the open positions have been filled. The Board has outsourced part time, paid positions for the bookkeeping / tax work, website...
Seeley Lake area business owners (or anyone interested in starting a business!) are invited to come meet your local Small Business Development Center (SBDC) Business Advisor on Thursday, May 13 in the West Wing of the Foundation Building. There will be two, one-hour sessions, for the convenience of busy business owners, one at 10 a.m. and another at 5:30 p.m. Pastries from Bernice's Bakery and coffee will be provided for the morning session. Pizza will be provided for the evening session,...
MISSOULA – The public is invited to comment on a proposal by the Bureau of Land Management to acquire more land in the Blackfoot River Watershed. The BLM's Missoula Field Office seeks public input on a proposed land acquisition from The Nature Conservancy of 11,000 acres in the Ninemile-Woodchuck area of the watershed. The comment period for an environmental assessment evaluating the impacts of acquiring the acreage will close on May 24. The proposed acquisition is in Missoula County about 30 m...
SEELEY LAKE – During their monthly meeting April 19, the Seeley Lake Elementary School Board decided to postpone updates to their 3000 Policy Series as well as their 2021 summer lunch program for their next meeting in May. Superintendent Josh Gibbs also provided updates on the School Improvement Plan and other aspects of the school during his report. The board decided to table their summer lunch program until they can obtain additional information from the Montana Office of Public Instruction. They tabled the 3000 Policy Series because one m...
SWAN VALLEY - Members of the Swan Valley Elementary School Board unanimously approved a first reading of multiple new policies and policy revisions during their monthly meeting Tuesday, April 20. They also discussed Missoula City-County Health Department’s conversion of COVID-19 prevention methods going from mandates to recommendations in May. The new policies have to do with student sexual harassment grievance procedures, staff sexual harassment procedures, personnel background checks, and drug and alcohol testing for school bus drivers. T...
MISSOULA COUNTY - As the U.S. continues to push efforts to establish herd immunity against COVID-19, data analysts and historians will likely be making observations on the pandemic’s world-encapsulating effects for years to come especially in terms of socialization. One aspect that could be touched on is how the pandemic’s ripple effects have affected survivors of domestic abuse and sexual violence in terms of accessing resources. Morgan Haynie is a criminal advocate for the Crime Victim Advocate Program (CVA), a division of the Community Jus...
Over the last few weeks, a number of private landowners, organizations and public agencies have conducted prescribed burns in the Blackfoot River watershed with the goal of enhancing both forest health and community safety. While this fills the skies with smoke for a few days, burning this time of year has numerous benefits for both forested landscapes and communities. Cindy Super is the Forestry and Prescribed Fire Coordinator for the Blackfoot Challenge, a community-based organization that fac...
As Montanans look to enjoy the outdoors this spring and summer, state and local public health officials urge everyone to follow a few simple steps to prevent tick bites and related illnesses: Limit exposure to ticks, use insect repellent, and inspect yourself, gear and pets for ticks. Department of Public Health and Human Services (DPHHS) officials report each year thousands of people in the U.S. are bitten by ticks and become infected with a tick-borne illness. “There’s numerous prevention measures Montanans can take to avoid tick bites whi...
Whitebark Pine Zoom presentation Join Swan Valley Connections Wednesday, May 5 at 6:30 p.m. via Zoom for a presentation on the ecology and conservation of whitebark pine, an at-risk, keystone species of high elevation habitats in the Northern Rockies. Drawing on his extensive work with these special trees, U.S. Forest Service Supervisory Research Biologist Bob Keane will explore the whitebark pine’s fascinating roles and restoration questions in mountain ecosystems. Log on to https://us02web.zoom.us/j/83458922265 for the presentation. No r...
Mobile home parks are one of the last strongholds of reliable affordable housing in Montana, helping people of a wide range of income levels become homeowners, even as prices for most other residence types in across the state continue to spike. But as investment firms snap up properties across the state, there are signs that even mobile homes may soon become out of reach for many Montanans. It’s certainly a worry for Cindy Newman, who owns a mobile home in the Highwoods Mobile Home Park in Great Falls, which Utah-based investment firm H...
Republican Lawmakers Locked in Battle with State Supreme Court over “Judicial Transparency” As the Montana Legislature nears the close of its biennial business, Republican lawmakers are mounting a case against the judicial branch and the state Supreme Court with accusations of judicial bias and improper record keeping, while Democrats call the inquiry a “witch hunt.” Since the start of the 2021 Legislative Session, lawmakers have proposed numerous bills seeking changes to the judicial branch. Some bills, like several that would have made st...
