Sorted by date Results 2075 - 2099 of 6337
MISSOULA COUNTY - The Missoula City-County Board of Health voted four to one to convert several of the County’s current COVID-19 mitigation efforts from requirements to recommendations during a virtual meeting Thursday, April 15. This conversion applies to the operators of businesses, bars, restaurants, barbers, gyms and other entities in Missoula County. Replacing all of the capacity limits and other mitigation requirements, these operators are now recommended to do the following: • Find ways to enable physical distancing between non...
SEELEY LAKE – The Missoula County Sheriff’s Office investigated several burglaries in the past couple of weeks. While it is still unknown if any are connected, Missoula County Sergeant Bob Parcell said he expects old burglaries that happened over the winter to be reported by returning seasonal cabin and homeowners. Parcell said the burglary reported April 11 on Boy Scout Road happened sometime after Dec. 15, 2020. “It is probably an old one, just now discovered,” Parcell wrote in an email. April 15, out-of-town homeowners watched in real ti...
GREENOUGH – Just before 10 p.m. Thursday, April 15, local volunteer firefighters and law enforcement responded to a van that was on fire in the Harper's Lake Campground. While the van was a total loss, no one was injured. According to Greenough-Potomac Volunteer Fire Department Fire Chief and Incident Commander Ryan Hall, they were paged out at 9:56 p.m. Personnel with Seeley Lake Volunteer Fire Department, Missoula County Sheriff's Office and Montana Highway Patrol also responded to the i...
SEELEY LAKE – More than 50 members of the public, Seeley Lake Fire Department volunteers, staff and board members attended the Fire Board Candidate Meet and Greet April 16. Hosted by Cheri and Steve Thompson, they said it was an opportunity for the community to connect with the candidates and ask them questions in a neutral setting. "People will vote for whom they want. I don't care who they vote for," Cheri said. "Some people are new to town and don't know who people are. That was my whole p...
Beginning this summer season on the Lolo National Forest, Quartz Flat (Loop A), River Point (Seeley Lake) and Lakeside (Lake Alva) Campgrounds will be available for online reservation. Big Hole Lookout and Savenac East Cottage, both new additions to the popular rental program, are now also available for online reservation. Online reservations can be made through recreation.gov. “Much of the public expects to use an online reservation system to plan their vacation,” stated Kate Jerman, Lolo National Forest Public Affairs Officer. “Tr...
SEELEY LAKE - Firefighters on the Seeley Lake Ranger District are planning to conduct prescribed burning over the coming weeks to reduce hazardous fuels, reduce woody debris from past logging operations, restore wildlife habitat and better protect neighborhoods and the community from future wildfire. Pending favorable conditions, underburning operations could begin as soon as Wednesday, April 21 and continue in the coming weeks. Underburning, a type of prescribed fire treatment, ignites surface fuels under the forest canopy. Firefighters have...
The Nature Conservancy and partners plan to conduct and/or assist with prescribed fires in the Blackfoot Valley this spring. The burns are part of TNC's ongoing forest restoration work which includes timber harvest and thinning. The primary purpose of the burns and our other forest restoration work is to reduce the risk of high severity fires in these forests. This will include reducing the woody debris that has accumulated and could feed a fire that would threaten nearby communities. The burns...
SEELEY LAKE - The Missoula Resource Advisory Committee (RAC) is allowing members of the public to make comments before or during their meeting at 1 p.m. Thursday, April 29 regarding recommended funding for local project proposals. Among the 13 listed proposals are Morrell Creek and Seeley Lake bear attractant removal/conflict, both of which are expected to receive up to $15,000. Last year the Missoula RAC recommended funding 13 projects to benefit the region in multiple ways including improving watersheds, treating noxious weeds, managing...
POTOMAC - Members of the Potomac School Board voted four to one to reject a motion requesting that mask wearing be voluntary on school grounds during a monthly Board meeting Monday, April 12. The board also heard updates on the seventh and eighth grade trips and approved all but one intent to hire. For the past few school board meetings, staff members and parents have publicly advocated for making masks optional on school grounds. At their last meeting in March the Board was informed that if they chose not to follow Missoula City-County Health...
SEELEY LAKE –Expecting to spend her first year simply getting to know the students, community and building trust, Seeley-Swan High School and Seeley Lake Elementary music teacher Janet Morgenstern said the students dove in headfirst and “I think we are rockin’.” While her expectations have been exceeded and many gains have been made in a program, Morgenstern said there still is a long road ahead in the schools’ musical journey. For the last several years, the music program lacked consistency and continuity between the elementary and high scho...
SEELEY LAKE – At its April 15 meeting, the Seeley Lake Sewer District Board adopted their fiscal year 2022 budget and discussed assessment methods and filling a vacancy on the Board. District Manager Jean Curtiss informed the Board that she plans to resign her position at the end of June. Director Beth Hutchinson felt that going forward at this time the District could use a manager that was more of a placeholder to meet state law and reduce their operating budget accordingly. She said the manager could be as simple as being paid to attend m...
OVANDO - Staff members from Blackfoot Challenge shared their experiences and expertise with certain programs during a virtual event called Stories from the Field Wednesday, April 14. The first speaker was Cindy Super, the forestry and prescribed fire coordinator. She spoke about the importance of restoring fire as an ecological process as she described her team’s process of organizing a prescribed fire on private property in the Blackfoot last spring. “We will learn together as we bring fire back to its rightful place on our landscape,” she s...
SEELEY LAKE - Seeley Lake Community Council heard updates regarding tourism, vaccines and projects on the Seeley Lake Ranger District during their monthly meeting Monday, April 12. Fire Board candidates Alyssa McLean and Kristy Pohlman also shared a little more about why they are running for the Seeley Lake Fire District Board of Trustees in the May 4 election. Racene Friede, President and CEO of Glacier Country, discussed trends in Western Montana tourism and expectations for the 2021 season. Prior to the pandemic in 2019, 12.6 million...
SEELEY LAKE - The National Center for Women & Information Technology (NCWIT), NorthWestern Energy and Carroll College recognized Seeley-Swan High School junior Aspen Derry for their Aspirations in Computing Award. Derry was listed as one of 17 high school women recognized for the award. She will receive a certificate for her achievement. As part of her online application, Derry submitted a personal website she had developed in fall 2020. She learned her coding skills from her mentor Nora...
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-...
HELENA — According to data from the Montana Department of Transportation, the Treasure State is home to more than 1,800 gravel pits. These so-called “open-cut” mining provides material critical to everything from paving roads to building homes. Proponents of a bill that could soon head to Gov. Greg Gianforte’s desk say it could pave the way for even more gravel production in the state by further easing the permitting process for certain types of operations. But some landowners worry that House Bill 599 would allow gravel operations to impact...
Montana Legislature Considers Lengthening Driver’s License Renewal Cycle, Raising DUI Penalties Lawmakers in the 67th Montana Legislature are debating and advancing a number of bills seeking to revise the way drivers are licensed and increase punishments for repeat DUI offenders. Members of the House Transportation Committee held a hearing on Senate Bill 336 on Monday, April 12, after the bill cleared the Senate unanimously a week earlier. Sponsored by Sen. Chris Friedel, R-Billings, the bill seeks to lengthen the period of time before M...
Over the past month, Missoula County's new COVID-19 case incidence rate has stayed relatively low and COVID-19 vaccine appointments opened to all Missoula County residents ages 16 and older. In light of those developments, the Missoula City-County Health Department believes now is the time to step down more of Missoula's COVID-19 requirements. The Health Department proposes the Board of Health changes most COVID-19 mitigation requirements to recommendations for businesses, bars, restaurants,...
SEELEY LAKE - After taking a break in 2020 due to COVID-19, The Bob Marshall Music Festival is back with an entirely new set of dates. Instead of taking place in June, the festival is scheduled for Aug. 6 and Aug. 7 and will continue to take place during the first weekend of August moving forward. Early bird tickets will go on sale at 5 p.m. Wednesday, April 14. Max Pigman, festival organizer and Lewis & Clark Brewing Company owner, said they decided to push it back this year to allow time for...
POTOMAC – Just after 5:30 p.m., April 7, 10 fire engines responded to a hay fire in the lower Blackfoot Valley north of Highway 200. No structures were lost and no one was injured, however, the homeowner lost 40, 800 pound round bales of hay. This was the fourth human-caused wildland fire Greenough/Potomac Volunteer Fire Department has responded to since April 3. Greenough/Potomac Fire Chief Ryan Hall said they were dispatched a minute after the call came in at 5:36 p.m. on Wednesday for a h...
The Clearwater Resource Council (CRC) is holding an outdoor chili tailgate Thursday, April 22 from 4 – 6 p.m. The event is open to the entire community to celebrate Earth Day at the Bison and Bear Center. With the purchase of a raffle ticket, attendees will receive a free drink and bowl of homemade chili made with locally sourced meat, and a veggie chili will be available for non-carnivores. In keeping with the spirit of Earth Day, please bring your own reusable bowl, cup and utensil. All p...
SEELEY LAKE – Chris La Tray's website identifies him as a Métis writer and storyteller but publication of his "One-Sentence Journal: Short Poems and Essays from the World at Large" projected him into the limelight as a poet. La Tray was the guest speaker for Alpine Artisans' third virtual Open Book Club April 10, attended by approximately 50-55 people. Along with reading from "One-Sentence Journal," he also read two as yet unpublished poems "Super Blue" and "Comet" and an essay entitled "B...
MISSOULA COUNTY - According to the results of Missoula County’s community survey, county residents have several opportunities for education, culture and the arts but experience high living costs when compared to over 600 communities across the U.S. Missoula County mailed the 1,700 surveys in June to residents and received 538 responses. Strategic Initiatives Manager Casey Gannon said was “a great response rate” during a virtual meeting with commissioners Jan. 14. Of those responses, 370 resided within Missoula City limits while 168 lived in un...
Voter Information: There are two candidates each running for one, three-year term and one, one-year term trustee positions for the Potomac School District #11. Candidates' responses were based on the following questions: • Biography • Qualifying experience • Why do you want to be a trustee? • What challenges do you see facing Potomac School and the Board? • Are there things you would like to see changed or addressed at the school or with the board? • If so, how would you address them? Ballo...
Ballots for the Seeley Lake Elementary General Levy election were mailed April 14 to all registered voters in Seeley Lake Elementary District #34. The Missoula County Elections Office encourages voters to mail their ballot with plenty of time to meet the May 4 deadline, postmarks not accepted. There will be a ballot drop off at Seeley Lake Elementary on May 4 from 7 a.m. - 8 p.m. For more information visit the Missoula County Elections Office (https://www.missoulacounty.us/government/administration/elections-office) or call 406-258-4751. Tax...
