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SEELEY LAKE - The next meeting of the Seeley Lake Community Council will be this Monday, Jan. 11 at 6 p.m. with an intriguing agenda. It will be held via Zoom. Instructions for sign-on are at the end of this release. The first speaker will be Bob Vosen, Missoula District Administrator with Montana Department of Transportation. He will cover a number of subjects, including banners on the light posts, flower boxes, memorial plaques and the Salmon Lake construction. Next will be Claire Muller, executive director of the Seeley Lake Community...
When it comes to communication about climate change, there's a lot of complexity to consider, said USGS scientist Dan Fagre. "The problem is that to really understand it, people need to understand the process," he explained. "It's sort of analogous to a lot of ideas out there about nutrition: people glom onto an idea but they don't really go a little deeper to find out what the underpinnings of that really are." Most scientists don't like to do outreach and communication, Fagre said, which can b...
Governor Steve Bullock announced Dec. 30 the state’s COVID-19 vaccine distribution plan has been updated to incorporate the new federal recommendations for allocation to critical groups in Montana and an estimated timeline. “As the first phase of Montana’s COVID-19 vaccination plan is fully under way, it’s inspiring to see that thousands of health care workers have already been vaccinated and that it’s now reaching staff and residents of long-term care facilities,” Governor Bullock said. “As we continue to focus on vaccinating those most vu... Full story
MISSOULA COUNTY – Missoula County Commissioners approved distributing almost $625,000 from the COVID-19 Small Business Job Retention Fund to 27 businesses impacted by the pandemic. The funding is intended to help businesses retain jobs for low- and moderate-income employees. Of the awarded grants, 58% went to food and drink industry businesses for a total of $365,000. Retailers received 12%, professional services got 10%, preschool and childcare employers received 10%, transportation services r...
Yurt at Seeley Creek Nordic Ski trails closed for season SEELEY LAKE – The Seeley Creek Nordic Ski trails just north of town on Morrell Creek Road are groomed and ready for skiers. However due to COVID-19, the yurt at the trailhead is closed for the season. Flathead Audubon offers program on Montana fish, Jan. 11 Have you ever heard of a fish that doesn’t like to swim? Or how about the one so primitive and bizarre that it is surely a ghost from very ancient times? Flathead National Forest Fisheries Biologist Beth Gardner has picked out sev...
MISSOULA COUNTY - The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) recently gave guidance to public health officials that would allow for close contacts of positive COVID-19 cases to reduce their quarantine times if they met specific criteria. The CDC says local public health authorities will make the final decision about how long quarantine should last, based on local conditions and needs. Following the CDC’s announcement of updated quarantine guidance, the Missoula City-County Health Department (MCCHD) immediately adopted a 10-day q... Full story
SWAN VALLEY – "On the first day of Christmas, my true love gave to me, a partridge in a pear tree...," and so the song goes counting down the days. This song took on new meaning this year at Swan Valley School as each day, one of the 11 teachers or staff were called down to the office following the song. They were given a t-shirt and gifts of recognition for their hard work thanks to the group that calls themselves the Amazing Walking Women (AWW) of Condon. On the 12th day the staff and s...
SEELEY LAKE – Two days before Christmas, Red Sleighs Over Montana took off from Missoula Airport on "Santa's Airmail Route." Santa visited 20 communities across western Montana delivering gifts to the children, visited with them about what they wanted for Christmas and talked about aviation. "We were just tying it all together with aviation, education and helping some kids and families out that need a little extra help. Especially with COVID the small businesses were devastated," said Museum o...
OVANDO – Despite the challenges presented by COVID and a shorter-than-usual time frame between Thanksgiving and winter break, Ovando students hosted their annual Christmas Program Dec. 17. The students rose to the challenge and gave their immediate families some comic relief during the hustle and bustle of the season. Ovando School Teacher Leigh Ann Valiton explained this year's production "Christmas Shorts" written by Lucy Williams was a series of short skits, with slap-stick humor, much l...
The holiday season is such a grand phenomenon in American culture that in the last century a movie subgenre has evolved out of its existence and aesthetic. Over the years this subgenre has culminated its own characters, tropes and cliches. Despite the similarities in themes however, directors and writers over the years have found ways to be creative with the Christmas aesthetic and have created movies that will remain relevant for decades. “Babes in Toyland,” also known as “March of the Wooden Soldiers,” is a 1934 black and white movie starrin...
A new survey of Montanans shows positive attitudes toward grizzly bears and support for the presence of grizzly bears within the state. However, acceptance of bear presence in areas closer to residential and agricultural areas is lower than in remote public land areas. Researchers with the University of Montana worked with Montana Fish, Wildlife & Parks biologists to better understand Montanans' perspectives about grizzly bears and grizzly bear management in Montana. A survey questionnaire was...
If you’re on Medicare, you will not be receiving a new chip card or a plastic version to replace your paper ID card. If somebody calls you to tell you that, they’re lying. It’s another Medicare scam. This scam is active in Montana and several people have already unwittingly given away their personal information. The caller identifies themselves as Medicare and after confirming your card’s number they will send you a new plastic card. Please be on alert, calls have been reported in multiple counties. Medicare will never call people on Medicar...
MISSOULA - The road ahead for those traveling a popular byway along the Blackfoot River should be a little smoother in the future, thanks to the Bureau of Land Management Missoula Field Office’s approval of a proposed $5-million Federal Lands Transportation Project to improve 5.7 miles of Johnsrud-McNamara Road. The road is a connecting link to several popular fishing and recreation sites along the Lower Blackfoot River corridor from Johnsrud Park to Whitaker Bridge. “The project was approved to improve the long-term condition of the road, whi...
MISSOULA – The State of Montana Fish Guidance Board, which includes Montana Fish, Wildlife & Parks (FWP) and the Departments of Environmental Quality (DEQ), and Public Health and Human Services (DPHHS), has updated the fish consumption guidance for all species of fish on a 148-mile stretch of the Clark Fork River and tributaries in western Montana in response to new research results. Guidance now recommends avoiding consumption of all species of fish from the Clark Fork River’s confluence with the Bitterroot River, just west of Missoula, to...
SEELEY LAKE - The Seeley Lake Elementary School Board unanimously voted to use the remaining $13,000 the school received in CARES Act money towards purchasing new security cameras during their Dec. 21 meeting. The board also received updates on the Student Improvement Plan, COVID and discussed how homeschooled children could engage with the school. SLE Superintendent Josh Gibbs said the school’s CARES Act money must be spent before Dec. 30, otherwise it goes back to the state. The camera company the school is using is Verkada which Gibbs has d...
BILLINGS, MONTANA - "We have more ICU patients than we have ICU beds available," Respiratory Therapist Michael Biggins said in an email. "This has led to converting offices, staff break rooms and closets into hospital rooms to accomodate for the surge. We have even had to double up two related COVID-19 patients to share one ICU room to save on resources." Biggins, who was raised in Seeley Lake, has been a Respiratory Therapist at both major hospitals in Billings since 2012. He graduated from...
SALMON PRAIRIE - Salmon Prairie Elementary School students braved the winter night as they acted out their modern reinterpretation of "A Christmas Carol" called "Scrooge" on Tuesday, Dec. 22. Supervising teacher Holl Hubbard said he had the students perform the program outside to be in compliance with Lake County COVID regulations. "We realized that with the students and myself, we would be at [capacity]," he said. "As far as the COVID ... this was completely out of the box. One of our board...
Death Notice SEELEY LAKE - Jack C. Venters, 76, passed away in the evening, Friday, Dec. 25 at the St. Patrick Hospital in Missoula. Brothers Mortuary and Crematory are honored to care for the family. Memories and condolences may be shared with the family at www.brothersmortuary.com Ethnobotany Zoom presentation, Jan. 6 SWAN VALLEY - The community is invited to join Swan Valley Connections for their first Zoom presentation of 2021 on Wednesday, Jan. 6 at 6:30 p.m. Rose Bear Don’t Walk, ethnobotanist and descendant of the Bitterroot Salish and C...
SEELEY LAKE – The Seeley Lake Sewer District Board of Directors learned at the end of their Dec. 17 meeting that a lawsuit had been filed against the District seeking to force the District to construct the proposed system. In the Board’s regular business they approved a letter to be sent out to District landowners and voters with information on the project and the Feb. 23 Bond Election. District Manager Jean Curtiss informed the Board at the end of her Manager’s report that she had seen a draft of a lawsuit against the District. However, at th...
SWAN VALLEY – Red arrows pointed the way from Highway 83 down Kauffman Road leading to Santa's Village. This is the first year Santa has spent a week in the Swan Valley, offering gifts, goodies and activities to all the young at heart. "With all the wonders that Christmas has to offer we have seen the sparkle dim just a little this year," Santa said. "Many focusing so much on new cases and loss it seems the entire world needs to remember the joy of being alive. The amazing goodwill that fills th...
SEELEY LAKE - Seeley Lake residents literally lit up the pavement on Saturday, Dec. 19 when they participated in the first ever Christmas Caravan of Lights. Attendees gathered their vehicles, trailers, UTVs and ATVs and left from the Seeley Lake Chicken Coop and Lounge at dusk. Mike Williams, Mike Weigel, Trevor Crofutt and Chicken Coop owner Mike Layman coordinated the event. Weigel said they did not want to be overly formal with the set up so they just went for it. "We sat down once and said,...
In 2020, Montana State Parks saw an increase of almost 25% in the number of visitors compared to the same time period last year. Parks experienced around 3,000,000 visitors between January and September. Around 80% of Montana State Parks saw increased visitation throughout the year with eight parks exceeding 100,000 visitors. "These visitation increases represent the busiest summer on record for the State Park system," FWP Director Martha Williams said in a press release. "FWP staff,...
MISSOULA COUNTY - Missoula Aging Services (MAS) is introducing a new program called Lifelong Connections which will provide low-income, older adults with tablets, two years of Wi-Fi and training at no cost. The overall goal of the program is to train 100 older adults on how to use technology in order to access telehealth, reduce social isolation, continue to volunteer and to take advantage of services available online like grocery shopping. Those enrolled in the program will receive a Samsung Galaxy Tab A. Rob Edwards, MAS community services...
SEELEY LAKE – Seeley Lake Fire Chief Dave Lane announced at the monthly Fire Board meeting Dec. 15 that the District received more than $76,000 in grants this past month. He also recognized volunteers for multiple years of service. Lane said the Department received a Rural Fire Capacity (RFC) grant for $2,800 through the Montana Department of Natural Resources. The RFC Program assists rural volunteer fire departments by providing cost-share grants for training, equipping and organizing. The g...
SEELEY LAKE – The Seeley Lake Fire Department started up their ambulance and fire truck engines and shined their lights for something other than an emergency on Saturday, Dec. 19. The six attending personnel instead volunteered to venture out into the chilly climate in order to deliver gifts to 10 families as part of the third annual Angel Tree. Fire Chief Dave Lane said the Foundation organizes the event while the Fire District supports it. This is the first year Auxiliary Member Tabitha B...
