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In defending himself before the Senate Hearing Committee on the government’s response to Hurricane Katrina, former FEMA Director Michael Brown used a strange phrase: “I told the staff… the day before the hurricane struck, that I expected them to cut every piece of red tape, do everything they could; that it was balls to the wall…” The slang phrase Brown used derives its meaning neither from sports nor male anatomy but from aviation. The first written usage dates to Frank Harvey’s “Air War – Vietnam” which contains the sentence, “You kn...
United States Presidents receive numerous gifts during their time at the White House, including live animals. John Quincy Adams received an alligator; Richard Nixon, two giant pandas; Theodore Roosevelt a zebra and a lion; George H. W. Bush a Komodo dragon and Ronald Reagan a white horse. On a more mundane level, turkeys are popular gifts, especially during holidays. Originally, presidential gifted turkeys were intended, and accepted, as the showpiece main dish for a holiday meal. That is,...
Montana Wilderness Association (MWA) launched the 12th annual Picture Wild Montana photo contest, with prizes offered for the best photos taken on public lands across the state. The theme of this year’s contest is “The Joy of the Wild.” MWA wants to highlight the joy that Montanans feel while exploring public lands and waters including wilderness areas, state parks, national forests, wilderness study areas and other public lands. Since 2009, thousands of amateur and professional photographers from across the state have participated in the P...
Wood theft at Ski Trails Yurt SEELEY LAKE – Firewood is being stolen from the Seeley Creek Nordic Ski trails yurt a little at a time. A lot of effort and volunteer work goes into collecting the firewood so those who use it in the winter have a warm place to rest. The Ski Club has installed security cameras at the yurt and will be monitoring them. However, anyone with information regarding the wood theft(s) is encouraged to report it to law enforcement. Swan Valley Community Library Highlights SWAN VALLEY - Swan Valley Library, a branch of M...
SEELEY LAKE – After serving as the Seeley Lake Area Chamber of Commerce executive director and on the board since the summer of 2017, Lisa Hayhurst and her husband Eric feel it is time to pass the torch. They are hoping to fill the executive director and board chair position before their last day, May 1, 2021. “It takes a lot of time and it is a lot of hours,” Lisa said. “I’m very thankful to everybody for the opportunity to serve as the executive director and volunteering for the past four years. It allowed me to meet people in the community a...
SWAN VALLEY – At 11:11 a.m., Nov. 11, the sound of a bell cut through the cold air as more than 30 veterans, their families and the Condon community gathered outside the Swan Valley Community Hall to honor veterans. "All have given something, some have given all," said American Legion Post 63 Commander Edward Klassen. The bell ringing ceremony is a national tradition that is practiced in the Swan Valley on Veterans Day. In Europe they rang the bell at the end of WWI in 1918. The Legion gives a...
MISSOULA COUNTY - Local businesses have been affected on a spectral level since restrictions were implemented in March to mitigate the effects of COVID-19. Some saw an initial hit and began to recover throughout the summer tourist season while many others continue to struggle with coronavirus' ongoing financial impact. In an effort to capture the perceptions of tourism-related business owners and managers through the pandemic, the University of Montana's Institute for Tourism and Recreation...
SEELEY LAKE – The community is invited to paint a heart for the Cahoon family at the Cahoon Strong "Paint a Heart" Day fundraiser, Saturday, Nov. 28 from 12-5 p.m. at the Seeley Lake Community Hall. Organizer Kris Gullikson is confident it will be a fun event and stressed that anyone can do it. Gullikson was good friends with Charlie Wolff and also knew Wayne Cahoon. Her husband Erik is a pilot and aircraft accidents hit really close to home. "I just wanted to ease the family burden, in any w...
SEELEY LAKE - The Seeley Lake Sewer District Board and one of its former insurance providers have signed an Assignment of Rights and Claims that will keep the District from having to pay legal fees for defending the District against a 2018 lawsuit. There has been a longstanding question over whether or not the District’s insurance would cover the cost of the defense because the District changed insurance companies just days after the lawsuit was filed. The District did not know of the lawsuit when it made the change. The District’s policy wit...
SEELEY LAKE - Respective House and Senate winners Mike Hopkins and Shannon O’Brien talked about the upcoming legislative session, their priorities during their time in office and what committees they would like to be a part of during the monthly Seeley Lake Community Council meeting on Monday, Nov. 9. Hopkins is the Republican District 92 State Representative. He said his primary concern going into office was the state’s economy and budget which were hit hard after the lockdown due to a stall in income taxes. The last four years, leg...
Non-profit organizations are invited to submit grant proposals to the Seeley Lake Community Foundation for 2021 projects. The Foundation awards grants of up to $2,500 for projects to benefit the area of Seeley Lake. Applications are due Jan. 31 each year. Grant awards are announced by early March. The Foundation helps local groups fund important community projects in the areas of: art and culture; community and economic development; basic human needs; education; and natural resources and conservation. In this capacity, the Foundation strives...
POTOMAC – The Potomac School Board worked through their strategic planning at their Nov. 9 meeting. They all agreed that the seven focus areas would be retained with just a shift in the implementation of priorities. The board also received an update from Principal John Rouse regarding upcoming extracurricular activities and from the eighth grade class regarding their class trip. At the beginning of the strategic planning discussion, Chair Cliff Vann explained this is an annual discussion that provides an opportunity to reshape the direction o...
If the early history of Seeley Lake is intertwined with the lumber industry, the rise of the United States Forest Service is incontrovertibly intertwined with Seeley Lake and in particular with the Big Blackfoot Timber Sale of 1907-1910. Historian and member of the Camp Paxson Preservation Board Gary Williams has been researching that sale. The Seeley Swan Pathfinder will be bringing some of the interesting bits of information he has discovered about logging in the Seeley Lake area and also...
SEELEY LAKE - Over 20 residents came together to celebrate the lives and memories of those who served in the American military for Veterans Day on Wednesday, Nov. 11 at the Veterans Memorial Garden. Following a group prayer, Veterans and Families of Seeley Lake (VFSL) President Barbara Knopp made a speech honoring those who gave their time and lives during war. "We're here today to honor our service members past and present and to remember their sacrifices they have made and the courage it...
OVANDO –Nancy Shannon won the Ovando Scarecrow contest with her "Thin Green Man with Owl." There were four scarecrow entries in the first annual contest of the 21st century. Sheppard collected more than 100 votes via email, Facebook and at the Ovando Post Office. Coming in second behind Shannon's creation was the "BCC Board Meeting" created by the Blackfoot Commercial Company staff. The Ovando Grade School students' "Ovando School Witch" took third followed by Terry Sheppard's "Little D...
Hunter numbers and harvest rebounded in the fourth weekend of the general big game hunting season in west-central Montana, bringing harvest totals in line with average for this point in the season. The biggest bump came from deer harvest. The rut picked up over the past week and accordingly the cumulative deer harvest reported at the Montana Fish, Wildlife & Parks (FWP) check stations near Bonner, Darby and Anaconda doubled from where it was in just one weekend. The whitetail harvest reported at the three check stations now sits at 242,...
Christmas tree permits from local National Forests are now available to purchase online through Recreation.gov. Details about designated cutting areas, dates and types of trees that may be cut may be found on Recreation.gov or visit the National Forest webpage where the trees will be harvested. The Forest Service decided to move permit sales to Recreation.gov as an added convenience for visitors, as well as to provide an alternative to in-person transactions due to the COVID-19 pandemic. To purchase a Christmas tree permit, search for Lolo or...
Al-Anon resumes weekly in-person meetings SEELEY LAKE – The local Al-Anon group has begun meeting in-person every Thursday at 5 p.m. at the Mountain Lakes Presbyterian Church. Attendees are asked to wear masks and chairs are placed six feet apart. All ages are welcome to this open meeting. For more information email mlpc_logchurch@live.com or call 406-677-3575. Leo’s Club Turkey Drive, Nov. 19-21 SEELEY LAKE – The Seeley-Swan High School Leos Club will be sponsoring their fourth annual Turkey Drive to support the Seeley-Swan Community Food...
MONTANA - Governor Steve Bullock announced on Tuesday that he would implement a new set of public health measures intended to slow the spread of COVID-19 in Montana beginning on Friday, Nov. 20. The measures would limit capacity in bars, restaurants, breweries, distilleries and casinos to 50%; limit public gatherings to 25 individuals when social distancing is not possible; and require face coverings in all counties statewide regardless of case count. These establishments must also close no later than 10 p.m. with no more than six people per...
SEELEY LAKE – Seaman Leon (Bud) Anderson was off duty and on liberty in San Francisco when World War II ended. "I was on Market Street when the news broke," he said. "Everybody was talking about it and Market Street in San Francisco was wild!" Born on a ranch near Havre in 1926, Anderson later moved with his family to Seeley Lake. When his eighteenth birthday approached, he knew he would be drafted. He chose to enlist in the Navy instead. Boot Camp was in Farragut, Idaho, at the south end of L...
BONNER, MONTANA – Two Seeley Lake residents were killed in a head-on collision Sunday afternoon, Nov. 8 on Highway 200 just east of Bonner. Seventeen-year-old Isaac Morse and 18-year-old Damien Miner died at the scene. According to Highway Patrol Trooper Alex Hiday another 18-year-old male from Seeley Lake and the driver of the second vehicle, a 40-year-old female from Clinton, Montana, were transported to the hospital. Around 1:40 p.m. on Sunday, a Honda Civic was traveling in the eastbound lane on Highway 200. According to Hiday, while t...
SEELEY LAKE - "I think the hardest part of this whole thing was I just felt horribly guilty," said Seeley Lake resident Emily Rindal who tested positive for coronavirus in early September. "I know it wasn't my fault and I didn't know I had it. But ruining people's plans for Labor Day and having the fear of what if they die, what if they are hospitalized, that guilt just killed me." Rindal was not alone in her mental struggle with the virus that has changed how everyone interacts. Even though it...
LAKE ALVA - Motorists should expect traffic disruptions on Highway 83 along Lake Alva due to a Montana Department of Transportation project. The project is intended to re-establish roadway slope stability as well as evaluate a nearby culvert which may need to be repaired or replaced. Between mile markers 24.9 to 25 on Highway 83, work began the week of Oct. 12 with traffic diverted into a single lane. Travelers should expect 15 minute delays, 12 foot width restrictions and reduced speeds to 35...
MISSOULA COUNTY - The political divide between the rural and urban areas of Missoula County were seen in the results of the District 1 County Commissioner race and the vote over referendum 130 this year. Ballot issues that saw more unity among the County were CI-190 and 118. The County has a total of 52 precincts. There are 33 urban precincts within Missoula's city limits and the remaining 19 are outside the city. There was a 79.55% voter turnout in Missoula County, just slightly below the 80.55...
SWAN VALLEY - Missoula Attorney Quentin Rhoades showed Condon residents how they can legally defend themselves and their property during the second Neighborhood Watch meeting on Thursday, Nov. 5 in the Swan Valley Community Hall. In addition, organizer Steve Card was elected as the Neighborhood Watch's new chairman while Mikki Gleason was nominated as the group's secretary. Rhoades is a civil attorney for the United States Concealed Carry Association Inc. (USCCA) who litigates lawsuits...