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SEELEY LAKE - After decades of working for others, Lynda and Kevin Mickelson decided it was time for a change. The newly retired couple opened Trail Creek Merc on June 28, a one-stop-shop for gifts, in the Bison and Bear Center. "I think that our personal mission on this is to be doing something that we want to do and enjoy," said Kevin. The Mickelsons grew up together in Missoula and in the summer they spent time in the valley with family. They both graduated from Loyola Sacred Heart in 1979....
SWAN VALLEY - The Swan Valley Library is still offering curb side service to patrons who have a hold on a library item or who want to borrow a chrome book for use outside the library. Patrons can request books from the Library’s shelves by phoning 754-2521. The request will be brought out to them. WIFI is available both inside and outside the library at all times. Books are now transferred between most of the Missoula Public Library branches so patrons can place holds on books which can be picked up at Swan Valley Library. To place holds, visit...
The Fourth of July is an excellent time to get outside with family and friends and recreate on the Lolo National Forest. With more people out recreating, the Seeley Lake Ranger District is asking people to do their part when it comes to wildfire prevention. “We are expecting another busy Fourth of July weekend on the Seeley Lake Ranger District,” said Quinn Carver, District Ranger. “We have had record numbers of visitors in our campgrounds this summer. As we head into another holiday weekend on the District, we are asking people to recre...
SEELEY LAKE - A Seeley Lake resident’s dog was killed by a mountain lion early Wednesday, June 16 off of Spruce Street. The last mountain lion sighting in the area was reported almost a month prior, but Montana Fish, Wildlife and Parks Cougar and Bear Management Specialist Eli Hampson said they are quite common in the area. “There’s a lot of deer in town for food, and there is a healthy lion population in the area as well as deer and elk,” Hampson said. He added, “I can’t tell you how often the lions are going through town like that but I...
MISSOULA - Two Missoula area restaurants announced via their Facebook page last week that they would close after an employee test positive for COVID-19. Paradise Falls voluntarily closed upon hearing from the worker and has been cooperating fully with the Missoula City-County Health Department’s investigation. The investigation is moving swiftly and employees who have been identified by the Health Department as close contacts to the infected co-worker are being interviewed, quarantined and scheduled for testing. The Staggering Ox was n...
This is part 1 of a two-part story about financing elder care in aging populations. Part 2 - what new strategies could Montana explore? - will be published next week. Montana, the oldest state in the western United States, faces many of the same problems as Japan, the world's oldest country. Might there be solutions for Montana from what looks to be a successful experiment enacted two decades ago to help pay for elder care in Japan? On April 1, 2000, a new law in Japan began the world's largest...
We often wonder how our founding fathers could have written the phrase "all men are created equal" while simultaneously sanctioning and supporting slavery. A close look at the changes made in the various drafts of the Declaration of Independence reveals a struggle to try to accommodate those two ways of thinking. The Declaration of Independence started with a rough draft created by Thomas Jefferson. It took him almost three weeks to craft it. He then submitted his work to the other members of...
Lorentz named to spring Deans’ List at Nebraska LINCOLN, NEB. - Elizabeth “Ibby” Lorentz of Seeley Lake was named to the Deans’ List for the College of Arts and Sciences at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln for the spring semester of the 2019-20 academic year. Lorentz, a junior biological sciences major, earned a grade point average of 3.7 or higher. Nearly 7,500 students at Nebraska have been named to the Deans’ List for the spring semester. For the full Deans’ List, visit https://go.unl.edu/deanslist-spring20. Weekly COVID-19 update As of Ju...
SEELEY LAKE – The Seeley Lake Sewer District held a special meeting June 22 to take action on issues stemming from their attorney resigning from his position as the Board’s business counsel. They also discussed and voted to withdraw a lawsuit initiated by the District and filed on June 12 against newly elected Directors Tom Morris and Jason Gilpin. The meeting started out with a discussion on what was on the agenda and what was not. On the District’s website, information for the meeting listed several actions the Board may take, however, the a...
OVANDO - A cycling T-shirt hung for the first time on the side of Kathy Schoendoerfer's store, the Blackfoot Angler. On a normal year, hundreds of bike-packers, racers and cycling tours would have already passed through Ovando. However, this year they are only a trickle. "It is not like they all spend a lot of money, especially in my shop, but they can pick up a T-shirt. It's just little things," said Schoendoerfer who manages the Ovando Improvement Fund. "They will visit the museum and make a...
As businesses and schools closed because of the coronavirus, Blackfoot Communications had to keep up with the new booming demand of people working from home, while Seeley-Swan High School also addressed a lack of computers for their students. Not only did Blackfoot increase broadband for people in the Seeley-Swan Valleys but they also connected students who did not have online access or a laptop at home. “We are still trying to dig out of loads of work. We only have so many technicians and we are doing our best,” said director of ope...
Wildfire prevention personnel and first responders have been encountering a high number of unattended campfires this spring across public lands within Missoula County. Even though mild spring conditions have ushered in wet, cool conditions, campfire safety should always be followed to prevent wildfire. Campfires should be kept smaller than 3 feet in diameter, and optimally be contained within an existing metal ring at a designated campground or other established site. If campers are enjoying a...
SEELEY LAKE - The Change Your Pace (CYP) Challenge runs through 5 p.m. June 30, leaving under a week to increase the power of a donation to your favorite local cause(s), with the help of the CYP Match Fund. The Seeley Lake Community Foundation's fifth-annual CYP Challenge is a campaign for community-wide giving, celebrating the people and organizations that make our community great. Fifteen local organizations are participating this year, raising money for local projects during this month-long f...
SEELEY LAKE - Alpine Artisans has received $5,000 through Humanities Montana’s CARES grant program. This rapid-response funding provides general operating support to cultural organizations in the state that have been affected by the COVID-19 health crisis. “AAI is thrilled that Humanities Montana’s has recognized the important role that rural organizations play in building and maintaining the cultural and literary life of small town Montana. AAI’s In the Footsteps of Norman Maclean Festival and Open Book Club literary events will benefit...
SEELEY LAKE - The Seeley Lake Library will resume limited curbside lending services on Tuesday, June 23. In order to protect community members and Library staff from COVID-19 transmission, and in consultation with Missoula City-County Health Department, the following practices will remain in place for the foreseeable future: REQUESTING MATERIALS: Library users may call 677-8995 to request materials. Calls will be taken Tuesdays – Thursdays, 10:30 a.m. – 3:30 p.m. Please allow 24 hours for processing of requests. As in the past, you will be not...
A Bozeman man who landed a helicopter in the Bob Marshall Wilderness in May has paid the maximum $500 fine, U.S. Attorney Kurt Alme said June 16. Samuel L. Schwerin, 48, of Bozeman, received the notice for the violation, a federal misdemeanor, after landing a helicopter on the South Fork of the Flathead River in the Bob Marshall Wilderness on May 16. The U.S. Forest Service investigated the incident after receiving a report on May 19 by a person traveling on horseback and who saw a helicopter parked on a gravel bar on the South Fork of the...
SEELEY LAKE - Rain fell onto the blue and white umbrellas keeping the Johnson's Homegrown stand dry for the Sunday, June 21 Farmers Market. The stand was the only vendor at the market, a rare sight when last year the entire lot of the Seeley Lake Community Foundation would be filled by merchants and customers. "[The Missoula County's] regulations for farmers' markets were for produce only, so that is what we started with," said Carla Schade, Seeley Lake Community Foundation board member and...
SEELEY LAKE – At their June 16 meeting, the Seeley Lake Fire District Board of Trustees approved pay increases for Fire Chief Dave Lane and District Administrator Lynn Richards. Captain Michael Richards also shared details about the Fire Foundation Pancake breakfast that is scheduled on the Fourth of July in compliance with the Missoula City-County Health Department regulations. Lane proposed a seven percent raise for Lynn Richards. This is twice the increase recommended by Missoula County and would be nearly a $2,500 increase for the year. R...
SEELEY LAKE – COVID-19 has infected not only our bodies but also our language. Three interesting new words arising from the pandemic are doomsurfing (and its companion doomscrolling) and infodemic. Whether or not Kevin Roose originated the phrase doomsurfing, he certainly offers a vivid definition of it in his New York Times April 20, 2020 article: “I’ve been doing a lot of this kind of doomsurfing recently — falling into deep, morbid rabbit holes filled with coronavirus content, agitating myself to the point of physical discomfort, erasing any...
Last week's Graying Pains story explored the challenges of family farm succession as Montana's agricultural demographic ages, and a program designed to connect up-and-coming farmers in western Montana. This week's installment explores the same issue - and a community college proposal to address it - near the state's eastern border. * * * * * GLENDIVE - Not everyone who is interested in agriculture grows up on a farm, and without the skills and experience, finding your way into a family farm...
SEELEY LAKE - Erika Wilson knew in the back of her mind there was no way Mission Bible Fellowship's Vacation Bible School summer camp would be able to happen this year. Instead, she opted to create a smaller, more personal camp in her own backyard. "Kids have a hard enough time keeping their hands to themselves, period," Wilson said. "I felt we have to do something different." Normally the church holds a vacation bible school in its normal building, which brings about 100 campers and...
SEELEY LAKE – The Seeley Lake Elementary School board discussed hiring and hired some of the proposed summer and kitchen staff positions at their June 15 meeting. They also approved several contracts and agreed to add preschool/transitional kindergarten funding and recreation equipment to the agenda for the July meeting after they were brought up during public comment. At the start of the meeting, Chair Kyle Marx addressed the nine letters submitted to the board regarding the recent teacher reassignments to different grades. A special board m...
SEELEY LAKE – The Seeley Lake Sewer District Board held a meeting June 15 where it seated its newly elected Board members, elected new officers, selected the market value approach to spreading assessments to pay for the administrative budget and set a new time for regular meetings. The Board also discussed hiring a new attorney for its regular business. Directors Tom Morris and Jason Gilpin who were elected in May were seated at the meeting. They were not sworn in during the meeting because Morris and Gilpin had already completed their Oath o...
SEELEY LAKE - Runners stretched, filled up their water bottles, and did practice laps to prepare for three different length versions of the Bad Bob race, put on by the Mountain Trail Series June 20. The 10, 25, and 50K launched from the Seeley Creek trailhead and sent trail runners from Morrell Creek over the top of Rice Ridge. "Today has gone by and everything seems smoother than normal," said race organizer Chris Stout. "The route is a little different but to be honest the race is pretty much...
Weekly COVID-19 update As of June 22, there are 734 cases of COVID-19 in Montana. There are 163 active cases, 89 hospitalizations with 13 active, 550 recoveries and 21 deaths in Montana due to COVID-19 complications. Missoula County has had 49 cases and one reported death. For the most up-to-date and accurate information and best ways of protecting yourself and others, please refer to the Missoula County-City Health Department website http://missoula.co/cvirus or call 406-258-INFO (4636) Monday – Friday from 8 a.m. – 5 p.m. Other resources inc...
