Sorted by date Results 2671 - 2695 of 6337
SEELEY LAKE –Kody Kelley of Seeley Lake plead not guilty May 28 to a felony charge of theft of property exceeding $1,500 by embezzlement. According to charging documents, on March 21, Seeley Lake Volunteer Fire Foundation President Michael Richards stated that Kelley, the Foundation’s treasurer, used the Foundation’s debit card for personal purchases and money withdrawals. Kelley had been the Foundation’s treasurer since February or March of 2018. When Kelley stopped providing financial statements and coming to the Foundation’s meeting,...
MISSOULA - Warmer, drier conditions have tilted the scales in fire danger from Moderate to High. Recent lightning storms have ignited a dozen fires in the area but since grasses in the forest remain green and fuel moistures in larger forest fuels remains high, initial attack has kept all of those fires less than 1/3 of an acre in size. Human-caused fires are the major point of emphasis for wildland fire managers. Fire danger at lower elevations are more likely to spread in valley bottoms as grasses begin to cure. There has been a significant...
KALISPELL – USDA Forest Service Chief Vicki Christiansen recently honored The Bob Marshall Wilderness Foundation, the nonprofit partner that coordinates with the Forest Service in stewardship of the Bob Marshall Wilderness Complex, with the Chief’s 2019 “Enduring Service” award. In total, more than 73 nominations in five categories were considered nationally for the 2019 USDA Forest Service Volunteer and Service Award that recognizes public contributions to citizen stewardship & partnerships, cultural diversity, enduring service, and leaders...
SEELEY LAKE – Multiple bridge and culvert replacement projects are in progress or scheduled to begin within the next 2-3 weeks on the Seeley Lake Ranger District. Temporary road closures will be in place for public safety due to heavy machinery operations and temporarily impassable road segments in the project areas. “We thank the public for their patience and understanding as we work on these critical repairs,” said Quinn Carver, Seeley Lake District Ranger. “These repairs will ensure recreational access and long-term road integrity as well...
SEELEY LAKE – “There was a lot of dead timber and dead trees standing and it was quite a mess,” said Sandi Pisauro during a presentation about the Clearwater Resource Council’s Fuels Mitigation Program. “We knew right away we wanted to get something taken care of.” The Pisauroes moved onto three and a half acres on the Double Arrow last summer and received a grant to help mitigate their fuels. They worked with logger Jaylund Rammell and completed the project in about three months. “It worked so well and the property looks fabulous,” sa...
MISSOULA - The Missoula City-County Health Department board voted unanimously to require facemasks in every indoor public space in the county at their July 9 meeting. They received over 4,000 comments from the public before the hearing, of which roughly half were processed. The processed comments showed 80% support for the initiative. The ruling goes into effect immediately and makes face masks the new normal as coronavirus cases continue to rise across the county and Montana. “Our cases are up and they continue to go up, our number of c...
Tens of thousands of businesses and nonprofit organizations across Montana have benefited from the Paycheck Protection Program, a massive federal effort that has routed billions of dollars into subsidized bank loans intended to help small businesses keep workers on payroll during the economic disruption prompted by the coronavirus pandemic. Data released this week by the U.S. Small Business Administration provides the first detailed accounting of the businesses aided by the program, indicating...
SEELEY LAKE – With the COVID-19 regulations limiting vendors at farmers markets and closing fairs and festivals, craft vendors have been "left in a lurch." However the restrictions did not stop local craft businesses Montana Girl, Obsession Pottery and The Stubborn Moose from finding a creative solution. They opened a new cooperative named "Handcrafted in Seeley Lake" in the Filling Station Mall. They offer a fun, unique selection of locally handcrafted items and classes for the community and v...
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 provided information about 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...
In 2010, the Whitehall Senior Center, an activity and meals hub for seniors in Whitehall, was trying to unload a bus and a van it had been using to transport its patrons and residents of a nearby assisted-living home. The Montana Department of Transportation had designated the center that area's agency to provide state-funded public transportation for seniors and people with disabilities. But the center was finding the state's reporting system and other requirements too cumbersome. Dick Gustin,...
Over his 29 years working in Glacier National Park, U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) research ecologist Dan Fagre has seen a lot of changes. Even as the pressures of climate change encroach upon this mountain region, Fagre and other scientists see boundless opportunities for research and education. Fagre and other members of the USGS Climate Change and Mountain Ecosystems (CCME) Program focus on alpine climatology, snowpack, snow avalanches, alpine vegetation, and glaciers for most of their...
Seeley Lake Library closed for renovations SEELEY LAKE - The Seeley Lake Library will be temporarily closed for curbside service beginning the week of July 13 due to renovations taking place at Seeley-Swan High School. The public will be notified as soon as the library reopens. Thank you for your patience and support. Seeley Lake Water District closed to general traffic SEELEY LAKE – The Seeley Lake Water District Office is open to the public by appointment only. Please call 677-2559 to make an appointment. Masks are required. Seeley Lake R...
MONTANA – Governor Steve Bullock today issued a directive requiring face coverings in certain indoor spaces and for certain organized outdoor activities in counties currently experiencing four or more active cases of COVID-19 to slow the spread of the virus in Montana. Governor Bullock issued the directive to require businesses, government offices and other indoor spaces open to the public to ensure that employees, contractors, volunteers, customers and other members of the public wear a face mask that covers their mouth and nose while r... Full story
As Montana enters into July, the 2020 fire season is expected to put the state’s prevention and containment capabilities to the test. Not only is the current climate being compared to years like 2017 but officials are also working to present the spread of the coronavirus between firefighters and camps. “Fundamentally COVID is just another twist we go through when assessing our fires,” said Seeley Lake District Ranger Quinn Carver. “[The season] probably won’t be a lot different. You still don’t know where the fire will start and you don’t k...
SEELEY LAKE – It was just another day for John Devins out practicing with his little league team at the Seeley Lake Elementary baseball fields until SLE superintendent John Hebnes came out and encouraged him to apply for the maintenance position. With a degree in education, teaching experience and working as a carpenter for almost 20 years, Devins applied for the opportunity and was hired more than 20 years ago. He will close the door on this chapter as he retires July 8. "I have been g...
As dusk approached Seeley Lake's Fourth of July, Tamaracks Resort owners Jessica and Jeff Kimmel waited patiently as the first ever fireworks show that they put on for the community was about to begin. "Right at 10:30 p.m. all the boats on the water started honking their horns and we armed the barge, punched in the code and hit go," said Jessica. "And 28 seconds later it went off." The display went off without a hitch. In past years the Seeley Lake Area Chamber of Commerce hosted the official...
SALMON LAKE - To land a northern pike that is half as long as one is tall is definitely an accomplishment. Ten-year-old James Hocking of Butte, Montana did just that while fishing on Salmon Lake over the Fourth of July weekend. When Hocking set the hook, the pike went straight to the bottom and nearly took him with it. His step-mother Samantha grabbed him and the rod and kept him in the boat while netting the fish. His grandparents Norm and Charmin Bernstrauch of Seeley Lake were there for the...
MISSOULA - Warmer, drier conditions recently have tilted the scales in fire danger from Low to Moderate, indicating the start of fire season in Montana. Even though grass is green, the primary indicator of fire danger is the dryness of dead fuels. In response to the move to Moderate fire danger, Missoula County is closing Outdoor Burning by Permit, effective Tuesday, July 7. There were thousands of burn permits activated in Missoula County since outdoor burning by permit was opened in March. Missoula County Fire Protection Association agencies...
Missoula County is planning to resurface portions of Holland Lake Road, Frontier Drive, Canyon Drive and Placid Creek Road. The project is scheduled to begin Monday, July 13, though scheduling will be dependent on the Montana Department of Transportation’s contractor for a separate project on Highway 83. Missoula County will receive millings from the MDT project on Highway 83. MDT’s contractor will deliver millings to the four county roads and Missoula County Public Works Road Division will then place and compact the milled material along the...
Less than three years have passed since the fires of 2017 and the Lolo National Forest is still making significant steps toward recovery in areas impacted by severe wildfire. Working in close partnership with the National Forest Foundation (NFF), a national nonprofit partner of the U.S. Forest Service, crews have completed planting of over 240,000 Ponderosa Pine and Western Larch seedlings across the Missoula, Seeley Lake, Superior and Plains-Thompson Falls Ranger Districts located in Missoula, Mineral and Sanders counties. Planting occured...
In 1949 you could buy some pretty powerful fireworks, fairly cheap compared to today’s prices. A big choice of all kinds of roman candles, buzz bombs with metal propellers, you had to be very careful where you set them off. They usually went straight up, but sometimes they didn’t and would scoot along the ground until they hit something solid. If a person was in the way they could be hurt pretty bad. There was a piece called a serpent, when you set that off it went thru the air slithering like a big snake, leaving a big string of sparks beh...
POTOMAC - During the June 29 school board meeting via Webex, the Potomac School Board approved a series of policies that will give the school district the flexibility to address whatever conditions and/or requirements the school district will face in August as they prepare to return to school for the 2020- 2021 school year. Potomac School Principal John Rouse said, “Our intention is to provide quality in-person classroom instruction unless required to do otherwise by the Governor’s office, the health department or our local school boa... Full story
SEELEY LAKE - The Seeley Lake Volunteer Fire Foundation pancake breakfast kicked off the Fourth of July activities in Seeley Lake. Even though they modified a few things to accommodate with the Health Department regulations surrounding the coronavirus, the community still had the opportunity to start their celebration with the traditional pancake breakfast. In the afternoon, Highway 83 was empty but a new boat parade was launched thanks to the organizational efforts of Tamaracks Resort. The...
Last week in Graying Pains, the Missoulian's David Erickson examined the introduction and implementation of Kaigo Hoken, or care insurance, in Japan, the world's demographically oldest country. This week's conclusion of that story explores how a similar policy might translate to Montana, the oldest state in the American West. A full 13% of Montanans are in their 60s, and the "baby boomer" generation is nearing or entering retirement age. Care for the elderly will become an increasingly pressing...
Lions Club firewood raffle winner SEELEY LAKE – Phil Hauck won this year’s Lions Club Firewood Raffle. Lion Boyd Gossard said the fundraiser went very well and they appreciated everyone’s support. Health Department considers mandating masks indoors, July 9 The Missoula City-County Board of Health will convene a special meeting on Thursday, July 9 from 12:15 - 2:15 p.m., to reviewing a proposed mask rule. Requiring masks would be to reduce the spread of the pandemic disease COVID-19 by increasing the use of face coverings among people in indoo...
