Sorted by date Results 5280 - 5304 of 6303
HELENA -- A bill that would have abolished the death penalty in Montana was narrowly voted down in committee last week on a 9-10 vote. House Bill 366, sponsored by Rep. Adam Hertz, R-Missoula, would have replaced a death sentence with life imprisonment without possibility of parole. Hertz said the bill represented productive use of tax dollars, a pro-life philosophy from “conception until natural death,” and the notion of an offender’s redemption for their crimes. “I cannot in good conscience claim to be pro-life and support a system that ta...
OVANDO – The Saturday after Super Bowl, the Ovando community joins together for the Annual Ovando Community Luau. They don their best Hawaiian attire over long johns, sweaters and wool socks and reconnect with friends over lunch. According to Ovando's Organizer of Frivolous Affairs Kathy Schoendoerfer, the first luau was held in 2005 and has continued every year since. The purpose is simply for Ovando residents to shake off cabin fever with good food, drinks and conversation with their n...
POTOMAC - The Potomac/Greenough Community Center (PGCC) was filled with more than 50 people Feb. 11 eating a Valentine meal and then playing Bingo. The function was the second time the PGCC board has offered bingo to the community. The Potomac School eighth-graders participated by providing a dinner beforehand to earn money for their trip this spring. Dinner included spaghetti, salad, bread, drinks and desserts. Pink lemonade was the special drink served for the occasion as well as red heart...
SWAN VALLEY - Swan Valley Elementary (SVE) sixth-grader Trista Alexander won the school's spelling bee held Feb. 7 at SVE. Alexander is pictured with runner-up seventh-grader Seth Richardson and SVE supervising teacher Susan Bracha. Alexander competed against ten Swan Valley students in grades five through eight. After Alexander and Richardson out spelled the other students, Alexander went head-to-head with Richardson, spelling several words including bedlam, quandary and pearlescent, to break...
CORRECTION – Swan Lake “Threatened” Not “Impaired” In the Seeley Swan Pathfinder’s Feb. 2 ‘A Place for All’ column titled “Water Quality in the Swan Valley – It Takes Work,” it stated that Swan Lake was listed as an “impaired water body.” That is incorrect. Goat and Jim Creeks are impaired waterbodies; however, Swan Lake is listed as “threatened” because of the very low dissolved oxygen levels in the deep parts of the lake in the summertime. Community Choir to Start in Seeley Lake, Feb. 23 SEELEY LAKE - A community choir is being orga...
SEELEY LAKE – Emergency personnel from Seeley Lake, Potomac, Condon and Missoula responded to a propane leak from a broken valve on a propane tank Saturday, Feb. 4 just after 10 a.m. Volunteer firefighters secured the scene on the corner of Locust Lane and Tamarack Drive in Seeley Lake while Seeley-Swan Search and Rescue (SSSAR) and law enforcement officers evacuated the immediate area. No one was injured and Energy Partners removed the propane tank after all of the product was emptied. Seeley L...
SEELEY LAKE – Seeley Lake Elementary (SLE) is continuing the conversation and support for mental health following the Say Something Assembly. SLE has curriculum in place for all ages to help them learn how to identify and communicate their feelings and become more resilient. The mental services at SLE and in the community are a testament to the need and offer the help that many need to be able to stabilize and get back to a healthy, balanced life. The Say Something Assemblies were held Jan. 1...
SEELEY LAKE – Seeley Lake Regional Outdoor Center for Kinetic Sports (ROCKS) hosted its fourth annual Peter Hale Memorial Race Saturday, Feb. 4 at the Rich Ranch. Among the 60 participants was two-time Olympian and Olympic Coach John Morton. On Friday evening before the race, Morton shared stories from his time with the Olympic team as a participant and coach. He also provided information about his involvement in the Seeley Lake Nordic Trails development. Morton represented the United States o...
LINCOLN - Race to the Sky, Montana’s premier sled dog race runs Feb. 10-14. After several years of low snow pack on the race trail, officials are battling very deep snow and tough trail conditions, the trail crew reported today. There are teams from Alaska, Montana, Washington, Utah, Idaho, Oregon and British Columbia, Canada entered in the race thus far. Sixteen teams have registered. Race to the Sky starts Feb. 10 with the 300 mile vet check at Y.M.C.A. in Helena at 11 a.m. - 1 p.m. followed by 5:30 p.m. with the Camp Rimini Commemorative Run...
SEELEY LAKE – The Seeley Lake Fire Board approved the shipping cost for the department to acquire a 2011 Polaris Ranger Crew. Seeley Lake Fire Chief Bob Vanden Heuvel feels this will expand the capabilities of the department to allow volunteers more mobility for event coverage and for assistance on wildland fires. The vehicle is free through the Firefighter Property Program with the State of Montana Department of Natural Resources and Conservation program. However, the district is responsible for the $1,850 shipping. Vanden Heuvel notified t...
SEELEY LAKE - Air Quality in Seeley Lake will kick off the meeting of the Seeley Lake Community Council next Monday. Ben Schmidt, Missoula County Air Quality Specialist, wants to start a general conversation on wood stoves and air quality with a focus on the neighborhood immediately south of the elementary school (see the Place for All column on page 4 for more information). Rachel Feigley, USFS District Ranger, will follow with a discussion of the Center-Horse project, an extensive forestry project along the southern boundary of the Bob...
MISSOULA – The Southwestern Crown of the Continent Collaborative and the Flathead, Helena-Lewis and Clark and Lolo National Forests received the 2016 Forest Service Chief's Award for Sustaining Forests and Grasslands through the Collaborative Forest Landscape Restoration Program (CFLRP). The award was accepted on behalf of the Collaborative and the Forests on Dec. 8, at a ceremony in Washington, D.C. by Tim Garcia, Lolo National Forest Supervisor. The recipients were chosen from more than 80 n...
SEELEY LAKE - The Lolo National Forest is proposing the North Fork Blackfoot Trail Bridges Project located in the Scapegoat Wilderness on the Hobnail Tom Trail #32 on the Seeley Lake Ranger District, Lolo National Forest. The project area is situated within the upper reaches of the North Fork Blackfoot River watershed and is located entirely on National Forest System Lands. The Hobnail Tom Trail #32, located on the Seeley Lake Ranger District, is a highly developed mainline trail (Trail Class 4), approximately 27 miles in length, which provides...
POTOMAC - More than 20 Potomac School students along with staff and parents traveled to Discovery Ski Area Feb. 3 for a ski day. This ski day for Potomac students was in conjunction with the Friday Explorers program. Discovery Ski Area offers programs for schools to participate in ski days at special rates. Potomac along with other schools including Lone Rock and Butte Central skied and snowboarded during a cloudy, snowy and then clear day. Potomac teachers Raynee Clairmont and Kristina Davis...
“Colorado is high, having more peaks within its borders than any other state. Wyoming is wide, with the breadth of the plains between the Bighorns and the Grand Tetons. California is handsome, with a splendor of success. It takes all three adjectives to describe Montana.” In 1941, Donald Curloss Peattie, a naturalist of the 1920s through the 1950s, included these words in his book “The Road of a Naturalist.” In 1943, Montana newsman and writer Joseph Kinsey Howard took the three descrip...
MISSOULA - The Missoula County Commissioners are looking to fill vacancies on eight boards. All applications are available online or in the County Commissioners’ Office, located at 199 West Pine Street. Submissions may be filed electronically or emailed to bcc@missoulacounty.us. Deadline for applications is Feb. 16 by 5 p.m. except for the Zoning Board of Adjustments’ deadline which is Feb. 17 by 5 p.m. and Library Board Alternate which is March 3. Historical Museum Board – Two regular member vacancies and one alternate position to serve a thr...
MISSOULA - In a lively and thought-provoking evening presentation Thursday, Feb. 16 at 7 p.m. at the Heritage Hall, 20 Fort Missoula Road, Missoula, Mont., wildlife biologist and author Douglas Chadwick, who recently published “Tracking Gobi Grizzlies: Surviving Beyond the Back of Beyond” (with photographs by Joe Riis), will recap this rare bear’s fight for survival in one of the toughest, most remote settings on earth. His presentation, will illustrate why saving this endangered animal supports an entire ecosystem made up of hundreds of inter...
Seeley Lake resident Steve Felix's 2016 archery hunt began with clear, cool weather and ended with a once in a lifetime record bull elk. The bull is considered a pending world record archery typical bull until it is panel-scored in February in Missouri. The current record archery bull scores 412 1/8 inches. Native Minnesotan Felix has hunted since he was 14 years old. For the last 36 years he has rifle hunted as well as archery. "Bow hunting is my passion," he said. He hunts antelope, mule...
SEELEY LAKE – Brook Bezanson told Seeley Lake Elementary (SLE) students she was called stupid and lazy as a child because she had dyslexia and learning was difficult for her. She said in high school a lot of people called her Goth because she liked wearing black. This year however, the whole world calls her Miss Montana. On Jan. 23, Bezanson came to SLE to tell students, "What you believe is what you achieve." The message Bezanson elaborated to students was, "If you believe people who say you c...
SEELEY LAKE – Saturday, Jan. 28 marked the 35th annual Over Seeley's Creeks & Ridges (OSCR). Nearly 150 racers participated in the 50 kilometer (K), 20K, 10K or 5K races. When talking with those who have raced numerous years there are no shortage of stories, some true and others questionable. While the OSCR Hall of Fame posted 35 years of 50K winners at the Saturday awards ceremony and chili feed, it was connecting with old friends and sharing stories that so many cherished. With the exception o...
DEER LODGE – The Powell County Planning Board will reconsider their December decision regarding the Conditional Use Permit (CUP) for a proposed gravel pit on Cottonwood Lakes Road at their Feb. 9 meeting. While written comments will be accepted and considered until the meeting, no public comment will be taken at the meeting. Frank Tabish of LHC Inc. in Kalispell, Mont. applied for the CUP with Powell County to operate a 26.5-acre gravel pit within 160 acres four miles east of Highway 83 and south of Cottonwood Lakes Road. Seeley Lake r...
MISSOULA - With tax season underway and Tax Identity Theft Awareness Week set to kick-off Jan. 31, Better Business Bureau (BBB) serving the Northwest is reminding the public to be vigilant with their personal information. Tax collection scams were the most reported fraud cases to BBB in 2016 with more than 7,500 reported. BBB serving the Northwest is urging consumers to be wary of unsolicited phone calls, emails or letters purported to be from the IRS or any official-sounding government agency. Watch for these common tax related scams:...
SWAN VALLEY - The Swan Valley Regional Planning Committee (SVRPC) discussed and used edits and comments from the public to clarify section 2.4 New Industrial Development in the second element of the plan draft entitled Economic Development at their meeting on Jan. 24. They also addressed the goals, policies and actions pertaining to the Economic Development Element. The SVRPC accepted public comments about the wording to the draft’s New Industrial Development section, eliminated unnecessary sentences and clarified other wording. The New I...
SEELEY LAKE – Seeley Lake resident Tera Wold is the new Executive Director of Sparrow's Vine Pregnancy Resource Center. Wold looks forward to bringing her compassion and enthusiasm to help others and be a mentor to clients by establishing a relationship with them. Wold's husband Jason was the auctioneer at the Sparrow's Vine fundraiser last September. Wold said she goes with her husband 99 percent of the time when he holds auctions but was not planning on it that day. "Something told me to get u...
