Sorted by date Results 5405 - 5429 of 6303
OVANDO – Ovando was bustling this past Saturday, Dec. 3 with people from all over western Montana. Some came just to see Cowboy Claus, while others took in the various activities held throughout town. In keeping with tradition, children filed into the fire hall to make graham cracker gingerbread houses. Every child appeared to have a plan as they carefully choose the decorations for their house. The masterpieces, topped with dozens of different candies, sat on display as they dried. Downtown a...
SWAN VALLEY - The Swan Valley Elementary School's gym and junior high classroom were transformed Saturday, Dec. 3 into a bustling holiday Frostbite Festival put on by the Upper Swan Valley Historical Society (USVHS). Included in the festival was something for all ages. The school gym was filled to near capacity with hand made crafts, photography, stain glass creations, gift books, and direct sales vendors. Also featured was food catered by Mike and Pat Smith of the Swan Valley Center and...
SEELEY LAKE – Snowmobile season will soon be in full swing with more than three feet of new snow in the mountains over the past week. Missoula County Sheriff's Office Sergeant Robert Parcell and Seeley Swan Search & Rescue (SSSAR) Chief Gerry Connell offer a few tips for snowmobilers to keep them legal and safe this season. Snowmobiles are required to follow the U.S. Forest Service Travel Plans for the specific national forest. The Over-the-Snow Vehicle Maps are available at the local ranger d...
MISSOULA - Dec. 1 marks the closing of outdoor burning by permit in western Montana. While there has been abundant precipitation since October and the welcome snowfall recently, the main consideration for outdoor burning season to close is one of poor air quality. It is common for strong inversions to set up in the valleys of western Montana during the winter months. If residents were allowed to continue outdoor burning by permit in the winter, adverse air quality conditions would be the likely result. Since outdoor burning by permit opened...
SWAN VALLEY - The Swan Valley Community Foundation (SVCF) Community Support Fund is a small grant program administered by SVCF. Its purpose is supporting eligible Swan Valley non-profit organizations and their efforts that benefit the Swan Valley Community. The SVCF Community Support Fund is funded through a grant from the William H. Donner Foundation Inc. The grant applications and criteria will be available Dec. 13. Non-profits serving the Swan Valley from Summit to Goat Creek are encouraged to apply. Eligible applicants include IRS...
HELENA - A new grant from Montana’s Forests in Focus program will make homes safer, create well-paying jobs and improve forest health – all at the same time. The $249,534 grant will be used to thin out dense forest to reduce the hazards posed by wildfire. Besides reducing the fuel load for any potential wildfire, the work will open up the forest, allowing more light and moisture in to nurture the trees that are left. The work will create 17 jobs between this December and November of next year and will supply 3,166 tons of materials to local mil...
SEELEY LAKE – Seeley Lake residents Chris Flinders and Patty Dillree said it has become a tradition to get in the Christmas spirit by pulling chairs in front of the big fireplace at Double Arrow Lodge and listening to the music of the Seeley-Swan Mountain Bells. A packed crowd on Dec. 1 proved they were not the only ones who enjoyed the bell carols. The Mountain Bells presentation, called Music by the Fire, began with "Joy to the World" and continued with traditional Christmas carols i...
SEELEY LAKE – Located off Dolly Varden Drive at the end of the meadow bordered by Trail Creek is an old log building commonly referred to as the Homestead Cabin. Now owned by the Double Arrow Ranch Landowners Association (DARLOA), the cabin is valued as a symbol of the pioneering days of Seeley Lake. The official designation for the land on which the Homestead Cabin stands is NW¼ of Section 12 (16N, 15W). According to the records at the Bureau of Land Management General Land Office, A. B...
Forest Service Roads Closed to Wheeled Vehicles SEELEY LAKE – Due to the recent snow, the Seeley Lake Ranger District along with the Seeley Lake Driftriders Snowmobile Club began the Forest Service road closure process Monday afternoon, Dec. 5. While there is still not enough snow for grooming, SLRD recreation staff said the closure allows a solid base to build without ruts. It also promotes public safety by preventing drivers from getting stuck. For more information about road closures stop in or call the SLRD, 406-677-2233. The information i...
SEELEY LAKE - Winter is not here yet and the Seeley Lake Ranger District will be providing some flexibility in the wheeled vehicle access on roads that normally are scheduled to close Dec. 1. “The district recognizes the public desire for vehicular access to enjoy their National Forests if conditions permit,” said Seeley Lake District Ranger Rachel Feigley. “This fall, snow has not accumulated enough to support snowmobiling, mushing, skiing or other uses allowed on our winter trails. We want to continue to allow the public access where roads...
SEELEY LAKE – The five University of Montana (UM) students who make up the 2016 Celebration Brass Quintet had a busy three days Nov. 20-22. They traveled the Seeley, Swan and Potomac valleys to perform four informances, four workshops and one community concert. Though the quintet played many of the same pieces at each venue, their presentation differed from group to group. The full musical playlist was performed at the community concert at Swan Valley School. Incorporating music from Bach to con...
SEELEY LAKE - Frank Tabish of LHC Inc. in Kalispell, Mont. has applied for a Conditional Use Permit (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. Gary Lewis, owner of Deer Creek Aggregates, LLC, will be leasing the pit after it has been developed and sees many benefits of the gravel pit to the area. An opposing group of Double Arrow Ranch landowners feels it will be detrimental to the area. Powell...
SEELEY LAKE - The Holiday Home Party Extravaganza featured 14 direct sales consultants offering everything from health and wellness, to everyday home items and fashion. Since its start four years ago, the extravaganza has been held on Small Business Saturday. Organizer Kelly Hoag said this is a great opportunity for direct sales consultants to feature their wares and interact with the community all at one location. Many of the consultants agreed that the reason to shop local through the holiday...
Montana Fish, Wildlife & Parks (FWP) reports that white-tailed deer harvest reported through the Anaconda, Bonner and Darby check stations reached a six-year high with the close of the 2016 general big game hunting season on Sunday. “The climb in white-tailed deer harvest is welcome and follows an upward trend in deer populations on public land, as well as on private land,” said Mike Thompson, FWP Region 2 Wildlife Manager. On the other hand, elk harvest was 36 percent behind last season, due primarily to a lack of snow and cold weather suf...
SEELEY LAKE – When Great Falls resident Ben Sidor expanded his business Coop Ski Works into Montana, he had trouble finding a local wood supplier for spruce. His search ended at Pyramid Mountain Lumber, Inc. in Seeley Lake. There he found the spruce lumber needed for the wood core to make his backcountry skis the lightest, strongest backcountry skis on the market. Sidor started building skis out of Wenatchee, Wash. with three friends in September 2014. Their first shop was a chicken coop so a...
SEELEY LAKE – Three Seeley-Swan High School (SSHS) band students participated in the University of Montana (UM) All-Star Wind Ensemble Nov. 11-13. Seniors Tessa Grimes and Trinitey Bartlett and freshman Jayla Kauffman each said the opportunity to play with other musicians with more experience has made them better players. SSHS Music Director Kaytee Ambrozich said seven students applied for the All-Star Wind Ensembles. Three were chosen based on their level and need for the band. SSHS paid for t...
GREENOUGH - Hali Miller is a new teacher at Sunset School in Greenough. Miller believes each student has the right to get the highest and best education possible. Miller is from Sunburst, Mont., a small town seven miles south of the Canadian border. She attended school at the College of Education at the University of Montana in Missoula, Mont. She graduates this December with her teaching certificate for kindergarten through eighth grade. Miller's student teaching brought her to Greenough to...
SEELEY LAKE - It's getting to be that time of year again as Christmas fast approaches. Each year Seeley Lake Lions Club distributes Holiday Food Baskets to area families in need of help, providing a holiday meal for Christmas. The Lions perform various fundraisers throughout the year to raise money to purchase turkey dinners, with all the trimmings for those in need. Besides fundraisers by the club, personal donations have been made in the past from community residents. All groceries are...
Seeley-Swan Mountain Bells to Perform Carols by the Fire – Dec. 1 SEELEY LAKE - The Seeley-Swan Mountain Bells invite the community to join them as they ring in the Christmas season with Carols by the Fire. Enjoy an evening of traditional carols and holiday tunes in the Great Hall of the Double Arrow Lodge Thursday, Dec. 1 at 6:30 p.m. Admission is free. Donations to help support the choir, maintain the bells, buy music and so forth will be gratefully accepted. What is Your Big Idea? SEELEY LAKE – Meet small business experts John Donovan fro...
SEELEY LAKE – Two employees of Pyramid Mountain Lumber, Inc. were killed in two separate incidents Thursday morning, Nov. 17. The first, 60-year-old David Solum of Condon, Mont. was killed in a vehicle accident while travelling south on Highway 83 around 6:15 a.m. The second victim, 66-year-old Phil Pohlman of Seeley Lake, was killed in an industrial accident during his shift at Pyramid. Solum was involved in a single-vehicle accident on Highway 83 near mile marker 25. He was heading south to w...
SEELEY LAKE - The Seeley Lake Community Council hosted a question and answer session with experts involved in the proposed wastewater treatment plant. Voters will decide whether or not to allow the board to move forward. Ballots for the bond election are being mailed Nov. 23 and are due back to the Missoula County Elections Office Dec. 13. Seeley Lake Sewer District Vice President Mike Lindemer introduced the panel. Engineer Craig Pozega from Great West Engineering (GW) was attending to answer...
SEELEY LAKE - As of their Nov. 17 regular meeting, the Seeley Lake Sewer Board will not be sending out informational packets on the proposed wastewater treatment plant. Concerned residents discussed the possibility of sending out information on their own at the meeting. District Vice President Mike Lindemer said the district planned to publish an informational packet but hit a legal roadblock. An attorney with the public relations company the district hired to produce the packet said it would be illegal to send. Lindemer said the board was...
SEELEY LAKE – An estimated 80 to 90 people piled some combination of turkey, ham, gravy, stuffing, rolls, mashed potatoes and sweet potatoes on their plates at the annual Community Thanksgiving Dinner at the Swan Valley Community Hall, Nov. 20. They then chatted with their neighbors, visited with old friends or met new acquaintances. When their plate was empty they went back for a slice of apple or pumpkin pie, both of which disappeared quickly. The Condon Community Church sponsors the event. C...
SEELEY LAKE – Public comment on the SLE Outside store, current school district policies for conduct on school property and the Drug and Alcohol Free Workplace were topics of discussion at the Seeley Lake Elementary School Board meeting, Nov 15. The board made no changes to the current policies. They anticipate discussing the profit and loss report for the SLE Outside store at their January meeting. Business owner Duane Anderson inquired about the profit and loss statement for the SLE Outside store. District clerk Sally Johnson said she had o...
