Sorted by date Results 5193 - 5217 of 6303
SEELEY LAKE - The Seeley Lake Sewer Board received news at the March 16 meeting that they will be given a second chance at a funding package from the United States Department of Agriculture, Rural Development (RD). The board also discussed hiring a public relations firm to help put out their information to landowners and the community. “[District Manager Greg Robertson] has received verbal approval that RD is going to let [the sewer district] move forward with another shot at the funding,” said Manager Amy Rose. “This time with a notice and p...
SEELEY LAKE – The Seeley Lake Senior Center (Sela Senci) has teamed up with Missoula Aging Services (MAS) for the 15th annual March for Meals – a month-long, nationwide celebration and fundraising effort for Meals on Wheels. Sela Senci has delivered up to 19 meals per day in the Seeley Lake area and is currently running a $100 per week deficit with their program. While Sela Senci holds fundraisers to help keep their budget in the black, President Boyd Gossard is thankful for the opportunity to...
SEELEY LAKE – Seeley Lake Elementary (SLE) Board approved a resolution of intent to impose an increase in levies should Senate Bill (SB) 307 be approved. Superintendent Chris Stout also apprised the board of the preliminary discussions to end Thursday early outs and add a Friday off at the end of the quarter for the 2017-2018 calendar. SB307 is sponsored by Llew Jones (R) of District 9 in Conrad, Mont. The bill’s intent is to revise the laws related to school funding. It allows school trustees to adopt a resolution to increase non-voted lev...
SEELEY LAKE & POTOMAC – The Seeley Lake Trailblazers and Potomac 4-H Clubs are joining with the other 4H clubs who attend the Western Montana Fair to collect gently worn, used and new shoes. This effort is a fundraiser with Funds2Orgs to raise funds to benefit the Western Montana Fair 4H/FFA Livestock Marketing Committee's (Committee) promotion of the 4H livestock sale at the County Fair. In Seeley Lake, shoes can be dropped off at Seeley Lake Elementary (SLE) or at ReMarkable Floral until A...
SEELEY LAKE – The winners of this year's Biggest Loser Six-Week Challenge held by Optimal Fitness in Seeley Lake were all winners from past challenges. Seeley Lake residents Susan Bracha, Jodie Miller and Mike Dellwo all returned to the podium again this year with Bracha defending her title from last year. Optimal Fitness owner Terryl Bartlett said the participation in the annual 12-week challenge was declining a little bit every year. She decided to "change things up" and shorten the length o...
As the state of Montana gears up for the influx of boats and watercraft that might carry invasive mussels, Montana Fish, Wildlife & Parks (FWP) is working quickly to update measures that help prevent the spread of these species. FWP has proposed new rules that require inspection of all boats leaving Tiber and Canyon Ferry and decontamination at the discretion of the inspector, inspection of all boats entering the state and inspection of all boats crossing the divide into the western special management area. The open comment period for the...
SEELEY LAKE – Pyramid Mountain Lumber Inc. of Seeley Lake announced their new incentive package to help keep their current employees and ultimately help recruit new ones. The announcement comes on the heels of a rebounding market giving them more raw materials to work but a shortage of qualified employees to capitalize on the increase. To work at the mill there are pre-employment drug screening and quarterly random drug screening. Chief Operations Officer Loren Rose feels that anyone, male or female, in decent health and physical strength is c...
Snow biking is gaining popularity among winter enthusiasts in Potomac. Snow bikes are able to go in timber where snowmobiles cannot due to their shape and agility. Most snow bikes are interchangeable into dirt bikes with a special kit and a lot of patience. Snow bikes are different than snowmobiles. Under the dirt bike body, there is a single ski in the front and a narrow track behind, versus the double skis on snowmobiles. "Some snow bikes are interchangeable and can be switched back to a dirt...
SEELEY LAKE – Seeley Lake Elementary (SLE) librarian Michele Holmes has worked for years to find an affordable way to provide students with access to eBooks as part of the school library offerings. At the October 2016 meeting of the Montana Education Association, Holmes helped form a consortium comprised of representatives from small Montana schools. Acting as a unit, the consortium established a shared catalogue of more than 1,900 eBooks for K-12 students. SLE's involvement in eBooks started i...
SEELEY LAKE – The Seeley Lake Elementary (SLE) second grade class performed William Shakespeare's "Much Ado About Nothing" March 8. What started as just a story read aloud to the class in last November turned into a full production with props and costumes and was performed for the SLE students in the afternoon and parents in the evening. SLE second grade teacher Erin Lynch wrote in an email, "I knew that I wanted to do a play with this group of kids because they are highly capable and have a s...
SEELEY LAKE – Seeley Lake resident Laura Devins has brought her professional cake decorating skills and business Chocolate Moose Cakes to Seeley Lake. While her primary focus is wedding cakes, Devins also does custom birthday and sculpture cakes as well as celebration cakes and cupcakes with a variety of fillings and decorating options to make any event special. Beyond the actual decorating, Devins loves the relationship she builds with her clients through the process. During her first year i...
Seeley Lake Library News SEELEY LAKE - The Seeley Lake Library Book Club will discuss J.D. Vance’s “Hillbilly Elegy” Wednesday, April 12 at 11 a.m. In this memoir, Vance describes life growing up in a poor Rust Belt town where many of his family members never fully escape the cycle of abuse, poverty and alcoholism. Vance himself, breaks out and eventually attends Yale Law School. Widely acclaimed, this book has been described as an urgent and troubling meditation on the loss of the American dream for a large segment of [the] country. All are i...
SEELEY LAKE – The Montana Department of Natural Resources & Conservation (DNRC) Southwestern Land Office – Clearwater Unit announced Tuesday, March 14 that the environmental analysis for the Elbow Gravel Pit has stopped and the development of the pit will not be going forward. LHC, Inc., the contractor that approached DNRC for the use of the land, has found an alternative source of gravel for the repaving project from mile marker 16 to 32 on Highway 83. In a letter dated March 14, Clearwater Unit Manager Kristen Baker-Dickinson thanks tho...
LINCOLN – Trails connecting communities to each other, people to the community and dollars to the local economy were the main discussion points at the day-long Southwest Crown Regional Trails Check-in Feb. 28 in Lincoln. The check-in was a continuation of the conversation that was started at the initial Southwest Crown Regional Trails Summit May 2015. It allowed groups to reconnect and share information about what projects are being worked on, learn from one another and to be more efficient i...
SWAN VALLEY – David Moskowitz is a biologist, expert wildlife tracker, photographer, author and outdoor educator. In Montana shooting photos for his Mountain Caribou Initiative project, Moskowitz was invited by Swan Valley Connections to share some of his findings at the Swan Valley Community Hall March 9. While not advocating any specific solution, Moskowitz said his goal was to help illuminate a really complicated ecological and cultural story. The story of the mountain caribou is i...
SEELEY LAKE – It wouldn't be St. Patrick's Day in Seeley Lake without the Seniors Center Annual St. Patrick's Day Dinner, Silent Auction and Cake Walk. Even though the celebration fell March 11, nearly a week before the actual day, the traditional corned beef, cabbage and Irish stew prepared the nearly 100 attendees for St. Patrick's Day March 17. "Overall I think everyone had a very good time," said Senior Center President Boyd Gossard. "It was a good dinner, good cake walk and auctions and eve...
SWAN VALLEY - Local real estate agent John Keller spoke to the Swan Valley Regional Planning Committee (SVRPC) Thursday about his research and thoughts on Land Use in the Swan Valley. Keller told them that the Swan Valley doesn’t need land use designation. He said the valley is set up now for future growth without further zoning and regulations imposed by Missoula County. The SVRPC asked Keller to speak to their task of editing the Land Use Element of the draft growth plan. The committee is concerned with how to word the draft plan so that t...
SEELEY LAKE – Pure Montana Tales presents Double Bill Film Program at 7 p.m. Friday, March 17 at the Seeley Lake Community Hall. “Our Last Refuge,” a 20-minute film and a 60-minute documentary “Bud’s Place,” will be shown. Admission is free and everyone is welcome. “Our Last Refuge” tells the story of the Badger-Two Medicine and the decades-long struggle to protect this sacred homeland of the Blackfeet Nation from oil and gas development. Jack Gladstone will be available for questions and answers following the film. “Bud’s Place” tells the st...
Hard to believe that despite all the snow coming down, spring run-off and ice-off are right around the corner. We received some good news this week on the mussel front. The grant application submitted jointly by Swan Valley Connections, Clearwater Resource Council, Blackfoot Challenge and Missoula County Weed District was approved for the full $72,000. This grant from Montana DNRC will provide funding for monitoring, outreach, and prevention from Swan Lake to the north, down the entire Seeley-Swan Valley and east to Coopers and Browns Lakes....
Last week, Part I addressed how the market has rebounded for Pyramid Mountain Lumber Inc. in Seeley Lake giving them more raw material to work. While the future is looking bright for Pyramid, they are facing a challenge they were not expecting: lack of employees. SEELEY LAKE - Twenty years ago, Pyramid Mountain Lumber Inc.'s sawmill and planer ran 80 hours per week. Production time has now decreased to 40 hours at the sawmill and 60 hours at the planer per week. Chief Operations Officer Loren...
SEELEY LAKE - Seeley Swan Search & Rescue (SSSAR) volunteers suited up in their Ice Commander suits and went for a swim at the inlet of Salmon Lake March 11. This was part of their continued training to be prepared for the best response to the worst cold water emergency. SSSAR Chief Gerry Connell said the volunteers train once a year for cold water rescue. They prefer to use the inlet of Salmon Lake when it is open because that eliminates the need to shovel snow and cut a large hole in the ice....
This last Friday, House Bill 2 (The State Budget) passed out of the Appropriations Committee and is on its way to the House Floor for debate. At this point in the process, it looks to be in good shape. We all knew going into this legislative session that the budget was in a bad place and that there would be a lot of work to do to bring it back in line with revenues. That meant that really tough choices had to be made and they were. Subcommittees went through each other and their own sections of...
After uncertainty about how the upcoming special congressional election would change the makeup of the Montana Legislature, the nomination of Democrat Rob Quist and Republican Greg Gianforte means it’s back to business as usual at the state Capitol. Multiple legislators had announced their intention to run for the vacant congressional seat after former Rep. Ryan Zinke was nominated and then confirmed as U.S. Secretary of the Interior. Sen. Ed Buttrey, R-Great Falls, and Reps. Amanda Curtis, D-Butte and Kelly McCarthy, D-Billings all vied for t...
SWAN VALLEY - In 1947, Rich Nelson joined the United States Navy Reserve on the advice of a Navy recruiter visiting his high school in Seattle, Wash. War was about to break out on the Korean Peninsula, and young Rich took the recruiter's advice. After attending basic training in San Diego, he was assigned to a destroyer escort in Seattle. Rich later transferred to submarines in Tacoma, Wash. He described sub school as two phases, both at Hunters Point, San Francisco. Picking his "boat"...
