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SEELEY LAKE – Another 21st Century Grant-funded activity for Seeley Lake Elementary (SLE) students and their parents was declared a success by the participants. Saturday, April 16, SLE teacher Michele Holmes led a small group of bikers on a geocaching outing. Geocaching is an outdoor treasure hunt game using maps, compasses or Global Positioning System (GPS) coordinates. Holmes, who has enjoyed geocaching with her family for more than 10 years, said it always made hiking trips more fun for h...
SWAN VALLEY - Lily Clarke, former resident of Condon, is one of five alumni from Lewis & Clark College in Portland, Ore. to receive a Fulbright Scholarship. She will spend a year working on a research fellowship in Nepal conducting ethnomycology (combining anthropology and mycology, the study of mushrooms) and assessing the current state of community-managed forests. Clarke attended Salmon Prairie School through eighth grade and graduated from Hellgate High School. She became interested in biolo...
SWAN VALLEY - Jim and Cold Creek watersheds in the Swan Valley provide important bull trout spawning and rearing habitat. Thirty years ago logging and road development activities impacted watershed conditions and reduced fish habitat quality. As a result, Montana Department of Environmental Quality classified Jim Creek as “impaired” and other groups expressed concern about Cold Creek as well. In recent years a number of activities such as replacing culverts and bridges and eliminating certain point-sources of erosion have been implemented resul...
MISSOULA - Seeley-Swan High School (SSHS) junior Quinton Johnson and senior Tanner Beall were recognized as two of Missoula County Public Schools (MCPS) Most Inspiring Students at a banquet April 21. The Most Inspiring Students Banquet has been held for the past five years. Every year SSHS teachers and staff choose two students who they feel are an inspiration. "The staff recognizes students that have overcome circumstances, worked really hard and become a better student because of that," said...
SEELEY LAKE - Kaitlyn Ahlers and Heather Halko will be offering free mental health services in the Seeley Lake community for the next two years. These services are available to adults and children with current or previous experiences of relationship distress, abuse (including children who have witnessed abuse), sexual violence and/or stalking. This service is made possible by a partnership between the Missoula City-County Department of Grants and Community Programs and the University of Montana...
SWAN VALLEY - Swan Valley Connections (SVC), formerly Swan Ecosystem Center, has bear resistant garbage containers that can be placed on Swan Valley residents’ property to lessen the chance of bear conflicts. The bears have emerged and are searching for food. Since there have been bear sightings reported in the Swan and near Seeley Lake, it is a good idea to make sure attractants are properly stored or located far from the house. According to Fish Wildlife and Park’s (FWP) Be Bear Aware website, bear attractants include: • Bird Feeders • Hou...
MISSOULA – During 2015, an estimated 11.7 million nonresident visitors traveled in Montana. Each year, the Institute for Tourism and Recreation Research (ITRR) at the University of Montana surveys a sampling of these visitors in an effort to provide information about the “who, what, when, where and why” of their travels. ITRR recently completed an analysis of this data intended to distinguish high-spending vacationers from lower-spending vacationers. Ideally, it is preferable to have visitors who will spend more while visiting the state, so un...
SWAN VALLEY - Three candidates running for two vacant Swan Valley Community Council (SVCC) seats spoke and responded to a question during the SVCC regular meeting Tuesday, April 19. The Swan River’s eligibility to become a Wild and Scenic River under the Wild and Scenic Act of 1968 was also discussed. Candidates Elda (Ellie) Greenough, Lacey McNutt and Henry S. Westra spoke about why they were qualified to win a seat on the SVCC. Greenough moved to the Swan Valley in 1978 from the Midwest where she was raised on a farm. She has held many j...
Gifford Pinchot, who later became chief of the U.S. Forest Service, was working for the National Forest Commission in 1896 when he traveled south through the Swan Valley with Jack Monroe, a trapper and guide. In the first installment of the 7-part series, they had arrived at a cabin inhabited by a trapper named Wood, who sent them on their way with venison and a sketch map to a deserted cabin where they could find flour. That night we spent with another trapper, who took us, in the morning, across the river on a jam of trees, roots and all the...
SEELEY LAKE – Seeley Lake residents Jim and Connie Betson purchased Gary's Lures from owner Gary Ikerd this past spring. They changed the name to Tackle the Waters LLC. They look forward to offering the famous spinner baits Gary's Lures was known for as well as expanding their inventory to include a larger variety of lures, colors and sizes. The Betsons have been fishing since they were children. They used Ikerd's spinner baits on numerous occasions and like the product. Ikerd owned and o...
SWAN VALLEY - Neil Meyer, longtime Salmon Prairie resident, said that making a living as a logger in the early days was hard work in the Swan Valley. He shared stories about how logging was flourishing and was unhindered by regulations and big business as it is now. He said the pace was slower, many residents had their own small sawmills and the tools of the trade were less expensive and complicated. Meyer grew up in Ferndale, Mont. He worked with his father farming and cutting firewood with...
SEELEY LAKE - The Seeley Lake Elementary board adopted the 2016-2017 calendar at its April 19 meeting. Students will attend school five days a week starting Sept. 6. Summer break begins June 2. Christmas break will only be one week this year. A four-day week was not discussed. In other business, Superintendent Chris Stout said that he would have recommendations for a new second grade teacher at the board’s May meeting. The current second grade teacher Julie Little is out on maternity leave and will not return next year. All other teachers a...
Seeley Lake Library News SEELEY LAKE - The Seeley Lake Library Book Club will be discussing Elizabeth McCracken’s “Thunderstruck and Other Stories” Thursday, May 19 at 11 a.m. This book is a collection of nine stories that navigate the fragile space between love and loneliness. Widely acclaimed, this collection has been described as brilliant, funny and heartbreaking. All are invited to join in the discussion. Books are available at the checkout desk. The Seeley Lake Library has life jackets in various sizes available for checkout. Stop by th...
SEELEY LAKE - The Seeley Lake Sewer District (SLSD) board had a special meeting April 15 to discuss details of a funding offer they received in March. The board is currently negotiating some aspects of the offer in attempt to lower the projected monthly rates. Representatives from the United States Department of Agriculture Rural Development (RD) were on hand to further explain the offer. The funding package consists of $5.7 million in grants and $4.4 million in loans for the construction of the proposed wastewater treatment plant and Phase I...
SWAN VALLEY - Members of the Swan Valley Regional Plan Committee (SVRPC) began revisions on the Swan Valley Regional Plan (SVRP) draft at their April 13 meeting. The SVRPC discussed and approved edits and comments submitted by Missoula lawyer Colleen Dowdall, local journalist Suzanne Vernon, Missoula Community and Planning Services (CAPS) planner Mitch Doherty, residents and those in attendance. The committee also heard an alternate plan submitted by Swan Valley resident Harry Blazer. The SVRPC voted to accept Dowdall’s edits to the f...
SEELEY LAKE – Each month of the school year, television station KECI singles out a western Montana teacher who has made significant contributions toward education. Nominees are chosen based primarily on letters submitted by students. April's Gold Star teacher is Seeley Lake Junior High teacher, Duane Schlabach. KECI presents the winner with the Gold Star Award plaque and comes to the school to interview and film both teacher and students. The resulting production is aired on the station t...
HELENA – The Montana Department of Environmental Quality (DEQ) is accepting public comment on Montana’s 2016 Draft Water Quality Integrated Report. The report documents the state’s water quality conditions for the years 2013–2014 as required by the federal Clean Water Act. Comments will be accepted during a 60-day public comment period from March 14 through May 13, 2016. The Integrated Report summarizes the current water quality status and trends for water bodies under the jurisdiction of the State of Montana, including lakes, reservo...
POTOMAC - More than 45 people attended the Potomac Gardening Party the evening of April 15 at the Potomac/Greenough Community Center (PGCC). The event was part of the community center board "Family Night" functions held throughout the year. The garden party was about getting to know neighbors, learning gardening techniques for the Potomac area and creating a neighbor network, said event organizer and gardener Aimee Miklovic. "This could be a great resource for a significant portion of the...
SEELEY LAKE – Kathy Hudak has lived in Seeley Lake for the past six years. She works as an Emergency Room (ER) technician at Community Medical, a paramedic with Missoula Emergency Services, Inc. (MESI) ambulance and as a flight medic with REACH Air Medical Services out of Helena, Mont. In the beginning of March, her role as caregiver turned to patient when she was diagnosed with Hodgkin's Lymphoma. Hudak started a career working in wildland fire with the US Forest Service for ten years. The USFS...
In August 1944, Michael Milochik sailed home from England on the luxury liner Queen Elizabeth. He described the living conditions as "tight" with 12 bunks to a room. Once back home, he and his girlfriend were married. They spent their honeymoon in a house on loan from one of his shipmates. Mike described how people laughed at him when he bought several comic books to take on his honeymoon. After his honeymoon, Mike got on a Liberty Ship, the USS Baham and sailed through the Panama Canal,...
In 1896, Gifford Pinchot, who later became the first Chief of the U.S. Forest Service, traveled south through the Swan Valley inspecting this region of Montana, while working for the National Forest Commission. Jack Monroe, a trapper and guide, accompanied him. The account of his trip through the Swan Valley was recorded in 1897. The Pathfinder will publish Pinchot’s account in a 7-part series. This is the first installment. In the course of work on the National Forest Commission, I camped last summer, on the shore of Swan Lake, through w...
MISSOULA – The University of Montana (UM) College of Forestry and Conservation invites UM students and community members from Missoula and the Seeley-Swan Valley to a day of ecological restoration Sunday, April 24. MPG North, a Montana conservation organization, sponsors the project and will provide shuttle service to its property east of Condon. Volunteers will meet in the UM Forestry Building parking lot at 9 a.m. but also are welcome to drive themselves to the location. Volunteers are encouraged to bring warm clothing and sturdy footwear. A...
Elda L. (Ellie) Greenough - Swan Council My father moved our family from a large metropolitan area to a small Midwest farm when I was nine months old. A family vacation in the mountains of Montana spurred my move to this valley in April of 1978. My first job was cleaning and oiling logs on a newly constructed summer getaway cabin. The next four years were spent working on the carpentry shop of a log home building company. When the company sold, I worked as a cook and waitress for local...
