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The Montana Department of Revenue (DOR) will soon be distributing its second round of property tax rebates to eligible Montana taxpayers as part of a property tax relief package signed into law by Governor Greg Gianforte in 2023. The property tax rebate is a rebate of up to $675 of property taxes paid on a principal residence. To qualify, you must have owned and lived in a Montana residence for at least seven months of 2023 and paid the property taxes on that residence. Properties owned by an entity and irrevocable trusts are not eligible for...
The Nevada Creek 4H Club has 13 kids going to the Tri-County Fair in Deer Lodge this year. Two of the members are brothers living between Avon and Helmville. Michael and Payton Goettle live on the family ranch and have both animal and craft projects in 4H. Michael, age 15, is continuing with his breeding beef project. The star in his project is BB, a heifer he was awarded in 2022 through the Rocky Mountain Stockgrowers Association Investment program. BB is now two years old and Michael will be...
Ovando School celebrated its centennial on Aug. 3. Nearly 60 past students, community members and teachers gathered to reminisce at the schoolhouse and visited the Ovando Museum to see class photos and memorabilia collected over the years. Last spring students in grades four through eight interviewed some of Ovando's citizens about the Ovando School. The interviewers asked the 10 participants what they liked about the school and what was important about it. Overwhelmingly interviewees said the... Full story
Pyramid Mountain Lumber is currently in the process of shutting down, leaving some employees uncertain about the future. As a way to help the 99 employees directly impacted by the closure the Missoula Job Service is hosting a job fair in Seeley Lake. In March, Pyramid Mountain Lumber announced their closure due to workforce shortages. The high cost of living in western Montana was cited as one of the main reasons for closure. Pyramid is the largest employer in Seeley Lake and has been...
Even after a rainy Tuesday, the Blackfoot River looked low on July 31 as experts and community members gathered to talk about the record drought in the watershed. Data from the United States Geological Survey showed an increase in river flows after the rain, and at 10 a.m., when the press conference started, the Blackfoot River was at 476 cubic feet per second. The last time the river dropped below 500 cfs was in 2015. Montana is the epicenter of drought in the western United States right now,...
The Powell County Community Foundation is currently accepting grant applications from nonprofits throughout Powell County. The PCF awards grants, usually ranging from $500 to about $2,000, are for charitable purposes in the following broad focus areas: basic human needs, arts and culture, recreation and economic development. The application deadline is Friday, Sept. 13, 2024. The short application form is available by writing to the PCF at P.O. Box 834, Deer Lodge, 59722, or by contacting board members Kirk Sandquist, Steve Owens, Kathy...
On July 30 at 9 p.m. Ovando and Helmville volunteer firefighters as well as Montana Department of Natural Resources and Conservation firefighters from Sperry Grade in Greenough responded to a structure fire on Woodworth Road. “The structure was completely engulfed when we arrived,” Monte McNally, Ovando Volunteer Fire Department Chief, said. “The strategy was to get the heat out of the fire and keep it from spreading.” DNRC crews sprayed down the perimeter of the property to prevent spread into nearby forest and fields while Ovando and Helmvil...
Yoann Destremau pulled into Ovando after cycling in the rain for hours. Soaked and exhausted he visited the Blackfoot Angler and found out about dry overnight lodging for bikers around Ovando. The morning of July 30 he was happy to have a cup of coffee in his hand and blue skies overhead for a chat outside the Stray Bullet. Currently Destremau is on his third international bike tour. He left Victoria B.C. on July 8 and plans to arrive in Patagonia in two years. He carries everything he owns on...
Potomac Valley 4-H members Cooper and Ella Hathaway have been feeding and training their sheep Buddy Alexander Lambilton and Fiona for the Missoula County Fair since purchasing them in April. For the past three years Cooper, age 12, has taken hogs to the fair. This year he moved into lambs in order to get more practice handling livestock in preparation for possibly taking a steer in the future. In addition to showing livestock Cooper participates in 4-H Shooting Sports/Shotgun. The shotgun...
Thirty-five years ago ... Thursday Aug. 10, 1989 Willy Bill's founder in retirement The kitchen smelled of homemade rolls, grandchildren were running in and out, chattering and laughing. Several adults stopped by for a short chat. This kind of day is becoming typical for Bill and Ardyce Gehrke, retired after 18 years at Willy Bill's ChainSaw Business. And the Gehrkes are enjoying their family and retirement. Twenty-one years ago the Gehrke's and their six children moved to Seeley Lake from...
At the last sewer district board meeting, there was conversation about how rumors and social media were spreading concerns that often were not based on facts. Everyone is encouraged to participate in the meetings either in person or through zoom. It is only through direct participation that we can move together to an informed collaborative resolution to our increasing nitrate problem. We do have nitrate issues in varying intensity within the boundary of the district. North of town it is nearly negligible. Near the corner of Juniper and Alder,...
A couple hours before a thunderstorm with hurricane level winds crashed through Missoula County on the evening of July 24, the Missoula National Weather Service posted an update on its Facebook page about a cluster of thunderstorms moving northeast through north-central Idaho with winds that have historically hit 50 to 60 miles per hour. The post instructed readers to secure outdoor items before the storms arrived, and was just about spot on with the time estimate - 9 p.m. Wind speeds of 81 mph...
Locals were surprised and angered to see a boatload of trash deposited at the transfer station outside Ovando on July 19. And on the morning of July 23 a load of trash was found spilling out of the dump and the large gates were broken. That trash had food-related components and was considered a bear attractant. Locals contacted Justin Williams, Ovando Rural Disposal District representative and president, and he arranged for cleanup that day. "We have a fairly good lead to who may have been...
Close to 15 years ago, Condon residents were ready to get out of Missoula County. A Missoulian article from 2009 highlighted the Swan Valley Preservation Group, then led by Ken Donovan, which hoped to join Lake County, looking for less regulation and less taxes paid for things the group felt were never realized an hour and a half away from the city of Missoula. Quite a bit earlier, during the first Constitutional Convention for the state of Montana in 1889, convention delegate Martin Maginnis from Lewis and Clark County yearned for a state of...
During the summer, it's important to keep yourself safe on hot days. It's also important to keep your furry friends safe, and there are a lot of ways to do that. The Pathfinder spoke with Holli Hargrove, animal control manager with Missoula County Animal Control to pick her brain on the best ways to take care of man's best friend when it's hot. This conversation has been edited for clarity. Pathfinder: What is the most important thing dog owners should keep in mind about protecting their dogs fr...
The Seeley Lake Community Foundation is proud to announce the recipients of the 2024 SLCF Scholarship. Ava Thornsberry and Walker McDonald each will receive $1,000 towards university expenses. Thornsberry graduated from Seeley Swan High School in 2023. Throughout her high school years, she received numerous awards both in academics and athletics. Some of her accomplishments include: Academic All-State selection for volleyball for three years, basketball for two years, and cross country and golf...
Trash is something we all have to deal with and living in the Seeley Lake area can be a bit challenging with hungry bears as neighbors. That's why Clearwater Valley Bear Smart has been trying to help local citizens better manage their garbage and avoid bear conflicts. Wrapping up a successful Bear Fair in June, Alan Davis, the Clearwater Valley Bear Smart Coordinator, and Jamie Jonkel, Montana Fish, Wildlife and Parks Bear Management Specialist, delivered 24 bear resistant garbage containers to...
The Montana Newspaper Foundation awarded $1,000 Kavanagh Family Scholarships to two graduating seniors who plan to pursue careers in journalism and education. William Eaton graduated from Helena High School and worked at his school's paper for three years, serving as editor his senior year. Eaton achieved a 3.8 grade point average and will attend the University of Montana in Missoula this fall, majoring in English and minoring in journalism. "Since I was young, reading and writing have always...
Thursday Aug. 3, 1989 Jack Mackie off critical list after logging accident Jack Mackie of Seeley Lake has gone from critical to stable condition after an early morning logging accident two weeks ago. A snag pierced through the seat of his D-6 cat and punctured his midsection on July 18 while working in the Fawn Creek area. "We almost lost him," Yvonne Mackie, Jack's wife said. Yvonee said Jack's midsection was crushed. When large bones are broken it is possible for bone marrow to enter the blood...
SWAN LAKE, MONT. — It’s that time of year again! For more than 40 years, the second Saturday of August has meant art, food and fun on the shores of Swan Lake. The original Swan Lake Huckleberry Festival will take place on Saturday, Aug. 10 at the Swan Lake Day Park near mile marker 72 on Montana Highway 83. Admission is free. The event will open with a huckleberry pancake breakfast served from 8 a.m. until 11 a.m. followed by a beer and wine garden in the afternoon. Most of the day’s activities will begin at 9 a.m. and continue until 4 p.m....
The Seeley Lake Water District will increase rates for water users as the anticipated closure of Pyramid Mountain Lumber looms this fall. Per information from a notice sent out by the water district this month, the mill consumed 20% of the water the district produced each month and used about two million gallons of water monthly. The loss of that production for the district is expected to amount between $50,000 and $60,000 in total. The notice stated the mill intends to shut off its water supply at the end of the year, which is likely when...
Editor's note: Weekly deadlines are tough for providing quick, current information as it relates to the fire season. The Pathfinder's Facebook page (Seeley Swan Pathfinder ~ Seeley Lake, MT) is a good resource for information on new starts, fire conditions, restrictions and evacuation notices, as is mtfireinfo.org and the Lolo National Forest's Facebook page. We will publish updates similar to these as often as is necessary and useful. Weeks of persistent hot and dry weather, with a bit of...
This story was updated on July 24 at 10:27 a.m. to make clarifications regarding senior and junior water rights, and to correct that the main stem of the Blackfoot River has been placed under a hoot owl restriction, not the north fork. Like many other people who make or have made their living working the land, Denny Iverson saw this year’s drought coming. The winter was drier than normal in Montana and the snowpack didn’t build up well. On top of that, it was an El Niño year, which from decades of experience Iverson knows to mean drought in the...
From the prairie potholes of northeastern North Dakota to the Blackfoot Valley, new Montana Fish, Wildlife and Parks wildlife biologist Lee Tafelmeyer has already had a varied career in wildlife biology. "I grew on a cattle ranch, hunting and trapping and developing a passion for the outdoors, wildlife and ecosystems," Tafelmeyer said. "A family vacation trip to Yellowstone as a youngster played into my interest in the Rocky Mountains and wildlife." When college entrance forced the beginning of...
The Seeley Lake Sewer Board was presented with conceptual designs from engineering firm Water & Environmental Technologies, or WET, for an anticipated sewer project and heard an update on earmarked money for the project from the federal government on July 18. Bill Decker, Seeley Lake Sewer District manager, provided the update about the earmarked money from Representative Ryan Zinke’s office for a sewer project in Seeley Lake. The grant application is making its way through the approval process within the U.S. House Appropriations C...
