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Montana’s 1972 constitution guarantees its citizens a right to “a clean and healthful environment in Montana for present and future generations.” The 2023 trial of Held versus State of Montana, a lawsuit brought by 16 Montana youth, attempts to show how the state government’s longstanding energy policies violate this constitutional right by favoring fossil fuel industries with high carbon emissions. The lawsuit is named for plaintiff Rikki Held, age 22, a fifth-generation Montanan raised on a cattle ranch in the Powder River basin. In testimo...
Property tax appraisals are currently arriving in the mail. It’s important to review the valuation and appeal it if you do not agree with the valuation. The appeal instructions are in the letter that was mailed to you. You only have 30 days, so do not wait. If the value of your property increased by 30% that does not mean your taxes will increase by 30%. However, generally if the value of your property increased, most likely your taxes will be increasing. Property tax calculations are complex and understood by few. To calculate your taxes, y...
The Fourth of July is right around the corner, and it looks like Seeley Lake will have its first really good weather of the summer. What better way to “Celebrate our Lakes and Mountains” on Independence Day! Your Fourth of July Committee has been working hard to put all the pieces together to make this a great day for everyone. Get a good night’s sleep on Monday so you can start with a pancake breakfast at the Fire Department Tuesday morning. There are many activities, including the parade down the middle of town, planned for the day. Be sure...
The Fourth of July is coming between now and the time the next edition of the paper comes out so thought that would be a journey worth taking. As I write this Juneteenth has just happened. I think this is a worthy celebration as we consider those that were enslaved in the past. I’m just trying to figure how it went from a local Texas holiday, to a national one, well worthy of recognition because the slaves in Texas were finally notified on that day almost two and a half years after they were actually free. Freedom matters. After living in S...
With school finally out for the summer, let the fun and games begin! The Seeley Lake area offers amazing winter activities, and we promote those outdoor activities like crazy for more than half the year. And then spring and summer – those glorious, long-awaited, priceless Montana blue sky days – descend, and we turn our full attention to the warmer weather outdoor activities that ROCKS serves and supports. The jewel of the ROCKS summer activities is the Placid Lake Trails system – Lakev...
There is a new editor of the Pathfinder. I know that you have all heard that line before, but I am excited to be here to usher in a new era of reporting in the Seeley-Swan area. To those who do not know me, I am Griffen Smith, a young 22-year-old journalist. I grew up west of Austin, Texas, yet I know the western Montana area well. My mother's side of the family has lived in the area for generations - including the Turner family, one of the founders of the Tamaracks Resort. I met some of you when I worked as the Pathfinder intern in summer...
East Coasters are getting a smoky taste of what folks in the West experience when wildfires rage out of control. Maybe it will light a fire under Congress to reverse the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals’s destructive Cottonwood decision that is impeding better forest management. The smoke engulfing the East Coast is expected to linger into next week and maybe longer if Canadian fires aren’t controlled. Prime Minister Justin Trudeau on Wednesday blamed climate change, which is the scapegoat for every government policy failure that magnifies dam...
We would wager that nearly every Montana family has struggled in some way with mental health, diabetes, or postpartum health care. The 2023 Legislature made unprecedented investments in all three of those areas that together will positively impact families in every corner of our state. Not only did we both vote for all of these reforms, but one of us (Senator Jason Small) sponsored the diabetes legislation. The other (Senator John Esp) chaired the Senate's influential Finance and Claims Committee and shepherded the other bills through the...
Recycling in Montana faces barriers not found in most other states. Due to Montana’s low population and large geographical area, it is very difficult to find markets for recycled materials that are both economical and environmentally sustainable. Currently, Montanans recycle only about 19% of the waste generated in the state, according to the Montana Department of Environmental Quality. Fortunately, Seeley Lake has two very popular options for making a difference through recycling! First, there are several types of items you can recycle when y...
During the early Greek period the word psyche was introduced. Psyche meant soul. Soul was considered something beyond human experience, belonging to the realm of the goddesses and gods; therefore, soul transcended human nature. Over the centuries, as psychology developed, the word psyche took on a more expansive meaning. It didn’t just mean soul but now included all of psychology. So, soul became associated with psychology and not the realm of goddesses and gods, yet the transcendent association remained. This meant that human psychology includ...
Catholic doctrine of the Real Presence is the belief that Jesus Christ is literally, not symbolically, present in the Holy Eucharist: body, blood, soul and divinity. Why do we Catholics believe this? Because Jesus said so. Simple as that. Jesus does not deceive. It takes faith to accept this teaching of Jesus. “I am the bread of life. Your fathers ate the manna in the wilderness, and they died. This is the bread which comes down from heaven, that a man may eat of it and not die. I am the living bread which came down from heaven; if any one e...
Fighting for MT Public Schools Every parent remembers the day we took our child to their first day of school. It pulls at your heartstrings. Fortunately, in Montana, we knew our children were in good hands. They were entering schools with teachers who were well qualified and supported, learning lessons from curriculum we had approved, and following the rules set by school boards we had elected. As a mom, a teacher and a legislator, I believe that the work Montanans have done for public education... Full story
Personal Sentiment V The Constitution At the tail end of the session, two contentious bills made their way to the Senate floor; HB 549 by Rep. Fred Anderson and HB 562 by Rep. Sue Vinton. Rep. Vinton represents Lockwood which is the other half of my Senate District. Both bills created new law for charter schools. Both bills carried legal notes deeming them unconstitutional. Anderson unsuccessfully tried to correct the deficiencies. Vinton argued the point so her bill also remains unconstitutiona... Full story
Whether by natural lightning or by human hands, the landscape in Swan Valley has been shaped by fire. Only in the past hundred years or so have there been organized, concentrated efforts to suppress forest fires. During the historic forest fire of 1910, over three million acres burned in the course of a few days, primarily in Washington, Idaho, and Montana, drastically changing the way the U. S. Forest Service dealt with wildfire. Pushed by strong winds, several small fires grew together,... Full story
There are many images of God that are beautiful, healing and life-giving. God as a loving Father with open arms (Luke 15:11-32); God as a mother-hen gathering her chicks protectively under her wings (Matthew 23:37). Likewise there are many that can be harmful and destructive, especially for the life of faith. How aware are we of our images of God, how they have shaped us, how they continue to shape us? I firmly believe that awareness of how we imagine God is important. So much of our thought... Full story
Like nearly all of Disney's live action remake movies, "The Little Mermaid" ditches the charm and nostalgia of its original counterpart and ruins the fond memories you had with the story. Trailers for the movie made the CGI look horrendous, and the movie doesn't get much better. Similar to recent Marvel movies like "Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania" and "Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3," just about every scene is green screened to the max and riddled with computer generated imagery. This choice...
I write to you from a frantic mood of trying to organize all the news into a cohesive linear manner while still covering new events as they happen. Last week we had to rush our deadline on account of the printer being closed for Memorial Day. Unfortunately the people who create our puzzles weren’t able to meet that deadline so you may have noticed a lack of sudoku and crosswords. I assure you this is not a permanent loss, and we hope to avoid that from ever happening again. I also am finding myself in a difficult position with covering M...
A response to the editor’s previous letter Mr. Metcalf, I really don’t have sufficient words to describe the idiocy of the first paragraph of your Letter From Editor on May 25th. You are taking a obvious political direction and showing your obvious political bias. I thought newspapers were supposed to report the news without bias. Your personal political positions shouldn’t color the news. You have basically told your readership that you are tremendously biased on the political spectrum -- under what circumstance can you possibly think this...
One of the perils of life is putting too much value on “stuff.” Stuff can be about anything. It can consist of what we have or what we don’t have. Much of life is about our stuff. Our house, cars, things in the house. Things around the house and things in the garage, storage building, barns and more barns. If we work hard, it’s possible to accumulate lots of stuff. Often, we have more than we need. We paint, stain, groom and polish our stuff. Sometimes we put in in cases, drawers, cabinets and even safes. We know how difficult it is to buy and...
Search the internet for news on grizzly bears and you're likely to find plenty of articles detailing human-bear encounters that end in tragic fatalities. These gruesome headlines represent what are, in reality, incredibly rare incidents. According to data from Yellowstone National Park, which hosts the second largest grizzly population in the Lower 48, only eight people have been killed by bears in 150 years of the park's operation. That's an average of one fatality every 18.75 years. Just last... Full story
Last time I wrote Passages it was too close to Easter for really doing any kind of proper introduction. I note in the Passages dated June 1, that Jonah was mentioned in a contrast of Jonah to Isaiah, and the heart’s willingness and result. I can well relate to that story of Jonah. A quick “who I am,” I identify as a follower of Jesus Christ. I tell folk I don’t do religion well, but I am trying to do Jesus better and better. Too often we identify by what we do, so, I’ll give a wee glimpse into that as well. I was born a Nebraska boy but at an... Full story
Letter from Missoula County commissioners regarding Holland Lake Lodge Dear Mr. Steele, The Missoula Board of County Commissioners continues to hear concerns from a diverse range of constituents regarding public engagement and regulatory review of proposed changes at Holland Lake Lodge. Many of the concerns have also expressed questions about whether proposed changes to Holland Lake Lodge are in the public interest. Based on the input we received, we believe a more transparent decision-making process and robust approach to public engagement... Full story
A resident’s reaction to the Elbow Lake gravel pit permit In response to the DNRC and DEQ approving the Elbow Lake gravel pit and asphalt plant, I would like to make several points. First of all, the DNRC dismissed the hydrologic concerns of the Clearwater Resource Council (CRC) as expressed during the public comment period. The DNRC did not do any further analysis, only writing that the CRC’s map was “not accurate” without providing any scientific data to demonstrate the state’s stance. Here are other quotes from the DNRC’s Environment... Full story
Letter regarding Elbow Lake Commenters on the MT DNRC’s Elbow Lake gravel pit/asphalt plant proposal received notice on May 15 that it has been approved. The MT DEQ had already approved the permit, on April 27. In case you missed it earlier, this is the proposal by Kalispell-based LHC Inc. to establish a new 21-acre gravel pit and asphalt plant directly beside the Clearwater River, across the road from the Blackfoot-Clearwater Game Range, within a parcel designated Tier 1 Community Type of Greatest Conservation Need because it is grizzly and e... Full story
“Celebrating our Lakes and Mountains!” is the theme of this year’s Fourth of July celebration in Seeley Lake. You can expect a full day of fun, starting with the Seeley Lake Fire Foundation’s Pancake Breakfast and Car Show, and ending with the most spectacular fireworks show ever on Seeley Lake. Mission Bible Fellowship and the Seeley Lake Baptist Church will be serving food. Our parade will kick off at 2 p.m. and we expect a military flyover as well. Of course there will be the Rubber Ducky race, a real Seeley Lake Fourth of July traditi...
