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  • Dr. Jesse Charles begins practicing family medicine at Partnership Health Center

    Dr. Jesse Charles|Jun 27, 2024

    I'm writing to introduce myself as the newest physician at Partnership Health Center's Seeley Swan Medical Center. After practicing rural family medicine for the past seven years in northern Washington, I am excited to return to Montana and continue providing rural healthcare in the Seeley Swan area. I was born and raised in Wisconsin and attended the University of Wisconsin for both undergraduate and medical school. I completed my Family Medicine residency training in Missoula through...

  • Smitty

    Alan Muskett MD|Jun 27, 2024

    Salutations de Montreal. As you can see, I am quite fluent in Google translator. We just arrived in Montreal after a somewhat harrowing trip from Sorel-Tracy at the top of the Richelieu River and canal system. Actually, the St Lawrence Seaway was completely calm with no traffic. Harrowing makes a better story. We are becoming facile in the transit of canals, where the boat is raised and lowered by the filling and emptying of enclosures called locks. We are up over 20 locks now, with quite a few...

  • Dark night of the soul

    Carrie Benton, Mountain Lakes Presbyterian Church|Jun 27, 2024

    Not everyone has to go through hard times in order to see the beauty of what they can be. Sometimes I imagine what life might have been like if certain events hadn’t occurred, certain abuses, pains, rejections. Would I still be the same person today? Maybe. Maybe not. All I know is that the things that have happened, have happened. They simply are. How I choose to understand them, live into the complexities of meaning, that’s where life is interesting. In fact, that’s really where life is. S...

  • Bringing beavers back to the landscape

    Torrey Ritter, Nongame Wildlife Biologist with Montana FWP|Jun 27, 2024

    On a sunny autumn day, in a beautiful little slice of Montana, two people bob up and down in the chest-deep water of a beaver pond wrestling with a giant tube attached to a fence. Their names are Elissa and Elyssa, which I know can be confusing, and they are both some of the leading experts in western North America on protecting human infrastructure from beavers. The giant tube Elissa and Elyssa are wrestling runs through a notch in a broad, decades-old beaver dam. Pretty much as soon as the pip...

  • The power of the sun

    Dr. Camilla Peterson|Jun 27, 2024

    By January of 1879 in Menlo Park, New Jersey, Thomas Edison had built his first high-resistance electric light. This invention would revolutionize the world and create incredible opportunities for human development and growth. The invention itself would have long tentacles of repercussions that would reverberate amongst scientific and economic fields. It would impact the field of medicine itself and set the stage for change in our relationship with sunlight. Humans live in a circa 24-plus-hour environment relying on light and darkness to guide...

  • It's big-and-little dry fly time

    Chuck Stranahan|Jun 27, 2024

    It's not every day that a fly shop owner has a client take him on a guided float trip. My friend John was in the front seat of the boat, I was in the rear. John and I first met at the Portland Expo Sportsman's Show where I was doing seminars and demonstrations. We hit it off and over the years he fished out of my shop regularly, bringing groups of friends with him. He was the gracious host to our dinners after fishing or after show hours in Portland. I wasn't too surprised when he invited me to...

  • The heart (and soul) of Seeley Lake

    Robert Shaffer, Double Arrow Ranch Landowners Association|Jun 20, 2024

    The fate of Pyramid Lumber has been very much a topic of local discussion over the last few months. It isn’t just the employees and owners of the mill that will be affected if it closes. Foresters, loggers and truckers are all part of the machinery that generates “timber dollars.” More than recreation, those “timber dollars” are what caused Seeley Lake and the Seeley-Swan Valley to grow in a stable fashion and become complete communities with schools, churches, grocery stores, hardware stores, auto parts, pharmacies and even a medical/d...

  • Seeley Lake needs a celebration and we need your help!

    Tom Browder, Seeley Lake|Jun 20, 2024

    Your local volunteer team has been working hard to make our upcoming Fourth of July celebration a day to remember! Our theme this year is “Stars and Stripes and Summer Nights,” representing what makes this such a special place, and how important this holiday is to all of us. Check the posters around town for a detailed schedule, or go to seeleyswanevents.net. We hope to see all of you at one of the events, along the parade route (2 p.m. start,) or at the fireworks. Just like last year, which the same awesome group of volunteers put tog...

  • Two programs help older adults receive nutritious food in Seeley Lake

    Alison Strekal, Development Director with Missoula Aging Services|Jun 20, 2024

    Now that summer is here, many of us think fondly about the delicious fresh fruits and vegetables found at our local Farmers Markets. In Seeley Lake, we have a wonderful program to help older adults in the community receive nutritious, local food. The Senior Farmers Market Nutrition Program (SFMNP), or as many call it, Farmers Market Coupons, is made possible through grant money from the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA). Anyone aged 60 and older who meets the income guidelines can call (406) 728-7682 to make an appointment or stop...

  • There's more to nymphing than bobbers

    Chuck Stranahan|Jun 20, 2024

    "Chuck, what are you doing?" We had just launched on a not-quite-treacherous stretch of water. It was too early in the day, and possibly too early in the season to expect much dry fly fishing with the salmonfly hatch. It could happen, we told ourselves. There were telltale nymph shucks on the rock near the high-water line and in the willows. We had seen some adults flying around. The ever-hopeful guy in the front seat started with a big salmonfly dry. He was busy fishing - hitting the...

  • Rocking the Atlantic into the Big Apple

    Alan Muskett MD|Jun 13, 2024

    It is evening at Liberty Landing Marina, New Jersey, which is directly across the Hudson from Manhattan, New York City. The fading sun is glinting off the glass skin of the Freedom Tower, which replaced the destroyed World Trade Centers. In the distance is the Empire State Building, now dwarfed by more modern edifices. We arrived here after a 132-mile run from Cape May, New Jersey, having toured the Chesapeake and Delaware Bays. We don't usually go that far in a day, but weather might have...

  • June is busy at the library

    Carrie Benton, Seeley Lake Librarian|Jun 13, 2024

    Summer Reading Program — “Adventure Begins In Your Library” This year’s Summer Reading Program at your Seeley Lake Public Library welcomes explorers of all ages to embark on an exciting journey of discovery, imagination and learning. The Summer Reading Program begins on Monday, June 17. Come by the library to sign up and receive your free bag of goodies. Lots of prizes will be available throughout the summer, including coupons for small ice-cream cones from the Ice Cream Place for complet...

  • Driving an EV in Ovando

    Elaine Caton|Jun 13, 2024

    A lot of what we hear in the media about electric vehicles can be discouraging to anyone even considering buying one, and I had a lot of those concerns as well. Can you find places to charge them? Are they affordable? Do they just trade one environmental problem for another? Are they more dangerous to drive? I’ve found out that a lot of what we hear is exaggerated or just untrue. My husband and I bought an electric vehicle a year ago. We spent a fair amount of time researching EVs and talking to people who have them. We settled on a Chevy B...

  • People from our Past - William Andrews Clark Jr.

    Tom Browder, Seeley Lake Historical Society|Jun 6, 2024

    If you studied Montana history in the eighth grade many years ago, you read about the Copper Kings: Marcus Daly, William A. Clark and Augustus Heinze — the one we never remember. Clark, born in 1839, came west to work in the mining camps, ran a freight business from Salt Lake City to Montana and became a banker in Deer Lodge. In this latter role he foreclosed on mining claims in the Butte area, just when electrification in major cities back east created a huge demand for copper. Once he went off to Washington D.C. to serve in the U.S. Senate ...

  • Support for Dave Kesler

    Sen. Theresa Manzella, Hamilton|Jun 6, 2024

    I wish every little girl was blessed to have a father like Dave Kesler. A father who will train her up in the way she should go with the appropriate levels of love and discipline, and a father who will sacrifice himself to protect her. Anyone can allege wrongdoing against anyone for anything. Slanderous allegations require no special skill set. Proving the allegations through proper due process is quite a different task. None of the allegations against Dave Kesler have been proven. Not one. I’ve had the opportunity to get to know Dave Kesler, a...

  • Elect John Fitzpatrick to the Legislature

    Dick Bauman, Deer Lodge|Jun 6, 2024

    I am writing to support the candidacy of Representative John Fitzpatrick. John currently represents Deer Lodge and Granite Counties. As a result of the Redistricting Commission re-drawing the district boundaries he is now running for office in both Powell County and the Seeley Lake area. During the 2023 Legislature, John really looked after the interests of Deer Lodge, Powell and Granite Counties. First, he sponsored and enacted House Bill 13, the State Pay Plan bill, which provided the staff at the prison and Warm Springs with the first real...

  • The edge of chaos

    Kapp Johnson, Retired pastor living in Seeley Lake|Jun 6, 2024

    “In those days there was no king in Israel. Everyone did what was right in his own eyes.” Judges 21:25 As ancient Israel settled into the promised land their social and governmental organization was quite loose. The main feature at this time was the emergence of individuals who delivered their fellow countrymen from various oppressors, e.g. the Philistines. But it really didn’t work too well. The more serious problem was the independence of the tribes from each other, thus exposing the ancient Israelites to all sorts of social and polit...

  • Please vote for me

    Alan Muskett MD|May 30, 2024

    Greetings from the Chesapeake Bay. We have been working our way up through Virginia, now Maryland, through the lands of earliest English exploration, American Revolution, Civil War and other scrimmages/wars/skullduggery that created this country. Last week we visited the very battlefield at Yorktown, where English General Cornwallis blew a fourth quarter lead and surrendered to George Washington. All this history has filled me with patriotic fervor, a desire to give back to honor all the...

  • Yes, there is a nitrate problem

    Bill Decker, Seeley Lake|May 30, 2024

    In a recent Letter to the Editor, Don Larson contends that the waterfront and riverfront properties are the worst septic effluent polluters on our lakes and waterfront. That is speculation. Even if it were proven to be true, how does that address the known elevated groundwater nitrate issue within the district? Mr. Larson’s comments on testing and repairing waterfront septic systems on all the lakes has merit but again, how does that address the known issue within the district? And, is there any reason why we can’t do what Mr. Larson sug...

  • Dave Kesler for House District 76

    Bart Crabtree, Great Falls|May 30, 2024

    In this season of Montana State politics, I cannot resist laying my hammer down, pen this letter to the editor, and expose the ugly and completely dishonest smear campaign that John Fitzpatrick is hurling at the public against Dave Kesler, candidate for House District 76. The citizens of Montana, and particularly your district, should be utterly appalled at the lies. Dave Kesler is an intelligent, honest, hard working and dedicated father who gives much to others. He will represent your district and all Montanans with integrity and truth, not...

  • Endorsing John Fitzpatrick to represent House District 76

    Rep. Mike Hopkins, House District 92|May 30, 2024

    To the people and voters of Seeley Lake, I thank you for the opportunity and honor of representing you in the Montana Legislature for the past eight years. Under Montana Law, I am ineligible to run again this year but, fortunately, there is a candidate who can and will serve the people of Seeley Lake very effectively. Rep. John Fitzpatrick, who currently represents Deer Lodge and Granite Counties, is now running in a new district which adds Powell County and Seeley Lake to the remainder of his old district. John Fitzpatrick served with me on...

  • How nature helps me connect with the creator

    Sherman Smith, Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints|May 30, 2024

    I’m grateful for the spiritual places we can go to get away from the busyness of life, like the temple or even a quiet room in our homes. I have also found that being in nature and its peacefulness has helped me connect with Heavenly Father. Is it great to feel the warmth of the sun on my skin, smelling the scent of fresh rainfall, or hearing the sound of a babbling creek. These things have allowed me to quiet my soul and prepare my heart to connect with heaven. Even the simplicity of c...

  • Forestry rooted in Montana

    Missoula Chapter Society of American Foresters|May 30, 2024

    Montanans appreciate our locally grown food, from vegetables to huckleberries, raw honey and grass-fed beef. Can we say the same about our wood products? By supporting the forest industry in Montana, you are ensuring that wood products are coming from forests managed with some of the most stringent environmental laws in the world. The Missoula Chapter of the Society of American Foresters (SAF) supports investment in our local forest products industry. Montana’s identity is rooted in our forests. Sustaining the capacity for active forest m...

  • Chasing Snow: The hairs on the hare's back

    Sara Lamar, Swan Valley Connections Managing Director|May 30, 2024

    The winter of 2024 will be remembered as one of the driest winters on record for Montana. According to the Natural Resource Conservation Service (NRCS), the average statewide snow water equivalent (a measure of how much water is in our snowpack) was only about an inch above the 30-year-average record low in March. In the Mission Mountains of the upper Swan River watershed, the snow water equivalent was 36% below average. These conditions aren't a complete surprise, as forecasters predicted that...

  • No nitrate problem in Seeley

    Don Larson, Polson, Montana|May 23, 2024

    We don’t have a nitrate problem in Seeley. We have a health department/real estate developer problem. These folks continue to push for a central sewer for the area but the system they are proposing, in the sewer district as it is now drawn, will never clean up or protect the watershed. The present sewer district does not include the worst septic effluent polluters. That would be all the waterfront and riverfront properties on all the lakes. Were the Missoula County Health Department to ever develop the political courage to test all the w...

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