Sorted by date Results 601 - 625 of 2897
As best I remember it, over 40 years ago, me and my cutt’n partner Butch was coming down from Alaska. Turned off in Albany, Oregon headed for the sleepy little cowboy logg’n town called Sisters. Butch had friends there. Took note of the scenery over the Santiam pass, noted in the distance Mt. Jefferson wilderness and the mountain majesty thereabouts. Was a few years since Butch was back and all of a sudden was big real estate developments Butch whistled, “What happened?” Last time he saw it--it was a meadow, horses and cows. As I drove through...
Montanans’ constitutional right to privacy and a clean and healthful environment will be threatened this legislative session. Many of us living in House District 92 fiercely value our privacy and depend on the integrity of our environment. The Blackfoot River and its tributaries flow through this District, we know the importance of clean, cold, complex and connected waters. On my family’s ranch, four generations have benefited from and worked to protect a state of mind – freedom, opportunity, responsibility – that is Montana. Gary Stein u...
An out-of-state commercial recreation corporation, POWDR Inc., has proposed to expand the Holland Lake Lodge on public land and convert it into a destination resort. The current lodge is a locally run seasonal operation from May 15 to Oct. 15 that occupies 15 acres of public land under USFS permit on the shores of Holland Lake in the Swan Valley. POWDR Corporation calls itself an “adventure lifestyle company.” It is one of the largest ski resort owners in the US and owns 10 massive mountain resorts. It claims, “POWDR has an incredibly uniqu...
In autumn, that mournful season that stifles the lighthearted sounds of summer, larch turn golden and, against the Douglas fir and Ponderosa pine, light up the Seeley-Swan Valley like a votive-filled cathedral in Rome. It’s something to behold as you stand in awe of the magic wand of nature, whose invisible hand has crafted an infrastructure that rapacious people want to market to a public hungry for natural experiences touted by Hollywood. At Holland Lake, we’re seeing a docudrama (like TV’s Yellowstone) play out with the U.S. Forest Servi...
All elections are important, right? This one seems particularly so - ballots will be mailed Oct. 14. Election Day is Nov. 8. Sometimes we ignore midterm elections - everyone is busy. However, if we don’t pay attention, our Montana State Constitution could be overturned by extremists. The right to privacy is something we all hold dear. We love our public lands. Let’s make sure we don’t turn Montana into a one-party monopoly and a rich-man’s playground. I urge you to vote for Gary Stein to represent YOU, the citizens of HD92. He has served...
Tip lines have been used throughout history by law enforcement for their wide range of applications and effectiveness in gathering information related to ongoing or high-profile crimes. In 2002, the FBI used a tip line when the D.C. Sniper attacks were occurring which led to the arrest of two suspects who were eventually charged and incarcerated. Tip lines likely weren't around when Governor Richards appointed W.F. Scott as Montana's first state game warden in 1901, but we've come a long way...
"Rejoice in the Lord, always. Again, I say rejoice!" (Philippians 4:4) What is the point of our existence? People often wrestle with this kind of question or something like it. The Westminster Confession, one of the official Confessions of my denomination (written in the 1640s) opens with this question: What is the chief end of man? In more contemporary language we might ask: What is the ultimate purpose, goal or hope of humanity? The answer from Westminster: to glorify God and enjoy God...
Grizzly and black bears are found throughout our region and this is the time of year that bears are in hyperphagia. This is a time when bears increase their feeding activity driven by the need to fatten up before going into the den for the winter. Once they enter the den bears go without food and water for months. If they do not get enough to eat in the fall, the sows don’t produce cubs and some bears may even die of starvation. We try to remind people this time of year to really pay attention to containing any attractants around their home. K...
In the Sept. 8, 2022 issue of the Seeley Swan Pathfinder there was an ad run by Senator Blasdel and Representative Galt of the Montana State Legislature. It was asking for the opposition to national Senate Bill 2992. I went looking for the bill and it looks to me like it is trying to protect your privacy and my privacy from large Internet companies. The first sentence says, “To provide that certain discriminatory conduct by covered platforms shall be unlawful…” Blasdel and Galt suggest SB2992 breaks up successful companies; I do not read it th...
Most of us don't like to think about our dogs and cats having parasites living inside their bodies but knowing some basic facts is important because intestinal parasites - ones that live inside an animal's gastrointestinal (GI) tract- can cause some serious health problems. The most common small animal intestinal parasites in North America are roundworms, hookworms and tapeworms. While these worms live inside our pet's GI tract, they consume nutrients that were destined for our dog or cat....
When I started my job as the weed management projects coordinator for the Powell County Weed Board several years ago, I inherited a project that began with my predecessor in cooperation with the (now defunct) MSU Sheep Institute. This project involved importing sheep to prescriptively graze with cattle across several contiguous livestock operations in the Deer Lodge valley, primarily targeting the noxious weed leafy spurge. Data collected by the coordinator(s), extension agents and cooperators...
The city was surrounded...besieged by an army in order of magnitudes bigger than its own paltry defense. Below the city walls, the top general of the Assyrian army taunted the king’s three emissaries above. This was the last city standing in all the country. Heretofore this king had been everything one would hope for. He was a humble yet strong man with an inveterate faith in God and His provision. While the people and kings before him had chosen a different path, upon his ascendance to the throne, he had immediately initiated reforms to return...
During my law enforcement career, I served in many capacities. The last seven years were spent as an administrator serving as Patrol and Administrative Captain. It was during these years that the Jail Diversion Master Plan (JDMP) was developed, something that we at the Sheriff’s Office are proud to have been part of. Jail diversion was created out of necessity. It was something wanted by the public, needed for overcrowding issues and became essential when COVID was at its peak. The purpose of jail diversion is to provide alternatives to i...
As the Pathfinder has been documenting over the years, the Sewer District has been testing and testing and testing. The question the sewer board has been discussing heavily is the validity of the results of this testing. The decision is that although there is a lot of test results there really isn't much depth. There is a lot of data for a very few points. This has led to a substantial discussion concerning the true point of the lake contamination. Is it downtown and the business district? Is...
As passersby take in the Blackfoot watershed's forests, waterways and wildlife, many have no idea that a unique concept to benefit all community members came to life in the heart of the watershed – with the creation of a community forest known as the Blackfoot Community Conservation Area (BCCA). Back in 2003, recognizing the increasing potential for habitat fragmentation, the Blackfoot Challenge and The Nature Conservancy initiated a large-scale land acquisition effort known as the Blackfoot C...
Projection is an extremely common psychological process and personal experience. Ironically, it's one experience of which few people are aware. Why is that? That's because it is an unconscious process, a process from our hidden psychology. I'm fond of describing this process using a movie theater analogy. The projection booth represents the unconscious. The movie projector represents the process. When we look at the screen, we see images from the film, our unconscious psychology, projected by...
What does it mean to serve without expecting anything in return? As we call ourselves Christians, literally "little Christ," we should be modeling the behavior of Christ. We see in Mark 10:45 just what Jesus had to say about service, "For even the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve and to give his life as a ransom for many." Jesus left his heavenly throne to serve us and that is mind-boggling. But that he served us even to the point of dying on the cross for us is nearly...
SEELEY LAKE - Missoula Aging Services (MAS) is pleased to announce its satellite office located in Seeley Lake is once again accepting new clients. Missoula Aging Services Seeley-Swan Resource Specialist Kristin Mason joined the Agency in April and has spent the last several months learning how to best serve clients in the Seeley Lake area. She now holds regular business hours Mondays, Wednesdays, and Thursdays from 8 a.m. – 5 p.m. in the Seeley Lake Foundation Building located at 3150 H...
Here in the Clearwater Valley, so much of our lives revolve around the presence of healthy lakes and streams. This valley contains the waters where our kids catch their first fish and where our families recreate to find respite from the busyness of life. These bodies of water are essential components of our economies. Here in this place and in this time, our stories as individuals and a community are deeply connected to the water. As residents and property owners in the Clearwater Valley, we...
Back when I was a lad and my hound dog was a pup, Saturday mornings usually found me walk'n up that dirt road that led to the only TV in the neighborhood. Don't ya see it was there in that old homestead owned by one of the best neighbors on the planet word has it they were good Catholic folks. Anyway, several of us young'uns would invade their hospitality just in time to see Roy Rogers and Trigger get the bad guys. Sometimes his wife Dale joined in the chase on Buttermilk the buckskin. As I...
I want to share with you a tool that I love. The Waterline Model is a process for resolving team breakdowns. This tool can help you distinguish between the common issues that bog teams down and be deliberate about how you address them. It has helped me get through many vexing situations. We all have experienced conflict with others, whether in the workplace, in a volunteer situation or in whatever capacity we have worked in a team environment to implement a project. The Waterline Model was...
For those of us that would call ourselves "Christian" we must reconcile ourselves to sin. Now I understand that there are "Christians" that do not believe in the "inerrancy of Scripture." The problem with that is that if Scripture is not inerrant, we are left with no solid truths or guidelines for our lives. We are free to pick and to choose those things from God's Word which best match up with our own thinking. There are consequences to this line of reasoning as pointed out in the book of...
The Seeley Lake Sewer district has continued testing since 1994 within the district. This does not include the airport area which was part of the original testing as this area is outside of the district. Looking at a summary of the wells from 1994-2004, the results are as follows. Well #1 located at Lindey's Prime Steak House shows very elevated nitrate levels. Well #2 located at the Seeley Lake Baptist Church nitrate levels were generally quite high with huge seasonal swings. As low as 0.08 to...
Just like that, summer has come and gone. Montana Fish, Wildlife & Parks staff have been hard at work doing aerial flight surveys and preparing for hunting season. Block Management Area (BMA) maps were released Aug. 10th for early elk shoulder season to start in select hunting districts Aug. 15! Fisheries biologists and technicians are still in the middle of their busy field season, electrofishing in creeks and high mountain lakes for trout and other species. Here's what you should know as we tr...
A dream became reality when the Upper Swan Valley Historical Society (USVHS) celebrated the grand opening of the Swan Valley Museum on July 4, 2013. Longtime residents Neil and Dixie Meyer cut the ribbon that officially opened the museum to the public. Twenty-five years earlier, on March 10, 1988, the first meeting of the USVHS was held at Evelyn Jette's residence. The next week officers were elected: Ken Wolff, chairman; Bud Moore, vice-chairman; Fern Kauffman, recording secretary; Claudia...
