Sorted by date Results 1061 - 1085 of 1188
SEELEY LAKE - Seeley Lake Sewer District property owners who hold their properties in family trusts will be able to vote Nov. 23 on the bond issue. That’s a reversal. The Elections Office notified those owners a few weeks ago they would be ineligible to vote if their properties were incorporated. The Missoula County Attorney’s office took a closer look at the law and has decided “family” trustees will be allowed to vote. If you are a trustee in such a property, you should contact Bradley Seaman at the Missoula County Elections office, 406-258...
SEELEY LAKE - The community of Seeley Lake has a water quality problem. The problem is that the local groundwater has elevated levels of nitrate. The main source of the nitrate is septic systems located in Seeley Lake. Septic systems do a great job removing bacteria and viruses from wastewater but do not remove much nitrate from wastewater. As a result, septic systems contribute nitrate to groundwater. Because of the high density of septic systems located in the town of Seeley Lake, nitrate levels are high. Elevated nitrate levels in ground...
SEELEY LAKE - I read the minutes of the Transportation Commissioners meeting for May 26, 2016 on the Montana Department of Transportation (MDT) website. If you want to read them yourself, https://www.mdt.mt.gov/pubinvolve/trans_comm/meetings.shtml I read that in three years there has only been 45 traffic stops, 67 citations and only eight of those were for speed, within this community study area. The Community Council read the MDT Traffic Study and did not like it so they did their own. The results they published were that they had 330...
I support Addrien Marx for our representative in our state legislature. I’ve known Addrien for nearly 25 years. She and I don’t necessarily agree on all things political but her open-minded approach to our discussions has always impressed me. She is more of a centrist than I but that’s exactly what we need in that seat. We have more than enough outliers on both the right and the left already – let’s fill in the middle with some clear thinking by voting for Addrien. I encourage you all to consider that when you walk into the voting booth. Th...
SEELEY LAKE - We have been long time Seeley Lake residents (70 years) and have supported all community projects through these years. However, the Sewer Projects is one we must vote NO on! Our population is too small to incur this kind of a debt. We have not even seen a breakout of the costs for this project. There will be significant impact to our low-income residents and those on fixed incomes. Before we saddle ourselves with a huge debt, has every alternative been explored to upgrade existing septic systems? Pumping the sewage two miles...
“Negative campaigning is only effective if we as citizens allow it to be.” I agree with my opponent on this, only I personally do not believe that stating facts on how we are different – from sources that withstand legal review – is negative! The truth is not negative. When I go to vote – I want the facts, not the rhetoric. FACT: My opponent is simply a politician that is vying for his third run in his third (and different) district. How does that equate to knowing our challenges, who we are and really taking our interests to Helena? I do not...
1. E-mail Gate: My “Hillary for President” T-shirt showed me that the attitudes toward my Hillary option were greeted with a fair amount of curiosity and suspicion. My friends thought I had lost my bearings, my not so much friends, thought I had finally gained access to what little intelligence I had left ( pun intended). 2. Locker room talk- gate: The attitudes toward my Trump T-shirt expo was without a doubt, more emotional than option number 1. I was accused of less than honorable moral standing (Hitler comparison). I guess no one read wha...
I am certain many of you feel this way…the candidate you support must reflect your values. Values first, party second. By values, I mean what is the candidate’s position on issues that you believe are important to our county, state and nation. Dave Strohmaier’s extensive experience in natural resources, local and state government, as a public official and in public service, merits my attention immediately. On Dave’s first day in office as a Missoula County Commissioner, he will know dozens of county and state officials and will be able to “hit...
Since Travis Kavulla joined forces with Gail Gutsche in 2010 the Public Service Commission has become a cauldron of political intrigue and manipulation that survives to this day; ratepayers be damned. After forming a cross party alliance Travis announced his intention to be Chairman his first day on the job. According to Travis the alliance fell apart when Sen. Tester and Gov. Schweitzer nixed the deal. Three days of standoff in early January ensued resulting in Bill Gallagher becoming Chairman and I reluctantly accepting the Vice-chair...
Please consider this when making your choice between Kristen Juras and Dirk Sandefur to fill a seat on the Montana Supreme Court (MSC). First, the Democratic Party supports Sandefur (“Montana Democrats’ spending in Supreme Court race set to break fundraising record,” missoulian.com/By Jayme Fraser, Oct. 26, 2016). Democrats and trial lawyers have spent over $500,000 for Sandefur while three law firms (Paoli, -Missoula, Blewett, Great Falls, and Clifford Edwards, Billings have contributed $146,347. (Montana Law-PAC). Blewett has cases before the...
Who is behind the anti-trapping Initiative, I-177? This threat to Montana’s hunting and trapping heritage is being driven by out-of-state animal rights activist groups such as .PETA, ASPCA, Humane Society etc. Out-of-state environmental organizations like Sierra Club, Defenders of Wildlife, etc. are also pushing for passage of I-177. What is alarming is that these same groups are also funneling political action cash (PAC Money) into Steve Bullock’s re-election campaign. Unfortunately, Montana’s elected Democratic office holders throu...
Bob Lake is Montana’s last chance to have a practical, experienced voice on the PSC. Bob is a man of integrity, a business man who owned and operated Lakeland feeds in Hamilton. He knows what it is like to manage utility expenses. I served on the Commission with Bob. We both pledged an oath to uphold the laws that are there to protect the customers of Montana utilities. Recently, I read an “Opinion” article by Gail Gutsche. Although she is entitled to her own opinion, she is not entitled to her own facts. She is a self-proclaimed activ...
Addrien Marx is who and what we need for House District 92. Throw away the ugly card you were sent by the Montana Republican legislative campaign. Apparently they were all sitting on a thin branch in a tall tree and the branch broke and they fell on their heads. So I will enlighten them. Marx was a schoolteacher and knows how important education is; Marx will always work hard for education. Marx and her husband Larry bought a small business on a thread and worked hours and hours trying to make a go of it, while raising five children. When...
Election day is coming on Nov. 8. I encourage all of you to come out and vote if you haven’t done so already with absentee ballots. This has been a wild election season and as US citizens we not only have the responsibility to vote but must also actually get out and do it! I will be working at the Seeley Lake polling place as a Provisional Election Judge. I have worked many elections and have seen the process and how it works. I can tell you that our election process is in no way rigged and outcomes are not known until all the ballots cast a...
As candidates, we all have to make a choice as to what kind of campaign we want to run. Recently, mail from my opponent has been sent out blatantly lying about my positions, from public lands to education. I take these lies as a compliment, as I imagine that my opponent’s campaign staff would not be lying about my record if they were not worried about their chances of winning. When I knock on doors in House District 92, I do not even mention my opponent. My campaign is focused on providing a vision for my home states future. I talk about how w...
SEELEY LAKE - The Seeley Lake Sewer District proves to be an important local issue and for good reason. The wrong decision on this issue can put Seeley Lake in a situation of unaffordable debt service on a centralized sewage processing system (CSPS) when our community is better served by individual septic systems. Septics suffer from image problems. Many people still think of them as undependable, old fashioned or as a temporary solution until a centralized system is built. Part of the blame for this can be traced to the popularity of...
It cannot be denied that marijuana has medical properties. But proponents of I-182 want you to recognize the medical benefits and deny the significant negative health, social and economic consequences that it has on our communities. Marijuana is neither safe nor harmless. While well-tested pharmaceutical marijuana products may be a valid form of medication, I-182 does not responsibly grant access of medical marijuana with the oversight of medical professionals to patients who may truly benefit from it while knowing the possible risks of taking...
Cities, counties and homeowner associations attempt placing limits on political signs by restricting timelines or banning them altogether. The courts have already addressed the unconstitutionality of timelines while the Montana Legislature took up the issue of HOA by-laws a few years ago. HB 546, sponsored by then-Rep. Pomnichowski in 2009 was brought to the House floor for debate. I voted against the bill and in favor of the HOAs putting by-laws in place to restrict political activity. I was outvoted on the issue. The discussion centered on...
SEELEY LAKE - Speaking of horrendous and cold hearted, I would venture to say that the following are also under the category of “horrendous” and “cold hearted.” First being the spreading of inaccuracies and gossip about an event that you were A. not a witness to and B. not a part of. Second, the slandering and disrespect to our Law Enforcement/Game Warden. Third, not having the decency to go to the source (the Hunter) to get the facts for yourself but instead passive-aggressively writing a letter to the editor based on third and fourth hand go...
Public Access is not a sportsman versus landowner political issue. However, out-of-state activists like Sierra Club, American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (ASPCA), Defenders of Wildlife, etc. are trying to make it one. Anti-hunting groups are attempting to increase their influence by pouring political action cash (PAC Money) into Montana’s statewide elections. The cause of newly blocked sportsman access is not landowners. The federal government is gating roads and abandoning trails. Federal overreach is impacting the jobs a...
With just about two weeks left in the nastiest campaign of our lives, we are breathing a sigh of relief that it’s almost over. Our mailboxes are overflowing, and it’s virtually impossible to separate fact from fiction in candidates’ mailings and to decide which negative claims about opponents are valid and which are out of context or actual untruths. And while surely no one needs advice on the top of the ticket, there is one statewide race and a couple of local races that deserve comment. One of the more obscure yet very important elect...
How is it that a person can illegally transmit 2,100 classified emails on four illegally established personal computers, lie to the FBI multiple times during a criminal investigation (which is also a crime), allow four US state department officials to be killed in a terrorist attack after the chief official has requested additional security hundreds of times, then openly lie about the attack, collect tens of millions of dollars for her personal use (the Clinton Foundation) from foreign countries while a U.S. Government employee (is this not...
We have a lot of serious decisions to make as a community this November, besides crucial legislative races across the state, we will have a number of initiatives to vote on. One in particular, the Montana Animal Trap Restrictions Initiative (I-177) seeks to prohibit trapping on all public lands in Montana. Trapping is a Montana way of life and has been for the entirety of the state’s existence. For years now, special interest environmental groups (who are the primary funders of the Missoula Democrats) have done everything in their power to dest...
Most likely you’ve read many endorsement letters supporting Dave Strohmaier. He is worthy of the accolades. I won’t list all his accomplishments or reasons why he should be Missoula’s next County Commissioner, I’ve written or said them before. I would, however, like to share an observation of Strohmaier while at a recent candidates’ forum. Strohmaier has campaign experience and knows Missoula County quite well--however, he didn’t lord over or belittle his opponent. If anything, he shared his opponent’s love for Missoula County and encourage...
SEELEY LAKE - The proposed sewer is not backed by everyone who will be charged for it. In fact, it would be good if some sort of survey was conducted to ascertain exactly how many participants are for it. We do not know this and in a democratic society this should be basic knowledge for everyone involved. This whole program has been thrust upon property owners with no vote and very little information about the total costs we’ll have to pay. I personally own two parcels. As I understand it, it could be levied a charge of $40,000 per parcel. O...
