Sorted by date Results 1047 - 1071 of 1183
SEELEY LAKE - The sewer question is about to be determined for the future of Seeley Lake. Many letters have been written and alternate proposals suggested. I have attended sewer board meetings for the last ten or more years and have watched the process carefully. Here are my conclusions. Is pollution of our ground water system taking place and is it due to human contamination? YES. All test wells show this and more test wells will only confirm this. Is this pollution getting into our streams and lakes? Of course – that’s where ground water wil...
Would you buy a car without knowing the cost? Of course not, but hat’s what the sewer board wants us to do with its proposal. It has come up with a project that will cost between $12 and $20 million and will cost each household between $50 and $165 a month. Here’s a summary of some of the costs we face if we give the board a blank check and approve this project. • Construction Costs: There are two basic components, the treatment plant and the plumbing necessary to get the effluent to it. Because we’ll be pumping every gallon uphill, the pro...
SEELEY LAKE - I have tried to start this letter at least a dozen times and every time my words don’t seem adequate. I have come to realize that there is truly no way to express how thankful Randy and I are for all the kindness and support that we were blessed to receive in the days and months after Mark’s passing. We are humbled by the outpouring of love and caring from all our friends and our community. You saved us from the brink of despair. From that first day when we were surrounded by friends, you have all wrapped us in your love and it ha...
SEELEY LAKE - As a more than 30 year Seeley Lake resident, there are community characteristics I hold in high regard: our wilderness proximity, our rural-ness, our balance, evidences by our care for environment while also focusing on industry. Mostly though, I hold in high regard the heart of our community that strives to look after all its members. Because we’re a small community, looking after members, means that people volunteer, many times devoting countless hours after an already full workday. It’s been my experience most volunteers don...
SEELEY LAKE - Upon reading the letter concerning Air Ambulance Rates [printed in the Oct. 20 issue of the Pathfinder], I decide to write a letter that is positive regarding Life Flight. Our experience is totally different from the sad cases that appear in the article. We had to use Life Flight three times and never received a bill. You may ask why? We read the letters sent out to the general public inviting them to join a membership. The membership ranges in price. It is very affordable. Three years ago it was $50, last year it was $50 and...
SEELEY LAKE - The intentions of the Seeley Lake Sewer Board have been clear from its beginnings by the name it adopted, rather than calling itself the Seeley Lake Water Improvement Board. Now it continues to use our tax dollars to further its goal of imposing a sewer system in Seeley Lake despite the fact that there will be a vote next month whether or not to build such a system here. I was one of those people who thought that septic systems were just a temporary solution until a “real” system could be put in. I was shocked to learn that mor...
Will the proposed sewer system clean up or change water quality in the Clearwater drainage? Probably not very much. Here are five reasons why. First, even though test wells show elevated nitrate levels in the core downtown area, the data is questionable. Engineers recommended a series of test wells to accurately determine groundwater quality. They were never drilled and only three test wells were regularly monitored. One of those sits near a laundromat and busy bar/restaurant business with four septics under its property and another is near a...
Plain and simple, I-177 would have far-reaching, damaging impacts on public safety, taxpayers and wildlife. The Rocky Mountain Elk Foundation stands opposed to I-177. Trapping is a key tool used by wildlife managers as a science-based management technique to maintain healthy wildlife populations and habitat. I-177 bans one of the safest and most cost-effective methods for controlling populations of skunks, muskrats, coyotes, raccoons, beaver, wolves, foxes and similar species. We live in a time where simply allowing Mother Nature to take care...
As a past legislator for Northeastern Missoula County I have been extremely impressed with Addrien Marx and her energy, enthusiasm, dedication and genuine concern for the people of Montana. Marx has a history of community involvement and service. She is seen at meetings, workshops and events. HD 92 includes the Clark Fork, Blackfoot, Clearwater and Swan Rivers!!! It includes the Bob Marshall Wilderness and 1,000’s of acres of National and State Forest lands. Marx has been an active proponent in making sure the citizens of Missoula County and a...
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...
