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When the snow starts falling, a reverent quiet seems to settle on my spirit, inviting me to hold my heart open to possibility. Being quickly propelled into this blustery season, it seems a good time to let my faith wonder. Come along, if you like. Here in my house in the forest, I like to collect myself in front of the wood stove with a hot beverage - licorice tea this time - close my eyes and imagine what's in store for the season. What sorts of daily Divine occurrences will emerge, drawing me...
When President Trump was duly elected by the American people I was shocked at the rage of some people. I heard a woman say she wanted to blow up the White House. I heard some Democrats promoting violence against President Trump and his supporters. I saw a woman hold up an image of President Trump’s bloody severed head. I saw an image of President Trump hanging from a rope and then knocked down and clubs handed to CHILDREN to beat the image of our President of the United States of America. Shame on those people. In my lifetime I have never s...
SEELEY LAKE - I want to alert the 182 people who signed the grassroots petition opposing the mandatory hookup to the sewer system that your voice has been disregarded. Moreover, my constitutional right to formalize opposition through a petition for a referendum has been rejected on a number of false arguments. I feel that there is a great deal of resistance to the construction of a centralized sewer system – the most recent vote for the Seeley Lake Sewer Board members is clear proof of the opposition. For example, challenger Troy Spence r...
SEELEY LAKE - The Sewer Board has published proposed rules for governing its sewer operation. They are a must-read and are available online, at the County annex and the Seeley Lake Public Library at Seeley-Swan High School. They are disturbing. They violate your civil rights and they absolve the District Board of any liability. As they are proposed, a sewer district employee can enter your home and examine “the manner in which the water is used” to ensure compliance with their rules. The installation is at your expense except for a narrow win...
MISSOULA - Perhaps many of you in the Seeley-Swan Valley area are aware there is an old bridge down in Missoula on the west side of town. It has been the subject of debate and controversy for over 25 years. Undoubtedly, most of you believe you have bigger things to worry about than some “neighborhood” dispute about a bridge. Let us take a minute and give you some reasons why you should be very concerned about what some of your County Commissioners are up to. In 1994, studies began to see if replacing the old Maclay Bridge was feasible, and at...
SWAN VALLEY – She was born on a cold winter day, wrapped and warm, high above the headwaters, in the same landscape where she later gave birth to celebrated triplets. Her neighbors loved her and many people experienced firsthand the wonder of those young siblings following mama through the forests they called home. Last week this shining example of creation died a quiet, sobering death – not because she had failed but because this now grieving community had failed her. She was so greatly admired that we gave her a name from the mountains themse...
Rural Montana is facing some pressing challenges. We must provide quality medical care for an aging population, so our seniors can enjoy healthy, vibrant lives in the communities they’ve always called home. And we need to create more jobs for the next generation of rural Montanans so they have the opportunity to live in our great state. These two objectives both require enhancements to our health care system, but we need to implement these enhancements in a way that will not jeopardize access to healthcare for people who live and work in r...
The Blackfoot Clearwater Stewardship Act (S. 1765) represents the best of Montana politics: collaborative, consensus-based policy intended to benefit everyone who lives and recreates in the Blackfoot River watershed. Diverse stakeholder groups have spent years creating a comprehensive plan for one of the most productive and storied landscapes in all of Montana. I will note that the BCSA’s incredible broad base of support – ranchers, timber companies, hunters, anglers, conservation groups, off-road enthusiasts and die-hard wilderness adv...
SEELEY LAKE - The sewer debate is about justice and fairness. Here are a couple of parameters. We all perform the same daily bodily functions, whether we’re registered to vote, own property or not. Fairness suggests we ALL have a say in this sewer debate, because even though a majority of the citizens don’t vote or own property they will pay for this new proposed sewer. Business people, the principal landowners, will certainly pass the increased sewer costs through to their customers and take a tax deduction for the expense. So, as it stands no...
It seems that everyone in Montana except Cory Stapleton knows that he is unqualified to fill any elected position. Stapleton seems either incompetent, corrupt or possibly both. Cory has done damage during the short time he has been in this office. He openly violates the law requiring he live in Helena. He improperly uses a state-owned vehicle and fuel to go home frequently. He claimed less than 0.1 percent error in voting was proof of massive voter fraud. He awards contracts to friends. etc. What Montana needs is a person working to make...
Climate change and global warming are important issues for Montanans. Coming changes will broadly impact our economic sectors and put inevitable strain on state resources. Challenges need to be addressed, especially in agricultural, business and tourism sectors where impacts are already being felt. The unpredictable weather patterns of a changing climate continue to have drastic consequences and Montana needs to be prepared. Along with planning for the future, we need to address the causes of climate change and hold fossil fuel industries...
Dear Mr. Goodover and Board Members - The Missoula City-County Health Board supports the resolution to require connection of all properties within the Seeley Lake Sewer District to the public sewer system as it becomes available. The Health Board is concerned about the nitrate levels in Seeley Lake’s groundwater and public sewer is a proven way to reduce the impact of septic system pollution in a community. However, in order to reap the benefit of public sewer, it is important that the number of connections be maximized. Recent water quality da...
Primary election season is upon us. It’s our responsibility to thoughtfully select candidates for our respective parties. Republican candidates for the governor’s seat present unique qualifications, temperaments and records. All have served in government positions. Each have held private sector roles. Two of the candidates Al Olszewski and Tim Fox are lifelong Montanans. Only Olszewski is a military veteran. In April 2019, Fox joined with David Yost, Ohio AG in filing an Amicus Brief supporting the preservation of Obamacare. While Fox’s motiv...
SEELEY LAKE - The sewer board’s attorney comes across as being overly aggressive and occasionally patronizing and seems to take an awful lot of liberties and “willful interpretations.” Such behavior distorts the law and results in minimizing the rights of the public to have their will respected. The board then feels confident to go its merry way in carrying out anything they want to, including overriding public sentiment. I presented a petition signed by 182 Seeley Lake constituents, who are in Phases 1-4, opposing the mandate to hook up to the...
Senator Steve Daines and Representative Greg Gianforte, according to press reports, are in Montana for the August congressional recess (or “state work period”). They are holding invite only roundtables and discussions (like Daines’ guest speaking slot at the RSVP-only, pay-to-get-in Missoula City Club luncheon) and other private events, but not public, open town halls. In other words, Daines and Gianforte are continuing to hide from their constituents instead of meeting with them in public. Senator Jon Tester, on the other hand, is the only...
SEELEY LAKE - The Seeley Lake Sewer Board continues to abuse the citizens it was elected to represent. At its meeting last week it quickly disregarded a petition signed by 182 residents opposing mandatory hook-ups and voted 3-1 to mandate them. It caved to Pyramid when its spokesman pointed out Pyramid pays 20 percent of the administrative fee, around $9,000 a year, but does not and will not enjoy 20 percent of the “benefit” of the sewer system. The manager and one Board member immediately voiced their intentions to re-visit the assessment met...
"People should not be afraid of their governments. Governments should be afraid of their people.” This quote is from the movie “V for Vendetta” and it is a perfect example of for what is happening in our state. Steve Daines and Greg Gianforte are so afraid of the citizens of Montana that they are refusing to hold in-person public town hall meetings during their congressional recess. They seem to have forgotten that they were elected to serve ALL Montanans, not just those who agree with them. They are ignoring the fact that great ideas come...
SEELEY LAKE - I wanted to personally write and thank the community for your kindness in donating much needed school supplies for our students at Seeley Lake Elementary. Your act of kindness will undoubtedly benefit our students and their education. When you gave selflessly to our students, you exemplified the character of the community and the heart it has for kids and education. Needless to say, I am grateful and appreciative of your gesture on behalf of our young students and their success in our school district. In my experience as an...
they say or how they vote during the re-election cycle. Focus on the voting record from earlier in their term. That’s an important thing for Montanans to remember about Senator Steve Daines in relation to public lands, wildlife habitat and public access. His re-election rhetoric doesn’t match his record. He’s crowing about his support for the Land and Water Conservation Fund (LWCF), a critical funding mechanism for conservation efforts on public lands. In Montana, the fund has spent more than $600 million. In 2015, newly-elected Senator Daine...
County Health employee Jim Erven misrepresented and exaggerated (yet again) the dangers of nitrates in a recent letter to the Sewer Board. He says high nitrate levels in the groundwater can cause blue baby syndrome and fish kills, neither of which have occurred in Seeley Lake. And he overlooks the fact most of the residents in the Sewer District drink out of the lake...not the groundwater he claims is polluted. He stated one test well had gone over the state standard occasionally for groundwater pollution but neglects to tell you all three...
Meatless Mondays for your school lunch program? Meat grown in a petri dish from a foreign lab? These are questions we need to ask Governor Bullock. By his executive order, Montana is now obligated to advance the goals of the Paris Climate Agreement. In order to meet the Paris objectives everything having a carbon footprint is on the table, including our beef industry. At present, U.S. meat consumption is about 222 pounds per person per year. Nationally the goal is to reduce this to 35 pounds per person. In short, Bullock wants to cut Montana...
Montanans received 9.4 million robocalls in June 2019. The majority coming from Target, Citibank, Capital One and debt collectors. A recent bill reigning in robocalls (HR 3375) passed US House and now heads to US Senate. The bill builds on legislation that passed the Senate with our MT Senators’ support. The new bill takes additional steps to curb abusive robocalling. It adopts important new consumer protections that requires FCC to close loopholes to ensure that automated calls and texts cannot be made without the consumer’s consent. The bil...
SEELEY LAKE - I love the parade and the excitement it creates in our town. I want to thank all those who helped organize it. I only ask one thing, that politics not be allowed in the parade. We have politics shoved down our throats daily and do not feel that we need it on the Fourth of July. Thank you....
SEELEY LAKE - The Sewer Board circus continues. Last week it approved a resolution for public review which would require EVERY property in the sewer district to hook up. Remember, if you have two lots under your home you will pay two debt service obligations. So, whatever the monthly charge comes out to be....double it if you have two lots under your home. Current cost estimates are already nearly THREE TIMES the statewide average for sewer service and will undoubtedly go higher as the construction estimates come in. Also the Board signed a...
They told us if we got educated then we would see success in our lifetime. Yet, more than 44 million Americans have student debts that combine to total $1.5 TRILLION. Having to borrow money for school is stressful enough; abusive debt collection practices don’t help. And now the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau is seeking to increase harassment of graduates over their debts. The CFPB wants to allow debt collectors to email and text consumers without consent, while also calling up to 7 times per week per debt. This will disproportionately a...
