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SEELEY LAKE – I just want to say thank you, thank you to everyone who has sent cards, visited, called and kept me in your thoughts and prayers since my accident. You have encouraged me and helped me on my road to recovery. I am truly blessed by all of you and grateful for our supportive community!...
Our President Donald J. Trump gave an excellent speech at the State of the Union. He spoke of the long list of achievements under his administration. He honored Americans from different walks of life. He reminded us where we came from. He praised our founding fathers and the Constitution they gave us. He talked of those who blazed the trail before us. President Trumps’ State of the Union speech will be remembered for generations to come, unless Nancy Polosi gets ahold of the copies. Nancy Polosi’s behavior was disgraceful and possibly criminal...
A little over a year ago, a brilliant lawyer helped secure the future of our family ranch. Raphael Graybill, in his role as chief legal counsel for the governor, went to battle for private property rights and public access in front of the Montana Supreme Court when he challenged the Attorney General’s interpretation of the law regarding Habitat Montana easements. If he had lost against the AG’s flawed legal opinion, we could have lost our ranch. Raph utilized his incredible intellect and deep understanding of the law to show the Supreme Cou...
SEELEY LAKE - What is really going on at SLE? Why won’t the board answer the question we all want to know? What has our superintendent done that is so terrible? Why can’t the board tell us the truth, what happened to bring us to this meeting? And why must they hide behind an attorney before they can answer the question asked of them? After the school board meeting [Feb. 18] which was a joke, nothing was accomplished and the town is still in the dark as to why!!...
I thought I would comment on the news coming out of Washington, D.C. I see that our corruption-fighting president has pardoned seven white-collar criminals. He also commuted the sentences of four more white-collar criminals. I assume this must be part of his plan to drain the swamp! As long as we are talking about the hardest working president we have ever had, I remember him saying in 2016 that he was going to be too busy working to leave the White House with no time for golf. Well after 193 golf outings (most of them at his own properties) I...
SEELEY LAKE - Doug Pewitt passed away on Feb.10 after his vehicle fell through the ice on Salmon Lake. This tragedy was softened and made easier to handle due to the response and support of individuals and agencies involved. Thanks go out to Seeley Lake Fire Department, Seeley Lake QRU, Seeley-Swan Search and Rescue, Missoula County Sheriff’s Office, the U.S. Forest Service and Montana Highway Patrol. The events on that day are etched into our family’s memory. I particularly want to commend Heath Hanson, Chaplain Lowell Hochhalter, Zach Bar...
SEELEY LAKE - Missoula County officials have spent more than a half-million taxpayer dollars in the past decade trying to sell a community sewer here in Seeley Lake. Unfortunately, the proposal the sewer board settled on stinks. It does not clean up the shore dwellers’ waste effluent (less than 25 percent of the waterfront properties on the lake and the Clearwater are in the sewer district). It does not protect the watershed. It is REALLY expensive. And it may very well pollute nearly 100 drinking water wells up near the airport where the t...
The task force the governor has created to protect Montana’s workers, businesses and taxpayers sounds good on paper but sometimes good intentions end up hurting our poor and less fortunate at the expense of protecting the more affluent. Other than fighting high taxes and property insurance, low and fixed income property owners and landlords face a continuing problem of property maintenance. When landlords have to pay excessive amounts for maintenance, those costs are passed on to the tenant through higher rents. It should be noted that the o...
Democrats claim taxing the “rich” is the way to help the middle class and poor. That the rich get rich by taking wealth from others. Norm would have said “idiots!” Bill Gates and Paul Allen, worth billions, created an operating system for computers enabling the average person computer operation. Millions use his product on phones, tablets, computers, etc. for personal and business use. Microsoft products and stock have created millions of jobs, businesses and many billion/millionaires and middle class people. Microsoft is presently a trillio...
Jade Green and Lowell Grosvold passed away on Jan. 1, 2020. The families of the late Lowell Grosvold and Jade Green, wish to extend our sincere thanks for your many kindnesses, and for the condolences and support that we have received. We also send our gratitude and appreciation to Missoula County Sheriff’s Office, Seeley Swan Search and Rescue, Missoula Search and Rescue and all other search and rescue volunteers....
SEELEY LAKE - In July of 2017, a group of dedicated, experienced teachers at Seeley Lake Elementary rightfully brought the alarming deficiencies of the previous superintendent to the attention of the School Board. They received little support from others within SLE right up until last summer, when it finally became obvious to all that their concerns were justified. That suggests to us that this same group’s united grievances against the current superintendent are worth supporting. Their previous struggle was no doubt exhausting. Would they w...
SWAN VALLEY - I would like to call attention to an article from the August 2019 issue of National Geographic Magazine “As wolverines battle to survive, warming poses a threat.” The article discusses the wolverine that survive in the lower 48 states. Only about 300 of these unique animals are known to exist in four states: Montana, Idaho, Washington and Wyoming. The article displays a very unique two-page photograph of a wolverine feeding on a deer carcass. The picture was taken in our Swan Valley. There are several outstanding photos of wol...
During the 2019 Legislature, Gov. Steve Bullock, legislators and Montanans across the Treasure State worked tirelessly to keep history alive in a variety of ways. Senate Bill 338, also known as the Montana Museums Act, is best known for providing a portion of the funds to build the new Montana Heritage Center. But the legislation also creates an ongoing historic preservation grant program for counties, incorporated cities or towns, tribal governments, associations and incorporated nonprofit groups. Feb. 28 is the deadline to apply for the...
For communities and businesses to prosper, they must be safe. From the 9-1-1 call through to the arrest, conviction and incarceration of felony offenders, Montana citizens rely on state funded public safety and justice programs to support that goal. I’m dismayed to read about Greg Gianforte’s proposed tax cut on Public Safety of 30%. If Montanans see such cuts in the next biennium there will be serious consequences to public safety across the state. We can’t all afford to provide our own security and safety like those with Gianforte’s wealth....
At the recent Montana Republican Kickoff, something very strange happened. A GOP legislator from Billings suggested that he ought to be shot. Representative Rodney Garcia dropped a stink bomb in the middle of the gathering by insisting that it is our Constitutional duty to execute the socialists in our midst – or at the very least, lock them up in a dank dungeon somewhere. He sees them as too much of a danger for our free society to deal with if left on the loose. We need to ask our patriotic friend if he has looked at our Constitution l...
SEELEY LAKE - On Jan. 21 the Seeley Lake Elementary School Board voted 3 - 2 not to renew Superintendent Daniel Schrock’s contract. *See the Jan 30 edition of the Pathfinder for details* He is invited to re-apply. The hiring process has already begun and the school board is accepting applications. The hiring process is at minimum $8,000 and then another $4,000 is given to the selected applicant for moving expenses. This comes from your tax dollars. There is also the concern of starting over with new administration because it puts the kids in m...
We have a great school and staff at SLE. It makes me sad to see veteran teachers being smeared on social media and in the newspaper. I told myself I would take the high road, stay professional and not respond. But I can’t abide people who have no personal experience with me or my classroom saying hateful things about me and my fellow teachers. I’ve been a teacher for 30 years in three school districts under seven administrators. Never have I been accused of not doing my job or not being a team player. Quite the opposite actually. I love my job...
SEELEY LAKE - Members of SLE Board and To Whom It May Concern, As parents of a fourth grade student at Seeley Lake Elementary we would like to express our opposition on the motion to NOT renew Mr. Schrock’s contract. Understand that we have asked many questions and gathered as much info as possible including speaking with parents, teachers, students, Board members and Mr. Schrock. Since the presence of Mr. Schrock in our school system, we have seen a positive change in many of the children. Melissa substitutes on almost a weekly basis (for two...
SEELEY LAKE - A heartfelt Thank You to all who attended “A Western Burlesque Show.” Thank you for your support to the Seeley Lake Elementary Breakfast Program and Meals on Wheels for Seniors! I especially want to give my utmost gratitude to those who made it possible, including those who sponsored the event, created promotional material, decorated, donated desserts, helped setup, tear down and clean up. And most of all, thank you to all the actors and musicians who gave their time to practice their skits and made it possible for “The Show...
The Montana Water Rights Protection Act was recently introduced to the U.S. Senate as an “amendment” and “fix” to the flawed 2015 Confederated Salish and Kootenai Tribes’ Water Compact. Senator Dr. Al Olszewski of Kalispell, who is running for Montana State Governor, will not quit fighting for everyone’s rights. Senator Dr. Al understands. He is courageously offering a new solution. The solution to forego any sort of “fix” and to immediately create a Montana water rights defense fund. State sovereignty is clearly under siege. Citizens across...
This is a response to last week’s letter to the editor from Joan, regarding her response to an article the previous week regarding the impeachment proceedings. While I respect you both and acknowledge that both articles were passionately written, written according to both of your beliefs, I would suggest that it may be time in this country for us all to just step back and take a deep breath. I am neither taking a position to defend the president, nor the Democratic party for attempting to impeach him. As to our Constitution, I suggest we leave...
SEELEY LAKE - As Grandparents and community members of Seeley Lake we are very concerned and upset with the fact that our Superintendent will not have his contract renewed after only five months at Seeley Lake Elementary. We want to know what specific written expectations he was given when hired and what he needed to accomplish in this past five months to justify his contract not being renewed? What are the expectations that he did not accomplish in the five months that validate his contract not being renewed? It cost more than $8,000 and now...
Montanans save an estimated $37 million annually since we outlawed payday loan products and services in 2010. The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau is currently looking to roll back a common-sense rule that would ensure that borrowers can repay their loans before they sign on the dotted line. Short of a statewide payday loan interest rate cap, as our state and several other states have implemented, the rule was supposed to help keep average everyday people out of the debt trap. Luckily, some members of Congress are leading a bill that would...
Senator Daines seeks to create better public banking. Postal Banking would help Montanans gain better access to banking services. Federal law requires one post office per zip code, but this isn’t the same expectation for banks. US Postal Service can already complete banking services like check cashing and money orders; this bill would allow them to offer bank accounts and even offer short-term, small dollar loans. Representative Gianforte wants to stop robocalls by requiring telecommunications companies to “implement call authentication tec...
I have always believed that a good laugh is excellent therapy for a multitude of ailments. Because of that belief I wish to thank you for the occasional humor column you have added to the Pathfinder. I am of course referencing the letters from Roxie Sterling. I do however hope you will replace them with something humorous and enlightening as well....
