Sorted by date Results 846 - 870 of 1183
SWAN VALLEY - In updating the Lake County Growth Plan, the density-zoning map should be maintained and enhanced, not repealed. Continued rural sprawl in the Mission and Swan Valleys is a threat to critical habitat and the rural lifestyle enjoyed by those who live and recreate there. Constructing and maintaining public access roads, utility infrastructure, providing wildland and structural fire protection and emergency services for increased commercial and residential construction, is all cost prohibitive and will put more stress on the public a...
MISSOULA - Facts based on her accomplishments and personal knowledge of inherent love and respect for the people of this county, is why I proudly support Jean Curtiss in her race for Missoula County Commissioner. As a long time small business owner in Seeley Lake, I have seen Jean effectively bring new businesses to Missoula County – all of which have provided our community members with good paying jobs. I especially admire her job creation efforts that seek to balance scientific resource management, open space, healthy lifestyles and a s...
MISSOULA - I am beyond excited to endorse Josh Slotnick for County Commissioner and hope you will take the time to learn about - and vote - for him. We both moved here to go to college in the early ‘80s from our respective Dakota’s and immediately became fast friends. After college, he moved to Thailand for the Peace Corp; we reunited back in Missoula eight years later with kids and spouses in tow (at Farmer’s Market). By then he’d studied permaculture and started a small family farm growing organic veggies. My friend was now a farmer, an entr...
POTOMAC - I would like to apologize publicly for my comments regarding the “sub-par” education at Potomac School. I did say that, but in reflection it was a very poor word choice and was not meant to reflect on the teachers at the school. They are all amazing, give 110 percent, care about our kids and may be counted among the best of the best. My intent was more to point out that in the absence of the Explorer’s program I personally feel that the school isn’t really all that different from the average school. In many ways the opportu...
Hello! I am a third-grade student in Northern Virginia. In third grade we do state reports and I have chosen your state! I am very excited to learn more about the great state of Montana as I work on my report. Information that I gather for my report will mainly be from books and websites but I would also like to get information from the people who live in the state. This is why I am writing to you. I was hoping that you would be willing to send me some items to help me learn more about the best things in your state. It could be things like...
It is obvious that Russ Fagg is encouraged that he is being supported by so many establishment type politicians in his campaign for the U.S. Senate. For the most part these same politicians were those who opposed Donald Trump. Some people would consider them as part of the political swamp that must be drained. In law school it did not take me long to understand why so many lawyers tend to be progressive type political thinkers. Most of my fellow students and almost all of my law school professors had political science backgrounds. Frank...
Why is it that our political parties are so disagreeable while we still visit with each other over coffee? The answer is that our political parties in Montana are no longer drawing their direction from our grassroots. Including Libertarians, of the 4758 precinct vacancies in the June 2014 Primary Election, only 571 positions were filled by properly filing a Declaration For Nomination and Oath Of Candidacy in a County Clerk and Recorder’s Office. Of more concern only 10 of 168 potential County party committees achieved 50 percent of precinct pos...
There seems to be misinformation being shared publicly. This is being written to clarify actions in part. At our recent district board meeting with four board members present, who bring over 100 years combined volunteer/board experience, spoke on various topics. The four board members present thanked our current Interim Chief Michael Greer. He has our full support in the decisions that he has made in an effort to making and bettering this department. It is unfortunate that less than a handful of volunteers chose to challenge the system. The...
I am proud to endorse Russ Fagg for the United States Senate. Russ announced that he had received endorsements from over 100 current and former Republican leaders from around the State. I am on that list because I believe that Russ is the only conservative that can beat Jon Tester. Russ Fagg is a fourth generation Montanan, a two-term Republican legislator, and was a Judge in Billings for over 20 years. Russ will represent Montana in the US Senate because he is one of us. He understands Montana values and his campaign is Montana focused....
With respect to US Forest Service Regional Forester Leanne Martin’s Editorial request for an open checkbook for mismanagement of our national forest. One thing about our National Forest Service employees, they have more guts than government mules. For the first time in over a hundred years the Forest Service wants special funding to fight forest fires that they refuse to put out. At least in part due to their let it burn policy and destructive backfires, we lost millions of dollars that could have created jobs to help the unemployed and two f...
MISSOULA - As a writer, parent, local food lover and proud Missoula County resident, I’m thrilled to support Josh Slotnick’s campaign for Missoula County Commissioner. Josh co-founded Garden City Harvest and the PEAS Farm, teaches in the environmental studies department at UM and runs his own family farm with his wife and kids. He’s new to politics but is committed to addressing climate change and the smoke season, serving the needs of the most vulnerable and encouraging development to enhance our county’s unique character. I know he’ll b...
I enthusiastically support Josh Slotnick who is running as a Democrat for the Board of Missoula County Commissioners. Josh has been my friend, farmer and colleague for nearly 20 years. Without a doubt, he is one of the most hard-working and civic-minded people I know. Josh has deep roots in Missoula County and rural communities. After growing up in North Dakota, he moved here at 18 to attend University of Montana. He later served in the Peace Corps, and earned graduate degrees in agricultural extension and in ecological horticulture. Then, 25...
MISSOULA - In the 35 years that I’ve been privileged to live in Missoula County, I have been delighted to see how our community embraced regrowing our local food economy and protecting our farmland. One of the people who worked to make this happen is Josh Slotnick who is running for county commissioner. Josh is a philosopher and farmer, a thinker and a doer, who has been nourishing Missoula body and soul for many years. He was one of the founders of Garden City Harvest and helped protect two urban farms for the long term – the PEAS farm and...
My name is Travis Wafstet. I am an Independent candidate for the Office of Sheriff/Coroner in Missoula County. I am writing to address the residents in Greenough, Potomac, Seeley Lake and Condon. For many months your communities have not received the law enforcement services you deserve. This includes the stressful summer fire season, which plagued the Seeley area. For decades you have relied on the Sheriff’s Office “Resident Deputy” program where deputies live full-time and work in your communities separate from the local office in Misso...
Some of my Wilderness-friendly friends are bent out of shape because politicians want to release Montana Wilderness Study Areas (WSA) of that status, envisioning instant clearcuts and oil fields. Concern has been expressed that the action is being done without public involvement. These areas would then be managed in compliance with the National Environmental Protection Act (NEPA) and the National Forest Management Act. Anyone who has followed or been involved in National Forest planning know any great changes won’t happen overnight. Some are a...
Back in 1898, near the headwaters of the Missouri River in what is now Glacier National Park, my great grandfather found and drilled the first oil wells in Montana. He also found the school teacher in Altyn (who was 33 years younger) and on their windy mining claims on Swiftcurrent Creek, they raised 17 children. It was a hard life, but as my grandfather (#13) used to say, “It was a good place to get the stink blowed off ya.” Now fast forward 120 years and go down the Missouri River 1000 miles to Standing Rock, N.D. Last winter my daughter Jess...
Montana’s booming outdoor recreation industry is dependent on having ample wild and wonderful places. We cannot manufacture new wild places. Now is not the time to shrink our public lands, now is the time to protect our public lands. One important step we can take towards ensuring we’ll have sufficient wild places 50 years from now is to see that the Blackfoot Clearwater Stewardship Act (BCSA) becomes law. The BCSA was born and raised by Montanans. For more than a decade local ranchers, loggers, sportsmen, snowmobilers and business owners have...
Small businesses can use all the help they can get, most especially representatives in Washington who stand up for them and represent their interests. Montana’s small businesses are lucky that they have such champions in Senator Tester & Senator Daines, both of whom recently signed on to legislation to delay the Health Insurance Tax (HIT). The HIT is a federal sales tax on health care plans purchased by small business owners for their employees. At $430 per per family per year, this tax directly raises the cost of health care, forcing small b...
I have known Russ Fagg for over 25 years. When you know someone a long time, you see what they are made of. Russ served as a Montana district judge for 20 years in Yellowstone County. Judges have the title "Honorable" in front of their names. This is not just a title for Judge Fagg it is a description of his character. Russ is a man of honor and integrity. He does what he says, he is transparent and there is nothing false about him. I don't know about others, but that is a key character trait I am looking for in someone I vote for. Is he/she...
SEELEY LAKE - To the cross country skier who allowed his dog to jump all over mine as my dog and I were trying to walk to the start of the Morrell Falls USFS road: As your dog continued to jump on and at mine, you watched but did nothing. I asked you several times to please call your dog back, since it was making it difficult for me to walk. You repeatedly ignored me and stood silently watching. Finally you yelled that it is a “dog-off-leash” area. True. But, that does not mean that dogs off-leash should not be under voice control and all...
Primary greenhouse gases are water vapor, carbon dioxide, nitros oxide, ozone, CFCs, and HFCs. Of these, which is the most significant? You may be surprised to learn that it is not carbon dioxide, but rather water vapor! Just how significant is water vapor? Water vapor accounts for roughly 95% of Mother Earth’s greenhouse effect. This means all the other greenhouse gases account for only five percent of the effect. Of this five percent, carbon dioxide is about 3.6 percent, with the remaining greenhouse gases supplying the balance. Now the q...
Montana’s three political parties control access to the General Election ballot. Montanans can influence their parties by grassroots electing 3,186 precinct persons in 56 counties. In 2014 no one filed for 2,630, or 82 percent. Of the 571 positions for which individuals filed, only 54 were contested. That small number of names was seen on the ballot by neighbors. Each county committee quorum of representative, equal to 50 percent or more of precinct positions, can be a valuable forum for discussing and addressing issues. For those committees t...
All Montanans have reason to be proud that a Montana Englemann Spruce was chosen for the national Christmas tree. And those of us who have enjoyed Sperry Chalet know what a treasure that building was. But I question the practicality of hauling that Christmas spruce back to Montana for use in rebuilding the Sperry Chalet as Senator Tester has suggested. Spruce is not the best choice for log building – the cell structure is long and large and holds more moisture than most woods, which tends to twist when the log builder shapes the log to fit i...
When you read about the things that Senator Tester is trying to do to the wilderness study and National Monument areas, there are some things you need to know. • Wilderness study areas, were not, are not, and never were, supposed to be wilderness. These areas were to be studied by the appropriate agency and recommendations made to Congress as to the disposition of the area. The recommendation was to be made within five years of the WSA (Wilderness Study Area) designation. The study that was done determined that that these areas did NOT meet t...
SEELEY LAKE - My daughter, who is a second grade teacher, high school volleyball coach and serves in the Army National Guard, was called to duty fighting the Rice Ridge Fire the end of August through the first part of September. She had to leave her husband, classroom and volleyball team, however, she was ready to go and protect the town of Seeley. She was treated very well by the community members young and old and in-between! On one of her first days on duty, two teenage girls brought my daughter and her battle buddy milkshakes on a very hot...
