Sorted by date Results 1033 - 1057 of 1183
SEELEY LAKE - Now that the dust has settled and the voters have spoken, it is time to Monday morning quarterback and ask, “Where do we go from here?” First, a brief assessment of our situation. We are a rural community. Always have been, always will be and I suspect that is how most of the voters want to keep it. We are a mixed economy...a solid lumber mill town with a good bit of recreation/retirement thrown in. That, too, is how most of us would like to keep it. Second, preservation of our fabulous natural surroundings should continue to be a...
Many people die from car accidents because they are not wearing their seatbelts when they are riding in their cars. That is a very dangerous and foolish thing to do!! This causes families a lot of sadness and broken hearts!! Everyone, you should know that seatbelts save lives especially in car crashes! If you have any children, please make sure that they fasten their seatbelts when they are riding in a car. Also, if you have very young children or babies, please have them in car seats and fasten those seatbelts when they ride in cars. These...
SEELEY LAKE - To respond to the full-page ad from Concerned Citizens, let me address two issues: Is the ground water contaminated? Answer – YES. The fact that test results vary with weather conditions doesn’t change the fact that nitrates in high numbers are present. The fact that they haven’t quite reached the stage where they exceed the safety limits continually does not negate the fact that they are present in excess - enough to cause Missoula County to create a Special Management District for Seeley Lake to limit additional nitrate contamin...
The Democratic Party claims the popular vote while the Republican Party claims the Electoral College. Both organizations appear to have missed the very poignant message sent by the electorate via this last Presidential election. Hillary Clinton is symptomatic of a political party that seems to feel that we NEED to be looked after by a ruling class and she was entitled to that throne. The Republican Party on the other hand, felt they had the answer in the name of either Bush, Romney, Kasich, Graham or possibly Christie. The thought of a...
MISSOULA - I read in the paper recently that the Missoula Sheriff’s Office donated money to the jail diversion program. I want to commend the Sheriff on having the foresight to take available funds and apply them in such an action. By supporting a movement to take or keep a portion of the jailed population out of the jail, he has helped the Missoula County taxpayers as much as he has helped the offenders and his own department. First, by removing some of the jail population, administration of the jail is made more manageable. Second, by s...
SEELEY LAKE - The very life of Seeley Lake depends on getting a sewage treatment system into Seeley Lake. This is not just rhetoric on my part. Seeley Lake cannot build affordable housing without a sewer system. Seeley Lake cannot progress and bring more businesses in until we get a sewer system. This is not just for us but for those that will follow. Loren Rose, Chief Operating Officer at Pyramid Mountain Lumber Inc., has stated, “The high cost of housing in and around Seeley Lake means more Pyramid employees are commuting to work. A sewer s...
SEELEY LAKE - After attending the Seeley Lake Community Council meeting last Monday with the opportunity to ask any questions about the pending waste management (sewer) project, I came away with these thoughts: A premium roof is expected to last about 40 years. If, near the end of its life, someone offered to pay you 70 percent of its replacement and finance your 30 percent for 2.5 percent interest over 40 years, wouldn’t you definitely accept the offer? Especially knowing its later replacement could be all your cost. A premium septic system h...
SEELEY LAKE - The crucial moment is here. After more than ten years of planning, voters in the Sewer District will make a decision that will profoundly impact Seeley Lake. The sewer issue is complex, but for me it boils down to two simple facts: our groundwater is getting more and more contaminated and that’s already visible on our lake with the increase in algae. Secondly, we have a one-time opportunity to receive $8 million in federal grants for the project, the largest award ever made. If we turn the sewer down, that pile of money will be p...
SEELEY LAKE - It is clear by now that getting full, accurate and timely information about the proposed sewer project is like “getting blood from a stone.” To have confidence in the costly project, one needs time to think about all the implications. Forty years with no escape clause is a long time to be stuck. The sewer board has already announced four quick-fix, unfair policies. First, debt service is not being pro-rated by assessed property value as are school and other debts. Sewer debt will fall proportionately heavier on low- and fix...
SEELEY LAKE - As a resident of Seeley Lake and a fairly active part of the community, my feelings concerning the possible construction of a sewage treatment plant, come a lot closer to excitement than despair. It would be a tremendous step forward to our march towards civilization than stepping back into the forests and turning our backs to the rest of the world. I am sure that most of my neighbors have similar feelings, maybe expressed somewhat differently but along these lines. But, together with most of my neighbors, I have no say in the...
SEELEY LAKE - Sewer board members have been yelling “wolf” telling residents the federal and state government will force us to put in a central sewer if we don’t approve this present proposal. That is wrong...here are two reasons why: 1. Donald Trump has publicly promised he will force the federal EPA to pull back on excessive environmental mandates and with a republican-controlled congress he just might get that job done. 2. Montana state law (MCA 1-2-112) says if the legislature enacts a mandate to a local government it must provide a fundi...
SEELEY LAKE - There are general and yet specific “ISSUES” to be considered in deciding to vote for the COMMUNITY SEWER PROJECT. They are as follows: 1. Decisions should be made with facts and proper education of choices & consequences. 2. The cost of the initial and final project. 3. The serious present and future human health consequences. 4. The short and long term environmental conditions. 5. The economic impact on the entire community of Seeley Lake 6. The image of residents and businesses of the community, present and future. 7. The pro...
SEELEY LAKE - Sewer hook-up is a hot-button issue in Seeley Lake. It costs money—particularly when laying down pipes. People are fearful of the added homebuilding a sewer might bring. However, the facts demonstrate that sewer remains the best choice for protecting Seeley Lake’s clean, safe and irreplaceable waters. Growth and development have been stifled in our community. Financial prosperity, jobs and opportunities for our residents, children and grandchildren have been limited. All these things could improve and provide all of us a bet...
SEELEY LAKE - I really feel for the “snowbirds” who make up a quarter of the non-business resident parcels of the Seeley Lake Sewer District. Unless they subscribe to The Pathfinder, they will probably miss their chance to vote down a multi-million dollar bond issue that can severely impact their futures. The Missoula County Elections Office will mail ballots on Nov. 23 to every REGISTERED voter who is a resident or property owner in the Sewer District for a bond issue that, if passed, could potentially cost them $178 a month for the next 40...
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...
