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Concerning the Letter to the Editor from Leslie Lee admonishing me for trivializing trichotillomania (hair pulling compulsion). I am terribly sorry for referring to this disorder so flippantly in my Funky Phrase article. It was extremely insensitive of me to ignore the fact that trichotillomania is debilitating for sufferers. Please accept my apology. I will work harder to be more sensitive to issues like this in the future. Betty Vanderwielen Reporter, Seeley Swan Pathfinder...
In the Letter to the Editor entitled “More empathy required in reporting” by Leslie Lee Aug. 27 she states, “The article “Pulling Your Hair Out” published Aug. 13, 2020 about trichotillomania contains inaccuracies that should be clarified. This is a debilitating disorder, and to refer to it as something people do because their plans fell apart [furthers stigma and shame] that prevent people from seeking help.” Accurately (and without the above prejudicial terms), it misinformed. “Stigma and shame” (in the above response) add to the misinformat...
Dear friends, neighbors and members of the Missoula County Medical Community, When our lives changed dramatically on Nov. 16, 2019 due to Diann’s stroke, dozens upon dozens of individuals rushed to aid our family. First responders arrived and in quick succession so did the ambulance crew, doctors, nurses and hospital staff. Friends allowed me to stay in their homes in Missoula. Others in Condon cared for our dogs, safeguarded our home and many traveled in from the Swan Valley to offer hopeful messages and give us the benefit of our c...
Nowadays, politics in Washington creates a lot more problems than it solves—we’ve been led to believe that every issue, big or small, is an all-out battle for the soul of our country. But, quite frankly, when you take a step back from the dysfunction coming from the Capitol and spend some time in the great outdoors, these knock-down, drag-out fights start to fall apart at the seams. You find out that the neighbors you disagree with usually want the same things you do. And that’s why the Blackfoot Clearwater Stewardship Act is so special: it br...
For Montana’s Public Service Commission, the past year has been one of harmful infighting, disruption and absenteeism among its five commissioners. The dysfunction has been damaging to us all because major PSC responsibilities were consequently neglected instead of fulfilled. Commissioners are responsible for regulating monopoly utilities and for overseeing their new projects—in such vital areas as electric power, telecommunications, water, sewer and natural-gas pipelines. Now the Commission needs strong leadership that has been severely lac...
I had the unique opportunity this summer to accompany District 4 Public Service Commission candidate Monica Tranel as she biked 550 miles through the seven counties she hopes to represent. I drove the “sag wagon,” from the Canadian/Montana border town of Roosville, through Lincoln, Sanders, Mineral, Missoula, Powell, Granite and ended at the Idaho border in Ravalli County. A group of folks gathered in Noxon at Avista Park socially distanced, masks on, to listen as Monica spoke about how important it is to have experienced leadership on the PSC...
The article “Pulling Your Hair Out” published Aug. 13, 2020 about trichotillomania contains inaccuracies that should be clarified. This is a debilitating disorder, and to refer to it as something people do because their plans fell apart furthers stigma and shame that prevent people from seeking help. Trichotillomania is a mental health disorder affecting at least 2% of the population. It often begins in puberty, but toddlers and babies may compulsively pull their hair as well. Contrary to the information in the article, it is an obs...
Well, I see the city council has approved the purchase of 19 acres on Scott Street using $10.7 million dollars of TIF money, including bond issues. Let me put that into plain English. Of that $10.7 million dollar property tax money you paid into, around $3 million would have gone to the County. In other words, the city of Missoula should thank the taxpayers of Condon, Seeley Lake, Bonner, Frenchtown, and the other 10 or so forgotten towns in Missoula County for the money. And my opponent said nothing. Anytime you read Missoula uses TIF money...
Yes, of course! Tom lives in Montana House District 92. He is the secretary of the Seeley Lake Community Council, president of the Double Arrow Land Owners Association, and a board member and volunteer for the Seeley Lake Historical Society. Tom lives in Seeley Lake, the center of the district, and through his volunteer associations, visits with and listens to so many people. He hears our concerns, visions and needs. He sees how decisions at the state level affect us as rural people. He will speak to our needs and benefits as opposed to the...
We are a group of educators that collectively worked for more than 160 years at the Office of Public Instruction (OPI) for five state superintendents of both political parties. We are proud of the role that OPI has had in supporting local public schools and in providing leadership to ensure our Montana schools offer the best public education available anywhere. Melissa Romano is the candidate for Superintendent of Public Instruction that we believe has the energy, expertise and vision needed to lead public education in Montana. Romano is an...
Mike Cooney for Montana Governor is our candidate to vote for Nov. 3, 2020. Cooney has released his, "Keep Montana Working Plan" for Montana's future. www.cooneyformontana.com/jobs Cooney supports Public Education, unlike his opponent that is for our tax dollars going to private school. Cooney stated at a press conference on July 14, "He would defend Montana's public lands against politicians and powerful interest groups seeking privatization." Cooney will fight for Social Security, Medicare and Healthcare for Montana residents, unlike his...
The Montana Secretary of State has several critical duties and functions in service to the people of Montana. Chief among those duties is interpreting state election laws, overseeing elections and serving on the Montana Board of Land Commissioners. I am supporting Bryce Bennett for Montana Secretary of State in this November’s election because he will protect all Montanans access to the ballot in both urban and rural parts of the State and because he will protect our cherished public lands. Bryce is currently a Montana State Senator and also s...
It was heartening to read Democratic governor candidate Mike Cooney’s Keep Montana Working plan, which will create and expand career opportunities for Montanans. As a professional who works in Montana rural schools, I see many young people graduate from high school with few job prospects, despite the fact that employers are seeking skilled workers and resorting to hiring workers outside Montana. Mike Cooney’s plan addresses the deterrents that prevent Montanans from gaining those skills, including incentives to start childcare businesses, cre...
Andi Bourne’s headline on the front page of the July 30 Pathfinder should have read “Four young mountain lions killed at Seeley Lake” or maybe “shot” or “slaughtered?” The euphemism “dispatched” was used once in the article. I do not understand why Montana Fish, Wildlife & Parks and others don’t “tell it like it is,” and say “killed.” Bourne assured us four times that “human safety is the priority” in such incidents. I would like to see an in-depth article from FWP on why, “in Montana they don’t relocate [lions].” Do other states? The repo...
Montana governor candidate Greg Gianforte has brought high paying private sector jobs into Montana. Greg’s opponent Mike Cooney and his mentor Steve Bullock are lifelong politicians. Neither knows how to create private sector jobs. They never have. Sending Washington DC another politician to join Schumer, Pelosi, Bernie, A.O.C. and the Socialist Squad will not create jobs for Montana’s hard working families. Montana’s choice is clear. We can go with: more government, fewer jobs, open borders, sanctuary cities, defund the police, adopt cance...
Missoula County Health Department Specialist Jim Erven doesn’t seem to get it. The residents in the Seeley Lake Sewer District fully understand the Health Department is a bully, it does its work poorly and the $40-million sewer project it is pushing will further impoverish us. Let me explain further. The Board has never fully tested the area aquifer to accurately determine the “need” for a sewer. Lake water quality remains virtually unchanged over the past 40 years I have resided in this community, despite considerable growth. The Board has nev...
Reading about the proposed sewer makes me want to tell the residents of the Sewer District the truth. Even thought I no longer have any financial interest in the district, I have friends being affected. The proposed sewer will not have any affect on our water quality in the lake or river. Potential for water pollution is from state lots and other properties close to the river and lake where there is a high water table. These lands are not in the Sewer District. County officials pushing the sewer plan want to add the problem lands to the Sewer...
I was a public school teacher for 35 years in Minnesota. Retired, my husband and I have lived in Montana for six months a year for the last 11years. I am supporting Melissa Romano for Superintendent of Montana’s Office of Public Instruction because I believe she is the BEST candidate who will protect and promote quality public education for all students. With emphasis on “all,” she is a strong advocate for early education. Research shows that when we invest in our early learners with public preschool, those students do much better in eleme...
Racism: the belief that race accounts for differences in human character or ability and that a particular race is superior to others. 2. Discrimination or prejudice based on race. Democrats have always used race to obtain power. At first they championed slavery and divided the country and after the civil war they used their political and police power to pass laws and actions denying blacks basic human and civil rights. After Supreme Court rulings, Republican legislation, Republican president Eisenhower sending federal troops, and a sea change...
I am writing about the letter from Mr. Bob Rathman in the July 16 Pathfinder paper. Mr. Rathman says in his letter that the National Forest Service roads aren’t really closed because you can just walk around the gates. I can’t really believe that Mr. Rathman is really so selfish and self-centered that he doesn’t understand that many taxpayers who support the National Forest Service are not capable of walking, riding a bicycle or horse. Many of us are disabled but still want to enjoy the public lands we support, including our veterans. If Mr. R...
A bear’s nose knows when the smell of food wafts through the air. It’s integral to their survival, this tool for finding food, and is the reason why one resident of Montana’s Swan Valley has made it her summer’s work to pick up other people’s trash. Kathy Koors has spent nearly 40 years living near Condon, Montana, in a pocket of the Treasure State defined largely by water and trees. Larch, lodgepole and Douglas fir mingle in dense stands around azure lakes squeezed between the Mission Mountains and Swan Range. It’s a place sprouting w...
Many of you know that during past summers I have volunteered to check several of the Swan Valley’s dispersed campsites, clean up garbage and visit with campers who have questions about food storage in bear country. Thanks to a winter fundraiser, ongoing donations and local support, this summer I am paid part-time by the Living With Wildlife Foundation in partnership with the Flathead National Forest, Swan Lake Ranger District. These organizations are helping me and the community strengthen and improve our education efforts. The Forest Service a...
I see we have another member of our community that cherishes the beauty of this area. There are millions of acres of federal lands that have been preserved in such a way that if visitors were able to time travel to us today from the mid eighteen hundreds and go to these areas they would have to say, “Nothing has changed”. That is right, folks, millions of acres of public lands have been preserved and protected from incursion of the likes of the elderly and handicapped. Those folks are NOT part of the PUBLIC; they are the refuse that just hap...
Listen up! Montana is our home, and we love it. From the mountains to the prairies, from trout-streams and lakes to sagebrush hills and big-sky grasslands, we praise its beauties and natural bounty. We are proud of our friendly cities and small-towns, our Native American and cowboy cultures, our schools and great universities, and the hospitals and rural health care centers that dot our vast state. I live on a homestead up the Blackfoot where some of my neighbors are Trump supporters, some are survivalists and some progressive Democrats. But...
SEELEY LAKE - The preceding sewer boards have put together an amazing financial package to fund this project. It includes over $10 million of grant money, with approximately $6 million of loans in a package that will fund the building of the treatment plant and the collection system. To construct the treatment plant and collection system plus hookups in Phase 1 (subdistrict 1) will cost each residential unit no more than $54.25 per month (Resolution #201725235). This is the least expensive, most feasible plan we have investigated or that has...
