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Twenty-nine years ago my family was blessed with a beautiful baby boy who we named Jesse. He came to us with an extra 21 chromosome which makes him has Down Syndrome. He has brought joy and happiness to our lives. In our eyes, Jesse is perfect! People like Matt Rosendale don't see our son in the same way. While in the Montana legislature Matt Rosendale voted against HB318 which required health insurers to cover certain therapies for children affected with this genetic disorder. Rosendale obviously believes it is more important to save...
When I voted for the Montana Health and Economic Livelihood Partnership (HELP) Act, also known as Medicaid Expansion, in 2015, I did so for two reasons. First, to ensure that vulnerable Montanans had access to affordable health coverage. Second, to ensure that we were giving those same people the skills they need to get higher-paying jobs so they would no longer need to rely on government assistance. I continue to support Medicaid Expansion but I do not support Ballot Initiative 185 (I-185). I ask that you join me this November and vote NO on...
The color of a person’s skin is beauty created by the Hand of God. It’s not a person’s skin color that I pay attention to. It’s the color of their heart. Are people coming to America to be Americans or are they coming to take over America? Here is a thought. Instead of turning illegal aliens loose in our country never to report back to court, let’s place them in the homes of those who want open borders. Bring them home to their wife and children and pay for their food, clothing, medical, and education, and see that they get back to court. My...
HELMVILLE - I just returned from the Helmville Rodeo. I stood in silent prayer with several hundred people, every single person there stood with their hand over their heart as some little gal with the voice of a meadow lark sang our national anthem – while another one stood up on a barrel and did sign language for the audience. The tears that ran down my cheeks made me a proud man. I shall watch the NFL no more forever. Thank you God, thank you America and thank you Helmville, Montana....
The people of the United States of America have big hearts and open arms. That is a good thing if we also use common sense. I’m concerned about open borders and illegal aliens. I am not against people of different colors or race. One of my children is Asian American and I have African American, Native American, White, Asian and Mexican family members. Our foster children also were of different nationalities. Having said that, we must realize that we cannot allow illegal aliens to cross our borders. We need the wall and more law enforcement t...
I am writing in reply to Waldron’s letter criticizing and denigrating the owners of the Pathfinder before Andi and Nathan took over. Waldron has a very short memory. The previous owners were our daughter and her husband, Caroline and Dwight Jenkins. They increased the number of pages from the eight cited by Waldron to 24 at times. Dwight spent most of his time taking, publishing and winning awards for his photographs. Caroline introduced colored photographs for the first time. The paper during their ownership won multiple awards for its article...
I’d like to thank the Pathfinder and Biologist Scott Eggeman for last week’s excellent column exploring the history, ecology and growing importance of beavers. As we increasingly face the unpredictable stresses of fires, droughts and floods, I appreciate Eggeman’s nod to the rodent’s keystone role in a resilient ecosystem. I’m thrilled to know that Torrey Ritter will be helping FWP to integrate beavers into the agency’s goals for watershed health and native fish recovery. Since much beaver habitat is currently unoccupied in our region, I c...
We are fortunate here in Seeley Lake to have an award-winning newspaper published by two excellent journalists, Nathan and Andi Bourne, with the help of an impressive staff. As good journalists, they don’t invent the news, they just report it, even when it’s distasteful news. That is their duty and what we pay them to do. Shoot, they even publish criticisms of themselves. That’s integrity. There is too much negativity toward the news media around the country and even globally. This sad state is being encouraged by politicians pandering to th...
When I wrote my letter last week stating my support of the US Forest Service, the Seeley Lake Ranger District and the District Ranger, I intended it to be on the more general level in an attempt to offer a perspective of what government is, or rather isn’t, by stating it is not a business and should never be operated as a business, and the difficulties our land management agencies are facing now with severe budget cuts. With this much shorter letter I bring it to the local level. We are incredibly fortunate to have Rachel Feigley as the D...
The Pathfinder dated Aug. 30, 2018 certainly contained a great deal of controversial opinions on a variety of subjects. Those that seemed to generate the most emotion had to do with the petition regarding the way OUR ranger district is being run. We had just gone through an incredibly bad year of a fire that nearly cost us the very town we call home, followed by an incredibly good or bad snow year (depending on your winter activities). The beginning of our tourist season found that approximately 30 percent of the campsites available for our...
I’d like to thank Heather Richards for her heartfelt commentary “Strong Enough to Bend” in last week’s Pathfinder. Understanding the post-fire perspective of someone who has spent more than 30 years traversing the trails in the Bob Marshall Wilderness is very valuable. Her commentary demonstrates courage and flexibility. Wilderness is by definition, wild, chaotic and unpredictable. Without the wildness of grizzlies, bull trout and yes, wildfires, we lose our wildness. In federally designated wilderness areas, we humans don’t always get to de...
While not a complete authority on the Canyon Creek fire in 1988, I was there to cut snags and later me and Elden Rammell were sentenced to cut that burned timber. That fire camp there looked like a reunion of retired Forest Service people. I’m sure they donated their time. I’m thankful someone finally admitted that is a “let burn policy.” Apparently the left hand doesn’t know what the right hand is doing because they’re still doing it with most fires. A certain person who “sat” and got paid to look at the Rice Ridge fire told me the state fire...
After reading last week’s Pathfinder, page 2, OPINION Editor’s Note Headline: What is news in Seeley Lake? Story Andi & Nathan Bourne – Pathfinder Staff…It sure makes me wonder if most people in Seeley Lake read only what they’re looking for each week. How much dirt did ??? Find on??? This week? Oh yeah, this week most by-passed the above OPINION and went right away to the throat article, believing there would be one, of our Seeley Lake Ranger. Allow me to ask this question. Before Andi and Nathan Bourne took over the Pathfinder does anyone rec...
As a retired ICU physician, I know the end-stage consequences of tobacco use: heart disease, stroke, vascular disease, dementia, COPD, emphysema and cancers – not just lung cancer, but also throat, stomach, pancreatic, colon, liver, kidney and bladder cancers, to name a few. It was difficult to repeatedly see these horrible diseases, and their devastating consequences on patients and their families. Initiative 185 will place higher taxes on tobacco and vaping products. Hopefully, this will discourage their use. In addition, the revenue generate...
Well if you’ve ever had anyone in your family conned by a payday lender, you should know. The Senate could confirm Ms. Kraninger soon to run the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, and she seems ready to try to roll back protections for borrowers of payday loans. Like most Americans, I think these basic protections are important to keeping our state safe from scams. Thankfully, Senator Tester put consumers in Montana ahead of predatory lenders. During the Senate vote Tester said ‘my concern is that if we confirm Kraninger, she will do not...
I read in the Aug. 16 Pathfinder about the 20-year-old man who was lost on Nine Mile Prairie Road. According to the article, he drove his motorcycle around the gate meant to keep him out and preceded up the road until he ran out of gas. Then he started a fire--luckily for us it didn’t turn into a forest fire! Instead of staying with the cycle and the fire, as any smart person would, he wandered off again going the wrong way from home. (Don’t you think he could have followed the tracks of his motorcycle to get back to Point A?) Searchers wer...
To say that I am distressed to read the Pathfinder’s banner headline and article referring to the deceptive and inaccurate petition that is circulating in the community, would be an understatement. As a community resource the Pathfinder is beholden to write the truth and the news in an impartial way and to impart to its readers, the people, reasons and facts about local life. To be a platform for some shoddy local impulses to besmirch the behavior and character of an appointed Federal officer is certainly not in the interests or support of t...
When I arrived three and a half years ago to my dream job as the Seeley Lake District Ranger, I was privileged to step into a world of collaboration and partnership that has taken years to build. People interested in actively engaging in the work that not only the Forest Service does but also that of other Federal, State and private landowners continue to demonstrate how important it is to work together to achieve common goals. Where there are competing interests or legal frameworks surrounding decisions, it is critical to determine how to...
Your Missoula County property taxes just went up another 4.85 percent. The Commissioners quietly raised them last week with little debate or fanfare. That’s on the heels of a $138 million school bond issue two years ago and just before a new proposal to buy more “open space” for urban dwellers. Now, at the local level, commissioners and the Seeley Lake Sewer District Board have proposed a nearly $100-a-month raise for property owners unlucky enough to live in that district. Time for you local taxpayers to get off your duffs and be heard. The r...
SEELEY LAKE - Most of you know that a petition has been circulated at a number of businesses that aims to have the Forest Service remove our current Ranger Rachel Feigley. Without mentioning her by name and in no specific terms, Rachel is being accused of incompetence, negligence and acting in ways that are detrimental to the health and well-being of Seeley Lake. Some storeowners, when asked, were not sure who the Ranger was and what he/she did to warrant the petition, and it is obvious that many people signed the petition without a clear...
What draws more than 12 million guests to Montana each year? Why has Missoula County grown in population by almost 50 percent since 1990? Why has the outdoor recreation industry grown to be our state’s largest industry? Why is Missoula County so appealing to residents and guests? My guess it is not the traffic on Reserve Street that appeals to folks. All indications are it is our open and wild spaces that generate the Montana magic that draws people to Missoula County. Our open and wild spaces require attention and appreciation if they are t...
Kudos to Curtis Friede and his petition to remove the current Ranger of the Seeley Lake Ranger District and hopefully any others in the National Forest Service responsible for recent decisions made by the United State Forest Service. However, anyone who has had any recent dealings with this agency knows that this Ranger and at least her next two supervisors are mere puppets. They are indeed team players who cannot or will not think and/or act outside the box. An example is Seeley Ranger supervisor Ranger Garcia and his defense of the Seeley...
I feel it important to state that I support the US Forest Service (USFS) and specifically, the Seeley Lake Ranger District and its District Ranger. Briefly, my background: From 1975 to 1985 I was a wildland firefighter and conducted industrial fire inspections, all on the Lolo National Forest (USFS), on three different Ranger Districts. I was a Federal Wildlife Officer on several National Wildlife Refuges (US Fish and Wildlife Service). And I was a law enforcement ranger for the National Park Service in Yellowstone NP and bear management...
This letter is in support of our District Ranger, Rachel Feigley. I understand that a petition has been circulated negating the works of Ms. Feigley. I would like to confirm her positive attitude and ongoing interaction in the community to promote the role of the Forest Service in maintaining public lands for multiple use. After the Rice Ridge Fire in 2017, some residents needed to place blame for the loss of revenue. In addition, the road closures and campground closures were seen as the sole responsibility of the Ranger. While many of us know...
There is an open space bond issue for Missoula County voters on the November ballet. What does this mean? Voters have the opportunity to continue a fund that was established over a decade ago for the use of preserving open spaces for agricultural uses, wildlife habitat, clean sources of water and habitat for native fish and plants. Even in rural communities like Seeley Lake, Condon and Potomac, important wildlife areas, rural lifestyles and family ranches are threatened by sprawl and development, and this fund has preserved that vital habitat....
