Sorted by date Results 816 - 840 of 1188
SEELEY LAKE - There is not enough space in this column to list all the accomplishments and dedication to our community of these five outstanding people, which have already been documented on these pages last week. Suffice it to say that they all have devoted many hours, days and years in their respective offices skillfully and that there is no substitute for solid long-term experience and knowledge. Add that we would be throwing away about $8 million in federal grants if we were to elect the wrong people to the Sewer Board and the decision...
SEELEY LAKE - Finally, after more than two decades of effort by many members of the sewer board and managers, we now have a solid plan and funding in place for a sewer system in Seeley Lake. I can only express my heartfelt thanks to all who have tirelessly pursued the goal of bringing this to pass. The board has done a great job and, in my opinion, there are NO better or more cost-effective systems. These have all been considered and found wanting. Now is NOT the time to change hands on the board, exchanging knowledge, understanding and...
SEELEY LAKE - When long-term, costly decisions are being made, you— the voters— deserve to be given reliable information. Getting such information from the current Seeley Lake Sewer Trustees has been and continues to be virtually impossible. When incumbents spoke at the candidates’ forum, they continued to demonstrate their inability to serve us well. Asked about what might be reasonable sewer rates, they each waffled in different directions. According to earlier, formal board and general manager-released figures for debt (+/- $55) and opera...
Most data is obtained legally, with your consent. But many times you don’t recognize when you are providing your information. There are many steps you can take to help protect your privacy. Here are a few more that are driven by the upcoming election cycle: • Stop filling out political surveys you get in the mail or over the phone. No matter what they say or imply, those surveys are not directing the actions of any organization. Organizations have boards, funders or founders that determine organizational goals. • Stop taking online quizz...
SEELEY LAKE - Last week Seeley Lake hosted two candidate forums at our Community Hall. The Seeley Lake Community Council offered a great service for the community and they did it very professionally. One of Klaus von Stutterheim’s super powers is acting as MC for these events. It’s a lot of work to orchestrate such an event, with much contact back and forth between here and the candidates to coordinate. Then there is the setup and breakdown of the hall for the events. I understand that all but four of the candidates accepted the invitation to...
Current Seeley Lake Sewer Board: Males - 100%, Females - 0%, Business Owners - 100%, Wage Earners - 0%, Fixed Income/Retired - 0%, High Value Property Ownership - 100%, Apparent Need for Sewer - 100%, Relevant Training/Background - 40% Flexibility in Problem-solving - 0-20% Sewer Board with Three New Members: Males - 60%, Females - 40%, Business Owners - 40%, Wage Earners - 40%, Fixed Income/Retired - 20%, High Value Property Ownership - 40%, Apparent Need for Sewer - 50-50%, Relevant Training/Background - 50%, Flexibility in Problem-solving -...
SEELEY LAKE - First, thank you to all our VOLUNTEERS for their time in training and responding to the needs of the community! I am honored to support the incumbents for Fire District Board of Trustees. I have known both Gary Lewis and Connie Clark since the early 90’s, and have the highest regard for them. These individuals are outstanding incumbents dedicated to the community. They have indisputable reputation, solid character, honesty and integrity. They both have combined over 60 years serving this fire district. Additionally, Mr. Lewis h...
I am running for Missoula County Commissioner because my experience and common sense leadership are needed now more than ever. I have a passion for Missoula County. I was born in Missoula and raised on a farm in the Swan. I graduated from Seeley-Swan High School. When I say I am going ‘up home’ - I am coming to this valley. When I drop down the hill to Salmon Lake, I am home. Seeley Lake is unique as it is unincorporated and yet has a sewer board, water board, fire board, cemetery board, hospital district and a volunteer fire department. I wor...
MISSOULA - We are writing to support Josh Slotnick’s bid for County Commissioner. Thirty-five years ago, we were transplants to Montana. We came initially for the reasons many do: easy access to unadulterated wilderness and the beauty of incredible landscapes. Over time, however, we’ve come to value other less immediately obvious things: the exceptional ingenuity and entrepreneurship of people who want to choose their own way of living rather than follow the mainstream; the care for community and concern about thoughtful development. Josh embod...
SEELEY LAKE - We chose to move to Seeley Lake for the beauty of the mountains, the lakes and streams, the critters, the snow…The small town. Back then, the sewer, “to be or not to be,” was a topic of discussion – and it still is 16 years later and already had been for 10. No one can accuse the sewer board of acting too quickly! I paid attention from a distance reading newspaper articles and attending public meetings. What I have paid close attention to are our lakes and streams. With the decline of the timber industry, Seeley Lake has relied...
SEELEY LAKE - Dr. Stephen Covey, author of "The Seven Habits of Highly Effective People," accurately stated about the profession of law enforcement, "Service, justice and fundamental fairness - these are the foundational principles in which every police action must be grounded." I attended a recent forum in Seeley with my two opponents. When I arrived, signs posted on the outside of the Community Hall building greeted us. I later learned that similar signs had also been posted near the main...
My re-election campaign for Sheriff is committed to fair and ethical campaigns and behaviors. We are firmly opposed to the type of behavior Mr. Wafstet has indicated in his emails, by any supporter of any candidate running for any political office. I’m not aware of any candidate from any political party that has the ability to control those who attend political events and for whatever reason decide to participate in this type of conduct. Therefore, it would be unfair to insinuate or try to link any candidate or somehow the operation of the S...
In my role as Executive Director of BREDD, a regional economic development organization, I had the privilege of working alongside of Commissioner Jean Curtiss for 10 years on economic development issues facing Missoula County. During this time, Jean led us through a transition in our economic base, which required listening, out of the box thinking, collaboration, and vision. A county commissioner’s job requires leadership and a broad spectrum of knowledge ranging from community healthcare concerns to economic development and so much in b...
MISSOULA - I design projects to restore degraded ecosystems and often catch myself asking, “What were they thinking?” Short-sighted needs for economic growth blinded previous generations to the long-term consequences their actions would have on the land and resources we rely on, causing boom and bust economies throughout Montana. In designing restoration projects, my goal is to set the right conditions for ecosystems to thrive on their own. With a similar mindset, Josh Slotnick has been sowing the seeds for the long-term sustainability of Mis...
China has been funding Confucius Institutes (CI) language programs under the communist regime's Ministry of Education since 2004, in which it forms partnerships with American universities. There are currently 103 branches on campuses across the U.S. The question that needs to be addressed is does the communist regime just want to promote Chinese culture or is there something more unethical about its intentions? In an in-depth report just issued by the National Association of Scholars (NAS) www.nas.org/projects/confucius_institutes it reported...
I have been following the purposed 61-unit Swan Mountain Estates subdivision in Powell County, just outside Seeley Lake. I have some concerns that I don’t believe are adequately addressed. While I don’t have any problem with the subdivision in principle, the fact that these developers want to rely on the Seeley Lake’s first responders for emergency situations has some troubling ramifications. Seeley Lake has terrific first responders. I personally know a number of people who work with or for the fire department, search and rescue, the sheri...
SEELEY LAKE - As we all know, Seeley Lake is a small, rural, unincorporated community. For fire and medical emergencies, we are served by a volunteer fire department. Our property taxes pay to outfit the department with equipment and gear, pay for employee salaries, volunteer recruitment, training and supervision. There are typically three paid employees: the chief, an office worker and a maintenance worker. Volunteer ranks are usually between three and four dozen. The volunteers are the heart and soul of the department. Let’s face it, if t...
After the recent school shooting the usual cries for gun “safety” went out. Stephen Smith who lost his mother in a school shooting wrote a great pro-gun guest editorial which pretty much reflects my views on the subject. Democrats and other liberals are always in favor of “common sense gun safety laws” as a way to save lives. They want to modify the second amendment to restrict what kind of gun you can own and how old an adult must be to buy a gun. These are the same people who believe convicted, violent, illegal immigrants must be protected fr...
My grandfather’s generation fought in WWI, my father’s in WWII and mine in the many conflicts which followed. Each generation of Americans valiantly stood against the evil of their day as we must also do. Today’s battlegrounds, unlike Iwo Jima or Normandy, reveal enemies wielding drugs, abortion, pornography, etc. launched against our families, friends and children by gangs, murderers and abusers. We must understand that, just like our ancestors, WE are the ONLY soldiers on this diabolical battlefield. This is OUR turn to champion our value...
SEELEY LAKE - The story “Snowmobiler Rescued Near Marshall Lake” that ran in the Pathfinder’s March 8 issue about my snowmobile wreck near Marshall Lake March 1 has a lot of things wrong. My riding partner Dave McDonald, also from Frenchtown, did get me out from under snowmobile by himself. He drug me up the creek and got me out of the water by putting me under a big boulder (pictured with the story) on top of a rock and ice. Then he gave me stuff to start fire with and he rode out to get help. At the trailhead he called search and rescu...
Regarding the Editor’s Note about media coverage of local government meetings on March 15, that was a well-written piece and deeply appreciated. Having served on boards I have seen board members tempted to be secretive and avoid transparency. But in the end, transparency is always better for all involved, including the board members. I’m pleased that most boards in this area are quite open and forthcoming. Only a very few local board folks seem not to understand this. Those paid board administrators and/or elected or appointed board mem...
SEELEY LAKE – As I read the March 22 issue of the Pathfinder, I walk over to the wall and beat my head against it. I am very amazed how a board of individuals that are supposed to be representing the citizens of Seeley Lake have posted false info and did a protest in the middle of winter that was unconstitutional to the voters to try and pass the bonds there. This is very unprofessional and is deceptive practice by giving a number and not being honest to the voting people. The board has no idea of the routes needed for the project. So how c...
“Obfuscation” – to make obscure or unintelligible. Governor Steve Bullock and his party have been considered very environmentally conscious, but it seems they are forging a new direction. North Dakota is not currently allowing the disposal of Bakken Oilfield radioactive or hazardous garbage. But the Montana Department of Environmental Quality (DEQ) is moving briskly to welcome a veritable torrent of those toxic materials to a site near a Sidney subdivision and a rural school. Imagine having your home on a scenic plateau overlooking the Yello...
Russ Fagg is the obvious choice for the US Senate race. He is: • Pro-second amendment, • Pro-education, • Pro-limited government, • Pro-life, • Pro-jobs, and • Pro-balanced budget. Russ will represent our Montana values in DC. He will vote for small businesses, economic growth, and tax cuts. With his background, he understands the importance of upholding the rule of law and is not afraid to make the hard decisions. Russ Fagg is the clear choice for the US Senate. Russ Fagg is the clear choice for Montana....
Wow, Jon Tester’s ads tell us he’s “out of fingers” counting the ways he’s just like Donald Trump. Truth is, he WISHES Montanans would run out of fingers when remembering the times he bowed to Obama, Pelosi, Clinton and Shumer and left Montana stained with his collusion. Jon, some may clutch their noses and swallow the pasty grime that you’re “not finished getting things done for Montana” but the facts are you never started – you didn’t dare! Montanans remember how you voted a straight Democrat Party line and forsook us for party politics on do...
