Sorted by date Results 856 - 880 of 1183
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...
More than a few people have asked me if I am the one with a Karelian Bear Dog (KBD) who, for a fee, can push bears off their property. No, I am not. Though my KBD came from Wind River Bear Institute, she is specifically trained to find dead animal parts, not to push bears. Plus I had her trained to stay focused when firearms are discharged. Though I did work as a bear management specialist in Glacier NP and road patrol law enforcement in Yellowstone as a seasonal, and a full-time year-round federal law enforcement officer for US Fish and...
SEELEY LAKE - Think about this. Don’t miss grabbing the golden ring. Presently, there are more than 3,000 separate parcels within the Missoula County portion of the Clearwater Valley and watershed. There are more than 1,500 living units, including cabins on state and federal land as well as mobile homes on rented lots which have personal property taxes levied on them. Additional parcels and living units lie within the valley/watershed in Powell County. If a Clearwater Valley Watershed Consortium [CVWC] were established, it would be both a s...
SEELEY LAKE - On Nov. 30 there was a letter to the editor from E. L. Taylor. In the letter a comment was made in regards to the Water District installing pipes in conjunction with the Sewer District’s project. The comment was, “Apparently the third phase of the [sewer] project has no water piped in from our [water] system. That means when the sewer goes in there will also be the substantial added cost of a water system that has not been discussed.” Let me set the record straight. There will not be a water system installed down Boy Scout Road...
SEELEY LAKE - Healthy discussion is productive but spreading falsehoods hurts everyone. A letter recently sent to residents living within the sewer district boundaries included several misleading assertions, for example: Statement in letter ---“The proposal will not appreciably change water quality in the watershed.” Fact --- This is patently false and has no basis in fact, studies or science. The sewer system will remove the source of groundwater contaminants from the most highly populated areas of town. Statement in letter --- “There are s...
SEELEY LAKE - Do the Seeley Lake Sewer ads speak the truth? Of course they don’t! For those of you still making a decision on whether to oppose the sewer, don’t let the Seeley Lake Sewer Board and its various agents confuse you with lies. They (recent ads in the Pathfinder) claim that a small group of area residents have been spreading misinformation regarding the scientific studies that support the sewer system, the districts work and how the project will impact you. Here’s what this SMALL GROUP has done for this community: • It’s members h...
SEELEY LAKE - To retain our clean, transparent water in the Seeley -Swan watershed we must FIRST have clean, transparent government...We have not enjoyed that in the divisive sewer proposal discussion. Here are some examples of shady, secretive government: The Missoula County Commissioners have repeatedly said they have “no control” over the goings-on of the Seeley Lake Sewer Board but they have approved nearly $800,000 in County taxpayer dollars for this project....before it ever gets off the ground. And they never asked us if we wanted to...
SEELEY LAKE - I have been asked my views on the Seeley Lake Sewer. They are very simple and one we all know to be true. Government is notorious for creating fear to motivate folks into doing something their common sense would ordinarily dictate otherwise. This is because the first agenda of bureaucrats in government is to protect their positions in government through fear and consequently expansion of government. To avoid exposure to their true agenda, government will almost always use assessments which amount to speculation rather than...
SEELEY LAKE - You likely have recently received another letter from Don Larson (dba Citizens for Sensible Wastewater Solutions) telling you to protest the sewer proposal to build a treatment and collection facility in Seeley Lake. He notes first off that the proposal will not appreciably change water quality in the watershed. I disagree entirely. While the sewer will not return all of our watershed to pristine conditions, it will take a giant step forward in cleaning it up. We annually dump approximately 250,000 gallons of untreated urine into...
SEELEY LAKE - Don’t get upset those of you pushin’ the “Do Nothing” methodology. I’m “just sayin.” Isn’t that the in-fashion colloquial expression used when people don’t want you to get angry with them for saying something to them that you know they don’t want to hear? Ya know— “Just sayin” as in— “Just sayin’, Isn’t doin’ nothin’, payin’ attention to nothin’ and believin’ nothin’s wrong with all that undocumented PR baloney what got us facin’ such a distorted kind of wastewater project in the first place?” HOWEVER, talking like that and be...
SEELEY LAKE - Some have criticized our planned sewer system for having pumps. Pumps are part of everyone’s lives, for example: How does your vehicle get its fuel? How do you get your water to your home? How is the Propane transferred from the supply truck to your propane tank? How does an airplane get its fuel to the engine? How does your refrigerator or freezer keep your food cold? Does your electrical generation require pumps? Generators, cooling systems, HV AC? How does your vehicle get its cooling and oil distribution? Do those pointing f...
