Sorted by date Results 931 - 955 of 1183
Fire: It’s hot, it’s smoky, it’s uncomfortable, it’s dangerous, it’s scary. All of us in the Seeley/Swan and Blackfoot Valleys are feeling anxious, stressed, fearful of losing our homes and fearful of our beloved landscape changing. Placing blame, pointing fingers, becoming angry and vindictive will help no one, nor will it solve any of the issues we are facing. The interagency fire teams that are here working on our landscape and in our communities deserve our respect. These folks have the training and the knowledge to do their jobs, and...
SEELEY LAKE - Most of us living in Seeley Lake share some common values: independence, some desire to be isolated, appreciation of nature and security for our families and homes. These are important values that are not easy to compromise. We also know that making a living in Seeley Lake is difficult. Given this understanding, let’s consider an important initiative that can affect our values and income—the Seeley Lake Sewer Initiative. No one wants our small community to become a booming met...
That’s what we do. And that’s been the case during a difficult wildfire season that has touched all corners of our state. Neighbors have helped neighbors, donating hay, offering up a safe place to stay and a warm meal. They’ve also opened their pocketbooks, donating thousands to Montana Red Cross. This allowed us to provide food, shelter and comfort to those who have been forced to evacuate their homes, sometimes with little warning. We have opened 16 shelters since July, and our Red Cross volunteers are working around the clock to ensur...
SEELEY LAKE - With his letter in last week’s Pathfinder, Dennis Clark became a strong, though likely unwitting, ally to Citizens for Sensible Wastewater Solutions (CSWS) and the constituents of the Seeley Lake Sewer District. We at CSWS found most of what Clark said quite agreeable as he applied criteria and a level of critical thinking skills rare to the current support’s side of the debate about the proposed sewer project. Mr. Clark, while you and CSWS may seem to be on opposing sides of the issue, like England’s famed “Loyal opposit...
I am really getting tired of all the advertisements about all the good things our good old Montana boy Jon Tester is doing for Montana. Anytime I hear a politician continually blowing their horn I get suspicious. That`s certainly is the case with Mr. Tester. An example is his purported support for our veterans. I think we all support our veterans and would do anything for them. However, I have misgivings about Mr. Tester’s support of disabled veterans when I see him supporting the limiting of access to our public National Forest to special i...
SEELEY LAKE - I am writing to share my thoughts and voice my “Yes” for a community sewer system. The first reason is that I, along with all of you, like clean water. It is so refreshing to drink directly from a spring or mountain waterfall! I can’t say the same for drinking directly from the lake and this is the point. The second reason is stewardship and doing “my part” to protect my family, my community and my state. Through the efforts of the volunteer committee, and the process they followed, we have learned about several logical and well-...
SEELEY LAKE – Fifty-one years ago, the Titus Family spent their first summer at Seeley Lake. It was magical for us all. Not only did we play endlessly in the water but we drank from it and have continued to do so for many years, taking our clean water for granted. However, since the lake was closed, many of us have come to realize how important the lake really is. Now the lake is polluted. Our family recently had two tests done with the Department of Environmental Quality. They found coliform (feces) levels that were unacceptable to the h...
SEELEY LAKE - Well here we go again residents of the Seeley Lake Sewer District. After attending the public meeting, I actually thought I was watching CNN but realized this was worse than that. I wrote questions that were ignored (couldn’t answer them honestly)? This board has failed to honestly represent the town of Seeley Lake and has used the liberal approach that they are for it, if they benefit. I have followed this sewer project since the beginning. I have spoken to past board members and have gotten the facts. They are just the o...
The government mis-management of the Florence Lake and Rice Ridge Fires and the Seeley Lake Sewer proposal are eerily similar... In the case of the fires, we have state and federal mis-management of the lands, allowing fuel build-ups to incendiary levels and the loss of millions of dollars in timber. Then we have incredible mis-management of the fires themselves which cost a firefighter his life and at last count no less than $21.5 million taxpayer dollars to fight. Then we have the hundreds of thousands in lost revenues to the local tourist...
We are seeing the results of an accumulated series of mismanagement procedures on our forests. This is not a sudden or new thing. It has been going on for years and we have for the most part been either sitting idly by or actually helped in the mismanagement process. Ms. Randi de Santa Anna is partially correct when she says that there is no easy way to thin our forests back down, but there is a way to achieve a portion of that goal. A short lesson in history is in order. Years ago, we put fires out aggressively when they started. There were lo...
Were you aware that, under sewer general manager Greg Robinson’s desire to determine equitable sewer debt and Operation and Maintenance costs, 40+/- historically residential properties in Sub-District or Phase 4 have become “businesses”? Such a business designation burdens us with the privilege to pay double for sewer charges — even though our parcels have never functioned as business properties and are hardly likely to become businesses after 50+/- years of us enjoying our homes. As non-business “businesses”, we cannot deduct such charges fro...
SEELEY LAKE - Prior to the Public Information meeting regarding the sewer last Wednesday, members of the Citizens for Sensible Wastewater Solutions (CSWS) were handing out a flier on light green paper. The flier is titled Some Facts about the Proposed Seeley Sewer. This same document has been made available at various locations around town. As a summer resident interested to learn about both sides of this important issue, I brought this Fact Sheet home and read it. The following is what I learned. I was interested to see that CSWS are so...
Potential residential customers outnumber commercial in the Seeley Lake Sewer District nine to one. So for every commercial customer who would pay $104 per month, NINE residents will pay $71 per month. Those are the preliminary cost estimates for monthly sewer service put out last week at the Sewer Board’s show. The Sewer District boundaries were drawn back in the 1980s to reflect the lowest per-capita-income possible to better-qualify their project for federal funding. So, stated another way: the lowest income residents in the district are c...
SEELEY LAKE - As the fires and smoke continue to cause worry and stress for so many of us who live in and care about Seeley Lake, it also seems important to not forget the importance of protecting the water in our lives. My parents bought a small cabin on the lake in 1964 and we began our trips back and forth from Great Falls, enjoying the activities of the lake and the people of the community. I admit that there are times when I miss the small, quiet area that I experienced for many years. However, as is the course of life, change happens. The...
As a long-time summer resident of Seeley Lake, I’ve seen many changes throughout the years. Our community has developed and grown in many ways. The Seeley Lake Sewer District has an opportunity to improve our community and provide the right choice benefitting future generations. By going forth with this project it will create a number of positive things for our community. It will reduce ground water contamination. We have been aware of this issue for decades and it’s time to take care of our ground water. Additionally, it will help reduce the...
The timing of this story is a scarred sadness for the Seeley Lake area as days remembered that are at rest with God within our prayers along with all of the memories we can only share together during the destruction and devastation of the Rice Ridge fire of 2017. Where some of the days in Seeley Lake the smoke has settled at times thicker and darker than any fog seen before it seemed. The fumes and flames from the Rice Ridge Fire were choking while, they burned within an extensive summer heat not only in the air with falling ash but, also in...
SEELEY LAKE - Everyday most Americans work, play, and relax without thinking about what happens every time they flush a toilet. That’s because most Americans have a sewage treatment facility that properly handles human waste. In Seeley Lake each time we flush we’re not sure exactly how completely waste will be treated. Some septic systems work better than others. All septic systems require maintenance and may require replacing the drain field at some point in time. Studies show a clear link between the location of septic systems and the deg...
Two young firefighters killed by falling snags – snags that should not have even been there. These snags should have been cut years ago and sent to the sawmill as logs, or cut and sent to the pulp mill. When all else failed – open the gate and let the firewood cutters get them. If you have ever protested a timber sale, you should be held 100% responsible for these deaths. 99% of the Judges in this country are incompetent and not capable of making decisions in these type of cases. Shame on all of you for what you have done....
With school about to start very soon, it would be a good idea if the kids, as well as their parents and grandparents, knew how to walk safely on a road where there are no sidewalks. Yesterday I saw a young man walking his dog on the right side of the road and a young mother pushing a baby in a stroller on the right side of the road. This is just plain WRONG! Always walk on the left side of the road, facing oncoming traffic. It’s a simple rule to follow and it could save your life. I know of two deaths in western Montana that could have been a...
While we’re dealing with one of the worst threatening wildfires in the U.S. right now here with our Rice Ridge Fire on Seeley Lake’s doorstep, Senator Jon Tester and Governor Bullock both came to Seeley Lake to make serious inquiries and evaluate what additional resources we might need. On Aug. 11, Montana’s U.S. Senator Steve Daines emailed the following newsletter to his Montana constituents commenting on having just returned from a wonderful backpack trip and wondering how we’re enjoying our summer. He stated, “Last week rang in the 86th...
SEELEY LAKE – I have sat quietly by, watching the Sewer Board do their thing for many years. That ends today! You keep trying any and all ways to circumvent the majority vote against the sewer. No, don’t try to explain it to me again about how some poor people only get one vote when they were entitled to more. SINCE WHEN? One man, one vote people! We didn’t force you to buy all those lots did we BOARD MEMBER? Now you have the gall to assess us with a fee for ADMINISTRATIVE costs. BULL!! You’ve had 20 years to do all the administrating you need....
Before I start let me make it clear, I support and honor all those who are working to control the fires burning near Seeley Lake and throughout Montana. However, those in charge, including the Forest Service and our government representatives need to take a hard look at how our forests are managed and how fires are attacked. Year after year fires begin and until they threaten communities, a hands off or minimal response seems to be the plan of action. We are told they are a natural part of nature. We are told they are inaccessible. We are told...
I was pleased to read an article in the Great Falls Tribune on Aug. 11 that reported on the forest fire situation in the Seeley Lake area. I am a resident of this town and I can unequivocally state that this natural disaster has had a tremendous impact on both residents and businesses since the end of July. We are extremely grateful for the quick response and assistance of the Forest Service, Incident Response Teams and the firefighters they bring, and of course, the various Missoula County Public Service officials. This is an extremely serious...
Having just read Professor Fernanda Santos letter in the Aug. 10 Missoulian entitled “Some Wildfires Simply Cannot Be Fought.” I think Fernando’s letter sounds just like articles written by most National Forest Service people. In other words, they have a lot to say about nothing. For one thing Ms. Santos unlike a fire in properly thinned forest which is sometimes beneficial, a fire in forest which is not properly managed burns so hot that it destroys the nutrients in the soil making recovery a lot longer. Following the Forest Service ‘”let it b...
SEELEY LAKE - This sewer is a local solution for a local issue. Seeley Lake’s groundwater, lakes, rivers and streams are impacted by leaking septic tanks and drainfield effluent. It’s hard to imagine that a community with such iconic beauty is so marred by human waste. Fortunately, there is a committed volunteer sewer board – local citizens – who found a USDA Rural Development Fund grant coupled with other grant sources that will cover two-thirds of the sewer system’s construction. This once in a lifetime opportunity is the largest grant eve...
