Community Briefs

CORRECTION: Food Bank Client Numbers

SEELEY LAKE - In the article Rockin’ & Rollin’ to Fight Hunger in the Oct. 15 issue of the Pathfinder, it was printed that 80-90 families are served by the Seeley Swan Food Bank per month. While there are 80-90 clients served per month, this includes only 30-40 families.

Kerry Drew Benefit, Oct. 24

SEELEY LAKE - A benefit for Seeley Lake resident Kerry Drew will be held Saturday, Oct. 24 from 5:30-9 p.m. at the Seeley Lake Community Hall. A spaghetti dinner starts at 5:30 p.m. There will also be silent and dessert auctions to participate in as well as a 50/50 drawing.

Drew lost everything but the clothes on his back in a house fire, Sept. 23. The family is grateful for the community support.

AAI Open Book Club Hosts Author David Gates

SEELEY LAKE - Join author David Gates who will be reading from his new short story collection “A Hand Reached Down to Guide Me,” Saturday, Oct. 24 at 7 p.m. at the Grizzly Claw Trading Co. in Seeley Lake.

“A Hand Reached Down to Guide Me” is populated by characters, young or old or neither, who are well educated, broadly knowledgeable, often creative and variously accomplished, whether as a doctor or a composer, an academic or a journalist. And every one of them carries a full supply of the human conditions.

“Relentlessly inventive, alternately hilarious and tragic, always moving, this book proves yet again that Gates is one of our most talented and witty and emotionally intelligent writers,” wrote Penguin Random House.

Until 2008, Gates was a senior writer and editor in the arts section at Newsweek Magazine, specializing in articles on books and music.  He teaches in the graduate writing program at The University of Montana as well as at the Bennington Writers Seminars.  His first novel “Jernigan” was a Pulitzer Prize finalist in 1992 and was a finalist for the National Book Critics Circle Award.

Refreshments will be provided by Alpine Artisans Inc. (AAI) Open Book Club. For further information call 677-0034.

Ventenata dubia and Other Invasive Grasses Workshop Offered in Missoula

MISSOULA - Join the Missoula County Weed District Wednesday, Nov. 4, at Ruby’s Inn & Convention Center in Missoula, Mont. for a workshop on the invasive annual grass Ventenata dubia. The workshop will cover its biology and management as well as current research needs.



There will also be updates on current research occurring on other invasive annual grasses in Montana, as well as an introduction to Montana’s newest listed noxious grass species, Phragmites.



Workshop runs from 9 a.m. to noon, with lunch provided. Please RSVP to bryce@missoulaeduplace.org by Monday, Nov. 2.  

Online Survey Available on Draft Action Strategies for Missoula County Growth Policy Update

MISSOULA - The Missoula County Growth Policy Update Team is looking for feedback on the draft action strategies that will help preserve the county’s local communities and landscapes while providing places for people to live, work and recreate. With community input, staff will now assess whether these strategies are appropriate to achieve Missoula County’s development and conservation goals as our region grows.

Please take the online survey at http://www.mcgrowthpolicy.us The survey must be completed by Oct. 30.

Following the action strategy review, a full draft Growth Policy Update will be completed for public hearings before the Missoula Consolidated Planning Board and Missoula Board of County Commissioners.

Grizzly Protection Settlement Ratified, DNRC Timber Projects Resume

HELENA – Last week’s settlement agreement between the Montana Department of Natural Resources and Conservation (DNRC) and several conservation groups over grizzly bear protection on state trust land brings much-needed certainty to future DNRC forest management plans and puts workers back on the ground to resume six timber projects shut down a year ago by litigation.

“We’re glad to be back in business, protecting natural resources and putting revenue into the trust,” said DNRC Director John Tubbs. “This agreement works for everyone.”

The injunction on state trust land timber sales in the Coal Creek and Stillwater State Forests, ordered on Aug. 21, 2014, by U.S. District Court Judge Donald Malloy, halted two full timber sales and four partial sales involving an estimated 14 million board feet of timber and more than $2.5 million in potential revenue to school trust beneficiaries. Tubbs said those purchasers have been notified of the new agreement and told they can resume harvest activities.

“All sides worked hard on this settlement, which comes at a very good time for the wood products industry,” said Tubbs.

Several other timber projects in the planning phase were also halted by the injunction, including the proposed Stryker Basin timber project with a projected yield of eight million board feet. DNRC planned to offer that sale in 2015. Tubbs said DNRC field staff have resumed planning on that project and several others.

Missoula County Sheriff’s Department Call Activity 10/12/15 – 10/18/15

10/12, 12:55 p.m., Bear Acres Road, Potomac: Intimidation.

10/16, 1:44 p.m., School Lane, Seeley Lake: Vandalism.

10/16, 2:22 p.m., Montana Drive, Seeley Lake: Theft.

10/16, 4:05 p.m., Highway 83, Seeley Lake: Suspicious Activity.