20/35 Year Look Back

In celebration of 35 years of the Seeley Swan Pathfinder, each week we will run parts of articles that appeared in the issue 35 years ago and 20 years ago. The entire issue will be uploaded to our website seeleylake.com for you to enjoy. We hope you will enjoy the journey with us as we follow our community through the past 35 years as documented by the Pathfinder.

35 years ago: April 30, 1987 issue

Controversy surrounds Circle Arrow project

Story Dick Potter

The developers of the Circle Arrow hydroelectric project, proposed for the outlet of Lake Inez, face at least two determined adversaries and, possibly, a third. The Seeley lake Water district and the Department of Fish, Wildlife & Parks intervened early in the licensing process and have recently renewed their expressions of concern. Apparently, they will soon be joined by state water quality officials.

Last December, the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) in Washing, D.C. issued an Environmental Assessment which appeared to pave the way for issuance of a license for the project. As subsequently reported in the Pathfinder, the Seeley lake Water District took exception to FERC's findings and requested a public hearing. Representatives of the water district have noted several discrepancies in the FERC report but at the heart of their concern is the belief that the Circle Arrow project represents a potential threat to the quality of Seeley Lake's water supply...

To read more of this article and the rest of the issue visit https://www.seeleylake.com/home/customer_files/article_documents/1987-04-30.pdf

35 years ago: April 30, 1987 issue

A "sit-down" way to split your wood

Story Suzanne Vernon

Grandpas are often credited with figuring out the easy way to accomplish difficult tasks. After all, most have spent a lifetime putting together thingamajigs and gadgets and "making do" here and there to repair everything from tractors to broken go-cars.

Eighty-one-year-old George Lavoie, who is "Dad" to Dorothy Crosy, Seeley Lake, and "grandpa" to Sherri, Rick and Rocky, has spent the past several years inventing a comfortable way to split his firewood.

"Very few people can chop wood sitting down," Grandpa Lavoie chuckled last week, as he demonstrated his most recent invention - a sit-down woodsplitter.

Powered by a Briggs and Stratton four-horse motor, the homemade wood splitter operates quite different from most commercially available models. A wedge ground in the shape of an ax head and driven by a hydraulic ram which slides on a shaft made from an iron beam "splits" the wood in much the same way a person might - except nobody has to swing the ax.

To read more of this article and the rest of the issue visit https://www.seeleylake.com/home/customer_files/article_documents/1987-04-30.pdf

20 years ago: May 2, 2002 issue

New deputy in town

Story Patricia Swan Smith

When Deputy Bob Parcell was called to active duty after Sept. 11, the area has much of the time had only one deputy, Deputy Scott Newell, to cover the entire district.

Recently, Deputy Heath Hanson joined Newell to work in our area until Parcell returns.

Hanson, his wife and son live in the area and he is working full time in the Seeley Swan Valleys.

He was born and raised in Choteau. He was with the U.S. Marine Corps from 1989 to 1995.

He started with the Missoula County Sheriff's Office as a jailer from 1995 to 1997. He took the position of Deputy in Missoula in 1997.

His additional duties include Field training officer, Special Response Team Sniper/Observer and Assistant Search and Rescue Coordinator.

He is also involved with the Special Olympics, the Missoula County Law Enforcement Camp held here in Seeley and the Marine Corps program....

To read more of this article and more from this issue visit https://www.seeleylake.com/home/customer_files/article_documents/2002-05-02.pdf