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POTOMAC - More than 20 Potomac School students along with staff and parents traveled to Discovery Ski Area Feb. 3 for a ski day. This ski day for Potomac students was in conjunction with the Friday Explorers program. Discovery Ski Area offers programs for schools to participate in ski days at special rates. Potomac along with other schools including Lone Rock and Butte Central skied and snowboarded during a cloudy, snowy and then clear day. Potomac teachers Raynee Clairmont and Kristina Davis...
Seeley Lake resident Steve Felix's 2016 archery hunt began with clear, cool weather and ended with a once in a lifetime record bull elk. The bull is considered a pending world record archery typical bull until it is panel-scored in February in Missouri. The current record archery bull scores 412 1/8 inches. Native Minnesotan Felix has hunted since he was 14 years old. For the last 36 years he has rifle hunted as well as archery. "Bow hunting is my passion," he said. He hunts antelope, mule...
Many horses, cattle and dogs live in rural areas and experience subzero weather in the winter. Each species has certain needs during cold snaps. Missoula County Doctor of Veterinary Medicine (DVM) Bill Brown has practiced for the last 25 years. He said horse and mule, or equines, needs include extra hay, fresh water and a place to get out of the wind during subzero temperatures. He said having something for the animals to stand by, like a building or tree, provides extra warmth by transferring...
Farm and ranch animals are well-adapted to overwintering. Pigs burrow, chickens fluff their feathers and sheep stay insulated in their wool. Providing shelter, fresh water and extra feed is key to keeping animals healthy and warm throughout the cold months. Pigs don't hair up for winter but if their shelters have a low roof, plenty of clean straw and other pigs to nestle with they can burrow into the straw to stay protected from the cold and wind. Potomac farmer and rancher Russell Hudson said...
POTOMAC - The Potomac/Greenough Community Center (PGCC) board has been looking for ways to bring the community together through hosting different events. On Jan. 14, a community Bingo Night will take place at the PGCC. Entry and prizes will be cash only, with the proceeds going towards community activities, PGCC maintenance and upgrades. "We [the board] are looking for ways to get the community involved," the PGCC board chairman Jeanne Hall said. In the fall of 2015, the board provided surveys...
POTOMAC - It was a packed house as more than 275 people sat under festive lighting in the Potomac/Greenough Community Center (PGCC) Dec. 21 for the annual Potomac School Holiday Program. Directed by Potomac teacher Renee Clairmont, grades kindergarten through seventh sang, read, danced and acted out Christmas for the audience. Principal Angie Williams gave the welcome which was followed by the fifth and sixth-graders singing "Deck the Halls" as they decorated a Christmas tree in front of the...
POTOMAC - The Potomac School Pioneers boys basketball A and B teams ended their season by winning their division tournament. Coaches Brad Hall and his son Sam Hall were pleased with the season. This year the schools within the Copper League were divided into divisions. Potomac School was in the small school division. Fifth through eighth-graders made up the A and B teams and altogether played 14 games winning eight. The Pioneers had two tournament games against the Missoula International School...
POTOMAC - The snowy winter month of December brought the annual Christmas Comes Home event to Potomac. Hosted at the Potomac/Greenough Community Center (PGCC), attendees enjoyed festive activities from 5 to 8 p.m. More than 70 people attended and mingled with friends and neighbors amongst the decorations. There were mule drawn hayrides, tractor drawn hayrides, a tree decorating contest, Santa in his sleigh, carol singing, Christmas crafts for children, a bonfire, a live nativity scene, treats...
GREENOUGH - Hali Miller is a new teacher at Sunset School in Greenough. Miller believes each student has the right to get the highest and best education possible. Miller is from Sunburst, Mont., a small town seven miles south of the Canadian border. She attended school at the College of Education at the University of Montana in Missoula, Mont. She graduates this December with her teaching certificate for kindergarten through eighth grade. Miller's student teaching brought her to Greenough to...
POTOMAC - There were 2,650,000 Montana cattle including calves as of Jan. 1, 2016. According to Montana Department of Livestock (DOL), more than 600 head will be shipped this month from Potomac producers. On shipping day, the cattle are sorted into pens. Brand inspectors check brands and ear tags. They must clarify cattle ownership by the brands before the cattle are sold and shipped. Livestock cannot be sold or owned without proof of ownership according to the DOL. Owners need to prove...
POTOMAC - The Potomac School boys basketball team began their season with four wins and a loss for the A team and 3 losses for the B team. Father and son coaches Brad Hall and Sam Hall are coaching the 15 fifth- through eighth-graders that make up the A and B Pioneer teams. The Halls have a certain strategy for the Pioneers. "The goal is to teach the fundamentals, and then teach the plays," said Brad. The first game was away against the Clinton Cougars Nov. 1. The Pioneers' A team won by two...
POTOMAC - Potomac veterans joined Potomac School students Nov. 10 for the first annual Veterans Breakfast and Assembly at the Potomac/Greenough Community Center (PGCC). Grades kindergarten through eighth sang songs, played instruments, recited and acted for the veterans and their families. Breakfast, provided by head cook Debra Blodgett, included pancakes, breakfast sandwiches, fruits, milk, juice and coffee. The poem "Veterans Day" by Jessica Hawkins was recited by Terri Klein's first grade...
After processing and cutting wild game meat, the grinding process begins for the meat set aside to be made into sausage or burger depending on spices used and fat added. A clean sanitary work surface is necessary as well as clean implements. An electric grinder with attachments, meat bags, tape and sealer are some things which can be useful during grinding. The meat is fed into the top of the grinder and pushed through the blades into a tube. Clean meat bags are placed on the end of the tube...
Now that hunting season is in full swing many hunters have bagged their game. With meat hanging in sheds, garages or coolers some hunters choose to process their meat at home. After properly field dressing the wild game, some hunters use horses, mules, pack boards or game carts to pack out the animal. Sometimes hunters even bone out their meat in order to make a lighter pack and leave the bones in the field. Wild game can be cut and treated differently than beef. Sometimes the tenderloins and...
POTOMAC - The Montana Conservation Corps (MCC), together with The Nature Conservancy (TNC), has been working on a restoration project at Primm Meadows, north of Highway 200 up Gold Creek. The project involved thinning of smaller trees and will be logged after the ground freezes with the goal in mind of promoting rapid tree growth in the remaining trees. Originally the homestead of Charles and Mahala Primm, the parklike meadows are not an official campground, however the public is welcome to camp...
POTOMAC - October is Fire Safety Month. A group of four Greenough/Potomac Volunteer Fire Department (GPVFD) volunteers spoke to Sunset and Potomac Schools Oct.19. The group from the GPVFD included Chief Ryan Hall, Assistant Chief Justin Iverson and volunteers Tim Nesmith and Justin Kennedy. More than 90 kindergarten through eighth-grade students and staff watched the presentation which began in the Potomac/Greenough Community Center (PGCC) and then moved outdoors. After introducing the GPVFD...
Laetiporus conifericola, or "Chicken of the Woods," grows around Potomac. They are a mushroom species known as the "sulfur shelf mushrooms" that grow on conifer trees. These are mushrooms that get their name from how they taste after being prepared correctly. These mushrooms belong to the fungi kingdom and the name Laetiporus is a genus of edible mushroom. There are six North American species in the genus and one species variety that occur in different ecosystems and/or perform different...
OVANDO - More than 130 students from Bonner, Seeley, Helmville and in between participated in the annual Blackfoot Challenge (BC) Farm Tour Sept. 26. The event was held at the Stone Ranch in Ovando from 9 a.m. – 2 p.m. Event director and Education Coordinator for the BC Elaine Caton said, "We put on a Youth Field/Farm Day every year to give middle school students the opportunity to learn about their watershed." Each year there is a different theme. This year the theme was ranching. Station t...
As the hot summer days move into cooler autumn weather, insects like stink bugs and Western Conifer seed bugs are moving into sheltered areas to spend the winter. They may move indoors and if disturbed will cause an odor, although only one is a true stink bug. Leptoglossus occidentalis, the Western Conifer seed bug is from the Coreidae family. They are known as "leaf footed bugs", and there is only one species around the Blackfoot Valley. They have been called stink bugs; which they are not,...
POTOMAC - Potomac School sports season opened with Pioneers Volleyball. The volleyball team is made up of 13 fifth through eighth grade girls with the fifth and sixth making the B team and the seventh and eighth making the A team. Their first home match was Sept. 14 against the DeSmet Padres. DeSmet defeated Potomac in the first match of the season for both teams. Coach Kristy Pohlman has set goals for the season that stem from teaching the girls the fundamentals of volleyball. "I believe even...
Length: Approximately 4.5 miles one way Elevation: 6,374 feet at Fly Lake Usage: No stock, no bikes or motorized vehicles. Trail not completely cleared. Services: Parking at trailhead one hour from Hwy 200. Directions: Turn north off Highway 200 East onto Gold Creek Road near Potomac. Stay on main road heading toward the Gold Creek trailhead. Near mile marker 12, turn right heading five miles to the trailhead parking. Total time to trailhead parking is about a one hour drive from Highway 200....
POTOMAC - The Montana Department of Natural Resources (DNRC) has installed signs within the Potomac block of land that belongs to the school land trust. The signs, located in Camas and Ashby Creek drainages as well as near the DNRC boundary at Forest Park and Cramer Creek, were installed in early May. According to Missoula DNRC Unit Manager Jonathan Hansen who manages the Potomac area, "The portal signs were put up to better inform the public that the lands within the Potomac Block belong to...
POTOMAC - Raynee Clairmont is a new teacher at Potomac School. This school year she will teach seventh grade math and language arts, second through sixth grade music, physical education (PE) and art. She is from Sunburst, Mont. Clairmont attended school in Sunburst. Her mother is a teacher there. "I have always loved helping her out [in the classroom] and hearing her stories," said Clairmont. She attended the University of Montana where she graduated in 2016. "I started working with children...
MISSOULA - Owen Raines, a Potomac Valley 4-Her along with his two-year-old Escondido Llama 'Cubby' competed in numerous events at the 2016 Western Montana Fair in Missoula, Mont. Together they won the Outstanding Llama Herdsmanship trophy along with other awards. It is Owen's second year in 4-H, and he took the Llama project because he really wanted a llama. The project is pretty new to him, according to his mother Nickie. Owen has owned Cubby for a little over a year and a half. In preparation...
MISSOULA - Between the Seeley Lake Trailblazer and Potomac Valley 4-H Clubs 18 members took various shooting projects for the fair and came away with seven first-place awards. The shooters competed in the 2016 Western Montana Fair Exhibition Shoot before fair week. Their scores and placings were presented during the fair. Shooting included shotgun and air rifle with leader Dave Clark for Potomac hosting Tuesday practices in Missoula at the Trap and Skeet Club. The Seeley Lake club practiced at...
