Sorted by date Results 1 - 17 of 17
With a slushy start and temperatures in the high 40s Saturday, Feb. 12, Seeley Lake musher Jessie Royer took an early lead in the 300-mile Race to the Sky and never gave it up. First to all the check points, she returned to Lincoln Monday night just after 6:30 p.m., more than four and half hours ahead of second place Josi Thyr of Olney, Montana. Rounding out the top three was Cindy Gallea, a musher who started her racing career in Seeley Lake in 1991 and now lives in Wykoff, Minnesota. Gallea...
With several special district governing board positions up for election within Missoula County in Potomac, Seeley Lake and the Swan Valley, the Seeley Lake Rural Fire District Board is the only election currently on the ballot for the May 3 election. However, write-in candidates can still file until Feb. 28 at 5 p.m. A write-in candidate could trigger an election if there are more candidates than vacancies. The School District candidate filing closes March 24 at 5 p.m. There are several positions up for election at Seeley Lake Elementary, Swan...
SWAN VALLEY - Even though three inches of fresh snow covered the ground, it looked like a crime scene. Spots of blood and clumps of hair were scattered over the hillside. Footsteps through the snow revealed stomach contents. Luke Lamar Swan Valley Connections (SVC) Conservation Director told the Wildlife Tracks and Signs class he saw an eagle and ravens flying in this area when he was scouting for tracks in the early morning Feb. 5. This is the big picture view that can start a tracking...
This letter is in response to Dr. John Farrar’s column of Jan. 27 and Feb. 3 in the Seeley Swan Pathfinder about COVID-19 vaccinations. Dr. Farrar, in highly science-y terms, shared some very credible information on how our immune systems works. Not the whole story, but some useful info. Sadly, he closed his column with an implication that vaccines for COVID-19 are not necessarily that important and perhaps should not be trusted. Dr. Farrar effectively covers the weakness in the vaccine as far as stimulating the Mucosal Immune System we all p...
SEELEY LAKE - The Seeley Lakes ROCKS Board would like to add their voice to the praises currently being sung (and the great January coverage in the Pathfinder) for the 2022 cross country ski grooming at the Seeley Creek Nordic Trails. The volunteers seriously deserve to be spotlighted and commended for the winter recreational service they are providing to this community and to regional cross-country skiers. For years, cross country skiers have marveled at efforts behind the volunteer and excellent Seeley Lake trails grooming. This year,...
The Blackfoot Clearwater Stewardship Act is important because it seeks to protect our precious Montana lands. The BCSA would preserve 80,000 acres of land for conservation, recreation and restoration. The act plans to restore fish and wildlife habitats, increase space for outdoor recreation for Montanans and conserve precious Montana wilderness by adding 80,000 acres of land to the Bob Marshall Wilderness Area. The BCSA’s plan would protect our land as well as strengthen Montana’s outdoor economy. I am a freshman at the University of Montana an...
HELMVILLE - "I think supporting and encouraging the life and activities in our communities helps them to be stronger and to be more vibrant," said Jean Pocha, the Seeley Swan Pathfinder's newest reporter. "It is my hope to be a part of that." Pocha has lived in Helmville for more than 31 years. She looks forward to developing interesting stories that capture the happenings and people of the Ovando and Helmville communities. Since a young girl, Pocha said she has always taken notes and been a...
Residential wood heating has gone through many changes over the centuries. Fireplaces in Europe were replaced with more efficient masonry heaters when wood became scarce. The Franklin stove, invented in 1742 in the United States, heated colonial homes more efficiently and with less smoke in the home than standard fireplaces and stoves in use at that time. Today, wood stove innovation continues, driven by the need to improve air quality and provide economical heat at the residential scale. In the 1980s, the United States Environmental...
SEELEY LAKE – The overhead stage lights of the Seeley-Swan High School auditorium bounced off the bronze cone-shaped bells of seven tubas and five euphoniums Feb. 13 as University of Montana Euphonium and Tuba Consort performed for a crowd of more than 40 people (on Super Bowl Sunday!). According to Conductor Benedict Kirby, a tuba has a five-octave range, starting lower than the sound a piano can play. Its smaller cousin, the euphonium, starts an octave higher and has a four and a half o...
SWAN VALLEY - Henry 'Kerry' Good of Lindbergh Lake headed out to his next adventure on Jan. 16, 2022. Kerry was born in Spokane, Washington June 24, 1944 to Henry Ketchum Good and Jeannie Johnson. He and his brother Hugh Craig Good traveled the world with their parents as the sons of an Air Force Serviceman. These travels took the family from Newfoundland to the Middle East and the Arctic. At the age of 12, Kerry was enrolled in boarding school in Switzerland, graduating at the age of 16. Upon... Full story
SEELEY LAKE - Laura Lee Wordsworth Wood, 59 of Seeley Lake, passed away Feb. 5 of heart failure. She was born on Sept. 3, 1962 in California to Eileen and Charles Wordsworth. As a young person she enjoyed every aspect of being a California girl... camping with Girl Scouts, swimming and beach days with friends. She was the trailblazing big sister and partner in crime to her little sister Tori. After settling into her adult life, she gave birth to her three precious children son Garth, daughter... Full story
I told this story many, many moons ago but it is so profound and stirring I must tell it again, best as I remember. If I thought I was going to Alaska again just to cut big timber, I was wrong. The good book sez “many are the plans in a man’s heart, but it is the Lord’s purpose that prevails.” I had the habit of visiting the different small churches at the logg’n camps or villages that I could drive or walk to. I wasn’t into denominational idolatry. I like what John Wesley said, “does thou love and fear God? I extend thee the hand of fello...
OVANDO – Leigh Ann Valiton is happy to welcome customers into the Stray Bullet Cafe in Ovando. While she has been a familiar face behind the counter since 2010, Valiton now owns the cafe after purchasing it from Colleen Stone Jan. 1. She looks forward to offering the same great service and food so people can enjoy their time in Ovando. Jessica Geary remembered starting the idea for The Stray Bullet in 2002 in the back room of the Ovando store when her parents Howie and Peggy Fly owned it. "I lik...
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: February 19, 1987 issue Dave Armstrong: 48 years of mushing Experienced mushers agree: the Governor's Cup 500 sled dog... Full story
The Seeley-Swan High School Boys Basketball seniors were recognized with their family and friends Feb. 5 and Feb. 12 ahead of the varsity game....
SEELEY LAKE - The Blackhawks and Lady Blackhawks wrapped up their regular season taking on Charlo on the road and hosting Hot Springs Feb. 11 and 12. Charlo put up the best fight of the season for the undefeated Lady Blackhawks. The Lady Blackhawks led by 9 at the half but Charlo fought back tying the game at 40-40 and sent the game into overtime. In overtime, the Lady Blackhawks shut out Charlo. Kyla Conley put in one basket and then she and Tegan Mauldin each shot 3 of 4 free throws in...
Clarification of proposed “high-speed roundabout” at Clearwater Junction SEELEY LAKE – In the article “Roundabout at Clearwater Junction tops discussion” in the Feb. 10 issue of the Pathfinder, Robert Peccia & Association Engineering Firm Project Manager April Gerth referred to the roundabout proposed at Clearwater Junction as a “high-speed roundabout.” The project team requested clarification that the “high-speed” refers to Highway 200, not the roundabout. The 70 mile-per-hour speed limit will start decreasing 800-1,000 feet before the rounda...
