Articles from the February 22, 2024 edition


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  • County school budget cuts fall easier on Seeley-Swan High

    Keely Larson, Editor|Feb 22, 2024

    Seeley-Swan High School faces significantly less budget cuts than the three Missoula high schools after the Missoula County Public Schools Board of Trustees supported the school district administration’s budget plan. Business Director at Missoula County Public Schools Pat McHugh said the budget cuts are the result of an unfortunate combination of three different things: an anticipated reduction in ESSER funds — or emergency funding given to schools during the Covid-19 pandemic to help maintain staff — inflation; and growing special educa...

  • Lions Club training swimming instructors

    Jean Pocha, Reporter|Feb 22, 2024

    Swimming lessons are coming soon to Seeley Lake after strong community interest and instructor training. "We were finally able to hire a Red Cross instructor to come to Seeley Lake to train our instructors," Westin said. "It cost a little more but it's worth it to make the training process easier on our instructors, rather than them having to drive back and forth to Missoula or Kalispell at inconvenient times." Parents representing 96 kids responded in favor of swimming lessons in Seeley Lake...

  • Seeley Sewer District hears wastewater treatment option, septic system standards discussed at Missoula County Board of Health meeting

    Keely Larson, Editor|Feb 22, 2024

    The Seeley Lake Sewer Board discussed a model of onsite waste management at a proposed RV park in Seeley Lake, which could serve as a model for the broader community. Quarterly monitoring well data was presented and the Sewer Board approved efforts by Missoula County to monitor nitrate levels monthly. Continued frustrations regarding the transparency of public process surfaced at a Missoula County Board of Health meeting regarding Seeley Lake’s septic system future on Feb. 15, the same day as the Sewer Board’s meeting. At the county mee...

  • You owe more money

    Jan Lombardi, Seeley Lake and Helena Montana|Feb 22, 2024

    Well, the next step in your residential property tax increase is happening. Banks are sending updated "mortgage bills" to homeowners. Guess what? You owe more money! Recently, a young friend reached out, concerned about his $100 monthly mortgage increase and he didn't know why. That's a lot of money — $1,200 a year. Drumroll for the explanation. Since the bill comes from the bank, it's the lender's fault, right? Nope. By law, a residential mortgage statement must show the escrow portion — the amount you pay for insurance and taxes for your hom...

  • Library news

    Carrie Benton, Seeley Lake Public Library Librarian|Feb 22, 2024

    This month’s Book Club pick is Escape from Camp 14: One Man’s Remarkable Odyssey from North Korea to Freedom in the West. Swing by the library for a copy. The book club meets in the library the first Thursday of each month at 11:00 a.m. Next gathering is March 7. Your local Seeley Lake Public Library has added these new titles to the Montana Collection. For our quilters: Border to Border: Quilts and Quiltmakers of Montana. The quilts chronicle Montana's history over the last 150 years, tel...

  • New Year resolution for your teeth

    Dr. Alyssa Harris DMD, Seeley Swan Medical Center|Feb 22, 2024

    As the New Year settles in, you may be thinking about ways to improve your health. Many of us are familiar with Dry Month January where people abstain from alcoholic beverages. As a dentist I strongly applaud this effort. Alcohol is associated with causing seven different types of cancer, including oral cancers. Did you also know that alcohol as well as many other beverages cause acid erosion of your teeth? Severity of tooth erosion is directly related to the pH, or acidity, of the beverages we drink. The acid pulls critical minerals out of...

  • A broken bridge changes Snow Joke course

    Keely Larson, Editor|Feb 22, 2024

    On the first day of February, the 2022 UltraRunner of the year was walking along Highway 83 in Seeley Lake. Adam Peterman, who won the 100-miler Western States Endurance Run in California and the World Trail Championship in Thailand in 2022 and who is a member of Run Wild Missoula, had just finished test running the new course for the Snow Joke Half Marathon - a 13.1 mile race held on Feb. 24 in Seeley Lake. Trisha Drobeck, executive director of Run Wild Missoula - a nonprofit devoted to...

  • Lady Blackhawks win District basketball tournaments

    Keely Larson, Editor|Feb 22, 2024

    The Seeley-Swan High School Women's Basketball team won the District basketball tournament and will advance to Divisonals. The Lady Blackhawks will play their first game in the Divisional tournament on Feb. 22 at 5 p.m. against White Sulphur Springs in Frenchtown. The men's team did not advance to Divisonals. "We came out in that first game. We were pretty nervous, and the girls did a good job staying calm," Coach David Cahoon said. Cahoon said it was a "huge experience" for the women's team to...

  • Archives

    Pathfinder Staff|Feb 22, 2024

    From 1989 Pathfinder Archives Feb. 23 Variety of talent in Swan Valley show Every artist was once an amateur, according to Ralph Waldo Emerson. His words of wisdom stretched across the stage of the Swan Valley Elementary School last Friday night, encouraging about two dozen performers who entertained a crowd of local residents and fans. Seven-year old Casey Parker stole the hearts of everyone in the audience when she stood up on the stage and sang, "Grandpa, Tell Me 'Bout the Good Old Days."...

  • A loopy idea

    Alan Muskett|Feb 22, 2024

    It is helpful, when your life or job is in grind mode, to have a diverting obsession. At 3 a.m., in a fluorescently lit surgeon's lounge, waiting my turn in the OR to reconstruct a face that, earlier in the evening, had lapped up a dozen beers or so, then flew through the windshield of his Ram 2500, I would peruse innumerable websites related to way cool boats and yachts and exotic locations. The fact that many of these vessels cost ten times more than my net worth (counting the sale of a...

  • Tactics and flies for late winter, early spring

    Chuck Stranahan|Feb 22, 2024

    One nice thing about fishing this time of year: you're not likely to fish in a crowd. You might see a couple of others, and like you, they probably value their solitude as much as you do. You tend not to bother each other; the social exchanges are apt to be quiet, pleasant, and brief before you go your separate ways. The solitude you'll find when it's not quite spring is reason enough to get out and fish. Another nice thing is that despite the cold water temperatures that lull the trout into a...