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MISSOULA COUNTY - The Missoula City-County Board of Health voted four to one to convert several of the County’s current COVID-19 mitigation efforts from requirements to recommendations during a virtual meeting Thursday, April 15. This conversion applies to the operators of businesses, bars, restaurants, barbers, gyms and other entities in Missoula County. Replacing all of the capacity limits and other mitigation requirements, these operators are now recommended to do the following: • Find ways to enable physical distancing between non... Full story
SEELEY LAKE – The Missoula County Sheriff’s Office investigated several burglaries in the past couple of weeks. While it is still unknown if any are connected, Missoula County Sergeant Bob Parcell said he expects old burglaries that happened over the winter to be reported by returning seasonal cabin and homeowners. Parcell said the burglary reported April 11 on Boy Scout Road happened sometime after Dec. 15, 2020. “It is probably an old one, just now discovered,” Parcell wrote in an email. April 15, out-of-town homeowners watched in real ti...
GREENOUGH – Just before 10 p.m. Thursday, April 15, local volunteer firefighters and law enforcement responded to a van that was on fire in the Harper's Lake Campground. While the van was a total loss, no one was injured. According to Greenough-Potomac Volunteer Fire Department Fire Chief and Incident Commander Ryan Hall, they were paged out at 9:56 p.m. Personnel with Seeley Lake Volunteer Fire Department, Missoula County Sheriff's Office and Montana Highway Patrol also responded to the i...
SEELEY LAKE – More than 50 members of the public, Seeley Lake Fire Department volunteers, staff and board members attended the Fire Board Candidate Meet and Greet April 16. Hosted by Cheri and Steve Thompson, they said it was an opportunity for the community to connect with the candidates and ask them questions in a neutral setting. "People will vote for whom they want. I don't care who they vote for," Cheri said. "Some people are new to town and don't know who people are. That was my whole p...
Dear Fire Chief Lane, Firstly, we would like to thank you for aiding us in our campaign by asking us questions publicly. We are delighted to respond, and are not hiding from, nor behind, anything! Why we chose to ask constituents to email us any questions? We merely used the e-mail address as an avenue for people to ask us questions, or coordinate phone calls and meetings. We find it interesting that you claim we are not answering publicly, when we attended the community council meeting for candidates, as did you, this last Monday night, April...
There are two pairs of candidates running for the two open seats on the Fire Board. Connie Clark and Gary Lewis are the incumbents. Kristy Pohlman and Alyssa McLean promise to bring positive change to the Fire Board. Do we even need change on the Fire Board? Yes, and here’s why. About four years ago, during an interim chief’s tenure, there were abnormalities with a callout that raised concerns within the corps of the EMTs. One EMT wrote up the incident and shared it with the Captain. Because the concerns were about the interim chief, the con...
Please join me in supporting Alyssa McLean and Kristy Pohlman for the Fire Board. They are dedicated to Seeley Lake and will advocate for our health and well being. Their focus on transparency, safety and accountability is vital to our community. Alyssa McLean is the daughter of a career firefighter who will bring a unique perspective to the board. She’s the mother of one son, manager of a local business and has a background in research, finance and grant writing. Kristy Pohlman, a life long Seeley resident, is a small business owner, e...
Dear Seeley Lake - I have lived here for 28 years. First, I want to thank the Fire Department volunteers past and especially present for their continued service. It is sincerely appreciated! I am asking you to consider that myself and others believe that the Fire Board is in desperate need of a change. Since August 2020 I have attended the Fire Board meetings. The average meeting lasts about eight minutes. The budget is approved first thing without discussing any numbers or information provided to the public attending. Fiscally responsible? We...
Many moons ago, we were hav'n breakfast at the Hungry Bear. In the booth next to us was Joe Wilhelm and wife. We struck up a conversation 'bout cutt'n timber in Alaska. Joe asked if I'd heard of a place called the Kelsaw? Yes, it was near Mosquito Lake, North of Haines. Joe sez he was there once. Didn't say if he cut there or just looked it over. The years I knew Joe he worked at the Rustics log yard. If ya didn't like Joe, there was something wrong with yer gene pool. When pard and I went...
Beginning this summer season on the Lolo National Forest, Quartz Flat (Loop A), River Point (Seeley Lake) and Lakeside (Lake Alva) Campgrounds will be available for online reservation. Big Hole Lookout and Savenac East Cottage, both new additions to the popular rental program, are now also available for online reservation. Online reservations can be made through recreation.gov. “Much of the public expects to use an online reservation system to plan their vacation,” stated Kate Jerman, Lolo National Forest Public Affairs Officer. “Tr...
SEELEY LAKE - Firefighters on the Seeley Lake Ranger District are planning to conduct prescribed burning over the coming weeks to reduce hazardous fuels, reduce woody debris from past logging operations, restore wildlife habitat and better protect neighborhoods and the community from future wildfire. Pending favorable conditions, underburning operations could begin as soon as Wednesday, April 21 and continue in the coming weeks. Underburning, a type of prescribed fire treatment, ignites surface fuels under the forest canopy. Firefighters have...
The Nature Conservancy and partners plan to conduct and/or assist with prescribed fires in the Blackfoot Valley this spring. The burns are part of TNC's ongoing forest restoration work which includes timber harvest and thinning. The primary purpose of the burns and our other forest restoration work is to reduce the risk of high severity fires in these forests. This will include reducing the woody debris that has accumulated and could feed a fire that would threaten nearby communities. The burns...
SEELEY LAKE - The Missoula Resource Advisory Committee (RAC) is allowing members of the public to make comments before or during their meeting at 1 p.m. Thursday, April 29 regarding recommended funding for local project proposals. Among the 13 listed proposals are Morrell Creek and Seeley Lake bear attractant removal/conflict, both of which are expected to receive up to $15,000. Last year the Missoula RAC recommended funding 13 projects to benefit the region in multiple ways including improving watersheds, treating noxious weeds, managing...
Have you ever driven a Tesla? It stretches the imagination to understand the technology which allows a car to drive on its own. Advances in technology have come a long way, not only in the automotive industry but in just about every industry you can think of. As times change and technology becomes a large part of everyday life, people, as well as industry, don't have much of a choice but to change with them. This is no different in lumber processing, and for the past year and a half, Pyramid...
POTOMAC - Members of the Potomac School Board voted four to one to reject a motion requesting that mask wearing be voluntary on school grounds during a monthly Board meeting Monday, April 12. The board also heard updates on the seventh and eighth grade trips and approved all but one intent to hire. For the past few school board meetings, staff members and parents have publicly advocated for making masks optional on school grounds. At their last meeting in March the Board was informed that if they chose not to follow Missoula City-County Health...
SEELEY LAKE –Expecting to spend her first year simply getting to know the students, community and building trust, Seeley-Swan High School and Seeley Lake Elementary music teacher Janet Morgenstern said the students dove in headfirst and “I think we are rockin’.” While her expectations have been exceeded and many gains have been made in a program, Morgenstern said there still is a long road ahead in the schools’ musical journey. For the last several years, the music program lacked consistency and continuity between the elementary and high scho...
As we seek to follow Jesus Christ and walk the path of discipleship, line upon line, the day will come that we will experience that unimaginable gift of receiving a fullness of joy. As we nurture and prepare our children, we allow for their agency, we love them with all our heart, we teach them God's commandments and His gift of repentance, and we never, ever, give up on them. After all, isn't this the Lord's way with each of us? Young men and young women, as you grow older, making fun of...
SEELEY LAKE – At its April 15 meeting, the Seeley Lake Sewer District Board adopted their fiscal year 2022 budget and discussed assessment methods and filling a vacancy on the Board. District Manager Jean Curtiss informed the Board that she plans to resign her position at the end of June. Director Beth Hutchinson felt that going forward at this time the District could use a manager that was more of a placeholder to meet state law and reduce their operating budget accordingly. She said the manager could be as simple as being paid to attend m...
OVANDO - Staff members from Blackfoot Challenge shared their experiences and expertise with certain programs during a virtual event called Stories from the Field Wednesday, April 14. The first speaker was Cindy Super, the forestry and prescribed fire coordinator. She spoke about the importance of restoring fire as an ecological process as she described her team’s process of organizing a prescribed fire on private property in the Blackfoot last spring. “We will learn together as we bring fire back to its rightful place on our landscape,” she s...
SEELEY LAKE - Seeley Lake Community Council heard updates regarding tourism, vaccines and projects on the Seeley Lake Ranger District during their monthly meeting Monday, April 12. Fire Board candidates Alyssa McLean and Kristy Pohlman also shared a little more about why they are running for the Seeley Lake Fire District Board of Trustees in the May 4 election. Racene Friede, President and CEO of Glacier Country, discussed trends in Western Montana tourism and expectations for the 2021 season. Prior to the pandemic in 2019, 12.6 million...
SEELEY LAKE - The National Center for Women & Information Technology (NCWIT), NorthWestern Energy and Carroll College recognized Seeley-Swan High School junior Aspen Derry for their Aspirations in Computing Award. Derry was listed as one of 17 high school women recognized for the award. She will receive a certificate for her achievement. As part of her online application, Derry submitted a personal website she had developed in fall 2020. She learned her coding skills from her mentor Nora...
Friday, April 16 Seeley-Swan Golf teams placed second for the Class C schools at the Plains High School Golf Invitational. Girls Trista Wendel and Ava Thornsberry also qualified for State Golf. They will join teammates Bethany Hoag and Tegan Mauldin who qualified for State at the meet in Hamilton March 25. Several Seeley-Swan golfers also participated in the Steve Hullett Invitational in Bigfork, Montana Thursday, April 15. The Blackhawks met tough competition in Bigfork on Thursday. Of the...
The Seeley-Swan High School track team competed at two meets last week starting April 13 at the Darby-Florence Invite in Corvallis and then back at Frenchtown for the Bronc Open April 16. This week the team competes April 22 at the Sapphire Twilight Meet in Corvallis and then hosts the SSHS invitational at the Missoula County Public Schools stadium in Missoula April 24. Seeley Swan’s full stats from the Darby-Florence Invite. PR indicates Personal Record Girls 100 - 5. Emily Maughan, 13.65 PR; 9. Hannah Ayers, 14.11; 18. Trista Alexander, 1...
Loving Hearts now open Saturdays SEELEY LAKE – Loving Hearts Thrift Store is now open Saturdays from 9 a.m. – 12 p.m. This is in addition to regular hours on Wednesday from 11 a.m. – 3 p.m. Loving Hearts is fully stocked with clothing, household goods, books, toys and more. Volunteers manage and staff the store and all the proceeds go back into the Seeley Lake community. They appreciate your patience and understanding through the pandemic and look forward to seeing you. Masks are still required to be worn in the store. Community Meet-...
HELENA — According to data from the Montana Department of Transportation, the Treasure State is home to more than 1,800 gravel pits. These so-called “open-cut” mining provides material critical to everything from paving roads to building homes. Proponents of a bill that could soon head to Gov. Greg Gianforte’s desk say it could pave the way for even more gravel production in the state by further easing the permitting process for certain types of operations. But some landowners worry that House Bill 599 would allow gravel operations to impact... Full story
