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SEELEY LAKE – Two women from Hamilton, Montana, artists in their own right, came to Alpine Artisans' Tour of the Arts Saturday October 10. "Oh my gosh! Oh my gosh!" Barbara Liss exclaimed as she saw Will Kats' display of his woodcarvings at the Grizzly Claw Trading Co. "The detail is just amazing!" her companion said. "This is awesome!" she added as she moved to look at the bust – carved head, shoulders, and upper chest – of a Native American subject in full regalia. "I think they're just stunni...
SWAN VALLEY- A 56-year-old man and his 31-year-old hiking partner were rescued from Holland Peak Monday, Oct. 5 after one of the men experienced a life-threatening medical condition. The men were airlifted from Holland Peak by the Army National Guard Medevac Team and the patient was transported to Kalispell Regional Medical Center via ambulance. According to Missoula County Sheriff's Deputy and Incident Commander Ryan Dunster, Seeley-Swan Search and Rescue was called at 1:10 p.m. Monday...
SEELEY LAKE – Saturday morning, May 9 Clearwater Montana Properties CEO Kevin Wetherell was out showing vacant lots on Double Arrow Ranch. “When I finished showing property that morning, I looked at my phone and it was blowing up with Facebook notifications,” said Wetherell. “Then I started to see what had happened. I couldn’t even believe what was happening and how quickly it was happening.” Wetherell found himself in the crosshairs of a social media storm when his name and image appeared on a post in the “Justice For Gregory and Travis Mc...
PLACID LAKE - Clearwater Resource Council reported another algae bloom just south of the public boat launch at Placid Lake State Park. The bloom was observed Wednesday, Oct. 7. Samples were sent to the Flathead Lake Biological Station. They confirmed Monday that it was blue-green algae. While most blue-green algae blooms do not produce toxins, it is not possible to determine the presence of toxins without testing. All blooms should be considered potentially toxic. Very small exposures, such as...
My wife and I moved to Seeley Lake in 2019 from the Flathead Valley, seeking to simplify and reconnect with nature and a smaller community. We quickly met many residents who made us feel welcome and provided great examples of community love and involvement. One of those people was Tom Browder. Tom leads by example. From volunteering on community boards, coordinating food drives, or just hiking in our beautiful public lands, Toms’ compassion and love for the community he calls home is obvious. Real governmental representation means more than j...
Mike Hopkins is asking to be re-elected to the Montana Legislature as the representative from the Seeley-Swan -Potomac-Bonner-Clinton area. Here’s a fact to consider in your decision to vote or NOT VOTE for him. Seeley residents have been undergoing a vigorous, divisive discussion over a $40 million central sewer proposal. Mike Hopkins has never entered that discussion and asked if or how he could help. There are four state funding entities which could assist a local government like Seeley. The funding from these entities is woefully i...
When you campaign across our beautiful state, as we both have had the opportunity to do, you learn a thing or two about what it means to be a Montanan. You learn that while there are unique issues in each of our 56 counties, we all share many of the same hopes and concerns from Butte to Broadus. We want our kids to receive a high-quality public education, we want our public lands to be protected and we all want to live dignified, respected lives. Every Montanan wants a legislator that will bring people together to get things done. That’s why w...
Here is how I am voting: Last week’s letter dealt with Propositions, Judges and the Public Service Commission. You can view it here: http://kvs.org/vote/ballot-part1.pdf MT House Rep, HD 92: TOM BROWDER is a native Montanan, who lives in the district. He is thoughtful and pragmatic, headed for the legislature to focus on a rational tax system with lower taxes for poor people. He supports affordable housing, so that we can accommodate a variety of incomes in Seeley Lake. He advocates for quality education from pre-K to college, trade and tech s...
The summer before I turned 17 was the worst fire season in Montana history. The Rice Ridge fire outside of Seeley Lake grew 60,000 acres in a single day, filling the beautiful Blackfoot Valley, where I’ve lived my entire life, with smoke and threatening evacuation for my family and many of our friends and neighbors. And we had it much better than most of the people living in the Seeley-Swan Valleys, who breathed air filled with the particulates of their burning forests for most of the dry summer and well into the fall, and continue to feel t...
I’m writing this letter in support of Tom Browder, as he is a man of character and diligence. I met Tom about three years ago as a volunteer on his Parks and Recreation committee, which he led and continues to lead at this time. I continue to volunteer and have gotten to know Tom very well. He is an intelligent, self-directed, people-oriented person who is committed to whatever he chooses to do. He is devoted to the task. What he says is what he does! Tom is also a technology wizard. He has worked in this field for many years and has done m...
Recently, I have received a couple of misleading mailers from the Montana Republican State Central Committee attacking Kathleen Williams and claiming she “wants to take away your Second Amendment rights.” Don’t believe the Republican and NRA propaganda about Kathleen. It is not true! I have been a gun owner, shooter and hunter for the past 60 years. I know Kathleen and have spoken with her about her views on firearms. Kathleen is a firearms owner and hunter. Like many of my hunting companions, she supports reasonable, commonsense legis...
Around the United States for the last several years, Republicans have pushed legislation and regulations to make voter registration and voting more difficult. As we all know, and Republicans like Trump and a few others have publicly admitted, they do not do well at the polls when more people vote. Back in March of 2020, Trump stated on Fox News that opening up voting to more American citizens would mean “you’d never have a Republican elected in this country again.” We’ve even had a few Republican state legislators in Montana acknowledge the pro...
I’m not sure I’ve ever read a more disingenuous or out of touch endorsement for a political office than the Missoulian’s recent endorsement of Jennifer Fielder for Public Service Commissioner. They contend she has a “unique capacity to unite a fractured commission.” Anyone that has followed her political life knows that her capacity to unite is because she would be another Republican on the commission. Isn’t that really what Lee Newspapers wants? Another vote to styme the change on the commission that we Montanans desperately need and desire....
In two recent decisions, the Montana Supreme Court ruled that the Public Service Commission (PSC) broke the law when it imposed harsh contract terms on renewable energy developers who sought to sell power to the state’s largest regulated utility. These rulings were welcome not only because they opened the path to future renewable energy development, but also because they affirmed a fundamental principle of American democracy: Nobody—no person, nor government official, nor government agency—is above the law. In another way, however, the rulin...
MISSOULA - In response to a predicted cooling trend and chance of precipitation, Missoula County opened fall burning effective Oct. 12. At that time, the only burning that will be permitted is prescribed wildland and essential agriculture burning. All outdoor burning in Missoula County is by permit only, and the General Burning Season (burning of yard debris/untreated vegetative waste generated onsite) is closed until March 1, 2021. Within Missoula City limits, parcels must be at least one acre or more in size to be eligible for an outdoor...
WOODWORTH – Montana Fish, Wildlife and Parks in coordination with the University of Montana is planning to conduct an 80-acre prescribed burn on the Bandy Ranch, on the east side of the Blackfoot Clearwater Wildlife Management Area Game Range, this fall when weather, fuel conditions and air quality become favorable. Smoke will be visible from Highway 200 and the Woodworth area. The area will be closed to hunters and recreationists during burning operations. According to FWP Wildlife Biologist Scott Eggeman, the purpose of the project is for e...
SEELEY LAKE - To help fill Seeley Lake Elementary School’s parking lot for Trunk-or-Treat from 5 - 7:30 p.m. Saturday, Oct. 31, organizers are encouraging businesses to set up their own trunks. They are also looking for additional volunteers. Organizer Toni Sexton said they still need teen zombie actors to “drag” themselves up and down Pine Street and the Trunk-or-Treat area. A zombie safety precaution meeting will take place at 4:30 p.m. before festivities start. Hand sanitizing areas and COVID-19 precautions will be in place. The Senio...
Grizzly bears are highly intelligent, but as far as we know they can't read maps. When a bear living in Glacier National Park sets out in search of food or a mate, it doesn't know when it crosses the park's invisible boundary. When it does, it enters a different, more dangerous reality. While Glacier is part of a sprawling wildlands complex including the Bob Marshall Wilderness and Canada's Waterton National Park, it also lies near areas that are rapidly developing. Protecting habitat buffer zon...
SWAN VALLEY – "We felt so connected to the Swan Valley community by doing hard work for a common need," said Wendy Weaver, Executive Director, Montana Aquatic Resources Services out of Livingston, Montana. "We would love to start something like this in our community too, where we know people are burning wood, and lots of folks can't get wood for themselves. We just had the best time working with the best folks in such a beautiful place. It was really something special to be a part of!" Nearly 3...
Marijuana is back on the ballot - the third time in the last five election cycles - but this year Montanans will decide for the first time whether to follow other states like Colorado and Washington in legalizing use for all adults. The issue comes in the form of complementary ballot initiatives I-190 and CI-118. I-190 creates the rules for a recreational marijuana system in Montana, including a 20% tax. It also allows each county the option to prohibit dispensaries in their county. CI-118...
SEELEY LAKE - Fat Hippie, LLC owner Terry Lucke and office manager Dawn Butler are concerned with certain aspects of the upcoming initiative I-190 on the November ballot that would legalize the recreational use of marijuana in Montana. “I don’t ever want to be the guy that comes out saying that I think that weed shouldn’t be legal cause I really do think it should be legal,” Lucke said. “I also don’t want to be the guy that stands around and is misinterpreted as saying that I think that anybody should be in a cage as a result of a non-violent d...
While Catholics worship God only, we are devoted to the Blessed Virgin Mary. Why? • We honor Mary (and the saints) because they modeled virtuous, holy lives. • “The knot of Eve’s disobedience was loosed by the obedience of Mary. What the virgin Eve had bound in unbelief, the Virgin Mary loosed through faith” –Saint Irenaeus (~125-202). • Jesus comes to us through Mary’s obedience and faith. • Because Mary humbly said ‘Yes’ to the Father when told she will conceive by the Holy Spirit and bear the Son of God, Jesus never denies His Mother any...
Stretching from Seeley Lake to Lincoln, this year's Tour of the Arts sponsored by Alpine Artisans, Inc. was a big draw to the area Saturday and Sunday, Oct. 10-11. While COVID-19 limited the participation of several of the regular artists, this year's Tour featured three new galleries, a new studio and several new artists. There were additional in-person demonstrations including pine needle weaving and watercolor painting at Gallery 83, chainsaw carving at Willow Creek Gallery, Will Kats' wood...
SWAN VALLEY - Swan Valley resident Steve Card led a meeting Oct. 6 at the Swan Valley Community Hall to discuss residents joining together to look after the safety of their neighbors. He listed steps that residents can take to safeguard the community against threats to property and lives. Missoula County Sheriff’s Office Deputy Ryan Dunster spoke to those present about how residents can help themselves when threatened with harm. Card presented information from the Neighborhood Watch web page. He then shared some of the recent crimes in the S...
If the early history of Seeley Lake is intertwined with the lumber industry, the rise of the United States Forest Service is incontrovertibly intertwined with Seeley Lake and in particular with the Big Blackfoot Timber Sale of 1907-1910. Historian and member of the Camp Paxson Preservation Board Gary Williams has been researching that sale. The Seeley Swan Pathfinder will be bringing some of the interesting bits of information he has discovered about logging in the Seeley Lake area and also...
