Sorted by date Results 1 - 25 of 26
A hay truck travelling on Highway 83 around Salmon Lake Thursday, Oct. 29 around 4 p.m. went off the road. According to Highway Patrol Trooper Shawn Silvan, the driver from Townsend lost the trailer off the right side of the road. He was unable to maintain control of the truck and it went off the right side of the road and landed on its side. The driver was wearing his seatbelt and was uninjured. No other vehicles were involved in the crash. Montana Department of Transportation employees and...
SEELEY LAKE - The Seeley-Swan Lady Blackhawks took second place at the District 9C Tournament in Victor last week. The Ladies earned a spot in the championship match after defeating Victor, Drummond and the Valley Christian Eagles. The Eagles went on to defeat Granite in the third place match setting up the Lady Blackhawks versus Eagles championship match. The Lady Blackhawks were unable to repeat their earlier victory against the Eagles. The Lady Blackhawks’ loss in the championship match gave...
SEELEY LAKE - The Seeley Lake Volunteer Fire Department responded to a trailer house fire on Elm Drive just after 6 p.m. Saturday, Oct. 31. Upon arrival, flames were visible on the east side and smoke was spilling out of the eaves. The fire was contained to the kitchen and porch. No one was inside the home when the fire started. While the cause is still under investigation, Seeley Lake Fire Chief and fire investigator Bob Vanden Heuvel is leaning towards an electrical issue in the kitchen. No...
SWAN VALLEY - Three grizzly bears were killed on Highway 83 in the Swan Valley since September. The bears found along the highway were, according to Fish Wildlife and Parks (FWP) Region I Grizzly Bear Management Specialist and Biologist Tim Manley, was attracted to the highway area by roadkill deer. There is a lack of huckleberries and serviceberries in the forest which is an important food source for bears to eat to prepare for hibernation. In mid to late September, a three to four-year-old sub...
Silence of another snowy slow-going evening. Fog pouring off the lake, slinking away, Staying lower than my knees, Revealing a perfectly flat mirror of water. Reflecting a stillness onto the steep mountain walls surrounding it. As a gray tint floods this isolated lake. Dark clouds gather overhead. Without warning, Without sound, Larger snowflakes fall, Slowly drifting down from the heavens. Their movement stolen from them as they touch the glassy surface of Marshall Lake. Like the hope of...
The real news about carbon dioxide (CO2) and some of the research I’ve found about this gas. First is a principle about gasses called the Brownian Movement. This is where a gas will dissipate equally in a given volume that is available to it. If you are in your garage and start up your car, the gasses from the car will fill the garage. This will lower the percentage of oxygen for one to maintain life and we all know the results of that. On the other hand, the volume of atmosphere gasses is tremendous and CO2 is very small in the overall atmosph...
I’ve recently decided that I am fast approaching what I call “broodmare” status. Nothing center-drives that harsh fact home faster than having a beautiful and elegant seventeen-year-old daughter. (And possibly the sway back, crabby attitude and hay belly that is starting to appear). As much as I tell myself I don’t mind getting older, that age is only a number, I still seem to gracelessly accept this fact. But {hay}, I am also discovering there just may be some benefits to being the old broodmare...Here’s why: • Fillies are oggled over for th...
Though the smoke has cleared from Montana’s skies, we’re far from extinguishing another major problem facing our forests: the crisis of how we pay for fighting forest fires while continuing to fund essential Forest Service programs that sustain Montana’s outdoor way of life and our outdoor economy. Instead of focusing his energy on a common-sense solution to this Montana crisis, Senator Steve Daines is playing political games in Washington, D.C. by supporting the Resilient Federal Forest Act (HR 2647) as the cure-all to our nation’s wildfir...
SWAN LAKE - Two walleyes were caught in Swan Lake last week during Montana Fish, Wildlife & Parks (FWP) gill net sampling operations, according to FWP Region One Fisheries Manager Mark Deleray. Deleray noted that these were the first walleye reported from Swan Lake, and it is assumed that these fish originated from an illegal fish introduction. Illegal fish introductions have caused problems in hundreds of waters across the state, costing hundreds of thousands of dollars to rectify. In most...
The State of Montana updated the Montana State Noxious Weed List to include three new plants, and shifted the priority of three weeds on the previous list, effective July, 2015. The updated list provides management priorities for citizens, land managers, county weed boards, county weed board coordinators, weed districts and other vegetation managers. “Noxious” weeds is a designation given to invasive plants that have been determined to have the potential to, or have actual, detrimental impacts on Montana’s environment and economy. Propa...
Standing dead wood has incredible value to living things across western Montana’s forests. As fall stretches on and wood stoves burn more frequently, standing dead wood has high wildlife habitat value in addition to providing heat for homes. Forest snags provide denning, roosting and foraging habitat for hundreds of wildlife species. Often snags receive compounding use by forest vertebrates over time. Tall snags originally provide perching or nesting habitat while broken tops provide denning or resting for mammals. Cavities are continually e...
MISSOULA - White-tailed deer harvest continued to rebound from recent years through the second weekend of the big game general hunting season, with the highest harvest levels in west-central Montana since 2008. Montana Fish, Wildlife & Parks (FWP) biologists and student volunteers from the University of Montana checked 155 white-tailed deer through the Bonner, Darby and Anaconda hunter check stations in the first two weekends of the season, up 15 percent from the five-year average, and 13 percent above last year’s tally of 137 white-tailed d...
SWAN VALLEY - The Harvest Festival sponsored by the Swan Valley Elementary PTA was held Friday, Oct. 30. SVE students, dressed in Halloween costumes, came with their families ready to enjoy dinner, play games and win prizes. Students had their choice of several games including a cake walk, a bean bag toss, a mini marshmallow race, a ring or football toss. Many students had their faces painted by Lacey McNutt and her sister Mikkie Gleason. Parents, teachers and a few SVE alumni enjoyed the meal,...
SEELEY LAKE - Dressing up for Halloween is not just for kids. It is for everyone who is a kid at heart. The Seeley Lake Senior Center continued their annual tradition of a costume contest with an added pumpkin decorating contest this past Friday. Organizers Doug Richards and Rachel Wilkinson were pleased with the participation and the turn out. The costume parade commenced at 11:45 p.m. with judges choosing five winners. First place was awarded to Chef Carol Miller; second place went to Patsy...
SEELEY LAKE - At the Seeley Lake Community Council meeting this Monday, Nov. 9 the council will hear from J.R. Reger about a cell tower planned at Highway 83 near Redwood Lane. Next on the agenda, Sgt. Bob Parcell will talk about law enforcement in Seeley Lake. Following that, Anne Beach of the Seeley Lake Community Foundation will discuss the Foundation’s recent activities and upcoming projects. An update on the status of the council’s Traffic Project is also expected. Three weeks ago the council delivered its Speed Limit and Pedestrian Cro...
HELENA - Montana Insurance Commissioner Monica J. Lindeen issued a consumer advisory Thursday, alerting Montanans to issues with private air ambulance services and encouraging Montanans to investigate the services thoroughly before signing a contract with one. Lindeen’s office has received numerous complaints from Montanans who were transported by a private air ambulance service and were later billed many tens of thousands of dollars after their insurance company did not cover the cost of the ambulance ride. Many Montana hospitals have th...
Remember Veruca Salt from Charlie and the Chocolate Factory? She sang: “I want a party with roomfuls of laughter, Ten thousand tons of ice cream, And if I don’t get the things I am after, I’m going to scream! I want the works, I want the whole works! Presents and prizes and sweets and surprises in all shapes and sizes, And now! I don’t care how, I want it now!” Didn’t she get what was coming to her and isn’t this “Veruca Complex” very evident in our culture today? In a recent sermon on patience, the speaker told of a study conducted at Stan...
SEELEY LAKE - Since his retirement from teaching five years ago, Seeley Lake resident Steve Thompson travels to Missoula every week to sing bass in the Missoula Symphony Chorale. His love of singing and encouragement from Swan Valley resident Sharon MacQuarrie first got him started with the group. Now he returns every year because he loves the challenge of being pushed musically. Thompson grew up in Missoula, singing in choirs since junior high. He sang with the Elks Boys Choir and in the Childr...
After a late night of studying, I'm sitting in class and feel my eyes close and wake to find 10 minutes have passed. Oops, I hope I didn't snore. About 30 percent of us have brief episodes of daytime sleepiness (like my example) which can be caused by a break in our regular sleep habits. And 10 percent have chronic sleep issues that occur four or more times a week. What is insomnia? Simply, it is the "inability to sleep". Symptoms of insomnia can include fatigue, inability to focus or...
SEELEY LAKE - Super heroes, zombies, princesses and furry creatures filled Citizens Alliance Bank (CAB) in Seeley Lake for the first annual Sam's Spooky Carnival. There were games, prizes, food and a haunted room for those brave enough to enter. The carnival was inspired by Seeley Lake Elementary first-grader Sam Welch when he approached CAB with the idea. He and his best friend Aero Bernstrauch attended the CAB's family carnival in the summer and thought CAB should do a Halloween carnival for c...
SEELEY LAKE - Clearwater Resource Council (CRC) presented the world premiere of the film "Students in Action with Climate Change," at their Pure Montana Tales event Oct. 29 at the new SLE Outside Co-op. Nearly 100 attendees watched the 15-minute film by Seeley-Swan High School (SSHS) alumni and CRC intern Shelby Holmes. Attendees also were able to view the trailer for CRC's new film "2016 Keeping Clearwater." In 2014, CRC received funding from the Roundtable of the Crown of the Continent (RCC)...
MISSOULA – As the nation’s Christmas tree makes its way from Alaska to Washington D.C. it will stop in Missoula Nov. 8. Music, cross-cut saw demonstrations and free nature-themed activities are planned from 2 to 4 p.m. outdoors in the Cabela’s parking lot, 3650 Brooks Street. Smokey Bear will be there to greet everyone. The event is organized by the U.S. Forest Service, the National Forest Foundation and Cabela’s. Visitors are encouraged to sign the banner that accompanies the nation’s Christmas tree on its trek to Washington D.C. Christmas...
Goal: Great Bear Properties strives to look after the best interest of their customers as a dual agency representing both buyers and sellers. Owner Kim Koppen asks lots of questions to help buyers find the best fit that suits their needs and offers sellers the best representation of fair market value and gets the best price for their property. "I want to be a source of information because that's my expertise," said Koppen. "People appreciate that I take the time to listen for what is important...
POTOMAC - Potomac girls' volleyball season ended Oct. 24. The team of 12 played hard and set the bar for good playing and a good reputation, according to Potomac Volleyball Coach Grace Perry. Potomac played 12 volleyball games total this season with their team of 12 athletes. On the A team there were three eighth-graders and four seventh-graders. The B team consisted of fifth and sixth graders with a few of the seventh graders as well. Coach Perry said starting young members of the team helps them learn teamwork, game basics and fundamentals....
