(270) stories found containing 'missoula county public schools'


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  • It takes two to tango: federal forest funds and local government spending

    Ted Morgan, House District 92 candidate|Oct 10, 2024

    A few weeks back my opponent and I were able to share both of our visions for rural areas like the Seeley-Swan. I respect Rep. Connie Keogh for coming to our rural community to debate topics from property taxes to 2nd Amendment Rights. As I’ve stated, I respect Rep. Keogh, and thank her for her service as a representative for House District 91, a city house district. We agree on topics, such as preserving our public lands, and a Homestead Exemption that will lower full-time resident property taxes, and make second homeowners pay their fair s...

  • Candidate debate reveals property taxes, rural resilience as bipartisan hot buttons

    Katie O'Reilly, For the Pathfinder|Oct 3, 2024

    Nearly 60 community members piled into Seeley Lake's Sullivan Community Hall last Tuesday evening to hear what the people vying to represent them in Helena had to say. Sponsored by the Seeley Swan Pathfinder, the candidate debate, moderated by editor Keely Larson, starred seven hopeful state representatives and senators, plus written statements shared aloud by Larson from one absent candidate. Audience members, about a third of whom wore bright red "Ted Morgan" t-shirts in support of House...

  • Ready to work on behalf of a diverse House District

    Connie Keogh, House District 91|Sep 19, 2024

    I’m Rep. Connie Keogh, and I am currently serving in House District 91. It’s my honor and privilege to run for election in the newly drawn HD 92, which includes rural parts of Missoula County and up to Condon on Highway 83. Thank you for this opportunity to introduce myself and to discuss what we need to do this next legislative session. It has been my pleasure to get to know my opponent, Ted Morgan. He has impressed me with his enthusiasm and energy, as well as his willingness to get involved in his community upon his arrival here. I’ve been...

  • Applications open for Missoula County Community Parks and Recreation Grants

    Allison Franz, Missoula County Communications Manager|Sep 12, 2024

    Missoula County Parks, Trails & Open Lands is accepting applications starting Sept. 3 for the annual Community Parks & Recreation Grants Program The program, formerly called the Matching Grants Program, provides funding to help communities create and enhance parks, trails and other public recreation sites and facilities. Staff encourage local nonprofits, schools and community groups to apply for the grant by 5 p.m. Friday, Oct. 11. Ninety thousand dollars is available during the 2025 awards cycle for community-driven projects that improve...

  • Missoula Public Health pursues grants for schools' wildfire and heat resiliency, Seeley-Swan High School on the list

    Keely Larson, Editor|Jul 18, 2024

    Mike Fowler brought a small temperature sensor with him from Seattle to a presentation he was a part of held at the Foundation Building in Seeley Lake. On that Wednesday, with outside temperatures in the nineties, Fowler said his sensor showed 78 degrees in the Foundation Building. Fowler is the sustainability integration leader for Mithun, an architectural firm in Seattle. He and other members of his team came to Montana in May to tour five schools to start thinking about potential design upgra...

  • Seeley-Swan student attends Business Professionals of America National Leadership Conference in Chicago

    Michele Holmes, Seeley-Swan High School BPA Advisor|May 23, 2024

    When Hattie Batchelder was a freshman, she had no idea what BPA was. She just wanted to participate in more clubs. She thought it was some sort of after-school class with a focus on business that was just a Montana thing. After four years of participating in Business Professionals of America, Batchelder's learned, competed and traveled to two national competitions, one in Anaheim, California - where Batchelder and friends placed eleventh in the nation in a podcasting category about an episode...

  • Condon voters approve general fund, technology levies

    Keely Larson, Editor|May 23, 2024

    Condon voters approved two levies the Swan Valley Elementary School Board put on May ballots. Just a little over $20,000 will be added to the school’s budget, about $10,000 into the general fund and about $10,000 for a technology fund, which the school didn’t have before presenting the technology levy to voters. The timing of voted levies across the state couldn’t have been worse in many cases. For Condon voters, the early-March announced levy was right before extra property tax bills were...

  • Get to know your legislators running for office

    Keely Larson, Editor|May 16, 2024

    Primary election ballots were mailed to Montana residents on May 10. The Pathfinder reached out to the 12 candidates running for state House and Senate seats that are relevant to Seeley-Swan area residents to ask them a handful of questions to help voters better understand their prospective legislators. After the decennial redistricting, new maps were drawn by the Montana Districting and Apportionment Commission in 2023. That prompted a new district for Seeley Lake, which now lies in House... Full story

  • Seeley Elementary, Clearwater Resource Council receive Missoula County Rural Impact Grants

    Keely Larson, Editor|Apr 25, 2024

    Two Seeley Lake organizations - Seeley Lake Elementary School and the Clearwater Resource Council - have received the full amount possible - $4,000 - from Missoula County through the Rural Impact Grant program. This program is intended for groups like community councils, nonprofits and schools to be used for projects that "enhance the quality of life" in rural Missoula County. Last year, the Seeley Lake Lions Club received funding from this grant to hire swimming instructors and the Potomac Scho...

  • Condon voters to decide on school levies

    Keely Larson, Editor|Apr 18, 2024

    For the first time in 12 years, Swan Valley School in Condon is presenting voters with two levies to vote on. A combination of factors like rising costs, increased need for technology to support education, a drop in enrollment and the loss of ESSER funds — money provided during the covid-19 pandemic to support schools — led to a general fund and technology levy to be presented to voters in a special election on May 7. “​​Our school has navigated the difficulties of staffing needs, the rising co...

  • 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 mai...

  • Seeley Council discusses bridge projects, micro grants

    Hattie Batchelder, of the Pathfinder|Jan 25, 2024

    The January community Council Meeting provided updates for the Seeley Lake bridge projects. Shane Stack, the Missoula County Public works director, said he feels confidence in various grant applications, letters of support from local people and organizations are still being welcomed to build a better application for grant money to construct the bridges in need. All letters are needed back by Feb. 9, in order to submit an application for a grant from RAIN (Rebuilding America’s Infrastructure with Sustainability and Equity) which is due on F...

  • Sheriff starts 24 hour area coverage

    Griffen Smith, of the Pathfinder|Nov 9, 2023

    The Missoula County Sheriff's Office has increased its number of deputies working in Seeley Lake and will have someone on patrol in the area at all hours - the first time in recent memory. Sheriff Jeremiah Petersen told the Pathfinder that starting Nov. 1 there will be at least one deputy on duty in the Seeley Lake area. The Pathfinder previously reported the sheriff's office had been short staffed and failed to replace two open resident jobs in Seeley Lake. After another failed search to find a...

  • GOP strategy to help the housing crisis is to increase homeowner property taxes

    Monica Tranel, Western Montana congressional candidate|Aug 24, 2023

    Across western Montana, people are being squeezed out of their homes and communities by rising prices. Teaching positions go unfilled – and no one is applying to fill them because a $40k salary - the high end of starting teacher salaries in Montana, doesn’t afford a home, even if you’re lucky to find a house for sale in rural places like Seeley Lake. The 2023 Montana GOP had a super-majority and a $2.9 billion surplus, thanks to federal democratic policies. Armed with power and money, the Montana GOP imposed a permanent tax increase on resid...

  • Missoula County: Don't wait to appeal your property appraisal

    Andrew Czorny, Chief Financial Officer, Missoula County|Jul 13, 2023

    Did you recently receive a letter from the Montana Department of Revenue? It’s not a tax bill from Missoula County. It’s an appraisal notice the state DOR issues showing the current assessed value of your property. DOR, not Missoula County, calculates this value every two years, which is an important factor in determining the property taxes you’ll owe this year. Those property taxes help fund several jurisdictions you live in, including the county. Your notice has two key numbers: the updated assessed value of your property and the estim...

  • Seeley Lake, Swan Valley and Potomac show colors at Copper League Meet of Champions

    Asa Thomas Metcalfe|Jun 1, 2023

    On a mild but sunny Tuesday morning the qualifying athletes of Montana's Copper League for track and field had their final competition, the Meet of Champions held at the outdoor facilities of Missoula Public Schools Stadium in Missoula. The Copper League Meet of Champions is the highest tier of competition for middle school grades (six-eight) in track and field. Schools from the Bitterroot and Missoula County area meet to race, and throw in their final bids for top place. Seeley Lake...

  • Archives

    May 4, 2023

    Thirty-five years ago in 1988... Thursday, May 5, 1988 Boys State delegates chosen Every year high schools throughout the state choose two junior boys from their school to represent them at Boys State. This year it will be held in Dillon from June 12-18. Chosen to represent Seeley-Swan High School at Boys State this year will be Dustin Gordon, son of Les and Gayle Gordon and Ron Gossard, son of Boyd and Pat Gossard. The purpose of Boys State is to teach these youth about state government. To...

  • Fire Board candidates have their say at Seeley Lake Community Council meeting

    Asa Thomas Metcalfe|Apr 20, 2023

    Seeley Lake Rural Fire District Board candidates sparred in a short open forum discussion at the Seeley Lake Community Council meeting on Monday, April 10. Each candidate was given a short time to introduce themself and explain why they are running for the fire board seat as well as explain a little bit of their platform and proposed changes. "This has been a long-term life commitment to fire and medical because it's one of the ways I give back to the community," said Scott Kennedy, the...

  • Public comment period opens on gravel project near Elbow Lake

    Deptartment of Natural Resources and Conservation|Mar 16, 2023

    The Department of Natural Resources and Conservation is seeking public comment on an aggregate take and remove permit application to mine, crush, and remove aggregate (gravel) on approximately 21 acres of State Trust Land near Elbow Lake in Missoula County. The application also includes a request to have an asphalt plant on site. The permit application has been submitted by LHC, Inc. "Input from the local community is one of the factors we consider when working through the analysis and... Full story

  • Seeley Lake youth one of 21 students nominated in the state

    For the Seeley Swan Pathfinder|Dec 15, 2022

    WASHINGTON, D.C. - Owen Hoag, of Seeley-Swan High School, was announced as one of the 21 students in Montana nominated by U.S. Senator Jon Tester to the country’s four prestigious military service academies. Owen is nominated to the U.S. Military Academy. The announcement was made in a press release on Thursday, Dec. 8, noting that Owen is captain of the football team and a track and field 200-meter dash state champion. He is also a junior member of Seeley-Swan Search and Rescue, a student trustee for the Missoula County Public Schools Board, a...

  • Student businesses ready to launch at Blackhawk BIZ Market Day

    Pathfinder Staff|Dec 1, 2022

    SEELEY LAKE - The Seeley-Swan High School Entrepreneur Class has been talking about Market Day since the first day of school. Now their mini businesses are a reality and will make their debut during the second annual Blackhawk BIZ Market Day from 10 a.m. - 6 p.m., Saturday, Dec. 10, in the SSHS Cafeteria. The high school students are excited to offer their homemade goodies, hand-made crafts, jewelry and apparel, and unique art created from various mediums. With the class size more than doubling...

  • Seeley-Swan takes weather in stride

    Gwyneth Hyndman, Interim Editor|Nov 17, 2022

    By Gwyneth Hyndman The Seeley-Swan area was dealt a winter weather warning last Wednesday morning, Nov. 9, along with much of western Montana, as road crews, law enforcement and local schools braced for the abrupt - though not entirely unwelcome - change of seasons. “It’s been a pretty steady snowfall,” said Missoula County Public Schools (MCPS) Communications Specialist Tyler Christensen. While last week’s winter weather also prompted MCPS to cancel all after-school athletics and activities in most of the county, Seeley-Swan High School...

  • LETTERS TO THE EDITOR

    Nov 3, 2022

    Support for Bill Burt If you feel everything is going along just fine in the Justice of the Peace field in Missoula County, then you should vote for the status quo in the upcoming election. But, if you feel common-sense, compassion, integrity, and fairness should be applied to a much greater extent than it is now, you should consider voting for Bill Burt for Justice of the Peace in Department #1. He has all the traits and background that would enable him to utilize the current jail diversion program without endangering our communities by...

  • COMMUNITY BRIEFS

    From Jenny Kauffman Condon Librarion The November Condon Library Book Chat is about “Down from the Mountain, the life and death of a grizzly bear” by Bryce Andrews We meet at the library at 1pm. Nov. 9. This is the description on the back of the book: An “ode to wildness and wilderness” (Outside), Down from the Mountain tells the story of one grizzly in the changing Montana landscape. Millie was cunning and a fiercely protective mother to her cubs. But raising those cubs in the mountains became harder each year as the climate warmed and peo...

  • LETTERS TO THE EDITOR

    Oct 27, 2022

    Housing project falls short The Trinity Housing project on Mullan next to the Missoula County Detention Center has not lived up to its promises and expectations. This was supposed to be a collaboration between the city, the county and HomeWord. HomeWord brought in Blue Line Developers for their expertise. Missoula County Commissioners agreed to gift almost 5 acres of county taxpayer owned land adjacent to the Missoula County Detention Center to make this project affordable. The land was purchased with taxpayer funded bonds to build the...

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