Sorted by date Results 76 - 100 of 107
At the start of the New Year many Montanans make New Year’s resolutions. Maybe it’s to spend time with family, put more money into savings, or enjoy our world-class public lands a little more. As your Senator, my resolution is to continue to bring your input back from the Treasure State to the U.S. Senate. This year, I joined the Senate Commerce Committee to fight for Montana small businesses. Along with my spots on the Banking, Veterans’ Affairs, Indian Affairs and Appropriations Committees I will be able to have a strong voice for Monta...
As communities across the nation work to recover from recent natural disasters, many are discovering that while they have plenty of rebuilding to do, they lack the manpower to do it. This circumstance comes as no surprise to the Montana Contractors’ Association (MCA), which has been considering the nationwide shortage of skilled trade workers with trepidation. A survey conducted by the Associated General Contractors of America revealed that 70 percent of contractors have a hard time finding qualified workers. In Montana the situation is no diff...
October is National Dental Hygiene Month, and while it often means more to hygienists than it does to everyone else, it also gives us dental professionals an opportunity to share our enthusiasm about preventative oral care and disease treatment with our communities. There are multiple roles a hygienist will take on in her/his career to assure we are treating our patients with the most comprehensive care possible. While the most obvious clinical role is front and center, the role of educator is...
MISSOULA - It’s been a whirlwind five months. I’ve learned plenty since I took office in January, so I thought it was time to let Pathfinder readers know what I’ve been up to and try to shed a little light on county government, which I believe is one of the least understood levels of government in Montana. With nearly 900 employees spread out across myriad departments, Missoula County government—an arm of state government—provides an array of services from district court clerk support to staffing a county-wide Office of Emergency Managemen...
Sunshine Week, the annual celebration of government transparency, kicked off on Sunday. This year, opinion journalists might be tempted to turn critical eyes toward Washington, D.C. The recently departed Obama administration never delivered on its promise to be the most transparent in history and the new Trump administration seems to have an equal or even greater taste for secrecy. Heck, last year saw public records and the proper – or improper – handling of them help decide the pre...
Hello Seeley-Swan! It’s been a cold, snowy winter in Helena but I think you all have us beat for winter weather! I am very busy this session, sponsoring 10 bills as well as an amendment to sewer and water district voting rights, on behalf of Seeley Lake residents. I understand confusion about who could and could not vote caused problems in the December Seeley Lake sewer election. Please know I’m working on clarification. Two of my bills have been approved in the Senate and will be heard in the House in March. Both bills address sexual int...
HELENA - Things are starting to move on the budget side here at the Legislature and I wanted to share some information with you as we move forward. First, explaining a bit about the process and then including a quick update on where we are at with infrastructure. The legislature has two budget committees, House Appropriations and Senate Finance and Claims. The first stage of the state budget is these two committees breaking down into six subcommittees. Subcommittees on General Government,...
Across our beloved Montana, scores of dedicated folks are working to improve the quality of life for everyone in their communities now and far into the future. We are your friends and neighbors who are the strength behind the 75 local community foundations in the Treasure State. That says something about Montanans – our optimistic view of the future, desire to make our state a better place for our children and future generations and our willingness to challenge adverse situations and turn them into prospects for growth and opportunity in our h...
SEELEY LAKE - This spot in God’s Country has always been a cross roads of trails. The Ancient Indian trail up the Blackfoot River (known as Cokahlarishkit, as Lewis rendered it, or “the River of the Road to Buffaloe,” better transcribed as Qoq’áax ‘í skit and translated as “buffalo road”) was the “Interstate Highway” serving travelers from today’s Idaho and Bitterroot/Clark Fork valleys. “Business” loops went to various hunting-gathering sites along the way. Here in what is now Seeley Lake, ancient trails went four directions before being “disc...
Last September, John Andrews suffered a brain aneurysm and was airlifted via helicopter by Life Flight Network from Anaconda, Mont. to Missoula, Mont. He was charged $34,200, his health insurer paid almost half, and Life Flight Network billed him the balance - $18,678. Upon arrival in Missoula, St. Patrick Hospital decided John needed to be airlifted via airplane to Seattle, this time by its own affiliate, NW MedStar. He was charged $57,867, his health insurer paid about one-third, and NW MedStar billed him the balance - $37,931. Two flights....
Let's talk vaccinations, shall we? I have been hesitant to tackle this subject as there are many with strong opinions. So before you roll your eyes and quit reading, let me assure you that I have no intention to preach hellfire and damnation to anyone who is hesitant to have their children (or themselves) vaccinated. Are you defensive when the topic is brought up? Perhaps feeling that there is an agenda that takes precedent over any of your concerns-you must vaccinate! This should never be the c...
The chosen theme for this year's National Newspaper Week, Oct 2-8, is "Power of the Press." That power, it seems to me, is a very relative thing. Everybody understands the power of, say, The New York Times or The Washington Post, but probably less recognized and appreciated is the power of the Deer Creek Pilot and the thousands of other small, community newspapers just like it all across the land. In survey after survey, it is these little community-minded newspapers that are continuing to thriv...
I got the mail today. A couple of bills. A greeting card. Some catalogs. A newspaper. One package that my wife grabbed right away. (Wonder what that was?) Lately, it occurs to me how completely I take for granted that I will get the mail tomorrow. I’ve had my share of gripes about the mail. As president of the National Newspaper Association, I have fielded our community newspaper members’ postal concerns all year. The mail is slower than it used to be. The U.S. Postal Service slowed it down by a day, at least, because of financial pro...
Loren Rose is the Chief Operating Officer for Pyramid Mountain Lumber, Inc. in Seeley Lake. Todd Myers is the Vice President of Marketing and Business Development for Cloud Peak Energy. 2016 is proving to be one of the more challenging years to natural resource industries in Montana. Whether you talk about challenges facing our timber companies, how the situation in Colstrip and coal country will affect families and state coffers or how mining, quarrying and cement production will continue to be an important contributor to our economy, our...
It all started at a kitchen table in the Blackfoot Valley. Back around 1970. Local folks like us, including our good friend and neighbor Bill Potter. Worried about increasing recreational pressure on the river, our property and the lands surrounding ours. We knew what we wanted to do but we weren't sure how to do it. We knew we wanted to engage the public. They had a stake in the river and the land that surrounded it. So we got together...some landowners, river users, hunters, agency folks...to...
One of the best things about living in Seeley Lake is the abundance of outside activities available. My favorite outdoor activities are hiking and kayaking. While we are outside getting active, our bodies are busy making Vitamin D. According to the National Institutes of Health, 40 percent of the US population is Vitamin D deficient. Vitamin D is known as the "sunshine vitamin" because your body creates Vitamin D when exposed to sunlight. Exposure needs to be at least 10 minutes three to four...
Dental health is a seeming small aspect of our lives but one of the most important areas to which we should give our attention. As an open portal to the rest of our bodies, great care should be given to our gum tissues, tongue and teeth in order to prevent diseases throughout our entire self. Many may not know the importance of proper oral hygiene but it is vital to our longevity and quality of life. You may not know that good oral hygiene has a tremendous effect on your overall health but it...
We've all been tired at one time or another-it's seems to be one of those unfortunate side effects of life. Most often we can look to our busy schedules or our lack of exercise to find something to blame. At times, however, there may not be anything easy to blame and this is what brings many a patient into the clinic. So what causes fatigue? The answer is generally not that simple, as there are seemingly thousands of things that can cause fatigue. What follows is a list of the top ten that I've...
After K C York, Ravalli Early Head Start (REHS) employee and former Executive Director of Footloose Montana had numerous charges of violations of Montana’s political campaign practices dismissed by Jonathan Motl, former attorney for Footloose Montana and current Montana Commissioner of Political Practices (COPP); a charge of violating the federal Hatch Act was levied against Ms. York, due to the fact that REHS is a federally funded program. In the original charges on the State level Ms. York, then REHS employee and named as Deputy T...
SEELEY LAKE - Two years ago, “Outside Magazine” named Seeley Lake Elementary the best place to work in the entire country. Having one of the largest outdoor recreation publications pay us this honor was a testament to the amazing colleagues, supportive parents and professional development that make working at our school such a joy. It was also a testament to the breathtaking natural world right outside our school’s double doors. Over the past several years, we’ve incorporated that world into our curriculum. We take our students canoein...
New rules related to overtime pay being proposed by the US Department of Labor (DOL) are cause for concern in Montana’s nonprofit community. The changes will cause significant increases in payroll costs and inevitably leading to a reduction of services to nonprofit clients and patrons. Under current DOL rules, employers, including nonprofit organizations, may designate employees who are in administrative and professional roles as salaried, “exempting” them from hourly wages and mandatory overtime. To qualify, those employees must make at least...
Submitted by Brian Sweeney, Communications Director with the Western Environmental Law Center, Taos, N.M. MISSOULA – On April 4 the federal district court for Montana rejected a decision by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (Service) to deny protections for wolverines in the contiguous U.S. The court ruled the Service improperly ignored science and violated the Endangered Species Act (ESA). A broad coalition of conservation organizations challenged the Service's refusal to protect imperiled w...
SEELEY LAKE - Snowmobiles and Seeley Lake go hand in hand during the winter months. Our community sees an average of 125 inches of snow per year…making it a perfect destination for folks looking to unload their sled for a few days and venture into the backcountry. One of our biggest tourism drivers in the winter – which any seasoned Montanan knows lasts longer than our summers – is snowmobiling. Ten years ago, several diverse interest groups came together to strategize and plan for the long-term future of our public lands, in a method that...
The wood products industry has a rich heritage in Montana. Our forests have sustained Montana families for decades. Pyramid Mountain Lumber’s sawmill operation has provided employment for many in Seeley Lake and wages paid have provided countless opportunities to mill and woods workers and has sent many a Montana child to college. Montana’s timber industry remains an important economic engine in parts of Montana. The wood products industry works hand in hand with state and federal agencies and other stakeholders to keep our forests healthy and...
Despite Montana’s strong public information laws, news organizations in many Montana counties have long fought for the public’s right to access the photographs taken of accused criminals when they are booked into jail. Thanks to a recent district court ruling, that fight has been largely settled. Not surprisingly, public access triumphed. News media across Montana will soon be able to publish booking photos along with relevant crime stories. Booking photos – or “mugshots” in news industry parlance - are important public information. For one,...
