Local Newspapers Recognized at Statewide Convention

WHITEFISH - The Seeley Swan Pathfinder won seven awards in the 2016 Better Newspaper Awards Division 1 at the 131st Annual Convention of the Montana Newspaper Association (MNA). Lincoln's Blackfoot Valley Dispatch also came home with four awards.

Nathan Bourne and Betty Vanderwielen were both recognized for their photography.

Bourne took the second and third places for his sports photos. Second place was for his Helmville Rodeo photo.

"If you look closely at the photo, the cowboy and the stear don't have a speck of mud on them, yet," said Bourne.

Third place went to his photo of Seeley-Swan Blackhawk Seth Linford blocking a punt.

Bourne secured another second place for his news photo of Angie Kelley holding a kitten rescued from a burning trailer last October.

Betty Vanderwielen's photo of the Blackfoot Challenge's swan release secured third place in the feature photo category.

Andi Bourne took home second place in the enterprise journalism category for her article "Energy Code Requirements Raise Questions for Log Home Builders."

Angelo Pecora was recognized for his column writing this year. He took second place for his column "Lacey Gracie and the Wild Goose."

The new website for the Seeley Swan Pathfinder also placed this year, taking third in the website category. Judges like that it used a fair amount of art to accompany the stories, was easy to navigate and kept readers informed of public services and community events, making it a useful news source for locals.

Roger Dey with the Blackfoot Valley Dispatch placed again this year for his photography. His news photo "The Klondike Fire" and lifestyle photo "Steve Woodhouse Mans a Guy Line" each won third place in their categories.

The Blackfoot Valley Dispatch also took two writing awards. Hope Quay and Erin Dey took third place for their best feature story, "Life on the Lookout." Roger earned a third place for his news story "Oath Keepers Presence raises Concern."

The West Virginia Press Association judged the contest and both newspapers were in Division 1, less than 1,500 circulation. There were 12 newspapers in Montana that competed in the division with 515 entries in 22 categories. For the third year in a row, The Big Timber Pioneer took the Division 1 Newspaper General Excellence award.

Made in America - Fuzzy Logic

Lacey Gracie and the Wild Goose

by Angelo Pecora

You may or may not remember that in November of ‘14 I lost my bestest buddy Clara, my Border Collie of 14 and a half years. Two days before she passed Kat and I went to Paws Up Shelter and got an 18 month old McNab-hound dog cross to help me with the loss....she was no help at all. Too happy of a dog and since she didn’t know me she didn’t recognize just how sad I really was.

Well, after months with us here at the new homestead she has developed and Kat and I have done a good job with her. She’s as crazy as the rest of the crew on Boy Scout Road. Her and Mac the Golden are the happiest dogs in Missoula County and that, dear readers, isn’t always a positive note. I thot Grace would be a good companion when I’m horseback but so far I’d be better off takin’ my cat. (4 legged cat, not Kat in the Hat Kat...followin’ that?)

Gracie is too friggen fast and just wants to hunt. Take last month when we still had snow and ice. I was outside dinking around and she heard the geese at Anderson Lake, which is really my pal and neighbor Bud Anderson’s back pasture that floods big time every spring.

A few goose honks and she is...well outta here. Oh, I can call till I’m hoarse as a frog with the flu, but if she’s huntin’ and bellowin’ there is no use.

Now if she were a lion dog that would be cool cuz I think she’d tree with that half hounder whatever it is.

Well, it was gettin’ to be dusk and no Gracie. I could hear her and it wasn’t her usual bark on prey. Not dressed for a hike I took off anyway to get her since there are things that would dine on her skinny little self, regardless that she is faster then a 22 long rifle shell.

Off through the timber I go fallin’ thru ice on occasion. As I broke out of the timber, Lake Anderson was starting to thaw. There, bobbin’ up and down, in the middle of the fluggin’ lake was a hunk of 6x6 foot chunk of ice with a frozen terrified Mcnab.

What the ??? Obviously she swam out in her excitement to mcnab (nice play on words) a goose, they vacated and she was swimmin’ around and crawled up on this tiny iceberg. All my coaxing on the edge of the ice was of no avail. I of course stalled not bein’ dressed for swimmin’ in a lake in any temp. She was pitiful to say the least.

After I waded out and carried her to shore it was pitch black...I set her on the ground and when I got home she was sittin’ by the door. It took me awhile cuz my pants froze and I couldn’t negotiate thru the timber very well...

As I write this she is asleep on the kitchen table in the sunshine...Kat (two legged) would die. I’ll wake her and clean the table...shhhh. No tellin’ either, she doesn’t read my articles.