Community Briefs

Date Change for Music in the Schools Concert

SEELEY LAKE – Due to scheduling conflicts, the Music in the Schools concert including the Seeley Lake Elementary band and Seeley-Swan High School band and choir has been moved from March 14 to March 21. Everyone is welcome to come for the concert at 7 p.m. in the SSHS Auditorium.

Chandler Wins Snowmobile Package

SEELEY LAKE – The Seeley Lake Area Chamber of Commerce raffled off a half day snowmobile adventure for a two-person snowmobile at the Snow Blind and Bored part Saturday night, March 3 at the Filling Station. Ashley Chandler of Florence, Mont. won the Chamber package from Rocky Mountain Adventure Gear. RMAG donated the rest of the day making it a full day rental package.

Chandler was visiting the area with a group of friends for the weekend.

AAI Youth Art Grants and Senior Scholarships Applications Available

Alpine Artisans, Inc. is offering their Youth Art Grants and Senior Scholarships for this summer. Application deadline is April 26.

All K-12 students attending schools, or homeschooled, in the Blackfoot and Seeley-Swan Valleys are eligible for the Youth Art Grant. The maximum amount awarded is $200 to help with tuition and expenses for art, drama, dance or music workshops, camps or lessons.

High school seniors graduating from Seeley-Swan and Lincoln High Schools, those graduating homeschooled students residing in the Blackfoot or Seeley-Swan Valleys or former graduates now attending an institution of higher education are eligible for a $500 scholarship to contribute to their studies majoring or minoring in one of the arts at an institution of higher education.

More information and applications will be available at the local schools as well as online at alpineartisans.org

Missoula County Dust Abatement Share Program Available

MISSOULA - The Missoula County Public Works Department invites the public to participate in its 2018 dust abatement program. This share program has grown significantly since its inception in 2007 and the County works to supplement its own program with resident participation wherever possible.

To achieve that goal, Missoula County allows residents to purchase dust palliative by adding their quantities to the County’s annual purchase that is advertised for bids. Residents are only responsible for the palliative material costs attributable to their individual application. There is no separate charge for application or for the preparation that is completed by the County.

To be included in the share program, residents must submit a commitment letter to the Public Works Department by March 30 and have paid for the material by May 18. Application of the palliative is tentatively scheduled to start on June 11 and should take two weeks to complete, depending on weather and contractor availability.

All relevant information about the dust abatement program and associated forms for the share program may be found by visiting the Public Works Department website at http://www.missoulacounty.us/dustabatement, by calling Kris Blank at 406-258-3710 or by visiting the Public Works Department located at 6089 Training Drive (at mile marker 2 on West Broadway, west of the Missoula International Airport).

Missoula County Actively Seeking Trails Bond Project Proposals

MISSOULA - Upon the passage of the 2014 Parks and Trails Bond, $3 million became available to build new trails in Missoula County. Since then, two projects have been awarded funding. Currently $2.5 million remains available for more out-standing trail projects.

The Trails Bond Program covers expenses for design, engineering and construction on many types of trails, from paved pathways to backcountry single-track.

The Missoula County Parks, Trails and Open Lands Program is eager to discuss trail project ideas. Contact Parks and Trails Coordinator, John Stegmaier, 406-258-3458 to learn more or, visit http://www.missoulacounty.us/trails-bond

Applications are accepted at any time.

Swan Valley Community Library Highlights

Swan Valley - Come into the Swan Valley Library and join us for our book chat on March 21 at 1 p.m. We will be discussing “The Raven’s Gift” by Don Rearden.

“The Raven’s Gift” is a debut novel about a couple who begin their jobs as first time teachers in a Yup’ik Eskimo village on the Alaskan tundra. They are met with the disastrous challenge of a deadly epidemic that throws the village into chaos when no outside help arrives. John begins a thousand mile trek across the Alaskan wilderness for help. He encounters a blind Eskimo girl and an elderly woman and they depend on each other for survival.

According to a review in Booklist, the story has three separate time lines- what happened before many in the village disappeared; John and Anna’s challenges as teachers; John’s desperation to survive on the tundra and return to Anna. “This mix is deliberately confusing, like following tracks in the snow and just as engrossing.”

Reardon, a southwestern Alaskan tundra native, said in notes at the end of the story that the book was an attempt to pass along the ancient stories of survival of the Yup’ik elders. “The process of writing this book has been magical. Perhaps that is the nature of working with ancient and powerful stories. They exist so that we may continue to exist.”

Copies of “The Raven’s Gift” are available at the library.

A copy of the second Swan Valley Regional Plan is available to read at the library. Copies of the plan can be printed on our public printer along with tax forms downloaded from the library’s computers.

Swan Valley library is open Mondays and Fridays from 10 a.m. - 4 p.m. and on Wednesdays from 10 a.m. - 4:30 p.m. It is located next to the Swan Valley Community Hall on Highway 83.