September 29, 2026
Greetings Everyone,
"Thirty days hath September…” Can you believe we’ve enjoyed 28 of them already? We’re in the midst of a beautiful autumn here in Montana. Hope you are enjoying it. All we really have is time. Growing up, we had a book of poetry and quotations in our home called "A Treasury of the Familiar.” I have it in my own home now. This was my Mother’s favorite saying from that book:
"Lost, yesterday, somewhere between sunrise and sunset, two golden hours, each set with sixty diamond minutes. No reward is offered for they are gone forever.” (Anonymous).
We had a good discussion with the candidates for the Lewis and Clark County Commission last week. Many thanks to Brent Colbert, Jakob Miles and Tom Rolfe for taking the time to be with us and to share their views on the important Office they are seeking.
This week we’re also going to be joined by the Lewis and Clark County Election Division Supervisor, Connor Fitzpatrick. Mr. Fitzpatrick will update Hometown Helena on the upcoming November election. In addition, we're going to continue our discussions with candidates for state legislative offices this week (and next). We’ve received positive replies from most of the candidates.
*Note: To give each of these people ample time to introduce themselves, share why they are running, and what they intend to accomplish during the legislative session, we are going to forgo our usual introductions and announcements this week and next week. This format will also leave some time for questions from the audience.
That’s the best we can do with the time we have. Below is the list of folks who will be with us at Hometown Helena this week.
Candidates THIS WEEK, October 1, 2026:
Luke Muszkiewicz (HD 79)
Chiko Olson (HD 79)
Katie Fruits (HD 80)
Megan Lane (HD 80)
Janet Ellis (HD 81)
Roy Caldwell (HD 84)
Tia Nelson (HD 84)
Maryann Dunwell (SD 42)
Steve LaPraim (SD 42)
Candidates NEXT WEEK, October 8, 2026:
Chris Bechtold (HD 17)
Justin Cleveland (HD 17)
Patrick Sullivan (HD 75)
Shayne Morgan (HD 76)
Joe Cohenour (HD 83)
Erin Farris-Olsen (SD 41)
Dru Koester (SD 41)
Please plan to attend and learn more about each of these candidates, and join Hometown in thanking them for their commitment to service and leadership. It’s no easy task running for office. The hours and miles are long. The events are many. The rewards are few. We are fortunate to have in this community people who are willing run for office. So, come on down to Helena College this Thursday, or Zoom in from your home or office courtesy of Aja Rail and her co-workers at LCVista.
Jim Smith
Upcoming prescribed burns near Helena (Courtesy of Matthew Ferrell):
Sept. 28-Oct 3, 2026:
This week the Helena Ranger District plans to conduct prescribed burning on approximately 1580 acres spread out over four units.
On Monday and Tuesday, fire personnel will complete an additional 600 acres of burning in the Big Belt Mountains, east of York. This unit is an extension of the Kelly Gulch prescribed burn that began last Thursday.
Wednesday/Thursday may provide a window to accomplish the 300-acre Wakina Sky burn, just southwest of Helena.
On Friday, fire personnel are looking at burning 500 acres near the Brooklyn Bridge trailhead just southwest of Helena.
Finally, Friday/Saturday may also provide an opportunity to burn 180 acres in one of our Telegraph units near the Continental Divide south of Highway 12.
All burns are subject to change based on weather conditions and fuel moisture levels. No trail/road closures are anticipated, but the public should drive carefully with increased fire traffic adjacent to the prescribed burn units. Continue to check Inciweb / Facebook / Linktree for the latest updates and maps.
League of Women Voters:
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