Community news

Glass recycling

New World Recycling, in cooperation with Xanterra Glacier Park Lodges, is offering to take glass  for recycling at the Xanterra offices in Columbia Falls. Xanterra hopes to get 70,000 pounds of recycled glass to use for the floor of its Red Bus garage to be built on Highway 206 this year. The Xanterra recycling site will also take aluminum and tin, and No. 1 and No. 2 plastics. No trash is accepted.

Fish fry

The Knights of Columbus will offer a fish fry at St. Richard’s Catholic Church in Columbia Falls on three Fridays, Feb. 27, March 6 and March 13, starting at 6 p.m. Cost is $9.

Chamber meets

The Columbia Falls Area Chamber of Commerce will hold their monthly luncheon in the Teakettle Community Room, 235 Nucleus Avenue, on Tuesday, March 10, from 11:45  a.m. to 1 p.m. The guest speakers will be from the Hockaday Museum of Art, in Kalispell, and the Glacier National Park Conservancy, in Columbia Falls. Lunch costs $12. For more information, call Carol Pike at 892-2072 or e-mail cpike@centurytel.net.

Open burning

The spring and summer open burning season began March 1. The Montana Department of Environmental Quality reminds people that only clean, untreated wood and plant material can be burned legally. It is illegal to burn food waste, plastics, wood that has been coated, painted, stained or treated, dead animals or animal droppings, rubber materials, chemicals, asphalt shingles, tar paper, pathogenic or hazardous wastes, and standing or demolished structures containing prohibited materials. All burners should contact local fire control authorities before open burning any time of the year to get information on local fire safety requirements, and to notify authorities of the location and time of their burns. For more information, visit online at www.deq.mt.gov.

Fire board

There are two openings on the Flathead County Fire Service Area Advisory Board, one for a resident of the Middle Fork Area and one for an active firefighter. An application is available online at http://flatheadmt.gov/commissioners or at the commissioners office in Kalispell. For more information, call 758-5537.

Chamber social

The Columbia Falls Area Chamber of Commerce’s Business After Hours social will take place at Professional Therapy, 1850 Ninth Street West, on the U.S. 2 strip in Columbia Falls, on Thursday, March 12, from 5 to 7 p.m.

Economic roundtable

The Columbia Falls Area Chamber of Commerce will hold their Economic Development Roundtable in the Back Room-Nite Owl restaurant in Columbia Falls on Tuesday, March 17 starting at 7 a.m. For more information, call Carol Pike at 892-2072 or e-mail cpike@centurytel.net.

Speech workshop

The Columbia Falls Speaks Toastmasters Club will sponsor a six-session introductory Speech Craft Workshop at Freedom Bank starting Tuesday, March 17, through Tuesday, May 5, from 12:10 to 1 p.m. Cost is $25/. To register, contact Kristi Hatfield at 406-871-7999 or glaciersbungalow@gmail.com.

Nite of jazz

The 10th annual Glacier Kiwanis “Nite of Jazz” fundraiser will be held at Columbia Falls High School on Monday, March 9, starting at 7 p.m. with musicians and bands from five Flathead Valley high schools. Tickets are $5 adults and $3 students available at the door. For more information, call 253-9707.

Free thought

The Flathead Area Secular Humanist Association will show part 1 of the video series “American Freethought” at the ImagineIF Library in Kalispell on Monday, March 9, starting at 6 p.m. Parts 2 through 4 will be shown on March 23, April 6 and April 13. The miniseries examines the nation’s freethought, atheist and secular heritage from the American Revolution to the 1930s. For more information, visit online at www.flatheadsecular.com.

Sheriff’s academy

The Flathead County Sheriff’s Office will accept applications for the spring session of its Sheriff’s Citizens Academy through March 17. The eight-week course will be held on Tuesdays from 6 to 9 p.m. from April 14 through June 2. The academy is free and limited to 30 participants who are at least 18 years old and live in Flathead County. For more information, visit online at www.flatheadcountysheriff.com.

Choir music

The University of Jamestown Concert Choir from North Dakota will perform at Our Savior’s Lutheran Church in Columbia Falls on Saturday, March 14, at 7:30 p.m. as part of its spring tour of sacred music. Everyone is invited and a free offering will be received.

Women connect

The Columbia Falls Women’s Connection will meet at the Teakettle Community Room on Nucleus Avenue in Columbia Falls on March 18 at 11:30 a.m. Staff from the Garden of Eden Thrift and Variety store will be the featured speaker, and Ginger Jackson will share an inspirational life story. For reservations, call 387-4119 or 892-3621.

Community band

The Flathead Valley Community Band will present their free spring concert at the Flathead High School auditorium on Wednesday, March 25, at 7:30 p.m. under the direction of Allen Slater. The concert’s theme is “A Celebration of Americana” and will include the world premier of “Lullaby For A Sweet Soul” by local composer Craig Thomas Naylor. For more information, visit online at www.fvcband.org.

Loud at the Library

The sixth annual Loud at the Library fundraiser will be held at the ImagineIF library in Kalispell on Thursday, March 19, from 5:30 to 8:30 p.m. Sponsored by the ImagineIF Library Foundation to support ImagineIF Libraries, the evening will feature live music by the Can’t Hardly Playboys, appetizers, beer and wine, raffle baskets and a silent auction. Tickets are $30 with $20 tax deductible, available in the business office at ImagineIF Kalispell. For more information, call 758-5821.

Creston auction

The Creston Fire Department will host the 49th annual Creston Auction & Country Fair and the accompanying RV, Marine, Auto & Equipment Sale on Saturday and Sunday, April 11 and 12. This benefit for the all-volunteer fire department is the largest spring event in Montana and draws thousands of people from throughout the region and Canada. Consignment Day is Friday, April 10, from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. The sale grounds in Creston will open at 8 a.m. on Saturday. The vehicle and equipment sale will begin at noon on Sunday. For more information, call 406-250-7396 or visit online at http://crestonfire.org.

Pesticide training

The Montana State University Pesticide Education Program will hold a six-hour training session on March 26 in Kalispell to cover integrated pest management, pesticide movement in the environment, pesticide safety and toxicity, pesticide law, calibrating ground spray equipment, understanding the private applicator license, and reading/understanding pesticide product labels. Cost ranges from $10 to $25, depending on whether attendees want to earn their private applicator license. For more details, pre-registration information and complete agendas, visit online at www.pesticides.montana.edu or contact Cecil Tharp at 406-994-5067 or ctharp@montana.edu.