2016: A busy and tumultuous year in review

While 2016 will likely go down as one of the meanest presidential elections in history, locally, the news was a bit more tame. On the downside, there was the historic merger between Plum Creek and Weyerhaeuser, which resulted in the closure of the Cedar Palace and two mills in Columbia Falls. On the upside, the Columbia Falls is slowly, but surely going through a rejuvenation, as it capitalizes on crowds visiting Glacier National Park with a new hotel in Cedar Creek Lodge and a host of new businesses. Here’s a look at the year, month-by-month.

January

Columbia Falls Aluminum Co. demolition was scheduled to take about six months longer than expected due to the presence of far more asbestos than was anticipated. Mike Cirian of the Environmental Protection Agency told a liaison panel on Jan. 27 that CFAC could see a Superfund listing as early as March. Bakeries and breweries were “on tap” for the coming year. Several businesses were looking to expand or start up, including the Finn Biscuit bakery (now Uptown Hearth) and Backslope Brewing. Columbia Falls High School speech and debate team won the state A title.

February

The Columbia Falls City Council called for the fastest cleanup possible of the Columbia Falls Aluminum Co. site, and if that meant a Superfund designation, so be it. Community leader Pete Darling passed away. The Columbia Falls High School boys swim team won the State A-B title, the team’s first ever. The $8 billion-plus merger between Weyerhaeuser and Plum Creek was finalized. The city’s targeted economic development district for the industrial park was approved by the state Department of Revenue.

March

Waterton-Glacier International Peace Park was on the cusp of becoming an International Dark Sky Park. It would be the first of 30 Dark Sky Parks in the world to cross an international border. No one was injured after a gunshot went through the living room window of Columbia Falls High School athletic director Troy Bowman. Columbia Falls High School boy’s basketball coach John Anderson resigned after one season, following an alleged quip about his wife’s battle with cancer from another person in the athletic department. The Department of Interior and Bureau of Land Management canceled a 6,000-plus acre oil and gas lease in the Badger Two Medicine Region of Lewis and Clark National Forest. Solonex Corp. had been in a 33-year-long battle with the BLM, DOI, and the Forest Service over the lease. A Blackfeet project to restore a bison herd to their native lands in the Badger Two Medicine and east side of Glacier Park was announced.

April

Park Service Director Jonathan Jarvis was working to ease the rules a bit for non-profits and other entities that raise funds for Park Service projects. The new document issued by Jarvis said the Park Service will not accept donations from tobacco companies, but would accept donations from alcohol- producing companies. The Blackfeet bison herd arrived home to a Blackfeet ranch- but refused to get off the truck following their 400-mile ride from Elk Island National Park in Canada. The Many Glacier Hotel was slated to see $13.56 million in work to complete the hotel’s south annex. This work brought the total amount invested in the lodge to $38 million.

May

Glacier National Park’s new bike shuttle service opened the first weekend of the month, on Saturday, May 7. An FBI raid in Hungry Horse turned up an alleged cache of drugs and a grenade launcher. Misty Leanne Beck, also known as Misty Leanne Maddox, and Neal Allen Maddox both faced charges. The charges dated back to January. A Flathead District Court jury decided the city of Columbia Falls was not responsible for the 2008 skateboarding death of Casey Kent, 35, who was killed while skateboarding on a steep path in the Cedar Pointe Estates subdivision. His wife, Sara Kent, sued the city, claiming the city was negligent in overseeing the design of the subdivision. The jury deliberated for two hours before coming back with the verdict. Two jurors dissented. Longtime Columbia Falls school board member Scott Emmerich resigned from the board following the announcement of his cancer. A manhunt ended in an arrest after Christopher Calf Looking, 36, of East Glacier, escaped from police custody and was apprehended after an hour of searching by Columbia Falls Police, Flathead County Sheriff’s Office, U.S. Border Patrol, and Montana Highway Patrol, with assistance from Two Bear Air searching by helicopter. The Lake McDonald Lodge in Glacier National Park saw the conclusion of a six-month, $3 million renovation.

June

The Montana State Auditor’s office froze the bank accounts Catherine Ann “Cathy” Finberg, for allegedly investing money without proper registration and mishandling more than $1.3 million in a suspected Ponzi scheme, continuing an investigation started in January. The contract to construct seven more miles of the Gateway to Glacier Trail, from Coram to West Glacier, was awarded to LHC, Inc. Cory Hannon, 26, of Essex, survived the plunge after his pickup truck went off Highway 2 near West Glacier, dropped about 200 feet down an embankment, and tumbled to the edge of the Middle Fork of the Flathead River. Summer skiing was called for when Glacier National Park opened Logan Pass, with a fresh dusting of snow, to vehicles on June 16. The grand opening of the Cedar Creek Lodge was June 25. Two hundred jobs were lost as Weyerhaeuser announced the closure of the plywood and saw mill in Columbia Falls and the Cedar Palace.

July

The community mourned Brad Treat, a Forest Service Law Enforcement officer who was killed by a grizzly after colliding with the bear while biking in West Glacier. Longtime Columbia Falls chief of police Dave Perry was fired. His termination was related to the escape of an inmate in May. Glacier’s “bark ranger,” a collie named Gracie, started patrols, keeping sheep and goats far enough away from the Logan Pass visitor center parking lot, with the help of her owner, Park supervisory biologist Mark Biel.

August

Renowned Glacier Park landscape painter Nick Oberling opened a new studio and gallery, Glacier Fine Art, on U.S. Highway 2. Another ‘Hungry Horse’ was discovered in China. Bob Brown, former Montana secretary of State and state Senator came across the “American” cuisine restaurant which was in fact named after the Montana dam while traveling. Glacier Park Ranger Bob Schuster celebrated his 50th summer working in the Park as an interpretive ranger. The end of an era came on Aug. 19, when Weyerhaeuser ended production at its Columbia Falls sawmill and plywood plant. Ex-police chief Dave Perry filed a wrongful termination lawsuit against the city of Columbia Falls. Secretary of the Interior Sally Jewell toured Glacier National Park and spoke about climate change and crowds during the Park Service Centennial.

September

Dann R. Pilipow, 56, of Portage, Indiana, was killed in a fall on Mount Jackson. Xanterra partnered with Columbia Falls composting firm DIRT Rich to turn table scraps into blooms at Glacier Park’s lodges. A school-based health clinic was introduced at Columbia Falls High School, in partnership with North Valley Hospital. The clinic opened on Sept. 20. The Environmental Protection Agency announced on Sept. 7 that CFAC would get a Superfund designation. Six felony charges were filed against Catherine A. Finberg for allegedly running a Ponzi scheme worth $1.3 million.

October

The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service announced that it was proposing to list the meltwater lednian stonefly and western glacier stonefly as threatened under the Endangered Species Act. The Gateway to Glacier Trail opened with a celebration at Glacier Distillery before a ribbon cutting ceremony on the path.

The Hungry Horse Dam saw over a foot of rain in October, obliterating the record of 7.34 inches set in 1995. In fact, it was the wettest month ever recorded at the dam, including the historic flood of 1964.

November

The Davall building, built in the 1890s, was torn down. Developer Mick Ruis plans to bring a multi-use space to the lot with residential units and retail space. Clint Peters was named the new Columbia Falls chief of police. The Glacier Park Conservancy announced that it would be giving 100 percent more to Glacier National Park project than it did last year. The Conservancy is giving $1.3 million with a goal of giving $2 million by year’s end. Glacier National Park and the Blackfeet Tribe announced a boating ban following the discovery of invasive aquatic mussel larvae in the Tiber Reservoir outside the Park. The Columbia Falls High School Wildkats took home another volleyball state championship, while the Wildcats football team played their first state championship since 1970, falling short to Dillon. The road entering the Glacier View- Hungry Horse Ranger Station, previously called Wyoming Street, was renamed Brad Treat Memorial Street honoring the Flathead National Forest law enforcement officer killed in a bear mauling in July. Montana Sen. Jon Tester announced assistance to laid-off Weyerhaeuser workers under the Trade Adjustment Assistance Act, which provides benefits while workers are retrained to enter a new job. Snowpack was still well below normal heading into the ski season opener, with Flathead River Basin snowpack at just 73 percent of average, while Many Glacier had only 20 percent of average.

December

As the Columbia Falls Aluminum Co.’s value dropped, its tax bill did the same, dropping from $462,000 paid in property taxes in 2010 to only $67,000 this year. The Montana Outfitters and Guides Association opposed the Flathead National Forest plan, asking that no more wilderness be added to the Forest’s inventory. Columbia Falls won the Salvation Army’s annual kettle drive for the fourth year in a row, raising $2,687.16. The Cedar Palace, where Plum Creek’s administration offices were located for 34 years, closed for good on Dec. 16. With corrected numbers after realizing glitch in traffic counters over the summer, Glacier Park announced record visitation with 2,933,804 people coming to the Park.