A death-defying airplane crash was one of the top stories for 2004, but most of the news was not as dramatic.

2004: Year in Review

The slow and steady drumbeat of development was an underlying theme of almost all of this year's top stories.

In many cases, Whitefish was able to turn that beat around, so to speak. Public comment meetings for surrounding state trust lands turned into an officially recognized and entirely new entity called "the Advisory Group." Affordable housing ordinances passed. City negotiations over Burlington Northern Santa Fe land were finally successful, and annexation proceedings were upheld in court.

And, in big election-year news, Whitefish's presence will increase three-fold in Helena, after Whitefish resident Brian Schweitzer defeated another local, Bob Brown, for the governor's seat, and Mike Jopek and Dan Weinberg were voted into the state legislature.

Our picks for top stories of the year are as follows:

The creation of the Whitefish Neighborhood Plan

If the 13,000 acres of area state trust land seemed to dominate the news, it was with good reason. With values in the multi-millions and the pressure of creating revenue for schools, trust lands were front and center this year, and development was definitely a dirty word.

After the Department of Natural Resources tried to hold their standard public comment session on what to do with these lands, Whitefish quickly took matters into its own hands and redesigned the whole public comment process. A group of twelve individuals was created and appointed as the Advisory Group representing Whitefish interests and allowing analysis in a more methodical manner than mere public comment.

Three of the trust land's benefactors traveled to plead with the group to consider development on the land, and the DNRC clearly had development density plotted out. But the group held true to its intended mission and kept the interests of Whitefish at heart.

In the end, their persistence furthered a concept that met all interests: conservation purchases - one buyer can purchase the land at a premium, thereby insuring that the bulk of the land will be preserved for recreation and open-space. Revenue made, recreation preserved and everyone satisfied. The Land Board passed the plan unanimously.

Though concerns lingered over the group's long-term influence, vigilance and education will spell out long-term impacts.

The reorganization of Winter Sports Inc.

Hines Corporation left quietly, Fred Jones took the helm assuredly. And somewhere in between two executive team positions were eliminated, as well as several staff positions on the mountain.

With a solid background in resort management, Fred Jones set about making the sailing smooth. He reassured locals that they mattered to Big Mountain. He announced that development would be scaled down to reflect 'a Northwest Montana character'. Several hiccups, like the mountain biking community's frustration over the status of their sport on the mountain, still remain. But with experience in Sugarbush, Kirkwood, Copper Mountain, Waterville Valley Resort and Park City, Utah, Jones has kept people optimistic that Big Mountain can fill the big shoes that comes with being the valley's favorite recreation site.

Haskill Creek is impaired; home to pure Westslope Cutthroat Trout

Roads, unpaved parking and development were pegged as the main culprits to First Creek, a tributary to the eleven miles of Haskill Creek. Seventy-seven percent of the medium-to-high risk sediment was associated with Big Mountain Resort's commercial developments, and 23 acres of exposed soil doesn't help matters. Adding to the pollution is Big Ravine, the run that every skier uses, which was created by streambed alteration in the 1960s. Streambed straightening in the lower agricultural reaches of the stream also added to sediment pollution. Progress comes slow, but it is coming.

The matter was complicated by the presence of a genetically pure strain of Westslope Cutthroat Trout, the fish that Lewis and Clark dined on, in the upper reaches of First Creek. If old dams are removed to flush sediment, that population is threatened by potentially fatal competition from the Brook Trout.

All told, the Department of Environmental Quality is keeping a close eye on Haskill Creek. Currently all clean-up efforts are voluntary, but if the situation isn't improved there is the potential for a federal 'impaired' classification, which means local control is lost to federal oversight.

No resolution to city-county jurisdiction negotiations

Close, but no concrete agreement in a seemingly endless debate on city-county boundaries. After county commissioner Gary Hall hashed out an inter-local agreement that pushed Whitefish planning boundaries out to the two mile mark but left the remainder of the 4.5 miles in county control, commissioner Howard Gipe balked and voted against the public hearing and resolution of intent on the matter.

Citing the fact that county residents inside the two-mile radius did not have voting rights over city council members, he also pointed out the process had been long enough for him to change his mind on the matter.

Commissioner Hall was visibly upset, city officials were caught off-guard and the entire matter was left to the 2005 group of county commissioners.

City annexes 270 new residents; wins court case to uphold annexation

In a landmark case that turned some 270 county folks into city folks, the city's victory set the precedence in annexation cases: recorded new owners must abide waivers of protest signed by previous owners and "substantial" rather than "complete" extension of services could trigger annexation. For many of the 270 residents, it meant their use of city water triggered a new affiliation.

Many grumbled over increased taxes and the fact that special improvement districts funded by the residents, and not the city, are the only way sewer, sidewalks and gutters will reach these new residents.

The city was cheered by the fact that a checkerboard of properties was now a consolidated whole, one that will help in planning and efficiency of services.

Whitefish couple survives a near-fatal plane crash on a mountain in Idaho

It started as a weekend trip to Las Vegas and ended in a struggle for survival. The little things added up to the Tom and Betty Kuffel's, and their dog Valkyrie's, survival. Like the fact that Tom had flown enough reconnaissance missions in Alaska to know to accept his plane was going into the mountain - and to maneuver to save their lives instead of futilely trying to save the plane.

Betty Kuffel's experience as an emergency room physician helped her know to set her 90-degree foot fracture with the earmuffs and cord from the control panel. Or straightening her leg to set the tibia bone that was poking through her pants.

When hypothermia started to set, they used laminated maps for cover, as they prayed and waited for help. One cell phone call got through to the Lemhi County Sheriff dispatch and, nearing a nightfall that would have meant their death, the Kuffel's were found and brought to safety.

North Valley Hospital to move out of Whitefish

A 72,300 square foot facility near U.S. 93 and Montana 40 will be the new home to North Valley Hospital. City council granted a master plan amendment, a zone change and a planned unit development permit to the $26 million plans.

Citizens tried to stop the move, but in the end the hospital got their wish for a bigger, better facility on the outskirts of town.

Affordable Housing ordinance approved

After years of wrangling, city council unanimously passed an ordinance that gives developers a 50 percent density bonus when 10 percent of the units with the developments are set aside for affordable housing. The ordinance makes 'mixed neighborhoods' possible and a loophole that allows a $3,000 per lot buy-out fee will pad the Housing Authority's coffers if the developer declines affordable construction.

Flathead County Draft Growth Policy

After two years of town meetings, the specifics of the County Growth Policy finally began to take shape, and not to the liking of all.

A countywide designation of five-acre only parcels was designed to allow farmers to collect income without selling the farm, but the measure drew concern from many residents who purchased 20, 40 and 80-acre tracts for a rural feel.

Other items in the document raised eyebrows, like the clause that stated "the creation of high-end housing and lots creates the potential for mobility within the housing market, contributing to the creation of affordable housing and lots within the total market."

Underlying the document was an argument between private property rights proponents vs. smart growth advocates, an argument that makes Flathead growth policy discussions lively. The document is slowly marching toward completion.

Burlington Northern Santa Fe land negotiations

The city needs the BNSF land to link the two sides of Whitefish together on the Bike Path. BNSF needs to satisfy the requirements of its stockholders. The discussions took on the classic features, with BNSF seeming to play the cold corporate entity overlooking the small city's interests. The length of negotiations was along the lines of epic proportions, and lack of contact from BNSF officials threatened to stall the process another year.

After the suggestion of annexation proceedings, the two parties sat down to talk turkey. The negotiated settlement was a quarter of BNSF's original asking price of $283,000, payable at $2,500 per year over a 25-year period for a total of $62,500. The city agreed to forego the $11,000 per year of predicted tax revenue from annexation and the two parties walked away with what they wanted.