Community news
Class reunion
The Columbia Falls High School Class of 1962 will hold its 50th year reunion during Heritage Days on July 27-29. Class members, friends and teachers will meet at Los Caporales on Nucleus Avenue on Friday, July 27, from 3 to 6 p.m. For more information, call Janice Midyett at 406-546-3677 or Pat Ryan at 503-502-4663.
Dixieland jazz
The Rocky Mountain Rhythm Kings will perform Dixieland jazz at the Columbia Falls Lions Club Summer Concert Series on Thursday, July 26. The one-hour concerts are held weekly at the Don Lawrence Amphitheater in Marantette Park, in Columbia Falls, beginning at 7:30 p.m. Donations of $3 per person or $5 per family are requested. The audience is encouraged to bring chairs or blankets.
Heritage hoops
The Columbia Falls Chamber of Commerce will host the Heritage Days 3-on-3 Basketball Tournament on Saturday, July 28, in downtown Columbia Falls. Categories include grades 5-6, 7-8 and 9-12 boys and girls divisions and a men’s open. Games will begin at 8 a.m. with check-in at 7:30 a.m. Registration deadline is July 26. Forms may be picked up at Orthopedic Rehab or Glacier Bank, both on the U.S. 2 strip, or online at www.cfallsheritagedays.com.
Free dinners
Free meals will be served by the Columbia Falls Community Kitchen in the basement of St. Richard’s Catholic Church from July 28 through July 31 starting at 6 p.m.
Summer camp
The Boys and Girls Club still has openings in their summer program. The camp runs Mondays through Fridays from 7:30 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. Cost is $50 a week or $15 per day per child. Activities include gardening, cooking, playing, crafts, movies, reading and tutoring. For more information, call 892-2697.
Wildlife talk
John Weaver, a conservation biologist for the North America Program of the Wildlife Conservation Society, will present a talk on “Wildlife Conservation in the Whitefish Range” up the North Fork at the Sondreson Community Hall at Whale Creek on Saturday, July 28, at 7:30 p.m. The North Fork Preservation Association-hosted program will be preceded by a potluck at 5 p.m. and election of association officers at 7 p.m. The public is invited. For more information, call 888-5084.
C-Falls market
Cindy Shaw, manager for the Columbia Falls Farmers Market, wants everyone to know that while the Glacier Discovery Square building is currently closed for remodeling, the markets continue to be held every Thursday from 5 to 7:30 p.m.
Book signing
The Polebridge Mercantile will host a book signing by North Forker Richard Wackrow, author of “Who’s Winning the War on Terror,” at the Northern Lights Saloon July 28, at 4 p.m.
Campground closed
The Flathead National Forest closed the Murray Bay Campground and Riverside Boat Launch Site on the east side of the Hungry Horse Reservoir starting Tuesday, July 24. The sites will remain closed for renovation during the 2012 season and will reopen in 2013. More than a dozen other recreation sites on the Hungry Horse Reservoir will remain open this summer. For more information, visit online at www.fs.usda.gov/recmain/flathead/recreation or call 387-3800.
County fair
The Northwest Montana Fair & Rodeo and Kalispell Center Mall will host a free event for children ages 3-7 at the Kalispell Center Mall on Saturday, July 28, from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. with stick horse barrel racing, pole bending, roping and other games. All buckaroos will win a prize. Twenty-four lucky kids who pre-registered for the Mutton Bustin’ event at the Fair will be selected to compete in the sheep riding contest before the start of the Don K PRCA Ram Rodeo on Aug. 16-18. Contestants must register by 5 p.m. on July 26 at Western Outdoors, Murdock’s Ranch and Home Supply, CHS or the fairgrounds office. For more information, visit online at www.nwmtfair.com.
Bible school
North Valley Baptist Church, 1750 Talbott Road, in Columbia Falls, will offer its Amazing Wonders Aviation Vacation Bible School on July 30 through Aug. 3 from 5:30 to 8:30 p.m. with classes for kindergarten to adult. Cost is $6, which includes a T-shirt. For more information, call 892-3141.
Board opening
The recent resignation of a member of the Flathead County Board of Adjustment has left a seat open through Dec. 31 this year. Letters of interest must be sent to Mary Fisher, Flathead County Planning and Zoning Department, 1035 First Ave. East, Kalispell MT 59901 by Aug. 3. For more information, call 751-8200.
Wildfire site
The Montana State University Extension has posted a new Web site with wildfire and drought information for both homeowners and large-acreage landowners at www.msuextension.org/wildfire. The site includes a live Twitter feed (#MTfire), with up-to-date information on fire activity around the state from Montana Disaster and Emergency Services and news outlets, and useful articles on both short- and long-term preparations for dealing with wildfire, including firescaping and evacuating your pets, livestock and home. Most publications on the site can be downloaded (www.msuextension.org/store) or ordered from MSU Extension publications by calling 406-994-3273.