Community news
Food drive
Whitefish Credit Union has pledged $1 to local food banks for every pound of donated food dropped off at its six branch offices across Northwest Montana during its third annual Cash And Cans Food Drive continuing through Feb. 4. Last year, the credit union donated more than $3,000 to food banks across Northwest Montana, including here in Columbia Falls.
Disability workshop
Summit Independent Living Center will offer an eight-week “Working Well with a Disability” workshop in Columbia Falls on Wednesdays from 2 to 4 p.m. beginning Jan. 30. The workshop will be facilitated by Claudette Byrd-Rinck and Robin Idol. Both have personal experience working while managing a disability. To register and get the exact location, call Summit ILC at 257-0048.
Board opening
A seat is open on the Columbia Falls City-County Planning Board for a resident who lives outside the city limits but within the city’s planning jurisdictional area. The position is vacant through Dec. 31, 2014. A letter of interest, including name, address, daytime phone number and qualifications can be submitted to Flathead County Commissioners, 800 South Main, Room 302, Kalispell MT 59901-5420. Deadline is Jan. 25. For more information, call 758-5537.
Whole living
Jill Purdy’s free Whole Living Community Workshops will continue in January at the Seventh–day Adventist Church, 269 Second Avenue East North in Columbia Falls, every Tuesday from 3 to 6 p.m. with classes on vegan cooking and more. This month’s classes include The Packed Lunch on Jan. 22 and Fun Fat Facts on Jan. 29. Classes in February will cover survival kits, bread making, millet recipes and more. Everyone is welcome.
Free CPR
The Summit Medical Fitness Center will host a free CPR class in Conference Room 3 at The Summit, in Kalispell, on Saturday, Feb. 2, from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. The noncertification course will include basic CPR for all ages. Registration is required. For more information, call 751-4500.
4-H fair
The Flathead County 2013 4-H Foods Fair will take place at the Flathead County Fairgrounds, in Kalispell, on Saturday, Jan. 26. Judging will begin at 10 a.m. 4-H members will show off their best culinary skills in more than 15 different categories.
Wedding history
The Museum at Central School, 124 Second Avenue East, in Kalispell will present “I Do: A Cultural History of Montana Weddings,” a new traveling exhibit from the Montana Historical Society about the tradition of Montana weddings. The exhibit is a mix of historic photographs and hands-on activities. Visitors can try on replica veils, pose for photographs in front of a studio backdrop and shop — figuratively — for wedding fabric and accessories from an 1897 Sears Roebuck catalog. The exhibit will run through the end of February. For more information, call 756-8381.
Literacy tutors
Literacy Volunteers of Flathead County will hold an open house at their office in the Gateway Community Center in Kalispell on Wednesday, Jan. 23, from 5:30 to 6:30 p.m. for interested tutors and volunteers. The group provides free, confidential, one-on-one tutoring to adults and families who struggle with basic skills. Tutors for basic literacy and English as a second language must attend a training course on Saturday, Jan. 26, from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. Volunteers can start right away. For more information, call 257-7323.
Master gardener
The Montana State University Extension Office will offer a Master Gardener Level 1 class at the First Baptist Church in Whitefish on Jan. 17 through March 14 on Thursdays from 3 to 5 p.m. Topics will include lawn care and maintenance, tree pruning, seed starting, container growing, vegetable gardening, soil fertility, lawn care, plant physiology and fruit production. Registration forms are available online at www.flathead.mt.gov/extension. For more information, call 753-5553.