Community briefs for Oct. 31

Blood drive

The American Red Cross will host the last 2018 Whitefish Community Blood Drive on Thursday, Nov. 15 at The Wave at 1250 Baker Avenue from 11 a.m. until 5:30 p.m.

Appointments are recommended and a blood donor card or a driver license is required at check-in. To schedule your appointment for Nov. 15th, please call Jean at 406-862-4332. You can also schedule your appointment online, go to www.redcrossblood.org and search for blood drives in the Whitefish ZIP code. Walk-in donors are welcome; however, there may be a short wait. It is suggested that you eat a hardy meal and drink plenty of water prior to giving blood. Snacks, water and juices will be provided for you at the blood drive. The snacks will be provided by Zucca’s in Whitefish.

Ski swap

The Big Mountain Ski Club will hold its annual ski sale and swap in Whitefish at The Wave on Saturday, Nov. 3.

For the first time, those wishing to sell good used sporting equipment and clothing for consignment at the sale, can register ahead of time online at http://www.bigmountainskiclub.org/ski-swap/.

Items for the sale can be brought to The Wave on Friday, Nov. 2 from 1-7 p.m. The doors will open for the sale for ski club members at 8:30 a.m. on Saturday, and at 9 a.m. for the public. Memberships can be purchased Friday, Nov. 2. The sale runs through 3 p.m. on Saturday with pickup of unsold consignment items from 3-5 p.m.

The Big Mountain Ski Club is a nonprofit service organization which offers free ski lessons for kids with a club membership. Proceeds from the sale go to fund the ski program and support other worthy organizations.

For general information, call Sue Moll at 862-6635 or visit http://www.bigmountainskiclub.org/ For questions about the swap, call Amy Meyer at 890-9048.

Youth Tour of D.C.

Flathead Electric Cooperative is accepting applications for the National Rural Electric Cooperative Association (NRECA) Youth Tour to Washington, D.C. Two local students will be selected to receive an all-expense-paid trip to join more than 1,500 high-school students from around the country to tour the nation’s capital next June. Participants will learn about the history of this country, the role electric cooperatives played in that history, and meet with their congressional delegation.

Participants often describe the trip as a “once in a lifetime opportunity.” After attending last year’s Youth Tour, one student expressed his appreciation for the opportunity to meet with and “pick the brains of” members of congress who represent him.

He also said, “I was able to meet many other curious young adults from around the country and made connections that will last a very long time.”

To apply, students must be high school sophomores or juniors from schools in the Flathead Electric Cooperative’s service territory, and their parent or guardian must be served by the Co-op. Applications must be submitted online by Nov. 1. For more information or to apply, visit www.flatheadelectric.com/youthtour.

FEC scholarships

Flathead Electric Cooperative is accepting applications now for two scholarship opportunities for the 2019 academic year. Basin Electric Power Cooperative (BEPC) awards one $1,000 scholarship each year to a Flathead Electric member’s child, and the Montana Electric Cooperatives Association (MECA) awards one $500 scholarship to a regional electric cooperative member’s child.

To be eligible, the applicant or their parent/guardian must be a member of Flathead Electric Cooperative, and they must be graduating from high school or currently attending an undergraduate college. By completing one online application, students will be considered for both scholarships. Applications will be accepted through Jan. 15, 2019. Awards will be announced in March 2019. For more information or to apply, visit www.flatheadelectric.com/scholarships.

Glacier Nordic

Glacier Nordic Club, is kicking off the season with its annual potluck Sunday, Nov. 4 at 5 p.m. at the Moose Lodge, 230 W. 10th Street in Whitefish. Bring your whole family, a dish to share, your own plate and utensils. New this year the auction format has been replaced with a cake walk. Bring a cake to join in the fun. This event supports GNC’s grooming of the trails at the Glacier Nordic Center at the Whitefish Lake Golf Course and youth ski programs.

Youth programs start Nov. 1, (Comp and Prep Teams), Dec. 4 (Jets and Rec Teams) and early January for the Chet Hope Youth Ski League. Rentals and Scholarships are available for all programs. New this year is a two-day a week recreational program for high schoolers. GNC also offers programs for adults from beginners to experienced skiers starting in January.

Memberships for the upcoming season are now available for purchase. Either a membership or a day pass is required to ski at the Glacier Nordic Center at the Golf Course. The Big Mountain Nordic Trails do not require a pass or fee but GNC relies upon donations to support the grooming. Early season memberships ($110 family and $55 individual) may be purchased through Nov. 4, on the GNC website or at the potluck and auction. To purchase a membership (either online or mail) or to find out more about youth and adult programs visit glaciernordicclub.com.

Audubon

Dr. Dave Manuwal will be the featured speaker at the Monday, Nov. 12 meeting of the Flathead Audubon Society at 7 p.m. in the Gateway Community Room in Kalispell. Dr. Manuwal received his undergraduate degree from Purdue University and a Master’s degree working with Dick Taber at the University of Montana in 1968 and received a PhD studying marine birds at UCLA in 1972. Dave taught and conducted bird research for 41 years at the University of Washington’s School of Environmental and Forest Sciences. After retiring in 2013 as Emeritus Professor of Wildlife Science, he is now an affiliate professor at UM where he recently resurveyed his bird plots at Lubrecht Experimental Forest from 40 years earlier. Dr. Manuwal will talk about his study of birds found along streams in western Montana that was initiated in 1967. Dave mapped the territories of males along three streams and compared the numbers of birds between 1967-68, 1980 and 2008. He also took data on when and where individual males established territories to see if they were responding to specific aspects of the habitat. Focal species were Hammond’s Flycatcher, MacGillivray’s Warbler, American Redstart, and Warbling Vireo. A catastrophic weather event in February 1989 drastically changed the structure of the vegetation. This had some consequences for future birds with territories along the streams. The program is free and open to the public.

For more information, visit the Flathead Audubon website: www.flatheadaudubon.org