Community briefs for Feb. 6

Dementia care class

Kerry Nagel of Attend, LLC will be holding classes on dementia care in the home. The class provides facts, concepts and tools to help family caregivers navigate caring for those with dementia. Classes are Wednesday, Feb. 13 and Wednesday, March 20 from 6-8:30 p.m. To register, contact the Whitefish School District Adult Education Program at https://whitefish-adult-ed.coursestorm.com/ or call Nagel at 612-231-5271.

Book club

The Whitefish Community Library Group’s monthly meeting will be on Wednesday, Feb. 27 at 6 p.m. in the community room. This month’s book is “The Yiddish Policemen’s Union” by Michael Chabone. This is a detective story set in an alternative history version of the present day. At once a gripping whodunit, a love story, and an exploration of the mysteries of exile and redemption.” Newcomers are always welcome. For more information, call Whitefish Community Library at 862-9914.

Wilderness Speaker

The annual Wilderness Speaker Series is at the Flathead Valley Community’s College’s Art and Technology Building, in room 139. Lectures are February through April, from 7 to 8:15 p.m. There is no charge.

Here’s the lineup:

Feb. 6: Author John Fraley’s presentation will focus on Forest Service Ranger Henry Thol’s patrols in the upper South Fork.

March 6: Wilderness Fisheries Management: Speakers: Jim Vashro, retired Montana Fish, Wildlife and Parks fisheries manager, Leo Rosenthal, FWP fisheries biologist, and Matt Boyer FWP science program supervisor, will describe efforts to preserve fisheries integrity in the Bob Marshall Wilderness.

April 3: Speaker Susan Purvis — an explorer, educator, and Go Find author will talk about how a backpack trip in the Bob Marshall Wilderness changed her life and launched her career. All presentations are free and open to the public. For more information, contact Meg Killen at stewardship@bmwf.org or 387-3822.

Tax changes

Changes to the IRS tax code and how they affect both you and your business is the topic of this month’s Whitefish Chamber of Commerce’s Lunch n’ Learn Seminar on Thursday, Feb. 7 at noon in the chamber. Jake Carter, a certified public accountant with JCCS, will lead the hour-long session, which will offer a general overview of the 2018 Trump Tax Cuts and Jobs Act. Carter will review the new (and modified) tax brackets created in 2018, as well as the effect that the suspension of the individual “personal exemption” and the increase to the basic standard deduction will have on your personal tax liability.

On the business side, Carter will discuss a host of issues and topics, including: the new “tax brackets;” the Qualified Business Income deduction (and how it works); the elimination of deductions for “business entertainment expenses;” the changes to depreciation accounting; and the potential for more change in 2019 as the result of pending court decisions and “Tax Cut 2.0” - the anticipated effort to make the individual tax cuts permanent.

The Whitefish Chamber’s monthly Lunch n’ Learn seminars are free to Chamber members and $15 for non-members. Seating is extremely limited; so advance registration is an absolute must. To reserve a seat, visit www.whitefishchamber.org or call 862-3501.

Wolf talk

Renowned wolf biologist Diane Boyd will present a program on the status of the wolf recovery program at the Monday, Feb. 11 Flathead Audubon program from 7-9 p.m. at the Gateway West Community Room in Kalispell. Boyd began studying wolf recovery in the Rockies when the first wolf walked down from Canada and successfully colonized northwestern Montana in 1979. Join Boyd as she discusses how wolf recovery unfolded from this first colonizer to the present population of 2,000 wolves in the West: the challenges, the successes, and the future of wolves on the Montana landscape. Boyd began her wolf career with Dave Mech in Minnesota in 1977. She moved to Montana in 1979 to study wolf recovery in the Rocky Mountains, and followed the population growth from one wolf to 2,000 wolves at present in Montana, Idaho and Wyoming. Boyd has collaborated on wolf research in Minnesota, Montana, Michigan, Arizona, New Mexico, British Columbia, Alberta, Italy, Romania, and Ellesmere Island. She earned her masters and doctorate degrees from the University of Montana researching wolf ecology, genetics, and the recolonization process. Boyd has published 40 articles on wolf and carnivore ecology in scientific journals and popular literature. She currently works for Montana Fish, Wildlife & Parks in Kalispell as the Wolf/Carnivore Specialist. The program is free and open to the public. For more information, visit the Flathead Audubon website: www.flatheadaudubon.org

Audubon

Join the Flathead Audubon Society Conservation Educator and long-time teaching naturalist Denny Olson for a winter hike on Saturday, Feb. 9 from 10 a.m. to noon in Kalispell. Winter birds, bird songs, tracking, botanizing, and seat-of-the-pants interpretation will be the unstructured itinerary. This is one of the best spots in the area to see Pileated and other woodpeckers, many kinds of chickadees, thousands of Bohemian and Cedar waxwings, Pine Grosbeaks, Townsend’s Solitaires — and there’s always an unexpected bird. The field trip will not just identify birds but lots of natural history lore will be included. Dress warmly, bring binoculars and snow boots, and check with Flathead Audubon if show shoes are needed. Binoculars and field guides are available. Call Denny at 249-3987, or contact at auduboneducator@gmail.com to register and get directions. This event is free and open to the public. For more information, visit the Flathead Audubon website: www.flatheadaudubon.org

Art contest

VFW Auxiliary Post 276, 20 Baker Ave, Whitefish, welcomes all students in grades 9-12 (including home-schooled), who meet the qualifications to participate in its yearly art competition. Download the entry form at https://vfwauxiliary.org/scholarships/young-american-creative-patriotic-art-contest/ Your entry must be received by March 31 at the nearest participating Auxiliary. Whitefish contact is Cindy Fredericks at 862-4949.

Scholarships

The Flathead County Democratic Women are awarding scholarships to local area students toward advanced education. These scholarships are open to students planning on attending colleges at any location, not just Montana schools. Applications can be obtained from the career counselors at the various local schools.