Community Briefs for Nov. 6
Ski swap
The Big Mountain Ski Club will be holding its annual ski sale and swap on Saturday, Nov. 9 from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. at The Wave.
Items for the sale can be brought to The Wave on Friday, Nov. 8 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. The sale runs through 3 p.m. on Saturday with pickup of unsold consignment items from 3-5 p.m.
Memberships to the ski club can be purchased online or Friday at The Wave and are $35 for a family membership or $20 for a single membership.
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.
The Big Mountain Ski Club also needs ski instructors for the junior ski lesson program, which begins in January 2020. Ski clinic training is provided by Whitefish Mountain Resort. Instructors give lessons on Saturdays or Sundays form January through March. High school students are encouraged to assist with lessons. For more information contact Sue Moll at 406-314-3060.
For more information, visit http://www.bigmountainskiclub.org/.
FEC scholarships
Flathead Electric Cooperative is accepting applications now for two scholarship opportunities for the 2020 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. 2, 2020. Awards will be announced in March 2020. For more information or to apply, visit www.flatheadelectric.com/scholarships.
Blood drive
The American Red Cross will host the Whitefish Community Blood Drive on Thursday, Nov. 21, in the gym at The Wave, 1250 Baker Avenue, from 11 a.m. until 5:30 p.m. The entire blood donation process takes about an hour, including check-in, a brief health review, drawing the blood and snacks afterwards.
Appointments are recommended and a blood donor card or a driver license is required at check-in. To schedule an appointment, call Jean at 406-862-4332 or go online to www.redcrossblood.org and search for blood drives in the 59937 area. Walk-in donors are welcome; however, there may be a short wait. It is suggested that donors eat a hardy meal and drink plenty of water prior to giving blood. Snacks, water and juices will be provided at the blood drive.
Concerts
Flathead Valley Community College’s Music Department continues its fall concert series, featuring students enrolled in classes and private lessons performing selections of what they have been working on this semester. All concerts take place on the FVCC campus and are free and open to the community.
The dates and times of the remaining performances are:
Friday afternoon recitals featuring students from Performance Study, Applied Music I, and Applied Music II courses on Nov. 8, Nov. 15 and Dec. 6 at 2 p.m. in room 144 of the Arts and Technology Building.
Evening concerts featuring performances by private instruction students on Friday, Nov. 15 and Friday, Nov. 22 at 7 p.m. in the large community room of the Arts and Technology Building.
FVCC Orchestra and Choral Ensemble concert on Wednesday, Dec. 4 at 7 p.m. in the large community room of the Arts and Technology Building.
FVCC Chamber Ensemble concert on Friday, Dec. 6 at 7 p.m. in the large community room of the Arts and Technology Building.
For more information about FVCC’s Music Department, contact Nicole Sanford at 756-4813 or nsanford@fvcc.edu or visit www.fvcc.edu/music.
Learn to Code
“Learn to Code” a program facilitated by Patrick Brodie will be presented at the Whitefish Community Library on Wednesdays at 3:30 p.m. and is free to all ages. Brodie is looking to foster a community and on-going conversation centered around technology, creativity and innovation in the Flathead Valley. Brodie is a software engineer and team leader with seven years experience including at NASA, Orbital Insight and Nautilus Labs. No prior experience with coding is required and he suggests bringing your laptop. Learn at your own pace by following a set curriculum with in person tutoring or bring your coding project and ideas to get assistance planning and bring it to life.
Band benefit
Great Northern Brewing Company will be holding a Pints with a Purpose event on Thursday, Nov. 7 at 5 p.m. to support the Whitefish Band Boosters. The nonprofit aids the Whitefish high and middle school band programs. The WHS band is raising funds to travel to Disneyland next spring to perform and attend a clinic. During the event, $1 from every pint sold is donated to the band, there will be a silent pie auction from 5-6:30 p.m. and raffles and name that tune game at 6:30 p.m.
Presents for children
The family of Carter Scott are hosting a Christmas event in his honor and are looking for donations and seeking those who are in-need of presents for their children. Carter Scott passed away Feb. 19, 2019 at the age of 5. The Christmas from Carter event will be at Dream Dancers Dance Studio, 150 Kelly Rd, Kalispell, on Dec. 13 from 6-8 p.m. and Dec. 14 11 a.m.-2 p.m. Organizers plan to have toys and books available for children ages 0-17. Parents in need can come pick out a toy and a book for each kid in their family. There will also be a wrapping station available. The family is looking for gift and book donations, which are due Dec. 12th and cash donations are due on Nov. 26. If you or someone you know is in need of a Christmas present please message 253-7197 to let organizers know how many children will need presents and their age. Cash donations can be sent to 150 Kelly Rd Kalispell, MT 58901 Donations can be brought to the studio Mondays from 5:30-7:30 p.m. or Tuesday or Thursday from 3:30-8 p.m.
Audubon talk
Charles van Rees, a naturalist and conservation biologist at the Flathead Lake Biological Station, will be the guest speaker at the Flathead Audubon meeting Monday, Nov. 11 from 7-9 p.m. in the Gateway West Community Meeting Room in Kalispell.
‘Alae ‘Ula, or the Hawaiian Gallinule, is an endangered subspecies of water bird endemic to the Hawaiian archipelago. According to Native Hawaiian legend, ‘Alae ‘Ula were sacred birds whose night-time calls were omens of death, and who provoked the wrath of the volcano goddess Pelee when they revealed the secret of fire to humankind. These strange, pugnacious little birds were nearly driven to extinction in the 1960’s due to reclamation of their wetland habitats and the introduction of invasive predators. They disappeared from all of the archipelago except for the islands of Kaua‘i and O‘ahu, the home of Waikiki beach, where they have made a slow and tenuous, partial recovery.
van Rees shares the conservation story of ‘Alae ‘Ula and his findings from over five years as a PhD candidate conducting field research on O‘ahu. van Rees recently arrived in the Flathead Valley to work as a postdoctoral research scientist studying aquatic invasive species at the Flathead Lake Biological Station.
The program is free and open to the public. For more information, visit the Flathead Audubon website at www.flatheadaudubon.org.
Youth Tour
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 will 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 he 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 currently 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 November 15. For more information or to apply, visit www.flatheadelectric.com/youthtour.
Scholarship
Soroptomists of Whitefish is taking applications for the Soroptomists Live Your Dream Award, which is a cash award of up to $1,000 for women who qualify.
The Live Your Dream Awards are given to women who are the primary financial support of their families, and who seek to improve their lives by gaining additional skills, training, or education, and do not have the financial resources.
The cash award is meant to offset any costs associated with the training, including tuition, books, supplies, child care, or transportation costs. Applicants must have financial need and be enrolled in or accepted to a vocational skills or undergraduate degree program. Local and regional recipients of these awards are eligible to be considered for the National Live your Dream award sponsored by Soroptomists International of the Americas, a volunteer organization for women committed to improving the lives of women and girls through programs leading to social and economic empowerment.
Apply for the Live Your Dream Award online at bit.ly/LYDA-apply or contact Soroptomists International of Whitefish at nancykaumeyer6@gmail.com.
Pay for college workshop
Flathead Valley Community College will host a free workshop on Thursday, Nov. 14 to help college-bound students and their families complete the necessary forms to apply for federal financial aid, including the Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA). One-on-one assistance will be available from 2 to 8 p.m. in the Broussard Family Library and Learning Commons on FVCC’s Kalispell campus. Appointments are not necessary.
In addition to providing FAFSA assistance, FVCC staff will be available to answer questions about the college application process. Brief information sessions will repeat on the hour beginning at 2 p.m.
In order to complete the FAFSA, students and their families who attend the workshop will need to provide the following information:
Federal Student Aid identification, which can be obtained at fsaid.ed.gov (students and at least one parent will need identification if the student is under the age of 24), Social Security Numbers (for students and parents) or Alien Registration Numbers for non-U.S. citizens, 2018 federal income tax returns, W-2 forms, tribal income or other aid information such as TANF, child support or other benefits, and additional asset information including money market funds, stocks and other investments.
The priority FAFSA filing date for most Montana schools is Dec. 1. Students attending out-of-state schools should contact the school directly for priority dates.
For more information about the workshop, call (406)756-3849.