Community briefs for Nov. 13

Winter decorations

Whitefish Shines, with the help of community volunteers, Flathead Electric Cooperative and the City of Whitefish, will hang the Whitefish Christmas and winter decorations on Sunday, Nov. 24. Volunteers should meet at the corner of Third Street and Central Avenue downtown Whitefish at 8:30 a.m. Volunteers should dress for cool weather and bring gloves if they have them. Contact Chris Schustrom at 260-1198 with questions, or for more information.

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.

Bulldog Bingo

The Whitefish Education Foundation is holding a Bulldog BINGO fundraiser on Friday, Nov. 22 7-10 p.m. at the O’Shaughnessy Center. The adults only event will include prizes, raffles, silent auction, drinks for sale and appetizers. Cost is $35 for 20 cards or a team table of eight people is $500 and a team table for six people is $400. The Wave will provide childcare from 6:45-9:45 p.m. for the event if enough children are enrolled. Preregister for childcare with Carrie at 730-6171. Price is $25 for first child, $20 for second and $10 for every additional child. Pizza dinner included. For more information or to reserve a table, visit https://whitefisheducationfoundation.org/.

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.

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.

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.

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.

Plant talk

The Montana Native Plant Society, Flathead Chapter, invites the public to join Teagan Hayes as she explores Arctic Wild Life: Flora and Fauna of Iceland and Greenland during at talk on Thursday, Nov. 21 at 7 p.m. Hayes, a former botanist by profession, but now in her final year of grad school in the Wildlife Program at the University of Montana, will talk about plants and animals adapted to survive harsh arctic realities, as well some of the fascinating human history of these sparsely populated lands. The talk is at the United Way Main Conference Room, 1203 Highway 2 West, Kalispell. Use west entrance near United Way Conference room sign. Free and open to the public.

Women’s Connection

Columbia Falls Women’s Connection will have a luncheon on Wednesday, Nov. 20 at 11:30 a.m. at the North Valley Hospital Community Room in Columbia Falls. Guest speakers will be Angie from Angie’s Greenhouse will share ideas for holiday decorating and Stacy Lujan will share her story of going from a life in the pits to living with joy. Donations of nonperishable food items will be collected for holiday food baskets for needy families. Cost is $8 and all women are welcome to attend. For reservations call Candy at 387-4119 or Janet at 892-3621 by 5 p.m. Monday, Nov. 18. Affiliated with Stonecroft Ministries.