Looking Back for October 5
A look back at past Pilot articles by Julie Engler
50 Years Ago
October 5, 1972
Three Whitefish teenagers were arrested, another was being sought and a fifth was turned over to Flathead County juvenile authorities as the result of investigations into a window breaking incident in Whitefish. They were charged with destruction in connection with an incident which saw windows broken at the homes of John Morris, WHS principal and Lorraine Hoffman, a WHS teacher. Conviction on felony charges could result in restriction of the citizenship rights of the young men involved.
40 Years Ago
October 7, 1982
A transient occupancy fee, termed a “bed tax” by some, charged to motel and hotel customers in Whitefish was approved in theory. The occupancy fee was the subject of some angry debate at the meeting. Dick Peterson, a Whitefish realtor who also manages rental properties, argued with councilman Jim Putnam over the idea of taxing tourism. “They (tourists) are here to have fun, but they aren’t here to be gouged,” he said.
30 Years Ago
October 1, 1992
The saga of the viaduct reconstruction project was preparing to begin another chapter but it hit a snag. The MDOT had an agreement with Burlington Northern regarding most of the right-of-way for the new overpass, but it apparently didn't have an agreement with Glacier Park Co., a former BN subsidiary that held the title for a parcel of land in the southeast part of the proposed construction area.
20 Years Ago
October 3, 2002
According to Kalispell Construction Engineer for the Montana Department of Transportation Larry Brazda, a traffic light will be put in at the junction of Highways 93 and 40. He hopes the light will be operational by the end of the month. “I think we’ll see an automatic reduction in speed just by people seeing the signal and preparing to stop,” Brazda said.
10 Years Ago
October 3, 2012
The Whitefish School Board held a special meeting to try to determine the best location for the independent school. Currently, the independent school is located in a former church a few blocks from the main school building. Whether the independent school could continue to be successful if moved inside the new Whitefish High School building seems to be a tricky question to answer.