History - Looking Back for May 10, 2023
A look back at past Pilot articles by Julie Engler
50 Years Ago
May 10, 1973
The junk car ordinance was in force in the City of Whitefish and was used as the basis for the crackdown ordered by the city council. Section one says that no premises shall be allowed to be in such a filthy, noisome, unsightly or littered condition as to be offensive to any person or injurious to public health or detrimental to the public welfare. Section two, in effect, says that no wrecked motor vehicles or parts of them shall be exposed to the public view.
40 Years Ago
May 12, 1983
If the Whitefish School District 44 Board of Trustees followed a recommendation by Superintendent LeRoy Key, voters would be asked to approve a four-mill special levy to raise $40,000 for new bleachers for Memorial Field. The bleachers Key is recommending are a semi-permanent type rather than a portable structure. Key said he decided against the less-expensive portable bleachers because of safety factors.
30 Years Ago
May 13, 1993
After a five-month delay, the Whitefish City Council and consultant Jerry Hanson finally sat down together to discuss the city’s strategic services plan. Hanson, a Whitefish historian and former city councilman, spent much of last year concocting the plan, the intention of which was to give the city council a better idea of how to handle future growth. The finished document is 95 pages long and the council decided to meet 45 minutes early before every council meeting for the next several months to discuss the various parts of the plan.
20 Years Ago
May 8, 2003
Whitefish voters approved a $175,100 levy for the elementary district, but ousted longtime school board trustee Chris Bilant, who has served on the board since 1991. The levy passed by a slim margin, with 54 percent of the voters approving the tax increase. The passage reduced the schools $441,000 budget shortfall, minimizing tough decisions facing schools.
10 Years Ago
May 8, 2013
A downtown boutique hotel may have found a location. Local developer Orlan Sorensen, owner of Landmark Builders, was under contract to purchase the entire block at Third Street and Spokane Avenue - a site commonly referred to as Block 46. The proposed $11.9 million, 80-room hotel will feature indoor and outdoor swimming pools, a rooftop area, retail along Spokane Avenue, a restaurant, bar and an open-air cafe.