Looking Back: Protecting local water quality

A look back at past Pilot articles by Julie Engler 

50 Years Ago 

Feb. 20, 1975 

Several thefts were reported to the police. A Butte resident, Jack McCaffrey, told of the theft of a blue goose down jacket from the Hanging Tree. A Toro snow blower was allegedly stolen from behind the Whitefish Clinic. A cassette tape player was reportedly taken from the car of Ron Taylor while parked on Central Avenue. DePratu Ford reported the theft of a battery from a customer's vehicle which was parked in their downtown lot. 

40 Years Ago 

Feb. 21, 1985 

Many septic tanks in the immediate Whitefish area might not have been working properly and might have posed a threat to water supplies. That and other results of an aerial survey conducted by the US Environmental Agency were presented at a meeting in the multipurpose room at Whitefish High School. The meeting was sponsored by the Whitefish County Water and Sewer District. Also included was a report from the University of Montana Biological Station on a study underway to detect leakage of effluent into Whitefish Lake. 

30 Years Ago 

Feb. 16, 1995 

Bulldog grapplers failed to reach their top ten team goal in the state Class A wrestling tournament, but three Whitefish wrestlers made it to the top six, the best result in many years. Whitefish took 13th at the tournament, which was won by Polson, who raked in 199.5 points. Sidney finished second with 185 points and Coalstrip took third with 161 points. Logan Bench, at 98 pounds, took fifth in the state tournament, losing to a tough Sydney opponent in the quarter finals, but pinning Tony Kulaski of Anaconda. 

20 Years Ago 

Feb. 17, 2005 

Machiavellian and busy. Those are the words used by Representative Mike Jopek and Senator Dan Weinberg to describe their first weeks as legislators in Helena. Busy is an accurate description for a legislature trying to look at approximately 2,000 bills in a three-month period. Jopek said he tries to keep in mind what the people he is representing would want. But that “often we are left to follow our own internal values of faith and heart. Hoping our egos and minds do not lead us astray from the hopes of the community back home.” 

10 Years Ago 

Feb. 18, 2015 

The fervor of the crowd at a town hall meeting in Whitefish was best seen in the blue stickers many wore, marked with the phrase “Protect Our Water.” About 100 people attended the meeting to discuss a proposed conservation easement in Haskill Basin which serves as the primary source of Whitefish's water supply. Mayor John Muhlfeld told the crowd the deal is a one-shot opportunity to permanently protect Whitefish’s water. The project would permanently protect 3,000 acres of working forest land in Haskell Basin through a proposed deal between the Trust for Public Land and F.H. Stoltz Land and Lumber Company.