Looking Back: City hires dog catcher
Highway 2 along the Middle Fork of the Flathead River looking like this in 1975. Flooding in the Flathead caused about 4,000 people to evacuate and communities from St. Mary's to Great Falls were virtually cut off.
A look back at past Pilot articles by Julie Engler
50 Years Ago
June 5, 1975
A public hearing was scheduled to discuss distribution of revenue-sharing funds. Mayor John Thorson suggested using the anticipated $63,041.00 to drill a city well and to purchase a new police car, street sweeper and dump truck. In an attempt to have uniformity in road signs throughout the United States, the federal government required all cities and counties to survey and replace all existing signs with new models. Material costs would be borne by the federal government. The city had to pay the $700 sign survey bill and the cost of labor for sign installation.
40 Years Ago
June 6, 1985
After conceding the experiment to contract with the county for enforcement of the loose animal laws was a failure, the City Council decided to hire a dog catcher technically known as the City Animal Control Officer. The council agreed to pursue the idea some time ago but made the final decision when presented with figures by City Manager Jack Arnold. The county agreed to spend about $4,500 in start-up costs for a van and equipment. Arnold estimated the annual cost to be about. $6,150.00 for wages and benefits, and another $2,000 in maintenance costs, for an annual cost of $8,150. The city had been paying the county $550 per month to patrol and pick up loose dogs in Whitefish.
30 Years Ago
June 1, 1995
Whitefish Lake and the Whitefish River were to be included in a study to determine the sources of pollution for Flathead Lake. The Flathead Basin Commission would receive $250,000 to study what pollutes Flathead Lake and how to prevent further degradation. The largest grant the group would get is $150,000 from the Environmental Protection Agency to study the potential pollution sources for the lake. The study would look at point sources, such as sewer treatment plants, and non point sources such as disturbances in the watershed.” A lot of activities we come up with for Flathead Lake will be looked at around Whitefish Lake,” said Ron Cooper, coordinator of the project. Cooper said the Whitefish sewage treatment plant had been named one of seven point sources of pollution.
20 Years Ago
June 2, 2005
State Auditor and Whitefish native John Morrison announced he will campaign for the chance to face Senate Senator Conrad Burns in the 2006 U.S. Senate race. Morrison served as Montana State auditor for the last five years. Since becoming state auditor, Morrison said he and the Montana Democratic Party had made strides in affordable health insurance, economic development and state lands issues. But “I'm concerned about the way things have been going for Montana and Washington, D.C.,” Morrison said. “Montanans feel we're on the wrong track on important issues like Social Security, health care, the deficit, Amtrak, agriculture, trade, veterans' benefits and key foreign policy issues.”
10 Years Ago
June 3, 2015
A new bus service connecting Whitefish to Glacier National Park was set to begin. The Glacier Express included stops at the Mountain Mall, Whitefish Community Library and Whitefish Mountain Resort before travelling to the Apgar transit center in Glacier Park. The bus would make four round trips daily. Tickets to Glacier Park were $10 round trip for adults, $5 for children under 12, and children under two rode free. Rides up to Whitefish Mountain Resort were free. The service was funded by the Big Mountain Commercial Association, the same group that backs the SNOW bus during winter.