Community calendar

Poster awards

Whisper Camel-Means, Tribal Wildlife Biologist, announces that the People’s Way Partnership’s US 93 Safe Passages for Wildlife Poster Contest awards ceremony has been scheduled for Thursday, Feb. 16 at 4 p.m. at the Tribal Council Chambers in Pablo. Invitations have been sent to poster contest winners, their parents and teachers. Refreshments will be served. A separate award ceremony will be scheduled for the Missoula poster contest winners. For more information about the poster contest awards please visit our Facebook page at http://www.facebook.com/US93PeoplesWay or contact Camel-Means at 883-2888 ext 7224.

Winter lecture

Dr. Jakki Mohr will share compelling information about biomimicry, a design method that emulates nature’s time-tested patterns and strategies when seeking solutions to human problems in her talk, “Unleashing the Promise of Biomimicry for Sustainable Innovation” on Feb. 16 at 6 p.m. at the Big Sky Art Bistro. The presentation is part of the World Class Winter Lecture Series. The event is free and open to the public, with a reception to follow the lecture.

Kaleidoscope of Color

Sandpiper Art Gallery is hosting Kaleidoscope of Color, a non-juried open show celebrating color as winter winds down. Western Montana artists working in many mediums have submitted work for this show. 

An opening reception will be held Friday, Feb. 17 from 5-7 p.m. at the gallery at 306 Main Street in Polson. The show will run through March 23. Contact the gallery at 883-5956 or visit our website Sandpiperartgallery.com for more information.

Community Club

Rollins Community Club will meet at the Rollins Schoolhouse on Saturday, Feb. 18. Social hour is at 5:30 with the potluck supper at 6 p.m. Polson dentist, Dr. Gayle Siemers will be giving a slide presentation and talk on his humanitarian dental trip to Haiti last year. The public is invited to attend.

Julian Cunningham

The Bigfork/Ferndale Community Garden is pleased to host Julian Cunningham on Sat., Feb.18, 10 a.m., at St. Patrick‘s Episcopal Church. Julian and his wife are the owners of Swallow Crest Farm in Creston. They have spent the last 15 years perfecting their technique of organic farming in the Flathead Valley. Julian’s topics will include a discussion on CSA (Community Supported Agriculture) and how you can become a shareholder.

For the “backyard” farmers, Julian will share his tips on gardening in NW Montana. St. Patrick’s Episcopal Church is located at the intersection of Highway 209 and S. Ferndale Drive (across from the Ferndale Fire Dept.). It’s free, open to the public and refreshments will be served. Contact Michelle (837-0982) or Monarae (837-9979) for more information.

Job fair

Salish Kootenai College Career Services, Student Support Services, Indigenous Math and Science Institute and Lake County Job Service are hosting a Career/Job Fair, Tuesday, Feb. 21. The event will take place from 10 a.m.-3 p.m. at the Joe McDonald Health and Wellness Center (SKC gym). Representatives from local, state and national organizations will offer full and part-time employment, summer employment, as well as internships and career opportunities.

Workshops will be held in conjunction with the event at the Arlee/Charlo Theater from 10 a.m.-11:30 p.m. For more information, contact: Terri Cordier at 406-275-4824, Chris Strom at 406-275-4753 or Todd Erickson at 406-883-7885.

CDC meeting

The Arlee Community Development Corporation will hold its February meeting on Tuesday, Feb. 21 at 6 p.m. in the Arlee High School Business Lab. The meeting is open to the public. For more information contact Kelley at 726-5550.

Big Arm potluck

Big Arm’s next potluck will be Friday, Feb. 24, at the Historic Big Arm School. The potluck will start at 6 p.m. with an interesting presentation at 7 p.m. Rick Nickless, from the National Weather Service out of Missoula, will talk about La Nina and El Nino phenomena and their effect on weather in western Montana with a look back at the 2010-2011 La Nina event and its effect on flooding in parts of western Montana. Please bring your favorite dish, your family and friends. For more information call 849-6628.

Gallery exhibit

Sunday, Feb. 26, the Red Poppy will open a gallery exhibition of paintings by Juanita Small Salmon and pottery by Betty Duncan. At 2 p.m., Drew Hartung will present a program of new age piano music, including many of his own compositions.

As always, the afternoon is free and open to the public. A reception will follow the program. The Red Poppy, open from 1-4 p.m. on Feb. 26, is located on Highway 93 in Ronan, at the south stoplight, across from True Value Hardware. Call 676-3010 for more information or go to our website, www.theredpoppy.org, to inquire about the schedule for the wide variety of classes and workshops offered throughout the month. 

Hunter ed

Spring Hunter Education Classes have been scheduled for some communities in northwest Montana. All hunter education classes are free of charge. By state law, anyone born after Jan. 1, 1985, must have completed the Hunter Education Course to buy a hunting license in Montana. To become certified, you must be at least 11 years old. If registering in person, a parent or guardian must accompany students under 18 to sign the registration form. Register online at fwp.mt.gov.

Classes are held at Polson Middle School and run from 6:30-9:30 p.m. on April 10, 16, 17, 18 and 19. Field course is held on Saturday, April 21. Call Williams Witts, 883-4307 for more information.

Home school grads

Lake County home schooled students planning to graduate this spring and who would like to join a Mission Valley Home Educators’ Graduation ceremony, please contact: Anjeli Doty (406.849.5169 or anjelidoty@gmail.com).

4-H alumni needed

Were you a 4-H member as a kid? We’d like to celebrate you! The Lake County 4-H Clubs are excited to celebrate the 100th anniversary of this great organization in 2012. If you have pictures, records, memorabilia or thoughts about your time in 4-H, please contact the Lake County Extension Office at 300 Third Avenue NW in Ronan, 676-4271, or lake1@montana.edu. Copies of photos with explanations are best, but any memorabilia would be a welcomed addition. If you would like your memorabilia returned to you, please make sure it is well identified with your current name and address. Tell us and the community your story and how 4-H has helped to ‘Make the Best Better!’ Contact the Lake County Extension office today!

Women’s club event

The 26th Annual Art and Crafts Fair and Flea Market, sponsored by the Ronan Women’s Club, will be held Saturday, March 10 from 9 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. at the Ronan Community Center. Come in from the cold and see what hot deals our many vendors from throughout western Montana have to offer.

There will also be a silent auction taking place from 9-4 with items donated by local businesses. Coffee, beverages, snacks and lunch will be available at the event. This annual fundraiser enables the club to offer scholarships to local high school students, send students to Girl’s State and the Hugh O’Brien leadership camp, and help with the Main Street beautification project. If you have something you would like to donate for the auction, please call Patti at 406-676-4925. Tables are available and may be reserved by calling Alice at 406-676-5079.

Baseball sign-ups

Mission summer rec baseball will be having sign-ups for ages 5-15 on Monday, March 5, Tuesday the 6th, Monday the 12th and Tuesday the 13th at 6 p.m. next to Stuart’s NAPA in St. Ignatius. All interested volunteers and coaches are urged to attend. For more info contact Peter Matt at 824-2556 or Stuart Morton at 745-2190.