In Brief

Settlement opens timber harvesting

A settlement agreement between the Montana Department of Natural Resources and Conservation (DNRC) and several conservation groups over grizzly bear protections on state trust land ended an injunction and opened up timber harvest on state trust lands. 

“We’re glad to be back in business, protecting natural resources and putting revenue into the trust,” said DNRC Director John Tubbs. “This agreement works for everyone.”

The injunction on state trust land timber sales in the Coal Creek and Stillwater state forests, ordered on August 21, 2014, by U.S. District Court Judge Donald Malloy, halted two full timber sales and four partial sales involving an estimated 14 million board feet of timber and more than $2.5 million in potential revenue to school trust beneficiaries. Tubbs said those purchasers have been notified of the new agreement and told they can resume harvest activities.

“All sides worked hard on this settlement, which comes at a very good time for the wood products industry,” said Tubbs.

Several other timber projects in the planning phase were also halted by the injunction, including the proposed Stryker Basin timber project with a projected yield of eight million board feet. DNRC planned to offer that sale in 2015. Tubbs said DNRC field staff have resumed planning on that project and several others.

Elks Lodge Hoop Shoot Oct. 22

The Elks Lodge Hoop Shoot is scheduled for Thursday, Oct. 22, 2015, at 3:45 p.m. in the Libby Elementary School gym.

The Elks Hoop Shoot is open to all boys and girls, from age eight to 13. Contestants will be assigned an age-group based on the age that they will be on April 1, 2016. Contestants must be 8 years old by April 1, 2016, to participate.

There are two Hoop Shoot contest divisions, boys and girls, and three age categories in each division.

Please call Tony A. Fantozzi at 293-2663 with any questions.

LDS Church group restores Fawn Creek Campground

The Libby Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints completed its annual 911 Service Project Saturday, Oct. 10, 2015. This year the service project centered on restoration work at Plum Creek’s Fawn Creek Campground. In addition to repairing and painting picnic tables and the pavilion, a kiosk was also added to the facility. The kiosk was built by both church members and Libby High School students.

Lecture series continues at FVCC

Montana Fish, Wildlife & Parks game warden Captain Lee Anderson will present, “Protecting the Public Trust: Game Warden Tales from the Field,” on Thursday evening, Oct. 22 at Flathead Valley Community College beginning at 7 p.m.  The talk promises to be an informative and entertaining look at game warden patrols across the four-county area of FWP’s Region One.

Anderson’s talk is part of the lecture series, “Wildlife & Humans Together in the 21st Century,” on selected Thursday evenings at 7 p.m. through December at FVCC. The series is free and open to the public.

The talk will begin at 7 p.m. and will take place in the large community meeting room inside the Arts & Technology building on FVCC’s Kalispell campus. The presentation will last approximately an hour and will follow with a 15-minute question and answer period.

Encourage students during College Application Week

Graduation Matters at Libby Schools is sponsoring College Application Week 2015. College Application Week is a national effort to increase the number of first-generation students who pursue a postsecondary education. The purpose at Libby High School is to help all high school seniors navigate the college admissions process and ensure that each participating student submits at least one application. All Montana colleges and universities will either waive or defer their application fee for the week.

Students at Libby Middle/High School will be celebrating College Application Week Oct. 26 through 30. Students will participate in many ways, such as viewing virtual field trips, visiting college campuses, discussing post-secondary options, and 12th grade students completing college applications.

Thursday, Oct. 29 is College Apparel Day; participate and encourage our local students in College Application Week by wearing college apparel around town and throughout your business on this day. If you have questions, please call 293-8811 and ask for our Graduation Matters Coordinator.    

Singers and orchestra players needed

Practices for Handel’s Messiah begin on Nov. 2 at 7 p.m. in the high school choir room. Singers and orchestra players are all invited to attend. 

Choir concerts at the Memorial Center next month

The high school choir dessert concert is scheduled for Nov. 3 at 7 p.m. at the Memorial Center. The theme is minions.

The middle school choir and Libby Children’s Select Choir patriotic concert is Nov. 10 at 7 p.m. at the Memorial Center.

Great Montana ShakeOut Oct. 21

At 10:21 a.m. Oct. 21, more than 150,000 Montanans will be getting under tables, desks and random pieces of furniture. These actions are part of the Great Montana ShakeOut, the state’s largest, statewide earthquake drill. Each October, millions of people around the world participate in these ShakeOut drills as a way to prepare for earthquakes.

“Practicing emergency drills, such as the ShakeOut, is a great way to prepare for unexpected events,” said Governor Steve Bullock.  “Because earthquakes can happen at any time in Montana, it’s important for all of us to know what to do at school, home and work.”

Taking part in the ShakeOut drill is easy and can be completed in five minutes with your family, at the office, or at school. The main purpose of the drill is to encourage Montanans to remember to “Drop, Cover, and Hold on” once the ground starts to shake: Drop to the ground, take cover under a table or desk and protect your head and neck and hold on to the shelter for 30 to 60 seconds.

In addition to practicing drills, here are some ways to prepare for earthquakes: Keep an emergency supply kit in your home, car and workplace; check your home and office space for items that might fall during an earthquake (bookshelves, cabinets, appliances) and secure them to the wall; create a communication plan for your friends and family and encourage neighbors and friends to prepare.

Montana is located within the Intermountain Seismic Belt, an active earthquake region stretching along the Rocky Mountains. Although the Treasure State experiences fewer major quakes than our Western neighbors, we have had several large earthquakes in our history, including the magnitude 7.3 earthquake near Hebgen Lake in 1959.

To learn more about earthquake safety and to register for the ShakeOut drill, visit:  www.shakeout.org/montana. Registration is simple and will ensure that you and your organization are counted in the grand total.

Libby Fine Arts meeting Oct. 22

Libby Fine Arts Inc., will hold it’s meeting from 6:30 p.m. until 8:30 p.m. Thursday evening Oct. 22 making it easier for our working artist friends to join us.  We meet at the Treasure Manor activities room, 610 Treasure Ave, Libby. Bring your sketchbook and paints and join us for an evening of creativity and fun. Call Marilyn Irwin at 293-9071 or Laura McNair at 293-5186 with any questions.

New pastor at Kootenai Valley Bible Church

Joe Nollmeyer is the new pastor at Kootenai Valley Bible Church. Nollmeyer and his wife Ashley are thrilled to have the opportunity to live and work in Libby.

Nollmeyer is a 2010 graduate of the Montana Bible College.