A “School of Fish” swim to Central School

Central School students completed the art project “School of Fish” this week, a project inspired by an idea that came out of a small subcommittee of the Libby Chamber of Commerce.

Todd Berget, an art teacher at Central School, took his students outside at 10 a.m. on Thursday morning to help hang up metal trout and salmon fish along the fence.

The fish idea, that was a long time in the making, was a collaborative project. Tom Gilmore of Ace Hardware came up with the idea and supplied the paint, Superintendent of the Libby School District Craig Barringer approved the idea, Montana Machine gave a great deal on metal and Central School students Cory Stoltz, Allan Rice, Mitch Williams and Will Clift, welded the fish together.

“Any enhancement on the appearance of the town is something we can take pride in,” Gilmore said, explaining the importance of beautifying Libby. “Community pride is a great thing. Almost anyone would prefer to drive down the highway and view something aesthetically pleasing as opposed to the opposite.”

Local artists Heather Ditch, Patty Rambo, Todd Berget, Chrisi Ellwood and Susan Berry painted the fish. The metal cutouts were also car-painted by Dennis Quinn.

The idea of hanging the 30-or-so fish came from a little, relatively-unknown group called the Kootenai River Valley.

The KRV, a subcommittee of the Chamber of Commerce, has been up and running for almost a year.

After the “Rebranding of Libby” project got off and running through the work of students from Montana State University and PartnersCreative, a group that worked on-the-ground was brought together.

Almost a year ago, County Commissioner Mark Peck, who’s spearheaded the Libby Rebranding Effort, heard of some business-owners and community members who wanted to help make Libby a better place to live through various projects.

Peck brought together around 20 to help with the beautification of Libby and the Chamber of Commerce website.

Now, the KRV has dwindled down to nine active members. That subcommittee is made up of Kim Peck, Tom Gilmore, LeRoy Thom, Tina Oliphant, Mark Peck, Alex Eanes, Jerlyn Jones, Amber Holmes and Product Manager Betty Jo Wood.

They meet every-other week, but Gilmore said they are constantly texting and emailing each other about their projects.

Their biggest project is laying out the new Chamber of Commerce website. The website, which received it’s grant in October of last year, will include interactive videos, maps, testimonials and other upgrades from the chamber’s current website. Gilmore said that the website will go to benefit any economic endeavor in the town, because more people will be attracted to Libby from the website.

On top of the website, the group is also brainstorming ideas to beautify Libby. One of those ideas was the fish at Central School, but they’re looking at other projects to do over the summer.

Come springtime, the board is planning to provide painting to structures along the U.S. Highway 2 corridor. They are also looking to help homeowners, as well as business owners, with physical cleanup of anything they need help with.

“From an economic standpoint, anybody trying to fund a business, get a job, sell a house, invest in real estate, or any other endeavor in Libby will benefit by having a community that when people drive through, it is viewed in a more progressive light,” Gilmore said.

The cleanup process will probably entail the board members going door-to-door asking people if they need anything cleaned up on the exterior of their home or business.

As far as the overall rebranding project, the next phase is the marketing strategy, Mark Peck said, which includes developing a profile for people who would like to live in Libby and targeting specific areas of the country for advertisement.