Whitefish needs input on growth

Whitefish has gone to great lengths to involve the public in its growth-policy process, but now that the first portion of the plan is ready for review, nobody's talking.

City officials are miffed over the lack of public comment since a preliminary draft of natural resources, economic development and land use issues was released Feb. 1.

There are two possible explanations: 1) The city did such a bang-up job conducting a series of neighborhood "visioning" meetings that residents feel they've already had enough input; 2) Folks are worn out from the county growth policy meetings that have droned on and on.

There's plenty of juicy stuff in the Whitefish draft that should evoke citizen input - planned open-space reserves of rural land along Karrow Avenue and Monegan Road, "concurrency" guidelines that would require putting infrastructure in place before new development could come online, and a recommendation to explore limiting the rate at which permits are issued in order to control growth.

The city of Whitefish will hold a March 1 open house to get community feedback on the growth policy. It's a crucial document that will guide the resort community for the next decade or two. So speak now, or forever hold your peace.

The skies will be friendlier to travelers coming to and leaving the Flathead Valley this summer.

Decisions by Delta Air Lines and United Airlines to add Flathead flights in June add up to welcome news not only for air travelers but also the region's tourism industry.

Delta will begin twice-weekly service to Atlanta while United will offer twice-a-day flights to Denver. Connecting with both of those major hubs make for a major improvement in flying options.

The new flights will boost by more than 100 the number of daily seats available on planes flying in and out of Glacier Park International Airport.

After years of flight reductions by carriers flying here, the summer's flight additions are a positive sign for our remote valley that relies heavily on these key air links to connect us to the rest of the world.

Performing arts will be in the spotlight tonight at the Evening of Fine Arts at Flathead High School.

The annual event showcases student efforts in speech and debate, band, choir, orchestra, theater and art.

It's a major fundraiser sponsored by the Flathead/Glacier Booster Club that will benefit high school activities from athletics to speech.

This year's event is particularly important since proceeds will go to activities at two high schools, not just one, with Glacier High opening this fall.

Therefore what had been the Flathead Booster Club will perform double duty for Kalispell's two high schools. The Booster Club wisely opted to remain a single organization supporting both schools to promote unity between the schools and lessen the financial burden (and duplicated fundraising) that might have come from separate clubs.