Man advised not to shoot bear

The Whitefish Police Department took a call from a homeowner on Baker Avenue who spied a black bear in his yard, “raising havoc with bird feeders.” The man wanted to shoot the bear, but was advised by dispatch not to. The mischievous bear then went to a nearby lodge before it was chased off and got stuck on someone’s porch. The headache-inducing critter was expected to be a nuisance until Fish, Wildlife and Parks could take care of it.

A woman on Spokane Avenue called the police about political signs missing from her front yard. She claimed it was Republicans stealing from her. The woman was advised to take her signs inside when she goes to bed, but she claimed that was restricting her freedom of speech. Extra patrols were ordered in her neighborhood around bar closing time.

Two women called about a stolen vehicle on Baker Avenue. A woman and her mother were inside a restaurant having lunch, and came out to a missing car. It was several minutes later when they called back saying they had located the car, parked in a different spot than they had thought.

A woman on Karrow Avenue made an urgent call to police reporting she had seen someone on the FBI’s most wanted list. She said she saw a man in a military haircut driving down the street in a blue Buick. Officers were unable to locate the man.

A caller reported a man on baker Avenue “going through” vehicles. The caller was difficult to understand, but the rifling rapscallion was talked to by police.

The Columbia Falls Police Department took a call from an upset customer of an auto shop on Ninth Street West who tried to return a car battery but was given a hard time about it. He got a new one from the store, but it was the wrong model and he couldn’t return in because he was told not to come back into the store. He was given advice.

A caller on Second Avenue West reported a suspicious flashing light coming from a few blocks away and wanted an officer to check it out. It was a neighbor’s Halloween decorations.