EDITORIAL: Coffee and a chance to have a say

How can you make Kalispell better?

One option is to chat with Police Chief Roger Nasset.

On the second Wednesday of each month, Nasset and other officers are engaging in community conversations at Sykes’ Diner.

It’s an initiative Nasset has undertaken to get the community more familiar with law enforcement and get officers in the loop about what townspeople want from their police.

Nasset says he hopes the program will have positive results: “We’re here to talk about our community and how we can make our environment better.”  

The inaugural chat session last week attracted a full house of citizens with a variety of discussion topics.

The give-and-take meetings represent a positive step and can only help both officers and the people they protect.

Stop on by and join the conversation; the coffee is free.

A ski-centric weekend ...

As the ski season winds to a close, this weekend actually has two important events that will be of special interest to everyone who loves Big Mountain.

Tonight, at Grouse Mountain Lodge four local residents will be honored for their role in the growth and development of what is now Whitefish Mountain Resort, but which is still called Big Mountain by everyone who loves to ski.

For the third year in a row, the Flathead Valley Ski Education Foundation (www.fvsef.org) is inducting a new class of skiers into its Hall of Fame. This year, Bill Martin, Tim Grattan and Steve Spencer, who all still reside locally, will be joined by Jim Barrier, who died in 2000, as the honorees.

Congratulations to each and every one of them, and thanks for helping to put Whitefish on the ski map.

... including a good cause

Next up is Saturday’s start of the 17th annual Nate Chute Banked Slalom and Boardercross benefit races.

The competition is held each year at Whitefish Mountain Resort in memory of Nate Chute, a talented local snowboarder who tragically took his own life while still a teenager.

The money raised by the benefit will go to the Nate Chute Foundation, which is dedicated to funding programs that support youth mental health programs and help to prevent suicide.

For more information, visit www.2016-nate-chute.eventbrite.com