Libby says goodbye to Nordicfest

Libby is pulling the plug on its annual Nordicfest celebration after 34 years.

The multiday event that has brought attention to the region’s strong Scandinavian roots enjoyed its last hurrah in September. Organizers said declining interest and a shortage of volunteers led to the decision to end the annual festival.

“The last three years the attendance has been going downhill and this year it was just not good,” said Ray Eanes, president of Nordicfest Heritage Festival’s board. “These past few years, we just kept hoping it would resurrect itself.”

Nordicfest’s backers were aspirational from the start in 1985. At the beginning, organizers envisioned a regional festival drawing thousands of visitors to the Libby area.

June McMahon, festival co-chair and then-staffer at The Western News, saw the event as an economic driver for the area as well as a boon for local charitable organizations.

In 1997, 22 people sat on the committee tasked with organizing the event, Eanes said. Today, there are three.

In recent years, organizers have actively recruited volunteers with an eye toward younger members, but without much success. Pointing to the recent closure of the Libby Elks Lodge 2231 earlier in the fall, Eanes said the lack of volunteerism likely is a widespread problem.

Like the Elks, the Nordicfest organizers enjoyed financial stability — they just lacked someone to hand the reins to, Eanes said.

“If we had somebody who would take over, it would be different, but right now there’s nobody in charge of it,” Huffman said.

— The Western News

Whitefish mulls playground options at Muldown school

As some classrooms at the new Muldown Elementary School prepare for their first coats of paint, the next phase of planning is shifting to the playgrounds.

The school district is currently constructing a new $26.5 million building set to open in fall of 2020.

The Whitefish School District’s Owner’s Representative, Dow Powell, first brought conceptual images of the future playground to the board last month. Since that meeting, and the feedback received by teachers and parents concerning materials and equipment, Powell said he and others consulted with a representative from Northwest Playground Equipment, who is working on the Muldown playground.

One of the main points of interest is the material for the fall protection surfaces, Powell said. The original idea was for a turf surface, longer and more grass-like than something like a football or soccer turf. A turf is ideal for both fall protection and drainage, Powell said.

“The fall protection has a gravel base, then a pad, then there’s the turf. It’s permeable, it drains 30 inches an hour, so it doesn’t puddle and it drains and there’s drainage under the playground,” he said.

Powell said the idea for turf came from discussions with Muldown staff, playground supervisors and maintenance staff.

District Maintenance Director Chad Smith backed the idea, noting that alternatives like pea gravel are no longer compliant with Americans with Disabilities Act regulations, and things like wood chips or synthetic wood fiber needs to constantly be added to and are often tracked inside the school.

Roughly $492,000 is budgeted for playground equipment for the new school.

— Whitefish Pilot

C-Falls plans hearing on proposed 3% resort tax

The Columbia Falls City Council will hold a public hearing Jan. 21 to discuss a proposed resort tax for the city.

A committee of city council members, the mayor and residents have been working on the final details of the tax and how the money it could raise will be distributed.

The 3 percent sales tax would need approval by city voters, with a vote expected in the spring. The bulk of the tax funds would be put toward public safety, as the city will soon need at least a partially paid fire department.

Another facet of the fund would be a property tax rebate — reportedly 25 to 35 percent of the fund. That will have to be ironed out before it goes on the ballot. Council is expected to make a decision on the final resort tax proposal at its Jan. 6 meeting.

The resort tax is seen as way to capture some of the tourist revenue that comes into the town each summer, as a little less than half of the 3 million visitors to Glacier National Park at least drive through the city. The city has estimated a 3 percent resort tax will conservatively provide the city with an additional $450,000 in revenue per year. The tax is placed on goods and services, like hotels, motels, RV Parks and campgrounds and vacation rentals, fast foods, restaurants, alcohol and other luxury items, but not groceries.

— Hungry Horse News

Beetle outbreak affecting Douglas fir

A beetle outbreak near Murphy and Dickey lakes and the Marston Fire area is stressing Douglas fir trees, according to the Tobacco Valley News. The U.S. Forest Service is attempting to address the problem through a collaborative process, and Forest Service representatives met recently with the Lincoln County Resource Advisory Committee and the public to talk about possible action.

The committee will provide the Forest Service with a recommendation in late January, and the federal agtency then will draft a proposal, the Tobacco Valley News said. A public comment period likely would happen in February, with a potential decision by April. A Forest Service entomologist had deemed it an outbreak, the newspaper reported.

— Tobacco Valley News

New waste transfer station opens near Thompson Falls

A new solid waste transfer station was commemorated by the Sanders County commissioners recently with a ribbon-cutting ceremony at the new facility east of Thompson Falls.

The $5 million facility is more user-friendly and efficient and will serve the county for decades, according to Sanders County Commissioner Tony Cox. The county has been working on the project for close to five years.

—Sanders County Ledger