Community briefs

Whitefish library brings back coding class

The class Learn to Program will be held at the Whitefish Community Library, weekly on Monday nights at 5:30 p.m., beginning March 6. This free class is facilitated by Patrick Brodie and is free to all ages.

No prior experience with coding is required. Bringing a laptop is suggested. Students learn at their own pace by following a set curriculum with in-person tutoring or can bring their own coding project and ideas to get assistance planning and bringing it to life.

Brodie previously facilitated the Learn to Code program at the library and he’s looking to foster an ongoing community conversation centered around technology, creativity, and innovation.

Brodie is a software engineer and team leader with seven years of experience including at NASA, Orbital Insight and Nautilus Labs.

For more information, call the library at 862-9914.

Registration opens for home buyer education classes

Community Action Partnership of Northwest Montana (CAPNM) is presenting its March in-person HUD-approved home buyer education classes at the Kalispell location on Main Street.

The class is scheduled for Saturday, March 4, from 8:30 a.m. to 6 p.m. The cost is $75 per household; however, scholarships are available. All registrations material with payment must be received no later than Feb. 24, 2023, before closing at 5 p.m.

Registration packets are available by contacting sbriggs@capnwmt.org or visiting the website at www.capnm.net and clicking on "Workshops" and then "Homebuyer Education." All intake packages must be completed and returned by February 24, via email to sbriggs@capnwmt.org (PDF attachments) or via Fax to 406-565-4834, or dropped off at CAPNM at 214 Main Street in Kalispell. Fees can be paid in person (prior to or day of service) or by mail, cash or check only.

After the intake package is received, a HUD-required one-on-one counseling session must be scheduled and completed before receiving a certificate. Normally, this session takes place prior to the class being held. The counseling session schedule is very flexible. Registrants may elect to have it over the phone, on Zoom, or in-person; it takes approximately one hour. Clients are encouraged to complete the one-on-one by 7 p.m. on Feb. 27.

During class, registrants will meet and be able to interact with several area lenders and other professionals such as realtors, insurance agents, home inspectors, and more.

Completion of this class and the one-on-one counseling session is one of the key elements to qualifying for various loan products and down payment assistance programs.

CAPNM is a private, nonprofit organization with the unique ability to pursue federal, state, private, and local funding sources with the overall mission: "to provide services and advocacy to improve lives and strengthen our communities."

P.E.O. taking scholarship applications

The local P.E.O. Chapter D, Whitefish is seeking students to apply for the 2023 $1,000 P.E.O. local scholarship.

Senior high school women living in Northwest Montana who demonstrate academic achievement, financial need, extracurricular activities and community service; and who plan to pursue full or part-time post-secondary education in the United States are eligible. Interested seniors should contact Chapter D's scholarship representative, Katherine Bacharach, at PEOchapterD.MT@gmail.com. The deadline is April 30, 2023.

P.E.O. Chapter D, Whitefish is also seeking students to apply for the 2024 P.E.O. $2,500 STAR scholarship. High school junior women living in Northwest Montana who demonstrate outstanding leadership, academic achievement, involvement in extracurricular activities and community service; and who plan to pursue full or part-time post-secondary education in the United States or Canada are eligible. Women junior students interested in applying for the 2024 STAR scholarship should send an email to Taylor Greenup at PEOchapterD.MT@gmail.com no later than July 1, 2023.

Additional STAR scholarship eligibility requirements include a minimum cumulative unweighted GPA of 3.0; applicant is 20 years of age or under at the end of the calendar year; applicant is a citizen or legal permanent resident of the United States or Canada; applicant plans to attend college immediately after high school; and applicant is recommended by and receives the vote of the local P.E.O. chapter.

More information can be found online at https://www.peointernational.org.

Free the Seeds event March 4

Free the Seeds returns to Flathead Valley Community College on Saturday, March 4, for an eighth year of interactive workshops, activities, seed sharing and more. The organization that runs the event, Land to Hand MT, expects more than 1,000 people to attend this free fair, which runs 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. in the FVCC Arts & Technology Building. The theme this year is Cultivating Community.

This year’s event will offer 25 educational workshops by local experts, including live demonstrations in seed starting, saving seeds, beekeeping, backyard animals, and a community conversation about the future of Climate Smart Glacier Country and four will be taught in person as well as broadcast over Zoom. Registration links can be found at landtohandmt.org.

The day also includes OPI accreditation for K-12 teachers, four of the workshops are catered towards kids ages 8 through 12 and include cooking lessons, knife skills, and seed cleaning.

In addition, more than 20 booths offer the opportunity for attendees to learn about organizations and businesses that support our community food system, conserve our natural resources and promote sustainability.

The day includes a seed swap with thousands of packets of seeds available.

Question and answer sessions will feature with Alissa from Dirt Rich Compost, an expert in home composting and soil ecology; and Todd Uizilo from Two Bear Farm, expert in growing vegetables in the Flathead Valley and steward of sustainable farming practices.

Food and beverages will be available for purchase from Azul Coffee and The Dancing Burro food truck.

Free the Seeds is an annual community-powered event focused on real seeds, real food and real skills. This year’s fair focuses on cultivating community through the local food system. Topics include herbal salves, soil health, floriculture, fermented food, clean energy alternatives, and permaculture.

Over the last seven years, more than 9,000 people have attended this free daylong fair. Upward of 85,000 packets of non-GMO, open-pollinated seeds have been given away, with about two-thirds collected locally and packed by local volunteers.

For more inforamtion, visit Land to Hand’s website at landtohandmt.org.