NASA launches Earth-observing satellite

Kalispell police

A taxi driver took a microwave and a chair from a passenger Saturday evening when she refused to pay more than the fare on the meter, Kalispell police reported. People at the cab company hung up twice on calls from the police. The case is being investigated.

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It is the duty of any elected or appointed official, be it county commissioners, municipal judges or city planners, to consider the input on the community at large before rendering any final opinion or approval of the matter at hand. When one person or a small group of people propose a zoning expansion, or commercial development that will adversely affect and disrupt an entire community, the burden of the final decision of the arbitration is entirely on the elected or appointed officials.

Forest Service encouraging reckless behavior

Flathead Forest Supervisor Chip Weber ignores the advice of his own staff and grizzly bear experts, suggesting we consider all recreational activities to have an equal basis of risk when deciding whether to promote them. His staff and other bear experts note in their Board of Review recommendations against trail running and mountain biking that negative encounters between bears and bikers are “disproportionately high” compared to those with hikers.

Whitefish man gets top military award

Capt. Peter Akey of Whitefish, a member of the Montana National Guard 1-163rd Combined Arms Battalion, was one of six National Guard officers from across the nation who received the General Douglas MacArthur Leadership Award in Washington, D.C., on June 1.

Ned Henderson Mayo, 76

Ned Henderson Mayo, 76, passed away peacefully on Oct. 29, 2012, at his home in Whitefish, from kidney cancer.

Robert H. 'Bob' Shennum, 82

Robert H. "Bob" Shennum, 82, died on Monday, Jan. 17, 2005, in Bigfork.

New radio system up and working

Network links vast areas of Montana

Woman worried about sci-fi technology

A woman told the Flathead County Sheriff’s Office she was worried about another woman living in a U-haul vehicle who thought “people are using microwave rays on her.”

Kalispell police

Kalispell police investigated a reported break-in early Saturday morning. A woman said someone had entered her apartment while she slept, trashed the place and used her computer.

Whitefish plans surplus auction on Wednesday

The city of Whitefish will hold an auction on Wednesday to liquidate office furniture, a few vehicles and other equipment.

Charles B. Sigler

Charles Burton Chuck Sigler, 78, passed away on Jan. 11, 2010, at home, from sarcoma cancer. Chuck was born March 14, 1931, in Oklahoma City, to Mary Margaret (Pritchett) and Charles B. Sigler Sr. He grew up in the oilfields of Oklahoma where his family moved frequently. He attended high school at Marshall, Okla., where he graduated in 1949. He was president of his sophomore and junior class and captain of the football team his senior year. He graduated from Oklahoma A & M College in 1953 with a degree in forestry. He was selected for Alpha Zeta, an honorary academic fraternity, and was in the Army ROTC program. Immediately after graduation, Chuck fulfilled a longterm desire to be a smokejumper for the U.S. Forest Service at Missoula. He jumped on eight fires during the 1953 fire season and made numerous practice jumps. He then entered active duty in the U.S. Army as a second lieutenant. In 1954 he was accepted into the Army Aviation Program and received his wings as an Army aviator. He was assigned to the Army Topographic Map Service which immediately sent him back to flight school for additional training as a helicopter pilot. For the next three years he transported surveyors from mountain top to mountain top in Alaska and other rugged unsurveyed locations. Since the exact shape of the earth was unknown, this survey information was critical to development of guided missile systems of that era. After honorable discharge from the Army in April 1957, Chuck received a permanent appointment as a forester for the U.S. Forest Service in the St. Joe National Forest, Idaho. He later started a career as a commercial helicopter pilot with Petroleum Helicopters, the world s largest helicopter company. While a commercial pilot, he also flew for Helicopters de Colombia (Bogota, Colombia), Agro Aereo (Guayaquil, Ecuador), Roberts Aircraft (Boise, Idaho), and Columbia Helicopters (Portland). In addition, he was a civilian flight instructor at the U.S. Army helicopter school at Fort Wolters, Texas. Chuck s first appointment as a national park service ranger was at Mount Rainier National Park where he met his wife, Kathy Wray. Within three years he was the supervisory ranger of the Paradise Ski Area and the search and rescue operations on main routes of Mount Rainier. This was followed by assignments as district ranger of the North Rim in Grand Canyon National Park where their daughter Sabrina was born, superintendent of Christiansted National Historic Site, Buck Island Reef National Monument in the U.S. Virgin Islands where their daughter Sarah was born, chief ranger at Shenandoah National Park, and chief ranger at Glacier National Park, until he retired in January 1995. Other accomplishments during his Park Service career include graduating from the FBI academy, SCUBA certification, and being a founder of the Association of National Park Rangers in 1977 in Jackson Hole, Wyo. Chuck loved the backcountry of Glacier and as often as possible he would get out of the office for a ski trip, a backcountry hike, or a climb. While at Glacier he climbed many peaks and made first ascents on Kaiser Peak and Rain Shadow. He climbed Mount St. Nicholas and Mount Cleveland among many others. Chuck is survived by his wife, Kathy, of 44 years. He is also survived by daughter, Sabrina, and husband, Ron Nichols, and their sons, Winslow and Walton; as well as daughter, Sarah, and husband, Pablo Ponce, and their daughter, Kamila; father-in-law, Curtis Wray, of Tacoma, Wash.; and an aunt, Betty Jo Shellady, of Enid, Okla.; also surviving are brother-in-law, Vaughn Wray, of Tacoma; and sisters-in-law, Kristine Sheldon of Lakeside, Julie Klontz of Edgewood, Wash., and Elizabeth Wray of Vancouver, Wash. A memorial service will be held at 11 a.m. on Saturday, Jan. 16, at the Columbia Falls United Methodist Church.

Kalispell

Kalispell police fielded a call of broken windows and body damage to several cars overnight at Eisinger Motors.

Brodehl resists requests for C-PACE district at chamber event

Flathead County Commissioner Randy Brodehl resisted calls from members of the business community for a countywide C-PACE district at a chamber of commerce event Friday.

Kalispell police

A woman reported to Kalispell police that her wallet was stolen Saturday from her unlocked car on Seventh Avenue West. It contained checks, credit cards and $160.

LOCAL ROUNDUP: City Beach opens for summer

City Beach in Whitefish is now open for the summer season.

Zinke: No plans to pay back charter flights

WASHINGTON (AP) — Two of President Donald Trump’s Cabinet members say they do not plan to reimburse the government for charter flights costing tens of thousands of dollars.

Neighbors sue over Whitefish vacation rental

A group of neighbors has filed a lawsuit in Flathead County District Court over a vacation rental they claim is operating illegally in their rural subdivision north of Whitefish.

Justices weigh bias claim of pregnant UPS driver

WASHINGTON (AP) — Two of the three women on the Supreme Court vigorously questioned a UPS lawyer Wednesday over the company’s refusal to give lighter duty to a pregnant worker, a closely watched case with potentially broad impact for female workers and their employers.

Sparks fly in landlord-tenant dispute

A man called the Columbia Falls Police Department to report a confrontation with his landlord after a power company worker came to change his meter. The landlord, who the man said was also his friend, followed him into the house and confronted him about what was going on. He said they were inches from each other and he told the landlord to back off. When he didn’t, he pushed him back and they separated. The man didn’t want to press charges.