Community news

The Columbia Falls Chamber of Commerce's visitor center across from Marantette Park opened June 1. Hours until June 14 are Monday through Friday from noon to 5 p.m. Hours from June 15 to Sept. 15 are Monday through Friday from 8 a.m. through 7 p.m.

Cocinando will perform Latin jazz music at Marantette Park on June 16 beginning at 7 p.m. as part of the Columbia Falls Lions Club's summer concert series. Donations of $3 per person or $5 per family are suggested. In event of rain, the concert will be held at the St. Richard's Catholic Church, on the U.S. 2 strip.

Gentry River Ranch, 62 Gentry Way, in Columbia Falls, will host a barbecue with John Dunnigan on Sunday, June 12, beginning at 6 p.m. Suggested donation of $10 for food, beverage and entertainment. A portion of the proceeds will go to the Back Country Horsemen of the Flathead. RSVP by calling 892-1464.

Storyteller Jack Gladstone will entertain visitors at Sperry Auditorium in Discovery Square on Wednesday, June 15, from 10:30 to 11:30 a.m. Gladstone is a "poet singer" and lecturer from the Blackfeet Indian Nation and delivers programs nationally on American Indian myths, legends and history. This program is free. Call 892-5919 for more information.

The Whitefish Moose Lodge, 230 West 10th Street, will celebrate its 100th year anniversary on Saturday, June 11, with pool, shuffleboard and outdoor events from noon to 6 p.m., prime rib or shrimp dinner and entertainment by Billy Angel from 5 to 8 p.m., and dancing to the music of Silvertip from 8 p.m. to midnight.

Glacier Country Pachyderm will meet at the Kalispell Red Lion on Friday, June 10, from noon to 1 p.m. Glacier National Park superintendent Chas Cartwright will speak about the success of last year's centennial celebrations and the outlook and issues facing the Park into the future. For more information, call Mark Johnson at 253-7467.

People can now post information about a lost pet in the Flathead Valley at no charge online at www.lostpetflathead.com. The Web site is provided by K9 Compassion, a non-profit organization.

Mary Wallace will demonstrate her gift baskets at the Columbia Falls Women's Connection luncheon at Teakettle Community Hall, on Nucleus Avenue, on Wednesday, June 15, at 11:30 a.m. The speaker will be Vicky Russell. Cost $8 per person. Free child care by reservation. For more information, call Candy at 387-4119 or Janet at 892-3621.

Certified nurse midwife Pam Parsons recently joined Glacier Maternity and Women's Center, a division of North Valley Hospital. Parsons has a bachelor's in nursing from Grand Canyon University in Phoenix, Arizona in 1993. She received her master's in nursing and certificate of midwifery from Frontier School of Midwifery and Family Nursing in 2011. She has more than 18 years of nursing experience in labor and delivery and in a busy prenatal and pediatric clinic.

Former Kalispell police chief Frank Garner will give a talk on training police in Afghanistan at the Columbia Falls Senior Center, 205 Nucleus Avenue, on Friday, June 10, at 11 a.m. The presentation will include a slide show featuring the raid that led to the death of Osama Bin Laden. For more information, call 892-4087.

The Columbia Falls Chamber of Commerce is looking for volunteers to help out with its Heritage Days 3-on-3 basketball tournament on Friday and Saturday, July 29-30. This is the chamber's major fundraiser and has raised more than $3,000. Volunteers are needed to set up the courts and monitor the games. To help out, contact Bill Brunett, chairman of the Education and Sports Committee, by phone at 892-0681, by e-mail at billb@orthopedicrehabinc.com or at Orthopedic Rehab on the U.S. 2 strip.

The Wildcat Athletic Endowment Association will hold its annual auction and barbecue behind the Columbia Bar & Grill on Friday, July 29, from 5:30 p.m. to 8:30 p.m. The golf scramble will take place at the Glacier View Golf Course, in West Glacier, on Sunday, July 31, with a shotgun start at 9:00 a.m. WAEA is raffling off a 2010 Polaris Sportsman ATV. Tickets are $10 each or three for $25. For more information, call 755-0104 or 892-4086.