Community news

Close-up auction

Columbia Falls High School's annual Close-Up auction fundraiser will take place at the Blue Moon Nite Club on Friday, Feb. 3, at 6 p.m. with auctioneer Dick Taylor and friends.

Fire hall sale

The Badrock Fire Volunteer Department's former fire hall, 1.2 miles south of U.S. 2 on Highway 206, will be up for sale during a public oral auction on Wednesday, Feb. 8, at 7 p.m. The 0.22 acre site with a 3,100 square foot building is appraised at $90,200 and will be sold "as is." For more information, call 892-8155.

Hoop change

The schedule for Columbia Falls basketball has been changed. The girls and boys freshmen and junior varsity games against Stillwater Christian School have been moved from Jan. 30 to Feb. 13. The times remain the same. The girls basketball games against Libby on Feb. 18 have been moved to Feb. 16. Times are now 4:30 p.m. freshmen, 5:45 p.m. junior varsity, and 7:30 p.m. varsity.

Timber Creek open house

Timber Creek Village, the new assisted living facility on Meadow Lake Boulevard across from Super 1 Foods, will hold an open house on Saturday, Feb. 4, from 1 to 4 p.m. with wine, hors d'oeuvres, prizes and tours. For more information, call 892-3400 or visit online at www.timbercreekvillagecommunity.com.

North Fork meeting

The North Fork interlocal agreement meeting will take place at the Glacier National Park Community Building, at Park Headquarters, on Wednesday, Feb. 15, from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. with updates for members of the North Fork Compact, North Fork Preservation Association, North Fork Land Owners Association and North Fork Road Coalition for Health and Safety. There will also be updates from state and local land management agencies including the Forest Service and U.S. Border Patrol.

Book club

Bad Rock Books, on Nucleus Avenue, will resume its monthly book club meetings with a discussion of "The Anthropologist," by Nicholas Baker, on Thursday, Feb. 9, at 7 p.m. Refreshments are provided. For more information, call Kasey Kephart at 888-5601 or e-mail kckep36@cyberport.net.

Softball

sign-ups

Registration for the Columbia Falls Youth Softball Association's spring season will continue through March 12. Forms are available in the lobby of all local banks and at the offices of all local schools. For more information, visit online at www.wildkatsoftball.org or call Kathy Price at 892-1162 or 253-3775.

Literacy

tutors needed

Literacy Volunteers of Flathead County is looking for tutors in the Columbia Falls and Canyon area. They provide free, confidential tutoring to adults who struggle with reading and writing. Their next training session will take place at Gateway West Mall on Saturday, Feb. 4, from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. For more information, call 257-7323.

Senior event

A fundraiser will be held at the North Valley Senior Center on Friday, Feb. 10, from 4-7 p.m. with lasagna, salad, garlic rolls and dessert for $6. A book and puzzle sale will take place Friday and Saturday, Feb. 10-11, from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m.

Fur traders

E.B. Eiselein, an anthropologist and Flathead Valley Community College professor, will be the third speaker in the 10th annual John White Series at the Museum at Central School, in Kalispell, on Sunday, Feb. 12, at 2:30 p.m. Eiselein will talk about the history of the fur trade, including the intense rivalry between the Hudson's Bay Company and the North West Company which led to the establishment of the Howse House, the first fur trading post in the Flathead. Eiselein is of Canadian Anishinabe descent and a direct descendent of Sir Alexander MacKenzie, the North West Company fur trader who was the first European to cross North America. Tickets are $6 for historical society members and $9 for the general public, available at the museum. For more information, call 756-8381.

Wildflowers

The Flathead Chapter of the Montana Native Plant Society will present "Farming with Wildflowers: Lessons Learned Growing Wildflowers for Seed Production" at Teakettle Community Hall on Nucleus Avenue on Wednesday, Feb. 8, at 7 p.m. Bryce Christiaens and Rebecca Shoemaker, of Native Ideals Seed Farm, will discuss the challenges and successes of establishing native wildflower fields for seed production in the Jocko Valley. For more information, contact Rachel Potter at 892-2446.

Movie slated

The movie "I am: The documentary" will be shown at Imagine Health, 305 First Avenue West, Columbia Falls, on Tuesday, Feb. 7, at 7 p.m., co-sponsored by IONS. A $5 donation is requested. For more information, call 892-4406 or visit online at www.imaginehealth.net.