Community Briefs

Memorial donations for Sandy Berry

SEELEY LAKE – Due to the closing of the Paws Up Safe Home Animal Shelter in Potomac, those wishing to honor Sandy Berry can make donations in her name to Hazel and Owen Tyler at 1270 Copper Cliff Drive, Potomac, MT, 59823 or a charity of their choosing. The Tylers operated the no kill animal shelter that is closing Feb. 28. They will continue to support the animals that were not adopted.

ROCKS ice rink open

SEELEY LAKE – The Seeley Lake ROCKS Ice Rink in the Seeley Lake Elementary field is open with a larger selection of skates. Improvements to the rink continue.

The ice rink is open to the community at no cost thanks to ROCKS, generous community sponsors and several grants ROCKS has received.

Writing Workshops for students and adults

MISSOULA—Starting March 6 at 10 a.m., writers of all ages can hone their craft in classes covering a range of topics offered by the Missoula Writing Collaborative. In Emily Freeman’s food writing class, writers with discerning palates will be whipping up work about all things food. Robert Lee will help writers think about their lives through his obituary writing workshop. For figurative language enthusiasts, Becca Carson’s class is making metaphor the star of the show. Those looking to take courses about fiction, Melissa Stephenson will be offering a class on flash nonfiction while Caroline Patterson will be working with writers to develop basis of fiction: the scene.

There are also opportunities to take four-week classes. Sheryl Noethe will be teaching a deep-dive class which looks at the poetry of Louise Glück. Lastly, writers can craft their fiction in Dana Fitz Gale nuts and bolts of fiction course.

All classes will be held on Zoom. Sign up at missoulawritingcollaborative.submittable.com.

Trumpeter Swan ecology and reintroduction

Flathead Audubon is offering a special Zoom presentation by Franz Ingelfinger on the Trumpeter Swan, Monday, March 8 at 7 p.m. The Trumpeter Swan has made a remarkable recovery throughout Northwest Montana, thanks to a multiple-decades long re-introductory effort involving several cooperators. Today, swans breeding throughout the Flathead are the direct decedents of those efforts.

Inglefinger will discuss Trumpeter Swan ecology, reintroduction and current efforts to utilize GPS-collar technology to identify migratory pathways and suitable wetland habitats for range expansion. Inglefinger is a Restoration Ecologist with Montana Fish, Wildlife & Parks. Originally from Massachusetts, he studied at the University of Wyoming. Like the birds in the Flathead, Inglefinger got his wildlife start in the early days of the swan reintroduction program, where he worked for the Wyoming Wetland Society rearing swans for release. Now in the Flathead, Inglefinger occasionally volunteers with ongoing Trumpeter Swan recovery efforts. The program is free and open to the public.

For more information on how to access the video presentation, go to http://www.flatheadaudubon.org.

Previous video Zoom presentations are available at https://flatheadaudubon.org/videos. Current programs include:

1. Flight of Hummingbirds by Brad Tobalski (October 2020)

2. Montana’s Amazing Native Fish by Beth Gardner (January 2021)

3. Instrumented Bird Nest Boxes and Wildlife Tracking Technologies by Doug Bonham (February 2021). More will be added to this collection as they are completed.

Weekly COVID-19 update

As of Feb. 22, there are 98,810 cases of COVID-19 in Montana. There have been 216,383 doses of vaccines administered and 68,191 Montanans fully immunized. There are 2,170 active cases, 4,527 total hospitalizations with 78 active, 95,299 recoveries and 1,341 deaths in Montana due to COVID-19 complications. Missoula County has had 8,072 cases, has 141 active cases, 7,849 recovered and 82 COVID-related deaths.

For the most up-to-date and accurate information please refer to the Missoula County-City Health Department website http://missoulainfo.com or call 406-258-INFO (4636) Monday – Friday from 8 a.m. – 5 p.m.

Missoula County Sheriff’s Office Call Log Feb. 15 – Feb. 21

• 2/15, 1:06am, Gold Creek Road, Potomac: Driving Under the Influence

• 2/15, 10:35am, 1XX School Lane, Seeley Lake: Trespassing

• 2/15, 3:30pm, 127XX Camp Utmost Way, Greenough: Offenses Against Family/Children

• 2/15, 5:40pm, Fawn Creek Road, Seeley Lake: Accident – No Injury

• 2/15, 5:44pm, 35XX Highway 83, Seeley Lake: Accident – No Injury

• 2/17, 6:45pm, 28XX Highway 83, Seeley Lake: Slide-in No Property Damage

• 2/20, 9:59am, 6XX Swanland Drive, Condon: Suspicious Activity

• 2/20, 2:28pm, 68XX River Trail, Greenough: Suspicious Activity

• 2/20, 4:00pm, Boy Scout Road, Seeley Lake: Slide-in No Property Damage

Seeley Lake Rural Fire District Call Log Feb. 14 – Feb. 20

January 2020, 23 and January 2021, 26 calls

• 2/17, Bitterroot Drive, Seeley Lake: Medical

• 2/17, Access Road, Seeley Lake: Medical