Retirement

An open house retirement party with cake for Sgt. Rich Wicks will take place in the Columbia Falls City Council chambers in City Hall on Friday, Nov. 2, from 1 to 3 p.m. Wicks worked 20 years for the city police.

Open burning

The Flathead County Commissioners voted to allow open burning from Oct. 18 through Nov. 30. Burners must call the Ventilation Hotline daily for restrictions at 751-8144 before burning. Open burning will be closed from Dec. 1 through Feb. 29 and reopening again from March 1 through April 30. More information is available online at www.flatheadhealth.org.

Halloween Carnival

The Boys and Girls Club in Columbia Falls will host a Halloween Carnival on Wednesday, Oct. 31, from 3:30 to 6:30 p.m. between the club’s building and Glacier Gateway School on Fourth Street. The street will be closed for the event. Tickets for carnival games where everyone wins are 25 cents each or 25 tickets for $5. There will also be plenty of candy.

Halloween treats

North Valley Baptist Church 1750 Talbott Road, in Columbia Falls, will hold a “Trunk or Treat” event in their parking lot on Wednesday, Oct. 31, from 6 to 7:30 p.m.

Fall volunteers

The United Way Volunteer Center is organizing the ninth annual Rake Up The Flathead for Friday and Saturday, Nov. 2-3, to assist senior citizens and disabled people with yard work and fall projects. Volunteers can sign up for half or a full day by calling 752-7266. People needing assistance can call the same number.

Smorgasbord

Our Savior’s Lutheran Church, 401 Seventh St. West, in Columbia Falls, will hold a smorgasbord on Saturday, Nov. 3, from 4:30 to 7:30 p.m. with turkey and dressing, meat balls, mashed potatoes with gravy, baked beans, salads, lefse and Scandinavian treats. Cost is $10 adults, $4 children 7-12, $2 children 3-6 and free or children under 3.

Church bazaar

St. Richard’s Catholic Church, in Columbia Falls, will hold its annual bazaar on Saturday, Nov. 10, from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. Lunch will be served, with homemade soup, sandwiches and pie, along with large selections of craft items, homemade baked goods and religious articles. Raffle prizes are $500 first, $200 second and $100 third. For more information, call Carol at 871-1734.

Bell ringers

The Salvation Army is looking for volunteers to ring bells at 19 locations across the Flathead this Christmas season. Money raised by bell ringers will stay in the Flathead. For more information, call Bob Blake at 257-4357 ext. 236 or e-mail bob.blake@usw.salvationarmy.org.

Chamber after-hours

The Columbia Falls Area Chamber of Commerce will hold its after-hours social at the Stonefly Lounge in Coram on Thursday, Nov. 8, from 5 to 7:30 p.m. The “pre-holiday party” will feature live blues and soul-ternative music by Erin & The Project, hors d’oeuvres by The Simple Chef, fall cocktails from Glacier Distilling Co. and holiday door prizes.

Toys for Tots

Carey Dill, the U.S. Marine’s Toys for Tots coordinator for the Flathead Valley, says the group will be set up in the Stagecoach Room at the Outlaw Inn this year and have a new phone number, 257-1333. The group collects new, unwrapped toys and distributes them to less fortunate children. Give-away dates this year will be Dec. 21, 22 and 23 from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m.

Wilderness fundraiser

The Bob Marshall Wilderness Foundation will hold its annual Voices of the Wilderness fundraiser event at the Alpine Ballroom, 333 Main Street, in Kalispell, on Friday, Nov. 9, from 7 to 9 p.m. Guest speaker Doug Chadwick will talk about “Grizzly Bears of the Gobi Desert.” There will be a silent art auction. Tickets are $25 available online at www.bmwf.org or by calling 387-3808. Raffle tickets for a five night, guided horse packing trip in the wilderness donated by Swan Mountain Outfitters are $10 apiece. Proceeds will go to supporting Foundation trail projects. Patagonia recently pledged to support the Foundation’s trail maintenance work by sponsoring one trail project each year for the next five years.

Judge training

Columbia Falls City Judge Susan Gordon recently returned from her 48th state school of training in Bozeman. She has also attended 15 national schools. Topics included evidentiary foundations, medical marijuana card and reporting, qualifying the expert witness, case law, courtroom decorum and maintaining control over the courtroom, toxicology issues in DUI cases, 2012 criminal case law update, judicial writing, MANS form training, pro se litigants in civil matters, small claims, and drugged driving essentials, impairment and evidence admissibility. All judges from courts of limited jurisdiction are required to attend. Updated procedures and new ways to aid in the courtroom are always discussed among judges.