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PHOTOS: Christmas Blue Light Tree Lighting ceremony

CASEY KREIDER | Hagadone News Network | UPDATED 2 years, 5 months AGO
by CASEY KREIDER
STAFF PHOTOGRAPHER Casey Kreider is a staff photographer for the Daily Inter Lake. His work documents news, sports, wildlife, landscapes and everyday life across Northwest Montana through visual storytelling. Kreider’s keen eye captures major sporting events, community moments, and the natural beauty that defines the region. He is a graduate of Penn State University and previously worked as a photographer for Lancaster Newspapers in Pennsylvania. In 2024, he received the Montana Newspaper Association’s Mel Ruder Photograph of the Year award. IMPACT: Kreider's work brings readers closer to the people, places and moments that shape life in Northwest Montana through powerful visual journalism. | December 14, 2023 9:00 AM

Photos from the Christmas Blue Light Tree Lighting ceremony outside the Flathead County Justice Center in Kalispell on Thursday, Dec. 7. The event is held to support the families of fallen officers and to honor the officers, highway patrol, firefighters and first responders.

    Flathead County Sheriff Brian Heino lights an attendee's candle at the Christmas Blue Light Tree Lighting ceremony outside the Flathead County Justice Center in Kalispell on Thursday, Dec. 7. The event is held to support the families of fallen officers and to honor the officers, highway patrol, firefighters, first responders and all those who serve and protect. (Casey Kreider/Daily Inter Lake)
 Casey Kreider 
 
 
    A young girl holds a candle at the Christmas Blue Light Tree Lighting ceremony outside the Flathead County Justice Center in Kalispell on Thursday, Dec. 7. The event is held to support the families of fallen officers and to honor the officers, highway patrol, firefighters, first responders and all those who serve and protect. (Casey Kreider/Daily Inter Lake)
 Casey Kreider 
 
 
    Members of the Flathead High School Choir sing at the Christmas Blue Light Tree Lighting ceremony outside the Flathead County Justice Center in Kalispell on Thursday, Dec. 7. The event is held to support the families of fallen officers and to honor the officers, highway patrol, firefighters, first responders and all those who serve and protect. (Casey Kreider/Daily Inter Lake)
 Casey Kreider 
 
 
    Kalispell Police chief Jordan Venezio speaks at the Christmas Blue Light Tree Lighting ceremony outside the Flathead County Justice Center in Kalispell on Thursday, Dec. 7. The event is held to support the families of fallen officers and to honor the officers, highway patrol, firefighters, first responders and all those who serve and protect. (Casey Kreider/Daily Inter Lake)
 Casey Kreider 
 
 


    Flathead County Sheriff Brian Heino speaks during the Christmas Blue Light Tree Lighting ceremony outside the Flathead County Justice Center in Kalispell on Thursday, Dec. 7. The event is held to support the families of fallen officers and to honor the officers, highway patrol, firefighters, first responders and all those who serve and protect. (Casey Kreider/Daily Inter Lake)
 Casey Kreider 
 
 


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