Looking Back: Screening committee formed to find new high school principal
Whitefish Pilot | UPDATED 2 days, 1 hour AGO
Olney resident Fred L. Torgerson was 20 in 1976 when he demolished his 1976 pickup on LaSalle Road. His truck plunged into a field and hit three large trees. Torgerson walked away from the wreck and was considered extremely lucky to be alive.
A look back at past Pilot articles by Julie Engler
50 Years Ago
May 13, 1976
Members of the District 44 school board considered a range of subjects, from roof repairs to hiring a new principal for the high school. A screening committee composed of Mr. Sloan, Mrs. Hoffman, Mr. Grover, Mrs. Satterley, Mr. Morris and Russ Giesy would screen all candidates for the post of high school principal and would call the final selections for personal interviews with the school. It was decided that John Morris, curriculum coordinator, would work with a special team of six teachers to outline coordination and development of a slower English track for those students unable to handle the regular English program.
40 Years Ago
May 14, 1986
A “Save the Foundation” rally attracted more than 800 people registering their opposition to a 4% cut in the state's financial foundation program. The foundation allots a set amount of funding from the general fund to each school district based upon enrollment. A cut of 4% would total an estimated loss of over $900,000 in the valley, $11 million statewide. The “cut” is actually a 4% increase promised the schools for the second biennium of the 1986-87. Speakers from Whitefish, Bigfork. Summers, Columbia Falls, Evergreen, Lincoln County, Kalispell and rural areas took to the podium to address the congregation of legislators on hand.
30 Years Ago
May 16, 1996
Like the potholes in county streets, the number of road closures is continuing to grow. There were at least 14 county roads that had been closed by the county commissioners with more possible. Bridge Supervisor Jack Lingel was uncertain about when road crews would be able to work on the projects. “We don't really know,” Lingle said. “It's pretty hard to say how the weather has been.” From frost heaves to flooding, water was the major cause of most of the problems, and it was water that was continuing to hamper efforts to fix them. Precipitation levels at the airport reached 9.48 inches this year, 4 inches above normal for this time of year and almost 4 inches above the total last year at this time, according to the National Weather Service.
20 Years Ago
May 11, 2006
Whitefish is surrounded by numerous recreational opportunities that should attract tourists. But the city lacks a strong marketing image and identity, has a “weak winter market” and needs to develop tourist attractions for shoulder seasons. More problems lurk on the horizon. The potential loss of summer visitors because of construction projects on Glacier Park’s Going-to-the-Sun Road; impacts from climate and natural conditions such as drought, flood and forest fires; and the uncertainty of Amtrak funding.
10 Years Ago
May 11, 2016
Residents living on Whitefishes southeast side banded together in demanding the city address a foul odor wafting from the wastewater treatment facility. The stench, these neighbors said, had become progressively worse over the past year and was now at the point that it's unbearable. “We can't use our porch, we can't open our windows, we can hardly go out and mow our yards,” said Ned Nixon, who lives on Arielle Way along the Whitefish River. City officials said they're aware of the issue and are working and we're working to mitigate the odors.