Bigfork Montana News | Bigfork Newspapers

Last week at the Dance Arts Center in Kalispell, a Snow Queen, an Arabian Princess, a Sugar Plum Fairy and a Dew Drop Fairy gathered together to dance.

They gabbed and giggled as they put on their pink shoes, their smiles only disappearing when the music started and the serious and beautiful business of ballet began.

Dancing can be a stress-inducing endeavor for many people, but the four principals of the Northwest Ballet School and Company make it look effortless and graceful. These girls – McKenzie Javorka, Shelby Deaton, Celia Roessmann and Meredith Stanfill – have each worked for more thana decade to dance in the main roles in this year’s performance of the Nutcracker.

In late summer and early fall, many Montanans were unpleasantly surprised to receive notices telling them their property values had skyrocketed. The reappraisals, due every six years from the state Department of Revenue, meant their property taxes would take a big leap forward, too. In areas like Gallatin and Flathead counties, where the 2002-2008 period saw a dramatic real estate boom – followed by a bust – some property values increased 300 percent or more.

But there was hope for people feeling the pain. First, property owners could seek relief by appealing their appraisals, either by asking for informal reviews from the Department of Revenue (DOR) or by appealing directly to their County Tax Appeal Board. Second, local governments could decrease their mill levies, the formulas that actually determine how much property tax residents pay.

The Flathead County commissioners say they expect the report from a third-party investigation into the County Planning and Zoning Office any day, causing concern for planning officials who say they weren’t contacted at all during the inquiry into their department.

The Kalispell-based Moonlighting Detective Agency was hired by the county in July to look into complaints against the planning office and its director, Jeff Harris. The commissioners extended investigator Ike Eisentraut’s contract in early October with the expectation that the investigation would be complete by the end of the month. As of this writing, Eisentraut’s report had not been delivered to the commission.

SOMERS – At a public meeting following the October crash of a tractor-trailer along the east shore of Flathead Lake, Montana Department of Transportation Director Jim Lynch told the audience a community effort to increase safe driving along Highway 35 would ultimately be more effective than attempts to restrict truck traffic along the roadway.

The forum, held at the Best Western Grand Oak Hotel, was a chance for public dialogue after a truck carrying wood chips veered off the road near Finley Point Oct. 20, crashing and injuring the driver. This most recent crash stoked the concerns of east shore residents, occurring about a year-and-a-half after a truck crash in nearly the same spot dumped 6,400 gallons of gasoline, forcing five families out of their homes and costing millions to clean up.

HELENA – State officials are citing urban growth as a reason for swapping a piece of land near Pablo for another near Ronan next to the Ninepipe Wildlife Management Area.

The Montana Fish, Wildlife and Parks Commission unanimously moved Thursday to exchange 223 acres in the Pablo Wildlife Management Area for 240 privately owned acres neighboring the Ninepipe.

The abrupt drop-off in land development throughout the Flathead Valley over the last year has caused its fair share of negative consequences, but it has resulted in some benefits as well – particularly for those focused on conservation. With little or no pressure from developers to buy up the agricultural lands along the Flathead River corridor, the Flathead Land Trust has found its mission to preserve those private parcels, mainly through voluntary conservation easements, made much easier of late.

“Because land values are low, developers aren’t really interested right now,” Brad Seaman, outreach and development director for the Flathead Land Trust, said. “We’re the only ones out there talking money.”

Ryan Keenan, a 12-year-old golf prodigy from Bigfork with a vision impediment in both eyes, shot his first career hole-in-one last week. Lon Hinkle, who golfed on the PGA Tour during the Jack Nicklaus era, contacted me last Friday to tell me the news. The day before, on Thursday, Keenan called Hinkle to tell him he hoped to squeeze one more day out of the golf season at the Eagle Bend Golf Club.

"I told Ryan if we get a nice day, call me and we’ll go," Hinkle said. "He called that morning and we bundled up and went out there. It was probably our last day of golfing."

On the sixth hole, playing from the white tees, Keenan launched a six-iron that sailed perfectly toward the pin. Keenan, Hinkle and John Lang watched as the ball dropped into the hole, 125 yards away.

"He got so excited, so animated," Hinkle said. "It was the neatest deal. It was a wonderful day."

I wrote a story in August about Keenan after he won the Bill Roberts Montana Junior Amateur Golf Championship by 20 strokes. Just as impressive as his story – overcoming vision problems to become the best golfer in the state for his age – is Keenan himself. He speaks like an adult and is undeniably bright. And his work ethic should be envied by anyone, regardless of age.

Congratulations to Keenan for his first hole-in-one. Something tells me it won't be his last.

With all of Northwest Montana’s football teams knocked out of the playoffs, the region’s state championship hopes rest on the shoulders of three volleyball teams: Flathead in Class AA, and Libby and Polson in Class A.

Libby won its third straight Northwestern A divisional title to advance to the Class A state volleyball tournament as the league’s top seed. Polson, the divisional runner-up, has a No. 2 seed at state. Flathead defeated Helena Capital last week in a play-in match to earn the western conference’s fourth seed at the Class AA state tourney.