Page 15 - Flathead Beacon // 5.13.15

FLATHEADBEACON.COM NEWS
FVCC Graduating its 47th Class.
MAY 13, 2015 | 15
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Flathead Valley Community College will graduate its 47th class May 15 during the college’s spring 2015 commencement ceremony. The ceremony will take place at 7 p.m. in the Trade Center at the Flathead County Fairgrounds on 265 North Meridian Road in Kalispell.
During the ceremony, 404 FVCC students will be recognized for com- pleting graduation requirements for the summer and fall 2014 and spring 2015 semesters.
FVCC plans to award 388 associate degrees and 69 certificates to graduates for a grand total of 457 degrees and cer- tificates for the 2014-2015 academic year.
The commencement speaker will be FVCC alumnus and Google X systems engineer Andrew Crawford.
A former professional snowboarder, Crawford is a Kalispell native who, at the height of his career, was ranked among the top-10 snowboarders in the world. He competed internationally at several Winter X-Games and was a character in two video games before starting engi- neering school at FVCC at the age of 30.
While studying at FVCC, he interned at NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory, and eventually graduated with honors with a mechanical engineering major and an aerospace minor at Montana State University.
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Flathead Valley Community College graduates outside the Flathead County Fairgrounds. BEACON FILE PHOTO
During his time at MSU, he was accepted to and graduated from the NASA Academy at NASA Ames Research Center, interned as a research associate at NASA Ames and worked with NASA and the U.S. Army on prototype helicopter simulation platforms.
In 2013, Crawford attended the semiannual International Aeronautical Astronautical Congress in Beijing, where he presented his argument for making the Saturn moon Enceladus a top priority
for celestial destinations to explore for life in the solar system. He debated fellow would-be space pioneers who favored other destinations, such as the moon, Mars or an interstellar asteroid.
At Google X, Crawford has worked as a systems test engineer on Google’s self-driving car.
For more information, contact Registrar Marlene Stoltz at 756-3846 or [email protected].
[email protected]
Municipal Matters
A recap of recent city council and county commission meetings
KALISPELL
•Last week the city council unanimously approved the retainment of six parcels of Old School Station. City officials will now attempt to sell the lots on the market. The city will transfer $1.25 million to the county for the initial taxes, assessments and fees connected to roughly 20 acres of land.
•Events seeking the ability to sell alcohol at city-owned sites will now have a little more leeway after councilors approved changes to the city’s ordinance. The amended language follows a debate surrounding the Pond Hockey tournament, which was abruptly moved to Woodland Park at the last minute due to warm weather conditions. The council prohibited the Kalispell Convention and Visitor Bureau from selling alcohol at the event due to technicalities in
the city’s ordinance, which stated applications must be received at least three weeks prior to the event. Now, permit applications must be submitted in time to be scheduled on the next regular city council agenda. Also, the area where alcohol can be consumed at Woodland Park was expanded to the surrounding grounds of the hockey rink. The council voted 5-3 to pass the ordinance, with councilors Phil Guiffrida, Tim Kluesner and Chad Graham opposed. Councilor Wayne Saverud was absent.
•Several members were appointed to city boards but two spots remain vacant on the Impact Fee Advisory Committee. The city is accepting applications.
FLATHEAD COUNTY
•Flathead County officially took control of jurisdiction for Whitefish
and Lost Coon lakes, after the Flat- head County Commission unani- mously voted to add the two lakes to the county’s lakeshore regulations. The change comes after the county took over after the state Supreme Court sided with the county in the dispute over planning jurisdic- tion for the area around the city of Whitefish, commonly referred to as the doughnut. The city had control of the two lakes before the 2005 in- terlocal agreement between White- fish and the county, and the county commission also voted to rescind the lakeshore regulations put in place before 2005. The Flathead County Planning Board intends to review and revise the county-wide lake and lakeshore regulations in the near future, according to the county planning and zoning office. A copy of the revised lake and lake- shore protection regulations can be found at www.flathead.mt.gov/ planning_zoning/downloads.php.
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