Page 10 - Flathead Beacon // 10.28.15

NEWS
Hotel rendering. COURTESY CITY OF COLUMBIA FALLS
Columbia Falls Approves New Hotel Near Downtown The 64-room hotel and convention center could open as soon as next year
BY JUSTIN FRANZ OF THE BEACON
The Columbia Falls City Council approved the construction of a new hotel and convention center along U.S. High- way 2.
The three-story hotel would be located along Second Avenue West just south of the highway and will include 64 rooms, but could later be expanded to 82 rooms. The 25,000-square-foot facility would also include a 3,000-square-foot convention center.
Developer Mick Ruis is spearheading the project.
If everything goes according to plan, construction could begin this winter and the hotel could open sometime next summer, according to Anna Louise Stene, executive director of the Columbia Falls Chamber of Commerce. She said the hotel and convention center would be a welcome addition to the community. Currently, many tourists looking to stay in the area have to find hotels in White- fish or Kalispell.
“It’s really exciting that we’re adding beds,” she said. “We have so many visi- tors that pass through Columbia Falls and now we’ll be able to provide them more places to stay.”
The development would also require a parking lot for at least 126 vehicles, which would be built on the east side of the hotel.
Stene said the hotel’s location would benefit Columbia Falls’ downtown area and attract more people to Nucleus Ave- nue. She said Columbia Falls is an ideal
location for a hotel and convention center. “One advantage Columbia Falls has is its proximity to Glacier National Park but it’s also easy to get to Whitefish, Bigfork and Kalispell,” Stene said. “We’re really
centrally located.”
But some residents who live near the
site of the new hotel have expressed con- cerns. In an email to the city council, one resident wrote that a hotel would bring additional traffic to the area and increase noise.
[email protected]
Wildlife Officials Suspend Search for Bear That Attacked Woman Barbara Paschke, 85, died Oct. 1 from injuries she suffered during a black bear attack inside her Ashley Lake home
BY DILLON TABISH OF THE BEACON
Wildlife managers have suspended the search for a black bear that fatally attacked a woman in her home near Kalispell last month.
John Fraley, spokesperson for Mon- tana Fish, Wildlife and Parks, said search efforts are being halted while an investi- gation into the attack remains ongoing. FWP officers were searching for a black bear that attacked an elderly woman west
of Kalispell in late September.
Barbara Paschke, 85, died Oct. 1 from
supplemental feed is removed, according to FWP. This can lead to bears breaking into buildings, trailers and vehicles in search of food, producing a large public-safety issue.
not involved in the fatal attack, but which were clearly being actively fed on or near the property and had become condi- tioned to humans.
FWP officials emphasized that resi- dents across the region need to remove all supplemental feed immediately, and urged anyone aware that bears are being fed contact Game Warden Wes Oedekoven at 406-270-4220 or 1-800-TIPMONT.
[email protected]
injuries she suffered during a black bear
attack inside her Ashley Lake home on
Sept. 27. According to FWP, Paschke had
been providing supplemental feed to
bears and was previously cited in 2012. Lake Road; although it’s not clear how the Feeding wildlife such as bears is illegal. bear got inside Paschke’s home, it exited
Bears that are fed become habituated and food conditioned, which can lead to aggressive behavior and the inability or desire to fend for themselves once the
through a window, investigators said.
In the days following the incident, investigators captured and euthanized two black bears they determined were
The attack occurred inside Paschke’s home between Batavia Lane and Ashley
Welding, Blacksmithing & Fabrication
WROUGHT IRON EXPERTS!
Iron Stair Rails, Gates, Furniture, Signs, Fireplace And More!
406-892-4030 3816 Mt Hwy 40 Columbia Falls www.acutechworks.com
10
OCTOBER 28, 2015 // FLATHEADBEACON.COM