Stevensville Garden Club
The Stevensville Garden Club will meet Wednesday, February 4 at 1 p.m. at the Community Baptist Church, 409 Buck Street, Stevensville. Members will play “Plant Bingo” and have a soup and bread exchange. Come join the fun and meet some great friends. For information call Linda at 777-4777.

Blood drives
The American Red Cross encourages eligible donors to help ensure a sufficient and diverse blood supply by giving blood this February. Since the beginning of the year, widespread flu and inclement winter weather in some parts of the country have prevented many regular donors from making or keeping their blood donation appointments. Healthy and diverse blood donors are needed to help maintain a sufficient blood supply. Diversity among blood donors is important because red blood cells carry markers that determine one’s blood type, and certain blood types are unique to specific racial and ethnic groups. Blood must be matched very closely for those patients with rare blood types or for those who need repeated transfusions. Patients are less likely to have complications from blood donated by someone with a similar ethnicity. All blood types are needed, especially types O negative, A negative and B negative. To learn more about donating blood and to schedule an appointment, download the Red Cross Blood Donor App, visit redcrossblood.org or call 1-800-733-2767.
Upcoming blood drives:
Florence – 2/4/2015: 2-6:30 p.m., Physical Therapy Specialists of Florence, 293 Rodeo Drive, Ste. 1
Hamilton – 2/5/2015: 11 a.m. – 4:30 p.m., Marcus Daly Hospital, 1200 Westwood Drive; 2/10/2015: 1 p.m. – 5:30 p.m., Grace Lutheran Church, 275 Hattie Lane; 2/16/2015: 11 a.m. – 3 p.m., Kmart Pharmacy, 1235 N. 1st Street
Corvallis – 3/2/2015: 10 a.m. – 3 p.m., Corvallis High School, 1045 Main Street.

Lolo Watershed Group pint night
A pint night is scheduled for Wednesday, February 4 from 5 to 8 p.m. at Lolo Peak Brewing Co. to raise funds for Lolo Watershed Group. $1 from every beer sold will be donated to Lolo Watershed Group (LWG). LWG is a collaborative non-profit organization, based in Lolo. It is focused on bringing the community together to maintain and restore Lolo Watershed, and is currently working on several stream restoration and sedimentation mitigation projects along Lolo Creek as well as several outreach projects. LWG board members will be present to talk about the organization and their plans for the upcoming year. The organization is always looking for more public involvement and new membership. Additionally, there is an opportunity to win a door prize. For more information contact Brandon Veth at veth91@gmail.com or (505)620-9733.

Quality of Life group
Plan to attend a meeting of the new Quality of Life group on Wednesday, February 4 at 6 p.m. at the Signal Grill, 131 W. Main, Hamilton). Bill LaCroix will offer some insights into the kind of tactics that can be developed from a strategy. Bring paper and pencil. For more information contact Terry at 775-293-0189.

Stevensville Planning & Zoning Board
The Stevensville Planning & Zoning Board will meet Wednesday, February 4 at 7 p.m. in the Town Council Chambers, 206 Buck.

North Valley Pachyderm Club
The North Valley Pachyderm Club will meet Friday, February 6 at 12 noon at the Frontier Café, Hwy 93 in Stevensville. Guest speaker will be former legislature Rick Jore who will talk about “Why do Republicans change when they get to Helena.” The North Valley Pachyderm Club meets the first and third Friday of each month from noon to 1 p.m. and is an educational arm of the Republican Party. All are welcome.

BPL Teddy Bear Sleepover
Teddy Bears are invited to a special sleepover at the Bitterroot Public Library to celebrate “I Love to Read” month. All young children may bring a teddy or other stuffed animal to a story time on Friday, February 6 from 5 to 6 p.m. There will be a special Teddy Bear story time with stories, movement activities, and crafts. Then the children will tuck their friend in for the night before heading home. The library folks will help your teddy have an awesome time exploring the library while it’s closed. Return the next day when your bear will be full of library-at-night tales. Call 363-1670 for more information.

Knights of Columbus Fish Fry
The Knights of Columbus Council 6130 will hold their First Friday Fish Fry on Friday, February 6 from 5 to 6:45 p.m. at St. Francis Pastoral Center, 411 S. 5th, Hamilton. The all-you-can-eat meal consists of fish, fries, coleslaw, and mac n cheese, vegetables, dessert and soft beverage for $10.00 per person; children under nine eat free. Wine can be purchased separately. The popular Knights of Columbus Lenten Friday Night Fish Fries will begin February 20 and run every Friday through March 27. For information contact Nick Hooper at 961-3930.

Golden Age dance
There will be a regular Friday night dance on February 6 at the Golden Age Hall, 727 South 5th Street in Hamilton. Dancing on a good floor to live music will begin at 7 p.m. and continue until about 10 p.m. Snacks at break time will be potluck, so bring something good for snacking. Admission is $3.00 per person. Call Bob at 363-0142 for further information.

Stevi school menu
Monday: Breakfast – Waffles or yogurt, fruit, toast, milk; Lunch – Chicken drumsticks, mashed potatoes & gravy, peaches bread & butter, milk
Tuesday: Breakfast – Cinnamon rolls or yogurt, fruit, toast, milk; Lunch – Quesadilla, refried beans, apples, bread & butter, milk
Wednesday: Breakfast – Cereal or yogurt, fruit, toast, milk; Lunch – Sweet & sour chicken, stir-fry veggies, rice, mandarin oranges, bread & butter, milk
Thursday: Breakfast – Pancake on a stick or yogurt, fruit, toast, milk; Lunch – Tater-tot casserole, tossed salad, bananas, bread & butter, milk
Friday: Breakfast – Egg wraps or yogurt, fruit, toast, milk; Lunch – Chicken sandwich, fresh veggies, pears, bread & butter, milk.

Rotary Club
Marie Antonioli, high school health sciences teacher, will be making a presentation with her students on the new health sciences program at Hamilton High School for the next meeting of the Hamilton Rotary Club, Monday, February 9 at 12 noon at BJ’s Restaurant, 900 N. 1st Street, Hamilton. The meeting is open to the public. For further information call 363-2960.

Green Thumbs Up
The Green Thumbs Up Garden Club will meet Monday, February 9 at 2 p.m. in the downstairs meeting room of the Bitterroot Public Library in Hamilton. Katrina Mendrey, MSU Extension Agent, will discuss characteristics of good garden soil, ways for building soil in your garden, methods of sampling and characterizing your soil, and what role organic matter plays in a healthy soil, as well as soil considerations for plant selection.
You are invited to bring garden-related items for a free inspiration table – gently-used gardening books or tools, seeds and starts, or garden art and accents – hat you would like to pass along to others. Flyers are welcome for items like free manure, pallets for making compost bins, or pavers. Any unclaimed items must be taken back at the end of the meeting.
Garden club meetings are free and open to the public, but dues of $10 dues will be accepted for the calendar year 2015 for those wishing to join. A membership card will be issued upon payment by check or cash. Call Karen at 961-0181 for more information.

First-time homebuyer class
The Bitter Root Resource Conservation and Development Area, Inc. (Bitter Root RC&D) announced its next first-time homebuyer pre-purchase class is February 9, 10, & 11. The Bitter Root RC&D provides the only HUD-approved first-time homebuyers’ pre-purchase classes in Ravalli County. The cost for the in-person class is $50 and includes one-on-one financial counseling at no extra cost.
The first class for 2015 is February 9,10, & 11, from 6 to 9 p.m., at the Human Resource Council Building at the corner of 3rd and Pine streets in Hamilton. Attendees must attend all three sessions to qualify for the certificate. Participants must be fully registered by Wednesday, February 4. Call 363-5450 to reserve your space. Payment in full is required to confirm space, and may be made by cash, check, money order, and MasterCard and Visa. If potential attendees are financially challenged, partial scholarships are available. The office is located at 1709 N. 1st Street in the building adjacent to Mildenberger Motors.
The class schedule for the next few months is:
March 14, 8:30 a.m. to 6 p.m. Bitterroot Valley Board of Realtors
April 13, 14 & 15, 6 p.m. to 9 p.m., Human Resource Council Building
May 16, 8:30 a.m. to 6 p.m. Bitterroot Valley Board of Realtors
The Bitter Root RC&D is a non-profit, 501(c)(3) organization with a mission to promote conscientious development of the area’s natural and human resources, while maintaining or improving the quality of those resources and the quality of life in Mineral, Missoula and Ravalli Counties.

Public lecture
A free lecture on “Global Financial Meltdown and What it Means to You” will be presented by Ron Pifer on Monday, February 9 from 7 to 9 p.m. at the Bitterroot Public Library in Hamilton.

York Rite Masons
The York Rite Masons of Hamilton will have a Chapter meeting on Wednesday, February 11 at 7:30 p.m. in the Masonic Lodge Hall, 115 S. 3rd Street, Hamilton. High Priest Kim Bowman will chair the meeting and new Affiliates will be welcomed. The meeting will be preceded by a pot-luck supper at 6:30 p.m. in the north lounge prepared by the ladies. The ladies will join members for the supper. All members are encouraged to attend and sojourning members in good standing are invited. Grand Sessions will be held in Lewistown June 4-6.