Wednesday, April 22, 2009

Valley News at a Glance

Stevi Planning and Zoning seeking members

Stevensville Clothes Closet Report

Subdivision Exemption Application Requirements Updated

Nominations sought for Florence Community Service Award

Volunteers needed to create interpretive park

Donations sought for art and jewelry sale

The Stevensville Planning and Zoning Board is presently short two members and is soliciting interested applicants. One position is for a resident living within the Town limits, the second position is for someone who lives within the Town’s extended zoning area, which is roughly the land between the Bitterroot River and the Supply Ditch, extending one mile south of the Town limits. If you care about your community and are interested in helping to direct the growth of your town, this is an excellent opportunity. Contact the Town of Stevensville at 777-5271 or Ben Longbottom at 529-7422 for more information.

To apply submit a letter of interest to the Town of Stevensville, P.O. Box 30, Stevensville MT 59870.

The Stevensville Clothes Closet is a non-profit store that serves the community as a recycle center and as a distribution center. It receives clothing, household linens, small kitchen goods and books by donation. The volunteers then sort and wash as necessary, then offer it all for free to the customers.

The needs in the Bitterroot Valley are large, but the generosity in this valley is just as great.

In the first quarter of 2009, volunteers have given over 660 hours of their time and 11,689 pounds of goods to 1,584 customers. That’s over five and a half tons of mostly clothing in just three months.

If this spring finds you or your children in need of clothing, please come shop. Coats and boots have been put away and replaced with spring wear. If you need something to wear to work or to an interview, the Clothes Closet has created a new corner in the store just for work clothes.

If you’ve done spring cleaning and have clothing, household linens, small kitchen goods or books that need a new home, consider donating them to the Clothes Closet.

It’s located at 3862 ALC Way, off of Middle Burnt Fork Road in Stevensville. Hours are 1 to 4 p.m. Wednesday and Saturday and the website address is HYPERLINK "http://www.stevensvilleclothescloset.org" www.stevensvilleclothescloset.org.

The Clothes Closet is in need of a few more volunteers. If you’re interested, call Sharon at 777-0835. Tax-deductible contributions are always welcome and can be sent to 1384 Meridian Road, Victor MT 59875. For more information, call Gail at 777-5694 or Molly at 961-4614.

Effective April 30, 2009, all applications for subdivision exemptions submitted to the Planning Department must include a Subdivision Guarantee created within one year of the exemption application submittal. The Subdivision Guarantee document includes (but is not limited to) a current legal description of the property, current vesting, all filed easements, recorded liens, covenants, deed restrictions, and zoning for the properties involved. The Planning Department has confirmed that the title insurance companies operating within Ravalli County offer Subdivision Guarantees, which include this information. Feel free to use the title insurance company of your choice. Once again, this requirement will not apply to subdivision exemptions submitted prior to April 30, 2009, whether or not they have undergone review. Please contact the Planning Department at 375-6530 or the Clerk and Recorders Office if you have questions.

The Florence Civic Club is currently seeking nominations for the annual Florence Community Service Award. Nominations are being accepted for individuals or groups who have made a significant public service contribution by serving others in the Florence community in the last year.

If you would like to nominate someone for this service award, write a letter describing how your nominee has served others. The letter should include the following information: nominee name, type of contribution, results achieved, duration and how the service has made a positive, significant influence in the Florence community.

Nomination letters should be mailed to the Florence Civic Club, P.O. Box 544, Florence MT 5983 and received by May 30, 2009.

The Florence Civic Club is a citizen volunteer, community-based, non-profit organization dedicated to promoting community education and involvement in recreational, cultural, natural and economic interest to preserve and enhance our quality of life.

As part of the Highway 93 Expansion Project, the Stevensville Community has been granted a wayside area at the corner of North Kootenai Road and Highway 93. A committee sponsored by the Civic Club and facilitated by the Stevensville Main Street Association is in the planning stages of creating an Interpretive Park at the site. The park will provide an area where visitors and locals can learn about the unique natural and cultural history of Stevensville through interpretive panels placed along a pathway through the site. In addition, there will be panels with maps and information about the amenities, trails, natural and cultural sites and nonprofit agencies in the Stevensville community. If you are an interested citizen, historian, artist, writer, natural resource expert (geologist, natural scientist), writer/editor, or grant writer, the committee would welcome you. For more information, call 777-3546.

The Stevensville Historical Museum will be holding its annual Used Art & Jewelry sale on May 1 and 2. Items to be donated can be dropped off at the Bitterroot Star, 215 Main in Stevensville, or call Dora Dilts at 777-3239, Bill Lyon at 777-2269 or Ronn Alexander at 777-7408.