Kootenai Valley Partners Habitat for Humanity welcomes volunteers & new applicants
by Chris Reichert
Corey Willis,
Habitat for
Humanity
homeownership
partner, learned to use a chop saw this past week while
cutting and
installing window trim on her new home in Libby.
Photo courtesy of Kootenai Valley
Partners
Habitat for Humanity
Twenty five years ago, a group of community-minded people formed Kootenai Valley Partners (KVP), a Habitat
for Humanity Affiliate for South Lincoln County. The goal for Habitat for Humanity is to provide a “hand up, not a hand out” for all people who need decent, affordable
housing. Habitat homes are not free houses.
Our homeowner partners must be in need of adequate shelter, must be able to afford the low cost mortgage, have income that falls within the HUD low income guidelines for Lincoln County, and must be willing to partner by helping build their own home with the required “sweat equity” hours.
In addition, homeowner partners commit to helping with other Habitat for Humanity projects in the community and attend a financial literacy training course to become informed about the financial responsibilities of home
ownership.
Over the years Habitat for Humanity and our partners have built 11 homes in our community. Two of these homes are now paid off and mortgage free.
We are now building the twelfth home which will be completed this summer. The next home build then scheduled for Spring of 2023. During alternate years, as funding for each new home is acquired, KVP Habitat for Humanity volunteers then work on minor home repair projects for people who own their own homes, known as “A Brush With Kindness.”
How can you apply for a Habitat for Humanity home?
Although the next build will not be until 2023,
KVP Partners would like to have the family selection process completed by January of 2022. We will begin taking applications on October 1 of this year and close the application period by November 15.
Those applications will be available online at our website (http//kootenaihabitat.org), at the Libby and Troy libraries and food pantries, and at the State of Montana Public Assistance office.
Applications for the Brush With Kindness – minor home repair project in 2022 – will also be starting this October. To qualify for this project, the applicant must be the homeowner and meet all of the other Habitat for Humanity qualifications.
How are Habitat for Humanity projects paid for?
They are paid for by mortgage loan repayments from homeowner partners, by labor provided by the homeowner partners and volunteers, by financial contributions from businesses and individuals, and by fund raising events such as STOKR (Scenic Tour of the Kootenai River) bike rides.
KVP volunteers are now building a home in Libby. Those over 16 and interested in volunteering are welcomed to visit our Facebook page (Kootenai Valley Partners Habitat for Humanity 2021 Build) for more information on how to get involved. No previous skill or experience are required.
If you are willing to learn, we will teach you!
Our email address is habitat.libby.org@gmail.com, and our mailing address is PO Box 19, Libby, Montana 59923.
“First fawn” spotted by Libby resident
Photo courtesy of Libby resident, Dulci Gilbert
What to do if you spot a fawn?
Montana Fish, Wildlife & Parks
FWP gets multiple calls every spring and early summer from people concerned that fawns or other young offspring may have been abandoned. They have the best of intentions, hoping that FWP can reunite the fawn with its mother or somehow take care of it. However, the best place and the best chance of survival for that fawn is with its mother.
It is common for does to leave fawns for a time and feed. The white spots on the fawns help them to blend into the grass and sunlight, and at this age they don’t put off much smell to predators.
In the absence of people, does come back to the fawn eventually. But this can’t happen if people intervene. FWP cannot rehabilitate deer due to disease concerns and the fact that they often don’t survive in captivity. So if the doe cannot locate that fawn, it’s likely that the fawn will not survive, particularly in this heat.
So the next time you see a young animal that seems to be on its own, watch for a little bit if you can and you will likely see the mother return soon. In the end, the best way we can help these animals is to keep our distance!
CPMC Awards Local Scholarships
Submitted by CPMC
Pictured: Libby High School Graduate, Isabelle Kapan
Pictured: Troy High School Graduate, Talise Becquart
(Courtesy Photos)
Libby, Mont. –Cabinet Peaks Medical Center had
the privilege of awarding local graduating Libby and Troy high school seniors with college scholarships.
The scholarships are a gift from the employees
of Cabinet Peaks Medical Center and encourage area youth to pursue degrees in the field of medicine.
CPMC employees donate to these scholarship funds throughout the year via payroll deduction, and those who donate sit on the scholarship committee that choses that award recipients.
Local students who received the $500 individual scholarships this year were Isabelle Kapan from
Libby and Talise Becquart from Troy.
The student’s applications were reviewed by the CPMC scholarship committee and recipients were chosen based on their academics, leadership, school activities, and community service. Students were also asked to write an essay on their reasons for choosing a career in healthcare.
In addition to proving their involvement in one
of these programs, the students were required to show that they are currently accepted as a full-time student at a college, university, or trade school and
to explain their educational and career goals.
“We are thrilled to be able to offer these scholarships to young adults in our service area,” stated
Andre Mehan, Human Resources Manager at Cabinet Peaks Medical Center.
“We understand the importance of giving back to our youth and recognize the costs associated with getting a college education. The seniors who receive scholarships from Cabinet Peaks Medical Center have plans to enter the medical field in one way or another, and we know that some of them may consider coming back home to serve the patients at Cabinet Peaks Medical Center. We hope that our scholarships help all of these students achieve their educational and career goals.”