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t s e B e h ‘T
’ ! l a c o L at
Elect
MONICA TRANEL
Public Service Commission Paid for by Tranel for PSC, Sue Malek, Treasurer PO Box 7503, Missoula, MT 59807
Volume XXXVI, Number 15
Wednesday, October 28, 2020
www.bitterrootstar.com
Cold and snowy
Election office says expect long wait for in-person voting come before Election Day to avoid waiting in long lines. There will be alternate drop sites to deposit your ballot on Election Day only. These drop sites are only for dropping your ballot off. NO BALLOTS OR REPLACEMENT BALLOTS WILL BE ISSUED AT THESE
SITES. To see the alternate drop site locations, go to the Ravalli County Election website at https://ravalli.us/145/Elections. You have until 8 p.m. on Election Day, November 3, to return your ballot. Postmarks will not count, so plan accordingly if mailing your ballot back.
The Ravalli County Commissioners held a meeting last Thursday to discuss a proposed joint letter with the Ravalli County Board of Health to the community concerning the recent increase in active COVID-19 cases in the county. According to the local Public Health Department reports, the number of active cases on any given day has increased from three on September 8 to 205 on October 23, that is, in a span of seven weeks. In the same time period, the number of people hospitalized due to COVID-19 has grown from 0 to 9. Ravalli County added 75
new cases on Monday. The total number of cases in the county reported from the beginning of the pandemic is 500. The first change to be made to the draft of the proposed joint letter that was presented for consideration was a change to the first sentence which said that the joint statement was being issued in regards to “the recent dramatic increase” in COVID-19 cases. Commission Chairman Chris Hoffman immediately suggested that the first sentence in bold at the top of the letter could be “cut down considerably,” primarily by removing the reference to a “recent dramatic increase” since it is mentioned again in the body of
the message. He also mentioned that the Sheriff would be releasing his own statement about the COVID-19 situation. Commissioner Jeff Burrows, who sits on the Board of Health, noted that at its last meeting the Board allocated $5,000 of its own funds to an information campaign aimed at encouraging voluntary practices to try and stem the rising tide of infections in the county. The recommended practices were also listed as: wear a mask in public; wash hands and frequently used surfaces regularly; avoid large gatherings where social distancing is not possible; practice
Stevensville Mayor Brandon Dewey recently announced a slate of infrastructure projects throughout the community that are scheduled through 2021. Those projects are already coming to fruition with the Town Council’s approval of extending a sewer main south along Park Avenue to Middle Burnt Fork Road, and finalizing plans for improvements on E. 3rd Street and E. 5th Street. At their regular meeting on Thursday, October 22, the Council approved a task order with HDR Engineering to provide project management and design of the sewer main extension project. The total cost of the task order is $35,271. At the meeting, Mayor
Dewey noted that the project came out of a need for the town to meet its obligation to provide services to the Stevensville Community Foundation’s property which will be the site of a future community center. The property is already annexed into the town limits. The town looked at options, including placing a sanitary sewer main up to the new Phillips Street, or continuing the main to the town boundary at Middle Burnt Fork Road, making it available to existing or future homes that likely would one day require hookup to town service. After looking at costs and thinking about how best to serve future service needs, Dewey said the town opted to bring the main to the edge of
town.
The Ravalli County Election Office anticipates a 3 to 4 hour wait time if you plan on voting on Election Day. The only in-person voting location is the Ravalli County Administration Building located at 215 S 4th Street, Hamilton. The Election Office encourages voters to
County opts for status quo in response to COVID-19 spike
By Michael Howell
The Bitterroot Valley saw an unusually heavy snowfall for this time of year that began on Friday afternoon and continued through the night, piling up over a foot in some places on the valley floor and even deeper in the drifts. That was followed by record cold temperatures on Saturday and Sunday night, dipping below zero in some spots. On Sunday morning, Missoua recorded -7, the earliest below zero reading on record and the coldest October temperature on record, according to the National Weather Service. The snow on this patio table near Stevensville measured 8.5 inches on Saturday. Victoria Howell photo.
Charges filed in nursing home resident’s disappearance case By Michael Howell
On September 22, 2020 at 10 p.m., 81-year-old Carol Nutt was reported missing by staff at the Discovery Care Centre in Hamilton. She showed up a day later at the emergency room of a Missoula hospital. Her son, Randall Scott Vadnais, has been charged with accountability for kidnapping and accountability for
custodial interference in relation to the disappearance. Both are felony charges. He is facing up to 20 years in prison and up to $100,000 in fines if convicted on both charges. According to the information and affidavits filed on October 9 by the Ravalli County Attorney’s office, “Ms. Nutt has severe dementia and according to a letter from her physician dated Sep-
tember 8, 2020, is ‘not mentally competent to make legal, medical or financial decisions on her own behalf’.” It also states that Ms. Nutt’s daughter, Cindy Thayer, has legal power of attorney. It states in the filing document that the Hamilton police had already begun investigating the missing person report when dis-
It involves the construction a new fire hall on property already owned by the City at Foxfield and Skeels Avenue. Working with Brandon Lendak of Revival Timeless Design Company, the City staff and Fire Department considered three preliminary designs before whittling it down to a single proposal that they are ready to present to the public for review and comment in preparation for its presentation to the City Council. According to Chief Mohn, the old fire hall which was constructed in 1910 and has served its
purpose for over a hundred years. “Unfortunately,” he said, “it has served its purpose.” He said the whole city has grown and the fire department along with it. As the years went by more fire trucks were acquired and now the fire hall is packed to the gills. Not only is the number of trucks needed growing the trucks, themselves are growing. They are getting bigger. Mohn said the last few engines that they acquired had to be custom built to fit the tight space in the old building and even
See CHARGES, page 19
Hamilton considering new fire hall By Michael Howell
It has been recognized for a long time now that the Hamilton Volunteer Fire Department was outgrowing its accommodations in the historic Fire Hall, located in the downtown area on the corner of 3rd and State streets. Fire Chief Brad Mohn and City Mayor Dominic Farrenkopf are in agreement that the time has come to do something about it. They have come up with a design concept which they are ready to present to the public and to the City Council for review and assessment.
See fire hall, page 14
See COVID-19, page 5
Stevi sewer project approved The proposed 1300 feet of sewer main would make service available to 13 lots and make sewer available to both occupied and undeveloped lands to the south if development occurs at some point in the future. Water service already exists in the area. Design of the project and contract preparation will occur over the winter months. The Town expects that construction for the project will occur in the Spring of 2021. A complete list of 20202021 infrastructure projects is on the Town’s website at https:// www.townofstevensville.com/ publicworks/page/2020-2021-infrastructure-projects
This architectural drawing produced by Revival Timeless Design Co. shows how the proposed new Hamilton Fire Hall could look. The structure was designed so that another story could be added on top of the west end of the building in the future to accommodate sleeping quarters if they should ever be needed.
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