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‘The B Volume XXXV, Number 36
Nature therapy
Wednesday, March 25, 2020
www.bitterrootstar.com
State, local officials respond to pandemic
By Michael Howell
Deborah Goslin sitting next to Middle Burnt Fork Creek at her home near Stevensville where she connects to the land and records her observations and feelings in a journal. “In my sit-spot, I learn how I relate to the more-than-human world and about the reciprocity of how it relates to me,” she said. Marnie Craig photo.
Forest bathing for health and wellness By Marnie Craig
A faint melody of pentatonic chimes sounded in the distance and dried leaves and grasses crunched underfoot as Deborah Goslin took regardful steps toward her sit-spot along
the bank of Middle Burnt Fork Creek. She connects with nature on five acres east of Stevensville that host a spring fed meadow, mixed conifers and mini-forests of aspen and cottonwood. Connecting deeply to one place in nature is part of a six-month practicum to
Deborah Goslin sits on her front porch looking at a drawing in her practicum journal while enjoying the warm sun. She writes about her place in the web of inter-being and the many ways the creek expresses itself and how the alders interact with the environment. Marnie Craig photo.
become a certified forest therapy guide, someone who guides people into nature for increased health and wellness. She visits her sit-spot several times a week and sees the creek change every day. When she thinks it’s going to stay frozen over for a while, water starts flowing over the ice again. “I have come to think of the creek as a being even though it is made up of many different things,” she said. “It’s not just water, it has a personality. It’s surprising the connections you can make with a place when you visit it often.” Goslin grew up exploring the rural farmlands and forests of the Adirondack Mountains in northern New York. As she played, she discovered there was more to nature than met the eye. She talked to plants and to the trees as she climbed them. In high school, she read, “The Secret Life of Plants,” by Peter Tompkins and Christopher Bird, a book that recounted experiments revealing plants were sentient beings. “I knew it,” she said. “That confirmed it for me.” After earning a degree in
Ecology and Environmental Technology at Paul Smith’s College near Lake Placid, she moved to Montana to join her boyfriend who had landed a job with the U.S. Forest Service. Goslin went to work for the U.S. Geological Survey in St. Regis, and in 1982 the two nature lovers bought five acres east of Stevensville. Four years later they married and moved onto the property where they lived close to the earth while building a house. “We lived in a tipi next to my little forest of cottonwoods,” she said. Goslin began volunteering and banding birds at Lee Metcalf National Wildlife Refuge. She worked at the refuge as a biological science technician for 23 seasons and simultaneously worked in the same capacity for the Bitterroot National Forest for 15 years, where she still works on the rare plant survey crew. “I started bird-watching as a teenager but I didn’t think I could make a career out of
See FOREST, page 14
Man charged in double homicide By Michael Howell
Twenty-five-year-old Logan Dallas Christopher remains jailed at the Ravalli County Detention Center for the murder of his mother, 47-yearold Tiffanie Greenslade and the mother of his children, 25-yearold Marisa Wahl. The double homicide occurred on March 10 at the victims’ residences near Stevensville. Christopher is also charged with attempted deliberate homicide for shooting his father, Noe Christopher, and two counts of creating a risk of death or serious bodily injury to Wahl’s 3-year old and 11-monthold children. Christopher was also charged with three counts of driving dangerously after fleeing
the scene. Christopher and Wahl were living in a 5th wheel trailer close to his parents’ home located northeast of Stevensville. According to the charging documents in the case, during the morning hours of March 10, the defendant’s father and mother had a discussion with him, at his trailer, about his apparent use of illegal drugs. Nothing further appears to have come of that discussion during the morning. But that evening, shortly before 7 p.m. Greenslade received a call from Wahl, who was in the 5th wheel trailer. Greenslade told her husband Noe Christopher that something was wrong at the 5th wheel, and that Wahl had asked for them to immediately come to
Logan Christopher the trailer. Noe Christopher had been changing clothes and was delayed momentarily. He reported that by the time he got to the 5th wheel trailer, Greenslade was in the entry room of the trailer. He
said she warned him that his son had a gun, and he heard Greenslade telling Christopher to “put the gun down.” Noe Christopher then grabbed the 3-year-old child from the entry room, and took the child back to his main residence to stay with the their 14-year-old daughter and called the Ravalli County 911 center asking for help. Dispatch Center records show that the call was first received at 6:57 p.m. Noe Christopher then returned to the 5th wheel trailer, and discovered Greenslade lying in the entry room, having been shot. He started to move into the entry See HOMICIDE, page 3
The coronavirus pandemic continues to spread across the globe. As of Monday, there were 366,919 cases of COVID-19 worldwide, with 16,097 deaths recorded, and 100,879 recovered cases. In Montana, there were 45 cases statewide, with one in Ravalli County. Montana Governor Steve Bullock imposed state-wide directives last week to mitigate the impacts of the COVID-19 outbreak across the state. “Both young and older Montanans, in urban and rural communities, have tested positive for coronavirus, making it even more clear that this virus impacts us all and these actions are imperative to protecting our friends and neighbors. “We face extraordinary health risks – and with it even further risks to our economic and social well-being – if we do not act now. I do not take these decisions lightly and they were done so in consultation with public health professionals. Montanans, too, need to take this seriously. It’s up to all of us to stop the spread of this virus,” said Bullock in a recent press release. The Governor issued a travel advisory for Montanans who have traveled internationally to self-quarantine for 14 days after returning to Montana. He also announced measures to close dine-in food service and alcoholic beverage businesses and other activities that pose enhanced health risks, effective at 8 p.m. on Friday, March 20, 2020. The directive expires at 11:59 p.m. on March 27, 2020, the same day that school closures are set to expire, though the date will likely be extended. Under the directive, the following places are closed to use and occupancy by members of the public: • Restaurants, food courts, cafes, coffeehouses, and other similar establishments offering food or beverage for on-premises consumption. • Alcoholic beverage service businesses, including bars, taverns, brew pubs, breweries, microbreweries, distilleries, wineries, tasting rooms, special licensees, clubs, and other establishments offering alcoholic beverages for on-premises consumption. • Cigar bars. • Health clubs, health spas, gyms, aquatic centers, pools and hot springs, indoor facilities at ski areas, climbing gyms, fitness studios, and indoor recreational facilities. • Movie and performance theaters, nightclubs, concert halls, bowling alleys, bingo halls, and music halls. • Casinos. The Governor’s office announced that the State of Montana will pay for COVID-19 tests and treatment for all uninsured Montanans. State funds and potentially federal funds will be used to pay for testing and treatment beginning on March 23. Access to telemedicine services are also expanded to ensure Medicaid patients receive quality health care in their homes to prevent unnecessary gatherings at health care facilities and slow the spread of COVID-19. To access this emergency assistance Montanans can call 406-444-7605 or email hhspresumptive@ mt.gov. Emergency measures have also been undertaken to address the impacts of expected high levels of unemployment. The emergency rules make unemployment benefits accessible to workers laid off due to COVID-19 and waive the one week waiting period before receiving See COVID-19, page 3
Schools initiate distance learning By Jean Schurman
On Monday, a new normal for many of the valley schools occurred. With the governor’s directive last week to close all schools to help combat the COVID-19 pandemic, the schools were left trying to figure out how to continue educating students. Lone Rock superintendent Scott Stiegler said they began to consider the idea for distance learning a week ago, on Friday, March 13. Then, on Monday, March 16, the Lone Rock staff met and began working to identify what needed to be done and how to do it. All of the departments were involved in the planning, including teachers, para professionals and special education educators. “It was hard to digest everything at one time,” said Stiegler. Stiegler said that as a result of the Friday meeting, most of his staff had a plan. They are using Zoom and Google Docs platforms for the teachers to do their instruction and interactions with the students. The district has enough Chrome books for the students in the sixth, seventh, and eighth grades. The staff spent
the day preparing packets for the 195 students in the district and by Tuesday morning, the packets were ready to go. A week ago Wednesday, at 7 a.m., the packets were being handed out. The teachers, who took three- or four-hour shifts handing out the packets, worked until 7 p.m. in order to reach those who didn’t get home until later. By the end of the day, all but about four packets had been picked up. The district, as with any other public school district, must, by law, provide special ed instruction to those in need. Stiegler said they have set up para professionals and teachers with distance learning platforms as well and are reaching out to the families of these students. Because they began work on this issue early, Stiegler feels they are ahead of the game. “We’ve had a chance to flesh out our system and fix problems.” The Lone Rock School, as well as other schools in the valley, has been involved with the Summer Food Service Program (SFSP) for two years. This program, administered by the See SCHOOLS, page 5