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Covering the Bitterroot Valley – “Where Montana Begins!” – Established 1985 – Locally Owned & Independent
Find the latest updates and information on the COVID-19 pandemic at www.bitterrootstar.com Volume XXXV, Number 40
t s e B e ‘Th
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RML releases promising study of antiviral drug on monkeys
Study supports COVID-19 clinical testing underway across U.S.
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Wednesday, April 22, 2020
Petition circulating to recall Stevensville mayor By Michael Howell
By Michael Howell A team of scientists at Rocky Mountain Laboratory (RML) in Hamilton, a part of the National Institutes for Allergy and Infectious Disease (NIAID), led by Dr. Emmie de Witt, an expert in the field of designing animal models to simulate human diseases, has released a promising study in which early treatment with the experimental antiviral drug remdesivir significantly reduced clinical disease and damage to the lungs of rhesus macaques infected with SARS-CoV-2, the coronavirus that causes COVID-19. Remdesivir is an investigational broad-spectrum antiviral treatment. It was previously tested in humans with Ebola virus disease and has shown promise in animal models for treating Middle East respiratory syndrome (MERS)and severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS), which are caused by other coronaviruses. The study was designed to follow dosing and treatment procedures used for hospitalized COVID-19 patients being administered remdesivir in a large, multi-center, clinical trial led by NIAID. The scientists posted the study on the preprint server bioRxiv. The findings are not yet peer-reviewed and should not be considered clinical advice but are being shared to assist the public health response to COVID-19. A study detailing the development of the rhesus macaque model of mild-to-moderate human disease, conducted by the same team of NIAID scientists, was posted to bioRxiv on March 21. The current study of remdesivir, a drug developed by Gilead Sciences Inc. and NIAID-supported investigators, involved two
’ ! l a c o L at
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This scanning electron microscope image shows SARSCoV-2 (round magenta objects) emerging from the surface of cells cultured in the lab. SARS-CoV-2, also known as 2019-nCoV, is the virus that causes COVID-19. The virus shown was isolated from a patient in the U.S. Credit: NIAID-RML groups of six rhesus macaques. One group of monkeys received remdesivir and the other animals served as an untreated comparison group. Scientists infected both groups with SARS-CoV-2. Twelve hours later the treatment group received a dose of remdesivir intravenously, and then received a daily intravenous booster dose thereafter for the next six days. The scientists timed the initial treatment to occur shortly before the virus reached its highest level in the animals’ lungs. Twelve hours after the initial treatment, the scientists examined all animals and found the six treated animals in significantly better health than the untreated group, a trend that continued during the seven-day study. They report that one of the six treated animals showed mild breath-
ing difficulty, whereas all six of the untreated animals showed rapid and difficult breathing. The amount of virus found in the lungs was significantly lower in the treatment group compared to the untreated group, and SARS-CoV-2 caused less damage to the lungs in treated animals than in untreated animals. The investigators note that the data supports initiating remdesivir treatment in COVID19 patients as early as possible to achieve maximum treatment effect. The authors, from RML, also note that while remdesivir helped prevent pneumonia, it did not reduce virus shedding by the animals. “This finding is of great significance for patient management, where a clinical improveSee DRUG, page 7
NIH study validates decontamination methods for re-use of N95 masks Three methods effectively sanitized masks for limited re-use
A petition is being circulated in Stevensville to recall Mayor Brandon Dewey for violating his oath of office when he signed a $79,800 contract for services with First Call Computer Solutions that had not been authorized by the Stevensville Town Council. Leanna Rodabaugh of Stevensville submitted the petition on March 30, claiming in her sworn affidavit that Mayor Dewey had “assumed the power to make contracts, a power that is assigned to the Stevensville Town Council.” Deputy County Attorney Royce McCarty found the petition to meet the grounds and form for a recall petition and Clerk and Recorder Regina Plettenberg approved the petition for circulation on April 7. The petitioner has 90 days from that date to collect the required number of signatures to have the petition placed on the ballot. Based on the number of registered voters in the Stevensville Town limits, 1,255 in the last election, the petitioner will have to collect 251 signatures to meet
the 20% required for placing it on the ballot. According to Plettenberg, this is not the first recall petition against the mayor of Stevensville that the county has reviewed. Three petitions were submitted one in November 2018, followed by one in December 2018 and another in January 2019. They all made claims of violations of law and official misconduct. None of them were found to meet the grounds or form requirements
when reviewed by the county attorney’s office and none were corrected and re-submitted. In the current petition, that did gain approval for circulation, Rodabaugh claims the mayor’s action in signing the contract without council approval resulted in bypassing the competitive bid and contract award process. She claims the Town Council was not allowed to participate
Marcus Daly Memorial Hospital (MDMH) has been closely monitoring the evolving situation of COVID-19. The Hospital’s Incident Management Team began meeting before any known cases in Montana. According to Alida Merritt, RN, MSN, Infection Control Director for MDMH, “In response to COVID-19 surge in the State of Washington, and before the first presumptive positive case in Montana, Marcus Daly Memorial Hospital held a tabletop meeting to discuss Ravalli County’s preparedness for an infectious disease outbreak. The hospital, Ravalli County Public Health, and County Board of Health, as well as other MDMH leaders, attended this session. This was the beginning of a collaborative effort to address
COVID-19 in the state.” John Bishop, CEO of Marcus Daly Memorial Hospital, continued, “That tabletop exercise marked the start of what would become a series of decisions and steps to prepare our community and hospital for the coming months. Our decisions are made based on careful assessments of CDC guidelines, community health needs and usage patterns, and data around the pandemic. These steps are a part of an ongoing effort to ensure our team remains whole while providing the appropriate care, at the right time, in the right place.” COVID-19 has forced the government, hospitals, essential workers, businesses, and citizens around the world to think and behave differently. “Ravalli County has been fortunate to have
had only a few confirmed cases of COVID-19, and to date avoid community spread. This is due to the efforts put forth by the residents, the state, county, and your hospital,” said Bishop. “Slowing down the spread of the COVID-19 takes a village. Our community has proven we are in this together. Your healthcare providers and hospital team are very thankful for your commitment to follow the CDC guidelines and for the multiple donations of personal protective equipment; these efforts have given us the time to prepare.” The Hospital’s Incident Management Team guides the hospital’s COVID-19 preparedness efforts. This team consists of physicians, nurses, respira-
Some supporters of Stevensville Mayor Brandon Dewey are resurrecting old campaign signs to counter the petition effort.
See RECALL, page 2
Steps Daly Hospital has taken to prepare for COVID-19
See HOSPITAL, page 6
By Michael Howell A team of scientists, under the direction of Dr. Vincent Munster in the Laboratory of Virology at Rocky Mountain Laboratory (RML) in Hamilton, working with collaborators from the University of California at Los Angeles, recently released the latest results of a study that validates at least three ways in which N95 respirators may be effectively decontaminated and re-used for a limited number of times. This is great news for healthcare providers and others working on the frontlines in the COVID-19 pandemic which in only a few months has come to cover most of the globe. Unlike ordinary cloth face masks, carpenter’s dust masks and even surgical masks, N95 respirators have a special inner membrane that can, if it is properly fitted to the individual
N95 respirator. using it, actually block the virus. They are made for a single use by a single person. But these respirators are in short supply as demand has gone out the ceiling. Being able to confidently re-use them a couple of times after a decontamination process could provide a lot of relief. “People need to understand that these are not bandanas,” said RML Administrative Director Dr. Marshall Bloom. “These respirators have a specific function in certain kinds of healthcare settings and in certain kinds of laboratory work to protect people from infectious agents in the air,” said Bloom. He said places that use
them usually require the people to get “fit-tested” annually to make sure that when a respirator is on a person’s face it is sealed so that air doesn’t infiltrate around it. “If that respirator doesn’t fit properly, then the person wearing it is not getting the protection that they think they are getting,” said Bloom. He noted that one thing known to be able to defeat the effectiveness of these respirators is facial hair. He recalled a recent newspaper photograph showing a man delivering groceries wearing one of these respirators and he had a big beard. Bloom said the man See MASKS, page 7
At all Marcus Daly Memorial Hospital facilities, anyone entering (including all patients, hospital and medical staff, and essential visitors) has their temperature monitored and are asked if they have respiratory symptoms, if they have traveled recently, and if they have been in contact with people with suspected or confirmed cases of COVID-19. Facemasks and appropriate respiratory and emergency services are available when appropriate. The no visitor policy and screening process ensures MDMH facilities are safe for staff and patients.
Page 2 -- Bitterroot Star
Wednesday, April 22, 2020
Thank You Three Mile Community/ Lone Rock for Your Support! Three Mile Community/Senior Center (Coffee Club) would like to thank the community for your support of our Weekend Back Pack Program for Lone Rock School. With your donations we have been able to supply the school with 60 back packs each week for Lone Rock School. These packs contain enough food for two days.
Thank you Lone Rock School for giving us the opportunity to be an addition to your plan for the care of our students. We are always welcoming any donations or help to keep this program going. Donations can be sent to: 4433 Sunnyside Cemetery Road, Stevensville, MT Any donations are tax deductible as we are a non-profit 501-c3
k n a Th ! You
Recall continued
in the contract award process and the Town’s attorney was not afforded the opportunity to review the contract prior to the signing by the mayor. Finally, she claims that the mayor’s actions resulted in denying all citizens the right to participate and the process as well. The mayor’s actions were considered after the fact by the town council at a meeting at which town attorney Scott Owens rendered an opinion on the issue. In his opinion, the mayor did nothing illegal in signing the contract. He said an agreement had been signed by the mayor for a large amount of money that usually would require council approval, but the money had been included in the budget that the council approved and was only being paid out incrementally. The council had already approved one payment of a couple thousand dollars but balked at the second payment. Council President Bob Michalson has argued that the council was not aware of the full extent of the contract when they approved the first payment. Owens argued that under the
circumstances, and given some discrepancies between state law and town policies, in his opinion the mayor did not violate any laws. “He came close,” said Owens. “He came right up to the limit. But in my opinion, he did not cross the line.” He said he ran the issue by attorneys at Montana Municipal Interlocal Authority, which handles insurance and other legal issues for Montana’s cities and towns, and another private attorney. “There was a lot of discomfort, but they did not think his actions were illegal,” said Owens. “I know Rodabaugh has got an opinion about the law. I have one.” Asked for comment on the petition, Rodabaugh said, “I think the petition speaks for itself.” She said when Dewey was first elected that people were excited about getting some youth into the office of mayor for Stevensville. “But now I’ve talked to people that tell me now it is an issue for them. I think it’s very important for people to be able to re-evaluate their initial decision with a new election.” Mayor Dewey said the petition relies on state law and municipal ordinance to make its
case, “but it doesn’t include any of the town attorney’s basis of fact that the council delegated its authority for these types of purchases through the purchasing policy that we have in place. “If you strictly took state law and municipal ordinance, I think, yes, a case could be made that there was some impropriety. But that’s only true if you completely ignore the purchasing policy which the council adopted a number of years ago and has reviewed on a regular basis since delegating this authority to department heads and the mayor.” “It seems that a lot of time and energy is being wasted on trying to change someone’s ideas by going after them and destroying them with false and incomplete facts,” said Dewey. “This petition is incomplete. It doesn’t present the citizens with all the facts. It presents them with some convenient facts but not the complete story. In times like we are experiencing right now there is a lot of uncertainty to our future, not just on a local level but on a global level. I think we need to be diligent about embracing reason and truth and not necessarily speculation and rumors.”
ranged from a low of 20% up to 100% of the applicant’s requests. Kemp said that when they reached their initial goal of $20,000 they decided to keep the fund going and bump the goal to $40,000. “Now we have received applications for over $50,000,” said Kemp, “So we are already thinking about bumping the goal a little higher as more requests come in.” Kemp said that there are a lot of businesses being impacted by the emergency and the government funds have been slow to arrive and some funds have now run out. “There are people out there getting desperate,” said Kemp.
“Some, despite the federal programs, are just falling through the cracks. It’s makes this fund still really relevant.” Some citizens in the Stevensville community have been paying attention to the success that Hamilton has had with its business relief fund. The non-profit Project 59870 has decided to create a similar fund for Stevensville businesses that are struggling. The GoFundMe campaign called Stevensville Business Relief Fund is launching this week with an initial goal of $5000. Anyone needing more information or wanting to donate offline or find out more about the grants can contact Victoria Howell, chair, at 207-8793.
Hamilton Business Relief Fund rolling on, inspires Stevensville
By Michael Howell
The Hamilton Business Relief Fund is raising its goal. The fund was started by a subcommittee of the Hamilton Downtown Association (HDA) to provide cash assistance to local businesses being hard hit by the COVID-19 pandemic. A GoFundMe site was established and an initial goal was set to raise $20,000. The fund has reached that benchmark and gone beyond. According to HDA Director Claire Kemp, $20,000 was recently distributed to 21 different businesses. “Every business that applied for help got some funding,” said Kemp. She said funding awards
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Wednesday, April 22, 2020
School boards, Bitterroot College district, levy elections underway By Michael Howell
Ballots for the upcoming school board elections and the Bitterroot College mill levy are already in the mail! According to Ravalli County Clerk and Recorder Regina Plettenberg, ballots were mailed out last Friday, April 17 and voters have until May 5 to return them. This election is a mail-in ballot only election and no polling places will be open. The Ravalli County Elections Office has been closed to walk-in traffic since March 30 due to concerns over the COVID-19 pandemic but has continued to work behind closed doors via mail, phone, fax and email. According to County Clerk and Recorder Regina Plettenberg, if you need to register to vote, update your voter registration, or request an absentee ballot, you can complete a voter registration form or absentee ballot request form and return the form via mail, fax, or email. “But as the May 5th deadline gets closer,” said Plettenberg, “we will be open to help people at the office. We are just hoping that most people will be proactive and practice the proper social distancing as long as we can,” said Plettenberg. Anyone with questions can call the office at 3756550 or email: elections@rc.mt. gov The Bitterroot Community College is holding an election to propose the creation of a community college district and elect seven trustees at-large to the board. The District’s boundaries would include the school districts of Corvallis, Pinesdale, Darby, Hamilton, Lone Rock Elementary, Stevensville, Elementary and Victor. Voters residing in those districts are eligible to vote in the election. The ballot contains a second issue in which voters are being asked to approve a levy to fund the district. If approved, the Community College District would be
authorized to impose a mandatory levy to fund part of its operation. The levy would be permanent with no durational limit. The number of mills to be imposed will be 8.86 mills to raise approximately $650,000 per year. The impact on a home valued at $100,000 would be approximately $12.00 per year. The impact on a home valued at $200,000 would be approximately $24 per year. The levy would be limited in its growth according to state law. There are eleven candidates on the ballot vying for seven board seats on the Community College District Board. They include Gary Carlson, Linda Doughty, Robert Fifield, Don Gardner, Brittany Leatham-Olney, Candy Lubansky, Judith Mott, Ran Pigman, Marci Smith, Sue Smith and Janet Woodburn. Election of some school board trustees and one school levy are also on the ballot. The residents of the Lone Rock Elementary School District will not only get to fill two positions on the school board of trustees they will get the chance to pass a levy…or not. The proposal on the ballot would replace the 1999 bond for the Middle School building construction which expires on June 30, 2020 with a “tax-neutral” levy of equal value. The new levy would be adopted on July 1, 2020 and there would be no increase in the annual taxes for Lone Rock School. The levy authorizes the board of trustees to replace the expired bond with a General Fund operations levy in the same amount of 21.52 mills, which currently totals $103,855 per year for the purpose of general fund operational costs, including deferred facilities maintenance, safety and security updates, updating curriculum materials, educational programming and technology updates/repairs.
The passage of this levy will continue the existing annual tax of approximately $29.05 on a home with a market value of $100,000, and approximately $58.10 on a home with a market value of $200,000. The duration of the levy is permanent once approved by the voters, assuming the district levies that amount at least once in the next five years. A “yes” vote will keep Lone Rock School taxes the same. A “no” vote will reduce Lone Rock School taxes by the amount of the expiring 1999 bond. Also on the ballot in Lone Rock are two open seats for threeyear terms on the Board of Trustees. Candidates include William Gary Leese, Matthew Schaefer and Brandon Williams. Two seats with three-year terms are also open on the Stevensville School Board of Trustees with three candidates on the ballot: Sean Lenahan, Ben Meyer and Wm Todd Wohlman. Two seats with threeyear terms are also open on the Florence-Carlton School Board of Trustees with four candidates on the ballot: Robert Cook, Lacy Janes, Bobbie Ketelhut and Ckye Thomas. Two candidates are also on the ballot for a three-year term on the Florence Rural Fire District board: Robert DeWitt and Dan Martin. Two seats are also open on the Corvallis school Board of Trustees. There are three candidates running for three open seats on the board: Becky Anderson, Shawn F. Boelman and Dan Wolsky. The terms are al for three years. One position to fill an unexpired term is contested by Tonia Bloom and Carol W. Peterson. Eight candidates are vying for four seats on the Ravalli County Park District Number 2, the Bitterroot Aquatic Center. They are all four-year terms. Candidates include Stephen Bergeron, Ronald Frost, Chris Porter, Amy J. C. Reed, Karen Savory, Ryal Weber, Marilyn Wildey and Jeff Wolfe.
Bitterroot Star -- Page 3
Montana COVID-19 statistical update
As of Monday evening, April 20, there were 433 confirmed cases of COVID-19 in Montana. Total number of tests completed – 11051 Total hospitalizations – 57 Active Hospitalizations – 19 Total Deaths – 11 Recovered – 243 Highest number of total cases by county Gallatin – 143 Yellowstone – 72 Flathead – 37 Missoula – 38 Toole – 29 Lewis & Clark – 16
As of noon Monday, April 20, 2020, there were five confirmed cases of COVID-19 in Ravalli County. The first three cases are recovered. The remaining two positive cases are in isolation and their contacts have been quarantined. Dr. Carol Calderwood, Ravalli County Incident Commander, issued the following statement: “There is a lot of talk about the State of Montana ‘reopening.’ Ravalli County residents have made a difference in the spread of COVID-19 with their health practices the past few weeks; staying at home/sheltering in place, distancing, wearing masks,
HOPE
and washing hands. We don’t want those efforts to have been pointless. Just because there may be a date to open, doesn’t mean COVID-19 is gone. “We – the Incident Management Team, and County officials – are working on a plan that coincides with the CDC recommendations to having a phased opening approach. We will outline the County’s approach shortly after Governor Bullock makes an announcement for the State. The County plan will be posted on the ravalli.us website. Refer to CDC website for the national guidelines.”
IS THE
THING STRONGER ONLY THAN
FEAR - Robert Ludlum
Page 4 -- Bitterroot Star
Bitterroot Star Editorial Board Michael Howell Victoria Howell
Opinion
Wednesday, April 22, 2020
Guest Comment
Natural selection and COVID-19 By Elliott Oppenheim, MD, JD, LLM Health Law, Florence
Viruses have been around for billions of years. They survive and will continue to mutate and survive. The human immune system is vigorous and strong but COVID-19 is stressing it to the max. How did this happen? It is critical to understand the meaning of this pandemic in an historical sense; where it came from and where it will go. Charles Darwin published the Origin of the Species in 1859. In that he proposed that all living things evolved from common ancestors. That is true about COVID-19 this, nefarious virus culling the flock, so to speak. A few years later, 1866, Gregor Mendel worked on pea plants and determined that there was a pattern of inheritance; that offspring got what their parents gave them. Though viruses aren’t technically living, like a dog or cat, they are very good at infectivity. They need a host organism in order to reproduce. Nevertheless, they are subject to evolutionary pressures. What is occurring now with the spread of COVID-19 is an example of Darwinian evolution; survival of the fittest. Those people who “get it” and survive will pass on those successful immunity genes to their progeny. Those who get it and don’t survive, will not procreate. Some people have a genome that can resist this infection; others do not. If we look at those who get the virus and live, they have immunocompetency to survive. COVID-19 has punched us in the gut where we are relatively defenseless. The virus is novel; new; haven’t seen it. COVID-19 is extremely dangerous for several reasons. It is highly infective because humans, apparently, lack the immunologic ability to stop it in the respiratory tract, in the upper airway. For most colds, the general infectious flotsam and jetsam that we see all the time, most of us naturally resist the infection or, if we get it, it lasts a few days and our immune system gangs up on it and kills it off. That is not the case with COVID-19. It is the Exterminator of viruses. Many human immune systems do not recognize COVID-19’s antigen as dangerous and it gets into our bodies. COVID viruses have probably been around, as with many viruses, for million of years. In order to survive, they change their genomes by mutation. That is the reason you will see assorted genetic variations and mutations in the animal kingdom. These Darwinian adaptations ensure survival… those that don’t adapt, don’t reproduce. This particular strain of COVID virus, known as 19, it appears, lived well on bats … until, somehow, “it got loose” and was transmitted to a human. This is very much like your dog coming home with a tick. … and then the virus took off because the human genome was unprepared. COVID-19 seems uniquely able to gobble up pulmonary tissue and to poison the heart muscle. An antigen is a bit of foreign substance, usually DNA or RNA that annoys our immune system. We react by creating an anti-body and that antigen-antibody reaction confers immunity. Measles, mumps, chicken pox, and polio are example of viruses which wrecked havoc until we created vaccines. Once you get it, you have immunity but it is much nicer if you don’t get it. That’s why we create vaccines. A vaccine challenges our immune system and creates a protective wall: immunity. Once there is a vaccine, and everyone is vaccinated, the virus will be gone … until the next one evolves. This pandemic is “nothing new.” The Black Death, or Black Plague, peaking in Europe in 1347 to 1351, bubonic plague, evolved as
Debt: a four-letter word Dear Editor, “It was the best of times, it was the worst of times...”--Charles Dickens, A Tale of Two Cities Actually, it really was the best of times for a while and many of us thought it would go on forever. When you’re dealing in economics and politics, though, nothing goes on forever and when the situation finally turned just a few months ago, it echoed Ernest Hemingway’s description of going bankrupt -- “...gradually, then suddenly.” We may have seen ‘the best of times’, but it is fairly certain that we have not yet begun to plumb the depths of ‘the worst of times’. It is quite possible, probable even, that we are only
Letters
beginning to experience the consequences of decades of living large on a debt binge, fueled by annually growing government deficits, ever-increasing “fiscal stimulus” injected into the economy by the Federal Reserve, and the average person in hock up to his eyeballs as he tried to maintain his lifestyle of keeping up with the Joneses. We have a rough and rocky road ahead of us. Our economy is not going to bounce back and revert to “normal” once the Coronavirus pandemic has run its course. The far larger threat is financial, economic, and political ruin on a truly massive scale. It would be easy, but not accurate, to blame the virus for what is happening. The truth is that Corona only acted as the pin which pricked the Federal Reserve caused bubble. It may have been
Bitterroot Star
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Publishers - Michael & Victoria Howell Editors - Michael & Victoria Howell Sports Editor - Jean Schurman Advertising Sales Consultants Jean Schurman (239-4354) & Liz Cook (880-2007) Graphic Designer - Deven Monta TheBitterroot Bitterroot Star Star isispublished published weekly weekly at 115 W. 3rd, Street, Suite 108, The at 115 W. 3rd Suite 108, Stevensville,Montana. Montana.Subscriptions Subscriptions are are$40 $50 per per year year in in Ravalli RavalliCounty, Stevensville, County, $60 per out of and county, per year out of state. $50 per year out year of county, $60and out $70 of state. The Postal Service will no longer forward the Bitterroot Star. Address changes to our mailing list are made once a month and can be made by contacting the Star office at 777-3928.
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early as 3,000 BC. It killed maybe as many as 200,000,000 people and was spread by sailing ships… filled with rats (not unlike bats). Consider that the earth’s population during the Plague, was 370 million… so maybe …almost a 50% mortality. The black plague was due to a bacillus called Yersina pestis and was spread by flea and tick bites, living on rats and through airborne aerosol spread … ha choo … like COVID-19. COVID-19’s mortality rate seems to be about 4-6%, depending upon your sources. With the Plague, it became obvious that those who quarantined, lived … and of course, killing the rats … Ignaz Semmelweis, 1860’s, a Hungarian physician, is known as the “savior of mothers.” He figured out that hand washing before delivery made the difference between mothers dying after childbirth. Handwashing destroys the material which make viruses. Bacteria have cell walls but viruses do not. Viruses are harder to eradicate. Yet, handwashing denatures the viral proteins and genetic material … which is why you need to wash for 20 seconds. A virus is a sub-microscopic particle which must replicate inside of cells. A virus is the most simple form of life. If you wash your hands, you kill it. Joseph Lister died in 1912 and was the father of antisepsis; autoclaving; sterilization. His work is the foundation for PPE’s; personal protective equipment; gloves and gowns. His work forms the basis for modern cleanliness. Here is an important takeaway. All the masks, PPE’s, handsanitizer, social distancing, and respirators do not affect the virus. Like Ebola, H1N1, Swine flu, Influenza A and B, these viruses are always “there.” What happens is that their infectivity reduces due to mutation and human responses… and low population in nature … but the virus is “always there,” lurking. … until someone eats a bat. Have we learned anything from COVID-19? The earlier the response, the better the outcome. Israel responded early and aggressively. They have a low catastrophe incidence. We must react aggressively and early. The final point is that humans are part of evolution and the vulnerable will succumb. If we take precautions seriously, we can modify and assist natural selection in our favor and survive. … get out of the rain … get off the tracks when you see an oncoming train. The reason some people live and others are smitten is because of this genetic susceptibility … and, of course, taking precautions … which is “like” genetic susceptibility… if you are smart enough to avoid the threat, you survive. It’s similar to being smart enough to “getting out of the rain” so you do not die of hypothermia. … or running from a forest fire. … or getting off the tracks when a train is coming. When a vaccine emerges, and it will, it is imperative that everyone … everyone … undergoes vaccination or, when the virus returns, the spread will create more havoc. The danger, too, is that without everyone getting vaccinated a more lethal strain may emerge with a much higher mortality. There will be another lethal pandemic. If we cease precautions too early we may invite a worse calamity because the virus may mutate to a more infective sub-type before the original form “burns out.” Perhaps the world will have learned its lesson from COVID-19. “Those who fail to learn from history will be forced to repeat it.” Not my quote but a good mantra. Note to self: Don’t eat bats.
the catalyst which started the action, but the bubble had been building for a long, long time— searching for a pin and an opportune time to brush up against it. Normal? If what we had before was normal, then we are going to experience something far worse—major recession and even perhaps a Greater Depression, widespread unemployment, hyper-inflation, the death of the US dollar, authoritarian and autocratic rule, martial law, chaos, destruction, wars, and a loss of life on a scale we’ve not seen before. Is that abnormal? It’s going to become the new normal and we’re going to learn how to live with it and, potentially, to die from it. When it’s over, everything about us as a people, society, culture, country, and world will be different. Completely different.
I am confident, though, that somehow, someway, most of us will manage to survive and come out on the other side—poorer, stronger, and wiser. And I think it is safe to say that for the vast majority of people, the word ‘debt’ will once again become a fourletter word. As it should. Roger Mitchell Stevensville
Support for Lone Rock levy
Dear Editor, I write to encourage my fellow Lone Rock School District residents to support the tax-neutral Lone Rock levy. We are currently living in uncertain times, but it is especially
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now that we see the pivotal role of Lone Rock School District in our community. For evidence of this, one need only look to the daily breakfast/lunch deliveries for each child in the district, the adaptation of curriculum to enable our children to continue to make academic progress from home, the weekly homework swaps and the phone calls and updates that attempt to offer support through the incredible disruption from coronavirus. Especially in an unincorporated, rural area such as ours, the school is an important hub for education, events and community connection. A vote for the levy is to agree to continue to pay the same amount on your tax bill, but instead of those funds going to the middle school building bond, which has been paid in full, the money now becomes available for other critical needs in the district, including safety upgrades, curricular investments and operational needs. Lone Rock residents are proud of our students and our school, which we’ve demonstrated with support of important building projects over the years. Now we have the chance to continue financial support in a manner that doesn’t increase our taxes, yet will benefit our school for years to come. I hope you’ll join me in supporting Lone Rock School District with a YES vote for the Lone Rock levy this year. Paula Short Stevensville
Not public
Dear Editor, Town Council meetings are supposed to be public meetings. In my opinion, the virtual meeting planned for Thursday is NOT a public meeting. If the Council wishes to discuss, approve and pay for services provided by vendors, that is one thing to consider. There is no way for the public to realistically comment on any other business at hand. That means the Town Council would NOT be a public meeting. Jim Kalkofen Stevensville
Opportunity missed
Dear Editor, What a golden opportunity for President Trump. Almost heaven sent. Put the right people in the right places, with appropriate experience, to respond to the COVID-19 disease pandemic. Then run for re-election. President Trump heard intelligence reports about a dangerous new disease that started in China in November, and continued in December. Then heard from Health and Human Services Secretary Alex Azar, that on January 3, Chinese colleagues warned Dr. Redfield, Director of the USA Center for Disease Control and Prevention, about characteristics of the novel coronavirus active in Wuhan, China. The novel coronavirus that could infect thousands in America. Like it was infecting thousands in industrialized Wuhan. On January 23, the government of China closed down the Wuhan Tianhe airport, and all travel outside of Wuhan, the capital city of the central province, Hubei. The New York Times reports that in early January the National Security Council office responsible for tracking down pandemics received intelligence reports predicting the novel coronavirus would spread to the USA. And that the NSC soon began raising options of having people stay home from work and shutting down large cities. President Trump could well have chosen to protect the USA from the COVID-19 disease epidemic, and protect his chance of being re-elected, by putting in place not Jared Kushner and politicians, but professionals, drawing on 15 years of USA experience in reducing the impact of harmful virus epidemics. Surely Secretary of the Treasury, Steven Mnuchin, emphasized to President Trump that reducing the impact and costs of COVID19 will sooner get USA back to full employment with a strong economy, maintaining its sector share of the world market. With a
growing economy that stock and bond market investors want to see. When corporate earnings go up, stock prices go up. Therefore, let the professionals manage the USA response to COVID-19. Secretary Azar, as an attorney, knowing that the Trump transition team was briefed on how to respond to an epidemic, may have argued legal necessity. Necessity to put the right people in the right places, to reduce impact and costs, and sooner put investments and people back to work. Because that’s the way to win a more decisive victory for the 45th President of the USA. Campaign that President Trump put the right people in the right place. And point out how good they did, compared to how other countries responded to the COVID-19 disease pandemic. Say with distribution of medical supplies and equipment. And with percentage of population reliably tested for COVID-19. Some people infected with COVID-19 disease do not present symptoms. Most industrialized countries imposed strict screening of travelers from China. In conclusion, we have missed the recent opportunity to restrict travelers from China into the USA. Check out the recent breaking story from the New York Times: https://www.nytimes. com/2020/04/04/us/coronaviruschina-travel-restrictions.html Caution, some of the numbers are not date specified. For instance, supposedly 4,000 travelers from Wuhan (since when, I wonder) entered the USA before the February 2, 2020, partial ban on travelers entering the USA from China. Since then, some 40,000 travelers have entered the USA from China. Importantly, since January 1, some 430,000 people, mostly in January, have entered the USA from China. (430,000 seems big. If so, we should have known that before now.) Of equal importance are recent reports that in late January, a lot of high ranking federal officials, on a ‘Red Dawn’ type email chain, spoke of probable huge impact of COVID-19, and the gross failure to shut borders, and test for COVID-19, and restrict social interactions. Bob Williams Stevensville
Do you drive drunk?
Dear Editor, I certainly hope not. Do you wear a face mask in public? I certainly hope so. What do these have in common? Maybe more than you think. If every drunk driver that wrecked only had a single vehicle accident and only injured or killed themselves, well, I’d be OK with that. But it never works out that way. The drunk survives and the family of four in the car they hit all get killed. This COVID-19 coronavirus is highly contagious and can be easily spread by people who don’t show any symptoms. Just like a drunk driver endangers me, anyone with the coronavirus can pass it to me – just by breathing near me. And then I spread it too before I even know I have it. A face mask helps contain the spread from those who have it and also gives a little protection to those they are around. Hand washing and hand sanitizer, gloves, masks and safe social distancing are inconvenient for sure but they’re the only way to stop this virus. And we must first stop it before we can start returning to normal. Please do your part. Mark Van Loon Hamilton
Resumé help for Daines, Gianforte
Dear Steve Daines and Greg Gianforte, I think you’d better update those resumés. Here, I’ll give you a hand: [Steve Daines] [Greg Gianforte] [Address] More LETTERS, next page
Calendar
Hamilton Senior Center meals
Hamilton Senior Center is preparing meals for take out on the following schedule: Monday, between 9 a.m. and 1 p.m. call in to order meals for the week. Thursday, pick up between 12 noon and 1 p.m. For orders and info: 3635181.
AA meetings
Check for local meetings by calling the hotline 1-888-607-2000 or by visiting www.aa-montana. org.
Al-Anon
Stevensville Al-Anon Group meets each Thursday at 7:30 p.m. in the small dining room at the Living Centre, 57 Main Street. Anyone who is affected by the compulsive drinking of a relative or friend is invited. For more information call 239-0878.
Narcotics Anon
Narcotics Anonymous meets every Thursday at 6:30 p.m. at St. Francis Parish Center, 411 S. 5th, Hamilton (north entrance).
Free Indeed
Free Indeed is a faith-based addiction support group. Contact Donald Layman at 203-8579 or Pastor Jim Landis at 642-9849.
Gamblers Anon
Gamblers Anonymous meets Wednesdays at 6:30 p.m. at St.
[Phone number] [Email address] EXPERIENCE Former Republican [senator] [representative] for the State of Montana. While in office, I achieved the following: • I helped a greedy, criminal, lying, racist, xenophobic, misogynistic, sociopath-con-artist-bully escape being removed from office after he was impeached for trying to use taxpayer money to extort a political favor from a foreign nation. • By so doing, I assisted in the negligent homicide of over 25,000 Americans, including nurses, doctors, the elderly in nursing care facilities, and at least one U.S. Navy sailor aboard the U.S.S. Theodore Roosevelt. • Additionally, I allowed the president to enrich himself, his family, and his rich friends through the office of the president in many ways, including historic tax cuts to the wealthy and most recently, through the selling of almost 18 tons of the nation’s personal protective equipment (PPE) to China at the onset of the global pandemic, all while telling American citizens it was a hoax. • I also looked the other way when it became clear that Russian president Vladimir Putin had an unusually strong influence over the president. I did this despite growing evidence that the president had secured millions of dollars in loans from Russia, which was the likely reason the president did Putin’s bidding, even when it went against U.S. interests. • I also enabled the president to remove crucial environmental protections, increasing the rate of global climate change, which I know is a real phenomenon— because I’m not stupid—but which I loyally pretended was not real because that was the president’s opinion—because he is stupid. • While in Congress, when my Democratic colleague Jon Tester was being personally attacked by the president, I kept my head down and did not defend him, grateful that I was not the target of the president’s wrath. • I did this and so much
Francis Catholic Church, 411 S. 5th Street in Hamilton.
Overeaters Anon
Overeaters Anonymous meets every Saturday at 10 a.m. at the Presbyterian Church (west door), 1220 W. Main, Hamilton. For more information call 3632512.
WIC clinics
Ravalli County WIC is a nutrition education program that serves pregnant, post-partum, and breastfeeding women, children from birth to age 5 and women whose pregnancies have ended early. WIC also welcomes dads, grandparents, and foster families. The WIC program is offered In Hamilton Monday through Thursday 8:30-4:30 at 205 Bedford Street, Suite P, District Courthouse Building in Hamilton. The Stevensville clinic is open on Wednesdays at the United Methodist Church, 216 College Street in Stevensville. The Victor Clinic is the second Tuesday of the month at the Victor Nazarene Church. The Darby clinic is open every month on the third Monday of the month at the Darby Library. Income guidelines are 1-$23,107; 2- $31,284; 3-$39,461; 4-$47,638; 5-$55,815. For each additional family member add $8,177. Call 406-802-7180 for more information or see on Facebook; www. facebook.com/Ravalli-CountyWIC.
Family Shelter
The Family Shelter of the Bitterroot is dedicated to helping homeless and needy families in more to help the worst, most incompetent, and most dangerous president in the history of the United States destroy our institutions and our democracy itself. I did little else while in office, due to the daily chaos of the Trump administration. AREAS OF EXPERTISE • Body slamming and choking reporters [sorry, Steve, this one is just for Greg]. • Avoiding my constituents by holding tele–townhall meetings. • Supporting the president until it looked likely that he would lose in 2020, then suddenly showing a highly enthusiastic interest in working with Democratic Senator Jon Tester and doing TV commercials to show what a bipartisan and hardworking kind of guy I am. OBJECTIVE I am currently seeking employment in the private sector, where I hope to use my background and experience most effectively, perhaps as an administrator at Trump University or at the Trump Foundation charitable organization, or at any other highly regarded institution. Dana Hendricks Florence
Support for Manzella
Dear Editor, Theresa Manzella will support the Constitution representing us in Helena. She stands for smaller government, thus in the 2019 legislative session voted against HB 658, the Obamacare/ Medicaid Expansion also known as Montana Medicaid Expansion program. This expanded government putting more people on Medicaid which is an expensive program. However, Nancy Ballance, her opponent, crossed over joining the Democrats and voted so Montana’s Medicaid Expansion program passed. Anita Y. Milanovich, Chief Legal Counsel for Montana Family Foundation wrote, This very expensive legislation also increases abortion availability under Medicaid. Doctors for a Healthy Montana
Wednesday, April 22, 2020
ST. STEPHENS EPISCOPAL CHURCH 203 Stevensville •• 777-0028 360-2661 203Main MainSt.• Stevensville
Worship at 12:0011p.m. Sunday Worship AM In this Church there shall be no outcasts. In this Church there shall be no outcasts. the Bitterroot Valley. If you are interested in helping or need help, call Gary Locke for more information, 239-8833.
Community meals Family Shelter of the Bitterroot is providing free drive-thru meals to go Monday, Tuesday and Thursday from 5:30 to 6:30 p.m. at Cornerstone Bible Church, 280 Fairgrounds Road, Hamilton.
Stevensville kindergarten registration
Stevensville Primary School is having online Kindergarten Registration for the 20/21 school year. Visit the website at stevensvilleschools.org go to the Primary school, choose the link at the bottom to register your student online.
Got jewels?
Bitter Root Humane Association would love to have them for its upcoming “2nd Time Around Jewelry Sale” being held on July 25th. Now’s a great time to sort through all your jewelry boxes and wrote taxpayer funded abortions in Montana Medicaid Expansion (HB 658(2019),Section32) states when a woman enrolls in Montana Medicaid Expansion, becomes pregnant, goes to an abortion clinic, Medicaid Expansion pays for it. In reference to the above information, we don’t want our tax money paying for abortions. Information to consider: 60% of the Montana voters did not want Medicaid Expansion, thus Initiative 185 failed in the 2018 election. This initiative would have eliminated the sunset date of June 30, 2020 and paid for this Medicaid Expansion by $2.00 placed on each pack of cigarettes. HB 658 passed, thus Medicaid Expansion continues in Montana until 2025. Vote Manzella for smaller government. Laura Fricke, Florence; Tom and Karen Round, Florence; Matt and Penny Brainard, Florence; Maria Cole, Stevensville
Support for Ballance
Dear Editor, It is unprecedented times like these, we expect our political leaders to do exactly that; lead. Whether it is President Trump or Governor Bullock, unprecedented and extremely tough decisions need to be made, and are being made. While we do not always agree with every decision made by our leadership, it is my hope is that we at least applaud true leadership when we see it, and recognize the strength it takes to make those decisions in these tenuous times. In recognizing true leadership, one such standout is current Representative Nancy Ballance. Serving 4 terms on House appropriations, the last three as the Chair of Appropriations, there are few others more legislatively qualified to lead this state through what is sure to be some of the most challenging budgetary times in the history of Montana. Working through this pandemic crisis in Montana, and having a sense of what is to come, we need to be looking for proven leadership.
drawers and donate items that you just don’t love or appreciate like you use to. BRHA is seeking all things jewelry - precious, costume or homemade... rings, necklaces, bracelets, earrings, pins, buckles and even jewelry boxes! Donations to BRHA are tax deductible and items can be brought to the shelter located at 262 Fairgrounds Road, Hamilton during open business hours, mailed to BRHA, PO Box 57, Hamilton MT 59840 or to arrange pickup, email Mary at dogmommary@aol.com.
Free dinners to go
Free To-Go Soul Suppers are being served Wednesdays from 6 to 7 p.m. at the Stevensville Senior Center parking lot at 100 Mission Street, Stevensville. Dinners are free for all ages! For more information, contact Corey at (406) 214-8708.
Senior shuttle
The BitterRoot Bus will be running a 6:30 a.m. Shuttle for Seniors and people with compromised immune systems on Tuesdays and Thursdays until further notice. This bus will be for seniors to get to Albertsons for 7 to 9 a.m. senior shopping. Call the BitterRoot Bus at 363-7484 to schedule your ride. You must call in advance!
Victor School meal program
The Victor School is offering a free meals program for children 18 years and under through the Summer Food Service Program. For more information call (406)642-3221.
Victor Community Garden
The Victor Community Garden has forty 20’ by 20’ plots with great sun exposure surrounded by a deer proof fence. Compost, mulch, tools and have Those that have shown their leadership skills, those willing to step into the fray and have a legitimate debate on how Montana will successfully move forward. In my tenure as Republican House Majority Leader, I worked with differing factions of legislators. As it is with any political group, you would have those that rose to the top to lead, and those that do nothing more than spew political ideologies, and criticize the decisions of others. All one has to do, to recognize true leadership, is look to Montana’s legislative website. In looking, and comparing legislator’s record of accomplishments, it will show who has shown the capacity to lead, and Representative Ballance will be at the top of that list of accomplishments. In these uncertain times, I will be supporting conservative candidates with the experience needed to get us through what is sure to be some difficult times ahead for Montana. While it will remain a fact that Rep. Ballance and I do not agree on every issue, I do recognize leadership when I see it. Having this magnitude of leadership in Helena gives me great comfort and will allow me to sleep at night, knowing that the Montana budget will be in good hands. It is for all these reasons I am supporting Nancy Balance for Senate District 44 in Ravalli County. So should you!!! Former Rep. Ron Ehli House Majority Leader 2017 Hamilton
Redefining varmint Dear Editor, No, I’m not talking about our politicians! Every spring across our great state and throughout the west, young and old alike take to fields and pastures to shoot the second most important group of animals to North American wildlife. Prairie Dogs and other Ground Squirrels (“gophers”) create homes and provide food for a wide range of animals including birds, reptiles, and mammals. But more importantly, because it affects everything, they raise the water table more than any other
Bitterroot Star -- Page 5
Event cancellations Quantum Group
The Quantum Group of the Bitterroot has stopped meetings with an indefinite restart date in view of the Coronavirus pandemic. See the website www// Quantumgb, e-mail blaise. favara@gmail or call 363-0683 for more information.
Accordion Club
Five Valley Accordion Club has cancelled its dance/jams until further notice, due to the Governor declaring a state of emergency in regards to the coronavirus. This includes the annual meeting and dinner/dance.
Quilters Guild
Bitterroot Quilters Guild meetings will resume on April 22, if the general quarantine has been lifted by that date. Membership in the Guild is open to quilters from beginner through advanced; contact Tena Chapman, Membership Chair, at 406-381-4755. For more information, visit the Bitterroot Quilters Guild on Facebook.
Golden Agers
The Golden Age Club in Hamilton has cancelled all activities. For more information call 363-0142.
Center for Spiritual Life
All activities at the Center for Spiritual Life are cancelled until further notice.
Elks Lodge
The Elks Lodge in Hamilton is now closed due to virus concerns.
Bluegrass Festival The April 18th MRBA Bluegrass Festival has been rescheduled for Sept 26th.
Newcomer Club
All Newcomer activities are cancelled until further notice. For info, call Bonnie at 716-773-6106.
an automated watering system that waters every night is provided as well as a paid garden manager who is always happy to help new gardeners. Organic methods are required. Pollinators abound with both fruit trees and a diverse native flower garden located in the center of the gardening area. There is also an innovative composting outhouse built by water systems designer Roger DeHaan with nearly all of the materials donated by local building supply businesses. (That compost is not for use in the garden, however.) Currently the Victor Community Garden has many available organic plots available for $35 for a whole year of growing. All revenue goes towards maintaining the Community Garden, paying the garden manager, and helping Sustainable Living Systems, a non-profit organization focused on local sustainability. Amenities
for the garden provided by Hans McPherson donating straw bales, Bitterroot Valley Log and Timber donating wood peelings for garden paths and delivered generously by Montana Firewood, Jeanie Lippert doing tractor work as needed, the Trapper Creek Job Corps helping with workdays as needed, and the property is owned by the Church of the Nazarene, who does some of the mowing. The garden is located on 5th, just west of Victor. The growing season will be kicked off on Saturday, April 25 from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. with the annual Spring Garden Work Day, hopefully with the help of the Trapper Creek Job Corps if they are able. For more information on reserving plots, how to use the Community Garden, or about Sustainable Living Systems contact Jill Davies at 406-360-1751.
animal other than the beaver (which is THE most important animal to North American wildlife). Higher water tables mean greener pastures for cattlemen and more springs for deer, elk, moose and all wildlife. These amazing little animals also mitigate flooding impacts! Flowing surface water goes down their burrows to recharge the water table rather than simply running down to the river and out of the Valley. Varmint Hunters should take aim at non-native invasive animals that threaten our native animals and ecosystems. These true varmints include the Eastern Fox Squirrel (common red town squirrel) that eat the eggs and babies of native birds. There is hardly a bird nest that they cannot get into. Turkeys, California Quail, Chinese Pheasants, Eurasian Collared Dove and the ubiquitous European Starling all compete with native wildlife. Non-native Brown and Rainbow trout can also be deemed varmints as they compete with and hybridize with our declining native fish. Ironically, these new additions to our ecosystems do not increase biodiversity. Instead they degrade and simplify the ecosystems leading to further declines and extinctions. Native animals have many roles to play in their native ecosystems. Non-native animals disrupt these roles and contribute to ecosystem collapse. Those creatures who enrich our environments and support native ecosystems and conserve our precious water should be highly valued by sportsman and wildlife advocates. Farmers and ranchers benefit from healthier animals and a higher carrying capacity per acre. Beavers and Ground Squirrels (“gophers”) are only two of many important native animals that provide ecosystem services that benefit us as well as the remaining natural world. It is predicted that climate change will lower water tables. Those animals that recharge water tables could become crucial to us. Animals that degrade our environment are varmints. By all means, go varmint hunting but be
sure to direct your shots at nonnative invasive animals! Andy Roubik Corvallis
Support from Legislators for economic development
Dear Editor, Ravalli County is the 7th largest county in Montana and 8th largest income tax contributor to the state. It is the job of the Ravalli County Economic Development Authority (RCEDA) to seek fair funding and resources from the state for our county. We applaud the support from our Legislators: Nancy Ballance, David Bedey, Sharon Greef and Fred Thomas on this important endeavor. Funding for services is regionalized and currently directed to the large urban centers. These offices are to work with smaller counties to allocate their “fair” share. The plan sounds good but it doesn’t work. Rural counties’ share of the funding is cut short, the needs remain unmet, and our population continues to grow. RCEDA’s request during the 2019 session was to change the funding structure and distribute funds differently. Thanks to our committed legislators, things changed. A program that was off limits to RCEDA was opened and we can now provide stronger support to agriculture and food businesses, reporting requirements have been targeted for accuracy so that state agencies can be accountable and demonstrate funding to rural counties with a more equitable allocation of resources. Now, in the COVID-19 crisis, these legislators are working closely with RCEDA to help small businesses by seeking and receiving loan payment deferrals from some state programs for the businesses that have had to close. The RCEDA Commissioners: Ryan Oster, Kay Clevidence, Doug Davis, Teri Polumsky, Bob Thomas, Bob Whalen, Ed Greef, Mike Bradt, Allen Bjergo
Page 6 -- Bitterroot Star
Hospital continued
tory therapists, administration, and other key stakeholders who bring decades of experience and knowledge. According to William Torres, EMS Director, MDMH Incident Commander, “Everyone on the team is an expert in their field and brings the best to the table daily. We have held a relentless focus on complying and implementing all guidelines proposed by the CDC in a timely and often advanced timeline, from this group of experts, hundreds of key decisions have been made.” Below are some of the many countermeasures that have been implemented. Daily Monitoring of Key Resources Dashboards summarizing all testing, results, personal protective equipment, capacity, and other resources are monitored twice daily. Visitor Restrictions and Controlled Access Two phases of visitor restrictions have progressed with the presence of COVID-19 in our community. • Phase 1: March 14, 2020 - Temporary Visitor Restrictions went into effect. • Phase 2: April 1, 2020 No Visitor Policy went into effect. These visitor restrictions include closely monitoring and controlling entry to the hospital and outlying clinics through the use of robust screening algorithms. All people entering hospital facilities, including all patients, medical staff, and essential visitors, have temperature monitored and asked
Wednesday, April 22, 2020 Patient Prioritization Marcus Daly Memorial Hospital has developed a COVID-19 specific Medical Ethics Committee. The purpose of this oversight committee is to monitor the use of hospital materials to ensure that most lives are saved in the most efficient and effective ways possible.
if they have respiratory symptoms if they have traveled recently, and if they have been in contact with people with suspected or confirmed cases of COVID-19. Proactive Postponement of Elective Procedures Effective March 20, 2020, safeguards were increased at Marcus Daly Memorial Hospital to include the postponement of non-essential procedures and surgeries, to preserve necessary personal protective equipment (PPE) and ensure adequate in-patient capacity, for a potential surge in COVID-19 in-patient volume. Pre-Appointment Phone Screening Scheduled screening protocols have been developed and implemented before each patient’s appointment. Patients and caregivers receive specific instructions regarding their upcoming visit, to better protect patients and staff. Coordination with Community Health Experts Marcus Daly Memorial Hospital has continuously worked in coordination with the Ravalli Public Health Department and other key stakeholders through its hospital Incident Management Team. Additionally, Marcus Daly Memorial Hospital participates in coordination calls with other western Montana hospital incident commanders to better coordinate resources and ensure the best care possible for every patient. Support for Public Health Marcus Daly Memorial Hospital has partially funded Public Health Officers and other incident command roles filled by Marcus Daly Memorial Hospital staff.
Currently there is a ‘no visitor’ policy in effect at Marcus Daly Memorial Hospital in Hamilton. Daily Coordination of Critical Resources and Capacity Twice daily reporting of all resources and supplies through the state established “Juvare” tracking system. Cross-Training To Allow For Increased Patient Volumes Existing nursing and clinician resources are cross-training within the hospital setting. For example; Marcus Daly Memorial Hospital clinic and surgical nurses have received additional training on managing hospital patients in the in-patient setting. Increased Ventilator and ICU Capacity Marcus Daly Memorial Hospital has taken steps to increase respiratory therapy resources and ventilator management capacity within the Intensive Care Unit and other hospital-based units. In most cases, this capacity has doubled in response to this event.
COVID-19 Surge Plans Marcus Daly Memorial Hospital’s COVID-19 Surge Plans continue to be modified as necessary to ensure the safety of patients and staff. In the event of a COVID-19 surge, in-patient surge plans have been enacted. These plans include holding patients in areas of Marcus Daly Memorial Hospital not traditionally used for hospitalizations. Community Heroes - Personal Protective Equipment and Hand-Sewn Facemasks As part of its COVID-19 surge planning, and due to the US shortage of PPE, on March 20, 2020, a Facebook post went out to the Bitterroot Valley community asking for help shoring up supplies for Marcus Daly Memorial Hospital frontline staff. In just four weeks, thousands of dollars’ worth of PPE and thousands of additional masks for caregivers and patients have been collected.
MATT ROSENDALE I S W O R K I N G F O R M O N TA N A
Increase in Clinician Workforce Marcus Daly Memorial Hospital enacted tier levels to allow for Temporary, Disaster, and Emergency privileges, Streamlining the onboarding process for retired and other community clinicians who may respond to a patient surge. Creation of Safe Surgical Environment for COVID-19 The Marcus Daly Surgery Center has created a Negative Air Pressure Surgical Suite (traditionally, this is a positive pressure environment) for necessary lifesaving surgeries on presumptive or confirmed positive COVID-19 patients. Creation of a Dedicated Birthing Suite for COVID-19 Patients Marcus Daly Birthing Services created a Negative Air Pressure birthing suite in the event of a presumptive or confirmed COVID-19 positive birthing scenario. In-Vehicle Patient Swabbing Marcus Daly Memorial Hospital continues to perform nasal swabbing for confirmatory testing of patients in private vehicles. This process ensures that the procedure of unmasking the patient does not contaminate critical healthcare facilities. Cohorting of Patients As part of the Marcus Daly Memorial Hospital COVID-19 Surge Plan, positive patients will be separated from traditional
patients. Dedicated spaces have been established for the assessment and treatment of all COVID19 presumptive and confirmed positive cases, thus ensuring the safety of caregivers, traditional patients, and facilities. Daly Connect Telehealth Daly Connect is a virtual service that allows patients to practice responsible social distancing without sacrificing their healthcare needs. Through the use of a mobile phone, tablet, or desktop computer, Daly Connect telehealth offers a simple to navigate browser-based platform for patients to set up virtual appointments with their healthcare providers, anywhere they have access to the internet. Patients should contact their medical providers to ask if Daly Connect telehealth is right for them. Marcus Daly Respiratory Services On April 15th, 2020, Marcus Daly Respiratory Services, an extension of the Bitterroot Physicians Clinic, officially opened. This medical triage location serves patients experiencing acute respiratory symptoms. It is to help control the spread of communicable diseases, such as influenza, pertussis, and COVID-19. If you are experiencing a fever or respiratory symptoms, call (406) 3754762 so that they can determine if Marcus Daly Respiratory Services is appropriate for you. In closing, Bishop said, “Much about COVID-19 remains uncertain. We are planning for the worst, but hoping for the best and ask that the community do the same. Please continue to socialdistance and frequently wash your hands. We promise to continue to work to provide a safe working environment and quality and appropriate care to our patients.”
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NOTICE OF ELECTION Notice is hereby given that the following elections will be conducted solely by mail ballot: SCHOOL DISTRICT ELECTIONS Corvallis School District #1 Trustee Election Florence-Carlton School District #15-6 Trustee Election Lone Rock Elementary School District #13 Trustee & Levy Election Stevensville School District #2 Trustee Election SPECIAL PURPOSE DISTRICT ELECTIONS Florence Rural Fire District Trustee Election Ravalli County Park District No. 2 Trustee Election SPECIAL ELECTION Community College of the Bitterroot Valley Election (Creation/Levy/Trustee) Ballots will be mailed to all eligible registered voters in the districts on April 17, 2020, and must be returned to the County Election Administrator, Ravalli County Administrative Building, 215 South 4th Street, Suite C, Hamilton, Montana 59840, no later than 8:00 PM on May 5, 2020. All electors, as defined in Title 13, who reside in the District, are eligible to vote in the elections. Electors in the Florence Rural Fire District are eligible to vote regardless of voter registration as long as they are a holder of title to lands within the District and who present proof of interest in such land to the County Election Administrator. Early preparation and reconciliation of mail ballots will be held on May 4, 2020, at approximately 9:30 AM, in the basement of the Ravalli County Courthouse, 205 Bedford Street, Hamilton. Public is welcome to observe; however, due to COVID-19 and social distancing recommendations, we will limit the number of observers. Beginning at approximately 9:00 AM on Election Day, May 5, 2020, ballots will be opened, reconciled, and counted by a counting center board in the basement of the Ravalli County Courthouse, 205 Bedford Street, Hamilton. No results will be released until after the polls close at 8:00 PM. Dated this 2nd day of April, 2020 Regina Plettenberg, Ravalli County Election Administrator 215 South 4th Street, Suite C; Hamilton, MT 59840 (406) 375-6550 __________________________________________________________________________________ Display Ad
NOTICE OF EXTENDED CLOSE OF REGULAR VOTER REGISTRATION AND OPTION FOR LATE REGISTRATION Per the Governor’s Executive Order dated March 25, 2020, regular voter registration has been extended for elections being held on May 5, 2020. Notice is hereby given that regular* voter registration for any special purpose district elections, any school elections, and the Community College District of the Bitterroot Valley election, held on May 5, 2020, will close at 5:00 PM on April 27, 2020. *NOTE: Due to social distancing, we are trying to limit in-person contact. The Election Office will be open for in-person late voter registration starting April 28 thru May 5. However, due to social distancing recommendations, we encourage voters to check their registration status online through the “My Voter Page” at https://app.mt.gov/voterinfo and submit forms ahead of time to help us limit in-person contact in our office. From now until April 27, you may still register for the election by contacting the Election Office to request a registration form by: phone (375-6550), fax (375-6554), email (elections@rc.mt.gov), mail (215 S 4th Street, Suite C; Hamilton, MT 59840), or you can download the voter registration form at https://ravalli.us/145/Elections. Registration forms can be returned via mail, fax, email or deposit in the drive-thru drop box located at 215 S 4th Street, Hamilton. All qualified active and inactive registered electors of each district are entitled to vote in said elections. Special purpose district elections, school elections, and the Community College District of the Bitterroot Valley election are being conducted solely by mail ballot. Ballots will automatically be mailed to Active Electors only. If you are a registered voter and do not receive a ballot, contact the county election office to update your information as necessary and receive a ballot. If you need a replacement ballot, forms can be found on our website at https://ravalli.us/145/Elections. If you have moved, please update your registration information by filling out a new voter registration card and submitting it to the Ravalli County Election Office. Dated this 2nd day of April, 2020 Regina Plettenberg, Ravalli County Election Administrator 215 South 4th Street, Suite C; Hamilton, MT 59840 (406) 375-6550
continued
Masks continued
was not getting the kind of protection he may have been expecting. “This is something the public should really know,” said Bloom. “You could probably go buy one at Norco, but it would still have to be re-fitted and tested to be sure it doesn’t leak,” he said. Bloom said the public is getting sort of a sneak preview of the most recent study at the lab concerning the potential decontamination and re-use of the respirators. Given the urgency of the situation, the study results have been posted on a “pre-print server” [medRxiv]so that the information can be shared prior to being peer reviewed and accepted into a journal. Bloom said the work in the study was extremely high quality and he was confident it would be accepted by the journal without substantial modification. “But nevertheless, they are still both pre-prints,” he said, “and the findings are not yet peerreviewed but are being shared to assist the public health response to COVID-19.” According to Bloom, the urgent need for these respirators in the face of this pandemic and the short supply has left many healthcare workers across the country (and the world) dangerously exposed. So, people began asking questions. Can we use these more than once? Can we disinfect and kill the virus that’s on them and then re-use them? “Can we do this and preserve both the fit and the functioning of the filter in the N95 respirator?” Bloom asked. He said it was a question of considerable practical importance at this time and Dr. Munster in the Laboratory of Virology and his group decided to take on the question. The first part of the study information technology, safety, operations and security staffs. They are providing the logistics and support needed for the scientific studies.
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was done in the Bio-Level 3 section of the lab in Hamilton where they tested the decontamination of small sections of N95 filter fabric that had been exposed to SARSCoV-2, the virus that causes COVID-19. The four decontamination methods tested included vaporized hydrogen peroxide (VHP); 70-degree Celsius dry heat; ultraviolet light; and 70% ethanol spray. These are all things used in hospitals and are commonly used in medical practice to disinfect equipment and work areas. All four methods eliminated detectable viable virus from the N95 fabric test samples but some methods worked faster than others. Treatment by VHP proved to be the best option, according to the study. At a concentration of about 1,000 parts per million, the virus on the fabric was rendered undetectable after only 10 minutes. UV and dry heat were acceptable decontamination procedures as long as the methods are applied for at least 60 minutes. Ethanol spray also worked to disinfect the fabric but flunked out in the next part of the testing which took the functionality of the gear into account. The next part of the study took place outside the lab where investigators treated fully intact, clean respirators with the same decontamination methods to test their reuse durability. Volunteer RML employees wore the masks for two hours to determine if they maintained a proper fit and seal over the face; decontamination was repeated three times with each mask using the same procedure. The scientists found that ethanol spray damaged the integrity of the respirator’s fit and seal after two decontamination sessions and therefore do not recommend it for decontaminating N95 respirators. UV and heat-treated respirators began showing fit and seal problems after three decontaminations—suggesting these respirators potentially could be re-used twice. The VHP-treated masks experienced no failures, suggesting they potentially could be re-used three times.
“The authors concluded,” Bloom said, “for those people thinking of re-using respirators, that VHP was the most effective decontamination method, because no virus could be detected after only Surgical mask. a 10-minute treatment.” He said UV and dry heat making a smoker out an old refrigwere acceptable decontamination erator in the backyard with a hot procedures as long as the methods plate.” He said the substance itself are applied for at least 60 minutes. and the process were both danThe authors urge anyone decongerous. But essentially the same taminating an N95 respirator to technology is used in hospitals to check the fit and seal over the face disinfect colonoscopes and other before each re-use. instruments. He said any hospital Bloom said that the Food could very well have one of these and Drug Administration has machines and they could be used given emergency use authorization to decontaminate these respirators. to two companies that produce VHP machines. One machine Study: made by a company called Battell Assessment of N95 respiracan disinfect up to 80,000 respirator decontamination and re-use tors a day. The machines, about for SARS-CoV-2. Robert Fischer, the size of a UPS truck or bigger, http://orcid.org/0000-0002-3655are being deployed in cities such 406X Dylan H Morris, Neeltje van as Boston, for example. Another Doremalen, Shanda Sarchette, company called Sterrad was also Jeremiah Matson, Trenton Bushauthorized. maker, Claude Kwe Yinda, Stepha“This is not a do-it-yourself nie Seifert, Amandine Gamble, project with these vaporized Brandi Williamson, Seth Judson, hydrogen peroxide machines,” Emmie de Wit, Jamie Lloyd-Smith, Bloom cautioned. “It’s not like Vincent Munster
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ment should not be interpreted as a lack of infectiousness,” they write. “This is a very, very encouraging study,” said RML Administrative Director Marshall Bloom, “especially for those studying the effects of remdesivir in humans with COVID-19.” The clinical trials in which NIAID is participating with Gilead Sciences is the first clinical trial in the United States to evaluate an experimental treatment for COVID-19. The study is a multicenter trial that will be conducted in up to approximately 100 sites globally. It was begun at the University of Nebraska Medical Center in Omaha. Andre Kalil, MD, professor of internal medicine at UNMC and an infectious diseases physician at Nebraska Medicine, is leading the trial at UNMC. The first trial participant was an American who was repatriated after being quarantined on the Diamond Princess cruise ship that docked in Yokohama, Japan and volunteered. Subsequently thirteen people repatriated by the U.S. State Department from the Diamond Princess cruise ship were transported to the National Quarantine Unit, located within the Training, Simulation and Quarantine Center on the UNMC/ Nebraska Medicine campus in Omaha on February 17, 2020. The passengers were in a close setting where there had been significant spread of COVID-19 and were sent to the unit for continued isolation and possibly further care. The CDC has since reported that 11 people in the UNMC unit have confirmed SARS-CoV-2 infection. Bloom said that initial results from the clinical trials may be coming out in the next 3 to 4 weeks. “The speed with which the research enterprise has been able to address this horrible pandemic has been truly remarkable,” said Bloom. He said all of the previous work done by NIAID and others is proving to have been very good groundwork and a lot of the
methods being employed in the COVID-19 outbreak have been tested with things like the Ebola outbreak in West Africa. “That kind of work involves an incredible amount of cooperation between research scientists, clinical investigators, and regulatory agencies and, of course, the patients that volunteer to be part of these studies,” said Bloom. Clinical trials of remdesivir are also ongoing in China. NIAID developed the current study taking those designs into account, and in accordance with consultations convened by the World Health Organization (WHO) on the development of a therapeutic trial for patients with COVID-19. NIAID Director and U.S. Coronavirus Task Force member Anthony S. Fauci, M.D. was quoted on the CDC website, saying “We urgently need a safe and effective treatment for COVID-19. Although remdesivir has been administered to some patients with COVID-19, we do not have solid data to indicate it can improve clinical outcomes.” He said a randomized, placebocontrolled trial is “the gold standard” for determining if an experimental treatment can benefit patients. Dr. Bloom concluded his remarks about the anti-viral drug stating that it is understandable that the world is focused on the COVID-19 pandemic and that other projects were being placed in “hibernation” to concentrate on the new disease, “but we need to remember that the other deadly diseases raging around the world didn’t go into hibernation,” he said. He said the Ebola outbreak in the Democratic Republic of Congo has started up again, people are still getting Lymes Disease and HIV and need to be diagnosed and treated for those. Bloom said we need to get through this pandemic as quickly as we can so that we can get back to working on some of the other diseases as well. The other thing worth mentioning, he said, is that the work that Dr. de Witt and others are doing would not be possible without the exceptional efforts of
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Page 8 -- Bitterroot Star
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Sean Lenahan My name is Sean Lenahan and I am a candidate for the position of Trustee for the Stevensville School District. I am currently serving as a Trustee for the District and have served in this capacity for approximately (3) years. During this time, it has been my distinct privilege to advocate for the students of the Stevensville School District and be part of the team helping to equip the District for the next generation of educating our community’s most valuable assets, our kids! I believe that the Trustee position is best represented by individuals who possess a broad range of experience, in order to reflect a balanced perspective in decision-making. To this end, I bring my experience as a father of (5) beautiful kiddos, Marine Corps veteran, law enforcement veteran, volunteer, and current private-sector business professional to bear in my role as a Trustee for the District. Serving as a Trustee is a complete honor for me, and as a long-time resident of Stevensville, I look forward to continuing to help humbly improve our community...thank you for your support!
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Ben Meyer Ben Meyer is a native of Stevensville and a graduate of the K-12 Stevensville Public School system. I am running to retain my seat on the Stevensville School Board for three reasons. One, I am a career educator and I understand education both from a pedagogical and business standpoint. I taught high school in Conrad and Ronan before serving as the state administrator for agricultural education in Idaho. I currently work as the regional administrator for the central and western US for agricultural education and the National FFA Organization. I have a daily and direct understanding of educational policy and funding. This is coupled with my personal background as a public-school teacher. I strongly believe that school boards function to hire and support good administrators and teachers with a responsibility to equip them with the resources they need to teach. I have firsthand experience in knowing how a school can run smoothly when the board and the team of professional educators work in harmony to meet the needs of the community. Stevensville teachers carry out amazing things on a daily
Wm Todd Wohlman I’m a born and raised Montanan who returned to Montana in 2012 after enlistment in the USAF and my spouses 20-year Air Force career. Our family fell in love with the Bitterroot Valley and have made a loving home here. I am proud to say that our three children are Stevensville High School graduates. Additionally, I’m a Family Nurse Practitioner with a 25-year career as a critical care nurse and nurse educator. Currently, I work for Marcus Daly Memorial Hospital. I am running for a position on the Stevensville School Board because I have a strong passion for education. My advanced degree in nursing education allows me to understand the complexities that come with teaching, curriculum development, and educating across many age groups. I intend to use these skills and insight to support the development of our schools, guide decisions of our School Board, and connect with the students as well as the community. I’ve quickly come to love the Stevensville community and serve our neighbors through several volunteer groups. I’m no stranger to the work of boards,
See MEYER, page 9
See WOHLMAN, page 9
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Meyer continued
basis when properly supported by a visionary and forward-looking school board. I ask for your vote so I can continue my efforts to support Stevensville teachers. My support is coupled with a solid sense of fiscal responsibility to the Stevensville taxpayer. Monitoring, understanding, and governing the business decisions of the school district are a key component of my board position and a critical aspect of why I want to continue to serve on the school board. Two, service to the community of Stevensville. As a product of the Stevensville Schools and a father of two daughters in the school district, I take my connection and commitment to the community of Stevensville seriously and sincerely. As in so many Montana towns, the school in Stevensville is a critical part of the fabric of the community. It is my vision as a board trustee to continue to find new partnerships and opportunities for collaboration between the school and the private sector. Students benefit from community and workforce interaction and public education is more than curriculum and instruction. I ask for your vote to continue on the school board to advance Stevensville Schools as an institution that produces graduates who can readily find their place in the workforce and network of our community or wherever they settle in life. Three, I believe in a school system that produces graduates who are career and college ready. As a former career and technical education (CTE) teacher, I know first-hand the value in producing students who are academically successful and have a working knowledge of hands-on, realworld skills. The 2019 school bond that will build a modern and flexible CTE department focused in agriculture and industrial
trades is a perfect path forward for Stevensville students. My background in agriculture education/CTE has benefited the school board in the design and conceptualization of the building project. I ask for your vote to continue serving on the school board so I can work to make Stevensville the premier school in the valley for graduating students who are both career and college ready. Meyer, his wife Michelle, and their two daughters live on the family ranch east of Stevensville. Meyer’s father Jay and grandmother Irma were both career teachers in the Stevensville School District. Meyer can be reached at meyer.ben.a@gmail.com or 2391213.
Wohlman continued
councils, and committees. I now wish to explore the whole entity of Stevensville School District and assist in making it the premier school I know it can be.
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Primary election to be mail-in only Ravalli County’s 2020 Primary Elections will also be a mail-in election only with no polling places open. According to Ravalli County Clerk and Recorder Regina Plettenberg, the Primary Ballots will be mailed out on May 8 and be due by June 5. Candidates for offices in Ravalli County include Paul Rosenberg and Tommy Dobberstein each running unopposed for positions as a Supervisor on the Bitterroot Conservation District board serving Areas 2 and 4 respectively. Paige Allen Trautwein is running unopposed for Clerk of District Court. Two Republicans, Dan Huls and Phil Tummarello, are candidates for the vacant seat on the Ravalli County Commissioners for District 2. Candidates for state Senate District 44 include Republicans Nancy Ballance and Theresa Manzella and Democratic candidates Timothy Gibney and Margaret Gorski. Candidates for House District 85 include Republican candidates Michele Binkley, Kyle Ellsworth, Mathew Locati and Hollis Poe and Democratic candidate Laura Jackson. Candidates for House District 86 include Republicans Kenneth Allen and David Bedey. Candidates for House District 87 include Republicans Jolena Bugli, Sashin Hume, and Ron Marshall and Democratic candidate Laura Merrill. Candidates for House District 88 include Republicans Jim Crews, Sharon Greef and Scott
Roy McLean. The 2020 Primary election will also be done entirely by mail ballot and no polling places will be open. “It will be interesting to see how this compares to past years,” said Plettenberg. According to her records, in the last primary election in 2018 the voter turnout was 41.6%. She said in the last presidential primary in 2016 the turnout was 48%. Plettenberg has never run a mail-in election on the federal level, but said that in local school elections the mail-in votes usually bring in over twice the votes as at the polls. Plettenberg said that in the school elections the number of voters using mail-in ballots is generally over two times the number that were coming to the polls.
She said they have moved from poll elections to mail-in elections in districts and seen the average turnout grow from 18% average at the polls to 35% to 40% when
changed to mail-in. “It’s a significant increase,” said Plettenberg. “It will be interesting to see what the primary does.”
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Page 10 -- Bitterroot Star
Wednesday, April 22, 2020
23andMe leads to more family for Florence woman
Please donate to the
Stevensville Business Relief Fund
By Jean Schurman
We’ve all seen the advertisements on television for 23andMe, a DNA testing kit that can tell you who your ancestors are. For people interested in their genealogy, this is a fun way to find out more about your family. But for one woman in Florence, this was a way to find her family. Caireny Jensen grew up never knowing her father. Her mother, Beverly Abbe, was born and raised in Virginia City, MT. After graduation from high school, Abbe moved to Seattle where she became the first woman to graduate from the fire academy there. She went to work at SEATAC and had a very successful career. But Abbe was missing something from her life. It was 1982, and she wanted a child. She found a fertility doctor – there were no sperm banks then – and after several consultations, she was artificially inseminated, and then gave birth to Caireny. A few years later, Abbe adopted a girl from India, and that made their family complete. Abbe was always open with Caireny about how she came to be. “But it always bothered me that I didn’t know my heritage. I wanted to know the other half.”
Project59870 is collecting donations through our GoFundMe page to provide relief to Stevensville businesses that are experiencing financial hardship due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Our goal is to help 59870 businesses stay afloat during this crisis. Applications for funding will be reviewed by the project59870 board of directors and, when approved, funds will be distributed immediately. If funds remain when businesses are once again fully operational, they will remain with project59870 and be used to provide continued assistance to our Stevensville businesses. If you are unable to give, we encourage you to support Stevensville’s local businesses by purchasing gift cards or patronizing those businesses that remain operational, being mindful of distance requirements in place.
Call Victoria at 207-8793 for more information. THANK YOU SO VERY MUCH!
Caireny Jensen, right, with her mother Beverly Abbe. Caireny grew up in Seattle but she and her family came back to Virginia City and Montana to visit quite often. In 2007, she moved back to Montana and eventually settled in Florence. She said Virginia City was too small and she wanted to be closer to a larger city. Although not working now, she is normally an independent hair stylist at Canvas Studios in Missoula. Caireny had recently given birth to a son. It was a premature birth and the child has several non-genetic issues. Her mother now lives with her to help with the child. Caireny wanted to know
Project59870 is a 501(c)(3) tax exempt organization established to facilitate and support projects that preserve and enhance the general health, safety, welfare and quality of life of the residents of the greater Stevensville area, zip code 59870, through facilitation and funding to worthy groups and individuals.
THE PROJECT59870 BOARD OF DIRECTORS:
Cheryl Burgmeier Brandon Dewey Victoria Howell Joan Prather Maureen Wali Tonu Wali Jaime Devlin
Young Beverly Abbe with little daughter Caireny.
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If you have any of the following symptoms, call Respiratory Services at (406) 375-4762 • Chest Congestion • Chills • Cough • Difficulty Breathing • Fever • Nasal Congestion • Runny Nose • Shortness of Breath • Sore Throat • Exposure to a COVID-19 Individual The respiratory location is separate from the primary care clinics for patients experiencing respiratory or flu-like symptoms. Medical providers seeing patients follow specific protocols to ensure patients receive the care they need in the most appropriate setting. This new Respiratory Services triage location helps control the spread of communicable diseases, such as influenza, pertussis and COVID-19, and makes the hospital’s medical clinics safer for patients receiving other types of care.
RESPIRATORY SERVICES Please call (406) 375-4762 to determine if this location is right for you. Hours: Monday - Friday 8:00am - 5:00pm
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THE EASY WAY TO CONNECT WITH YOUR HEALTHCARE PROVIDER Yes, stay home; we will bring your doctor to you! Find out if you’re next appointment can be a video visit in your own home. Contact your doctor today. Bitterroot Dermatology
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Bitterroot Surgical Associates
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more family history to fill in the blanks of her heritage. This past Christmas, 23andMe had a sale and Caireny decided to give it a shot but really didn’t expect to find out anything. She mailed in the sample and then, a couple of weeks later, she received an email. Caireny said there were tabs across the top of the email with different categories. She clicked on relatives first. To her ultimate surprise, she found out she had two sisters and a brother! She decided to reach out to them after the holidays. Caireny had always thought that perhaps her father was a doctor or that he was in the medical field. After contacting him in mid-January, she found out he has always been in social services. His name is Bill and he is married and the couple has a daughter who is an ER nurse. By now, Caireny had found not only her father but also three sisters and a brother. But it didn’t stop there. She found two more siblings, a brother and a sister who had gone through Ancestry.com to find out about their family history. Between Christmas and now, Cairney, who already had one sister, has found three half sisters, two half brothers, her father, and a step sister. The siblings and Bill have connected on Facebook and have been exchanging stories. She said that Bill, their father, wants to help fill in the blanks and give what family medical history he may have. He said that when he agreed to become a donor, he only donated once and was told there was a chance of none to up to six pregnancies. One more rather critical piece of the puzzle has also come to light for Cairney. Two of her aunts on her father’s side have had breast cancer. She said they were young and the cancer was very aggressive. So, she has already had a mammogram. “When I was reading about the history, it was really like a weird novel,” she said. “I was like, oh yeah, that’s about me.” The new family has been keeping in touch with each other during the pandemic to make sure everyone is all right. Each sibling has a different story to tell regarding family. All originated in the University of Washington area but then spread out as they grew older. One sister didn’t find out until after her parents died that her dad was not her biological father. One lives in the Dominican Republic, one just returned from living in Prague, and Bill lives in Texas with his family. Abbe, who lives with her daughter Caireny, said she is so thankful to Bill for her daughter. And Caireny said her father is brave for reaching out as well. “He’s been very kind, and an open book. And his wife has been so good too.” The new family was originally planning to meet in Glacier National Park in July as it was within driving or train distance, and “it’s pretty.” With the pandemic, they are not sure they will be able to do this. They have scheduled a Zoom meeting for the first part of May and will make plans from then. “I just feel like a void has been filled, one that I didn’t know was there. It was that empty space. So exciting that I have family out there,” said Caireny.
Bitterroot Star -- Page 11
Wednesday, April 22, 2020
Spring mayflies and other hatches
Spring hatches never come off like clockwork on the Bitterroot. The water temperatures bounce around in a dance with the weather. Just enough sunlight to warm the river a bit may become enough to melt off some more high level snow. When the streams deliver the chilly snowmelt to the river the water temps drop again. Aquatic insects need, generally, about three days of
Flyfishing with Chuck Stranahan steady water temperatures to get a consistent hatch going. Some, like blue-winged olive mayflies, hatch best on overcast days when the water temperatures are constant instead of warming gradually. Others, like March browns, seem to prefer the sun. And both of those will hatch about anytime if the individual bugs feel like it. The good news for the trout is that the bugs are available, whether on the surface or not, in their nymphal forms that are most active just before they are due to hatch. There are plenty of nymphing opportunities available to the resourceful angler this time of year. Problem is, many of us resort to trying something new when everything else fails – and when that fails too, we cross it off our list. Row vs. wade - again Float fishing can be a nemesis here. We tie something on, and if it works well, we catch fish after fish, hole after hole. When it’s slower than that, we tend to stick with what we have on, because, well, it is working – sorta. And I must admit: I get stuck in that same rut too often, it might seem, when I’m wade fishing. But when I snap out of it and want to get serious, there are certain things I look for and things I want to do. If the fish aren’t on top, or even if they are and they’re mostly little ones, I’ll get serious about going under the surface. I’ll usually rig a nymph below my dry fly. The fact that the dinks are feeding usually means that
conditions are right. Their parents and grandparents are hungry, too. They’re just not expending the energy required to feed on top. They just might be feeding on the nymphs of what you see on the surface, but hanging out where they are more abundant and easier prey than on the surface.
Nymph patterns for spring fishing Let’s take it hatch by hatch: The blue-winged olives we see on the surface might range from a smallish size #16 to a teeny #20 – sometimes smaller. Most of them clock in at about a #18. The nymphs for those flies are usually a full size larger. One of my favorite flies to dangle under a dry when I’m floating is a $14 Sawyer Pheasant Tail nymph. By that I mean a Sawyer pheasant Tail the way the old English riverkeeper, Frank Sawyer, tied it. His fly was tied on a short-shank hook using nothing more than copper wire and a small wisp of pheasant tail fiber. Most of the pheasant tail nymphs you see today have nothing to do with that fly at all. I go through a batch of Sawyer bugs every year, both for my own fishing and in the shop. They don’t look like much beside the gaudier more popular flies we see today but they look like bugs to the fish and fish eat them. Dead-drifting a Sawyer below a small parachute dry will get you plenty of strikes when you’re floating if the trout are ignoring the small mayflies on the surface. If you’re wade fishing, whether by design or you pull out to pay some serious attention to a likely run, you’ll do better to try this: Pre-season nymph tactics When the water isn’t running high, a stealthy approach is best. Cast quartering downstream, and feed slack line into your drift to let the nymph sink. When it has drifted into the zone you want to fish, move it. Try a slow draw of about six to nine inches that lasts about a second, followed by twosecond pause. Be ready, and don’t overstrike. The same thing will work when you see March browns. A March Brown or Hare’s Ear Soft Hackle can be deadly. They’re more active than the blue-wings so speed up your retrieve. Fishing a gray drake nymph, which can be a slimmed-down hare’s ear, works well when you see those mayfly shucks on the mud banks of an inside bend. Fish that fly as if it were a small streamer. Reason: some of those gray drakes are free swimmers and make their living by chasing down
smaller bugs and eating them. Those three flies – the original Sawyer, the Hare’s Ear Soft Hackle, and a specially tied hare’s ear nymph will quite often get you fish and turn so-so fishing into a banner day. In memoriam John Foust is no longer with us. Even though much has been written about him, this column cannot find its way to the
printers without an acknowledgement. Any who knew John would have their stories to tell. I first met John through Doug Swisher. Doug is one of the patriarchs of the sport, and was instrumental in John’s early success. At the time I still had my shop in Hat Creek and Doug and I were on program at the San Mateo International Angling Exposition. Doug introduced me to John. John had just come out with a small hair stacker, a fly tying tool that consisted of a wooden block and Teflon piece hinged together in a unique manner. The tool worked. I used the tool in my fly tying demos at the expo and bought some for the shop. John’s particular knack, one that hasn’t been mentioned in the memorial writings I’ve read, was his particular strain of inventiveness. He could look at something and come up with what he thought was a better idea. It could be a tying tool or a fly pattern. Show him a conventional two-piece hair stacker and he’d come up with a one-piece tool. Show him a Chernobyl Ant and he’d come up with a Fat Freddy. His crowning achievement was the mechanical trout used in the film, A River Runs Through It. That part of John’s legacy needs to be remembered with everything else. Author and flytyer Chuck Stranahan can be reached at chuck@chuck-stranahan.com or visit his fly shop at 109 E. Main in Hamilton.
Crossword Puzzle
ACROSS 1. Grow acorns 5. Hebrew 8th letter 9. Capital of Byelorussia 11. Ashen 12. Bye 13. Quit moving 14. Profit 15. Washington (abbr.) 17. Bard’s before 18. Dropped 20. Embossment 22. Supernatural being 23. Texas (abbr.) 24. Expression of surprise 27. Detail 29. Opp. of corinthian 31. Bod 32. Lonely 33. Entrap 34. Ceases
DOWN 1. Asian country 2. Helper 3. Make a sweater 4. Compass point 5. Owns 6. Sugar-free brand 7. Plant spine 8. Publicity 10. Asian nation 16. Word blindness 18. Disney World locale 19. Low frequency (abbr.) 20. What a helicopter needs 21. Water retention 22. Essence 24. Soon 25. Rear 26. Pros 28. Chart 30. Roberto’s yes
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FOR SALE MEN’S “MONGOOSE” BIKE. Great for pavement or trails! Great condition. Recent tune-p. Don’t need anymore - got new bike. $200/obo. Call 406-361-8033. 7 USED MOBILE HOMES 2010 and newer, in great shape. Call now, they won’t last long! $44,800 - Price includes delivery within 100 miles, blocked, leveled and central air conditioning. Call Jason at (406) 855-2279. MTFWP is hiring seasonal AIS Watercraft Inspectors statewide. $13.78/hour. High School Diploma or equivalency and Valid Drivers License required. Apply online at statecareers.mt.gov.
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LEGAL NOTICES
Naomi J. Cheeney Cheeney Law, PLLC PO Box 212 Hamilton, MT 59840 Phone: (406) 363-9060 MONTANA TWENTY-FIRST JUDICIAL DISTRICT COURT, RAVALLI COUNTY IN THE MATTER OF THE ESTATE OF JANET MARIE RATHBURN, Deceased. Case No.: DP-20-33 Dept. No. 2 NOTICE TO CREDITORS NOTICE IS HEREBY GIVEN that the undersigned has been appointed Personal Representative of the above-named estate. All persons having claims against the decedent are required to present their claims within four months after the date of the first publication of this notice or said claims will be forever barred. Claims must either be mailed to Naomi J. Cheeney, the Personal Representative, return receipt requested, at Cheeney Law PLLC, PO Box 212, Hamilton, MT 59840, or filed with the Clerk of the above-entitled Court. DATED this 30th day of March 2020. /s/ Naomi J. Cheeney, Personal Representative BS 4-8, 4-15, 4-22-20. MNAXLP MONTANA TWENTY-FIRST JUDICIAL DISTRICT COURT, RAVALLI COUNTY IN THE MATTER OF THE ESTATE OF DONALD RAY BOYD, Deceased. Cause No. DP-20-31 Dept. 1 NOTICE TO CREDITORS NOTICE IS HEREBY GIVEN that the undersigned has been appointed Personal Representative of the abovenamed estate. All persons having
claims against the said deceased are required to present their claims within four months after the date of the first publication of this notice or said claims will be forever barred. Claims must either be mailed to Pamela L. Boyd, the Personal Representative, return receipt requested, at the Law Offices of LAWRENCE D. JOHNSON , Attorney at Law, P.O. Box 500, Hamilton, Montana 59840, or filed with the Clerk of the above-entitled Court. Dated this 25th day of March, 2020 /s/ Pamela L. Boyd, Personal Representative P.O. Box 75 Hamilton, CO 81638 BS 4-8, 4-15, 4-22-20. MNAXLP Joseph D. Houston Kevin S. Jones Jones & Associates , PLLC Attorneys at Law 2625 Dearborn Avenue, Ste. 102A Missoula, MT 59804 (406) 541-3333 kevin@jonesmtlaw.com Attorneys for Personal Representative Kymberly Anne LaCanne MONTANA TWENTY-FIRST JUDICIAL DISTRICT COURT, RAVALLI COUNTY IN THE MATTER OF THE ESTATE OF: MARALYNN LaCANNE, Deceased. Cause No. DP-20-24 Dept. 1 NOTICE TO CREDITORS NOTICE IS HEREBY GIVEN that Kymberly Anne LaCanne has been appointed Personal Representative of the above-named estate. All persons having claims against the Deceased are required to present their claims within four (4) months after the date of the first publication of this Notice, or their claims will be forever barred. Claims must either be mailed to Jones & Associates, PLLC, Attorneys for the Personal Representative, return receipt requested, at 2625 Dearborn Avenue, Ste . 102A, Missoula, MT 59804, or filed with the Clerk of the above Court. I declare under penalty of perjury under the laws of the State of Montana the foregoing is true and correct. Dated this 23rd day of March, 2020. /s/ Kymberly Anne LaCanne, Personal Representative /s/Joseph D. Houston, Attorney for Personal Representative BS 4-8, 4-15, 4-22-20. MNAXLP Naomi J. Cheeney Cheeney Law, PLLC PO Box 212 Hamilton, MT 59840 Phone: (406) 363-9060 Attorney for Co-Personal Representatives MONTANA TWENTY-FIRST JUDICIAL DISTRICT COURT, RAVALLI COUNTY In the Matter of the Estate of BILLIE ANNETTE BASNAW, Deceased. Case No.: DP-20-37 Department No. 2 NOTICE TO CREDITORS NOTICE IS HEREBY GIVEN that the undersigned have been appointed Co-Personal Representatives of the above-named estate. All persons having claims against the decedent are required to present their claims within four months after the date of the first publication of this notice or said claims ADVERTISING will be forever barred. Claims must either be mailed to Nichole Annette Smith and Pamela Basnaw Goodwin, Co-Personal Representatives, return receipt requested, at Cheeney Law, PLLC, PO Box 212,
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Hamilton, MT 59840, or filed with the Clerk of the above-entitled Court. DATED this 7th day of April, 2020. /s/ Nichole Annette Smith, CoPersonal Representative /s/ Pamela Basnaw Goodwin, CoPersonal Representative BS 4-15, 4-22, 4-29-20. MNAXLP Mattaya Smith/Dalton Dvorak P.O. Box 152 Darby MT 59829 Petitioners appearing without a lawyer MONTANA 21ST JUDICIAL DISTRICT, RAVALLI COUNTY In the Matter of the Guardianship of LILLI SMALLEY, MATTAYA MACKENZIE SMITH, DALTON DVORAK, Petitioners Case No. DG-19-32/13 Dept 1 NOTICE OF HEARING ON GUARDIANSHIP OF A MINOR CHILD This is notice that Petitioners have asked to become the guardians of a minor child. The hearing will be April 29, 2020 at 1:30 p.m. The hearing will be at the courthouse in Ravalli County. Dated March 19, 2020. /s/ Paige Trautwein, Clerk of Court By: Mary Fliss, Deputy Clerk of Court BS 4-15, 4-22, 4-29-20. MNAXLP LEGAL NOTICE Sunnyside Orchards No. 4, Block 20, Lot 8 Amended Plat Minor Subdivision. The proposal is a 5-lot minor subdivision on 10.60 acres. The subdivision is located at the corner of Three Mile Creek Road and Store Lane in Stevensville, MT. The subject property is located in the Northwest ¼ of Section 4, T9N, R19W, P.M.M., Ravalli County, Montana. The applicant is Flying Colors Group LP and the Consultant is Jeff Smith of WGM Group. Information describing the proposal is available for inspection at the Planning Department, in the County Administrative Center, 215 S. 4th St., Suite F, Hamilton, MT 59840. Written comments are encouraged to be submitted to the Planning Department prior to the below meeting, and will be forwarded to the Board of County Commissioners (BCC). The BCC will conduct a Public Hearing to review the proposal on Monday, April 27th, 2020 at 10:00 a.m., in the Commissioners’ Meeting Room at the Administrative Center. The public may comment verbally, or in writing, at the meeting. Comments and information submitted at the public meeting will be considered in the decision on the subdivision. However, please note that only under select circumstances will new information be allowed into the record after the public meeting. BS 4-8, 4-22-20. MNAXLP REQUEST FOR PROPOSALS TREE REMOVAL SERVICES The Ravalli County Board of County Commissioners is now accepting proposals for the delivery of 2020/2021 Tree Removal Services. Sealed proposals will be received by the Ravalli County Clerk & Recorder at the County Administrative Center, 215 South Fourth Street, Suite “C”, Hamilton, Montana, 59840, until Tuesday 4 P.M. MST on APRIL 28, 2020. The proposals received will be publicly opened and read aloud at 10:00 a.m. MST on Wednesday, April 29, 2020 by the Board of County Commissioners in the Commissioners Conference Room located at 215 S. 4th Street, (third floor), Hamilton, MT. Contract documents may be examined or obtained at the Ravalli County Road & Bridge Department office at 244 Fairgrounds Road, Hamil-
ton, Montana, 59840. Questions relative to the standard and special provisions may be directed to the Ravalli County Road Department at (406) 363-2733. Questions relative to the bid process may be directed to the Ravalli County Commissioners Office at (406) 375-6500. No proposal may be withdrawn after the scheduled time for the public opening of proposals, which is scheduled for 10:00 a.m. MST on Wednesday, April 29, 2020. Ravalli County reserves the right to reject any or all proposals received, to waive informalities therein, to postpone the award of the contract for a period of time not to exceed sixty (60) days and to accept the lowest responsive and responsible proposal determined to be in the best interests of Ravalli County. Chris Taggart, Administrative Assistant Ravalli County Commissioners Office BS 4-15, 4-22-20. MNAXLP NOTICE OF PUBLIC HEARING Thursday, April 23, 2020 7:00 p.m. NOTICE IS HEREBY GIVEN that the Town of Stevensville Town Council will hold a public hearing on Thursday, April 23, 2020 at 7:00pm to hear and consider public testimony regarding the request to vacate an alley. The Town has received a petition from Stevensville Public Schools requesting the Town Council to vacate, with a utility’s easement, the Phillips Street right-of-way of the May Addition of Stevensville. Stevensville Public Schools is proposing that a new 60-foot right-of-way for Phillips Street be established to the south of the existing street. The public hearing will be held by electronic means and live-streamed on the Town’s website and Facebook page. Written comments may be mailed to the Clerk of the Town of Stevensville, 206 Buck Street, P.O. Box 30, Stevensville, MT 59870, on or before 5:00 p.m. April 23, 2020 or may be emailed to publiccomment@townofstevensville.com. Comments will not be taken in person due to COVID-19. Questions may be asked or more inforADVERTISING mation may be obtained by contacting Town Hall at 406-777-5271. Attest: Monica Hoffman, Town Clerk BS 4-15, 4-22-20. MNAXLP NOTICE OF ANNUAL SCHOOL ELECTION of Stevensville School District No. 2, Ravalli County, Montana for the Election of two (2) trustees to be elected for a three (3) year term for the Stevensville Elementary/High school district. The election will be conducted solely by mail ballot. Ballots will be mailed to all eligible qualified electors in the District on April 17, 2020, and must be returned by each voter, to the Ravalli County Election Administrator’s Office by mail or in person to the Ravalli County Election Administrator, Ravalli County, 215 S 4th St, Suite C, Hamilton, Montana 59840, during regular business hours (9:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m.), weekdays (exclusive of holidays), April 20, 2020 through May 5, 2020, or between the hours of 7:00 a.m. and 8:00 p.m. on Election Day, May 5, 2020. On Election Day, May 5, 2020, the only places for deposit of voted ballots will be the office of the Ravalli County Election Administrator, Ravalli County Courthouse, 215 S 4th St, Suite C, Hamilton, Montana, which will be open from 7:00 a.m. to 8:00 p.m and all ballots must be in the office of the County Election by 8:00 p.m. on that
day in order to be counted. All ballots will be tallied in the election room of the Ravalli County Election Administrator located in the Courthouse at 205 Bedford Street, in Hamilton, on May 5, 2020 in accordance with Montana law with the preliminary results, if known, expected to be released after 8:00 p.m. on that day. A qualified voter who will be absent from the District during the time the election is being conducted may: (a) vote in person in the office of the Ravalli County Election Administrator as soon as the ballots are available and until noon on April 15, 2020; or (b) make a written request prior to noon on April 15, 2020, signed by the applicant and addressed to the office of the Ravalli County Election Administrator, that the ballot be mailed to an address other than that which appears on the registration records. All ballots to be mailed will be mailed on April 15, 2020. An elector may obtain a replacement ballot if his ballot is destroyed, spoiled, lost, or not received by the elector by personally appearing at the office of the Ravalli County Election Administrator and by: (a) signing an affidavit form stating the reason for the request for replacement; and (b) if the reason given for replacement is “spoiled ballot,” by returning the spoiled ballot to the office of the Ravalli County Election Administrator. Ballots may be returned in person at the place of deposit listed above, or returned by mail. If returning by mail, please use the then-prevailing first-class-postage price or one Forever Stamp. Postmark date does not apply; ballots returned by mail must be received by the 8:00 p.m. Election Day deadline to be counted. Please note, all electors, as defined in MCA 20-20-301, are those who reside within the Elementary District and are registered to vote by the close of registration on April 27, 2020. For electors who miss the close of registration deadline, late registration is available through the office of the County Election Administrator until noon on May 5, 2020, and will resume on Election Day, May 5, 2020, from 7:00 a.m. until 8:00 p.m. The following candidates are running for the Elementary/High School District position of trustee on the Stevensville School Board for a three-year term. Sean Lenahan Ben Meyer Wm Todd Wohlman William F. Schiele, Business Manager/Clerk Dated on April 13, 2020 BS 4-22-20. MNAXLP
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Crossword Solution
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Bitterroot Star -- Page 13
Wednesday, April 22, 2020
What are our local athletes doing during the pandemic?
By Jean Schurman
This year’s sports seasons came to an abrupt end in March when the COVID-19 pandemic put a stop to virtually everything in a high school senior’s life. For some, this will be the end of their organized sporting career but for others who will be playing college sports, they need to keep in shape. Having been used to competing and exercising all of the time, we wondered how these athletes were keeping a routine. We will periodically reach out to other seniors in the next few weeks.
Emma Stensrud Emma Stensrud of Florence says that it has been difficult to stay motivated and interested in school even though the online schooling is going ‘okay’. She says she does get to see one friend a lot but misses the rest of her friends. Stensrud played volleyball and basketball for the Falcons but has decided not to play in college. She will be attending North Idaho College where she plans on studying criminal justice. She has been outside as much as possible, either riding her bike or hiking with her dog.
Carston Rostad
“It’s a really odd situation but we have to make it the best we can, life happens,” Stensrud concluded. Carston Rostad Carson Rostad is a senior at Hamilton and has had great success on both the gridiron and the basketball court. The 20182019 Gatorade Football Player of the Year signed a letter of intent to play for the University of Montana Grizzlies prior to last fall’s football season. He said he is doing homework outs and lifting weights at home as well as running outside. He and his brother Tyson work out together sometimes. The Rostad family has to be extra vigilant because of their sister, Mackenzie who has multiple health problems. Rostad said he likes the online schooling because he can learn at his own pace. He plans on studying biology at UM with an eye towards going into the medical field.
Emma Stensrud
Hannah Hutchison Hannah Hutchison is a senior at Corvallis where she was on the state champion volleyball team. She was also on the basketball team that won the divisional championship and went on to state. Last spring, she finished third at the state track meet in the high jump. As to how she is keeping in shape this year, she said she is riding her bike and running every morning to keep from going crazy. While celebrating the championship at Divisional in Ronan, Hutchison came down wrong on her ankle and severely sprained it so she has used this time to recuperate. She said she has been at home for the past month and it’s been really difficult not to see her friends but they do face-time once a week. Hutchison plans on attending Colorado State in Fort Collins where she will major in biomedical science with an eye towards going into the medical field or veterinary field.
football and basketball. He also gets to see one classmate who lives right next door. He said the online schooling is okay but there are some issues with communication with some of the teachers. They do Zoom and face-time and
Nelson Smith Nelson Smith is a senior at Darby. He plans on attending the Bitterroot College to get his general classes out of the way and then transferring to BYU Provo where he may study sports medicine or become an anesthesiologist. He was planning on going on an LDS mission before attending BYU but with the pandemic, those plans are on hold. Smith said he’s spending a lot of time working outside, doing yard work, trimming trees, and stacking firewood. All of that keeps him in shape plus he and his brother, Preston, play some
Nelson Smith
Hannah Hutchison he said that helps. Also, Darby had already had personalized learning in place for most of the high school and he felt that has been an advantage because many of the teachers knew what to do with online classes.
EARTH DAY 50TH ANNIVERSARY 1970-2020 “The ultimate test of man’s conscience may be his willingness to sacrifice something today for future generations whose words of thanks will not be heard.” - Sen. Gaylord Nelson, founder of Earth Day
Bitterrooters for Planning, founded in 1995 to promote good governance, proper land use planning, and protection of the air, water, wildlife and aesthetic resources that make up our living landscape. www.bitterrooters4planning.com
The Frame Shop Inspired and precise custom picture framing since 1995
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Call for appointment: 363-6684
Come see all the wonderful animals waiting for someone special like you!
The Frame Shop Inspired and precise custom picture framing since 1995.
MONTANANS
FOR LIMITED GOVERNMENT Bad officials are elected by good citizens who don’t vote. ~ George Jean Nathan
Verify your voter registration at My Voter Page Montana
www.mtflg.org Paid for by: Montanans for Limited Government Kathy Kay, Treasurer PO Box 1154, Lolo, MT 59847
Outstanding in his field Merle Unruh
Call 363-5311 Piper says “Become an ad sponsor” or visit our website at www.bitterroothumane.org - call us!
Bitterroot Star
115 W. 3rd, ste 108 • PO Box 8 • Stevensville MT Phone (406)777-3928 email • editor@bitterrootstar.com Spacious Townhouse: Live in 1; Rent the other. 3 BA, 3BR, garage, fireplace, walkin closet, Laundry room
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Page 14--Bitterroot Star
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e r a s e s s e n i us b e n fi e s e Th p! l e h o t y d a e r d n a n e p o FRONTIER CAFE 3954 US-93 Stevi Open for To-Go orders 9am-5pm 7 days a week 777-4228
BITTERROOT STOVES
1345 US Highway 93 N Victor Open Monday-Thursday 8am-5pm Showroom Floor is Open
Service calls available . Installations available
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TIRE RAMA
500 N 1st St, Hamilton
Still open for business!
Will pick up your vehicle in the Hamilton area! Call 363-2995 for more info
KODIAK JAX
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THE CATERED TABLE 205 Main Street . Stevensville 777-7090 Call for Curbside Takeout POTTON INSURANCE AGENCY FARMERS INSURANCE
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Handmade Chocolates, Brittles, Mother’s Day Boxes & More! Call in order & pick up curbside or come in.
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MISSION BISTRO
Curbside Pickup • Delivery Batteries • Phone Repair and more 3920 US 93 • Stevensvile
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We will collect your items & bring them to you. Still Delivering. If you need to come in give others 6’ of space. Our at risk employees & those not feeling well are staying home so at times we are short staffed.
1600 N 1st St, Hamilton 363-1922
904 N 1st Street, Hamilton 363-5163
Drive through is open but if you need to come inside, our showroom is open and safety is our main concern.
BIG SKY CANDY
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CORVALLIS NAPA AUTO PARTS
1001 Main St, Corvallis Open as normal for all your essential parts! Open 7 days a week Call for availability of parts 961-3031
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500 S 1st St Hamilton Open for To-Go orders 7 Days a week! 363-3822
Open for Business as usual, 8am-5pm Mon-Fri to anyone not displaying sickness, to health challenged folks use drop box in front door for premium payments - Most other transactions may be done via phone, email or fax. Electronic payments are encouranged. 777-3626
777-0910
Take Out • Delivery • Full Menu 5493 US 93 • Florence
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SCOTT EDMAN AGENCY FARMERS INSURANCE All your insurance needs - Just call us 210 N. 1st. Ste A • Hamilton
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BITTERROOT COMMUNITY FEDERAL CREDIT UNION Need a Loan? We can do that! Mon-Fri 8:30am - 5:30pm Drive Thru Only Hamilton & Darby 821-3171
CJ'S DEN
Take out • Delivery • Full Menu 324 Main St. Stevensville
777-5605
WE ARE OPEN 8-4, 7 DAYS A WEEK
ACE HARDWARE
Curbside Pickup . Online Ordering . Free Delivery
777-5526 - Eastside 273-4333 - Florence
403-6491 - after hour “mishaps” www.acehardware.com
BITTERROOT STAR
Local News • Doorstep delivery Hamilton, Corvallis, Stevensville www.bitterrootstar.com
777-3928
BITTER ROOT LAUNDRY EASY CLEANERS
Bring it in, do it yourself. Or we can do it for you! Drive through window Drop Off and Pick Up Dry Cleaning • Laundry Wash, Dry, Fold WE ARE OPEN 500 Main St • Stevensville 777-7002 HOURS: 10a-8p 115 Pine St • Hamilton 363-6550 HOURS: 8a-8p
WILD ABOUT PETS Open Mon-Fri 11-3 Sat 11-2 "We're here to help" 612 N 1st Ste #1, Hamilton
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Bitterroot Star -- Page 15
Wednesday, April 22, 2020
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Obituaries Danny Wetzel Darby - Danny Wetzel, 73, passed away from a lengthy illness Saturday, April 11, 2020 at the Living Centre in Stevensville. He was born in Pittsburg, CA on November 12, 1946 to Floyd and Zelma Wetzel. Danny grew up in Byron, CA with 8 siblings. In his life, he graduated from high school and went on to study in college after that. He met Sherry Baynes in 1968 and it was love at first sight. They married and had three beautiful daughters. He served in the 25th infantry of the Army in the Vietnam War in 1966 and was wounded in 1968. He then became a pile driver and drove piles for the Golden Gate Bridge and Bay Bridge in San Francisco, CA. Danny also had many hobbies including hunting, fishing, garden-
ing, cooking, and telling lengthy stories. Danny was an avid hunter and fisherman who loved the outdoors. He loved to tell stories
Death Notices Anna Carriveau
Charles Hayden Wilson Charles Hayden Wilson, 92, passed away peacefully on April 7, 2020 at the Bee Hive Homes in Hamilton, Montana. He was born in Bridgeport, Connecticut on April 25, 1927. Charles was preceded in death by his wife, Rosemary, his parents, George and Crystal Wilson, brother, George, sisters, Betty and Dorothy, and daughter Cecelia Succetti. Charles is survived by his sister, Thelma Zinnich, in El Cajon, California, daughters, Gerry Pendleton (John), Mary Sue Backer in Corvallis, Montana, and Patricia Blackaby (Robert) in Pocatello, Idaho, and numerous nieces, nephews, grandchildren and great grandchildren. Charles served in the U.S. Navy and received a World War II Victory Medal, American Area Medal, Asiatic Pacific Theatre Medal 2 stars, Philippines Liberation Medal 1 star, among others. He served in the U.S. Army National Guard for 25 years, retiring as a Sergeant Major. Charley married the love of his life, Rosemary, in 1964. They were married for 55 years. He was a loving and devoted husband. He
and talk for hours. Dad’s best buddy was Carl Davidson, who also lived in Darby. Carl and Dad met every morning for their coffee and stories. He is preceded in death by his parents, Floyn and Zelma Wetzel; brothers Chester, Lester and Earl Wetzel; and sisters, Freda Tucker and Mary Scoggins. He is survived by his three daughters, Jennifer Wetzel Simonis of Brentwood CA, Shelli Williams of Pittsburg, CA and Shannon Martinez of Antioch, CA; grandsons, Brian Simonis of Winters, CA and Kevin and Catie Simonis and great granddaughter Fiona Simonis. Condolences and memories may be shared with the family at www.whitesittfuneralhome.com.
Hamilton - Anna M. Carriveau, 65, passed away in the afternoon, Thursday, April 16, 2020, at her home in Hamilton. Memories and condolences may be shared with the family at www.brothersmortuary.com.
Diane R. Stanich
will be missed by all his family. The family would like to express their extreme gratitude to all the caring staff at the Bee Hive Homes, especially, Cameron and Missy, also, Judea at Partners in Home Care. Graveside services were held at St. Mary’s Cemetery in Stevensville, Montana with Father Jim Connor from St. Francis Catholic Church in Hamilton, where Charley was a member, presiding. Steve Winkler provided music.
Stevensville - Diane R. Stanich, 68, passed away Sunday, April 19, 2020 at her home in Stevensville. A small graveside service will be held on Saturday, April 25, 2020 at 11 a.m. at St. Mary’s Cemetery in Stevensville. A full obituary will appear next week. Whitesitt Funeral Home is assisting the family with the arrangements. Obituary Information There is no charge for publishing death notices in the Bitterroot Star. The cost for publishing obituaries in the Star is $20 which includes a photo. The best way to submit obituaries and photos is by email to: editor@bitterrootstar.com. For more information contact Victoria at 777-3928.
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Page 16--Bitterroot Star
Wednesday, April 22, 2020
WEAR
A MASK Stop The Spread PREVENT CORONAVIRUS Use of Cloth Face Coverings to Help Slow the Spread of COVID-19 How to Wear Cloth Face Coverings
Cloth face coverings should• fit snugly but comfortably against side of face • be secured with ties or ear loops • include multiple layer of fabric • allow for breathing without restriction • be able to be laundered and machine dried without damage or change to shape
CDC on Homemade Cloth Face Coverings
CDC recommends wearing cloth face coverings in public settings where social distancing measures are difficult to maintain (e.g., grocery stores and pharmacies), especially in areas of significant community-based transmission. CDC also advises the use of simple cloth coverings to slow the spread of the virus and help people who may have the virus and do not know it from transmitting it to others. Clothe face coverings fashioned from household items or made at home from common materials at low cost can be used as additional, voluntary public health measure. Cloth face coverings should not be placed on young children under to age 2, anyone who has trouble breathing, or is unconscious, incapacitated or otherwise unable to remove the cloth face covering without assistance. The cloth face coverings recommended are not surgical masks or N-95 respirators. Those are critical supplies that must continue to be reserved for healthcare workers and other medical first responders, as recommended by current CDC guidance.
Should cloth face coverings be washed or otherwise cleaned regularly? How regularly? Yes. They should be routinely washed depending on the frequency of use.
How does one safely sterilize/clean a cloth face covering? A washing machine should suffice in properly washing a cloth face covering. How does one safely remove a used cloth face mask? Individuals should be careful to not touch their eyes, nose, and mouth when removing their
cloth face covering and wash hands immediately after removing.
RAVALLI COUNTY PUBLIC HEALTH . 205 Bedford Suite L . Hamilton, MT 59840 . (406) 375-6672