Plevna School faces COVID-19 spike Staff Report
Baker schools adapt to COVID-19 challenge Staff Report
The Baker School District is back to where it started – at least when it comes to COVID-19. The district started the school year at what is named Scenario 4 – the lightest of restrictions. After briefly going one step more restrictive (Scenario 3) briefly in the first week of October, it returned to Scenario 4 just in time for the Spartans’ football contest Friday, according to Superintendent Aaron Skogen. “We started the year at Scenario 4 when we had zero COVID-19 cases. Then, when we had an uptick within the county, it was agreed that we’d move down to Scenario 3,” Sko-
gen explained. Just before the game on Friday, the level was changed again. “We had an event that was an outside football game over an indoor event. High school volleyball was finished for the week.” “So, meeting with local health officials, the football game, being that it was outside... we were in a position to move back to Scenario 4,” he explained. As of Tuesday, the superintendent said that the scenario level had not been determined yet for the schools and the activities. “We will make that decision tomorrow (Wednesday) and that will dictate the scenario level for Thursday, Friday and Saturday,”
he added. He described the situation as being week to week. “But that could change at any given time. So, it is fluid, but we knew that going in,” he said. Skogen said that because of the county health department and governor’s guidelines, masks have been required since Sept. 30 when the county hit four active cases or higher. “We are requiring masks and following the governor’s directive,” he said. “Thankfully, things have been fairly normal at the school,” the superintendent said. “Right now, we are awaiting test results, or finalizing contract tracing, so it is kind of a fluid time”
MHSA delays start of winter sports
The school also participates in contact tracing. “We like to give information out as soon as possible. It usually translates to about midweek to give us the best opportunity to make an informed decision based on the information,” he said. The elementary school is currently planning for a Halloween event. “The staff wants to put on some sort of Halloween activity for the kids,” he said. “There is a lot of factors that come into play,” the superintendent said. Skogen stressed that the district tries to put information out on webpages, Facebook and on emails sent to parents as decisions are made.
The recent hike in COVID-19 cases in Montana and Fallon County has forced the school in Plevna to increase its vigilance in protecting the students, according to Superintendent Nick Schumacher. One of the first steps was increasing efforts to sanitize the campus. “We had everything laid out in our plan so we are ready for this,” he explained Tuesday. “We have ramped up the cleaning and disinfectant routine here inside of the building. Also, we have restricted the number of spectators at games. We have reduced the number of activities that we offer.” “We are doing the best we can to keep students and adults physically distanced from one another as best as possible,” he said. “In the past, we have had a Halloween parade in our school which is something we won’t be able to do this year, so any Halloween parties will need to be localized in the individual classrooms,” the superintendent explained. According to the Fallon County Health Department, masks are required since the end of September. There has not been a problem with masks on the Plevna school campus, the superintendent said. “The vast majority of our students have been very co-operative with this mandate. That is something we greatly appreciate.” The sports activities have been affected, Schumacher said. “We have not canceled or postponed any activities. However, several of our competitors have canceled or postponed games that we were scheduled to participate in.” The Cougars will play elementary and junior high basketball this weekend – first Wibaux in Plevna Friday and then elementary and junior high basketball versus Broadus in Plevna, he said. The school’s next high school volleyball game will be Oct. 24 in Broadus. The Cougars play in the 2C District.
The Montana High School Association executive board voted during a scheduled meeting on Tuesday to delay the start of winter sports - both practices and competition - in hopes of flattening the curve during the continued COVID-19 pandemic. The MHSA executive board approved the motion of winter sports practices in basketball and wrestling to begin on Dec. 7, with competitions beginning the first week of January. Basketball practices were originally scheduled to begin on Nov. 19, while wrestling was to begin Nov. 21. But, as Montana continues to trend upward in positive coronarivus cases, the MHSA board hopes limiting travel and exposure can help avoid the uptick in positive cases. The MHSA will re-evaluate its guidelines and restrictions during its annual November meeting. The speech, debate and drama season, which had been previously postponed to December, was approved to begin its season with practices on Monday, Oct. 19. Competition will begin on Dec. 1, with meets held virtually for the time being.
Governor Bullock announces Montana’s minimum wage for 2021 Montana’s minimum wage will increase to $8.75 an hour on January 1, 2021 Governor Steve Bullock announced Montanans earning minimum wage will see the rate increase to $8.75 per hour beginning Jan. 1, 2021. “By tying the minimum wage to inflation, we can ensure Montanans earning the minimum wage see a modest increase and have the same buying power, instead of falling further behind,” Governor Bullock said. “We must continue to do more to help working families succeed by bringing in quality jobs, supporting Montana businesses, and investing in education and workforce training, especially as we continue to work toward economic recovery due to the pandemic.” In 2006 as a private citizen, Bullock led ballot initiative I-156 to raise the minimum wage and require that it be adjusted annually for inflation. Approved by Montana voters, Montana Code Annotated 39-3-409 requires the Montana Department of Labor & Industry to adjust the Montana minimum wage for inflation using the Consumer Price Index for Urban Consumers (CPI-U). An estimated 8,000 to 10,000 Montana workers, or two percent of the workforce, received hourly wages less than $8.75 per hour in 2020 and are likely to receive higher wages due to the 2021 minimum wage increase. In 2019, the industry with the largest number of workers earn-
ing minimum wage was the accommodations and food services industry. Many minimum-wage workers are front-line workers who are at the greatest risk of COVID-19 exposure. The minimum wage is determined by taking the current minimum wage of $8.65 and increasing it by the CPI-U increase from August of 2019 to August 2020. The CPI-U increased by 1.31% (unadjusted) over the year ending August 2020. To keep the minimum wage at the same purchasing power as the prior year, the wage should increase by $0.11 per hour. However, since state statute requires the wage to rounded to the nearest five cents, the 2021 minimum wage rate will be $8.75. In 2020, the District of Columbia and 29 U.S. states, including Montana, have minimum wage rates that exceed the federal rate of $7.25 per hour. A map of state minimum wage laws is available on the U.S. Department of Labor’s website at http://www.dol.gov/whd/minwage/america.htm. For more information on minimum wage in Montana, visit DLI’s Research and Analysis Bureau’s website at http://lmi.mt.gov/Publications/ minimum-wage-fact-sheet-3. Additional information can also be found on DLI’s Labor Standard’s Bureau at http://erd.dli.mt.gov/labor-standards.
Trick-or-Treat fun in downtown Baker Downtown storekeepers will be rounding up a harvest of sweet treats for trick-or-treaters on Halloween. The Baker Chamber of Commerce and Agriculture is sponsoring the annual “Downtown Trick-or-Treat” Oct. 30, from 3 to 6 p.m. Business owners, not in the downtown area or in the shopping center, are encouraged to be involved by participating in a trunk-or-treat. Each participant is encouraged to decorate the tail end of a pick-up, trunk of a vehicle or any other mobile unit and park in Russell’s parking lot or Bank of
Baker parking lot, so the children can parade by to pick up your treat. It would be a “spooktacular” good time if all business people would join in the fun by dressing up. All participating businesses should register with the Chamber to be included on the list. Everyone in town is encouraged to dress up and join the fun. A list of participating businesses will be available at local stores. To register your business or for further information e-mail bakerchamber@midrivers.com.