Fallon County
T IMES May 8, 2020
BAKER, MONTANA
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Baker Schools announcements: •Seniors’ last day of instruction will be May 8. •Seniors will check out Wednesday, May 13 (specific details will be outlined and addressed with the senior class), Senior Graduation “walkthrough” will also be Wednesday, May 13 •Kindergarten - 11th grade will not have any new assignments/assessments after Thursday, May 14. •Graduation is scheduled for Sunday, May 17, at 2 p.m. at Schillinger Stadium (weather permitting). The Graduation will be a closed event with
Reopening of Courthouse After a lengthy closure as a result of the COVID-19 outbreak, the Fallon County Commission is pleased to announce the reopening of our Courthouse. Effective 8 a.m. on Monday, May 11, 2020 the Fallon County Courthouse will be open to the public, while following and adhering to the “Reopening the Big Sky” guidelines established by our Governor Bullock. To help safeguard your health, all employees are screened prior to beginning work; furthermore, we are taking extensive cleaning/sanitizing measures throughout our buildings. Members of the public will access the Courthouse by entering and exiting through the front lobby entrance; this entrance is handicap accessible. All other entrances will be utilized as emergency exits only. Upon entering the lobby, visitors will be greeted by an attendant. Visitors will be asked to wash their hands upon entering the building before conducting any business. In addition, hand sanitizer will be available at the greeter station. Visitors are asked to please follow the direction given by the greeter and to maintain social distancing. If the number of visitors results in a group to which social distancing is not possible, visitors may be asked to wait outside the building. Please note all access to the Emergency Operation Center (EOC)/Library basement is restricted. We are not taking reservations for the EOC/Library basement until further notice. The following are the guidelines for access to our Library: 1. Access to the Library will be limited to a maximum of five (5) patrons at any given time. 2. The Library has been deep cleaned and sani-
tized for your safety. 3. Our older and more vulnerable patrons are encouraged to visit us between 8 a.m. to 10 a.m. 4. Gloves and masks are encouraged but not provided. 5. Please follow the six (6) feet social distancing guideline. 6. Computer use will be limited to business and classroom activities only. Social distancing allows for three (3) computers to be used at a time. Time restrictions will be based on patron needs and at the discretion of the Library staff. 7. The Courthouse will not be accessible from the Library. 8. The south handicap entrance is accessible for our patrons. Your health and safety are of the utmost importance to us. Therefore, all materials are quarantined for twenty-four (24) hours before reshelving. InterLibrary Loans and Partners Loans services are not currently available; as we progress through the phases of reopening, these services will be reinstated. We are exploring a virtual program for our Summer Reading Program. Please check our website and Facebook for updates. We anticipate the O’Fallon Museum will reopen June 1, 2020; access is subject to Reopening the Big Sky guidelines. All reopening of County buildings is subject to change. The Commission would like to welcome our Fallon County residents back to our Courthouse and Library! Thank you for your patience during this crisis! Stay well, stay healthy.
graduates and immediate household family members only. Specific details will be shared with senior families and finalized details will be shared with the public. The event will be streamed online FREE of charge. • End of year check out for students, kindergarten - 11th grade will be the week of May 18 - 22, we will have a detailed schedule for students and will contact families. -May 22 is the last day of school.
Chaska closes out elementary career as teacher By Brad Mosher
bmosher@countrymedia.net
Lindsay Chaska followed her heart from the small town of Valier near Lake Frances in north central part of the Treasure State to Havre and eventually to Baker. “I came here as a teacher right out of Northern Montana College in Havre,” she recalled. “I first started in the fourth grade (in Baker).” She brought with her a brand-new degree in Elementary Education. She didn’t spend her entire career in the fourth grade. “They moved me around a bit.” She admitted that over her career much has changed in the elementary school grades. “We have changed how we teach and what we teach,” she said. “I started over where the Old Skool Brewery is now... it was an elementary school (then). That is where I first started teaching. That was a long time ago. “It has really changed from when I started teaching. It has changed a lot.” But it was at the second and the
third grades where she thought she had made the biggest impression. “I really liked it and I thought the kids were great,” she explained. “They were willing to work hard.” She considers all of her grades and students to be memorable. Chaska said that she has seen her former students over the years at places like the Fallon County Fair. “Some of these kids that I taught years and years and years ago and now I see them someplace like the fair. They still come up and give me a hug,” she said. Chaska also noted that some of her students have had their children in her classes. In her time in Fallon County, Chaska would marry and have a family, with her daughter following in the “family business” and teaching junior high and high school in Rosebud, while her son works in the Baker area for WBI. Another constant for Chaska has been her affection and passion for Glacier National Park. It started when she was young because she grew up near the park in the small town of Valier
in the north central part of the state close to the Canadian border, just a short distance from the eastern entrance to the national park. That affection has continued over the years. Her family has spend a lot of time in the park. That will not stop with her retirement. “I can do whatever (now). “I will be doing things with my family and with my friends, but going to Glacier park is a big thing for me.” she added. Another place made a big impression when she was young – the Northern Montana College campus in Havre now known as Montana State University – Northern. “We went there one time when I was growing up with my family. I fell in love with it,” she remembered. “I thought that is where I am going to college. “And I never changed my mind. I loved it.” One thing which came as a surprise in her final year of teaching has been the impact that the Corona Virus has had in the school and the local community. “It is a mess, isn’t it?, she said.
Plevna School Board Election unofficial results
The unofficial tallies have been totaled! As the Times goes to print, the candidate receiving the most votes for the (three year term) position on the Plevna Public School Board is . Unofficial Results One trustee for three year term. Total Electors Voting - 185 Lisa Rieger - 166 Robert Thielen - 18 Overvote - 1
Notice of Mail Ballot Primary Election Election Day- June 2, 2020
Per Montana Governor Steve Bullock’s Executive Orders 2-2020 and 3-2020 Montana Counties may opt to conduct their June 2, 2020 Primary Nominating Election as a mail ballot election. The Election Administrator of Fallon County will be conducting the June 2, 2020 Nominating Party Primary Election by mail. All eligible registered voters will receive Primary Party Ballots in the mail. Primary Party Ballots are mailed out on May 8, 2020. To verify that you are registered to vote, you may call 406-778-7106 to verify your voting status whether active or inactive, or go to My Voter page at www.falloncounty.net click Departments, Elections, My Voter Page. This will show you if you are an Active or Inactive Status. If you are Inactive you need to update your voter registration card. Please call our office at 406-778-7106 or visit our web page at www.falloncounty.net for a fillable card, print and send to Election Administrator PO Box 846 Baker MT 59313. The close of regular voter registration deadline for the June 2, 2020 Mail Ballot Primary Election, is extended to May 26, 2020. By completing a new voter registration form, voting status would change to active; at which time a Primary Ballot would be mailed out.
TODAY’S FORECAST
High: 61 Low: 36
Mostly Sunny
Russell’s Clothing Baker, MT 406-778-2427
Obits.................................2 Files of the Times..............3 Letter to the Editor............3
Spartan Scroll...................6 Cougar Tracks....................7 Classifieds.........................8
Reynolds Market in Baker has expanded the number of customers allowed inside at one time from 10 to 15. PHOTO/Brad Mosher
Mid-Rivers annual meeting postponed The Mid-Rivers Telephone Cooperative, Inc. Board of Trustees has decided to postpone the cooperative’s Annual Meeting of the Members, previously scheduled for May 28, 2020, until further notice due to the Coronavirus pandemic. “Our primary focus is keeping members, customers, and employees safe and healthy, so we can
continue providing essential services,” stated General Manager/CEO Michael Candelaria. The Mid-Rivers Board will await further guidance from State and local health officials on Montana’s Phase 2 and 3 reopening plans before setting a meeting date. Members will receive official notice when a new meeting date is set.
Check out our Facebook page or Website for updates. www.falloncountyextra.com
Grand Re-Opening & Mother’s Day Sale Now thru Sat., May 9
Door Prizes • Refreshments
For up-to-the-minute news visit falloncountyextra.com We want to hear from you: See how to contact us on Page 3 Vol. 104 No. 19
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