Fallon County
T IMES June 19, 2020
BAKER, MONTANA
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VA closes Miles City building, not services
Staff Report
Brandon and Ashley Schmidt
Cedars Sinai Hospital
Baker grad waits for new heart while COVID threat isolates him By Brad Mosher
bmosher@countrymedia.net
About two decades after he graduated from Baker High School, Brandon Schmidt is in Cedars Sinai Hospital in Los Angeles waiting for a heart transplant. It will be his second. He is also waiting for a visit by his mother and other family members because visitation is not permitted under California’s current COVID-19 rules. While he is hospitalized, a family friend has started a fundraiser online to help the family with expenses. Jim Schaefer said he started more than a month ago and quickly met the goal of raising $5,000. In fact, that happened so quickly that Schaefer increased the target to $10,000. “I’ve known him since he was about seven and moved to Baker,” Schaefer recalled. “He was a good kid. He was very active in school and was a good athlete. “He is the son of Roger Schmidt who lived in Baker for about 14 or 15 years before he died. First he (Roger) was a banker. Then he became the county planner. He was responsible for developing the 9-1-1 system and the GPS (Global Positioning Satellite). He set that all up and he was really instrumental in getting a lot of things done in Baker. If you ever have been over to the amphitheater, you will see it was named after Roger,” Schaefer added. “He was the one who got the grant to get it done. It was just a community-oriented guy.” Brandon moved to Florida several years
ago because he found out had a congenital heart problem, Schaefer explained. “Florida was the best place to go at the time for a heart transplant. “He got his transplant and he was doing okay for a while, but he had his ups and downs. Things seemed to be going pretty good, but about four months ago things started going haywire. They told him he was going to have to have a second heart transplant.” “They said his best chance, because of all of the complications, was to move to California.” The 38-year old Schmidt responded to the fundraising effort on his own Facebook page. “It will help so much with family having to travel, my mother and I having to be displaced on top of all of medical expenses that go into these complicated medical problems. I appreciate all of the help and am always humbled looking at the list of everyone that is so kind and generous to even donate a small amount. Not only does it help defray costs, it truly helps me to see people that care enough to pitch in any hard earned money, especially in these very difficult times,” he said in a post he put online June 3. Schmidt had been living in St. Augustine but needed to make the move to California because it provided the best opportunity for getting a new heart, Schaefer explained Sunday. Brandon had to leave his wife behind in St. Augustine, according to Schaefer.
His mother is now in California with her sister. Diana works at the Fallon County Library in Baker. “But she hasn’t been able to visit him because of the quarantine still taking place in California. She is going to have living expenses in California, so I started the Facebook fundraising thing with an original goal of $5,000.” “We reached that pretty quickly so I raised it to $10,000 and the last I looked, we had raised about $8,800. That would help her get along for a fair bit,” Schaefer explained. By Sunday night, the total had climbed to nearly $9,500.” “We are waiting to see when Brandon will be able to get a new heart again.” “The important thing is that Brandon needs all the help that he can get... and also his mom,” Schaefer added. His mother left her job at the library so that she could be there in California with her son, the family friend said. For Schmidt, it will be the second heart transplant. In 2017, his heart was operating at only 11 percent when he went to Billings, then the University of Utah for treatment. “Brandon is a passionate, patriotic young man who has bravely become a self-appointed advocate for health care issues. He’ll be going through this ordeal without his wife, his mother, or either of his sisters there to lend moral support. I know these are tough times for many of us, but even small donations can become a huge help to this fine young man. Please help if you can!
The former Veterans Administration Medical Center in Miles City is closing. Getting VA services in Miles City and the southeast region of Montana will not be ending with the closure. While the building is closing, two former tenants used by Montana veterans will be relocating. The VA Outpatient Clinic and Community Living Center are moving, along with other tenants, including the Miles City Police Department, the Miles City Soup Kitchen and the Custer County Food Bank. It is the final stage of a closure process which started more than two decades ago when the VA announced plans to close the building Just over 80 miles from Baker, the medical center had been the
closest VA location in Montana for Fallon County veterans. According to a spokesman for Sen. Jon Tester (D-MT), the closure process began because the building was no longer suited for meeting the medical needs of Montana veterans. While the VA building is being closed and transferred to Custer County ownership, the VA will be relocating to a better location, according to a spokeswoman for Sen. Steve Daines (R-MT). The community living center will be moved in the fall, with the outpatient clinic scheduled to move out in 2021. The Custer County Commissioners negotiated a contract with the VA and started the process by signing a letter of intent in January 2019. The VA complex covers more than 14 acres in addition to the four-story brick building.
New Signs Baker fireworks show is a go for 2020 Staff Writer
Independence Day is on the Fourth of July every year, but in Baker there will be some changes caused by a global pandemic. The Fourth of July fireworks display is a go, according to Fallon County Commissioner Steve Baldwin. However, there will be no sponsored events as part of the Independence Day celebration, he said. “As far as anything by the lake, if people want to play volleyball, go boating or horseshoes they can do that on their own but the coun-
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ty is not going to organize any of that stuff this year because of the COVID business.” The display will set up by the baseball complex south of the lake, the commissioner added, noting that the Baker Fire Department will be involved. “Those guys are experienced … they set them off every year,” Baldwin said. The fireworks show will start after dusk. The county has donated for the fireworks display, along with other businesses in the community and county, the commissioner said.
New signs have been placed along Highway 7 and Highway 12 giving directions to some of the many recreation options surrounding Baker Lake! Fallon County Commissioners, Fallon County Parks and Eastern Plains Economic Development Corporation worked together to determine the content and the location of the directional signs. While the signs were designed and printed last fall, they were not able to be placed until the spring due to the frozen ground. The signs were purchased with grant funding from Visit Southeast Montana to promote tourism in Baker. Baker Lake is a wonderful resource for both locals and visitors and we are thrilled that we can share our new and improved lake with the public.
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