VOLUME 100
ISSUE 38
TIMES
FALLON County
fctimes@midrivers.com 406-778-3344
BAKER, MONTANA 59313
$1.00
Pratt takes helm of city government
By Sherry Vogel JoDee Huckins Pratt was sworn into office, as the mayor of the City of Baker, by Kevin Dukart, City Clerk on August 30. Pratt was appointed to the office of mayor the night before at a special meeting called by the Baker City Council in the wake of the resignation of Mayor Clayton Hornung.
Pratt, who was serving as the president of the city council, has served on the council as alderman for twenty-two years. She stated, “I originally got on the council in 1993, because I love Baker and I wanted to clean up the place.” Over the past 22 years Pratt spearheaded the Baker Clean-up Day. She was instrumental in overseeing the cleanup of many of the vacant lots in town. “We actually brought out machinery and removed old cement blocks and junk off of entire areas.” These areas now have nice homes standing on them. “We also tore down many of the old buildings,” she added. Now as mayor, Pratt has the same dreams. So she has instituted as her first measure, after taking office, to establish a Clean-up Day two times a year, once in the spring and once in autumn. The biggest challenge Pratt faces as she takes the helm of city government is finding the dollars to run the city. In the wake of the decrease of gas and oil revenue the council is making cuts where they can. For instance, city workers did not receive a cost of living raise this year. In closing, Pratt stated, “I’m happy to be the new mayor because I care deeply about Baker and I’m happy to serve its citizens. I have an open door policy, as do all the city council meetings. I hope people will feel free to call or come on by my office with any problems or concerns.”
Baker Chamber hosts Fall Festival Street Fair By Sherry Vogel The annual Fall Festival Street Fair held September 10 in Baker was abuzz as vendors and rib and chili cook-off competitors busied themselves, in the early morning hours, setting up their booths in the blocked off 1st Street West adjacent to the American Legion/Baker Club. The pleasant sunny morning was a welcomed relief, as the day before had rained down buckets of water on the city streets. Before long the sweet smells of kettle corn, roasted corn and roasting meat entwined adding to the excitement of the festival. Street vendors welcomed festivalgoers with a large variety of wares ranging from handcrafted jewelry and bottle lights to croqueted items and baked goods. One young vendor set up shop painting the faces of the children. The little ones squirmed excitedly as the wet brush tickled their noses. When finished, they were off in a flash to show off the masterpieces displayed on their smiling faces. Many scurried up the street having been transformed into little ‘giggling’ critters. The atmosphere was enhanced by the
sounds of Dustan Davis as he spun tunes from various eras. At noon, members of the Fallon Medical Complex served tacos-in-a-bag and hot dogs. In addition, the Sons of the
Four year old Statler Medearis munches on a cob of roasted corn at Fall Festival Street Fair on Sept. 10. Photo by Sherry Vogel
American Legion served hot dogs and hamburgers to hungry festivalgoers. Ismay Grain gifted all in attendance large slices of juicy watermelon. Rubber Ducks paddle for the win Late in the afternoon a Rubber Duck Race was held on the patio of the Baker
Club. Upland Home Maintenance revamped the water track, this year, making the swim even more exciting. After five separate heats of forty ducks each, 1st place duck floating for Judd and Patty Halstead was victorious. Second place quacky winner, was the duck belonging to Mel Varner. Coming in third place, was the little duck paddling for Denise Losing. Judd and Patti Halstead donated back $60 of their prize winnings to festival expenses. The Insurance Store donated Baker Bucks to all the heat winners. Young and old alike enjoyed the pleasant September afternoon. While Funflatables kept the kids on the go, old timers enjoyed sitting back while enjoying kettle corn or mini donuts sold by Prairie Fire Kettle Korn, a mobile vending venue, from Forsyth. Rib Contest makes mouths water The third annual Rib Cook-Off was held again this year in conjunction with the Fall Festival. This contest saw eight teams vie for first place honors and bragging rights. Each team was given a full case of ribs to start cooking at 8 a.m. At 5 p.m. each team turned in one rack of
Fall Festival Page 10
2016 new teachers roll call __________
Christina Parker By Sherry Vogel Christina “Krissy” Parker, new K-12 art teacher in the Plevna School District moves to the area from Nashville, TN. Miss Parker who grew up in the suburbs of Old Hickory and Hermitage, 30 minutes from the downtown area, has been a city girl most of her life. She discovered Montna five years ago when she came out west, as a college student,
employed over the summer seasons at Yellowstone National Park. Krissy fell in love with being in the outdoors of Montana. Parker, a new graduate, attended Austin Peay State University in Clarksville, TN. Last spring, she earned her Arts Education Degree with an endorsement in teaching. Seeking adventure, she got on a website to see how many art teachers were being hired in Montana. She found three positions open. She chose to come to Plevna. Parker, who has always enjoyed working with youth, has gained experience teaching art in the summer camp setting, as well as in her student teaching when she took the opportunity to student teach in three various public schools in Nashville. She even went
Ms. Parker Page 5
Peter Sawers is the new elementary guidance counselor and social science teacher (612) in the Plevna School District for the 2016-2017 school year. Sawers, a native of South Africa, brings ten years of teaching experience to the classroom. Peter was born in Pretoria, South Africa to a farm family. While his father farmed, his mother was employed as a school principal. In fact, seems Peter’s entire family is in the teaching business. Peter’s twin brother is a teacher and two of his aunts are also educators. After high school, he went on to earn his Bachelors Degree in Secondary Education with dual endorsements. He has a minor in both business management and social sciences. He is currently working
Peter Sawers toward his Masters in Social Science at Western Governors University. Peter’s wife, Kristine, is an American from IL. They met while teaching together at a college in South Korea. After their 11 month old baby, Ethan, was born they decided to move to the “states” so they could give him a better environment to growup in. The Sawers felt it would be diffi-
Mr. Sawers Page 5
Products of the Prairie
Oneok makes donation
- Montana’s first Farmers and Crafters Market see page 10
- Oneok Rockies Midstream donates to the Baker Relief fund see page 10
Monday Night Football
HOT WINGS The Biggest And Best Parties Happen At The Corner!
NFL RED ZONE SUNDAYS
FRIDAY, SEPTEMBER 16, 2016
Mayor Hornung passes away The Community of Baker is saddened to learn of the passing of former Mayor Clayton Hornung. Clayton passed away September 12 in Billings, MT. Our sincere sympathy goes out to his wife Darlene, son Tim and two daughters Julie and Tammy. Funeral services will be 11 a.m., Saturday, September 17, 2016 at the American Lutheran Church. Visitation for Clayton will be on Friday, September 16, 2016 from 1 p.m. to 6 p.m. at Stevenson Funeral Home in Baker. Visitation will continue on Saturday one hour prior to the service at the church. Remembrances and condolences may be shared with the family at: www.stevensonfuneralhome.com
County Commission Approves Annual Budget By Jason Rittal, County Development Advisor In an effort to educate the public on how the Fallon County Annual Budget is set the Times has asked Jason Rittal, County Development Advisor, to briefly explain the process and answer questions related to County revenues and expenses. The Process: The responsibility for setting the Fallon County Annual Budget begins and ends with the Fallon County Commission. The process begins several months before the budget is set and involves a lot of activity with all Department Managers being involved. The culmination of the process ends with the Commission holding a public hearing and formally adopting the budget by resolution. The process begins with the Department Managers assessing their budget needs for the upcoming year and submitting their budget requests to the Clerk and Recorder. In July the Clerk and Recorder and Treasurer compile year end revenue and expenditure reports to help guide the Commission during the budgeting process. During this time the State of Montana is calculating the taxable valuations for each County, these valuations stipulate the number of mills the County can levy on its taxpayers. These mill levy figures along with other non-taxable revenues, including oil and gas production taxes are used in projecting the County’s revenue for the upcoming year. Once the projected revenue, including reserves, is calculated and all budgets from Department Managers have been received, the Clerk and Recorder presents this information along with the previous year’s revenue and expenditure reports to the Commission. The Commission then holds a Public Hearing to set the salaries for Elected Officials and their Deputies to include in the budget. The Commission also begins meeting with each Department Manager to discuss individual budget needs including daily operating expenses and capital expenditures, together they make changes to the Department’s budget if necessary. The Clerk and Recorder then takes the set salaries, department budgets and prepares the draft budget. During this entire process all involved are aware of and planning for known or possible capital needs. Setting the County budget has always been a complex process but this year’s budget is especially, due to having to project expenses related to the Tornado Clean-Up Project in Baker Lake and the most recent hail storm that caused significant damage to County property. While the majority of these expenses will be reimbursable they impact both the overall revenue and expenses when compared to other years. Over the last few years the Commission developed a plan to budget for capital improvements that will benefit Fallon County residents. Last year the capital expenditures were nearly $5 million with $2.1 million spent on bridge improvements, $1.8 million spent on buildings and over $600,000 spent on machinery and equipment. The upcoming year includes capital expenditures to replace the County’s sub-par bridges: Cooper, Westmore, Webster, Coal Bank and Dry Fork; installation of a sewer collection system for the Fallon County Water & Sewer District east of Baker; assisting the City of Baker with infrastructure and construction of a new Fair food booth building. Investments in roads, infrastructure, buildings and equipment will continue to be budgeted for over a five-year period with the expectation they may change as need or opportunities arise. County revenues will always dictate the capital improvements that can be done and the Commission has the ultimate authority in moving forward with a capital improvement or holding off. Many factors can affect the feasibility of capital investments such as extended timelines of a project, increased or unanticipated expenses and most importantly available revenues.
Annual Budget Page 6
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