Libby public servant scraps commission bid

Lincoln County resident Tony Berget said recently he recently determined his residency places him outside the Libby District in which he had planned to run in June against incumbent Lincoln County Commissioner Mark Peck.

“I won’t be on the ballot,” Berget said.

The primary election had featured a contest between the two Republicans for the District 1 seat.

Berget said his research of political practice guidelines found that even though he has what he described as “a footprint” in more than one district he technically lives in the Troy District.

Berget’s withdrawal from the primary means Peck will be unopposed for his second six-year term on the commission, for which he currently serves as chairman. Peck previously defeated Berget in a three-way race for the commission seat.

Berget had served on the commission and previously was a member of Libby City Council and also served the city as mayor. He said he had looked forward to the race against Peck.

He said he does not anticipate running for the Troy District seat when it is next up for a vote.

— The Western News

Three candidates have applied for the three open Whitefish School Board seats in the May 5 school election.

Current Trustees Katie Clarke and Shannon Hanson will both likely return to the board for their respective second and fourth terms, while Jerrie Boksich will likely join the board. Current Trustee Heather Vrentas did not choose to seek a fourth term.

Prior to joining the board again in 2017, Hanson served two previous terms on the school board before losing his bid for re-election to the board in 2012. He was selected to serve as vice chairman of the board in his second term and filled former Trustee Dave Fern’s seat after he left to join the Montana Legislature in 2017.

Clarke has a variety of experience in education, first teaching marketing and DECA in the Cherry Creek School District in Colorado before teaching strategic communication at Hawaii Pacific University. She also taught at the University of Alaska in Fairbanks and volunteered in the Corvallis School District.

Boksich taught at Muldown until retiring in 2012, teaching every grade. She was also an enrichment teacher for K-6 and served on the Northwest Reading Council, Montana State Reading Council and the International Reading Council.

The district is also canceling a request for a $92,425 general fund levy in the elementary district, which the board previously approved for the ballot. The levy request was originally available due to an enrollment increase heading into the 2020-2021 school year and would have had a tax impact of $2.05 for a home with a taxable value of $100,000 and $4.10 for a home valued at $200,000.

The district is still going through with a pair of permissive levies, which do not appear on the ballot, a $190,480 increase in the elementary district and a $3,448 increase in the high school. Combined, that works out to an annual impact of $4.55 for a home with a taxable value of $100,000 and $9.10 for a home valued

The Columbia Falls Police Department has moved toward equipping its officers for more advanced on-the-scene medical care. The department recently purchased first responder medical bags for each of its six patrol cars through funding from a Flathead Electric Cooperative Roundup for Safety grant.

As Flathead County tourism growth continues, so does Columbia Falls traffic growth, and with it, the number of motor vehicle crashes, said Columbia Falls Officer Craig McConnell. Officers frequently are first on the scene of any traffic accident, and until recently, Columbia Falls officers have been equipped with only minimum-standard first-aid materials, he said. This has limited the amount of care officers can provide before paramedics arrive.

The new first responder medical bags are equipped with trauma dressings and tourniquets. These new provisions will allow officers to provide more comprehensive care to victims in the interim between injury and advanced medical attention. All officers are First Aid, AED and CPR certified, said McConnell, but the force will be increasing its training on treating hemorrhaging through tourniquet applications and major wound sealing.

“This way [by acquiring first responder medical bags] we’re getting ahead of the game by being a little more prepared to help out citizens in need at their worst moment,” McConnell said.

— Hungry Horse News

A historical monument project in Mineral County is pulling the plug after it didn’t secure enough funding.

The Ore to Oar Historical Monument Project recently announced the decision. According to Emily Ornelas, project promoter, the group had sought a grant from the Montana History Foundation but didn’t get it.

She said a lack of local community commitment and interest has been discouraging.

“While many people had voiced a desire to purchase a brick to support the project, in the end only the folks that committed their funds could be counted. Therefore, the project is short $11,500 dollars or 115 bricks.

Ornelas said people who purchased a brick will receive their money back in full.

“It is with much sadness and disappointment that after two years of researching grants and reaching out to businesses and individuals to promote this unique and historic monument clearly, the interest by the local community is not present at this time,” Ornelas said.

— Mineral Independent

The Montana Department of Transportation will begin construction in early April to fix and replace the Clark Fork River Bridge on Montana 200 about one mile north of Trout Creek. Construction is expected to be completed by the fall 2020.

Missoula District Construction Engineer John Schmidt said the state is using several methods to accelerate construction and minimize impacts to the community of Trout Creek and the traveling public.

Precast concrete deck panels will be placed during a full closure of the bridge to expedite construction. The closure is expected to in late May or early June and last for six weeks.

Kiewit is also planning to work night and weekend shifts when practical and safe.

Other than when the bridge is fully closed (June through mid-July), motorists should expect traffic to be reduced to one alternating lane through the construction area and up to 15-minute delays across the bridge.

Built in 1958, the bridge needs new concrete decking, improvements of miscellaneous structural components, new traffic rails, and spot painting of existing steel girders.

In addition to bridge rehabilitation, the project will include roadway approach work near the bridge ends to replace the existing guardrail and tie into the new bridge deck.

River access under the bridge and public boat launches will remain open throughout construction.

— Clark Fork Valley Press