City honors employee and two volunteers
By Buck Traxler, I-O Editor
The council, at the regular Monday meeting, recognized city employee Jerry Stubbs for going above and beyond the normal duty in helping an individual with an odor problem in a trash bin.
Two volunteers at the Conrad Public Library (CPL) were also given certificates of appreciation for their selfless duty there.
Pam Keller has made a career of helping at the CPL. She began her duty at the library the day after Mount St. Helen’s blew its top on May 29, 1980. That’s almost 30 years ago.
She has survived five library directors in that time. She keeps all the newspapers in order keeps all the files updated in the vertical files and fills in at the main desk. “Her dedication and time spent at our library is geatly appreciated,” said Carol Donath, librarian.
Phillip Whaley has lived here his entire life and came to volunteer at the library 12 years ago, then under the direction of Darlene Drishinski.
He comes in three times a week to put away all the books in the upstairs portion of the library. “He does a wonderful job,” noted Donath.
In other business before the council, three building permits were approved; one at 509 S. Delaware for windows, one at 206 S. Maryland for another wind turban, and one a 107 S. Minnesota for an addition.
The Education Foundation put in a request to close the street (Illinois) in front of the high school from 4th Ave. SW to the parking lot at the high school after the opening home football game with Bigfork on Sept. 11.
There will be an outdoor barbecue and tours of the school and new gym area. Aldermen passed the request.
There was to be a public bid opening for a new city truck at 8 p.m. However, no bids were received. Councilman Gary Brown wanted to see the “bid specs” to see why there were no bids. Further discussion and action was tabled until more information was gathered.
There were three requests for funds from the Genevieve Reiken Anderson Trust Fund.
One came from the library for $5,000 for new books, another was from Public Works for $11,000 to go towards the irrigation system in Conrad Lions Swimming Pool Park and $1,000 was requested by the Pondera Arts Council (PAC). No action was taken on the requests by the council. They will gather more information for the next meeting.
The city received a $7,400 grant to go towards the purchase of a fire truck. Readers will recall that funding was already allocated, so this grant will go into a revolving fund.
In addition, a Rural Development Community Service grant of $16,145.91 has been awarded to the city. In the past, money from this grant has gone to places such as the museum or for bike paths. Funds will be used for the theatre marquee.
Council members also postponed any action on a weed ordinance and the purchase of buying advertising in a Pondera County historical book until further information can be received.
Chief Gary Dent reported that the Police Department had 155 calls for service in July.
In part, there were three domestic situations, a number of fireworks complaints, 18 misdemeanor arrests, various assists to the ambulance and fire crews and the PCSO.
Public Works Director Rich Anderson said his crews were working the alleys, have replaced the urinal that was damaged by fireworks, at the ball field, reported a chemical pump at the pool went bad, and noted that work at the wastewater plant is coming along well.
The next regular meeting of the council will be July 17, 7:30 p.m. in city hall at 411-1/2 S. Main.
CITY EMPLOYEE Jerry Stubbs was recognized for going above and beyond the normal duty in helping an individual with a odor problem in a trash bin. I-O Photo by Buck Traxler
Two volunteers at the Conrad Public Library (CPL) were also given certificates of appreciation for their selfless duty there.
Pam Keller has made a career of helping at the CPL. She began her duty at the library the day after Mount St. Helen’s blew its top on May 29, 1980. That’s almost 30 years ago.
She has survived five library directors in that time. She keeps all the newspapers in order keeps all the files updated in the vertical files and fills in at the main desk. “Her dedication and time spent at our library is geatly appreciated,” said Carol Donath, librarian.
Phillip Whaley has lived here his entire life and came to volunteer at the library 12 years ago, then under the direction of Darlene Drishinski.
He comes in three times a week to put away all the books in the upstairs portion of the library. “He does a wonderful job,” noted Donath.
In other business before the council, three building permits were approved; one at 509 S. Delaware for windows, one at 206 S. Maryland for another wind turban, and one a 107 S. Minnesota for an addition.
The Education Foundation put in a request to close the street (Illinois) in front of the high school from 4th Ave. SW to the parking lot at the high school after the opening home football game with Bigfork on Sept. 11.
There will be an outdoor barbecue and tours of the school and new gym area. Aldermen passed the request.
There was to be a public bid opening for a new city truck at 8 p.m. However, no bids were received. Councilman Gary Brown wanted to see the “bid specs” to see why there were no bids. Further discussion and action was tabled until more information was gathered.
There were three requests for funds from the Genevieve Reiken Anderson Trust Fund.
One came from the library for $5,000 for new books, another was from Public Works for $11,000 to go towards the irrigation system in Conrad Lions Swimming Pool Park and $1,000 was requested by the Pondera Arts Council (PAC). No action was taken on the requests by the council. They will gather more information for the next meeting.
The city received a $7,400 grant to go towards the purchase of a fire truck. Readers will recall that funding was already allocated, so this grant will go into a revolving fund.
In addition, a Rural Development Community Service grant of $16,145.91 has been awarded to the city. In the past, money from this grant has gone to places such as the museum or for bike paths. Funds will be used for the theatre marquee.
Council members also postponed any action on a weed ordinance and the purchase of buying advertising in a Pondera County historical book until further information can be received.
Chief Gary Dent reported that the Police Department had 155 calls for service in July.
In part, there were three domestic situations, a number of fireworks complaints, 18 misdemeanor arrests, various assists to the ambulance and fire crews and the PCSO.
Public Works Director Rich Anderson said his crews were working the alleys, have replaced the urinal that was damaged by fireworks, at the ball field, reported a chemical pump at the pool went bad, and noted that work at the wastewater plant is coming along well.
The next regular meeting of the council will be July 17, 7:30 p.m. in city hall at 411-1/2 S. Main.
Gernaat one of seven MSU students interning in Extension offices
By Melynda Harrison, MSU News Service
This summer seven students from Montana State University’s College of Agriculture are interning in Extension offices across the state. The students are part of a program facilitated by MSU Extension, which placed eight interns in county Extension offices.
“The purpose of the MSU Extension Internship Program is to provide practical, experiential learning opportunities in counties, and on campus, to support student success,” said Extension internship coordinator, Phyllis Dennee.
MSU Extension is a statewide educational outreach network that applies unbiased, research-based university resources to practical needs identified by the people of Montana in their home communities.
“The internships also provide opportunities for MSU students to engage in educational programming with potential to make a positive difference in people’s lives,” Dennee added.
As part of the intern experience, interns are required to assess needs in their prospective counties and then develop and implement a program to address a certain need. As an intern for Yellowstone County Extension, Jerrica Lind, a senior in Ag education from Ulm, chose to develop and teach a two day program to help mothers and their 12 to 16-year-old daughters establish a strong relationship through communication and trust-building activities.
Lind hopes to go into Extension as a career and wanted her internship to pertain to her future employment.
“I wanted to get a realistic view of what Extension is,” Lind said. “We take great classes, but actually getting to work in an Extension office directly with the agents has assured me that Extension is exactly what I want to be doing.”
Erin Gernaat and Kelsey Gibbs are interns in the Dawson County Extension office. Gernaat, from Conrad is a CHS graduate and the daughter of Darryl and Julie Gernaat, and Gibbs, from Glendive, are both seniors in animal science.
Gernaat and Gibbs are managing a community garden in Glendive and growing crops to sell at the local farmers market.
“We want to encourage people to buy local and know where their food comes from,” said Gernaat.
Gibbs added, “Instead of hauling livestock or crops far away, farmers and producers can sell it here in their own community.”
Gernaat, who is working on concentrations in livestock management and Ag relations, applied for the internship in part because it fulfilled the requirements of both of her concentrations.
“I had to work with sustainable agriculture, and this internship had a lot of projects related to that,” she said. “There is a big variety of things to work with; we aren’t doing the same thing every day.”
Gibbs, who is also working toward a concentration in livestock management, wanted to stay close to home so she could help out on her family’s ranch.
“I wanted to work with people in my own community,” Gibbs said. “I now have more knowledge of agriculture as a whole; I’ve mostly worked with livestock, so this was a good opportunity to learn about crops.”
All the interns had to apply to the program.
“The process was similar to the one we use to recruit Extension agents,” said Dennee.
Students were interviewed, their references were checked and they gave a presentation about what they could contribute to a specific county office. The Extension state and county office personnel chose students they felt would be the best match.
Some of the internships were paid and some were for university credit. The interns signed a learning agreement with the local agents they worked with and were evaluated at the end of the internship.
According to Dennee, applications for the eight positions came not just from MSU, but from other colleges and universities.
Other MSU interns and their Extension offices: Dylan Klasna, Richland County; Michelle Passmore, Lewis and Clark County; Nikki Bailey, Judith Basin County; Christina McRae, Rosebud/Treasure Counties.
This summer seven students from Montana State University’s College of Agriculture are interning in Extension offices across the state. The students are part of a program facilitated by MSU Extension, which placed eight interns in county Extension offices.
“The purpose of the MSU Extension Internship Program is to provide practical, experiential learning opportunities in counties, and on campus, to support student success,” said Extension internship coordinator, Phyllis Dennee.
MSU Extension is a statewide educational outreach network that applies unbiased, research-based university resources to practical needs identified by the people of Montana in their home communities.
“The internships also provide opportunities for MSU students to engage in educational programming with potential to make a positive difference in people’s lives,” Dennee added.
As part of the intern experience, interns are required to assess needs in their prospective counties and then develop and implement a program to address a certain need. As an intern for Yellowstone County Extension, Jerrica Lind, a senior in Ag education from Ulm, chose to develop and teach a two day program to help mothers and their 12 to 16-year-old daughters establish a strong relationship through communication and trust-building activities.
Lind hopes to go into Extension as a career and wanted her internship to pertain to her future employment.
“I wanted to get a realistic view of what Extension is,” Lind said. “We take great classes, but actually getting to work in an Extension office directly with the agents has assured me that Extension is exactly what I want to be doing.”
Erin Gernaat and Kelsey Gibbs are interns in the Dawson County Extension office. Gernaat, from Conrad is a CHS graduate and the daughter of Darryl and Julie Gernaat, and Gibbs, from Glendive, are both seniors in animal science.
Gernaat and Gibbs are managing a community garden in Glendive and growing crops to sell at the local farmers market.
“We want to encourage people to buy local and know where their food comes from,” said Gernaat.
Gibbs added, “Instead of hauling livestock or crops far away, farmers and producers can sell it here in their own community.”
Gernaat, who is working on concentrations in livestock management and Ag relations, applied for the internship in part because it fulfilled the requirements of both of her concentrations.
“I had to work with sustainable agriculture, and this internship had a lot of projects related to that,” she said. “There is a big variety of things to work with; we aren’t doing the same thing every day.”
Gibbs, who is also working toward a concentration in livestock management, wanted to stay close to home so she could help out on her family’s ranch.
“I wanted to work with people in my own community,” Gibbs said. “I now have more knowledge of agriculture as a whole; I’ve mostly worked with livestock, so this was a good opportunity to learn about crops.”
All the interns had to apply to the program.
“The process was similar to the one we use to recruit Extension agents,” said Dennee.
Students were interviewed, their references were checked and they gave a presentation about what they could contribute to a specific county office. The Extension state and county office personnel chose students they felt would be the best match.
Some of the internships were paid and some were for university credit. The interns signed a learning agreement with the local agents they worked with and were evaluated at the end of the internship.
According to Dennee, applications for the eight positions came not just from MSU, but from other colleges and universities.
Other MSU interns and their Extension offices: Dylan Klasna, Richland County; Michelle Passmore, Lewis and Clark County; Nikki Bailey, Judith Basin County; Christina McRae, Rosebud/Treasure Counties.
PMC receives accreditation
Pondera Medical Center’s, (PMC) durable home medical equipment division, has achieved the Award of Accreditation from the Healthcare Quality Association on Accreditation, based in Waterloo, Iowa.
This award is achieved only when home medical equipment companies demonstrate a high level of quality practices in their business operations and patient care techniques.
The PMC earned the three-year accreditation after completing a comprehensive application that focuses on patient care, financial stability, and a commitment to quality operational practices and procedures.
Mary Johns, RN and Home Health/DME Manager, worked for months with her crew (Gloria Griggs, RN, Patrick Heinen, Val Elings, and Renne Salois, RT, the Respiratory Therapy Manager) to dot all the I’s and cross the T’s.
Accreditation by the Healthcare Quality Association on Accreditation assures Medicare and other payers that the highest levels of quality are practiced within all areas of the company.
“We sought accreditation by the Healthcare Quality Association on Accreditation to demonstrate that our company is committed to providing excellent patient care and safety in a financially solvent environment,” Mark Jones, PMC/CEO, tells the I-O.
He went on to add, “This award also reinforces that our commitment to quality is ongoing.”
About Pondera the Pondera Medical Center
Established in 1906 the PMC is a private nonprofit Medical Center that includes a 20 bed Critical Access Hospital, Rural Health Clinic, Nursing Home, and Home Health and Durable Medical Equipment and Oxygen Services.
This award is achieved only when home medical equipment companies demonstrate a high level of quality practices in their business operations and patient care techniques.
The PMC earned the three-year accreditation after completing a comprehensive application that focuses on patient care, financial stability, and a commitment to quality operational practices and procedures.
Mary Johns, RN and Home Health/DME Manager, worked for months with her crew (Gloria Griggs, RN, Patrick Heinen, Val Elings, and Renne Salois, RT, the Respiratory Therapy Manager) to dot all the I’s and cross the T’s.
Accreditation by the Healthcare Quality Association on Accreditation assures Medicare and other payers that the highest levels of quality are practiced within all areas of the company.
“We sought accreditation by the Healthcare Quality Association on Accreditation to demonstrate that our company is committed to providing excellent patient care and safety in a financially solvent environment,” Mark Jones, PMC/CEO, tells the I-O.
He went on to add, “This award also reinforces that our commitment to quality is ongoing.”
About Pondera the Pondera Medical Center
Established in 1906 the PMC is a private nonprofit Medical Center that includes a 20 bed Critical Access Hospital, Rural Health Clinic, Nursing Home, and Home Health and Durable Medical Equipment and Oxygen Services.