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| Jul 29, 2010 - 06:40 PM |
Queen City News - Helena's FREE Weekly Newspaper |
Helena, Montana |
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City water and wastewater treatment plant employees get plenty of people wanting to tour the facilities and find out how their work is done. Now, if you’re interested in such a tour, you can find out a few things beforehand from a new interpretive center going in at the plant on Custer Avenue.
“What we hope to do is, before we bring anybody through the facility, bring them into our interpretive center and show them PowerPoint presentations on water and wastewater treatment systems so they have the basics before going through on a tour,” said Don Clark, plant superintendent.
He said the whole project cost about $60,000, with help from hired plumbers and electricians “a lot of labor from the staff.” They told city management about the idea, budgeted for the work and got approval from the city commission, Clark said.
“It was an idea of the treatment staff. We were just trying to figure out what we could do with community outreach,” he said. “We’re trying to make this a real good proactive approach to let people know where their money goes.”
Staff members plan to host small seminars on water and wastewater treatment at the plant’s facilities, which holds up to 25 people, and will also offer the space for water quality seminars and other related subjects, Clark noted.
The plant at 2108 Custer Ave. is open Monday through Friday from 8 a.m. until 5 p.m. The phone number is 447-1593.
Helenans to rally in Bozeman on Mother’s Day
More than 50 Montana groups, including the Helena-based Just Don’t Go, the Helena Peace Seekers, Montana Human Rights Network and the Montana Environmental Information Center, will cosponsor a Bozeman march and rally on Mother’s Day expected to draw people from all over the state dedicated to reaffirming allegiance to, and determination to defend, the U.S. Constitution.
“We the People” will present a celebration of Montanans symbolically taking back the fundamental rights our Constitution guarantees, according to event organizer Margot Kidder, actress and long-time resident of Livingston.
“It seems ironic that today, more than 200 years after our Constitution was written, celebrating it would still be regarded as a revolutionary act, but the fact is that our national leaders seem to have forgotten that they are not above the law and the Constitution,” Kidder said.
Some of the actions being protested, according to the group’s website at www.montanawomenfor.org, are unjust war, illegal use of torture, illegal spying on U.S. citizens, and a Congress that endorses such actions through its timid disregard for these violations.
Helena peace and justice activist Frank Kromkowski, recipient of the 2005 Montana Human Rights Award from Amnesty International, said the spirit of the first Mother’s Day in 1870 needs to be rekindled.
“Mother’s Day was first established as an occasion for mothers to advocate for peace and for the need to protect our children from senseless war,” he said. “The Helena peace and justice community is proud to be among the many groups from all over the state who are sponsoring and sending members and friends to participate in this Mother’s Day event that will recapture the revolutionary spirit and will give voice to a clear rejection of our leaders' lawless actions."
A daycare and children’s play area will also be featured at the event to begin at noon on Sunday, May 14, at Lindley Park in Bozeman. Bands and other acts will perform between noon and 2 p.m., including The Clintons, the Jeni Fleming Trio, Rosalie Sorrels, Greg Owens, the Northern Cheyenne drummers and throat singers, and the Crow Nation drummers. After the celebration at Lindley Park, participants will march from the park to the Gallatin County Courthouse.
DOT issues guidelines for political sign placement
With election season underway, the Montana Department of Transportation offers a reminder about safe and appropriate placement of political signs.
Political signs are not allowed on state-owned property, which includes roadsides adjacent to state highways, highway fences, and utility poles. Department staff will remove any political signs placed on state right-of-way.
Department staff advises that some routes through urban areas are state highways and subject to these restrictions. Political campaign committees and candidates may call Kevin Brewer at (406) 494-9627 to check whether or not a route is part of the state highway system.
As a reminder, all political signs must be removed within 30 days following the applicable election. MDT also offers a safety reminder to those posting signs that it is unsafe to drive or park in a ditch along a highway, even when installing a sign on private property, and that they could receive a citation for doing so.
For more information, contact Patrick Hurley, MDT's outdoor advertising control coordinator, at (406) 444-6068. For the hearing impaired, the TTY number is (406) 444-7696 or 1-800-335-7592, or call the Montana Relay at 711.
Dam access to be limited
Public access across Hauser Dam will be restricted from May 8 through July 28 due to a spillway construction project designed to improve the ability to control water releases.
The walkway will be partially blocked during the day, but plant personnel will accommodate access around the construction activities, according to David Hoffman with PPL Montana.
The Department of Fish, Wildife & Parks will also temporarily restrict access to Black Sandy State Park on May 8-9 because of the project. FWP staff will be on hand those days to direct traffic.
Host families needed
The Brewers Boosters Club is looking for families or individuals to house Brewers players while they’re in Helena for the 2006 baseball season.
The players will arrive in town the second week of June and will be ready to move in with their host family a few days later. The club needs housing for approximately 30 players ranging in age from 18-23.
The baseball season consists of 38 home games and 38 away games. The first home game is Tuesday, June 20, and the last regular-season game is September 7.
Host families receive either a reserved season ticket or 38 general-admission tickets for each player hosted.
For more information on being a host family or joining the Boosters Club, contact Marlene or Dave Hughes at 442-8529, email to dhughes8529@msn.com or call Kim Ranger at 449-6304.
County conducting flu exercise on Thursday
To better prepare the Helena community for a pandemic influenza emergency, the Lewis & Clark City-County Health Department is coordinating a tabletop exercise called “Operation H Unusual” on Thursday. It will involve city and county officials, hospital staff, law enforcement, school district staff, fire department, Veterans Administration and private businesses.
One goal is to promote planning and raise awareness about the impact of such an outbreak on the health care system, according to organizer Valentine Sworts of the county health department.
“This is the first step in terms of bringing our partners together,” she said.
She said the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention developed an overview of an influenze pandemic that affects people from all over the world and starts in China and spreads to the U.S.
“Getting our staff exposed to the flu scenario and working with others whom we might not have worked with is why we’re doing this,” Sworts said.
The exercise will take place from 9 a.m. until 1 p.m. at the First Presbyterian Church, 535 N. Ewing.
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The Queen City News is published every Wednesday in Helena, MT, by Mossback Media, LLC.
Contents are copyrighted and cannot be used in any form without prior permission from the QCN.
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