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| Jul 29, 2010 - 06:41 PM |
Queen City News - Helena's FREE Weekly Newspaper |
Helena, Montana |
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Billionaire businessman T. Boone Pickens will speak at the Montana Ambassadors annual conference Feb. 27 at the Great Northern Hotel.
One of the wealthiest men in the world, Pickens has received national and international attention for his campaign to reduce U.S. foreign oil dependence by at least 30 percent within 10 years by developing domestic energy resources.
Gov. Brian Schweitzer signed the Pickens Pledge this past September and reaffirmed Montana’s commitment to developing our abundant energy resources, saying: “We must end our dependency on petro-dictators. We need American energy, produced by American workers, made right here at home”.
Montana is particularly well-suited to Pickens’ pledge, ranking as one of the top states in wind power potential, oil and gas reserves, and the governor’s strong support for new energy development.
The Montana Ambassadors are a diverse group of private and public sector representatives charged with assisting the governor in recruiting new businesses to Montana. Chapters are currently established in Seattle, Denver and San Francisco, with plans to expand to additional cities in the west and mid-west.
Information about registration and fees is available at www.montanaambassadors.com. More detailed information on the Pickens Pledge is also available at: www.pickensplan.com.
City gives initial green light to Caird project
The Helena City Commission voted 4-1 Monday night to tentatively back Rocky Mountain Development Council’s proposal to build low-income housing on the Caird Engineering site at Malfunction Junction. This step means RMDC can try for tax-credit financing right away rather than wait a year.
Newly appointed Commissioner Robin Shropshire opposed the plan, stating that she’s concerned about potential contamination at the industrial site.
Some members of the MidTowne and Sixth Ward Neighborhood Association are questioning the proposal because there is already low-income housing in the area, the project would be next to a very busy street (Montana Avenue), and they weren’t given enough notice about RMDC’s plans.
RMDC officials unveiled the proposed project to neighborhood residents this past week, with another meeting set for Thursday, Jan. 15, at 5:30 p.m. at UM-Helena.
Influenza A has arrived
Influenza A arrived in Lewis and Clark County this past week with three confirmed cases. Several cases have also been confirmed in Cascade, Gallatin, Missoula, and Deer Lodge counties.
The Centers for Disease Control (CDC) recommends a yearly flu vaccine as the first and most important step in protecting against influenza and decrease influenza-related complications. Influenza season most often peaks in February, but influenza viruses can continue to cause illness into the spring. Protection against the flu develops within two weeks after being vaccinated.
“The good news is getting vaccinated now can still protect you against the flu this season, and there is amply supply to go around, ” says Kay Robertson, R.N., public health nurse.
The Lewis and Clark City-County Health Department offers flu shots on a sliding-fee scale every Monday, Wednesday, and Friday from 11 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. For more information, call the Flu Hotline at 457-8904 or stop by the Health Department at 1930 Ninth Ave.
UM-H offers tuition cut
The Helena College of Technology is offering a 50-percent tuition waiver for the spring 2009 semester to individuals who meet the qualifications as a “Dislocated Worker” through the Helena Job Service. The term refers to a worker who has been permanently laid off or has received a notice of layoff or termination from employment due to the firm's failure or plant closure.
Individuals meeting the eligibility requirement will be allowed to register for courses on a seat-availability basis beginning this week. In order to prove eligibility, individuals must provide a copy of a company layoff notice or proof of unemployment insurance benefits. UM-Helena’s spring semester classes begin Tuesday, Jan. 20.
The programs open to eligible students include Accounting, Automotive Technology, Aviation Maintenance Technology, Business Technology, Computer Technology, Construction Technology, Diesel Technology, Office Technology, Interior Space Planning and Design, Developmental Courses in math and English and courses in college preparation.
All costs above the 50-percent tuition waiver are the responsibility of the student. Additional costs can include books, fees, tools, etc. Financial aid and scholarships can provide additional assistance for these costs. A mandatory orientation session for the program will be held Wednesday, Jan. 14, at 2 p.m. at the Donaldson Campus, 1115 N. Roberts St.
For more information, contact the Helena Job Service at 447-3215 or UM-Helena at 444-6880.
Elkhorn Cemetery may be coming back to life
Montana’s senior U.S. Senator Max Baucus has announced that residents will soon be able to legally bury loved ones again in the Elkhorn Cemetery in Jefferson County.
The Senate has agreed to proceed to a public lands bill that contains Baucus’ provision to allow the grounds to again be commissioned as a working cemetery. Residents had been barred from using the historic cemetery in recent years because it is located on U.S. Forest Service land, and it is illegal to bury people on federal property.
Baucus’s provision to transfer the cemetery back to Jefferson County was included in the public lands bill that is expected to pass the Senate later this week. The transfer will allow the county to commission the land as a working cemetery.
Many of the plots at the Elkhorn Cemetery date from the 1880s, when Elkhorn was a booming gold-rush town. The 130-year-old cemetery was created before the formation of the U.S. Forest Service and before Montana gained statehood.
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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.
Copyright © Queen City News, 2002
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