Year in review
Jordan Newman looks out through the slats of a trailer during the Powell County High School Homecoming Parade. This photo graced the Oct. 7, 2020 edition of the Silver State Post and was taken by Danielle Jurcich.

​Editor’s Note: Each year the Silver State Post compiles our top stories for a year-end “Year in Review” series. This week we present October and November.
October
Mayor Diane Solle opened discussion regarding a proposal to license Airbnb properties at a city council meeting. 
Right now Missoula and Butte are the only two cities who license Airbnbs, with “Anaconda on the fence,” Solle said. “Supposedly, we have six in town. We don’t license rentals, and no other small towns do this. We’re not going to do anything more unless the council wants to do it.”
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Plans for the installation of a wayfinding sign is coming to fruition. Set to be installed north of town, the council approved the motion to accept the design recommendation (7-0).

See Year, page 8

Active case count falls and vaccines become available​

Staff Report

According to the latest release from Powell County Public Health and Deer Lodge Medical Clinic, Powell County still has 23 active COVID-19 cases as of Tuesday morning. Also, Deer Lodge Medical Center is vaccinating Phase 1A patients and must complete that round before moving to Phase 1B.
Montana Governor Greg Gianforte changed the standards for classifying phases 1A and 1B earlier this month. 1A recipients include: frontline healthcare workers, long-term care and assisted living facilities residents, and healthcare workers with direct patient contact or virus exposure. 1B recipients include: persons ages 70 and older, American Indians and the people of color who may be at elevated risk for COVID-19 complications, persons aged 16-69 with high-risk medical conditions.
High-risk medical conditions specifically listed by the medical center were: Cancer; Chronic kidney disease; COPD (chronic obstructive pulmonary disease); Down syndrome, Heart conditions such as heart failure, coronary artery disease, or cardiomyopathies; immunocompromised state from solid organ transplant; severe obesity (BMI more than 40 kg/m2); Sickle cell disease; and type one and two diabetes.
Medical professionals may make exceptions for patients with other conditions on a case by case basis if that condition puts them at higher risk of COVID-19 complications.
Only Powell County residents are able to receive a vaccine at Deer Lodge Medical Center at this time.
Those interested in scheduling a vaccine and who qualify as 1A or 1B should call the medical center at 406-846-1722.
Although this information is accurate as of Tuesday morning, medical providers have been required to make rapid changes as changing mandates are received from the state and may come from a new administration in the federal government. President-elect Joe Biden has signaled his administration plans to drastically change the way vaccines are distributed in order to quickly reach herd immunity.
Last weekend, incoming Biden administration official Jeff Zients, who served as chief performance officer under President Barack Obama, told reporters the administration plans to loosen restrictions on who can get vaccinated, set up additional vaccination sites (possibly including gyms and public meeting halls), mobilize more medical personnel to deliver vaccinations, and possibly mobilize additional manufacturing.
“We’re going to throw the full resources and weight of the federal government behind this emergency,” Zients said.
Active case counts in Powell County are those individuals who test positive for COVID-19. At this time, officials are not testing non-symptomatic individuals. All contacts of positive cases are contacted by Powell County Public Health and directed to quarantine if they are identified by the person with a positive test result. Studies have shown not all COVID-19 present with symptoms.
The active case count in Powell County should not be seen as a total of individuals capable of spreading the virus within Powell County. It is a count of individuals directly exposed to other positive cases who show symptoms and received a positive test result, or those who show symptoms separate from the contact tracing program and choose to take a test resulting in a positive COVID-19 diagnosis. 
There is no available accurate measure to show the total number of individuals capable of spreading the virus at any given time and area residents should continue to take protective measures including social distancing, mask wearing, and hand-washing to avoid infection.

City preps to hire Chief Admin​

by Peggy Kerr

The search to fill the vacant Chief Administrative Officer position for the City of Deer Lodge has moved a step forward with a number of committees being created, according to City Council President Rob Kersch. 
He apprised the council during its regular meeting on Jan. 4 of what transpired during the last City Council Operations Committee meeting. Also on that committee are council members Dick Bauman and Mary Hathaway.
“We looked through Title II (of the city code) and looked at the duties and responsibilities and detail,” Kersch reported. “We looked at the job posting. We also talked about the hiring process.”
They also set up a pre-screening committee, comprised of staff and a contracted HR firm; as well as a screening committee; an internal screening committee; and an interview board.
Also discussed at the meeting:
• City Treasurer Judi Whitney presented her financial summary for December, including her second quarter budget report, stating the general fund expenditures are at 34 percent and revenues at 47 percent. 
“Expenditures are low and revenues are high,” she said of all the funds. 
She reported everything else looked good except for Historical Preservation, which is over-budgeted by $85.50 and will be funded by its reserves, as well as the fire department, which became over-expended by $17,962. Two unexpected costs were the new motor for the rescue vehicle and the breathing air compressor system, which cost more than was budgeted. These will most likely be paid for in budget amendments made at the end of the fiscal year.
Mayor Solle asked if there was a difference in the property revenue from last year to this year. Although hard to compare, Whitney said there was an increase due to last year’s annexation.

See City, page 16

City still needs to fill empty council seat

by Peggy Kerr

The City of Deer Lodge is looking for a candidate to fill a vacant council seat in Ward 1 after former councilman Tom Malcolm took on a new role as the city’s Code Enforcement Officer in December.
The city comprises four wards with two councilmember per ward. The size of Ward 1 nearly doubled about a year ago when a portion of the county to the north was annexed.
Councilmember Mary Hathaway, who is serving the final year of her first term, sits on the other Ward 1 seat and has asked many people to consider applying.
“I thought people would be jumping at this right now because it really is only one year,” she said. “So if you really are questionable about commitment, this would be really the only time you could do this position for one year.”
Hathaway, who has lived in Deer Lodge 15 years, ran for her position because she wanted to be educated about what’s going on. 
“It’s very fun to see the inner working of how a city functions,” she explained. “Just seeing things from a start-to-finish process has been amazing.”
She learned that projects do not get accomplished with great speed. For instance, when she first got elected, she wanted to fix all the roads. She found the city already had a plan.
“It takes a 15-year cycle,” she explained. “They budgeted money for this, and every year they’re going to use the gas tax to fix our roads. And so it kind of calmed my nerves and made me realize maybe I didn’t always have to have that ‘pitch fork/flame’ mentality to go in and fix everything.”
The confidence she has gained as a councilmember has helped her on a personal level.

See City, page 16
More on this and the other issues grabbing this week's headlines
​can be found in our print edition, out every Wednesday.
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