THURSDAYTHURSDAY lonepeaklookout.com MarchJuly 19,25, 20182021 FREEFREE VolumeVolume 4, Issue1, Issue 12 33 BigBig Sky, Sky, LONELONE PEAKPEAK LOOKOUTLOOKOUT MontanaMontana Years of discussion and considerable Nonimmigrant effort come to fruition visa decline BIG SKY RESORT AREA DISTRICT MAKES NEW BUSY SUMMER ANTICIPATED, SMALLER MOVES WITH FY22 APPLICATION PROCESS SWT WORKFORCE POSSIBLE Big Sky Resort Area District staff socially distancing as they interact with board members via Zoom. PHOTO BY JANA BOUNDS By JANA BOUNDS and allocation process a little less BSRAD Executive Director [email protected] onerous for those involved. Board Daniel Bierschwale explained Vice Chair Sarah Blechta and Sec- the applications are designed to ig Sky Resort Area retary and Treasurer Steve John- provide additional context and District (BSRAD) keeps son spent a good deal of time in support for the applicants “as we the wheels of Big Sky an effort to make the application are requesting data and helping moving by use of a user friendly. FY22 applications, them understand how BSRAD is Bluxury tax. Since 1993, the district which opened-up on March 1, using the data to make decisions.” has awarded nearly $73.2 million will be the test run resulting from The board has been moving to area organizations. To facilitate extensive discussion and effort. toward a scoring system as a stra- those allocations there has been Johnson said during the BSRAD tegic methodology of review that a time-intensive application board meeting that they will not will assist the board in making process, demanding of both really know how they did until the best decisions possible, he applicants and the board. BSRAD after this application process is explained. has had the goal the last couple of completed. years of making the application APPLICATION PROCESS continued on A2 The vaccination push TOP-DOWN POLICIES, COMPANY COLLABORATIONS AND WHAT IT MEANS FOR BIG SKY BY JANA BOUNDS tary School gym. The effort was open safely. [email protected] a part of the federal allocation He said in-person learning is of vaccines earmarked for edu- an essential service and to facil- ixty two doses of cators and school staff. itate that service, vaccinations Economic impact of the J-1 visa exchange visitor program reduction following presidential proclamations and lack COVID-19 vaccine President Joe Biden said in need to begin immediately. were delivered to Big of prioritization for nonimmigrant visas in Montana. Information is from a survey conducted by the Alliance for his March 2 remarks that the International Exchange. PHOTO COURTESY OF ALLIANCE FOR INTERNATIONAL EXCHANGE Sky School District 72 “My challenge to all states, increased production of three territories, and the District of Sfaculty and staff. This came as a vaccines will allow the nation to Columbia is this: We want every By KEELY LARSON SWT students are required President Biden rescinded PP result of a March 17 vaccination address the national need more clinic held in the Ophir Elemen- educator, school staff member, [email protected] to have a J-1 visa, which is a 10014—which suspended cer- quickly and get schools back temporary, nonimmigrant visa. tain immigrant visas—on Feb. vaCCINATION continued on A5 wo companies that These individuals are univer- 24, 2021, but PP 10052 remains help facilitate Sum- sity students in their home in effect until the end of the mer Work Travel countries and participate in the month. This suspends entry of Community Groups vs. Big Sky (SWT) programs, program during their summer nonimmigrant visa applicants Tthe Council on International breaks, four months maximum. who ‘present a risk to the U.S. County Water and Sewer District 363 Educational Exchange (CIEE) On Dec. 31, 2020, former labor market during the eco- RULING LIKELY COMING IN THE NEXT COUPLE OF WEEKS and InterExchange, reached President Trump signed a pres- nomic recovery following the out to Chambers of Com- idential proclamation (PP) that novel coronavirus outbreak,’ BY JANA BOUNDS Law Center – deemed “Com- (BSCWSD) from accepting merce throughout the country, suspended entry of immigrants which includes J-1 visas. [email protected] munity Groups'' filed a Motion any sewer hookups from new concerned about a presidential and nonimmigrants ‘who “It’s putting a lot of questions for Preliminary Injunction, home construction and from proclamation that extended the continue to present a risk to around the program this sum- early February urging the United States District irrigating the Meadow Village limitation of the number of J-1 the United States labor market.’ mer,” Anna Johnson, director Montana Rivers, Court for the District of Mon- golf course with treated waste- visa applicants able to come to This proclamation extended of business development for the Gallatin Wildlife tana to take action before May water that contains nitrogen in the United States, and the lack PP 10014 and 10052 through Big Sky Chamber of Com- Association, and 1 to prevent the Big Sky County a concentration greater than 10 of prioritization for nonim- March 31, 2021. merce, said. InCottonwood Environmental Water and Sewer District 363 mg/l, arguing the Community migrant visas at different U.S. consular services. WATER & SEWER continued on A2 VISA continued on A2 LONE PEAK LOOKOUT A2 March 25, 2021 APPLICATION PROCESS from A1 “We continue to refine the plicants, which is something that application and process to provide has never been requested before. clear and concise direction to Bierschwale explained that staff applicants and develop a meth- has been working hard to create odology for review that serves the another kind of application, and boardBig in Sky, making the best deci- he commended their efforts. sionsMontana possible,” Bierschwale wrote in his March Executive Report. “It’s… the first time we have LONELONE PEAK PEAK LOOKOUT LOOKOUT opened up an application for The board has been steadily those separate governmental moving toward a scoring system entities that are able to enter into in order to bring some level of an interlocal agreement with the Established in 1982 objectivity in the decision-making Resort Tax,” he said of the newly BIG SKY, MONTANA process, Bierschwale explained launched 3-year Government during the meeting, noting it Operations application. Big Sky Resort Area District Board (BSRAD) Chair Kevin Germain Editor: Cori Koenig provides a more objective un- derstanding of what is asked of Montana Raptor Conservation has been at the forefront of bringing surveillance testing to the Big Sky applicants as well as a supplemen- Center staff picked him up the community. He noted a marked decline in positive cases in the weeks leading Publishers: Susanne Hill & Erin Leonard up to the BSRAD board meeting. PHOTO BY JANA BOUNDS tal tool for board decisions. following day to take him to Advertising/Sales Rep.: Susanne Hill • 406.596.0661, the center. According to Kean, The scoring system has three [email protected] radiographs did not reveal any major areas of focus: collabora- fractures. Erin Leonard • 406.570.0254, [email protected] tion, efficiency and planning. “He definitely could have some Reporter: Jana Bounds, [email protected] Board Director Grace Young said internal damage that only time she ran through two of the last cy- Staff Writer/Customer Service: Keely Larson will tell. He's still pretty out of it cle applications using the scoring so we are mainly providing him [email protected], 406.465.2937 system, as a means to test it out. with supportive care and pain Contributor: Samantha Suazo “I felt like it gave me a really meds. Fingers crossed! So far, so Designer: Christine Dubbs good critical thinking tool. These good,” she said. are apples to oranges projects, As of March 16, Eddie is still and this [provided] a level playing doing well. When he is ready, she Editorial Policy field to think about all of them,” will take him to the flight barn Guest editorials are intended to acquaint our readers with she said. and assess his flight to see if he Big Sky Resort Area District (BSRAD) board of directors discusses the different viewpoints on matters of public importance. Guest Additionally, the board will be can return to his mate. mailer that will be sent out to area residents explaining the history and editorials and letters to the editor reflect the opinion of the requesting a project budget of ap- efficacy of the district. PHOTO BY JANA BOUNDS writers and do not necessarily reflect the opinion of the editor or the staff of Lone Peak Lookout. VISA from A1 Press Release Policy • Lone Peak Lookout staff will give all press releases full The process of hiring SWT SWT participants to Big Sky want to do,” Kunz said. provide the opportunity for consideration, but ultimately retains the authority to applicants may begin as early as and 184 participants came the Away from the economy, the many local teammates to return determine whether or not to publish releases. October. The process is lengthy, following winter. Beginning addition of SWT students adds year after year,” said Troy Nevd- and visa interviews occur in Jan. 2020, only 10 students ed General Manager of Big Sky • Content must be factual and objective. diversity to areas, like Big Sky, through the spring and sum- traveled to Big Sky for the win- that might not get it otherwise. Resort. • Lone Peak Lookout may edit submissions for grammar mer. Information from CIEE ter season and summer 2020 and content. SWT students participate in Other employers in Big Sky and InterExchange states that in saw 14, for a total of 24 SWT the program primarily for the that have utilized the SWT pro- • Lone Peak Lookout reserves the right to make all a typical year, 20% of applicants students in Big Sky in 2020 as cultural experience.