GLENDIVE RANGER REVIEW Thursday, December 31, 2020 • Vol. 58, No. 104 • Glendive, Montana $1.00 PLEASE NOTE The deadline for the Several items Sunday, Jan. 3 Ranger-Review is of discussion Wednesday, Dec. 30 at 5 p.m. will follow Happy New Year city into the from our staff! new year By Hunter Herbaugh Ranger-Review Staff Writer Due to various reasons, including the holiday sea- son, several discussions that have been ongoing with city officials have been put on hold until Hunter Herbaugh photo the start of the new year. These include some pretty Staff at Glendive Medical Center received their first dose of the COVID-19 vaccine on Dec. 23 significant issues such as the formation of the Down- town Master Plan commit- tee, discussion on the cre- Medical center staff receives ation of a “code enforce- ment officer” for city ordinances and proposed changes to the city’s decay first doses of COVID-19 vaccine ordinance. These items were sched- By Hunter Herbaugh tributed through a partnership with right direction for trying to get COVID uled for further discussion FWP: Ranger-Review Staff Writer Walgreens pharmacy. under control. It’s definitely been a at the meetings of the city With the first rounds of the long stresser on the nation and especially personnel committee and Makoshika park ranger The first doses of COVID-19 vaccines awaited vaccine finally being distrib- on our community, as we are deemed ordinance committee that takes on new role as arrived in Dawson County last week, uted, it’s signalling relief to the people one of the ‘hotspots’ in the nation, for took place on Monday, Dec. with Glendive Medical Center staff who have been on the front lines of the Dawson County, which is odd for such 21. It was decided with game warden, among the first to receive the shots. pandemic. a small community, in Montana of all each item to pause discus- Page 5 Inoculation efforts will continue with places,” said Audrey Kerr, a physician sions until the next meet- doses of the vaccine also scheduled “It’s good to finally have a assistant at GMC who was among the ings in January however, to be given to emergency responders vaccine out, even though it’s first four people to receive the vaccine. as more information was and residents of long-term care facili- While vaccinations in the community required but unattainable ties, according to hospital CEO Parker just got the emergency are beginning, it may take some time at the time. Powell. approval. It’s at least a step in for a large portion of the population to The first item was the The shots administered to GMC staff get their shots, with medical personnel, formation of the Down- are the vaccine developed by phar- the right direction for trying to emergency responders and residents of town Master Plan com- maceutical company Moderna, which get COVID under control,” long-term care facilities making up the mittee. The city council was given emergency use authorization first phase of Montana’s vaccination approved the formation from the United States Food and Drug Audrey Kerr, strategy. of the committee with the Administration on Dec. 18. This is the physician assistant Dawson County Health Department purpose of determining second vaccine of its kind to be given Director Timber Dempewolf notes that how to implement changes emergency use authorization, following the department is currently waiting for aimed at revitalizing the the vaccine developed by Pfizer. the green light from the state health downtown area in line with Powell noted that residents in long- “It’s good to finally have a vaccine department to begin the second phase term care facilities will be receiving out, even though it’s just got the emer- the Pfizer vaccine, which will be dis- gency approval. It’s at least a step in the See VACCINE, page 2 See CITY, page 5 PEEK AT HISTORY: First phase of water treatment plant nearly complete The Gallery will host the By Hunter Herbaugh an update on the progress of Ranger-Review Staff Writer equipment installation from Evelyn Cameron exhibit Amy Deitchler, an engineer during the month of Work on the city’s new water with Great West Engineer- treatment plant is ongoing, ing. She noted that currently January, with one major phase just being installed is the facil- Page 13 about done. According to city ity’s filters, which will be Public Works Director Frank replaced one at a time. She Ceane, the building itself has added that the solids contact very nearly completed con- units have finished installa- AMERICAN PRAIRIE struction, but major equip- tion and will be able to pro- ment and electronics still cess about 8 million gallons RESERVE: need to be installed and some of water per day. other work still needs to be “Construction is going well, Central Montana done for the new facility to they’re moving right along. Coalition investigates be integrated into the exist- Filter number three will be ing systems. coming down this week to historic law and bison Construction of the new do updates on that, the SCU compatibility with a goal facility began in July of 2019. equipment is all installed. The contract for construc- They’re each designed and to protect and preserve tion was awarded to Swan- able to treat 4 million gal- agriculture and food burg Construction at the cost lons (of water) a day, so a of $13.7 million. The contract total of 8 million gallons in production in Montana, was awarded in May of 2019 the solids contact units. Paint Page 9 after a delay of a few weeks colors and chemical feed pip- as city officials and the con- Chad Knudson photo ing is being worked on right now. It will be about a month sulting firm for the project, The two new solids contact units at the water treatment facility are complete and ready to start processing. Great West Engineering, per filter, so here in January discussed additional funding stuff like that,” Ceane said. in order to go online and of the facility. He expects filter number three (will be options. “There’s a lot of electron- integrate with what we have, the facility will be online and done), filter number two in “As far as the building ic stuff (that needs to be the old stuff and the new operational sometime around February and filter number itself, most of that is done. installed) and paint and that stuff.” March. one in March,” she said. There’s a few incidental kind of stuff, and then we’ve According to Ceane, 1,365 At the most recent meeting items on that stuff, now it’s got to start the process of cubic yards of concrete has of the city council on Dec. just process controls and actually getting everything been used in the construction 15, city officials were given See WATER PLANT, page 2 New Year, New Ideas Have a marketing and advertising idea or plan? Let us help! Contact Tracy Dey and let’s talk goals. 406-377-3303 • [email protected] Glendive Ranger-Review Thursday, December 31, 2020฀•฀Page 2 This weather report for Glendive and the area is www.americanford.us brought to you by: 100 Ford Ave • (406) 345-3673 Caregiver stresses the seriousness of COVID-19 By Hunter Herbaugh at large, local care providers to worry about. I’ve even Ranger-Review Staff Writer are urging people to con- heard statements of COVID tinue following public health isn’t real. That’s not true. As It has been about nine measures. a health care provider that months since the COVID-19 “I just hope that the peo- sees COVID every day, in pandemic hit Montana and ple are following what they both the urgent care and the over that time, hundreds of are instructed to do to pre- emergency department, it is thousands of people have vent the spread. It’s going definitely real,” she said. died in the United States to take awhile to get people The main problem with due to the disease. Hospitals vaccinated, so just because COVID, Kerr noted, is it is have been pushed to their some of the people are vac- unpredictable and can affect limits across the country. cinated doesn’t mean COVID people very differently. She weatherforyou.com Even in Glendive, the pan- is just going to go away, said she has seen instances demic has had lasting effects people have to recognize that where people in similar age and put immense stress on and they have to continue to groups and health have had the local hospital. wear their masks and con- vastly different reactions As of Dec. 29, there have tinue to social distance until and younger people who been a total of 946 cases, we’ve had time to see how haven’t had any prior health 73 hospitalizations and 24 effective the vaccine is and issues had to be put on oxy- deaths in Dawson County get COVID under control,” gen therapy. related to COVID-19, accord- said Audrey Kerr, a physi- Another issue she ing to data from the Dawson cian assistant at Glendive addressed is the notion County Health Department. Medical Center. expressed by some in the According to most recent community that people data on deaths from the are counted as dying from 100 Ford Ave. DCHD published on Dec. 17, “I want to stress to the COVID for any reason. She Glendive, MT the ages of those who have community, take explained that wasn’t cor- We Believe in Glendive (406) 345-3673 died due to COVID in Daw- COVID seriously.