February 3, 2021 Local Announcements My name is Kris Loomis. I am currently offering adult counseling sessions in Gardiner onTuesdays. I have a couple open spots currently. Contribute to your overall wellbeing by addressing mental health concerns! Call 406-220-1761. Yellowstone Grill would like to thank Hayden & Anelia Darr for all of their dedication to the Yellowstone Grill. They have decided to follow a different path & we wish them well. Our Winter schedule will change a bit to fit current personnel- Wednesday-Friday 8AM -2PM, Saturday-Sunday 8AM-12PM (breakfast only). Stay tuned on Mammoth/Gardiner FB page for Yummy specials!! **As tournaments arrive for the HS Girls basketball some adjustments may need to made.Thank you for your patience & sorry for any inconvenience.** HK Contractors intends to start back up on the North Entrance of Yellowstone National Park. Construction is expected to start March 1, 2021 and go through August of 2021. The construction consists of repaving the entrance road going into Yellowstone National Park from the Roosevelt Arch to the entrance stations. Dick Anderson Construction will also be finishing the three new entrance stations before Memorial Day 2021. HK Contractors will finish the parking areas and the paved roadway along Robert Reamer complete with new curbs and ADA sidewalks. You could see delays of up to 15 minutes on the project Monday through Thursdays from 7AM to 7PM and from Friday 7AM to 5PM. There are no scheduled construction activities from 5PM Friday until 7AM on Mondays. Local Announcements continued on page 2.... It is a great time to list your property and who you choose matters! Call one of our experienced and trusted local real estate professionals today for a free market analysis. THE ERA WAY Your ERA Agent will work Once on MLS, your property with you to price, stage and will be visable to all cooperat- photograph the property. ing associates in the network. ERA has detailed report- ERA’s automated ERA’s syndication ser- ing that provides visibility platform distributes new vice places your prop- into how your property is residential listings to the erty on the most visited performing online social media audience real estate websites who is most likely to buy. across the nation. We live here, we love it here, and we would like nothing better than to assist with your real estate needs in 2021. ERAGardiner.com 406-222-8700 Robyn Erlenbush CRB Broker Owner Each office independently owned and operated. The Gardiner Chamber of Commerce serves our community through developing local tourism while endorsing the stewardship of the Yellowstone Ecosystem. 5 Day Forcast for Gardiner, MT from the National Weather Service Local Announcements... continued from page 1 The next Chamber of Commerce Board of Directors meeting will be Thursday, February 18th at noon, upstairs at the Chamber of Commerce Visitor Center. Masks required and social distancing will be followed. Public welcome. If you would like to join us via Zoom please click here. Park Local Development and Park County Extension are seeking input from businesses for a new training program. We want to know how things are going and what we can do to help. Please complete this short survey at www.surveymonkey.com/r/parklocal. We also have over $300,000 currently available in our microloan program for businesses impacted by COVID-19. These loans are for up to $10,000 in working capital at a 3.75% interest rate with a 5-year term and 90-day deferral. You can learn more and apply online at apply.parklocal.org/. Contact us at 406-222-4156 or [email protected] with any questions. The February meeting for the Gardiner Resort Area District will be held virtually only, via a Zoom meeting on February 9th, 2021 at 7:00pm. For meeting link information please contact us via our website at www.gardinerresorttax.com. The public is encouraged to attend! Free king size mattresses. We have a few available, high coil count, plush top, used but very clean, no spots or stains, always encased. 406-848-7100. The Livingston-Park County Public Library bookmobile will be at Arch Park on Wednesdays from Noon to 2:00pm.Unable to visit the bookmobile? There is now a drop box/holds shelf located at the Gardiner Community Center. For more information call 406-222-0862. Do you know anyone in Park County 80 years of age and older that would like to get the COVID-19 vaccine? Please have them call 406-222-4145 or 406-222-4131 or with their permission you can call on their behalf. Thank you from the Park County Health Department! 2 Open 7am - 8pm 3 HIKER INJURED IN SURPRISE ENCOUNTER WITH MOOSE ENNIS – A hiker was injured during a surprise close encounter with a bull moose while hiking east of Ennis on Wednesday, Jan. 27. Two men in their 70s were hiking on U.S. Forest Service Trail 6317, commonly called the Jack Creek Trail, about 10 miles east of Ennis. Two miles up the trail, the men encountered a bull moose standing about 10 yards off one side of the trail. The moose charged at the hikers. One of the men stood behind a standing tree while the other took cover under a fallen tree. The moose continued its approach and kicked at the man under the fallen tree until the other hiker was successful in driving the moose away. The man who was kicked while under the tree was treated at Madison Valley Medical Center for injuries that were not life threatening. The other man did not require medical treatment. Moose can be defensive and dangerous in surprise close encounters with people. FWP staff have posted signs at the entrance to this trail advising recreationists of the encounter. No further management action is planned at this time. Moose can be found throughout most of Montana. Keep these precautions in mind to avoid negative encounters with moose: • Be aware of your surroundings and be especially careful around creeks and in areas with dense brush. • Travel in groups whenever possible and make casual noise to alert animals to your presence. • If you encounter a moose, give it lots of space and don’t approach it. Keep dogs under control at all times. • If a moose charges or chases you, take cover behind something solid, such as a tree. Help Wanted Unique Employment Opportunity: The Cooke City Chamber of Commerce is seeking an Executive Director (ED), as our former ED retired last year. This is a part-time position with an annual salary of $20k. Duties include: grant writing and reporting; organizing chamber meetings and communications; maintaining website and social media pages; hiring, training, assisting and supervising Visitor Center traveler counselors; maintaining membership, visiting and assisting member businesses; and sometimes hanging out in a town almost as awesome as Gardiner! Candidates could work remotely; relocating to Cooke City is not required. Interested applicants can send a message through the Cooke City Chamber of Commerce Facebook page, call (406) 861-7628, or email us [email protected]. Help Wanted: Teller Become a Teller at Meridian Trust Federal Credit Union located in Yellowstone National Park. You’ll become a vital member of a team providing financial services to our valued members. You’ll assist with deposits, withdrawals, cashing checks, and taking loan payments. You’ll enjoy comprehensive and competitive benefits. If you have great customer service skills, apply today! Interested candidates can call 307-344-7974 or apply online at MyMeridianTrust.com Hours 9am – 3:30pm Monday-Friday EOE Yellowstone Branch 32,000 members 4 MONTANA STATE PARKS SEE YELLOWSTONE 2020 RECORD VISITATION FOR 2020 VISITATION STATISTICS Jan 28, 2021 12:00 AM MAMMOTH HOT SPRINGS, WY – The park Montana State Parks recorded more than 3.4 million hosted 3,806,305 recreation visits in 2020, down 5% visitors in 2020, a 29.5 percent increase over 2019. from 2019. Visitation increased every month in 2020 over 2019, despite temporary closures at a small handful of parks and The park was closed due to health and safety reasons the absence or sharp decline in school field trips, events and other group activities. related to COVID-19 beginning March 24, 2020. Two Wyoming entrances opened on May 18 and three “These record-setting visitation numbers should not come Montana entrances opened on June 1, 2020. All five as a surprise to anyone who visited any of our parks in entrances have been open since June 1. 2020,” said Beth Shumate, Parks Division Administrator at Montana Fish, Wildlife & Parks. “The increased Visitation for the months amount of people outdoors was evident, and our staff of September and October were the busiest on record. went above and beyond the call of duty to keep our parks safe and accessible. “Montana State Parks provided The list below shows the year-to-date trend for immediate physical and mental health relief throughout the recreation visits over the last several years: COVID-19 pandemic.” 2020 - 3,806,305 Park visitation was up all around the state as people 2019 - 4,020,288 flocked to the outdoors in 2020. Here are some key 2018 - 4,115,000 visitation numbers. 2017 - 4,116,524 The top five most visited state parks in 2020 were: 2016 - 4,257,177 1- Flathead Lake State Park (all units), Flathead Lake – 2015 - 4,097,710 471,690 visits (up 32.9%) 2- Giant Springs State Park, Great Falls - 384,309 visits Visitors: recreate responsibly and reduce the spread (up .1%) of COVID-19. If you are sick, do not visit the park.