Politics & Government

Missoula County Government: Missoula County Weekly: Sept. 20-24

On Thursday, Sept. 16, Missoula County's COVID-19 hospitalizations surpassed the record high of 43 recorded on Nov. 7, 2020 with 46 hosp ...

Press Release Desk's profile picture
Press Release Desk, News Partner

Press release from the Missoula County Government:

09/20/2021 4:00 PM

Find out what's happening in Missoulafor free with the latest updates from Patch.

  • Facebook
  • LinkedIn
  • Twitter
  • Reddit

    Missoula County hospitals pushed to their limits; officials ask for National Guard resources, provide additional quarantine, isolation services 

    On Thursday, Sept. 16, Missoula County’s COVID-19 hospitalizations surpassed the record high of 43 recorded on Nov. 7, 2020 with 46 hospitalizations. The record for average daily new cases per 100,000 people in the past seven days also surpassed the record high of 85 recorded on Nov. 21, 2020, with the average as of Sept. 16 being 86. Local hospitals say they are overwhelmed with unvaccinated patients. 

    Find out what's happening in Missoulafor free with the latest updates from Patch.

    As case numbers and hospitalizations hit record numbers, with hospitals saying they are overwhelmed with unvaccinated patients, Missoula County, the City of Missoula and leaders from the health department, local hospitals, schools and the business community held a press conference to provide an update on the deteriorating COVID situation. This includes asking for National Guard resources and to provide additional quarantine and isolation services. 

    If you are 12 or older, the health department and local doctors urge you to get the COVID-19 vaccine. Individuals with hesitations should speak to their physician. Individuals who don’t have access to a physician are more than welcome to come to the vaccine clinic at the Southgate Mall and ask questions about the COVID-19 vaccines. 

    Read more 
    Watch the press conference 

    Missoula County to hold informational community forum on marijuana local-option tax 

    Come learn more about the 3% local-option marijuana tax that will be on the ballot for the Nov. 2 election. Your Missoula County Commissioners Dave Strohmaier, Josh Slotnick and Juanita Vero will discuss the tax and potential uses for revenue at 6 p.m. Thursday, Sept. 23, at Imagine Nation Brewing. Feel free to come and share your thoughts, ask questions, or just sit back, observe and listen. All are welcome! 

    Find more info on this event 
    Marijuana local-option tax FAQs 

    Municipal primary election preliminary results are in; canvass to take place Wednesday

    Check out the Sept. 14 municipal primary election preliminary results. Throughout this election, the Elections Office has invited members of the public to tour the processes that take place leading up to and after Election Day that ensure accuracy and integrity of elections. This included equipment testing, ballot processing, ballot tabulation and the provisional ballot count. Last to come is the election canvass at 8:45 a.m. Wednesday, Sept. 22.  

    State law requires the Elections Office and three county elected officials verify the election with a canvass. The canvass ensures the number of ballots voted are the number of ballots counted and that no ballots are missing or counted more than once. Public are invited to observe the canvass with the Missoula County commissioners and elections staff. 

    Find out more.

    Tip of the Spear: Conversations with Dave, Josh and Juanita: Missoula County’s Internal Services 

    Commissioners Josh Slotnick and Dave Strohmaier are joined by Chief Information Officer Jason Emery. They discuss the lift of technology during the pandemic and security during an ever-evolving world of remote work and public meetings.  

    If you have a topic that you'd like the commissioners to talk about, send them an email at bcc@missoulacounty.us or leave a message with staff at 406-258-4877. They'd love to hear from you.  

    Tip of the Spear: "Tip of the spear" is the ethos that guides everything we do at Missoula County. It represents our can-do culture; it reminds us to do innovative work and it challenges to get to "yes." View all the episodes at http://missoula.co/tipofthespear. 

    Commissioners hear update on Operation Shelter 

    Missoula County staff presented an update on the Operation Shelter at the county commissioners’ administrative public meeting last Thursday. The updated focused on the authorized camping site located off Clark Fork Lane in west Missoula (view map) which will serve as a low-barrier, low-services alternative to unauthorized camping below the Reserve Street Bridge and elsewhere in the community. Staff are still researching logistics and other aspects for an alternative location for the Temporary Safe Outdoor Space currently located south of Missoula near Buckhouse Bridge. Staff will present details on a proposal for that at a later date. 

    Read more 
    Watch the meeting 

    Resources available for community members experiencing domestic violence

    In light of the tragic domestic violence-related death of a Missoula woman earlier this month, Missoula County’s Community Justice Department is reminding community members about the resources available for people experiencing domestic violence or other relationship-based abuse. Missoula has several victim advocacy programs that provide free and confidential services to people experiencing domestic violence, sexual assault or stalking: 

    • YWCA (406-542-1944) provides 24-hour crisis counseling, emergency shelter, transitional housing, mental health counseling, legal support and support groups to victims of crime. The YWCA also has a helpful FAQ on their website at https://www.ywcamissoula.org/services/domestic-sexual-violence/#faq  

    • Missoula City-County Crime Victim Advocate Program (406-258-3830) provides legal advocacy for victims of crimes. Advocates can help you obtain a restraining order, report a crime to police or navigate options available to you through the justice system. 

  • YWCA (406-542-1944) provides 24-hour crisis counseling, emergency shelter, transitional housing, mental health counseling, legal support and support groups to victims of crime. The YWCA also has a helpful FAQ on their website at https://www.ywcamissoula.org/services/domestic-sexual-violence/#faq  

    • University of Montana Student Advocacy Resource Center (406-243-4429) provides advocacy support to university students who have experienced harm to ensure all students have the opportunity to pursue academic success. 

    • St. Patrick Hospital’s First Step Resource Center (406-329-5776) is an accredited children’s advocacy center that provides medical evaluations, forensic interviews, mental health treatment, care coordination and referrals for child and adult victims of abuse or assault. 

    Read more 

    Missoula County Employees are working hard for you! 

    Christy Adams, Lead and Senior 9-1-1 Dispatcher 

    "I have worked at Missoula County 9-1-1 for the past 20 years; August 2021 was my 20th anniversary! Over the years, I’ve had several different titles, but currently I’m a lead 9-1-1 dispatcher and the senior dispatcher. This job has many emotional ups and downs, and those occur daily. This job can be JOYFUL (knowing you helped mom with her choking baby), DEPRESSING (hearing everyone’s daily life challenges), SAD (listening to the family’s pain of finding their loved one deceased), HAPPY (hearing the relief in a person’s voice when officers show up), OMINUS (not knowing how long a storm will last and people will be out of electricity in the cold) and every other emotion you could think of going through in a day. Even though that may all sound very difficult to deal with, the job as a whole is a very rewarding career to have.   

    "9-1-1 works 12-hour shifts, and we work a lot of overtime. We are required to be on-call on several of our days off to make sure the center is staffed 24 hours a day, seven days a week. We have four main positions to be trained on: fire/medical dispatcher, 9-1-1 call-taker, Sheriff’s Office dispatcher and Missoula Police Department dispatcher. It’s always nice to have an extra person in the room to help with the current busy load 9-1-1 is taking daily.   

    "Even though we are not classified as first responders, we are the first point of contact for the public on emergencies and some non-emergencies. We dispatch Missoula County Sheriff’s Office and Missoula Police Department, and we have contact with multiple other law enforcement agencies like Highway Patrol, Fish and Game, Forest Service, Probation, Bureau of Land Management, etc. We dispatch advanced and basic life support ambulances and Missoula Emergency Services and Life Flight.   

    "We dispatch five Missoula Rural Fire stations and five Missoula City Fire stations, Frenchtown Fire Station and multiple volunteer fire departments in and out of our county. We work with our surrounding counties who need assistance on in-progress calls and get help heading their way, whether it be additional law enforcement units or fire/medical assistance. We take both non-emergent and emergent calls daily. Besides having several incoming 9-1-1 lines, we also have administrative lines that officers and other agencies call in on for us to research or find information and run things for them. I guess you could call us low-level detectives some days!  

    "We get numerous non-emergency transfer calls a day from the MPD desk or Sheriff’s Office to take the information so officers can make the initial contact for needed reports or referrals. 9-1-1 doesn’t give advice or personal opinions, but some callers need to be redirected for services that are not provided through 9-1-1. We ask callers targeted questions due to the specific nature of the call at hand. Sometimes callers don’t understand the reason for some of the questioning and get frustrated with us. We try to reassure the public while they are on the phone with the 9-1-1 call-taker, resources are being dispatched by one of our co-workers who is working that specific position.  

    "I love all of my job - the good and the bad! My job doesn’t just have one favorite thing I do daily, because we do so much for so many different people and in different ways every day. 9-1-1 isn’t the place people make their happy calls to. Most people are calling because it’s the worst day of their lives. If being able to give that person some hope, some closure, someone to talk to while waiting for help, if that gives them some relief, it makes my day a little better knowing I could be the person who gave that to them. I truly love this job for all the ups and downs it offers and all it has taught me over the years. Every day is a different day with different challenges and incoming emergencies. In the end, this job has daily rewards!"

    Upcoming Events: Sept. 20-24 

    • The Democracy Project 
      6-7 p.m. Tuesday, Sept. 21 at the Missoula Public Library Young Adult Space, Level 1 
      Join our Young Adult Librarian Linette and Sam from Humanities Montana to kick off The Democracy Project, a teen-led program empowering teens to make a difference in our community. Come for the snacks, stay for the fun.  
      The Democracy Project is a teen-led program that will help you build connections and find your civic voice. Learn how to exercise your rights in our democracy and take responsibility for the community in which you live.
      Learn more about this program on The Democracy Project page. 

    • Dive into Deep Ocean Currents 
      4-5 p.m. Wednesday, Sept. 22 at the Missoula Public Library UM Living Lab, Level 1 
      Corinne Bassin, data platform manager at the Schmidt Ocean Institute, will share about the organization’s ocean explorations aboard the research vessel Falkor and engage older children and teens in a hands-on activity on deep ocean currents. Register for the event. 

  • The Democracy Project 
    6-7 p.m. Tuesday, Sept. 21 at the Missoula Public Library Young Adult Space, Level 1 
    Join our Young Adult Librarian Linette and Sam from Humanities Montana to kick off The Democracy Project, a teen-led program empowering teens to make a difference in our community. Come for the snacks, stay for the fun.  
    The Democracy Project is a teen-led program that will help you build connections and find your civic voice. Learn how to exercise your rights in our democracy and take responsibility for the community in which you live.
    Learn more about this program on The Democracy Project page. 

    • Find more events this week on the County’s Event Calendar! 

    Missoula County in the News: Sept. 11-17 

    ‘It’s a great way to serve the community’ - Missoula poll workers get to counting ballots 
    Missoula County breaks single-day COVID record 
    New pickleball, handball courts coming to Fort Missoula 
    Missoula County to apply for camping permit to establish sanctioned site for homeless 

    Vaccines are available to everyone 12 and older!  

    Make an appointment at covid19.missoula.co, and share your experience on social media with the hashtags #endthepandemic, #vaccinatethe406 and #gotmyshot406. 

    Stay up to date with Missoula County's COVID-19 vaccine distribution success! Visit covid19.missoula.co/vaccine-information and click on the Vaccination Distribution Map and Dashboard blue button. The data is updated every Monday. If you would like to track data across Montana, visit the Montana Response page. 

    Upcoming Commissioners’ Meetings: Sept. 20-24 

    To join commissioner department, administrative and public meetings via Microsoft Teams and view the agendas, visit the Missoula County Commissioners’ Meeting Minutes and Agenda Portal. Please note that agendas for department and administrative meetings are published two business days before the meeting, and public meeting agendas are published the Friday before the meeting. Administrative and public meeting video recordings are available on the Missoula County YouTube page after the meeting, and MCAT plays the public meetings live on their Spectrum Channel 190. Email bcc@missoulacounty.us or call 406-258-4877 if you have any questions or comments on an upcoming meeting. 

  • Monday, Sept. 20 
    Public Works Update 
    Community and Planning Services Update 
    Zoning Code Update 

    • This press release was produced by the Missoula County Government. The views expressed here are the author’s own.

    More from Missoula