Residents honored at city council meeting for work in recycling

Four Havre residents were recognized as environmental heroes for their contributions to recycling efforts and the Havre City Council voted to forward another grievance from a Fire Department employee to the Council’s Labor Relations Committee at Monday’s Council meeting.

Recycle Hi-Line President Wanda Meredith and Sue Swan, the group’s education chairperson, recognized Dominique Preputin of Western Pharmacy, Janet Tams and Jeff Burckhard of Feed My Sheep Soup Kitchen and Megan Lodge of Gary & Leo’s Fresh Foods for their recycling efforts.

Each environmental hero was presented with a Recycle Hi-Line T-shirt, a reusable bag and a framed certificate.

Swan said Gary & Leo’s has long been committed to recycling and uses programs to encourage the reuse and recycling of egg cartons and giving a 10-cent credit on purchases where the customer brings in a reusable bag. She added that in 2018, the store recycled 310,100 pounds of cardboard.

Swan said that 10 years ago when Gary & Leo’s opened their HealthMart Pharmacy the staff was amazed at the amount of plastic that was used but not able to be recycled. Lodge has worked to find a solution, working to educate her co-workers about different types of recyclables used in the making of bottles, Swan said. Lodge has also established a process to collect them.

“She not only makes suggestions, she makes things happen with a smile and a can-do attitude,” Swan said.

Since Preputin purchased Western Pharmacy in 2009, she and her employees have recycled whenever they can, Swan said.

After a plastic bottle shredder they owned had broken beyond repair, Preputin and her team arranged to have their recyclables such as cardboard, plastics, paper and glass picked up one to two times a week, Swan said.

Preputin and her business now deliver their recyclables to the 24/7 drop off center at Pacific Steel and Recycling and deliver their ink cartridges to the Boy’s & Girls Club of the Hi-Line.

Tams and Burckhard were honored for their work at the soup kitchen.

Tams, who lived in a larger metropolitan area before she moved to Havre, was surprised to learn the city did not offer curbside recycling, Swan said. Feed My Sheep now recycles cardboard, paper, glass and tin cans.

Before Recycle Hi-Line began its 24/7 drop offs and held monthly recycle drives, Burckhard would often bring multiple loads by pickup to Pacific Steel and Recycling, Swan said. Now he often drops off recycling two or three times a week.

Feed My Sheep has also worked to limit food waste, Swan said.

“If there are a few servings left over, they package it and send it with clients instead of putting it in the trash,” she said.

Mayor Tim Solomon read a proclamation recognizing Sunday, April 22, as Earth Day in the city of Havre. Solomon also pledged to create green economy initiatives within the city of Havre and encourages other people to do the same.

The website of the Environmental Protection Agency says that Sen. Gaylord Nelson, D-Wisc., first created Earth Day as a way to bring attention to the issue of the environment. The first Earth Day was held April 22, 1970, with 22 million Americans demonstrating in cities across the U.S.  

Solomon also read a proclamation recognizing April 30 as Arbor Day in Havre.

He said the occasion will be marked that day with a public ceremony in Simon Pepin Memorial Park at 9 a.m. Students from local schools will each be presented with a small tree that they can take home to plant.

In other business, the council voted 6-0 to forward a personnel grievance to the Council’s Labor Relations Committee. Council members Ed Matter and Terry Lilletvedt were excused from the meeting.

An attachment to the grievance report form that was filed by Havre Fire Department employee Joseph Pigeon says Pigeon put false information about his training on a recertification form filled out  for his National Registry of Emergency Medical Technician license.

After an investigation, a letter of reprimand was placed in Pigeon’s file that will be removed after one year, the attachment says. The attachment also says by falsifying the information Pigeon violated the firefighter code of ethics and Fire Department policy.

Pigeon in the grievance said he did not falsify records with the intent to deceive and was truthful and honest throughout the investigation.

In the grievance, Pigeon asks that the letter be removed from his file immediately.

Havre Fire Chief Mel Paulson and Mayor Tim Solomon say in their respective responses that immediate removal of the letter is unreasonable and the letter should remain in Pigeon’s folder for one year.

Committee Chair Karen Swenson said that a public hearing about the grievance is scheduled for noon April 24 at Havre City Hall.

The council voted 6-0 on second reading to approve an ordinance that allows the Havre director of public works to establish a permit fee and issue permits for outdoor dining at restaurants and bars within the city as long as distance requirements for pedestrians and people in wheelchairs can still be met.

“We think this is a positive change, especially for downtown businesses that choose to do this,” Council President Andrea Brekke said.

Public Works Director Dave Peterson said he was waiting until the ordinance was passed to decide how much establishments will have to pay.

The council voted 6-0 to apply for a Federal Assistance grant for the Havre City-County Airport. The grant will fund the second part of an ongoing $1.6 million project to repair the airport’s apron and taxiways.

The council voted 6-0 to approve the city’s Independence Bank Pledged Securities for the quarter that ended March 30.

The next council meeting is Monday, May 7, at 7 p.m.