COVID-19 dominant subject at Hill County Officials' meeting

During a County Officials’ Meeting Thursday, COVID-19’s recent surge in Hill County and how it’s effecting local government agencies was discussed.

Hill County Disaster and Emergency Services Coordinator Amanda Frickel said she’s had meetings with Northern Montana Health Care, the Hill County Health Department, and State DES about capacity and needs.

She said the hospital is finding supplies increasingly difficult to find as many medical suppliers are in shock at the moment due to the surge.

In response, she said, the county is creating a cache and are looking for a place to store it.

She said the Havre Fire Department just got a shipment of supplies, but since so many of their calls involve people that have been exposed to COVID-19 they’ve been going through equipment rapidly.

Hill County Public Health Director and Health Officer Kim Larson said she now has 12 people working on addressing all the positive cases of COVID-19.

And she is still working on the Health Officer order that was discussed at Wednesday’s quarterly Hill County Board of Health meeting.

She said she’s also working on applying for a second round of COVID-19 funding to be used for contact tracing.

Hill County Sheriff Jamie Ross said the detention center has a COVID-19 positive inmate, a situation he said is being dealt with.

He would not provide any further details on the situation except to say that the department has a written plan which it is following.

Hill County Justice of the Peace Audrey Barger said on the advisement of a public health nurse she has been seeking advice from she has provided continuances to all five jury trials she was working on for the sake of public safety.

Barger said no courts are unaffected by the pandemic and all of them are doing everything they can to keep the public safe but maintain access to as much of the legal system as possible.

Hill County Attorney Karen Alley provided an update on the county’s human resources department saying that they are working on making sure county employees using extended family leave, paid for by CARES Act funds, are properly documenting their leave usage, which she said is becoming an issue.

She said there is confusion among employees about how documentation is done, and she’s looking to remedy that situation.

Hill County Commissioner Diane McLean said the commission is working on applications for more CARES Act funding.

She said the county’s latest application is under review, and she’s hoping it will be approved soon.

Hill County Superintendent of Schools Marie Deegan said all rural schools in the county are still meeting in person and so far, there have been no COVID-19 exposures.

Despite COVID-19 and its effects being the dominant source of conversation at the meeting other topics were discussed.

Hill County Clerk and Recorder Sue Armstrong said her office has been very busy with the election, which she said is a good sign.

She said almost 44 percent of the ballots mailed to people in the county have been returned and more are coming everyday.

She said those who haven’t registered to should come to her office in the Hill County Courthouse if they want to participate in the upcoming election.

Hill County Commissioner Mark Peterson also provided and update on efforts to fix the courthouse’s elevator. He said there was a mix up and a generator had been sent to them instead of a motor, which is what the county needs.

Peterson said it will likely be a few weeks before the problem can be rectified.

He said installation of air conditioning in the building however, is going well and should be completed next week.

Representatives from the Montana Association of Counites also attended the meeting virtually and provided details about a new wellness program being offered to Hill County.

They said the program is provided for free to all county employees and will involve health care professionals providing short monthly consultations for people looking to improve their health and kick bad health habits.

This could include anything from diet advice to tips to help people sleep.

They said spouses and immediate family members are allowed to participate as well.

Hill County Weed District Coordinator and Mosquito District Supervisor Terry Turner said that while West Nile Virus showed up in Montana in early September Hill County lucked out and saw no cases at all.

He said it has been a very successful season, with mosquito traps coming back with 25 percent of what they used to when the pests were at their worst in the area.

The next Hill County Officials’ meeting will be held Nov. 19.