Columns

Disaster planning helps community get through pandemic

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Plan, plan, plan. I was once told by a wise man to plan for the worst and hope for the best. I believe that most of us would agree with that advice. COVID-19 has proven that we cannot plan for something we could never anticipate.

Stay at Home order helped mitigate Beaverhead’s COVID-19

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We are six weeks into the declared emergency with the coronavirus. Cases are on the decline and we are starting to get Dillon opened up.

SD#10: Collaborative effort needed during pandemic

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We would like to update you on our district’s response to this pandemic we find ourselves in. We would like to convey to everyone that the health and safety of our students, staff, and community are our top priority. From the very beginning of this crisis we have worked closely with many entities with safety in mind. We would like to specifically recognize Beaverhead County High School and Superintendent Gary Haverfield as well as Sue Hansen and Dr. Megan Evans with Beaverhead County Public Health. There have been many other individuals as well and everyone has been extremely helpful and collaborative and we will continue to work with all entities to make sure that the safety of our students, staff, and community remain our top priority.

BCHS: Communication is the key to online education success

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This is an update of the high school’s reaction to the COVID-19 pandemic that has changed all of our lives in the last two months. This pandemic has created absolute chaos in the educational world and in the lives of students, parents, and families! Federal and state governmental agencies have asked educators and school districts to completely redesign our educational mission, focus, and delivery method in less than a week.

Hospital CEO: I have the utmost faith that we will prevail

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Although we do our best to plan and practice exercises for dealing with circumstances outside of our control, there is one thing we learn during every true “disaster” – no amount of preparation readies us to deal with every new circumstance perfectly. We have the framework, but we must always think on our feet and that is exactly what our organization is doing well. We stay true to our mantra – “Where People Come First … Always” and are working together to protect our patients and staff as well as our community during these trying times. We feel we are as prepared as possible.

Our president and governor open Montana with Phase 1 guidelines

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The last several weeks have seen the world, nation and state go through some significant challenges and changes due to the COVIvirus pandemic. We would like to thank all of you for your commitment to each other in Beaverhead County to follow the governor’s orders and directives that were put in place to keep everyone safe.

Public Health Director: State will open slowly

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As I look out my window today at the promise of spring in Montana, I am reminded of how different this spring is from life a year ago. COVID-19 has spread its ugly infection on the world with many countries unable or slow to contain it.

Dillon Mayor: Don’t give up hope

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Citizens of Dillon, The editor of the Dillon Tribune asked me to give my personal opinion of the current COVID-19 pandemic. Before I talk about my own feelings I want to stress that the official position for the City of Dillon is to follow the Governor’s orders and the guidelines from the President of the United States. At this time, the United States, the State of Montana, Beaverhead County, and the City of Dillon have all declared a “state of emergency” related to the COVID-19 virus and it is my responsibility to see that those orders are followed as closely as possible.

Opening lines of communication

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This week, I am introducing a new feature on this page to keep our readers informed on the actions, rationale, impacts and repercussions resulting from decisions made on the local level in the battle to protect public health against COVID-19. The feature is called the Local Leader Opinion Series, and will give our decision makers the opportunity to address the community in their own words about the decisions they’ve made to help the area through the pandemic. Just talk to the folks is what I ask.

Beaverhead ICT shows courage, leadership

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We are in a position with the coronavirus pandemic where we are at the mercy of both the virus and our government officials. From President Donald J. Trump, to Governor Steve Bullock, to folks on the local level, decisions are being made that are dramatically impacting our lives and we have to trust that our officials are making the right decisions. Eventually, that trust will be tested as the debate heads to an economy versus public health showdown.