City offices closed; bird fest; and more

City of Helena’s offices and services will be closed on Monday in recognition of Memorial Day.

The closures include the Transfer Station, Capital Transit, and Municipal Court. Residents that have garbage collection on Mondays should place their trash containers out by 7 a.m. on Tuesday (May 28).

Call 406-447-8086 with questions about garbage collection or the Transfer Station.

The Nita Creach Scholarship Fund at the Montana Community Foundation annually provides a scholarship for students in credit recovery classes at Capital High who are pursuing any type of career advancement program.

The scholarship aims to nurture career aspirations such as skilled trades, vocational training, acting, or the arts, animal care or equestrian pursuits, and martial arts or higher education.

A Helena native, the late Nita Creach (1951-2023) spent 21 years mentoring the credit recovery classes at Capital High, inspiring countless youth to graduate high school and make positive choices in their lives.

She never gave up on her students, no matter the struggle, and continued to support them far beyond the classroom. Creach always believed her charges were capable of far more than they realized.

For more information and/or to donate to the Nita Creach Scholarship Fund, visit https://mtcf.org/…/our-funds/nita-creach-scholarship-fund

Representatives from the Montana Department of Commerce and NeighborWorks Montana presented awards to Montana affordable housing champions Wednesday during the annual Housing Partnership Conference in Missoula.

Each year, these awards are presented to people who have shown extraordinary commitment to increasing access to attainable, affordable housing for all Montanans.

Greg Gould of the Jackson, Murdo & Grant law firm in Helena was honored Wednesday as a Montana affordable housing champion at the annual Housing Partnership Conference in Missoula.

Gould has served as general counsel to the Montana Board of Housing since 2010 and received a Lifetime Achievement Award.

His work, often invisible to the broader affordable housing community, involves training board members and staff on governance matters and applicable state and federal laws, highly detailed contractual work on complex real estate transactions, preparing administrative rules for adoption, providing legal opinions on highly nuanced areas of regulatory interpretation, and helping update the Qualified Allocation Plan.

For its 23rd Wings Across the Big Sky bird festival, Montana Audubon aims to celebrate with the large community of local birders at Carroll College in Helena May 31 to June 2.

This year’s festival celebrates Helena and the surrounding area’s ecological diversity and abundance of birdlife with 23 guided field trips through the area’s shrublands, wetlands, grasslands, and forests on Saturday and Sunday mornings.

Led by local bird experts, the birding trips include tours of several state parks and wilderness management areas as well as local birding hotspots.

A number of trips are on private property and in locations not generally open to the public. In addition, attendees can choose from a guided canoe/kayak trip on Lake Helena WMA and a special field trip to the Spring Meadow Lake bird banding station, hosted by Montana Fish, Wildlife & Parks and Montana WILD.

For more information and to register, visit the Wings Across the Big Sky Birding Festival webpage.

The Ray Hunthausen Junior Golf Foundation would like to recognize the recipients of two $1,000 scholarships for the 2024-2025 academic year.

Congratulations to Gianna Gutowsky and Trey Schlepp.

This scholarship was established to help high school seniors who will be continuing education beyond high school. Ray recognized that exposure to the game of golf at an early age promotes honesty, integrity and respect both on and off the course. The foundation was created to foster, promote, support and develop junior golfers who exhibit an interest in the sport of golf, as well as to provide scholarship opportunities to further recipients’ higher education.

Gianna plans on attending Montana State University this fall to pursue a degree in anthropology and microbiology. Trey will also be attending Montana State University to pursue his education with the goal of a master’s degree in the field of architecture. We wish them both great success in their endeavors.

Funds for these scholarships are generated through the Hunthausen Classic golf tournament in memory of Ray Hunthausen, general manager and head golf professional at Green Meadow Country Club, and with private donations.

Montana law enforcement is increasing patrols in Helena and Lewis and Clark County during Memorial Day weekend and through the summer, authorities said, adding Montanans are strongly encouraged to click it or ticket.

Local law enforcement and the Montana Highway Patrol (MHP) are increasing patrols and presence from the end of May through the beginning of June as part of the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) Click It or Ticket Enforcement.

While non-seat belt use is a secondary offense in Montana, wearing a seat belt is still required by law.

Seat belts are one of the most effective ways to increase your chance of survival in a crash, reducing the risk of death for a front seat occupant by about 45% and serious injury by about 50%, per NHTSA.

Montana law requires all vehicle occupants to be properly restrained with a seat belt or in a child safety restraint. A ticket can be issued if the driver or any passenger is found to not be wearing a seatbelt. Additionally, if a person in a vehicle who is under 6 and weighs less than 60 pounds is believed not to be restrained properly, law enforcement agents may require a driver to stop.

In 2021, 61% of pickup truck occupants who were killed weren’t wearing a seat belt. Of the 73 fatalities due to being ejected from their pickup in 2020, 67, or 92%, were not wearing a seatbelt. Seat belts have a proven record of keeping occupants inside the vehicle, increasing the likelihood of survival in a serious crash.

This is a Vision Zero message from the Montana Department of Transportation.

For more information about Vision Zero, contact Tammy Ross, MDT, 406-444-9192 or tross@mt.gov.

AARP Driver Safety has scheduled single classes in June in Helena.

Participants receive updates on the rules of the road and learn driving strategies to adapt to the effects of aging and to reduce chances of having a crash. This 4.5-hour course was developed for participants age 50-plus; but is open to all ages.

Course fee is $25 ($20 with AARP Membership Card). Auto Insurance Companies in Montana provide a multi-year discount to participants 55 and older.

The class is June 18, 2024 (Tuesday) at First Interstate Bank; 2728 Colonial Drive; 11 a.m. to about 3:30 p.m.

To register call: 406-457-4712. Find more classes at aarp.org/driversafety