05/27/2024
A security consultant told Helena school officials and parents recently that schools will need funding to better ensure the safety of the community’s children.
Jason Russell, the founder of Secure Environment Consultants, met last week at Capital High School with representatives of local colleges, law enforcement and the school district to discuss the next steps in creating safer environments after voters rejected the district’s requested security levies earlier this month.
“School safety takes money,” Russell said. “I think those resources were extremely needed by the district … Now, unfortunately, it does limit what you can do.”
Russell said that safety is linked to student mental health and that clear communication and strong relationships between parents, staff and students are necessary to ensure secure schools.
In addition to highlighting student well-being, Russell’s consultant group will conduct a safety assessment of four local schools, develop a safety plan and share it with officials.
Despite the lack of funding, Russell said there are other avenues to seek money, and he encouraged the district to apply for grants at all levels.
Superintendent Rex Weltz said that some available grants are difficult for the district to acquire and that it is working on hiring a grant writer to help make its applications more competitive.
School communications specialist Karen Ogden said that in addition to grants, the district is considering seeking additional taxes to support the safety, security and mental health of its students.
Public Notice
How should your county grow?: Lewis and Clark County officials, along with a consulting company, have begun creating a growth policy based on several community open houses held during the past two months.
Now, in another effort to gather more input, the county released an interactive map and survey that will help residents pinpoint where and what they would like to see changed in the policy.
For background information about the county’s plans for growth, visit its website.
City Parking Committee update: A proposal to re-establish a city parking committee will be presented to city commissioners at their next administrative meeting on Wednesday, May 29.
Earlier this month, representatives from the Business Improvement District and the city met to discuss solutions to parking concerns from business owners, employees and residents around downtown, and agreed to pursue establishing the committee.
The meeting will be held at 4 p.m. in room 326 of the City-County Building, 316 N Park Ave.
5 Things to Know in Helena
MOAT update: Last week, the Lewis and Clark Metropolitan Region Opioid Abatement Governance Committee held its inaugural meeting to define the group’s roles and responsibilities. The committee, made up of five residents of the county, Helena and East Helena, is tasked with allocating money from the Montana Opioid Abatement Trust to help fund local agencies that provide treatment, recovery and preventive services. The committee did not review any applications for the funds during the meeting but will meet again on June 15. For more information on the committee, visit the city’s website, and for more information about the trust, visit the state’s website.
BID promotes businesses: The Business Improvement District will be at the weekly downtown farmers’ market to help promote local businesses. The BID will offer opportunities for business owners to do a pop-up shop or visit with people during the market and will have tables, chairs and a tent available for those who want to participate. The BID will host these tables at each farmers’ market on Saturdays, June 1 through August 24. For businesses interested in participating, contact the BID director at director@helenabid.com.
Last Day for Bruce Day: Helena Food Share’s executive director Bruce Day is retiring at the end of the year, the organization announced in a recent press release. Day has been with the food share for nearly 10 years and has worked to increase food services to the Helena area, secure funding for the program and oversee the construction of a new facility.
“It has been an incredible honor to be a part of Helena Food Share during these past nine years,” Day said in the release. “I feel proud to have had the chance to work with an incredible staff, volunteers and community partners to continue the service of this community organization – giving our neighbors access to food when they need it and working to eliminate hunger.”
Helena Food Share’s communications director Patty White told MTFP the group will release more details on its search for a new director in June.
Kids eat for free: Registration is open for the Helena Public School’s Free Summer Meals Program. Children ages 1 to 18 are eligible, and meals will be provided at schools and at the Munchtana Food Truck from July 10 through August 16. The program will include breakfast, lunch and multi-day food packs. Visit the program’s website to register.
Circuses and horses: Cavallo Equestrian Arts will perform the theatrical show Cirque Ma’Ceo at the Lewis and Clark Fairgrounds from May 31 through June 2, showcasing aerial performances and exotic horses. The ticket prices are $20 for kids and range from $30 to $60 for adults. For more details on showtimes and dates, visit the fairgrounds website.
3 Questions For
Last week, in preparation for the 75th anniversary of the Mann Gulch Fire, the Forest Service installed memorials at the site where 13 U.S. Forest Service smokejumpers died. John Maclean, son of author Norman Maclean and himself an author of numerous books on wildfires, including “Fire on the Mountain,” will be the keynote speaker during the memorial service later this summer. Maclean spoke with MTFP on his relationship with the Mann Gulch Fire, his books and the impact the historic event left on the Helena area. His comments have been edited for length and clarity.
MTFP: What is your history with the fire?
Maclean: Well, I’m related to the fire because my dad wrote “Young Men and Fire,” the first full-length treatment of the Mann Gulch Fire. It was published posthumously soon after his death. He was involved in writing that or attempting to write that for well over a decade of his life, and he had not completed it to his satisfaction at the time of his death. It had been in difficult condition in its early years when I first saw it, and I wasn’t sure if it should be published. We had it read by people at the University of Chicago and they said, “We should probably have it published to show the amount of work he did on that.” The book he’s done was a great book.
Then in 1994, there was a very similar fire in Colorado, the South Canyon Fire on Storm King Mountain. Fourteen people were killed, one more than at Mann Gulch. I was working at the Chicago Tribune at the time and invented an assignment for myself to go to Mann Gulch on the anniversary on August 5. Everyone was saying these two fires are very alike. This is a repeat of Mann Gulch on Storm King. I said, “Well, let’s find out if that’s true.” I wrote a piece for the Chicago Tribune, which had a headline on it, “Fire on the Mountain.” I liked that headline, and it became the title of my account, my book about the South Canyon Fire.
MTFP: What was something you took away from your experience in researching and writing your books?
Maclean: I did not lose touch with Mann Gulch. One of the things I did for that book was take Bob Sallee, who was by then the last living survivor of the fire, into Mann Gulch to have him talk about it. He and I became very well acquainted. Bob never turned down an invitation to speak at fire groups, and he and I wound up being at a lot of fire groups together. We’d have dinner afterward and chat. So we stayed in touch until he died. He was a very fine man and was deeply affected by the fire.
Everybody thinks that because he was such a sturdy character, and he had the resilience of youth, he was only 19 at the fire, that he was able to walk away from it, but that’s not true. He told me and he told others that he had a vacancy in his personality. He just couldn’t feel the ups and downs that everybody else feels, the highs and the lows. That was not a true part of his makeup anymore, and we’d now understand that as a symptom of PTSD, which was not well understood at the time and was never treated. So he went on with that for the rest of his life.
MTFP: Why is it important for the community to have these memorials?
Maclean: There are still families of these people around, and it’s important for their sake and for the fire community to honor the memory of what happened. But there are also a lot of lessons, which have saved lives in the past and can continue to do so in the future if they are kept in the limelight. One of the things that’s happening is that they’re putting together a staff ride for Mann Gulch, and they’re going to film it and make it available online. That’s a wonderful thing.
A staff ride is one of the best methods for impressing safety lessons on young firefighters. They take on the roles of the people who actually fought the fire. They go to decision points after having read everything that they can get their hands on about it, and then they’re asked, “Okay, you know what happened? You know what the situation was when you got to the turnaround point in Mann Gulch? You are now in the role of Wag Dodge, who is the crew boss. What do you do? You’re where it happened. This is right where it happened. What would you do?” It makes it very real, and I think that’s one of the best things that they can do to make Mann Gulch a living lesson for young people.
Might Be Fun
Blackfoot River Brewing Company is hosting the Helena Ridge Challenge. Participants have the rest of the year to complete a hiking tour to local ridges around the Helena area, including Eddye McClure, Mt. Ascension, Rodney Ridge, Wakina Sky and Mt. Helena. Those who complete the challenge will get a free drink at the brewery and have a chance to support Helena trails. Visit the brewery website for additional details.
Helena History
“Helena This Week” is reported and written By JoVonne Wagner. Send your Helena news and tips to jwagner@montanafreepress.org.
