News briefs - June 19, 2015
Frontier gets grant to expand broadband
Senator Jon Tester today announced that Frontier Communications will receive a $6.8 million award to expand broadband access to as many as 2,300 homes and businesses in northwest Montana.
The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) award is part of the Connect America Fund which incentivizes high-speed broadband expansion in unserved areas. The award will be distributed over six years.
Tester, who knows the importance of broadband to Montana’s economy, recently pushed FCC Chairman Tom Wheeler to expand broadband access to all eligible unserved areas.
“In the 21st Century, reliable internet access is just as important as roads and bridges to growing our economy,” Tester said. “This award will give northwest Montana’s small business owners tools to expand their operations and ensures that folks have access to the world of information at their fingertips.”
Frontier has agreed to deliver broadband speeds of at least 10 Megabytes per second, which is more than double speeds that were previously required by the FCC’s broadband rollout.
Veterans assistance is available locally
Community Action Partnership of Northwest Montana is now assisting low-income veterans who are homeless or at risk of becoming homeless. The Supportive Services for Veterans Families program is funded by the United States Department of Veterans Affairs.
Veterans in Lincoln County requiring assistance can call 406-752-6565. Assistance is also available at the Community Action Partnership’s satellite offices in Libby and Eureka on rotating Thursdays beginning June 25.
Natural Heritage program receives award
The Montana Natural Heritage Program (MTNHP), a program of the Montana State Library that is operated by the University of Montana, was recently honored with two awards that recognize its work in making information on Montana’s diverse species and habitats more widely accessible.
MTNHP was presented with the NatureServe Scientific and Technological Achievement Award “in recognition of outstanding and innovative efforts to provide scientific basis for conservation decisions” at the 2015 Biodiversity Without Boundaries Conference. This award recognizes MTNHP’s work in making the vast amounts of data more widely available and more easily accessible, primarily through its new on-line “Species Snapshot.”
Libby Dam update
Outflow from Libby Dam will decrease from 15 kcfs to 13 kcfs over two hours beginning at 2300 MDT 15 June. Outflow will then decrease again to 11.5 kcfs over two hours beginning at 0900 MDT on Wednesday, 17 June. The current high outflows from Libby Dam are part of a flow augmentation operation to support sturgeon in the Kootenai River. The 800 KAF of water allocated to the operation will be exhausted on Wednesday morning, after which time the plan is to target a stable summer flow that will allow the reservoir to fill in the coming weeks and then lower to our end-of-August elevation target of 2,439 feet.
The June water supply forecast for the April through August inflow volume to Libby Dam is 5,090 KAF, which is 86 percent of the 1981-2010 average. The May forecast of 5,396 KAF set the sturgeon augmentation volume to 800 KAF and the minimum outflow through August to 7 kcfs.
Paint it Pink will be expanding services
Since Paint It Pink fundraising efforts began in 2007, the fund has helped to provide a digital mammography machine, as well as over 150 free diagnostic and screening mammograms to uninsured men and women in Lincoln County.
This year, Cabinet Peaks Medical Center is proud to announce the expansion of the program to include breast ultrasounds when necessary to help define abnormal findings on a screening mammogram.
The PIP team is gearing up for another pink October, and is already working on a schedule of events for the month. Funds raised during the month are done so for the detection and treatment of breast cancer for the people of Lincoln County. All of the funds are raised locally and given back to local residents in need.
Playing for Fundsies raised $15,000
The 23rd Annual Cabinet Peaks Medical Center Foundation’s Playing for Fundsies Golf Tournament was, once again, anything but your average day of golf at Cabinet View Golf Club in Libby.
Golfers could be seen throwing instead of swinging and using strings in lieu of putting. For the 60 or so golfers that joined the CPMC Foundation Board on June 13, a little bit of fun went a very long way.
The tournament raised over $15,000 for the Cabinet Peaks Foundation’s Mission Fund, which was established to help with the purchase of equipment needs for Cabinet Peaks Medical Center and the patients it serves.