County appoints 3 to new health board

Lincoln County has some new health board members.

The county commissioners voted to appoint three people to the City-County Health Board on Wednesday: Joe Chopyak, Jan Ivers and George Jamison.

The three were selected from five candidates that included Tracy McNew and Bobbi McCants.

The commissioners said that all five were highly qualified.

“Everyone has at least a master’s degree. I’m impressed,” Commissioner Mark Peck said.

“The hard part is: we can’t pick all of you,” Commissioner Greg Larson added.

Peck said that diversity on the board is important, and used that in his recommendation, which Larson and Commissioner Mike Cole agreed with, although Cole said he liked McNew’s background, youth, drive and ambition. She is a nurse and McCants is a retired nurse.

Chopyak is a physician’s assistant, Jamison is retired from Illinois but has experience with national priority lists and an engineering background. Ivers was a sanitarian for Sanders County for 13 years, taught nursing at Flathead Community College and worked in Malawi, Africa for two years.

The Libby City Council voted to join the interlocal agreement on Oct. 3, and Mayor Brent Teske said that Nick Raines, the county’s Asbestos Resource Program manager, answered the council’s questions about the length of the agreement and the ability to opt out.

Raines said the agreement runs through June 30, 2034, and will be renewed for five-year increments thereafter, but noted that cities can opt out with a notice of termination.

Teske said that previously, the city council wasn’t getting an update from the board, but hopes that this will not be the case in the future.

On Wednesday, the commissioners voted 3-0 to approve interlocal agreements with the cities of Libby and Eureka.

Troy’s council will consider the issue when it meets next week, Raines said.

Raines said that each city will get to appoint one board member, and he encouraged McNew and McCants to seek those posts.

The makeup of the old board was mainly county officials, Raines said. The new commissioners would like to appoint those with expertise in health-related matters, he said.

Caleb M. Soptelean can be reached at 293-4124 or by email at csoptelean@thewesternnews.com.