Year in Review, Part II
Here is the second installment of The Western News' look back on 2020, an unforgettable year.
April 10
Upcoming elections to be conducted by mail
Lincoln County officials opted to follow recommendations issued by Gov. Steve Bullock by conducting the May school election and June primary by mail.
“This decision was not made lightly, but ultimately the health and safety of our election judges and of the voting public and their families is our highest priority,” read the statement released by the county Election Department announcing the decision.
Bullock allowed counties to choose how to conduct the elections as concerns over the coronavirus pandemic mounted. Local officials urged voters to ensure their registration was current to ease the process.
May 8
Troy celebrates local legend’s 103rd with parade
Troy turned out to celebrate long-time resident Betty Mullin’s 103 birthday with a parade. Sitting in her yard on Kalispell Avenue, Mullin watched and waved as a fire truck, sheriff’s office cruisers and a host of other vehicles passed by.
Mullin was born on the cusp of the Spanish flu in 1918 and turned 103 while the COVID-19 pandemic continued as a national and international crisis.
When asked to speculate why and how she lived so long, she responded “I don’t know.”
Mullin graduated from Troy High School in 1935. Along with her husband Benjamin Brown, she built what became the Silver Spur, originally named the Roadside Inn.
May 15
Hecla Charitable Foundation donates to local food banks, emergency services amid COVID-19 pandemic
Harried by a surge in demand from the COVID-19 pandemic and subsequent crisis, local food banks received a boost from Hecla Mining in May.
The Hecla Charitable Foundation donated money to food banks in Libby, Troy and Noxon. It also gave $1,000 to the Libby Volunteer Ambulance.
The foundation reports that since 2009 it has donated over $3.3 million to rural communities. Most recipients are in areas where Hecla Mining operates, primarily Idaho, Alaska, Colorado, Canada, Nevada and Montana.
Hecla has contributed to a host of youth activities in Sanders and Lincoln counties including American Legion baseball and high school graduating classes. It has also donated to the CARD Clinic and the Cabinet Peaks Medical Center Foundation, Ducks Unlimited, the Rocky Mountain Elk Foundation and more.
May 15
Libby officials hold fast to graduation plans
While the coronavirus pandemic and associated government restrictions left many end-of-year school events canceled or delayed in 2020, Libby Public School District officials stressed the importance of celebrating graduation in some fashion.
Superintendent Craig Barringer said the district would keep the cap on the number of tickets given to each senior at four.
“We went from no graduation to a marginal graduation ceremony … and understandably people want to expand that,” he told members of the Libby Public School Board in May.
The school district’s proposal called for using the Libby High School football field and track. Rather than rows of students seated before a podium, officials will spread the teenagers out along the track to maintain social distancing guidelines.
May 22
Burst pipe dampens plan for reopening library branch
Plans for reopening the county library in Libby got soaked in mid-May.
After closing county libraries for two months due to the coronavirus pandemic, Director Alyssa Ramirez told the Lincoln County Board of Commissioners on May 13 that she planned to reopen the branches by the end of the month.
But staff members returning to the Libby branch on May 18 discovered that a pipe had burst over the weekend. Nearly four inches of water had collected in the building's newly renovated basement. A portion of the branch’s nonfiction, Montana collection and archives were damaged.
After mitigating mold and replacing carpeting, furniture and drywall, the branch reopened in mid-August.
“As much as it hurt us … the library looks amazing,” said Ramirez following reconstruction. “The renovations would have taken years to do otherwise.”
June 12
Local Black Lives Matter demonstration draws large crowd
A peaceful Black Lives Matter demonstration and associated counter-protests drew several hundred people outside the Lincoln County Courthouse on June 11.
In the days prior, word of the demonstration spread quickly through social media. Even before the scheduled 5 p.m. start time, local church groups gathered to sing on the courthouse lawn, militiamen, who pledged to provide security began arriving and supporters of President Donald Trump busied themselves setting up shop across California Avenue.
Across the country, cities and towns played host to some form of public demonstration in the wake of George Floyd’s death in Minneapolis. In several instances, peaceful protests were overshadowed by rioting and looting.
“My heart is troubled with the unrest and division in the country right now,” said Libby resident Susie Rice. She carried a sign promoting love, respect and unity.
Across California Avenue, Dave Patterson, Clay Benefield and Keiton Julson stood beside a Trump banner in a show of support for the president. The trio said they supported the Black Lives Matter movement but opposed antifa, a group partially blamed for the violence that has marred similar demonstrations.
June 30
Heritage Museum receives $5k from CARES Act grant program
Libby’s Heritage Museum received an influx of $5,000 via Humanities Montana’s CARES grant program.
Officials with the organization announced the grant funding June 22 and said in a press release that the money may allow the museum to reopen. Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the interior of the museum has remained closed.
The added expense that would come with reopening the museum under the state’s pandemic guidelines made welcoming the public impossible. Most of the organization’s volunteers, which serve as greeters for the facility are over 65 years old.
The Heritage Museum was recently added to the U.S. National Register of Historic Places. The 12-sided log building earned the National Park Service’s stamp of approval in April.