[0:03] was like
[0:07] in my mind I was like, "Oh god, he's
going to suffer through that." But I saw
[0:10] like he's
just, you know, babies. Yeah. Like we
[0:16] just
[0:57] So, um, Bernardo wrestled him down this
morning. Let us pray.
[1:03] Russell, he was not having this morning.
[6:34] No, I'm like
[6:38] » I think
[6:42] travel.
>> Yes.
[6:48] » Yes. It snowed again on Monday. You
know,
[6:55] » bring you while you live here. So, you
have farm clothes.
[7:01] » You need like
a farm.
[7:06] » My dad's like that, too. All
right. So, let's go ahead and everyone
[7:10] uh we're going to go ahead and get
started here.
[7:13] » Welcome. Let's go ahead and get the
>> I call them we need to order. So,
[7:18] welcome everyone. Um
we it does after discuss discussing with
[7:24] uh Dina um it does it does seem like oh
my gosh [laughter] I'm thinking of
[7:32] » yes
>> um we do it does look like we do have
[7:36] today. So, let's get started with just
um reorganization of the board. Um oh, I
[7:43] think we
>> Yeah, that was accidentally left on
[7:45] there from uh the January meeting. I
apologize about that. There doesn't need
[7:49] to be a reorganization because y'all
settled that in January.
[7:52] » Perfect. So, let's go ahead and start
with just um some updates from our
[7:56] community partners. So, uh let's start
with Be County Tobacco Prevention and
[8:00] Beta Chain Proex Coalition
Spotlight.
[8:06] So, first
SA, she's our new
[8:11] project coordinator, uh, executive
director, so we can call her director,
[8:16] project coordinator at Be the Change
406. Um, she's got a degree in
[8:22] communications. Chelsea's really good at
speaking and guiding and gets a lot of
[8:28] communicating. Um, and she actually came
over. I had
[8:34] presentations, daily presentations in
ENS with elementary kids and middle
[8:38] schoolers who take it over with me and
kind of saw how that works and how it
[8:42] goes. And then she's been getting all
trained back before she gets her
[8:50] talk to you guys about. But before she
does that, I'll give a quick update for
[8:55] some of our other stuff. So,
[8:59] um has asked to come do a little cross
on market at the Wednesday senior lunch
[9:07] here. Um so that'll be different because
usually when we go when we talk about
[9:12] that it's like to young people. So we're
going to like show them how to properly
[9:18] dispose of things and kind of research
how you talk to because that age group
[9:22] needs to be up to date. They a lot of
them are taking opiates for maintenance,
[9:28] pain maintenance and things like that.
So, that would be cool. Um, and then
[9:34] let's see. I've got three days with the
discipliners
[9:39] um here in Dylan coming up in next week
actually. And JB's going to um go there
[9:48] with me as well. Um the third day once
again I'll bring some uh road
[9:55] to talk to the fifth graders. So we'll
have three days of that which I I love.
[10:00] That's so fun. Uh what else do we have?
We've got
[10:08] as for tobacco. We still I just talked
to uh the county attorney's office.
[10:14] We're still on for our 30 foot distance.
So the kids,
[10:21] a lot of our kids in our coalition and
we want them to be a part of it. Um they
[10:27] are really engaged in everything in the
spring. I mean plus they've got like
[10:32] travel ball going at the same time as
all their regular sports and I'm going
[10:39] and we've got a couple kids practicing
for the the western play which is
[10:43] awesome. One of them got the roll of
really long. So, we're thinking
[10:50] it's preg.
And so, I think that we're going to prep
[10:56] for that
>> and then I know we've been talking about
[10:59] it for like a year, but we're going to
prep for it on our own and then bring
[11:03] the kids in in in June once that's all
set. So, we will want your buy in on
[11:10] that at that time. Uh we also wanted to
know if
[11:16] um Megan if you would be maybe
interested in talking to the kids about
[11:22] how the like vaping and these other
things actually affect your body
[11:28] internally. And like one thing that I
keep saying is you go to the doctor, you
[11:35] go to the dentist and there's signs and
people can recognize um like already as
[11:42] a teenager or as a young adult that the
damage that you're already incurring. So
[11:49] yeah, if you want if you don't get in
touch.
[11:52] » Yeah, that'd be fine.
>> Okay. Yeah, perfect.
[11:55] Um I guess I could go on and on. like
it's a lot of good stuff. It's kind of
[12:00] fun. So,
anything you guys want to um work on my
[12:05] stuff? Yes, please.
>> So, I have a question and I guess I
[12:08] didn't realize this. I was talking.
>> Yeah. And he's going to do all the um
[12:16] things where they go in and have
[12:22] compliance. Yeah.
>> Yeah.
[12:24] » For that. How does that work with you
guys? We don't I don't do that cuz we're
[12:28] I was DPA test so we're not supposed to
do that.
[12:33] » She
is a different
[12:39] » she was she did she did my job in the
past. We're not supposed to
[12:44] » we're supposed to go in and check but
we're not supposed to send we don't send
[12:48] people in. The gambling control division
weirdly enough is actually the one
[12:53] » that must be her boss. She's been doing
it for seven years. I did not know.
[12:57] » Oh,
>> yeah.
[13:01] » They do that. Um, we just we just uh
work with the businesses themselves,
[13:07] » but I don't send kids in. So, she that
must be where she
[13:12] » Okay. I was just confused. I thought,
"Oh, so
[13:16] » yeah, that's crazy. I didn't know that."
>> So, I was just wondering how that was.
[13:21] So if if it happened, we I would get a
report
[13:26] that and then uh address it with a local
business.
[13:30] But as far as um doing that work, I do
that.
[13:37] on the baking thing. Another thing I
wish I would like to do communitywide
[13:41] and I've started doing my plans
because there is a huge amount of people
[13:50] that think, "Oh, I'll just give up
cigarettes. I'll start vaping." And they
[13:53] think it's better somehow and it's not.
>> They're still exposing their baby to
[13:59] harmful chemicals. So,
>> um it's really interesting. I mean, that
[14:02] is a huge misconception that is very
much so happening on a pretty large
[14:07] scale.
>> And it's interesting cuz it's like this
[14:10] generation, the generation of people who
could be pregnant right now because the
[14:14] the young kids know [clears throat]
when I go talk to the young kids are
[14:18] like worse than smoking,
>> but I think we're still confused.
[14:22] » So that's really I don't think it's
confusion or
[14:26] » denial.
Exactly. denial because they want
[14:29] something to replace that cigarette or
something that's better and they're
[14:34] telling me like, "Well, my doctor said
it's okay." I'm like, "No, they didn't."
[14:37] [laughter]
>> Is there something that shows you can
[14:40] use vaping to, you know, as long as you
off to ease off? Yes. Like it can't. But
[14:45] the problem is is that people don't
follow like the nicotine milligram and
[14:49] the vaping allows for so much higher
dosing that then that's what usually
[14:53] happens. So this like theoretically
could help you but
[14:57] » it doesn't in the end right
>> like my program
[15:04] has a pregnancy
but that's dedicated to it and they get
[15:09] every time they make the phone call it
[15:21] » call me if if they agree only but
offering them to talk to them and then I
[15:27] can come in and chat with them from the
book club. So I would love I'd actually
[15:31] love to do that.
>> That'd be a little bit of a different
[15:35] deal. Um as far as the recycling and
stuff um the vape recycling, we still
[15:42] want to work on that. Also, my uh
seventh graders in Mis really want to
[15:50] take a part of and I told them
>> that that maybe they
[15:56] » recommended
maybe
[15:59] have somebody
somebody else do it.
[16:03] » Joe Revel said that he would do it.
>> That's what I was going to say. It's
[16:06] like, you know, somebody that's got some
experience
[16:11] on the outside.
>> Yeah.
[16:13] Um,
another thing that's really neat to do
[16:16] is for a training lesson is stab one of
those batteries, which you know people
[16:22] doing that.
>> We went through a whole training on
[16:25] those um lithium ion batteries.
[16:30] » Years ago, I had to try it for myself.
It's not insect stuff.
[16:37] » It's not.
>> It's a good learning experience. But
[16:40] » that's the real problem with those those
bays. Well, of course, you know the
[16:44] chemicals in them.
>> But those under the right conditions,
[16:48] those batteries get punctured, they will
burn and they will burn hot
[16:52] » and they are really difficult to hell.
>> Yeah. I mean, there's a family that once
[16:59] that happened in their whole house.
So it happens.
[17:03] » Oh, it happens.
>> They really want to see that. They just
[17:05] want to see what's in it. They're just
kids and they want a really
[17:09] » Yeah. I mean, I'm just saying that first
of all, be good science experience for
[17:14] kids because you wouldn't want them
doing it.
[17:17] » Yeah.
>> If you can get somebody like Rumble to
[17:19] do it or, you know, me and some of the
other people on fire here or something
[17:24] like that.
>> That's what I was thinking. I was like,
[17:26] I'll just talk to the DS guy. They're
both crazy and all that stuff.
[17:35] » So maybe uh so I have to go back to now
so we can take a part of me and uh maybe
[17:42] we're I think J had a good idea maybe to
video it. But maybe if the fifth graders
[17:47] are interested maybe you could help them
out.
[17:52] and you thought you might start putting
out some video.
[17:59] » So, I'm going to go ahead and talk about
her.
[18:03] » Um,
uh, forgive me. I've only been in the
[18:07] role about a month, so not a lot of
updates on my end, but did partner with
[18:12] public health to get all of the Narcan
supply at the middle school and
[18:17] elementary school back up to date. Um,
so we got the stickers that were
[18:21] required, put them all in the boxes. We
have our CADKA midyear conference in
[18:27] Orlando this year. Kids are super
excited. The actual um heavy focus this
[18:32] year is fentanel. So that'll be really
interesting to see what the kids take
[18:37] back from that especially. I think it's
just a small amount that's so legal.
[18:40] » We're partnering it's they're partnering
with the DEA. So the DEA is bringing
[18:44] anticipation.
So, it'll be really really good to see.
[18:49] And then, um, freedom seems to be
popping up in a lot of different places.
[18:52] We know Idaho right now is trying to
make it a a substrolled substance. Um,
[18:59] they're trying to get that passed
through their legislation. I know it's
[19:02] failed in our legislation previous state
level, but um, there's a lot of
[19:07] misconception
that is not yet in our county, but I'm
[19:12] hearing otherwise. So we Aaron has a
scavenger hunt already for other things
[19:17] that we're going to tweet and make for
freedoms and see if we can go around
[19:22] town and find it.
>> So please help keep your eyes open.
[19:26] » Yeah. Yeah. Um, you want to say
something here?
[19:32] » You and I,
>> the Well, they just had a presentation
[19:36] on it at the state um conference in
Billings and um there are some things
[19:43] that are being presented to the
legislature about banning it in Montana.
[19:49] Um it is addictive as apparently heroin
and it they're selling it, but the
[19:54] problem is I think it was used in Asia.
That's like a
[19:57] » T
a natural. But then in the United
[20:01] States, what they've done is take the
one chemical and isolate it and make it
[20:05] really strong and they're putting it in
these energy drinks and they're causing
[20:11] major health problems. People are are
ending up in the ER. People have died um
[20:17] because it interacts with other drugs
that they're taking. Um and so um
[20:22] Riverstone Health, which is the
Yellowstone County, uh health
[20:26] department, the herb sanitarians, uh
have put together, in fact, in their
[20:32] county, it's banned. Um if we could get
it banned in this county, it would be
[20:36] great. Um, I think it's being sold
really in a sneaky way and that a lot of
[20:42] people don't read labels and it it could
be on the label and they're just
[20:47] thinking it's an energy drink when it
might have caffeine, but it really has
[20:52] gluten in it, too. And it could do a lot
of damage. So, um, it's it's definitely
[20:58] something that's at the front of
everyone's mind as far as trying to
[21:02] maybe get the legal. Um but I think the
legislature still clearly they're the
[21:08] industry itself is promoting this cradle
rights that you know so that people have
[21:14] the right to take it but it's a drug I
mean pretty much so it's like there's
[21:18] all this other medical proof that it's
very dangerous to be an overthe-counter
[21:23] product and that apparently on some
levels it's used for addiction
[21:28] withdrawal from opioids but that's under
medically supervised situations. It's
[21:33] not like um I actually talked to an
anthropath doctor who was a friend of
[21:36] ours and he told me he was never he
never used it. He we knew of other
[21:41] anthropaths that did um use it but he
never thought it was something safe to
[21:46] give to his patients. And so it went
from being this thing that was a natural
[21:51] thing to being processed to something at
the level of really being a dangerous
[21:58] substance that's being put in things.
Energy drinks. You should see the
[22:02] packaging. It looks harmless. It looks
really good.
[22:14] » I mean, you don't I've gotten so well
being a sanitarian so obsessed with
[22:19] reading ingredients out because
ingredients are snuck into things
[22:24] » and let me see because we
>> it's out of
[22:28] » the packaging. Yes. And then just pass
this around. This is what Riverstone
[22:34] Health and I'm going to make a copy of
this and give this out too just when I
[22:37] go out and inspection. And if Megan
wants some copies, I mean because it is
[22:43] being marketed
>> um in a really attractive way. It sounds
[22:50] good. And the thing the beverage
distributor is really who got it um this
[22:56] beverage that has it in there and
started putting it in these mini marks
[23:00] right like gas stations and people
thinking it's harmless when they put up
[23:06] some data when people were I mean people
calling it
[23:10] I mean they just it was just interactive
so it's not harmless and and so we went
[23:15] around in Yellowstone County and they
actually have three people that are
[23:19] trying to still sell it because it's
addictive and they sell out of it
[23:25] » because it's
>> I also talked about like when you're
[23:30] doing your inspections that maybe you'll
go around and look and kind of get a
[23:35] gauge of what's going on around here if
anybody in your head is selling again.
[23:39] » Yeah, email us all and let us know if I
see it anywhere. I mean, you know, I'm
[23:44] thinking like Town Pump apparently,
according to Beverh Hill, has banned it
[23:50] from all their stores. So, Town Pump is
a big one to say, man, it opens up a lot
[23:56] of liability for these, you know, store
owner. I don't think they see it that
[24:00] way, but you sell something that ends up
killing somebody. And I will tell you
[24:03] right now, there's
>> Should we be talking about doing
[24:07] something here?
>> We're steady in the counter.
[24:11] » I think so. Because when I did that
little presentation with the confluence
[24:16] people
um and I the other on the other was
[24:22] Riverstone Health and like she said a
big reason they got that pushed through
[24:28] was because of the sanitariums
and it's still legal in vape shops in
[24:33] Riverstone
um or I mean in Yellowstone County. It's
[24:38] still legal in a vape shop, but it's not
legal in places where food is sold. So
[24:44] that means gas stations, bars, things
like that. So they're trying to figure
[24:49] out how to also make it legal across the
board because their loophole, how they
[24:53] got in is through the sanitarian's
office because they were able to get in
[24:58] there because of the
>> when they started legalizing marijuana,
[25:02] okay, they started to put it in things
like brownies and cookies. So when we
[25:06] inspect places and we look at food, we
have to look at ingredients. And when an
[25:10] ingredient in a food is a drug,
considered a drug, it's considered an
[25:15] altered food. And so sanitarians have
hands off when it comes to altered food
[25:21] products. We can't inspect them. We
can't inspect how they're made. However,
[25:26] we can by law pull from the shelves of a
retail food establishment because
[25:32] restaurants and grocery stores cannot
sell altered food products like Tom and
[25:38] Country. You can't sell pot
>> altered or you can't sell in the law.
[25:43] So, you
adored
[25:52] food product. So like we have the right
to take it away from food establishments
[25:57] because it's not a food. It's actually a
drug that's in a food and but a vape
[26:02] shop is not under our jurisdiction at
all. Like we don't license them. That's
[26:06] the department of revenue and they
handle all the tobacco products like
[26:11] that. So that's where we might get in
there and
[26:16] you see this
>> look at labels when you're buying these
[26:20] energy products because if it says
create them on it you're killing
[26:24] yourself you drink it. I'm not kidding
you like just
[26:27] » and the narcan like we said last time it
takes a lot more narc
[26:37] what what I mean anybody in this room
can you talk about the symptoms or how
[26:43] they're going to present if they are
under the influence of this stuff
[26:48] because you see I'm an EMT also usually
what we're looking for when we apply or
[26:54] introduce
Maran is pinpoint high and they're going
[26:59] to be, you know, really pretty much in
all of it. I already made a presentation
[27:04] for this that I gave in February and so
we could look at that and use it just as
[27:10] a foundation because it would need to be
expanded a lot cuz I didn't have a lot
[27:14] of time to talk but we could look at
that and expand it out so that you could
[27:19] get it out to the EMTs and stuff so that
they have a base knowledge and then know
[27:23] what to look for or just come in
[27:29] and commissioners are all on board with
Can we ban it from Beaverhead County so
[27:34] that it's easier from for us to just say
not even big chops can have it? I mean
[27:39] like we could take it out of here like
we don't want it here. It's dangerous.
[27:44] Um I mean it would be kind of put in the
park before the horse before the
[27:49] legislature actually passes it in
statewide. But we don't know when that's
[27:53] going to happen and until that happens
if we can get supportive Tom can talk to
[27:58] the commissioners and I'll get copies of
that about about the dangers of it and
[28:03] then we can
[28:07] you know
I would get we kill some kindly
[28:15] legal one.
>> Yeah.
[28:20] And Tom, um, actually the Black Indian
reservation,
[28:24] » but that's Blackbeard Indian res,
[28:34] but in Yellowstone County, it's not
banned from big shops. You can still
[28:37] legally walk in. So, I'm wondering if we
look at the language.
[28:43] Well, we could call Riverstone and get
whatever was our primary attorney
[28:47] together for it and then
>> well be county
[28:52] they were successful. They obviously
they're they have the biggest
[28:56] » the biggest law firm in the state.
>> Okay. But they have the most
[29:03] » research.
I would follow suit with him before I
[29:12] » would love to help because the guy that
is the head of it is really really nice.
[29:17] Um you might know who he is but he um he
was like very generous about they're not
[29:24] trying to gauge. I I'm sticking like too
like one of the
[29:30] easier ways to get things people to
comply by things is to scare them into
[29:35] compliance which I hate to give up but
you know if you're in a a establishment
[29:40] and you see them in there you say you
realize here's all this information
[29:43] about what to do to people do you want
to be liable for that because that is
[29:49] going to be on you if something bad
happens and if you don't think people
[29:53] will turn around and sue you they
I just want you to know that this
[29:58] settled once
debts and according to what I heard it
[30:03] settled for more than the insurance
company
[30:07] was covering them for. So someone got
taken into cleaners after that. That's
[30:12] what Boseman that happened a couple
years back where two people died from
[30:16] undercooked morale mushrooms. The point
is if you don't think when someone dies
[30:20] from eating something that from your
establishment that the big lawyers come
[30:23] in, they will come in and there's people
that just just lawyers that concentrate
[30:28] on that will come in and take you to the
CL. This is a great thing that I tell
[30:34] people to like try to get them to do the
right thing.
[30:38] » This is so it sounds like
>> creative is dangerous. I think we could
[30:41] make a little committee to work on it
and then we could talk about it copies
[30:45] of this decide it included on our
>> I think that'd be wonderful. I think we
[30:48] need our first steps because there's
going to be I mean this is a great
[30:52] discussion that even came up at the last
board of health meeting um maybe just
[30:56] even connecting with Yellowstone
names all of the
[31:01] » so maybe let's just start by connecting
and getting all of information and then
[31:06] um yeah we we can establish a
subcommittee after we have everything
[31:10] put together to see exactly what our
actions could be moving forward. So
[31:14] thank you so much.
>> Thank you. That's a rare opportunity to
[31:18] actually do prevention instead of
intervention.
[31:23] » Right.
>> Proactive.
[31:26] » So yes, because we can move on. We can
talk hours regarding that [laughter]
[31:32] discovery, but let's
>> Yes. So let's go ahead in with our
[31:36] public health update.
>> Yeah. So our main project right now
[31:39] working on the community health needs
assessment with their hospital. Um we
[31:44] basically survey is closed on the 15th
of this month, but we do the community
[31:49] health needs assessment to keep us in
mind and to figure out what our like
[31:53] next um
pro like next project's going to be for
[31:58] public health and the community, what
needs what we can improve realistically.
[32:02] Um so we've been doing that with Barrett
Hospital the last few times. We they do
[32:07] them every two years and we just partner
with them. It makes more sense to work
[32:11] together. um so we can tackle whatever
it is together rather than just alone.
[32:17] And that's how a lot of the counties
operate too. We found just from going to
[32:21] the conference, a lot of counties made
healthy assessments with their
[32:25] hospitals. So um we've had our first
steering committee. We're going to have
[32:30] a second one. Um, and then this is how
we were able to uh hire our behavioral
[32:37] health coordinator to relay uh was
through identifying that there's a lack
[32:42] of behavioral health services um just
across the board. So, we were able to
[32:47] get funding um to bring her on and she's
been working a lot with uh getting focus
[32:52] groups put together trying to get in
beyond what we've been able to reach in
[32:57] the past. So, she's been busy with that.
And then from the results of what we get
[33:02] this year, um she can identify, you
know, like a priority of projects and
[33:07] then um work on it for the next year or
so cuz our funding is only 2 years. So
[33:14] we're already a year in basically.
Uh as far as activity goes, we have had
[33:22] 112, right? 112 cases since January,
which is a lot for us, I think. I don't
[33:29] know what numbers have been in the past,
but it hasn't been they haven't been up
[33:32] in the hundreds, I don't think. So,
that's a lot. And it's been a
[33:35] combination of everything. So, A B um
is there.
[33:43] » Um there's like subar. It's mostly that
>> I mean, so just to make sure of
[33:48] everything. So, we had a I guess a high
flu activity year. Um so, I hope
[33:58] we get more people vaccinated for this
next coming year. And I don't know what
[34:03] the efficacy of the vaccine was this
year. Do you know?
[34:07] » I don't think we'll know until
the K variant was not that was one that
[34:13] got missed. So we did see a lot of
influenza A. It was K.
[34:19] » H3. It was um
[34:26] » the symptom very severe
so much AMD.
[34:29] » Yes.
>> And so much RSD so much RSC been very
[34:34] delayed this year.
>> So yeah, so those have been cases that
[34:38] have been reported to us. So it doesn't
count everything else that reported. So
[34:43] we we can expect that it's just been
really high across the board.
[34:48] Um it was subplate. It was H but sub
plate K that didn't get caught early
[34:54] enough for the vaccine to cover it. So
that'll be in the next vaccine for next
[34:58] year. Supposedly the next year's vaccine
is supposed to be much better matched.
[35:01] » Yeah. So that's what we keep hearing.
[35:06] [laughter]
>> So So I mean that's the hope you know
[35:09] hopefully we can do better vaccination
coverage for this for this coming fall.
[35:15] I don't know. I I don't know. I haven't
heard a lot on CO. Have you
[35:20] » Not there's been a little bit of but not
as much.
[35:23] » Um for sure.
>> But as far as co vaccination goes. Oh, I
[35:27] think um Karen was telling me that I
think that it's coming out with a
[35:31] different they're matching that too in
the fall and that Madna I think they
[35:36] have a a combo for CO that's going to
come out and then they have Madna has a
[35:41] new one that's going to have a little
lower dose which might be nice for
[35:45] people who have a really aggressive
vaccine reaction you know so that might
[35:49] » be really nice Fiser has had a lower
dose than the
[35:53] » and Karen's not here today so I
apologize she left
[35:56] conference this week
>> um out of town. So, um, she would have
[36:01] the, you know, the other updates that
she's the one, she's our disease
[36:05] investigator and is really good at.
>> That's where I'm getting all my
[36:10] exactly. So,
um, but other than
[36:15] » um I know the other things he's been
seeing a lot of
[36:19] a large part of that is increased
testing. Um, adults are at high risk for
[36:24] it. Like a lot of people have been
living with it and don't know. So
[36:28] definitely, you know, something to be
aware of and promote. Our doctors are
[36:34] doing a really good job of testing for
it now. So mostly for women. Yeah. Very
[36:38] good. Yep.
>> Thank you. Um and other than that, we're
[36:43] just doing business as usual. Our
clinics, um we've seen an uptick in
[36:48] travel vaccinations, but I feel like
that's just been great.
[36:51] » Yeah, it's great sign. Everyone's How
can they afford to travel?
[36:57] That was your credit card. [laughter]
>> Exactly. Um is um
[37:03] um
Oh my gosh. As Joyce mentioned, we we
[37:08] went to confluence this week, which was
a conference put on by three
[37:11] organizations at the state level. Um not
state level, but three different
[37:16] organizations from that. So we had
Montana public health association,
[37:20] environmental health association and
then um public health official
[37:24] association and they had a board of
health track this year which they had a
[37:28] year ago as well and it was really good.
Uh we had Damian attend from the board
[37:32] of health and I attended a few of the
sessions and they were very very useful.
[37:38] Um my favorite one was the um budgeting
and board of health and then just
[37:44] learning about the funding at the state
level and what's going on with public
[37:47] health. Um we knew we knew that we you
know we got a lot of money during CO and
[37:53] how that has gone from 274 million to 29
million now. So you can see where all
[38:01] the budget cuts are happening with
public health. Um and that is true for
[38:07] us too. Our workforce, we get funding to
um have Karen as a disease investigator
[38:15] and that is going to come to an end next
year, so 2027.
[38:20] Um there is so we don't know what's
going to happen. Um I talked to the the
[38:26] gal that kind of is in charge of that
and she's like, "Yeah, that one's my
[38:32] position, too." Um but you know there's
a sliver of hope um that something else
[38:39] will will come through. Um and she kind
of has been hearing a little talk about
[38:45] it but not much. So we'll just see where
it goes. Um and that's going to be huge.
[38:50] I mean I feel like we were a three
person you know three person um operate
[38:56] we were operating with three people co
you know co came and now we were able to
[39:00] hire a fourth person and it's been
wonderful like it's it is a full-time
[39:05] job um it's you know disease
investigation goes beyond co you know so
[39:11] like you know uh Karen handles all the
communicable diseases in Beaverhead
[39:16] County um coordinating those and
investigating those. So, it's so we're
[39:21] we don't know what's going to happen,
but I mean, we just know that funding
[39:24] for public health in general obviously
is down. Um, they did talk about talk
[39:28] about a rural health transformation
grant that we're going to be getting.
[39:31] Montana's going to be getting in the
next 5 years and that's 233 million. So,
[39:38] um, we'll see what comes of that and
what projects. I feel like that's what
[39:42] public health is. we just kind of like
hop from one grant to the other to see,
[39:47] you know, we take on projects that um
continue to fund us because just like
[39:52] other counties, like a major part of our
expenses is our staff. You know, we we
[39:59] we utilize our funding to pay our staff.
And then I'd say,
[40:06] you know, we're pretty much the same as
other counties. They do the same. like
[40:10] it costs a lot of money to have
staffing. So probably 70% is for um
[40:18] you know for staffing and then the other
30 for operational. So so that's what
[40:23] we're looking at. Um
it is going to be the end of the year so
[40:27] July 1st of the new year. Um I'm going
to be working on the budget uh for this
[40:33] year probably in the next coming month.
I haven't started it yet. Um, but I can
[40:38] expect it to be pretty much the same as
last year and I had all that. Um, you
[40:44] know, during co we didn't utilize all
all of our mill levies and this year we
[40:49] did uh which is five mill levies but the
rest of our funding is grant funding. So
[40:55] like I you know a little less than 3/4
or around 3/4 of our funding comes from
[41:01] grants and like keeps us going. So, um
I'll be um working on that and
[41:11] um you know, one of the presentations
that confluence was presenting it to the
[41:16] board of health.
So, I will be working on that, but you
[41:21] know, I don't know how you guys want to
proceed going forward.
[41:26] » We'll better develop that process when
we get a pool board. Right now, we're
[41:29] just trying to get everyone on board.
>> Okay. So, I'll just keep working. you
[41:32] know, it gets approved with the
commission. Um, and then I can share
[41:37] that with you all.
[41:41] » I have a question.
>> So, I see the $15,000 grant through the
[41:46] institute is coming up again. Yes, you
guys have plans. Can How many times can
[41:50] you It's
>> apply for that.
[41:52] » You can apply for it once.
>> Oh, just once.
[41:55] » Once. Um, and initially I had applied
for the resource from centers to get
[42:02] funding, but it didn't really work out
cuz it was a little bit more entailed
[42:06] than just funding the RAC. So, it would
require more work on our part. So, we
[42:11] kind of, you know, it wouldn't get
approved for it. Um, yeah, this next
[42:15] round closes the 22nd, so next week, and
I am planning to submit it to get
[42:21] funding for the community health needs
assessment.
[42:24] So, I'm wrapping that up. Um, and should
be it next week. I'm just waiting on one
[42:31] little piece from uh the office of rural
health.
[42:36] » Thank you. Have you guys gone to the one
institute summer conference? I know it's
[42:42] in June at Big Sky. Have you guys gone
to that before? Because I am registering
[42:47] to go to that and
>> Oh, okay.
[42:50] » RB coordinator will be going to that.
receiving it as the public health stuff.
[42:55] » Um,
>> yeah, that's one of our like kind of
[43:00] requirements for this grant that we got
with her. She attends that. So, and it's
[43:04] an expensive one.
>> It's really expensive.
[43:07] » So, we're kind of limited to just
sending her. We do have the funding for
[43:11] it under that behavior.
>> Yeah.
[43:17] We don't know.
>> Um,
[43:22] » I think that's all I have right now. I
mean, as far as public health goes. Um,
[43:33] » and thank you. I I don't um I don't I I
really like listening to the updates and
[43:39] they're very important for just
education for a community that reads our
[43:43] minutes. Uh, but today um Dr.
does have to uh leave us at um in a
[43:50] minuteish. Um so um I will go ahead and
do you think it's appropriate to um come
[43:57] back to the discussion or um
>> yeah [snorts]
[44:02] we need to get that through
[44:07] » um because
ultimately ultimately if we aren't able
[44:12] if we do have to leave we can go ahead
and do the action items at the next
[44:17] point too. So
>> okay
[44:19] » is that okay? That's fine.
>> Okay. Wonderful.
[44:21] » Um the I can So as far as the lab
specimen plan, but next time I'll just
[44:28] bring it around to you guys is okay.
>> It doesn't have to be We went over it at
[44:33] the board of health meeting. Nobody had
any objections to it, so we can I just
[44:38] need Damian and Dr. Evans and I think on
it
[44:42] already signed it.
>> The last specimen transport. Yeah.
[44:46] » Yeah. So I'll just bring it I'll just
bring it to you guys. Okay,
[44:50] » that's easy enough.
>> All right. Um, so, um, let's go ahead
[44:55] and move forward with DES update.
[45:01] » Yes.
[45:04] » There you go.
Where to start? [laughter]
[45:10] Well, they have hired a new um,
fire chief for Dylan. He's not fully on
[45:17] board yet. So, that's a step in the
right direction. Um, I've met with him a
[45:23] little bit. It hasn't been
really much, but uh, you know, this will
[45:29] be
it'll take a while to phase into,
[45:34] obviously. Um,
>> what's his name?
[45:38] » Yeah.
>> What's that?
[45:40] » What's his name?
>> J. Eperson.
[45:45] » Is he a local person? No, he's out of
somewhere by like Salem or what?
[45:52] » So, they put the the advertisement out
there. Well, I mean, first of all,
[45:56] anybody locally and they didn't get any
takers on it and then they had to move
[46:01] on and spread out and so we wish them
the best of luck and hit the ground
[46:08] running with that. We all know
um
[46:13] what was about two weeks ago I attended
the state of Montana. It's called the
[46:17] county assist team, state incident
management training. I'm
[46:24] a liaison officer traininee with that
team.
[46:28] So that's kind of to get everybody on
the ground, have a premeating to see
[46:33] what is going to potentially happen this
year with uh fire season. And I think
[46:40] you run into this every time with that
group of people over there that I mean
[46:45] right now things well even two weeks ago
things look really bad with the moisture
[46:51] that we be been getting around the state
in the last couple weeks. I mean we look
[46:55] better. So, nobody really wants to put a
prediction on this. And you ask a lot of
[47:01] these season fire guys, what's this,
[clears throat] excuse me, fire season
[47:07] going to be like? And they're going to
say that they'll tell you about
[47:10] September.
So, right now, things don't look good. I
[47:15] mean, we don't have snow pack in in a
lot of areas around the state.
[47:21] um it has very bad potential as us kind
of every year. But if we see this trend
[47:27] to where we have higher humidities and
precipitation and less wind, then you
[47:33] know, maybe we'll we'll luck out.
Um
[47:39] dealt with a couple truck wrecks here
recently. This is kind of both
[47:42] sanitation.
One of them just weird stuff that we end
[47:47] up dealing with. This particular truck,
I think it was March 3rd,
[47:54] Jack
here by Clark Canyon Dam. Didn't do a
[47:59] whole lot of damage to the the trailer.
They towed it back, sat attorney shop
[48:06] under refrigeration.
the um
[48:11] Cardi Towing told the company to come
and get it that the trailer wasn't
[48:16] damaged that bad. And I'm using this as
a really good example of stuff that we
[48:20] end up dealing with. It is still sitting
there today under refrigeration
[48:27] waiting for the insurance companies to
do something about it.
[48:32] » This is about 40,000 pounds of pork.
And I have we we tried to get the
[48:40] Montana food bank to take it, but it sat
a little too high. It is at 25 degrees
[48:46] is kind of a higher freeze. It it sat
too long at a higher freezing temp and
[48:51] so they wouldn't take it. So it wasn't
good for human consumption. So then I
[48:56] called the yellow the grizzly discovery
center in West Yellowstone and an animal
[49:01] feed it to grizzly bears or wolf because
the fat content of pork is too high.
[49:10] I called the building zoo. I called I
called another grizzly bear place near
[49:15] Boseman. Again, the same story, but
these wild animals don't name that
[49:20] fatty. And so, uh, it was ready as then
what happened.
[49:26] » So, I've been talking to somebody out of
Edmonton, this broker. Yeah. It
[49:32] originated out of out of uh
out of Red Deer, Alberta, [laughter] and
[49:37] it was going somewhere in Mexico.
[49:42] » We're talking 404 $40,000 of pork, which
is well, they said at a minimum that it
[49:48] was worth about uh they said about
$40,000, $38,000 US.
[49:55] » Yeah.
>> But that is in the form that it's in,
[49:58] which is what is it by like by cut
shank. So it was it was hit with fresh
[50:05] » and then they set the reapfer unit at
like 25° F
[50:09] so it just slightly freezes it so it's
not frozen solid as a frozen load.
[50:15] Otherwise it'd be a big ice cube out
there and we wouldn't worry about it so
[50:19] much. There is another point to this
story that I tell. So then it comes up
[50:25] that we're you know I'm pressuring them.
Hey, you know, we want that thing gone
[50:30] now because we locally don't want people
going in there and grabbing it now. And
[50:36] then I get the word back out of Edmonton
that they sold it to a hoodterite colony
[50:42] in Manitoba.
>> So now it's got
[50:44] » So it's supposed to get shipped from
here
[50:47] » back to Canada.
>> Back to Canada back to Manitoba
[50:51] for human consumption.
>> And then are they going to resupply
[50:56] there?
I
[50:57] » there's an outbreak.
[51:05] » We've we've done our duty here. Like we
documented it like we're not
[51:09] recommending that this goes anywhere now
>> and nobody's giving us the direct in
[51:15] order to say, you know, you're going to
watch it bury it in the dub so we know
[51:19] that it's gone.
>> Yeah.
[51:20] » Because technically, you know, we don't
own it. insurance company or the
[51:25] trucking company or whatever else it
>> so this is just it's a better example
[51:30] but this is kind of a typical example of
what we deal with when we have a load of
[51:36] perishables that goes into an accident
and then you also see kind of the
[51:40] potential there for you know um
foodborne illnesses to to arise in the
[51:46] community from something like this and
this is common really all over the state
[51:53] and it's insurance companies don't want
to pay out on it. It it seems more like
[51:58] they don't want to do anything. So, they
just let it sit there and then it ends
[52:03] up costing them more and more money and
storage fees and putting fuel in that
[52:09] refrigerate the the reefer unit and on
and on. It It makes no sense to anybody.
[52:16] » Yeah.
Um,
[52:18] » that's crazy.
>> With fire. I don't know. That's that's
[52:23] kind of all I have. I guess I've been
working on emergency operations plans
[52:29] trying to get those going a little bit
further and that's always a work in pro
[52:34] progress. Um, so
>> um, is there any coordination with the
[52:39] military on the munition cleanup by
Hispanics? Yeah,
[52:44] » I was like, "Wow, that's interesting."
[52:49] » Yes, there is. So, Dylan Fire and DNRC
are actually the ones that found that
[52:55] there was a fire out there probably,
how long ago was that? Four or five
[53:02] years ago, I bet.
And as it burned into the grass,
[53:07] somebody was up there. I don't remember
whether it was still fire, guys. I think
[53:12] it was actually low and they had a low
you know what moment with them saying
[53:17] the word and they found this really
strange thing laying there in the out
[53:22] the grass and sage brush burn up and
they did the right thing and they didn't
[53:28] go play with it. They backed off like
we're trying to do and then as the
[53:34] ground crews were up there looking
around that that site, they found more
[53:38] of it. And then come to find out, you
know, through some kind of like local
[53:42] history, somebody said, "Yeah, they used
to fire a tail artillery at that
[53:47] hillside right there."
>> So then it was recorded through state DS
[53:53] like it's supposed to be. Um the guard
went down and did an assessment on it.
[53:59] They sent me several letters on it
letting me know what's going on. And you
[54:05] know, it's it's taken a lot of years,
which is
[54:09] kind of strange because, you know, when
people when you find something like
[54:14] that, especially in the area that it's
in, I mean, there's a lot of people that
[54:17] want to go up there and see if they can
find more.
[54:22] I guess that's what they want to do, but
I'm not going to recommend it because
[54:26] there is some potential that there
could be live rounds up there and it's
[54:33] probably not really high
um explosive rounds, but the fuses are
[54:41] are enough or you know the little the
smaller rounds are are enough for a lot
[54:46] of damage. So they have this plan where
they're going to go an accessible site
[54:52] and if they find something they'll
remove it remove it and disclose the
[54:57] property.
>> I just thought that was a lot of large
[55:01] site. I mean 3,000 over 3,000 acres.
>> Yeah.
[55:13] » Nice sanitation bar too.
>> Yeah. And then after that we can
[55:17] transition to Joyce. Yeah.
>> Okay. So
[55:22] usual stuff and we have
it's not a big rush of building going on
[55:29] recently, but there's definitely kind of
a steady flow of new septic permits
[55:35] being applied for. Not a whole lot of
subdivisions.
[55:39] Um, we've had some pretty major
violations here of people building RV
[55:46] spaces. People
over a period of time have done some
[55:55] built where they weren't supposed to
build in flood floodprone areas
[56:02] and we have had to go to enforcement on
a bunch of these things.
[56:08] um out in my
tours around the county and going into,
[56:13] you know, different areas, it seems like
every time that I take a little bit of a
[56:18] drive, I find another violation of
something. Somebody pulling in, you
[56:25] know, new RVs into a site that's that's
on a property and obviously living in
[56:32] them. The state of Montana, the rules on
RV or trailer spaces are two or two or
[56:40] more open to the public are required to
be licensed. Then that requires a DEEQ
[56:47] approval as well as the DPHS
planning and licensing approval.
[56:53] [snorts]
um if they're not open public for a rent
[56:59] then it becomes sanitation and
potentially a subdivision violation.
[57:04] And the other one is people just
starting to build things without getting
[57:09] any kind of permissions
and if it snowballs um lawyers get
[57:16] involved in a lot of cases.
We had to tell somebody to tear out a
[57:22] foundation that was built in the wrong
spot and these things get very very
[57:27] contentious and expensive. So we always
want the word out there to people that
[57:33] if you're going to do something, if
you're going to build something, please
[57:37] get a hold of us and ask the questions
first because prevention is a lot easier
[57:43] and cheaper than the aftermath.
Then moving on, um, Commissioner Rice
[57:51] just got a hold of me on, you know,
another big sanitation violation of
[57:55] somebody that's collecting
everything that you can imagine. Junk
[58:00] vehicles, junk equipment. This has been
going on for a long, long time.
[58:06] Countyy's rules and regulations on this
are
[58:10] kind of difficult to enforce,
but we've got several of these big um
[58:16] kind of boring cases of
>> just junk
[58:20] and there are several there are many
around the county and
[58:25] » and in the city
>> we we and in the city
[58:28] » and we have had some success of
pressuring them to clean some of the
[58:33] stuff up. We have we do have a fund that
we work jointly with Montana EQ and it
[58:39] kind of administers that is for a little
while called our junk vehicle fund. So
[58:45] if it's a vehicle that is supposed to be
licensed we can use that funding to pay
[58:52] for it to be removed
[58:58] all these other things.
So, we're gradually working on this with
[59:04] some mixed success, I guess, would be
the way to put it.
[59:08] » Reporting cases in the city limits, too,
and I've made the city aware of it. No
[59:13] one from the city is here this morning.
Um, but uh that that that the
[59:18] enforcement for that, there is an
ordinance in the city for us. And these
[59:24] uh hoarding cases in the city are
actually more dangerous, I think,
[59:27] sometimes than the ones out in the
county because the properties are real
[59:31] close together. And so somebody has a
lot of fire um hazard stuff sitting
[59:36] there piled up um old vehicles, things
like that. It it's a harbor. It it
[59:41] basically makes homes for our rodents.
We have problems with um Jessica had
[59:46] that problem with her neighbor and I
written letters to the city about it and
[59:50] I' not there's been no enforcement um
from them on these cases. I have to I
[59:56] can't enforce it myself because it's not
within the city limit. So, but um you do
[1:00:01] have and I did go to a hoarding
workshop. I'd like to let this person
[1:00:05] come talk to us. Um but they have a
hoarding task force and it went last
[1:00:09] year. Um, a lot of times, you know,
people like hoard that have like these
[1:00:15] huge amounts of things that they can't
get rid of, there's a mental aspect to
[1:00:20] that and you have to really coach them
in getting rid of their stuff and
[1:00:24] understand the bigger picture of the
hazards they're creating around that.
[1:00:29] And then it helps them understand why do
we need to clean some of that out
[1:00:32] sometimes and sometimes they won't be
written but and you have to you know
[1:00:36] citations and stuff but there are
there's a lot to learn about wording
[1:00:41] itself like when it is becoming more of
a problem. It's kind of it's definitely
[1:00:46] public. Well, you know, our little that
little building in Lyman next to the
[1:00:51] post office that broke down in
>> February that made it a little bit
[1:01:09] » um do you want to ask Megan if she
approved you approved the minutes that
[1:01:12] were sent out?
Yeah, there's a
[1:01:17] » long
approve. Thank you.
[1:01:23] » You're okay with my best
[1:01:29] sanitarian stuff. Um, one of the biggest
things Todd and I have tried to do is
[1:01:35] make all of our forms accessibility. I
like accessibility as one of our goals
[1:01:40] to make sure that the public because we
are, you know, government is a service
[1:01:46] to the people. That's why they pay
taxes. And so to give them a service to
[1:01:50] be able to access all the current forms
and information that they need for their
[1:01:55] businesses on the environmental health
page on the website, which you can
[1:02:00] access by going to behike countym.gov
and then go to environmental health.
[1:02:04] There's drop- down menus on that page. I
know some of you are very familiar with
[1:02:08] them. They have everything, all the
licensing information, septic permitting
[1:02:13] information, other information, but it
makes it really easy when I'm on a hold
[1:02:17] with people to just tell them, "Okay,
get off your computer and go to this
[1:02:21] place, get this form, and print it out."
So, it's really been a big thing to keep
[1:02:25] these forms updated. Um, the other thing
is we also are one of the only counties,
[1:02:30] if not the only county, and I'm not
kidding you, I talked to the lady that's
[1:02:34] in charge of the Missoula Health
Department this week and she was
[1:02:39] impressed and we offer a food handler
certificate course on our website and
[1:02:44] you can take it. It's a half an hour
course. It's actually hosted by the
[1:02:49] Tacoma Pierce Health Department who was
actually noticed it by Nationwide by
[1:02:55] their cutting edge food safety stuff and
they were featured on PBS um for so it's
[1:03:01] a food code course. They're hosting it
but we're linked into the course and you
[1:03:06] get a card a two-year food handler card
for Beaverhead County for $25 and it's
[1:03:11] only a half an hour class. Anybody
that's touching food should take this
[1:03:16] class. If you are wanting a more
in-depth class, there's actually a law
[1:03:19] in Montana that anybody that owns a food
establishment, one person should have a
[1:03:25] food manager level course and that's a
little more intense. And that's an all
[1:03:29] day course. I offered it in January. We
had it cut off registration because we
[1:03:34] had so many people wanted to take it. We
had 20 people take it. Of those 20
[1:03:38] people, 17 passed it and the other
remaining three hopefully will come back
[1:03:43] because I talked to the Stillwater
County. We did a joint last for nine
[1:03:47] Stillwater County Extension and we
co-taught it and she's planning on
[1:03:51] coming back in early October. We just
had to solidify the date with the Elks
[1:03:55] because they donated the room that day.
And that is a all day course. Um it's
[1:04:00] usually that class, I'm not kidding,
there's up in Boseman a company that
[1:04:03] charges like over $200 for it. We got
her down to 75 bucks a so this is a
[1:04:10] gallant. We need to give people a gift.
So $75.
[1:04:14] Um hopefully she'll still be able to
keep that cost for the October course,
[1:04:18] but it details will be coming on our
Facebook page for that. In climate, the
[1:04:24] kids are opening. We expanded our
concession stand in our gym area and the
[1:04:29] kids uh worked on that as part of like a
CT
[1:04:33] and so this summer they're going to
operate a beverage bar and everything
[1:04:37] and I wanted to see if they could do
surf day with you and we could donate
[1:04:44] the space at the school and anything
else. I don't know if we have time for
[1:04:49] something like that or what it would
take, but maybe we wait till October.
[1:04:53] But
>> yeah,
[1:04:54] » I think the kids that would be working
in there, it would be really great. And
[1:04:57] most especially Mrs. Bernard and the the
business teacher is going to be running
[1:05:02] everything. That way she has the
capacity to kind of um have her agency
[1:05:08] over what they're doing instead of the
line.
[1:05:11] » Yeah. And I think what we maybe should
do is just do the $25 food handler for
[1:05:15] them.
>> Would that be enough? Yeah, for just
[1:05:18] beverages and and snack prepaid prep
preackaged stuff that they're selling.
[1:05:22] » Yeah, they want to cook some stuff like
stuff over there in the cafeteria and
[1:05:27] then bring it over. So,
>> because the only reason I would hesitate
[1:05:31] to open up another Surf Safe manager is
there's a little bit involved with
[1:05:34] ordering the exams and the booklets from
Surf Safe and Okay,
[1:05:39] » it'd be better if we had a whole like we
could certainly reserve a couple spots
[1:05:44] and not fill the class. So they just go
later
[1:05:48] and then the kids.
>> Yeah. Have them have most of them take
[1:05:52] the food handler and then the person
that's kind of in charge we'll get them
[1:05:55] in that other class later.
>> Okay.
[1:05:57] » That way. Yeah. So um and then uh good
though. I'm glad that you're thinking
[1:06:03] about that. And then uh
we're enrolled in the FDA food standards
[1:06:07] again this year for four years. We got a
grant um this year uh 20 or I I asked
[1:06:13] for 26,000. They gave us 14,000. The
programs have all been cut. So we were
[1:06:18] lucky to get the boards that uh 4,000 of
it is going to go to training. It has to
[1:06:22] go to training. So Tom and I are going
to go to the NIH um annual um meeting
[1:06:28] which is basically a really informative
nationwide food safety um which will be
[1:06:34] in um oh August, early August. um we're
already enrolled for that and that is
[1:06:40] paid for by this grant and then the
remaining funds 10,000 will go toward
[1:06:45] our general fund in our department which
we will we use for salaries and also
[1:06:51] supplies like I buy pro thermometers and
give them out at every inspection cuz
[1:06:55] believe me every time I ask people if
they're using their probe thermometer
[1:06:58] they go look in a junk drawer and try to
find it and tell me that they're using
[1:07:02] it every day and I'm like really it's
that available to you that you're You
[1:07:07] see it get every day that you have to go
look for them. Anyway, um yeah. Anyway,
[1:07:11] so then uh and then let's see. Oh yeah.
So then office constantly works with
[1:07:17] public uh least water compliance. Miss
Farmer and I have been writing letters.
[1:07:21] I've been sending out letters about
people parking our lease on their win.
[1:07:25] And then some of these people, we have
found one already. This tapped into it
[1:07:31] just opened up the lid of their septic
and put the se the septic tank tube from
[1:07:37] their RV that's parked in their yard
flowing in so that when these houses are
[1:07:41] originally designed, the septic system
is usually designed just for the house.
[1:07:47] Unless when they design the septic
knowing there's going to be an extra pad
[1:07:52] next door, they already design it for
the additional load, but a lot of times
[1:07:57] that's not the case. And we've been
checking up on these ones that were
[1:08:03] » parked and people do say I can do
whatever I want with my land. Yeah, you
[1:08:08] can, but you also your contain is going
to fail. We should help you with that,
[1:08:12] right? you guys talking about
>> with a lot of these cases like that,
[1:08:15] what Joyce is talking about, they um
they're in subdivisions and
[1:08:22] the safety system is designed for one
single family residence. So then they're
[1:08:26] out of compliance with that. then
they're also out of compliance with your
[1:08:31] subdivision
um covenant and then you're expecting or
[1:08:38] kind of that authority falls onto the
the homeowners association to enforce
[1:08:43] that covenant and then usually this
falls to pieces right there. Then they
[1:08:48] throw it back on us and it becomes just
the circle and and it's difficult to get
[1:08:54] something done with it. Most of the
time, 90% of people really want to do
[1:08:58] the right thing. We do have occasions
where they don't want to do the right
[1:09:02] thing. And those who are the ones that
take up most of our time
[1:09:06] » cuz we have to really
>> kind of massage them into like doing the
[1:09:11] right thing. Like, yeah, you really need
to do the right thing because if there's
[1:09:14] a bunch of septage on your yard and
somebody's dog runs or a little kid's
[1:09:18] balloons or when your neighbor's kids
are out playing and they get sick,
[1:09:23] that's going to be a problem for you,
you know. So, you have to really, like,
[1:09:26] again, scare them to comply
all the time.
[1:09:30] » Uh, then we have a Facebook page.
Environmental health has had one for
[1:09:35] four years now, and it's grown on every
year. we get more people that like our
[1:09:39] page and repost things on that. Then we
repost it on pages with more traffic
[1:09:44] like the middle community page has like
what 15,000 followers. So that way we
[1:09:48] get the word out about things like this
thing. I'm going up there and then the
[1:09:53] hass training Tom and I went to last
year in Iowa which is a hazard analysis
[1:09:57] critical control point. This is actually
really good because we have a lot of we
[1:10:01] have meat processors in this county. Um
people that are manufacturing their own
[1:10:05] foods, they have to follow certain
guidelines. They have to fill out uh
[1:10:09] HASA plan. Um the only state inspected
meat processing plant in this county is
[1:10:17] Del. And they're the only ones that can
sell their meat to a grocery store. The
[1:10:22] other places are just custom processors
and they do it for private parties only.
[1:10:27] That's through not just other ones,
that's through USDA.
[1:10:32] There's like some strict laws about meat
in the state of Montana. Um, so but ASIP
[1:10:36] is really something
in that training was really great
[1:10:40] because the forms that one of those out
that are crazy long and now we have all
[1:10:43] the blank templates and so I can help
people with that. Uh, work to create
[1:10:47] positive relationship with people in our
area. people that are not doing things
[1:10:51] that they should be. We really try to um
get them to understand doing the right
[1:10:55] thing is in the best interest of
everyone like uh so that's what we're
[1:11:00] doing is of course there's people that
don't like our health department because
[1:11:04] we try to change their thoughts on how
they're doing something but we're trying
[1:11:08] to work on that with people that are the
most difficult and again they take a lot
[1:11:12] of our time off but that's part of our
job. Anyway, okay. Thank you.
[1:11:18] » We appreciate you.
>> She reminded me of something. Okay.
[1:11:23] » Oh, here.
>> So, um, disaster and emergency services.
[1:11:29] You see the I'm a halftime coordinator
and um
[1:11:37] Michelle Or is the halftime
administrator
[1:11:40] and we do in the past have received
quite a bit of money to to fund this
[1:11:45] program. So for example about three
years ago $50,000 two years ago it was
[1:11:51] about $40,000.
Last year it was $15,000.
[1:11:59] um that less than $15,000 figure just
got we've been running on that grant
[1:12:08] for this past fiscal year. Um and it was
just approved probably about two weeks
[1:12:15] ago.
Um, usually the grant for the what's
[1:12:20] called the EMPG, which I'm talking about
now, emergency planning grant opens up
[1:12:27] probably usually around I don't know
beginning of uh wait a minute
[1:12:33] beginning mid January somewhere in there
as well as the state homeland security
[1:12:39] grant which that's the one that we've
used to put the generator in over at the
[1:12:46] uh at the courthouse which thankfully
has just been completed.
[1:12:51] Um we've received quite a bit of funding
to do different things even to kind of
[1:12:57] do some upgrades on this building. Well,
we received the grant. Didn't receive
[1:13:01] the funding yet. Back to that. So the
point being here is
[1:13:08] the grants that were supposed to open up
about January and close probably the
[1:13:15] beginning of March still have a lock on
them that says that the federal
[1:13:19] government is not giving any information
on these grants. So we don't know what
[1:13:24] the future of these programs are. And
with that being said, it's just not
[1:13:30] that's not just Beaverhead County. Yes,
every jurisdiction that is under
[1:13:35] disaster and emergency services within
the state if not the whole nation. And
[1:13:42] right now, I think kind of the word out
there on the street is that if we have a
[1:13:48] natural disaster, we don't know the
status of FEMA.
[1:13:54] Yeah, we tried to log on there to do
like our yearly just a yearly IC
[1:13:59] training and the website is down because
we don't have access and the online
[1:14:03] courses at this point totally.
>> Yeah, that's concerning for sure.
[1:14:08] » Um, how much Joyce, how much of your
salary is grant funed? Well, exceeds
[1:14:15] like almost a good portion of the money.
So, like we get I mean the FDA grant is
[1:14:22] isn't as much as what we get back from
the state because every inspect and the
[1:14:27] fees went up uh because the legislature
passed increase in fees last year. So,
[1:14:32] all the fees for licensed establishments
went up and they needed to. I mean, it
[1:14:35] was like ridiculously low. And so, um
every quarter I do an audit and I have
[1:14:41] to send in a sampling. They they send me
a list of inspections I entered and then
[1:14:45] they send me a sampling and I have to
send them back those inspections that
[1:14:50] they asked for and then they reimburse
me 90% of the fees that are paid. So um
[1:14:58] of all the licensed establishments I
haven't actually come up with a number
[1:15:01] but I would say probably about um 80% of
my salaries funded by grants.
[1:15:06] » So how much should we save back from
those licensing fees? Right now I can't
[1:15:11] meet everything changed for this year.
I'm gonna guess that everything almost
[1:15:15] double. So
[1:15:20] » $40,000 a year now.
>> 40.
[1:15:24] » Oh, I mean I don't probably
>> 80%.
[1:15:29] » I just say that because because I feel
like everyone needs to know how much
[1:15:34] work goes into what you do and
>> a lot of running around. I don't think
[1:15:38] people realize that part,
>> right? Why do you need a car?
[1:15:42] » Well, again,
>> the the really good thing with Joyce's
[1:15:46] position is um it's sort of like the
harder that she works with with reaching
[1:15:51] out to the establishments,
the more she raises that percentage, the
[1:15:56] more money that we receive back into
that fund, the ends of going to the
[1:16:02] department. And I guess her salary and
then she's been bringing in a pile of
[1:16:09] that grand honey through USDA. So she's
Joyce is kind of selfplugged her
[1:16:14] position.
>> Yeah.
[1:16:16] » Which we've never done.
[1:16:21] [laughter]
[1:16:26] [laughter] This was the answer why you
don't see Joyce in the office all that
[1:16:30] much because her office is the whole
county.
[1:16:33] » And just as a reminder, we do have the
biggest county in Montana. She has a lot
[1:16:37] of
>> Yeah. take me longer way longer to get
[1:16:42] it somewhere.
>> Well,
[1:16:44] » but you know what? I also want you to
know that one of the things that I've
[1:16:48] worked on is making people not afraid of
this. I mean, there's always people that
[1:16:53] and I'm working right now with someone
that's resistant to it. Like, why do I
[1:16:56] need to make selfies?
>> Well, for safety,
[1:17:00] » like, don't you want to do the same
thing?
[1:17:03] Like, I mean, in other words,
>> yeah. But most of the time, like today,
[1:17:07] I got somebody that said, "Hey, I'm
going to be in this UI shop." Like, it's
[1:17:11] already a business owner and they're
already contacting me ahead of time
[1:17:14] saying, "We're going to be calling you
in a couple weeks to come in and do this
[1:17:18] inspection of licenses." So if you're on
that term with people that they like
[1:17:21] you, they're definitely going to not be
afraid of you. I mean, when I see
[1:17:26] something establishment says, scary, I
tell them. I'm like, you know, I don't
[1:17:29] know if I do this because
[1:17:33] » I don't, you know, try to be there are
sometimes when some things are really
[1:17:37] out of control and I'll go in and be
like, what are you guys going to do? Cuz
[1:17:40] like this cooler does not look good.
Holy crap. What's there some stuff in
[1:17:44] here that's pretty scary? Like I get
like that a little bit but you know
[1:17:49] try to not be so awful that they don't
want to call you. You know what I mean?
[1:17:53] And then they don't tell you stuff. So
we have that same outlook with the land
[1:17:59] use side of it as well as with planning
because uh you know if somebody's
[1:18:04] getting ready to do a subdivision or
just a survey or whatever or put in a
[1:18:08] septic you know that there is a history
of it in this area that they literally
[1:18:15] put something in and then they ask for
forgiveness.
[1:18:19] And like what I was mentioning earlier,
when it come when it comes to like these
[1:18:24] flood plane issues, we're on three major
ones right now. They literally built in
[1:18:30] this area and when we have to go to
enforcement on something like that, it
[1:18:35] it's horrible. It's horrible for
everybody and it costs a lot of money.
[1:18:40] So we we kind of think of ourselves more
like teachers and a resource. We want
[1:18:48] the public to come in and ask us if it's
about a septic, whatever it is. And
[1:18:55] we've gotten like like with the way that
I work that we're on pretty much a
[1:18:59] firstname basis with every one of the
contractors out there that's doing this
[1:19:04] work, the surveyors, um probably 98% of
the railers. And we want them to know
[1:19:13] that they could be, can be, should be,
are welcome to get a hold of us at any
[1:19:19] point with questions to try and, you
know, re resolve these issues
[1:19:23] beforehand.
And it works well for the most part.
[1:19:27] » I mean, I think a building permit down
the road could be a good idea tied to
[1:19:32] your septic permit because people start
construction before they contact you and
[1:19:38] they might even put a level in in the
wrong spot. because they think they know
[1:19:41] what they're doing. And I think a
building permit process, we could pass
[1:19:45] it in this county uh would help with a
lot of mis perception that it's the wild
[1:19:54] west and people do whatever they want
because they can't just build. We've had
[1:19:59] stuff built in flood planes. I mean,
there's people doing things that they
[1:20:02] shouldn't be
permit. They have to ask ahead of time
[1:20:06] before they start construction. And that
would be
[1:20:10] » the word of the assumption out there is
we don't have any building permits.
[1:20:14] Well, we don't have code enforcement.
We don't have building permits, but
[1:20:21] that's only partially true. You have to
go through subdivision. You have to get
[1:20:26] the proper survey done. In some cases,
you have to have an electrical permit.
[1:20:31] You have to have um plumbing is supposed
to be permitted and expect and
[1:20:36] inspected. If it's commercial, it's
subject to coding with the state of
[1:20:41] Montana. There to say that there is no
building permits out there is not 100%
[1:20:49] true.
>> But people don't know that. But you see
[1:20:53] the county
and
[1:20:56] » people people say that and that is kind
of the answer that they get
[1:21:01] » cuz we don't have any building and that
leads them to believe that they can do
[1:21:06] anything that they want.
[1:21:11] » Yeah. Well, thank you all for that
update for those updates and um
[1:21:16] hopefully at the next meeting or even
the city council have better better
[1:21:22] recommendations at the federal level in
regards to some of the programs that
[1:21:25] we're just waiting to see if they're
going to be reopening. So um regardless
[1:21:29] I think all of you that are in our
public service because I realized um
[1:21:35] even after attending this conference
like even here in Vera County we're
[1:21:38] quite fortunate to have such a great
team of just resource and um you all are
[1:21:46] subject matters and what you do and I
was um I was very impressed at how you
[1:21:51] all represented county at that
conference. So I appreciate it all. All
[1:21:56] right. So yes, thank you.
>> I agree.
[1:22:01] » Um so let's go ahead and move forward
with um some discussion. And so with
[1:22:06] with action items with Dr. Evans leaving
and saying that she uh went ahead and
[1:22:12] approved the is an approval of the
minutes and the transfer plan, what do
[1:22:17] we need to do? Um, so you discuss it as
you usually would, but when it's time to
[1:22:24] motion and second and all in favor, you
just count Dr. Evans that she's already
[1:22:29] in favor of.
>> Okay.
[1:22:41] » When Dr. Evans was here, they did
because only two members are absent
[1:22:45] right now because we're short. to
>> Yeah.
[1:22:50] » And
[1:22:54] » yes,
[1:22:59] » Tom Rice sits on the board, but he
doesn't vote. Yeah.
[1:23:02] » Dr. Evans and then Jeremy Crawford is
the city appointed right now. And um
[1:23:08] Dena from L.
>> All right. So, um, for the approval of
[1:23:13] the January minutes, um, is there any
discussion or any motion?
[1:23:19] » I move to approve the January.
>> Second. All right.
[1:23:25] Without any change. So, all in favor say
I.
[1:23:28] » I.
>> All right. Um, that motion passes. So,
[1:23:33] um, the second discussion is a
foundational public health information
[1:23:38] sessions.
This was an email that Sue sent to me
[1:23:43] and she asked me to add it to the
agenda. I'm not It's a Sue.
[1:23:48] Take it away, Sue. Get to it.
All right.
[1:24:17] Okay. So, I don't know if um everyone
got a chance to look at it, but I found
[1:24:25] this interesting. is through the Montana
Public Health Institute and they send
[1:24:30] out a newsletter
and um in that newsletter it has little
[1:24:35] snippets of what's going on with them.
And
[1:24:40] this one that I sent you out, they do
um Montana Board of Health member calls
[1:24:49] and
they they're quarterly and so it's
[1:24:54] training basically
and I just thought maybe that is
[1:24:59] something
that we could do with our board of
[1:25:03] health meetings. I think that
they are some of the training is um
[1:25:14] recorded
but you do have to register for those
[1:25:18] calls
um
[1:25:23] that looks like oh I got to be connected
[1:25:29] and I didn't hurry
>> yeah
[1:25:34] so Sue I will go ahead and and I think
that um we did have that sent out to the
[1:25:39] whole board and participate in that
first quarterly call and I would
[1:25:43] encourage the rest that are on the board
to join that as well. Um it's just
[1:25:47] basically just um um as soon as I
receive it because she's going to be
[1:25:52] sending me sending all the chairs that
email for that invitation on their
[1:25:56] email. I will forward it to the rest of
the board. So there is participation
[1:26:00] because it's not necessarily just
training, but it is a great place to
[1:26:04] discuss with other Ber board of health
members throughout the state of Montana
[1:26:07] and a great just share and knowledge of
resources that we might not have here in
[1:26:12] in Dylan. So um I did feel that that
skull was very beneficial as just an
[1:26:17] introduction. But moving forward, we
really hope to expand that to all of the
[1:26:22] board of health members to the state of
Montana as a great place for us to come
[1:26:26] together and have discussions on things
that might be a little bit tricky for us
[1:26:30] in smaller communities, right? Um there
is also um they have been developing
[1:26:35] through many resources in the state of
Montana um great training for both board
[1:26:40] of health members that I am going to
recommend uh we we go ahead and take and
[1:26:43] then there's one even for Dr. Evans as a
um as a officer of our board. Uh so um
[1:26:51] there there's a lot of great resources
that are generating from even from this
[1:26:55] last conference and I will go ahead and
share that information with everyone but
[1:26:59] those become available soon. I think for
sure
[1:27:01] » and I do think if we can do a training
during our meeting
[1:27:07] it would be a good idea if it's a short
one.
[1:27:09] » Okay.
>> Because we all know how
[1:27:12] » I can I can I do have some resources
from the conference that I will I'll
[1:27:17] reach out to them and see if they can
make that possible. That'd be wonderful.
[1:27:20] Thank you. So that's a great idea.
>> And I know they talked about going
[1:27:24] putting um trainings online July 1st I
think is what they said. Oh, July 1. Um,
[1:27:30] » they have them available already.
>> They are. They're available.
[1:27:35] » So, I'll share that information. So, all
right.
[1:27:39] » Well, thank you. Um, we did go ahead and
the board did receive um the um specimen
[1:27:47] transport plan uh that Katie from public
health had sent out and it was it was
[1:27:52] actually recently.
>> Was it last year?
[1:27:55] » It was last year. We did review it, but
um July,
[1:28:00] » is there any
everything's the same?
[1:28:04] » It's the same as last year. Yeah. Um we
just had to go through Karen and I went
[1:28:10] through the checklist and Damian and I
have gone through it last year and
[1:28:14] everything was um in line with the state
requirements. So,
[1:28:21] does everybody know what that is? We
talked about it. We talked about it in
[1:28:26] New York.
>> Yeah, I guess. Yeah, I know we didn't go
[1:28:30] through it word by word last year.
Basically, it's just the way we
[1:28:33] transport lab specimen. So, if there was
an infectious disease or a food form
[1:28:37] illness outbreak, we would be able to
send specimens in a timely manner
[1:28:41] appropriately to the state lab for
testing. Um, it can be pretty
[1:28:47] multiaceted if we don't have the courier
from the state coming. So, I think they
[1:28:51] come on like 100. Yeah. Um, and so if it
was a Saturday, you know, we might have
[1:28:57] to get one of us or an officer or
highway patrol even I believe has worked
[1:29:04] with Sue in the past um to get
specimens. They won't anymore. They
[1:29:08] won't do it, but one of us would be able
to fill in.
[1:29:11] » Yeah, it was a good um
it was a good thing to have in place
[1:29:16] during CO because we were sending
estimates all the time and on the
[1:29:21] weekend too. So, um, it's just not one
of those plans that we had to do just
[1:29:26] because they said we had to do, you
know,
[1:29:30] » I will add it's I mean it's it's not
just public health. It's like all the
[1:29:34] all the medical community partners that
are the organization that have to have a
[1:29:38] chance to review it and say yes, we do
have this is how we're going to manage
[1:29:41] this and this would happen at the
hospital or community health or health.
[1:29:46] So, um, it was a great collaboration a
year ago and it sounds like when I was
[1:29:51] reading it, there just wasn't any
changes from when it was like
[1:29:55] thoroughly.
>> Yeah. So, big changes inside, but
[1:29:58] » Exactly.
>> So, all right.
[1:30:02] » There's one more thing I want to
remember or to say about the [snorts]
[1:30:07] online food safety class we have on our
website. There's a food handler course.
[1:30:11] It's a half an hour. It costs $25. $4 of
it goes to the Tacoma Health Department
[1:30:17] for hosting and the $21 goes to
Beaverhead County. So, it is a small
[1:30:22] revenue stream for [laughter] us. I will
say that I got a call from Chad over in
[1:30:27] Nikana who is in the Tri County Deer
Lodge. I think it's Granite, but he
[1:30:32] covers three counties. He asked me if he
could send people from restaurants over
[1:30:37] there that need food handling to our
website to use our course and pay us to
[1:30:43] take our course and I will pay.
[1:30:49] So, uh we're getting people from out of
our area that are accessing it and
[1:30:54] that's a big deal like to increase
safety all over the region. Um
[1:31:00] and other counties don't have access to
that. So that's even Missoula County who
[1:31:04] has elated or budget. So anyway,
>> all right. Thank you, Joyce.
[1:31:08] » Regarding the specimen transplant plan,
is there any other discussion in regards
[1:31:12] to it before we go ahead and open for
motions?
[1:31:17] All right.
>> I move to approve the uh specimen
[1:31:21] transport plan.
>> Okay. All those in favor?
[1:31:25] » I. All right. The motion passes. Um,
wonderful. Thank you all. So, I will go
[1:31:31] ahead and open this up now to any public
discuss discussion or comments. Um,
[1:31:37] remember these are subjects under the
board of health jurisdiction that are
[1:31:40] not listed on the agenda.
[1:31:44] » All right, wonderful. Well, seeing none,
any new business,
[1:31:50] guys, now you guys are all quiet.
[laughter]
[1:31:55] Tom is
>> again being sick.
[1:32:00] » Again, I I do want to reiterate what a
wonderful public health team that we
[1:32:05] have here and I'm very am very thankful
for all of you and what you do. So, the
[1:32:10] last the last thing on the agenda is we
do have our next meeting scheduled for
[1:32:15] July 17th in Lima. Think that works for
everyone?
[1:32:21] » Oh, yes.
>> All right. [laughter]
[1:32:23] » We will see you there.
Wonderful.
[1:32:27] » Maybe it won't be an adventure this
time. [laughter]
[1:32:30] » All right. All right. help
[1:32:38] » if you want to give us an update before
you go.
[1:32:42] » Anyone here ever is interested in coming
to one of those conferences
[1:32:48] to take community members who are in
prevention and
[1:32:55] » all right so we will go ahead and return
the meeting. Thank you all.
[1:33:01] expectations.
>> Yes.