02/26/2024
A new food bank to serve Helena’s expanding need is getting closer to reality.
The food bank broke ground last summer on the 19,500-square-foot facility on the corner of Boulder and Montana avenues. The $11 million building, to be named the Community Food Resource Center, is funded through tax credits, loans, grants and donations, according to Patty White, the communications director for Helena Food Share.
“The need has grown so dramatically in the community since the [current] building was built in 2000. Our program services have grown by 26,000% in that time. So it’s time for the community to have a larger facility that better meets that need,” White told Montana Free Press.
Helena Food Share, the current food bank program, is operating out of three separate locations, a food pantry, a warehouse and offices. Last year, the program served over 8,700 people in about 4,000 households. Additionally, the program also gave out more than 45,000 food packs for students in the city and in neighboring communities.
The new food resource center is set to have enough space to house administrative and volunteer offices, a check-in area and lobby, as well as a market. In addition, the center will have a new community room that will hold cooking classes and a commercial kitchen that will help with food donations by repackaging and repurposing foods that would otherwise be wasted.
White said that the facility is expected to open in October of this year.
Public Notice
SLIPA program: The city commission will recommend to the state a few maintenance projects for local government buildings that will be funded by the State-Local Infrastructure Partnership Act, which was authorized by the Montana Legislature. Helena was allocated a little over $458,000 by the act, and the city will provide some matching funds.
The commission is considering three proposals: replacement of the wastewater treatment plant’s bioreactor mixer, replacing some ADA ramps in the city and installing a fire suppression system at a fire station.
The bioreactor and the ADA ramps were identified as priorities for the money during a recent city commission administrative meeting. The commission will again take up the recommendations during a public hearing on Monday, Feb. 26, at 6 p.m.
Commissioners have until March 30 to submit their recommendations to the state’s Department of Commerce.
Public safety levy: At the next city commission meeting on Feb. 26 commissioners will also decide if the proposed public safety levies will be added to the June ballot.
The heads of the local police and fire departments recently told commissioners that more staffing, a new fire station and a training facility are necessary to adequately protect Helena’s growing population.
City officials have said that the new taxes being considered would cost homeowners with a $400,000 property value about $170 more each year. Homeowners with a $600,000 home would pay $256.
5 Things to Know in Helena
Pink Floyd: The Black Jacket Symphony will play at the Civic Center on Sunday, March 3, and will cover Pink Floyd’s album “Dark Side of the Moon.” The symphony is best known for its covers of classic rock and has toured across the country performing more than 40 albums. The concert starts at 8 p.m. Tickets start at $25 and can be purchased at the center’s website.
RAISE grant: In the city commission administrative meeting last week, the commission was presented with a report on the $1.3 million Rebuilding American Infrastructure and Sustainability and Equity grant the city aims to tap for work on the south Helena interchange connecting the interstate to U.S. Highway 12. At the upcoming commission meeting on Feb. 26, commissioners are set to submit a letter of support for the project.
Tech Tuesday: For anyone interested in learning more about medical research, medications and overall health, the Lewis and Clark Library’s Technology Tuesdays will host a class on Feb. 27 on how to access and use its consumer health database. Those with a library card can register on the library website. The class is an hour long and begins at 2 p.m.
Free dance class: On Friday, March 1, the Cohesion Dance Project will hold a free dance workshop at the center at 1020 Argyle St., beginning at 6 p.m. The workshop will be led by Montana choreographers Toree Benson, Tara McFarland and Seely Garrett and is open to ages 10 and up for all abilities. Visit www.cohesiondance.org to sign up.
Live at Great Divide: Also on Friday, March 1, the Great Divide Ski Area will host a concert by Jasper Ave. Tickets are $15. Great Divide is located at 7385 Belmont Dr., about 23 miles west of Helena. The music is set to begin at 6:30 p.m.
3 Questions For
Mstyslav Chernov was one of the few Ukrainian journalists on the frontlines during the first weeks of the Russian invasion of Ukraine back in February of 2022. His videos and photos captured during the first 20 days in Mariupol, one of the closest Ukrainian cities to the Russian border, were made into a documentary, “20 Days in Mariupol,” released last year. Next Thursday, Feb. 29, the Myrna Loy, 15 N. Ewing St., will hold a free screening of the film at 6 p.m. Montana Free Press spoke with Chernov about his experiences during the siege and the importance of documenting the war. His comments have been edited for length and clarity.
MTFP: The film showed Russian media and politicians reacting to the violence and destruction by calling the content fake. What did you take from that?
Chernov: It’s important to understand that this is tactics that Russia weaponized with misinformation and fake news. It is a deliberate and very effective tactic that Russia, and many other countries for that matter, use now in their invasions and to influence politics in other countries.
For me as a journalist, I can see that, and I can understand what’s happening. And that’s why this film exists because it does provide additional context to the audiences. It also features some of the misinterpretations that we talk about.
This is all important to keep talking about, but, at the same time, it is so painful for the people who lost their loved ones, who lost their home in their city to hear that this is all fake and they are actors and their suffering is not true. So I really hope that this film serves for them, as at least something that tells them we are fair to them. We are fair to the truth of the events, and we don’t forget about them and they have a voice.
MTFP: At the beginning of the film there are other reporters in the city, but within days, most fled. What made your group stay behind?
Chernov: It was scary, but it was something that we wanted to do because people kept telling us, “You have to keep filming. You have to tell the world about what’s happening.”
It is a journalistic duty but at the same time a civil duty. I am Ukrainian. I live in Ukraine. I was hoping to tell the world about Ukraine. And when I see doctors who keep working, without medicine, and I see firefighters who keep fighting for the lives of people, even without water, how can I stop? I was of course thinking about my daughters. My younger daughter was 7 months old, so I was scared that I will never see her again, but that just helped me to survive, actually.
MTFP: Helena has a free screening of the film coming up. Is there anything you want to say to those who might go to see the documentary?
Chernov: Twenty days is just a number. It’s a symbol of something that hasn’t finished with the fall of Mariupol. So what people see on the screen right now, it’s not something distant, not something that happened in the past. This is something that is happening every day. It will be happening as they watch the film. Ukrainian cities are being bombed every day; people are dying every day.
Ukraine, unfortunately, became a political topic, a bargaining chip for many politicians around the world. I still believe that this firstly is a humanitarian catastrophe. Civilians are being attacked by a neighboring country and their homes are being destroyed, and Russia keeps moving forward, although they state that they want peace. But we can see how they just keep occupying more and more Ukrainian land.
New on the Block
Ashley Cruse Elliott has a dog poop-scooping business called The Dog Squad, and with warmer weather approaching, Elliott is taking on more appointments to clear out pup poops as the snow and ice begin to melt. For an hour, the squad charges $50 but, according to Elliott, most jobs don’t take longer than an hour and a half. For more information, contact Elliott at (406) 204-9174.
Helena History
“Helena This Week” is reported and written By JoVonne Wagner. Send your Helena news and tips to [email protected].
