Hello and good Monday morning. I’m back with your dose of Helena This Week.
This issue, we have a few notices about some highway projects just east of Helena, along with an open house to accompany them. Additionally, people should probably stay out of the water up at Hauser Lake, and I got to chat with our new fire chief about where he is on the upcoming public safety levy.
In our main feature, though, the county sheriff’s office explains why it takes to social media to get people to respond to jury summonses. Read all about it below.
But first, a weather preview ☀️
Thank goodness for the cool temperatures and rain that knocked down most of the smoke hovering over Helena. This week starts off a bit warmer with a Monday high lingering in the low 80s and a 30% chance of showers, according to National Weather Service meteorologist Olivia Dzomba. Keep your umbrella on deck; there are still slight chances of rain Tuesday and Wednesday, with highs in the mid-70s and overnight lows in the low 50s.
One last shot: Sheriff’s office turns to Facebook to help serve summonses for jury duty
We all have a civic responsibility to serve on a jury when called, but sometimes answering that call can be a bit difficult, especially when you never receive a notice.
So the Lewis and Clark County Sheriff’s Office is trying out a new strategy in hopes of helping out the county court clerk and the community.
Since the beginning of May, the sheriff’s office has been posting on its Facebook page about once a week the names of county residents who have not responded to their jury-duty summonses.
The posts urge people to either respond via a provided link or call the clerk of court, but some comments under the posts (and questions sent to us here at Montana Free Press) raise confusion about the new process, asking why authorities don’t use other forms of communication.
Sheriff’s Sgt. Don McCarthy, who is in charge of this particular branch of county law enforcement, spoke with me last week to explain things.
“The process has changed a little bit, and the reason we’re seeing posts now is the process actually changed through [the] Legislature,” McCarthy said last week.
That law has essentially modernized how officials contact the public for jury duty and went into effect May 1, McCarthy said. Once a jury pool and trial are set, the court clerk issues those summons.
There are three attempts to contact individuals: in person, by certified mail or by phone. If those don’t work, that’s when the sheriff’s office steps in.
But that process has proved “inundating” and overly time-consuming for the sheriff’s office, McCarthy said.
“With the change of the Legislature, that’s what we decided to do, is to post them [online],” he said. Once the listed individual responds to either the court clerk or the sheriff’s office, McCarthy takes their name off the post.
And according to McCarthy, the new process has been useful, with the number of served summonses increasing.
While reaching people online has proved beneficial, McCarthy said he can’t speak to whether there is an increase in jury trials. He did say, though, that the lack of jurors for trials has been a problem over the last year.
“There have been several occasions over the last year where my office has been contacted…by a judge because only half the people that were summoned for jury duty showed up.”
So, if you see your name pop up on those Facebook posts, it usually means the county is at its last resort trying to contact you.
Public Notice 🧐
Potential MDT road projects near Helena
ℹ️ U.S. Highway 12 between Townsend and Helena may undergo a widening project that would affect about 10 miles of the road and add turning lanes at the Beaver Creek Road intersection. The Montana Department of Transportation will hold an open house in Townsend this week to gather public feedback.
🗓️ Thursday, Aug. 20
⏰ From 4:30 p.m. to 6:30 p.m.
📍 The Flynn Building, 416 Broadway St., Townsend
🔗 Check out the project website for more details about the proposed construction.
Hauser Lake aglal blooms
ℹ️ The Lewis and Clark Public Health Department announced last week the presence of algal blooms at two locations on Hauser Lake. White Sandy campground has confirmed the presence of toxins, and officials are urging people to stay out of the water. Diffused blooms were found at Black Sandy campground, and people should be cautious and avoid green or scummy water. Algal blooms are especially harmful for pets and children.
📍 White Sandy and Black Sandy campgrounds on Hauser Lake
🔗 More information about harmful algal blooms is here.
3 Questions For ❓
Last Monday, the city welcomed its new fire chief, Corey Parker, a Virginia native, who has decided to make Montana his new home. Parker is filling the shoes of Jon Campbell, who left the post earlier this summer.
I got a chance to talk with Parker about his new job and what he hopes to contribute to the community and future of the Helena Fire Department. His comments have been lightly edited for length and clarity.
HTW: Can you tell us a little bit about who you are and your professional background?
Parker: I did 30 years in Loudoun County Fire Rescue. I started out as a volunteer when I was young, and then eventually joined the career department there, and did a 30-year career in the municipal government. My father was in the fire department. He was a past fire chief in the volunteer system where I grew up. My family is all public servants. My wife is a schoolteacher. I have two of my children in the fire department, and my third child is in the police department.
I have a very strong operational background and a very strong administrative background. I have a bachelor’s degree in public administration from George Mason University, there in Virginia. I have a bachelor’s in health education, also from George Mason University. So [I] went to school, was able to get my education and learn, and I’ve done all of those things.
HTW: You’re coming into this position as the city of Helena is gearing up to go out for a public safety levy. How do you plan to approach this challenge?
Parker: We internally [are] trying to think about things. We’re like, “How can we reach out to the community? What is it that’s important that they understand about staffing that station?” A lot of that’s data-driven, GIS data and then building the maps and the visuals for folks to look at.
So we’re really starting to think about that. Data and science are always good, but we’re a human-touch organization, right? We’re on the street. We are with people all the time. So I was like, “We gotta blend this.” The other thing that we gotta do is make sure we’re coordinating, and we’re in lockstep with the police department, that we’re all on the same page, that we’re working together to really try to support and get the message out of something that’s so critical and vital right now.
HTW: What would you want residents to know about the next chapter for the HFD?
Parker: I’d want them to know that they’ve always been in good hands. It’s a tremendous organization, from our folks on the street to the line folks out there taking care of the citizens to the leadership in the office with the chiefs and senior staff.
My role coming in is really just to sit and learn and talk, especially in the beginning. As you’re coming in from the outside, you honor all of these things, but at the same time, you’ve got to learn and understand and start building priorities and tangible tasks that go with those priorities. My goal is really just to honor what we do in the fire service and to support this organization so that when they’re on the street, citizens know without a doubt that what they’re getting is the premier service from the premier people around that can provide that service.
Helena Happenings 🗓️
Lectures & Learning: Want to learn how to swing dance? Lessons will be offered every third Tuesday of this month, with the next on Aug. 18 at Broadwater Hotsprings event “Boots & Beer.” The free classes are open to all ages, but folks need to show ID to enjoy a beer.
Back to school: If you are looking to add to your kids’ reading repertoire, a book exchange hosted by Florence Crittenton and Lewis and Clark Public Health will be Wednesday, Aug. 19, at Pioneer Park from 5 p.m. to 6 p.m.
