News briefs

Pursuit yields weapons

POLSON — A high-speed chase early Saturday morning yielded loaded guns but no suspects, Polson Police Chief Doug Chase said.

The 3 a.m. incident began after a white minivan blew through the stop sign at 7th and Main, Chase said. When officer Wade Nash attempted to initiate a traffic stop, the vehicle never slowed, eventually fleeing through a field. Nash cancelled the pursuit at that point, Chase said, to avoid serious damage to his patrol vehicle.

When the suspect vehicle was located at the Cherry Hill Apartments a short while later, Chase said the officers found the suspects had fled but left two loaded weapons: an AR-15 and a cocked automatic pistol.

“First off, that could have been a tragedy for anybody involved if the weapons were involved and second of all, it could have been a hellacious firefight at an apartment complex,” Chase said. “We believe there were several occupants that fled the vehicle.”

Chase said his department and Tribal Law and Order are investigating the incident. No suspects have been identified and the car has been impounded and is yet to be claimed, he said.

-reporter Sasha Goldstein

DOVES awards

POLSON — DOVES held an awards ceremony on Wednesday, Oct. 20 to honor those who have stepped forward and “Taken a Stand Against Domestic Violence” in Lake County and on the Flathead Reservation.

The following four individuals received awards: Community Partner of the Year, Pastor Mark Calhoun of the Polson First United Methodist Church (the church hosts DOVES weekly support groups for women and children); Volunteer of the Year, Syndee Hunter, who works for Family Concepts and has volunteered for over a year with DOVES’ children’s support group; Health Professional of the Year, Ed Leas, PAC, who works in the Emergency Room at St. Joseph Medical Center; and Law Enforcement Officer of the Year, Lake County Sheriff’s Deputy and Ronan School Resource Officer Jay Gillhouse.

- courtesy of Jenifer Blumberg

Get vaccinated

LAKE COUNTY — The Montana Department of Public Health and Human Services (DPHHS) is recommending that all Montanans older than six months of age receive an influenza vaccination. This year’s influenza vaccine protects against three strains of influenza, including the 2009 H1N1 influenza virus which caused the 2009 pandemic.

Last year, because the 2009 H1N1 virus emerged after the seasonal vaccine production had begun, two separate vaccines were needed to protect against both seasonal flu and the 2009 H1N1 pandemic flu virus. This year only one vaccine is necessary. Vaccination against influenza remains the best approach to preventing infection.

“A routine influenza vaccination is the best line of defense for protecting you and your family from this disease,” DPHHS Director Anna Whiting Sorrell said. “Every influenza season is different and even healthy people can get sick. Now is the perfect time to get vaccinated.”

People most at risk for complications are women who are pregnant and individuals that have chronic conditions such as diabetes, heart disease, asthma, or other conditions that reduce immunity to influenza. Children, too, are considered to be at higher risk. In 2008-2009, Montana’s children were less likely than their national counterparts to have been vaccinated for influenza. A national survey estimated that only 34 percent of the state’s children aged six to 23 months were vaccinated compared to the U.S. average of 42 percent. Children under two years of age are at high-risk for complications and many end up hospitalized if infected by influenza.

“Because influenza can cause substantial increases in death and hospitalizations, public health agencies will be making every effort to vaccinate Montana’s young children,” DPHHS State Medical Officer Steve Helgerson said.  

In addition to getting vaccinated, health officials strongly recommend that people take very important, common sense steps to prevent infection. Those steps include covering coughs and sneezes, frequent hand washing, and staying home when sick to prevent infecting others. For more information on ways to protect yourself and others from becoming a victim of influenza contact your local health department or visit the DPHHS website at http://www.dphhs.mt.gov.

- courtesy of Jon Ebelt

In the pink of things

RONAN — Pink was the dominant color of the day as St. Luke Community Healthcare observed National Breast Cancer Awareness month with a ribbon cutting ceremony that celebrated the addition of digital mammography at the Ronan hospital.

Missoula news anchor Jill Valley joined other breast cancer survivors Beth Bartholomew and St. Luke RN Linda Cox with St. Luke CEO Shane Roberts in the cutting of a pink ribbon that officially opened the new SeleniaTM Digital Mammography Unit to patient use. While addressing those in attendance, Valley emphasized the importance of early detection and how technology such as digital mammography can aid in the battle to save lives from the dreaded disease.

Dian Hickethier, radiologic technologist who is one of two mammography specialists at St. Luke, said the new unit “provides a more accurate mammogram, including those for women under 50, women with dense breasts and those who are perimenopausal.” And, she added, “It’s a more comfortable exam.”

The SeleniaTM unit uses a MammoPad® which Hickethier points out is a soft, foam pad that serves as a cushion between the patient and the mammography machine. “This helps relax the patient and allows us to obtain more of the chest wall in the image,” according to the technologist. She added, “The pads also ensure a more even compression of the breast.”

Another bonus is the clarity that the digital image offers. Steve Sivak, head of the imaging department at the Ronan hospital, explained, “The radiologist can magnify the images, increase or decrease the contrast and invert the black and white values while reading the images.” He points out that this, in many cases, reduces the need for callbacks and therefore, reducing exposure to additional radiation.

In recognition of Breast Cancer Awareness Month, St. Luke is offering expanded evening hours for screening mammograms on Mondays and Tuesdays through the first two weeks in November.

For the seventh year in a row, funding from the St. Luke Community Healthcare Foundation Employee Giving Program is allowing the Ronan hospital to offer free screening mammograms. To qualify for the free screening program, women must be uninsured, over 40 years of age, have no history of breast cancer or implants and live in the area served by the healthcare network.

The funds come from the St. Luke Employee giving program where network employees are invited to contribute one hour of pay per month to be used to promote health and wellness in the healthcare network and in the community. In addition to providing free screening mammograms, the employee giving program provided $55,000 toward the purchase of the new digital unit. Other sources of foundation funds used to help with the purchase are donations of nearly $54,000, special events that raised $42,000 and a $185,000 matching grant from the M.J. Murdock Charitable Trust.

Gayle Wilhelm, St. Luke Foundation Executive Director said, “A big thank you to our foundation board of directors, the St. Luke employees who have given so generously and to the community and business leaders for their support and donations that have made this all possible.”

Following the ribbon cutting ceremony that designated St. Luke as a Pink Ribbon FacilityTM, those in attendance were invited to enjoy a bag of popcorn which, of course, was pink in color.

- courtesy of Wayne Fuchs

Rides to the polls

Any registered voter who does not have a ride to their polling place on  Tuesday, Nov. 2, may call upon the people listed below. They are offering rides to ambulatory adults (no wheelchairs, please) at no charge, to the polls. Most areas of Lake County have been covered by these volunteers.  If persons needing rides lose this list, please call the various Senior Centers or the Council on Aging in Ronan at 253-3683.

Arlee: Michelle Wieler from 1 to 5 p.m., phone number: 726-3194.

St. Ignatius:  Mary Leishman from 9 a.m. to noon, phone number: 745-4829.

Moiese to Charlo:  Diane Gilliland from 3 to 5 p.m., phone number: 644-2520.

Charlo to Ronan:  Joanne Shaw, all day, phone number: 253-3683.

Ronan to Pablo: Barbara Morin, 9 a.m. to 1 p.m., phone number: 675-8488.

South of Polson to Blue Bay: Iris Corey, all day, phone number: 883-1469.

Polson to Big Arm: Edith Tuberty, 8 a.m. to noon, phone number: 883-0607.

Polson to Big Arm: Kathryn Johnson, 9 a.m. to 5 p.m., phone number: 883-9367 or (847) 372-7136 (cell).

Big Arm: Lynette Rundell, 1 to 5 p.m., phone number: 849-5053.

Dayton: Mimi Milheim, all day, phone number: 849-5944.

-courtesy of Kathryn Johnson