Legionella rumors addressed in Lincoln Co.

Lincoln County Health Department officials pushed back last week on rumors that Legionella had spread throughout the community through the use of face masks.

Legionella bacteria can cause what is commonly known as Legionnaires’ disease, a serious type of pneumonia. While found naturally in the outdoors, the bacteria poses a risk to people if it spreads into man-made water systems.

Legionella typically spreads through the air in droplets after becoming entrenched in a man-made water system, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. The disease is typically associated with large or complex water systems aboard cruise ships or in hospitals and hotels.

One way it cannot be spread? Through the wearing of face coverings.

Public Health Manager Jennifer McCully said seeing local Facebook posts claiming that one or more individuals in Lincoln County had contracted Legionnaires’ disease by wearing a mask prompted a response from the department. Officials posted a rebuttal with more information about Legionella on its Facebook page Aug. 6.

“That’s just not possible,” she said. “We put a kibosh to that as soon as we could and, at least, get some factual information out.”

The nonprofit Legionella, founded to promote education and research regarding the disease, also flatly refutes transmission via mask. Legionella does not generally spread from person-to-person and the bacteria cannot survive on surfaces.

“Your mask would not be a source of transmission for the Legionella bacteria,” according to the group’s frequently asked questions page.

— The Western News

The Bull Thing, a popular annual event in Eureka that coincides with the Lincoln County Fair, has been canceled this year due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the Tobacco Valley News reports. The event had been scheduled Aug. 29.

The fair also has been scaled back to a “bare-bones” event, with only 4-H activities, the News said

— Tobacco Valley News

Mike Toth was plowing ground in his first week as sheriff of Mineral County.

“Getting the jail back in operation is my first priority and then our next hires will be detention officers,” Toth said.

“That’ll be six more jobs in the county,” he said after introducing four new members to his team that he had just sworn into office.

Wayne Cashman is the new undersheriff. He’s returned to Montana after most of his law enforcement career in the Pinal County, Arizona, Sheriff’s Office where he retired recently. Prior to moving south, he was a deputy in the Lincoln area and a guard at the Montana State Prison in Deer Lodge.

Training for all four new hires is underway, with Toth saying he wants the new deputies ready by the end of September.

— Mineral Independent

A construction project at Ruder Elementary School in Columbia Falls was stopped for a week recently after a foreman working on the project tested positive for coronavirus after he got sick, Dow Powell, the school’s construction representative, told the school board last week.

Powell said the foreman apparently caught the virus from a family member. Swank Enterprises, the firm doing the remodeling work on the building, immediately shut down the project last week and had the entire crew tested, as per their protocols, Powell said. None of the crew tested positive and have since gone back to work.

The foreman has recovered and was expected to return to work Aug. 12. The contractor also disinfected the entire building and worksite.

Ruder is undergoing a major renovation that will add classrooms and other amenities and will join the two buildings together.

— Hungry Horse News

The city of Whitefish has submitted a request for reimbursement from the state for about $688,000 in expenses related to the COVID-19 pandemic.

Montana Gov. Steve Bullock announced in early June that local governments are eligible for reimbursement of certain expenses through the CARES Act funds received by the state.

City Manager Dana Smith said the amount requested covers the costs of remote work equipment, sanitation and cleaning supplies, cloth face coverings, public information through the city’s crisis communications team, and roughly three months of wages for police officers and firefighters.

“We hope to have confirmation of the total approved amount to be reimbursed before the final budget adoption in mid-August,” she said. “Once these funds are received, there are options on how we utilize the freed-up funds on hand.”

Smith anticipates recommending a mixture of uses for the funds, including a reduction in property taxes, eliminating the loan proposed to partially fund a new ambulance, and completion of the LED lighting project at the Emergency Services Center to save on operating costs of electricity and maintenance while meeting a goal of the city’s climate action plan.

She also expects to hold some of the funds in reserves since the city still faces the potential for high overtime costs if the police department or fire department have a confirmed case of COVID-19.

— Whitefish Pilot