Clack Museum closing for February

The H. Earl Clack Memorial Museum will be closed February as a way to deal with budget constraints, clean up the museum and revamp the displays.

“We just do need that savings of that month like we used last year,” Museum Board Vice-Chair Val Hickman said.

Last year, the museum was temporarily closed during January for the same reason. Hickman said that they were not able to close for January because they did not make the plans in December.

Dritshulus said Clack Museum Manager Jim Spangelo will take vacation during that period.

Dritshulas said that she will send an email to the Hill County Commissioners notifying them of the museum closing.

At their November and December meeting, members of the board said that January and February were the best times to close the museum since the number of visitors is much lower during those months.  

In other business,

• The board agreed to revise their bylaws to allow a board member to be considered present if they call into a meeting either by phone or other electronic means.  

Exact language for the bylaw revision will be introduced at the next meeting.

Dritshulas said this fall the board had a meeting where one of their members was out of town but was on the phone.

“We have nothing in our bylaws addressing that as to whether we can count him present or not,” she said.

Currently, bylaws dictate that no decisions will be made or actions taken without a quorum and that a majority of the board’s seven members constitute a quorum.

• H. Earl and Margaret Turner Clack Memorial Museum Foundation President Elaine Morse said a private foundation has donated $15,000 to make improvements to the Wahkpa Chu’gn Buffalo Jump.

Morse said that the donor organization gave $5,000 last year to the museum to build a garage.

“I know they were concerned that may or may not cover what they wanted,” Morse said.

Before the end of last year, the private organization donated an additional $10,000, specifically for buffalo jump improvements, Morse said.  

Morse said the museum has now been granted $15,000 to build the garage and other storage space needed to house the Polaris and the golf cart.

“So that, I think, is wonderful,” she added.

The donor organization insists on anonymity, Morse said.

“One of their caveats for donating money is privacy,” she said. “They do not want to be publicly acknowledged.”