Susan McDaniel Havre Daily News smcdaniel@havredailynews.com
Selfless citizens and community projects were the main focus Monday of the Havre City Council. The mayor read a letter from Fire Chief Dave Sheppard describing Jim Lowen’s rescue efforts given to a man in a local business on Jan. 5. According to the letter the fire department/ambulance was dispatched to a local business for a medical emergency. When they arrived the ambulance crew found Lowen performing CPR, including mouth to mouth ventilations, on a male victim. Lowen continued CPR while the EMTs attached a defibrillator and prepared other equipment. The fire department personnel were able to successfully bring this man’s heart to a life sustaining rhythm. He was transported to the hospital and subsequently flown to Great Falls for cardiac surgery, thanks in part to Mr. Lowen’s selfless act and willingness to assist a complete stranger. “The Havre Fire Department would like to extend our sincere gratitude and appreciation to Jim Lowen. It’s people like Jim who make Havre truly a great place to live,” Chief Sheppard said. The mayor then presented Lowen with a framed certificate and extended gratitude to him on behalf of the city. Bonnie Williamson, the Havre-Hill County Library director spoke to the council about “The Big Read” that is happening at the library. “We have an exciting project going on at the library. We were fortunate enough to write a National Endowment for the Arts grant,” Williamson said. “We were funded through the library foundation. We received the monies to buy a thousand copies of “The Grapes of Wrath” and we have hopes that this community could all read the same book, kind of a one book one community project.” Williamson passed out books to everyone on both the council and in the audience who did not already have a copy. In addition to the book she handed out a flyer listing the activities that are planned in conjunction with the project in March. In other business Monday night, two resolutions to amend the 2006-2007 budget were passed. One was to add the Rural Fire Assistance Grant monies and the other reflected the addition of a Wal-Mart Corporation donation to the general fund. And Ordinance No. 859 that describes when water service can be discontinued passed final reading by the council. During the committee reports portion of the meeting, Rick Pierson, finance committee chair said that they had approved January’s claims and manual warrants. The full council also approved them. Pam Hillery requested that the sewer plants operator come and speak to the water/sewer committee about their operations. A meeting was set for Feb. 12 at 5:30. The mayor announced that they are making preparations for the loan for the Highway 2 project, the sewer and water, and as soon as the paperwork is done and everything is ready for a signature they will bring it forward to the full council for a vote. A new smoking policy will be drafted based on the policies in place in other cities that will prohibit smoking within 20 feet of the building. There have been many complaints about the people who sit outside the building from the court smoking and when nonsmokers go into the building to pay water bills they feel that thy are getting passive inhalation. The mayor also indicated that the new whistleblower policy recommended in the audit has been drafted and would should be ready for the council by next week. The Mayor proclaimed April 23 as Arbor Day in Havre and encouraged citizens to engage in appropriate activities and to take advantage of the parks and natural areas of our community. During the public speaking portion of the meeting, Kenneth Hafdahl expressed his concern over an old legal case. Tyler Lamb from the Havre High School government class was recognized and expressed his views about the meeting, saying that he really likes that anyone in the community can speak their mind and be treated with respect. The next City Council meeting is scheduled for Tuesday, Feb. 20.
