Community Briefs: Special Olympics, pancake breakfast, gifts for troops, and more
Special Olympics returns to Helena
Special Olympics Montana will have its annual State Basketball Tournament in Helena from Nov. 7-9.
This three-day event brings together athletes, coaches and volunteers from across the state to celebrate inclusion, athleticism and community spirit.
The tournament will kick off with an opening ceremony 6 p.m. Thursday at the Exhibit Hall at The Lewis & Clark Fairgrounds, 98 W. Custer Ave., featuring a parade of athletes. The ceremony is open to the public, and people are invited to attend and support the athletes. Gameplay will be 8 a.m. to 3 p.m. on Friday and Saturday at various schools and community locations throughout Helena.
There will be nearly 850 athletes and Unified Partners competing in 120 teams across different divisions with more than 325 coaches and team volunteers supporting the athletes.
There are 200 games scheduled over the two days and 1,000 local volunteers are needed to make the event a success.
Tournament venues include Capital High, Helena High, Helena Middle School, CR Anderson, Central Elementary, Bryant Elementary, Four Georgians, Jim Darcy Elementary, East Helena High and East Valley Middle School.
Music teachers to flip flapjacks
The Helena Music Teachers Association will have its annual pancake breakfast and silent auction 8:30-11 a.m. Nov. 9, at St. John's Lutheran Church basement, 1000 Helena Ave.
Students will perform solos and ensemble music.
Money from the event will raise scholarship funds to help needy students continue music instruction via lessons, camps and workshops, and upgrade their music materials/instruments.
Buttermilk pancakes will be served with four specialty syrups, ham and beverages, topped off with "dessert" pancake flavors of chocolate chip or blueberry.
Adult tickets are $8, and children under age 10 are $6.
Silent auction winners will be announced at 11 a.m. People do not need not be present to win.
Meeting to discuss ASARCO Smelter
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency and the Montana Environmental Trust Group, trustee of the Montana Environmental Custodial Trust, are having a public meeting at 6:30 p.m. Wednesday to discuss cleanup and redevelopment progress at the former ASARCO Smelter in East Helena.
Representatives from EPA and METG, and their project partners, will provide updates on groundwater quality, slag pile activities and property redevelopment.
The meeting is at METG Office, 325 Manlove Ave. The public may attend in person or join the meeting via Zoom or by telephone.
To join by Zoom, go to and use meeting ID 946 584 8922 and passcode B8U7EX, or call 646-876-9923 and use meeting ID 946 584 8922 and passcode 664564.
Manlove Avenue is near the former ASARCO smelter site. It is south of Highway 12 and parallel to the highway and the railroad tracks. It intersects Highway 282 across from American Chemet. Look on the left for the green modular building with the METG logo.
For information, call Cindy Brooks at 617-448-9762 or or Anna Novikova at 267-799-3842 or
$100K grant given for History Day
The Library of Congress has awarded a $100,000 grant to Montana State University for National History Day in Montana.
This Teaching with Primary Sources grant will be used by former K-12 teachers Hailey Hancock, Ph.D., and Melissa Hibbard, Ph.D., to grow participation in Montana's National History Day program, especially in small, rural schools. They will use it to equip educators to teach historical analysis, as well as to help teachers with Indian Education for All instruction.
Montana State University and National History Day in Montana are one of 23 first-time Library of Congress Teaching with Primary Sources (TPS) and 19 continuing grantee organizations in the U.S. and Puerto Rico. The current grant awarded in September provides one year of funding, with the possibility of two additional one-year grants, contingent upon successful delivery of TPS educational projects based on Library of Congress digitized materials.
Hibbard currently is an interpretive historian at the Montana Historical Society, and Hancock is an assistant teaching professor at Montana State University. The duo relaunched Montana's National History Day program in 2023. Recognizing the library's extensive offerings of IEFA-aligned Primary Source Sets, Hancock and Hibbard chose Indian Education for All – a legal requirement in Montana – as an avenue to develop these skills.
National History Day is a co-curricular academic program for students grades 6-12 and a leader in history and civics education. NHD reaches more than half a million students and tens of thousands of teachers each year via its international student history contest and its wide range of teacher professional development programs, curriculum tools, and other educational activities.
"I've attended and taught in five of Montana's small schools," Hibbard said. "I feel a mixed sense of loss and envy that History Day wasn't available to me as child, nor was it available to my students when I moved back to during the pandemic. Hailey and I want to change that for Montana's teachers and students. This Library of Congress grant helps make that dream possible."
For details about the MSU National History Day in Montana, visit www.nationalhistorydaymt.org .
City offices closed Election Day
The city of Helena's administrative offices will be closed on Tuesday for the election.
Some city services will also be impacted. Municipal Court and the Transfer Station will be closed. Garbage collection will occur as normal. Capital Transit buses and dispatch will operate, but the office will be closed.
Call 406-447-8086 with questions about garbage collection or the Transfer Station.
Red Cross seeks gifts for US troops
The Montana Red Cross Service to the Armed Forces program encourages Montanans to thank troops serving in Kuwait this holiday season with care packages from home.
As part of Operation Holiday Cheer, Red Cross asks the public to drop off requested items at any of its blood donation centers across the state. Red Crossers will then assemble the care packages and ship them to those serving in Camp Buehring in Kuwait.
"This is an easy way to thank our brave men and women serving overseas to let them know we are thinking of them," said Sara Cease, Red Cross Service to the Armed Forces director for Montana and Idaho. "The holidays can be an incredibly difficult time to be away from loved ones, and we just want them to know that we appreciate the sacrifices they are making."
Requested items include:
Red Cross can't accept homemade cookies or other baked items. Also, no aerosol items or alcohol.
Drop off items by Nov. 8, at a Montana Red Cross blood donation center. Visit montanaredcross.org to check on days and hours of operation.
The Red Cross Service to the Armed Forces program supports service members, veterans and their families across Montana. Learn more at redcross.org/SAF .
New leaders for farmers union
Several leadership positions were elected during Montana Farmers Union's Annual Convention held recently in Whitefish, with Erik Somerfeld elected to serve a two-year term as vice president.
Somerfeld is a longtime MFU member and board member from Power who had served on and chaired the Resolutions Committee and attended National Farmers Union's Annual Convention as a delegate several times. He replaces Rollie Schlepp, who ran for reelection.
Other positions elected were:
AARP driver class Nov. 15
AARP Driver Safety has one more class scheduled this year in Helena on Nov. 15.
Participants receive updates on the rules of the road and learn driving strategies to adapt to the effects of aging and to reduce chances of having a crash. This 4.5 hour course was developed for participants age 50-plus; but is open to all ages. The course fee is $25 ($20 with AARP membership card). Auto insurance companies in Montana provide a multi-year discount to participants 55 years of age and older.
The class is 11 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. Nov. 15 at First Interstate Bank; 2728 Colonial Drive.
To register, call: 406-457-4712. Find more classes at aarp.org/driversafety
County growth plan seeks comment
The first draft of the Lewis and Clark County Growth Policy and Future Land Use Map are now available for public review, and the county is calling on residents to provide feedback.
The Growth Policy is a long-term plan which creates a vision and set of priorities for the county, guiding county initiatives, land use policy and development. The Future Land Use Map is a visual representation of this vision and outlines how different areas around the County will be used, from housing and agriculture to conservation and commercial development.
The Growth Policy update includes:
It also outlines distinct policies and strategies tailored to different regions of the county, including Helena Valley, Lincoln, Augusta, Canyon Ferry-York, Wolf Creek-Craig and Marysville-Canyon Creek, each with its own vision for future growth and development.
County has openings on panels
The Lewis and Clark County Commission is seeking interested citizens to serve on the following boards:
Applications are available at or by calling 447-8378 and can be submitted to the Commissioner's Office, 316 N. Park Ave., Room 345, Helena, MT 59623. All positions are open until filled.
Submissions to Community Briefs should be emailed to . Please write "Community Briefs" in the subject line. Briefs should be 200 words or less. Submissions should be written in story form, no flyers please. Photos are always appreciated. Call Phil Drake at 406-447-4086 if you have questions.
