COVID-19 continues to cause problems across Montana. We have seen a pretty substantial increase in cases in Jefferson County over the past few weeks. One of the casualties was the NRA Rodeo in Boulder. The Health Officer wouldn’t approve it, the Health Board doesn’t have an appeal process in place, and it was becoming impossible to find enough volunteers to make it happen. Instead, there will be a barrel racing on Friday, a parade on Saturday, an in-county rodeo on Saturday, and a kids rodeo on Sunday. We are also looking at putting together a “Law Enforcement and First Responder Appreciation Day” on Saturday. We will invite them to participate in the parade and then have a community barbeque for them after the parade and before the rodeo.
I want to give you an update on the Census. As of the end of July, Montana is at 56.5% return rate. That ranks Montana 45th in the nation. Not a real good statistic if we want to pick up another House seat. Overall, Jefferson County has a 60% return rate which is 8th highest in the state.
However, Boulder is at only 55% and Whitehall is at 32%. Doing the Census is very important. It is only a few questions and you can do it on the internet. I hope anyone who hasn’t done the Census yet will get it filled out and returned. I would sure like to see our numbers move to the top.
— Leonard Wortman, Jefferson County Commission
