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LOVELL, WYOMING VOLUME 112, NUMBER 36 * FEBRUARY 22, 2018 75
NBHH makes
national
honor roll
for flu shot
mandate
BY PATTI CARPENTER
A mandate requiring all
employees at North Big Horn
Hospital and New Horizons
Care Center to either get a flu
shot or wear a mask during
flu season has kept confirmed
cases relatively low compared
to hospitals that do not have a
mandate.
NBHH infection control
specialist Janel Thatch, R.N.
said the mandate has been
in effect for two years. This
year, only 12 out of 272 em-
ployees declined the vaccina-
tion, opting to wear a mask in-
stead. Prior to the mandate,
only about 40 percent of staff
members were vaccinated.
Thatch said the vaccine is of-
fered to all employees prior to
flu season and to all new em-
ployees hired around the time
of flu season.
For its efforts to combat
the flu virus, the hospital re-
cently made a national honor
roll put in place by the Immu-
nization Action Coalition (IAC),
along with about 650 other
hospitals nationwide.
Only two staff members
have had confirmed cases of
the flu this season, both em-
ployees of New Horizons Care
Center. Thatch said both em-
ployees had the flu vaccina-
tion, so they most likely will
not have a prolonged period of
illness.
In an effort to protect Care
Center residents, a quaran-
tine was put in place earlier
in the month. To date no pa-
tients have tested positive for
the flu, though some have had
pneumonia and other respira-
tory illnesses.
The lab at NBHH has seen
20 confirmed cases of flu, so
far and there has been one
hospitalization due to com-
plications of the flu. The clin-
ic at NBHH has administered
more than 1,000 flu shots this
season.
Though the hospital has
been particularly busy during
the flu season, Nursing Chief
Tina Toner said it was due
mostly to a high number of
pneumonia cases requiring
hospitalization. Dr. Clinton
Seger, Chief Medical Officer
for Billings Clinic regional af-
filiates, reported that, though
the flu has been rampant in
the Billings area for the past
few months, he is only now re-
SEE 'NBHH FLU SHOT
HONOR page 6
BY PATTI CARPENTER ed seropositive for the disease, said the time for maximum ex-
Though risk of transmission during surveillance conducted by posure is from February through
ofbruCellOsis is relatively low be- the Wyoming Game and Fish De- June, which is not a time wild elk
tween cattie and elk who share partment. State Veterinarian Jim and cattle mingle, since it is not a
the same grazing areas in the Big Logan pointed out that a seropos- typical time for ranchers to pas-
Horn Mountains, concern is high itive result does not mean the an- ture their cattle on the mountain.
among ranchers who potentially imal is contagious or is shedding Brucellosisl a zoonotic dis-
could "suffer economic hardship the disease, especially since most ease caused by the bacteria Bru-
if.their cattle.pick up the disease of the sampling has been done in cella abortus, is endemic in elk
from wild animals. At a meet- the fall during hunting season, and bison of the Greater Yellow-
ing heldon Feb. 16 at the Lovell
Community Center, a team of
veterinarians, researchers and
other specialists met with local
ranchers discuss the risks and
steps they could take to prevent
transmission of the disease to
their herds.
So far, nine wild elk have test-
which is nottypically a time of the stone Ecosystem, according to
year the disea'se is transmitted, a recent Wyoming Game:and fish
Though a seropositive result report. In elk, the disease typical-
indicates the animal has been ex-
posed to the disease, Logan noted
that the odds of cattle becoming
infected that share grazing areas
with infected elk during the sum-
mer months is almost "zero. He
ly causes abortion from Febru-
ary to mid-June and is transmit-
ted primarily through contact of
SEE 'BRUCELLOSIS MEETING
WELL A'R'ENDED' page 8
,: DAVID P CKi
Members of the Lovell High School dance team light up the gym with their yellow outfits as they !
perform their jazz routine at halftime of a basketball game Saturday. In the foreground are Brooklyn !
Mayes (left) and Kelsie Mollett. The State Spirit Competition is March 7 in Casper. !
HouSe works budget bills .in session's second week
BY NATHAN OSTER and the Department of Human tasked with doingS' she said.
Rep. Jamie Flitner said she and Services. While they are two dif- Flitner said she hasn't made up
colleagues in the House were "div- ferent departments now, there her mind, personally, as to which
ing into the budget bill on Tues- was a time when they were to- view she supports.
day, going over the recommenda- gether, she said. Lawmakers are also talking
tions of the Joint Appropriations ',I'm hearing from people on about ways to save money in
Committee for the upcoming both sides - those who think it education.
biennium, would be a good deal and those A footnote in the budget bill
"It's a big bill, a billion dol- who think it would be a bad deal;' calls for the funding of a feasibil-
lar bill" she said. "It's too soon to Flitner said. ity study on bulk purchasing for
know what kind of an impact it will Proponents of the merger con- school districts.
have on Big Horn County:' tend that it would save the state Lawmakers generally support
One of the big topics of dis- money. Opponents say the two
cussion has been a possible merg- entities "have very different ap- SEE 'LEGISLATURE 2018:
ing of the Department of Health proaches, in terms of what they're FLITNER' page 8
Byron Town Council
Fireworks to
be held in 2018
BY SYLVIA ALBER
Byron Recreation Depart-
ment director Rebecca Bates
reported to the Byron Town
Council at their Feb. 13 regular
meeting that she has been suc-
cessful in locating a producer
to contract with to keep the
Byron fireworks display going
for another year.
A meeting of volunteers
had been held Feb. 1 to seek in-
put and volunteers to work to-
gether for a Byron Days cele-
bration in 2018. A number of
people attended, and as a re-
sult, plans for the 2018 cele-
bration are taking shape. After
some searching, Bates located
an individual from Idaho who
has agreed to come to Byron
and produce a 15- to 18-min-
ute fireworks display on July 14
for $12,000. Mary Bair spoke
briefly, saying that she thought
$12,000 was a lot of money to
spend for "20 minutes of flam-
ing fame" The council gave
Bates permission to enter into
a contract for a fireworks dis-
play in Byron at the tradition-
al baseball field location on the
evening of the second Satur-
day in July.
The group is still needing
more volunteers, but events
in the planning stage for By-
ron Days are the annual alum-
ni dinner, a 5K fun run, parade,
community wide yard sale, a
market place, with the com-
munity selling spots for people
to set up booths and sell their
products or produce, a vol-
leyball tournament, kids car-
nival and live music. They are
ready to consider more op-
hY
tions if there is interest. The
theme that was selected by the
group for this year's celebra-
tion and parade was Roamin' in
Wyoming.
Councilman Allan Clark
said there has been discus-
sion on how to finance the
fireworks without using town
money. He said Frank Cina had
suggested and agreed to help
with a gun raffle. He said they
felt a pretty nice gun could be
purchased for about $300. All
money raised over the pur-
chase price would be used to
help pay for the fireworks. The
council gave Clark permission
to work with Cina to proceed
with those plans.
Other suggestions offered
to help finance the fireworks
and pay other expenses for the
celebration were selling Byron
Days T-shirts, charging admis-
sion for preferred seating at
the fireworks and asking for
donations from those attend-
ing. Councilman Alan Bair said,
SEE 'FIREWORKS A GO" page 6
Editor's note: This is the third Lindsay loves a challenge, in
of four features about this year s in- whatever form it takes.
cluctees into the Lovell High School In a way, he said, it all began
Athletic Hall of Fame. The four are with some perceived laughing that
being featured in order of their grad- fueled his initial drive to succeed.
uation date from LHS: Grant Go- As a high school freshman
odrich (1949), Tim Winland (1986), in Hawthorne, Nev Lindsay was
Chad Lindsay (1989) and Janis Beal learning the fine art of throwing
(2001). The four were inducted Sat- the shot, but he had a lot to learn.
urday, Feb. 10, durin9 the Lovell vs. After switching to track and field
Rocky Mountain basketball games, from his first love, baseball, he
BY DAVID PECK managed a throw of only 38-9 in
To say that Chad Lindsay is his first meet.
driven would be a massive under- "It was my first meet, and
statement, and it all started when I thought the guys from other
he was young, schools laughed at me ' he said. "I
In a way, theyoung man who made it my, mission in life to beat
rose to state and national promi- those guys.'
nence as one of the top throwers in Mission accomplished - and
the track and field shot put event then some.
had to be self-motivated after his Lindsay placed second at Re-
arents died when he was young, gionals that season; throwing 50-
ut he's also the first to credit oth- 6, then placed second at Nevada
ers, even the whole community,
for helping him on his pathway to
success.
CHAD LINDSAY
tionals and threw 52-6. Not a bad
self-motivated after losing both of wounded ducks. I didn't know how
his parents. His father, Chet, was to grip the thing (discus)"
killed by a drunk driver when he Near the end of his freshman
was 4, and his mother, Joy, died year in Nevada, he went out for
of ovarian cancer when he was 12. baseball but was told he wouldn't
He bounced around after that, liv-
ing with Carvel and Patty Despain,
Dale and Carol Walker, sister Jodi
in Nevada and back to the Walk-
ers until graduation. In a way, he
said, he was raised by the entire
community.
He didn't even go out for
track and field as a seventh-grad-
er, he said, noting, "I didn't even
know about throwing:' Then as an
eighth-grader he came out late af-
ter healing up from a hernia opera,
tion, and after being entered in six
events in his first meet, he found
something he. liked: throwing. He
ended up placing first in the con-
play much, just once every five days
or so on the mound as a pitcher
and some first base, so he switched
to track.
After being challenged by the
chucklers in Nevada and find-
ing success his freshman year on
a state championship team, he
moved back to Lovell and became
a four-sport athlete, playing Babe
Ruth and then American Legion
baseball in the summer, football in
the fail, basketball in the winter and
track and field in the spring. He es-
pecially excelled in track and foot-
ball, but he was also a rugged post
for the basketball team, a mem-
ber of the 1987 state championship
ference meet in the shot put and
Class A State (similar to3A in Wyo- beginning for a guy who had only lso placing in the discus, team, and a strong baseball player
ming) as a freshman, throwing 51-2. been throwing a little over a year. "I didn't know how to throw '
He went on to Junior Olympic Na- Chad Lindsay had to be he said. "My throws looked like SEE 'HALL OF FAME: LINDSAY' page 6
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The Lovell Chronicle, 234 E. Main, Lovell, WY 82431. Contact us at: 548-2217. www.lovellchronicle.com
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