Blackfoot Valley Dispatch - The Blackfoot Valley's News Source Since 1980

With the smell of spring in the air, we hope this finds our Lincoln community well. In these strange and challenging times, we at Lewis and Clark County want to assure you we continue working hard to serve our community and want to take this opportunity to provide you with some updates.

Roads, Bridges & Signs

The Lewis and Clark County Road and Bridge Department successfully made it through another Lincoln winter. Starting with one plow truck early in the season, a second was added after the first few snowstorms, along with a 928 loader to move snow and pile it higher in some areas.

As always, Stemple Road posed challenging, but Lincoln and Helena staff worked together to tackle both sides of the mountain during the bigger snowstorms. This teamwork helped Lincoln staff focus on other areas in Lincoln needing immediate attention.

A special thanks to Zack Muse with Lincoln Fire and his team in helping keep us informed of ever changing conditions.

Pete and Ron did a tremendous job keeping on top of the storms, working holidays and weekends to ensure safe travel for Lincoln residents. Road and bridge staff thank everyone for the kind comments and appreciation received throughout the winter.

With spring here, grading has been occurring on both sides of town. Pothole patching and sweeping will occur towards the end of May and into June, and throughout the summer as needed. Mag Chloride will also be applied on various roads in June.

Landers Fork and Hogum Creek Roads are still on the radar for upgrades. If all goes according to plan, this work should take place late summer. We will pull all the ditches, crush the material with the PTH tractor, regrade, water and compact these roads. There will be noticeable improvement.

Folks may also notice some new road signs in the area. The sign crew has been working with the Cemetery Board to install signs to help tourists locate the old historic cemetery and decipher between the old and new cemetery. Additionally, new vehicle pedestrian segregation signage will be installed on lower Stemple Road.

Elections

In other news, the June 2, 2020, Primary elections are quickly approaching and will be conducted entirely by mail. This means the Lincoln Community Hall will not be open for voting on Election Day. The only location for in-person voting services is the county elections office in Helena.

Ballots were mailed out to active registered voters May 8. If you have not received a ballot, go to the county elections office in the City-County Building at 316 N Park Ave, Helena. They are open Mondays through Fridays from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. On Monday, June 1, law requires them to close and not issue ballots from noon to 5 p.m. On Election Day, Tuesday, June 2, they will be open from 7 a.m. to 8 p.m.

Mail your ballot back the week before Election Day to ensure it is received on time. Stamps were included on return envelopes, so you don't need to apply postage. You can also drop off your ballot in person at the City-County building. They have a drop-off table outside the building.

Detention Center

Finally, renovation work on the Lewis and Clark County Detention Center continues. Although COVID-19 has delayed the transition from the upper floor down, painting, mechanical and electrical trim work and security system installation is being done on the main and lower levels. Exterior windows are also being installed and ADA parking construction has begun.

The project is still on budget and the completion date remains Sept.11, 2020.