Dr. Lee Morrissette, CARD’s new physician, holds the Event of the Year plaque awarded to the Big Sky Bash last week. Dr. Lee has been working at CARD since Dec. 9 and is enjoying the local community so far. The plaque will be prominently displayed in CARD’s patient waiting room along with posters from past Big Sky Bash events. Photo courtesy of Dusti Thompson.
CARD welcomes new
doctor, wins event of the year
Submitted by
Dusti Thompson
The CARD Clinic would like to thank the community for their support and recognition of the CARD Foundation’s Big Sky Bash. Their annual fundraising event was awarded ‘Event of the Year’ by the Libby Chamber of Commerce at their annual banquet held on Jan 24.
The CARD Foundation is a separate 501c3 organization committed to fundraising for the CARD Clinic. Donna Williams, the CARD Foundation’s President, said, “On behalf of the CARD Foundation I’d like to thank everyone who voted for The Big Sky Bash as Event of the Year. Countless hours go into the planning and preparation of the Bash and we can’t do it without the community of Libby, our sponsors, and all of the volunteers. 2020 marks the tenth year of the Bash and we look forward to seeing everyone there in support of CARD!”
The CARD Foundation will be hosting another fundraiser on Saturday, Feb. 8 at the Memorial Center. The second annual Cabin Fever Fest will feature the band JamShack. From 7 until midnight anyone 21 and over is invited to enjoy live music, dancing, raffle baskets and more. Doors will open at 6:30 p.m. and tickets can be purchased at the CARD Clinic or from a member of the CARD Foundation board. They are $15 each or $20 for two. During the event, the headliner for this year’s Big Sky Bash will be announced.
CARD would also like to formally welcome our new physician, Dr. Lee Morrissette to the community. Dr. Lee moved to Libby from Cincinnati, Ohio and started working at CARD on Dec. 9. She brings years of experience and lots of enthusiasm to the CARD team. Dr. Lee spent 21 years in the military and not only has a MD degree but also a degree in public health. She is passionate about travel and will be spending much of February in Turkey and Australia before returning to CARD at the end of the month. “I’m always excited to travel, but I’ll be glad to get back to work in Libby, meet new people, and explore the local area when I return,” she said.
Dr. Lee has an 11 year-old Jack Russell Terrier, Ollie, and she enjoys hiking, photography, writing stories and cooking. Now that she lives in Northwest Montana, she’s also thinking of taking up fly fishing.
Dr. Lee will do asbestos health screening visits as well as see established CARD patients. Like all medical providers at CARD, she will work with our Medical Director, Dr. Brad Black, to provide advocacy, care, resources and hope to the community and all those across the nation impacted by Libby amphibole asbestos and asbestos related diseases.
“Having Lee join our team is exciting for us and will be very beneficial to our patients and our communities,” said Dr. Black.
For more information about CARD or our programs, please call us TOLL FREE 855-891-CARD or 406-293-9274. Or you can visit us online at www.libbyasbestos.org.
Libby
Library makes book sale room changes
The Libby Friends of the Library have made some big changes in the room that will be used for monthly book sales. The room, still located in the basement of the Libby Library, will now be accessed only through the main Library entrance. The former entrance to the sale room (from Main Street, across from the Post Office) will no longer be used. Signs will be posted inside the Library showing the stairs to be used; an elevator is also available for those who wish to use it. All of the items for sale – books for all ages (fiction and non-fiction), audiobooks, music CDs, and DVDs – are now in one room, making it more convenient for our patrons. The first sale in our new space will be Friday, Feb. 7 from 10 a.m. until 4:30 p.m.
Submitted by Susan Horelick
FWP
proposes conservation
easement to protect
habitat along the Kootenai near Troy
Montana Fish, Wildlife and Parks is seeking public comment on a proposal to purchase a conservation easement that would protect approximately 50 acres of important fish and wildlife habitat along the Kootenai River just northwest of Troy, Montana.
The property is owned by The Vital Ground Foundation, which has been working over the last several years to purchase this property and protect it from residential development. The project is part of an area identified by biologists as the best linkage corridor for grizzly bears between the Purcell and Cabinet Mountains in the Cabinet-Yaak recovery area. FWP conserved a large portion of this linkage in 2012 with a 28,000-acre conservation easement in the Kootenai Valley. Vital Ground is working to conserve the remaining gaps in this area. This project would continue FWP’s collaborative effort by helping Vital Ground conserve this property and its important riparian and upland habitat.
Vital Ground would continue to own and manage the land while FWP would hold a conservation easement that would preclude future residential or commercial development and ensure the property is managed to benefit fish and wildlife habitat in perpetuity. Public access to the property would be allowed for fishing and bird watching opportunities. The conservation easement would not require Vital Ground to provide hunting access on this property due to the property’s small size and the proximity to U.S. Highway 2 and neighboring residences.
Following completion of the draft environmental assessment and review of the public comments received, the FWP Region 1 Supervisor will issue a decision notice that makes a recommendation to the Fish and Wildlife Commission on a course of action. The Commission will make the final decision on which course of action to take.
A copy of the draft environmental assessment is available at the FWP Region 1 office, 490 N. Meridian Rd., Kalispell; Montana State Library, 1515 E 6th Ave., Helena; FWP State Headquarters, 1420 E 6th Ave., Helena; the FWP website at http://fwp.mt.gov/news/publicNotices/; and available for viewing at local libraries. FWP asks that comments on this draft environmental assessment be submitted to either of the following addresses by 5 p.m., Feb. 17.
Stevie Burton or stevie.burton@mt.gov Montana Fish, Wildlife & Park 490 North Meridian Road in Kalispell, MT
For more information about the project, contact Stevie Burton at the email address above or via phone, (406) 751-4579.
Submitted by Stevie Burton