LOCAL NEWS & LOCAL PERSPECTIVE

Health Department investigates transmission of COVID-19 as active cases rise

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McCully reminded anyone planning an event that the health department is there to help them plan a safe event, and to please make certain to reach out for that assistance.

So far, they have had good cooperation for everyone hosting events, Gillmore said. The health department has not had problems with people refusing to follow suggestions or going against health department recommendations.

Aside from continuing to be diligent in following health advisories, Gillmore said one way the public can help to limit the spread of the novel coronavirus that causes COVID-19 is to serve as good role models to their friends, family and community.

“Just like with everything,” Gillmore. “You don’t want to teach your kids that bullying is OK, so don’t bully around [them]. Don’t let them see you doing that.

“If you want to see the community change, be the change,” she added.

While there is no set schedule, McCully said that the health department may host future Facebook Live question and answer events.

In a Sunday update posted to Facebook, the health department shared that the county has had 36 positive COVID-19 tests with 26 currently active cases.

The health department advises people who are considered vulnerable for COVID-19 continue to follow stay-at-home guidance and that everyone should continue to practice social distancing with those who are not members of their immediate household.

Anyone who feels ill should also avoid leaving home or making contact with those outside their household.

The health department also advises wearing face coverings in public spaces where social distancing is not possible, as well as frequent, thorough handwashing with hand sanitizer used when handwashing is not possible.

Facebook Live link: https://www.facebook.com/LincolnMThealth/videos/605391806749988

Update post: https://www.facebook.com/LincolnMThealth/posts/3998843280187956

Reflections on “The Adventurist One:” A Column by Tony Smith  

Column by:  Tony Smith

 

The question, seemingly very odd to me at the time,” came while sitting in the Libby High School balcony bleachers with friends, watching the Libby Logger boys destroy an opponent down below.  The conversation had turned to Legion baseball, and Libby “greats,” with a concurring opinion that Red Lamey was most deserving for “The Great One” moniker, but included aluminous players such as Gary and Tommy Peck, Jerry and Bucky Smith, Walt Mason, Dean Smith, Dr. Greg Luna, Scott Kilner, Jim Stedman, Mitch Fahland, Scott McDonald, Craig Solem, Tim Grotjohn, Dan Rambo, Ben Vaughn, Roe Hatlen, Ed Gehring, Dale Phillips, Robbie Nelson, Ron Scott (the player that Libby forgot- one who has been inducted into the MSU Bobcat Hall of Fame for both baseball and basketball), and of course a more recent player who can only be described in superlatives, Jared Winslow. Just to name only a few! But the question came virtually out of the blue: “Who is the most adventurist baseball player you ever coached?”

“Adventurist” may have a number of meanings depending on the context, but its usage in sports generally means, “all over the map.” For example, one may say, “his or her golf game was an adventure today,” meaning it was erratic to some degree. Probably to a large degree! Or watching ones largest post player on the basketball team careening down the floor with the ball, leading the fast break, knowing the result is going to be disastrous! It just seemed unusual referencing a baseball player in those terms, but the question made perfectly good sense as I thought about it, and was easily able to answer it. The most “adventurist” player I ever had the pleasure of coaching in Legion baseball was Johnny Resch, bar none!

As a baseball player, every facet of Johnny’s game was “Resch tough.” As a hitter he crowded the plate, daring pitchers to throw at him; many, if not most pitchers did hit him, without fazing him in the least. His normal response was a contemptuous stare-down at the pitcher as he trotted down to first base, seemingly unharmed. Or he would punch a single “up the middle” or into right field, always to right field, never to left.  He was one of the toughest “outs” I’d ever seen since Whitefish’s legendary basketball coach, Julio Delgado, who used to crowd the plate in my own playing days. To be honest, being hit by an 80-mile-an-hour fastball wasn’t exactly going to hurt him! I can never recall getting him out.

Once on first base, Johnny, would, more often than not, simply ignore signs being flashed to him from the third base coaching box. He would steal second base, not like a Robbie Nelson-four-strides-away-from-stealing-second-base-standing-up, but with a confident lead and first-step quickness. He was such an intimidating base runner that infielders would be reluctant to cover second or third base when they recognized who was coming at them.  In reality, he was his own boss on the bases, despite my warnings that “if you go, you’d dang sure better get there, John!”

But it was in the outfield that the real “adventure” began. As a center fielder, any ball hit to his left or to his right led to an immediate “I got it” response. Even balls hit down the line, “I got it,” John would cry.  Left and right fielders just learned to get out of his way. John would nearly always successfully track those baseballs down, and he would crash through fences to get to them.

But it was on routine fly balls hit to center field that were unnerving to the point of being virtually unbearable. Taking three steps in to ensure that a ball never dropped in front of him (an unbreakable habit), John was thence required to retreat, circling the ball like a retriever with a bird down in the brush, and once under it, proceed to bobble it all the way as far as the infield. You would see the ball consistently pop up and then back into his glove. Umpires were often unable to make a call with an ounce of assurance, and I just simply had to quit watching, instead waiting on crowd noise for a definitive outcome. Once in the dugout, a confidently grinning Johnny would assure both me and his teammates that he “had it all the way.” His teammates may have been assured, but I never was!

On those rare occasions when John was not in the starting lineup, and indeed it was rare, I would receive a “lower than a snake” glare from the very cute blond sitting in the stands next to the screen. I began to disguise my lineup card, handing it to the umpire behind my back on the way to the concession stand for a pre-game soda, a bit of “slight of hand” on my part, attempting to defuse the potential drama playing out by his best fan. She wasn’t someone, at age 15 and being a Moe, I wanted to tangle with, I can assure you of that!

Looking back on our conversation that night in the bleachers of Libby High School, I was left with such incredibly fond memories and nostalgia for players like a John Resch who left an indelible mark upon my Legion Baseball days, as well as the lifelong friendships that have resulted from those wonderful days. Libby has truly always been a baseball community, and how fortunate I was to have been raised in it, both as a player and coach.

Tony Smith