When the Blaine County Commissioners met April 20 in regular session, one of the hot topics on the agenda was getting the rest of the bids for the Greenfield Fire Department construction opened. The commissioners had previously let the bid for construction work, but there was no plumbing or electrical work included, so those items had to be bid separately.
When the packets were opened, there was a single plumbing bid and five quotes on electrical work. In order to make sure the bids were apples-to-apples comparisons, the matter was tabled until the specifications could be checked off the list and every facet double checked before the bids are let. There was some question about the single plumbing bid and whether it meshed with the construction bid. Greenfield fire chief Chad Scheihing said he would do more research on the matter and present his findings at the next commissioners’ meeting.
The commissioners also learned that county emergency management director Jim Shelton is working on grants from Federal Emergency Management Agency, using the Recipient Public Assistance format. He is also responsible for inventorying the levels of personal protection equipment and other items, such as respirators, hospital beds and the like for the state every day. That information is used to help the state prepare for the anticipated Covid-19 case surge, expected about April 30.
Becky Bedwell, the OSU extension educator, said that although her office is working virtually, the various 4-H clubs had held their cupcake wars and other competitions by sending photographs of their projects to her for placing. The photos and more information about those contests are found on Blaine County Extension social media page.
The Blaine County Sheriff’s office told the commissioners there had been several arrests over the weekend, but the department is working to keep the population in the jail as low as possible, meaning they process detainees as quickly as they can and release them if possible. The current jail population hovers around nine. The department also took part in the Main Street Cruise in Canton by setting up at an intersection and making sure the high spirits did not get out of hand. It was reported that many citizens took part and it was reminiscent of days past when teenagers cruised Main Street on weekend nights, beeping horns and yelling from car to car.
The elections board said it had received ballots for the June 30 elections, and noted that some voters may have two or even three ballots to mark, since there is a state question included in the election packets.
The Blaine County Commission meets at 9 a.m. each Monday save holidays. At this time the meetings are limited to 10 or fewer attendees.
Connie Burcham can be reached at Editor@WatongaRepublican.com