Diane Hagen

The Williston Area Chamber wishes to congratulate Darci Grindheim on her NDCC Leadership Award which was appropriately presented at the Williston Chamber Teacher’s Reception, Aug. 27. This award is given by the North Dakota State Chamber of Commerce and was presented by NDCC Board Member Cathy Kruse. It was our pleasure to nominate Darci for her community leadership skills but especially for her work on the Chamber Partners in Education and Leadership Committee and North Star Caviar.

The Chamber’s long range planning for 2010 includes the United States Census Action Plan to help achieve a complete count for McKenzie, Williams and Divide Counties. This region had the lowest returns for the last census count. Our region needs to plan and make sure that we are counted in 2010. It is especially important for employers to be aware of those employees who have worked in our area for six months as they will be counted as citizens of North Dakota. Our state and federal dollars for everything from schools to roads depend on the numbers game. Every year, more than $400 billion in federal funds are awarded to states and communities based on census data. That’s more than $4 trillion distributed over a 10-year period.

“It’s In Our Hands” is the theme for our upcoming 2010 count. For more information please go to 2010census.gov. The local committee is busy planning for upcoming events and the distribution of information. The committee represents the state, city, schools, job service, energy, business (chamber) and the churches. If you are willing to help in this effort please contact the chamber and the planning committee at 577-6000.

The Upper Missouri Health Unit has formed a committee that has been preparing for the upcoming flu season and the possibility of an all out pandemic flu. Local flu conditions will influence the decisions that local public health officials will make regarding community-level strategies to lessen the spread of flu. Know where to get timely and accurate information that can guide your responses in each location where your business resides. In our area it is the Upper Missouri Health District. Be prepared to use multiple measures to protect workers and ensure continuity of business operations. Review your current pandemic flu plan or develop a new plan. Involve your employees in development and review of the plan. Share the plan and polices with your employees.

Engage your state and local health department to confirm channels of communication and methods for dissemination of local outbreak information.

Consider ways to allow sick employees to stay home without fear of losing their jobs.

Develop flexible leave policies to allow employees to stay home to care for sick family members or for children, if schools dismiss students or childcare programs close.

Share best practices with other businesses in your community. Work with companies in your supply chain as well as chambers of commerce and local associations to improve response efforts.

To help keep a healthy environment, encourage your employees and families to practice healthy hygiene. Teach them to cough into a tissue or into their elbow, and have them wash their hands often with hot water or use a sanitizer. Avoid close contact with people who are sick and keep your home and office area sanitized. Please use this information often at all your staff meeting and post them in every rest room when the flyers are distributed to your business. Let us hope that the flu season is short and that we do not need to use a back up plan. It is better to be safe then sorry.

The Sioux ambush of the Assiniboine, an 1854 account by carpenter and boatman, Louis Dace Letellier, will be the scenario of this year’s Last Bell Tours, Saturday evening, Sep. 5, at Fort Union Trading Post National Historic Site. Please plan to attend.

This special event concludes Fort Union’s summer schedule. Starting Tuesday, Sept. 8, Open hours are from 9 am to 7 pm CDT and are through the end of September. Fort Union is located 25 miles southwest of Williston, North Dakota, via Highway 1804, and 24 miles northeast of Sidney, Montana. For more information, call 701-572-9083.