10/28/2024“Helena This Week” is reported and written By JoVonne Wagner. Send your Helena news and tips to [email protected] advocate says the city has much work to do Jacob Krissovich, right, poses with his friend and running guide, BJ Biskupiak, after finishing a half marathon in under two hours. Credit: Jacob Krissovich Jacob Krissovich has called Helena his home since he was 10 years old. He started a family and is an active member of the community. Last weekend, he participated in his first half marathon, a significant accomplishment considering Krissovich is blind. “I wanted to finish under two hours and I did and the fact that I did that while blind just to show other blind and low-vision people that there’s nothing that we can’t do if we have systems in place,” Krissovich, 36, told Montana Free Press. “So to reach that goal and to be able to do that it meant a lot to me.”However, because Helena has not done enough to address ADA compliance and accessibility throughout the city, he said that he’s considered moving. The race covered sidewalks, streets and trails, but Krissovich, who’s an avid hiker and backpacker, said the challenges weren’t tied to his blindness but to accessibility. He ran the race with a sighted guide, one of his lifelong friends, by running side-by-side, tethered to each other. The sidewalks, he said, were either cracked or damaged, not wide enough or had obstructions such as poorly placed mailboxes, city signs and parking kiosks, causing them to sometimes run on the street. “That’s one issue is the fact that we have a limited amount of sidewalks and the city of Helena doesn’t have any substantive plan to increase that network,” Krissovich said. Krissovich has been a part of the city’s ADA compliance committee for the past year and is the Helena chapter president for the National Federation of the Blind, an advocacy organization that supports blind and low-vision individuals through public services and the legislative process.  The city’s ADA committee reviews complaints about ADA compliance and determines accommodations and recommendations to the city commission. However, Krissovich said most meetings are uneventful because the city has received few, if any, complaints. The committee meets only every other month, and if the city receives no complaints, those meetings are sometimes canceled.  “If somebody makes the effort to call or email, then we have a responsibility and to do due diligence to make note of that even if it’s not resolved because I think it gives an inaccurate replication of what’s really going on in the city of Helena,” said Gina Lytle, who is the ADA compliance committee co-chair and disable community representative, in a January meeting.  City community development administrative assistant April Sparks told MTFP the best way to submit ADA compliance complaints is to send an email to the city’s ADA coordinator Ellie Ray at [email protected] the frustrations with Helena’s sidewalks and accessibility, Krissovich remains open to continuing the discussion on what the city can do to improve. “I would welcome any of the city of Helena officials, the city manager, the city commissioners, the mayor, anyone who wants to hear more about this and wants to have an ally in coming up with an actual plan, to reach out to myself or other members of organizations advocating for the disabled,” Krissovich said. 5 Things to Know in Helena Community Change Grant: The Helena Public School District, in partnership with several local agencies, is seeking funds through an EPA grant. Money from the program, which has about $2 billion available, would be used to install new energy-saving equipment for some district buildings. School facility director Todd Verrill told the board of trustees last week that Helena Middle School and Rossiter and Four Georgians elementary schools would receive new HVAC systems, solar panels and LED lighting if the funds — about $20.6 million — are awarded. The district has until Nov. 21 to submit its application. Zoning change for Carroll: Last week, city commissioners approved Carroll College’s request to change the zoning at 1329 N. Benton Ave. from residential to a public lands and institutions district. The zoning change will allow the college to develop the property into dorms and other additional campus buildings, according to city staff. School board’s letter to the district: School board chairperson Siobhan Hathhorn released a district-wide letter last week explaining the background and reasoning behind a raise for administrative staff that was approved in September. The letter was the result of a school board meeting earlier this month, during which board members responded to the community’s reaction to the pay increase. The letter also addressed claims of a lack of transparency about the decision and included the district’s employee salary history for context. “I would also like to reiterate the trustees’ position that all employee groups are valued, and we are committed to fair and market-aligned salary schedules,” Hathhorn said in the letter. “It is the board’s desire, with adequate funding, to get wages above market for every member of our staff.”United Way fundraising update: The United Way of the Lewis and Clark Area, along with other participating local nonprofits, hosted its annual Family Fun Fest last weekend. The money raised will go to the nonprofits, including the United Way’s Housing First Capital Campaign. Although United Way won’t know the fundraising total until the end of October, about $6,000 was raised in sponsorships. Visit United Way’s website for more information about fundraising or business sponsorships. Holiday Market around the corner: The Helena Civic Center, 340 Neill Ave., is kicking off the winter season with its holiday market on Saturday, Nov. 2, from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. Over 70 vendors will sell homemade crafts and goods, and Santa Claus will make a special appearance. 3 Questions For Helena-based photographer Larry Taylor recently traveled to the Natural History Museum in London for the 60th Wildlife Photographer of the Year ceremony. Taylor, who teaches biology at Helena College, was selected as one of 100 finalists out of 60,000 submissions with his photo of a white ermine in Yellowstone National Park. Taylor spoke with MTFP about the experience, his background in photography and the story behind the photo. His comments have been edited for length and clarity. MTFP: How did you get started as a wildlife photographer?Taylor: I wanted to be a photographer ever since I was a little kid. I grew up watching nature documentaries narrated by David Attenborough, the greatest of all time. I was always fascinated with the idea of being the person behind the camera getting to see those things and experience those things. I’ve done photography here and there throughout my life, but when I finished grad school and I got the job offer here in Helena and we’re this close to Yellowstone and Glacier, that’s when I finally invested in good camera gear and said this is the time and just started doing it. [I’m] literally living out a childhood dream to be out there in those places watching the wildlife and photographing those moments.I am a wildlife photographer in all of my free time and I mean, all of my free time. I’m in Yellowstone about 120 days a year. In May, when the college lets out for the summer, I go to Yellowstone and camp for five weeks straight. Then throughout the school semester, I’m there every weekend. I go to Glacier not as much, but I spend like a couple dozen days a year up there. Glacier’s really good for mountain goats. It’s really good for grizzly bears. It can be good for moose. Yellowstone is better for wildlife just because there’s more open space and Glacier’s so deeply forested. MTFP: How did you capture the photo of the ermine you submitted for the competition?Taylor: Ermine are difficult to photograph, generally, because they’re very fast, they’re twitchy, they’re just hard to get to sit still for a photograph or anything like that. And, of course, in the winter, they’re white and they’re walking around on white snow, so they’re really hard to photograph. Credit: Larry TaylorThis day, this will sound ridiculous, it’s the first time I’ve ever even photographed an ermine, and I got it doing this in this once-a-lifetime scenario. So it was climbing this vertical cliff, and it was 25 to 30 feet off the ground, shimmying up a crack in the cliff. As fast and as twitchy as they are on the ground, it was just as fast and twitchy going up this cliff. It stuck out because it was bright white against this black crack in the crevice in the cliff so it drew my attention, and I watched it for over an hour, climbing this cliff. It was trying to get to a little wood rat that was clinging to a ledge. When it got as close as it could, it would jump and then it would fall 25 to 30 feet. And it did this like 12 times. It never got the rat. It would climb, jump, fall to the ground and climb again. So you have to admire the effort at least. It paused for that half second, kind of looked at me as I was watching it, and then continued climbing. It’s very, very rare to take a photo and immediately know it’s once a lifetime. And I immediately knew that was once in a lifetime.MTFP: What was the experience like being in a room of international photographers?Taylor: The Wildlife Photographer of the Year is by far the most prestigious nature photography competition in the world. It’s a really big deal for photographers because you’re recognized as one of the world’s best. It can be a very big thing in terms of making a career from photography because it gets your name out there. So it’s just an incredible amount of exposure.Just to be included in that group of those photographers is just the most amazing experience because these are people that professionally, I completely look up to. They have done incredible work that is funded by National Geographic and things like that. I’m just here with the camera I bought going down to Yellowstone snapping photos. It was just an absolutely incredible experience. Really, in terms of photography, the honor of a lifetime. The exhibition itself is incredible to be on display in the Natural History Museum. It looks amazing to have my photograph alongside those other incredible photographs.A Helena Halloween Lewis and Clark Taproom: The taproom, 1535 Dodge Ave., will host a scary movie-themed costume contest during its trivia night on Wednesday, Oct. 30, at 7:30 p.m. On Halloween, the brewery will have live music from the local band Dusty Tones at 7 p.m. and will hold another costume contest with cash prizes. Visit the taproom’s website for additional details. The Jesters Bar: Jesters, 200 N. Rodney St., will hold a costume contest during its open mic night on Halloween, Thursday, Oct. 31, with prizes. The open mic sign-up starts at 7 p.m. Helena Indian Alliance: The HIA, 501 Euclid Ave., will host a free family-friendly Glow Night on Tuesday, Oct. 29, from 5 p.m. to 7 p.m. The event will feature a Halloween-themed carnival, candy, games and a photo booth. Contact the Helena Indian Alliance at [email protected] for more information. Little Tykes Tick or Treat: Families are invited to bring their children downtown to local businesses on Halloween. Shops will give out candy from 1 p.m. to 4 p.m., and children are encouraged to dress warm. Contact the Helena Area Chamber of Commerce for more information. East Helena Fright Night: East Helena is hosting its 19th Annual Fright Night and Car Show on Halloween from 5 p.m. to 8:30 p.m. Classic cars will park on East Helena Main Street to hold a Trunk-or-Treat while local businesses and city officials hand out candy.  Eye on Helena / Helena History The Livery Square mural depicts the building’s automobile history. Credit: JoVonne Wagner / MTFP Helenans may have noticed a new mural on the south side of the Livery Square building at 27 Neill Ave. Drake Law Firm purchased the property and is currently renovating the inside of the historic building before moving in. The building, estimated to have been built in the late 1890s, was once a carriage house that turned into an auto shop and then became a Dodge dealership before transitioning into modern office spaces in the 80s, according to co-owner Andy Gordon.  Gordon told MTFP they wanted to honor the building’s unique history through a public art project. Florida mural artist Trinity Rivard was eventually commissioned to help create and paint the mural. Rivard said the final design was a collaborative effort, and he wanted to ensure he incorporated the people and historical components into the mural.“For me, the collaboration pushes the design to new places,” Rivard told MTFP. “So that push and pull and the revisions and the editing and all that I think, ultimately is what makes it so special and custom and unique because you have the voices of the people of the community.”The Livery building was a Dodge dealership from the 1920s to the 1970s. Photo Credit: Courtesy of Andy Gordon from the collection of Pat SeilerThe post Navigating Helena’s sidewalks appeared first on Montana Free Press.