![]() ![]() “None of us planned a 500-year flood event on the Yellowstone when we designed these facilities,” said Debi Meling, the city’s public works director.īillings had a just a 24- to 36-hour supply of water and officials asked its 110,000 residents to conserve while expressing optimism that the river would drop quickly enough for the plant to resume operations before the supply ran out. because it can’t operate effectively with water levels that high. The city gets its water from the river and was forced to shut down its treatment plant at about 9:30 a.m. Heavy weekend rains and melting mountain snow had the Yellowstone River flowing at a historically high level of 16 feet (4.9 meters) as it raced past Billings. (AP) - Devastating floodwaters that wiped out miles of roads and hundreds of bridges in Yellowstone National Park and swamped scores of homes in surrounding communities moved downstream Wednesday and threatened to cut off fresh drinking water to residents of Montana’s largest city. “We’re lucky, though, that under the union agreement our four colleagues chose to leave on their own terms.BILLINGS, Mont. “It’s always sad to see talented people leave our newsroom,” said Brett French, the Gazette’s outdoors editor. ![]() Former photo intern Ryan Berry was hired to fill the vacancy left by Page’s promotion.Ĭonsequently, the Gazette’s news staff enters 2021 reduced by five positions. News editor Alyssa Small resigned and was replaced by assistant photo editor Casey Page. News editor Darrell Ehrlick and opinion page editor Pat Bellinghausen’s positions were eliminated. In addition to the buyouts, the Gazette’s news staff lost three other members in 2020. Lee Enterprises downsized other newsrooms in Montana earlier in the year but could not make changes at the Gazette while contract talks were underway. Lee also approved an extra $2,400 incentive to cover two months of COBRA insurance for those who voluntarily resigned. The buyouts were one of the items the Montana News Guild negotiated for in its first one-year contract with Lee Enterprises. “We simply can’t keep doing more with less.” “I went through with my acceptance because with those eliminations, it feels next to impossible to continue to help uphold the breadth and quality of journalism we’ve been known for, especially since more layoffs can - and probably will - happen at any time,” she said. ![]() Lacy, after accepting the offer, learned her position would be rehired but the three journalists and their roles would be eliminated. “With rising health insurance costs, stagnant wages and higher cost of living expenses, I told him I couldn’t afford to stay anymore, financially or emotionally.” “In negotiations with (regional editor) David McCumber, I was told that the company had zero flexibility,” Paige said. Parent corporation Lee Enterprises authorized four buyouts, although three were initially offered, due to interest from guild members and despite Paige’s request to be kept on under new terms. 21, buyout agreements were authorized for education reporter Matt Hoffman, special publications editor Charity Dewing and arts and entertainment reporter Anna Paige, marking their last day at the publication.Įditorial administrative assistant Rachelle Lacy’s buyout agreement was enacted on Dec. The shortest day of the year marked the departure of three Montana News Guild members from the Billings Gazette newspaper, further darkening an already dim time of year. ![]()
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