Farmers markets

Swimming

Swimming lessons provide summer activity, life-saving skills

Kids love splashing around in the water on hot summer days. In the Mission Valley, there are a few options for lessons, and while out recreating, experts offer tips on water safety.

Children who can’t swim should always wear a personal floatation device when in and around water. Pools should be securely fenced so children cannot get in without supervision. During lightning and thunderstorms, people should stay out of the water.

In Lake County and the Flathead Reservation, many places are available for water activities, including the Flathead Lake and river, and sometimes, the bottoms of those water bodies are not visible. Experts advise people to never jump into unknown waters. A body of water can look deep but, actually, be shallow. Rocks could also be a problem.

One critical piece of advice: people shouldn’t attempt to save others who are drowning by swimming to them without expert skills. When people are drowning, panic often sets in, and they reach for anything available, and the person attempting to rescue someone could be pulled under. People are advised to reach out from the shore or find a floatation device to help the individual.

Swimming lessons could save a person’s life. Eileen McMillan, who teaches lessons in the pool at her home, said swimming skills are important in this area.

“There’s a lot of water around here,” she said. Between irrigation ditches, Flathead Lake, ponds and backyard pools, local children often come into contact with bodies of water,” she said. “If they fall or jump in and don’t know how to swim, they could drown.”

McMillan has been teaching swimming lessons for more than 30 years. She teaches basic swimming and life-saving skills to children age three up to adults. She provides instruction for all skill levels, from complete beginners to advanced swimmers. McMillan, who trained as a physical education teacher, also runs a preschool during the school year. She teaches swimming full-time in the summer in her heated backyard pool. This year she’s implementing additional cleaning measures to ensure that the COVID-19 virus does not spread at her facility. Experts say pools that are properly treated with chemicals do not spread the virus. She’ll also encourage parents to socially distance while waiting for their children to finish lessons.

McMillan said she typically teaches more than 100 students each summer from all over the region. Lessons are held in three two-week sessions. Students attend 30-minute lessons Monday through Friday during their session. Some students enroll in multiple sessions. At the end of each session, parents are invited to watch their children show off their new skills.

McMillan said the skills she teaches her students have saved lives numerous times. One three-year-old student fell into an irrigation ditch after his first day of swimming lessons and was able to propel himself to a place where his dad could rescue him. McMillan’s students have gone on to become lifeguards, rescue swimmers, and triathletes. Those interested in registering for lessons should call McMillan at 406-676-8392.

Mission Valley Aquatic Center will also offer limited swimming lessons this summer. Two-week sessions start June 22. Children can attend lessons Monday through Thursday. Class sizes will be limited and additional precautions implemented to prevent the spread of COVID-19. For more information or to sign up, call 406-883- 4567 or pool@mvaquatics.org.

Story by Mary Auld for the Valley Journal

Eat fresh

Farmers Markets provide fresh, local produce despite pandemic

While measures to prevent the spread of the coronavirus have changed day-to-day life, people still have to eat. And lucky for the Mission Valley, vegetables are still growing in the fields, livestock are grazing, and local creators are making crafts and food items to sell. The area’s robust farmers markets continue to deliver fresh food just miles from where it was grown.

The farmers market season started just as the state’s restrictions on gatherings and businesses began to lift. Governor Steve Bullock announced earlier in the spring that farmers markets are essential businesses and could operate despite shelter in place orders.

Markets across the region started to open gradually. The Polson market, the largest and oldest in the Mission Valley, started two weeks late. They started with just the basic vendors: produce, meat and plant seedlings. Over time, they added more vendors, starting with the most senior vendors and increasing capacity as pandemic prevention restrictions lifted.

Markets developed guidelines to maintain safe social distancing and prevent the spread of the pandemic. Visitors and

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vendors at markets are expected to stay home from the market if they are sick or at risk for contracting COVID-19.

Only one person per household should attend the market, and pets should stay at home. Everyone should maintain six feet of distance from one another at all times. The markets should not be used as social gathering places. To-go food will be packaged and should not be consumed on-site. Customers should not touch items. Vendors will pack up the requested items.

Katie Neskey, market manager for both the Ronan and Mission Falls markets, said the pandemic has made it even more important for locals to eat food produced by people in the community who they trust. “As always, knowing where your food comes from is very important,” Neskey said. “That becomes more clear in times like these.”

The simplicity of the local supply chain reduces opportunities for food to be contaminated by the virus. She added that the market is safer than a grocery store because it’s outside where health experts say the virus is less likely to spread.

At the beginning of the season, it seemed that locals took the importance of buying local to heart. Markets across the county were well-attended at the beginning of the season, according to market organizers.

Buying food at the farmers market supports local businesses. Many community members have suffered economically because of the pandemic, and shopping from local farmers, producers, and creators is an investment in the local economy.

“A lot of folks are struggling because of shutdowns,” Neskey said. “The smaller scale folks get hit a lot harder by things like that so it’s important to support them now.”

Farmers markets also provide economic relief to shoppers. Those who have SNAP can get twice the value of their assistance through the markets’ double SNAP

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