To ALL the Valley County Residents

Dear Editor,

I am a resident of Nemont Manor. Moving to Nemont Manor was a tough decision for me, personally. I have come to realize in my first year of living here it was the BEST decision.

When it was first announced that the full-pay tenants had to relocate, I realized that it wasn’t the new owner’s decision but that it was necessary to meet the requirements of the HUD regulations in order to get the funding necessary to do the repairs and upgrades that this building has needed for many years. Although I did not like that decision I could understand it knowing that these repairs and upgrades are what will keep this building here and available to the senior citizens in the community now and in the future.

On Wednesday, Oct. 3, 2018, I received the most recent notification that as of December 1, 2018, the mandatory meal program will be ending. This, I CAN NOT understand for several reasons:

There are many seniors that are fully capable of living independently. Just because they are capable of independent living doesn’t mean they are able to cook their own meals or successfully fulfill their dietary needs. Ending the meal program puts them at health and social risk.

Many residents rely on the social contact they have in communal dining. Removing that from the daily living will further isolate them. Consider what the lack of relationship building will do to one’s mental health.

I realize there has been a lack of staffing in the dining room. The unemployment rate in Valley County is 2.3 percent for August. 2018. With those statistics, an employer is going to need to be competitive with other businesses in the community. Offering a wage that is clearly less than what the fast food establishments and other service-oriented positions offer in this area is NOT competitive in the marketplace. Hence that is why there is a lack of staffing in this dining room.

The food program has never been a profit-making venture. Maybe cutting back to one hot meal per day could be an option. This would save on food costs as well as costs for staffing. I don’t have any answers but I feel there are options to be explored.

Tamarack Property Management Company was hired by the new owner and met with all the residents upon taking over. I left this meeting feeling positive that there would be good changes forthcoming, e.g., repairs to the building, upgrades to the apartments, paving the parking lot, much needed new elevators, etc. Since this meeting, I have seen nothing but detrimental changes.

Let’s get this problem to our elected officials, the ones that are working FOR us. The ones that were elected BY us. We may chose to live in the “MIDDLE OF NOWHERE" but, we need to let them know of our concerns.

Sincerely,

Rhonda Roness James

Glasgow, Mont.