Fireman's Ball canceled; online auction in works

The phased re-opening of the state following the COVID-19 related stay-home order has forced Lincoln Volunteer Fire Rescue to cancel the 2020 Lincoln Fireman's Ball.

Gov. Steve Bullock has eased restrictions as part of his three-phase reopening plan, but with the phases determined by cases, monitoring, contact tracing and other metrics, rather than by set dates, it's unclear when the event could be held.

Phase 1, which began last week, limits gatherings to only 10 people. Phase 2 bumps that number up to 50 people, but it's not until Phase 3 that a gathering the size of the Fireman's Ball would be allowed.

"We would have to wait 'til Phase 3. That could be anywhere from July to December," Lincoln Fire Chief Zach Muse said during the May1 Government Day listening session.

The ball, originally scheduled for March 21, was rescheduled for May 16, in hopes all the restrictions related to the coronavirus would be lifted before then.

Muse said they plan to hold the drawing for the Henry Golden Boy .44 magnum rifle raffle at noon, Sunday May 15 on Facebook Live. They are also working to develop an online auction fundraiser in lieu of the Fireman's Ball. Muse said they already have a fair amount of donations originally meant for the ball, and some businesses still have items to donate. Once they get the details worked out, they will let everyone know. In the meantime, anyone interested in supporting Lincoln's firefighters can still donate money or auction items by contacting Muse at 406-465-7691 or by mailing LRFD P.O. Box 1071, Lincoln, Mont. 59639.

Muse told the BVD the loss of the Fireman's Ball funding, which was slated to fund upgrades to the new Station 4 (the old Performing Arts building), means work on the building will be limited to the bare necessities.

"We're kind of on hold on really getting after it," he said. "We're going to try to do stuff to get it to work for us."

A separate concern is the delay in taxes this year, related to the COVID-19 response.

The money, which the Lincoln Fire District normally receives in May and November to fund operating expenses, won't be coming in as scheduled this month. Nevertheless, Muse said neither the loss of Fireman's Ball funding nor the delay in tax-base income will impact LVFR responses at all, thanks to a cushion built into the Fire District's budget.

"We have, in case of something like this, a year's revenue we keep for emergency's. We don't touch that money unless it's an emergency," he told the BVD. "We can operate for at least one year with no revenue."