The community of Rudyard is asking for support as they continue to fight Hill County Council on Aging and Commissioner Sheri Williams for mismanagement of their senior center. There have been no meals served for seniors since July 12th, 2024 and only a few meals on wheels meals since March 22, 2024. The community of Rudyard depends on these meals to feed their seniors and helps these individuals maintain their independence and quality of life. Small communities rely on these meals even more so than urban centers, which have restaurants, grocery stores and additional resources. These meals also serve as an opportunity for the community to gather and necessary social and mental stimulation. The County has neglected to (1) ensure proper maintenance is performed on the building and the contents within the facility and (2) inability to provide necessary programs for the seniors of Rudyard, Hingham and Kremlin and (3) wrongfully exploiting, harassing and accusing community members. In September of 2024, the community gathered over 180 signatures in support of the continuation of the senior meal program in Rudyard. Since then, no actions have been taken by Hill County and the Commissioner Sheri Williams to take the community seriously. 

On December 12th, the freezer went down in the Rudyard senior center. The senior volunteers notified Heather Sinclair and the Council for Aging, who then called county commissioner Sheri Williams. The community members sent a picture of the meat to Sinclair stating that they were going to move the meat temporarily before it thawed to save it from spoiling. The community members were surprised to find out that the Hill Counties Sheriff’s office was then called by Sheri Williams and Heather Sinclair, lying and stating that the community members were “stealing the meat” from the facility that had been unattended since July of 2024 by the County. The Council for Aging neglected to maintain its facilities and programs for this community. On 1/27 at the Council for Aging meeting, Sinclair admitted that they did not take the food to the dump, but instead took it to their homes and the Havre senior center. Sinclair and County Commissioner were notified by community members that the food they had left in the community center since July 2024 was perishing and needed to be removed. The community members did not hear any response from the council of aging. 

To this day, several Rudyard community members have applied to this board to help the county work towards bringing senior meals back to the community but none have been accepted or received a response acknowledging their application. Members of the Rudyard community are frustrated and decided to take their concerns to public meetings in January 2025. Recordings of the meetings are available on the County website. Our small community and seniors are asking for support of other seniors in Montana, news outlets and the government to stand up and help support this cause that Hill County and Commissioner Sherie Williams continue to ignore. This is not the first time that Commissioner Sheri Williams has been called to step down for misconduct. The Hill County Commission voted 2-0 last year, to formally censure Hill County Commissioner Sheri Williams, with the other commissioners voting for the censure. Sheri Williams continues to display erratic behavior, inappropriate language, and inability to complete her job. This is not the first public scandal that has occurred in Hill County recently after the recent water advisory in May of 2024 when the County neglected to inform their residents that their drinking water was contaminated. 

We invite others to help us and sign our petition to help bring back necessary senior services in Rudyard and recall commissioner Shari Williams.