Roundup for Safety Helps Cross Country Athletes Safely Cross The Finish Line
Submitted by Courtney Stone
The Roundup for Safety Board awarded $37,225 in community safety grants to nonprofit organizations at its September 8 meeting, including a $7,500 grant requested jointly by the Kootenai Cross Country Running Team and the Kootenai Cross Country Ski Club.
Cross Country Coach Brittany Katzer requested pop-up tents with walls to protect runners and skiers from Northwest Montana’s mercurial weather. The teams are no strangers to competing in extreme heat, cold, and wind. This fall, there are 44 runners. This winter, over 100 skiers are expected to participate in the ski club, three days per week.
The teams also asked the Board for assistance in purchasing a first aid kit and water coolers to improve athlete hydration. “Keeping our Libby athletes safe is of the utmost importance,” Katzer told the Board, which agreed and noted the partnership between the cross country running and ski teams with approval.
Other projects funded during the September meeting included:
$10,000 – Kidsport – fencing
$10,000 – Land to Hand Montana – building entrance
$8,000 – Libby Food Pantry – covered walkway
$1,725 – Calvary Chapel of the Flathead Valley – child pickup system
Roundup for Safety is a voluntary program for Flathead Electric Cooperative members who allow their electric bills to be rounded up to the next dollar, with the extra money going into a fund for community safety projects proposed by nonprofit organizations and considered by an independent board.
Since 1997, members of Flathead Electric Cooperative have rounded up their bills to a total of $4,541,182 in community safety project funding. If your nonprofit is interested in applying for community safety funds, visit www.flatheadelectric.com/roundup or call Courtney Stone at 406-751-1820. Grant applications are accepted on Flathead Electric Co-op’s website and are due by the end of each month for consideration at the following month’s meeting.
Flathead Electric Co-op was founded in 1937 to bring electric service to rural areas of the Flathead Valley. The Co-op offers generation, transmission, and distribution of affordable, reliable, carbon-free electric energy and is the largest co-op in Montana, serving 56,000+ members, while focusing on community, innovation, and reliability..
For more information, press only:
PR Contact Name: Courtney Stone, Public Affairs Specialist
Phone number: 406-751-1820
Email: c.stone@flathead.coop
Gratitude for Results in Wildfire Protection Work
While smoke is in the air, it is a good time to recognize that, in Lincoln County, major progress is being made in taking action to reduce wildfire risk by the Forest Service and other land managers.
A strong focus by local officials to identify priorities for treatment, and get work done on the ground, is really paying off and showing results. A great many people in our community are working on these efforts and they surely deserve our gratitude.
Many acres of fuels treatments are already underway, additional projects have been recently approved and more large-scale projects are in the works. Treatments typically include thinning plus reduction of understory and ladder fuels, sometimes in conjunction with prescribed margins along roads.
This work is prioritized to focus on the Wildland Urban Interface. Landowners in the WUI can expect to see harvesters, masticators and other equipment near your backyards, working to create conditions that are unfavorable for dangerous fires. In addition, there are considerable resources available to landowners to design and execute projects on their own private property. Much information can be found at www.fireadaptedkootenai.org
Thanks to extensive work in recent years to inventory and analyze the best opportunities to take action, our community is now in a good position to utilize extra resources provided by Congress to address wildfire threats in the West. A prime example of this is the news that the Kootenai was one of only 10 areas in the West to receive one of the Initial Landscape Investments from the Infrastructure Bill, $19.3 million to expand local risk reduction projects.
Another key example is the U.S. Forest Service’s decision to grant $1.2 million in 2022 Joint Chiefs funding to the Kootenai for the Libby Surround Stewardship Project. These projects will address priorities identified in the Lincoln County Community Wildfire Protection Plan and Montana Forest Action plan, which were developed with the help of local experts and advisors.
Homeowners also have an important role to play in community wildfire protection, by ensuring their structures and landscaping are clear from flammable materials, and less vulnerable to flying embers which are the main cause of home ignitions.
The Kootenai Forest Stakeholders Coalition wishes to express our appreciation for the many people and agencies who are pitching in to help protect our community and its resources.
Submitted by Doug Ferrell, KFS
Montana needs politicians who support Montana and Montanans
That’s not Mr. Zinke’s priority. The majority of his campaign funds are from outside Montana and from corporate interests. Only 6% of his campaign funds comes from Montanans. Combining that paltry 6% with Montana corporate donations, it rises to a scant 15%, leaving 85% of his campaign funds coming from out of state. . Over one-third of this funding comes from Texas, Florida, Georgia, and the D.C. area. He will be seriously beholden to groups and individuals outside of Montana.
It is likely Zinke will mislead and lie about how he will serve Montana. It has been proven that he acted so when he was Sec. of Interior.
Montanans need a Representative whose main campaign funds are from Montanans and Montana groups.
We need a Representative who is honest and beholden to Montanans.
That person is Monica Tranel.
Monica Tranel received over 75% of her donations from Montanans for the same time period. Monica will represent Montanans not out-of-staters.
Monica is a full- time resident of Montana. Zinke isn’t.
Monica is also honest and hasn’t been found to be misleading and lying by the very government she would serve.
Submitted by Ernest Scherzer, of Trout Creek Mont.