Safety grants assist projects in Creston, Whitefish

Flathead Electric Cooperative’s Roundup for Safety Board awarded a total of $10,000 in grants to community nonprofits at its Jan. 13 meeting.

The board unanimously approved to award $5,000 toward a community safety project that is set to replace the faded beacon signs in front of Creston School and Creston Volunteer Fire Department. The project is the result of a partnership between the Rotary Foundation of Bigfork, Creston Volunteer Fire Department and the Creston School PTO.

The area’s speed limit is 45 mph and drops to 40 mph during school loading and unloading hours. Despite these limits, traffic in this area frequently exceeds 70 mph, creating serious safety risks for students and pedestrians crossing Montana Highway 35.

The board also voted unanimously to improve safety for recreationists on the Whitefish Trail. Whitefish Legacy Partners, the nonprofit managing the multi-use, non-motorized, 47-mile trail system, requested emergency key boxes to allow emergency vehicle access. The trail, accessible via 15 trailheads, crosses a variety of different lands, including federal, state and private.

Program Manager Jedd Sankar-Gorton noted that this patchwork is part of what makes the Whitefish Trail special, but it can also make emergency vehicle access complicated.

Previously, the Whitefish Fire Department and Whitefish Legacy Partners conducted a successful Knox box pilot program. Knox boxes are similar to small safes that are installed on gates to locked roads. A regional master key, given only to approved groups, can open all the boxes in the area. This allows a first responder to open locked gates without having to search for a set of keys or waste valuable time cutting the lock. Sankar-Gorton informed the board that this unfortunate scenario has happened before.

The Roundup for Safety Board voted to award $5,000 towards the installation of six emergency key boxes.

Whitefish Legacy Partners is partnering with the Montana Department of Natural Resources and Conservation, F.H. Stoltze Land & Lumber Co., Whitefish Fire and EMS, Flathead Area Mountain Bikers, and Glacier Nordic Club in this effort.

Noting the growing number of residents and visitors to the Whitefish Trail, the Roundup for Safety board was enthusiastic in its support of the emergency key boxes as a worthy addition to community safety.

Roundup for Safety funds are available and applications are accepted on the Co-op's website. Grants are considered each month. The Roundup for Safety Board next meets on Feb. 10 and applications are due Jan. 31.

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. Typically, participating in the Roundup program costs a member about $6 per year.

For additional information about the program, call Courtney Stone at 406-751-1820 or visit www.flatheadelectric.com/roundup.