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NEWS
Airport Sets Passenger Record
Popular seasonal ights fuel continued growth at Glacier Park International Airport
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BY DILLON TABISH OF THE BEACON
From its humble origins as an airstrip built between Kalispell and Columbia Falls in 1942, the Flathead County Air- port has evolved into Glacier Park Inter- national Airport, a growing provider of regional air service that is now setting records for passengers on an annual basis.
At a time of renewed economic activ- ity and rising tourism, the local airport broke its annual passenger record for the fourth year in a row in 2015. A total of 470,238 revenue passengers traveled through Kalispell, according to airport o cials.
The passenger total is 100,000 more than only ve years ago.
“It is very encouraging to see passenger number growth year over year, and to see economic recovery continue to manifest itself in travel,” Airport Director Cindi Martin stated. “The growing consumer demand re ects the appeal of the Flathead Valley and Glacier National Park region as a place to live, work and play. We believe we are seeing both tourism and business travel improvements as evidenced by the fact that nearly every month in 2015 saw a record number of travelers arriving and departing through the airport.”
Air travel across Montana was up 2.7 percent through November. Bozeman’s airport surpassed 1 million passengers, a 5.6 percent increase and the rst time a Montana airport sur-
passed six gures. The Billings airport tallied 869,845 passengers, sec- ond most in Montana.
Increasing air service in the Flathead Valley has been a top goal for local organizations and businesses in recent years. The heightened attention and e orts appear to be paying o .
In 2006, the airport only had three carriers ying to four destina- tions. Now there are 10 seasonal carriers and ve year-round with service to nearly every major hub in the region.
The direct ights to Chicago from December through April were achieved through a revenue guarantee from the Glacier AERO group, a nonpro t that raised donations from the community to help increase local airline service. This
winter’s ights are o to a solid start and advanced bookings are at 70 per- cent, according to AERO chairman Paul Johannsen.
The group is in dis- cussions with United Airlines to add a direct ight to San Francisco in the summer. Kalis- pell o ers a seasonal direct ight to Oakland.
Last week the Trans- portation Security Administration estab- lished its PreCheck program at Glacier Park International Airport, making it the third airport in Montana to gain expedited screen- ing opportunities along with the Billings and Bozeman airports.
The program, founded in 2011, allows travelers who are deemed low risk to use a dedicated screening lane and leave on their shoes, light outerwear and belt, keep their laptop in its case and keep compliant
liquids and gels in a carry-on bag.
dtabish@ atheadbeacon.com
GPIA AIRLINE PASSENGERS
2006 350,443
2007 359,351
2008 368,317
2009 315,133
2010 338,872
2011 355,928
2012 382,579
2013 397,827
2014 421,955
2015 470,238
SOURCE: MONTANA DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION AERONAUTICS DIVISION
Montana’s Children Get ‘Ready 2 Read’ State library rolls out free text message program to build early literacy skills
BY CLARE MENZEL OF THE BEACON
This month, ImagineIF Libraries are promoting Ready 2 Read, a statewide pro- gram that teaches caregivers how to help their children develop early literacy skills like letter recognition, narrative skills, and the ability to break down a word into sounds.
The free program sends caregivers three text messages per week with con- versation starters and tips for deepening a discussion. Ready 2 Read’s objective is to help parents recognize teachable moments and integrate literacy learning into everyday activities.
“It’s good to get caregivers interacting with kids and having extended conversa- tions,” said Martha Furman, the Kalis- pell ImagineIF Library youth services librarian. “They learn more vocab, they have more positive interactions.”
The texts, designed by an early learn- ing specialist, start out with simple, basic questions for children and rudimen- tary tips for caregivers. Over the course of the eight-month program, the texts, which re ect Montana Early Learning Standards, o er increasingly complex prompts and advice.
The rst week of the program focuses on parent-child conversations and later weeks progress to tackle the development of quality book routines, for example. Every Monday text highlights the impor- tance of the skill the week will focus on, Wednesday texts arrive with tips to max- imize e cacy and minimize costs, and Fridays typically provide encourage- ment. Topics and skills are reintroduced and reinforced throughout the eight months.
An early text might read, “Expand your child’s vocabulary: Repeat some- thing your child says, then add more words to DESCRIBE or EXPLAIN. Your child can learn new words from you today!” An example text from week six is, “Your child’s ability to hear begin- ning sounds in words is an important milestone. Say SLOWLY: Sing some silly song. ASK: What beginning sound do we hear?” The texts caregivers will receive toward the end of the program are still in development.
“Research shows that children who start kindergarten armed with a set of early literacy skills not only succeed in school, but also in life,” said Sara Groves, Ready 2 Read project director at
the Montana State Library. “The Ready 2 Read texting program will help par- ents and caregivers learn about these skills and help their kiddos develop them through easy practices families can do every day at home, like reading, singing, talking, playing and writing together.”
Those ve activities make up the American Library Association’s set of practices for forming early literacy skills. As Furman said, “everything a child needs to know comes out of those things.” She remembers seeing a father and his child playing at the library—as they built a Lego house he shared vocab- ulary words like contractor, foundation and ventilation.
The texting program is particularly valuable in rural areas, where families may not be able to visit the library and want to build early literacy skills in the home. Forty-two Flathead families have signed up for the program.
Caregivers can enroll in the program by texting the word “signup” to (406) 204-3583, and can unsubscribe by tex- ting the word “stop” to the same num- ber. You do not need a library card to subscribe.
clare@ atheadbeacon.com
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JANUARY 13, 2016 // FLATHEADBEACON.COM
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