Page 9 - Flathead Beacon // 2.3.16

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Bouldering Project Tops Out at Fundraising Goal Nonpro t raises $100,000 to build bouldering park near downtown Kalispell
BY TRISTAN SCOTT OF THE BEACON
One year ago, the Kalispell Boulder Project took aim at achieving a lofty goal – to raise $100,000 for a brand new boul- dering park near downtown Kalispell.
This week, thanks to help from a famil- iar Flathead Valley philanthropist, the nonpro t organization reached its goal, and plans to break ground on the project in April.
The money will be used to manufac- ture and install a pair of concrete climb- ing boulders at Lawrence Park, said Jandy Cox, manager at Rocky Mountain Out t- ter in Kalispell. Cox said the fundraising e orts have been met by strong commu- nity support.
Bouldering is a form of climbing that is performed without the use of ropes or harnesses. It can be done without any equipment, but many climbers use special climbing shoes to help secure footholds.
Spearheaded by a group of Flathead Valley climbers and outdoor enthusiasts, the bouldering project will o er climb- ers and non-climbers of all abilities the opportunity to scramble up arti cial rock features designed to correspond with the natural setting, Cox said.
The nonpro t hopes to have the boul- ders installed by summer 2016.
Through the Kalispell Community Foundation, the Kalispell Boulder Proj- ect established a fund last January and worked with the Kalispell Parks and Recreation Department so secure space
Boulder Project in Lawrence Park. COURTESY RENDERING
for the bouldering features, which will be constructed at the southern end of Law- rence Park in Kalispell. After the boul- ders are installed, the city of Kalispell will assume responsibility for the park.
Cox said the nal funding boost came through a $25,000 donation from Flathead Valley philanthropist Michael Goguen.
The gift e ectively completes the Kalispell Boulder Project’s fundraising endeavors to raise $100,000 for the pur- chase, installment and landscape nish- ing of two synthetic climbing boulders. Project volunteers are also working with Montana Conservation Corps to break ground in April.
“We are ecstatic,” Cox said. “Fund- raising for KBP was a grassroots e ort.” Cox said he was optimistic from the
beginning that the project would be well received, but he didn’t anticipate the
degree to which individuals and organi- zations stepped up.
The Daybreak Rotary Club o ered to put up a $20,000 matching grant, which gave the project an enormous boost, while local businesses also helped out.
“We appreciate how the community rallied around our project and helped make our ideas a reality,” Cox said. “We could not have reached our goal without the scal management and administra- tive support of the Flathead Community Foundation; and the generosity of Kalis- pell Daybreak Rotary Club, local busi- nesses, private foundations, and every individual donation from $1 to $1,000.”
For more information about the Kalis- pell Boulder Project visit kalispellboul- derproject.com.
tscott@ atheadbeacon.com
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Safety Board Calls For Tougher DUI Laws
NTSB calls for ‘end to substance impairment in transportation’ by lowering limit to 0.05
BY JUSTIN FRANZ OF THE BEACON
In an e ort to reduce drunken driv- ing across the country, the National Transportation Safety Board is calling on states to reduce the legal limit from a 0.08 blood-alcohol content to 0.05 or lower.
That lower legal level could mean a 180-pound man would be breaking the law if he got behind the wheel of a motor vehicle after two alcoholic beverages and a woman could be over the limit after just one drink, depending on her size.
The call by the NTSB to “end to sub- stance impairment in transportation” came as part of the independent govern- ment agency’s annual “most wanted” safety list. The report notes that in the last 15 years, one-third of all highway deaths have involved a drunk driver. Montana has one of the worst drunken driving fatality rates in the country.
According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 932 people were killed in crashes involving a drunk driver in Montana between 2003 and 2012.
“When it comes to alcohol use, we know that impairment begins before a person’s BAC reaches 0.08 percent, the current legal limit in the United States,” NTSB o cials wrote in their annual wish list. “In fact, by the time it reaches that level, the risk of a fatal crash has more than doubled. That’s why states should lower BAC levels to 0.05 – or even lower.”
But John Barnes, spokesperson for Montana Attorney General Tim Fox and Department of Justice, said lowering the legal limits in the state would be chal- lenging. He said e orts spearheaded by Fox in recent years to toughen Montana’s DUI laws were met with “strong resis- tance” in the state Legislature. How- ever, lawmakers did revise the state’s laws allowing judges to look at someone’s
criminal record for up to 10 years to add penalties for a second DUI. In 2015, in an e ort led by Kalispell Rep. Keith Regier, the state doubled the minimum DUI fees for a conviction. It also created a $300 ne for o enders who refuse a breatha- lyzer and it closed loopholes that allowed some repeat o enders the ability to face minimal punishment.
Like Barnes, Regier questioned how successful lowing the BAC would be in Montana.
“Unless there is a lot of scienti c evi- dence backing 0.05 up I don’t see it get- ting very far,” he said. “I don’t think it would go anywhere.”
The NTSB’s 2016 most wanted list is designed to increase awareness of and support for “critical” issues the agency believes are facing the nation’s transpor- tation system.
jfranz@ atheadbeacon.com
www.ThreeRiversBankMontana.com
FEBRUARY 3, 2016 // FLATHEADBEACON.COM
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