Three scholarships have been awarded to Mineral County high school seniors who applied with the Mineral County DUI Task Force.

The goals of a DUI Task Force are to prevent driving while under the influence of alcohol, reduce alcohol-related traffic crashes and educate the public on the dangers of driving after consuming alcoholic beverages or other chemical substances that impair judgment or motor functions.

Those are broad-brush strokes of what the 36 approved county DUITF’s do as they are a division of the Montana Department of Transportation.

Candidates from the three Mineral County high schools were judged on their academic achievement and awards, their extracurricular activities and experience plus an essay question that was valued at 50 points out of a total 100 possible points on their application.

Rating is always difficult for the judges, who are members of the DUI Task Force, because the students applying are college bound, forward thinking young adults that have received accolades from family, teachers, peers and community members.

This year, the recipient from Alberton was Molia Dao, who will be attending the University of Montana, set on working toward a master’s degree in speech language pathology.

Kiley Quick from Superior will become a member in the medical field as she pursues a degree in ultrasonography at UM.

And off to Montana State University in Bozeman is Macy Hill from St. Regis who will be going after her degree in Fish and Wildlife Management. All 3 received $500.00 each to use as needed for this new chapter in their lives.

There are 20 local scholarships for Mineral County students only, and another 28 state scholarships for Montana students, some that are still accepting applications. Byron Quinlan is one of the counselors at Superior and has been the clearing house for the DUITF in updating, sending and receiving the scholarship applications with the other two schools to streamline the process each spring. He has worked with the other school counselors on this scholarship for the past few years, which has been very helpful to Ernie Ornelas, the DUITF Coordinator.

“The scholarship program is one way we use to encourage graduating seniors to consider abstaining from underage drinking and the peer pressure they may encounter to do so,” he said.

“In our attempt to decrease the injuries and fatalities due to impaired driving in our county, multiple avenues are employed,” Ornelas explained, and one route is working with Anna Schreck, Mineral County Prevention Specialist through the Western Montana Mental Health Center.

Schreck is offering a Responsible Alcohol Sales and Service class on Monday, May 1 from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. at River Edge Resort in Alberton. Montana requires alcohol server training from a state-approved program for anyone serving or selling alcohol within 60 days of being hired and renewal training every three years. Contact Schreck at (406) 532-9827 or aschreck@wmmhc.org to register.

“The DUI Taskforce is very community oriented, and I'm pleased that they give out scholarships to local students. It's a way to show our appreciation for their hard work and dedication to their education,” said Sheriff Funke.

Impaired driver-involved crashes account for 60% of all crash fatalities and 33% of all serious crash injuries. Over the past 10 years, more than 1,000 people have died, needlessly, in vehicle crashes involving an impaired driver. There were 207 total highway fatalities in 2022 in the Big Sky Country. Today, the tally is at 35 compared to 43 at this same time last year.