Community leaders to discuss Montana DUI laws and prevention
Daily Inter Lake | Bigfork Eagle | UPDATED 1 week, 3 days AGO
Flathead County Sheriff Brian Heino speaks during a press conference and bill signing for Bobby's Law with family members of Robert "Bobby" Dewbre, at left, and Rep. Braxton Mitchell, right, at the Flathead County Sheriff's Posse headquarters in Evergreen on Wednesday, June 25. (Casey Kreider/Daily Inter Lake)
Casey Kreider
Panel discussions about Montana's DUI laws are planned for Thursday, Sept. 3, at the Arts and Technology Building at Flathead Valley Community College in Kalispell.
Participants in the first panel include Flathead District Court Judge Heidi Ulbricht, Flathead County Attorney Travis Ahner, Columbia Falls Police Chief Chad Stephens, Assistant Attorney General Ed Hirsch and a representative from Montana's Watch program or the mental health community.
A second panel will focus on public advocacy, coalition building, safe-ride initiatives and the legislative process. Participants include Montana Bar Fairies founder Beth McBride, Wendy Olson Hansen of the Flathead Valley DUI Task Force, Rep. Steve Kelly, John Iverson of the Montana Tavern Association, and Flathead County Sheriff Brian Heino.
The summit will begin with an interactive DUI experience designed to demonstrate the consequences of impaired driving. Participants will move through a series of educational stations that may include impairment-simulation goggles and field sobriety testing, information about the legal and financial consequences of a DUI, crash and victim-impact education and information about safe-ride programs and other prevention strategies.
The DUI experience begins at 4 p.m., and speakers will start at 6 p.m. The event is open to the public. A complimentary light meal will be provided.
The summit is presented in partnership with the Flathead Valley DUI Task Force, Montana Bar Fairies, Glacier Bank and the Montana Tavern Association. It will bring together law enforcement officers, members of the judiciary, prosecutors, policymakers, community advocates, business representatives and members of the public to examine strategies for reducing impaired-driving crashes, fatalities and serious injuries in Montana, according to a press release.
"We see the consequences of alcohol-impaired driving here in Flathead County, but this is a challenge our communities across Montana face," said Rep. Courtenay Sprunger, R-Kalispell, who organized the event. "As we consider statewide policy and community-led solutions, we have a responsibility to look seriously at what we can do to prevent these crashes and save lives."