News briefs, Oct. 21

RPD: Letter to the public

RONAN — I am writing today to request patience and understanding from the people. This will be another tough year for public safety budgets. We heard of some of the issues in Polson recently and we are no different. This year the Ronan Police Department again has to do more with less. We were hit with another increase in dispatch fees as well as an increase for insurance, not to mention that prices for supplies seem to go up monthly. Now add to this the fact that the city is getting less revenue because not everyone can afford to pay their taxes and we have a problem. 

This has resulted in the complete cutting of our records clerk position, cutting half of our capitol outlay for vehicles and cutting of 200 hours from our part-time budget which covers vacations, training and busy times, all of which comes after a big reduction last year as well. This ultimately means less people to handle what seems like an ever increasing work load. 

Therefore, if you are a victim or are in need of our services, I would ask for extra patience from you. We will not be ignoring you, but it is going to get tougher to juggle things as it will be for most or our area law enforcement. Thank you for your understanding.

If there are any questions regarding this press release, please contact Assistant Chief Art Walgren of the Ronan Police at 406-676-0223.

- courtesy of Assistant Chief Art Walgren

National Teen Driver Safety Week

POLSON — Everyone knows that young people are the future of the nation, but it’s becoming increasingly clear that the future of young people on the nation’s highways isn’t quite so rosy. This is particularly true with the growth in popularity of all manner of electronic devices that are vying for the attention of young drivers over the act of driving itself.

“Far too often, the devices are winning, and our kids are losing,” says Erin Melugin, Personnel Manager Wal-Mart.

First, the bad news: According to the U. S Department of Transportation’s National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA), in 2008, more than 3,750 teens ages 15 through 19 died in automobile crashes of all types, and almost 660, or 18 percent, of those were killed in crashes involving some form of distracted driving.

All told, 4,457 teen drivers ages 15 to 19 were involved in fatal crashes in 2008, and 16 percent (692) were distracted at the time of the crash.

And while distracted driving comes in many forms, from texting and talking on a cell phone to eating and playing with a radio, CD player, or MP3 device, all too often the result is tragic. In 2008, that tragedy was played out nearly 800 times on America’s highways — that’s the number of people killed in crashes that involved a distracted teen driver.

While no one is exempt from driving distractions offered by the electronic gizmos, they are bringing with them into their vehicles, teens seem to be particularly susceptible to the siren call of texting.

Motor vehicle crashes are the leading cause of death for teens in the U.S. Each year (2004-2008), nearly 5,000 teens (ages 15-20) are killed in passenger vehicle crashes. During 2008, a teen passenger vehicle occupant died in a traffic crash an average of once every hour on weekends and nearly once every two hours during the week. Teens have lower seat belt use rates than adults. Despite efforts aimed at increasing belt use in this age group, observed use among teens and young adults in 2008 was the lowest of any age group at 80 percent. In fatal motor-vehicle crashes, the majority of teens continue to be unbuckled (55 percent in 2008).