Elizabeth Doney Havre Daily News edoney@havredailynews.com
Another salute to our law enforcement for Police Appreciation week goes out to the Montana Highway Patrol. There is no typical day for a Highway Patrol trooper whose duties include serving both the public and other patrolling officers to improving safety and awareness - not only on the highways but inside the communities. Havre's District VIII which opened a couple years ago has 17 uniformed officers including Captain Brad Sangray, Sergeant Mark Bosch and their troopers who are stationed in Havre serving Blaine, Chouteau, Glacier, Hill, Liberty, Phillips, Pondera and Toole Counties. "There are a lot of different things that we cover," Sangray said. "Traffic enforcement on the roadways, responding to crashes, assisting members of the public broken down along the roadway, driver's education classes and safety presentations to schools and civic groups to name a few." While on the road, troopers enforce the Montana Code Annotated, primarily concentrating on traffic related violations, according to Sangray. Some of the partnerships that the patrol have formed include the City and County Police Departments and Sheriff's Offices, the Border Control, Customs and the Tribal Police Departments in the three reservations in the district Rocky Boy, Fort Belknap and Browning, according to Sangray. Troopers are also acknowledged for exceptional duty on occasion with officer of the year awards given out by Exchange Clubs and other civic groups. The patrol is also regularly involved in granting wishes to children diagnosed with critical or life changing illnesses through the Montana Hope Project. Capt. Sangray is the president of the Association of Montana Troopers, which governs the Montana Hope Project, and he says the Hope Project has granted 255 wishes to Montana kids since the Project began in the mid-1980's. Children's wishes that the patrol granted ranged from sending kids to Disney World, meeting celebrities, a cruise to Alaska, a trip to the Pro Bowl in Hawaii and advanced computer systems. The wishes are sponsored by the Hope Project through donations from the public, fundraising efforts and with the help of the Troopers and other volunteer staff. For more information about the project, visit www.montanahope.org or contact District VIII's office at 265-6420.
