Furloughed rangers volunteering
<p>Glacier National Park interpreters Bridget Gross, foreground, and Heather Jameson work on a Habitat for Humanity townhome in Columbia Falls last week.</p>
On a normal fall day in October, Glacier National Park ranger-interpreters Heather Jameson and Bridget Gross would be taking school kids on field trips in the Park.
But with the government shutdown in its second week, the two found themselves out of work. But instead of sitting around, they Googled “Habitat in Columbia Falls.” Next thing they knew, they were both helping out with the Habitat For Humanity of Flathead Valley project on Truck Route.
“We wanted to do something productive with our time,” Gross explained as they worked on the door frame of a new unit.
The two joined a host of other volunteers working on the home, including the staff from Outside Media, a Columbia Falls advertising agency owned by Shane and Hilary Hutcheson.
If the shutdown continues, Gross and Jameson said they will encourage other furloughed fellow employees to come out and help with the project.
Ground-breaking for two more townhomes at Habitat’s 16-unit Columbia Falls project will take place Wednesday, Oct. 16.
Construction of the two townhomes will be partially funded through a $360,000 Department of Housing and Urban Development HOME grant managed jointly by Habitat and the city of Columbia Falls.
Construction of the project kicked off in May 2011 and is expected to be completed in March 2015. Two townhomes started in fall 2012 were recently completed, and progress is being made on two more that broke ground in May this year.