Building community through service
Kicking Horse Job Corps builds Arlee bike path
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ARLEE — Learning how to operate heavy equipment is only part of the reason Charles Sandoval feels good today. Sandoval is one of 24 students from Kicking Horse Job Corps who are donating their time and labor to help the Arlee Community Development Corporation’s Jocko Valley Trails Committee break ground on a half mile bike trail that stretches from the middle school to the tribal river restoration area on the Jocko River.
“It feels really good to give back to the community,” Sandoval, who is originally from Pueblo, Colo., said. “You see it on television and you wish you could do that and here we are doing the same thing.”
Sandoval and others on his crew are learning how to operate bulldozers, backhoes and other types of heavy equipment as part of their training at Kicking Horse Job Corps.
Job Corps is a federal program that provides educational and vocational training for economically disadvantaged students between the ages of 16 and 24.
One of the goals at Kicking Horse is for every student to obtain their GED or high school diploma. In addition, they can receive training in one of 10 areas such as heavy equipment operations, business technology, culinary arts, or diesel mechanics.
Kicking Horse Job Corps vocational instructor Jeff Clairmont was on-hand last Wednesday to instruct crews building the bike path. It was the first time his students had operated any of the equipment.
“They have actually done really well,” Clairmont said. “They surprised me.”
Clairmont explained they have been “grubbing,” which means they have removed black dirt and vegetation.
“The longest part was cutting into the hill,” Clairmont said. He explained they shaped the path of the bike trail by leveling the ground with a five percent grade or less for handicap accessibility and making it eight feet wide.
“Without the Job Corps this trail could not be built,” Gary Decker, Jocko Valley Trails Committee, said. Decker said the committee has a verbal agreement with Job Corps to also create a bike path from Jocko Road to Coldwater Lane.
According to Kicking Horse Job Corps Coordinator Shelly Fyant, students have contributed 28,000 hours of community service this year. Recently, nine students helped the Arlee community fill sandbags during the flooding season and others went to Arizona to help fight wildfires.
“Our young people appreciate the opportunities they have at Job Corps and like to give back to the local communities,” Fyant said. “We have strong ties with local officials, tribal leaders and business leaders to work with our young people to make sure these are good learning opportunities.”
Decker said with the help of the Job Corps, the bike path has cost nothing so far. The committee was recently awarded a $10,000 grant from the Bikes Belong coalition, which will pay for the engineering costs near Highway 93 when they start work on the path from Jocko Road to Coldwater Lane. According to Decker, the bike paths will tie into other paths being built by the Confederated Salish and Kootenai Tribes.
Plans include benches and educational kiosks along the bike trails. With the grant money, Arlee’s Trails committee was able to award Peyton and Taylor Lammerding a $50 check for their winning logo contest entry.
Decker estimated the committee needs an additional $15,000 to $20,000 to complete the project. Committee members are currently applying for grants, including one from the state wildlife and parks to secure the necessary monies.
“Safety is the huge factor,” Decker said of the bike path project. “A lot of bicyclists use Jocko Road and Highway 93.”
An avid bicyclist, Jerry Garcelon rode his bike to the unofficial groundbreaking. Garcelon said he is comfortable riding his bike on the highway, but added there are very few paved roads for families and individuals to use. “It would be a nice way for people to get out and in a safe location,” he said.
