POSTED: 5:18 pm MDT July 29, 2010UPDATED: 9:15 pm MDT July 29, 2010
For people at Lost Prairie's 43rd annual boogie, skydiving is one of the safest activities for an adrenaline junkie. But to others? Fred Sand says, "From the outside skydiving looks crazy."We took a look at the hobby's safety stats. In 2009 the United States Parachute Association reports over three million jumps. Of those 16 ended in death. That's less than a half of a thousandth of a percent.Accidents like the one that claimed the life of 57-year-old Garl Newby remind parachutists of the dangers.Nancy Koreen of the U.S.P.A. says, "When these things happen I think experienced sky divers use them as a learning experience of things to be careful of."So even when someone who had been coming to the event for a dozen years dies, fellow parachutists band together and keep diving. Sand adds, "As a skydiver it is part of it. No matter what activity we're doing there is some risk involved. He did what he loved to do right up until the very end."Remembering that Newby passed away doing what he loved drives his friends to keep jumping.National statistics report Newby's death as the 13th fatal accident this year. It marks the third fatal skydiving accident at Lost Prairie in the last 40 years.
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Montana State Prison officials are in
contract negotiations to provide translation services to inmates
who receive correspondence in a language other than English.
The state Department of Corrections also is reviewing and
revising its operational procedures related to inmate letters.
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