The boot is back

After being stopped three years ago, a local fundraising event will have boots on the ground this weekend.

The Lewiston Fire Department Fill the Boot campaign to raise money for muscular dystrophy is set for Saturday in Lewiston at the intersection of 19th Avenue and 21st Street. The campaign was put on hold, and eventually fizzled, after a city ordinance snuffed the effort a few years ago, city officials said.

"There were some legal issues we had to resolve regarding having individuals in a public right of way," Lewiston City Manager Jim Bennett said. "Since those came up, we found a way to address them, allowing the event to be rekindled."

A panhandler ordinance adopted by the city council a few years ago inadvertently affected the annual event, councilors learned two years ago, throwing water on the campaign that raised thousands of dollars locally for worldwide research by the Muscular Dystrophy Association.

Off-duty firefighters, representing the International Association of Fire Fighters union, for years stood on the city's busiest intersection and asked motorists to toss cash or checks into fire boots in an effort to collect donations.

"We would raise between $15,000 and $20,000 in a six-hour period," Lewiston fireman Chris Jacks said.

But once the ordinance took effect it relegated the activity to the Albertsons parking lot, where the volunteers collected a fraction of the proceeds - somewhere around $800 - greatly hampering fundraising efforts.

"There was a substantial loss of income," Lewiston City Councilor Jesse Maldonado said.

A year later, the fire department union opted out of the campaign in Lewiston, although efforts continued in Clarkston and Asotin County.

This year, however, thanks to collaboration between the city and firefighters seeking a solution, the campaign once again has emergency responders fired up.

"We were able to work out the details and make it work," Jacks said, "The city was supportive the whole time, we just had to do it legally."

That meant purchasing a license, and allowing only firefighters in the right of way, not family members or children. Union members also were required to submit a traffic study to the city, and Perfection Traffic Control this year will set up safety devices around the event. Fire safety literature and strategies will be available.

Additional Fill the Boot locations will include the intersection of 15th Street and Fleshman Way in Asotin County, and at the intersection of Bridge and Diagonal streets in Clarkston. The campaign is scheduled from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m.

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Bartholdt can be contacted at rbartholdt@lmtribune.com or (208) 848-2275.