Bobbie Banks of Georgia is celebrating her 50th birthday with a long-anticipated trip around the West. But it's not all pleasure for Banks, who's stopping along the way to hand out copies of a DVD entitled "Last Best Chance."

It's not a story about buying Montana Lottery tickets. Rather, it's a cautionary docu-drama about the threat of nuclear terrorism around the world.

The DVD is a product of the Nuclear Threat Initiative, a group co-chaired by former Georgia Senator Sam Nunn and media mogul Ted Turner whose goal is to reduce the threat of nuclear weapons and other radioactive materials falling into the wrong hands.

According to promotional materials that accompany the DVD, there are more than 100 research reactors and other facilities across the world that have enough uranium on hand to build a bomb.

"A lot of that material is secure, but a lot of it is not. There's much more that needs to be done, and that comes out in this DVD," she said. "Keeping it secure where it's at is the best way to avert an attack. Once it's stolen, it's going to be much harder to avert this kind of disaster."

She said the goals of the DVD are two-fold: to make people aware of the threat of nuclear terrorism around the world, and to spur them to action as it relates to their elected officials.

"I'm just giving these out, asking people to please watch it, pass it along and call your senator," she said.

Banks said Montana is in a unique position to influence Washington on the issue due to Sen. Conrad Burns' seats on the Appropriations Committee as well as the Subcommittee on Energy and Water.

"You have some power here," she said. "If Montanans care about this issue and want to see it become a priority, you've got your man."

Banks began her trip about two weeks ago. She's westbound from here, with stops in Oregon, Washington and California among other states. She said she's given out 50 copies of the movie so far, in meetings with newspapers, mayors and other civic and political organizations as she makes her way across the U.S.

"We can do this," she said. "We have the technology, and we know where the materials are. All it takes is the political will and the resources to make it happen."

For more information on the Nuclear Threat Initiative and the DVD "Last Best Chance," go to www.nti.org. Copies of the DVD are available free.

John Harrington can be reached at 447-4080 or john.harrington@helenair.com.