· Voters from Carey, Bellevue and Hailey carried a $1.5 million
Blaine County bond issue to build a nursing home wing on Blaine County hospital in Hailey.
The bond passed 1,067 to 498, with just 24 more "yes" votes
than the two-thirds required for passage. By approving the bond issue, south county voters
made it clear they want a nursing home in the county and they want to keep the
Hailey-based hospital with its emergency services.
About 83% of the voters in Carey, Picabo, Gannett, Bellevue and Hailey
cast their ballots in favor of the proposal to add a 13,185-square-foot wing to the Hailey
hospital.
In contrast, only 392 voters turned out in the Ketchum-Sun Valley
area—with 79% voting against the bond proposal.
The vote in favor was 146 to 45 in Carey, 240 to 42 in Bellevue and 476
to 94 in Hailey. In Ketchum it was 83 in favor and 309 against.
Remodeling of the present building will expand the size of the
emergency room, provide new space for inhalation therapy, consolidate drug storage into a
more secure drug room, and provide an office for the nursing service director. The paved
parking lot will be expanded.
· With flames shooting 150 feet in the air, a cyclone of sparks
and smoke enveloped a Knob Hill condominium construction project. The early morning fire
destroyed four of the 10 condos under construction, as well as a nearby home and two
backhoes.
· A new Crosby DeMoss painting went on display at The Kneadery
Restaurant in Ketchum.
Titled "Suppertime," the cartoonish new painting depicted a
grizzled cowboy bathing in a creek. DeMoss, 68, was born near Timmerman Hill and spent his
younger days there. Although he now works at a studio in Henderson, Nev. near Las Vegas,
DeMoss said he considers the Wood River Valley as his home. With the new painting, there
are now five DeMoss paintings in Ketchum—three at Whiskey Jacques including "The
Happy Hunter," behind the bar, and one each at The Kneadery and Atkinsons’.
· Aspiring electrical engineer Danny LaPorte, 22, of Ketchum captured
the 500cc National Motocross Championship at St. Petersburg, Fla. LaPorte is helping to
develop the Scott USA plastic motorcycle boot.
· Seemingly unaffected by the One Percent Initiative provisions
which hold down property tax levels, the Blaine County Commissioners proposed a 1979-80
budget totaling $2.675 million that was 18.5% higher than the previous year. The biggest
line item was the Friedman Memorial Airport, which rose from $578,306 to $611,280 in the
budget. Most of the increase will be paid by airport users in the form of higher fees.
· The city of Hailey’s proposed $557,585 budget included
revenues of $237,504 from the water and sewer fund and $172,000 from property taxes. Law
enforcement ($99,593) and the street department ($91,725) were the two biggest expenditure
items. The budget expense increases included money for a new fire engine, improvements and
equipment for the Hailey sewer plants, funds for a new Volkswagen Rabbit police car, and
salary increases of about 7.85%. The city of Sun Valley’s proposed budget, in
contrast, totaled $867,564 including an amazing 49% or $425,000 from the local option tax
and $341,264 from property taxes.
· Bald Mountain Rugby Club player Tom Denker celebrated his 30th
birthday by taking a pass from teammate Tom Schnebeck and scoring a try during
Ketchum’s 22-6 victory over the Montana All-Stars at Ketchum’s Atkinson Park.
· Motorists traveling Idaho’s interstate highway from
east-to-west, from Ontario, Ore. to Snowville, Utah, will see a new highway number in the
spring of 1980.
No longer will they see the familiar I-80N route markers. Instead, the
road has been renamed I-84. The reason was that the Numbering Committee of the American
Association of State Highway and Transportation officials (AASHTO) decided to eliminate
the direction designation, such as N (north) and S (south) in interstate route numbering.
· Hailey appointed its first woman ever to serve on the city
council. Carol Cutler, a dental assistant in Hailey for Dr. Art Richards, was appointed to
a position created by the resignation of Bill House. An eight-year Hailey resident, Cutler
had served for the past two years on the Hailey Planning and Zoning Commission.
· Morning sun that apparently blinded motorists on Saddle Road
near the Alpenrose turnoff resulted in two accidents involving cars and bicyclists. Stan
Getz’s Mercedes collided with the rear of Toni Leech’s bicycle. Leech’s
ankle was broken in three places. Five minutes later, at virtually the same spot, Jan
Wasmann came over the hill in her Ford Capri and hit 12-year-old bicyclist Craig Roth.
Roth suffered chipped teeth, cuts and scrapes and a possible concussion.
· The city of Ketchum’s proposed 1979-80 budget
included a $200,000 line item, representing 12% of total expenses, for the acquisition of
a new city hall. Money for the purchase of the former Ketchum Motors building will come
predominantly from local option bed and drink taxes, according to city administrator Jim
Jaquet.
· Plans are being made by Blaine County to apply for federal
funds for paving a heavily-used two-mile stretch of Warm Springs Road (from the Ketchum
city limits to the Lower Board Ranch) and for replacing the Deer Creek Road bridge.
· Ketchum residents Paul Crippa, 22, Eb Gaines, 22, and Doug
Robens, 32, competed on the Idaho professional rodeo circuit this past summer in the
bareback riding event.
· The Wood River High School varsity football program achieved
its first win in 14 games, dating back to a 1977 victory over Fruitland. Coach John
Hopkins directed the Wolverines to an 8-6 grid victory at Filer. Denny Dennis broke a
scoreless halftime tie with a 60-yard TD run on the second play of the third quarter.
Then, the eventual winning points came on a 2-point conversion pass from quarterback Paul
Laggis to Hal Sweasey. Wood River needed a late goal-line defensive stand led by linemen
Ike Thomas and John Davies and linebacker Mike Seal to pull out the win.
