· A total 380 units have been proposed for the 362-acre Bigwood
site—sage and grass-covered land north of Ketchum which once belonged to the
Sheepherders’ Association and was used for grazing.
Proposed: 11 estate home sites, 40 riverfront homes, seven four-plex
lots and 301 condominium units.
The Bigwood property is owned by River Rock Limited, its principals
Craig Neilsen and David Sellgren. Neilsen’s construction company has built the
Kneeland building and Sun Valey Art Center in Ketchum, and Woodside Racquet Club, Hailey.
Sellgren formerly worked as an investment advisor in San Diego, Ca.
The Ketchum City Council said it was important that the existing
nine-hole Bigwood golf course remain as open space amidst the development.
#
· The Alpenrose Cinema opened Dec. 1, 1979. The 56-seat theater is
located at the basement level of The Alpenrose Hotel north of Ketchum. Film consultant is
Rick Kessler, owner of the Magic Lantern Cinema in Ketchum. Ticket prices are $3 adults,
$2 kids with an adult.
At the theater, the seats are comfortable couches for two, each with a
table and phone to call for drinks or other refreshments. Retrospectives of classic
American and foreign films will be screened, as well as new experimental films. The idea
is to offer something different from the fare at the three commercial movie theaters in
the Wood River Valley.
The first films at the new theater: "City Lights" with
Charlie Chaplin, and "King of Hearts" with Alan Bates and Genevieve Bujold.
#
· Glenn Janss will step down after 10 years as the founder and major
guiding force of the Sun Valley Center for the Arts and Humanities. "I have
tremendous confidence in the future of the center," she said.
Janss, 47, said she never imagined that ceramics classes held in a
remodeled dog pound along Trail Creek in January 1970 would eventually grow into an arts
and humanities center with a year-round campus and million-dollar-plus budget.
Before she moved to Sun Valley, Janss was named "Woman of the
Year" by the Los Angeles Times for organizing the Docent Council for the Los
Angeles Art Museum. It was her reputation in the arts that in 1969 prompted former Sun
Valley Company owners Bill and Anne Janss to ask her to found a cultural center in Sun
Valley.
Glenn wasn’t interested at first.
She had just moved to Sun Valley from California and was frankly tired
of volunteer work. But she suffered injuries in an early-season ski accident and realized
she would be spending several months on crutches. She wanted something to do, so she
decided to help organize a small arts-and-crafts center.
By stepping aside, Glenn Janss said she is looking forward to spending
more time with her five children with her husband Bill Janss. She married him after Anne
Janss was killed in an avalanche.
#
· Chamber news: Advance reservations for the holiday season are
down 20% to 30% from last year, according to Sun Valley-Ketchum Chamber Resort Association
director Jed Gray. Blamed for the decline: Poor snow conditions that have caused Sun
Valley and Elkhorn resorts to spend $25,000 for a cloud seeding operation.
Elections for the Chamber’s board of directors were held last
month. President is Bert Bender. Vice president is Bill Eittreim. Treasurer is Ron Sharp.
Secretary is Sherry Jamison. Other board members are Duffy Witmer, Robert Glenn, Carol
Stevens, Bill Hayes, Joe Rodriquez, George Odencrantz, Mike Curry and Chip Fisher.
#
· The Hailey City Council bowed to a noisily defiant crowd and a
temporary restraining order on commercial building permits when the council postponed
talks on the proposed 120.000 square-foot Northridge shopping center proposal.
Owner/developer Jess Groves visualizes a shopping center with 453
parking spaces on 10 acres of the 12.13-acre Northridge site. The designs call for single
and two-story mall buildings. The remaining 2.13 acres of the commercial area, Groves
said, would be devoted to housing for senior citizens. About 1.44 acres of the site,
Groves said, is owned by Hailey realtor Dave Cropper.
He filed a preliminary plat with the Hailey Planning and Zoning
Commission Dec. 4, about a month after the November city elections.
During that election, three successful candidates—Don Fraser,
Grant Patterson and Wordell Rainey—campaigned primarily as opponents of the
commercial zoning at Northridge, a site that includes 441 proposed residential units.
Developer Groves said he wasn’t trying to push the proposal
through the old city council. But one protagonist in the controversy, Blaine County
Prosecuting Attorney Keith Roark, wasn’t convinced. He requested a temporary
restraining order on any attempt to issue a building permit for any business zone created
in Hailey since 1977. Groves later withdrew his preliminary plat and said he would
resubmit it to the P&Z and new council in January.
Northridge has a stormy history.
There have been conflicts between Blaine County officials who have
fought to prevent commercial development from creeping up the highway between Hailey and
Ketchum, and Hailey officials who have claimed that the city’s comprehensive plan is
vague about encouraging development in the present business core.
#
· Robert Blakslee, 66, passed away Dec. 5, 1979 at Boynton Beach, Fla.
He had lived in Florida since his retirement in 1964.
For nearly 20 years, from 1947-64, Blakslee was editor of The Valley
Sun, a biannual magazine which chronicled the comings and goings of visitors to the
Sun Valley resort.
He was also secretary of the Sun Valley Ski Club and Sun Valley Figure
Skating Club. During his ski club tenure, the organization was responsible for running all
the ski races at Sun Valley including the prestigious Harriman Cup.
#
· Sun Valley Company announced plans to extend its snowmaking
capabilities to Dollar Mountain. "We’ve already done preliminary plans,"
said publicity director Chuck Webb.
Snowmaking has been chiefly responsible for the limited skiing
available on Baldy early this season. The Lower Warm Springs chair opened Dec. 1. On Dec.
20, College became the fourth run open for skiing on Baldy. Lift rates are $16 full day
and $10.50 half day.
On Christmas Eve, however, a heavy snowfall opened virtually all runs
and lifts on Baldy, Dollar and Elkhorn. "We can’t work hard enough or fast
enough to get our machines around and pack down the trails," said Webb.
#
· In its year-end edition, the Mountain Express recounted some
important events from the 1970s including one involving the schools.
"Bitter feelings and the formation of a new private school in the
Wood River Valley resulted from a 1973 controversy between the Blaine County School
District and former Hemingway Elementary School principal Sam Hazard.
Although Hazard was recognized as a competent administrator and was
well-liked in the community, he lacked an Idaho credential as an elementary school
principal. When Hazard requested that an Idaho Department of Education-approved program
for getting that certification be changed, the local School District refused.
Ketchum parents divided over support for Hazard. An estimated 300
people attended one meeting on the issue.
In the end, with the support of some area parents, Hazard opened the
Ketchum-Sun Valley Community School for grades seven through 12. Vic Jepsen became
principal of Hemingway Elementary School.
Feelings remained strong for years. By the end of the 1970s, however,
the private and public high schools were cooperating in both academic and athletic
endeavors.
#
· Another decade review in the Express involved the four-lane
highway issue.
"In 1973, the Idaho Highway Department proposed a divided,
limited-access four-lane highway replacement for the narrow, pot-holed two-lane U.S. 93
through the Wood River Valley.
"The first step in the proposal was an alignment hearing before
concerned citizens. Highway officials found themselves confronting hundreds of angry Wood
River Valley citizens in two hearings, held April 23 and April 24, 1974.
"In Ketchum, over 500 people jammed the Holiday Inn and only two
spoke in favor…..Shortly after the hearings, the Highway Department withdrew its
proposal, saying it did not wish to spend money if the people don’t want it."
