Friday, November 5, 2004

Ketchum escapes presidential spotlight

Kerrys say why they like the Wood River Valley


By GREG STAHL
Express Staff Writer

There will be no visiting motorcades, no Air Force One, no swarming reporters, no high-profile security operations. In short, there will be no Western White House in Ketchum, Idaho.

When Massachusetts Sen. John Kerry conceded the presidential election Wednesday morning, Blaine County escaped the inevitable spotlight that would have turned on Ketchum because of the senator?s vacation home north of towm.

It?s a spotlight that shined twice during Kerry?s campaign. Prior to his nomination to the Democratic ticket, he visited for some skiing and public relations stints. In August, he visited for a few days between campaign stops in Oregon and Ohio.

And he and wife, Teresa Heinz Kerry, will be back again.

During the couple?s August visit, they took a few minutes to answer, in writing, some light questions about their connections to the Wood River Valley.

Heinz Kerry has a longer history in Ketchum than her husband. She has spent time here since 1966, the year she married her late-husband, Sen. John Heinz III, a Republican from Pennsylvania. The couple built their home north of Ketchum in 1987.

?My late husband had come since he was a tot?and his parents before him,? Heinz Kerry wrote. ?Let?s say ?I had no choice!? Sun Valley and Ketchum, besides the wonderful memories, have afforded us a place where the idea of family continues to be at the top.?

She said sports and personal well being are part of daily life here, and said she is appreciative of the lasting friendships she has formed with local residents.

?It is a very comforting, beautiful and serene place for me and my family,? Heinz Kerry said.

Heinz Kerry, the heiress to her late-husband?s ketchup fortune, is respected locally for her philanthropy. She gave $750,000 to help upgrade emergency services in the area and $325,000 to help Blaine County buy Galena Lodge, a popular north-valley cross-country ski lodge.

Sen. Kerry, who answered questions with considerably more brevity than his wife, said he typically visits the Wood River Valley about twice each year, and almost always at Christmas.

?It will be focus, focus on Nov. 2, and then hopefully we?ll be here for Christmas,? he wrote.

Kerry said he has not spent much time here during the summer, but said he has been to Pettit and Baker lakes, as well as on hikes in Lake Creek.

?I love to hike up along Hyndman Peak. There are great wildflowers,? he wrote, but added that most of vacations are in the winter and include recreation time spent snowboarding, skiing and playing ice hockey.

In fact, during a Christmas vacation two years ago, Kerry hit the ice with friends and family, as well as then-Calif.-Governor-to-be Arnold Schwarzenegger and tennis star John McEnroe.

It looks like he may once again enjoy that kind of anonymity when he visits.

Local residents can also breathe a sigh of relief that they won?t be inconvenienced.

Carl Manus, a 73-year-old retiree and avid snowboarder who, more than disliking Kerry?s politics, said he feared what would become of his city if the president of the United States began coming to Ketchum for vacations.

?I don?t like anything he says,? Manus said Tuesday night. ?And if he gets elected, this area is really in trouble. Just imagine the president of the U.S. coming to this valley. He lives between me and the city. Heck, he lives between me and the ski lifts. I don?t even want to think about him winning. It just gives me a headache.?

Ketchum ski instructor Rod Tatsuno, an Army veteran, supported Kerry?s politics but did not share Manus? concerns.

?We?re isolated,? he said. ?We have pretty good law enforcement. We?ve had no problems with the annual Allen and Company event, which brings the major CEOs and leaders of various nations here each summer. And I can?t see them shutting down Baldy just because he?s snowboarding on it.?

Mark Steward, a Vietnam veteran and Kerry supporter, said he had mixed feelings.

?I cannot contemplate another four years of Bush,? he said. ?I think this country will not survive that.

?I do believe, however, if Kerry wins and we have Kerry and Arnold Schwarzenegger in town at the same time, that the rest of us will have to leave. I know when (Vice President Dick) Cheney comes to Jackson Hole, they shut the entire town down.?

The Associated Press contributed to this story.




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