Wednesday, January 17, 2007

The Ski Tour causes few problems for police

Cold weather main concern of law enforcement authorities


By TERRY SMITH
Express Staff Writer

Cameron Daggett

Even with several thousand extra people in Ketchum and Sun Valley last weekend, things went rather smoothly from a police perspective for the area's first ever Ski Tour extravaganza.

Ketchum police did make two arrests, and other law enforcement agencies arrested eight people for alleged intoxication behind the steering wheel.

But with temperatures near zero, the possibility of someone freezing to death was the main concern of local law enforcement authorities.

"One of our biggest concerns was that we were going to lose someone to hypothermia," said Sun Valley Police Chief Cameron Daggett. "We kept an eye on out-of-the-way places looking for people who might be drunk or asleep."

But no such victims were found. To help ward off the cold, the Ketchum Fire Department set up and staffed heaters and pit fires on city streets to help Ski Tour revelers stay warm.

Police activities for The Ski Tour events were managed jointly by the Sun Valley and Ketchum police departments with the assistance of officers from Blaine County, Hailey and Idaho State Police.

Ketchum Police Department spokeswoman Kim Rogers said the main emphasis was the safety of folks attending festivities.

"It was safety first," Rogers said. "We were out there to help people rather than bust people."

Ketchum police did make two busts, and are investigating a third case where a man allegedly grabbed a woman by the throat on Thursday night at Whiskey Jacques' bar.

Taken into custody Saturday on a felony aggravated battery charge was Carlos Ference De Carvallio, a 23-year-old Sun Valley man. He is accused of hitting 30-year-old Jim Remke, of Ketchum, in the mouth with a bottle or glass Friday night at Whiskey Jacques'.

According to Remke, his assailant was unruly and pestering other bar patrons including several women. Remke said he and his friends tried to calm the man down when he was assaulted.

Remke was taken to St. Luke's Wood River Medical Center and treated for a cut on his lower lip. He said he also had two teeth knocked out and five more damaged and expects dental bills to total more than $15,000.

Despite his injury, Remke is trying to maintain a sense of humor about the incident.

"I'm an actor with Company of Fools, and I can't really act with a mangled face," he said. "And we don't have Frankenstein scheduled for an upcoming production."

On Saturday night Ketchum police arrested Brian Bain, a 29-year-old Bellevue man on misdemeanor trespassing and battery charges for an alleged incident at nexStage Theatre.

"He was thrown out of the venue and snuck back in and then grabbed a Bravo security guard," Rogers said.

Elsewhere, the Blaine County Sheriff's Office and Idaho State Police were out in force on Friday and Saturday nights patrolling state Highway 75 south of Ketchum on the lookout for intoxicated drivers. The county had five deputies on patrol and ISP added another five.

Their patrols were not in vain. ISP made five DUI arrests over the weekend and Blaine County another two.

Sheriff's Lt. Ron Taylor said the number of DUI arrests was larger than on a typical weekend in the valley but was not unusual for a weekend when there's a large event taking place.

"We were out there in force to make sure the highways were safe," Taylor said.

Sun Valley police made only one DUI arrest over the weekend, which is down from the city's average of about three intoxicated drivers per weekend, said Daggett.

He said it's not unusual for the number of DUIs to be lower in Sun Valley over a holiday or large event weekend because drivers generally take extra precautions.

"When people know they're going to be partying, they generally organize a designated drive or arrange for a taxi," Daggett said.

In other news, a near tragedy was averted when an escaped toy poodle was located Saturday afternoon on the Nordic ski trail north of Sun Valley. Daggett said the dog was spooked by fireworks Friday night near the Sun Valley Horseman's Center and fled from its nearby home at the Lodge Apartments.

With temperatures near zero, Daggett said searchers feared the poodle wouldn't survive the night. Instead it was found Saturday afternoon some two or three miles from its home.

"It was found wet and tired, but it was alive and well," Daggett said.




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