Local elk hunt set to begin
Officials with the Idaho Department of Fish and Game want Wood River Valley residents to know that a limited cow elk hunt in a portion of big game Unit 48 will commence this Saturday, Aug. 9.
The hunt, which is open to rifle hunters and runs through Sept. 15, covers an area west of Hailey and Bellevue. Specifically, the hunt area extends west of state Highway 75 from the intersection with U.S. Highway 20 to the Deer Creek Road. From there, the hunt area extends south of the Deer Creek drainage, west of the Willow Creek drainage to Highway 20, and north of the highway back to the intersection with Highway 75.
Fish and Game has authorized 125 cow elk tags as part of the early-season hunt, which is targeting an elk herd that spends much of the year on two to three large properties along the Big Wood River where the public is not allowed to hunt.
The agency holds the hunt this early to make sure the herd sees some hunting pressure before they hit the river bottom, said Lee Garwood, local Fish and Game conservation officer.
"It's a defacto refuge," Garwood explained.
He said the early-season hunt means people may hear rifle fire in the hills west of Hailey and Bellevue. He said calls have come in from the public in recent years after the season opened.
"We'll get some calls Saturday morning," he said. "People don't realize gun season starts this early."
School board gets flexible on ISAT
The Idaho State Board of Education has voted to give local school districts the option to administer the spring 10th grade Idaho Standards Achievement Test in the fall.
"This move helps local districts tremendously," said Board of Education President Milford Terrell in a prepared statement. "The districts can take advantage of this if they want. They're not required to do so. It just gives them another tool at their disposal for student evaluation and accountability."
Moving the spring test to the fall would allow high-performing students to potentially satisfy a graduation requirement in the fall, rather than waiting until the traditional spring testing window.
The fall testing window for 10th graders would also help educators identify students who need additional assistance to pass the graduation test in the spring. The option of a fall administration of the ISAT would cost about $20,000, according to the state board.
Second-generation folk musicians to play
Stephanie and Nick Sloan will play at the Wicked Spud in Hailey at 6 p.m. Friday, Aug. 8. The teenagers are the children of the late Jeff Sloan, a member of the longtime valley-based Irish-folk band, The Boulder Brothers. Now with their own folk--pop band, called The Sloans, the family is making music again.
Bellevue Labor Day Parade moved to 1 p.m.
The Bellevue Labor Day festivities this year will be highlighted by the parade on Sunday, Aug. 31, at 1 p.m. After careful consideration, the decision was made to move the parade from noon to 1 p.m. to accommodate more parade goers.
Last year, there were a record number of parade entries. To build a float for the parade, contact Stefany Mahoney at stefmahoney@yahoo.com, or stop by Guffy's in Bellevue to pick up an entry Form.
New golf course opens Monday
The new White Clouds Golf Course at Sun Valley Resort will open Monday, Aug. 11.
The nine-hole course, designed by longtime golf course architect Donald Knott, is an "alpine links" course that rises 300 feet from Sun Valley Resort's base elevation. The course is 3,600 yards from the back tees, with two par-3 holes, two par-5 holes and five par-4 holes. It is on the site of the old Sun Valley Gun Club, northeast of Sun Valley Village on Trail Creek Road.
In addition, the resort will open its new multi-million-dollar golf clubhouse Wednesday, Aug. 20. The elaborate, 58,000-square-foot stone-and-wood structure will serve as both the golf pro shop in the summer and the resort's nordic ski center in the winter.
The clubhouse, located near the new White Clouds course on the opposite (south) side of Trail Creek Road, features a bar and grill, a restaurant with indoor and outdoor seating, a retail shop, locker rooms, lounges, an indoor driving range, "virtual" golf, an indoor putting green and equipment storage facilities. A three-sided deck provides views of the surrounding mountains, a new 25-acre golf practice facility and the new 18-hole Sawtooths Putting Course, due to open in the near future.
