Student groups get involved for SO athletes
The Wood River Student Union's Be a Fan Team asked all valley youth to get involved in the 2009 Special Olympics World Winter Games, to be held Feb 7-13 in Idaho. The student union will put together about 3,500 gift bags for Special Olympics athletes and their coaches to give them a lasting memory of the Wood River Valley. The gifts will be unisex, and will exclude food, religious or political items. The recipients are aged 8 to 80 years old. The athletes will receive their community gift packs as they depart the Snowflake Ball at the Wood River High School on Saturday, Feb. 8.
Youth groups should donate items for gift bags no later than Friday, Jan. 16. All items should be delivered to Wood River High School. For more information contact gmaniere@blaineschools.org.
New "soup kitchen" to start in Ketchum
Ketchum Community Dinners will start providing free meals to anyone each Wednesday from 6-7 p.m. at the Presbyterian Church of the Big Wood, at 100 Saddle Rd. in Ketchum.
"Since the economic collapse a few months ago we have seen an increase in people in the Wood River Valley that are in need of an extra hand," said organizer Michael Hobbs. "The Ketchum Community Dinners was created in an effort to help with this need."
Ketchum Community Dinners will be held in conjunction with Souper Suppers in Hailey, the Idaho Food Bank, South Central Community Action Partnership and the Hunger Collation to offer an addition to Souper Suppers, which are held on Mondays and Thursdays.
For more information call Hobbs
at 720-8212.
Airport group set to meet
Valley mayors or their representatives are scheduled to meet Wednesday, Jan. 21, at 3 p.m. in Sun Valley City Hall to discuss possible models for a governing body to oversee management of a new airport. The meeting is open to the public.
Blaine County Commission Chairman Tom Bowman, who suggested the study, has said the larger new airport should have a more professional, rather than political, policymaking group of people from business and aviation to succeed the current five-member Friedman Memorial Airport Authority when a new airport opens.
Eating out went up, shops down
In an informal poll of local businesses conducted by the Sun Valley-Ketchum Chamber & Visitors Bureau, restaurants reported they were up as much as 30 percent from the week between Christmas and New Year's Day a year ago. At the same time retailers and lodgers reported they were off by 10 to 50 percent. Nearly all responders were optimistic about the recent snow the area received and hope that business will continue to increase in the coming months.
"People continue to travel, although we're seeing a trend that people are taking shorter vacations, booking last minute and staying closer to home," said Bronwyn Patterson, public relations manager with the chamber. "We're continuing, through strong marketing and PR efforts, to get the word out about the affordable lodging and ski packages we have available throughout the winter."
Snowsports clinics
The Sun Valley SnowSports School will hold a range of ski and snowboard clinics for children and adults this winter.
Children from kindergarten through sixth grade can participate in SnowSports Camp, offered Saturdays and Sundays through January. Cost is $150, which includes lift tickets. Deadline for registration is today.
For adults, the locals clinic will be offered on three consecutive Saturdays, starting Jan. 10, for three hours per day on Baldy and two hours per day for beginners on Dollar Mountain. Cost is $120.
For schedule and fee information for all clinics, contact the school at 622-2289 or visit www.snowsports.sunvalley.com.
