Folk Festival seeks quilters
The Northern Rockies Folk Festival will revive its Folk Festival Quilt. Organizers of the annual summer festival in Hailey are seeking help to create hand-crafted quilt squares. The theme for this year's quilt is "Celebrate the Wood River Valley."
The 32nd Northern Rockies Folk Festival will take place Friday, July 31, through Sunday, Aug. 1. For details on participating in creating the festival quilt, call 788-9605, e-mail rcallen2@q.com or visit Sun Valley Fabric Granary in Hailey.
Wood River student off to Norway
A Wood River High School senior will be taking classes in Norway next year.
Mary Van Zeipel has been selected for the "Memorial Fund of May 8, 1970" scholarship to attend a school in Torvikbukt, Norway. The Norwegian school provides a "gap year" of personal and academic development for talented and promising students from across Norway and other nations.
Only one of the five American students to receive the scholarship, Van Zeipel got involved in the program through the 2008 National Youth Leadership Conference in Minneapolis, sponsored by St. Luke's YAK. Mary is involved with St. Luke's YAK as the president of the Blaine County Teen Advisory Council (BCTAC).
Grants to help wildlife projects
Blaine and Camas counties will receive money to thin 400 acres of encroaching conifers to restore aspen habitat and forage for elk, deer and other wildlife in the Sawtooth National Forest
The grants are from the Rocky Mountain Elk Foundation, which has awarded some $80,000 for conservation projects across Idaho.
Eleven counties in Idaho are slated for wildlife and habitat conservation projects.
"Our volunteers across Idaho helped drive the 2008 fundraisers that made these grants possible," said David Allen, Elk Foundation president and CEO.
County eyes reduced office hours
The Blaine Environmental, Economic and Energy Sustainability Team, known as BE3ST, recently presented county commissioners with a new schedule for hours of service for county offices.
The new hours would extend the workday from 5 p.m. to 6 p.m. Monday through Thursday. The group recommended that the county close its offices on Fridays. The change would reduce carbon footprints created by commuters and energy usage, the group said.
Commissioners are now seeking public input regarding the proposal. To comment on the proposal, visit the Blaine County Web site: www.blainecounty.org.
