Woodside Elementary to hold raffle
The PTA at Woodside Elementary School in Hailey will offer the chance to win an iPod Touch device at a drawing on Thursday, June 3. Raffle tickets are $2 or three for $5, available by calling Tiffany at 788-4186 or Nicole at 721-1921.
Funds raised by the raffle will help with teacher supplies.
Celtic Faire a test of strength
The Sun Valley Celtic Faire and Heavy Events Festival has a novice competition for locals to compete on Sunday, June 6. Registration is at 8:30 a.m. at the Festival Meadows in Sun Valley with a fee of $15.
An instructional clinic to try out equipment will take place on Saturday, June 5, from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. Traditional Scottish strongman games include throwing of the weights, putting the stone, hammer throwing, caber toss, sheaf toss and weight over bar. In addition, the band Guess When will play Saturday and Sunday on the main stage and there will be a pub crawl in Ketchum on Friday and Saturday evenings.
For details, call 725-2105 or e-mail smahoney@visitsunvalley.com.
Fish & Game sets chinook season
(AP) The Idaho Fish and Game Commission on Thursday adopted chinook seasons beginning Saturday, June 12, until further notice on the Upper Salmon River and the South Fork of the Salmon River.
Fishing in the Upper Salmon section known as the Ellis area will be open from 5 a.m. to 10 p.m. Stretches of the South Fork of the Salmon will be open from 5:30 a.m. to 10:30 p.m.
The upper Salmon near Stanley will open for just three days, from July 3-5.
Anglers should check with the Department of Fish and Game on limits, which are specific to each area. The statewide limit for adult chinook is 40 for the season.
Hospital offers concussion assessment
St. Luke's Elks Rehab is now offering its concussion assessment program to the community at large through support from the St. Luke's Wood River Foundation. The program is called ImPACT, meaning Immediate Post-Concussion Assessment and Cognitive Testing, and is widely used by the National Hockey League and National Football League. The program monitors adults and adolescents who have received concussions to determine if it's safe to return to sports or daily activities.
The Sun Valley Ski Education Foundation and Wood River High School are already using the program. Now, youths and adults who may not have access through these groups can be tested.
Apply for NRCS program
Farmers must sign up before June 11 to qualify for 2010 funds from the Natural Resources Conservation Service's Conservation Stewardship Program. The program pays producers for conservation practices that treat issues such as soil erosion or water quality.
"This program acknowledges producers that are good land stewards," said Clint Evans, assistant state conservationist for the NRCS in Boise. "The application process is a bit time consuming up front, but we think the benefit to producers is worth the effort."
To take the first step in the application process and complete the online self-screening checklist, potential applicants can go to www.nrcs.usda.gov.
Wood River Valley golfing 'perks' up
Sun Valley Resort is offering golf perks to attract valley citizens.
At the White Cloud Course, paying for nine holes provides the opportunity to play 18. The offer is available through Sunday, June 13. Also, re-rounds will be half the going rate for nine holes after people have played 18 on the Trail Creek Course.
Season-pass holders now can enjoy the added bonus of 10-hole rounds for junior golfers (15 and under). Pass holders must accompany juniors in play. This applies to both new and previously purchased passes.
Play on the Sawtooth Putting Course will be free on each holiday this summer, beginning Memorial Day, Monday, May 31.
For more information call the Sun Valley Club pro shop at 622-2251.
Sawtooth Vision 20/20 program
updates with potluck
The Sawtooth Vision 20/20 implementation program, a community-based, long-term strategy for the Sawtooth National Recreation Area, will be shown during a potluck on Thursday, June 3, at the Stanley Community Center.
The event begins at 5 p.m. and all are encouraged to bring a side dish or dessert to share and their own beverage. Hamburgers, hot dogs, condiments and table service will be provided.
For additional information contact Sara Baldwin at 727-5000, or Gary O'Malley, executive director of the Sawtooth Society, at 721-2909.
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'Weed Out' followed by morel dining
The Wood River Land Trust needs help maintaining the restored riparian area and site of the future Croy Creek wetlands boardwalk with chemical-free, trout friendly methods. Keeping invasive plants out of the area is key so recently established native plants and grasses can thrive. Weeding and spreading chips at the south end of Lion's Park in Hailey will take place Thursday, May 27, from 3-7 p.m.
Call Sam Phillips at the land trust, 788-3947, for more information, or e-mail tfl@woodriverlandtrust.org
Also on Thursday, mycologist Genny Steiner will present "Morels: What To Look For and How To Find Them" at the Draper Wood River Preserve main entrance on Aspen Drive in Hailey from 5-7 p.m. The presentation is open to the public, but reservations are requested. Call 788-3947.
The celebration will continue at four valley restaurants: CK's in Hailey; Riccabona's, Ketchum Grill and Ciro in Ketchum. Each will offer an additional "morel menu" with 10 percent of sales going to support the land trust.
For more information, visit www.woodriverlandtrust.org or call Robyn Watson at 788-3947.
Lecture to focus on eye health
St. Luke's Center for Community Health will present a lecture, "Cataracts, Glaucoma and Macular Degeneration," today, May 26, from 12:15-1:15 p.m.
Aging, heredity and injury contribute to eye disease. Optometrist Dr. Steven Snapp will present the Brown Bag lecture at St. Luke's Hailey Clinic's Carbonate Rooms.
All Brown Bag lectures are free and no pre-registration is required. For information on this or other educational programs, call 727-8733.
Comments sought on Redfish plan
The Sawtooth National Forest is seeking public comment about a proposal to replace an aging sewer lift station and public restroom building in the Redfish Lake Lodge permit area.
The new building would blend more into the log theme that Redfish currently has.
The Redfish Lake Lodge master development plan, approved in 1998, includes a new store and lodging on the second floor.
Comments should be sent by June 26 to Dave Fluetsch, Sawtooth National Recreation Area, 5 North Fork Canyon Rd., Ketchum, ID, 83340 or by e-mail to: comments-intermtn-sawtooth-nra@fs.fed.us.
For more information, contact Fluetsch at 727-5000.
Forest Service to move bridge
A temporary bridge crossing Warm Springs Creek at the mouth of Bassett Gulch will be removed in early July and moved to Slate Creek to allow cleanup of the Carbonate mine and mill site. Installation of the bridge was authorized by the Ketchum Ranger District in 2004 to convey heavy equipment to clean up the Basset Gulch mill and its tailings; cleanup was completed in 2005.
Rremoval of the bridge is expected to take two days to a week.
At the Bassett Gulch site, the Sawtooth National Forest will also remove a makeshift bridge (beneath the structure to be moved) consisting of a railroad flatcar and wood cribbing abutments. Neither span was intended to facilitate recreation and the flatcar bridge is not considered safe for use by vehicles or pedestrians. No designated trail or other developed recreational facilities exist on the south side of the creek at this location and a replacement pedestrian bridge is not proposed.
Cleanup of the Carbonate mine and mill site is expected to take four months and the forest intends to remove the bridge after the cleanup, either this fall or in 2011.
For additional information, contact Heidie Torrealday at the Minidoka Ranger Station, (208) 678-0430.
Sock Hop to benefit Senior Connection
The Senior Connection will kick off the opening of its '50s Ice Cream Parlor with a sock hop to benefit Meals on Wheels and senior transportation programs on Saturday, June 5, from 4-7 p.m.
Prizes, dancing, appetizers, ice cream, chocolate and wine will be served. Space will be limited.
The Senior Connection is at 721 Third Ave. S. in Hailey.
It pays to be a 'Wheel Watcher'
Bellevue resident Jane Eittrein won a trip to Costa Rica courtesy of the Wheel Watchers Club, "Wheel of Fortune's" online loyalty program for viewers. Eittrein, a member of the club, took a trip to Costa Rica on Feb. 19.
Eittrein did not know she had won the trip because the night her club identification number was announced as the winner, she was not watching "Wheel of Fortune."
A stranger looked up Eittrein's contact information in the phone book and called her to tell her she had won. Eittrein does not know who called her, and if it wasn't for the kindness of that stranger, she would have never taken the trip.
