Friday, September 17, 2010

Briefs


Sun Valley water gets awards

The Sun Valley Water and Sewer District won Best Groundwater and Best of Show during the American Water Works Association's intermountain conference at Sun Valley Resort from Aug. 25-27. Sun Valley swept the taste test competition against Utah and Idaho utilities. The winning water was drawn from district Well No. 1, the original well that the Union Pacific Railroad drilled in 1936 to service the newly built Sun Valley Resort.

The Best of Show award qualifies Sun Valley to enter the seventh annual National Taste Test Competition at the association's national conference on June 14 in Washington, D.C.

Give blood in September

The American Red Cross invites those interested in donating blood or platelets to call 1-800-RED CROSS or visit redcrossblood.org. Blood donations usually drop during the summer months, and demand in the Wood River Valley has increased in past years because of a growing and also aging population. Any healthy person 17 or older and weighing at least 110 lbs. may be eligible to donate. Valid identification is required.

Olympian hired as Nordic director

Olympian Ivana Radlova has taken the helm of the Sun Valley Nordic and Snowshoe Center. The center's new director was a Czechoslovakian cross-country skier who competed in the late 1980s, finishing seventh in the 4 x 5 kilometer relay at the 1988 Winter Olympics in Calgary, Canada. She has 32 years of cross-country skiing experience and 10 years of coaching experience.

Most recently, she was executive director of the Rocky Mountain Nordic Ski Education Foundation in Steamboat Springs, Colo. Other related positions include Nordic center manager and head development coach at Bogus Basin in Boise, instructor and assistant manager at Steamboat Ski Touring Center, and assistant coach for the Colorado University Ski Team in Boulder.

Smart Moves winners announced

Mountain Rides has announced the winners in its 10th annual Smart Moves Community Challenge, which ended Aug. 20.

Category winners were:

- Bus: Tie between Leslie Londos and Ann Van Every.

- Bike: Maria Beattie.

- Carpool: Angela Eagle.

- Vanpool: Geri Jones.

- Walk: Kristal Shiers.

The event started on Bike To Work Day on May 21 and continued throughout the summer with participants tracking their "smart moves"—any trip using a mode other than driving solo in a car.

"Those trips totaled over 50,000 miles, which means participants saved over $25,000 in commute costs and reduced carbon emission by 45,000 pounds," said Mountain Rides Executive Director Jason Miller.

Mountain Rides awarded more than 40 prizes to participants, thanks to generous sponsors.

Student numbers down at CSI

Though the official number of students at College of Southern Idaho in Twin Falls is less than it was last year at this same time, CSI administrators expect that this year's student census will surpass that of last fall after all students can be counted, according to Public Relations Director Doug Maughan.

CSI's 10-day student count, which is taken on the tenth school day of each semester, shows a total of 7,699 students, roughly a 5.3-percent reduction. The full time equivalency, which is a calculation of the number of students taking at least 15 credits, is 4,675 this year compared with 4,426 last year at the same time, or a 5.6 percent increase.

However, most of the college's dual-credit students, high school juniors and seniors who enroll in classes that carry college as well as high school credit, were not included in that count.

Supplies needed at schools

The Kiwanis Club of the Wood River Valley is hoping to supply kids, teachers and counselors with more school supplies. It is seeking money or donations of backpacks, markers, glue sticks, paper, pencils, calculators, etc. Drop-off boxes have been placed inside the front doors of public schools throughout Blaine County.

Anyone interested in a monetary donation or who would like a Kiwanian to pick up items can call Kim Baker at 727-7408.

Gooding sets candidate forum

The Gooding Chamber of Commerce will host a District 25 candidates forum on Tuesday, Oct. 19, at 5:30 p.m. for the five Legislature candidates up for election this November.

Dubbed "Pizza and Politics," the forum will be split into two debates, one for state Senate candidates Jim Donoval, Randy Patterson and Michelle Stennett and the other for state House candidates Donna Pence and Alex Sutter.

The debates will include questions from the public, which will be collected both before the debate and in writing at the debate. The candidates will also be able to address one question each directly to the other candidates.

The forum will be held at Gooding High School, and is free and open to the public. Gooding's forum is one of four independently organized forums projected to occur this election season.

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A night for Type 1

A potluck dinner will be held Monday, Sept. 20, at 6:30 p.m. in Hailey's Hop Porter Park's covered picnic area for those with Type 1 diabetes to meet and tell their stories. Bring a potluck item to share. Friends and family are welcome. Those with questions should call Jody at 309-3239.

Festival receives $3,500 grant

The U.S. Bancorp Foundation has awarded the Trailing of the Sheep Festival $3,500 for the 14th annual event in Ketchum and Hailey on Oct. 8-10.

U.S. Bancorp Foundation is based in Boise and has three U.S. Bank branches in the Wood River Valley, including the main office in Ketchum and branches in Hailey and Bellevue.

Every year the festival celebrates the century-and-a-half-long tradition of moving sheep from mountain summer pastures south through the Wood River Valley to winter desert areas. The event includes sheep poetry readings and music, a Folklife Fair with sheep shearing, wool spinning and sheep arts and crafts, and championship sheepdog trials. There is dancing, singing, music and food honoring the tradition of welcoming fathers, brothers, sons and family home from a long summer of grazing in the mountains.

For a complete schedule, see the website at www.trailingofthesheep.

Haunted Forest seeks volunteers

The Bellevue Haunted Forest, to be held Friday, Oct. 29, and Saturday, Oct. 30, at the Howard Preserve, is looking for committed volunteers to help with this year's event. Volunteer opportunities include dressing up in a scary costume to guide participants through the Haunted Forest, managing a station, acting in a station, assisting with makeup and costume needs, taking tickets at the gate, helping with promotions and sponsorships, building/construction-type work and many other aspects both behind and in the scenes.

Anyone interested should attend the a committee meeting on Tuesday, Sept. 21, at the Bellevue Library at 7 p.m. or e-mail bellevuehauntedforest@gmail.com.

Hailey BAH at Friedman

The biggest Hailey Business After Hours of the year will be held Thursday, Sept. 16, from 5-7 p.m. at Friedman Memorial Airport. The event is co-hosted by the Hailey Chamber of Commerce and Sun Valley-Ketchum Chamber & Visitors Bureau. People can stop by for food and drinks, and to visit with chamber members and guests.

Catering will be provided by nine local businesses. People can bring their business card for a raffle. For more information, call 788-3484.

2nd annual Y triathlon scheduled

An unsanctioned sprint distance triathlon will be held Saturday, Sept. 18, at the Wood River Community YMCA. It will include an 800-yard swim, an approximately 13-mile trail ride and an approximately three-mile trail run. The swim heats will begin at 7 a.m.

The number of participants will be capped at 30. Competitors must register by Friday, Sept. 17, with Liz Clark at 928-6708 or at www.WoodRiverYMCA.org. Cost is $25 for members and $40 for non-members.

Learn about imaging center

People can learn about the new Women's Imaging Center at St. Luke's Wood River Medical Center during a Brown Bag lecture on Thursday, Sept. 16, from 12:15-1:15 p.m. at the St. Luke's Baldy Conference Rooms. Radiologist Dr. Michael Citrone will explain the advantages of digital technology and take participants on a tour of the state-of-the-art facility.

All Brown Bag lectures are free and no pre-registration is required. Call 727-8733 for information on this or other educational programs.

New coordinator at Mountain Rides

Mountain Rides Transportation Authority has announced the hiring of a new bike and pedestrian coordinator. Eric Grootveld will focus primarily on the Safe Routes to School program, as well as on general bike and pedestrian programs that improve safety and use of biking and walking for transportation.

Grootveld moved to the Ketchum area from Ames, Iowa, where he recently completed his degree in community and regional planning, and has been working in the bike industry. In the summer of 2008, he was an intern for Hailey Planning Director Beth Robrahn.

Safe Routes to School is a national movement that promotes walking and biking to school through education and incentives. The program also addresses the safety concerns of parents by encouraging greater enforcement of traffic laws, educating the public and exploring ways to create safer streets.

Barbecue set in Mackay

The annual Mackay Free Barbecue will be held Saturday, Sept. 18, at the Mackay Tourist Park. The barbecue oven will be opened at 11 a.m. with roast beef sandwiches being served from 11:30 a.m. to 2 p.m.

About 2,000 pounds of boneless round roasts will be fed to the 3,000 people expected to attend. The meat will be cut, wrapped and seasoned on Friday night, then taken down to the barbecue oven to be put inside and slow-cooked all night long.

'What's Happening to Me?'

A three-week series of classes at St. Luke's Hailey Clinic will address the bodily changes and emotional ups and downs that accompany girls in early adolescence. Topics will include emotional and physical changes, reproduction, relationships with parents and friends, hygiene, body image and self-esteem.

Class dates are Tuesdays, Sept. 21, Sept. 28 and Oct. 5, from 6:30-8:30 p.m. Cost is $20 plus $5 for each additional sibling. Registration is required by Sept. 17. Call 727-8733 to register.

Girls attending must be accompanied by one or both parents.

A class for boys' issues with puberty will be held Saturday, Oct. 16, from 1:30-5 p.m.

Phone surcharge to increase

A surcharge that helps telephone companies provide service to high-cost rural areas will increase slightly on Oct. 1 as a result of an order signed by the Idaho Public Utilities Commission.

The surcharge applies to customers of all telephone companies in the state.

The commission's order increases the amount customers pay from 10 cents per residential line per month to 12 cents, and from 17 cents per business line to 19 cents. Customers of long distance companies also pay the surcharge. The surcharge for in-state toll calls will increase from 0.3 cents per minute to 0.35 cents per minute.

With the increasing use of cell phones, the number of residential and business landlines continues to decrease. As of May 1, telephone companies reported an inventory of 328,592 residential lines, a nearly 11 percent decrease from the previous year. Business lines also decreased by 2 percent to 219,752. Long-distance billed minutes declined by 6 percent.

Power ranks among largest employers

Power Engineers has ranked 16th on the recently released 2010 edition of Idaho Business Review's Largest Employers TopList. The company has 470 full-time employees in Idaho.

The Idaho Business Review determines the Largest Employers TopList rankings based on the number of full-time employees in the state. Additional information about the ranking is available at www.idahobusinessreview.com.

Power Engineers is a consulting engineering firm specializing in energy, facilities, communications and environmental services. Founded in 1976, Power Engineers is an employee-owned company with offices throughout the United States and abroad.




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