Public testifies on health and welfare
The state Joint Finance and Appropriations Committee will hear public testimony for the second time in its history today.
Beginning at 8 a.m., Idaho residents will be allowed to comment on budget requests for the Department of Health and Welfare, a department that could be facing significant cuts this session.
Those who wish to comment in person are urged to arrive as early as 6 a.m. in order to sign up for a three-minute slot. The hearings will be held in the Capitol Auditorium in Boise.
The public may also comment in writing by e-mailing JFACtestimony@lso.idaho.gov.
Hear about nukes at Science Café
The public is invited to the Sun Valley Science Café on Wednesday, Feb. 2, to learn about "clean energy."
The event runs from 6-9 p.m. at nexStage Theatre in Ketchum. It is sponsored by the Discovery Center of Idaho, Idaho National Laboratory, Boise State University and Idaho Public Television.
Science Café will include a premier showing of NOVA's "Making Stuff: Cleaner" and a presentation from Steven Aumeier, of INL's Energy Systems & Technology Division, on "how nuclear energy will play a role in hybrid energy systems of the future."
Admission is free. Light hors d'oeuvres and beverages will be served.
Church to speak at conference
Bethine Church, the widow of the late Sen. Frank Church, will give the keynote address at the Idaho Business Review's Women of the Year event on Thursday, Feb. 17, at the Boise Centre. The event will honor 50 professional women for their leadership, commitment to community and capacity of achieving their dreams and goals.
"Bethine represents the highest level of achievement that inspires every woman in Idaho," said Sean Evans, vice president and publisher of the Idaho Business Review.
Church's contributions to Idaho include wildlife and conservation efforts. She chairs the Frank Church Institute, which brings national speakers to Boise. The institute raised a $1 million endowment to continue the conferences and for the Frank and Bethine Church Professor and scholarships at Boise State University.
The ticketed event is open to the public and includes a cocktail reception, dinner and award ceremony. Tickets are $70. Table sponsorships also are available. For details and to register for the event, visit the website at idahobusinessreview.com/events/woy.
Summer on the Sawtooth
The Sawtooth National Forest has summer openings for firefighters and dispatchers as well as range, timber and trails workers.
Work is available in numerous ranger districts, from Ketchum and the SNRA to Minidoka and Fairfield. Salaries range from $10.95 to $19 per hour. Housing is included for some openings. Applicants must be U.S. citizens and at least 18 years old.
The Forest Service will hold an employment open house on Monday, Feb. 7, from 2-8 p.m. in Room 103 at the CSI Shields Building in Twin Falls.
For more information, visit the Sawtooth National Forest site at www.fs.usda.gov/Sawtooth.
Handbook to save county money
Blaine County could save up to $10,000 by adopting a modified employee-manager handbook, said County Administrator Derek Voss.
The Idaho Counties Risk Management Program, a property and casualty insurance company, offers a 5 percent policy discount to counties that adopt certain requirements.
The program requires employees to undergo sexual harassment and discrimination training, and the county to adopt certain sexual harassment, personnel and vehicle-use policies.
"The purpose is to reduce costs and exposures to the county in the long term," Voss said.
He said the new handbook would reduce county liability and ultimately save the county more than the initial discount.
Zions Bank to sponsor sheep fest
The 15th annual Trailing of the Sheep Festival will have Zions Bank as its naming sponsor. The festival will take place Oct. 7-9 throughout the Wood River Valley.
It celebrates the century-and-a-half-long tradition of moving sheep from mountain summer pastures south through the Wood River Valley to traditional winter grazing and lambing areas. The three-day event includes storytelling and readings, music, a full-day Folklife Fair with sheep shearing, wool spinning and sheep arts and crafts, and sheepdog trials.
This year the festival will honor women and their contributions to the development of Idaho and the West. In addition, the festival will include cowboy poet Baxter Black.
For details, visit www.trailingofthesheep.org.