Simpson to host tele-town hall
Rep. Mike Simpson, R-Idaho, will host a one-hour telephone town hall at 7:30 p.m. on Thursday, July 7. Constituents are urged to call in with questions about any issues before Congress and bend the ear of the congressman on their concerns.
Simpson said that while he enjoys meeting Idaho farmers, teachers, business owners and workers throughout Idaho, he cannot visit every community. Town hall meetings conducted over the telephone allow him to communicate with constituents across the state at once.
To participate in the next town hall, please visit the congressman's website, www.simpson.house.gov and click on the Teletownhall button on the bottom right.
Make a deal on a Deere
The Wood River Land Trust and the Sawtooth Botanical Garden are hosting an online auction for a 1941 John Deere Model "B" Tractor.
The tractor is available for auction online at www.biddingforgood.com until July 16.
Proceeds from the tractor sale will be evenly split between the Land Trust and the Botanical Garden. Both organizations will donate money to an agricultural scholarship program in Idaho established by the owner, John Glick, and his Tractor Club.
For more information, contact Liz Warrick at 720-5472.
Open burning prohibited for summer
All open burning and current burn permits in the Ketchum Rural Fire District and the city of Ketchum are suspended until the snow flies in the fall.
Those with questions can contact Mike Elle at the Ketchum Fire Department: 726-7805.
Friday movies kick off with 'Goonies'
Hot Summer Nights movies at Bellevue Memorial Park are on again this summer, beginning with "Goonies" on Friday, July 8. This year's movies will run through Sept. 2, taking Aug. 12 off.
The movies begin at dusk and a cartoon is always shown prior to the main feature.
Popcorn and other refreshments will be sold. All money raised goes to the nonprofit group that organizes the event, Building Balanced Communities, which then donates money to other groups and causes in the Wood River Valley.
The schedule for subsequent showings is July 15, "August Rush"; July 22, "The Secret Garden," in conjunction with the Bellevue Garden Tour Library fundraiser event; July 29, "The Mask"; Aug. 5, "Homeward Bound"; Aug. 19, "Yours, Mine and Ours"; Aug. 26, "The Never Ending Story"; Sept. 2, Marley and Me.
While the movies are shown for free, viewers are asked to bring nonperishable food items to donate to the Hunger Coalition.
ExCELLent Adventure begins Aug. 5
Blaine County children can learn about the "totally radical" cell starting Aug. 5 at exCELLent Adventure, part of College of Southern Idaho's Community Education Summer Science Camp. The course was created for children ages 6 to 13 and will be taught by certified Idaho elementary teachers.
"The amazing cell may be the basic unit of life but it definitely is not boring," a CSI press release stated. "As students journey on an excellent adventure at summer science camp, they will use microscopes and other scientific stuff to examine the wonderful world within the cell. Students will study, create and maybe even walk through a life-size replica cell."
The camp will be held from 2-5 p.m. at the Blaine County Campus, 1050 Fox Acres Rd. in Hailey. Registration fee is $25. To register, call 788-2033.
For information on these and other CSI Community Education classes, visit http://communityed.csi.edu.
Wood-to-energy project funded
U.S. Secretary of Agriculture Tom Vilsack has announced an award of nearly $3 million in grants to 17 small businesses and community groups to develop wood-to-energy projects, including the Idaho Forest Group in Coeur d'Alene.
The group received $135,000 in federal funding to develop projects that use wood and brush removed from forests during projects such as wildfire prevention to produce green energy for heating and electricity.
Examples of possible projects include the engineering design of a woody biomass boiler for steam at a sawmill, a non-pressurized hot water system for a hospital or school and a biomass-power generation facility. The grant program helps applicants complete the necessary design work needed to secure public or private investment for construction.
