WREP to hold candidates' forum
Wood River Economic Partnership, a valleywide organization that advocates on behalf of the business community, will host a forum next week for candidates for Ketchum City Council.
WREP will ask candidates several business-focused questions. All 13 candidates have been invited to participate.
The forum will take place Wednesday, Oct. 5, from 5:30-7:30 p.m. at the Wood River Community YMCA in Ketchum.
Due to limited space, the forum is open only to WREP members, the press and others who reserve space early.
For more information or to RSVP, contact dougbrownsv@gmail.com.
Community School seniors honored
The Community School in Sun Valley announced this week that two of its seniors have been named semi-finalists in the 2012 National Merit Scholarship Program.
Camille Bourret and Robert Henry Rickbell scored in the top 1 percent in a qualifying test given nationwide.
To become finalists, Bourret and Rickbell need to earn SAT college entrance exam scores that confirm their high scores on the qualifying test. Finalists are eligible for the 8,300 National Merit Scholarships available nationwide.
Kiwanis Club elects new officers
At the regular meeting of the Kiwanis Club of Hailey and the Wood River Valley on Wednesday, Sept. 21, outgoing President Jim Spinelli gave the oath of office to the new officers for 2011-12: President Trina Isaacs (city of Hailey), President-elect Kim Baker (Professional Roofing), Vice President Karen McNary (Mountain West Bank), Treasurer Heather Abrams (Mountain West Bank) and Secretary Dale Ewersen (Splash & Dash).
Kiwanis International is a global organization of volunteers dedicated to changing the world one child and one community at a time. The club meets every Wednesday at 11 a.m. at the Senior Connection in Hailey. Call 721-7246 for more information.
Fall foliage website now active
The U.S. Forest Service has launched its seasonal website, Fall Colors 2011, to help leaf-peepers catch foliage at its peak nationwide.
The agency's revamped Fall Colors 2011 website, http://www.fs.fed.us/fallcolors, includes maps that link to forest-by-forest fall color information as well as to state tourism websites. The Fall Colors hotline is also active, and those who wish to view peak foliage can call 800-354-4595 for information on the best places, dates and routes for viewing.
Weather conditions in all areas impact peak viewing dates, so information provided by the Forest Service can help visitors best plan their trips.
Little Black Dress Club gets grant
The Little Black Dress Club-Wood River was awarded $500 by the Deer Creek Fund of the Helen K. and Arthur E. Johnson Foundation. The funds will help the women's giving circle continuing its goals of introducing women to philanthropy and giving to the community.
The club is supported by membership contributions of $25 a month and by donations like the one made by the Deer Creek Fund. Founded in October 2009, the club is a donor-advised fund within the Idaho Community Foundation. In its first three grant cycles, the club has distributed approximately $22,900 to local organizations.
For more information, or to learn more about joining or applying for a grant, visit www.lbdcwr.org.
Library seeks help with fundraiser
Friends of the Hailey Public Library is seeking volunteers to help with its annual Book & Bake sale. The sale is one of two primary fundraising events for the library.
( Set-up days: Tuesday, Oct. 11, 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. and Wednesday, Oct. 12, 10 a.m. to 4 p.m.
( Sale days, two-hour shifts on Thursday, Oct. 13, 9 a.m. to 6 p.m.; Friday, Oct. 14, 9 a.m. to 6 p.m.; and Saturday, Oct. 15, 9 a.m. to 4 p.m.
Those interested are asked to sign up at the library's front desk. For more information, call GeeGee Lowe at 720-7395 or email gglowe@msn.com.
Boy escapes cougar; injuries minor
A 10-year-old Boise County resident was not seriously injured in a mountain lion attack last week northeast of Boise, Idaho Department of Fish and Game officials said.
According to a news release from the department, the boy, whose name has not been released, was searching with his father for a missing pet dog on Thursday, Sept. 22. The boy encountered the lion in thick brush near his Mores Creek subdivision home, about 20 miles from Boise. The boy ran, but stumbled and the cat caught up, swiping his arm and causing minor injuries.
The lion was scared off by his father's handgun and killed the next day by Fish and Game officers, an off-duty Meridian police officer and a Boise County deputy.
The female cat was estimated to be 50 pounds and about a year and a half old.
This is only the second recorded mountain lion incident involving injury to a human in Idaho. The other involved a 12-year-old boy on the Salmon River in the early 1990s.
