Travel Council awards funds
The Idaho Travel Council has awarded $215,600 to the Sun Valley Marketing Alliance, $26,045 to the Hailey Chamber of Commerce, and $35,200 to the Stanley-Sawtooth Chamber of Commerce.
The funds are part of approximately $3.2 million in tourism marketing funding provided to nonprofit organizations through the Idaho Regional Travel and Convention Grant Program.
"This is a remarkable program which leverages creative ideas and the 2 percent lodging tax revenues into marketing dollars for the communities of Idaho," said Karen Ballard, administrator for the Idaho Department of Commerce Division of Tourism Development.
Tourism is a more than $3 billion dollar industry in Idaho.
Grant supports nursing education
The St. Luke's Wood River Foundation awarded a $5,000 grant to the College of Southern Idaho Blaine County Center to support nursing education for local students in the 2012-2013 school year.
The grant will provide six scholarships for Blaine County students who are pursuing degrees in nursing, and it will support two certified nursing assistant courses at the Blaine County Center. The grant is made possible through the P. Scott McLean, Jr., M.D., Education Endowment Fund.
Nursing and education are the two fields of greatest demand for higher education opportunities, both in terms of the number of students pursuing those career tracks and the number of viable professional job opportunities in the local community, according to Jenny Emery Davidson, director of the CSI Blaine County Center.
Battle of the Blades teams matched
"Battle of the Blades .... It's Back," pairing nine local celebrity contestants with professional ice skaters, will light up the Sun Valley outdoor ice rink at 8 p.m. on Saturday, Sept. 8.
The pairs are Kaitlyn Farrington, representing the Sun Valley Ski Education Foundation, and pro Eddie Gornik; Miles Fink Debray, World Cup Dreams Foundation, and pro Natalia Zaitseva; Lara McLean, Defenders of Wildlife, and pro Joel Dear; Billy Olson, Wood River Bicycle Coalition and Michael J. Fox Foundation for Parkinson's Research, and Stephanee Grosscup; Keith Perry, St. Luke's Wood River Medical Center, and Elena Leonova; Erin Rheinschild, Sun Valley Adaptive Sports, and Brent Bommentre; Bob Rosso, Blaine County Recreation District and Cross Country Olympic Development Team, and Ashley Clark; Hannes Thum, Community School, and Kim Navarro; and Cortney Vandenburgh, Blaine Manor, and Andrei Khvalko.
Tickets are on sale at www.battleoftheblades.org. General-admission east and west bleacher seating is $25 for adults and $10 for students. Center ice bleachers are $50 per ticket and special VIP armchair seats at the ice's edge are $150. Proceeds will help support charities represented by the celebrity contestants.
Residents complain about plaza
The summer activity at the Ketchum Town Square has been deemed too loud by some neighboring homeowners.
Activities such as Zumba in particular, which includes pulsing music and people dancing in sync, have been cited as "disruptive" by nearby residents and businesses.
"I think the vitality that Zumba and other activities bring is wonderful, but we need to find some sort of compromise," Ketchum Mayor Randy Hall said at a City Council meeting on Monday. "You could say we've been too successful with the park. Now we just need to make a couple tweaks to make sure everyone is getting what they want."
Earlier this summer, Zumba classes were held at the Town Square five days a week. This has been cut down to a Wednesday evening class and a Friday morning class.
According to the Town Square's noise ordinance, amplified sounds up to 100 decibels (the equivalent of a nearby motorcycle or snowmobile) may be played from 9 a.m. until 11 p.m.
Zumba instructor Lory Rainey argued that her classes bring vibrancy to Ketchum and are well within the decibel limits.
Ketchum architect and Town Square designer Dale Bates measured the sound pressure levels of Rainey's Friday morning class and found them to be between 74 and 85 decibels. However, Bates did express concern as to whether the ordinance itself was appropriate.
"Eighty-five decibels is too loud, even though it's under the ordinance," Bates said.
School board to consider 'housekeeping' issues
The Blaine County School District board of trustees has scheduled a special meeting for today, Aug. 8, for what it described as "housekeeping issues" in a meeting notice issued late Monday afternoon.
According to the agenda, the board will consider sale of old buses, bids for automotive fuel, bids for propane and bids for resurfacing the tracks and tennis courts at Wood River High School and Wood River Middle School.
The meeting is scheduled to begin at 5 p.m. at the district office at 118 W. Bullion St. in Hailey. The meeting, open to the public, will be followed by a closed executive session, when, according to the meeting notice, the board will consider disciplinary action against either an employee or a student.
A complete agenda is available at the district website at www.blaineschools.org.
The school board's regular monthly meeting is scheduled for 6 p.m. and Tuesday, Aug. 21.
Library to honor Anthony Doerr
Award-winning author Anthony Doerr will be the honored at the Fourth Annual Friends of the Stanley Library Luncheon at Redfish Lake Lodge, set for noon on Saturday, Aug. 11. Tickets are $20 and must be purchased in advance at Stanley Community Library.
Doerr is the author of story collections "The Shell Collector" and "Memory Wall," the novel "About Grace," and a memoir, "Four Seasons in Rome." Doerr's short fiction has won four O. Henry prizes and has been anthologized in many collections.
Doerr lives in Boise with his wife and two sons.
Doerr, who previously served as writer-in-residence for the Sun Valley Center for the Arts, will share stories about the power of libraries. The event will wrap up with a book-signing. For more information or to purchase luncheon tickets, contact Library Director Jane Somerville at ( 208)774-2470.
Go hiking with ICL
The Idaho Conservation League has two free guided hikes left in its summer series, one to Boulder Lake and another to Bellas Lakes.
The Boulder Lake hike, on Saturday, Aug. 11, is called "Wandering with Harry Weekes." Participants will hear tidbits about the ecological world there from Weekes, founder and head of Hailey's Sage School, on the hike to this classic alpine lake in the Pioneer Mountains.
The hike is 7.5 miles and is moderate to difficult.
The final hike is Saturday, Aug. 16, when Tim Thomas leads hikers to Bellas Lakes, tucked under Standhope, Altair and Pyramid peaks of the Pioneer Mountains. Participants are encouraged to bring a fishing rod. This hike is four miles and is considered moderate.
Hikers should be in good physical condition and be prepared for all types of weather. Lunch, water, bug and sun repellent and a hat are essential.
For more information and reservations, visit HYPERLINK "http://www.idahoconservation.org/" www.idahoconservation.org or call 726-7485.
Nominations open for Sun Valley Ski Hall of Fame
The Sun Valley Ski Hall of Fame committee will accept nominations for the 2013 Hall of Fame through October.
Nominations should be submitted by mail to the Ketchum/Sun Valley Historical Society, P.O. Box 2746, Ketchum, ID 83340. Persons submitting nominations are asked to include their names and addresses.
All nominees will be kept private. For more information please call the Ski Museum at 726-8118.