Bethine Church Award winners chosen
The Sawtooth Society honored the late Bonnie Hansen and Andy Gunderson on Friday, Oct. 19, with the Sawtooth Society 2012 Bethine Church Award at a reception at the High Country Inn in Stanley. Hansen and Gunderson were nominated for their outstanding and significant contributions to the Sawtooth National Recreation Area.
The Bethine Church Award is bestowed periodically when the Sawtooth Society chooses to recognize particularly significant contributions to the SNRA. Two awards are given to honor either a man or woman for their contributions in both the private and public sector. This year, Hansen received the award for her significant work in the private sector and Gunderson received the award for his dedication to service in the public sector.
Most minimum-wage workers women
Nearly two of every three workers earning the minimum wage in Idaho in 2011 were women, but that percentage was down substantially from 1975 and the end of the state’s last economic expansion.
The U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics estimates that 12,000 of the 19,000 Idaho workers earning the $7.25 an hour minimum wage in 2011 were women—63 percent. That essentially matched the women’s share of minimum jobs in 2010, though the total number of minimum wage workers was significantly higher at 30,000. Women accounted for 19,000.
Women, who make up just over half the hourly paid workforce in Idaho, have held well over half the minimum-wage jobs for the last decade, peaking at 75 percent in 2004 and 2005. Their lowest share of minimum wage jobs was just over 54 percent in 2009 during the heart of the recession when jobs of any kind were scarce.
Hailey holiday square planned
A Hailey Holiday Square has been added to this year’s Holiday Festival by the city, the Chamber of Commerce and the South Valley Merchants Alliance.
Croy Street between the Hailey Public Library and the Hailey Hotel will be blocked off to traffic from Nov. 12 to Jan. 4, during which time the Holiday Square will be used for a variety of holiday-themed events.
For six consecutive Saturdays beginning Nov. 17, from noon to 2 p.m., Santa Claus will be at the square to hear children’s Christmas wishes, the chamber will conduct its weekly raffle drawings, choirs will entertain the crowds with holiday music and a large fire pit will warm the audience. The town tree will be displayed prominently in the square and benches, picnic tables and other seating will be provided.
The city is inviting vendors and nonprofit groups to sell food or holiday-theme items. There is no charge for vendors to set up, but they will need to provide their own electricity, water, heat, tent, etc. Anyone interested should contact Community Development Director Micah Austin at 788-9815 or email micah.austin@haileycityhall.org.
Mayor Fritz Haemmerle is encouraging all businesses in Hailey to decorate their storefronts and get involved in community events.
New faces at SVSEF office
The Sun Valley Ski Education Foundation has hired three people to fill administrative positions.
With 16 years of national and international business experience, Heather Filgate takes over for Alex Sundali as director of development. Filgate most recently worked as director of development for the Trailing of the Sheep Festival and business development director for Lasaii, a division of Uranga & Associates. Last year, she was featured in a cover story for Women in Business and nominated for Woman of the Year in a contest hosted by the Idaho Mountain Express.
Sarah Crowley, a graduate of Bowdoin College with a degree in psychology, has been working with Kate Berman as co-event director and will take over when Berman retires in April.
Sara Santa, a graduate of Portland State University and Wood River High School, has been hired as administrative assistant. As the owner of Wirebird Media, Santa is an online specialist poised to help the SVSEF merge onto the information highway.
“We are all tremendously excited about this new crew,” Executive Director Don Wiseman said.
Black Dress Club to award funds
The Little Black Dress Club-Wood River will announce funding for six local organizations at its third anniversary celebration on Thursday, Nov. 8. Representatives from each organization will be honored at a cocktail reception upstairs at Whiskey Jaques’ in Ketchum from 5:30-7 p.m.
The club was created to support nonprofit organizations in Blaine County. It relies solely on the annual contributions of its members (a single payment of $300 or $25 per month).
In three years, the club has contributed nearly $50,000. For more information, visit www.lbdcwr.org.
Challis wild horse gather wraps up
Over the course of a six-day period ending Oct. 31, the BLM Challis Field Office rounded up 267 wild horses.
Of those, 46 mares were treated with porcine zona pellucida to reduce reproduction rates, and were released back to the wild. Fifty-seven male horses were released back to the wild as well. Eight to 10 horses at the Challis Wild Horse Facility, including three mares with foals, will be released at a later date. One of the horses gathered was euthanized due to severe pre-existing injuries.
In a press release, the BLM said 185 remain on the range to maintain the overall objective of healthy horses on healthy rangelands.
There are 163 horses at the Challis Wild Horse Facility being prepared for the adoption program. For the next several days, horses will be freeze-marked and vaccinated.
An opportunity for the public to view the horses will be held Sunday, Nov. 4, from 2-4 p.m. Regular visiting hours will begin Nov. 26 and continue each weekday.
“Gather operations went very smoothly this year,” said Kevin Lloyd, Challis wild horse and burro specialist. “I’m very pleased that there were no gather-related injuries to any of the horses or people working the horses.”
The horses will be available for adoption from Dec. 14-15 at the facility. The remaining horses will be transported to Boise where they will be offered for adoption in mid-January.
For additional information, or to obtain photos from the gather, visit HYPERLINK "http://www.blm.id.gov"
Library to offer weekly tech classes
The Community Library in Ketchum is now offering weekly technology classes every Wednesday from 10-11:30 a.m.
The classes are free, but those interested in taking them should register ahead, as space is limited to 12 students per class. The classes are taught by Paul Zimmerman, the library’s technology expert. Zimmerman will cover topics such as basic computer skills, mobile computing with tablets and smartphones, and how to get the most out of Facebook and Twitter.
For more information on upcoming class topics or to register for a class, contact Zimmerman at pzimmerman@thecommunitylibrary.org or 726-7355, ext. 119.