Suicide prevention hotline launched
The Idaho Suicide Prevention Hotline (800-273-TALK) was launched statewide on Monday. It is Idaho’s only statewide suicide prevention hotline.
According to an Idaho Suicide Prevention Hotline news release, Idaho has one of the country’s highest suicide rates. The release also states that suicide prevention hotlines are a “proven means” to help prevent suicides. Though a national hotline is available, the release states the Idaho-specific hotline will be advantageous to its callers since phone workers will be more familiar with services offered specifically in Idaho.
The hotline will serve all callers free of charge from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday through Thursday. Friday service will be added in February and 24/7 service will be developed during the hotline’s second year. Currently, calls made outside of service hours will be redirected to the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline. The Idaho hotline will also offer suicide prevention information on its website at www.idahosuicideprevention.org.
“We’re ready to serve all of Idaho,” said John Reusser, executive director of the Idaho Suicide Prevention Hotline. “Those who might be considering suicide, or those who just need someone to talk to, we’re here to take their calls.”
Sun Valley featured on Travel Channel
A Travel Channel show titled “Instant Christmas” that aired on Nov. 25 featured Sun Valley as an ideal destination for holiday travelers.
The two-minute segment on Sun Valley states that Sun Valley “lights up” in December and that, with more than seven decades of practice, the resort puts on the “perfect” holiday festivities. This winter season is Sun Valley Co.’s 77th.
“Nestled away in central Idaho, Sun Valley Resort is a veritable winter wonderland,” the clip states. “This premier mountain getaway is the perfect destination for vacationers who want to rough it in style.”
An unidentified woman interviewed in the video agreed whole-heartedly.
“Christmas carolers and hot cocoa and twinkle lights and snow-shine—as I like to call it. What’s better than that?” she said.
The segment mentions the many winter sports opportunities that the area offers, including skiing, snowboarding and skating, and also gives a nod to the resort’s annual Nutcracker on Ice Christmas Eve ice show. This year, the free ice show celebration will kick off on the Sun Valley Lodge Terrace at 5 p.m. on Monday, Dec. 24.
Idaho Power to host open houses for proposed power line
Idaho Power and the Wood River Electrical Plan’s Community Advisory Committee is hosting three public open houses this week to give valley residents an opportunity to discuss and learn more about a proposed second transmission line between Hailey and Ketchum.
The first was held yesterday at the Community Campus in Hailey. Additional open houses will be held today, Nov. 28, from 5-7 p.m. at Sun Valley City Hall and Thursday, Nov. 29, from 5-7 p.m. at Hemingway Elementary School in Ketchum.
A recent Idaho Power news release invites the public to “drop in” to the open houses to view displays and handouts detailing the proposed project. Also, those who attend will have the opportunity to talk with and provide commentary to Idaho Power staff members and members of the Wood River Community Advisory Committee—a group of valley residents that collaborated with Idaho Power to develop the plan for the proposed project in 2007. Light refreshments will be served.
According to Idaho Power’s website, the north valley is currently served by a single 138,000 volt transmission line.
“An outage on this line results in power loss to all of the Ketchum and Sun Valley area,” the website states. “A second transmission line to the north is critical for reliable electric service.”
The website states that the proposed 138 kV transmission line route would be about 12 miles long and would provide a redundant connection between the Wood River substation north of Hailey and the Ketchum substation on Sun Valley Road. According to the website, Idaho Power will make final decisions concerning the line’s route and the design of the power poles after receiving public feedback during the open houses.
For more information on the proposed project, visit www.idahopower.com/woodriver.
FitWorks to host nutrition talk
BCRD FitWorks will host a free nutrition talk with Cindy Sparks at the Community Campus in Hailey on Wednesday, Dec. 5, at 6:30 p.m. The focus of the talk will be weight management and controlling inflammation in the body with sound nutritional choices.
People can pick up FitWorks’ “Road Map to Fitness” to help them get started on a journey toward weight management and wellness. For more information, visit www.bcrd.org or call 578-2273.
Changes to 511 system allow drivers to customize information
The Idaho Transportation Department has introduced new options to the 511 Traveler Services program that allow drivers to tailor reports to their own needs. Registering on the www.511.idaho.gov website drivers them the option of receiving direct reports for their preferred routes through email, text messages or Twitter.
Information is available about highway conditions, delays and closures.
The new option complements an earlier upgrade that introduced direct highway notifications through text messages to cell phones or email alerts to computers. To take advantage of those alerts, users established a free account on the 511 site that allowed them to designate route preferences.
The newest option does not require travelers to establish accounts, but they must be registered with Twitter to receive “tweets” with automated highway condition reports.
Regional ITD office commended
The south-central Idaho office of the Idaho Transportation Department has been acknowledged by the National Weather Service for being storm-ready.
According to Vernon Preston, warning coordination meteorologist for the National Weather Service in Pocatello, ITD District 4 is the first transportation entity in the United States to earn the recognition usually reserved for towns.
The South Central Idaho StormReady Local Advisory Board awarded the National Weather Service StormReady Recognition in January and presented a plaque and signs on Nov. 16 in Twin Falls.
To meet the requirements of the recognition, ITD District 4 had to demonstrate adequate levels of emergency operations, including communications, equipment, facilities and human resources.
For more information about the National Weather Service StormReady program, go to www.stormready.noaa.gov.
Writer awarded prestigious residency
Local fiction writer Kim Frank Kirk has been awarded a two-week artist residency at the Ucross Foundation in Ucross, Wyo. It was one of about 100 residencies awarded this year.
Past Ucross Fellows include Pulitzer Prize winner Annie Proulx, who wrote “The Shipping News,” artist Polly Apfelbaum, winner of the Guggenheim and Rome Prize whose work is in the MoMA collection, and National Book Award nominee Elizabeth Gilbert, author of “Eat, Pray, Love.”
Kirk said she plans to use her time at UCross to work on her novel-in progress, “Thread.”
Hailey library adds Saturday stories
The Hailey Public Library has added a Saturday story hour to its weekly agenda.
Held at 2:30 p.m., Saturday Story Mania offers all the features of the library’s Story Mania Wednesdays, including stories, learning activities and crafts.
Kiwanis to distribute winter clothing
The Kiwanis Club of Hailey and the Wood River Valley is collecting warm winter clothing again this year. Coats, hats, mittens and boots can be placed in boxes placed at businesses throughout the valley.
This year home schoolers and the Community School are helping collect coats, which will be given out at the Winter Wonderland at the Hailey Armory on Saturday, Dec. 8, from 1-3 p.m.
There are also coats available through school counselors. Parents with a child who needs a warm coat can contact Jeanette McIlhenney at Hailey Elementary School or Kim Baker at 727-7408. Anyone with a donation that needs to be picked up can also call and make arrangements.
Souper Supper to serve 15th anniversary dinner
In celebration of its 15th anniversary, the Souper Supper Dining Room’s steering committee will prepare and serve dinner on Thursday, Dec. 6.
Souper Supper was started by a group of women from various faith organizations in 1997 to serve hot meals to those who need them, and with their faithful volunteers have continued the practice on Mondays and Thursdays at 5:30 p.m. for the past 15 years.
More than 50,000 meals have been served by volunteers over the years. All food is either donated or bought with monetary donations. Crews are made up of students, religious groups, neighborhoods and other friends. St. Charles Catholic Church in Hailey has hosted Souper Supper for the entire time it has been serving.
Monetary donations can be sent to Dora Levin, Box 4197, Ketchum, ID 83340.
Galena trails are open
As of Sunday, Galena Lodge and the North Valley Trails have open about 50 kilometers of groomed trails for skiing and about 15 kilometers of snowshoe trails.
A Full Moon Dinner will be served tonight, Nov. 28. Galena Lodge is a community-owned day lodge off state Highway 75 about 23 miles north of Ketchum.
