Tourism officials to meet at resort
The Idaho Conference on Recreation and Tourism will be held at Sun Valley Resort from May 6-8, during National Travel and Tourism Week.
Organizers expect 150 Idaho lodging property owners and managers, outfitters and guides, tourism industry professionals and recreation providers to attend the conference. Anyone interested in tourism or marketing is invited to attend. See the conference agenda, speakers and registration fees online.
Prior to the opening of the conference, the Idaho Travel Council will hold its annual spring meeting, conducting business on Tuesday, May 6, from 8 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. The Idaho Travel Council agenda includes comments from Idaho Commerce Director Jeffery Sayer followed by budget and grant updates and a review of the grant presentation process. Grant presentations are scheduled to begin at 9 a.m. The public is welcome to attend.
Relay for Life inviting participants
Cancer survivors and caregivers are invited to join the organizers of the American Cancer Society’s Relay for Life event in their celebration of cancer survivorship. The annual Relay for Life is scheduled for Friday, July 18. Participants can take a victory lap on the track and will receive dinner and gifts.
“Come celebrate life with friends and family,” a news release states.
For more information, contact Shannon at 471-0333 or Cindy at 720-7678.
South Idaho fire hazard is high
The U.S. Forest Service is reminding people that even though there’s still a lot of snow in the mountains, fire hazard is high at lower elevations.
Those areas in the Sawtooth National Forest and BLM lands have been drying out through most of the winter and spring, and are now full of dry, dormant grasses, sagebrush and shrubs. Fire can move easily through these fine fuels with warm temperatures, low humidity and wind.
Until rain and warmer temperatures start the growing season and sagebrush and plants begin to green up, they will ignite easily. All forest users should take precautions when having camp fires, using firearms, driving over tall grasses and conducting all activities that involve an ignition source.
In 2013, the largest number of human-caused fires on the forest resulted before the end of May, the Forest Service reported.
ITD increases speed near Shoshone
The Idaho Transportation Department announced this week that an increase in the speed limit goes into effect today, May, 2, on state Highway 75 immediately north of Shoshone.
Instead of 55 miles per hour, a six-mile stretch of the highway from Huyser Drive north to the turnoff at Mammoth Cave will now be posted at 65 mph. ITD announced that the change follows construction over the past two years to widen that portion of roadway and a recently conducted engineering study.
“Generally, we see a shift in speed limits to slow traffic for reasons of safety or due to increasing roadway access,” said Bruce Christensen, ITD district traffic engineer. “This is one of those cases where safe operation by drivers and the speed of traffic has led to a minor increase of the speed limit.”
ITD reported that traffic through that section of highway ranges from 3,000 vehicles to 5,900 vehicles per day. Traffic volume is highest during the summer.
Third-grader places in writing contest
Hailey third-grader Gina Greenberg placed third in the third-grade category of the Idaho Public Television/KAID regional PBS KIDS Writers Contest.
Greenberg, along with other winners, will be honored on Saturday, May 3, at a ceremony starting at 1 p.m. at the Boise “Library at Cole & Ustick” at 7557 W. Ustick Road.
Greenberg’s entry is titled “Speaking Rain.” IdahoPTV reported in a news release that entries were judged on originality, creative expression, storytelling and integration of text and pictures.
Greenberg’s and other winning entries will be available for viewing by June 1 at the IdahoPTV website at idahoptv.org/kids.
Final days to vote for ‘Best of Valley’
The 2014 Best of the Valley survey is open to voters through 5 p.m. Sunday, May 4. Go to http://mtexpress.com/bestofthevalley_survey/ to cast your votes for the best the Wood River Valley has to offer.
Six sections, covering more than 120 categories, are included in the survey. Voters will dictate the best of Blaine County in dining, recreation, shopping, business, entertainment and people.
This is the sixth year that the Sun Valley Guide, sister publication to the Idaho Mountain Express, has conducted a “best of” survey for the Wood River Valley.
The Best of the Valley survey will be delivered through the leading survey tool on the Web, SurveyMonkey. Most questions are open-ended, not multiple-choice, so participants can fill in any answer they desire.
The results will be published in a special magazine on newsstands in August.
