Wednesday, August 27, 2014

Briefs


Man rescued from Mount Heyburn
    (AP)—A 55-year-old Idaho Falls man who fell and likely suffered a broken leg on Mount Heyburn in central Idaho has been rescued after spending a night on the mountain.
    Custer County Search & Rescue officials said a Blackhawk helicopter provided by the Idaho Air National Guard lifted Ronald Wallace to safety at about 11:30 a.m. on Friday, Aug. 22.
    Authorities say Wallace sustained the injury on Thursday, Aug. 21, after falling 10 feet on the 10,300-foot peak about 8 miles southeast of Stanley.
    Idaho Mountain Search & Rescue officials said they didn’t receive a call until about 10 p.m. Thursday and had to wait until morning to make the rescue.

ITD: Slow down in school zones
    As the new school year begins, the Idaho Transportation Department reminds drivers to reduce speed near schools. Flashing yellow lights and fluorescent signs identify most school zones and pedestrian/bicycle crossings in Idaho. Drivers who fail to follow posted school-zone speeds (generally 20 mph, or slower when children likely will be present) pay enhanced fines of $156.50.
    Unless otherwise posted, school-zone speed limits do not apply on nonschool days.
    Some schools also use crossing guards at intersections. Motorists are required to slow or stop as the guards dictate.
    Drivers should watch for children stepping off curbs, bicycles straying into traffic, and buses loading and unloading students.
    Parents and teachers should encourage children to watch for distracted drivers and remind them that cars might not slow for flashing lights or crossing guards.

 

Energy company announces merger
    Site Based Energy, a Hailey energy services company founded by Paul Conrad, has merged its utility scale energy development assets with Boise-based Sunergy World Inc. The development assets of both companies will now be called Intermountain Energy Partners.
    IEP, which focuses on renewable energy, is backed by a private -equity group and has projects in several U.S. states and Mexico.
    The company provides a flexible platform for deal structure, including joint ventures, the transfer of power sales agreements, and the building and owning of power generation facilities.
Foundation aids Hunger Coalition
    The Walmart Foundation recently gave The Hunger Coalition a $40,000 grant to help feed the hungry in Blaine County.
    “One in six Idahoans is food insecure,” said Madeleine Havener, Walmart vice president and regional general manager. “By supporting local hunger relief organizations such as the Blaine County Hunger Coalition, we know we can work together to fight hunger and to make a difference in the community.”
    The grant, said Hunger Coalition Executive Director Jeanne Liston, “will ensure that we can continue providing wholesome food, and hope, to the increasing number of children and families in need in our community.”
    According to the coalition, the number of families seeking assistance from its food bank has risen in recent months.
    More than 2,700 people live with food insecurity in Blaine County; 900 of them are children.
    For more information, visit www.thehungercoalition.org or call 788-0121.


Fish and Game seeks wolf reports
    Idaho’s Department of Fish and Game Scouting invites hunters, berry pickers and other outdoor enthusiasts to share information about wolf sightings and activity.
    “We’re looking for … where the wolf or wolves were seen, their behavior, size, coat color and any other details,” said Fish and Game wildlife manager Craig White.
    To report sightings, use the form at www.fishandgame.idaho.gov/species/observations/add?#speciesid=19117.
    Completed forms are sent to area biologists who, in some cases, might contact the observer for more details.
    “Many of the reports will be valuable in confirming documented wolf activity,” White said. “In other cases, a report might identify a new wolf activity area that needs further investigation.”

Donoval denied rehearing
    On Aug. 14, the Idaho Court of Appeals denied former Sun Valley resident Jim Donoval’s Aug. 5 petition for a rehearing of the court’s July 22 judgment. Donoval had asked for a reconsideration of the court’s decision that the city of Sun Valley had not forged or withheld public records from him. The court majority maintained that the city was cooperative in providing Donoval with requested credit card invoices and authorization sheets from three years ago.

Elementary schools hold open houses
    Four elementary schools in the Blaine County School District will hold open house “meet and greets” on Friday, Aug 29.
    Alturas Elementary School, formerly known as Woodside Elementary School, will hold its open house from 1-3 p.m.
    The open house at Bellevue Elementary School will be from 2-3 p.m. and the one at Hailey Elementary School from 1-3 p.m.
    Hemingway Elementary School in Ketchum will hold two sessions. The first open house, for Pre-K, will be from 12-1 p.m. The second, for grade K, will be held from 1-3 p.m.
    School begins on Tuesday, Sept. 2.

Sportsmen send letter to governor
    The coalition of Sportsmen for Boulder-White Clouds has sent a letter to Gov. Butch Otter, responding to his July letter to President Obama and thanking him for his attention to the community proposal to protect the Boulder-White Clouds as a National Monument.
    “It is really important that our elected officials, locally and nationally, recognize that our Boulder-White Clouds need to be permanently protected not just for their beauty, but for their importance to our hunting and fishing traditions,” said Michael Gibson, outreach coordinator.
    Gibson has also requested a meeting with the governor and. continues to reach out to U.S. Forest Service and Bureau of Land Management officials to work on moving the monument proposal forward.
    For more information about the campaign, visit www.sportsmenforbwc.org.

Meet Democratic candidates
    On Thursday, Aug. 28, Blaine County Democrats will host a “Meet the Candidates” event at the home of Ambassador Alan Blinken and Melinda Blinken from 5-7:30 p.m.
    Eight county Democratic candidates running in the Nov. 4 general election are scheduled to attend: Michelle Stennett (candidate for state Senate), Dick Fosbury and Donna Pence (state representative), Larry Schoen and Jacob Greenberg (county commissioner), JoLynn Drage (county clerk), John David Davidson (county treasurer) and Valdi Pace (county assessor). Cocktails and hors d’oeuvres will be served.
    Donations of $50 per person, or $30 for those younger than 30, are requested. Proceeds will benefit the candidates’ campaigns.
    For reservations or more information, call 725-5073, 726-6423 or email jwdavidson@cox.net.

Land Trust presents awards
    The Wood River Land Trust’s board of directors has honored two of its members, John Flattery and Barbara Thrasher, with the Founders’ Award.
    The award is for people who have advanced the mission of WRLT and demonstrated a long-term commitment to preserving and protecting open space.
    Flattery and Thrasher retired from the board in July after serving 12 years.
    Flattery, a land-management expert, served on the finance and governance committees.
    “I have seen (the Land Trust) grow from a start-up organization to a strategic nonprofit with enormous success,” Flattery said. “I look forward to continuing with the Land Trust in a different capacity and being part of future land protection achievements.”
    Thrasher, co-founder of the Wood River Women’s Charitable Foundation and a longtime philanthropist, was a leader on the board’s Development and Outreach committee.
    “Being part of protecting our open space means that I will leave a legacy of beauty and wide open vistas for the generations that come after us,” Thrasher said.

Kiwanis to show new park equipment
    The Kiwanis Club of Hailey and the Wood River Valley will hold a ribbon-cutting ceremony at Deerfield Park from 5-7 p.m. Tuesday, Sept. 9, to celebrate the installation of new playground equipment.
    The club recently purchased the equipment, which was installed by the city of Hailey, for more than $22,500. The ceremony, led by club President Lorna Hazelton, will also honor the group’s 9th birthday.
    Families are invited to attend. Snacks and drinks will be available.

Douglas joins Idaho Public TV board
    Norma Douglas, a 34-year resident of the Wood River Valley, has been appointed to the Board of Directors of the Friends of Idaho Public Television.
    She will represent Blaine County in publicizing the four stations that provide services to Idaho Public Television supporters, help determine needs for the PBS affiliate throughout the state, and encourage support for the Idaho Public Television Endowment.
    Douglas recently served two terms as board chair of The Community Library and 12 years as outreach director for The Wilderness Society.
    Idaho Public Television serves more than 97 percent of Idaho’s population and portions of six adjoining states and Canada.
 
Skills for Success program to begin
    The Advocates’ Skills for Success Employment Program will start Sept. 29.
    The 11-week program, which meets from 3:30-6 p.m. Mondays and Wednesdays, helps low-income individuals find jobs and build careers.
    Participants learn interviewing and financial skills, and leave the program with resumes, recommendation letters and professional outfits.
    Also available are unpaid work internships at local businesses.
    According to The Advocates, 88 percent of previous participants have found a job or improved their work situation.
    The Advocates’ mission is to teach people of all ages how to build and maintain healthy relationships by offering education, shelter and support services.
    To enroll in Skills for Success, or for more information, contact Susan Fierman, program director, at 788-4191, ext. 13, or susan@theadvocatesorg.org.

Dress Club to award grants
    The Little Black Dress Club of Wood River is seeking grant applications from nonprofit organizations that are located in or serve Blaine County.
    Application forms, qualifying criteria and instructions are available at www.lbdcwr.org. The application deadline is Monday.
    The application process has changed. In previous years, the club solicited applications twice a year, in March and September. Applications will now be available once a year, in September. Any qualifying organization can apply even if it received a grant within the past 12-month grant cycle.
    Grant finalists will be invited to make five-minute presentations at a mid-October club meeting.

Leadership program open to students
    The Flourish Foundation’s Compassionate Leaders Program is accepting applications from high school juniors for the 2014-15 school year.
    During the 10-month leadership program, students meet weekly to focus on fundraising skills, secular ethics, and local and global service projects.
    To apply, visit www.flourishfoundation.org. Applications are due Sept. 15 and can be emailed to emmydupont@yahoo.com; faxed to 788-9777; or mailed to P.O. Box 2429, Ketchum, ID 83340.

Shade structure added to park
    A structure that provides shade has been installed at Ketchum Town Square.
    The structure, which will be removed in fall and reinstalled in spring, consists of commercially engineered “sun sails” installed on steel posts.
    In addition, steel planter boxes that will hold tall grasses and vegetation during the summer and holiday trees in winter have been placed adjacent to the nearby alley.
    “There previously was no shady spot that would accommodate more than two or three people,” said Juerg Stauffacher, Parks & Natural Resources superintendent.
    The structure was designed to retain the view of Bald Mountain, Stauffacher added.
    Funding for the shade structures came from local philanthropist Peggy Grossman and the Ketchum Community Development Corporation. Town Square benefactors Carol Holman and Tina Mehan contributed to the project as well.
    Kurt Egger of Eggers Associates Landscape Architecture designed the project and Elias Construction installed the shade elements.

Valley man elected to Bridge board
    Chuck Abramo of Ketchum has been elected to the board of the American Contract Bridge League Unit 400, which covers much of Southern Idaho.
    Abramo, who holds the rank of life master in bridge, is a certified duplicate bridge game director and teacher. He is the manager of Sun Valley Bridge, which offers beginning and intermediate bridge lessons and games for players new to duplicate bridge.
    For more information about Sun Valley Bridge, call 720-1501 or visit www.SunValleyBridge.com org.




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