Ketchum Mayor Coles recovers from heart surgery
Expects to return to his post in a few weeks
By GREG STAHL
Express Staff Writer
Ketchum
Mayor Guy Coles is well on the road to recovery following quintuple bypass surgery on
Thursday, and expects to retake the city’s helm within the next two weeks.
"I’m 75 years old, and after this I’ll be in perfect
health," Coles said in a telephone conversation from his St. Luke’s Regional
Medical Center bed in Boise. Coles was his usual crackerjack self during the Monday
conversation.
The quintuple bypass was a surprise to Coles who had expected to have
only double bypass surgery.
Bypass surgery involves replacing sections of a clogged artery.
Coles’ procedure lasted five and a half hours and went off without any hitches, he
said.
"I expect to be discharged Thursday, but that depends on me and
the tests," he said.
Coles has been Ketchum’s mayor for six years. On July 7, 1993, he
was appointed to the office when ex-mayor Dan Hamilton resigned in the middle of his term.
The mayor has lived in the Wood River Valley for almost 35 years,
having moved here from Gooding on Dec. 10, 1964. Upon arrival, he put his Gooding-gained
law enforcement experience to use as chief of security for Sun Valley Company.
Since his early days in Sun Valley, when he was raising his son Kelly
in the old Colonnade on Sun Valley Road, Coles has seen the valley change vastly.
"The growth, controlled growth and the buildup that we have are
amazing," he said. "People have arrived, but I think the growth has been
controlled wonderfully by our planning department and city officials."
Coles has another two and a half years in office and is concerned about
how the city’s growth will affect its residents.
"Where are our service people going to live?" he asked.
"Where are people like you going to live?"
He said the rising cost of living in the valley is something he will
continue to address during his remaining years in office.
"I like the valley and the people that are in it," he said.
"Ketchum has its own identity. We have wonderful schools. Our civic leaders are
great—four councils, four mayors. I can’t say enough."
Coles said he looks forward to getting back in action and returning to
the town he calls home, to which he’s devoted hard work, time, love and life.
"Give everybody my best," he said.
