For the week of November 5 - 11, 2003

Incumbents win fire commission race

By MATT FURBER
Express Staff Writer

The two incumbents in the race for two open positions on the Wood River Fire Protection District Com-mission defeated their challengers in the district election Tuesday.

James Frehling defeated Wade See by a vote of 62 to 48 to retain his seat for Sub-District 1 Fire Commissioner. Bill Gehrke also received 62 votes to Leanna Kittleson’s 41 votes to hold his seat as Sub-District 2 Fire Com-missioner.

Gehrke had replaced retired Sub-District 2 commissioner Wally Young.

The fire district operates in the south end of the county and reaches roughly from the Greenhorn Bridge on Highway 75 south and encompasses the area not in the city limits of Hailey and Bellevue or Carey. The main station is located in Hailey next door to the Hailey City Fire Depart-ment.

Gehrke was the only candidate listed on the Fire Commissioner ballot because he was the only candidate with a complete declaration of candi-dacy by the Sept. 26 deadline.

Until recently, the two open positions sat uncontested, but paramedics Kittleson and See joined the race in the interest of bringing new blood to the board. Frehling also made sure his name was listed as a write-in candi-date.

A list of write-in candidates ac-companied the ballots.

Typically, sub-district elections alternate between elections so no two sub-districts have possible changes in the same election cycle. Therefore Gehrke will serve a three-year term for Sub District 2, while Frehling will serve the regular four-year term for the Sub-District 1 position.

The Wood River Fire Protection District operates as Wood River Fire and Rescue. A Board of Fire Com-missioners governs the district and fire related duties. The district pro-vides fire protection from three fa-cilities, each with its own commis-sioner.

See, who’s also a firefighter, pushed for the race because he said he was trying to bring new energy to the district. At a time when growth in the valley is impacting the structure of emergency and fire services, and coordination of E911, See said he thought the services could be made more efficient.

However, Frehling previously said that from his perspective things have been going smoothly in the district.

"I believe Blaine County Commis-sioners are very happy and satisfied with our ambulance service in the county," he said. "The issues I saw on (See's) handout were a surprise to me."

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