Middle School Develops Week-longChallenge To Strengthen Environment
With Earth Day—April 22—fast approaching, Wood River Middle School students are gearing up for a challenging week; specifically, Earth Day Challenge Week—a competition aimed at inspiring kids to be more eco-friendly. All WRMS staff, students and community members at large are invited to join the challenge that runs from April 18 to 26.
Participants are given a so-called tracking sheet that lists a variety of tasks, each worth a certain number of points. Tasks are anything from picking up five pieces of litter and wearing a green T-shirt to making an art project using only recyclable materials and organizing a carpool to school or work. Tasks must be signed off by a supervisor and, at the end of the week, points are tallied. The winners receive a yet-to-be-announced prize.
Community members wanting to participate can visit the WRMS school website or the school itself to access and print out an Earth Day Challenge tracking sheet.
Ski Patrol Veteran Rich Bingham Retires
After 52 years on the Sun Valley Ski Patrol, Rich Bingham is set to retire after this season. A farewell party is being held for him at the River Run Day Lodge on April 18 from 5 to 7 p.m. to honor of one of Sun Valley’s most celebrated ski patrollers who spent each winter helping to ensure the mountain was safe and enjoyable for guests.
“Rich has been a vital member of the Sun Valley Ski Patrol team for many years,” stated Mike Davis, Sun Valley Resort’s ski patrol director. “His experience and knowledge were a great contribution to the ski patrol family. We wish him good luck and many more runs on the mountain. We will miss him.”
Bingham joined the highly coveted ski patrol in 1967. Just a few years later, he became the assistant ski patrol director in 1970, a position he held until 2010. Snow safety officer was also his responsibility from 1980-2015. With all of those seasons spent on the mountain, Bingham has skied 156 million vertical feet and over 100,000 miles on Bald Mountain.
Hot Water Inn Is Headed Out
Mark Oliver, the owner of the popular watering hole/hostel/music venue off Warm Springs Road, is shutting his business down and moving out of town. The longtime Valley resident posted a 4,721-word Dear John on Sunday in his Facebook feed. In it, he thanked the Ketchum community, reminisced about the joys of living and working in the Valley, and offered his two cents about what the city needs to do to prevent more businesses like his from leaving town.
Oliver told The Weekly Sun that by summer he’ll be relocating to Boise and that the Inn will be serving food and taking reservations through April 21. The last event will be the night before.
Oliver’s farewell specifically pointed out the spiral of affordable living he, and many others, see the Valley in, and addressed real estate owners—specifically, Airbnb landlords.
“Know this—if you own a rental and currently do this, I don’t fault you for doing so, but know [that] doing this is killing this town,” Oliver wrote.
“Because of the lack of workforce housing, it has driven up rental prices, which has gutted the workforce of people living and contributing to Ketchum. This in turn has left a select few people who will be willing to hash it out in SV dorm housing or in some closet of a space with eight other friends,” he added.
Cocaine Dealer Sentenced To 10 Years
Fifth District Judge Ned C. Williamson sentenced Hailey resident David M. Curren to 10 years in prison Monday for trafficking cocaine. The 59-year-old was arrested last summer during a traffic stop along Highway 75 in which 6 ounces of the drug was found in his vehicle by police. A search warrant for his residence then found drug packaging materials, firearms, roughly $13,000 in cash and approximately another half-ounce of cocaine.
Curren’s defense vied for a lesser sentence, citing—among other arguments—federal guidelines that deliver lighter sentences for cocaine than drugs such as methamphetamine.
Curren’s attorney, Andrew Parnes, claimed the death of the defendant’s wife was the impetus for his client’s increased drug dealing and that should be taken into account during sentencing. Williamson said it was no excuse.
The judge acknowledged that federal sentencing guidelines are more lenient when it comes to cocaine compared to methamphetamine, but the amount of cocaine seized, Curren’s past DUIs (he’s had three), and Curren’s inability to prove that he had not been spending the last several years as a so-called “professional criminal” (by legal definition, someone who makes their primary living through criminal behavior) all factored into the 10-year sentence.
Curren will have to spend a minimum of four-and-a-half years in prison, at the end of which he’d be eligible for parole.
“I want this community to know that if you traffic cocaine or methamphetamine, you’ll serve a sentence,” Williamson said.
After Hours Event Slated For April 18
The Chamber of Hailey and the Wood River Valley is inviting businesses and the public to attend this month’s Business After Hours at Lions Landscape Architecture & Bliss Architecture. It will be held at 126 South Main Street (above Shorty’s Diner) in Hailey on Thursday, April 18 from 5 to 7 p.m.
This is a free monthly event to meet local business owners and catch up on Chamber- related news and events. Food and beverages will be provided, and attendees are encouraged to bring business cards to enter in the “BAH” raffle.
For more information, please contact The Chamber at Info@ValleyChamber.org, visit ValleyChamber.org or haileyidaho.com, or call (208) 788-3484.
