Annual Luncheon For Flourish Foundation To Change Format
Flourish Foundation will hold its eighth annual fundraising luncheon from 11:30 a.m. to 1 p.m., Thursday, Aug. 8, at the Limelight Hotel in Ketchum.
“It will be a little different this year,” said Ryan Redman, co-founder and executive director of the nonprofit organization. “We will invite people to experience the mission itself. We’ve all recognized that the most compelling part of our work is to experience the work itself versus just hearing about it. We’re referring to it as an interactive luncheon.”
Annually serving 1,100 students and countless adults, the Flourish Foundation’s mission is to inspire systemic change through the cultivation of healthy habits of mind that promote personal well-being, benevolent social action, and environmental stewardship. Compassionate Leaders of high school age collectively fundraise for two trips a year.
“Our events are an elixir for disarmament,” Redman said. “When we do it, the emotion and amusement acts as a bond. We want to explore a new model for giving, what it looks like to move into the role of philanthropist and what does that mean.”
Redman said the work aligns with community development and “our own personal development.”
Flourish Foundation works in, or with, each of the Wood River Valley schools with students from elementary to high school. It also offers adult classes, including monthly mediation, the first Thursday of the month from 6-7 p.m., a lunchtime mediation with gentle yoga Wednesdays from 12-1:15 p.m., and programs for expectant couples, offering tools to connect and manage stress.
Presenters at the luncheon will include a student from Hailey Elementary, and one of the Compassionate Leaders, who just returned from India and will speak on behalf of the group.
To reserve a seat, RSVP to giveflourishfoundation.org.
Bike Path To Close Four Days For Maintenance
Blaine County Recreation District has scheduled seal-coat maintenance on the Wood River Trail Monday, Aug. 12, through Friday, Aug. 16.
The section affected by this maintenance will stretch from the south side of Fox Acres Road in Hailey to Gannett Road in Bellevue. This part of the trail will be closed during the seal-coating process. Alternate routes may not be suitable for road bikes, rollerblades, bike trailers, and dogs or for nighttime travel.
Seal coating is the process of applying an asphalt emulsion to seal the trail surface. After several years of regular use and the elements, the worn asphalt surface will roughen and crack. In order to preserve the trail’s smooth surface, it must be seal coated regularly.
During the application and drying process, it is important that trail users stay off the new surface for 48 hours. Wet seal-coating material will ruin shoes, clothes, bikes, rollerblades and the trail surface.
For more information, please contact Janelle Conners, trails assistant, at (208) 578-2273 or jconners@bcrd.org.
Episcopal Church Names Interim Priest
St. Thomas Episcopal Church, in Ketchum, is welcoming its new interim priest, the Rev. Robert Gieselmann, on Sunday, Aug. 25.
Gieselmann has served as rector of several churches in recent years, both in California and Tennessee. For 10 years prior to ministry, Gieselmann practiced general business and corporate law with major Tennessee law firms, and he was trained as a civil mediator. He has two degrees from Auburn University—a bachelor’s in business administration and a master’s in economics. He went on to receive a law degree with honors from the University of Tennessee in 1987, and his master’s in divinity from the University of the South in Sewanee, Tenn., in 1999.
Gieselmann’s greatest passion is his kids (now young adults), whom he raised as a single parent after the untimely death of his wife.
When not involved in pastoral responsibilities, Gieselmann enjoys reading fiction, gardening, and exercising. He has written two books, “The Episcopal Call to Love” and “A Walk Through the Churchyard,” as well as numerous newspaper and magazine articles.
Gieselmann will join the Rev. Kathleen Bean in leading St. Thomas while the church goes through the search process for a new rector.
Tour De Force Video Now Online
If you missed the second annual Sun Valley Tour de Force car show, you can catch highlights on the event’s YouTube channel at tinyurl.com/y5uvadhf. The event raises funds for Idaho BaseCamp and supports the local nonprofit’s outdoor adventure programs for students.
Idaho BaseCamp is a leading resource for outdoor adventure education. The organization is committed to cultivating leaders, community and individual development and serving the environment.
Last week’s event saw 69 high-speed runs with no speed limit take place on Phantom Hill. A 2019 Bugatti Chiron hit 253 mph, the fastest speed ever recorded at Phantom Hill. Close to 200 cars were on display at the car show and thousands of spectators were in attendance.
August Is National Breastfeeding Month
August is National Breastfeeding Month, and South Central Public Health District (SCPHD) is helping kick off the celebration with informational tables in each of its offices throughout the district for the first week of August. In addition, the district will have breastfeeding celebration events throughout the area for Women, Infants, and Children Program (WIC) participants.
The district said that breastmilk is the ideal nutrition for babies, bringing the right mix of protein, fats, and vitamins your baby needs to grow. The milk also has natural antibodies that will help your baby fight against viruses and bacteria.
“If you want to make sure your baby is getting everything they need, breast milk is your best option,” said Cindi Holly-Rausch, SCPHD registered dietitian. “Breastfeeding isn’t just the obvious financial and nutritional choice, it can also help release hormones that will help the baby and mother bond and recover from birth trauma.”
Breast milk also:
- Is easier for infants to digest than artificial baby milk/formula
- May protect baby against obesity, diabetes, sudden infant death syndrome (SIDS), asthma, eczema, colitis, and some cancers
- Benefits for mom include:
- Breastfeeding helps reduce the risk of breast cancer, ovarian cancer, heart disease, stroke, type-2 diabetes, and postpartum depression
- Breastfeeding can burn between 500-600 calories a day, helping with weight loss
“It’s up to each woman to decide for herself if she wants to breastfeed,” Holly-Rausch said. “Sometimes there are life factors that can make it difficult for some families to choose that path. If a mother would like to breastfeed, we want to help her be successful. We have lactation counselors who can help you understand how to navigate the obstacles around breastfeeding and help so you can bond with your baby.”
Another Fatal Crash During ‘100 Deadliest Days’
On Saturday, Aug. 3, at 7:26 a.m., Idaho State Police investigated a three-vehicle fatal crash on US-93 east of Jerome.
Amber Phillips, 36, of Filer, was driving a 2003 Ford F-250 pickup truck. Phillips was on Crossroads Point Boulevard, in the center lane, looking to turn left onto northbound US-93. Phillips had a green light and pulled into the intersection, where her vehicle was struck by a 1998 Mercury Mountaineer. Debris from the vehicles struck a 2005 Ford Excursion stopped at the light going northbound on US-93, driven by Douglas Burks, 70, of Twin Falls.
Phillips, her passenger, Mykel Thaete, 31, of Filer, and a juvenile passenger were transported to St. Luke’s Magic Valley Medical Center in Twin Falls via ground ambulance. Burks was not transported. The driver of the Mercury, Oscar Iribe-Salazar, 37, of Wendell succumbed to injuries at the scene of the crash. It is unknown at this time if occupants were wearing seatbelts.
Both northbound and southbound lanes of US-93 were blocked for five and a half hours while crews worked to clear the scene.
Idaho State Police was assisted at the scene by Jerome City Fire Department, Jerome Rural Fire Department, Jerome County Sheriff’s Office, Idaho Transportation Department and Magic Valley Paramedics.
Hailey Man Arrested For Felony Escape
On the evening of July 27, Mario Patlan-Baeza, 21, of Hailey, who is an inmate of the Blaine County Detention Center, was serving a sentence on the Work Release Program. Patlan-Baeza failed to report back to the Detention Center after his workday.
Patlan-Baeza was serving an alternative sentence for an original charge of Burglary and Possession of a Controlled Substance out of Blaine County, both felonies. It is required for work release inmates to immediately check back into the Detention Center after their employment has ended for the day.
On July 31, at approximately 11.30 a.m., deputies located Patlan-Baeza at a residence in Hailey where he was arrested and is being held on a warrant for Felony Escape with a bond amount of $350,000.
Patlan-Baeza was also charged with a probation violation.
Health District Urges Parents To Vaccinate
After a year full of measles, flu and pertussis (whooping cough), South Central Public Health District (SCPHD) is urging parents to make vaccinations a priority and fully protect their children’s immune systems before sending them back to school this fall.
“Illness can spread quickly in schools because everyone is in such close quarters,” said Logan Hudson, SCPHD nurse manager. “Immunizations and proper handwashing are the very best ways to make sure your kids don’t catch this year’s seasonal bugs.”
In the 2018–19 school year, several local districts were forced to shut down schools because illness had affected too many teachers, too many students, or both. It’s SCPHD’s mission to help prevent those kinds of outbreaks and keep our communities as healthy as possible. To do that, SCPHD needs the public’s help to vaccinate and prevent illness, the district said.
Children are required to have several immunizations before entering kindergarten and seventh grade. Most colleges and universities also require future students to receive immunizations before enrolling. SCPHD will be at several local seventh-grade registrations and open houses to offer immunizations. To find out if SCPHD will be at your school, or to learn more about the required vaccines, visit our website: www.phd5.idaho.gov/Immunizations
Protecting Poles From Wildfire Cuts Costs, Improves Reliability
As temperatures increase, so does the risk of wildfire. In the past, energy companies have lost up to 60 percent of their wooden power poles in areas burned by fire. That’s why Idaho Power follows a two-step process known as pole clearing, to protect wooden poles from fire. The first step is to clear brush away from the pole. The second is to treat the ground every 10 years to keep those plants—and potential fuel—from growing back.
Protecting poles in fire-prone areas reduces the cost of replacement, improves reliability and reduces the impact to the environment caused by heavy equipment needed to replace damaged poles. You can learn more in this video on Idaho Power’s YouTube channel.
Girls On The Run Needs Volunteers For Fall Fun
A program designed to empower young girls is revving up its volunteer efforts this summer so it can continue serving Valley youth this fall.
Girls on the Run is a physical-activity-based, positive-youth-development program that inspires girls in third through eighth grade to be joyful, healthy and confident. The 10-week program teaches critical life skills, encourages personal development and fosters team building and community service. Volunteer coaches utilize a curriculum to engage teams of girls in fun, interactive lessons.
Girls on the Run of the Wood River Valley serves girls at five sites in Blaine County and is in need of dozens of coaches to ensure that more than 80 girls will have an opportunity to participate in this transformative program this season.
Volunteer coaches facilitate lessons to small teams of girls who typically meet after school twice a week for up to 90 minutes. The program culminates with all teams participating in a celebratory 5K event. Volunteer coaches do not need to be runners but must complete a background check and participate in online and in-person training.
“I really enjoyed the curriculum—it is very much based in mindfulness. It reminds me of valuable life skills and tools that I would like to aim for in my personal life as a mom and woman, while grounded in healthy habits that include nutrition, sleep, and movement. The curriculum is so thorough and well thought out that implementing it was easy,” said mom and educator Rachel Webster, who volunteers for the program.
Volunteer coaches work in small teams at each of the Wood River Valley elementary schools for the duration of the 10-week program.
“I loved the energy from the other coaches and getting to work together with women who share the same commitment and goals for the girls,” Webster added.
For more information or to sign up to coach, visit gotrsouthernidaho.org/coach. New coach training is scheduled for Wednesday, Aug. 21, from 4 to 8 p.m.
Swimmer Ups Water Quality Awareness With Epic Swim
Nationally acclaimed swimmer Christopher Swain is going to become the first person to ever swim the entire Boise River, from the Sawtooths to the Snake. On the way, he will meet with 16 schools and communities to discuss the importance of water quality and our rivers.
Swain launched his epic journey Wednesday, Aug. 7, at Julia Davis Park in Boise. The event is being organized by Idaho Business for the Outdoors, a nonprofit supporting education, research and policy that helps designate the outdoors and public lands as vital state assets
Feds Propose Changes To Forest Service Management Plan
U.S. Secretary of Agriculture Sonny Perdue is proposing changes to the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s (USDA) Forest Service management plan of the so-called greater sage grouse area in Colorado, Idaho, Nevada, Wyoming and Utah. The changes strive to improve the clarity, efficiency and implementation of the current sage grouse plans.
“The Forest Service continues to promote our multiple-use mission while ensuring conservation of greater sage grouse habitat,” Secretary Perdue said. “We are sharing the stewardship of the lands with Western state governors—their extensive participation throughout this process was the key to landscape-scale conservation that aligns our policies and practices across local, state and federal jurisdictions.”
The Forest Service published the final environmental impact statement in the Federal Register, and the objection period will last 60 days from the date of the publication of the notice of availability. After considering objections, the Forest Service intends to continue the planning process by issuing a final decision document regarding the revised plan amendments in the fall of 2019.
Greater sage grouse populations have been impacted by a variety of threats, including the loss of habitat from wildfire and the spread of invasive weeds like cheatgrass. In 2015, the USDA’s Forest Service, along with the Department of Interior’s Bureau of Land Management, amended land management plans in an attempt to address threats and improve habitat conservation for greater sage grouse.
Mental Health Organization
Launches New Support Groups
The Wood River Valley’s chapter of the National Alliance on Mental Illness (NAMI-WRV) is increasing the number of support groups it offers for adults and families here faced with mental health challenges. These additional groups have evolved, the organization said, to help serve the one in five adults, and one in four children living with a mental health challenge.
NAMI support groups are based on a peer-support strategy, presenting tools, skills and opportunities for people struggling with mental illness and their families to find the resources they need to live stable and productive lives. The new programming will cater to both women as a group and men as a group.
The women’s meetings will be held on the second and fourth Wednesday each month, and the men’s meeting will gather on the second and fourth Tuesday each month. Both genders are invited to attend on the first and third Tuesday each month. All meetings are held at the Hailey Sun Club, 731 N. 1st Ave., in Hailey, from 5:30 to 7 p.m.
NAMI Family Support Group is a peer-led support group for any adult with a loved one who has experienced symptoms of a mental health condition, to gain insight from the challenges and successes of others facing similar experiences. The Family Support meeting, held on the first Wednesday of each month, is at The Sun Club South in Hailey. A second Family Support Group is being added in Ketchum, on the third Wednesday of each month, starting Aug. 21. This meeting will be offered at the YMCA, 101 Saddle Road, in Ketchum. Both of these groups meet from 6 to 7:30 p.m.
“Our growing list of facilitators that we graduated in June is preparing us for our next growth period,” said Christina Cernansky, executive director of NAMI-WRV. “We’re confident it will help fill the gap in our Valley’s ability to help those with mental health needs. When I started working with NAMI nearly four years ago and sought out ways to improve on our support network, it was shared that we should diversify and have meetings in Ketchum. We are blessed with financial support to make this happen, and to nearly double our support group meetings for adults and family members.”
Report: Idaho Lawmakers Falling Short
In Fight Against Cancer
Color-coded infomaps show where Idaho is falling short when it comes to implementing policies and passing legislation to prevent and reduce suffering and death from cancer. According to the latest edition of How Do You Measure Up?: A Progress Report on State Legislative Activity to Reduce Cancer Incidence and Mortality, Idaho measured up to policy recommendations in only one of the eight evaluated issue areas.
The report was released today by the American Cancer Society Cancer Action Network (ACS CAN), which is the advocacy affiliate of the American Cancer Society. The 17th edition of the report highlights what we must do more to reduce suffering and death from cancer.
“This year alone in Idaho, 8,390 people will be diagnosed with cancer and, sadly, 3,040 will die from the devastating disease in 2019,” said Luke Cavener, ACS CAN managing director. “We owe it to them—and to everyone at risk of developing this disease—to do everything in our power to prevent cancer and improve access to screenings and treatment. This report provides lawmakers a legislative path forward to improve cancer prevention efforts, curb tobacco use, prioritize the quality of life for patients and their families and increase access to critical health coverage.”
How Do You Measure Up? rates states in eight specific areas of public policy that can help fight cancer: increased access to care through Medicaid, access to palliative care, balanced pain-control policies, cigarette tax levels, smoke-free laws, funding for tobacco prevention and cessation programs, cessation coverage under Medicaid, and restricting indoor tanning devices for people under 18.
This year’s report includes a special section examining efforts to stem youth tobacco product use by raising the legal age of sale for tobacco to 21. E-cigarettes have driven a dramatic 36 percent rise in overall youth tobacco product use over the last year—and in statehouses across the country, policymakers have prioritized efforts to keep tobacco products out of the hands of our kids, introducing 88 bills that raised the age of sale for tobacco products.
Be Prepared For Possible Summer Power Outages
With continued hot weather, summer thunderstorms and an increasing risk of wildfires in our area, make sure you and your family are prepared for fire-related electrical outages this summer. That’s the message from Idaho Power as August is well under way.
Forest and rangeland fires can cause power outages, either because fire damages electrical equipment or because service must be interrupted to ensure fire crew safety. While the average Idaho Power customer is without power less than two hours per year, some outages last several hours or even days.
Here are some important reminders from the utility about how to protect your health and home if electricity is suddenly unavailable:
• Review preparedness tips at idahopower.com/outagetips for a handy outage-kit checklist and information on how to avoid delays in getting your power restored.
• Visit Idaho Power’s online outage map for current information: idahopower.com/outage.
• Write down Idaho Power’s outage line, or program it into your phone, in case you need to report or check the status of an outage. Call 1-800-488-6151 (toll-free) or 208-388-2323 in the Treasure Valley.
• Have a plan for where you can escape the heat, and sign up for text alerts at idahopower.com/myaccount so you can get updates on restoration efforts when you’re away from home.
• Avoid opening refrigerator and freezer doors to keep food cold longer, and keep a large block of ice in the freezer.
• Be safe around downed power lines. Stay at least 100 feet away and contact Idaho Power immediately if you see a downed line.
New ‘Things’ Now At Hailey Public Library
The Hailey Public Library is now offering a brand-new selection of items that patrons can check out. The only difference is that they aren’t books.
The so-called Library of Things is a collection of items that include home goods, games, and recreation gear. The collection is part of an initiative to give patrons a more versatile selection of items available for checkout at the library. It was also partly inspired by other libraries around Idaho that had the same setup.
“The Library of Things will give people the opportunity to discover a passion,” said teen and tech services coordinator, Josh Crotty. “It’s a way for someone to get involved in something they’ve always wanted to try without having to invest money in it. There are already lots of items available for checkout, and we’re working to collect more to add to the new Library of Things.”
Some of the available “things” include:
• A Code Kit, a kit where students can build games with their own codes and learn how to
program
• A Kamigami Robot, a buildable and programmable robot individuals can play with
• A “urpower,” a travel steamer for your clothing
• Bloxels, a kit that lets you build your own video games
• A kid’s fishing pole, tennis balls and rackets, a toolbox, and even a water cooler for your drinks
