Trailing of the Sheep Festival announces Comm-EWE-nity Partners Program
The Trailing of the Sheep Festival launched of a new Comm-EWE-nity Partners Program.
In celebration of the Festival’s 20th anniversary year, the organization asks for donations of $20 or more from area businesses and retailers to become a “Comm-EWE-nity Partner” of the Festival.
This unique nonprofit Festival relies on donations annually and this year is seeking about $250,000. In 2015, the Festival’s attendance was 26,000 people from 36 states and eight foreign countries and it has become a travel “bucket list” festival for people around the world. Trailing of the Sheep has a $4.5 million impact on the Valley during the long slack weekend in October.
Awards and recognition for the Festival include:
Governor’s Award for Cultural Heritage
One of the Top 10 Fall Festivals in the World – MSN Travel
One of the Best Cultural Festivals in the West – Northwest Magazine
10 Best Fall Festivals in America – USA Today
Cultural Heritage Preservation Award – Idaho Preservation Council
The Festival will give window cling stickers and list all partners on its busy website to all donors.
For more information and to make a donation, contact Laura Drake, executive director, Trailing of the Sheep Festival, at (208) 720-0585 or laura@trailingofthesheep.org
Blaine County school registration open
Public school enrollment and pre-registration is underway online for new and returning students at the Wood River middle and high schools in Blaine County. Parents can visit www.blaineschools.org and click on the “Back to School” link. Returning WRMS students received letters in the mail regarding the online pre-registration.
Parents and students will finish the registration process in person Wednesday and Thursday, Aug. 17 and 18 at WRMS, and Monday and Tuesday, Aug. 22 and 23 at WRHS. School begins Monday, Aug. 29.
Back-to-school help sought
The Blaine County Education Foundation is a nonprofit organization that raises funds to benefit children in the Blaine County School District, promoting academic excellence, equitable education and a sustainable student environment. BCEF is partnering with several businesses to provide back-to-school supplies for students in need in Blaine County.
“With 42 percent of students receiving free and reduced-price lunch programs in Blaine County School District, a family living in poverty may find it difficult to choose between school supplies and basic necessities like food,” Kristy Heitzman, executive director for the Blaine County Education Foundation, said.
To help families in need, BCEF will purchase 100 percent of supplies ranging from backpacks, paper and pencils to calculus calculators for students depending on the school and grade that the student will attend in Blaine County School District for this school year. BCEF is able to provide these services to families in the Blaine County School District thanks to support from the Wood River Women’s Foundation and donations from community members.
There are several ways the public can help:
•Purchase extra supplies and make a donation in one of the donation bins at any Atkinsons’ Market location or King’s variety store in Hailey.
•King’s will have an “apple tree” where you can pick an apple and purchase some supplies for a child in need in Blaine County School District.
•Sign up to volunteer and help assemble backpacks or distribute them for students.
•Donate to BCEF for the “Back-to-School Campaign” at www.supportbcef.org
•For families in need, register at www.supportbcef.org. Registration date is through Monday, Aug.15. Supplies are limited.
Syringa Mountain School to host Proceeds Days
The Syringa Mountain School in Hailey will be the beneficiary of a series of Proceeds Days. Four different businesses will donate a percentage from that day’s sales to the charter school. These donation amounts will vary from 10 percent of total sales to $1 from every drink sold.
On Friday, Aug. 19, Proceeds Day will be at KB’s Burritos in Hailey; on Wednesday, Aug. 31, it will be at The Haven food truck, at the corner of Warm Springs Road and Seventh Avenue, in Ketchum; on Wednesday, Sept. 7, Hailey Coffee Company will participate; and on Friday, Sept. 23, Proceeds Day will be at The Coffee House, on North Main Street, in Hailey.
“As a public charter school, Syringa is not eligible to receive Blaine County levy tax funds set aside for Blaine County district schools,” Stefanie O’Neill, a Syringa board member, said. “We greatly rely on community support and partnerships, such as Proceeds Days, to ensure that our funding gap is met.”
Hailey man initiates petitions
Hailey resident Bob Wiederrick will present two petitions to the citizens of Hailey this fall, if all goes according to plan. One petition seeks to repeal development impact fees for all construction except residential construction within the city of Hailey. It would ask the city of Hailey to refund development impact fees previously paid to the city for all construction except residential construction within the city. The other petition calls for “eliminating the renewal of a business license for a business in the city of Hailey provided the business has an approved business license and the business remains at the same location.”
These petitions are both meant to encourage more businesses setting up shop in Hailey without restriction. In 2008,Wiederrick also attempted an effort to repeal development impact fees, that proved unsuccessful.
Save the date for film noir
Film noir will return in September for the third year.
The 2016 Sun Valley Film Noir Series, offered by founder Jeanine Gregoire, will hold its screenings on Thursdays, Sept. 15, 22 and 29. The noir classics will be shown at 7 p.m. at the Magic Lantern Cinemas in Ketchum.
Once again, Seattle Art Museum film director Greg Olson selected the theme for the 2016 film series: “Kiss Tomorrow Goodbye.” The films screened will be “Scarlet Street” (1945), directed by Fritz Lang and starring Edward G. Robinson and Joan Bennett; “The Killers” (1946), directed by Robert Siodmak with Burt Lancaster and Ava Gardner; and “In a Lonely Place” (1950), directed by Nicholas Ray with Humphrey Bogart and Gloria Grahame.
The Sun Valley Film Noir Series also announced its new partnership with the Silver Creek Writers Residency.
ERC AmeriCorps to Celebrate
Join the Environmental Resource Center board and staff on Wednesday, Aug. 3 from 5:30 to 7 p.m. on the ERC deck at 471 Washington Ave. N., in Ketchum, as it thanks Emily Burke and Elisha Mueller for their AmeriCorps service.
During their 11 months with the ERC, Burke and Mueller played an integral role in organizing and implementing many youth programs, including Science After School, Growing Great Minds, Spring Exploration Series, EcoCamps, and community collaborative programs. In total, with their input, the ERC conducted 55 youth-focused programs and reached more than 2,000 students.
Everyone is invited to this celebration. Light refreshments and snacks will be served.
ERC throws summer celebration
Join the Environmental Resource Center on Friday, Aug. 5 from 5-8 p.m. for its summer celebration. Stop by the ERC deck at 471 Washington Ave. N., in Ketchum, during Gallery Walk to meet with ERC board and staff and learn about all of the spring and summer ERC programming.
Take a stroll through the ERC office to check out Poo Wright-Pulliam’s Craters of the Moon Artist-In-Residence exhibit as well as visit with Walter Neser, who’s currently working on vulture conservation projects in Africa, and view his short film.
Refreshments and hors d’oeuvres will be served. This is an all-ages event and is open to ERC members, those who wish to become ERC members and those interested in learning more about the ERC.
For more information: (208) 726-4333 or ann@ercsv.org.
Off-road vehicles
Off-road vehicles are not safe for transporting children, Carma McKinnon, Idaho Child Passenger Safety statewide coordinator, said. While popular with families across the country for both recreation and work purposes, ATVs and UTVs are simply not designed to keep children onboard safe.
ATVs, or all-terrain vehicles that are also known as quads, and UTVs, or utility-task vehicles that are also called side-by-sides or recreational off-road vehicles, are dangerous for children because they are heavy, used on uneven terrain, and provide little to no protection for passengers. There are no child restraints for use in UTVs.
ATVs are typically one-person vehicles while UTVs have seats more like a car, with the driver sitting upright and using a steering wheel. These vehicles have seats that are side by side for a driver and a passenger. Some also have backseats for as many as five total occupants.
In 2014, the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission estimated that 93,700 patients were treated in emergency rooms for injuries involving ATVs, and that 26 percent of these were children under 16 years old.