Volunteers sought for Trailing of the Sheep
The 20th annual Trailing of the Sheep will be held Thursday through Sunday, Oct. 5-9, in the Wood River Valley. Each fall, the festival celebrates the annual sheep migration from summer to winter grazing. This weekend long family-friendly festival highlights the people, arts, cultures and traditions of sheep ranching in Idaho.
The Trailing of the Sheep organization seeks people to volunteer to join the team. Volunteers help with everything from classes, tastings, parade, fair and sheepdog trials. To learn more about the festival and all of its happenings, visit www.trailingofthesheep.org. To volunteer, contact Geegee Lowe at gglowe@msn.com.
Sun Valley Opera events to be held
Sun Valley Opera will host author, lecturer and all-around Renaissance man, Fred Plotkin, for a series of events on Tuesday and Wednesday, Sept. 13 and 14. The New York Times described Plotkin as “one of those New York word-of-mouth legends, known by the cognoscenti for his Renaissance mastery of two seemingly separate disciplines: music and the food of Italy.”
Plotkin will work with elementary school students on Tuesday afternoon and that evening he will give an overview of the 2016-2017 The Met: Live in HD season at The Community Library at 6 p.m. The following day he will be part of an all-things-Italian evening when 40 lucky individuals will listen to a lecture on Romantic Italian opera while dining on an Italian buffet catered by the Ketchum Grill and accompanied by Italian wines. This event takes place in a private home and costs $75 per person. Reservations may be made by calling Sun Valley Opera at (208) 726-0991.
Idaho Hometown Hero event to be held in Pocatello
The JRM Foundation for Humanity will honor its sixth annual Idaho Hometown Hero medalists at 6:30 p.m. Saturday, Sept. 17 at the Stephens Performing Arts Center in Pocatello. Following the free medal ceremony, there will be a ticketed dinner and gala event celebration at 8 p.m.
The celebration will begin at 3 p.m. with the Konner’s Car Show, which is free and open to the public until 6 p.m. at the Performing Arts Center.
The celebration feature two keynote speakers including 2016 Olympic Medalist and U.S. World Champion Fencer Miles Chamley-Watson, a JRM Foundation Good Faith Ambassador, along with Sun Valley resident Peggy Elliott Goldwyn. Goldwyn will give a presentation on “Strengthening Community Ties.”
Goldwyn began her career writing, directing and producing documentaries for syndicated television, and television comedies. She was vice president of the Samuel Goldwyn Company, a film production and distribution company.
She served on the board of The Advocates, serves currently on the board of The Andrus Center for Public Policy at Boise State University and is a founding member of the International Women’s Forum-Idaho branch. She received the IWF National Women Who Make a Difference award in 2015. She is also a board member of Friends of United Nations Population Fund, and in 2008 she founded The Family of Woman Film Festival in Sun Valley to support the UNFPA’s work and advocate for women’s equality. She serves on the advisory boards of Sustainable Health Enterprises in Rwanda and The Children’s Radio Network in South Africa.
To purchase or reserve tickets, visit www.jrmfoundation.org/shop.
Calling all science enthusiasts
Residents of the Blaine County School District community are encouraged to apply to participate in the Instructional Materials Adoption Process for Science. Two residents of the district will be selected to participate on the Science task force. This task force is a two-year commitment. Apply online at www.blaineschools.org by Friday, Sept 30.
Hands-free phone use becomes law in Hailey
Hailey’s newest law becomes effective Wednesday, Sept. 14. According to Hailey Ordinance No. 1201, drivers won’t be allowed to hold any type of wireless or data communication device while driving.
“Drivers who communicate on handheld wireless devices such as cellphones while driving cause a distraction, which creates hazards to motorists, passengers and pedestrians,” the ordinance states. “Restricting the use of handheld wireless devices by drivers will promote public safety.”
Such devices include cellphones, laptops, and video, music, photo, text-messaging, paging, and personal digital assistant (pda) devices. The penalty is an infraction with a fixed fine of $100.
Solarize Blaine drives investment in local economy
In Blaine County, solar energy is a major economic boon due to abundant sunshine and dramatic price declines of over 70 percent in the past 10 years. With the same solar potential as North Florida, Blaine County is capitalizing on this opportunity with 36 solar installations on homes and businesses through Solarize Blaine, the nonprofit program that closed out its 20-week campaign Aug. 19. These installations generated nearly $1 million in new local investment and will add 247 kilowatts of clean energy capacity to the grid in Blaine County, a 500 percent increase over 2015 levels.
Launched by the Sun Valley Institute for Resilience in March 2016, the program used a bulk-purchasing model to reduce the cost of a solar system by more than $3,000 for the average
homeowner.
To celebrate the success of the program and unveil what’s next, the Institute will host a happy-hour celebration event from 5:30 to 7 p.m. on Friday, Sept. 30 at the Sawtooth Brewery, at 631 Warm Springs Road, in Ketchum. This event is open to the public.
“Solarize Blaine has radically accelerated our community’s transition to clean energy,” said Katie Bray, the program’s director. “In 20 weeks, we brought online five times as much solar electricity as what was added in all of 2015, and we drove about $900,000 of investment into our local economy.”
Solarize, a national program supported by the U.S. Department of Energy, is in more than 250 communities around the nation, but Solarize Blaine is the first program in Idaho.
The Solarize Blaine program received 225 requests for solar evaluations from homeowners, businesses, and nonprofits throughout the Wood River Valley. New installations are expected to continue popping up through the spring of 2017. The program’s guaranteed reduced prices have ended, but those who are interested in solar may still sign up to get a free solar site assessment for their home, business, or nonprofit at www.solarizeblaine.org
Planning process for Columbia-Snake dams could start before election
A coalition of 33 conservation and sport fishing groups, including Idaho Rivers United, is worried that federal agencies managing dams on the Columbia and Snake rivers are establishing plans that would take the public out of an important public process.
The groups sent an Aug. 30 letter to the Bonneville Power Administration, U.S. Army Corps of Engineers and Bureau of Reclamation that asks the agencies to take a little more time before starting a high-profile environmental process that examines dam operations on the Columbia and Snake rivers. The process is required by a May 5 federal court ruling.
“It’s disturbing and disappointing that the federal government appears to be rushing this important process,” Kevin Lewis, executive director of Idaho Rivers United, said. “After telling Judge Simon they needed a half decade to do a thorough job, they’re forcing a scoping period on top of a presidential election and holiday season. This virtually guarantees that citizens’ ability to participate will be compromised.”
The groups specifically asked for a public comment period of no less than 90 days that includes a series of public hearings throughout the region to commence in January 2017. That could happen regardless of when the official scoping period opens.
If public hearings start sooner, however, people who care about recovering endangered salmon and steelhead and stopping taxpayer waste on the lower Snake River will need to be prepared to weigh in, and soon, on behalf of river restoration.
IRU and its allies are hopeful, however, that they can engage in a meaningful process early in 2017 rather than a rushed process that’s overshadowed by a high-profile election and holiday season.
“Our ask is simple – to be given a meaningful opportunity to participate in the scoping process,” the groups wrote. “Specifically, we request that you not schedule public comment and hearings for this process over the election and holidays.”
GOTR seeks South Valley coaches
Girls on the Run of the Wood River Valley serves about 160 girls in the Blaine County School District and hosts events such as the 5k and Healthy Living Expo, Lunafest Film Festival, and assists in other area events that encourage healthy living. Volunteer coaches represent a dynamic group of individuals, all of whom possess an enthusiasm for helping to prepare girls for a healthy and happy adolescence and adulthood. The nonprofit organization needs coaches in the South Valley who can commit to mentoring two days a week for the 10-week fall or spring season.
For more information about becoming a coach, contact Mary at (208) 788-7863 or fill out the online contact form. If you are ready to join us, complete our coach application and registration. These can be found online at www.girlsontherunwrv.org.
Wagon Days Best in Show named
The Best in Show award in the 59th annual Wagon Days Parade, held Saturday, Sept. 2, was awarded to Wood River Chapel of Hailey for their 100-year-old funeral wagon.
There were more than 70 entries in the 59th “Big Hitch” parade, as more than 17,000 people came to Ketchum for a weekend of activities.
The parade is one of the largest nonmotorized in the country.
The Kimberly Rhoads People’s Choice award went to the Rock family of Carey for their Concord stagecoach.
ITT locks out students
On Tuesday, ITT Tech closed all of its campuses nationwide, including one in Boise, after the U.S. Department of Education banned it from enrolling new students who use federal financial aid.
“It is with profound regret that we must report that ITT Educational Services, Inc., will discontinue academic operations at all of its ITT Technical Institutes permanently after approximately 50 years of continuous service,” the for-profit school said in a statement. “With what we believe is a complete disregard by the U.S. Department of Education for due process to the company, hundreds of thousands of current students and alumni and more than 8,000 employees will be negatively affected.”
The statement said 8,000 employees would lose their jobs, effective Tuesday. The remaining staff will help displaced students with their records and future educational options, according to the school. ITT is a publicly traded company on the New York Stock Exchange, whose shares are now worth $0.36.
Home Fire Campaign promotes use of smoke detectors
The Blaine County Fire Chiefs have partnered with American Red Cross to install smoke detectors into single-family homes for free. The goal of the Home Fire Campaign is to reduce deaths and injuries caused by home fires by 25 percent over five years across America. The American Red Cross and Blaine County Fire Chiefs ask every household to take two simple steps to help save lives: check or install smoke alarms and to practice fire drills at home.
“Although these smoke detectors have a 10-year battery they still need to be tested on a regular basis to ensure they work properly and for the safety of the residents,” said Hailey Fire Chief, Craig Aberbach.
To register for a free smoke detector installation, go to www.getasmokealarm.org.
For any questions call Hailey Fire Department at (208) 788-3147 or email hfd@haileycityhall.org.