Risch Picks Jerome-Based Moss Greenhouses As Small Business Of The Month
U.S. Sen. Jim Risch (R-Idaho), who serves on the Senate Committee on Small Business and Entrepreneurship, has selected Moss Greenhouses in Jerome as the Idaho Small Business of the Month for February. Moss Greenhouses will be recognized in the Congressional Record of the U.S. Senate.
Moss Greenhouses, which was founded in 1952 by Ed and Ruth Adams, holds the distinction of being the largest plant producer and distributor in Idaho. The family-owned business specializes in providing flowers, orchids, and other flowering crops to grocery stores and flower shops across the Mountain West. Today, Moss Greenhouses is run by Ed and Ruth’s grandson, Kevin, and his wife Dana.
Praising Moss Greenhouses’ many achievements, Risch said, “Their success and growth has created dozens of jobs for the Jerome community. As the company continues to serve the Jerome area, they hope to eventually welcome the family’s fourth generation into the business.”
St. Luke’s Names New Health System Leaders
Newly seated St. Luke’s Health System President and CEO Chris Roth has named the organization’s head of acute-care services and the administrator of its provider network to head up key operations and administrative functions for the organization.
Pam Lindemoen has been appointed to serve as St. Luke’s chief operating officer. Lindemoen joined St. Luke’s near the beginning of 2018, coming from Dignity Health St. Mary’s Medical Center in San Francisco, where she was president and chief executive officer. Before that, she was region vice president for Kaiser Permanente’s Northern California Region, leading operations across 22 medical centers with 25,000 staff members for the organization’s largest of seven regions, serving approximately 3.5 million health plan members. Lindemoen has been instrumental in helping to shape the system’s population health capabilities in the past two years; she will continue to be responsible for the organization’s acute-care services as she takes on the additional responsibilities of operations.
Dave Self, who has served as chief administrative officer for St. Luke’s Health Partners, has been named to the new position of St. Luke’s Health System’s chief administrative officer and will have oversight responsibility for key functions including strategy and planning; communications, marketing and community health; IHT; external relations; contracting and enterprise business development and sales. Prior to joining St. Luke’s in 2014, he served as senior vice president and regional director of Idaho for PacificSource Health Plans, which he joined when the company acquired Primary Health Inc., where he was president and chief operating officer. Self has helped to shape the provider network and St. Luke’s shift into value-based contracting; more than a third of the organization’s revenues are tied to risk arrangements.
In addition, with St. Luke’s Chief Human Resources Officer Phil Johnson’s retirement, Erin Simms has been named interim CHRO. The search for Johnson’s permanent replacement is ongoing.
Air Service Board Addresses High Traffic Challenges
Due to weather issues and the volume of commercial and general aviation flights during peak demand times at Friedman Memorial Airport, there was an unusually high level of Air Traffic Control delays which contributed to flight diversions by commercial airlines. Aircraft typically land from the south and take off to the south, adding a further limiting factor as to how many aircraft can land or take off in any given period.
In response, the members of the Sun Valley Air Service Board (SVASB) met with Friedman Memorial Airport Authority (FMAA) to further examine policies and procedures around flight delays and diversions. They also explored whether any actions should be taken that could improve the visitor flying experience.
From that meeting, SVASB made the following observations:
- Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) policy is to treat all aircraft equally on a first-come, first-served basis, allowing for no discrimination between aircraft, whether commercial airlines or general aviation.
- Changes to this policy would require changes to federal law, which would likely be a long political process at the federal level with no guarantee of success.
- FMAA suggested that proactive management methods can improve operational efficiency. These practices have been successful in the past in addressing issues related to crowded airspace and have dramatically improved the visitor experience.
- Progress continues toward alleviating some of the weather-related diversions experienced during this past holiday season, and historically throughout the winter season, via improved approach procedures and advanced avionics used on aircraft. Adoption of the new technologies is at the sole discretion of the airlines.
SVASB came to the following conclusions:
- FMAA continues to proactively work with all users and stakeholders to address issues relating to commercial airline delays, diversions, missed connections, and overall efficiency of the airport to better serve all users.
- SVASB supports the actions being taken by FMAA and will continue to work closely with them to examine all options in support of the airport’s operational efforts.
Pro-Public-School Author To Hold 6 BCSD Meetups
The Blaine County School District Board of Trustees is inviting parents to attend a conversation with Jamie Vollmer, a widely read and highly regarded author, businessman and lawyer whose message focuses on building trust and respect for children, parents, educators and administrators.
“The Blaine County School District Board of Trustees is working to build a strong partnership with the entire Blaine County community so that together we can meet the obligation to prepare our children for the daunting challenges of the present and the future,” said Trustee and Board Chair Keith Roark.
Free and open to the public, there will be three sessions by Vollmer on Wednesday, March 4, at:
- 8 a.m., Ernest Hemingway STEAM School, Ketchum
- 12:15 p.m., St. Luke’s Center for Community Health at St. Luke’s Clinic, Hailey
- 6 p.m., The Community Library, Ketchum
Three more sessions will be held Thursday, March 5, at:
- 8 a.m., Breakfast with The Chamber, Minnie Moore Room, BCSD Community Campus, Hailey
- 4 p.m., Wood River High School Performing Arts Theater, BCSD Community Campus, Hailey
- 6 p.m., With SV Music Festival Music Institute and Nosotros United students, Jhony’s Restaurant, Hailey
Spanish interpretation provided at all events.
Casting For Recovery’ Seeking Applicants For 2020 Retreat
Are you or someone you know currently undergoing breast cancer treatment or are a breast cancer survivor? If so, Casting for Recovery invites you to apply for their 14th Annual Southern Idaho Casting for Recovery Retreat May 28–31.
Casting for Recovery is a national support and educational program for breast cancer survivors. Casting for Recovery provides free three-day fly-fishing retreats to women affected by breast cancer. Not only do the participants learn to fly-fish and the physical and emotional wellness it can provide, the retreat provides a forum to broaden the understanding of breast cancer treatment and enable sharing among participants. An all-female staff of medical and fly-fishing professionals guide you through the weekend held at the beautiful Living Waters Ranch in Challis.
To apply for the 14th Annual Southern Idaho Casting for Recovery Retreat, visit www.castingforrecovery.org and apply for Southern Idaho, or call (888) 553-3500. The application deadline is March 19.
Traffic To shift On US-93 In Jerome County
As early as Feb. 15, traffic will shift on US-93 between 200 S Road and 300 S Road in Jerome County. This is part of the US-93 widening project, which will see the highway transition from two lanes to four to increase mobility and traffic flow in the area.
“We determined it would be best to build two temporary roadway diversions for this project,” said ITD South-central Idaho Project Manager Sam Purser. “This will allow traffic to continue moving through the area while construction is underway.”
Both northbound and southbound traffic will utilize these temporary roadways. Construction signage, candlesticks, and barrels will be in place to safely direct those traveling through the area. Drivers can expect reduced speeds of 25 mph in the work zone. Motorists are advised to use caution and watch for workers and heavy equipment entering and exiting the highway.
“This project will improve safety at the US-93/200 South intersection for both passenger and commercial vehicles,” explained Purser. “The end result will be a divided highway similar to what drivers encounter two miles south of this area.”
Idaho Materials and Construction is the prime contractor for this project.