Hailey Company Pledges $150K To Schools
The POWER Foundation, a nonprofit arm of Hailey-based engineering and consulting services firm POWER Engineers, has pledged to send $150,000 directly to schools with a high percentage of students from low-income households to help alleviate challenges with distance learning and connectivity.
“The added pressures of the COVID-19 pandemic have really illuminated the challenges so many schools are facing,” said Jim Haynes, Foundation board president and POWER’s chief administrative officer. “So many students and teachers don’t have the financial resources to get the equipment and materials they need to keep students from falling behind.”
The Foundation plans to focus on more than 40 schools across the country in communities near each of POWER’s offices. The three-phase initiative will start with schools in Fort Worth and Houston, Texas; Kansas City, Kansas; St. Louis, Missouri; Boston, Massachusetts; Oradell, New Jersey; and Atlanta, Georgia. Schools in Boise and the Wood River Valley are slated for funding in phase three.
To be eligible for grants, schools must receive federal Title I funding, which is allocated to schools and districts with a high percentage of students from households at and below the federal poverty line.
“Many, many schools and students are in need right now,” said Gerry Murray, Foundation board director and head of POWER Engineers’ generation division. “We want to make sure the Foundation is focusing on schools and communities where we can make a real impact.”
Two Eateries Serve 500+ Meals To People In Crisis
Rico’s Authentic Italian Restaurant and Hailey Coffee Company have concluded their feeding-people-in-crisis program by delivering both breakfast and dinner selections to The Hunger Coalition.
The program had been in operation since April when the COVID-19 pandemic hit the Valley. At that time, both Rico Albright, owner of Rico’s in Ketchum, and Santos Serva, owner of Hailey Coffee Company in Hailey and Ketchum, stepped up to ensure people in crisis would not go hungry.
Rico’s provided a weekly delivery of individual pizzas and lasagna dinners for the past four months to The Hunger Coalition. Hailey Coffee Company provided servings of granola breakfast and snack bars as part of the “Breakfast For Everyone” program.
Both Rico’s and Hailey Coffee received donations from several local individuals in support of their programs.
Activist Group Launches Online Petition Drive For K-12 Initiative
The “Invest in Idaho” education initiative championed by activist group Reclaim Idaho is being allowed to move forward, online. Last week, U.S. District Court Judge B. Lynn Winmill ruled that Reclaim Idaho could collect electronic signatures for its initiative, saying the state violated the group’s First Amendment rights by failing to provide for a safe means of signature collection in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic.
The state was ordered to confer with Reclaim Idaho and agree to a plan for electronic signature collection by July 9. Absent an agreement, the judge’s ruling allows Reclaim Idaho to implement its own plan to collect electronic signatures provided it meets so-called “highest available standards.”
Reclaim Idaho co-founder Luke Mayville announced that Reclaim plans to move forward, finalize its system, and begin collecting signatures online early next week. The organization will be using a DocuSign-designed system to collect signatures. The software provider is an industry leader in secure transactions, which people use for a variety of business, commercial and real estate transactions every day.
“After weeks of work and multiple discussions with the state, we’ve developed a detailed, industry-standard plan for the collection of electronic signatures in compliance with the judge’s order,” Mayville said. “We’ve made every effort to solicit the state’s feedback and adjust our design accordingly. We’re confident the system in place will indeed meet the highest available standards for electronic signature gathering.”
The judge’s order gives Reclaim Idaho 48 days to collect signatures electronically starting July 9. If successful, the initiative will go before Idaho voters on Nov. 3.
On Masks: A Message From The Sheriff
“As your Sheriff, I want to explain our enforcement strategy on the newly adopted ordinances requiring masks in public places.
Blaine County Ordinance 2020-03, which was adopted by the Board of Commissioners on July 7, 2020, requires that when social distancing is not possible, every person shall wear a face covering that completely covers the person’s nose and mouth when the person is in a public place and others are present. Blaine County Sheriff’s Office deputies will be enforcing this mask ordinance in the unincorporated areas of Blaine County, Idaho.
The City of Ketchum, for whom we provide law enforcement services, adopted a similar mask ordinance on July 6, 2020. The Ketchum Police Division of the Blaine County Sheriff’s Office will be enforcing the Ketchum Public Health Emergency Ordinance 20-03 within the Ketchum city limits.
Our enforcement will begin with education, warnings, and awareness. Our deputies will continue to take a common-sense approach and consider the context of each situation similar to how we approached the statewide COVID-19 Isolation Order. If warranted, citations will be issued. Our deputies will use their discretion wisely and treat the public with respect, fairness, and compassion. We want to reassure the public we are here performing our duties and honoring our sworn oath to protect our community’s safety and uphold the law.
There are minor differences in the language and notable exemptions in both ordinances. We encourage you to read and interpret the ordinances for yourself. Both ordinances are available on our website https://blainesheriff.com/166/6003/Public-Safety
Enforcement in the cities of Hailey, Bellevue and Sun Valley are the responsibilities of their city police departments.
We continue to stress the importance of remaining diligent about social distancing, hand washing, wearing masks out in public, and minimizing unnecessary social gatherings. To protect public health we need every single person to be part of the solution.”
Popular Running Event Goes Virtual
Idaho’s most popular fitness event is going virtual with its 5K, 10K and Half Marathon. St. Luke’s FitOne event was originally scheduled to take place in Boise on Saturday, Sept. 26. The largest one-day running event in Idaho draws about 12,000 participants every year and helps raise money for St. Luke’s Children’s, Idaho’s only children’s hospital.
In May, race organizers decided to modify the event from a huge in-person, family-friendly fitness celebration to a virtual one spread out across the state over nine days at the recommendation of St. Luke’s physicians and state health officials.
What is a Virtual Race?
Instead of waking up early to join a large group in downtown Boise to run a predetermined course, participants track their own course and time in the digital realm, run or walk on their own terms and in their favorite location. The only requirement is the race be done between Sept. 18-26 and use the RaceJoy app to track the time and distance.
St. Luke’s FitOne will supply the race shirts, bibs, medals and virtual cheers and high-fives.
“The event won’t be quite the same this year,” said Eric Stride, St. Luke’s FitOne executive director. But, “Our goal is to inspire people of all ages to get fit for life, and have fun doing it, and that hasn’t changed.”
Concealed Vehicle Leads to Multiple-Felony Arrest
A concealed vehicle led to three felony charges and one misdemeanor charge last weekend. On Sunday, July 12, at approximately 12:30 p.m., Blaine County Sheriff”s Office deputies responded to a report of a suspicious vehicle off of Spud Patch Road south of Bellevue.
The vehicle was reported to be covered in sagebrush to attempt to conceal it well off the roadway. Upon further investigation, deputies were able to locate the vehicle at another location and determine the owner to be Phillip R. Baker, age 49, of Challis.
Baker was also found to have a felony warrant out of Montana and a misdemeanor warrant out of Nevada. Baker was arrested at a ranch south of Bellevue. During a search incident to arrest, deputies located articles containing drugs on Baker’s body.
Baker was charged with felony Possession of a Controlled Substance (methamphetamine), misdemeanor Possession of a Controlled Substance (marijuana), felony Fugitive to Idaho, and felony Montana warrant for Sexual Intercourse without Consent. The Nevada warrant is not extraditable
. Women’s Biz Center
Births Pro Bono Legal Clinic
The Idaho Women’s Business Center, along with law firm Smith + Malek, has launched the Idaho Virtual Legal Clinic. The program offers pro-bono legal consultations for small-business owners and nonprofits in the state to help them navigate the COVID-19 economic crisis and ensuing relief programs. The clinic is part of a nationwide program developed by the Lawyers for Good Government Foundation, a nonprofit network of more than 125,000 legal advocates with lawyers in all 50 states.
Qualifying small businesses and nonprofits of 25 or fewer employees will be offered free 45-minute phone or virtual consultations with pro-bono attorneys who can answer legal questions and help determine the best path forward for their companies. Consultations will include helping Idaho small-business owners or nonprofits understand the legislative language in the CARES Act and Paycheck Protection Program (PPP), and answer any questions related to employment, contracts, commercial leases, insurance and insolvency issues.
More information can be found at idahowomen.org/small-business-legal-clinic1.html
“We are honored that Lawyers for Good Government entrusted our firm as the Idaho site for this nationwide legal clinic to assist businesses during the pandemic,” said Tara Malek, attorney and co-owner at Smith + Malek. “Partnering with the Idaho Women’s Business Center is a natural fit for a majority-female firm, and because we know women-owned businesses may have a harder time bouncing back during this uncertain time.”
“This partnership gives women and men in our network access to legal expertise they might otherwise struggle to access and afford,” said Diane Bevan, executive director of IWBC, which operates through the Idaho Hispanic Foundation.