Stories from Wednesday, June 6, 2007

The 2007 fire season is here, and with the temperature getting incessantly warmer and the grounds becoming drier it is important to be fire safe and know about fire danger, prevention and causes, fire officials say. The fire season for Mountain Home usually begins in July, but it could start earlier this year, Fire Chief Phil Gridley said. "It's (the brush) already cured and getting drier."...

Local veterinarians and animal control workers are concerned that an alarming increase in a serious and highly contagious cat virus in the community may reach epidemic levels soon. Feline panleukopenia, or feline distemper as it is commonly known, is a viral infectious disease that most often occurs in kittens under six months of age...

Senior Airman Tony Sopczak, a member of the 366th Operation Support Squadron at Mountain Home AFB, returned home from Kirkuk, Iraq on Monday, May 28. It was Sopczak's first deployment to Iraq. He said he didn't have any expectations when going over there because "you don't really know much. I had a couple of weeks notice then I was gone."...

Harley "Biff" Smith, 86, formerly of Glenns Ferry, died May 29, 2007, at his home in Nevada. A viewing will be held at the Glenns Ferry LDS Church from 10-10:30 a.m on Saturday, June, 9. A service will follow. A graveside memorial service will be held at 11 a.m. at Glenn Rest Cemetery...

Donald Francis Keith, 75, formerly of Glenns Ferry, died March 12, 2007, at his home in Folsom, Calif. Friends and family are invited to a graveside service planned for June 17 at noon, at the Bruneau Cemetery, followed by a specially prepared video and buffet lunch at the Bruneau Legion Hall...

George M. Stepp, 76, of Bruneau, died Friday, May 25, 2007, at his home. Services are to be held at a later date. Arrangements are under the direction of Rost Funeral Home, McMurtrey Chapel. George was born on Nov. 27, 1930, in New Kensington, Pa., to George and Lola Stepp. He was schooled in Scranton, Pa.. He worked as a chef cooking in many restaurants in several large national parks...

Johanna "Jo" Marie (Evers) Barta, 89, formerly of Mountain Home, died May 27, 2007, at a Pocatello care center. Funeral services will be held Wednesday, June 6 at 2 p.m. in the Downard Funeral Home, 241 N. Garfield Ave., Pocatello, with Bishop Gary Packham conducting. Burial and grave dedication will be June 7 in Mountain View Cemetery in Mountain Home...

Paul Edward Giberson, Sr., 67, of Mountain Home, died Tuesday, May 8, 2007, at a care center in Everett, Wash., after a long battle with COPD. At his request, no services will be held. A private celebration of his life will be held in Mountain Home in July...

Lee Norris, 69, died Tuesday, May 28, in Prairie, of natural causes. Services will be held at Prairie Cemetery on Saturday, June 23, at 11 a.m. Lee was born in Fort Collins, Colo., June 24, 1947, to Donald W. Norris and Mary Alice Reed. The family soon moved to the Treasure Valley, where he graduated from Nampa Senior High School...

Bud Garmendia of Mountain Home and Nancy Grafton of Winston-Salem, N.C., have announced the engagement of their daughter, Brianne Garmendia, to Mick Miller of Boise, the son of Mike and Louise Miller of Deer Park, Wash. Brianne is a 2006 graduate of Stevens-Henager College with an AAS in Medical Specialties, and is currently employed as an Emergency Medical Technician with Northwest Paramedics in Mountain Home...

Col. (ret.) and Mrs. Frank Black will celebrate their 50th wedding anniversary this week. Franklin J. Black and Caroline Joan Kennedy were married in Mountain Home on May 22, 1957. They attended the University of Idaho and upon graduation, Frank became a pilot in the U.S. Air Force. Frank's military career took them to California, Washington, Arizona, Maine, Washington, D.C., and Africa, among other locations...

All-Conference awards were announced at last week's softball awards dinner. Five Mountain Home Lady Tigers earned First Team All-Conference honors. Nickayla Skinner earned First Team All-Conference pitcher, Sammy Dodge, First Team All-Conference catcher, Kim Hamilton, First Team All-Conference third base, Ashley Kipp, First Team All-Conference outfield, and Ashley Christiansen, First Team All-Conference designated player...

Donnie R. Garner, 73, of Newport, Idaho, formerly of Glenns Ferry and a former police chief for Mountain Home, died on Saturday, May 19, in Spokane, Wash., after a long battle with cancer. Donnie was born April 6, 1934, in Glenns Ferry, son of Michael and Edna (Fromel) Garner. He spent his youth in Glenns Ferry, graduating from high school in 1952...

The Mountain Home Royals open the 2007 American Legion Class A baseball schedule playing 12 games in eight days, the first 10 of them on the road, but Royals head coach Mark Cotton believes the busy schedule will give them an opportunity to play everyone...

by Karen Martin Mountain Home News Almost 100 people turned out to play in the 6th Annual Tiger Open golf tournament held at Desert Canyon Golf Course in Mountain Home on Saturday afternoon. Everyone was in good spirits as they navigated their way around the 18-hole course in the hot afternoon sun to raise funds for the school district activities program...