Stories from Wednesday, January 25, 2012

Cross a mud-filled bog? Not a problem. Tackle a steep mountain trail? Piece of cake. Climb a hill of rock? Been there. Done that. For the past 10 years, members of the Wild West Off Roaders in Mountain Home have faced the roughest, toughest terrain the great outdoors can dish out. For these off-road enthusiasts, the bigger these challenges get, the more they like them. It comes standard issue in their high-octane, adrenaline-pumping sport...

Jeff and Anita Davis of St. George, Utah, have announced the wedding of their daughter, Katie Suzanne Davis, to Kori Leslie Andrews, son of Marty and Wendy Andrews of Mountain Home. Davis is a graduate 2008 graduate of St. George High School and has attended BYU-Idaho...

Jace and Stacie Prow, of Mountain Home, have announced the upcoming marriage of their daughter, Essaie Lyslynn, to Tyler Flint Waldo, son of Mickey Waldo of Weiser, Idaho, and Kim Bright of Payette, Idaho. A wedding ceremony and reception will be held Monday, Jan. 27, at the Peppermint Tree in Mountain Home...

Tony and Rena Kerfoot have announced the engagement of their daughter, Katie Kerfoot, to Jacob Olds, the son of Jim and Robin Olds. The bride- and groom-to-be are graduates of Mountain Home High School. Kerfoot completed her bachelors degree in physical education at Boise State University and currently works as a veterinary technician at Knight Veterinary Clinic in Mountain Home...

Teresa and Robert Decker, of Utica N.Y., have announced the engagement of their daughter, Kathryn Teresa Decker, to Jeremy Clifford Branstad, of Mountain Home, son of Petra and Phil Branstad. The groom to be is an adjunct instructor at Boise State University. He holds a Masters of Arts, English, Rhetoric and Composition Emphasis from BSU...

J.C. and Theodora A. Short, of Mountain Home, announced the engagement of their daughter, Samantha Christina Short, to Derek G. Simonds, of Fultonville, N.Y. A graduate from Abekka Academy, the bride-to-be attended classes in the Mountain Home School District as well as Faith Lutheran Elementary School and Shiloh Christian School. A member of the National Honor Society, she's the owner and master groomer of dogs and cats at Paw Spa in Meridian...

A winter storm packing heavy snow and rain triggered a number of vehicle accidents last Wednesday with Mountain Home dodging any significant flooding. During a 24-hour period that started at 6 a.m. Jan. 18, Elmore County dispatchers reported nine collisions along with 26 vehicles that slid off roadways across the county...

School district officials continued this week to assess the damage at two of its buildings in Mountain Home following last week's winter storm. In addition to its impact on local roadways, the mixture of heavy snow and rain leaked through the roofs at West Elementary and Hacker Middle schools with district officials still trying to determine the final costs...

(The following opinion piece was written by Lee Hamilton, director of the Center on Congress at Indiana University. He was a member of the U.S. House of Representatives for 34 years.) There's a major political event approaching this fall, and though I have no doubt it will be overshadowed by the elections, I hope you'll carve out some time for it anyway. On Sept. 17, we'll observe the 225th anniversary of the signing of the United States Constitution...

On Jan. 18, 2012, Deborah Diane Holloway-Gilliam passed away in Spokane, Wash., at the age of 52, surrounded by her family. Born in Albany, Ore., and raised in Mountain Home, Idaho, she spent years traveling this beautiful country as a free spirit before settling in Spokane in 2009...