Stories from Wednesday, June 26, 2013

Beauty and bees took center stage on Saturday as local families opened their homes and yards to visitors during this year's garden tour. Celebrating its 17th anniversary in Mountain Home, the event featured an assortment of gardening how-tos along with advice that included tips on controlling pests, improving soil conditions and which plants are best suited for southern Idaho's harsh desert climate...

Ted Thompson, a representative with Embry Riddle University, explains how aircraft fly to children from parks and recreation's adventure camp during their visit to the Mountain Home Airport on June 18. The youngsters received the basic flight lesson as they participated in this year's camp...

The summer fire season got going last week when an arcing powerline, resulting from high winds that blew through the area June 18, sparked a fire that scorched an estimated 400 acres of grasslands northwest of Glenns Ferry. Bureau of Land Management fire crews and King Hill Rural Fire District responded to the Moon Fire after Elmore County Dispatch received a report of a fire near milemarker 112 at about 8:30 p.m. last Tuesday...

A seasonal drop in local groundwater levels prompted city officials to issue a voluntary water conservation advisory on Friday. The measure urges people to limit the number of days they water their lawns and gardens until water levels return to expected levels...

Dear editor: If I needed one more reason to be proud to be an Idaho Democrat, Republican leaders just handed it to me. GOP leadership kicked sand in the face of Idaho's cities and Idaho's citizens at the Republican's annual meeting last weekend. By resolution, they are asking the legislature to nullify city ordinances that prohibit employment, housing, and public accommodation discrimination based on sexual orientation or gender identity. ...

The Mountain Home lodge of the independent Order of Odd Fellows (IOOF), Lodge #19, wishes to extend its sincerest thanks to members of the local community for their participation in our first yard sale aimed at raising funds for our new instrument scholarship program...

Dear editor: Walt Bilenski's letter of June 12 was interesting, calling it "treason" to not obey or respect his president while referring to Bush as an "8-year border-line imbecile." I guess that's different. (It usually IS.) Walt, I'm sorry about your cancer. Been fighting it myself over the past several years from Agent Orange, thanks in part to another one of your presidents who couldn't make decisions either, back in '67-'68...