Stories from Wednesday, August 14, 2013

Elmore County Sheriff Rick Layher extended his evacuation order Tuesday afternoon to include the Featherville area. A shelter for those evacuating from the Pine and Featherville areas due to the Elk Complex Fire was set up Tuesday evening by the Red Cross at the old Good Counsel Hall, 440 E. 8th North St...

Hundreds of people made the annual trek to Mountain Home to relive the culture and language of the Basque people during a yearly event held in a small park on the city's west side. The 53rd Annual Basque Picnic on Saturday is often the one day out of the year where these people can get together and enjoy a special friendship forged by tradition...

The sound reached near-deafening levels as music and cheers welcomed Mountain Home High School's incoming freshmen class as they got their first, up-close look at their new school. Hundreds of students representing the Class of 2017 packed into Lloyd Schiller Gymnasium last Wednesday during an annual event aimed at helping these teens prepare for their first day of classes...

Aubree Ogaard applies a fresh coat of paint over a set of Tiger paw prints at Mountain Home High School on Monday. Members of the high school's student council spent the day repainting the paw prints, which extend from the high school and the school's annex...

Dear editor: On Thursday, July 25, 2013, at 11:45 a.m., I received a phone call from my eldest grandson. I knew he had just returned from his third tour in the Middle East with the Army. I was so excited about talking to him. About four sentences into the conversation, he said, "Grandma, I want to tell you something, but please don't tell anyone else." I agreed, thinking he was coming for a surprise visit or something...

Dear editor: What an amazing community Mountain Home is! Today, I saw our community at its best at Carl Miller Park! Hundreds of families and volunteers were there because of the summer lunch program and also the distribution of free school supplies. Many individuals and other organizations donated the supplies and there were so many smiles when the children got them...

Jacquelyne Leigh Shields and Blake Andrew Bowen were united in marriage on April 12, 2013, during a ceremony at the Bowen family farm. The bride's grandfather, Rodney Plumley, officiated, and her grandmother, Naomi Plumley, played several selections on the piano, including the wedding march...

Wade and Michelle Fairchild, of Buhl, have announced the engagement of their daughter, Brooke Nicole Fairchild, to Tommie Joon Kil, son of James and Judy Kil of Sugar Hill, Ga. The groom-to-be is serving in the U.S. Air Force and is stationed at Mountain Home Air Force Base, where the couple will reside after their wedding. He is a 2008 graduate of North Grimmett High School...

Ryan and Abbie McGrath of Mountain Home have announced the birth of a girl, Poppy June McGrath, on July 1, 2013 at St. Luke's Regional Medical Center in Boise. At birth, Poppy weighed 8 pounds, 1 ounce and was 21 inches long. She joins a sister, Goldie McGrath, 2...

Paul F. Shrum, 83, of Glenns Ferry, passed away peacefully on Monday, Aug. 12, 2013, at Poplar Grove Assisted Living in Glenns Ferry. A viewing will be held at Rost Funeral Home, McMurtrey Chapel, in Mountain Home, on Friday, Aug. 16, from 4-6 p.m. A funeral service will be held at Our Lady of Limerick Catholic Church in Glenns Ferry on Saturday, Aug. 17, at 11 a.m. and burial will follow at Glenn Rest Cemetery...

Joy Ilene (Joyce) Moore, 95, passed away on Friday, Aug. 9, 2013. She was born in Berryville, Ark., on Aug. 1, 1918, to Ova and Stella (Groskard) Everett and attended school in Lockwood, Mo. She married Ted B. Moore in Gooding, Idaho, on Feb. 12, 1938. They were a devoted couple for 55 years until his death in 1993...