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Year in Review: First half of 2011
January
Elmore County's planning and zoning commission resumed public hearings on plans to build a second planned community west of Mountain Home.
The planned communities in the Mayfield area, which would create a city about the size of Eagle or Meridian if fully developed over the next 50 years, dominated the county's deliberations during 2011.
* * *
The wait took a couple of days, but a Mountain Home couple not only welcomed their first child but also became the first family in Elmore County to usher in 2011 with a baby.
Kaleb Michael Gehrt, the son of Jason and Crystal Gehrt, arrived at 12:47 p.m. Jan. 3, becoming the first baby born in Elmore County in 2011.
The child of the Mountain Home couple was born at the Mountain Home Air Force Base hospital. He weighed in at 7 pounds, 11 ounces and measured 22 inches in length.
* * *
Elmore County marked a change in leadership as it welcomed two new commissioners, Wesley Wootan and Albert Hofer, during a swearing-in ceremony. Arlie Shaw remained the lone incumbent after the 2010 fall elections.
In addition, Barbara Steele was sworn in as the new clerk of the county's district court and Ron Fisher took his oath as the county's newest assessor, replacing retiring assessor Jo Gridley. Rose Plympton renewed her oath to retain her position as county treasurer and Jerry Rost reaffirmed vows as county coroner.
* * *
Flooding from a quick, sharp rainstorm rain prompted the evacuation of a handful of homes in the Little Canyon Creek area of Glenns Ferry, with water also affecting a section of the interstate.
* * *
Mava Terhaar, who had been convicted in July 2010 of embezzling thousands of dollars in state and county funds was ordered to repay more than $260,000 in restitution. She is currently serving a 14-year prison term for the embezzlement, but qualifies for parole in less than three years.
* * *
Looking to encourage future construction in the Mountain Home area, the city council debated proposed changes to its city's impact fees. A modified and scaled back version of the recommendations was approved in December.
* * *
Ray Liercke and Mary Morin were named Man and Woman of the Year at the Chamber of Commerce annual installation banquet.
In addition, the chamber presented its lifetime achievement award to Charlene Humpherys, who operates the Cedar Crest assisted living center in Mountain Home.
* * *
A plethora of potholes popping up all over Mountain Home left the city flooded with complaints and scrambling to solve the problems as soon as possible.
* * *
The decision to start classes in the Mountain Home School District two weeks ahead of schedule, ending the first semester just before the Christmas break, yielded positive results, according to both educators and students.
* * *
American Legion Post 101 formally dedicated its new post headquarters. For the past 16 years, the post had rented an 800-square-foot building located across the street from its new location at 715 S. 3rd West St., about a block off Airbase Road.
February
Ted Hoffman of Mountain Home helped lead an effort to battle rangeland fires in Elmore County.
Hoffman, chairman of the Resource Management Plan subgroup of the Bureau of Land Management's Regional Advisory Council put together a symposium that brought experts in fire management together for a two-day series of discussions and workshops designed to develop a pilot program that will focus on reducing the frequency of and the extent of damage from wildfires. The five-year pilot program would be developed for the area roughly from Mayfield to Hammett.
* * *
After nearly two years of work, the Treasure Valley YMCA formally committed its organization to helping bring a community recreation center to Mountain Home.
Jim Everett, president and CEO for the Treasure Valley Family YMCA in Boise, announced the decision in a letter to the Western Elmore County Recreation District.
"We believe that the process has yielded the data and support needed to take the next step toward our shared goal of building a facility that will be a center for programs that develop successful youth, engage people in healthy living and instill a commitment to social responsibility," Everett said. The YMCA remains "very interested" in working with the recreation district to reach that goal."
* * *
Glenns Ferry was a sea of green and gold as the Green Bay Packers won Super Bowl XLV, with the small city's native son, Korey Hall, starting as fullback for the Packers in the game.
A few months later, Hall wound up signing with the New Orleans Saints.
* * *
The Mountain Home Police Department investigated a string of vandalism cases, including 25 calls involving broken vehicle windows that apparently happened overnight.
* * *
Nine livestock animals owned by an Oasis couple were seized by state agriculture department representatives. While the animals had access to hay and water when investigators arrived, the horses and donkeys showed signs of being undernourished. Investigators didn't classify the case as abuse or neglect, simply saying the animals needed more care. The owners were not taken in custody and were not charged in the case.
* * *
The Bureau of Land Management's closed 6,900 acres of land 12 miles northeast of Mountain Home to all motorized vehicle use, in order to help the area recover from the August 2010 Hot Tea Fire. The closure will remain in effect for approximately 24 months but remain open to non-motorized recreation access.
* * *
The Mountain Home School District Board of Trustees took the highly unusual move of sending a letter to the legislature and state Department of Education condemning state Superintendent of Education Tom Luna's proposed budget.
The budget would result in the loss of nine teachers from the district due to the funding formula Luna was proposing, the board said. In addition, largely due to the loss of the 390th Fighter Squadron on base, the district expected to lose another nine teachers due to declining enrollment. Luna's plan also could cost the district up to 30 non-teaching positions due to the funding cutbacks.
All told, funding to the district under Luna's plan was expected to fall by just over $1 million over the next two years -- most of it in 2011, wiping out the gains of much of the district's emergency supplemental levy that was passed by the voters last year to help maintain district programs.
The legislature passed the bill, anyway, which resulted in 800 teaching positions being lost around the state.
* * *
Frank Hicks, 86, a longtime leader in the Mountain Home community, died after accidentally falling down some stairs at his home and suffering serious head injuries, from which he never recovered.
* * *
Ongoing efforts to catch intoxicated drivers in Mountain Home led to a record-number of arrests in 2010, city police officials said.
* * *
After former Mountain Home resident Belinda Fisher had been murdered in Denver by her husband, her family, the Vanderpools in Mountain Home, used her love of animals to raise $3,700 for the Mountain Home Anival Shelter.
* * *
Facing a record number of competitors, the Mountain Home High School Talkin' Tigers won the U-Bus-2-Us event that it hosted. The event brought together 544 students representing 22 schools across southern Idaho.
* * *
Federal marshals and law enforcement teams from Ada County arrested a high-risk fugitive and convicted rapist outside of Mountain Home. David R. Davis, 37, was captured at a home on Reservoir Road by a fugitive task force consisting of U.S. Marshals, Boise police, Metro Violent Crimes Task Force and Ada County sheriff's deputies.
As a registered sex offender, Davis was required to keep his current address on file with the Idaho Sex Offender Registry, but had failed to do so.
* * *
A town hall meeting, scheduled by the Treasure Valley YMCA, outlined to the community the next steps in the collaboration process between the Treasure Valley YMCA and the Western Elmore County Recreation District to bring a recreation center to Mountain Home. The Y reps also identified the conditions necessary for the Y's continued commitment to the process.
Critical to the success of the effort would be a capital campaign to raise at least $900,000 to tie into a cash reserve maintained by the Mountain Home-based recreation district.
According to a timeline presented at the public meeting, the actual capital campaign would begin in August and the project, to be built in two phases, would result in the indoor swimming pool opening in 2024..
* * *
The Mountain Home Lady Tigers had to come through the back brackets of the District III 4A girls basketball tourney, but in the end managed to qualify for state. Despite their never-give-up attitude, the Lady Tigers went out of the State 4A girls basketball tournament in two close losses.
* * *
Marcus Egusquiza of Mountain Home finished third in the Idaho State Finals of the Elks Hoop Shoot in Kellogg.
* * *
Cladis "C.D." Houston was honored as the Person of the Year during the 22nd Annual Black History Banquet in Mountain Home.
The guest speaker for the evening was Cherie Buckner-Webb, the first African-American elected to the Idaho Legislature.
* * *
Dozens of people representing construction firms across the United States gathered at Mountain Home Air Force Base on Feb. 4 for a first-hand look at a plan to transfer ownership of its military housing to a private company. By the end of the year, the "privatization" project for base housing would be awarded to a Pennsylvania company.
* * *
A mercury spill when a barometer broke at Mountain Home High School prompted the evacuation of the main school building followed by the cancellation of all classes the next morning while hazmet teams cleaned up the toxic chemical.
March
A significant number of Mountain Home High School students left classes to join with other students from around the state in protesting the changes in public school education proposed by state Superintendent of Public Education Tom Luna.
Taking a cue from protestors in the Middle East, the protests were loosely organized by Facebook and Twitter messages.
* * *
State Sen. Tim Corder spent nearly three hours hearing comments and answering questions at a public meeting in Mountain Home about state Superintendent of Education Tom Luna's proposed restructuring of public education in Idaho.
Corder was the only one of the three legislators from this district to attend the town hall meeting on Luna's plans and the approximately 250 people who showed up directed virtually all of their comments and questions at him.
Corder, a Republican, said he would vote against the Luna plan (and did), but bluntly told the audience that the bills would pass the legislature.
When questioned why, in the face of large-scale protests over the plan, Corder said "it was a matter of philosophy," by some of his more conservative Republican peers.
Nearly 40 people stood up to speak, ranging from patrons to teachers to students, and every one of them opposed the plan.
* * *
Although the Mountain Home School District Board of Trustees did not officially declare its intention to invoke its Reduction in Force policy, district administrators began functionally implementing a portion of that policy by informing some teachers their contracts would not be renewed for next year. Half of the 18 positions being lost were due to decreased funding by the legislature and the impacts of the Luna Plan.
* * *
Triple-murder suspect Jorge Alberto Lopez-Orozco was returned from Mexico to Elmore County to face trial.
Lopez-Orozco, a former FBI Ten Most Wanted fugitive, was charged with the 2002 murder of his girlfriend and her two children, whose bodies were discovered in a burned-out vehicle near the Snake River in Elmore County.
Lopez-Orozco was arraigned shortly after being returned to the United States from Mexico, where he had been arrested, and was ordered held on $1 million bond.
He is scheduled to go to trial this Feb. 6.
* * *
The 389th Fighter Squadron formed the core of more than 400 base personnel deployed for half a year to Afghanistan.
* * *
The Elmore County Planning and Zoning Commission recommended passage of a combined wind and solar facility located off Canyon Creek Road about five miles north of town.
The project would include building six wind turbines, as well as a series of solar panels at the site.
* * *
A large-scale solar generating facility that would be build on 113 acres of city property south of the airport went before the city council. The project, however, has not moved forward.
* * *
The Boise VA Medical Center opened its new clinic in Mountain Home. Open from 8 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. weekdays, the veterans' outpatient clinic at 815 N. 6th East St., next to Elmore Medical Center, functions similar to a primary care clinic at Mountain Home Air Force Base.
It provides diagnosis and treatment of routine illnesses and medical issues. In addition, patients gain access to foot care, weight loss programs, diabetes education, basic nurse care and lab work, along with computer access to VA programs.
The clinic doesn't offer specialty, surgical or emergency or urgent care services.
* * *
Despite some reservations and significant public opposition, Elmore County's planning and zoning commission recommended plans to build a large-scale community on the county's western border. The commission concluded the Mayfield Townsite "appears to meet the standards" required under county ordinances.
Spanning approximately 5,000 acres, the Mayfield Townsite would add another 15,000 dwelling units and nearly 37,500 more people to the county over the course of its proposed 50-year development. That's roughly twice the size of Mountain Home and similar in size to Eagle and Meridian.
The townsite project is tied, in part, to another planned community known as Mayfield Springs. A smaller 761-acre project, it seeks to serve another 10,000 people in the same region.
* * *
A Florida long-haul trucker who pleaded guilty to raping an Idaho woman after kidnapping her in 2003 from the Mountain Home Walmart parking lot, was sentenced to life in prison. Hans Holsopple, 47, of Deltona, Fla., had pled guilty to first-degree kidnapping and rape in October 2010.
Prosecutors say Holsopple's son, Douglas James Steinemer, also participated in the kidnapping and rape. The 27-year-old man from Deltona, Fla., pled not guilty to that charge, but he also was later convicted in July and received a similar sentence.
* * *
Eusebio J. Pineda pled guilty to four counts of vehicular manslaughter, admitting to causing the head-on collision near Glenns Ferry that killed four members of a California family Aug. 12.
According to a report from the Idaho State Police, Pineda drove a pickup eastbound in the westbound lanes of the interstate when he collided with a car driven by Amado Herrera of South El Monte, Calif. Herrera along with his wife, Luz Herrera, and his 18-year-old daughter, Yvette, and 10-year-old son, Antoni, died in the collision.
In May he was sentenced and will spend 8-24 years in prison.
* * *
Elmore County's overall population fell by seven percent over the past 10 years while the city of Mountain Home saw its numbers spike, according to statistics published by the U.S. Census Bureau.
Numbers released in May from the 2010 Census put the county's population at 27,038, or 2,092 fewer people than the last survey conducted 10 years ago.
Meanwhile, the number of people living in Mountain Home climbed by roughly 22 percent over the past 10 years, with 14,206 now living within the city's limits. At the same time, Glenns Ferry saw an 18 percent drop in population over the same time period, falling from 1,611 in 2000 to 1,319 in 2010.
* * *
Approximately 200 airmen from the 726th Air Control Squadron at Mountain Home Air Force Base, returned from a lengthy deployment to Iraq.
April
After years of planning marked by countless revisions, setbacks and compromises, construction began on a new fellowship for the city's Catholic community.
Work on the new fellowship hall at the corner of East Jackson and South 3rd East streets followed nearly a year of debate that almost derailed the project.
The Most Rev. Michael P. Driscoll, bishop of Boise, helped turn the first space of ground on the project, saying, "It represents the growth of the Catholic community and the presence of the church in Mountain Home."
* * *
Dr. A. Wakelee Bledsoe, 60, died following her battle against leukemia. A Hammett resident, she started providing care for Mountain Home children in 1984 and was the only certified pediatrician in Elmore County for many years.
* * *
The world of Camelot came to life in Mountain Home as the Missoula Children's Theatre presented King Arthur's Quest at Mountain Home High School. About 60 local area students took the stage during two performances to tell the story of these legendary knights, crafty wizards and seemingly sinister villains.
This weekend's shows followed just five days of rehearsals after an open casting call.
* * *
Two men were arrested in Elmore County on ten felony drug charges. Cornelio Garcia and Edwardo Lopez faced eight counts of possessing methamphetamine with the intent to distribute, plus two additional cocaine possession and distribution charges. The investigation that led to their arrest involved the Elmore County Sheriff's Office, the Idaho State Police and the U.S. Marshall's office.
* * *
A tentative agreement with the Federal Aviation Administration gave Mountain Home Air Force Base increased airspace on the southeastern edge of the Mountain Home Range Complex with some additional increases to its western border, as well as some extra vertical airspace over the training range. The proposal was designed to open an extra avenue for additional air-to-air combat training while avoiding flight restrictions around the Duck Valley Reservation and other no-fly areas.
* * *
An advanced copy of the 2010 crime statistics from the Elmore County Sheriff's Office showed that crime in the department's area of operations declined by 21.7 percent in 2010 -- an improvement over 2009 when crime increased by 6.4 percent.
May
The Seventh Annual Creative Art Awards Show for Mountain Home High School presented awards to 21 students representing musicians, actors, writers and artists from more than a dozen school programs and clubs.
* * *
Plans to convert a local building into a new church gained some momentum after the city's planning and zoning commission recommended granting the ministry a temporary conditional use permit. The permit would also give the No-Limits Christian Ministries up to 90 days to resolve three main issues related to transforming the former Salvation Army building into a church and counseling center.
In February, the church had faced a setback after the Mountain Home City Council sent its permit back to the planning and zoning board. The city council emphasized that several issues in the permit needed additional work before they would vote on the matter.
Within the week, however, the city council voted against the recommendation. Limited parking in the area, compounded by an aging septic tank beneath the property, were the main stumbling blocks. The issue would explode into a lawsuit later in the year that the city would lose.
* * *
Police arrested in Mountain Home Brandon J. Peaslee, 19, of Boise, who was charged in connection with an armed robbery in Garden City that ended with the shooting of a convenience store clerk.
After being tipped he was in Mountain Home visiting an acquaintance, Garden City detectives called Peaslee, asking him to meet them at the Mountain Home Police Department. They arrested Peaslee after questioning him.
* * *
Chase Bennett, a senior at Mountain Home High School, had one of his films selected for screening at the National Film Festival for Talented Youth. Organizers of the Seattle-based event chose Bennett's short film "Morning Thoughts" as one of the movies screened during the four-day event. The son of Ansel and Tracey Mangrum of Mountain Home, he traveled to Seattle with his family and Jared Gales, who stars in the film.
* * *
Faced with making a million dollars worth of cuts in its budget due to declining enrollment and reductions in state funding, the Mountain Home School district cut 14 teaching positions, 17 support staff and one administrator. About half of the 14 teachers cut from the district were covered by attrition -- teachers retiring or moving on. The others received a pink slip.
Also falling under the ax were the carpentry class and video production class.
* * *
After countless rehearsals and hundreds of performances, it all came down to one final concert. For Blake Olmstead, it became his swan song -- the end of a career spanning more than a quarter of a century as he stood in front of the Mountain Home High School choir and led them one last time as their conductor.
For Olmstead, teaching students to sing over the past 26 years was never really a job. It was a calling of sorts that fueled his lifelong passion for music.
* * *
The Mountain Home School District took another body blow to its troubled financial situation when voters rejected a five-year plant facilities levy request of $950,000 a year.
The district had requested less money than it had previously.
The money is used primarily for maintenance of the district's buildings, which range in age from 14 to 85 years of service and average 45 years of existence.
The measure needed 55 percent approval to pass, but only received 50.4 percent of the vote, with 627 yes votes and 604 no votes in a light turnout for the election.
* * *
A dozen seniors earned their diplomas during their graduation from Richard McKenna Charter High School on Saturday.
Celebrating its 21st year of providing alternative education for local area teens, the charter high school's commencement ceremony ended its second full year at its permanent campus in Mountain Home.
* * *
Two men from Montana were arrested following a high-speed chase on the interstate.
Jeremy R. Lennemann and Robert W. Dean faced multiple felony charges after county sheriffs pursued them from Hammett into Meridian.
This weekend's arrests marked the second time in two weeks that county sheriffs were involved in a high-speed pursuit. Earlier, they had arrested Adolfo Acevedo-Villanueva from Wendell following a high-speed chase on the westbound side of the interstate. With speeds approaching 100 miles per hour, Acevedo-Villanueva ended up colliding with a semi around milepost 124 but was able to continue driving until he was stopped on Highway 30.
Those incidents turned out to be two of four major high speed chases through the county during the year.
* * *
Sunny skies and warmer temperatures lured thousands of people to the city's downtown area for the annual Crazee Daze festival. Organizers had sought to bring back "the old days like (the event) used to be," said Brenda Franks, who helped organize the event. Crazee Daze had been canceled the year before due to a lack of volunteers from the Chamber.
* * *
The rain subsided just 20 minutes before the ceremony started, but for the Class of 2011, it marked the end of more than a decade of work as Mountain Home High School's 239 graduating seniors stepped forward to accept their diplomas and begin a new chapter in their lives.
June
No Limits Ministry filed a lawsuit against the city in federal district court following a long-running dispute with city officials over converting the old Salvation Army building into a church complex.
After reviewing the suit, the city council quickly authorized a consent order to be sent to the court that would functionally allow the church to use the facility.
The Malcom-Baker law firm in Chicago had filed the complaint on behalf of the church over alleged First and Fourteenth Amendment issues of religious freedom and due process of law violations.
It invoked a little-known law passed by Congress in 2000 that prevents requiring a government from imposing land use (zoning) regulations that "treats a religious assembly or institution on less than equal terms with a nonreligious assembly or institution" -- specifically objecting to a part of the city ordinances that required all churches in the city to have a conditional use permit for approval, while allowing businesses or other organizations in some zones to avoid that requirement.
The church originally asked for $75,000 in damages, both in real damages related to city fee requirements it contended were illegal and in the loss of revenue by not being able to use its new building.
Ultimately, No-Limits Christian Ministries received $24,000 in damages. The Malcom-Baker law firm in Chicago received nearly $30,000 in attorney fees and additional costs from the city while the Givens Pursley law firm in Boise, which represented the case locally, received more than $6,800 to settle the case.
The city's legal costs in the case added approximately another $20,000 to the final expenses. That $80,000-plus bill ate significantly into a tight city budget that was being developed at the time, resulting in a number of small city subsidy programs for local groups being axed.
* * *
Travis Willoughby, who marked his second year as a first grade instructor at West Elementary School earned the Mountain Home School District's top educator honor for 2010, and went on to represent the district at the state's teacher of the year competition.
* * *
The procession of motorcycles stretched along the interstate for nearly eight miles as the riders made their way toward Mountain Home as part of the Patriot Thunder ride to show their appreciation for those who serve their nation and to raise money for The Wounded Warrior Project, Idaho National Guard and Reserve Family Support Fund and Operation Warmheart at Mountain Home Air Force Base.
A total of 674 motorcycles and more than 750 riders and passengers took part in the ride to Mountain Home from Meridian.
* * *
Police Chief John Walter announced his resignation after three years as the city's top law enforcement officer. He did so to return to his roots in the Midwest where both his parents and his wife's parents were struggling with various health issues. He said that family needs came first.
* * *
Susan R. Black, 46, of Glenns Ferry, was arraigned on three felony theft and fraud charges in which she allegedly stole funds from the owner of the Bennett Creek Farms and Bennett Creek Farms Rental Property. The amount of funds involved were not been disclosed initially but eventually were revealed to involve at least $300,00.
* * *
Gary Pendegraft of Mountain Home was honored as the 2011 Southwest Region Outstanding Wildlife Reservist by the Idaho Department of Fish and Game.
* * *
The 6th Annual Daniel Dopps Memorial Rodeo at Optimist Park Arena in Mountain Home drew excellent crowds to the Professional Rodeo Cowboy Association (PRCA) event.
The rodeo attracts professional and amateur rodeo cowboys and cowgirls from across the Pacific Northwest who vied for more than $14,000 in prize money this year.
* * *
The Carson and Barnes Circus appeared in Mountain Home. The event was sponsored by the Mountain Home Chamber of Commerce.
Featuring its own traveling zoo and a tent large enough to span a city block, the circus is one of the few traveling circuses still appearing under the big top in the United States.
* * *
People driving by the statues in Triangle Park, or the clock in Railroad Park, or the gazebo at the visitor's center, saw the objects covered in yarn creations -- all part of International Yarn Day and Knit in Public Day, an international "guerrilla art" project.
The effort was the work of the Mountain Home Yarn Lovers group.
* * *
Domingo Aguirre, a well-known leader of the local Basque community, died at the age of 90.
* * *
The body of Grant Moedl, 57, of Rexburg, who had been missing for three months on a trip from there to Boise, was found in his vehicle in the Mountain Home Reservoir.
Searches by law enforcement agencies and family along the roadway in the weeks after his disappearance had not identified any clues to his whereabouts until the roof of his vehicle was spotted by a photographer working in the reservoir area.
Authorities surmised he had stopped to drive down to the reservoir, then wound up out on the ice. When his car broke through the ice, he drowned.
* * *
Cami Oborn, 34, of Riverton, Utah, died in a rafting accident on the Middle Fork of the Boise River near Atlanta. Her raft apparently became caught in a "strainer" eddy and she became trapped under a log and drowned.
* * *
Following five months of debate that involved the testimony of dozens of people, the Elmore County Board of Commissioners approved the Mayfield Townsite Planned Community, which could eventually add another 37,000 people to the county.
July
Carl Miller Park was filled with area residents attending the annual Fourth of July celebration organized by the El-Whyhee Business Association. More than a dozen vendor booths were set up, offering food, crafts, raffles and information, and the park featured the annual Wash and Shine Car Show, the Little Miss El-Wyhee Pageant, a small "Art in the Park" exhibition and contest, as well as bouncy houses for the kids. The park was festooned in red, white and blue. The huge Silver Wings American flag flew over the park and small plastic American flags (made in China) where handed out to youngsters throughout the day.
* * *
Seeking safer ways for children to get to and from school in Mountain Home, a group of city officials and concerned citizens met to identify problems and possible solutions.
The gathering followed a public meeting in early May to identify needed improvements for walking and bike paths for children attending both schools. A grant from the Safe Routes to School office in Boise helped get the local project moving forward.
* * *
Community leader Mae Sanders of Mountain Home, died at the age of 88.
* * *
County and city leaders joined local business representatives to formally dedicate the county's consolidated ambulance complex. The building serves as the central storage and training facility for the county's fleet of 30 emergency medical technicians and paramedics.
The facility's garage bay stores up to four ambulances with additional rooms set aside for office space and sleeping quarters. The medical teams work 12-hour shifts on an alternating schedule that requires them to work 48 hours one week and 36 hours the next.
* * *
Mountain Home's newest "Shop Local" campaign can was unveiled.
"Local Joe" is a poster that urges people to stay in town and shop at the local stores. Each "Local Joe" features a Quick Response (QR) code, a type of bar code that can be scanned by anyone who owns a smart phone. When scanned, phones will display a website leading the person to another business offering a coupon or special. The "Shop Local" campaign is urging people to "get out, explore the town and visit the wonderful businesses and services Mountain Home has to offer."
More information about "Local Joe" can be found at www.localjoe.us. The program is sponsored by the Mountain Home Dig-It committee and the local business QuickWrapz.
* * *
Local community leader Charles (Chuck) L. Devol, died at age 69.
* * *
The first major local wildfire of the fire season destroyed two mobile homes and a large two-story storage structure, as well as more than half a dozen outbuildings.
Labeled the Gunner Fire by the Bureau of Land Management, the fire burned 208 acres.
* * *
Following a noticeable drop in criminal activity the previous year, communities across Elmore County saw a 12 percent increase in crime in 2010, according to an annual report released by the Idaho State Police.
The county had 1,295 reported offenses during the 12-month period with nearly 1,100 of those crimes occurring within the city of Mountain Home.
However, taking the city's figures out of these overall statistics indicates that the county's annual crime rate actually fell by more than 20 percent in 2010.
While the total crimes committed last year remained lower than those reported in 2007 and 2008, arrest rates across the county hit a five-year high. According to the state police report, law officers arrested 689 people, including 105 juveniles, in 2010.
Mountain Home accounted for 573 of those arrests.
Larceny topped the list of crimes committed over the past year in Elmore County with 37 people arrested in connection with many of those thefts. Other offenses at the top of the list included 277 cases of vandalism and 258 assaults along with 65 additional aggravated assault cases.
* * *
The assessed value of a home in Elmore County fell by an average of 11 percent over the past year with commercial businesses showing an even steeper drop in 2010.
Figures released by the Elmore County Assessors Office showed some home property values actually fell by up to 30 percent with only a few showing signs of improving.
* * *
Ten years of planning finally became a reality as the Oasis Fire Volunteer Department broke ground on its first official fire station.
Measuring nearly 1,500 square feet, the station will hold both of the department's engines and a third brush truck.
* * *
The 2011 Elmore County Fair and Rodeo wrapped up with decent, but hardly record, attendance numbers at the mid-July event.
* * *
The Mountain Home School District was one of 75 school districts in the state listed in a 600-page complaint by the federal Civil Rights Office in Seattle alleging violations of the Title IX program.
School district officials, many of wTitle IX is a program, originally created in 1972, that requires schools to provide equal opportunities for female athletes. It was created at a time when female sports programs were nearly non-existent in many schools, with the focus on funding and opportunities on male sports.
The complaint alleged that Mountain Home was "not providing equal opportunities for female high school students to play sports" and was made based on information reported each year by the school district to the Idaho High School Activities Association, the state's governing body for high school athletics.
Specifically, it cited a 10.4 percent male-to-female participation gap. A total of 61 additional female athletes would be needed to bridge the gap, according to the report.
Although announced with great fanfare, the follow-up investigation showed the district did not discriminate against female athletes and the charg was quietly dropped.
* * *
The Elmore County Sheriff's Office located a missing 14-year-old Hammett girl, in Green River, Utah.
She was found unharmed but a Mountain Home man, Eugene M. Peters, 51, was arrested in connection with her disappearance by the Emery County (Utah) Sheriff's Office and the Utah Highway Patrol.
Peters faces several felony charges in Utah. He is a registered sex offender having been convicted in 1987 of lewd conduct with a child under age 16.
Authorities believe the girl left the area willingly with Peters.
* * *
Arthur Schafer, 58, of Nampa, who had been missing since for over a week, was found dead at his campsite on the middle fork of the Boise River in Elmore County. Authorities said it appeared that he died from an accidental gunshot wound.
* * *
The annual Elmore County Relay for Life observance raised tens of thousands of dollars for the American Cancer Society to further it efforts to save lives by helping people stay well, helping them get well, by finding cures and fighting back against cancer.
August
City officials proposed a $22.1 million budget for the next fiscal year. Although nearly $4 million for than the FY2010 budget, the increase largely reflected several major grants the city had obtained for infrastructure improvements. Otherwise, the conservative budget remained fairly flat compared to budgets adopted prior to the housing market crash in 2008.
** *
The new Elmore County Drug and DUI Court began to show dividends.
Coordinator Katie Ashby asked for volunteers to help the program continue to move forward by forming a non-profit volunteer group that would help raise money and awareness for the program. The program, created and led by Elmore County Magistrate Judge George Hicks, is designed to "break the cycle" of alcohol and drug abuse that contribute to personal failures of offenders and, often, criminal activity.
** *
A lightning storm that passed through the area triggered a major fire in the Walker Road area northwest of Glenns Ferry that burned more than 1,300 acres. The fire, named the Alky Fire, was one of nearly a dozen fires in the area that were triggered by the storm.
** *
Vintage cars, souped up stock racers and modified vehicles packed into Carl Miller Park during the 10th Annual Rumble and Roar car show Sunday.
Hosted by the local Lions Club, the event serves as its main fundraiser to benefit eye-related medical research and treatment as well as scholarships and other community projects.
* * *
Elmore County began burning down with a dozen fires ringing the city of Mountain Home on the east, west and south.
The air was filled with blue smoke from the fires that began, in most cases, from a brief lightning storm that swept through the area. The BLM literally ran out of resources to attack all the fires at once and some of the blazes, which began as small fires, were pushed by high and erratic winds, growing rapidly in size and melding into much larger fires. The Boise BLM requested assistance from "multiple cooperators" from across Southern Idaho, Oregon and Nevada.
The biggest of the fires was the Big Hill Fire, which consumed more than 67,000 acres in an area 20 miles south of Bruneau, and the Blair Fire eight miles north of Glenn's Ferry, that eventually burned 39,000 acres and destroyed critical winter habitat for area deer populations.
* * *
Brad Seymour, a retired civil engineer from Mountain Home Air Force Base who helped develop the AFAD Fun Run/Walk, was named grand marshal of the 51st Annual Air Force Appreciation Day celebration.
* * *
Community leader and former schools superintendent Harry Edward "Bud" Light, died at age 70.
* * *
Hundreds of people made the annual trek to Mountain Home to participate in the 51st Annual Basque Picnic.
* * *
The three-day Three Island Days celebration featured a number of cultural activities that highlighted Glenns Ferry's pioneer heritage -- with other events aimed at fostering community spirit.
* * *
The Shoshone-Paiute tribes of Duck Valley Indian Reservation contended the federal government broke its word over a land deal involving the willing of some land near Mountain Home to the tribe, which the tribes indicated could have been used to develop a casino in the area. Title to the land had originally been approved to go to the tribe by the courts, then the approval was rescinded -- resurrecting native groups' enduring mistrust for the Bureau of Indian Affairs. The issue remains unresolved in the courts.
* * *
After a nearly one-year delay, the Bureau of Land Management released a draft environment for the the Gateway West Transmission Line Project, which would pass through Elmore County. The project involves building a series of 145- to 180-foot towers capable of carrying up to 500 kilovolts of power across 1,150 miles of the western United States.
* * *
County chief deputy sheriff Nick Schilz was named by the city council to become Mountain Home's next chief of police. Schilz has served in law enforcement for 30 years.
* * *
Mountain Home hosted the annual conference of the Idaho Volunteer Fire and Emergency Services Association, and event that drew approximately 100 representatives from volunteer fire departments and EMS groups around the state.
* * *
Anne L. Butler, 46, of Mountain Home, drowned in a swimming accident near Anderson Ranch Dam. Eyewitnesses reported that Butler was no more the 25 feet from shore when she started struggling in the water and couldn't make it back.Her boyfriend, who couldn't swim, went for help but she drowned before rescuers could arrive.
* * *
An 18-year-old Filer youth was taken into custody in Elmore County Sunday after a 70-mile high-speed chase on I-84 that began in Jerome and reached speeds in excess of 100 mph.
The incident began when David J. Miller called the Jerome dispatch operators to tell them that he'd stolen his mother's car and wanted to turn himself in. He said he'd be waiting for officers at Exit 168. But when city police officers arrived, he brandished what appeared to be a gun (later determined to be an air pistol) and sped off.
* * *
Stephanie L. Hoagland, a former staff member at a private juvenile corrections center in Mountain Home received a suspended jail sentence and two year's probation in a case involving inappropriate behavior with an inmate at the facility.
September
A wheel bearing thrown from a passing car was the likely cause of a range fire that burned nearly 1,200 acres of land along Highway 51 east of the intersection of Bypass and Airbase roads. As the fire swept along a stretch of land running nearly parallel to Highway 51, it prompted a mandatory evacuation order of homes along Hog Farm Road.
* * *
The Mountain Home Youth Center was one of dozens of city programs and local agencies hit hardest by a $63,000 shortfall in local tax revenue. Members affiliated with Mountain Home Parents and Youth United, which runs the center, recently sought financial help from the Western Elmore Recreation District, which declined their request and then the city, which also rejected a subsidy for the center beyond providing the building it uses.
* * *
Sunny skies and warm temperatures drew near-record crowds and parade entries as the local community paid tribute to the military service members, veterans and their families during the 51st annnual Air Force Appreciation Day.
* * *
Mountain Home Police arrested two city residents in connection with what has been reported as a robbery of the Taco Johns in twon.
Sara Griffin, 23, an employee of Taco Johns, and Martel Newton, 23, described by authorities as her boyfriend, were initially charged with the robbery, in which Griffin had initially told authorities a masked man had held her up and forced her to open the safe as she opened the facility.
Authorities later decided she' lied and had stolen the money herself.
Charges against Griffin were later dropped in the case.
Griffin later entered a written plea to one count of grand theft in the case. She was scheduled for sentencing in December.
* * *
Two Washington state men were arrested after a routine traffic stop resulted in a major drug arrest.
Michael Blair Jr. and Derek J. Eatherton, both of Lynnwood, Wash., were arraigned on charges of heroin trafficking and methamphetamine possession.
* * *
A nationwide grant program helped the Mountain Home Public Library to not only upgrade its inventory of computers, but also overhaul its access to online resources.
The library's older communication lines were replaced with high-speed fiber optic cables, giving it a nearly 20-fold increase in Internet connectivity.
At the same time, the facility replaced its aging batch of 19 computers with two dozen brand-new systems and flat-screen monitors.
* * *
For the first time in three years, Mountain Home Air Force Base opened its gates to the public for Gunfighter Skies 2011. The event featured, for the first time, two full days of performances by the USAF Thunderbirds aerial demonstration team. The event drew more than 35,000 people to the base.
* * *
The Herb Hawley's service station in Mountain Home celebrated its 50th anniversary.
* * *
Senior Allie Draper was named as the 2011 Mountain Home High School homecoming queen. She was crowned during halftime of a 41-8 loss to the Nampa Bulldogs.
* * *
The 389th Fighters Squadron returned home from a six-month deployment to Afghansistan.
The Gunfighters of the 366th Fighter Wing who were part of the deployment accumulated a total of 13,000 combat hours while providing close air support for U.S. ground forces in the region.
October
The Chamber's annual Fall Harvest celebration was canceled because the Chamber couldn't find anyone to coordinate the events.
* * *
City officials approved plans for the Cedar Crest Skilled Nursing Center, a $3 million addition to the existing Cedar Crest facility that would add an additional level of assisted care for the community.
* * *
The new legislative redistricting map, will return most of Owyhee County to the same legislative district as Elmore County.
Ten years ago, eastern Owyhee County and Elmore County were combined into legislative District 22. But after the 2000 census, redistricting placed Elmore County and Boise County together in District 22, even though there was no paved road directly linking the two disparate counties together.
Under the new redistricting plan that followed the 2010 census, Elmore County, almost all of Owyhee County and a lightly populated portion of Twin Falls county west of the highway leading to Jackpot, as well as Buhl and Filer, will be organized into Legislative District 23. The only parts of Owyhee County that won't be in District 23 would be the main cities of Marsing, Homedale and Murphy, which would be lumped into District 11 with Canyon County.
The map be being challenged in the courts by Twin Falls County.
* * *
Record crowds packed into the city's main fire station to enjoy an open house held in conjunction with National Fire Prevention Week, the annual event wrapped up a series of activities in local-area schools aimed at spreading fire safety messages.
* * *
The company responsible for managing the city's trash and recycling collection programs expects to streamline those services later this year under an existing program it plans to adopt locally.
Modifications to Allied Waste's vehicle fleet in other cities automates its trash and recycling collection process to pick up and empty the recycling containers in addition to the existing multi-gallon trash receptacles.
Under the plan, the company would replace its existing blue recycling bins with 95-gallon bins identical to the gray trash bins already in use by participating communities. People may also opt for smaller recycling containers if they want. The plan went into effect in early December.
* * *
The Mountain Home Urban Renewal Agency (URA) purchased the King's building in anticipation of leasing the downtown core facility to a major retail chain store.
After buying the building the URA will remodel the building to bring it up to modern code requiements.
Waiting in the wings to leas the facility is "a national family branded retail store" that has shown interest in leasing the building. The name of the national chain store has not been released, pending an official announcement by the firm (which the Mountain Home News has agreed to respect), but it is a company that began as a regional chain and has gone national in recent years. Three of its growing number of stores are located in cities in Idaho similar in size to Mountain Home and a spot-check of officials in those cities drew universal praise for the company's operations in their communities.
If all goes well, the company hopes to sign a lease by the first of the year and be open some time in late spring of 2012. Tentatively, it plans on hiring approximately a dozen full and part-time employees,
* * *
After a "lost year" of delays during which little was actually accomplished, the combined effort by the Western Elmore County Recreation District and the Treasure Valley YMCA to build a community center in Mountain Home was set to get back on track with the creation of a committee to oversee a capital campaign feasibility study.
That study will determine if there is sufficient opportunity to raise just under $1 million to supplement existing funds available to the WECRD and begin Phase I of the project. That phase would involve a center with gyms, meeting rooms and fitness faciltiies -- essentially the full community center except an indoor swimming pool, which would be built in Phase II.
If the study determines it is possible to raise that money, the actual capital campaign would then be launched, probably in the next month or so.
November
Mountain Home Tiger head football coach Brian Floyd submitted his resignation after his team completed a winless season.
Floyd was head coach of the Tigers for eight years, taking over as head coach in 2004. The Tigers finished 3-6 last year. In 2006, he was named the 4A Southern Idaho Conference Coach of the Year. In 2008, his team advanced to the state semi-finals.
Floyd was 34-44 as head coach of the Tigers.
* * *
Mountain Home Air Force Base expects to transfer ownership of its military housing area to a civilian company in coming months as part of an ongoing Defense Department initiative. The Air Force selected Balfour Beatty Communities of Pennsylvania to assume control of military housing at the base here.
* * *
Speech and debate teacher John Petti was voted the state's Speech Arts Teacher of the Year by the Idaho Speech Arts Teacher's Association.
Celebrating his sixth year of teaching in Mountain Home, Petti coaches the Mountain Home High School Talkin' Tigers -- a speech and debate team that currently is ranked 40th in the nation by the National Forensics League.
* * *
Jimmy Schipani won election to his first term in light municipal election voting, while incumbent Russ Anderson was re-elected to his second term on the council.
Mayor Tom Rist, who ran unopposed, also was re-elected. Schipani will replace Geoff Schroeder, who chose not to seek re-election to the council. He will be sworn in next January, when Schroeder's term expires.
* * *
The city approved a refinancing package that will help it pay off its remaining debt on the local golf course and police department building several years ahead of schedule. Mountain Home is one of nine communities across the state that have taken advantage of lower interest rates to refinance their bonds or certificates of participation this year in order to cover expenses associated with large-scale construction or improvement projects.
* * *
Convicted triple-murderer Paul Ezra Rhodes was kept alive for an extra hour after Terry Ratliff, the Elmore County Public Defender, filed a last-minute motion to stay Rhode's execution.
For Ratliff, it was purely a matter of procedure, to make sure all the rules had been followed. "The death penalty is qualitatively different than any other penalty," Ratliff noted.
"If we, as a nation, believe we have the right to kill people, then it should be done by the book."
At issue for Ratliff was a section of Idaho law that requires that any person facing the death penalty, who is represented by a publicly paid defender, must have a defense attorney who is qualified and certified by the state Supreme Court to handle death penalty cases.
Ratliff is one of less than a half dozen attorneys in the Treasure Valley area that has such a certification.
After looking up the case and the law, he thought that may not have been followed. "It was a point of procedure and substantive law that I thought they ought to take a look at."
Rhode's execution had been scheduled to begin at 8 a.m., but was temporarily held up until Fourth District Judge Mike Wetherell could review Ratliff's motion. In less than an hour Wetherell decided to reject the motion and authorized the execution to proceed.
* * *
Noelle M. Allen of Meridian was charged with several felonies here following a high-speed chase on the interstate that ended north of Glenns Ferry on Nov. 15. At one point during the pursuit, she accelerated to speeds exceeding 125 miles per hour.
December
Mountain Home's annual Christmas Parade of Lights celebrated a blend of long-standing traditions while incorporating new ideas to make the event even more festive, organizers said.
Hosted by the city's Chamber of Commerce, the parade included floats and entries representing 19 different businesses and organizations in Mountain Home. Marking a break in tradition, the parade ended up in Railroad Park versus its previous stop in Triangle Park off American Legion Boulevard.
* * *
Dangerous crosswalks, inattentive drivers and speeding traffic pose significant risks to local area students, according to officials seeking to improve safety around two schools in Mountain Home.
Those and other findings were included in a public briefing held by representatives from the state's Safe Routes to School program.
Included were the results of a take-home survey involving more than 400 students with a majority of them living less than a mile from either school.
According to Chris Danley, a Safe Routes to School consultant, the recent studies focused on seven main roadways that students and vehicle traffic share. They included American Legion Boulevard, North 6th East, North 10th East, North 14th East Streets as well as East 10 North and East 8th North Streets.
Out of those roadways, American Legion Boulavard, represented a "significant barrier" for pedestrians and bicyclists, Danley said.
* * *
Elmore County became the first in the state to launch an upgraded 911 service that puts more time-critical information in the hands of emergency responders.
Known as the Smart911 system, it takes the county's enhanced 911 service a step further by delivering insights about callers "that we usually only uncover upon arriving at an emergency," said Traci Lefever, 911 coordinator with the county sheriff's department.
In comparison, the county's enhanced 911 service was pretty much limited to a person's name and address with cell phone users capable of transmitting their exact location using satellite-based technology.
Strictly a voluntary initiative, people begin the process by building a profile online at www.Smart911.com. They then furnish information they want paramedics, firefighters and police officers to know when they respond to an emergency.
* * *
Celebrating its 15th anniversary, Mountain Home's Shop With A Cop program provided hope and brightened the Christmas for 125 deserving children. It gave these children a chance to buy gifts for themselves and their loved ones -- a luxury none of them could otherwise afford.
* * *
The seventh annual Christmas Creche Exhibit, hosted at the Latter-day Saints stake center in Mountain Home, saw a attending the display of Nativity scenes. While the majority of people came from Mountain Home, the creche exhibit is now drawing people from throughout both the Treasure Valley and Magic Valley,
* * *
Veterans in the Mountain Home community took part in the Wreaths Across America Day event, held simultaneously at more than 500 locations across the country. The event honors veterans for their service and sacrifice.