HomeMy Public PortalAboutValley County, Idaho: Politics & Government II - 1996-2011Long Valley Advocate
Sheriff defends
record with
personnel
administration
CASCADE — Valley County Sheriff
Lewis Pratt agreed, in an interview with
The Long Valley Advocate Friday, that
there has been a high turnover among
employees under his direction.
But, he dismisses as mostly politics, alle-
gations made recently by several former
employees. Those allegations paint a pic-
ture of Pratt as chief administrator of a
department that marks and ultimately gets
rid of employees who speak their mind,
point out concerns to supervisors, and want
those concerns addressed.
Pratt declined to discuss specifics of the
reasons those former employees left the
department, saying those are personnel mat-
ters they have to remain confidential.
However, in a two-hour interview Friday,
Pratt did address in general, some allega-
tions leveled at him and his administration.
Pratt is being opposed in his bid for re-elec-
tion to the sheriffs post this year, and will
face Valley County Sheriff s Det. Tommy
Rhea in the May Republican primary. No
one has filed to run for sheriff as a Democrat.
Pratt agreed to discuss the complaints
and allegations only on the condition that
Tamara Probst, Valley County's personnel
officer and County Clerk Lee Heinrich sit
in on the interview.
The list of allegations that have been
leveled is a long and varied one.
Pratt admits that he did check into the
legality of Rhea continuing to work for the
department as a deputy after he filed to
oppose Pratt. But he said that all he was
trying to do was his job — enforce the law.
He said he'd been told by former Valley
County Prosecutor Jamie Shropshire that
state law prohibited an employee of the
sheriff's department from continuing to
serve if they ran against their boss for the
sheriff s position.
"Sure I'm the one running for re -elec-
tion," he said, addressing the timing of the
allegations brought against him.
For more than six months, various per-
sonnel., either employed as deputies in the
Valley County Jail or employed as dis-
patchers for the department, which is also
overseen by Pratt, have discussed various
aspects of the department's operation with
The Long Valley Advocate.
The picture painted by those former and
current employees — and the current employ-
ees have asked to not be identified out of
fear of retaliation — is of a department
where they claim the good old boy system
is still firmly entrenched.
Former dispatcher Cherish Rogers said,
"It's not what you know, it's who you
know."
Rogers resigned last August, during a
time when the dispatch center was in tur-
moil over the new responsibilities that would
be taken on by dispatchers once the new
jail was completed.
Her resignation letter states that prob-
lems with rotating shifts and arranging for
child care were the primary reasons for her
resignation. When she left, the department
lost one of its most skilled dispatchers, one
who was state - certified as a dispatcher and
who had two years of experience on the
job.
She has since re- applied for two
jobs openings as a dispatcher, and
despite being the most qualified of
the four, she was not hired back.
She said she's not received an offi-
cial letter stating why she wasn't
re- hired, but that she was told ver-
bally that it was because the con-
ditions for which she'd resigned
had not changed.
"I was the only one (of the can-
didates) who could walk right in
there and do the job," she said.
Another incident that brought
to light a number of problems, and
about which she said nothing has
been done, is last year's escape of
Victor Madrid, a jail inmate who
scaled the exercise yard fence at
the old jail and escaped only to be
recaptured several hours later while
hitchhiking on Idaho Highway 55
several miles north of Cascade.
The jailor who was on duty at
the time of the escape, Mike Griffin,
is no longer employed with the
department. He was dismissed
before completing his six -month
probation.
Griffin said he was "discharged
for lack of skills and an inability
to do the job as required." Griffin
came to Valley County from the
Gem County Jail in Emmett.
His termination letter from Pratt
notes several instances of miscon-
duct, including the wearing of a
weapon in the jail exercise yard —
an incident Griffin says stems from
the Madrid escape.
Rogers said a request she and
others made following that escape
has yet to be done. She said that
because of the lack of organization
and coordination that became appar-
ent in the hours following the escape,
she wanted to see a non - punitive
debriefing involving everyone who
had a role in the matter. Rogers
was on duty in dispatch when the
escape took place, and said that
among other things, an offer of
manpower from the McCall Police
Department was turned down, jail
deputies were sent out to search
the town alone and in at least one
instance, unarmed.
It was also two hours before the
courthouse building itself was
searched.
Pratt's initial response to a ques-
tion about why a debriefing hadn't
been done was, "How do you know
one hasn't been done ?"
Pressed on the matter, Pratt said
he'd met with some key personnel
to discuss the situation, but that no
de- briefing involving personnel in
all departments affected by the
escape had been done.
Other things Griffin says he was
terminated for include several
instances of what he described as
mis- conduct — false reporting on
jail logs, bad log- keeping, insub-
ordination, and showing up for
work late. Griffin said anything
that may have happened was most-
ly the result of his not knowing bet-
ter and not having been told to do
things differently than he was trained
to do at Gem County or through
his Peace Officers Standards and
Training academy education.
While he said there may be some
basis for some of those things, he
said he received no performance
evaluation during his probationary
period. And he said those allega-
tions of mis- conduct are not what
they seem, and not documented in
his personnel file. Neither is there
any sort of training program in
effect at the jail.
However, Pratt said Friday that
the jail has instituted a training pro-
gram, and has sent a couple of the
jailors to Boise for training to be
training officers.
Griffin said he was provided an
evaluation that was written so as
to appear that it had been done
before his termination, but that
wasn't the case.
Griffin, who was working at the
Gem County Jail and had been for
two- and -a -half years, learned of a
job opening from a Valley County
jail deputy with whom he'd attend-
ed the Peace Officers Standards
and Training Academy. Griffin said
he graduated among the top in his
class at the POST academy.
He said he was told if he'd apply
for a job at the Cascade facility,
he'd be hired. And, if he showed
up for an interview wearing a suit,
he'd be hired on the spot, he claims
he was told after asking what he
should wear for the interview.
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More than a year atter his ter-
mination, Griffin said he believes
the county was simply in a bind
and needed some additional jail
staff in a hurry and that's why he
was promised the job before he
even applied for it.
"I think they got caught short,
they needed some bodies and they
needed them quick," he said.
The day of the Madrid escape,
Griffin had taken the jail inmates
to the exercise yard and he said he
warned another jailor on duty that
day that he believed Madrid was
going to "rabbit" and to keep an
eye on him.
"I just had a feeling when I
looked at him," Griffin said. Two
weeks earlier, Madrid, who was
being held in the Valle .roll *y
Jail on felony aggr;.acrr assault
charges filed iii eosin, had stolen
two kitchen knives and hid them
in the jail. Madrid later told jailors
that he intended to sneak them back
into his cell if he wasn't searched
when he was returned to his cell
that day.
He had been given access to the
jail kitchen despite his record and
the serious charges against him.
Pratt, asked Friday how a pris-
oner with Madrid's record was
given trusty status and allowed to
help out in the kitchen, said that
the escape took place before a com-
puter was installed in the jail that
made it possible to "classify" inmates
as to their risk status.
According to Griffin, and oth-
ers still working in the jail, the com-
puter belonged to one of the jailors
and was brought in to allow the jail
to use a computer program that
aided in classifying inmates. Pratt
said that having the program pro-
vided jailors with the questions
they needed to ask in order to clas-
sify inmates.
Griffin, however, said that jailors
were trained at the POST acade-
my on how to fill out a one -sheet
questionnaire that classified inmates
and gave jailors a security classi-
fication for inmates.
Following the escape, Griffin
said he was called into Pratt's office
and that Pratt's initial concern was
that 1996 was an election year and
that the public wasn't going to know
that Griffin was the jailor on duty
at the time of the escape, but that
the voters would certainly remem-
ber that Pratt was sheriff at that
time.
He said Pratt also told him,
"Mike, you're not in the big city
any more, you need to mellow out."
At that point, he said, things
began happening to him, such as
having his work shift changed seven
times over three months. That, he
said he believes, was done to tire
him out, and to get him to make
mistakes on the job that could facil-
itate his firing, or force him to even-
tually quit.
That personal computer was also
central to the jailors' efforts to track
medications that are to be given to
inmates, an area for which the coun-
ty assumes substantial liability
should things not be done proper-
ly and documented.
Several past and currently -
employed jailors, including Griffin,
said that area of the jail's opera-
tion is, at best, sloppy. At worst,
Griffin said there has been false
documentation of medication
records.
Pratt initially said'Friday that
he wasn't aware that there were
problems with record- keeping relat-
ed to medications, and he also asked
how a reporter knew that there have
been problems with record -keep-
ing. Pratt said that any records have
documents a reporter might
seen related to that or any other
aspect of the jail's operation were
illegally removed from the jail.
Jail staff has recently been
required to sign off on a new pol-
icy that makes it illegal to copy and
remove documents from within the
jail.
Besides, Pratt said the admin-
istering of medications to inmates
will soon be supervised by a reg-
istered nurse who he hopes to add
to the staff now that the new jail
with its medical room has been
completed.
The person Pratt has tagged for
that job is presently working as a
jailor. Griffin and others say that
particular jailor has twice locked
himself inside jail cells, once with
an inmate free in the jail.
Another jailor has been caught
sleeping on the job on two occa-
sions, and is still employed, but
Pratt said that jailor did receive a
letter of reprimand.
Also of concern to present and
past employees is the use of the
Jail Commissary Fund, a cash fund
that is used to buy things for the
jail and inmates. That fund, accord-
-,-12 �:? / / q, V L
ing
ccord-
ing to several, has been used in the
past as a source of spending money
by some of the jail staff who bor-
row money, and maybe put an IOU
in the fund, and sometimes not.
IOUs of up to $100 have been found
in that fund.
Heinrich said that Friday after-
noon he checked the status of that
fund and since the responsibility
for it has recently been assigned to
one particular jailor, abuse of it
appears to have stopped, and all
IOUs have been repaid. However,
he said he plans to do a full audit
of that account.
Asked if those who raise ques-
tions and concerns are targeted and
subjected to measures some might
term as harassment in order to drive
them from the job, Pratt said that
wasn't the case.
"That's not true, there are lots
of people there who have ques-
tioned and brought up concerns,
and they're still working for me,"
Pratt said.
Among the issues Pratt flatly
refused to discuss is an age dis-
crimination complaint filed against
the county by Chick Uriona, the
former chief jail deputy.
Uriona filed the complaint after
he was not re-hired when he applied
for one of several openings that
existed last fall. That complaint is
now pending before the Idaho
Human Rights Commission.
Neither would Pratt discuss alle-
gations that two sheriff s deputies
were recently reprimanded for
attempting to cite a new dispatch-
er who had been driving with a sus-
pended license. He said the way
the deputies obtained the informa-
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Valley names deputy prosecutor
A recent law school graduate has
been appointed as the Valley County
deputy prosecuting attorney.
Don Gadda, a 1995 graduate of the
University of Idaho College of Law in
Moscow, started his duties for the
county on Feb. 1. He was appointed
by Valley County Prosecuting Attor-
ney Robert Williams.
As deputy prosecuting attorney,
Gadda said he will be responsible for
most misdemeanor and juvenile cases.
Before his Valley County appoint-
ment, Gadda worked as a law clerk
and as a volunteer legal aide in Boise
for six months. Before entering the
legal field, he worked as a free -lance
writer and for the Forest Service as a
fire supply management and equip-
ment maintenance officer.
Gaddaalso holds a 1981 bachelor's
degree in English literature from Boise
State University. He is a native of
Reno, Nev.
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State.wiu file no charges
against Rhea
Tommy
Rhea
AG clears
detective
BY JEANNE SEOL'
The Star -News
No criminal charges will be filed
est, Williams said. Because the
against Valley County Sheriff Det.
Tommy Rhea by the Idaho Attorney
attorney general has decided not to
file charges, all Williams will do now
General's office, Deputy Attorney
is review the state's report.
General J. Scott James said Tuesday.
Rhea has been under investigation
However, Williams said he will
by the Attorney General's office since
meet with Pratt, Valley County com-
June 14, after Sheriff Lewis Pratt sus-
missioners, Valley County Personnel
Manager Tamara Probst and the
pended Rhea with pay and ordered an
investigation.
county's insurance carrier to deter -
Pratt had charged Rhea with en-
mine if and when Rhea will return to
work
gaging in "intolerable "conduct, being
.
"There still is the administrative
"dishonest" m his course of duties
leave issue and the question of how
with the sheriff's department, and pro-
we will handle it," Williams said.
viding inaccurate information to the', Rhea said in an interview Tuesday
Peace Officers Standards and Train-
that. he had not been contacted by
ing Academy in Boise.
anyone from the sheriff's department,
In a letter to Pratt from the attorney
but wanted to get back to work as
general's office, James said no charges
soon as possible.
would be filed against Rhea, adding,
"I want to apologize to the people
"There does not appear to be evidence
of Valley County for my unavailabil-
to support any criminal charges that
ity during this investigation, and I
are currently within the statute of limi-
hope this situation will be reconciled
tations."
immediately," Rhea said.
Pratt declined to comment Tues-
Rhea won the Valley County Sher -
dav on the attorney izeneral's decision
iff Republican primary on May 28,
saying a full report by the state office
beating Pratt, his boss, by 34 votes.
still had not been issued. Rhea will
Only Rhea's name will appear on the
not return to work until that report is
ballot in the November general elec-
reviewed by Valley County Prosecut-
tion.
ing Attorney Robert Williams, Pratt
The only thing I have done is beat
said.
Lewis Pratt in a bona fide election. I
After Pratt ordered the investiga-
have not engaged in any criminal ac-
tion, Williams turned the case over to
tivities. All I have done is work my
the attorney general's office because
heart out for the people of Valley
of an appearance of a conflict of inter-
County," Rhea said.
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Tort claims against county piling up
Sheriff's budgets running over
CASCADE — Valley County's Board of
Commissioners got official word of yet anoth-
er tort claim filed against the county over an
incident in the Valley County jail.
The latest one asks for at least $1 million
on behalf of Greg Stallcup, who as an inmate
at the Valley County Jail last fall, attempted
to commit suicide by hanging himself.
He was discovered by jail deputies, and
transported to Cascade Medical Center, where
he was ultimately revived. But he did suffer
severe neurologic damage as a result, and
Valley County and the State of Idaho have
been paying the medical bills he's run up.
Other suits against the Sheriffs Department
deputies. In addition, the jail's food budget is run-
ning greater than expected.
Part of that problem might be helped if the jail
were able to house prisoners from other jurisdic-
tions. But commissioners have said they don't want
other prisoners brought in until some of the recent-
ly publicized problems concerning the jail's opera-
tion are brought under control.
and Valley County involve an age discrimination
complaint filed by a former jailor who wasn't hired
back; an alleged incident of an improper search dur-
ing a booking that has led to a sexual harassment
complaint; and yet another complaint over an alleged
false arrest, investigation and criminal prosecution.
Also Monday, commissioners hear from Valley
County Sheriff Lewis Pratt, who told them that he's
depleting over -time budgets for his jail staff and road
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Pratt supporters try to make issue
of information disclosure form
CASCADE — Valley County Sheriff's
Deputy Tommy Rhea, who is running against
his boss, Sheriff Lewis Pratt, was asked last
week by Pratt supporters to sign a waiver allow-
ing them to investigate Rhea's background.
At the candidate's forum Wednesday night
at McCall- Donnelly Elementary School, Sheriffs
Deputy Dennis Porter publicly asked if Rhea
would be willing to sign the release, which he
then delivered to Rhea.
Rhea initially said he'd sign it, but after
considering the matter, he said at the Thursday
forum at the Cascade Senior Center that he
had decided against it.
Pratt showed up at the McCall office of The
Long Valley Advocate on Friday to sign a copy
of the same release and turn it over to the news-
paper.
Porter said both nights that the release would
allow those opposing Rhea's candidacy to
obtain now confidential information that they
said would decide the election. Asked about
the information on Monday, Porter said he
couldn't reveal it, other than to say-that it would
prove Rhea "unfit" to be Sheriff.
In a memorandum written to Pratt on Friday,
Rhea said he would not sign the release for
several reasons, which he outlined in the memo.
• That Valley County's Personnel Manager,
Tamara Probst, told him that the document he
was presented with was not a standard Valley
County document, as Porter and Pratt said it
was, and that she would not recommend any employee sign it. Pratt
said at the Thursday forum that all county employees had signed the
"standard" form-and it was included in their personnel files.
• Also, because Rhea has formally accused Pratt "of either and most
likely, both, `Conducting an Unlawful Background Investigation,' of
me and `Releasing' Confidential Information contained in my per-
sonnel files, to a person not authorized to receive it."
• "I have no intention of signing any document that will in any way
release either Dennis Porter, or you from any Tort liability that you
may have already incurred as a result of your reckless actions," Rhea
wrote.
The issue of the personnel files goes beyond the campaign as the
county's insurance company, the Idaho Counties Risk Management
Proyrram (ICRMP) has on several occasions requested that all county
personnel files be kept in Probst's office. That, because of the liabil-
ities that go with having medical, employment and other sorts of files
all in one place. Someone may be authorized to check part of an employ-
ee's file, but have no business checking medical records. Without con -
trol over those, Probst said the county is at risk.
Probst said she has passed that request on to Pratt on several occa-
sions in the past.
But Pratt said last week that he was asked to do it once, a couple
of years ago, and when he heard nothing more about it, he forgot about
it. He also said there are other departments besides his that don't have
their personnel files in Probst's office. But Probst said that was not
the case, that the Sheriff's office is the only department that contin-
ues to keep its personnel files in the department head's office.
Rhea's complaint centers on his belief that Pratt and his support-
ers have already been into his personnel files. He also said that over
the past couple of weeks, a former employer of his, the Trenton, Tenn.,
Police Department, has been contacted by someone claiming to rep-
resent the Valley County Sheriffs Office, and that Rhea has applied
for a job: with the VCSO, and that they want to check out his refer-
ences. .
He outlined that belief in another memo to Probst that also includ-
ed his formal request that his personnel records, specifically, be moved
out of the Sheriffs office.
Besides, Rhea said, he is not a new employee of the Sheriff's Office,
and that the department conducted,a background investigation prior
to his employment, and that his hiring was partially conditional on the
results of that background investigation.
In addition, Rhea said he was investigated by the Tennessee Bar
Association and found eligible to take the bar exam in (hat state, and
that he was also investigated thoroughly by the Idaho Peace Officers
Standards and Training Academy before they issued him his Advanced
POST Certification, which is. basically his license to practice law
enforcement in Idaho.
Asked about the matter at Thursday night's forum, Pratt said he
wanted to have Rhea's background checked because Rhea's years of
experience have continued to get longer as the campaign has ground
on. But Rhea countered in a memo written-to Pratt.
"Your campaign strategy has been one of smut and personal assas-
sination," he wrote in the memo. `Your stated reason for requesting
this information is political and solely political."
In another memo to Pratt on May 13, Rhea noted the calls that have
been made to Trenton and other agencies he's worked for, and asked
that they cease immediately.
"I will be happy to comply with legitimate requests to receive rel-
evant information, from equally legitimate sources. I'will,not condone
unlawful inquiry based or " °s and deceptions," Rhea wrote in that
memorandum.
,z ' % /q R ii/ L= k1 s S/-,:' 31, �
Sheriff's patrol hits the water Star -News Photo by Jeanne Seol
The Valley County Sheriffs Department has hired
marine deputies for the summer and will start pa-
trolling local waters on Friday. Two boats - with
deputies will patrol both Cascade Reservoir and
Payette Lake, with an additional boat and deputy on
Warm Lake. New equipment purchased with state
grants this year include a surface radar detector on
one of the boats at Payette Lake. The detector helps find
boats in distress and floating logs at night without the
help of search lights. All boats are also equipped with
new compasses, and deputies will sport new life jackets.
Pictured from left is Sheriff Lewis Pratt, Deputy Darby
Helms and marine deputies Ken Francis, Dave Boaz,
Aaron Schreiber, Art Wiley, Jean Luze and Mike Ozmer.
Pratt suspends Rhea with pay
CASCADE — Valley County Sheriff Lewis Pratt on Friday sus-
pended Sheriff -elect 7 ommy Rhea pending the outcome of an inves-
tigation.
According to the suspension letter sent to Rhea, Pratt said he has
"received information indicating that (Rhea) may have taken action
which falls within the type of conduct for which any employee of the
Valley County Sheriff's Office may be suspended, placed on leave of
absence, placed on probation, discharged, or otherwise disciplined."
With Undersheriff Larry Olson, right, looking on Valley County
Sheriff -elect Tommy Rhea turned in his equipment after being
suspended Friday.
Pratt stated that the alleged conduct that is prompting the investi-
gation involves:
- "Information provided to P.O.S.T. by way of application and any
subsequent information filed with P.O.S.T.; a final determination of
status by the P.O.S.T. Council will be made."
- "Actions or conduct in the County of Valley, constituting `Intolerable'
as listed in the Valley County Policy and Personnel Manuel."
- "Acts of `dishonesty' in the course of duties with the Valley County
Sheriff's Office."
The list of actions or conduct considered "intolerable in the coun-
ty's policy manual include: any violation of the controlled subst"ce
policy; po :session of a weapon; gross insubordination; criminal activ-
ity; a viol ttion of cash control standards or transaction procedures;
willful destruction of county property; falsification of any personnel
records; misstatements and untruthful conduct; unacceptable or gross
misconduct; or `other," which is defined as "(A)ny other offense which
is considered intolerable in nature."
Rhea's suspension was effective immediately, and Pratt also said
that, as a condition of his continued receipt of pay during the period
of suspension, he is to "respond honestly regarding the matters under
investigation."
Those questions may come from Pratt, the Idaho Department of
Law Enforcement, the Idaho Attorney General's Office, the Valley
County Prosecuting Attorney, or any individual designated by Pratt
or Prosecuting Attorney Robert Williams.
"The fact that an investigation is under way does not infer that the
Department has taken a position one way or the other regarding the
matters under investigation," Pratt wrote.
He also said Rhea would be given an opportunity to respond to the
information that has been gathered.
And, Pratt also said that until the investigation is completed, Rhea
has had an opportunity to respond, and a final decision made on that
information and the matter is concluded, the department will not com-
ment on any confidential information.
Rhea # OM —page + -
On Monday, Scott James, direc-
tor of the criminal division with
the Idaho Attorney General's
Office, said he could neither con-
firm nor deny that an investiga-
tion was taking place, which con -
forms to the policy of the AG's
office.
Rhea also released a written
statement Monday concerning the
investigation.
"I totally and firmly believe
that the Sheriff is being motivat-
ed by purely political considera-
tions," he said. "He hopes to
accomplish by the dirtiest means
possible that which he cannot
change — the electorate's May
28 decision.
"The steps that he has taken
regarding my employment status
is in violation of my rights as an
employee," he said.
See Rhea on page 11
"He has disclosed to the media
a letter that embodied county per-
sonnel matters that was marked
"personal and confidential" to
me," he said. Yet, Rhea said that
suspension letter was distributed
to Boise television stations.
"This fully, totally and com-
pletely, points to the political nature
of all these events," he said. "I
will fully exercise my rights as an
employee and a private citizen
regarding the sheriff's conduct in
this matter."
In a news release announcing
the suspension, Pratt said the inves-
tigation is being coordinated by
AG's office.
"Proper procedures to insure
the rights of all persons involved
will be followed and the public
will be kept informed as circum-
stances allow," he said.
Friday evening, Rhea turned
in his issued equipment to Valley
County Undersheriff Larry Olson.
-6 l,� � NP y115 —
/� /_�a
Lewis
Pratt
Valley
County
Sheriff
�1,/ ?�,'
Tommy
Rhea
defeated Pratt
in May
Republican
primary race
for Valley
County Sheriff
Pratt suspends
Rhea pending
ie n vstigation
BY JEANNE SEOL
The Star-News
Valley County Sheriff Lewis Pratt
suspended Det. Tommy Rhea from
the sheriff's department on Friday as
part of a continuing investigation of
Rhea by the Idaho State Attorney
General's office.
Rhea said he was called into Pratt's
office on Friday, told he was being
suspended with pay and ordered to
turn in his badge and gun. He said he
was also told to return on Monday and
clear out his office.
" Pratt's intent is to terminate me in
any way he can in lies or in fair
play," Rhea said.
Rhea won the Valley County Sher-
iff Republican primary on May 28,
beating Pratt, his boss, by 34 votes.
Because he won that election, Rhea
said Pratt is now trying to fire him.
"During the five and one -half years
I have been .employed with the
sheriff's department, not one letter of
reprimand has been placed in my
files," Rhea said. "Now, since I won
the election, I'm labeled as a crook
and suspended."
Rhea may be suspended for up to
one week, Valley County Personnel
Manager Tamara Probst said, but can-
not be fired without the approval of
the Valley County commissioners.
In a notice of suspension memo to
Rhea, Pratt charges Rhea with being
"dishonest" in his course of duties
with the sheriff s office, engaging in
"intolerable" conduct, and providing
inaccurate information to the Peace
Officers Standards and Training Acad-
emy in Boise.
None of Pratt's charges are fully
explained in the memo, and Pratt was
not available for comment because he
"Pratt is attempting to
achieve by continued
debasement that which he
could not obtain with the
political process. "
Det. Tommy Rhea
was attending a national sheriffs'
meeting out of state. However, in a
June 14 press release, Pratt said Rhea's
suspension was "necessary."
Pratt said he had tried to avoid
"this type of action and the potential
release of very sensitive investiga-
tions in spite of the implications
involving an upcoming election." Pratt
also said a full disclosure of Rhea's
actions would follow "due process to
take its course."
Rhea has hired McCall attorney
Greg Pittenger to represent -him in the
personnel matter. Pittenger said in an
interview that he plans to "vigorously
contest the action Sheriff Pratt is at-
tempting to take."
"we intend to pursue all remedies
that Tommy Rhea has available to
him under the Valley County person-
nel policy," Pittenger said.
Rhea said Pratt's motivations and
the suspension are "purely political."
"Pratt is attempting to achieve by
continued debasement that which he
could not obtain with the political
process," Rhea said. "The steps he
has taken regarding my employment
status are in violation of my rights as
an employee."
U.S. Attorney looking
into leaked documents
BY JEANNE SEOL
The Star -News
The U.S. Attorney's office has
launched an investigation into sus-
pected unauthorized disclosure of
medical records belonging to Valley
County Det. Tommy Rhea.
Bob Secrist, a veteran service of-
ficer for the Veterans Administration,
confirmed Monday that U.S. Attor-
ney officials are investigating how a
1973 two -page medical document was
released without Rhea's authoriza-
tion from his files at the Veteran
Administration office in Boise.
That document details a medical
problem Rhea developed while serv-
ing in the U.S. Air Force in Vietnam
during the 1960s.
Secrist said veteran records can be
released in only two cases - when a
veteran authorizes in writing for a file
to be released, or when state police
submit an "appropriate" request for
such files.
Secrist said the Veterans Adminis-
tration has never received a written
request from Pratt or any other agency
for.Rhea's veteran's files, and that no
files of Rhea's have been legally re-
leased.
Rhea defeated Pratt in the May 28
Republican primary for sheriff and is
unopposed in the November general
election.
Last Friday, Pratt suspended Rhea
from the Valley County Sheriff's De-
partment on grounds that Rhea should
not be in uniform while being inves-
tigated by the Idaho State Attorney
General's office.
Pratt was out of town and was not
available for comment. In a June 14
press release, Pratt said that "continu-
ing information revealed over the past
two months has made this action
(Rhea's suspension) necessary.
L o ki g l/a l ie y Ad voc. jlc
July 3, 1q7 &
Idaho Department of Law Enforcement investigates missing
half-pound of marijuana from Sheriff's evidence lock -up
CASCADE — The Idaho Department of
Law Enforcement is investigating the loss of
more than one -half pound of marijuana from
Seen this laying around anywhere? The
Valley County Sheriffs Department would
like it back.
the evidence lock -up at the Valley County
Sheriff's Office.
The missing evidence led Valley County
Prosecuting Attorney Robert Williams to dis-
miss a felony drug possession charge last Friday
against Donald A. Waller, of rural Lewiston,
Idaho. Waller was convicted of driving while
under the influence and driving without priv-
ileges during his court appearance Friday.
Waller was arrested last Sept. 25 by Valley
County Sheriff's Deputy Scott Denning fol-
lowing a traffic stop of a speeding vehicle.
After detecting the odor of an intoxicating
beverage and marijuana, a subsequent search
of the vehicle uncovered a hand - rolled mari-
juana cigarette under the front seat of the car,
and further searching revealed the marijuana.
in a cooler in the trunk, according to Denning's
arrest report.
The marijuana was tested at the Idaho
Department of Law Enforcement laboratory
in Meridian and then returned to the Valley
County Sheriffs Office, where Valley County
Sheriff Lewis Pratt signed for it on Jan. 25,
1996, according to an IDLE receipt.
It's whereabouts after that point is not ]mown.
In recent weeks, sheriff's department officials
have been searching for it, along with $1,702
that was also seized from Waller. That money
turned up just in time for court Friday, where
it was applied to the fines levied against Waller
on the two convictions.
Pratt declined to comment on the matter
Tuesday, saying that he couldn't because it
was under investigation.
L.onq Va Iley Ad JU 1Y3/, /y y4
Idaho Department of Law Enforcement investigates missing
half pound of marijuana from Sheriff's evidence lock -up
CASCADE — The Idaho Department of
Law Enforcement is investigating the loss of
more than one -half pound of marijuana from
Seen this laying around anywhere? The
Valley County Sheriff's Department would
like it back.
the evidence lock -up at the Valley County
Sheriff's Office.
The missing evidence led Valley County
Prosecuting Attorney Robert Williams to dis-
miss a felony drug possession charge last Friday
against Donald A. Waller, of rural Lewiston,
Idaho. Waller was convicted of driving while
under the influence and driving wiIhout pri v-
ileges during his court appearance Friday.
Waller was arrested last Sept. 25 by Valley
County Sheriff's Deputy Scott Denning fol-
lowing a traffic stop of a speeding vehicle.
After detecting the odor of an intoxicating
beverage and marijuana, a subsequent search
of the vehicle uncovered a hand - rolled mari-
juana cigarette under the front seat of the car,
and further searching revealed the marijuana.
in a cooler in the trunk, according to Denning's
arrest report.
The marijuana was tested at the Idaho
Department of Law Enforcement laboratory
in Meridian and then returned to the Valley
County Sheriffs Office, where Valley County
Sheriff Lewis Pratt signed for it on Jan. 25,
1996, according to an IDLE receipt.
It's whereabouts after that point is not known.
In recent weeks, sheriffs department officials
have been searching for it, along with $1,702
that was also seized from Waller. That money
turned up just in time for court Friday, where
it was applied to the fines levied against Waller
on the two convictions.
Pratt declined to comment on the matter
Tuesday, saying that he couldn't because it
was under investigation.
Valley County sheriffs can't find drug
The Associated Press Denning. In rec
CASCADE -- Valley County
authorities can't find more than
a half -pound of marijuana, tak-
en as evidence from the car of a
Lewiston man last September.
The state Department of Law
Enforcement is investigating.
But meanwhile, Valley County's
failure to produce the evidence
led Prosecutor Robert Williams
to dismiss a felony drug posses-
sion charge last week.
Donald Waller, Lewiston, was
arrested last September by Val-
ley County Deputy Scott
The deputy's arrest report said
he stopped Waller for speeding,
smelled alcohol and marijuana,
and a search of the vehicle
turned up a hand - rolled marijua-
na cigarette under a car seat
and marijuana in a cooler in the
trunk.
The drugs were tested at the
state laboratory in Meridian
and then returned to the sher-
iff's office. Sheriff Lewis Pratt
signed for it on Jan. 25, accord-
ing to a receipt.
What happened after that is
the mystery.
evidence
ent weeks, sheriff "s de-
partment officials have been
searching for the marijuana,
along with $1,702 that was
seized from Waller. The money
turned up just in time for court
Friday, and was applied to fines
against Waller.
In a court hearing, Williams
dropped the drug charge but
Waller was convicted of driving
under the influence and driving
without privileges.
Pratt declined to comment.
He said that was because the
matter was still under investi-
gation.
WI(I
R by Idaho AG's office
CASCADE — Valley County
Sheriff -elect Tommy Rhea got the
word he's been waiting nearly eight
weeks to hear: that there was no
evidence to support the filing of
any criminal charges based on alle-
gations made by Valley County
Sheriff Lewis Pratt.
In a very brief letter to Pratt
released Tuesday morning, Deputy
Idaho Attorney General J. Scott
James said, "I am declining to file
any criminal charges against
Tommy Rhea. There does not
appear to be any evidence to sup-
port any criminal charges that are
currently within the statute of lim-
itations." James is chief of the
criminal law division of the AG's
office.
Asked if that last statement
meant there might still be evidence
that could support charges for
which the statute of limitations has
expired, AG investigator Randy
Everett said that is not the impres-
sion they want people to get, and
that the letter is a standard form
letter written up for such things.
He said the AG's office gen-
erally doesn't investigate allega-
tions for which the statute of lim-
itations has expired. But in this
case, he said they did look into
those allegations and found no evi-
dence to support them.
After receiving word of the
investigation's results, Rhea said
he was pleased and ready to go
back to work for the Valley County
Sheriffs Department.
"I want to apologize to the peo-
ple of Valley County for my
unavailability, and I firmly trust
and believe.that that situation will
be remedied immediately," he'said.
"Of course, I want to get back
to work. I take a great deal of pride
in the fact that I work in a posi-
tion that I can help the people of
Valley County, and I look forward
to doing just that."
"I want to thank the investiga-
tors for the Office of the Attorney
General for both their profession-
alism and the thoroughness of their
investigation," he said. "I also want
to thank the people of Valley
County for their unwavering sup-
port."
Just how soon he might return
to work remains to be determined,
however. Rhea said Tuesday that
he has heard nothing from the
Sheriffs office.
Pratt said shortly before noon
Tuesday that he hadn't seen the
letter and therefore wouldn't com-
ment on it. Asked if he was going
to reinstate Rhea, he said, "I'm not
going to comment."
In his June 12 letter to the
Tommy Rhea
Attorney General's Office asking
fot the investigation, Pratt said it
was needed because "(t)he viola-
tions are very widespread and
include, but are not limited to the following: (1) Requesting a senior
officer to falsify a P.O.S.T. (Peace Officers Standards and Training
academy) application, (2) Extortion of money under the color of author-
ity in a number of bad -check cases, (3) Breaking and entering a parked
vehicle, (4) Falsifying an employment application, (5) Falsifying the
P.O.S.T. Academy application, specifically dealing with mental and
physical limitations, areas and years of employment, and pointed ques-
tions dealing with any possible arrest or institutional confinement, (6)
Use of police powers and false certifications knowing his credentials
to be false; including numerous appearances in court and other offi-
cial capacities, thereby committing numerous acts of perjury , ..."
A seventh allegation made in the letter is that Rhea's involvement
as the lead investigator in the Jeffrey Towers' murder case was poten-
tially "compounding a crime." That, because the father of one of the
suspects, Ean Barnett, had "inside knowledge" of "Rhea's past drug
use and mental limitations which would tend to disqualify Mr. Rhea
in any official capacity, including that of a peace officer for the State
of Idaho," Pratt's letter states.
He also states in the letter that Virgil Barnett, Ean Barnett's father,
"approached me and made certain information available to myself."
That information was two pages of medical records from a 1973 admis-
sion to a Veteran's Administration Hospital documenting a depen-
dency Rhea had developed to a drug that was prescribed to him. The
release of that confidential medical information is presently being
investigated by the FBI.
"In adrlition, this sensitive information implicates Tommy Rhea in
a number of potential charges of falsifying information, perjury, and
compounding possible felonies connected with that murder investi-
gation," Pratt's letter states.
Apparently, after a nearly 8 -week investigation, the Idaho Attorney
General's Office has quite clearly determined otherwise.
- i &tsl o
Marijuana missing
'from sheriffs office
County proscecutor
forced to drop drug
charges because he
lacked the evidence
BY JEANNE SEOL
The Star -News
Felony drug possession charges
have been dropped against a Lewiston
man after more than one -half pound
of marijuana seized as evidence turned
up missing at the Valley County
Sheriff's Department.. .
Valley County Prosecuting Attor-
ney Robert Williams was forced to
drop the charges in court on July 26
against Donald A. Waller, 46, be-
cause marijuana allegedly seized from
Waller's car could not be found in the
sheriff's department evidence vault.
Waller pleaded guilty to driving un-
der the influence of alcohol and of
driving without privileges.
"The evidence was not available
for inspection by the defense, so the
charges had to be dropped," Williams
said.
Idaho Department of Law Enforce-
ment Investigator Ron Baune of
Meridian is investigating how the
marijuana turned,up missing, Will-
iams said. Baune was out of his office
this week and could not be reached for
comment.
The marijuana was last handled and
signed for by Valley County Sheriff
Lewis Pratt, records show. Pratt said
Monday that he is taking full responsi-
bility for the missing evidence.
"It is my fault; I am the administra-
tor," Pratt said. "It was a mistake that
happened and now we're rectifying it
to make sure it won't happen again."
Waller was arrested after a traffic
stop on Sept. 25, 1995, by Valley
County Sheriff's Deputy Scott Den-
ning. Denning detected an odor of
alcohol and marijuana in Waller's
vehicle, and a search revealed more
than one -half pound of marijuana in a
cooler in the vehicle's trunk, accord-
ing to Denning's arrest report.
After being seized as evidence, the
marijuana was sent to the Idaho De-
partment of Law Enforcement
laboratory in Meridian for testing and
then returned to the Valley County
Sheriff's Department, where Pratt said
he signed for it on Jan. 25.
"I signed for the package but I
never knew what it was; it was a
package from the lab and it could
have been anything," Pratt said.
After he signed for the package,
Pratt said he put the evidence on one
of two desks then used by eight offic-
ers in the former sheriff's department
located in the basement of the Valley
County Courthouse. Pratt said he
didn't immediately put the package in
evidence because it was addressed to
Denning.
"At that time, it was normal proce-
dure for an officer to handle his own
evidence," Pratt said.
But Denning said in an interview
on Tuesday that he never saw the box
after Pratt said it was placed on a desk
in the patrol room.
"The package came in during the
day, and at that time I was on night
shift. Then I had the next three days
off," Denning said. "That evidence
should have been immediately
checked or I should have been called.
You just don't leave evidence of that
magnitude laying around."
At that time, the patrol room where
the evidence was placed lacked any
kind of security system and all depu-
ties, jailers and even the public had
access to the patrol room, Denning
said.
(See "Evidence", Page 20)
Evidence
(Continued from Page I)
The sheriff's department has since
moved to its new quarters inside the
new Valley County Jail, and better
security with a much more rigid pro-
cedure now exists for handling
evidence, Pratt said.
Now, evidence that is received
never handled by deputies and is in-
stead put immediately into a locked
locker until it can be recorded and
placed in an evidence vault by Pratt or
Chief Deputy Larry Olson, Pratt said.
Pratt said he believes the evidence
was probably lost during the move
from the old sheriff's departmentquar-
ters to the new offices in the jail
facility.
"I signed for the box just before the
move," Pratt said. "I believe it was
misplaced and never made it to the
evidence vault."
More than $1,700 that was alleg-
edly seized with the marijuana from
Waller's case was also misplaced and
found the day of Waller's court hear-
ing, Denning said. Denning said he
never learned of the missing evidence
until July 26 when he appeared at the
hearing.
The $1,702 in cash seized con-
sisted of 17 $100 bills and two $1
bills, Denning said. Before the money
was placed into evidence, Denning
said he photocopied each bill and
recorded each serial number.
In court two weeks ago, Waller
was fined $1,500 plus court costs and
ordered to serve 30 days in jail. The
$1,702 that was seized from Waller's
vehicle was applied to pay those fines,
a court clerk said.
The serial numbers on the $1,702
that was found in the evidence room
matched the serial numbers Denning
had recorded, Valley County Clerk
Lee Heinrich said.
Both Pratt and Williams said the
$1,702 in cash had never been miss-
ing: "We had ,the photocopies of the
bills and we had the cash. Neither
were ever missing," Williams said.
Valley pares mcrease
on lake
BY JEANNE SEOL
nhe Star -News
More than 130 protests from
lakefront property owners in McCall
prompted the Board of Equalization
last month to lower proposed assess-
ment increases on Payette Lake lots
by 10 percent.
In June, Valley County Assessor
Harley Hinshaw had proposed increas-
ing 1996 Payette Lake lot assessments
by 50 percent to "catch up" property
values in McCall. Waterfront owners
on Cascade Reservoir saw 50 percent
increases in their property values last
year, Hinshaw said.
But after 131 individual protests
\acre filed by residents c v.rin g prop
erty on Payette Lake, Valley County
commissioners, acting as the Board
of Equalization, increased lakefront
assessments by 40 percent, not 50
percent, Valley County Clerk Lee
Heinrich said.
"Thc board felt the proposed trend
of 50 percent was pushing the market
too much eventhough values on those
lakefront properties are behind other
property values in Valley County."
Heinrich said.
Commissioners spent 10 days in
July listening to more than 100 per-
sonal protests in the Valley County
commissioner's room.
Commissioners reviewed each pro-
test individually, but decided a "flat
increase" of 40 percent was the fairest
way to handle the situation. Heinrich
A total of 356 Valley County resi-
dents filed wri tten protests objecting -
to their property assessments.
771(__
Valley County sheriff
investigated for DUI
No charges were
pressed
in Sunday
morning stop
By Elizabeth Ommachen
The Idaho Statesman
Idaho State Police are investi-
gating an allegation that Valley
County Sheriff Lewis Pratt was
`'driving under the influence of alco-
hol Sunday morning.
Details are sketchy because
state and county authorities re-
fused to discuss the incident that
prompted their investigation.
"I have nothing to hide," Pratt
said Wednesday. "I've done
nothing."
Pratt said he and his wife left a
McCall tavern early Sunday morn-
ing. The couple, who live in Mc -.
Call, were heading home when
they pulled out of a parking lot on
a back street. Pratt said he then
saw a McCall police officer.
"I was never stopped, and I nev-
er left the scene," Pratt said.
Pratt declined to provide further
details.
"He was not arrested or placed
in jail," McCall Police Chief Ed
Parker said. Parker declined fur-
ther comment. No charge has been
filed against Pratt.
Valley County Prosecutor Rob-
ert Williams said Wednesday that
authorities are being careful to
avoid even the appearance of a
cover -up.
"I'm not saying that there are
any grounds to this. It could be
See Pratt /36
completely baseless," Williams
said. "Whenever it involves some-
body who is in a high -profile posi-
tiorl, everybody gets a lot more
careful. It tends to make the case
progress much more slowly than
others."
Pratt's position as sheriff has no
bearing on the case, said ISP Ma-
jor Tom Thompson.
"We're going to investigate any-
thing that comes up and we don't
care who it involves," Thompson
said. "ISP will not be covering up
anything where there is wrongdo-
ing involved."
Thompson also declined to re-
veal details of the incident.
Pratt also drew attention in
June, when he suspended Detec-
tive Tommy Rhea for allegedly vio-
lating the department's rules of
conduct. Rhea defeated Pratt in
the May 28 primary election, win-
ning the Republican nomination
for Valley County Sheriff.
Pratt had questioned whether
Rhea's application to the State Po-
lice Academy contained inaccurate
statements.
"I've been cleared by the state
..Attorney General's office," Rhea
raid Wednesday. Rhea is suspend-
ed with pay, though authorities are
investigating the suspension.
Regarding the DUI allegation,
Pratt said he is feeling "embar-
rassed and shocked."
"I'm kind of caught in a Catch 22
because I'm an elected official, but
I'm a suspect in this case," Pratt
said.
V adA-,C-"- -- 9(a( IR4
Former Sheriff M. Blair Shepherd
calls on Pratt to resign
M. Blair Shepherd, who was
Valley County Sheriff for three
terms prior to the election eight
years ago of Lewis Pratt to the
post, Tuesday said that
During the first few months of
Pratt's first term, Shepherd said
he fielded numerous telephone
calls from people all over the coun-
Pratt should resign. K
She herd who left the
what he could do," he said.
But after the fast year, Shepherd,
who said he has intentionally and
consciously maintained his silence
regarding Valley County
politics and particularly
the past couple of
Sheriff's post to take a job ... he's disappointed and Sheriff's races, said he
with a regional law began apologizing for
enforcement support orga- embarrassed himself, supporting Pratt's can-
nization, supported Pratt's did
candidacy to fill the embarrassed his family, and acy.
He said the recent
Sheriffs position. he's also embarrassed the actions by Pratt have
In a telephone inter- made it so he can no
view on Tuesday, office of Sheriff. longer remain silent
Shepherd said he made a M. Blair Shepherd regarding an office he
mistake in giving Pratt Former Valley County Sheriff held for so long.
that support. "In my opinion, he
What has happened hasn't learned that he's
over the past few months,
he said, has destroyed the credi-
ble department he worked to estab-
lish during his three terms as sher-
iff, he said.
"In my opinion, he's disap-
pointed and embarrassed himself,
embarrassed his family, and he's
also embarrassed the office of
Sheriff," Shepherd said.
"I personally think that he should
resign," he said. At the least, he
said, Pratt should step aside and
let Valley County Undersheriff
Larry Olson take over until Pratt
straightens out his legal problems.
Among those legal problems
are investigations into the driving
while under the influence allega-
tion, a missing half -pound of mar-
ijuana from the Sheriffs
Department's evidence locker, an
FBI investigation involving how
confidential Veteran's
Administration medical records
belonging to Rhea found their way
into Pratt's hands, and an inves-
tigation into a'reported $250 miss-
ing from bond money posted by
someone:who was arrested and
$100 missing from the jail's com-
missary fund.
"I'm as upset as a lot of Valley
County people are about this,"
Shepherd said. "I'm so disap-
pointed. I really have a feeling of
ty who had complaints ai)out Pratt's
operation of the department.
"I told people to give him a
chance to learn the office and see
responsibility about this.
"It breaks my heart, I worked
so hard to bring that department
into modern times," he said.
He said his opinion is that Pratt
has turned back the pages of cred-
ibility of law enforcement in Valley
County by five years.
"If he had any guts," Shepherd
said referring to the Aug. 11 inci-
dent, "he should have gone down
to his office, arrested himself and
then resigned.
"The disgrace that he's brought
on his office and his officers is
deplorable."
Shepherd also said the people
of Valley County can not and
should not wait until an election
to get rid of elected officials they
have problems with.
If citizens have a problem, they
should voice it, and then take advan-
tage of the system we have in this
state and initiate recall proceed-
ings against the county official.
"Take advantage of this great
system," he said.
"It's embarrassing. The coun-
ty is embarrassed by all of this."
working for the citizen-
ry of Valley County," he said.
"After eight years, you'd think
he' d have that nailed down to a
science.
Two weeks ago, the Idaho AG's
office cleared Rhea of all of the
allegations raised by Pratt, and
also raised by Valley County
Sheriff s Deputy Dennis Porter in
an 8 -page letter to the AG's office.
Porter's letter was also sent to
Idaho Gov. Phil Batt, among oth-
ers.
However, as of this week, Rhea
has not been reinstated by Pratt,
pending the outcome of an inves-
tigation into whether Rhea vio-
lated Valley County personnel
policy in filling out his applica-
tion to attend the Peace Officers
Standards and Training Academy.
While he declined to comment
on Pratt's alleged DUI, Rhea said
Monday that he finds "it rather
sad that this agency has now decid-
ed to (progress from outright crim-
inal allegations to allegations of
violation of county policy.
"Especially since they have
made it abundantly clear that I am
the only person bound by county
policy while the administration
attempts to pander that same pol-
icy in dire hope that it can some-
how be used against me," Rhea
said.
Concerning the alleged DUI
stop, law enforcement sources also
said that during the stop, Pratt was
heard to say that he is the sheriff
and can't be arrested and that he
can't be thrown in his own jail.
Under Idaho law, only the coun-
ty coroner has the authority to take
the sheriff into custody, however,
arrest warrants for 'sheriffs can be
issued by a court, and a sheriff can
also be issued citations by other
law enforcement officers.
According to those law enforce-
ment sources, Pratt also said that
the whole thing was a set -up by
the McCall Police Department and
that WD officers had been watch-
ing him all night.
'Pratt under ' der for DUI
In the latest of a stung of controversies to hit the
Valley County Sheriff's Office, Sheriff Lewis Pratt
is now under investigation for a possible driving
while under the influ-
ence violation after he
was stopped in his per- Former Via
sonal vehicle at about
3 a.m. Aug p . 1 L Sheriff 1 [
The Idaho State
Police is continuing the ca I s for Pratt
investigation that start-
ed when Cpl. MitchE'E P
Ruska was asked to
respond to the scene —
after two Valley County Sheriffs Deputies and two
McCall Police officers stopped Pratt's vehicle while
it was traveling slowly down the alley between the
old Shaver's store and Citizens Telcom.
McCall Police Chief Ed Parker said the four —
their overhead lights and discov-
ered Pratt driving. His wife was
with him in the vehicle. At the
time of the stop, the vehicle's car
alarm was sounding and the vehi-
cle's lights, wired into the alarm,
were also flashing off and on.
Officers at the scene suspect-
ed Pratt was driving under the
influence of alcohol, and because
of potential conflicts of interest,
they requested that an ISP officer
be dispatched.
Approximately two - and -a -half
hours after he was first stopped,
at about 5:30 a.m. Sunday, Pratt
arrived at the Valley County Jail
with Ruska where he agreed to
blow into a breath- a- lyzerto deter-
mine his blood alcohol I-,vel. At
that time, sources say, he was
determined to have a level of about
.07, below Idaho's legal limit of
.10.
On Tuesday, Pratt said, "I've
been advised by my attorney to
not comment other than to say that
I've complied with state testing
requirements, I took the breath
test and I was under the legal limit.
I can't comment any further.
"The rest of this is all politi-
cally- inspired," Pratt said. Pratt,
who ran for a third term as Sheriff,
was narrowly beaten in the May
primary election by Sheriffs Det.
Tommy Rhea.
Rhea was then suspended by
Pratt pending the outcome of an
investigation by the Idaho Attorney
General's office into a whole list
nf " activities Rhea was
MPD Sgt. Britt Durfee and Officer Brian Gestrin,
and Valley County Sheriff's Deputies, Sgts. Bill
McCarthy and Matt Moses — made the stop while
they were responding
to an audible car alarm
Iiey County sounding from the
L downtown area.
air Shepherd Law enforcement
F sources said that the
S i`esi gn;itjon., four and an MPD
reserve officer were in
age the parking lot at the
Maverik convenience
store when they heard
the car alarm. They responded to the alarm because
of a recent rash of auto burglaries in the city.
Parker confirmed that they saw the vehicle trav-
eling down the alleyway and boxed it in turned on
See Pratt on page 8
Valley County Sheriff
Lewis Pratt
AG report
details Rhea
accusations
No charges filed
after Pratt demands
probe into man who
defeated him in May
sheriff s primary
BY JEANNE SEOL
The Star -News
A report by the Idaho Attorney
General's Office details the lack of
evidence of criminal misconduct in
four of seven allegations brought
against Valley County Det. Tommy
Rhea by Sheriff Lewis Pratt.
Three other allegations brought by
Pratt against Rhea involved conduct
that occurred more than five years
ago and are beyond the time period
allowed for prosecution under state
law, the report said.
The attorney general's office has
determined that no criminal charges
will be filed against Rhea over any of
the accusations.
The attorney general's office last
week released its investigative report
on seven separate counts of criminal
conduct alleged against Rhea by Pratt,
who Rhea defeated in the May Repub-
lican primary election for sheriff.
In that report, Chief Investigator
Russell T. Reneau said no evidence of
criminal misconduct appears in four
of the seven allegations brought for-
ward by Pratt. The three remaining
alleged violations involve conduct
which exceeded the state's statute of
limitations, Reneau said.
"Even if there were sufficient evi-
dence to support the filing of criminal
complaints, we are barred at this time
from pursuing prosecution," Reneau
said of the three complaints.
In June, Pratt suspended Rhea with
pay and requested the attorney
Tommy
Rhea
Says politics
spurred
probe
general's office to investigate Rhea
on seven separate counts of alleged
criminal conduct.
Those counts include falsifying an
application to the Peace Officers Stan-
dards and Training Academy in
Meridian and falsifying a Valley
County Sheriff's Departmentemploy-
ment application.
In 1991, Pratt alleges Rhea falsi-
fied his P.O.S.T. application by
answering "no" to questions that asked
if Rhea had ever suffered a mental
illness, nervous breakdown, been ad-
dicted to drugs or alcohol or ever been
a patient in a mental hospital.
In a letter dated June 12 to the
attorney general's office, Pratt said he
had been given a copy of one of Rhea's
medical reports by Virgil Barnett, a
national service officer for the De-
partment of Veterans Affairs in Boise.
Pratt said Barnett had knowledge
about "Rhea's past drug use and men-
tal limitations" because of his
counseling work with Rhea in the
veterans affairs office. Pratt charged
the medical report would "disqualify
Rhea in any official capacity."
The medical report, a 1973 two -
page document, details a medical
problem Rhea developed while serv-
ing in the U.S. Air Force in Vietnam
during the 1960s.
�r
Rhea declined to comment on ei-
ther the medical report or Pratt's
allegation that he had falsified his
P.O.S.T. application. All findings by
Reneau relating to the medical report
were deleted in the copy of the attor-
ney general's investigative report sent
to The Star -News in a request under
the state's open record law.
Deputy Attorney General William
Von Tagen said the information had
been deleted in the investigative re-
port because the information violated
"federal statutes outlining the inva-
sion of privacy."
When contacted at his office in
Boise, Barnett denied providing to
Pratt any information concerning
Rhea's medical records.
"I didn't give him (Pratt) anything.
This is political crap," Barnett said.
"My son is still in the Valley County
Jail, and until he gets out or Judge
Carey does his thing, I will make no
comment."
Barnett is the father of Ean Barnett,
one of four men charged in the May
1995 murder of Jeffrey Towers in Val-
ley County. Last April, Ean Barnett
pleaded guilty to second - degree kid-
napping as part of a plea bargain. He is
scheduled to be sentenced on Sept. 26.
An investigation by the U.S.
Attorney's office is still continuing
into how Rhea's medical records were
released without Rhea's authoriza-
tion from his files at the Department
of Veteran Affairs in Boise, and how
Pratt obtained the medical document.
U.S. attorney officials declined to
comment on the case when contacted
on Monday.
In the attorney general's investi-
gative report, Reneau concluded that
two other allegations against Rhea
may have occurred beyond the statute
of limitations.
One of those allegations involves a
Four other allegations of criminal
charge by Pratt that in March, 1991 '
conduct alleged by Pratt against Rhea
Rhea asked Valley County Jail Sgt.
are addressed in the attorney general's
Robert E. Brunner to alter the time of
investigative report. ' -
Rhea's running portion and physical
Because each charge was proven
fitness requirements for acceptance.
by Reneau to be unfounded, Rhea
into the P.O.S.T. academy.
made only this comment on each alle-
In a statement to the attorney gen-
nation: "The attorney general's offtge
eral , Brunner said he took Rhea's request
one
has cleared me on each and everyone
"seriously" and then declined because,-,
of these allegations. I do not feel
he believed such an action would beterit further response."
"morally and ethically wrong."
'' Those allegations include:
After investigating the charge and
°` • "Extortion of money under the
interviewing Rhea, Reneau deter -
color of authority on a number of bad
mined the charge could not be proven',
check cases." Pratt alleges that Rhea
because Brunner had never reported
was receiving a portion of the service
the alleged conversation to anyone
charges collected from persons who
and that no one else could substanti -
had written bad checks.
ate that the conversation took place.
Reneau interviewed both Rhea and
In an interview on Friday, Rhea
several business owners Rhea had
said he had no memory of the alleged
worked with in bad check cases, and
conversation with Brunner and that
determined that the allegation was
Pratt signed a form stating Rhea had
"unfounded." Reneau added that no
passed all the requirements for en-
complaints had ever been received by
trance into the P.O.S.T. academy.
the sheriffs office concerning Rhea's
"In fact, I was given an award for
work with these cases.
most physically improved while I was
• "Breaking and entering a parked
at P.O.S.T.," Rhea said.
vehicle." Cascade resident Dolly
Another allegation by Pratt charges
Wolverton, in a letter to the attorney
Rhea with falsifying an employment
general, alleges that Rhea had broken
application with the Valley County
into her car while it was parked on
Sheriff's office. Pratt charged Rhea
Idaho 55.
did not list any prior employment
Reneau determined that Rhea had
information on the 1991 application.
entered the vehicle, which was aban-
In the attorney general's investi-
' doned on Idaho 55, through an unlocked
gative report, Reneau said because
window to investigate a report of a
Rhea WAC I1ItimntPlu h1PP/t nc n Vallav
stolen VCR. Wolverton had a VCR
County deputy sheriff, someone had
to process the application, waive the
requirement for prior employment
information, and make the decision to
hire Rhea.
"Even if a criminal charge of some
kind might apply to these circum-
stances, the application was submitted
beyond the statute of limitations,"
Reneau said.
"'T know of no criminal charges
that can result from someone not put-
ting down every job they have ever
had on an employment application,"
Rhea said in response to the charge. "I
went through a background investi-
gation and was hired."
sitting on the back seat of the car.
"Because the entry by Dep. Rhea
was not made with the intent to commit
a felony, this action would not consti-
tute a violation of any criminal laws of
the state of Idaho," Reneau said.
• "Use of police powers and false
certifications knowing his credentials
to be false." Pratt charges that be-
cause Rhea had allegedly falsified his
P.O.S.T. application, he was not a
certified officer.
Reneau concluded that Rhea suc-
cessfully completed all requirements
for the P.O.S.T. academy graduation
and certification, and that Rhea cur-
rently holds a valid peace officer status.
3t4k /VCWs /ovp"I9 ?6
PIe .9 0 f'2
• "Potential involvement in com-
pounding a crime due to his official
function as an investigator of the Jef-
frey Towers murder case." Pratt
alleges that Rhea had worked out a
deal for information in exchange for
leniency of suspect Ean Barnett. Pratt
said Rhea had promised Barnett "zero"
prosecution.
Reneau said it would be inappro-
priate to examine the allegation while
Deputy Attorney General Tom
Watkins was prosecuting _the...case.
"As the handling prosecutor, Watkins
had the authority and duty to address
any misconduct by any officers in-
volved in the investigation," Reneau
said. No misconduct charges have
been filed by Watkins.
Rhea said on Friday that he still
had not been contacted by either the
sheriff's office or the prosecuting at-
torney regarding when he will be able
to return to work. Rhea has been sus-
pended with pay since June 14.
"It's pretty data evident that all
this is, is a massive delay tactic,
Rhea said. Rhea won the Valley
County Sheriff Republican primary
on May 28 by 34 votes. Only Rhea's
name will appear on the ballot in the
November general election.
Valley County Prosecuting Attor-
ney Robert Williams said on Friday
that he "hopes to get a final resolu-
tion" soon on when or if Rhea will be
reinstated.
"There is still an issue that is unre-
solved. The suspension (of Rhea) will
not be resolved until that issue is
resolved," Williams said, declining
to identify the "issue."
ti��5t�f'- �Ve-YvS 0 /oaf s�
Pratt investigated for
Out by sta "
BY JEANNE SEOL
The Star -News
Idaho State Police are investigat-
ing Valley County Sheriff Lewis Pratt
on suspicion of driving under the in-
fluence of alcohol during the early
morning hours of Aug. 11.
Pratt was stopped by Sgt. Britt
Durfee and Officer Brian Gestrin of
the McCall Police Department at 3:15
a.m. Aug. 11 in the alley behind the
former Shaver's building in down-
town McCall, McCall Police Chief
Ed Parker said. Valley County
Sheriff's Deputies Sgt. Bill McCarthy
and Matt Moses were also on the
scene, Parker said.
"Officers responded to an audible
car alarm that was coming from a
private vehicle belonging to Pratt,"
Parker said.
When officers arrived, Pratt's car
horn was blaring, the headlights were
flashing on and off, and Pratt was
driving down the alley, Parker said.
Pratt's wife, Connie, was a passenger
in the vehicle, Parker said.
Two McCall patrol cars driven by
Durfee and Gestrin turned on their
overhead red - and -blue flashing lights
and "boxed in" Pratt's car in the alley-
way, Parker said.
Once it was determined that Pratt
was driving the vehicle, McCall of-
ficers called Idaho State Police Cpl.
Mitch Ruska to do an independent
investigation, Parker said. McCall
officers were on the scene about 30
minutes until Ruska arrived.
Pratt was not taken into custody
and not charged with any crime, Parker
said. Parker declined to comment fur-
ther, saying the incident was under
investigation.
Pratt said in an interview on Tues-
day that the entire incident was
"politically inspired."
"I've complied with the state's re-
quest to submit to a breath - alcohol
test within the time frame required,"
Pratt said. "The chemical test showed
that I was well under the legal limit to
drive."
Idaho State Police Capt. Ralph
Powell, Valley County Prosecuting
.ice
Lewis
Pratt
Says he has
broken no
laws
Attorney Robert Williams and other
officials met on Tuesday to discuss
whether formal charges will be filed
against Pratt, Powell said.
Because of a conflict of interest
between county agencies, the case
will be passed to the Idaho Attorney
General's office for prosecution if
charges are filed, Powell said.
Under Idaho law, a county sheriff
cannot be arrested and taken into cus-
tody by anyone other than the county
coroner, Powell said.
nut mat aoesn "t mean the stienrr
is above the law," Powell said in an
interview. "It doesn't mean he can't
be prosecuted, ordered to take a breath
test, get his license revoked or go
before a judge."
"A sheriff can be issued a ticket
and given a court date, but under law,
he can not be physically handcuffed
or incarcerated," Powell said.
Powell said the only authority of-
ficers would have to arrest a sheriff
would be if a sheriff was in the act of
committing a violent crime.
"It doesn't matter who you are,
officers are sworn to enforce the law.
They will not stand by and let anyone
commit a crime. There are lines they
can cross," Powell said.
Powell declined to comment fur-
ther on the case involving Pratt and
said the matter was still under inves-
tigation. A full report is expected to
be released late this week, he said.
" "
C 0 - - 1 - m s s i o n w a n t s
P r a t t y s r e s i g n a t i o n
B Y J E A N N E S E O L
T h e S t a r - N e w s
V a l l e y C o u n t y c o m m i s s i o n e r s o n
M o n d a y a s k e d S h e r i f f L e w i s P r a t t t o
r e s i g n a n d t o p u t s u s p e n d e d D e t .
T o m m y R h e a b a c k o n a c t i v e d u t y i n
t h e s h e r i f f ' s d e p a r t m e n t .
C o m m i s s i o n e r s T e r r y G e s t r i n a n d
F r a n c i s W a l l a c e s a i d i n i n t e r v i e w s
t h e y a g r e e d w i t h C h a i r T o m O l s o n ' s
r e q u e s t f o r P r a t t ' s r e s i g n a t i o n . C o m -
m i s s i o n e r s t o o k t h e i r p o s i t i o n a f t e r
r e c e i v i n g p r e s s u r e f r o m t h e p u b l i c f o r
c o m m i s s i o n e r s t o t a k e a s t a n d r e g a r d -
i n g P r a t t a n d t h e s h e r i f f ' s d e p a r t m e n t .
" I f i e d e d i r t m e n t s e e m s t o b e o u ,
o f c o n t r o l a n d t h e t a x p a y e r s a r e n ' t
g e t t i n g w h a t t h e y p a i d f o r , " G e s t r i n ,
o f D o n n e l l y , s a i d . ` : N o t h i n g s e e m s t o
b e g e t t i n g a n y b e t t e r . "
" W e ' r e j u s t t r y i n g t o g e t t h i s t h i n g
r u n n i n g a g a i n , " W a l l a c e , o f M c C a l l ,
s a i d . " I t ' s n o t h i n g p e r s o n a l , i t ' s j u s t
b e t t e r f o r t h e c o u n t y . W e h a d t o t a k e
a s t a n d . "
O l s o n w a s n o t a v a i l a b l e f o r c o m -
m e n t a n d P r a t t d i d n o t r e t u r n m e s s a g e s
l e f t b y T h e S t a r - N e w s . C o m m i s s i o n -
e r s s a i d P r a t t t o l d t h e m o n M o n d a y
t h a t h e w o u l d " c o n s i d e r t h e i r r e q u e s t . "
P r a t t i s a n e l e c t e d o f f i c i a l i n h i s
o w n r i g h t , s o c o m m i s s i o n e r s h a v e n o
d i r e c t c o n t r o l o v e r P r a t t e x c e p t w h e n
i t c o m e s t o t h e s h e r i f f s d e p a r t m e n t
b u d g e t .
C o n t a c t e d o n W e d n e s d a y , R h e a
s a i d h e s t i l l h a d n o t h e a r d f r o m t h e
s h e r i f f ' s d e p a r t m e n t a n d w a s s t i l l s u s -
p e n d e d w i t h p a y . P r a t t s u s p e n d e d
R h e a o n J u n e 1 4 a f t e r h e r e q u e s t e d t h e
I d a h o A t t o r n e y G e n e r a l ' s o f f i c e t o
i n v e s t i g a t e R h e a o n s e v e n a l l e g e d
c o u n t s o f m i s c o n d u c t .
R h e a h a s b e e n c l e a r e d o n f o u r o f
t h o s e c o u n t s a n d w i l l n o t b e p r o s -
e c u t e d o n a n y o f t h e c h a r g e s f o l l o w i n g
a n i n v e s t i g a t i o n b y t h e a t t o r n e y
g e n e r a l ' s o f f i c e .
R h e a d e f e a t e d P r a t t i n t h e M a y
R e p u b l i c a n p r i m a r y e l e c t i o n f o r s h e r -
i f f a n d i s u n o p p o s e d i n t h e N o v e m b e r
g e n e r a l e l e c t i o n . P r a t t ' s t e r m f i n i s h e s
a t t h e e n d o f t h e y e a r .
P r a t t i s s t i l l u n d e r i n v e s t i g a t i o n b y
I d a h o S t a t e P o l i c e f o r s u s p i c i o n o f
d r i v i n g u n d e r t h e i n f l u e n c e o f a l c o h o l
o n A u g . 1 1 . I S P C a p t . R a l p h P o w e l l
s a i d M o n d a y h i s a g e n c y ' s i n v e s t i g a -
S h e r i f f ;
L e w i s
P r a t t
C o m m i s s i o n
w a n t s h i m
t o r e s i g n
s e e m s t o b e o u t o j `
c o n t r o l a n d t h e
t a x p a y e r s a r e n ' t
g e t t i n g w h a t t h e y p a i d
f o r . "
C o m m i s s i o n e r T e r r y
G e s t r i n
t i v e r e p o r t w a s n o t f i n i s h e d , b u t t h a t
h e e x p e c t e d a n e w s r e l e a s e s o o n .
O n A u g . 1 1 , t w o M c C a l l p o l i c e o f -
f i c e r s a n d t w o V a l l e y C o u n t y S h e r i f f s
d e p u t i e s r e s p o n d e d t o a c a r a l a r m c o m -
i n g f r o m d o w n t o w n M c C a l l . W h e n
o f f i c e r s a r r i v e d o n t h e s c e n e , P r a t t ' s c a r
h o r n w a s b l a r i n g , t h e h e a d l i g h t s w e r e
f l a s h i n g o n a n d o f f a n d P r a t t w a s d r i v -
i n g d o w n t h e a l l e y .
I S P C p l . M i t c h R u s k a c o n d u c t e d
a n i n v e s t i g a t i o n , b u t P r a t t w a s n o t
a r r e s t e d o r t a k e n i n t o c u s t o d y . I S P
o f f i c i a l s m e t w i t h V a l l e y C o u n t y P r o s -
e c u t i n g A t t o r n e y R o b e r t W i l l i a m s l a s t
w e e k t o d i s c u s s t h e i n c i d e n t .
N e i t h e r W i l l i a m s n o r P o w e l l w o u l d
c o m m e n t o n t h a t m e e t i n g e x c e p t t o
s a y t h a t t h e I d a h o A t t o r n e y G e n e r a l ' s
o f f i c e h a s d e c l i n e d t o t a k e t h e c a s e
b e c a u s e o f i t s " p o l i t i c a l n a t u r e , " W i l -
l i a m s s a i d .
W i l l i a m s h a s a l s o d e c l i n e d t o
h a n d l e a n y p o s s i b l e c h a r g e s a g a i n s t
P r a t t b e c a u s e o f a " c o n f l i c t o f i n t e r -
e s t " b e t w e e n c o u n t y a g e n c i e s .
" W e ' r e s t i l l t r y i n g t o f i n d s o m e o n e
t o t a k e t h e c a s e , " W i l l i a m s s a i d o n
T u e s d a y . " T h e c a s e i s s t i l l u n d e r i n -
v e s t i g a t i o n . "
!.� q1 5
Rhea continues on
suspended - with -pay
status, POST Council
to rule Thursday
CASCADE — The Idaho Peace Officers Standards and
Training Council, which overseas the state's POST Academy,
will meet in Pocatello Thursday to rule on whether the POST
certification of Valley County Sheriff's Det. Tommy Rhea
is valid.
The ruling comes at the request of Valley County Sheriff
Lewis Pratt and Prosecuting Attorney Robert Williams.
Rhea, who has been suspended with pay for nearly 12
weeks now, was placed on that status June 14 by Pratt, who
asked the Idaho Attorney General's Office to investigate a
series of criminal allegations raised by Pratt.
Those allegations came in the wake of the primary elec-
tion campaign in which Rhea narrowly edged Pratt in the
race for the Republican spot on the November general elec-
tion ballot.
The Idaho AG's office reported nearly a month ago that
there was no basis for filing criminal charges against Rhea
for the violations alleged by Pratt.
However, with the concurrence of the county's insur-
ance carrier, the Idaho Counties Risk Management Program,
Williams requested that the POST Council rule on concerns
that Rhea may have violated the county's personnel policy
by answering questions as he did on his job application and
his application to attend the POST Academy.
Rhea will attend the POST Council meeting as will Valley
County Commissioner Francis Wallace. Wallace will rep-
resent the County Commissioners' position on the matter.
The Commissioners last week asked for Pratt's resig-
nation because of the turmoil that exists in the Sheriff's
Office.
Pratt couldn't be reached this week for further comment
on what his plans might be. He told commissioners last
week that he'd take the matter under advisement, but that
for him to resign now, with a possible allegation of driving
while under the influence of alcohol hanging over him, it
might appear to some to be an admission of guilt.
Lo e,, ✓I I!` y ,4dV0c J ?"_ 5e/,,r Y/ iq; E
County Commissioners approve $10.5 million budget
CASCADE — The Valley County
Commissioners Tuesday morning approve a
fiscal year 1997 budget of nearly $10.5 mil-
lion, about $2.5 million less than the current
year's budget.
However, the reduction in the budget is due
to a cut in expenditures that go with construction
of a new Valley County Jail and Juvenile
Detention Center, according to Valley County
Clerk Lee Heinrich.
Tuesday's budget approval came after a
public hearing that drew only one member of
the public, Valley County Commissioner
Candidate Rich Cardelli, a Democrat.
Operating under the 3 percent limit in the
increase in the amount of money that can be
generated by taxes, mandated by the Idaho
Legislature, the county will get nearly $2.8
million in property taxes next year. That's
about $104,000 more in tax revenue than last
year, or about a 3.9 percent increase.
The actual increase is higher than the man-
dated cap, however, it includes about $45,000
the county can levy on new construction that's
coming on to the tax rolls.
The new budget also provides for a 4 per-
cent cost -of- living increase for all county
employees, and it also includes sufficient money
to staff the county's juvenile detention facili-
ty with full -time employees, something man-
dated by state guidelines.
Revenue from housing out -of -area inmates
in both the juvenile detention center and the
new county jail is expected to help offset the
operating expenses of both of those facilities.
The budget also provides for increases in
the salaries of jailors at the Valley County Jail,
and the dispatchers who work in the county's
911 dispatch center.
Heinrich said most everything else around
the county, as far as budgets go, is being held
pretty much at the status quo, with no great
swings from the current fiscal year.
One of the troubling aspects of preparing
the annual budget is the unknown that goes
with federal forest receipts. That number fluc-
tuates annually, but in recent years, expecta-
tions are that the county's share of federal rev-
enue from the harvest of timber on federal
lands will continue to shrink.
Heinrich said that with 75 percent of.the
current year's payments received, the county
has added $1.2 million to its coffers. He said
he expects that final number to reach about $2
million for the current fiscal year.
However, that figure is expected to decline
next year and the 1997 budget includes only
about $1.6 million in anticipated timber receipts.
That money is shared by the county's roads
department and the school districts located in
the county.
Though the 1 Percent Initiative, if it is passed
by voters in November, won't take effect until
the 1998 fiscal year, Heinrich said, he also said
it will greatly affect the county's budget.
Based on the 1997 budget, he said the l
Percent would mean a reduction of about
$280,000 or about 10 percent of the total the
county receives in property tax revenue.
"Overall I think it's a pretty good budget,"
he said. "The line is held in most areas."
Heinrich also said he still hasn't received
the final total numbers pertaining to the increase
in total value of taxable property in the coun-
ty.
Rhea cleared b y POS
Valley County Sheriff's Deputy Tommy Rhea is back at work today
after being reinstated Monday night by Valley County. Sheriff Lewis
Pratt.
Rhea, who was suspended with pay nearly three months ago, has
been on that status since June 14 pending the outcomes of an investi-
gation by the Idaho Attorney General's Office and a decision by the
state's Peace Officers Standards and Training Council.
The POST Council's decision came last Thursday at the group's
quarterly meeting in Pocatello.
In his written notification to Rhea of his reinstatement, Pratt said
that based on the AG's report and the decision by the POST Council
to not revoke Rhea's law enforcement certificate, there was "insuffi-
cient evidence" to support the allegations raised by Pratt and others
subsequent to the May primary.
Rhea said he was directed in a separate memorandum from Pratt
to report to Sheriff's Lt. Don Seidler at 1 p.m. Tuesday to receive his
duty assignment. Rhea received word of his reinstatement in a letter
and copy of a news released delivered by a Valley County Sheriff's
deputy to his Round Valley residence at about 10 p.m. Monday.
"Of course, I am proud to be, again, in the service of Valley County,"
Rhea said in reaction to his reinstatement.
Earlier Monday, in a prepared response to the POST Council's rul-
ing, Rhea said, "I am pledging that if it ever gets to the point that I
cannot win an election based on the quality of my contact with the
public and the quality of my work, I do not need the job.
"I was recently told about an overheard conversation regarding me,
at a local grocery store. A grocery store employee was overheard telling
another lady that `Tommy Rhea is going to be our Sheriff. He is just
like us, except he carries a gun and a badge.' I wouldn't have it any
other way," Rhea said.
At that hearing, Council members considered whether or not Rhea's
certification was valid based on what Pratt alleged were incorrect
T, reinstated by Pratt
answers on a supplementary medical form that was part of the POST
application.
McCall Police Det. Jim Kangas said he developed a similar depen-
dence on prescribed pain relieving drugs after being wounded in
Vietnam, and he told Council members that he was there to
stand up for Rhea.
"I felt honor -bound to get it out in the open," Kangas said
in an interview Monday. "They refused to even consider
revoking his certificate. The Council wanted to know why
they were even considering it."
Pratt also attended the Pocatello meeting as did Valley
County Commissioner Francis Wallace, who, along with
Commissioners Tom Olson and Terry Gestrin, asked for
Pratt's resignation at their meeting two weeks ago. At the
time Pratt said he would take their request under advisement.
On Tuesday, Pratt said only that Rhea's reinstatement
would not be formally announced until Wednesday. When
asked why that was the case given that Rhea was directed to
report to work at 1 p.m. Tuesday, Pratt said we would all
have to wait to see - whether or not Rhea reported and whether
or not he accepted his assignment.
Asked if that meant Rhea would be performing job duties
other than the detective's assignment he's had since he was
hired nearly 6 years ago, Pratt said to just wait for the news
release announcing Rhea's reinstatement.
Later Tuesday afternoon, Rhea said he's been told he'll
assume his old duties as an investigator for the department.
Sheriff -elect Rhea still suspended with pay
CASCADE — The suspension with pay of
Valley County Sheriff -elect Tommy Rhea has
now entered its ninth week, and there is still
no change in his employment status.
That was the decision arrived at following
a closed meeting here Monday involving the
Valley County Commissioners, Valley County
Sheriff Lewis Pratt, and Prosecuting Attorney
Robert Williams.
The group reviewed the report produced by
the Idaho Attorney General's Office follow-
ing an investigation requested by Pratt.
"Nothing has changed," Williams said after
the meeting regarding Rhea's employment sta-
tus with the county. All questions to county
officials regarding the matter are being referred
to Williams.
Williams said he couldn't comment on the
contents of what was described as a volumi-
nous report because his investigation is still
pending.
Asked what he was investigating, Williams
said he couldn't comment because "it's still
pending."
Asked if it was investigating something
other than possible criminal violations, which
the AG's office had said they could find no
substance for in their eight - week -long inves-
tigation into allegations raised by Pratt, Williams
said he was looking at potential violations of
Valley County's personnel policy.
He said he couldn't comment when asked
if those potential violations had to do with
Rhea's application to the Peace Officer Standards
and Training Academy.
Asked how soon his investigation might be
completed, Williams said, "We're trying to
resolve it as expediently as possible." But he
said he had no set date by which he expected
to have his investigation completed.
Contacted Monday evening, Rhea said he
would have no comment on the matter at this
time.
9"d ! News -5,-pt 12, 1'i 4 b
Rhea reinstated by
Valley sheriff
BYJEANNESEOL
The Star-News
Tommy
Rhea
Valley County Sheriff's Det.
Tommy Rhea was reinstated to active
duty Tuesday after being suspended
for nearly three months by Sheriff
Lewis Pratt.
Rhea said he was notified of his
reinstatement by a deputy at 10 p.m.
on Monday and was re- issued his
badge and gun on Tuesday, but has
had no personal contact with Pratt.
"I want to thank the people of
Valley County for their unwavering
support. That helped to make the in-
tolerable tolerable," Rhea said.
"Following the general election in
November, I look forward to working
with them in rebuilding this agency."
Rhea won the Valley County Sher-
iff Republican primary on May 28,
beating Pratt, his boss, by 34 votes.
Only Rhea's name will appear on the
November general election ballot, and
he is due to take office in January..
Last week, Rhea was cleared of
any wrongdoing by the state Peace
Officer Standards and Training Coun-
cil after Pratt requested that Rhea's
POST certification to serve as a po-
lice officer be reviewed. After
presentations by Pratt and Rhea, the
18- member POST council voted
unanimously to uphold Rhea's certi-
fication, POST Executive Director
Michael Bacar said.
"As far as we're concerned, this
case is closed," Bacar said.
At the POST meeting, held last
Thursday in Pocatello, Pratt alleged
Rhea had falsified a POST applica-
tion when he answered "no" to
questions that asked if Rhea had ever
suffered a mental illness, nervous
breakdown, been addicted to drugs or
alcohol or ever been a patient in a
mental hospital.
Until Tuesday, Rhea had been on
suspension since June 14 after Pratt
ordered an investigation by the Idaho
Attorney General's office into seven
alleged counts of "misconduct" by
Rhea. Rhea was cleared of any pos-
sible charges by the attorney general
in August.
Pratt issued a statement on Tues-
day saying he had decided to reinstate
Rhea because "there is insufficient
evidence to conclude Mr. Rhea un-
dertook `intolerable' conduct as listed
in the Valley County Personnel Policy
or undertgok acts of dishonesty in the
course of his duties with the Valley
County Sheriff's Office."
Pratt said in his statement that he
would have no further comment on
the issue.
7_1Tr- L�veq 4-_Im�cai4� - le'f 2%q(o
DUI charge filed
against Sheriff Pratt
CASCADE — A misdemeanor charge of driving
while under the influence of alcohol was filed Monday
at the Valley County Courthouse against Valley
County Sheriff Lewis Pratt.
Filing of the charge follows a month -long inves-
tigation by Ada County Prosecutor Greg Bower, who
agreed to serve as a special prosecutor in the case.
The complaint involves an incident that took place
in the early morning hours of Aug. 11 when Pratt
was stopped by McCall Police and Valley County
Sheriff's Deputies while allegedly driving a 1993
Mitsubishi automobile down an
alley between the old Shavers'
building and Citizens Telecom.
According to a news release
from Bower's office, Pratt or his
attorney will appear at an Oct.
15 arraignment on the charge.
At that point, the matter could
be set for a pre -trial conference
and a jury trial.
According to the complaint,
Pratt is charged with driving a
motor vehicle "in an alley adja-
cent to lst Street and Lake Street
in McCall, while under the influ-
ence of alcohol, or in the alter-
native, did drive the above
described motor vehicle at the
above described location, with
an alcohol concentration of .10
percent or more, to -wit: between
10 and .13, as shown by an analysis of his breath."
About two and a half hours after Pratt was ini-
tially stopped at McCall, a breath analysis done at
the Sheriffs office in Cascade, showed his alcohol
concentration to be about .07.
Pratt, who was defeated in the May primary for
the Republican spot on the November ballot, was
stopped by law enforcement officers who were
responding to an automobile alarm they heard com-
ing from the downtown McCall area.
The officers were in the Maverik convenience
store parking lot when they heard the alarm. That
alarm, according to officers, was determined to be
coming from a vehicle proceeding slowly down the
alley. When they stopped the vehicle, officers dis-
covered Pratt driving.
Pratt didn't return messages left at the Valley
County Sheriff's Office Tuesday.
When the investigation into the matter was
announced in mid - August, Pratt said that the entire
matter was "politically- inspired," and that he had
complied with the state - required testing when he
was stopped and was determined then to be under
the legal limit (10).
That test was administered
by ISP Cpl. Mitch Ruska, who
was called in to handle the case
by officers on the scene who felt
they had a conflict of interest in
pursuing an investigation against
the county sheriff.
At that Oct. 15 arraignment,
which Pratt isn't required to
attend if his attorney shows up
for him, Magistrate Judge Darla
Williamson could set the case
for a pre -trial conference and a
jury trial if Pratt or his attorney
were to enter a "not guilty" plea.
A court clerk indicated
Tuesday that they've received
no indication yet that an attor-
ney representing Pratt will show
up in his stead.
Bower said that it took more than a month to
arrive at a decision to file the charge because of the
work load he has in his office at the present time.
Shortly after the announcement of the DUI inves-
tigation, and because of other concerns the Valley
County Commissioners have about what's being
done in the Sheriff's office, the Commissioners for-
mally asked Pratt to resign his position.
He said then that he would take that request under
advisement, but since then he has been reported as
saying he has no intention to resign before his term
expires in January.
Sheriff Pratt
_"17Cfcr� -
Freeman
NPA"s X0%31 �W
group wants officials to take oath
If Valley County officials do not
take the oath, DeMott said he plans to
take his case to the Supreme Court.
"They would like to ignore us, but
we're not going to let them ignore
us," DeMott said. "For the past 60
years, business has been conducted as
usual. The elected officials we have
today don't even kQow what oath
they're pledging to."
DeMott and his supporters say
public officials taking oaths that make
them personally accountable for their
job is the first step in restoring the
United States to a republic, not the
"corporate democracy" the United
States has evolved into.
The difference between a republic
and democracy, DeMott said, is that a
republic protects the right of an indi-
vidual. A democracy protects the
rights of corporations.
"Right now, we have 51 percent of
the people passing laws that say it's
legal to launder, loot and pillage the
other 49 percent," DeMott said. "In a
republic, the majority protects the
rights of all people."
About 25 bystanders attended
Saturday's declaration, which lasted
about 20 minutes. No county officials
were present, and Sheriff Lewis Pratt
had a deputy on scene to "keep the
peace."
DeMott said that in other Idaho
11counties where similar demonstrations
were held, Freeman demonstrators
were threatened with arrests and vio-
lation o their free speech.
But ratt said he had no intention
on Sat rday of arresting anyone.
"We're just sitting back, trying to
maintai the peace and not interfering
with th it freedom of speech," Pratt
said.
BY JEANNE SEOL
The Star -News
Valley County's nine elected offi-
cials "were publicly decried by
supporters of the Court of Common
Law at noon on Saturday at the Valley
County Courthouse in Cascade.
Jim Smith of McCall, a member of
the local Freeman movement, stood
on the courthouse steps and shouted
the names of the sheriff, three county
commissioners, treasurer, assessor,
coroner, clerk and prosecuting attor-
ney. Each county officer was declared
to be in "violation of their oath" by
Smith.
Smith, who identifies himself as
an American, and who is a "supporter
of Idaho sovereignty," said none of
the county officials have taken a sol-
emn oath that personally holds them
accountable when things go wrong.
Instead, officials have taken an oath
to defend the U.S. government, which
Smith labels merely as acorporation.
"The corporation is getting good
representation but the American
people have no representation. That's
taxation without representation,"
Smith said.
Court of Common Law supporters
label the U.S. government as a corpo-
ration, defined as a "legal fiction used
to deceive the American people and
exploit them of their true wealth, iden-
tity and knowledge," a Freeman press
release said.
To serve as legal public officials,
county officers must instead take an
additional oath that swears they will
do the best they can according to their
conscience and will be held person-
ally accountable if they don't do their
jobs, Court of Common Law Boise
leader Gary DeMott said in an inter-
view.
County officials said this week they
have no intention of taking the oath
the Freeman representatives want
them to take. Valley County Clerk
Lee Heinrich said all elected officials
have taken the same oath that is man-
dated under Idaho code.
"If somebody higher up tells us we
have to take a different oath, than we
will," Heinrich said. "But if that hap-
pens, the state code will have to be
changed and that's up to the Idaho
Legislature."
Valley County Prosecuting Attor-
ney Robert Williams agreed with
Heinrich, saying county officials must
follow current state statutes. "We have
no authority to change those statutes,"
Williams said.
Williams also said he is not form-
ing any response to the Court of
Common Law supporters, who say
they will take Valley County to the
U.S. Supreme Court.
"At this point, we're treating this
as an informal citizen's complaint.
Nothing's been filed with the courts
and there is no reason to look at ii
from a legal standpoint," Williams
said.
�)_rrectic
A story in The Star -News last week
incorrectly said Jim Smith of McCall
was a member of the local Freeman
movement. Smith was speaking for
himself as an American and as a sup-
porter of Idaho Sovereignty, the group
that is pressing local officials in Idaho
to take an oath of personal account-
ability for their actions while in of-
fice.
�%�� - _ U c l ' 1 r ���� - 0 / / & / 9
S h e r i f f P r a t t =
p l e a d s
i n n o c e n t t o
D U I c h a r g e
C A S C A D E V a l l e y C o u n t y ' S h e r i f f
L e w i s P r a t t p l e a d e d i n n o c e n t t o t h e m i s -
d e m e a n o r c h a r g e o f d r i v i n g w h i l e u n d e r
t h e i n f l u e n c e o f a l c o h o l t h a t ' s b e e n f i l e d
a g a i n s t h i m .
T h e p l e a d i n g w a s m a d e b y h i s a t t o r -
n e y , R a y K e i t h R o a r k o f H a i l e y , I d a h o ,
t h r o u g h a n o t i c e o f a p p e a r a n c e f i l e d w i t h
t h e V a l l e y C o u n t y C o u r t C l e r k ' s o f f i c e
h e r e l a s t w e e k .
A p r e - t r i a l c o n f e r e n c e h a s b e e n s e t
f o r 3 p . m . D e c . 1 1 , a n d a j u r y t r i a l w a s
s e t f o r 9 : 3 0 a . m . n e x t F e b . 5 .
P r a t t d i d n o t h a v e t o a p p e a r a t t h e
a r r a i g n m e n t s c h e d u l e d f o r h i m i n
M a g i s t r a t e ' s C o u r t h e r e y e s t e r d a y .
I n a n o t h e r d e v e l o p m e n t , V a l l e y C o u n t y
M a g i s t r a t e J u d g e D a r l a W i l l i a m s o n h a s
d i s q u a l i f i e d h e r s e l f f r o m h e a r i n g t h e c a s e ,
a n d i t w a s a s s i g n e d b y t h e F o u r t h D i s t r i c t ' s
C o u r t A d m i n i s t r a t o r t o A d a C o u n t y
M a g i s t r a t e J u d g e R i c h a r d G r a n t .
N o c h a n g e o f v e n u e h a s b e e n r e q u e s t -
S e e P r a t t o n b a c k p a g e
P r a t t f r o m p a g e 1
e d f o r t h e t r i a l , a n d t h e p r o c e e d i n g s , b a r r i n g o t h e r
d e v e l o p m e n t s , w i l l b e h e l d i n t h e V a l l e y C o u n t y
C o u r t h o u s e .
T h e D U I c h a r g e w a s f i l e d a g a i n s t P r a t t o n S e p t -
3 1 b y A d a C o u n t y P r o s e c u t o r G r e g B o w e r , w h o w a s
n a m e d a s p e c i a l p r o s e c u t o r i n t h e c a s e a t t h e r e q u e s t
o f V a l l e y C o u n t y P r o s e c u t i n g A t t o r n e y R o b e r t
W i l l i a m s .
T h e c h a r g e s t e m s f r o m a n A u g . 1 1 i n c i d e n t , w h e n
P r a t t w a s s t o p p e d b y t w o M c C a l l P o l i c e O f f i c e r s
a n d t w o V a l l e y C o u n t y S h e r i f f s D e p u t i e s w h i l e d r i -
v i n g h i s p e r s o n a l v e h i c l e a t a b o u t 3 a . m . d o w n a n
a l l e y b e t w e e n t h e o l d S h a v e r ' s M a r k e t a n d C i t i z e n s
T e l e c o m i n d o w n t o w n M c C a l l .
I n t h e d o c u m e n t s c h a r g i n g h i m , P r a t t i s a l l e g e d
t o h a v e d r i v e n h i s m o t o r v e h i c l e w i t h a b l o o d a l c o -
h o l l e v e l i n e x c e s s o f t h e s t a t e l i m i t o f . 1 0 .
P r a t t h a s m a i n t a i n e d h i s i n n o c e n c e , s a y i n g t h a t
h e c o m p l i e d - w i t h s t a t e l a w s p e r t a i n i n g t o D U I s t o p s
a n d t h a f h e c o n s e n t e d t o a b r e a t h a n a l y s i s . R e p o r t s
a r e t h a t w h e n P r a t t w a s g i v e n a b r e a t h a n a l y s i s a t
t h e V a l l e y C o u n t y S h e r i f f ' s O f f i c e a b o u t t w o a n d
h a l f h o u r s a f t e r h e - w a s s t o p p e d , h i s b l o o d a l c o h o l
c o n c e n t r a t i o n w a s a b o u t . 0 7 , u n d e r t h e l e g a l l i m i t .
P r a t t a l s o s a i d a f t e r t h e i n v e s t i g a t i o n i n t o t h e i n c i -
d e n t , t h a t t h e e n t i r e e p i s o d e w a s , p o l i t i c a l l y - i n s p i r e d . "
lyeO' ;- /o1i ,7 /96
Pratt to face DUI
trial in February
BY JEANNE SEOL
The Star-News
A jury trial for Valley County Sher-
iff Lewis Pratt, who was charged two
weeks ago with a misdemeanor of-
fense of driving under the influence
of alcohol, has been set for February.
Pratt was scheduled to be arraigned,
on Tuesday, but his attorney, Keith
Roarke of Hailey, phoned in a "notice
of appearance." The notice automati-
cally scheduled a pre -trial conference
for Pratt on Dec. 11 and a jury trial on
Feb. 5 at 9:30 a.m., court officials
said.
Pratt declined to comment when
contacted by The Star -News.
Ada County Deputy Prosecuting
Attorney Patrick Owen and Cathleen
MacGregor have been assigned as
special prosecutors in the case. Val-
ley County Prosecuting Attorney
Robert Williams has declined to
handle the case, citing a conflict of
interest between county agencies.
The charges against Pratt stem from
an Aug. 11 incident in which Pratt
was stopped at 3:15 a.m. by two
McCall police officers and two Val-
ley County sheriff's deputies in an
alley behind the former's Shaver's
building in downtown McCall.
An alcohol breath analysis showed
Pratt's blood alcohol level to be be-
tween .10. and .13, according to the
charges. A blood alcohol level of .10
or more is considered to be legally
drunk in Idaho.
If convicted of the misdemeanor
offense, Pratt faces a maximum of
six months in j ail, a $1,000 fine and
a 150 -day driver's license suspen-
sion.
Pratt was defeated in the May
Republican primary in his bid for
re- election. He will leave his office
when his term expires in January.
1 onv )1a //Pq
Valley County juvenile justice report offers good news, bad news
CASCADE — There was good
news and bad news in a report that
Valley County's Juvenile Justice coor-
dinator delivered to the Valley County
Commissioners Monday.
Perhaps the bad news first is in
order.
Steve Dye reported to the
Commissioners that there was a 77
percent increase in the number of juve-
Valley County's Juvenile Detention Center on Deinhard Lane.
nile petitions filed in Valley
County's courts when comparing
the 1995 fiscal year with 1996:
Petitions are the juvenile jus-
tice equivalent of a criminal com-
plaint against an adult.
"That's a real significant
increase," Dye said. He attributed
it to two factors, more juveniles in
the county getting into serious trou-
ble and more aggressive law
enforcement by authorities. But,
he said, it is impossible to break
out which factor contributes most
to the increase.
Of the total 197 petitions filed
in 1996, he said 42.6 percent were
for felony offenses. Further, 9.6
percent of the petitions were for
violent crimes and 58.8 percent
were theft - related.
Dye said 91.6 percent of the
cases involved youths who live in
Valley County. The figures he pre-
sented don't include misdemeanor
crimes like minor -in- possession
of alcohol.
Only 7.6 percent of the peti-
tions were drug - related, but he said
there is no way to know for cer-
tain how many other crimes, pri-
marily the theft - related crimes,
were done to get money to buy
drugs.
But there is a bright side to the
report, Dye said. That primarily has
to do with the operation of the coun-
ty's new juvenile detention center
in McCall and the low number of
youths who find their way back there
— recidivism.
That rate continues to be low, he
said.
Of the 84 individuals who were
petitioned, he said 63 percent ended
up in the detention center as part of
their punishment. Of those, only
three youths, 5.6 percent returned
to the center within the year on a
new, felony charge.
"That tells me that the detention
center, and what we're doing there,
is working," Dye said. Most impor-
tant of what they are doing, he said,
is making sure the offenders are get-
ting a chance to improve their edu-
cations.
He said the Valley County
`Commissioners and Magistrate Judge
Darla Williamson were instrumen-
tal in setting up the program, which
is based on a balanced approach that
requires accountability, restitution
to victims, and education.
"We're having kids complete
high school that would not other-
wise graduate," he said. Tutoring is
available for students who need it,
and more care is taken when youths
are placed back into the public
schools, he_sAid.
"Kids were getting shoved into
classes where a seat was available,"
he said. That, he said sets the youths
up for "another big dose of failure."
And that carries over into personal
lives and affects their self- esteem,
he said.
"Our goal, once again, once
they get here to us, is to make sure
they don't come back," he said.
The program is making economic
sense for the county too, he said. It's
cheaper to hire tutors and educate
the students and keep them from
coming back than it is to house them
in the detention facility at a cost of
$135 per day, he said.
/71 t Lz*zq r G / (e y
Valley County Election Returns
Rhea wins sheriff's race
Twila
Hornbeck
District 8
Representative
FOR PRESIDENT
FOR U.S. REPRESENTATIAVE DIST. 1
Harry Browne
26
Bill Clinton
1,564
Bob Dole
2,089
John Hagelin
19
Ross Perot
568
Howard Phillips
12
FOR U.S. SENATOR
B. Christian Zimmerman 2,623
Mary J. Charbonneau
57
Larry Craig
2,421
Walt Minnick
1,835
Susan Vegors
39
LEGISLATIVE DIST. 8 - HOUSE SEAT B
Twila L. Hornbeck 2,129
Hugh W. Somerton 1,848
Ronald G. Wittig 109
V.C. COMMISSIONER - 1ST DIST
Rich Cardelli 1,455
F. Phillip Davis 2,564
V.C. COMMISSIONER - 2ND DIST
Francis Wallace 3,491
VALLEY COUNTY SHERIFF
Tommy Rhea 2,185
Dean Muchow 1,632
Mike Rogers 38
V.C. PROSECUTING ATTORNEY
Richard T. Roats 3,169
VS &WCD
Vicki C. Eld 2,765
Paul R. Kleint 2,739
Art L. Troutner, Jr. 2,5.50
CONSTITUTIONAL AMEND. - S.J.R. NO. 111
Yes 2,098
No 1,607
PROPOSITION ONE
Yes
FOR U.S. REPRESENTATIAVE DIST. 1
No
Helen Chenoweth 2,015
Phil Davis
Marion Ellis 78
Valley County
Dan Williams 2,232
Commissioner
LEGISLATIVE DIST. 8 - SENATOR
PROPOSITION THREE
Judy Danielson 3,342
Yes _
LEGISLATIVE DIST. 8 - HOUSE SEAT A
No
B. Christian Zimmerman 2,623
PROPOSITION FOUR
Gayle Wilde 1,043
LEGISLATIVE DIST. 8 - HOUSE SEAT B
Twila L. Hornbeck 2,129
Hugh W. Somerton 1,848
Ronald G. Wittig 109
V.C. COMMISSIONER - 1ST DIST
Rich Cardelli 1,455
F. Phillip Davis 2,564
V.C. COMMISSIONER - 2ND DIST
Francis Wallace 3,491
VALLEY COUNTY SHERIFF
Tommy Rhea 2,185
Dean Muchow 1,632
Mike Rogers 38
V.C. PROSECUTING ATTORNEY
Richard T. Roats 3,169
VS &WCD
Vicki C. Eld 2,765
Paul R. Kleint 2,739
Art L. Troutner, Jr. 2,5.50
CONSTITUTIONAL AMEND. - S.J.R. NO. 111
Yes 2,098
No 1,607
PROPOSITION ONE
Yes
1,76.1
No
2,398
PROPOSITION TWO
Yes
1,767
No
2,425
PROPOSITION THREE
Yes _
1,726
No
2,458
PROPOSITION FOUR
Yes
2,427
No
1,707
it h
Suit filed against county,
Sheriff for wrongful arrest
CASCADE — A lawsuit filed in Fourth District
Court here last week names Valley County and Valley
County Sheriff Lewis Pratt as defendants in a suit
for wrongful arrest.
The suit, filed by Boise attorney Ellison M.
Matthews on behalf of his client Teri Suzanne Elam,
of McCall, claims that her arrest in November of
1995 on a felony charge of grand theft by deception
was the result of a negligent investigation by the
Sheriff's Department.
That investigation was done during October and
November and "was conducted in such a negligent
manner that as a direct result thereof false and incor-
rect information was provided to the office of the
Valley County Prosecuting Attorney," the complaint
states.
That information led to a warrant being issued
for Elam's arrest, and she was subsequently arrest-
ed.
"She was incarcerated, was held up to public scorn
and disrespect and was treated, in general, as a com-
mon criminal, all as a result of the negligent activi-
ties of the defendants," the complaint states.
The charges against Elam were dismissed on Jan.
23 of this year after a motion requesting dismissal
was made in court, and later in writing by Valley
County Prosecuting Attorney Robert Williams.
"(The arrest was) the result of Defendants' neg-
ligence in failing to properly train and supervise the
members of the Valley County Sheriff's Department,"
the complaint states.
That complaint also claims that Elam's civil and
constitutional rights were violated by the arrest.
The case involved an investigation done by Sheriffs
Deputy Dean Muchow involving some of the loose
ends associated with the sale of a business Elam once
owned.
The suit asks for general damages in an amount
to be proved at trial, for damages incurred as a result
of violations of Elam's civil and constitutional rights,
past and future monetary damages in an amount also
to be proven during the trial, and for reasonable attor-
ney's fees.
xc� Valley
y
Rhea files Tort Claim against
Porter over medical records
CASCADE — Valley County
Sheriff -elect Tommy Rhea filed it
Tort Claim against Valley County
Sheriff Lewis Pratt and Deputy
Dennis Porter over confidential
medical records Pratt obtained last
May.
Those medical records were
largely responsible for Pratt sus-
pending Rhea, with pay, and
requesting an Idaho Attorney
General's investigation into Rhea,
an investigation that Rhea said was
politically motivated.
After a two -month investiga-
tion, the Idaho AG's office said
there was no basis for the allega-
tions raised by Pratt and Porter in
separate letters to the AG's office.
In his Tort Claim, filed by his
aftorney Gustav A. Rosenheim, of
"'Boise, Rhea claims that he has suf-
fered emotional distress and dam-
age to his reputation because of
the alleged invasion of privacy.
"Valley County Sheriff Lewis
E. Pratt, acting within the scope
of his employment, obtained con-
fidential V.A. medical records of
Tommy Rhea, another employee
of the Sheriff's Office, without his
authorization or consent," the claim
states.
1�''«4:, "Those medical records were
`�t}ien shown to other employees of
the Valley County Sheriff's Office,
in particular, Dennis Porter, a
Valley County Deputy Sheriff,
without the consent or authoriza-
tion of Tommy Rhea," the claim
continues.
"The contents of those medical
records were then either orally
explained to other Valley County
Sheriff employees or the actual
content shown to them by both
Sheriff Lewis Pratt and Dennis
Porter, while acting within the
scope of their employment," he
said.
Pratt and others within the department have confirmed to The Long
Valley Advocate previously that those two pages of medical records
were provided to Pratt by Virgil Barnett, the father of Ean Vinton
Barnett.
Ean Barnett is one of the suspects in the May 1995 murder of Jeffrey
David Towers in the Paddy Flat area.
Virgil Barnett, who works for Disabled American Veterans, an
advocacy group that works closely with the Veterans Administration,
denied to this newspaper that he provided the medical records to Pratt.
In an interview this past summer, Pratt said he didn't know what
Barnett expected to gain by giving him the records. Several other
Sheriff's deputies confirmed that the records were provided the Sheriff's
Department by the elder Barnett.
The medical records chronicle an early 1970s admission to a VA
hospital in which Rhea was treated for a dependency on a prescribed
pain killing medication he developed after contracting an illness in
Vietnam. Those records played a role in the recent Sheriff's race, when
they re- surfaced in the hands of citizens opposed to Rhea's candida-
cy and were being shown around McCall.
At several points during the primary campaign, when Rhea was
challenging incumbent Pratt for the Republican spot on the November
ballot, Porter indicated that he had damaging information about Rhea,
and that he would not be elected sheriff because of it.
"The above actions of Valley County Sheriff Lewis Pratt and Dennis
Porter were an invasion of Tommy Rhea's privacy under Idaho tort
law," the claim states.
In his claim, Rhea said he has suffered emotional distress and dam-
age to his reputation because of the release of the medical records.
Exactly how those records made their way into Pratt's possession
is the subject of an on -going FBI investigation.
Rhea is asking for $500,000 in damages in his claim.
Valley County Clerk Lee Heinrich said that under Idaho law, the
effect of filing the tort claim is to protect Rhea's right during the next
two years to file a lawsuit to press the issues raised in the claim.
Pratt,
Tommy Rhea
n)e «.s�
Rhea believes
medical records
leaked illegally
BY JEANNE SEOL
The Star -News
One day after being elected to serve
as Valley County's sheriff for the
next four years, Det. Tommy Rhea
filed a tort claim against his boss and
a fellow deputy, charging both with
illegally obtaining confidential medi-
cal records.
Rhea asks for $500,000 for "emo-
tional distress and damage to reputation"
in the tort claim filed on Nov. 6 against
Valley County Sheriff Lewis Pratt and
Deputy Dennis Porter.
In the claim, Rhea alleges that Pratt,
"acting within the scope of his em-
ployment, obtained confidential
(Veterans Administration) medical
records of Tommy Rhea ... without
his authorization or consent."
The claim states the records were
then shown to Porter and other. em-
ployees at the Valley County Sheriff's
Department. The medical document
describes a medical problem Rhea
developed while serving in the U.S.
AirForce in Vietnam during the 1960s.
Details of that medical problem
were not described in the tort claim,
and Rhea declined to give details in an
interview.
Pratt declined to comment on the
claim. Porter called the claim "a joke."
"This is Tommy's way of trying to
ensure his financial future, Porter
said. "I haven't got any money and
Lewis doesn't have much. The only
one with deep pockets is Valley
County, and unfortunately, the people
of Valley-County-are going to end up
paying M? this legal battle."
The tort claim filed against Valley
County, Pratt and Porter does not in-
sure a monetary settlement will ever
be paid out, Valley County Clerk Lee
Heinrich said. Rather, a tort claim is a
prelude to filing a formal lawsuit in
Fourth District Court.
"Before you can file suit against a
county or any taxing agency, a tort
claim must be filed. This gives the
county notice and a chance to settle
before going to court," Heinrich said.
After filing the tort claim, Rhea has
up to two years to file a lawsuit in
Fourth District Court.
"I think everybody has a duty to
see what happened in this campaign
does not occur again. This was not
normal politics," Rhea said in an in-
terview. "I'd rather none of this had
ever happened."
If he does file a lawsuit, it will be
against Pratt, Porter and Barnett indi-
vidually and will not involve Valley
County, Rhea said. The only reason
he filed the tort claim was to preserve
his rights under state law to file a
lawsuit later.
Rhea won the Valley County Sheriff
Republican primary on May 28, beating
Pratt, his boss, by 34 votes. In June,
Pratt suspended Rhea with pay, alleg-
ing that Rhea had falsified an application
to the state police academy.
Pratt said Rhea had lied on that
application by answering "no" to ques-
tions that asked if Rhea had ever
suffered a mental illness, nervous
breakdown, been addicted to drugs or
alcohol or ever been a patient in a
mental hospital.
In a letter dated June 12 to the
Idaho Attorney General's office, Pratt
said he had been given a copy of the
medical report that proved Rhea had
lied on the application. Pratt said the
medical report was given to him by
Virgil Barnett, a national service of-
ficer for the Disabled American
Veterans. Barnett has denied giving
Pratt the document.
Porter said in, an interview that
Pratt assigned him last summer to
investigate charges brought against
Rhea by several local citizens. Porter
admitted to seeing the medical docu-
ments at least twice, but said he was
never shown Rhea's personnel file.
"This was not a witch: hunt," Por-
ter said of his investigation of Rhea.
"This was an investigation using hon-
est law enforcement."
Since June, the U.S. Attorney's
office has been investigating whether
the document was illegally released
from the V.A. files, but has issued no
public decision on their findings.
In August, the Idaho Attorney
General's office declined to fUe any
charges against Rhea, citing a lack of
evidence and conduct that occurred
beyond the state's statute of limita-
tions. Rhea was reinstated as a sheriff's
deputy by Pratt on Sept. 10.
On Nov. 5, Rhea won Valley
County sheriff's race in the general
election, beating a write -in campaign
by Deputy Dean Muchow. Rhea is set
to take over the office of sheriff in
January.
� / / -2 / // CZ C? �,
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Sheriff's Corner
I want to welcome each and every reader to the first article of the sheriff's
corner. During my campaign I pledged a new openness regarding commu-
nity awareness into the operation of your sheriff's department.
t fj4. This series will be the first step in fulfilling that pledge. Many thanks to
t The Long Valley Advocate for providing the space.
I will remain an investigator until I'm administered the oath of office on
Jan. 13, 1997. however, I have no intention of waiting until that date to start
working to resolve the problems in the department.
I want to devote the balance of this article to a program that I hold most dear, the senior commu-
nity contact program. We have had two meetings at Payette Lakes Care Center. Our group consists
of 16 members representing 11 different professional organizations.
Liz Drake, the ombudsman for this area, considers this a model program, different from anything
else offered in the state. According to her, the uniqueness of this program is already generating inter-
est from the Committee on Aging and other law enforcement agencies. Our next meeting will be at
Payette Lakes Care Center Dec. 17, 1996, at 1:30 p.m. The news media, both television and local are
being invited. The purpose of the meeting is to officially announce this new program.
I want to clarify another confusing issue. The news media has reported that I have filed a notice
of tort claim with the Valley County Court Clerk's office. That instrument is not a lawsuit. It was
filed on the advice of my attorney. I have no intention of filing a lawsuit against the people who elect-
ed me. In closing, I want to thank every person who supported me during this campaign for their trust,
faith, help and solidarity. We could not have done it alone. The majority of the electorate stated they
wanted change. All I can say is hang on, it's on the way.
Sheriff -elect
Tommy H. Rhea.
Pratt to ask for dismissal
Instead of going to trial on Feb.
5 on charges of driving under the
influence of alcohol, Valley County
Sheriff Lewis Pratt will ask a Boise
magistrate to dismiss all charges
against him.
Pratt's attorney, Keith Roark of
Hailey, has petitioned Fourth Dis-
trict Magistrate Richard Grant to
dismiss the DUI charge against
Pratt.
Grant will consider the motion
in a Boise courtroom on Feb. 5, and
if the judge denies the motion, a
later jury trial date will be set, Ada
County Deputy Prosecuting Attor-
ney Pat Owen said.
Pratt declined to comment when
contacted by The Star -News.
The charges against Pratt stem
from an Aug. 11 incident in which
Pratt was stopped by police while
driving in an alley behind the former
Shaver's building in downtown
McCall.
An alcohol breath analysis
showed Pratt's blood alcohol level
to be between .10 and .13, accord-
ing to the charges. A blood alcohol
level of. 10 or more is considered to
be legally drunk in Idaho.
If convicted of the misdemeanor
offense, Pratt faces a maximum of
six months in jail, a $1,000 fine and
a 150 -day driver's license suspen-
sion.
Pratt was defeated in the May
Republican primary in his bid for
re- election.
He will leave office on Jan. 13
when Sheriff -elect Tommy Rhea is
sworn in.
SAM,. VI¢c.n., I2f1Wi y� i
'raft: Being Valley sheriff hasn't been easy
Avis
my
iff leaves
e in
tary
Pratt
BY JEANNE SEOL
The Star -News
It's all he "ever wanted to do," but
serving as Valley County sheriff will
soon come to an end for Lewis Pratt.
Pratt, who has served as sheriff for
nine years, will become an ordinary
citizen on Jan. 13 after losing his bid
for re- election last May to Sheriff -
elect Tommy Rhea.
Now Pratt says he is ready for a
career change, though he isn't sure
yet what that career may be. But one
thing he does know for sure - he won't
(Continued from Page 1)
and your ego fluctuate. After a while,
it starts to wear on the sanity of your
family," he said.
. Despite facing the daily challenge
of running a department with 34 em-
ployees, Pratt said he leaves the office
with several accomplishments.
He is most proud of establishing
the 9 -1 -1 emergency dispatch service
in Valley County during his first term
of sheriff. His second term saw the
planning and construction of a new
Valley County Jail.
Pratt also is proud of starting the
Valley County Chaplain program,
formed in 1992. The program has
expanded today to help jail inmates,
patrol officers and the community in
dealing with crisis or emergencies.
Chaplains often are the people who
notify families of the death of a loved
one, he said.
During the past nine years, Pratt
has also been heavily involved in sev-
eral state and national sheriff and law
enforcement associations. He served
as president of the Idaho Sheriffs As-
sociation in 1992 and helped pass the
state's currentconcealed weapons law.
Just keeping up to date with new
laws concerning evidence, arrest pro-
cedures and jail inmates' rights has
also kept him busy. Changes in the
nature of crime and population in
Valley County have made the job
demanding, he said.
"We've seen a tremendous growth
in the request for services and help
from more and more people who are
accessing the back country," Pratt said.
"Idaho's been found, and we're going
to have to pay for it."
Pratt has been involved with more
and more searches for lost hunters, as
well as aiding victims of recreational
accidents - snowmobiling, hiking and
biking. Searches cost money and Val-
ley County doesn't have the full -time
population to support the financial
needs of keeping up with the heavy
influx of tourists, he said.
be running for public office again
anytime soon.
I've had my fill of politics," he
said with a smile during an interview
with The Star -News.
Pratt started out in 1979 as a re-
serve -officer and then as the dog
catcher for the McCall Police Depart-
ment. He moved to the Valley County
Sheriffs Department as a patrol of-
ficer in 1985.
He served as chief deputy under
Sheriff Blair Shepherd and was ap-
pointed sheriff in 1987 when Shepherd
"It's going to continue to be a
problem in the future," he said.
When Pratt first took over as sher-
iff in 1987, 10 patrol officers worked
for Valley County. Nine years later,
nine officers patrol the county. But
six more total employees have been
hired in expanded areas such as drug -
abuse education, waterway patrol and
jail staff, he said.
One problem Pratt has faced
throughout his tenure is high employee
turnover. His critics blamed his ad-
ministrative style, but Pratt said the
problem is mostly low salaries.
"Salaries have increased while I've
been sheriff, but our patrol officers
resigned. Pratt was then elected sher-
iff twice, in 1988 and 1992.
"The good Lord had a hand in it,"
he said of his rapid rise from deputy to I
sheriff in two years. `But the job has
never been easy. You're a sheriff 24
hours a day, seven days a week, 365
days a year. It doesn't go away when
you go home."
Pratt said it took him four years to
learn to adjust to the routine and the i
responsibilities of the job.
"Being a sheriff means your moods
(See "Pratt, " Page 2)_
Tom Kerr named
by Gov. Batt to fill
vacant county
commission seat
McCall surveyor Tom Kerr, a
Valley County native, has been
named by Idaho Gov. Phil Batt to
fill the vacancy on the Valley
County Board of Commissioners
created by the death of Francis
Wallace.
Kerr was one of three names
submitted by the Valley County
Republican Central Committee to
the governor. The other two were
Clifford Lee, a former member of
the McCall City Council and
McCall - Donnelly School board
and retired U.S. Forest Service
employee, and Richard McChrystal,
present chairman of the McCall
Planning & Zoning Commission
and retired Morrison - Knudsen Co.
executive.
The three were selected from
a field of eight who submitted
/z?/ Ic?9-7
resumes for consideration by the committee.
Kerr was born in Donnelly in 1937, and except for his years attend-
ing the University of Idaho and a dozen years working in Colorado
and Oklahoma — mostly in the mining industry — he's worked and
lived in Valley County.
In his letter to the central committee, Kerr said he moved back to
McCall so he and his wife could raise their children in the quality of
life and family values that the area provides.
"It is very important to us that we maintain this quality of life while
also properly preparing for the future development and economic via-
bility of the area," he wrote in that letter.
Kerr has served in the past and continues to serve on a number of
McCall city committees, including a McCall Planning & Zoning
Commission Ordinance Preparation Committee, a McCall Citizens
Budget Committee, and the Mayor's Select Committee appointed to
determine a new type of city government for McCall.
He is presently a member of the McCall Downtown Planning
Committee, the McCall Transportation Committee, the Payette Lake
Trails Committee, and the Big Payette Lake Water Quality Council.
Kerr was traveling this week and couldn't be reached for comment
on his new appointment.
Batt appoints Kerr
to Valley commission
Gov. Phil Batt on Tuesday ap-
pointed Tom Kerr of McCall to fill
former Valley County Commissioner
Francis Wallace's position.
Wallace died last month in McCall:'
He had been re- elected to the com-
missioner position in last November's
general election.
Kerr, 59, owns and operates Kerr
Surveying in McCall.
Kerr's name was among three fi-
nalists selected by the Valley County
Republican Central Committee for
appointment to the commission. Also
named were Richard McChrystal and
Clifford Lee, both of McCall.
K rr will be sworn in on Jan. 27
portation Advisory Committee, the
Big Payette Lake Water Quality Coun-
cil, Payette Lakes Trail Committee
and the McCall Downtown Planning
Committee.
Kerr is apast memberof the McCall
Planning and Zoning Commission's
Ordinance Preparation Committee,
The McCall Citizens Budget Com-
mittee, and Mayor's Select Commit-
tee to recommend the type of city
government. He is also chairman of
the McCall Cemetery Board.
"Tom Kerr has spent most of his
life in the McCall area," Batt said.
"He knows Valley County, its people
and their concerns. I'm confident he
e
and will serve a two -year term, Val- will serve well,"
ley County Clerk Lee Heinrich said. Other members of the commission
Kerr was born in Donnelly in 1937 are Phil Davis of Cascade, who will
and has lived in McCall for 23 ye Ge of Cascade. in on Monday, and Terry
He is currently on the McCall'iran
Rhea, others take oat
lewly installed Valley County Sheriff Tommy Rhea
hakes the hand of Valley County Clerk Lee Heinrich
to Monday after Rhea received his oath of office
rom Heinrich. Rhea replaces former Sheriff Lewis
'ratt, whom he defeated in last May's Republican
primary. Also taking oaths of office on Monday
Star -News Photo by Roger Phillips
hs of office
were new Valley County Commissioner Phil Davis and
new Valley County Prosecuting Attorney Richard Roats.
Tom Kerr of McCall will be sworn in next week to fill the
commissioner's seat left vacant by the death in Decem-
ber of Francis Wallace. The ceremonies were conducted
at the Valley County Courthouse in Cascade.
Tom Kerr sworn in as Valley County
Phil Davis, left, and newest Commissioner Tom Kerr
Commissioner
Long commission meeting brings Kerr up to speed
CASCADE — The Valley County Board of
Commissioners has a full complement once again
with the swearing in Monday morning of Tom Kerr,
a McCall resident who replaces the late Francis
Wallace on the board.
Kerr, an engineer who owns and operates Kerr
Surveying in McCall, has served on a number of
committees and commissions in McCall's city gov-
ernment. He also served on the Mayor's select com-
mittee that brought about the change in the city's
form of government several years back, making the
change from a Mayor /Council form of government
to a City Manager /Council form.
As of the time of his appointment to fill the seat
vacated by Wallace's death, Kerr was a member of
the McCall Downtown Planning Committee, the
McCall Transportation Committee, the Payette Lake
Trails Committee, and the Big Payette Lake Water
Quality Council.
Outside of a dozen and a half years attending col-
lege at the University of Idaho and working in the
mining industry in Oklahoma and Colorado, the
Donnelly native has lived his entire life Valley County.
Star -News Photo by Jeanne Seol
Tom and Connie Upton will share duties of Valley undersheriff.
Couple to share position
for Valley County sheriff
BY JEANNE SEOL
The Star -News
Valley County taxpayers are get-
ting a "two for one deal" by allowing
a husband and wife team to split the
duties of undersheriff, Sheriff Tommy
Rhea told , Valley County commis-
sioners last week.
Rhea has hired Tom and Connie
Upton of Cascade to share the job as
undersheriff. The Uptons split one
salary, work in separate offices, and
jointly perform administrative duties.
The pair work together to organize
files, but split duties when it comes to
personnel management and financial
matters.
Connie Upton, 56, technically
holds the title of Administrative Chief
and handles all budget matters, while
Tom Upton, 58, is the undersheriff
and oversees the jail.
"We know nobody's ever done
this before, but we're good at work-
ing together as a team," Tom Upton
said. "We complement each other in
what we do."
The Uptons managed Rhea's po-
litical campaign for sheriff last year
and Tom Upton informally ran as
Rhea's running mate for the
undersheriff's post. The arrangement
is legal under state law and does not
violate any personnel policies, Rhea
said.
Valley County Clerk Lee Heinrich
said the Uptons are sharing one salary
of $28,600, with each receiving
$13,500. The extra $1,600 is being
used to pay for benefits for the second
person, Heinrich said. Neither em-
ployee is eligible for overtime or
"comp" time, he said.
"Budgetarily, it doesn't make any
difference to me," Heinrich said.
The Uptons say they enjoy each
other's company and have worked
together before. While living in Cali-
fornia, they jointly ran a Mercedes -
Benz repair business for 13 years.
"People ask us what happens if we
get mad at each other - if we'll still be
able to work together," Connie Upton
said. "Why, I can't even envision
having a bad day. We are compan-
ions."
"Our philosophy is that we're be-
ing paid by the taxpayers and we're
here for the people, so we might as
well all work together," Tom Upton
said. "We know how to get along with
people and with each other."
The Uptons replace Chief Deputy
Larry Olson, who retired last Decem-
ber.
Other recent personnel changes
within the Valley County Sheriff's
Department include the resignation
of Drug Investigator Don Seidler, who
has since been hired as the undersheriff
for Custer County, and the resigna-
tion of Deputy Dennis Porter. Both
Seidler's and Porter's positions are
currently being advertised.
107 Zohq Ida /to V e�Zdvoca�e - A// �, /�p7
Sheriff's Corner
By Brian Tucker
Communications Supervisor
The Valley County Communications
U. Center is responsible for dealing with all
c r� calls for assistance, including 911, with-
in Valley County. In addition to handling
all local law enforcement radio commu-
Sheriff nications, the center also dispatches calls
Tommy Rhea for the Cascade, Donnelly and McCall Fire
and Ambulance Districts. There are cur-
rently eight full -time dispatchers to pro-
vide these services to the citizens of Valley County.
The Sheriff's Department is committed to providing Valley
County with the most timely and professional responses to calls
for assistance. It takes many hours of formal training in, order to
perform these tasks efficiently and effectively.
The Sheriff's Department, with the assistance of Harley Hinshaw
and the 911 Advisory Committee, has arranged to sponsor a three -
day Emergency Medical Dispatch seminar to be held in Cascade
this coming Thursday through Saturday, Feb. 20 -22.
Dispatchers from Adams, Gem and Idaho counties, the Idaho
State Communications Center in Boise, and five dispatchers-from
Valley County will participate in that training. At the completion
of the training, participants will be certified to handle medical pre -
arrival instructions. These trained dispatchers will be qualified to
give instructions, such as CPR, over the telephone before the ambu-
lance arrives on scene.
Upon successful completion of the program by those attending.
all eight dispatchers working for Valley County will be fully cer-
tified.
Future plans include working with the cellular telephone providers
in our area to develop Phase One of the F.C.C. mandate, passed in
1996, which requires that the cellular companies provide technol-
ogy for dispatch centers to trace all cellular 911 calls.
Valley lacks plan, for avalanche
Death of Meridian
snowmobiler sign
that need exists
BY ROGER PHILLIPS
The Star -News
The recent death of a snowmobiler
in an avalanche showed a lapse in
search and rescue procedures at the
Valley County Sheriff's office, but
Sheriff Tommy Rhea is making
changes.
On Feb. 1, Roger M. Youd, 39, of
Meridian, was snowmobiling with two
other men in the West Mountain area
when he triggered an avalanche that
buried him. His body was recovered
the next day.
Valley County has no emergency
plans or equipment for an avalanche
rescue, Rhea said. However, Rhea
said he is developing a plan, includ-
ing training for rescuers, and
purchasing needed equipment so "we
don't end up with our socks down
again."
"The main thing we need to do is
reorganize and have effective search
and rescue, which we do not have,"
Rhea said.
Rhea, who took over as sheriff in
January, also noted there has been no
avalanche- related emergencies in the
six years he has worked for the
sheriff's department. Youd's death
may be the first avalanche death to
occur in Valley County.
"This is the first avalanche rescue
that I'm even aware of," he said.
In Youd's case, one of his
snowmobiling partners used a cellu-
lar telephone to contact the sheriff's
department after initial rescue at-
tempts failed. Volunteers and
personnel from numerous agencies
began entering the avalanche area that
afternoon.
Rescuers were unable to locate
Youd before nightfall and had to re-
turn with more searchers the next day.
As many as 50 people were in-
volved in the search of the avalanche
area, which was about six miles from
the nearest groomed trail.
A team of ski patrollers from
Brundage Mountain Ski Area trained
in avalanche rescue led the effort, and
local and visiting snowmobilers pro-
vided transportation to and from the
avalanche site.
rescues
Rhea said volunteers did an out-
standing job on the mountain, both in
recovering Youd's body and getting
people to and from the avalanche site,
which he described as "very tough
going."
"I am extremely proud of the type
of response we had," Rhea said.
Pres Funkhouser of Cascade, a
member of the National Ski Patrol
who led the search, said there was
some initial disorganization, but the
effort was successful in that Youd's
body was recovered and no one else
was hurt.
"The volunteer support was abso-
lutely superb,- you couldn't ask for
better support," Funkhouser said.
Both Rhea and Funkhouser cau-
tioned that while an avalanche death
in this area is rare, there will be more
if people continue to go into ava-
lanche- prone areas unprepared and
unaware of the danger.
Funkhouser said the area where
the avalanche occurred was danger-
ously unstable. Also, the snowmobil-
ers in Youd's party were
"highmarking" - trying to see who
could climb the highest on the slopes,
which further weakened the snow -
pack.
"I equate that to playing Russian
roulette with five cylinders loaded,"
he said.
Also, none of the snowmobilers
were wearing avalanche transceivers
so they could not locate each other in
case of an avalanche, nor did they
have rescue equipment such as probes
or shovels.
According to avalanche rescue sta-
tistics, most victims cannot survive a
burial of 30 minutes or longer, so an
immediate rescue by other members
of the party was critical, Funkhouser
said.
"The greatest probability of a live
rescue is from the members with
them," he said. "They're the best
chance they've got."
Rhea warned that rescue attempts
in remote areas have the potential to
create some "major logistical prob-
lems for the people who try to rescue
them."
"If we have a lot of people come
into this area and do the same thing
these people were doing, we're in
trouble," Rhea said.
But he added his department would
be more prepared to deal with the
situation if it happens again. "We are
definitely more educated by enduring
this experience," Rhea said.
Avalanche safety
course scheduled
The Payette Lakes Ski Patrol will
sponsor a Basic Avalanche course
Feb. 28 through March 2.
The course covers basic avalanche
theory, hazard identification and res-
cue. It is primarily designed for Ski
Patrol members involved in search
and rescue, but is useful for anyone
interested in backcountry winter
travel.
The course includes two classroom
sessions and one field session: Fri-
day, Feb. 28, 7 p.m. to 9 p.m. and
Saturday, March 1, 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. at
New Meadows Methodist Church
education building at corner of Nora
and North Heigho; and Sunday, March
2, 9 a. in. to noon, at the top of Brund-
age Mountain Ski Area.
Participants need either skis or
snowshoes. Cost is $20 plus lift ticket.
To register or for more information,
call Earl Kimball evenings at 347-
2681.
zG�q G,� /'t1y 3/A41g7
Sheriff's Corner
I want to welcome you to this edition of "The Sheriff's Comer."
Spring must be just around the comer. The foxes are pairing up
and I have been seeing robins. I also want to report that I was
able to determine where spring is. It's just over the mountain in
the Council area. Great horse back riding and real, green grass.
' Hopefully it will soon be on our side of the mountain where the
snow is still deep and I am still feeeding my horses hay.
I guess I had better get to business. Boise County Sheriff
Gary Brown and I completed a contract for the housing of Boise
H» , County inmates at the Valley County Jail. I submitted the con-
tract to our Commissioners and it was approved. We are charg-
ing them $35.00 daily for this service.
Sheriff Tommy Rhea We presently have 15 state prisoners and one inmate from
Boise County which means that our jail staff helped to generate
$560.00 in revenue today. I am extremely proud of the work that
our jail staff has performed in making this possible. Since February, when we first started accept-
ing significant numbers of state prisoners, we have generated $25,510.00 in revenue that is being
used toward the jail bond.
The next time you see one of our jail staff, pat them on the back and thank them for a job well
done. They most certainly deserve it.
Sheriff Tommy H. Rhea
New program checks up
BY JEANNE SEOL
The Star -News
Local law enforcement agencies next week
will start a program to better look out for the
welfare of senior citizens in Valley and Boise
counties.
"Senior Community Contact," a program
implementedby Valley County Sheriff Tommy
Rhea, is helping senior citizen support groups,
family members and medical personnel pro-
vide an organized system of at -home welfare
checks on seniors who are deemed "at risk."
Under the program, local hospitals, care
centers, home health agencies and the public
who have concerns about an elderly neighbor,
family member or discharged patient can con-
tact the Valley County Sheriff's Department.
After receiving a "concern call," a sheriff's
department dispatcher notifies the appropriate
city or county law enforcement agency in
either Valley or Boise counties.
Within 24 hours, a trained police officer
then visits the elderly person at home and
checks to make sure the person is in good
physical and mental condition, has food, heat,
electricity, a working phone, and access to and
from his or her home.
After each visit, officers document what
they find and return that information to the
person or agency that requested the welfare
on the elderly
check. Then it is the requesting party's respon-
sibility to take care of what problems exist.
If a senior citizen is found to be abused,
neglected or exploited, officers contact the
appropriate state health agency, which will
then step in, Valley County Community Polic-
ing Officer Lindsay Anderson said.
"All we're doing is becoming another set of
eyes and ears," Anderson said.
The Valley and Boise county sheriff's de-
partments, as well as officers in city police
department in both counties, have agreed to
participate in the program.
Other local agencies involved include the
state Office on Aging and Adult Protection
and Ombudsman, Payette Lakes Care Center,
McCall Memorial Hospital, McCall Senior
Citizen Center, Able Home Health and Com-
munity Home Health.
Payette Lakes Care Center has agreed to
provide food, clothing or shelter for up to 24
hours for any elderly person who is found by
an officer to be suffering at home. The care
center will provide for the person until a family
member or agency can handle the situation.
Anderson said he expects between three
and 10 calls a week from people -requesting
welfare checks on senior citizens. The pro-
gram should be used only for legitimate
concerns, he said.
40 ;,71
Motion to dismiss denied on former
Sheriff Pratt's drun
BOISE — Fourth District Magistrate Judge A. Richard
Grant last Tuesday denied a request that a driving while under
the influence of alcohol charge against former Valley County
Sheriff Lewis Pratt be dismissed.
A date for a trial has not yet been set, but prosecuting and
defense attorneys were asked to submit dates this summer when
they would be unavailable for what is expected to be a two -
day trial.
That trial is expected to be held in Valley County.
Grant, an Ada County Magistrate, was assigned the case
after Valley County Magistrate Judge Darla Williamson, cit-
ing a conflict of interest, excused herself from the case.
The charges against Pratt stem from an early morning Aug.
11, 1996, traffic stop in the alley behind the old Shaver's Market
in downtown McCall.
Involved in the stop were McCall City Police officers and
k- driving charge
deputies from Pratt's Valley County Sheriff's Department.
Pratt was driving his private vehicle slowly down the alley at
the time of the stop with his vehicle alarm sounding, and the
vehicle's headlights flashing.
Breath analysis done at the Sheriff's Office in Cascade a
couple of hours after the stop indicated that his blood - alcohol
level was around .07, below the legal limit in Idaho.
But in the charging documents filed by the Ada County
Prosecuting Attorney's office, Pratt is said to have had a blood -
alcohol level of between .10 and .13. Ada County officials
agreed to prosecute the case after then - Valley County Prosecuting
Attorney Robert Williams also cited a conflict of interest in
the matter.
If convicted of the misdemeanor charge, Pratt could be fined
$1,000, sentenced to up to 180 days jail, and have his driver's
license suspended.
9 9 �
Court orders Soulen to pay taxes
BY JEANNE SEOL
The Star -News
Fourth District Judge George
Carey has ordered a local rancher to
pay Valley County more than
$80,000 in taxes on reforestation
lands west of Lake Fork.
A tax bill for $81,379 plus penal-
ties and accrued interest will now be
sent to Phil Soulen, acting as Soulen
Livestock Company, Inc., Valley
County Assessor Harley Hinshaw
said.
"This is absolutely what we
wanted," Hinshaw said of Carey's
decision.
Two years ago, Soulen filed suit
against five Valley County officials
and the Idahc State Land Board after
he was assessed to pay taxes on 1,072
acres of lands he owns west of Lake
Fork.
On Feb. 7, 1945, Soulen named
those acres as reforestation lands,
and entered into a 50 -year agree-
ment with the state, court- records
show. That agreement allowed him
minimal tax obligations for 50 years
under the 1929 Idaho Reforestation
Law.
Soulen's agreement expired on
Feb. 7,1995. Under the Idaho Refor-
estation Law, Soulen was to pay
12.5 percent of the value of the tim-
ber standing on the land in taxes. In
addition, he was to pay a 12.5 per-
cent "yield tax" on any timber har-
vested during the past 50 years.
In February 1996, the land board
calculated Soulen's taxes due in 1995
to be more than $95,000, but later
lowered that assessment to $81,379
based on area comparable sales of
timber between 1992 and 1994.
Instead of paying the tax, Soulen
sued the county and land board, ar-
guing that because the Idaho Legis-
lature repealed the Idaho Reforesta-
tion Law effective July 1, 1995, nei-
ther Valley County nor the land board
had any authority to charge Soulen
any tax.
But in his April 24 written deci-
sion, Carey ruled that Soulen was to
pay the $81,379 in taxes because he
had entered into a "contract" with
the county.
"Typically a contract right is
treated as a `vested' right, and a
`vested' right `has an independent
existence and remains enforceable
without regard to the repeal,' " Carey
said.
Soulen has the option to appeal
Carey's decision. He did not return
messages left at his homes in Lake
Fork and Weiser.
l tip�far IlP✓✓s
Tommy Rhea, left, makes practice dive with Jevon TruexPDan Gan.cso
Sheriff forms dive team
BY JEANNE SEOL
The Stu -News
A Valley County Sheriff's Depart-
ment search and rescue dive team
took its first training dive last week in
hopes of complementing the McCall
Dive Team in responding to emer-
gencies, Sheriff Tommy Rhea said. .
The Valley County dive team con-
sists of Rhea, Jevon Truex and Dan
Gan, both of McCall. Randy Skinner
is the team's surface coordinator,
while Cascade resident Bob Bate and
John Cruickshank of Donnelly pro-
vide back -up assistance.
"We're not trying to take the place
of the McCall Dive Team, we're just
providing more support," Rhea said.
"There are emergency times in this
county when we could use 20 divers."
Rhea is a certified diver who in the
early 1980s was a search and rescue
diver for the Arkansas State Police.
He said he developed the program in
an effort to make the Valley County
Search and Rescue Team even stron-
ger.
"Having an expanded dive capa-
bility county -.wide is nothing but an
asset," Rhea said.
The team has so far completed a
training dive on Cascade Reservoir
and was expected to dive on Payette
Lake this week, Rhea said. The group
will also be available to Mountain
Search and Rescue and to surround-
ing counties as needed, he said.
��0 h I V C , ( / 0 c A J U o e 0 - e ����c A / y 1 6 , 1 F I ��
l J
C a s c a d e m a n j a i l e d
i n s a d d l e , t a c k t h e f t
C A S C A D E A J u n e 4 , b u r -
g l a r y a t t h e M a c G r e g o r R a n c h a t
8 8 1 C a b a r t o n R o a d , s o u t h o f h e r e ,
n e t t e d t h e p e r p e t r a t o r s a b o u t $ 5 , 5 0 0
w o r t h o f s a d d l e s a n d t a c k .
T h e t h e e ` o f t h e e q u i p m e n t
b r o u g h t t h e M a c G r e g o r ' s c a t t l e
o p e r a t i o n t o a h a l t , a c c o r d i n g t o
V a l l e y C o u n t y S h e r i f f T o m m y
R h e a .
B u t V a l l e y C o u n t y S h e r i f f ' s
D e t e c t i v e s B r i t t D u r f e e a n d S c o t t
D e n n i n g s e r v e d s e a t c h w a r r a n t s
l a s t w e e k t h a t r e s u l t e d i n t h e r e c o v -
S a d d l e s a n d a s s o r t e d t a c k a l l e g e d l y s t o l e n f r o m t h e M a c G r e g o r
r a n c h .
e r y o f t h e m i s s i n g t a c k a n d t h e a r r e s t s o f t w o C a s c a d e m e n f o r c o m -
m i t t i n g t h e b u r g l a r y , a n d t h e a r r e s t s o f a M y r t l e B e a c h , I d a h o , c o u p l e
f o r p o s s e s s i o n o f s t o l e n p r o p e r t y .
A r r e s t e d w a s B e n j a m i n T . K e l l y , 2 5 , a r e s i d e n t o f P i n e s P l a z a # 1
i n C a s c a d e . H e h a s b e e n c h a r g e d w i t h b u r g l a r y a n d g r a n d t h e f t , a n d
a p r e l i m i n a r y h e a r i n g h a s b e e n s e t f o r M o n d a y . B o n d w a s s e t a t $ 1 0 , 0 0 0
a n d h e p o s t e d b o n d a n d h a s b e e n r e l e a s e d f r o m t h e V a l l e y C o u n t y J a i l ,
a c c o r d i n g t o a V a l l e y C o u n t y C o u r t c l e r k .
A l s o a r r e s t e d i n C a s c a d e w a s a 1 7 - y e a r - o l d j u v e n i l e . V a l l e y C o u n t y
P r o s e c u t i n g A t t o r n e y R i c h a r d R o a t s s a i d t h e y o u t h w i l l b e c h a r g e d a s
a j u v e n i l e a n d a s s u c h , h e c o u l d n ' t r e l e a s e t h e y o u t h ' s i d e n t i t y .
C h a r g e d i n N e z P e r c e C o u n t y w i t h p o s s e s s i n g s t o l e n p r o p e r t y w a s
L a r r y L . D o w e r s , 4 5 , a n d h i s w i f e V i c k i e L . D o w e r s , 4 2 . T h e y w i l l
b e d e a l t w i t h b y t h e N e z P e r c e C o u n t y c o u r t s y s t e m .
D e t a i l s o f t h e i r s t a t u s t h e r e w e r e n o t a v a i l a b l e p r i o r t o T h e L o n g
V a l l e y A d v o c a t e ' s p r e s s t i m e T u e s d a y .
,✓S - %�,t l9 7
Courthouse
remodeling
finished
BY JEANNE SEOL
The Star -News
Several elected officials and county
employees have moved their offices
into the newly - remodeled basement
in the Valley County courthouse in
Cascade.
The $320,000 project remodeled
the former jail and sheriff's depart-
ment into office space for county
employees, a 24 -seat conference
room, storage rooms and a joint office
for the Valley County commission-
ers.
Valley County Prosecuting Attor-
ney Richard Roats and Deputy Pros-
ecuting Attorney Bill Harrigfeld are
now located in the lower level of the
courthouse. The prosecutors were for -
merly housed across the street in,the
rented Last Chance building, now
converted into Valley Community
Credit Union.
Also located in new lower level is
Assessor Harley Hinshaw's office,
space for Victim Witness Coordina-
tor Christine White and offices for
seven auditors.
The law library has also been
moved downstairs and court clerks on
the main level of the courthouse have
expanded into the library's former
space.
Offices for the Department of
Motor Vehicles are still located in the
courthouse basement, but the office
issuing drivers licenses has bn
moved to the new jail and sheriWs
department building built last year on
the west side of the courthouse.
The remodeling project is not the
end to future improvements to the
courthouse, Valley County Clerk Lee
Heinrich said.
The county is still accumulating
funds to build a $2 million addition to
the south end of the courthouse.
That addition would house another
courtroom, a large meeting room for
the commissioners and more storage
space, Heinrich said. About $480,000
has so far been earmarked for the new
construction, proposed to take place
within the next four years, he said.
OHq a/ P y %lyaca�� _ fs�6�97
Heavy fire power
Is
Left to right, Steve Picatti, representing the anonymous
donor, Valley County Sheriff Tommy Rhea, and Det. Jim
Kangas of the McCall Police Department, each heft one of
the new .308 - caliber fully automatic Springfield assault
rifles delivered last week to the Valley County Sheriff's
Department and the MPD. The donation was arranged and
coordinated by Medley Sports. Mike Griffith of Medley's
looks on. The machine guns will give local law enforce-
ment some much - needed firepower in the arms race that's
been taking place between law enforcement and crimi-
nals.
��o n c �� V a 6 Y F 7 d V & C a - h c
V a l l e y C o u n t y
S h e r i f f ' s D e p u t y
i n j u r e d i n
t r a f f i c s t o p
C A S C A D E V a l l e y C o u n t y
S h e r i f f ' s D e p u t y K i m b e r K e l l e y
r e c e i v e d m i n o r i n j u r i e s t o h i s h a n d
d u r i n g a t r a f f i c s t o p l a s t
W e d n e s d a y .
A t a b o u t 1 0 : 2 0 p . m . J u l y 3 0 ,
K e l l e y w a s s t r u c k o n t h e h a n d b y
t h e m i r r o r o f a p a s s i n g v e h i c l e
w h i l e h e w a s d o i n g a t r a f f i c s t o p
a t m i l e p o s t 1 3 9 o n I d a h o H i g h w a y
5 5 .
T h e s u s p e c t v e h i c l e w a s s t o p p e d
a s h o r t d i s t a n c e a w a y b y I d a h o
S t a t e P o l i c e C o r p o r a l D a r r e l l
K e l l e y .
D e p u t y K e l l e y w a s t r e a t e d a t
M c C a l l M e m o r i a l H o s p i t a l a n d
w a s r e l e a s e d .
T h e d r i v e r o f t h e v e h i c l e ,
R a c h a e l S u e M e t t i e , 3 0 8 R i o V i s t a
B l v d , M c C a l l , w a s a r r e s t e d a t t h e
s c e n e . M e t t i e h a s b e e n c h a r g e d
w i t h l e a v i n g t h e s c e n e o f a n i n j u r y
a c c i d e n t , a f e l o n y , a n d d r i v i n g
w h i l e u n d e r t h e i n f l u e n c e o f a l c o -
h o l . T h e a c c i d e n t i s s t i l l u n d e r
i n v e s t i g a t i o n b y t h e V a l l e y C o u n t y
S h e r i f f ' s D e p a r t m e n t .
Star -News Photo by Jeanne Seol
Valley Co. gets IPC awards
Representatives of Idaho Power Co.
presented plaques to Valley County
commissioners for the energy effi-
cient construction of the new Val-
ley County Jail in Cascade and
Valley County Courthouse Annex
in McCall. Pictured, seated frir ._
left, are commissioners Francis
Wallace, Terry Gestrin and Tom
Olson. Standing, from left, is Idaho
Power Commercial Energy Repre-
sentative Alan Robinson, Idaho
Power Consulting Leader Sam
Turner and Clerk Lee Heinrich.
/ p /-
Fq# JC I -f 2- fAgvs
Petersens leave Valley County's employ
CASCADE — The two new
kittens running around the living
room of Duane and Donna Petersen
are going to have a lot of compa-
ny after the end of September.
That's when Donna will retire
Th
com
came i
county
after 30 years of working for Valley in 191
County and Duane will step down that w
after 20 years of directing Valley year 1
County's road department. went tc
For the two of them, who were in the o
feted at a picnic and barbecue here new da
Saturday, retirement will mean cessing
several things, not the least of ment.
which is that come Christmas, the
two will sit down to dinner togeth-
er and enjoy it, as planned, for the
first time since either can really
remember.
But, don't
misunderstand,
that's about the
0
only thing the I don't think 1
two are planning Culvert in th I'.
for their retire-
ment. I don't know.
Because of
the requirements
of their jobs over
the years —
before he became
the county's road supervisor, Duane,
like his father before him, made
his living plowing snow for tim-
ber and mining companies — he
said the two have had to plan just
about everything for 47 years.
Everything, that is, except
Thanksgiving and Christmas din-
ners, which Donna said she's eaten
more often alone than with her
husband over the years.
But over the years, both have
seen some dramatic changes.
When Donna first went to work
for the county, for example, the
Sheriff's Department consisted of
the Sheriff, a deputy and a secre-
tary, she said. When someone was
jailed, a part -timer was hired to
keep an eye out at night.
When she started in the tax col-
lector's office, the county had about
2,500 parcels on the tax rolls, she
said. Now that number is between
19,000 and 20,000.
There was no magistrate judge
then, only a justice of the peace.
he assessor's office was com-
rised of the assessor, a deputy,
nd when an appraisal was need -
d, it was contracted for, she said.
Those offices now have sever -
I times the number of employees
hey had. But not as many as would
e needed were it not for the tech -
ology that's entered the picture
nd made it possible for everyone
do even more work.
Duar
Y
after a combined 50 years
Donna and Duane Petersen in front of "Pete's" road supervisor's rig.
then, there have been five new
computer systems. While she's
been able to keep up with the new
technology, she said she's not sure
she'd be able to handle the next
step on the horizon — a changeover
from mainframe computer with
dumb terminals to a network of
personal computers.
"It's been fun, I've always
enjoyed going to work, there's
always been lots of work to do,
and I've gotten to travel to places
I never would have been able to,"
she said.
What will she miss? Of course,
the people she's worked with, and
she'll also miss the day -to -day
challenges of the job.
Challenges are also what drew
Duane into public employment
20 years ago when the county
replaced a retiring Merle Ready,
who had been the county's road
boss for 42 years before that.
"I don't think there's a culvert
in this county that I don't know,"
he said.
The changes in road mainte-
nance have been, in their own way,
just as resounding as the com-
puterization of county govern-
ment.
Bigger and better maintenance
equipment and a much different
clientele are the major changes
Duane said he's seen over the
years.
"The people we're dealing with
now are much more demanding,"
he said. While folks used to not
mind being snowed in for a day
or two, he said that now people
want their snow plowed and they
want it done now.
Fortunately, a lot of residents
have purchased their own small
snow plows and snowblowers and
do a pretty good job of getting
themselves plowed out of drive-
ways and smaller roads that the
county used to plow before Petersen
took over.
What makes it seem easier and
faster is the size and speed of
today's equipment. He said his
dad used to take eight hours to
plow from Cascade out past Scott
Valley and back. Nowadays,
Petersen said his snowplow dri-
ver can make two round trips over
the same distance in three hours.
He said that over the years, his
snowplow drivers have become
responsible for their own route, to
the point that there is no dispatching
done. Each driver watches the
weather and plows their route
accordingly. The job gets done
and gets done well, he said.
That doesn't mean he's not
watching. He said he's the one to
vhc� V a l ie Y �C/tiOC�C�
Sly 7157
go out there when someone needs
help with a breakdown or getting
unstuck, and that's what makes
for the missed Christmas dinners.
"I've made it a 24 -hour a day
job, but to me, it's what 1 was hired
to do," he said.
Like Ready before him, Petersen
said he's left his stamp on the
department. Now he's ready to
walk away to let Gordon
Cruickshank make his own way
as the new boss.
And, he said he hopes the coun-
ty staff, the road crew employees
and the county commissioners will
all continue to support the posi-
tion as they have. He has loads of
praise for the commissioners he's
worked for over the years.
"It's really been a challenge,
and I've really enjoyed it," he said.
With their health still good, he said
that if they can take advantage of
retirement to enjoy life, why not
do it?
"I'll miss the guys and the equip-
ment outfits, and the general pub-
lic too," he said. "And I'll miss
the 10 to 12 hour days fora while."
But ...
A long -time amateur historian,
Petersen is trying his hand at writ-
ing, having authored a book on
the shay logging— logging with
railroad — that used to be preva-
lent in the valley.
Donna, whom Duane said is an
excellent counted cross - stitcher,
will be working at filling the exhib-
it area at next year's Valley County
Fair with her work. And, as the
sun sets on their employment with
Valley County, they'll also have
those two kittens to keep in line,
ong with sonic camping in a 5th-
wheel they're considering buying.
We just hope the next 20 vears
-)n't go as quick as the last
Duane said.
Rye ?e �,,z, of 2 rages
8/ 7117
County commissioners wave off plan
for new grass airstri
CASCADE —The Valley County Commissioners,
citing the lack of a master plan, denied the appeal
of a County Planning & Zoning decision to not issue
a conditional use permit (CUP) that would have
allowed construction of a 2,500 foot long.grass airstrip
northeast of Donnelly.
"I've read the record front to back," Commissioner
Tom .Kerr said about the proposal.
And, he said it is lacking in that the application
for the CUP is clearly only a part of a larger project.
Without a completed master plan that shows the scale
of the proposed entire project, he said he couldn't
approve the project. That entire proposed project is
for a paved 9,000 foot runway that would serve as
a regional airport suitable for commercial commuter
traffic.
"Normally, you come with a whole master plan,"
he said. "Then everone knows where they're head-
ing." Once a master plan is approved, then a project
can proceed, albeit in phases, he said
Commissioner Phil Davis said that everything
p on Spink Lane
the commissioners heard about the project had to do
with the benefits of a regional airport, but nothing
to do with the proposed construction of the tempo-
rary grass airstrip. -
But developing a master plan costs large amounts
of money, and Luze said it is ridiculous to expect
developers to spend that kind of money without some
sort of positive reading from the Commissioners.
"I think they expect you to put thousands and
thousands of dollars into a study without just an ini-
tial okay," developer Jean Luze said. Luze had pro-
posed the project to be built on about 35 acres of
land belonging to John Cruickshank.
Luze said that without some sort of indication
that the county might approve such a project, attract-
ing investors for the project is impossible.
"In 15 years, when they do decide they need (a
large regional airport), this large of a tract of land
will be difficult to come by," she said. "It's a loss
for Valley County and an unjust decision on the part
of the Commissioners."
40ily V-$/ &Y 4dtlocdie
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Ada County Prosecutor agrees to look at
Sheriff's DUI stop
CASCADE — Ada County
Prosecuting Attorney Greg Bowers'
agreed Tuesday to allow himself
to be appointed a special prose-
cutor should he decide that charges
of driving while under the influ-
ence of alcohol be filed against;
Valley County Sheriff Lewis Pratt.
Bowers said Tuesday afternoon,
that he has met with Idaho
Department of Law Enforcement
and Idaho State Police investiga -''
tors about the circumstances sur-
rounding the Aug. I I incident in
which Pratt was stopped in the
alley behind the old Shaver's build-
ing in downtown McCall.
He said that if he makes a deter-
mination to file a DUI charge,
which his staff should be able to
make a decision on within a few
days, he would then file the charge
in Fourth District Magistrate's.
Court in Cascade,
Williams said earlief Tuesday
that he had received the investi-
gation report from the Idaho State
Police, and had contacted Bowers'
office about taking on the case.
He said that county prosecu-
tors within the Fourth Judicial
District often rely on other pros-
ecutors to help them out when there
are conflicts of interest.
He said he sought outside pros-
ecution on the matter because of
the appearance of a conflict of
interest on his office's part. The
VAIJey County Prosecuting
Attorney's office works closely
with the Valley County Sheriff's
,Department on most legal matters.
That situation also makes it dif-
ficult to find interest within the
law community in Valley County,
fa€nrn which a special prosecutor
might be appointed, he said.
The Idaho Attorney General's
Office also declined a request to
consider serving as a Special
Prosecutor because "... it does not
best utilize our limited resources
in handling special prosecutions,"
Williams said, quoting from the
letter he received last week from
the AG's office.
Under such an agreement,
Valley County will have to pay
the out -of- pocket expenses incurred
in prosecuting the case, but not
foi'thours the special prosecu-
tor might spend working on it,
both Bowers and Williams said.
Bowers said that if a determi-
nation by his staff is made that
there is sufficient evidence to sup-
port a charge, he would file that,
along with a letter from Williams'
granting him authority to file the
charge, in Cascade.
Then, he said Williams would
;nrenare a petition for the court
naming the Ada County Prosecuting
Attorney's Office as the prosecu-
tor of the case.
Fourth District Judge George
D. Carey will then be asked to sign
off on that, even though the poten-
tial DUI charge that might be filed
against Pratt is a misdemeanor and
wouldn't be heard by Carey, and
instead by Magistrate Judge Darla
Williamson.
Hunter's Ed gets guns
In an agreement with the Idaho Department of Fish and Game and
Valley County Prosecuting Attorney Richard Roats, a convicted elk
poacher from Boise gave the IDFG Hunter Education Program $519
to purchase new .22- caliber rifles for the McCall /Cascade hunter
education programs. The purchase was made so the poacher could
be returned his seized poaching rifle that was a "family heirloom."
Howdy's Gas & Grub ordered the Marlin rifles and paid the ship-
ping costs, according to Conservation Officer George Fischer. He
said that some of the rifles that they've been using for the course
haven't even had sights on them, and with no funding in the pro-
gram, there was no way to replace them.
LGYTG� rCrJjpy JdV000 I ��`
Valley County has new
deputy prosecuting attorney
CASCADE — Valley County has a new deputy prosecuting attor-
ney following the announcement last week that Don Gadda was named
to fill the position vacated when Robert Williams moved up from that
position to the post of prosecuting attorney following the retirement
of Larry Schoenhut.
Gadda is a 1995 graduate of the University of Idaho College of
Law and is originally from Reno, Nev. He lived in Boise for 25 years
before attending law school.
He has begun working in the office and said last week that he looks
forward to living and working in Valley County. He can be reached
by calling the Prosecutor's Office at 382 -4277.
,5-r/9 R. New ,$
Pratt DUI trial to start Jan. 7
Former Valley County Sheriff
Lewis Pratt will go to trial on Jan. 7
on a 1996 charge of driving under
the influence of alcohol.
Jury selection begins at 9:30 a.m.
at the Valley County Courthouse in
Cascade. Fourth District Magistrate
Richard Grant will preside over the
two -day trial, while the Ada County
Prosecuting Attorney's office will
prosecute the case.
Valley County officials excused
themselves one year ago from han-
dling the case, citing a conflict of
interest between county agencies.
On Aug. 11, 1996, Pratt, who
was sheriff at the time, was stopped
by police while driving in an alley
behind the former Shaver's build-
ing in downtown McCall.
An alcohol breath analysis
showed Pratt's blood alcohol level
to be between .10 and. 13, accord-
ing to the charges. A blood alcohol
level of .08 is currently considered
to be legally drunk in Idaho, but at
the time of the arrest, Idaho law
considered a blood alcohol level of
.10 to be legally drunk.
If convicted of the misdemeanor
offense, Pratt faces a maximum of
six months in jail, a $1,000 fine and
150 -day driver's license suspen-
sion.
/-z -;2 �L -c/
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Missing snowmobilers walk to safety
CASCADE — Two snowmo-
bilers reported as being overdue
spent the night of Dec. 29 on West
Mountain before walking to safe-
ty the next morning.
The Valley County Sheriff's
Dispatch Center received a call at
about 10:35 p.m. Dec. 29 about
the missing snowmobilers — iden-
tified as Shane A. Meridith, 26,
and James A. Oswald, 23, both of
Meridian. The report indicated
that the two were snowmobiling
on the Anderson Creek Trail on
the west side of Cascade Reservoir.
An initial search conducted that
night by Valley County Sheriff's
Department personnel turned up
no sign of the missing snowmo-
bilers and the search was termi-
nated until the next morning.
At 9 a.m. Dec. 30, the search
resumed with members of the
VCSD, Valley County Search and
Rescue, Adams County Sheriff's
Department; Payette National
Forest, Boise National Forest and
McCall Police Departments all
assisting.
A total of 28 snowmobiles were
involved in looking for the two.
The search was terminated at
about l p.m. that day when a Valley
County snow plow driver report-
ed being flagged down near the
Poison Creek Campground by
Meridith and Oswald.
They were returned to their
vehicle and determined to be in
good physical condition. They
required no medical attention.
It was determined that they had
encountered deep snow and dete-
riorating snow conditions and had
become stuck. They spent the night
with their snowmobiles and began
walking off the mountain when it
became light enough to do so.
ATP zewq Y llPy 41P-0 C _ llrl9f "
Former Sheriff Pratt expected
to plead guilty to lesser char e
Former Valley County Sheriff Lewis
Pratt is expected to plead guilty today to a
City of McCall misdemeanor charge of neg-
ligent driving for operating a motor vehi-
cle with a blood alcohol level exceeding
.10 percent.
According to Pat Owen, a Deputy Ada
County Prosecutor who is handling the pros-
ecution of the case, Pratt will plead guilty
to the lesser City of McCall ordinance, thus
heading off a scheduled trial for driving
while under the influence of alcohol.
Owen said his expectation is based on
discussions he's had with Pratt's attorney.
Pratt was stopped by McCall Police and
Valley County Sheriff's deputies at about
3 a.m. Aug. 11, 1996, while he was driving
his personal automobile slowly down the
alley between the old Shaver's store and
the Citizens Telecom building.
Officers involved in the stop said Pratt's
vehicle alarm was sounding and that the
headlights and taillights, wired into the
alarm, were flashing off and on.
Pratt was taken by Idaho State Police
Cpl- Mitch Ruska, who was asked to respond
by McCall Police because of concerns about
potential conflicts, to the Valley County
Sheriff's Department where a breath test
showed his blood alcohol level to be about
.07, below the then legal limit of .10. That
limit was reduced this year by the Idaho
Legislature to .08.
However, Ruska and Pratt didn't arrive
at the Sheriff's office in Cascade until about 5:30 a.m.
Ada County officials, who were asked to prosecute
the case by then Valley County Prosecuting Attorney
Robert Williams because of conflicts of interest, said
after reviewing the case that they filed a DUI charge
and believed they could use expert testimony to prove
that Pratt's blood - alcohol level exceeded .10 at the time
he was stopped, and that his metabolism had rid his
body of some of the alcohol by the time he was tested.
McCall City Attorney Ted Burton said the city's
negligent driving ordinance was enacted when the stan-
dard was .10, and is only one of several specified behav-
iors that constitute that offense.
He said one motivating factor for the ordinance was
to create an offense "to cover the situation where some-
one had exhibited driving patterns indicative of being
under the influence of something reality - distorting, but
did not come up to the 0.10 for alcohol; or where the
test result was so close to the 0.10 as to be within a
margin of machine error.
Former Valley County Sheriff Lewis Pratt
"The ordinance was also intended to provide a lesser offense for the
extraordinary case where unusual and mitigating circumstances present-
ed themselves in a DUI case, but did not excuse the conduct," Burton said.
"The latter can only be decided on a case by case basis."
He also said that with the national trend for DUI laws moving toward
a blood alcohol level of .08, the city was ahead of the curve with the ordi-
nance.
Pratt is scheduled to appear in Boise this afternoon for a change of plea
hearing at which he's expected to plead guilty to the City of McCall charge.
Unlike previous court proceedings, in which Pratt didn't have to appear
and could be represented by his attorney, he will have to appear this after-
noon in person to enter his change of plea, Owen said.
Owen said the charge is a general misdemeanor and the penalties for
violating that are less than those that apply to violations of the Idaho DUI
statutes.
The maximum fine for a conviction under the state's DUI law is $1,000,
while for a general misdemeanor it's only $300. Maximum jail time on
both is 6 months, but the general misdemeanor doesn't require a driver's
license suspension, which the DUI law requires.
Alcohol counseling is also mandatory under the state's DUI law but
not for general misdemeanor violations. -
- &1,17)- - 111:2 9 � 9 "?
Counties join for training
Almost 301aw enforcement officers from eight dif-
ferent agencies attended a snowmobile course at the
McCall Smokejumper Base last week. Members of
the Snowmobile Safety Institute from Evart, Mich.,
taught two classes on snowmobile accident and re-
construction and snowmobile patrol techniques. The
Star -News Photo by Jeanne Heins
event was sponsored by the Heartland Law Enforce-
ment Association and hosted by the McCall Police
Department. Pictured with one of the training snowmo-
biles from left is Adams County Undersheriff Scot
Kump, Valley County Sheriff Tommy Rhea and Boise
County Sheriff Gary Brown.
Valley jailer leaves
job after conflict
of interestfimdmg
BY JEANNE HEINS
The Star-News
A Valley County Jail employee
no longer works at the jail follow-
ing an investigation into whether
jail staffers favored one bail bond-
ing company over another.
Jailer Judy Allen is no longer an
employee at the Valley County Jail.
Her last day was Monday, Valley
County Personnel and Risk Man-
ager Tamara Probst said. Probst
would not say whether Allen had
resigned or been fired.
"Personnel action was taken to
alleviate the conflict," Probst said.
"It was in no way aimed negatively
toward (Allen). It was not a disci-
plinary issue."
Allen's employment with the
county ended after both Probst and
an Idaho Counties Risk Manage-
ment Program investigator con-
cluded Allen's employment at the
jail constituted a "conflict of inter-
est," Probst said.
Allen's husband, Mike Allen of
McCall, owns Jan's Bail Bonds.
Because he regularly bonds out in-
mates at the Valley County Jail,
where his wife worked as a jailer, a
conflict of interest is present, ac-
cording to the county's personnel
policy, Probst said.
The Valley County Personnel
Policy states that "an actual or po-
tential conflict of interest occurs
when an employee is in a position
to influence a decision that may
result in a personal gain for that
employee, or for a relative, as a
result of Valley County's business
dealings."
Because Idaho is a community
property state, where husbands and
wives own equal shares of their
assets, Judy Allen has a "signifi-
cant ownership" of Jan's Bail
Bonds, Probst said. As a jailer, Allen
assists inmates with bonding out of
jail. "That relationship is a conflict
of interest," Probst said.
The investigation into Allen's
employment status was started four
weeks ago after Arrow Bail Bonds
owner Kathy Campbell of New
Meadows told Valley County Com-
missioners she believed jail staff
were favoring Jan's Bail Bonds over
her business.
Campbell argued since starting
her business one year ago, she
bonded out only three percent of all
Valley County Jail inmates, while
Jan's Bail Bonds bonded out 94
percent of inmates. The rest were
taken care of by out -of -town bond-
ing companies, records show.
At the Jan. 26 meeting, Campbell
also presented to commissioners
seven written statements from
former Valley County Jail inmates
who said jail staff never gave them
a choice in bail bonding agents
during their stay at the Valley
County Jail. Jailers instead recom-
mended the inmates call Jan's Bail
Bonds, statements said.
Campbell's claims of discrimi-
nation were not addressed in any
written report by ICRMP and Probst
declined to comment on the allega-
tions. She said Allen's employment
ended with the county only over a
"conflict of interest" issue and not
over "a disciplinary issue."
Judy Allen did not respond to
messages left by The Star -News at
her home in McCall. Mike Allen
said the couple's attorney, whom
he would not name, had advised
them not to comment.
Neither Valley County Clerk Lee
Heinrich nor Undersheriff Tom
Upton would comment on whether
Allen had resigned or been fired.
"It was a conflict of interest and it's
too bad the situation existed," Upton
said.
Campbell, meanwhile, said "it's
too early to tell" whether not hav-
ing Allen work as a jailer will affect
her business.
"I was hoping it wouldn't come
to that," Campbell said of Allen's
employment status. "But I can only
get pushed so far. Hopefully this
will solve the problem."
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V a l l e y P & Z
h e a r s J u g
M o u n t a i n
d e v e l o p m e n t
B Y C O R E Y W I C K S
T h e S t a r - N e w s
T h e p r o p o s e d J u g M o u n t a i n R a n c h
d e v e l o p m e n t u n d e r w e n t s c r u t i n y l a s t
w e e k b e f o r e t h e V a l l e y C o u n t y P l a n -
n i n g a n d Z o n i n g C o m m i s s i o n , b u t t h e
h e a r i n g w a s j u s t t h e f i r s t s t e p i n a l o n g
s c r e e n i n g p r o c e s s .
N e a r l y 1 0 0 p e o p l e c r o w d e d i n t o t h e
c o u r t r o o m o f t h e V a l l e y C o u n t y C o u r t -
h o u s e i n C a s c a d e t o a t t e n d l a s t
T h u r s d a y ' s P & Z m e e t i n g . A f t e r c o m -
m e n t s w e r e p r e s e n t e d , c o m m i s s i o n e r s
d e c i d e d t o t a b l e t h e m a t t e r u n t i l a s p e -
c i a l m e e t i n g o n W e d n e s d a y t o d e t e r m i n e
t h e p r o j e c t ' s c o m p a t i b i l i t y r a t i n g .
T h e c o m m i s s i o n w i l l v o t e t o d e t e r -
m i n e c o m p a t i b i l i t y w i t h t h e
n e i g h b o r h o o d w i t h r e s p e c t t o t h e l a n d
u s e a n d d e v e l o p m e n t o r d i n a n c e s . I t i s
t h e f i r s t s t e p t o w a r d c o n c e p t a p p r o v a l .
T h e c o m m i s s i o n w i l l t h e n s e n d i t s
r e c o m m e n d a t i o n t o t h e V a l l e y C o u n t y
c o m m i s s i o n e r s , w h o w i l l a l s o h o l d p u b -
l i c h e a r i n g s c o n c e r n i n g t h e c o n c e p t
a p p r o v a l .
D u r i n g t h e p u b l i c h e a r i n g , L i n c o l n
H a r t o f t h e F r i e n d s o f F a r m t o M a r k e t
c i t i z e n s g r o u p r a i s e d a n o b j e c t i o n . H a r t
s a i d h e h a d u n d e r s t o o d t h a t t h e h e a r i n g
w o u l d d e a l w i t h t h e c o n d i t i o n a l - u s e p e r -
m i t p h a s e a n d t h a t t h e i r a t t o r n e y w a s
p r e p a r e d t o t a l k a b o u t t h a t p h a s e r a t h e r
t h a n t h e c o n c e p t a p p r o v a l p h a s e .
S t i l l c o n f u s e d , t h i n k s H a r t
H a r t s a i d i n a n i n t e r v i e w t h a t t h e r e
w a s s o m e c o n f u s i o n a t t h e F e b r u a r y 1 2
P & Z m e e t i n g b e c a u s e t h e h e a r i n g b e -
g a n a s a c o n d i t i o n a l u s e p e r m i t h e a r i n g
u n t i l t h e P & Z c o m m i s s i o n r e a l i z e d t h a t
t h e r e w a s n o p r o c e d u r e f o r t h e c o n c e p t
a p p r o v a l p h a s e .
V a l l e y C o u n t y h a s o n l y p r o c e s s e d
o n e p l a n n e d - u n i t d e v e l o p m e n t b e f o r e
a n d h a d n o p r o c e d u r e f o r t h e c o n c e p t
a p p r o v a l p h a s e .
" W e ' r e s t i l l c o n f u s e d a b o u t t h e p r o -
c e s s , " H a r t s a i d . " W e ' r e j u s t f r u s t r a t e d
a n d f e e l l i k e w e ' r e b e i n g e x c l u d e d f r o m
t h e p r o c e s s - a n d w e ' r e t h e p u b l i c . "
S t e v e n M i l l e m a n n , a t t o r n e y f o r d e -
v e l o p e r J o h n C a r e y , c o u n t e r e d t h a t t h e
o b j e c t i o n w a s i n v a l i d b e c a u s e t h e c o n -
c e p t a p p r o v a l p h a s e w a s p r e l i m i n a r y t o
t h e c o n d i t i o n a l u s e p h a s e . M i l l e m a n n
s a i d h i s c l i e n t w o u l d h a v e n o u n f a i r
a d v a n t a g e b y g o i n g t h r o u g h t h e c o n -
c e p t a p p r o v a l p h a s e f i r s t .
" I f t h e f a c t s a r e i n y o u r f a v o r t h e n
y o u p o u n d t h e f a c t s , " M i l l e m a n n s a i d .
" W h e n t h e f a c t s a r e i n y o u r o p p o n e n t ' s
f a v o r t h e n y o u p o u n d t h e t a b l e . A n d i t
s e e m s t o m e t h a t t o n i g h t w e ' r e s e e i n g a
l o t o f t a b l e - p o u n d i n g . "
H a r t s a i d t h a t h e t h o u g h t M i l l e m a n n
w a s o n l y s u p p o s e d t o r e b u t t h e p u b l i c
h e a r i n g t e s t i m o n y , b u t i n s t e a d t a l k e d
a b o u t t h e c o m p a t i b i l i t y r a t i n g .
P & Z c h a i r B i l l W i l l e y c l o s e d t h e
h e a r i n g a f t e r M i l l e m a n n ' s p r e s e n -
t a t i o n , a l t h o u g h H a r t w a n t e d t o
c o m m e n t .
- " I w a s s u r p r i s e d w h e n w e
w e r e n ' t a l l o w e d t o c o m m e n t a b o u t
t h e c o m p a t i b i l i t y p r e s e n t a t i o n , "
H a r t s a i d .
D u r i n g h i s r e b u t t a l t o t h e p u b -
l i c h e a r i n g , M i l l e m a n n n o t e d t h a t
t h e p l a n h a d b e e n c h a n g e d s o t h a t
Lv/Y6,- V,-4L.Lr>f .�Pvc,ChTE �3 g�
Petitioners claim there is too much law
enforcement in Valley County
CASCADE — Valley County Commissioners Monday took deliv-
ery of a petition carrying 223 signatures that states that the signers
believe there are too many law enforcement officers in Valley County,
and that there is too much money being spent on them and on vehi-
cles.
Instead, the signers of the petition would like to see the money bet-
ter spent on the county's infrasture and recreation facilities for adults
and youths alike.
There was no cover attached to the petition, and the petitions were
mailed in an envelope that carried no return address, and Valley County
Clerk Lee Heinrich said it carries no legal weight because it wasn't in
a form that had been approved previously by the Commissioners or
the state of Idaho.
But, just the fact that there was a petition submitted that expressed
a negative attitude about law enforcement in the county was of con-
cern to the Commissioners and to Valley County Sheriff Tommy Rhea
and McCall Police Chief Carla Donica.
"If this petition is going to be taken seriously, I assure you law
enforcement in this county will respond to those issues," Rhea said.
Both Rhea and Donica said they believed that education was part
of the problem, and that they need to do a better job at informing the
public about the job law enforce-
could perhaps be expanded on for the Commission's use. That study
ment is doing in Valley County.
explains why her department is staffed the way it is, she said.
Rhea said that during 1997, the
Rather than sign petitions, Donica said she'd rather that people
county's 9 -1 -1 dispatch center
come in to her office and she'd be happy to explain why she has the
received 2,647 calls for service,
number of officers she does, and what they do.
which he described as calls that
Unrelated, but a useful forum nonetheless, she said, is a forum set
required an officer to respond.
for May 27 in McCall on community policing. That forum will begin
That figure applies to the entire
at 7 p.m. at the McCall Senior Center.
county.
It is not a forum at which to roast McCall Police, she said, but
So far in 1998, he said there
instead to discuss community policing and address concerns held by
have been 709 calls for service a
figure that compares with 53Wat
members of the public.
As another step to improve public perception of her department
the same time last year. The
and a better understanding of the job her officers do, she said they've
demand on officers' time is increas-
started a civilian ride -along program where people can spend some
ing, and both he and Donica said
it's coming at a time when there
time riding with a patrol officer.
Some of the names and addresses on the petitions were from out
have been no additions of patrol
of the area. But of more interest to officers Monday were several sig-
staff to either of their departments
natures on the petitions that they said were from individuals who had
for a couple of years. Neither have
arrest warrants outstanding against them. They were pleased, in at least
there been any new vehicles pur-
one case, to learn that an individual was still in the area.
chased by either department recent-
ly, another criticism listed in the
petition.
Rhea said that a lot of things
have been changing within his
department since he assumed office
nearly 18 months ago. Those
changes are in response to com-
ments and criticism by the pub-
lic.
He said he would get repre-
sentatives of all law enforcement
agencies in the county together to
develop a formal response to the
commissioners about the impli-
cations of the petition.
Donica said that she had pre-
pared a 5 -year study for the McCall
City Council about what has been
happening there. She said that
Campers found after night
lost in southern Valley County
CASCADE — A group of five campers from the
Treasure Valley, lost overnight in a remote area of
southern Valley County near Boiling Springs
Campground and Silver Creek Plunge, were found
by searchers Friday morning.
One of the campers suffered from hypothermia
—a condition in which the body's temperature falls
out of the normal range — and was treated at the
scene.
According to the Valley County Sheriff's Office,
the Valley County Search and Rescue Unit was noti-
fied at about 3:15 p.m. last Thursday there there may
be a search for missing campers in southern Valley
County.
At about 5:45 p.m. Valley County SAR Commander
Pres Funkhouser received a telephone call from a
ham radio operator in Boise who had received the
distress call from the campers, who used a hand -held
ham radio.
After some questioning over the radio, it was
determined that the group was lost somewhere
upstream from Boiling Springs on the East Fork of
the Payette River. At that time authorities still weren't
certain if the group was in Valley or Boise counties.
Boise County Sheriff Gary Brown, Forest Service
law enforcment officer Bill Oliver, a volunteer who
was a paramedic, and an emergency medical tech-
nician went in on foot up the East Fork Trail upstream
from Boiling Springs.
In the meantime, VCSAR mobilized and headed
for the headwater of Silver Creek. A map terrain
analysis determined that the most feasible route into
the suspect area was on the Silver Creek summitt
trail.
All of the searchers assembled at the incident
command center at about 10 p.m. Thursday, with
the plan being to wait until first light Friday to attempt
the rescue.
More questioning of the campers pinpointed them
somewhere close to where Bull Creek, Sixteen to
One Creek, and the East Fork converged. By radio,
the campers were talked through the procedure for
finding dry materials for a fire and how to treat one
of the lost campers for hypothermia.
An all -night radio watch was maintained with the
campers, and volunteers with ATVs and horses were
lined up to help at first light Friday.
Seven ATVs and three horses were on hand at
about 5:45 a.m. Friday to head over Silver Creek
Summit. The ATVs were stopped by a foot of new
snow on the summit, helped by a large slide across
the trail just below the summit on the north side.
Three horses and riders and VCSAR members on
foot made it over the summit and down the other
side.
By 10:30 a.m., the searchers had found the lost
campers, loaded the injured and one other on hors-
es and headed out of the back country.
They were found within a quarter -mile of where
searchers figured they were. At about 3:30 p.m., res-
cuers and lost campers arrived back at the trailhead,
cold, wet, tired and hungry.
The happy ending is being credited to the close
cooperation that exists between the Valley County
Sheriff's Office, the VCSAR unit and volunteers
from Crouch and Garden Valley, especially Doug
Bjorn, who volunteered the use of his horses and
Idaho Department of Fish and Game Officer Rob
Brize, whose knowledge of the area proved very
important.
wo
Expert says judge's order
to remove wolves is moot
GARDINER, Mont. — Removing
wolves released in central Idaho's
wilderness and Yellowstone National
Park may be impossible, even if a fed-
eral court order for removal is upheld,
the government's wolf recovery
leader says.
"We couldn't catch them all," Ed
Bangs of the U.S. Fish and Wildlife
Service said. "It would take a long
time — years at least — to even try."
U.S. District Judge William
Downes ruled late last year that the
Canadian wolves transplanted in 1995
and 1996 were introduced illegally'
and must be removed. But Downes
stayed his order in the suit brought by
the Farm Bureau Federation pending
review by the 10th U.S. Circuit Court
of Appeals.
More than 300 yearling and adult
wolves now reside in Yellowstone,
central Idaho and northwest Mon-
tana, the three areas for the govern-
ment recovery effort.
As many as 100 pups born this
spring will add to the booming popu-
lation.
��C L 4 . , n l 7 a ��l �� 5 I c a n a n
F o u r i e r p o l i c e c h i e f
p l e a d s g u i l t y t o
f u n d e m b e M e m e n t
C A S C A D E F o r m e r C a s -
c a d e P o l i c e C h i e f C h r i s H a l l
p l e a d e d g u i l t y T h u r s d a y t o a
c h a r g e o f m i s u s e o f p u b l i c f u n d s
d u r i n g h i s t i m e i n t h e j o b .
H a l l p l e a d e d T h u r s d a y i n 4 t h
D i s t r i c t C o u r t i n B o i s e . H e w a s
a c c u s e d o f e m b e z z l i n g a b o u t
$ 2 0 , 0 0 0 , t h e I d a h o A t t o r n e y
G e n e r a l ' s O f f i c e s a i d .
A f t e r t a k i n g t h e j o b , H a l l p e r -
s u a d e d t h e C i t y C o u n c i l t o a p -
p r o v e a c h e c k i n g a c c o u n t f o r h i s
d e p a r t m e n t t o h a n d l e d r u g r e s t i -
t u t i o n f u n d s . H e w a s t h e o n l y
s i g n e r .
D i s t r i c t J u d g e D a n i e l E i s -
m a n n s c h e d u l e d a F e b . 4 s e n -
t e n c i n g h e a r i n g . H a l l f a c e s u p t o
1 0 y e a r s i n p r i s o n a n d a $ 5 0 , 0 0 0
f i n e . T h e A t t o r n e y G e n e r a l ' s O f -
f i c e h a n d l e d t h e c a s e a t V a l l e y
42'1 >' •� <�c Ss rCi� l — .Z % X1'4
Former Cascade pofice chief
Judge also imposes
fine, probation time
for the embezzler
By Tim Jackson
The Idaho Statesman
Former Cascade Police Chief Chris
Hall looked over his shoulder Friday
at his wife and daughters who held
each other in tears as Ada County
Sheriffs deputies clipped his wrists in
handcuffs.
Fourth District Court Judge Daniel
Eismann had just sentenced Hall to
spend the next year in the Ada Coun-
ty Jail after his guilty plea for embez-
zling more than $19,000 from a state -
administered federal grant intended
to train and equip Valley County's
Payette River Interdisciplinary Drug
Enforcement Task Force that combats
illegal drugs.
P.R.I.D.E. is composed of Cascade,
McCall and Valley County police who
team up to combat drug trafficking
within the county and assist counter-
part teams in neighboring counties in-
cluding Ada.
"I embarrassed you all and the en-
tire law enforcement community. I am
very sorry," Hall said moments before
Eismann sentenced him.
Hall was Cascade's police chief
from March 1995 to April 1998.
Eismann told Hall he had violated
the community's trust by spending the
money in 1997 and 1998 on things in-
cluding a TV satellite dish, a room at
Cactus Pete's casino in Nevada and
clothing.
"It wasn't a mistake you made, but
numerous mistakes you made," Eis-
mann said.
Hall, like every other embezzler
Eismann has sentenced, claimed they
intended to pay the money back, Eis-
mann said.
But Eismann then noted that Hall
told investigators he didn't even know
exactly how much money he was se-
cretly siphoning out of the fund.
"Without keeping track of how
much you were stealing, there was no
way for you to know how much you
had to pay back," Eismann said, look-
ing Hall in the face as Hall dropped his
head.
Eismann also said Hall put a need
for possessions and vacations above
the harm he knew he would do to his
family when caught.
Hall faced a maximum penalty of
10 years in prison and a $50,000 fine.
Ken Stringfield of the Idaho Attor-
ney General's Prosecutorial Assis-
tance Unit prosecuted the case at the
request of Valley County Prosecuting
Attorney Richard Roats.
Stringfield told Eismann before
sentencing that he was concerned for
Hall's safety if Eismann sent him into
a prison population, but that the crime
requires incarceration. He asked Eis-
mann to lock up Hall for an indetermi-
nate time.
Hall's lawyer Garr Hackney ex-
pressed the same concern about put-
ting a former police officer in prison,
and told Eismann that Hall would feel
less threatened in a county jail. Hack-
ney said that Hall cooperated fully
with investigators.
Stringfield also asked Eismann to
require Hall to pay $13,550.42 in resti-
tution along with an unspecified
amount of money he has already paid
back. Hall and Hackney agreed.
Eismann included the restitution
amount in Hall's sentence, which also
will mean 10 years probation.
Meridian Police Department Detec-
tive Ray Chopko worked with Hall in
Cascade for three years and served as
Cascade police chief for a year after
Hall quit in April of 1998.
Chopko asked the attorney general
to investigate Hall in June 1998 after
finding irregularities with the fund.
Chopko testified that Hall's crime
eroded trust in the Cascade police
force among narcotics officers in
neighboring counties to the point
where Cascade was excluded from
some drug cases that multi - agency
task forces were working.
Hall's crime also appeared to be a
factor in P.R.I.D.E. having its $55,000
state drug grant terminated in 1998 by
the Idaho Department of Law En-
forcement's Criminal Justice Council
and the council deciding against an-
other $55,000 grant it applied for in
1999, testified Roberta Silva, who ad-
ministers the grants statewide.
Hall's brother -in -law Charles Hud-
son is a fraud investigator for Idaho.
He served in the U.S. Air Force with
Hal and on the San Bernardino,
Calif., police force.
"C Iris Hall was one of the finest po-
lice fficers I have ever known. A mis-
takE cost him his dream," Hudson tes-
y�
gets
in jail
tified.
"Without a doubt Chris, you'd be
the one I would choose to cover my
back, because I know you'd never let
me down."
Cascade city councilman and police
commissioner Dick Vandenburg
watched Eismann sentence Hall.
"I saw today that the justice system
does work," Vandenburg said after-
ward.
"It would have been a shame to see
someone in Chris's position get just a
slap on the hand. I think it's going to
be a catalyst to a healing time for the
community. It's nice to have closure
put to the whole situation. The healing
can begin."
j irk
C �/
Cascade mayor
fires police chief
Small logging
town getting by
with 3 officers
By Patrick Orr
The Idaho Statesman
The police department in the
small logging community of
Cascade is operating without a
chief.
Cascade Mayor Larry Wal-
ters fired Police Chief Dave
Nelson on Friday, citing "a dif-
ference of opinion."
"We just did not work togeth-.
er very well," said Walters
Monday afternoon. "It is an ap-
pointed position, and there was
just a lot of little instances that
added up."
Nelson was unavailable for
comment Monday.
Nelson was hired as chief Ju-
ly 2, 1999.
Walters declined to release
any details about incidents
where he and Nelson disagreed
or any specifics about why he
was terminated.
"I don't want people to get
the idea it was something bad.
It is just one of those things that
happen," Walters said. "I will
leave it up to him if he wants to
say anything about it."
The termination of Nelson
will not be official until ap-
proved by the Cascade City
Council, which meets next
Monday night.
Sgt. Ryan Redmon will be
named interim chief next Mon-
day and will serve in the posi-
tion until a new chief can be
hired, Walters said.
The council will wait to see if
Nelson decides to appeal before
they advertise for a new police
chief, Walters said.
Cascade, a small logging and
recreation community of about
1,000 people along the Payette
River Scenic Byway on Idaho
55, has three police officers be-
sides the chief.
They will operate with three
until a new chief is hired, Wal-
ters said.
_fate. S ;11 c9tt APt� ;'I i0 ' ?7 "0
Exmldaho sheriff takes on
0
Kosovo crisis
Valley County's Tommy Rhea says
murder,is way of life in that country
By Corey Wicks
The McCall Star -News
McCALL — A 74- year -old
woman from the town of Obilic
was beaten beyond recognition
and her body scalded with boil-
ing hot water from a stove. The
crime would have been un-
thinkable had it happened any-
where else, but this is Kosovo,
where demons hide in human
clothing.
Into this carnage has walked
former Valley County Sheriff
Tommy Rhea, one of more than
1,000 police officers hired by
the United Nations to attempt
to restore order in the midst of
chaos.
Rhea has gone from handinL,
out speeding tickets in rural
Idaho to a foreign land where
the drinking water is poisoned
with blood. During the Yu-
goslavian civil war, Serbians
threw the carcasses of animals
and human bodies into drink-
ing water wells.
"Kosovo is a very dangerous
place, there is no doubt about
that. There's more ways to die
here than anybody will ever
hope to imagine," Rhea said on
a cassette tape.
If you aren't gunned down by
an AK-47, you could be blown
apart by hand grenades or land
mines, Rhea said.
"Murder is a way of life here.
There's so much heartbreak in
this country that you cannot
weigh it with a set of scales. If it
was measured in milligrams it
would be in the tons," Rhea
said. "There's just so much hurt
and hatred, and all of it is based
on ethnicity."
Before NATO intervened, a
bus from the village of Lsposav-
ic was headed to Kosovo Polje,
where Rhea is staying. Serbian
paramilitary troops intercepted
the bus and executed about 40
passengers. The Serbs buried
the passengers in mass graves
on the outskirts of the village.
Rhea helped to dig up the
bodies with Albanians who
hoped to identify their loved
ones by the clothing. In retalia-
tion for the Serbs' actions, the
Albanians have exacted brutal
revenge killings.
Following the NATO bomb-
ing campaign, the Kosovo Lib-
eration Army and the Serbian
paramilitary groups agreed to
turn in their weapons. And they
did turn in their weapons:
worn -out bolt - action rifles and
other guns that would no
longer fire, Rhea said. The best
weapons were stockpiled for
future use.
"This is a society of AK -47s
and of course, hand grenades.
We are confronted with hand -
grenade situations on a daily
basis." Rhea ca;rl
Whereas NATO troops are
heavily armed, Rhea said the
U.N. police are outgunned and
understocked with ammuni-
tion.
The ammunition shortage
has been so acute that many
U.N. police, including Rhea,
have been forced to barter with
the Kosovo troops to obtain
bullets. And although the U.N.
police may make arrests, the
country has no adequate prison
system, no court system and
apparently no codified laws.
There is only one jail in the
province, in Pristina, and the
jail lacks the space to house
prisoners on a long -term basis.
Police have their hands full
with the most horrendous
crimes, let alone the little stuff.
"Right now we're so involved
in trying to stop the killing, try-
ing to stop the arson and trying
to stop the horrendous crimes
of violence, that we don't have
time to dink around with speed-
ing," Rhea said.
Society in Kosovo is so frag-
mented between ethnic groups
that Rhea doubts if the hatreds
can ever be healed. South of
Kosovo Polje, the tiny Serbian
village of Ugljarevo, for exam-
ple, is an armed encampment.
"Any Albanian who would
walk down the Ugljarevo road,
at night... he would have an ab-
solute death wish," Rhea said.
Former Cascade police chief faces
prison time in case filed by state
Investigation leads
to allegations of
misusing money
The Associated Press
Three felony charges of mis-
using public money have been
filed in 4th District Court
against former Cascade Police
Chief Chris Hall following a
yearlong investigation.
The state attorney general's
office filed the charges alleging
that Hall, who was Cascade's
police chief from January 1995
to April 1998, misused money
from his office's evidence and
drug restitution funds and from
the Payette River Interdiscipli-
nary Drug Enforcement Task
Force.
Conviction on each count car-
ries a penalty of up to 10 years in
prison.
"It's been a long time com-
ing," Cascade City Councilman
Dick Vandenburg said. "For the
good of the whole community,
it's good that it's finally out so
we can get to the bottom of it."
Hall left his job in April 1998
to become Emmett police chief.
He stayed there for fewer than
100 days before returning to
California. Attorney general
spokesman Bob Cooper said on
Thursday that a summons had
been issued for Hall, but no
hearing date has been set.
Shortly after Hall left Cas-
cade, Mayor Mark Bingman
and new Chief Ray Chopko said
they began finding indications
of possible problems in police
department records. That
prompted the city to request a
state investigation.
State officers searched Hall's
Valley County home last Au-
gust and seized a satellite dish
and receiver allegedly pur-
chased with a city credit card.
The Department of Law En-
forcement later audited the drug
task force's books, which result-
ed in the city having to repay
$1,200 for unsubstantiated or in-
appropriate expenditures.
Then the Long Valley Advo-
cate, through the Freedom of In-
formation Act, obtained infor-
mation indicating Hall had falsi-
fied a report to the U.S. Justice
Department for a Community
Oriented Policing Services
grant.
In the report, Hall reported to
federal officials that the city had
used some of the $150,000 in
grant money Cascade received
over three years to hire a 23-
year -old female street officer.
However, city records showed
no such officer ever existed.
"He's innocent until proven
guilty," Vandenburg said. "But
when there's a charge out there,
at least we're moving forward.
That's the relief; we're finally
moving."
County Commissioners say snub by
Clinton just more evidence that local
government means nothing
CASCADE — Valley County Commissioners meeting here Monday said the fact that
they've been snubbed by Forest Service officials and members of the President Bill Clinton
entourage only supports their long -held contention that Washington, D.C., pays little heed
to local government.
"You don't want it and you don't want to print it," Valley County Commissioner Phil
Davis said when asked if he had any reaction to the fact that local county officials hadn't
been asked to participate in the tour of the fire and provide input into the job Forest Service
officials were doing battling area blazes.
"This confirms the fact that President Clinton doesn't even know that local government
exists," Davis said.
Commission Chairman Terry Gestrin said that he would have been more than willing to
discuss issues related to the fires with the President.
"If he wants to come here and talk seriously about forest health, we're ready to talk," he
said. He also said he viewed the trip to Idaho as nothing more than a trip for the sake of pol-
itics.
"The money being spent on this trip would be better spent on forest management," he
said.
"Even if it was being spent subsidizing timber sales it would be better spent," he said.
President Clinton
accepts a gift of a plat-
ed Pulaski, the wild -
land firefighter's best
friend, from Burgdorf
junction Fire Incident
Commander Scott Vail.
are -7
President Bill Clinton walks
away from Air Force One to a waiting heli-
copter after his arrival at the McCall Airport
with Idaho Gov. Dirk Kempthorne who accom-
panied Clinton on the trip.
Right, two snipers, with the Secret Service
detail assigned to protect President Clinton
during his visit to McCall, stand vigil atop a
hangar at the north
end of McCall Airport.
jail
Valley County
jail braces
for the worst
Holiday revelers,
Rainbow Family
could fill cells fast
BY BEN SALMON
The Star -News
Lt. David Snider, jail com-
mander of the Valley County Jail,
has a motto when planningfor busy
times.
"Prepare for the worst and hope
for the best," Snider said. "That's
what we're trying to do."
This week, Snider is preparing
for what could be one of the busiest
weeks ever for the jail, located be-
hindthe Valley County Courthouse
in Cascade. The Fourth of July
holiday falls in the middle of next
week, bringing revelers to Valley
County on two different weekends.
In 2000, the 63 -bed jail was about
75 percent full during the holiday,
Snider said, adding that last year
was "a slow year."
This year, the problem is com-
pounded by the gathering of an
expected 20,000 members of the
Rainbow Family in the southeast-
ern corner of the county near
Lowman.
"We really don't know what is
going to happen around here,"
Snyder said. "It could be slower
than we expect, or we could be
slammed. Either way, we're pre-
pared."
Snider began by putting all nine
of his deputies on -call and step-
ping up manpower by lengthening
shifts.
(Continued from Page 1)
whatever comes next."
Snider said he has set aside three
cells, each capable of holding eight
inmates, for the potential influx of
prisoners from the Rainbow Fam-
ily gathering.
"Those cells are isolated away
from the rest of the population,"
Snider said. "We want to be able to
keep track of what we've taken on
from that event."
Snider said his staff is taking
precautions in dealing with the
Rainbows, who, because of the na-
"I want to know where every-
one is so that I can call and get
them immediately if we need
them," Snider said. "All the depu-
ties are going to be working five
10 -hour days, and some will have
an additional 12 -hour day."
Snider said the increased shifts
and hours are tentative, and the
need for extra help will be deter-
mined by the workload at any given
time.
"Ifwe don't need everyone there,
we'll send people home to get some
rest," he said. "We'll tell them `Go
home and sleep with the phone next
to your head. "'
Snider said the jail is working
with area agencies to ensure that
law enforcement is as easy and ef-
ficient as possible.
"We have a van that we use as a
mobile booking unit, so that the
officers in McCall can book and
hold multiple people at one time,"
Snider said. "When an officer is
taking the time to arrest the sus-
pect, bring them to Cascade, fill
out paperwork and drive back,
you're talking about a two -hour
commitment. We wantto avoidthat
as much as possible."
Snider also said that the jail
itself is prepared for maximum ca-
pacity - and beyond.
"We've gotten extra supplies,
the kitchen has been informed that
we could be full, so we've planned
as if we're going to be overloaded,"
Snider said. "We also started the
process to approve an alternate site
to house inmates if we get to that
point. If we book that 63rd inmate,
we'll instantly be able to handle
(See "Jail," Page 2)
ture of their gathering spot, could
potentially arrive at the jail carry-
ing dirt and disease.
"We've ordered extra disinfec-
tant and cleaning powder, so that
if we get someone who is a danger
to our workers, we can try to elimi-
nate that problem," he said. "We
will also be using the van that has
vinyl seats as opposed to cloth seats
to try to keep everything as clean
as possible."
One thing that works in the jail's
favor is the fact that the July 4
holiday falls in the middle of the
week, a circumstance that Snider
said would help law enforcement
officials.
"It slows everything down and
spreads it out," Snider said.
"Rather than having that one peak
weekend where you get everyone
in the valley at one time, we'll see
people on the first weekend, people
in the middle of the week and people
on the second weekend. There are
three peaks, but it comes at a much
slower, easier pace."
A-A
Valle y approves p�
Questions raised Kantola
on beach access, Cape water quality
BY BEN SALMON
The Star -News
The Valley County Planning and
Zoning Commission last Thursday
approved plans for a 67 -home sub-
division south of Donnelly on the
east shore of Lake Cascade.
The development, called Cape
Kantola Ranch, would be located
at the west end of Kantola Lane off
of Idaho 55. Plans for the project
include 67 home lots, a series of
ponds, a community center, ma-
rina docks, a swimming pool,
picnic area and a sales and infor-
mation office.
The site is being developed by
Brad Huebner, who runs a real es-
tate business in Toledo, Ohio.
Huebner told the P &Z that, despite
his distance from Idaho, the state
figures prominently in his future
plans.
"My heart has been in Idaho for
30 years," Huebner said. "I have a
16- year -old daughter keeping me
in Toledo right now, and as soon as
she has her high school diploma,
the moving vans will be in the
driveway."
Huebner said he became inter-
ested in Idaho 30 years ago, when
he purchased a farm in Meridian
while living in Boise. Last year, he
sold the farm and bought the pro-
posed project site.
The development would abut a
popular recreation spot on Lake
Cascade that is owned by the Bu-
reau of Reclamation. Because of
Cape Kantola Ranch's private
roads, P &Z member Hugh
Somerton said he was concerned
about access to public beaches.
"If we allow private roads, we're
talking about locking off a very
large piece of public property,"
Somerton said.
Huebner said that there cur-
rently is no road that leads to the
public land, and that community
access to the beach would continue
in the way that it always has -from
the lake.
The P &Z also expresses concern
about the reconstruction of
Downend Way. The street provides
access to three homes south of the
subdivision. Huebner said the
project would pave and realign the
road, meaning that residents would
have to drive through the subdivi-
sion to get to their homes, but that
they would have better access than
they do now.
Another question raised by the
P &Z was the effect the development
would have on Lake Cascade wa-
ter quality. The lake has been the
target of a pollutant- reduction ef-
fort in recent years, and P &Z
member Jerry Winkle said the de-
sign of Cape Kantola Ranch- where
yards abut the pond system - could
lead to phosphorous flowing into
the lake.
Valley County Assistant P &Z
Administrator Cynda Herrick'said
that a letter from Jerrold Gregg,
area manager for the B of R, said
the development would actually
improve the quality of Lake Cas-
cade. The P &Z also recommended
that residents in the subdivision
be encouraged to use phosphorous -
free fertilizer when treating their
lawns.
The P &Z heard testimony from
one opponent - Vaughn Jasper of
Lewiston, who owns land to the
east and south of the site. Jasper
said Cape Kantola Ranch would
block access to public lands and to
an old state airstrip that runs along
the shore of Lake Cascade.
Jasper said the airstrip, which
was closed in the early 1970s, would
likely be reopened in the near fu-
ture. He said he was in the process
of a land exchange with the B of R
that would allow for the reopening
of the airstrip and future multi -use
development on his land.
Jasper said he was pro- develop-
ment, but he worried that Cape
Kantola Ranch could have an ef-
fect on his plans.
"I can't put together a plan if I
don't know what land I have," Jas-
per said. "I do not feel that one
development, even though first,
should be allowed to eliminate or
take unfair advantage of future
developments."
Jasper also said that the cre-
ation of the ponds in the
subdivision could affect water
rights for downstream users of No-
Name Creek. Plans for the
development call for the ponds to
be supplied by No -Name Creek, and
then diverted on to users as neces-
sary. He said the ponds also
eliminate existing access to his
property that he received via a ver-
bal agreement.
The P &Z recommended that
Huebner and Jasper meet together
to work out concerns about access
and water rights.
After the meeting, Huebner said
he was glad the process was over.
He said the beauty of Valley County
drew him to the area, and that he
believes others would follow ifthey
knew what central Idaho -has to
offer.
"Every time I drive through
Long Valley, I look around and say,
`Wow, "' Huebner said. "All this
area needs is a little synergy to let
the rest of the world know about
it."
Huebner said his developments'
proximity to the proposed
WestRock site, directly across the
lake from his project, was a coinci-
dence.
"I designed my project as a
stand -alone project," Huebner said.
"If WestRock happens, great. If not,
we've got so many things to offer.
We're equidistant between McCall
and Cascade. We've got the 360 -
degree parameters of Long Valley.
We've got views of the mountains
and a view of the lake. What more
could you ask for ?"
The P &Z's decision is final, and
will not go before the Valley County
commissioners unless it is ap-
pealed, Herrick said.
Valley Co.
braces for
mosquito
infestation
State, county funds
will be used if West
Nile virus strikes
BY LUCIA V. KNUDSON
'The Star -News
Valley County commis-
sioners are not yet ready to
form a taxing district to pay
for mosquito control, commis-
sion chair Jerry Winkle said
Friday.
And, the county will hold
off planned aerial spraying of
mosquitoes until the first case
of West Nile virus contracted
within the county is reported,
Winkle said.
West Nile Virus is a poten-
tially deadly disease spread
by mosquitoes that can sicken
humans and animals.
Gov. Butch Otter has given
the county a two -year reprieve
to allow mosquito spraying
using state funds without the
need to form a district Winkle
said.
The public would have ad-
vance notice before a district
is formed. The county would
initiate an environmental
impact study and hold public
hearings prior to that happen-
ing, he said.
Creating the district is not
imminent and would be for
the control of all pests, not just
mosquitoes, he said.
The West Nile virus was
first detected in the county last
year in mosquitoes trapped at
Tamarack Resort.
Winkle believes that edu-
cating the public on taking
precautions could decrease or
eliminate the disease threat to
the county. The county would
rathertry education firstbefore
resorting to a district, he said.
Idaho led nation in cases
Last year, Idaho led the na-
tion with West Nile cases and
was second in deaths from the
disease. The Center for Disease
Control Web site shows 996
cases and 21 deaths reported
in Idaho. Texas came in second
with 354 reported cases but was
first in deaths -there the virus
took 32 lives.
"We do not want to be num-
ber one again, and we're going
to put a lot of emphasis on
education," Winkle said. `A lot
of people can take care of this
problem themselves."
Valley County signed a
contract with Clarke Mosquito
Controlof Chicago last week to
conduct aerial spraying. 60
The company is
years old, one of the oldest
companies in the mosquito
abatement industry, accord-
ing to the company's Web site.
Scope of operations extends
outside the United States to
other countries where mos-
quito -borne diseases are a
menace.
Aerial spraying would
commence if local health au-
thorities report a human case
causedbylocalmosquitoes, and
Clarke couldbe inthe air within
96 hours, Winkle said.
Should aerial spraying be
calledfor, then spray couldbe ap-
plied where needed inside cities
and in the county. State funding
wouldbe available for spraying.
Winkle did not say how much
spraying would cost.
See SPRAYING, Page A -14
(Continued from Page A -1)
However, there is concern for
people with allergies being said.
fected by aerial spraying, he
Winkle has received anywhere
from 12 to 20 calls in a week from
people asking about spraying and
about two calls in a week from
people worried about resulting
respiratory problems.
A schedule for fogging from
the ground is being prepared
but no work has been done yet,
county Weed Superintendent
Kevin Gaither said Monday. Fog-
ging would likely be done around
nonresidential areas during
early morning hours when the
air is still and mosquitoes active,
Winkle said.
Funds for fogging would come
out of the county's weed budget,
and the preliminary cost estimate
is between $300 and $500.
To kill mosquitoes, Clarke
would use pyrethrins, a natural
pesticide derived from a form
of chrysanthemum, combined
with another chemical, called
PBO, that boosts pyrethrins' ef-
fectiveness.
Pyrethrins and the enhancer
breakdown into benign substanc-
es over 24 hours and exposure
to sunlight, Clarke spokesman
Laura McGowan said.
No special precautions such
as washing are necessary for
outdoor furniture and other
surfaces, McGowan said.
A study done in waterways
near Sacramento, Calif., found
PBO in sediment reacted with
existing pesticides in the envi-
ronment, but the risk is slight,
according to McGowan.
"While the PBO was shown
to present some challenges in
waterways, to the degree that
waterways are really impacted
by that is very minimal especially
with the combination we have
available to us," she said.
Roberts gravel
pit appeal
gets airing
BY LUCIA V KNUDSON
The Star -News
Valley County commission-
ers on Monday decided to table
until next month an appeal on
a commercial gravel excavation
operation proposed by farmer
and legislator Ken Roberts.
Roberts must produce permits
from state and federal agencies
before he will be allowed to con-
tinue excavation.
Roberts can finish restoring
ground around a spent pit on the
west side of Idaho 55 and berms
along Idaho 55, but he cannot
proceed with the second phase
of excavation.
The matter will be heard
again before commissioners on
July 23.
Monday's session was a con-
tinuation of an appeal launched
by John and Margo Kantola a
year ago. The Kantolas' home
borders the north side of Roberts'
ranch.
InJune 2006, the Valley County
PlanningandZoningCommission
approved Roberts' three - phase,
10 -year -long project.
About 50 acres of Roberts'
ranch south of Donnelly would be
the subject the work, and no more
than two acres would be dug at a
time. One new access road would
be built to serve the project.
Since the Kantola appeal has
been filed, Roberts was allowed to
do the first phase on the`east side
of highway and work on berms,
including one along Idaho 55.
The Kantolas' complaints on
Monday included that Roberts'
application was inconsistentwith
Valley County's comprehensive
plan.
They also said Roberts should
not proceed with further work
without permits from state and
federal agencies, and that the
P &Z failed to address illegal
operations.
Roberts said his reclamation
plan goes far beyond minimum
requirements. The ponds he has
built filter out harmful nitrates
and phosphates which would
Pollute Lake Cascade.
Roberts was told last year
by P &Z Administrator Cynda
Herrick that he would not need
a special permit to continue dig -
Even though on the surface
the project fit prescriptions for
a planned unit development,
the concept did not fit the site
or the county's comprehensive
plan, surrounding land uses
and county ordinances, the P &Z
had said.
The site is a triangle- shaped
parcel located between Idaho 55
and the Old State Highway, about
four - tenths of a mile south of
Donnelly city limits.
Densityof theproject would be
about 12 units per acre. About 40
percent of the site would be dedi-
ging gravel on the farm, which
the Roberts family had done from
the mid -1960s through the 1970s.
Herrick confirmed that fact on
Monday.
After the decades -long lull,
Roberts agreed last year to a P &Z
request to file for a conditional
use permit rather than continue
the "grandfathered" use.
Roberts will need to return
with rulings from Idaho Trans-
portation Department on permits
for turn and deceleration lanes.
He also will go to the Idaho
Department of Water Resources
for additional water rights and to
the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers
on wetland delineations.
cated to open space, according to
the developer's calculations.
Developer George Transtrum
proposed fewer condos and a
shorter hotel to county com-
missioners than what the P &Z
considered in April.
He reduced the number of
condos from 150 to 129 and re-
duced the hotel height from 70
feet to 50 feet.
Donnelly Mayor George Dor-
ris commended Transtrum's
changes but recommended com-
missioners weigh height waivers
and the amount of open space
proposed.
Buildingsreferencedforheight
in the proposal are located inside
Valley County cities and not in
open country, Dorris said.
Condos would be in two 50 -foot
tall buildings. On the five com-
mercial pads to be constructed,
building heights would be re-
stricted to 35 feet.
The developer's agent Ashley
Fordof WRGDesignInc.of Eagle
noted that even a 35 -foot building
would block views.
Part of the developer's offer-
ing was to realign the corner to
create a 90- degree intersection
for traffic safety and to price 40
percent of the condos for afford-
able housing.
(,cv. C&/ CctZ,�- 2ccc
Darla Williamson named by Kempthorne to Fourth
District Judge post
time they're in here, they're the most important," she
said.
Her reputation as a stern, but fair and compassion-
ate judge stems from sincere interest in people.
"It's important that each person who comes before
me believes that I am listening to what they have to
say, that I understand their position, and that when I
make a decision, they know I have all the facts and
issues that I believe to be relevant," she said.
Asked about the accomplishments she said she's
most proud of as having a hand in over the past cou-
ple of decades, Williamson immediately answers,
"juvenile justice."
When she first started as magistrate judge, she said
there was one part -time juvenile probation officer.
Now, the program has three full -time probation offi-
cers, a director, and a new juvenile detention facility
in McCall. She said the community is very support-
ive of juvenile justice and has contributed to what is
now an "excellent program."
As for the new job, which will require her to move
to the Treasure Valley, she said the time is right.
"It's exactly the right time," she said, "because my
children are now grown. I never wanted to put my
career above their interests."
Williamson served in the Active Reserve of the
U.S. Air Force as a Second Lieutenant flight nurse
from 1966 to 1968, attending to the care and treatment
of U.S. troops wounded in the Vietnam War. She con-
tinued as a member of the inactive reserve through
1976 when she was honorably discharged as a First
Lieutenant.
She graduated from the Good Samaritan School of
Nursing in Portland in 1965, received her bachelor's
degree from Willamette University in 1968, and her
law degree from the.Uniuersity of Idaho in 1972. She
and her husband, Max, who is business manager, or
the McCall- Donnelly School District, have two grown
children.
She was in private law practice from 1972 to 1979,
and served as Valley County Prosecutor from 1976 to
1978.
Mutual aid pact, still la cking
BY JAMES L. KINCAID
The Star -News
Three months after Valley
County and McCall city officials
said a resolution would be sought,
there is still no mutual -aid agree-
ment between the Valley County
Sheriff and the McCall Police
Department.
The lack of a firm agreement be-
tween the two agencies was high-
lighted this summer when McCall
Police Chief Ed Parker said he had
ordered his officers to stay within
the city limits, even if an investiga-
tion might lead officers outside the
City.
In June, McCall Mayor Larry
Smith said he was going to person-
ally take on the chore of sorting out
the confusion over mutual aid and
when city officers may leave the
city.
McCall City Attorney Ted
Aid
(Continued from Page 1)
leave city limits. The memo has
never been made into a formal
agreement between the city and the
county.
In the case of an emergency,
where there is injury to person or
property, the local agency is not
only allowed to respond, but they
must respond when dispatched to the
scene of the incident, Pratt said in
his letter.
The local agency should also use
some common sense and good
judgment and respond to the scene
of an emergency when there are
lives in danger if the dispatcher is
not aware of the situation and has
not called anyone to respond, Pratt's
letter said.
Any local agency should notify
the sheriffs department, as a cour-
tesy, if there is a continuing inves-
tigation that brings that agency into
the county, the letter said. This
does not refer to emergencies, but to
routine investigations, and does not
Burton said last week that he and
Smith had met with Valley County
Sheriff Lewis Pratt and Valley
County Prosecuting Attorney Jamie
Shropshire shortly after the May
primary election, in which Pratt was
assured of a new four -year term.
"A draft agreement was submitted
to them (Pratt and Shropshire)
which pretty well paralleled Pratt's
letter to the editor of The Star -
News." Burton said.
require permission from the sheriffs
office, the letter said.
"We have heard nothing back
since," Burton said of the new draft.
"However, communication between
the officers is going well."
Pratt acknowledged last week that
he received a draft agreement from
the city. "In August, we got a letter
from the McCall Police Department
and we have to counter it," Pratt
said. "We're going over it to formu-
late a mutual -aid agreement.
"The county prosecutor and I
haven't had time to go over the let-
ter," Pratt said. "It needs some
changes to it."
Shropshire said on Monday that
she has not been able to draft an an-
swer to the proposed agreement due
to a busy summer and the resulting
number of criminal cases.
Shropshire agreed with Pratt that
changes would be needed, and she
said several flaws in the draft would
have to be corrected.
Burton referred to a letter Pratt
wrote to The Star -News that ap-
peared in the May 7 issue. Pratt's
letter was written in response to a
citizen letter that criticized the state
of cooperation between the two de-
partments.
In the letter, Pratt defended an
Oct. 24, 1991, memo from himself
to Shropshire defining his position
on when city police officers may
(See "Aid," Back Page)
C
Little interest shown in Kerr's seat
The Valley County Republican
Central Committee is in the pro-
cess of sending Gov. Butch Otter
three names for consideration
to fill a vacant seat on the Valley
County Board of Commission-
ers.
The committee has until
Monday to forward to Otter three
names of potential replacements
for former commissioner Tom
Kerry, who resigned May 1.
The governor has 15 days after
he receives the names to pick a
replacement.
Kerr, 70, was selected to fill a
vacant seat in 1997 when Com-
missioner Francie Wallace died
in office. He was elected to three
additional terms.
He resigned from office last
month, ending 30 years of public
service to Valley County, to spend
more time with his family and
friends.
The committee interviewed
two candidates Wednesday night,
but there is a lack of interest in
the opening, committee Chair-
man Terry Gestrin said.
The committee would con-
tinue to interview applicants
until it can fill its obligation to
send three names to the governor
by Monday.
Gestrin did not release the
names of the applicants.
The interviews were held
at The Ashley Inn in Cascade
amongapplicants who live within
District 2.
Applicants must reside in the
district that is bound by Maki
Road on the south, Idaho 55 on
the east and the Adams County
line on the west.
Valley commissioners
allow Roberts gravel pit
over neighbors' appeal
BY LUCIA V KNUDSON
The Star -News
The Valley County Board
of Commissioners denied
on Monday an appeal of
a gravel pit proposed by
farmer and legislator Ken
Roberts.
Roberts will be able to
excavate gravel but he must
first construct turn bays on
Idaho 55 before beginning
any new digging.
Commissioners Gordon
Cruickshank and Frank
Eld presided at the meeting.
Chairman Jerry Winkle did
not attend but submitted
in writing his own recom-
mendations.
The decision ends a
lengthy wait for John and
Margo Kantola who filed
the appeal about a year ago.
The Kantolas' property is
adjacent to the north side
of Roberts' ranch. They
complained the operation
would prevent from en-
joying their property as
they were used to and that
dust and noise would be a
nuisance.
The condition to build
the highway improvements
evolved from previous talks
during appeal proceedings.
Roberts had to obtain an ac-
cess permit from the Idaho
TransportationDepartment
and finish improvements
per ITD's requirements be-
fore he can begin a five -acre
phase of excavation.
Cruickshank was wor-
ried that Roberts may be
incurring an unnecessary
expense inbuildingthe turn
bays should an economic
downturn lower traffic
volume on the highway in
the future. r
Roberts' family exca-
vated gravel intermittently
in the mid -1960s through the
1970s on their land, and Rob-
erts could have proceeded
the county decided without
obtaining a conditional use
permit. But he opted to se-
cure a permit anyway.
His application was for
a three -phase commercial
extraction operation on the
family's 400 -acre farm south
of Donnelly. The operation
would be spread over a 10-
year period and involve a
total of 50 acres.
Pits would be dug one at
a time with an average size
of about two acres scattered
across the property. After
extraction, pits would be
reclaimed as ponds or agri-
cultural land.
Commissioners allowed
Roberts to begin the first
phase located on the east
side of Idaho 55 away from
the Kantola residence, pend-
ing resolution of the appeal.
Phases 2 and 3 would be
located on farm land west
of the highway.
Other requirements lev-
ied on Roberts on Monday
include:
• Acquiring water rights
to guarantee continuous
water flow into ponds and
to keep ponds full. Pits to
be converted to ponds will
be filled with water prior
to the next excavation tak-
ing place.
• Pits to become ponds
must be sealed, contoured
and landscaped prior to any
new excavation.
• Phase 1 must be sub-
stantially reclaimed prior to
phase 2 commencing.
• A 100-foot berm shall be
built along the Kantola prop-
erty line and be landscaped,
watered and maintained.
• All trucks and equip-
ment shall be stored on
the west side of the ranch
compound.
• The berm along the
west side of Idaho 55 shall
be watered, maintained,
and landscaped with shrubs
and mature trees so as not
to block the view of the
mountains.
( �)6
S �
iwa '+IIq /•1
Countybegins
free valleywide
transit service
Valley County Connections travels between
Cascade and McCall, Donnelly and Tamarack
BY TECLA MARKOSKY
The Star -News
Afree commuter bus connecting McCall, Donnelly, Lake Fork,
Tamarack Resort and Cascade began operations last week.
Valley County Connections is a joint project between the
Idaho Transportation Department, McCall Transit, Tamarack
Municipal Association, Valley Adams Planning Partnership,
and the cities of McCall, Donnelly and Cascade.
It was two years in the making.
Dick Carter, mayor of Cascade, described theplanningprocess
as a "two year odyssey."
The funding for the service is provided by a Federal Transit
Association rural transportation grant that was awardedthrough
the Idaho Transportation Department to McCall Transit and
was given matching contributions from Tamarack Resort and
Treasure Valley Transit.
Cost for the first year of service was estimated at $200,000.
Valley County Commissioner Frank Eld was triumphant
during the ceremony preceding the first ride.
"This is a big day for Valley County. We are connected! This just
proves that communities can make things happen," he said.
Tamarack representatives believe the buses will aide in the
growth of the valley. Equipped with bike and ski racks, outdoor
enthusiasts will have no trouble using the service.
"It is inevitable that our region will continue to gain greater
recognition as a prime national destination," said Jim Spenst,
vice president of operations for Tamarack.
Carter said he has already noticed excitement in the com-
munity over the new bus.
See COMMUTE, Page A -14
Commute
(Continued from Page A -1)
"This project has generated
a great deal of excitement from
the senior center," he said. "It's
a great example of what can hap-
pen if we all get in the harness
and pull in the same direction."
Donnelly Mayor George Dor-
ris said he looks forward to
seeinglessof a strain on workers'
pocketbooks in the time of ever -
increasing gas prices.
"If we can get our worker
bees going back and forth in the
morning, it will beniceforthem,"
he said.
Pickup and drop -off points
in McCall will be McCall City
Hall and Ridley's. Family Mar-
ket. There will also be a stop in
Lake Fork.
5 j4,v fv4t-4
-7//e7 107
v�9 c7 So �
In the Donnelly/Tamarack
area, the bus will stop at West
Roseberry Plaza, The Meadows
at West Mountain subdivision
and Crane Creek Market at the
resort.
In Cascade, stops will be at
Harpo's Chevron and The Ash-
ley Inn.
Buses leave McCall City Hall
and Harpo's at 6:15 a.m. each day
and complete the trip across the
valley in about an hour.
Other departure times from
McCall are 7:15 a.m., 8:15 a.m.
and 10:15 a.m.
Afternoon trips from McCall
leave at 2:15 p.m., 4:15 p.m. and
5:15 p.m., while afternoon trips
from Cascade leave at 3:15 p.m.,
4:15 p.m. and 5:15 p.m.
Shuttle service between Tam-
arack and Donnelly begins at
6:40 a.m.
S�ar
k ?�/-iG 7
Some Valley County property owners
get third assessment notice
BY MICHAEL WELLS
The Star -News
Residential property owners
in McCall and Cascade have
received anotherround of assess-
ments from the Valley County
Assessor's Office this week.
On Monday, the Valley County
Board of Equalization ordered
assessor Karen Campbell to send
out 1,038 reassessments in McCall
and 364 reassessments to residen-
tial properties in Cascade.
This is the third round of
assessments for the McCall prop-
erty owners.
The assessments are for im-
proved city residentialproperties
in the two cities.
The McCall properties will see
a 20 percent increase in assess-
ment. The Cascade properties
will receive a 30 percent increase
in assessment.
Property owners receiving
the new round of assessments
will have until Aug. 6 to appeal
the assessments to the board of
equalization. The deadline for
those appeals to be heard by the
board of equalization, which is
composed by Valley County com-
missioners, is Aug. 10.
The county is working its
way through about 2,900 appeals
already this year, which is a re-
cordforassessment appeals to the
county. Last year the county had
601 appeals of property assess-
ments, which was thought to be
the record then.
The Idaho State Tax Commis-
sion informed the board last week
that the county's assessment
was out of compliance and that
assessments needed to be higher
in order for the county to comply
with the tax code that requires
assessments be within 10 percent
of the market value.
The tax commission said
about 2,700 properties in McCall
north of the Subway restaurant
and residential properties in
Cascade need to be increased in
order to get the county's assess-
ment into compliance.
The. board of equalization
ordered the assessor to reassess
properties north of Donnelly a
couple of weeks ago. Those as-
sessments drewfurther attention
from the tax commission.
"When we adjusted values
on the second round of notices,
instead of trending land values
down by a factor as suggested by
the state tax commission, the
land tables were refigured and
adjusted downward," Campbell
said. "In doing this, the end
result showed that the city's
improved residential property
to be out of compliance with
Idaho code."
The tax commission ran ratio
reports on specific areas to see
where the county was out of
compliance with the state tax
code, Campbell said.
The reassessments were
evaluated by the state tax com-
mission to see if they will bring
the county into compliance with
the tax code.
The reports showed that im-
proved city residential properties
have a median ratio of 87.5 per-
cent, which is 2.5 percent below
compliance.
However, the tax commission
also runs a confidence level re-
port that showed an 80 percent
confidence number that gives
the county a passing grade on
its assessment this year when
factored with the 87.5 percent
median ratio.
"The decisionto make this cor-
rection was ultimately the board
of equalization's," Campbell said.
"I am pleasedthatthey chose to do
it, as it gives the property owner
the right to appeal."
The board of equalization
could have chosen to allow the
tax commis sion to fix the problem
without the option of appeal by
the property owners. The com-
mission would have likely raised
assessments to 100 percent of
market value.
"If the state tax commission
had done the change, it would
have been, more likely, to 100
percent and there would have
beenno appeal period," Campbell
said. "The taxpayers would have
not found out about the change
in value until they received their
tax bill in November."
Draft plan would
limit commercial
sites along Idaho 55
BY MICHAEL WELLS
The Star -News
Commercial development along Idaho 55 would be limited to a
few designated locations under a draft proposal by the Valley County
Scenic Byway Committee.
The proposal as it now reads would limit commercial development
along the highway to the cities of Cascade, Donnelly and McCall,
plus Lake Fork, Clear Creek and Smiths Ferry.
The intersections of Idaho 55 with Herrick Lane and with Davis
Creek Road would be the only other places commercial development
would be permitted.
The scenic byway committee will hold its next meeting at 9 a.m.
Friday, Nov 16, at the Valley County Courthouse in Cascade.
Once the committee has a final draft of the ordinance, it will go
before the Valley County Planning and Zoning Commission and then
the Valley County Board of Commissioners for public hearings.
Parametrix Engineering, Planning and Environmental Sciences
of Boise was hired by Valley County to come up with a scenic byway
plan for Idaho 55 in the county.
(Continued from Page A -1)
The scenic byway committee
consists of citizens from Valley
County and Parametrix, plan-
ning manager Steve Siddoway
said.
The idea of establishing
commercial "nodes" along the
highway is to prevent strip devel-
opment, Siddoway said.
At Herrick Lane and Davis
Creek Road, the nodes would not
encompass the entire intersec-
tion but would be allowed only on
See SCENIC, Page A-12
the east side of Idaho 55.
The commercial nodes are
areas 330 feet wide and 500 feet
deep areas at the corner of an in-
tersection where the committee
would like the county to establish
an ordinance that encourages
commercial development.
At an intersection, the nodes
would be 660 feet wide and 1,000
feet deep to encourage com-
mercial development at the four
corners.
The size of commercial nodes
would not be dictated in the ordi-
nance inside city limits, but city
commercial zones would apply,
Siddoway said.
Highway congestion could be
relieved by having access to the
commercial developments on the
side roads, he said.
"They wouldbe easierto devel-
op as commercial but would still
have a review process and design
standards," Siddoway said.
The design standards have yet to
be developed by the committee.
/� /��, 7
The committee is researching
codes from other areas as ex-
amples for its commercial design
guidelines, he said.
Existing businesses not in
the identified areas would be
grandfathered in but would not
be allowed to expand their busi-
nesses or expand the intensity of
the business, Siddoway said.
The committee is also refin-
ing proposed standards for
landscaping and berms along
the highway.
I#
....... ........................
Farmer V.C. employee charged
with theft, forgery
State says Lois Van Hoover stole $52,000 for forest
thinning project that never happened
BY MICHAEL WELLS
The Star -News
A former Valley County employee
has been charged with two counts of
felony grand theft and four counts
of felony forgery stemming from a
forest - thinning project near Yellow
Pine in 2006 that was not done, court
documents said.
Lois Van Hoover, the county's for-
mer natural resources coordinator,
has been charged with stealing more
than $52,000 by the Idaho Attorney
General's Office.
Van Hoover turned herself in to
the Valley County Sheriff's Office
Tuesday and was released on a $5,000
bond. Van Hoover will make her
initial court appearance in Valley
County Magistrate Court on Jan. 22
at 9:30 a.m.
The maximum sentence for grand
theft is 14 years in prison and a $10,000
fine for each count, and the maximum
sentence for forgery is 14 years in
prison for each count.
The Idaho Department of Lands
awarded Valley County a$55,000 grant
from federal funds for thinning on
land in the Yellow Pine and Big Creek
" Lillehaug did not identify any
newly treated areas where hazardous
fuels reduction treatment had been
performed since 2002," the court docu-
ments said. "There was no evidence
of recent clearing that could be at-
tributed to BCS Inc."
Forged invoices Claimed
Van Hoover forged an invoice for
$17,856 on Oct. 16, 2006 and another
invoice for $34,914 on Dec. 10, 2006 for
forest thinning work in the Yellow
Pine area that was supposed to have
been completed by Back Country
Services, court documents said.
Lois Van Hoover was paid $36,585
by her son, who told investigators that
his mother instructed him to write the
checks to her for specific amounts.
A handwriting test performed
areas. Van Hoover helped the county
secure the grant.
The county paid _.
$52,770 for a thin-
ning project that
was supposed to
have been complet-
ed by Back Country x
Services Inc., a
company owned by
Van Hoover's son; x "'
Leo Van Hoover Jr.,
court documents
said.
John Lillehaug
and Kurt Nacarrato Lois Van
of the Idaho De- Hoover
partment of Lands examined the
e
areas of Yellow Pine and Big Creek
in July for evidence that a thinning
project had occurred, court docu-
ments said.
in the course of the investigation
concluded her son's signature had
been forged by Lois Van Hoover, the
documents said.
Leo Van Hoovers Jr. was living in
Phoenix at the time and informed
his mother that he could not perform
the work. She said the work could be
done by contractors, the court docu-
ments said.
Lois Van Hoover was shown the
invoices by investigators, and she
said the signatures appeared to be
those of her son.
Leo Van Hoover was shown a copy
of the invoices by investigators dur-
ing an interview in Phoenix. He said
the signatures appeared to be the
handwriting of his mother.
See HOOVER, Page A-16
r
wntcnuea prom Page A -1)
He went on to say "that Lois
never told him she created an
invoice, nor did he give anyone
permission to do so," the court
documents said.
Van Hoover did not return
a telephone message from The
Star -News.
Valley County commission
Chair Jerry Winkle said the in-
cidents happened in 2006 before
he took office.
"We caught it immediately
after we took office," Winkle
said. "It did not happen on our
watch."
The county then eliminated
Van Hoover's job at the county.
"The position was no longer
needed," Winkle said.
Heinrich Did Not Suspect
The invoices were approved
by former Valley County Clerk
Lee Heinrich, who left the job
after he was elected to the Idaho
Senate in 2006.
Heinrich said Wednesdaythat
he was surprised to hear about
the charges against Van Hoover.
"I think there is some other
explanation myself," said Hein-
rich, who left the clerk's job in
January 2007 after he was elected
to the Idaho State Senate. "I
totally trusted and admired the
lady for her expertise in natural
resources."
Van Hoover worked directly
for Valley County commission-
ers, but Heinrich approved the
invoices for the Yellow Pine
project before sending them to
the federal government to be paid.
He said he saw nothing unusual
in the invoices.
Heinrich said he was inter-
viewed by investigators from the
attorney general's office about
the case.
Van Hoover was hired by Val-
ley County as its natural resource
coordinator Dec. 9, 2003. She
performed contract work for the
county prior to being hired full
time by the county. She received
her last paycheck from the county
on April 23, 2007.
During her employment with
the county, her position changed
from natural resources coor-
dinator to intergovernmental
relations.
The commissioners never
created a job description for the
positions, Valley County Attor-
ney Matt Williams said.
Van Hoover was being paid an
annual salary of $34,000 by the
county at the time her position
was eliminated.
S644L /Ulo
111610D-
e a_C,c 2 �2
Valley Coun
ty
18
commercial
development
faces limit
Scenic byway panel proposes no
more business hubs along Idaho 55
BY MICHAEL WELLS
The Star -News
Commercial development along Idaho 55 would be
limited to current locations under a proposal by the
Valley County Scenic Byway Committee.
The committee is proposing the county adopt re-
strictions that would keep commercial development
only at McCall, Lake Fork, Donnelly, Cascade, Clear
Creek and Smiths Ferry.
The committee had studied allowing additional
commercial development at Herrick Lane and Davis
Creek Lane but ultimately rejected that idea.
The committee found no currentneedfor additional
commercial zones along the highway, said Jeff Siddo
way of Parametrix, the Boise engineering firm that
assisted the citizens committee.
The committee did not rule out the future need for
more commercial sites if future developmentpatterns
merit the change, Siddoway said.
The committee will hold a workshop Monday,
Feb. 4, at 2 p.m. at the Valley County Courthh ouse with
county commissioners and Valley County Planning and
Zoning to discuss the plan, which would take the form
of an overlay zoning district along Idaho 55.
Apublic hearing onthe ordinance willbe scheduled
after the February workshop.
The purpose of the overlay district is to balance
the protection of private property rights with the
protection of scenic resources including views of the
mountains, rivers, water bodies and pastoral land-
scapes along the Payette River Scenic Byway in Valley
County, according to the group's recommendations.
At Lake Fork, Clear Creek and Smiths Ferry, de-
velopment would be limited to an area 660 feet wide
and 1,000 feet deep.
See COMMERCIAL, Page A -16
Commercial
(Continued from Page A -1)
In McCall, Donnelly and
Cascade, the commercial zoning
codes of each city would still
apply.
Rules Proposedlor
Berms, Open Space
The committee has been
working on the creation of the
ordinance for the past nine
months.
The proposed overlay would
regulate all land uses along the
highway and not just at com-
mercial zones. All proposed uses
would have to apply for a permit
that would be heard by the P &Z.
The ordinance would allows
berms along the highway, but
would not require them.
Berms would be required to
meander with variable slopes,
setbacks and heights, and could
not be straight with a constant
slope and height.
Setbacks and height limits for
berms also would be established
in the ordinance.
A berm could only be built up
to four feet tall between five to
20 feet from the highway right -
of -way.
That height limit would go to
five feet between 20 feet to 75 feet
from the right -of -way, and six feet
beyond 75 feet.
The ordinance also would
dictate open space in housing
projects along the highway.
Open space within the overlay
would include 50 percent of the
land area and be evenly distrib-
uted within the overlay area,
under the proposal.
The open spaces would adjoin
the highway right of way and
be contiguous as is feasible and
provide view corridors through
the overlay, the proposal said.
Valley commissioners shoot down
May 5 meeting to seek public
comments on future course scenic O zone
BY LUCIA V KNUDSON
The Star -News
A proposed scenic byway over-
lay ordinance along Idaho 55 was
scrapped on Monday by Valley
County commissioners, who agreed
to start over from scratch.
A public hearing was set for 6
p.m. Monday, May 5, at the Cascade
American Legion Hall to gather
from the public ideas about what
should go into any scenic overlay
ordinance. Those ideas will be
passed along to a new advisory
committee.
Monday's action came after the
Valley County Planning and Zoning
Commissioner voted last Thursday
to recommend not adopting the
proposed overlay zone. The zone
would have limited commercial
development along Idaho 55 to
existing areas.
A large majority of those testi-
fying and writing to the P &Z were
against the ordinance as written,
saying it would unfairly limit busi-
ness owners.
Valley P &Z wants to keep working
to protect scenic views along ID55
BY MICHAEL WELLS
The Star -News
Valley County commissioners last
week were advised to deny a scenic
byway overlay on Idaho 55 by the Valley
County Planning & Zoning Commis-
sion.
P &Z commissioners voted unani-
mously last Thursday to recommend
denial of the ordinance after over-
whelming testimony against it.
Commission Member Mike Diem
wanted the commission to name its own
committee to work on a more palatable
ordinance to protect scenic views along
Idaho 55.
Diem suggested the commission ap-
point anew committee with a broad base
of members to look at other options.
Valley County Prosecuting Attorney
Matt Williams said that suggestion was
not appropriate since the current ordi-
nance was still pending. On Monday,
commissioner voted 2 -1 not to pursue
the ordinance further.
Diem's idea was opposed at the meet-
ing by commission members Gerald
Patterson, Harold Stathis and Travis
Hatfield.
See P &Z, Page A -10
I,
(Continued from Page A -1)
"We still need to address
this at some point," Diem said.
"There would be a lot of spinoff
issues if we went ahead with this
proposal."
Diem cited. the effects on
business and the problems that
would arise by businesses being
forced to locate off the highway
on county roads.
"I just believe this is a taking
of private property rights," Hat-
field said. "The way this is written
it restricts businesses completely.
It does drive them out."
Hatfield said the proposed
commercial development areas
were too small. He also said that
there are not enough areas in
McCall, Cascade and Donnelly
to accommodate the migration
of businesses.
"There probably should be
three places in the county where
we would zone light industrial,"
Hatfield said.
A smaller, more subdued
crowd than was present at a pub-
lic hearing on Apri13 was on hand
last Thursday. Short applause
accompanied the commission's
decision to recommend denial
of the ordinance.
The ordinance would allow
commercial development areas
at Lake Fork, Clear Creek and
Smiths Ferry. The developments
would be limited to an area 660
feet wide and 1,000 feet deep.
In McCall, Donnelly and
Cascade, the commercial zoning
codes of each city would still
apply.
The proposed overlay would
regulate all land uses along the
highway and not just at com-
mercial zones. All proposed uses
would have to apply for a permit
that would be heard by the P &Z.
In between the commercial
development areas and cities,
the ordinance would effectively
zone a 1,000 -foot strip of land
on each side of the highway as
residential.
Patterson said the ordinance,
if. adopted, would result in the
loss of about $218 million in real
estate value along the highway
as the land was changed from
multi -use to residential.
"The only way to have a scenic
byway is to buy them out," Stathis
said. `And I know the county is
in no position to do that."
,�At4"
41111of
Valley not happy with Lakeshore recycling plan
dv BY LUCIA V KNUDSON
�Q The Star -News
The Valley County Board of
County Commissioners rejected
a draft contract brought by Lake-
shore Disposal on Monday and
asked the company to return with
figures on costs with and without
McCall collection of recyclable
materials.
The contract detailed the du-
ties and responsibilities between
Lakeshore and the county for the
county's recycling program.
Commissioners found the pro-
posal unacceptable because the
copy they saw before the meeting
contained no dollar figures.
Companyrepresentatives gave
them a copy with figures before
discussion began, and commis-
sioners wanted more time to look
over the updated proposal.
Representatives of Recycle
Partners, which had proposed
a recycle collection plan for
McCall, also rejected the proposal
and doing any future work with
Lakeshore.
The group has watched and
documented the recycle collec-
tion station on Jacob Street in
McCall and say they do not trust
Lakeshore's handling of recycle
materials.
Whether or not there will be
two recycling systems, one for
county and one for McCall, will
wait until commissioners review
the matter.
Valley County Prosecuting
Attorney Matt Williams recom-
mended. McCall's recycling be
separated from rest of Valley
County service.
Recycle Partners has received
McCall local- option tax money to
run a recycling program.
Valley workers labor to keep
roads clear; contractor hu
BY MICHAEL WELLS
The Sw -News
Buck Cox has become the first casualty of
the aftermath of the forest fires of 2007.
Cox, who is Valley County's backcountry
road contractor, was released from St. Alphon-
sus Regional Medical Center in Boise Monday
after a week -long stay in the hospital.
Cox was hurt June 16 when the backhoe he
was driving on Lick Creek Road rolled over.
Cox, who owns Powder River Excavation,
was injured about lomiles west of theintersec-
tion of Lick Creek Road and the South Fork of
the Salmon River Road, accordingto the Valley
County Sheriff's Office.
$ee WORKERS, Page A -8
S4,tG_aw
)��Ib(
Workers
(Continued from Page A -1)
Crews from Powder River
Excavation are continuing to main-
tain the backcountry roads in his
absence, Valley County Road Super-
intendent Jerry Robinson said.
The backcountry road main-
tenance workload has increased
after last years record forest fires
in the Payette and Boise national
forests. Robinson did not have an
estimate of the costs for increased
road maintenance from last year's
forest fires.
Crews have been working to
clear the roads from boulders and
trees that have fallen onto road-
ways in the aftermath of the fires,
Robinson said.
The maintenance work has also
consisted of cleaning out many
plugged culverts as the snowmelt
has moved sediment into creeks and
clogged many culverts, he said.
The after effects of last year's
fires will likely be dealt with for
years to come, Robinson said. Boul-
ders and fallen trees are still finding
their way to roadways from fires in
2000 and 1994, he said.
DeadwoodRoad, Profile Summit
Road and Lick Creek Road are still
closed due to this year's heavy snow-
fall. Robinson expects the roads to
be reopened by early July.
Valley County agrees to let Boise
firm develop Deinhard Lane
BY LUCIA V. KNUDSON
The Star -News
Valley County commissioners
on Monday accepted a proposed
development agreement for build-
ing workforce apartments on a
portion of 10 acres of county land
on Deinhard Lane in McCall.
Commissioners agreed to deed
about seven acres to get the ball roll-
ing for building the apartments.
The Valley Adams Regional
Housing Authority has been serv-
ingas an intermediarynegotiating
thecontractbetween Valley County
and The Housing Company of
Boise.
The Housing Company is a
subsidiary of Idaho Housing and
Finance Association, and replaced
Neighborhood Housing Services of
Boise as the project developer.
Conceptual plans call for build-
ing 85 to 100 apartments on the
site offering rents as low as $300
per month.
VARHA ended its negotiations
with NHS in April as the developer
faced financial troubles and took on
The Housing Company instead.
The document commissioners
saw Monday would deed a portion
of the 10 acres on Deinhard lane
without specifying how much.
Commissioners had to decide what
portion of the property to keep
for the county and what to deed to
the new owner, be it The Housing
Company or VARHA.
They were uncomfortable with
not having an exact legal de-
scription of the land included in
the development agreement, but
settled for the "plus or minus seven
acres."
The land ought to be deeded
rather than leased, but who the
owner would be depends upon what
the law says, David said. An actual
transfer would happen only if the
project is feasible and would actu-
ally go forward, he said.
"If down the road there is no
need for affordable housing or the
ownership has decided they want
to do something else with this, then
the property is immediately going
to revert back to the county for
another use," David said.
If property reverts to the county,
all improvements The Housing
Company would have made would
become county property.
Commissioner Gordon Cruick-
shank at first refused to sign the
development agreement without
a complete legal description of the
parcel to be deeded over. To sign
would not be in the "best interest of
the county," Cruickshank said.
"The way I read it is that the
developer then has all this au-
thority to start doing things and
we haven't really defined what
property they are doing it on,"
Cruickshank said.
Questions remain about how
to accomplish the transfer fast
enough to allow work to begin on
the apartments, VARHA Executive
Director Michael David said.
The county and VARHA have
explored developing the Deinhard
property for more than a year and
believe the need to build workforce
housing is as crucial as ever.
The purpose of the agreement
is to allow the Housing Company to
move ahead with seeking permits
and other government approvals,
David said. The agreement was
not meant to transfer the land but
has a promise that the transfer
will happen.
Commissioners' acceptance
of the agreement would allow
engineering, soil testing and other
preliminary work for the project.
PAGE A -6 - THE STAR -NEWS - THURSDAY, AUGUST 28, 2008
Lack of forest funds leaves Valley County budget slim
BY MICHAEL WELLS treasurer's office,
The srar-News sioners, coroner, p
Therewillbe about$4.8mi1-
lion less in the Valley County
budget next year due largely to
a loss of forest county road and
school funds, known as Craig -
Wyden funds, Valley County
Clerk Archie Banbury said.
The county is proposing
an $18.9 million budget for
next year at its budget hearing
slated for Tuesday at 9 a.m. in
the commissioner's room in
the Valley County Courthouse
in Cascade.
The 2008 -09 budget year
start Oct. 1.
"It is a budget that reflects
the economic downturn at
some level," Banbury said.
General Fund
The budget proposes $5.8
million in property taxes, of
which about $4.3 million will
supply half of the general
fund budget that funds several
departments with $8.6 million
next year.
Those departments
include: the clerk's office, sher-
iff's office, assessor's office,
commis -
rosecuting
attorney's office, juvenile
detention center, the jail, 911
Communications and plan-
ning and zoning.
Other department funded
by the general fund include
the building departments, mo-
tor pool, motor vehicle office,
public defender, civil defense,
economic development, build-
ing and grounds, the welfare
director, county agent, data
processing and elections.
A reserve fund that would
be used to spray for mosqui-
toes during a West Nile Virus
outbreak has been cut from
$300,000 this year to $200,000
next year, Banbury said.
"We needed the money
elsewhere," he said.
Road & Bridge
The loss of the Craig -
Wyden funds will virtually
cut in half the county's road
and bridge budget, from $8.6
million this year to a proposed
$4.9 million next year.
"If Craig - Wyden money
comes through, we will treat
"The roads will still be maintained and the
snow will still be plowed."
- Valley County Clerk Archie Banbury
it as unanticipated revenue
and we could
Banbury said.
However, he
ticipate the federal funding
to arrive anytime before this
winter if at all.
"The roads will still be
maintained and the snow will
still be plowed," he said.
New road construction
along West Mountain Road
will also happen next year.
In light of the smaller bud -
ounty will do little
of capital improve -
the coming year,
he said.
The county does plan to
pave the parking lot north of
the courthouse in Cascade for
about $30,000, but improve-
ments to the county's transfer
site on Spink Lane are not in
the budget for next year.
Capital improvements for
new buildings at the transfer
site were scratched, which
took away about $900,000
from the county's solid waste
budget.
"There is nothing exciting
about this year's budget,"
Banbury said.
spend that," get, the c
in terms
does not an- ments in
Capital Improvements
Slow economic growth will
cut an additional $900,000from
the budget, Banbury said.
"We're trying to hold back
on expenditures," Banbury
said. "Two years ago we
had more than $1 million in
building permits, this year
we expect about $220,000. That
impacts our ability to spend
money."
Payroll down $300,000
The county currently em-
ploys about 135 people. There
will be no cost of living
increase for the county's em- Banbury said.
ployees next year, but there The move
will be a3 percent merit pay easier for ea
increase for deserving employ-
ees, he said.
The payroll will be down
about $300,000 from this year's
budget.
The county will only add
two new part -time employees
to its payroll next year, Ban-
bury said.
A part -time jailer will be
added and a part -time employ-
ee in the prosecutor's office
will be added to collect fines
and restitution from convicted
criminals.
"We didn't want to lay any-
body off," Banbury said. "You
can't reduce the vital part of
your services."
The county's insurance
also went up $10,000 for next
year from $179,000 to $189,000
Snowmobile Areas
The proposed budget also
itemizes for the first time
each snowmobile grooming
area's budget. In the past, all
snowmobile grooming bud-
gets were under one heading,
will make it
ch snowmobile
grooming operation to know
when it has spent its budget.
The McCall - Donnelly
Snowmobile area 43A will
have a budget of $132,000 this
winter.
The Cascade -Warm Lake
Snowmobile area 43B &C will
have $58,000 for grooming this
winter and the Smiths Ferry
Snowmobile area43D willhave
about $18,000 for grooming
trails this winter.
Van Hoover
pleads guilty
to forgery,
theft charges
Former Valley Co.
employee admits to
stealing forest funds
BY MICHAEL WELLS
The Star -News
A former Valley County
employee pleaded guilty on
Friday to grand theft and
forgery stemming from forest
thinning projects that were
never done in the Yellow Pine
and Big Creek areas.
Lois Van
Hoover, the
county's for-
mer natural
resources
coordinator,
agreed to a
r ^.
plea agree -:.
ment that
could send
her to jail Lois Van
for up to 10 Hoover
years.
Van Hoover was charged by
the Idaho Attorney General's
Office with stealing more than
$52,000 from Valley County.
A trial on the charges
had been scheduled to begin
on Oct. 23, but last week's
plea means that trial will-be
cancelled.
The money she stole from
the county was to be used for
forest thinning projects in
Yellow Pine and Big Creek
in 2006.
The money was allocated
for the thinning proj ects due to
anIdahoDepartmentof Lands
grant for $55,000 that was from
a federal fund dedicated to for-
est fire fuels reduction.
The county paid $52,770
for a forest fuel reduction
project that was supposed to
have been completed by Back -
country Services, a company
owned by her son, Leo Van
Hoover Jr.
In the plea agreement,
Van Hoover agreed to pay
the county $52,770 before her
sentencing hearing scheduled
for Jan. 28.
See THEFT, Page A -8
Theft
(Continued from Page A -1)
Other terms of the deal in-
clude a 10 -year prison sentence
with two years fixed that could
be suspended.
She would also receive five
years probation and afine could
be determined at the sentenc-
ing date.
Fourth District Judge Thom-
as Neville informed Van Hoover
during the hearing in Cascade
that he was under no obligation
to abide by the plea agreement
and she could still face up to 14
years in prison for each of the
two felonies she pleaded guilty
to in court last week.
In court, she was asked if
she forged an invoice to the
county by signing her son's
name without his knowledge
for $17,856 in the fall of 2006.
She said "yes."
She was also asked if she
stole money from the county,
and she again replied "yes."
Prosecutor Chris Topmill-
er with the Idaho Attorney
General's Office declined to
comment on the case until after
the sentencing.
VARHA PARES BACK
OPERATIONS DUE TO
FUNDING CRUNCH
BY LUCIA V. KNUDSON
The Star -News
The Valley Adams Regional Housing Authority
has cut back its staffing by 60 percent through next
September.
Cash shortfalls this year led to the cutback, but
the situation could change if more funding becomes
available, Executive Director Michael David said.
VARHAs two staffers will be working fewer
hours. They are David, who works for VARHA under
contract, and Toni Powell, the housing authority's
programs director.
The office in Aspen Village will maintain its
schedule and remain open Mondays through Thurs-
days and by appointment.
VARHAs 2008 budget was $114,000. The 2009
budget is anticipated at $110,000 of which $84,000
is payroll for David and Powell.
"Toni and 1 can adjust and make do at 60percent,"
David said.
VARHAs cash difficulties stem from the sluggish
real estate market and the inability to sell unsold
lower -cost homes on McCall Avenue.
VARHA temporarily suspended most of its
operations in September until anticipated fund-
ing from the city of McCall and Valley County are
received.
David does not expect the cutback to affect mar-
keting the McCall Avenue homes or development
of 120 low- income apartment units on 10 acres of
county -owned land on Deinhard Lane.
David now has more time to spend on those
projects mostly because of the depressed real estate
market.
See VARHA, Page A -2
s�A ht�
lal3o'� Q
(Continuedffrom Page
A -1)
The lull has also given
David more time to write
voluntary and incentive -
based housing ordinances
for governments that sit on
VARHAs board.
Previous mandates on
developers to provide lower -
cost homes or cash payments
were declared invalid in a
court challenge by the Moun-
tain Central Association of
Realtors.
Valley forms ambulance district
EY MICHAEL WELLS
The Star-News
Valley County commissioners on
Tuesday voted to form a countywide
ambulance district.
The commissioners also set an initial
budget for the new district at $750,000,
which isless than the amount soughtbythe
three ambulance services in the county.
Commissioners had the option of put-
ting the question of forming the district
before voters, but chose not to do so.
"It was going to cost us $30,000 to
hold an election, and we do not have
the money," Commission Chair Jerry
Winkle said.
"We are required to fund EMS," Win-
kle said. "I think living in a rural county
we cannot afford to not fund it."
County commissioners will now
serve as the board of the new ambulance
District
(Continued from Page A -1)
Money for the new district
will not be collected until
January 2011.
Valley County Clerk Archie
Banbury suggested the three
fire districts that house the
ambulance services redirect
$110,000 currently budgeted to
buy a new ambulance for the
Cascade ambulance service.
The money could be set
aside to cover any budget
shortfalls until tax money
comes into the new district,
Banbury said.
district.
"We are grateful for that decision,"
Donnelly EMS Director Barb Pyle said.
"It took a lot of political courage for
this commission to make that decision
at this time."
Under the plan endorsed on Tues-
day, the McCall, Donnelly and Cascade
ambulance services each would receive
$250,000 in new property -tax funding.
That is an increase over the current
$160,000 now received by each of the
three services.
"It's going to strengthen EMS; a
district gives credibility to an agency
that is very important in this county,"
Pyle said.
The commissioners will set a prop-
erty -tax levy to meet the $750,000 goal
when they put together the next county
budget in August.
See DISTRICT, Page A-10
or to be maintained through
service contracts, Pyle said.
It will also help fund per-
sonnel and create capital
improvement funds for the
EMS departments to purchase
new ambulances when the
time comes, she said.
"It's a starting point," Pyle
said. "It's really a bare -bone
budget."
Ambulance District
Timeline
Several steps mustbe taken
before the Valley County am-
bulance district formed on
Monday by county commis-
sioners can start spending
The new district will money
ach of the county's
ire districts will have
to rework contracts with the
county.
• During the 2009 -10 bud-
geting process this summer,
commissioners will set a
property -tax levy that matches
their minimum commitment
to fund the countywide district
at a level of $750,000.
• In 2010, Valley County
property owners will have
a new tax levy on their bills
to fund the new ambulance
district.
• From October through
December of 2010, the county
and fire districts will have to
come up with a plan to fund all
ambulance service in Cascade,
Donnelly and McCall before
new revenues are available
to the countywide district in
January 2011.
5ij.,, dt,�Wj
.,y votes to
start over on
r
i
�a
Blaye contract
BY MICHAEL WELLS
The Sw -News
Valley County commissioners on Monday
m wgls da d the ce during their eJant 25 meet
ing.
Commissioners Frank Eld and Gordon
Cruickshank voted to revoke the deci sions made
as the result of the two violations and will take
up the items again next month.
Commissioners admitted they broke state
law when they did not take legal steps to add
two items to their Jan. 25 agenda.
Those items were to discuss the contract
of county economic developer John Blaye and
to ValleyoCounty Planning and Zoning g Commis-
sion.
Commissioners on Jan. 25 voted to cancel
Blaye's contract and appointed Sandmeyer, but
Monday's vote rescinded both those actions.
Monday's vote responded to a formal notice
of violation filedby The Star-News citing provi-
sions in the Idaho Open Meeting Law.
"What we didthat day is what wehad done in
the past when things come up on short notice,"
Eld said, convened executive sssions illegally
over time.
'54 / l.l4od
�//d
Valley, McCall ponder future of housing agency
VARHA chief says land needed
for low - income apartments
BY LUCIA V. KNUDSON
The Star -News
Valley County commissioners on Monday told board
members of the Valley Adams Regional Housing Author-
ity to get back on track finding incentives for building
affordable housing.
The comments came during a discussion of the future of
the housing agency that included McCall city officials.
The meeting was called because changes in the real
estate market and economic decline have made a reas-
sessment of VARHA timely, said Michael David, executive
1
director of the housing authority.
Valley County andthe city of McCallhavebeenVARHAs
major backers since its inception in 2006.
McCall helped build nine homes designated for lower -
income families along McCall Avenue. Valley County
donated land for The Springs, a low- income apartment
complex set to be built this year along Jacob Street.
The five members of VARHA's board all believe VARHA
still has an active role to play in the future, but that its
direction must change, David said.
Shift in Mission
The market now offers homes priced within reach
of moderate - income families, so VARHA is shifting its
mission from first -time home ownership to providing
low- income rentals, he said.
(Continued from Page A -1)
VARHA has suggested
acquiring land on which to
build affordable apartments,
a proposal which Commis-
sioner Frank Eld endorsed.
Valley County's VARHA
representative, Steve Mille -
mann, also hopes VARHA will
continue but only with a clear
consensus from its member
agencies.
"Even if we have to scale
back, and that is a necessity
and that's prudent to do, to
me it's very important that we
maintain the housing author-
ity — it took a lot of work to get
here," Eld said.
"We can't let it die and go
into the sunset because down
the road we're going to need
it again," he said.
VARHA lacks a clear mis-
sion and funding mandate,
Millemann said.
"I have the sense from sit-
ting in council meetings and
hearing critical comments
that there is less than complete
consensus from the two spon-
sors on what the role ought to
be," Millemann said.
County Affirms Support
Chairman Jerry Winkle
responded with an affirmation
of the county's support.
"I don't see us backing
down in any way," Winkle
said. "If you see us backing
down or you have something
you want to talk to us about,
please do so."
AttendingfromMcCallwere
McCall City Council Member
Bert Kulesza, City Manager
Lindley Kirkpatrick and Com-
munity Development Director
Michelle Groenevelt.
Kulesza agreed with Mil -
lemann that VARHA was
"afloat" and introuble because
See VARHA, Page A-2
of failure to adapt to swift
economic changes.
"Are the goals and objec-
tives that we had three or four
years ago the same as we have
today ?" Kulesza asked. "Prob-
ably not, because conditions
have changed so much."
The city of McCall has not
been happy with VARHAs
services andhas switched pay-
ments from yearly to quarterly
with payments contingent
upon its performance, city of-
ficials have said previously.
Kulesza had hoped to see a
list of incentive proposals for
developers that VARHA had
promised.
Kulesza also noted that Da-
vidlives in Ketchum, VARHAs
office in McCall has been
closed, and the agency has no
Web site.
"Maybe it boils down that;
are we getting the value that
we have been putting into
it; if not how do we get it ?"
Kulesza said.
VARHA wants local workers for apts
Developer says
local labor is part
of building contract
BY LUCIA V KNUDSON
The Star -News
Board members of the Val-
ley Adams Regional Housing
Authority are worriedjobs and
purchasing materials to build
an affordable apartment proj-
ect could end up going outside
the local area.
The Springs is being built
by a nonprofit affordable hous-
ing developer, The Housing
Company, in partnership with
Valley County and the city of
McCall.
Valley County has provided
the land for the 36 -unit apart-
ment project located across
from Jacob's Manor on Jacob
Street.
The VARHA board learned
at its most recent meeting
that The Housing Company
has hired Wright Brothers of
Eagle as its general contractor
for The Springs which sparked
fear that subcontracts and pur-
chases of materials may go to
Treasure Valley businesses.
"As part of the request for
qualifications on this project,
(The Housing Company) has
mandated its desire to uti-
lize as many McCall/Valley
County subcontractors and
suppliers as possible," said
Kathryn Almberg, the com-
pany's housing development
officer, in an e-mail response
to The Star -News.
Wright Brothers will be
checkingqualificationsof Val-
ley County subcontractors and
suppliers and asking them to
submit bids on materials and
labor, Almberg said.
"THC will work with
Wright Brothers to guaran-
tee maximum utilization of
McCall /Valley County sub-
contractors and suppliers,"
she said.
Valley County gave The
Housing Co. the land on con-
dition that the county benefit
from the project's develop-
ment, and VARHA Executive
Director Michael David re-
minded the board members of
the county's position.
Board members also wor-
ried The Housing Company's
occupancy projections may not
materialize because of work-
ing families leaving the area
to seek jobs elsewhere. They
feared the exodus could doom
the project.
However, officials of The
Housing Company have said
previously the company could
use its cash reserves to cover lost
rental revenues for a year if the
vacancy rate remains high until
the economy turns around.
Eightpeoplehaveexpressed
interest in renting at The
Springs so far, David said.
/6/0
Local jobless rate creeps
back up toward 20%
The unemployment rate in Valley and Adams con-
tinued to lead all Idaho counties in September, creeping
back toward the 20 percent mark posted last winter,
the Idaho Department of Labor reported.
Adams County led all 44 Idaho counties with a 19.6
percent jobless rate in September. That compared with
an 18.6 percent rate in August and a 17.9 percent rate
in September 2009.
Valley County came in a close second statewide,
posting a 19.0 percent jobless rate last month com-
pared with 18.9 percent in August and 15.5 percent
a year ago.
A total of 829 people out of a work force of 4,367
in Valley County were seeking jobs last month, the
state figured show.
See JOBS, Page A -12
Jobs
(Contirued,from Page A -1)
In Adams County, 401 people
out of total work force of 2,044
were looking for work.
The totallaborforce inboth
counties has declined in the
past year, meaning workers
have left the county to seek
jobs, the figures show.
The labor force in Valley
County dropped from 4,814 a
year ago to 4,367 in September.
In Adams County, the labor
force dropped form 2,196 in
September 2009 to 2,044 last
month.
Statewide, unemployment
was up in 25 of Idaho's 44
counties when the statewide
jobless rate increased a tenth
of a point to 9 percent, the
Department of Labor figures
said.
But the Coeur d'Alene
metro area - the state's second
largest- saw atenth -of a -point
decline in the seasonally
adjusted unemployment rate
to 10.6 percent. Overall, un
employment was down fro
August in 16 counties and hel d
steady in three.
20 County Rates Higher
Twenty counties posted
rates higher than the state-
wide rate in September, and
16 were in double digits, down
from 17 in August.
Oneida County had the
lowest rate at 4.9 percent,
down three- tenths from Au-
gust and the only county with
a rate under 5 percent.
Four other counties - Ow-
yhee, Franklin, Bear Lake
and Madison - had rates
under 6 percent. Owyhee,
Franklin, Oneida and Lewis
were under 6 percent in
August.
Unemployment inthefive-
county Boise metropolitan
area climbed two - tenths of
a point to 9.1 percent despite
declines in the jobless -rates
in both Ada, the state's most
populous county, and Gem
counties.
The Lewiston metro
area was up six - tenths to
7.5 percent and the Idaho
Falls metro area rose two -
tenths to 6.7 percent. In the
m Pocatello metro area, the un-
employment rate remained
unchanged at 7.8 percent.
s�r�
114110
Moore ousts Eld for Valley County commissioner
Nearly one -third of voters
cast ballots before Tuesday
BY TOM GROTE
The Star -News
Ray Moore narrowly defeated sitting Val-
ley County Commissioner Frank Eld during
Tuesday's general election.
Moore, a Republican, received 52 percent
of the vote as opposed to 48 percent for Eld,
a Democrat.
A gap of 140 votes separated Moore and
Eld for the District 3 seat on the three -mem-
ber commission.
Eld, who was first elected to the board in
2004, won precincts in McCall, but lost by one
vote in his home Roseberry Precinct.
Moore also bested Eld by 89 votes in the
West Mountain Precinct that includes the
Donnelly area.
Moore's largest margin came from voters
who cast their ballots before Tuesday.
Atotalof 1,113voters,or
29 percent of the 3,794 total,
made their choices before
the election...
Of that total, 603 voted
for Moore while 510 voted
for Eld, a 93 vote advan-
tage.
Eld, a founder of the
historic Valley County
Museum, ran on a platform
of bringing balance to the
commission, the other two Ray
members of which are Re- Moore
publicans.
Moore, a realtor and insurance salesman,
campaigned to sustain and diversify the
local economy and lower the county's high
unemployment rate.
The final weeks of the campaign were
marked by mailings from the Idaho Association
of Realtors accusing Eld of raising taxes.
Defenders of Eld noted he could not
raise taxes without help of his fellow Re-
publicans.
A last- minute
,. issue arose over a
2005 vote by Eld to
approve a subdivi-
sion near Donnelly
on land owned by
his brother, Larry.
Moore's support-
ers said Eld's vote
was unethical, but
Eld said he did not know
his brother still owned
Gordon the land at the time of the
Cruickshank vote.
Turnout in Valley County
on Tuesday was 59.5 percent of registered
voters, according to the county elections
office.
OTHER CONTESTED RACES
In other local contested elections, incum-
bent Valley County Commissioner Gordon
Cruickshank, a Republican, was easily re-
elected to a new term over Democrat Travis
Hatfield. The margin was 59 percent to 41
percent in favor of Cruickshank.
Valley County Commissioner - District 3
Ray Moore (R) - 52%
Frank Eld (D) 48%
Breakdown by Precincts
• Total: Moore -1,967 Eld -1,827
• Absentee & Early Voters Moore - 603 Eld - 510
• McCall: Moore - 273 Eld - 418
• Payette (McCall): Moore -183 Eld - 214
• Roseberry (Donnelly): Moore - 392 Eld - 391
• W. Mountain (Donnelly): Moore -199 Eld -110
• Cascade: Moore -135 Eld -121
• Alpha (Cascade): Moore -128 Eld - 35
• Donnelly: Moore -15 Eld - 23
• Yellow Pine: Moore - 39 Eld - 5
Valley County Commissioner - District 2
Gordon Cruickshank (R) 2,230 - 59%
Travis Hatfield (D) 1,551 - 41%
The only contested election in Adams County
was for assessor, where incumbent Democrat Karen
Hatfield held onto her seat with 62 percent of the
vote over Republican challenger Robin James, who
received 38 percent.
See ELECTION, Page A -2
Election: legislative
and statewide results
(Continued from Page A -1)
In races forthe Idaho Legislature,
Sheryl Nuxoll, a Republican from
Cottonwood, defeated Democrat
Leta Strauss of Grangeville for the
Idaho Senate Seat from District 8.
Nuxoll earlier defeated incum-
bent Sen. Lee Heinrich, R- Cascade,
in the May Republican primary.
In the race for Idaho House Seat
813, Rep. Paul Shepherd, R- Riggins,
easily defeated Democrat Jerry
Lockhart of McCall by a 70 percent
to 30 percent margin.
District 8 includes Valley, Idaho,
Clearwater and Lewis counties.
District 9 Sen. Monty Pearce,
R -New Plymouth, turned back a
challenge by Democrat Wayne
Fuller of Weiser, 74 percent to 26
percent.
Seat 9A was retained by Speaker
of the House Lawerence Denney,
R- Midvale, who received 77 percent
of the vote compared to 23 percent
received by Democrat Lynn Webster
of Payette.
District9includesAdams, Wash-
Other Contested Races
Adams County Assessor
Karen Hatfield (D) 1,037 - 62%
Robin James (R) 648 - 38%
Idaho Senate - District 8
Sheryl Nuxoll (R) 9,846 - 69%
Leta Strauss (D) 4,337 - 31 %
Idaho House - Seat 8B
Paul Shepherd (R) 10,016 - 70%
Jerry Lockhart (D) 4,241 - 30%
Idaho Senate - District 9
Monty Pearce (R) 8,487 - 74%
Wayne Fuller (D) 2,952 - 26%
Idaho House - Seat 9A
Lawerence Denney (R) 8,736 - 77%
Lynn Webster (D) 2,660 - 23%
Voter Turnout - Valley County - 59.5%
ington and Payette counties.
In statewide races, Valley County
voted for incumbent U.S. Rep. Walt
Minnick, D- Idaho, in his unsuccess-
ful attempt to hold onto his seat.
A total of 1,951 Valley County
voters cast ballots for Minnick, while
1,511 votes were cast for eventual
winner Republican Raul Labrador.
Adams County voters favored
Labrador over Minnick, 823 to
669.
f
Bloomer to
step down as
Valley County
magistrate
Judge to retire at year end
after 10 years on the bench
BY MICHAEL WELLS
The Star -News
Valley County Magistrate Hank Boomer announced
last week he will retire Dec. 31 after 10 years as judge
in the county.
Boomer chose early retirement mostly due to the
health of his wife, Deb, who suffers from multiple
sclerosis.
I want to partially retire while 1 still have my health
and while my wife still has what's left of hers," said
Boomer, who will turn age 62 by the end of the year.
"There are adventures I would like to go on and
enjoy McCall and the rest of Valley County during
the summer," he said.
With grandchildren living far away, he hopes to
have more time to spend with them, but he still plans
on working as a part -time judge in the future.
Boomer started working as the county's magistrate
judge on Feb. 3, 2001. Before that he spent 25 years as
an attorney working as a prosecutor in Idaho and
Power counties and in private practice.
On that day a little over 10 years ago, Boomer
remembered walking in to the sound of "all rise."
Then he sat down, but noticed everyone was still
standing. He quickly remembered it was now his job
to tell everyone to have a seat.
See BOOMER, Page A -2
Star -News Photo by Michael Wells
Valley County Magistrate Hank Boomer makes a
point during a court hearing last week in Cascade.
Boomer has announced his retirement Dec. 31 after 10
years on the bench.
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Valley commissioners want to raise tneir p Y a 31 percent
Officials say work load
justifies $11,200 increase
BY MICHAEL WELLS
The Star -News
Valley County Commissioners plan to give
themselves a 31 percent raise in the proposed
budget for 2012, citing an increased workload.
Commissioners Gordon Cruickshank, Ray
Moore and Jerry Winkle want to increase their
pay so that it totals 75 percent of the pay of four
other elected officials at the county.
That is because the job now requires they
work more than 40 hours per week, they say.
The three commissioners propose raising
their salaries from $35,963 now to $47,163 Oct.
1, or an increase of $11,200 per year.
By comparison, Valley County Clerk Archie
Banbury, Valley County Assessor June Fullmer,
Valley County Treasurer Glenna Young and
Valley County Sheriff Patti Bolen make $62,883
per year.
Of the remaining elected officials, Valley
County Coroner Mary Heikkila earns $10,795
per year, while Valley County Prosecuting At-
torney Matt Williams is paid $86,360 per year.
A public hearing on the proposed 2011 -12
budget is set for 10 a.m. Monday at the com-
missioners meeting room at the Valley County
Courthouse in Cascade.
Commissioners also propose increasing all
county employees pay by 2 percent across the
board, which includes other elected officials.
More Meetings, Work Load
Commissioners increased meetings this
year from three to four per month, said Cruick-
shank, who is the commission chair.
Commissioners are only required to meet
two times per month under state law.
Commissioners also worked more hours on
this year's budget than in any previous year,
decreasing it $1.5 million compared to last
year's budget and saving taxpayers $2.3 million
in property taxes and fees, Cruickshank said.
"It was brought to our attention that we are
putting in a lot more than 40 hours per week,"
Winkle said Tuesday.
"With meetings every Monday now andother
commitments, it's to a point when I personally
think we deserve it," he said.
Other justifications for the pay raise are
phone calls from residents, increased acces-
sibility to the public, various board meeting
commitments in and outside the county and
state and budgetary responsibilities.
See RAISE, Page 2
The additional time
invested has resulted in im-
proved county operations, a
much higherlevel of account-
ability as well as having the
time to find and implement
this massive tax break,"
commissioners said in a
Viewpoint opinion piece that
can be found on Page 4.
`Although it could be ar-
gued that the commissioners
should be compensated at
the same rate as the other
elected officials, we did not
feel it was appropriate to do
in these economic times," the
Viewpoint said.
(Valley County property
taxes to go down $2.3 mil-
lion. See story, Page 3.)
- Jerry Winkle
1.r3 of Vall ey tax cut due to lower trash fee
Fund amassed cash for expansion that was never built
BY MICHAEL WELLS
The Star -News
One -third of the proposed $23 million property tax cut in the 2011 -12 Valley County budget will come
from a fund that has collected too much money in recent years.
About $770,000 of the proposed decrease in property taxes will come from a fund to operate the
county's solid waste transfer station on Spink Lane.
That amount is the difference between what is needed to operate and improve the station and what is
now being collected.
The owners of about 10,400 Valley County homes have been paying a solid waste fee of $97.50 per
year since 2008, Commissioner Ray Moore said.
The money was put into a fund that was intended to be used to build a larger solid waste transfer
station, Commission Chair Gordon Cruickshank said.
The fee was implemented after the construction boom of 2006 and 2007 saw 120 tons per day of
waste come through the station, which was designed to handle 20 to 40 tons of waste per day,
Cruickshank said.
The county paid for a preliminary design to create a site large enough to handle 100 tons per day.
Construction costs were estimated at $2.2 million, he said.
County commissioners raised the fee from $65 in 2007 to $97.50 in 2008 to pay for the proposed
expansion.
The fee was $52.50 from 2001 to 2005 and was increased to $65 in 2006.
The fee increase also was implemented to pay for operational costs that were not being met by the
previous fees, Moore said.
Recession Changes Plans
When the economy rebound, but the $97 recession, 50 fee was still be decided to hold off on the expansion to see if
the economy would
"The downturn came along and we held off to see what was going to happen," Cruickshank said. "With
nothing changing quickly, it is time to give the money back."
The fee is proposed to be reduced from $97.50 to $10 in the 2012 budget while about $600,000 will be
used for improvements to the transfer station.
"In reviewing operations and possible expansion options this year it was decided that there was a
much more economically feasible expansion option available," Moore said last week. "This meant a
reduction in the need for funds to remain with solid waste."
Moore reserved judgment on whether the fee would be increased the following year.
"We will reevaluate next year's fee during the budget process," he said. "To speculate that far in
advance would not seem prudent."
Former Valley County Clerk Lee Heinrich warned commissioners Monday that dropping the fee
drastically would when the county county with only
eves is first half of property tax and fee payments.
Heinrich through late
January 201
Heinrwn the station if they keep the fee eat $10 n the proposed 2012 budgetns during that period or
shut do
Back To Index
n.- r /Urt'_. W
q1 el
Commissioners slammed for pay raise proposal
Valley officials said work load jusiifres more money
BY MICHAEL WELLS
The Star -News
Comments from the public Monday were largely in opposition to Valley County Commissioners giving
themselves a 31 percent pay raise in next year's budget.
County commissioners held a public hearing on a proposed $18.3 million budget that would cut
property taxes and fees to property owners $2.3 million, but also included a 31 percent pay raise for
commissioners.
The commissioners did not vote on the budget or pay raise while they considered the comments.
Commissioners proposed to increase their own pay by $11,200 to take their salaries to about $47,000
or 75 percent of the salary of the county assessor, clerk, treasurer and sheriff. Commissioners argued
the job was more than a full -time commitment.
Commission Chair Gordon Cruickshank told the people sitting in the commissioner's room in the
courthouse in Cascade Monday that they need to decide if they want full or part-time commissioners
before the public was allowed to comment.
"Fix it, don't do it," Karen Johnson of Cascade said of the commissioners self - proposed pay raise.
"Don't even go there."
Johnson said she was "sick and tired" of Valley County being talked about around the state and said
teachers are working more and more hours without increased pay.
"I propose you put this up to the voters of our community," Johnson said.
Cynthia Belecz of McCall said she held several higher education degrees but due to the local
economy was recently forced to take a minimum wage job washing dishes in a restaurant that she was
grateful to have.
"How can you justify a 31 percent pay increase for yourself," Belecz said. "I'm shocked you would
attempt this."
Bonnie Bertram, a former county commissioner and McCall City Council member, said this is not the
time to take an increase in pay
Asking Too Much
'The increased workload is partially self - imposed," said Todd Hatfield of McCall. "You asked for way
too much this time."
Hatfield said Valley County commissioners would likely be the highest paid per capita commissioners
in the state if they took the raise. If commissioners keep the raise in the budget it would amount to $4.70
per resident, he said-
Frmer sta senator ad Valley County
"heoroes to the taxpayersnth s year and be forced ced to cut the budget t$3 million next year.ould look like
The proposed 2012 budget spends down county fund balances that normally sit at 30 to 35 percent so
the county can continue to operate between Oct. 1 and January, when new tax revenue is first received,
Heinrich said.
"Thomas Jefferson said when a man assumes a public trust he should consider himself public
property," Heinrich said about the proposed pay raise.
Jim Rush, who lives south of Lake Fork, asked the commissioners to consider creating a highway
taxing district since the proposed road and bridge budget is $1.6 million less for 2012 than it is in this
year's budget.
"I don't doubt the time you spend on the job, but 31 percent in one year ?" Rush said. "I can see an
incremental increase particularly when you are giving the other people a 2 percent increase."
Becky Johnstone of McCall was the lone person in favor of the commissioners proposed raise on
Monday.
"You have no idea what Gordon Cruickshank's meeting schedule is," Johnstone said. "I'm glad to see
that you are raising your salaries."
Cruickshank noted that the budget is not final and can be changed before it is finalized in September.
"We still have some time to work on this," he said.
Work on low -cost clinic goes on despite loss of federal grant
"We haven't always worked together like we should This is a good thing."—John Gahl
BY CARiSSA S[NDON
for The Star -News
Work on opening a low -cost health clinic in Valley County will go on even though a federal grant to
help set up such a clinic has been denied.
The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services announced earlier this month that a proposed
health clinic in Donnelly for low- income residents was not among the recipients of a federal grant
intended to help establish new health centers in the nation's underserved communities.
Local health officials from Cascade Medical Center, St. Luke's McCall, Community Care Clinic and the
Adams County Health Center met last month to discuss partnerships if funding for the health center was
received.
They also discussed how organizations could work together if the funding was not received.
The Cascade and McCall hospitals have identified some important needs, such as mental and dental
health, on which they will continue to work together, said John Gahl, a member of the Cascade Medical
Center board of trustees.
"We're looking at partnerships between the two hospitals," Gahl said. "We haven't always worked
together like we should. This is a good thing."
It is uncertain whether the increased services would include opening a clinic in Donnelly, he said.
"I think Donnelly folks are used to going to Cascade or McCall for their medical services," Gahl said.
Free Clinic Plans Go On
Plans to open a free medical clinic, called the Moser Community Health Clinic, at the Cascade hospital
will also continue, said Gahl, who also chairs the clinic's board.
The clinic is set to open October 3 and would provide medical care and prescription medication free of
charge for local adults over ante 18 with no insurance or means to pay.
Both Gahl and Dr. Sarah Jessup, medical director of the Community Care Clinic in McCall, agree that
free medical clinics are short -term measures and better solutions are needed.
The partnership ideas will be shared at a meeting next month in Donnelly with a larger group, including
representatives of Valley County commissioners, the Donnelly City Council, Idaho Department of Health
and Welfare and other state organizations, said Mary Sheridan, a program manager with the State
Office of Rural Health and Primary Care.
These include submitting a federal network planning grant to strengthen partnerships and enhance
coordination of care, she said.
Other ideas include sharing employee training and increasing access to mental health services by
possibly sharing an office location to provide services, Sheridan said.
The topic came to the forefront last December when the Adams County center, based in Council,
asked the commissioners to endorse the grant application.
Missing Meridian couple found dead north of Idaho City
The bodies of Charles and Barbara Rigg, reported missing a month ago were discovered by campers
on four - wheelers in a remote area of Boise County late Friday, The Idaho Statesman reported.
Charles Rigg, 81, and Barbara Rigg, 77, were found inside their green Dodge Dakota, which
apparently slid 60 to 80 feet down an embankment off a one -lane dirt forest road about 20 miles north of
Idaho City, Sheriff Ben Roeber said Saturday.
Barbara Rigg was apparently driving when the vehicle flipped and rolled at least once and came to
rest on its tires, he said. No sign of foul play was found.
The couple's white schnauzer, Sassy, was found alive in the area. Roeber said the dog was returned
to the family.
They couple was last seen July 29 and there were reports they may have been seen at the flea market
rh 30
i
information sought on missing Meridian couple
The Valley County Sheriff's Office is ask and could be n Va IeyrCounty! sheriff sly
Meridian couple who disappeared more than two weeks ago
spokesperson Lt. Dan Smith said.
The couple, Charles Rigg, 81, and Barbara Rigg, 77, have not been seen since
July 29.
d gray
They were in a four -door green 2001 Dodge Dakota with silver Idaho I ense
graphics on the side and a Lear camper shell with a handicapped
plate "V NAM."
The couple had a white schnauzer dog traveling with them and could have run
into trouble in either Valley or Boise counties. d up empty, Smith said.
The sheriff's office has had many leads, but all of the leads thus far have turne
"We have covered every major road in this county and we haven't found any sign of them," he said. "I
can't figure out how that pickup has disappea red
The sheriff's office has received numerous tips that the couple were in the Silver Creek Plunge area,
High Valley and Sage Hen to Cascade, Smith
"We're at the point it's a slim chance they are alive," Smith said noting he had spent 12 hours
searching back roads Friday to n o
Anyone who has seen the missing couple or a dog matching the description or the truck should
rnntart the sheriff's office at 382 -7150 or call 911, Smith said.
A/(
Developer sues Valley County over road fees
Ronald Higgins bought credits from Rep. Roberts
BY MICHAEL WELLS
The Star -News
A Donnelly developer has joined a growing list of developers suing Valley County over past road
development agreements, a practice the county quit this winter.
Ronald Higgins is suing the county for at least $129,000 in a lawsuit that includes money he paid to
Rep. Ken Roberts, R- Donnelly, for road development credits_ The lawsuit also wants a judge to declare
road development agreements illegal.
Higgins paid Roberts $116,000 for the road development credits to use with his Wild Wings
Subdivision in the Kantola/Day Star area.
Roberts received $67,000 from Valley County this spring as payment for road development credits
Roberts was unable to sell due to the county ending the practice of road development agreements.
Roberts had entered into an agreement with the county creating road development credits in the
amount of $248,000 for work done on the Davis Creek Lane extension on his land in 2007.
Roberts had sold all but $67,000 worth of the credits by the time the county commissioners ended the
practice of road development agreements this winter.
Roberts had also sold credits to Robert Fodrea, who has filed a claim seeking $47,704 in unused
credits he bought from Roberts. Fodrea had not filed a lawsuit over the claim as of Tuesday.
The county began requiring developers pay a road development fee in 2005 and required road
development agreements before county commissioners would sign off on final plats.
Higgins and the county entered into a road development agreement May 3, 2010.
Higgins was required to pay money and dedicate right -of -way for his share of the road improvement
costs attributed to the traffic generated by the Wild Wings Subdivision, court documents said.
"Valley County's Land Use Development Ordinance misleads the public into believing that the county
can legally collect impact fees," the lawsuit said. "To date, Valley County has not followed the
requirements of the Idaho Development Impact Fee Act."
The lawsuit is one of five lawsuits filed against the county over road development agreements.
The county won due to the statute of limitations in the Buckskin Properties case, but that case is being
appealed, Valley County Prosecuting Attorney Matt Williams said.
Williams does not represent the county in the road development cases. Chris Meyer, with the Boise
law firm Givens Pursley, represents the county in all the cases.
Other lawsuits filed against the county over road development agreements include:
• Redwolff Ventures, which filed a case last month in Fourth District Court.
• White Cloud, which filed a case in federal court in Boise.
• KDB, which filed a case in September 2010.
5717t
ic-tory
Round Valley man sells sourdough starters from around the world
"It seemed to me like an opportunity to find where man's first sourdough came from. "
—Ed Food
BY DAN GALLAGHER
for The Star -News
When the idea of sourdough bread comes up, many people figure the technique originated with
prospectors in an Old West mining camp.
But Ed Wood of Round Valley has found the baking
method may have originated in the Middle East as early as
10,000 to 15,000 BC.
Wood has co!!eead sourdough cultures ff -m around the world and markets them to customers who
want authentic, delicious artisan bread, or just grfr?,t
pancakes, without commercial yeast.
"We've got the whole world contaminated with our
cultures," Wood joked about his Internet business,
Sourdoughs international.
Sourdough starter is a mix of two organisms - a wild yeast
and a lactobacillus bacterium which have been floating
around in the air for eons.
Wood, a retired pathologist, always loved the taste of
sourdough bread. Around retirement time, he and his late
wife, Jean, located in Saudi Arabia where he worked in a
hospital lab.
-Id—
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400
Photo courtesy of National Geographic
Pr. Ed Wood of Round Valle}—works on Cone -
i shaped bread molcL5 in Ep pt ni a photo that, an as
p<u-t of m <uticle in National l;eoq'apinc ivagaziue
i.
m i��5
"I recognized I was right in the area where man's first leavened bread was developed by somebody or
something," he said.
"It seemed to me like an opportunity to find where man's first sourdough came from because they
never had commercial yeast," he said.
Bread probably was created in a similar way as beer, when someone in Egypt or Mesopotamia may
have left some mushy grain around.
"Somebody left it out in the air, the gods came along and plunked in something," he said. "To supply
what the gods supply, you had to keep feeding it."
Wood collected cultures from ethnic bakers who had never even heard of commercial yeasts and
, w......,,,.
S _1 e_ k
Ancient Baking Pots
In 1991, University of Chicago archaeologist Mark Lehner found an ancient bread -- making facility on
the Giza plateau of Egypt, from the Old Kingdom dating back to about 2470 BC. Within it were ceramic,
cone - shaped baking pots.
The National Geographic Society contacted the Woodses about baking some ancient Egyptian bread
and featured the results in a story published in the magazine in 1995.
The couple found some Kamut wheat, which is a close relative of the ancient emmer used in Egypt.
Friends at the Mountain States Tumor Institute in Boise irradiated the grain to rid it of Idaho organisms.
The couple put the sterile Kamut flour, with some water, at the foot of a pyramid and captured a Giza
culture.
The scientists reconstructed the bakery and, in perhaps the first time in more than 4,000 years, a
perfect, tasty loaf of Old Kingdom bread was produced.
Over the years, the Woodses collected 17 cultures, from his Giza bread to Tasmanian, to Polish and
Austrian, to South African and from San Francisco.
Some can be used with wheat and some with rye. The dried cultures are packaged for shipment with
instructions.
"It's bread for life," said John Van Buren of Cascade. "It's a minimal investment and they have bread
for their whole family."
Van Buren and his wife, Amber, work with Wood in the business of bringing sourdough to customers
worldwide.
Wood has written books that supply the information on turning his culture into a starter that can literally
last for lifetimes.
`Proofing' The Starter
He has created a simple "proofing box," a foam ice chest turned upside down to which a light bulb and
dimmer switch have been added.
The starter is mixed in a canning jar and placed under the box along with an outdoor thermometer.
The dimmer is used to control the temperature inside the box.
The starter goes through a couple "proofs" to ready it for baking. The taste can easily be fine -tuned
from sour to mild with each batch.
Sourdough baking tends to produce a lot of rumors. A starter does not finally lapse, as some
commercial producers claim.
Just add more flour to keep it going and it can sit in a refrigerator for years, Wood said.
"The most common myth on the Internet is that (the starter) will change to the area where you move it
rr (
Hope In a Box: Cascade Food Pantry provides Teals to families in need
Valley County had the highest `food insecurity " rate for children
under 18 in Idaho at 33.1 percent in 2009
BY DAN GALLAGHER
for The Star -News
Bob Northam is unemployed, which makes the business of feeding his family a challenge. That is why
Northam is happy the Cascade Food Pantry is around.
"I think it's fantastic," said Northam, who picked up boxes
for his household and for friends during a recent distribution.
"I've been coming here since the beginning," he said. "It's
definitely a help."
Hundreds of people'gather twice a month in Cascade as
boxes of free food are distributed to the unemployed and
disadvantaged.
The pantry began operations in January, assembling
boxes of commodities from the Idaho Foodbank and local
donations.
The pantry has provided up to 180 boxes at the
distributions on the first and third Thursdays of the month
Cl
Bob Nortlm111 picks up h+o bags of too( from
vohuiteer Ron Wiw. chuuig recent d stnbuhou at
the Cascade Food Pantr.v
It is a vital service in a county which has had the highest
rate of "food insecurity" for children in the state, according to a study released by the Idaho Foodbank
and Feeding America, a national hunger - relief charity.
"It just keeps going. We have a great core of people," said Lori Anderson of Cascade, who formed the
pantry with other volunteers. "But you see our unemployment statistics. It's not getting any
The boxes include basic items which help a family get by for two or three days.
The Idaho Foodbank previously brought food items for distribution at the Cascade Senior Citizens
Center.
But AmeriTitle allowed volunteers to use its former office downtown to assemble boxes with nutritional
basics from the Boise warehouse and keep track of recipients. There are no income guidelines to
at.e fn ,i narknnPS.
rQ- CeI'Ve_�11(0rCa F0.ck75eS
t
Z
Nutritional Basics
On a recent Thursday, a box included zucchini, doughnuts or pie, potatoes, mandarin oranges, bread,
strawberries, a half -dozen eggs, four half -pints of milk and Spaghetti -Os.
howpto prepare the latter 1woa included peaches, mangos
jars of S mtlackfor infants.
although some were not SL re
fant
Each box contains the same items, so recipients do not have a long waiting line and are processed
through quickly.
Sterling Savings Bank, Target and Wal -Mart also provided 600 free reusable cloth shopping bags,
which are easier for seniors to carry.
"Those are helping us immensely. Older people can't handle the boxes," said volunteer Ron Wise.
Wise and Eft Hasbrouck of Clear Creek haul a trailer to the foodbank on Wednesdays before the
distributions and bring back the food, some in coolers.
The volunteers gather each Thursday to box up the portions and usher in the recipients.
"We have a little Igroup out of Round Valley who helps," said Richard DeLuca. "Everyone works
together. It's pretty nice."
The pantry always needs donations of food, dollars and volunteer time in activities such as focd
drives, Anderson said.
"We encourage teams of people, such as 4 -H or other groups," she said.
Cascade's church groups help on a rotating basis.
'Food Insecurity' High
In August, the Idaho Foodbank study found Valley County had the highest "food insecurity" rate for
children under 18 in Idaho at 33.4 percent. The review used 2009 data, the latest available.
"It's a lack of access to enough food for all household members to live an active, healthy life, nr limited
or uncertain availability of nutritionally adequate foods," the study said.
The average cost of a nutritious meal in Idaho was $2.68, higher than the national average of $2.54.
The cost per meal was highest in Valley County at $4.18_
Another benefit of the Cascade pantry is it involves people who are concerned about the reci dent's
welfare.
"One of the biggest things is confidence is being built," Anderson said. "It's a safe place. This is
This week's front page stories
Valley County buys Smiths Ferry land from Potlach for park
RS It11CHAEL WELLS
The Star -Neaps
Valley County Commissioner Jerry Winkle beamed last week at the realization that Valley County now
owns its first park.
The county recently bought the Wellington Snow Park,
about three acres of land at Smiths Ferry, from Potlatch
Corp.
The deal did not cost county taxpayers any money. The
land was purchased using a $150,000 grant from the Idaho
Department of Parks and Recreation and about $15,000
from money donated to the county by the Nasi sisters in the
1990s, Winkle said.
"It's a great improvement for the area," he said.
The land already had three county -owned buildings on it. A
warming but used by the Cougar Mountain Snowmobile
Club, a snowmobile trail groomer shed and a building that
houses equipment for the Cascade Rural Fire District.
H�
- —, A.. b, Mimed Well,
Flom left, Valley Colult Pla UUW & ZOIUDg
_ldumustrator C \mda Hemel, Potlatell Colp
Snuor Real Estate Maaiger Jim Lenueln mld
Caller Colultv Colnumm ner Jens Wnikle look
over the new Wellington Park- m Smiths Fem- last
week
Plans for the park in the future are not set, but would include use of the park during the day and
possibly overnight use, Winkle said.
The county also has lease agreements with Potlatch so park users can access trails on Potlatch -
owned land.
The park is a popular spot for snowmobilers, and that will not change under county ownership, Winkle
said.
"This was an area with buildings on it and an asphalt pad," said Potlatch Senior Real Estate Manager
Jim Lemieux. "It's not the kind of property we want to hold for a long period of time. It's a recreational
site, not a forestry site."
The park has restrooms, electricity and non - potable water. The goal for the park is to have the facilities
open year- round, 24 hours a day, seven days a week, Winkle said.
The county will put up signs to stop a common practice of truckers parking in the lot at the park
overnight, he said.
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10/29/2011
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Study says $10 million needed to fix McCall streets
BY MICHAEL \CELLS
The Star -News
Fixing McCall's streets could cost more than $10 million over 10 years, a preliminary study by
Horrocks Engineers of Boise said.
Engineers Matt Newcomb and Dan Jones, of Horrocks Engineers, discussed a recent assessment
they did on the city's pavement and signs at special meeting of the city council last Friday.
The assessment showed 96 percent of the city's paved streets require some form or maintenance or
reconstruction.
The potential costs include:
• About $2.3 million to apply chip seal to about 69 percent of the city's streets.
About $3.9 million to grind about 21 percent of the streets and apply a new asphalt overlay.
About $3.1 million to reconstruct about 6 percent of the city's streets.
Only about 4 percent of the city's streets currently do not require any maintenance, the study said.
The figure could be a low estimate, Jones told the council after council member Marcia Witte
questioned the price tag.
The costs also would change depending on when the council could come up with a funding plan.
Council members have suggested proposing a local option tax to voters to generate revenues to
create a dependable funding source for city street maintenance.
The assessment revealed that McCall's streets are in better shape than most cities that use Horrocks
Engineers services, Newcomb said.
However, the city needs to come up with a viable funding plan before the streets fall further into
disrepair.
"We're losing ground," McCall Public Works Director Peter Bomer said at the meeting.
The assessment showed the city streets current condition means they have an average Irfe span of
8.9 years today.
McCall streets deteriorate faster than streets in the Treasure Valley due to the area's extreme winters,
Jones said.
New streets in McCall have a life span of about 15 years as opposed to 20 in the Boise valley, he said.
The Irfe span of city streets included about 4 percent rated as excellent with 13 to 15 years remaining.
About 58 percent rated "very good" with 10 to 12 years remaining if chip seal is applied. About 12
percent rated as "good" with a Irfe span of 7 to 9 years.
About 21 percent rated as "fair" have 4 -6 years remaining and about 5 percent rated "poor" have 1 -3
years remaining.
About 1 percent also rated as poor and are beyond their life span, the report said.
Streets that have exceeded their life span and require reconstruction include parts of Park, Rowland,
and Spruce streets, Boydstun Loop, and the alley behind Sterling Savings Bank, the study said.
Other streets within 1 to 3 years of the end of their life spans that would also require reconstruction
include parts of Mission, Park, First, Second, Idaho, Spruce, Washington, Commerce, Diamond, East
Lake and Neal streets plus Mather and Pilgrim Cove roads, Saddlehom Lane and Brundage Drive, the
study said.
http://www.mccallstamews.com/pages/fp_stories_page.php 10/29/2011
This week's front page stories Page 1 of 1
Valley P &Z votes 3-2 in favor of Lake Fork gravel pit
About 150 people protest potential noise from rock crushing
BY DAN GALLAGHER
for The Star -News
A divided Valley County Planning and Zoning Commission last week recommended a new gravel pit
along East Lake Fork Road.
The 3 -2 decision was made to the dissatisfaction of nearly 150 people who attended the hearing last
Thursday at the Valley County Courthouse in Cascade.
Commission Chairman Ed Allen cast the deciding vote for the project last Thursday.
Commissioner Ronda Sandmeyer suggested tabling the matter to look for ways to limit noise.
Sandmeyer and Kathy Deinhardt Hill voted against recommending the pit, while commissioners Rob
Garrison and Tom Olson supported A.
The matter now goes before Valley County commissioners, but no hearing date had been set as of
Wednesday.
"It's serious for the neighbors, ft's serious for people who are working, it's serious for needing the
product," Allen said.
The opponents turned in a petition with 142 signatures against the pit, which would be operated by
Granite Excavation of Cascade.
The petition was presented by Priscilla Williamson, who lives near the proposed operation.
Williamson told commissioners the noise from rock crushing and the danger from increased truck
traffic will spoil the tranquility of the area and lower property values.
Commissioners called on Granite Excavation to reduce noise and traffic as much as possible.
Dawn to 10 p.m. Crushing
The company, owned by Josh and Phil Davis, suggested hours of 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. on workdays and 8
a.m. to 5 p.m. on Saturdays.
They also anticipated crushing gravel from dawn to 10 p.m. before Memorial Day, 7 a.m. to 6 p.m.
Mondays through Fridays in the summer, and back to dawn to 10 p.m. after Labor Day.
The Nisula property is one of the few in the valley with quality gravel, according to the Devises.
Other companies are hauling in from Adams and Boise counties, putting local contractors at a
disadvantage, they said.
Granite employs about 60 employees, so a couple hundred family members depend on the company
for income, Josh Davis said.
Neighbors feared about 100 truck trips to the pit would happen daily, but Davis estimated 15 trips a
day would be more accurate.
Opponents testified there would be no way to eliminate the noise.
Barry Dow said he used to live at Rock Flat near the Little Ski Hill in Adams County where a gravel pit
operates.
"That changed life at Rock Flat forever," Dow said.
David Carey with Jug Mountain Ranch testified that it took seven years of research and study for
Valley County to approved a planned -unit development for his neighborhood on Farm-to-Market Road.
Carey noted the P&Z was making a decision on the Nisula proposal in about seven weeks.
As part of its recommendation, the P &Z required any work be confined to Mondays through Fridays
between 7 a.m. and 7 p.m. with a 36 -day limit per year on crushing.
Any crushing done in the summer between those holiday weekends must be justified to the county,
according to the conditions.
Two weeks prior notice of crushing is required in newspaper advertisements and signs on East Lake
Fork, the P &Z commissioners said.
There will be an evaluation after the first season and the county permission can be revoked at that
time, according to the proposed conditions.
http: / /www.mccalistamews .com/pages /fp_stories _page.php 10/29/2011
T`iis week's front page stories
Valley fires prosecutor as legal advisor
Commissioners say they will hire private attorneys for future advice
"The prosecuting attorney has engaged in strident, public and gratuitously insulting
invective against the commissioners. " - Commissioners resolution
"My job isn't to tell them what they want to hear. " - Matt Williams
BY DAN GALLAGHER
for The Star-News
A working relationship between Valley County Commissioners and Valley County Prosecuting
Attorney Matt Williams appears to be over as the board voted on Monday to seek legal advice on civil
matters from private counsel.
The board passed a scathing resolution to that effect against Williams, who labeled it
retaliation for pointing out problems on issues from open meetings to the county budget.
' "The Valley County Commissioners find the current relationship with the prosecuting
attorney is untenable, and therefore will seek advice and representation from sources
outside the office of the prosecuting attorney," Commissioner Jerry Winkle read from the
resolution.
nr,n i1' ll�:uus "My job isn't to tell them what they want to hear," Williams said Tuesday. "It's to give
them legal advice and advise them of the possibilities to the legal decisions they're making.
They don't want to hear ft. That's fine. Go get a second opinion."
The commissioners said Williams stated he doesn't represent them as an attorney, and will not attend
their closed executive sessions. They also cannot justify increasing his staff, as Williams said he needed
for competent representation.
"The deterioration of the relationship is further evidenced by the fact that the prosecuting attorney has
repeatedly threatened to file lawsuits against Valley County and has proclaimed that he is actively
investigating his own clients, the Valley County Commissioners," a news release accompanying the
resolution said.
The resolution also said Williams "has attributed base motives to the County Commissioners in regard
to policy matters," and "on more than one occasion engaged in strident, public and gratuitously insulting
invective against the Commissioners."
Williams said he will not answer a question from an individual commissioner and demands any board
inquiry be made in writing at least a week before a response. The board also charged he refused to give
legal advice to the county human resources director.
He fired back point by point on the accusations. He said they had a public statement ready before
even voting Monday.
"It was an ambush; he said "They make decisions outside the public meetings and then come in and
simply put that decision on the record and that is a violation of Idaho Code," he said.
"I'm the one responsible in the county for enforcing the Idaho open meeting laws. Coincidently, I can't
enforce that on my own commissioners."
Budget At Root of Dispute
Williams believes the row is largely because of budgeting problems. He said he did not start asking
questions until former Valley County Clerk Lee Heinrich tested at budgeting time that the county would
go bankrupt d they continued their path, or they would have to significantly raise taxes.
The commissioners may make comments, then change their tack later on, Williams said.
"As a result, I can't have a conversation with them that's not on the record, but I'm happy to give legal
advice in writing," he said.
The commissioners wanted Williams' office to defend against lawsuits over past road development
agreements, but without more funding. A private attorney provided much of the work in the cases, he
said.
Williams said his office is not set up to handle that civil litigation and would have needed two new
assistants and another attorney.
"I could do the work for less, but I need the tools," he said.
The prosecutor said Human Resources Director Tami Rhodes asked him to review a document. He
said he never refused to, but added he didn't want to go over it, have commissioner Ray Moore after the
wording and then have to check it again.
"I didn't want to review it twice," he said. "To me that's efficiency."
Williams acknowledged he has threatened to sue. He has sought certain documents for his office, but
they have taken weeks to be provided, so he has had to go through a formal public records process.
The commissioners concluded they will seek advice whether they can reopen Williams' budget, but he
Pagel of 2
http: / /www.mccallstamews .com/pages /fp_stories _page.php 11/10/2011
This week's front page storics Page 2 of 2
doubts they can.
He said that when he first took office in 2004, it followed a battle between the former prosecutor and
the commissioners, but he patched up the split.
"I said I was going to turn this around and I did," he said. "It was a good relationship from August of
2004 to August of 2011. There's no way we agreed on everything."
The full text of the commissioners' resolution appears as a public notice on Page 10 of this issue of
The Star -News.
http: / /www.mccallstarnews.com /pages /fp_stories _page.php 11 /1 x/2011
This week's front page stories Page 1 of 1
Valley deputy thrown into air by charging bull
BY MICHAEL (CELLS
The Star -News
A Valley County Sheriffs deputy was thrown into the air by a charging bull in the roadway about two
miles north of Little Donner on Idaho 55 last week, Valley County Sheriff's Office spokesperson Lt. Dan
Smith.
Patrol Dep. Shaun Eichman received minor injuries when he responded to a call about a bull loose on
Idaho 55 at 6:05 p.m. last Thursday.
Eichman was attempting to move the bull off the highway when it charged him and threw him into the
air, Smith said.
"He literally grabbed the bull by the homs and kept from getting gored," Smith said-
Dep. Bill McCarthy arrived as Eichman was thrown by the bull, Smith said.
The bull then turned to charge both Eichman and McCarthy when both officers pulled their sidearms
and shot the bull dead, Smith said.
The bull was owned by Gene King of Homedale. Eichman did not require medical treatment after the
attack, Smith said-
http://www.mccallstarnews.com/pages/fp_stories_page.php 11/23/2011
Information and Health The StarNews Page 1 of 1
Valley road department reviews snowplow policies
Valley County Road Department has issued a reminder on policies and procedures for snow removal
this winter.
Snowplows operate on a schedule designed to keep the roads open for the majority of its users, a
news release said.
Plows will not be sent out until there is a four -inch accumulation of snow. Plowing starts around 2 a.m.,
with a special emphasis on having the school bus routes open by 6:30 a.m. Other principal routes are
the next priority for snow removal.
Right -of -ways along county roads are designated for snow storage, so residents are asked to keep all
vehicles off roadways and right -of -ways.
Garbage cans also should be placed far enough off the roadways as to not interfere with plowing.
Pushing snow across the road, leaving or blowing snow on the road and similar activities is a violation
of state law and violations are a misdemeanor.
For questions, call the road department at 382 -7195.
http: / /www.mccallstamews .com/pages /info _page.php 11/23/2011
This week's front page stories Page 1 of 1
Valley to interview six for rec district board
Opposing sides lobby for their position on Cascade pool
BY DAN GALLAGHER
for The Star -News
Residents in the Southern Valley County Recreation District on Monday lobbied Valley County
commissioners on who they should recommended as a new director for the rec district board.
Six people were chosen by commissioners as finalists to recommend to Gov. C.L. "Butch" Otter to join
Aaron Guest on the board.
Commissioners will interview the six candidates on Monday and send three names to Otter.
The person selected by Offer will join with Guest to select a third member to the three - person board.
The two vacancies were created when former board members Pat Cowles and Mike Keithly were
recalled in the Nov. 8 election.
Recall proponents said the ousted board members still favored a one - season pool over a year -round
pool, while the duo's supporters warn the other faction would gut the rest of the district's programs such
as youth sports and grooming for cross - country skiing.
"I'd like the construction to reflect all the people in the district," Keithly told commissioners. "It is, after
all, a recreational district, not a swimming pool district
"I don't know a person who wants a swimming pool only, and they continue to perpetuate that lie as a
scare tactic," said Dennis Marguet, who championed the recall and is an applicant for a board position.
Other applicants are Jan West, Tim Shaw, Chuck Emerson, Bob Zach and Linda Thacker.
Cascade Mayor Dick Carter suggested the county send all six names to Offer, but Cruickshank said
the governor wanted only three in order of preference.
Before the recall, the board approved the purchase of four acres across from Kelly's Whitewater Park,
including rights to use a geothermal well for an all- season pool, for $200,000.
Architects are evaluating two designs for a pool and workout center.
The terms for the two new appointees will run until November 2013.
Neil Simpson of Cascade said he was not acquainted with the board members, but "the voice of the
people couldn't have been heard any louder."
Others were adamant the facility operate in the black.
"I'm a grandmother and I desperately want a pool, but not something that closes in several years
because of a lack of funding," said Ann Young of Cascade.
Six rec board applicants profiled
Here are profiles of the six finalists for a seat on the Southern Valley County Recreation District:
• Chuck Emerson: A professional firefighter, as well as a former smokejumper and commissioner for
the Cascade Rural Fire Protection District.
• Dennis Marguet: Retired from an insurance brokerage and maintaining rental homes. He served as a
U.S. Marine in the Vietnam War.
• Jan West: A caregiver who was administrator for the Idaho Youth Ranch's residential and treatment
programs. She is an EMT and active volunteer with the American Legion and its auxiliary.
• Tim Shaw: Operates a cattle ranch on Trail Creek south of Cascade. He is a third - generation Valley
County resident and past chairman of the Idaho Beef Council.
• Linda Thacker: A retired dental hygienist and president of the Long Valley Gardeners Club.
• Bob Zach: Retired after working for the state Bureau of Emergency Medical Services and State
Communication Center. Past owner of Cougar Mountain Lodge and Consumer Electronics stores.
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Star -News News Page_Lead Story
Valley likes Thacker for rec district board
Governor will pick from list of three nominees
'I would just like to raise the bar of conduct, performance and dignity. " - Linda Thacker
BY DAN GALLAGHER
for The Star -News
Linda Thacker was picked by Valley County Commissioners on Monday as their preferred choice for
the Southern Valley County Recreation District board of directors.
Thacker was at the top of the list of three nominees for the seat sent by commissioners to Gov. C. L.
"Butch" Otter.
Chuck Emerson and Dennis Marguet were the others on the list. A spokesman for Otter previously
said the governor would make a choice quickly.
Thacker is a retired dental hygienist and president of the Long Valley Gardeners Club.
Emerson is a professional firefighter as well as a former smokejumper and commissioner for the
Cascade Rural Fire Protection District.
Marguet is retired from an insurance brokerage and maintaining rental homes.
The three were selected on Monday after commissioners conducted interviews from among the six
people who had applied for the vacant board seat.
"This district has been going through some tremendous public turmoil," Commission Chair Gordon
Cruickshank said Monday.
Whoever Otter selects will fill one of two seats opened after district voters recalled board members Pat
Cowles and Mike Keithly on Nov. 8.
The new board member will join with Aaron Guest, the only remaining director, in choosing the third
director.
The other applicants were rancher Tim Shaw, former Idaho Youth Ranch administrator Jan West and
retired businessman Bob Zach of Smiths Ferry.
Sided With Recall Effort
Thacker and Marguet sided with those who believed Cowles and Keithly deviated from the original
mission of the recreation district of building a year -round swimming pool.
'I would just like to raise the bar of conduct, performance and dignity," Thacker said. "I advocate
citizen's rights, like a big sister to keep her younger brother from being bullied."
Emerson said his family benefits from various district programs such as cross- country skiing and he
wants those program to remain intact.
"I have an open mind in this situation," he said.
Marguet, who lead the recall effort against Cowles and Keithly, wants to end the lawsuit Valley County
Prosecuting Attorney Matt Williams brought against former individual directors over claims of election
violations.
Marguet would fire the private attorney who represents the former board and look at expanding the
panel to five members.
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M -D strives to make social studies fun
Role-playing helps students understand early civilizations
"Students get to experience social studies by doing, not just reading. " - -Mandy Hathaway
BY CARISSA SINDON
for The Star -News
Students in Mandy Hathaway's seventh grade social studies classes at Payette Lakes Middle School
pretended they were archaeologists, using flashlights to view renditions of ancient cave paintings posted
around the classroom.
On another day, students impersonated ancient Mesopotamians and brainstormed how they would
have solved some of the problems the civilization faced.
These lessons are part of the new social studies curriculum that was adopted in the McCall-Donnelly
School District this year.
Much of the new curriculum is interactive, particularly involving map skills, said Ellen McKinney,
director of curriculum, instruction and professional development for the district.
The middle school curriculum was chosen because it aligned with state standards and looked like it
would be a good match for national standards the district is adopting, Hathaway said.
"It also had an added bonus in that it was an engaging curriculum," Hathaway said. "Students get to
experience social studies by doing, not just reading."
Hands -On Learning
Students are creating cartoons, problem - solving, debating, evaluating primary source documents, and
writing comparison /contrast and persuasive essays.
Initially, the curriculum was a bit difficult to grasp for both students and teachers, but now students
seem to be enjoying the lessons and also the new approach.
"The students seem to be enjoying working and solving real-life problems together," said Karen
Morrow, who also teaches sixth grade social studies.
Hathaway finds the curriculum much easier to adapt for students who have disabilities.
"Because this curriculum is so interactive, it gives more students an opportunity to learn just like their
peers," she said.
"They get to participate on their level and that makes understanding much easier," she said.
The curriculum comes with PowerPoint presentations that provide a visual representation of what
teachers are teaching.
Teachers can add information like videos and Internet links into the presentations to make them fit
their needs.
Eighth grade social studies teacher Jon Neiser likes the fact the curriculum allows students to take
quizzes online with the scores automatically sent to him.
"This is awesome since it tells the teacher how much the students know and where re- teaching of
information needs to come from," Neiser said.
"We have even used this as a review before the test as a class," he said.
The curriculum is one more step toward the goal of providing the best education possible, Neiser said.
"It does take more effort on our part to learn how the new materials work, but we think it is worth it," he
said.
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This week's front page stories
Thacker, Marguet join recreation district board
Tuesday meeting to review Cascade swimming pool plan
BY DAN GALLAGHER
for The Star -News
Linda Thacker and Dennis Marguet are the two new members of the Southern Valley County
Recreation District board of directors.
Gov. C.L. "Butch" Otter appointed Thacker on the
recommendation of Valley County Commissioners.
On Tuesday, Thacker and fellow director Aaron Guest
appointed Dennis Marguet for the third post.
Taking up business immediately, the new board noted they
up against a Dec. 31 deadline to close on four acres
proposed for a pool and workout center in Cascade.
"We have earnest money down and are in a certain time
crunch," Guest said. "With a purchase of this magnitude, I
think we should move forward."
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Lwd a Thackm left and Ike Magwt
The board will meet again at 6 p.m. Tuesday at the Valley
County Courthouse in Cascade to discuss a variety of topics related to the swimming pool plan.
Guest defeated long -time director Yvette Davis in May, while former directors Pat Cowles and Mike
Keithly were ousted a Nov. 8 recall election championed by Marguet.
The three current members maintained the previous directors were not focused on building a pool that
reflected the original purpose of the district, which was formed in 1998.
Earlier this fall, the panel decided to buy four acres owned by Boise -area landscaper Hans Borbonus
across from Kelly's Whitewater Park that included use of a geothermal well to heat a future pool.
Guest noted that Marguet has a master's degree in business administration, once ran a company with
50 employees and is retired, which would give him more time to devote to the district.
"I think the time factor is very important," said Thacker, a retired dental hygienist.
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Boomer to stay on as senior judge until April
BY TOM GROTE
The Star-News
Valley County Magistrate Hank Boomer is retiring at the end of the month, but that doesn't mean he
won't be seen on the bench in 2012
` Boomer will serve as a senior judge until a replacement comes on board, something that
f he expects to happen around April 1.
In February, Boomer, 62, announced he was stepping down as magistrate judge after
serving on the post since 2001. He plans to spend more time with his wife, Deb, who
ii suffers from multiple sclerosis.
At the time of his announcement, Boomer expected he might be asked to stay on after
Hr 1cP—o his formal retirement because of the state's budget crunch, which has led to the state not
filling open judge positions.
He will take a mandatory 30 -day break starting Jan. 1, during which Fourth District Court Judge Mike
McLaughlin will fill in as magistrate judge with help from Senior Judge George Carey.
Boomer will then return to work, this time as a senior judge, for February and March, where he will be
paid about $7,500 per month compared to his current salary of about $8,900 per month.
Meanwhile, the Magistrate Commission of the Fourth Judicial District is taking applications for
Boomer's replacement, with a deadline of Dec. 23.
Applicants must be at least 30 years old, an Idaho attorney and have practiced law for at least five
years.
Magistrates hear criminal misdemeanors cases as well as civil cases where less than $10,000 is being
claimed.
Magistrate judges also preside over probate cases, juvenile cases, domestic relations cases, small
claims cases and infractions such as traffic citations
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