Fawnbrook Incident

Feb. 3, 2017 Dear Judges: I proudly nominate the Times-News for William H. Cowles III Memorial Award for Public Service for its reporting on what’s come to be known locally as the Fawnbrook incident.

In June, three boys were accused in an assault of a 5-year-old girl at the Fawnbrook Apartments, home to mostly low-income residents and refugees. Our community has relocated hundreds of refugees a year since the 1980s with almost no local objections, but the relocation center has recently come under fire and the issue of refugee resettlement has divided the town.

Far-right websites, conspiracy theorists and fake news outlets seized on the Fawnbrook story, using falsehoods to portray the incident as proof of a Muslim plot to take over American communities or attack native-born citizens. Other more credible outlets ran with the story, and before long it was widely and wrongly reported that a group of Syrian refugees had gang-raped the girl at knifepoint, a total falsehood.

Breitbart moved its top investigative reporter to our town to cover the incident and fallout, stoking xenophobia and attacking those who supported refugees. It became a war for truth.

Throughout the summer and up to today, our staff has been the sole source for straightforward, factual and balanced reporting on the issue. City officials, the county prosecutor and others have repeatedly cited our reporting – now more than two dozen stories – to also help set the record straight and debunk the rumors and fake news dividing our market.

Newspaper staffers received death threats and warnings that our families would be harmed if we continued to report the story. City leaders received similar threats, which were investigated by the FBI. For at least one of the stories, our reporters received undercover police protection at a rally following the incident, and once we shut down our front office after police alerted us to credible threats against our staffers. Nevertheless, Times-News journalists continued to fearlessly ferret out the truth. Rather than scale back our attention to the story, we were more determined than ever to pursue facts that helped shift the community conversation and better inform our readers.

Our reporting, editorials and columns went beyond the news of the day to put the issue in context, to show how the story was much bigger than an incident in an apartment complex. It grew into a story about the ethos of our community. For our readers, the Fawnbrook incident became a microcosm and precursor to the conversation happening now on the national stage about race, culture, politics and truth. Because of our journalism, I believe our readers are better prepared and informed to face the challenges we’re all facing now as a nation.

On our opinion page, editors met with top elected officials to lead an effort to reclaim the narrative from those spreading misinformation. Those efforts continue today with business leaders and others in the community continuing to step forward in support of basic human decency.

The merits of refugee resettlement continue to be debated, but the Fawnbrook story has changed our community, mostly for the better. Our reporting has been cathartic. The criminal case continues to play out, mostly in sealed courtrooms because the accused are juveniles.

And our reporting continues, too. Clips for our entry demonstrate a thorough mix of breaking news, investigative journalism, biting commentary and informative enterprise – exactly the kind of journalism I believe is essential now more than ever.

I’ve rarely been more proud of my staff. I hope you deem us worthy of this honor.

Sincerely, Matt Christensen Times-News Editor

Friday

• June 17, 2016

www.magicvalley.com •

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JuMP Company Alumnus Returns to Direct ‘Cinderella’ • B1 Cavaliers Force Game 7 against Warriors • B6

Refugee Opponents Turn Focus to City Council NATHAN BROWN

nbrown@magicvalley.com‌

‌ WIN FALLS • T New concerns about Islam and refugees are being raised in Twin Falls in the wake of the deadliest mass shooting in the nation’s history.‌ Less than two days after an American-born son of Afghan immigrants murdered 49 people in a gay nightclub in Orlando, four of the five people who spoke

at a City Council meeting this week characterized refugees as a problem or called for more information to be released about a sexual assault that is alleged to have been committed by underage refugees.

The comments, some of which called for religious or racial profiling by city police, were met with unusually strong condemnation by some city leaders.

“To be honest, as an American

I hope that’s not happening, because I think that infringes on everyone’s freedoms,” Mayor Shawn Barigar said.

Criticism of refugees is nothing new in Twin Falls, especially since last spring when reports said Syrians could be among about 300 refugees to be resettled in Twin Falls this year. But the local anti-refugee movement lost considerable momentum in April when a ballot proposal to

close the College of Southern Idaho Refugee Center failed to gain even a quarter of the signatures required to put it before voters.

On Monday, a small group of residents opposed to refugee resettlement and Islam turned its attention to the City Council, which allows an open-comment period where anyone can speak.

Please see REFUGEES, A4

DREW NASH, TIMES-NEWS‌

A new sign banning weapons has appeared near the entrance of the Depot Grill recently in downtown Twin Falls.

Depot Grill Income Inequity? Conversation Quiets Posts ‘No Before 2 New Elementary Schools Open Weapons’ Signs Gun Rights Advocate Blames Open Carry Dust-up NATHAN BROWN nbrown@magicvalley.com‌

of operations Brady Dickinson, who anticipated more. Most are for children of school employees.

There isn’t a deadline for when you can put in a transfer request.

‌ WIN FALLS • Guns are no longer T allowed in one of Twin Falls’ bestknown restaurants.‌ Signs have recently gone up at the Depot Grill telling patrons not to bring firearms or other weapons inside.

The owner and general manager of the Depot Grill both say they own guns, hunt and support the Second Amendment, and have no problem with concealed carry. But they also say there’s no reason to display a weapon in a family restaurant.

The issue illustrates how businesses shift their policies on guns as laws and societal norms are rapidly changing. Most chain stores in Twin Falls bar shoppers from carrying weapons in their stores, but it’s unusual to find a locally owned shop with a no-gun policy. Especially one as widely known and storied as the Depot Grill, which for generations has captured the ethos of Twin Falls.

Steve Soran’s family has owned the Depot since 1917, and as he spoke Thursday morning, he was pretty sure several customers had concealed carry permits.

“It’s no big issue,” he said.

Please see INEQUITY, A4

Please see DEPOT, A4

STEPHEN REISS, TIMES-NEWS‌

A new home on Bighorn Drive in the Grandview Estates subdivision on Wednesday in Twin Falls.

JULIE WOOTTON jwootton@magicvalley.com ‌

‌ WIN FALLS • Two new Twin T Falls elementary schools will open in August in the city’s fastgrowing areas — and in some of

the wealthiest neighborhoods.‌ Earlier this year, income inequity was a topic of concern among community members who provided feedback about new school attendance zones.

But so far this summer, the topic

hasn’t come up much, school officials say. And with school starting in just two months, there aren’t as many transfer requests as expected for the new schools.

“We haven’t been flooded with transfer requests,” said director

Obama Embraces Families, Appeals for Gun Controls JOSH LEDERMAN AND KATHLEEN HENNESSEY Associated Press‌

‌ R L A N D O, F L A .

O • Embracing grieving Orlando families and appealing anew for national action, President Barack Obama claimed a threat to all Americans’ security Thursday as a strong reason to tighten U.S. gun laws. Counterterror campaigns overseas, he declared, can never prevent all “lone wolf” attacks like

the one that killed 49 people in Orlando.‌ Speaking at a makeshift memorial to the victims, Obama said the massacre at a gay nightclub was evidence that “different steps” are needed to limit the damage a “deranged” person set on committing violence can do.

He cheered on Democrats’ push for new gun control measures, including a new ban on assault weapons and stricter background checks.

KAROUN DEMIRJIAN The Washington Post‌

THE ASSOCIATED PRESS‌

President Barack Obama hugs Orange County Mayor Teresa Jacobs upon the president’s arrival at Orlando International Airport, Thursday.

Please see OBAMA, A8

I‌ f You Do One Thing: Magic Valley Refugee Day activities will begin at 6 p.m. at the College of Southern Idaho’s soccer field on Falls Avenue in Twin Falls. Free.

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‌WASHINGTON • Lawm a ke rs a re g row i n g increasingly frustrated at the FBI’s decision to remove the Orlando shooter from the terror watch list in 2014.‌ And their concerns are fueling a new debate about whether the government needs to keep better track of people it once investigated in order to find out when they try to buy guns.

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secondary list for those who were once suspected of terrorist ties or activity could prove very controversial.

But some lawmakers note it’s the only way authorities could have known that 29-year-old Omar Mateen, who killed 49 people on Sunday in a nightclub popular with the gay community, purchased a gun.

A secondary list would not in itself resolve the gun control debate in Congress, Please see LIST, A8

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Frustrated Lawmakers Mull Second Terror Watch List

A4 • Friday, June 17, 2016

Inequity

Depot

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Decisions will be based on whether there’s space at the requested school.

Parents likely won’t find out until at least August when registrations are due or the first week of school.

Attendance zones are changing to accommodate three new schools, funded by a nearly $74 million bond voters approved in 2014.

Pillar Falls Elementary School is on Stadium Boulevard in northeast Twin Falls, while Rock Creek Elementary is on Federation Road in the quicklygrowing northwest side of the city. South Hills Middle School will open in fall 2017.

The restaurant is adopting an out-of-sight, outof-mind policy. Employees won’t ask if you’re carrying, so long as customers keep their guns concealed.

What Soran takes issue with, however, is people carrying guns openly in their eatery.

“We just don’t want to see them parading around in a family-style restaurant,” said General Manager Don Olson.

Openly carrying a handgun is legal in Idaho for anyone who can legally own a gun. Concealed carry within city limits still requires a permit for the next two weeks, but this requirement goes away when a law passed this year takes effect on July 1. Business owners, however, have the right to forbid guns on their property.

For years, the Depot has attracted an eclectic mix of customers. It’s not unusual to see grizzled cowboys eating breakfast at the bar near young professionals, local clubs meeting for lunch or families finishing supper ahead of the late-night bar crowd.

So why the signs now?

Soran and Olson didn’t go into details Thursday, but according to Lance Earl, a conservative political activist and firearms instructor from the Pocatello area who is starting a chapter of his pro-gun rights and gun training group AmendTwo in the Magic Valley, the policy stems from a recent confrontation between two Depot patrons who were “legally and quietly open carrying sidearms” and two “cowboys” who began to “taunt these men until things got a bit heated.”

Earl had planned to hold the AmendTwo meetings at the Depot, which he no longer will. He made clear in his blog entry on his Dally Post website about the dust-up that while he respects Soran’s right to do what he wants on his own property, he disagrees with the decision.

“It was the cowboys that were out of line,” Earl wrote.

“It is those who legally and peacefully exercised a Godgiven right who are now asked to leave or surrender that right.”

Someone who carries a gun and refuses to leave when told by the management or owner could be charged with trespassing, although confrontations over this that rise to the level of police involvement seem to be rare here. City spokesman Joshua Palmer said he looked up police calls of this nature last fall, due to a rally supporting permitless carry at which some people carried handguns openly, and found only three complaints over the preceding year, two of which were cases where a customer at a business, not the owner, called police about someone carrying a gun. And Twin Falls County Sheriff’s spokeswoman Lori Stewart said none of the gun-related calls her office has handled so far this year involved someone carrying a gun at a business where it was forbidden.

Soran and Olson said they have gotten both positive and negative feedback from customers on the policy. The comments on Earl’s blog are similarly a mix, with some lauding the Depot and others saying they won’t eat there anymore due to the policy.

Olson wrote in a comment on Earl’s blog that the Depot, which is open 24 hours a day, is a popular stop after the bars close, and “one thing we were taught growing up with guns is, alcohol and guns don’t mix!” Olson wrote they had never had a problem with people with a concealed carry permit, but that the new law “allows every 19-year-old Billy the Kid wannabe the legal right to pack a gun anywhere he wishes and in a family restaurant we didn’t feel it necessary.”

“As a business owner we feel it our responsibility to protect our staff and our patrons,” he wrote. “Our philosophy is still out-ofsight, out-of-mind, don’t ask don’t tell, but don’t flaunt it!”

Income Inequity?‌ School officials say highgrowth areas where the new schools will open happen to be higher-income areas.

Other big factors: where land was available and how to best alleviate rapid enrollment growth.

“It had more to do with the geographic locations than anything else,” Dickinson said.

Student numbers dictated how zones were drawn. But a 26-member rezoning committee, which included community members, talked at length about income inequity.

The group was responsible for coming up with new attendance zones. School trustees approved the plan in late January.

At one of the group’s first meetings this fall, participants considered options such as busing students across town to better balance the number of lowerincome students with higher-income students.

School officials say that’s generally unpopular.

“We actually had a long conversation about these socioeconomic factors,” said Curtis Hansen, a local hotel manager and one of the committee members.

The group decided to go with a neighborhoodschool concept. It means children will generally go to the school closest to where they live.

Hansen has two children, one who goes to Sawtooth Elementary School. They live within a quarter of a mile from the school, so their attendance zone isn’t changing next school year.

Hansen said he’d send his children to any Twin Falls school.

Another topic in the attendance zone discussion: Schools with a higher poverty rate receive more federal money to provide extra academic help and after-school offerings for

STEPHEN REISS PHOTOS, TIMES-NEWS‌

Construction of a new home on Bighorn Drive in the Grandview Estates subdivision on Wednesday in Twin Falls.

“When you build a new school, it attracts new subdivisions.”

Brady Dickinson, Twin Falls Schools director of operations

A view of Rock Creek Elementary School with construction equipment in the foreground, at Northern Passage subdivision on Wednesday in Twin Falls. students. If the schools were broken up more evenly by demographics, some campuses could lose funding and programs, Hansen said.

In January, rezoning committee members told the school board that a lot of community comments via an online survey centered on socioeconomics and how to balance that with elementary school attendance zones.

“We found that pretty impossible to do,” rezoning committee member Tara Packham told school trustees. Some community members felt Rock Creek and Pillar Falls elementary schools would feel elitist with high-income families, Hansen added.

How School Sites Were Chosen‌ How did the school district decide where to build new schools? Factors included where land was available, nearby infrastructure and where there was the largest need for a new elementary school.

The district already

owned land on Stadium Boulevard where Pillar Falls Elementary will open. On the opposite side of town, the district owns land at the Sunway Soccer Complex.

But infrastructure hasn’t been built up around the soccer complex, Dickinson said. It would have cost a significant amount to build at that site, he added. “We had to look at another location.”

The school district has as good track record of putting schools in different areas of Twin Falls, Dickinson said.

For example, Canyon Ridge High School, which opened in 2009, is off Washington Street North.

South Hills Middle School will open in 2017 in the southern part of the city.

Growth Trends and Home Prices‌ Does new home construction — and the value of those homes — have anything to do with new school locations?

Justin Winson, president of Western Magic Valley Realtors, said the new

elementary schools have “zero impact” on the buyers he’s working with. Most are relocating to the Magic Valley from outside the area. A more important factor tends to be a close proximity to work, he said.

As for the northwest side of Twin Falls, new subdivisions near Rock Creek Elementary started going up before the school was under construction.

“I think the growth dictated the schools,” Winson said, not the other way around.

When Oregon Trail Elementary School opened in 1994 in south Twin Falls, it drew new home construction, Dickinson said. “When you build a new school, it attracts new subdivisions.”

At least five different subdivisions are slated to develop in northwest Twin Falls, Winson said.

Hundreds of new homes are popping up in former farm fields, and businesses are claiming visible spots along the main corridors.

St. Luke’s Magic Valley Medical Center moved five years ago to Pole Line Road West in part because of how much was already planned for the area.

Deputy City Manager Mitch Humble told the Times-News in April he’s seen a flood of residential permits for northwest Twin Falls — mostly in Settler’s Ridge, Northern Passage, Hometowne Place, Grandview Estates, Sunterra and Canyon Trails subdivisions.

On the opposite end of town near Pillar Falls

Refugees Continued from A1

Much of their time was spent disparaging Muslims and asking for more information about an alleged sexual assault, the details of which haven’t confirmed by authorities.

“I think that there’s a method of cover-up here in the community,” said Terrence Edwards of Jerome.

“I think it starts with the police department. I think they have their mouth zipped closed. The media’s not getting in on it.”

Edwards said there would be blowback from the community if the Council doesn’t do something.

“ISIS is here,” he said. “The Muslim Brotherhood is here.

There’s been violations already occurred by Muslims here.”

Authorities say there is no evidence of an Islamic State presence in Twin Falls, or radical extremism.

Twin Falls County Prosecutor Grant Loebs said Wednesday that the rape case in question is under investigation and may involve juveniles. No one has been charged.

Police Chief Craig Kingsbury wouldn’t provide any information about the case.

“These types of cases we just can’t comment on,” he said.

The Twin Falls refugee resettlement program is run by the federal government and administered locally through CSI; the city has no authority over the program. Critics of it have focused heavily on the risk of Islamic terrorists coming in, especially among those fleeing the Syrian civil war.

DREW NASH, TIMES-NEWS‌

Councilwoman Ruth Pierce, middle, listens to Twin Falls Police Chief Craig Kinsgbury during a press conference May 9 at the city council chambers in Twin Falls.

No Syrian refugees have been resettled in Twin Falls this year, Refugee Center Director Zeze Rwasama said recently.

Nolan Stroup asked what the City Council has been doing to make people who are worried about refugees feel safer.

“They should be profiling,” he said. “It works. If the last two mass shootings have been committed

by Muslims, why aren’t we profiling Muslims?”

Those questions echo statements by presumptive GOP presidential nominee Donald Trump, who has continued to call for a ban on non-citizen Muslims entering the United States and profiling of American mosques, even as other

Republican leaders have repudiated Trump over his comments.

Julie Ruf is with the local chapter of Act for America, a conservative national security-focused organization involved in promoting antiShariah law bills in some states.

The group has been accused by critics of being anti-Muslim. She read the Council a list of refugeerelated questions and called for some sort of public forum or dialogue where people could express their views and get their questions answered.

Councilman Don Hall and Barigar both said they were unaware of the alleged rape in question. Barigar said he would reply to people’s questions but was cool to the idea

Elementary, there’s not as much land to accommodate new construction since it’s close to Kimberly.

“There’s not too much growth that can go past that subdivision,” Winson said.

Across Twin Falls, there’s a lot of inventory in the $250,000 to $350,000 price range, Winson said. “The builders are really banging away right now.”

But there are shortages in certain price ranges, he said, such as $125,000 to $150,000. And some homes are selling as fast as one week.

In the attendance zones for Rock Creek and Pillar Falls, buyers can find homes listed for lower than $200,000. But for newer homes, the prices are much higher.

Real estate listings near Rock Creek Elementary show a variety of prices, such as $249,000 for a fourbedroom, two-and-a-halfbath home on Field Stream Way and $524,000 for a five-bedroom, four-bathroom home on Creekview Court East.

Some of the older homes with lower listing prices can be found in the downtown Twin Falls areas near Lincoln and Bickel elementary schools. One example: a three-bedroom, two bath home built in 1917 on Fourth Avenue North is listed for $114,900.

But across Twin Falls County, home prices tend to be “pretty level across the board,” Winson said, for similar homes regardless of where they are.

of scheduling a public forum.

“If you all would like to request time on the agenda to have a discussion about specific factual items, I’m happy to schedule that,” he said. “If you want to come to this meeting and talk about your beliefs about Islam and have it be a rehash of the conversation we had in here several months ago, I don’t know that there’s any productive part of that discussion.”

The refugee issue came before the Council in February, when it voted to appoint a city liaison to a pro-refugee group. Several people, including ones who testified Monday, spoke against the program then. In September, the TimesNews hosted a public forum that included panelists who oversee refugee resettlement for the U.S. State Department, as well as local city and college officials who answered questions posed by the audience of 700.

On Monday, before the Council moved on to its regular business, Councilman Chris Talkington said “we’re all children of refugees, immigrants, in some form or fashion.”

“The despicable scum in Orlando that killed 50 people was an American citizen,” Talkington said. “He was a sick American, OK? Yes, his parents were refugees, but you know what? My parents were refugees from Ireland after the potato famine. I’m sure glad you guys weren’t around testifying against my relatives for that time, OK?”

Times-News Reporter Alex Riggins contributed.

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• June 21, 2016

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Idaho Democrats Consider Switching to Primary System • A3

CSI Considers Amphitheater Construction JULIE WOOTTON jwootton@magicvalley.com ‌

‌ WIN FALLS • T College of Southern Idaho trustees distanced themselves Monday from false online reports about an alleged sexual assault involving refugees, saying no one in the incident was resettled in Twin Falls through the college’s refugee resettlement program. ‌ There’s misinformation circulating, CSI board chairman Karl Kleinkopf said. He encouraged people to attend Monday night’s Twin Falls City Council meeting, which included a briefing by Police Chief Craig Kingsbury. A Twin Falls city police officer was in the back of the trustees’ meeting room, but no-one spoke during a public comment period, and the board quickly turned its attention to other business, including a feasibility study for an amphitheater. They heard a presentation but didn’t take action.

Within a couple of years, students and community members could have access to an outdoor space where they could watch performances, study and socialize. CSI President Jeff Fox put together a group of employees to craft a feasibility study for the proposed amphitheater.

“It needs to be a space where students gather,” said Laine Steel, a communication-theater professor and chairman of a seven-member committee.

The group wants an amphitheater between the gymnasium and the Fine Arts Building. It could hold up to 600 people, with the opportunity to expand in the future, Steel said.

Trustee Jan Mittleider asked how much it would cost to build. Lane said that’s “not in my purview” and the committee didn’t consider that question.

But Steel said he thinks work would be inexpensive initially and could be done in-house with a little “earth moving” and putting in a retaining wall next to the gymnasium.

During their meeting, trustees also: • Heard an information item about fiscal year 2018 legislative requests, totaling $668,000.‌ CSI has a joint request with Idaho State University for a center for education innovation, with $270,000 in requested funding. It would be a program for college education students who plan to become teachers.

Other funding requests are to expand a summer bridge program for first-year, degree-seeking students; hire full-time faculty members in English and math for CSI’s Idaho Falls center; and hire two fulltime CSI faculty members to work in high school dual credit programs in math and technology.

• Approved a Head Start/Early Head Start report and grant request.‌

Authorities Deny Claims Syrians Raped Twin Falls Girl

DREW NASH PHOTOS, TIMES-NEWS‌

Councilman Chris Talkington talks to Terrence Edwards as Edwards hands out copies of the United State Constitution to the Council while Councilwoman Nikki Boyd, left and Vice Mayor Suzanne Hawkins listen during the City Council meeting Monday evening in Twin Falls.

Prosecutor Says Anti-refugee Groups Are Spreading Lies ALEX RIGGINS ariggins@magicvalley.com

NATHAN BROWN

nbrown@magicvalley.com

JULIE WOOTTON

jwootton@magicvalley.com‌

‌ WIN FALLS • T Authorities are denying reports that Syrians gang-raped a child at knife-point in a Twin Falls apartment complex earlier this month, saying the false claims are being spread to incite anti-refugee sentiments.‌ “There were no Syrians involved, there was no knife involved, there was no gang-rape,” Twin Falls County Prosecutor Grant Loebs

said Monday morning.

His comments largely refute several differing accounts about the incident circulating on antirefugee resettlement and conspiracy websites and anti-Muslim blogs. Most of those accounts claim a group of Syrian refugees sexually assaulted a mentally disabled girl at knife-point June 2 in the laundry facilities of Fawnbrook Apartments, a low-income housing complex in Twin Falls, and that the attack was celebrated by the perpetrators’ families as city officials orchestrated a cover-up.

Investigators and the prosecutor were quick to dismiss nearly all

NATHAN BROWN nbrown@magicvalley.com‌

Twin Falls resident Vicky Davis addresses Council members one by one during their meeting Monday evening. Davis is a leading local opponent to refugee resettlement.

‌ WIN FALLS • The City T Council should have better handled reports of a young girl who was sexually assaulted by boys at a Twin Falls apartment complex earlier this month, said many residents who addressed the board at its meeting Monday night.‌ A crowd packed the chambers to hear a briefing from Twin Falls Police Chief Craig Kingsbury

Why the Secrecy?

Prosecutor, Police Outline Handling of Juvenile Cases ALEX RIGGINS ariggins@magicvalley.com‌

about false reports circulating about the incident, which contrary to claims on anti-Muslim websites did not involve Syrian refugees.

Residents said the Council should have released more information more quickly or expressed sympathy for the girl’s family, while others criticized Islam, refugee resettlement, the media or Prosecuting Attorney Grant Loebs.

‌ WIN FALLS T • Aside from denying false rumors that are swirling around the Internet, prosecutors and police are saying very little about an alleged sexual assault by three juveniles that occurred June 2 at the Fawnbrook Apartments in Twin Falls.‌ In that way, this case is just like any other of its nature.

Police and prosecutors treat sexual assault cases very carefully no matter what the age of the victims or alleged perpetrators, and when only juveniles are involved, the cases are often kept completely sealed.

On its website, the Idaho Supreme Court explains that juveniles charged with a crime first appear in court for an “admit or deny hearing,” which is similar to an adult arraignment.

Please see COUNCIL, A5

Please see SECRECY, A5

Please see RAPE, A5

Council Criticized for Handling of Allegations

Please see CSI, A5

See the College of Southern Idaho board’s meeting packet at Magicvalley.com.

those claims Monday. Loebs said he didn’t want to “fan the flames of anti-Syrian refugee people” but suspects the false reports are the work of a local group opposed to refugee resettlement who hoped to stir up trouble by claiming the incident involved Syrian refugees who committed a violent sexual assault.

“There is a small group of people in Twin Falls County whose life goal is to eliminate refugees, and thus far they have not been constrained by the truth,” Loebs said.

Zions Bank Employees Give Back With ‘Paint-a-Thon’ NATHAN BROWN nbrown@magicvalley.com‌

‌ WIN FALLS • Zions Bank employT ees spent Monday afternoon painting a house on Monroe Street, transforming old white siding and faded blue trim into a light brown. A planter box stood empty out front, which they planned to fill with flowers and potting soil donated

by Windsor’s Greenhouses and Nursery in Kimberly.‌ “Our goal is to try to give back to the community in which we live,” said Dan Gammon, who works for Zions Bank and is the Paint-a-Thon team captain.

See the gallery of photos attached to this story at Magicvalley.com.

Zions Bank has been doing the Painta-Thon for the past 26 years, an event where employees volunteer to spend a day painting the home and doing landscaping for seniors and disabled people who can’t afford to do it on their own.

In that time, volunteers have painted almost 1,100 homes in Idaho and Utah.

Zions Bank employees in the two

I‌ f You Do One Thing: Twin Falls Public Library’s preschool summer reading program features a March Madness activity from 10:30 a.m. to noon at the library, 201 Fourth Ave. E. Free.

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states will be taking part in the effort through June 24 and plan to clean, scrape and paint 44 homes this year.

“Boy did I need their help, and what a wonderful blessing it’s been to have them come and do their wonderful things for me,” said Louise Jay, who has lived in her Monroe Street house for close to 30 years.

The bank finds people to help in “a variety of different ways,” said bank spokeswoman Nicola McIntosh — public nominations, referrals from churches and different agencies or from team captains.

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DREW NASH, TIMES-NEWS‌

Eisley Thompson, 8, paints during Zions Bank’s 26th annual Paint-a-Thon service project Monday in Twin Falls.

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Tuesday, June 21, 2016 • A5

2 Years after Bundy Standoff, Federal Land Mangers Return KEN RITTER Associated Press‌

‌ AS VEGAS • More than L two years after an armed standoff with followers of Nevada rancher Cliven Bundy prompted a pullout of researchers from Gold Butte, federal land managers are returning to the scenic, historic and ecologically fragile area.‌ The U.S. Bureau of Land Management said work is resuming toward opening the area across the Virgin River from the Bundy ranch for hiking, camping and geological and archaeological exploration.

“Very limited work continued after April 2014,” bureau spokesman Craig Leff said Monday. “Then, in the summer of 2015, the BLM fully suspended work in the Gold Butte region after multiple gun shots were fired in the vicinity of student contractors.”

No one was injured in the June 2015 shooting near researchers from the Renobased nonprofit Great Basin Institute. They had been monitoring water seeps and springs in the area about 100 miles northeast of Las Vegas. They reported the gunfire came at night, after they were first approached by two men who asked what they were doing.

Agency national chief Neil Kornze and state director John Ruhs toured parts of the area last week with a

CSI Continued from A1

The college has received oral confirmation of receiving a new grant, which will ensure programs stay up and running for the next five years. CSI has received grants since 1999. But this year, other nonprofit organizations were allowed to apply.

The program will also submit a $450,000 grant request to lengthen the Head Start day to six hours at seven centers, including in Twin Falls and Burley.

That could happen starting with the 2017 school year.

• Awarded a $1 million bid to Don Anderson Construction for a remodel of the Canyon Building.

The project budget is $1.3 million, which includes construction costs, architect fees, contingency and $50,000 for furnishings.

Money is from the plant

Clark County commissioner and a Las Vegas police captain, cataloging apparent vandalism and damage during stops at the scenic Whitney Pockets sandstone formation and the archaeologically significant Falling Man rock art site, according to the BLM. Nevada Sen. Harry Reid wants federal lawmakers to designate almost 550 square miles of the remote land northeast of Lake Mead as the Gold Butte National Conservation Area.

The return by federal officials to the area comes months after Bundy, four of his sons and 14 other men were arrested on federal charges in the gunpoint standoff that stopped government agents from rounding up cattle on public land.

All 19 men remain jailed, with trial scheduled in February. Each has pleaded not guilty to various conspiracy, obstruction, weapon, threat and assault charges.

Bundy doesn’t recognize federal jurisdiction in the area where he’s accused of failing to pay more than $1.1 million in fees and penalties while illegally allowing his cows to roam.

His lawyer, Joel Hansen, said the BLM has no authority in Gold Butte. He suggested that boundary shifts after Nevada became a state in 1864 left the federal government with no legal claim in the area where Bundy is accused of trespassing.

facilities fund.

• Heard a Cheney Drive bypass road update. The road, which connects with North College Road, is slated to open sometime this year, but college officials didn’t share a specific timeline.

• Heard an update on the welcome center remodel in the Taylor Building. Work is slated for completion Aug. 10, but employees could be back in the building as soon as late July.

• Awarded a bid of $5.23 per meal to Mom’s Meals of Ankeny, Iowa, for the CSI Office on Aging’s program to provide home-delivered meals to seniors who aren’t served by a local senior center. A four-year contract starts July 1.

• Approved four-year contracts with 16 south-central Idaho senior centers to deliver meals and with seven vendors to provide transportation services.

Contracts begin July 1.‌

DREW NASH, TIMES-NEWS‌

Brain Cooley multitasks during Zions Bank’s 26th annual Paint-a-Thon service project Monday in Twin Falls.

Paint Continued from A1

“We just try and reach out and find someone that has a need and go in and do it,” Gammon said.

Jay, who is 73 and lives on her Social Security check, said she has “a wonderful bishop” who passed on her name to Zions Bank.

About two dozen people from the bank gathered at the home after its branches closed and more employees got out of work to help a crew who’d started earlier in the day. Gammon said the volunteers come from the bank’s Gooding, Twin Falls and Burley branches and from every different

area of its business.

“We should have good representation from all the branches,” Gammon said.

Some brought their children to help.

“It’s a good family activity as well as a bank service project,” he said.

Jay has 10 children and more than 30 grandchildren and great-grandchildren. Three of her kids still live in town, with the rest elsewhere, and two of her kids as far away as western New York. The whole family will be able to see her newly spruced-up house soon, though, when they get back together for a planned family reunion in Twin Falls in August.

“Oh,” she said, “it’s going to be wonderful.”

Council Continued from A1

“We need to know what’s going on with this case,” said Davis Odell.

Odell said people don’t need to know the names of the boys accused — the two boys in custody are 10 and 14, respectively, and the case has been sealed — but that the city should be transparent.

“We need to understand what the implications are of this,” she said.

Vice Mayor Suzanne Hawkins, who presided over the meeting, said the City Council should have done a better job of communicating with people, but that the situation was new for them too and that they were learning as well.

Two boys from Middle Eastern families are in custody in relation to a sexual assault on a 5-year-old girl that, authorities say, happened at the Fawnbrook Apartments on June 2.

Several people came to the City Council a week ago calling on city officials to release more information.

Police and Loebs’ office were saying little last week, but the story blew up over the weekend after the boys were taken into custody. Many anti-refugee resettlement and anti-Islamic blogs picked up on it, and some incorrectly reported that the boys were Syrian refugees or contained other details on the attack that authorities have denied.

“The nation of Islam has declared global jihad on us,” Vicky Davis of Twin Falls told the City Council. “And Obama, this administration, is bringing them in as fast as he possibly can.”

“They’re on your head, your head, your head, yours, yours,” she said as she pointed at each Council member.

Terrence Edwards passed out pocket

Secrecy Continued from A1

“At this hearing the court shall also determine the confidentiality status of juvenile case records and proceedings,” the Supreme Court says.

On Monday, no juvenile cases were opened to the public.

“A judge could unseal it if it’s in the public interest,” Twin Falls County Prosecutor Grant Loebs said of the Fawnbrook case. But he doesn’t expect it to be.

“Absent the false reports, this is not a case that would be made public.”

Juvenile cases involving sexual misconduct are “not

DREW NASH, TIMES-NEWS‌

Sitting in the back of the city council chambers, Twin Falls County Prosecutor Grant Loebs reacts to a statement about him during public input at a city council meeting Monday evening in Twin Falls.

copies of the U.S. Constitution to the City Council, saying some of them might need to read it and be reminded of the oath they have all sworn to uphold it.

“The Muslim influence is not just a religion,” he said. “It’s a theocracy.”

Edwards said the Council wouldn’t be here tonight if they had been proactive on the issue two or three years ago, and criticized President Obama for dividing Americans further.

“Coexistence doesn’t exist in our country,” he said.

Julie Ruf criticized Councilman Chris Talkington, who at last week’s meeting asked Ruf if she agreed with some white supremacist comments made at a February meeting and also said he was glad the critics of refugee resettlement weren’t around when his ancestors came over from Ireland. Ruf said she is of Irish descent as well, and that people shouldn’t have to worry about being attacked for speaking at a

that uncommon,” the prosecutor said.

The reason for sealing juvenile cases is to protect juvenile perpetrators as much as to protect victims. Loebs said juvenile court is aimed at “maximum rehabilitation and minimum public stigma and punishment.”

As for protecting victims, Twin Falls Police Chief Craig Kingsbury addressed that Monday night while briefing the Twin Falls City Council on the case, saying sexual assaults take time to investigate properly and “can’t be done in an hour” like on TV. He said most cases are reported well after the sexual assault occurs, and neither patrol officers nor detectives take statements from juvenile

Rape Continued from A1

“They have not been constrained by the truth in the past, and I don’t expect them to be constrained by the truth in the future.”

An incident did occur, Loebs said, and two juveniles have been charged after authorities obtained video shot on a cellphone. But the details of the case don’t match what’s being reported by anti-refugee groups, the prosecutor said.

The criminal cases against those juveniles have been sealed, as is customary when children are charged.

Although prosecutors and police are barred from discussing certain details in sealed juvenile cases, Loebs laid out the basics in an interview Monday with the Times-News. And Twin Falls Police Chief Craig Kingsbury briefed the public on the incident at a City Council meeting later in the evening, saying he wanted to clear up falsehoods circulating on social media.

According to those officials, three boys were involved, ages 7, 10 and 14, and the alleged victim was a 5-year-old girl. The boys are from Sudan and Iraq; none are Syrian. They are being held at a juvenile detention facility. Officials suspect the boys have been in the Unites States fewer than two years, but their refugee status wasn’t immediately clear to the police chief.

There were no adults involved, Loebs said, the boys didn’t have a knife, and the incident wasn’t a “gang-rape” instigated by the oldest boy.

“All those involved are juveniles, and the older one didn’t touch the victim in any way,” Loebs said. Only one person is alleged to have touched the victim, said the prosecutor, though he declined to elaborate.

The police chief also said there is no evidence to support claims the suspects’ fathers high-fived or praised the boys for committing the alleged assault, as has been reported on antirefugee websites.

The prosecutor received a report Thursday from police. Further refuting claims made in the stories online that police bungled the investigation or tried to cover it up, Loebs said the police investigated the incident thoroughly, interviewed everyone who needed to be and followed proper protocols.

The police chief told the public the

public meeting.

“That was entirely dishonorable of your seat,” she said.

Ruf reiterated her opposition to refugee resettlement — she said she talks to refugees, and most of them were not fleeing any sort of crisis — and said that, while there were inaccuracies in some of the stories told about the sexual assault, “I’ll tell you most liberals have their facts wrong, too.” She went on to criticize the media in general and the Times-News in particular.

“I’ve been called so many names it’s ridiculous, thanks to the Times-News,” Ruf said.

Jesse Stroup agreed, saying people who come to speak shouldn’t be met with “sarcasm and rude insinuations.”

“I don’t know why you feel it was appropriate to treat (them) like their concerns were of little or no significance,” she said.

Talkington stood by his comments, saying one of the anti-refugee speakers at a Council meeting in February called for “preservation of the white race” and that’s why he brought it up.

Susie Kapeleris was one of the few people to praise the Council, saying she supported the way the situation has been handled. She thanked them for “the attempt to refute misinformation that I think is purely to stir up bigotry and hatred.”

Eric Odell said that he had many Muslims working under him when he was a shift leader at Chobani, and that while most of them were great people, a few were evil or frightening.

Odell called for some sort of local refugee vetting system (the federal government has the sole responsibility for vetting refugees now) to better “pick the ones who deserve a second chance.”

victims — that’s left to St. Luke’s Children at Risk Evaluation Services, or CARES, a team specially trained to interview children involved in sexual assaults.

“The questions and question formulation when interviewing young victims is so important,” the chief said. “We don’t want to do anything that’s going to revictimize — we don’t want this child to have to tell that story more than once, if we can help it — and we also don’t want to do anything that’s going to jeopardize the prosecution if an officer or detective were to improperly formulate questions.”

At a CARES interview, the juvenile victim is in a comfortable, neutral place — not

victim’s health and safety were the department’s first priority, and apprehending the suspects was the second — regardless of either’s ethnicity or religious beliefs.

Kingsbury also addressed claims that it took the police department more than two hours to respond.

“Simply, that just is not true,” the chief said. “The Twin Falls Police Department, the Magic Valley Paramedics, even the Twin Falls County Sheriff’s Office, responded in due time.”

Earlier in his comments, Kingsbury said the call originally came in as “something a lot less serious than a sexual assault or lewd and lascivious conduct.”

Loebs said sex cases between minors aren’t uncommon and implied that this case is being exploited by the local antirefugee movement to make a political point.

Refugee-resettlement officials called the online reports deceptive attempts to incite anti-refugee sentiments.

Only a handful of people from Syria live in Twin Falls County — 11 Syrians were receiving food stamps in the county and eight were on Medicaid in 2015, according to state statistics. No Syrians have been settled in Twin Falls through Idaho refugee programs, said Jan Reeves, director of the Idaho Office for Refugees.

“There have been periodic website postings about hundreds of Syrians coming to Idaho that have all proven to be false in the past, and this is probably just one of those attempts to try and stir up hatred and bigotry,” he said.

Loebs said the College of Southern Idaho Refugee Center, which oversees refugee resettlement in the Magic Valley, did not resettle the boys involved and that the program has “absolutely nothing to do with this.”

Zeze Rwasama, director of the CSI Refugee Center, said he knows no details about the incident or the names of those involved but is deeply concerned about what the online claims and misinformation are doing to the community.

A headline at the online news site Drudge Report read: “REPORT: Syrian ‘Refugees’ Rape Little Girl at Knifepoint in Idaho.” Snopes, a fact-checking website, said the story was “mostly false.”

“I think the community has seen a lot of negativity around the refugee programs,” Rwasama said. “Speculations are things that can destroy the entire community.”

a police station — and the interviewers “are trained to provide questions that are developmentally appropriate for that child” to make sure the child can comprehend the questions, Kingsbury said.

CARES interviewers are “properly trained forensic interviewers” who also interview young perpetrators of sexual crimes to try to find out why they commit such acts, Kingsbury said.

The police chief said that while investigating the Fawnbrook case, “the investigators took their time appropriately, worked with CARES to make sure everything was done right,” and then submitted the case to the prosecutor’s office “just like any of these cases.”

Echoing statements by the prosecutor, Rwasama said refugee opponents are trying to promote an agenda, particularly against Syrian refugees. He asked residents to confirm facts and refrain from speculating online.

“It breaks my heart when people in the community are divided around issues of resettling refugees,” he said.

Last week, residents at a City Council meeting called on city officials to release more information about the incident and questioned whether authorities were covering it up. The story blew up over the weekend when the juveniles were arrested, and differing accounts were widely circulated on conspiracyoriented blogs such as Dr. Rich Swier, Refugee Resettlement Watch, Creeping Sharia and Info Wars.

People packed the Council’s meeting on Monday, some speaking in favor of refugee resettlement and others warning that resettlement was a federal government plot overseen by President Barack Obama to allow Muslims to infiltrate the United States.

Supporters of the family started a Facebook group, “Justice For Our Children,” that had almost 9,000 members as of Monday morning. They have also started a GoFundMe page to raise money to help the family move and an online petition that had more than 1,100 signatures from all over the country as of Monday.

The incident is just the latest to rekindle a debate in Twin Falls over refugees, security, culture and religion.

News last year that Syrians fleeing a years-long civil war could be among about 300 refugees to be resettled in Twin Falls this year touched off an anti-refugee movement that sought to close the local resettlement office.

Those efforts failed when organizers couldn’t gather enough signatures to put the measure before voters. Critics of the program have raised concerns about security and refugee vetting, but some of the movement’s most prominent members have also pitched wild conspiracy theories and tried to frame the debate around religion by frequently making disparaging remarks against Muslims.

Though no Syrians refugees have been resettled in Twin Falls, 36 have been resettled in Boise.

“These were all families,” said Reeves, the director of the Idaho Office for Refugees. “They’re now resettled here.

They’re moving on with their lives.”

TIMES-NEWS

OPINION SUNDAY, JUNE 26, 2016 |

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READER COMMENT

FROM THE EDITOR

Inside our reporting on Trevor’s law: An the Fawnbrook case honor to

I

received dozens of questions from readers last week about our reporting on the Fawnbrook Apartment case, where two boys have been arrested in an alleged sexual assault that occurred inside the complex’s laundry facilities.

I’ll answer them here, but first, in case you’ve MATT CHRISTENSEN somehow missed the news, here’s a quick recap. On June 2, three boys, ages 7, 10, and 14, were caught with a 5-yearold girl. The older boy recorded the incident on a cellphone, which police have obtained for evidence. According to prosecutors and police, the older boys coached the two younger children into committing a sex act. Police haven’t described the exact nature of that act but have said it was not a rape.

The incident exploded when social media and several anti-refugee blogs characterized it as a gang rape perpetrated by knife-wielding Syrian refugees.

Police have said there was no knife, no one involved was Syrian, and the refugee status of the boys isn’t clear. The youngest boy came from an Iraqi family, the eldest from a Sudanese family. Police and prosecutors took the unusual step of commenting about the case to dispel the lies and rumors swirling on the internet, saying they were being used to fuel anti-refugee sentiment and jeopardizing the investigation. And on Friday the U.S. Attorney’s Office in Boise issued a statement warning folks to refrain from speculating on the case, assuring that local authorities were investigating and properly pursing justice.

So now to the questions.

Q: Why didn’t the TimesNews report on the incident right after it happened?

A: Like nearly all juvenile

cases, especially those involving sex crimes, this case was sealed. That means the public — including the press — does not have access to any records nor are we allowed to watch the court proceedings. It’s standard procedure in the justice system to protect not only the identities of the victim but also of those accused. Cases like this happen several times a year in Twin Falls County, and nearly all go unreported for this reason. Whether that’s right or wrong is a column topic for another day.

Our reporters heard about the incident almost immediately after it happened, but the TimesNews does not report stories it cannot confirm. So until my reporters could bring me a story with hard facts – court documents, police reports, and confirmation from investigators or eye-witness sources — we didn’t have a story suitable for print.

Some readers have accused the newspaper of aiding a cover-up by withholding the story so as to protect the refugee community.

That’s false. We didn’t report the crime because without records or reliable sources, we didn’t have a solid story that met our standards for quality, reliable journalism.

Q: So why are you writing about it now?

A: We have facts. Prosecutors and police are talking. The case has been the focus of the past two City Council meetings. And unlike other child-on-child sex cases, this one has captured the attention of the community.

Q: Why did it take so long for the boys to be arrested?

A: Call logs show police and paramedics responded to the incident within minutes.

Special investigators are brought in for cases involving children — people specially trained to interview kids. And those interviews take time and sensitivity. That’s the case with this incident, too. It’s not like on

Some readers have accused the newspaper of aiding a cover-up by withholding the story so as to protect the refugee community.

That’s false.

Council and demanding action.

Q: Isn’t this case proof that Muslims are destroying our community?

A: My answer? Absolutely not. Authorities have said there is no evidence whatsoever this case was motivated by religious beliefs or customs; police and prosecutors aren’t even sure if the boys are Muslims. Does that matter? Contrary to online reports, the families of the boys did not condone the attack or celebrate it afterward. It could just as well have been three white Christian children inTV, where a suspect is dragged volved. into an interrogation room and Q: Why should we believe police play good cop, bad cop your reporting instead of the until somebody confesses. other accounts I saw online.

Authorities apprehended the A: Because the Times-News boys as soon as those interviews reports the truth, and those and others were complete and websites are trying to push their case had been built. a political agenda. If Syrians Q: So where’s the justice for had gang-raped a little girl, we this little girl?

A: It’s happening as we speak. would have reported that — on the front page. It would have Two of the boys have been arrested and charged with crimes, been the biggest news story of the year, and we would have covalthough because the case is ered the hell out of it. (Can you sealed it’s not clear what those imagine how many newspapers charges are. that story would have sold?)

Police, prosecutors, even the Had there been evidence that U.S. Attorney’s Office, have said the crime was driven by religious the government’s first priority or cultural beliefs, we would has always been the victim. have reported that, too.

Q: If that’s true, why were But that’s simply not the story, the boys released from juvenile despite what you may have read detention last week? Isn’t that proof that authorities are giving on an anti-refugee website or heard on social media from them special treatment? someone claiming to be close to A: It’s common in juvenile the victim’s family. cases to release the children as This story is far from over, and the court cases play out. That’s you’re likely to continue to read true for the majority of adult about it on social media, on blogs cases, too.

Q: Why isn’t the City Council and agenda-driven websites, and in the Times-News. My wish is doing anything? that you’ll consider the motivaA: There’s almost nothing it tions and reliability of the people can do. Council members don’t bringing you that news. get involved in criminal cases.

And if you still have questions The prosecutor’s office is a county agency, not under the ju- about our coverage, I’m more risdiction of the Council. Simply than happy to answer them. Give put, there’s almost no authority me a call at 208-735-3255. for the Council on this issue, Christensen is editor of the Timesalthough that hasn’t stopped News. the public from haranguing the

IDAHO VIEW

When it comes to guns, Idaho’s view stands This appeared in the Lewiston Tribune: nited we stand.”

“A house divided against itself cannot stand.”

“E pluribus unum—out of many, one.”

Blah.

Blah.

Blah.

When it comes to doing something about gun violence, the U.S. is so polarized you have to worry whether our experiment in self-government is failing.

Whether it’s 20 students and six teachers killed at Newtown, Conn., 14 more murdered at a San Bernardino, Calif., office party or the 49 killed and more than 50 wounded at an Orlando, Fla., nightclub, the response is always the same.

Nothing can be done.

It’s not as if anyone is talking about registering guns.

Nor is there a serious suggestion to ban military assault weapons. People even throw up their hands in defeat about limiting the capacity of magazines.

But how in the world has the country’s politics become so sclerotic that you can’t even make incremental steps?

How does restricting the sales

‘U

of weapons to suspected terrorists weaken anybody’s Second Amendment rights? Ask the U.S. Senate, where Republicans such as Idaho’s Mike Crapo and Jim Risch voted against Democratic plans they considered too robust.

Net result: stalemate.

The country can’t even get its act together filling the background check loopholes that may allow gun sales, largely over the internet, to go unscrutinized.

Somehow keeping guns out of the hands of convicted felons, individuals so mentally ill they have been adjudicated as dangerous to themselves or others and people with a history of domestic violence is an assault on gun ownership rights of law-abiding citizens.

How about untying the hands of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention to research ways to effectively combat gun-related deaths — most notably suicides? You wouldn’t think an investigation would undermine anybody’s gun rights. But for two decades, the National Rifle Association and its allies in Congress stymied that effort by stipulating the agency may not spend its funds “to advocate or promote gun control.”

More than a dozen attorneys general, including Washington’s Bob Ferguson, have asked Congress to reconsider.

Why would holding a gun owner accountable for keeping his firearms out of the reach of minors weaken the Second Amendment?

And why isn’t the gun rights lobby not more enthusiastic about developing smart gun technology? How would a gun that won’t fire for anyone other its owner violate anybody’s constitutional rights?

Public opinion is not standing in the way.

As the Associated Press reported Monday, universal background checks enjoy broad support—85 percent told Pew they support the idea. A separate poll shows the idea has support among 74 percent of the NRA’s membership.

In fact, the public would go much further than the politicians:  70 percent would support having the feds monitor who bought and sold guns.  57 percent would go along with banning military assault weapons.

But the answer in Idaho—and other rural states—is always the same.

Treat the mentally ill. Do something about terrorists.

All to the good. Reverse four decades of neglecting mental health. Address lapses in security. But where is it written that reasonable efforts to restrain gun violence should not be part of that same package?

The leave-my-guns-alone mantra prevails because the Senate gives voters in small states such as Idaho a voice equal to that of large states such as California.

No matter what the nation as a whole believes, a lot of voters in Idaho follow as gospel what the NRA says. If a candidate gets an “A” from the NRA, Idahoans tend to vote for him. If the candidate gets a “F” from the gun lobby, they don’t.

All of which gives the gun lobby outsized leverage over how Idaho’s politicians vote in Washington, D.C., or Boise.

It’s not going to change until ordinary folks in Idaho stop interpreting every idea that comes along, however modest, as the beginning of the end of the Second Amendment.

In their hands, Idahoans hold a veto over solving this problem.

They also carry the burden that comes with it.

Find fresh ideas for summer salads M 1

LOOK INSIDE

Idaho

T

revor Schaefer of Boise not only fought hard and survived after being diagnosed with brain cancer at the young age of 13, but also he has fought for the last seven years to get legislation through Congress and to the president’s desk that will help others through the docSEN. MIKE umentation and tracking of childCRAPO hood and adult cancer clusters in Idaho and around the nation.

In 2010, Trevor shared his story with me, and he and his mother, Charlie Smith, and Susan Rosser proposed cancer cluster legislation. I worked with Sen. Barbara Boxer, D-Calif., to introduce the original bill in 2011 and similar legislation again in 2013. To help advance the bill, Trevor testified before the Senate Environment and Public Works Committee, on which I serve. Trevor and his family have worked to raise awareness of cancer clusters and the possible links of clusters to toxins in the environment. The Schaefer family has also helped build support for legislation to assist communities experiencing suspected cancer clusters. Every step of the way, Trevor stayed with the legislation and overcame many hurdles. His perseverance is an example to me and an honor to Idaho.

I worked with EPW Committee Chairman Jim Inhofe, R-Okla., and ranking member Barbara Boxer to write and include the Trevor’s Law language in the final compromise legislation of the Toxic Substances Control Act reform bill. The bill, which the U.S. Senate recently passed by unanimous voice vote and the House of Representatives passed by a vote of 403-12 in May, was signed into law by the president on Wednesday.

Trevor’s law makes the following important changes:  The law would strengthen federal agency coordination and accountability when investigating potential “clusters” of cancer;  It would increase assistance to areas impacted by potential cancer clusters; and  It would authorize federal agencies to form partnerships with states and academic institutions to investigate and help address cancer clusters.

The enactment of Trevor’s law is a significant milestone in how cancer clusters will be identified, monitored and treated in the United States. As a two-time cancer survivor, I recognize that cancer can come from many sources. This law may provide the answers to questions that many families face when confronting cancer, and finding ways to help Americans fully understand cancer clusters is important. Through increasing federal agency coordination and accountability and providing more resources to affected communities, families will have more information and tools to maintain health and well-being. The enactment of Trevor’s Law is also a testament to the determination and commitment of many people — including Trevor Schaefer and his mother, Charlie Smith — in never giving up on enacting this law that will benefit Americans nationwide.

Crapo, a Republican, represents Idaho in the U.S. Senate.

Get to know Ketchum

‘Brexit’ fallout

City, business partner with storytelling app PAGE A6

Prime minister defends state of economy PAGE B4

SUNNY 99 • 64 FORECAST, B3 | Tuesday, June 28, 2016 | magicvalley.com

Court ruling may affect Idaho GOP has attempted abortion bills similar to the one at the heart of Monday’s ruling NATHAN BROWN nbrown@magicvalley.com‌

‌BOISE — A Supreme Court ruling Monday that struck down Texas laws limiting access to abortions is raising new questions about efforts to regulate the procedure in Idaho.

Like Texas, Idaho is a red state where the governor and a solid

majority in the Legislature are against abortion, and bills seeking to restrict the practice further have come up during most recent sessions. This year saw the enactment of a bill requiring abortion providers in Idaho to provide a list of places to get a free ultrasound, and one banning harvesting organs or tissue from aborted fetuses.

While the specific abortion restrictions in Texas that the U.S. Supreme Court struck down on Monday are not in Idaho law, Idaho is in the middle of one lawsuit over abortion restrictions that opponents say go be-

■■ More on this story, B4

yond what the U.S. Constitution allows.

Planned Parenthood of the Greater Northwest and Hawaiian Islands filed a federal lawsuit in December 2015 seeking to void two laws passed in 2015 that ban the use of telemedicine — when a doctor consults with a patient through a telephone or internet connection rather than in person — to administer abortion drugs.

Idaho was also the subject of NATHAN BROWN, TIMES-NEWS‌ Please see Abortion, Page A5

Pro- and anti-abortion protesters in the Idaho Capitol rotunda in February 2015..

Mayor calls for calm over assault NATHAN BROWN nbrown@magicvalley.com‌

The Idaho Board of Education’s “Complete College Idaho” plan aims for 60 percent of 25- to 34-year-olds to have a post-secondary degree or certificate by 2020. And skilled workers are especially needed in STEM fields.

Computer science/technology and engineering are college degrees that will be in the highest demand statewide by 2018, according to Idaho Business for Education.

‌TWIN FALLS — A sexual assault against a 5-year-old girl that has brought national attention to Twin Falls was again the focus of the public comment at the City Council Monday, although it was a calmer meeting than last week’s, with many people focusing on the need to help the victim.

“We don’t want lawlessness in our community,” Heather Stroup ■■ More said. “We want online to be protected See a from all lawless- gallery of ness wherever photos from the meeting it’s found.”

Mayor Shawn with this Barigar, who has story at receives threats magicvalley. against himself com. and his family related to the incident, started things off with a speech urging people to have faith in the justice system and remember the girl and her family.

“At the heart of this incident is a 5-year-old victim,” he said.

Barigar said the pieces of the incident that were known were “woven together into a narrative of falsehood,” and people spread online “a story that is beyond the bounds of reason and (based) in emotion and fiction.”

This, Barigar said, painted a picture of a community “that is not us.” He asked people to keep

Please see STEM, Page A5

Please see Council, Page A5

‌DREW NASH, TIMES-NEWS

Instructor Eian Harm speaks Monday at CSI about the class called ‘Getting Dirty with STEM and Inquiry.’

Teachers get schooled Hands-on science: 6 topics from teacher STEM workshop JULIE WOOTTON jwootton@magicvalley.com ‌

‌TWIN FALLS — Mike Winston passed out kits with magnifying glasses Monday to a group of about 10 teachers.

“Those are yours to keep,” the retired Shelley teacher said during an i-STEM summer institute at the College of Southern Idaho. “Those are cool magnifying glasses.”

Teachers gathered around a desk to look at mustard seeds using the brightly-colored handheld devices.

“STEM on the playground” is among seven workshops this week to help preschool through 12th grade teachers better incorporate science, technology, engineering and math lessons in their classrooms, affecting thousands of students.

About 160 teachers are participating in the workshops at CSI’s Twin Falls campus. And across Idaho, it’s among six institutes this month, with about 700 teachers who’ve signed up.

Police: 2 in Rupert die in murder-suicide LAURIE WELCH lwelch@magicvalley.com‌

‌RUPERT — A man and woman were found dead Sunday in an apparent murder-suicide at a Rupert residence.

Officers found Kelli Joann York, 47, dead from multiple gunshot wounds and Lauren R. Jackson, 57, dead with a single gunshot wound, after someone called 911 about 7:30 p.m.

Police would not say Monday who called 911.

York and Jackson were a “former couple,” police said.

Minidoka County Coroner

Lucky Bourn said he planned to take the bodies to Boise on Tuesday for autopsies.

Detectives suspect the deaths were connected to a domestic dispute, according to a statement issued Monday by the city.

The Rupert Police Department, Minidoka County Sheriff’s Office and Idaho State Police continue to investigate. They are waiting for an official coroner’s report before releasing more information.

There is no ongoing threat to public safety, police say.

It’s the seventh year for the program, put on by Idaho National Laboratory, Idaho Department of Education and industry partners.

“It’s lots of fun, hands-on learning (teachers) can take back to their students in the fall,” said Anne Seifert, K-12 STEM manager for the Idaho National Laboratory.

Across the state, 42 different workshops are being offered.

In Twin Falls, topics include materials science, high school chemistry, and probability and statistics in gaming.

Here’s six takeaways from the institute, which runs through

7 roadway deaths have Idaho on track for 84 this summer, the same as last year ALEX RIGGINS ariggins@magicvalley.com‌

‌TWIN FALLS — At least 28 people have died on Idaho roadways since Memorial Day weekend, including at least five in the Magic Valley.

The Idaho Transportation Department says the 100 days from Memorial Day weekend to Labor Day are the deadliest and most dangerous on Idaho’s roadways,

preview at 7 p.m. at Liberty Theatre, 110 N. Main St., Hailey. Tickets are available one hour before the performance.

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Deadly highway weekend

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and so far 2016 is no exception. If the current pace continued until Labor Day, 84 people would die on Idaho roadways this summer — the same number that died last year in the same time.

“It’s more than just a number,” says ITD’s new “Driving Toward Zero” campaign video. “It’s mothers, fathers, sons, daughters and other loved ones.”

The campaign urges drivers this summer to “think of the lives you’re saving by driving smart, because smart choices can save lives.”

Last weekend was a particularly deadly period across the state, with three deaths Saturday and four on Sunday.

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In the Magic Valley, there were fatality crashes on both days, with passengers killed in both crashes.

On Saturday, a child whose name was not released was thrown from a car that lost control and went airborne about 6 a.m. on Idaho 24 in Lincoln County. The child died at the scene.

On Sunday, 55-year-old Jesus Gomez-Rangel, of Gooding, was thrown from a pickup that lost control and overcorrected about 3 a.m. on U.S. 26 in Gooding County. Gomez-Rangel was flown to St. Alphonsus Medical Center in Boise, where he later died.

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Abortion From A1

an abortion lawsuit that ended a year ago when the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals invalidated a state law banning abortion later than 20 weeks of pregnancy.

The Texas law that the U.S. Supreme Court struck down in a 5-3 ruling required abortion doctors to have hospital admitting privileges and required clinics to meet hospital-like standards for outpatient surgery. The same requirements are on the books in other states, although they are on hold in some pending court rulings. Idaho does not have these particular requirements; Sen. Lee Heider, R-Twin Falls, introduced am admitting privileges bill in 2015, but it didn’t pass.

Hannah Brass Greer, Planned Parenthood’s Idaho lobbyist, said her organization is thrilled with the Supreme Court’s decision, but it “doesn’t automatically erase the harm done” in states, including Idaho, that have passed increasing restrictions on abortion over the past decade. She said the ruling bolsters their arguments in the telemedicine lawsuit.

“We were optimistic yesterday, and even more so today,” she said.

In light of the ruling, Planned Parenthood here and throughout the country plans to review their states’ existing abortion restrictions to see if any conflict with the high court’s decision, Brass Greer said.

U.S. Rep. Raul Labrador, R-Idaho, said in a statement the ruling underlines the importance of electing

a president who will appoint conservative judges to Supreme Court. Many Republicans who didn’t initially support presumptive nominee Donald Trump, such as Labrador, have been making the argument that voting for him is important to ensure conservative judges are appointed — this was one of the themes of Labrador’s speech at the state GOP convention earlier this month.

“I am deeply disappointed that the Supreme Court has sided with the abortion industry and erased health and safety protections for innocent women and unborn children,” Labrador said Monday. “This decision means abandoning common-sense clinical standards and the perpetuation of abuse and negligence.”

Boise police charge three men in race-based attack ‌BOISE (AP) — Three men police say targeted two youths in a racially-based attack are facing felony hate crime charges.

Boise police arrested 29-year-old Christopher Daniel, 48-year-old Verdell Daniel and 27-year-old Thomas Caldwell on Sunday. All three have been charged with felony malicious harassment. Caldwell also faces misdemeanor

battery and driving under the influence charges, and Christopher Daniel faces felony and misdemeanor battery charges.

Police say the three men threatened and attacked the juveniles twice while walking down a street because of one of the victim’s race. Officials say Christopher Daniel brandished a knife during the second incident.

COURTESY OF THE TWIN FALLS SHERIFF’S OFFICE‌

Ashley Webb, 23, of Filer, died at St. Alphonsus in Boise on June 16. She was the passenger in a car that failed to stop at a stop sign and hit a Ford F350 on June 14 in Twin Falls County.

Deadly From A1

Officers found Christopher Daniel and Verdell Daniel at a nearby home.

During the investigation, officers stopped a vehicle leaving the house and discovered the driver was Caldwell. Caldwell’s blood alcohol content tested at .129 and .131. Idaho’s legal limit is .08.

All three suspects are white. The race of the victims has not been disclosed.

Tuesday, June 28, 2016 | A5

Across the rest of the state this weekend, Idaho State Police reported these fatality crashes: Thomas Schwartzenberger, 51, of Cheney, Wash., was riding an all-terrain vehicle Saturday near Kingston when he swerved off a road, hit a tree, went down a long

embankment and hit another tree. His passenger was injured.

Robert Gust, 24, of Bonners Ferry and his 25-year-old passenger, Christopher Erickson, of Deland, Fla., were both killed Sunday in Post Falls when their car rolled off an exit ramp on Interstate 90.

Motorcyclist Kevin Guth, 52, of Meridian was killed Sunday on Idaho 55 near Horseshoe Bend when he crossed the cen-

ter divider and crashed into oncoming traffic.

Dalton Parrish, 26, of Spokane, Wash., lost control of his car Saturday night on U.S. Highway 89 near the Utah border.

Parrish was not wearing his seat belt and his car caught on fire after hitting the trees. He was taken to a hospital in northern Utah before he was flown to University of Utah Hospital in Salt Lake City, where he died.

STEM From A1

Finding Time for Science Lessons‌ Sara Holley, a kindergarten teacher in Filer, is going into her second year of teaching. She’s looking for resources to help her implement science lessons in her classroom.

“There’s not really a lot of opportunities for us to teach science,” she said. But when she’s able to find time, “my kids love it.”

The kindergarten curriculum tends to focus on math and reading, she said. And she was surprised by the lack of science standards for kindergarten.

Another institute participant Jamie Bridges, who teaches at CSI’s preschool lab, wants to learn more about scientific names of plants and animals and how to incorporate technology DREW NASH‌ into lessons.

Teacher Robin Mason introduces herself to the class Monday at CSI in Twin Falls.

Science by Observation‌

Winston told a group of teachers many students are ill-prepared for going on field trips. They look around and in about 10 minutes, they’re ready to go home or pull out their phone, he said.

Teachers should help students prepare, and encourage them to slow down and observe their surroundings., he said. “Nature will take care of itself if a kid slows down.”

On Monday, his group of teachers went on a field trip where they were encouraged to use their senses — something they can do with their students.

Many Career Pathways‌

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Eian Harm and Matt Wigglesworth, instructors of “Getting Dirty with STEM,” are both former geologists who became educators for their second career. Harm, a former science teacher, is now a district administrator for the West Ada School District in Meridian.

There are many science-related jobs that go unfilled, Harm said. And he said there needs to be a larger realization that not every child is going to embark on a traditional path, such as going to a four-year university. “We have to engage kids in a variety of different pathways.”

Assuming every child will end up becoming a college

DREW NASH‌

Flowers sit out ready to be tested Monday during an iSTEM course at CSI called ‘Getting Dirty with STEM and Inquiry.’ professor, for example, is a flawed model and doesn’t work economically, Harm said, adding there needs to be a focus on preparing students for science-related trades, too.

Real World Application‌ During the Getting Dirty with STEM” workshop, teachers will look at what local resource and environmental scientists do.

They’re coming up with their own experiment questions, collecting samples from the South Hills to the Wood River Valley, and presenting their findings.

The purpose is to tie in real-world application with science lessons, Harm said, and to encourage students to take charge of developing their own research questions. “Ultimately, it’s about stu-

dent-centered learning.”

His group of teachers will also visit Stukenholtz Laboratory in Twin Falls, a soil sample lab.

Taking Lessons Back to the Classroom‌ The key thing that tends to be missing in teaching workshops is time for participants to figure out how to apply content in their own classrooms, Harm said.

He wants to ensure teachers can take what they’ve learned and create a lesson plan.

By the end of the institute, “I hope they see what inquiry is,” he said, as well as how to design their own experiments, collect and present data.

And Harm hopes they’ll have a deeper knowledge of local environmental topics and opportunities to engage students.

DREW NASH, TIMES-NEWS‌

The City Council hears input Monday from Scott McKinney, who felt the Council had been doing its job.

Council

Twin Council OKs graffiti measure

From A1

their emotions in check and base future discussion on “facts and good information.”

“We are friendly and neighborly, and we love this community with all of our hearts,” he said.

The girl was assaulted at the Fawnbrook Apartments on June 2. Three boys, ages 7, 10, and 14, and from Sudanese and Iraqi families, were implicated and the two older boys are facing juvenile charges.

The case is sealed because of the ages of the accused, but Police Chief Craig Kingsbury and Prosecuting Attorney Grant Loebs have gone public to refute details that were incorrectly reported on anti-refugee and anti-Muslim blogs after the boys were taken into custody a week-anda-half ago, such as claims that the boys were Syrian refugees, that they held the girl at knife-point or that it was a gang rape.

Some have accused city officials and prosecutors of trying to cover up the incident, and city offices and officials have been deluged with emails and phone calls about it, some of them threatening.

Julie Ruf, an outspoken opponent of refugee resettlement, said she would pray for the safety of the members of the City Council, and praised Vice Mayor Suzanne Hawkins, who ran last week’s meeting, for keeping calm and letting people express themselves.

“What type of people would we be were we not emotion about the rape of a small child?” Ruf asked.

Ruf said it is the community’s responsibility to keep the girl safe. Fawnbrook is evicting the boys’ families, but Ruf said they are still there now and the little girl is afraid to go

DREW NASH, TIMES-NEWS‌

Terrence Edwards addresses the City Council on Monday. outside.

“Who has become the prisoner?” she asked.

“After being dragged and attacked and violated.

Who has become the prisoner?”

A couple of people praised the Council’s handling of things. Scott McKinney said the boys, who are also children, need to be protected as well, and that authorities shouldn’t release any more information than necessary. He said fear is driving much of the public reaction, as well as the connections between what happened and the larger issue of refugee resettlement.

“People are scared,” McKinney said. “They don’t want these people.

To me, I’m 100 percent in favor of trying to help these people.”

Out of all the people who spoke, Terrence Edwards was most critical of the Council, accusing them of not being compassionate toward the victim and calling them “bumps on a log” and “an embarrassment to this community.” Edwards and Ruf were among a handful of refugee resettlement opponents who came to a City Council meeting two weeks ago while police were still investigating and before the boys were taken into custody, asking questions about the incident. The City Council members who spoke at the time said they weren’t aware of it.

“By you guys not putting your foot forward

TWIN FALLS — Property owners in Twin Falls are going to have some help cleaning up graffiti.

The City Council passed an ordinance Monday that empowers police to issue notices requiring the removal of graffiti and says that police will enlist partner organizations and agencies to help do it. The intent, Police Chief Craig Kingsbury has said, is to use crews from Twin Falls County Juvenile Probation to remove the graffiti.

“It shows pride in our community, and it shows that we’re paying attention up front,” Councilwoman Nikki Boyd said.

Kingsbury pointed to the tagging of several buildings on Shoup Avenue, including the Disabled American Veterans building, on Friday night — someone sprayed “Norte,” a reference to the gang the Norteños, on the DAV’s wall — as an example of why the law is needed.

“We do have gang graffiti that takes place in our city,” he said.

If a property owner doesn’t comply, the city can remove the graffiti and bill them, as well as levying a $100 fine plus court costs for an infraction. The ordinance makes tagging itself a misdemeanor, although spraying someone’s property was already illegal as vandalism under state law.

The ordinance first came to the City Council two weeks ago but was sent back for revisions to make it clearer that the city would work with people to help remove graffiti. The new version adds this as well as additional language on how a property owner can appeal. first and getting ahead of this issue, (you) brought this onto your own heads,” Edwards said.

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City deluged with angry emails NATHAN BROWN nbrown@magicvalley.com

contract negotiated.

The exact details of the contract were not provided.

“It was beneficial for them to maintain a foothold in this market,” Gibbons said.

The contract between MMH and Regence will be reviewed annually.

“It’s something we felt like we could live with for several years,” Gibbons said.

After Regence dropped CRMC from its network, the insurance company referred people to MMH and St. Luke’s Magic Valley Medical Center in Twin Falls, a change that affected more than 4,300 people in Mini-Cassia.

Hospital contracts with Regence vary across the state, Lou Riepl, Regence BlueShield of Idaho spokesman, said in April but the company has had good responses from hospitals moving toward fixed-cost systems.

It’s trying to move all hospitals toward multi-year agreements and value-based reimbursement.

TWIN FALLS — Some people are angry and want answers.

Others want the family members of city officials to be raped.

National attention has again come to refugee resettlement in Twin Falls, as the case of three underaged boys from Iraq and Sudan who stand accused of sexually assaulting a 5-year-old girl at the Fawnbrook Apartments makes its way through the juvenile court system and as opponents of Islam and of refugee resettlement point to the case as validation of their beliefs about Muslims.

“Have you any idea how many Americans are hoping and wishing your daughter, wife, mother, sister, aunt, or niece gets gang raped by those (expletive) piece of (expletive) sand (expletive) you’re so (expletive) enamoured (sic) with?” wrote the anonymous sender of one of the emails local police forwarded to the FBI because of another, even more threatening comment in it.

Combined, City Council members and City Manager Travis Rothweiler have gotten more than 100 emails, from more than 90 different email addresses, from people outraged over the case, according to a response to a records request from the Times-News. Many of them repeat accusations that the city and local law enforcement tried to cover the case up, and some, especially the earlier ones, incorrectly say the boys involved were Syrian, which was initally falsely reported on a number of anti-Muslim and anti-refugee resettlement blogs.

Some other emails show the discussion behind the scenes, as city officials try to answer people’s questions, handle the handful of more threatening emails and phone calls, and discuss releasing what information they can to the public and respond to some of the press reports and the interview requests from national outlets.

A few people wrote to say they had canceled plans to travel to or even retire in Twin Falls because of the case.

“We were planning to spend a few days in Twin Falls on our RV tour of Wyoming and Idaho,” one person wrote. “We have decided to pass around, way around, the Twin Falls area to avoid your refugee problem.”

Please see Contract, Page A3

Please see Emails, Page A3

STEPHEN REISS, TIMES-NEWS

Along the Snake River — photographed June 9 south of Hagerman — you can fish for enormous white sturgeon and buy produce from geothermal greenhouses.

RIVER OF CHANGE

On the Hagerman reach of the Snake River, the arts and sciences flourish — wine making and paleontology, sculpture and entomology. Today, the second installment of our three-part series on the Hagerman reach features a dangerously invasive plant, an aquaculture innovation and the discovery of a prehistoric fossil species.

See the project on B1.

MMH and Regence hammer out contract LAURIE WELCH lwelch@magicvalley.com

RUPERT — Minidoka Memorial Hospital has negotiated a new contract with Regence BlueShield of Idaho, which will help control insurance premium costs for Regence members while two major employers in Mini-Cassia who purchased the insurance for their employees have opted to leave the insurance company since April when Regence dropped Cassia Regional Medical Center out of network.

“We couldn’t be happier to have this updated agreement in place with Minidoka Memorial Hospital,” said Scott Kreiling, president of Regence BlueShield of Idaho. “Regence and Minidoka Memorial are both Idaho originals, looking out for the health care interests of residents here for more than a half century. This really shows that good things happen when providers and insurers put the needs of those we serve first.”

Jason Gibbons, chief financial officer at MMH said patients with Regence insurance won’t

DREW NASH

Minidoka Memorial Hospital on April 18 in Rupert. see changes in the cost of medical care at the hospital, but the contract changes will help Regence “maintain cost controls,” which will help keep insurance premiums down.

“As a county-owned health care facility, we feel a special responsibility to provide cost-effective care of the highest quality to our Magic Valley neighbors,” said Tom Murphy, CEO of Mini-

doka Memorial Hospital. “We’ve methodically updated our capabilities and facilities over the past few years and feel we are well-positioned to serve community needs for years to come.

Our newly refreshed agreement with Regence provides an added layer of stability and predictability to our operations here.”

Gibbons said Regence was “pretty motivated” to get the

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AT A GLANCE

Wood River YMCA holds academic camp ‌HAILEY — The first-ever Power Scholars Academy Camp is underway in Blaine County.

In partnership with the Blaine County School District, Y-USA and BELL, the Wood River Community YMCA is serving children in second and third grades.

The camp includes literacy and math instruction, community time, physical education and other enrichment opportunities.

Located at Alturas Elementary School, the sixweek program serving 65 students runs five days a week from June 27 to Aug. 5.

Transportation, breakfast, lunch and facilities are provided by the Blaine County School District. The

YMCA provides the training, staff and curriculum.

Held in 26 states across the country, Power Scholars has a track record of boosting reading and math skills among participants.

The program is geared toward students who need additional support in school, and 72 percent of the students are economically disadvantaged.

Students are hand-selected from all of the elementary schools in the Blaine County School District.

The program will conclude with a celebration of a final project completed by students.

They’re developing a “Kids Guide to the Valley,” which will be researched, written and produced by students attending the camp. The Weekly Sun will publish the guide in August.

Jerome teacher selected for national group J EROME — Jerome ‌ band director Hiroshi Fukuoka was selected as a regional representative for the National Federation of State High School Associations.

He was nominated by the Idaho High School Activities Association. He’ll serve a four-year term, ending in 2020.

Fukuoka, who just finished his third year in Jerome, leads band programs at both Jerome Middle School and Jerome High School.

The high school ensemble recently returned from a trip to Washington, D.C., where students performed in the National Independence Day Parade.

Contract From A1

St. Luke’s renegotiated its contract with Regence in the past year. Under the deal, Regence reimburses the hospital on set fees, meaning the hospital gets paid a certain amount for every diagnosis, regardless of how much it costs the hospital to treat.

The hospital declined to provide further information on its contract.

At the time, Regence said in a letter to its customers that the change would not affect people’s emergency care choices, but if they wanted to go to CRMC for ongoing care or to a physician employed by the hospital, they would have to pay “significantly” higher cost-sharing at out-of-network rates.

“It’s wrong that patients are being forced to go elsewhere,” said Rod Barton, Cassia Regional’s adminis-

Emails From A1

While many of the people were angry about what they heard happened and blamed the City Council for allowing refugees into Twin Falls (the program is federally run), most were not threatening.

However, a handful of emails and voice mails city officials have gotten over the past few weeks are being investigated by local police or the FBI. One man left voice mails for Camille Barigar, wife of Mayor Shawn Barigar, and for two other faculty members at the College of Southern Idaho, which administers the refugee program in Twin Falls, accusing them of bringing “humanity’s lowest common denominator, essentially human garbage, from Africa and the Middle East, into the Twin Falls area.”

In two of voice mails, the man asks the women he left messages for how they would feel if they were gang-raped by Muslims, going into detail about how he imagines it might happen, and in all three voice mails, he refers to the murder of Jo Cox, a Labour Member of Parliament from England and a refugee resettlement supporter who was killed a month ago by a man who appears to have been motivated by his racist beliefs.

A majority of the people who wrote the Council don’t say where they’re from — out of 93 email addresses tallied by the Times-News, where the sender is from is unclear for 57 of them — but the ones that can be identified seem to support what city officials have said — many of the most vitriolic calls and emails they have gotten have been from people who don’t

M 1

DREW NASH, TIMES-NEWS

Councilman Chris Talkington listens to public input June 27 at City Council chambers in downtown Twin Falls. live here.

“All of you Mother (expletive) should be hung for treason,” wrote one California man. “To brush aside Radical Islamic individuals that have committed crimes is shameful. I watched the video of your open Council and what a (expletive) embarrassment. All of you need (expletive) bullets right between the middle of your eyes.”

Of the remaining 36, eight are clearly from the Magic Valley, four from other parts of Idaho, five from California, four from Colorado, and most of the rest from other states. Three people wrote from Canada, and one from Singapore.

Many of the emails accuse the City Council of not paying enough heed to people who came before them with concerns about the incident, and a number of them singled out Councilman Chris Talkington, who supports refugee resettlement and

has said bigotry is behind much of the opposition. At one meeting about a month ago, he asked Julie Ruf if she agreed with another refugee opponent who, at a previous meeting, had framed opposition to refugee resettlement as support for “the preservation of the white race.” Ruf said she did not agree. Talkington also said he was glad the refugee opponents speaking at the meeting weren’t around when his ancestors came to America during the Irish Potato Famine.

“With all due respect, the Irish were not terrorists with a political/religious ideology of world conquest,” wrote Larry T, from California.

“Neither are many of the Syrian refugees ... but some are and many more are yet to come under the federal government’s Syrian refugee program.”

Councilman Don Hall answered many of the emails, forwarding them the state-

ment city officials put out summarizing the case after the June 20 City Council meeting and having fol-

trator in an April interview.

“It’s really been a difficult situation for us.”

The hospital said Regence wanted to cut reimbursements to Cassia Regional by 20 percent, a position Barton said was anything but “reasonable and fair.” The insurance company says it wanted the hospital to move toward a new fee structure increasingly being adopted at hospitals across the country.

The two still have not reached an agreement.

Cassia County School District and Minidoka County School District both opted to leave Regence after the insurance company and CRMC failed to negotiate a contract.

Debbie Critchfield, spokeswoman for Cassia schools, said the district changed companies June 1.

Minidoka schools will move to Select Health Insurance Sept. 1.

“There are no changes to note at this time, but IHC and

Regence BlueShield of Idaho continue to have contractual discussions,” Lou Riepl, spokesman for Regence BlueShield of Idaho wrote in an email to the Times-News.

Stephanie Curtis, spokeswoman for CRMC said in an email that there “certainly has been some decline in revenue” for the hospital since it was dropped out of network, but the hospital continued to provide care for certain patients like obstetric and emergency patients.

Blue Cross/Blue Shield polices from other states are still considered in-network with CRMC. Gibbons said the hospital did experience a surge in interest from physicians seeking practice privileges at the hospital after CRMC and Regence failed to negotiate a contract.

He said he did not have exact numbers but the hospital is still in the process of vetting some of those requests.

low-up conversations with some of the people who answered.

“I have responded to all but the most vile,” Hall wrote in one email to Rothweiler. “I have a mixed bag of responses but at least I am trying.”

A couple of these exchanges started out hostile but became more civil. Some evolved into more general discussions of the refugee program.

“I think the problem now is that our Federal Government is unresponsive to the will of the people and we are all frustrated with this fact,” Hall wrote to one man. “We at the local level are closest to the people so we are coming under fire for a program we have no authority over.

I do want to say that I have numerous friends and colleagues that are direct or children of the refugee program who are wonderful and productive citizens in our

community so I have difficulty in throwing the baby out with the bathwater. I do believe that the Congress should demand a complete audit of the program to ensure that those that we are bringing in have been vetted appropriately.”

City spokesman Joshua Palmer said many of the phone calls the city got from people concerned about what happened were more civil than the emails, with many of the calls appearing to be driven by concern for the victim.

“They were just wanting more information,” Palmer said. “Or they were upset because they received some misinformation.”

Palmer said they were often able to talk civilly, even if they didn’t always hang up the phone agreeing with each other.

“The human side of things can get lost in an email exchange,” he said.

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OPINION

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SUNDAY, JULY 17, 2016 |

magicvalley.com

SUNDAY, JULY 17, 2016 |

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LETTERS TO THE EDITOR Travis Quast, Publisher

Matt Christensen, Editor

The members of the editorial board and writers of editorials are Travis Quast and Matt Christensen.

Quote “Far too many drivers are losing themselves in the heat of the moment and lashing out in ways that could turn deadly.”

Jurek Grabowski of the AAA Foundation for Traffic Safety, referring to a new survey that asserts nearly 8 of every 10 U.S. drivers admit expressing anger, aggression or road rage at least once in the previous year.

OUR VIEW

Twin Falls Must Make Hate Unwelcome W

ant to stare hate in the face?

No need to seek it out in the evening news. Why look to Nice, France, or San Bernardino, Calif., or Bangladesh or Iraq or Louisiana or Minnesota or any number of places where unspeakable acts of hatred have rocked the world in recent months?

It’s right here at home.

Twin Falls city officials have received more than 100 emails in the fallout from the Fawnbrook Apartment case, where police say a 5-year-old was assaulted by young boys. Authorities have released few details about the case — customary when juveniles are involved — but that hasn’t stopped islamophobes and racists from spinning lies about what really happened to fuel their hatred-driven agenda.

Don’t take our word for it. Reporter Nathan Brown quotes directly from the screeds in a story in today’s edition. It’s simply shocking.

One writer said the council deserved bullets in their heads. Others talked about raping the wives and children of council members.

The worst emails were left unsigned, making it hard to determine if the writers were locals, but at least a dozen were clearly from Idaho, officials said. The FBI is investigating the threats.

Is this who we have become? An angry mob threatening to kill and rape our local elected leaders over their handling of a case whose details have been grossly overblown?

This bears repeating: A girl was victimized, and as a community our hearts should go out to her and her family. But this case isn’t validation of the nefarious-Muslim narrative those opposed to refugee resettlement have tried so desperately to frame it as.

Rather than revealing some truth about the dangers of multiculturalism, this case has instead served to reveal our own ugly biases and insecurities.

This isn’t the first time we’ve written to condemn hatred, and sadly, it likely won’t be the last. We’re committed to calling out hatred whenever and wherever we see it. Anything less, and the hate will only continue to fester, to spread in our community like a cancer.

But our voice won’t be enough. Now is the time for the community to make clear that such hatred has no place in Twin Falls and the Magic Valley. The College of Southern Idaho (sponsor of the federally run resettlement program), the city, the business community — everyone — has a responsibility to help shape our ethos and our culture.

That has yet to happen in any collective sense, so hatred has largely filled the vacuum over the past year in Twin Falls, at CSI board meetings, in street rallies, at public comment forums at City Council, and perhaps in the kind of quiet conversations with friends and relatives that make us cringe but not enough to speak up and counter their ignorance.

Perhaps you feel too polite. Maybe as a business owner you’re worried taking a stand could jeopardize your company. Maybe as an elected official you’re concerned standing up to hate will hurt your chances for re-election.

Maybe. But now is not the time for silence. Now is the time for courage.

Now is the time to redefine our region’s story, to overpower the hatred by lauding all that makes the Magic Valley such a special place to live. Because if we don’t, and Twin Falls becomes synonymous with bigotry, forget about attracting new companies to the area. Forget about the progress we’ve all worked so hard to attain.

Forget about giving your children a life better than the one you had.

Instead, those of us who don’t move away to flee will be left in a town where we passively accepted death threats to our elected officials, hatred to our neighbors.

And we’ll wish we would have spoken up a lot sooner.

Have your say ONLINE: Join our community of readers at Facebook.com/ thetimesnews, or register an account at Magicvalley.com and respond to any of the local opinions or stories in today’s edition.

ON PAPER OR VIA EMAIL: The Times-News welcomes letters from readers, but please limit letters to 300 words. Include your signature, mailing address and phone number. Letters may be brought to our Twin Falls office; mailed to P.O. Box 548, Twin Falls, ID 83303; faxed to (208) 734-5538; or e-mailed to letters@magicvalley.com.

Shame on lack of D-day article

Democrats and those who hate the Republicans, yet they keep getting elected. Why? What makes the vast maThe greatest single-day event jority of voters stay home and in the history of mankind and not vote? Were their names you ignore it! Shame.

And how about VE Day, May 7, “purged,” or couldn’t vote because they didn’t have the 1945, and VJ Day, Aug. 15, 1945.

Likely, there is no one on your proper ID for their voting area?

Who “purged” those names and staff of a cognizant age, but why? Who created those ID regthat’s no excuse! ulations and why?

Jack Wendling It would be easy, in this upTwin Falls coming election, to stay home and not vote. Are these two the best each party can give us to vote for?

I would suggest one not stay home, but get out and vote. It I just read a story about a would be a good time to im5-year-old being assaulted by pose term limits on those “in” some young men. The whole situation is horrible. I was raised people — vote them out — and in Twin. It makes me ill to think even tell the D’s and R’s how you the local police treated the whole feel about their selection to run this nation of ours, by casting incident as some kind of joke. your vote for an independent I hope the authorities can live or third-party candidate. What with themselves. we’ve been electing are repreJoan Simmons sentatives that created this mess Boise and do little more than point fingers and place blame. You want change. This November is a great opportunity to make that change.

Keith Nielson Lots of blame being tossed Shelley around about the mess we are in today and who caused it. Perhaps those who are to blame are the voters who keep electing and re-electing the politicians that created this mess.

Some time ago, here in Idaho, Please read an article The Covoters wanted term limits for alition of Western States “COWS our elected officials. Not really Investigates Twin Falls Child sure how it was done, but it was Rape.” I believe I am aware of overturned and what did Idaho the local political apparatus and voters do? They re-elect those their shenanigans. It is my opinthat they would have placed ion that the victims of this crime term limits on. are also victims of federal and We have those who hate the local government obstruction of

Police mishandled assault case

Vote out the incumbents

Letter: Blog is required reading

Resisting the revisionists: Finally, a first step W ASHINGTON — “The most significant reinforcement of our collective defense any time since the Cold War,” President Obama called it. A bit of an exaggeration, perhaps, but it was still an achievement: Last week’s NATO summit in Warsaw ordered the deployment CHARLES KRAUTHAMMER of troops to Eastern Europe, the alliance’s most serious response yet to Russia’s aggression and provocations on its western frontier.

The post-Ukraine economic sanctions have been weak; the declamatory denunciations, a mere embarrassment. They’ve only encouraged further reckless Russian behavior — the buzzing of U.S. ships, intrusions into European waters, threats to the Baltic States.

NATO will now deploy four battalions to front-line states. In Estonia, they will be led by Britain; in Lithuania, by Germany; in Latvia, by Canada; in Poland, by the United States. Not nearly enough, and not permanently based, but nonetheless significant.

In the unlikely event of a Russian invasion of any of those territories, these troops are to act as a tripwire, triggering a full-scale war with NATO. It’s the kind of coldblooded deterrent that kept the peace in Europe during the Cold War and keeps it now along the DMZ in Korea.

In the more likely event of a “little green men” takeover attempt in, say, Estonia (about 25 percent ethnically Russian), the sort of disguised slow-motion invasion that Vladimir Putin pulled off in Crimea, the NATO deployments might be enough to thwart the aggression and call in reinforcements.

The message to Putin is clear:

Yes, you’ve taken parts of Georgia and Ukraine. But they’re not NATO. That territory is sacred — or so we say.

This is a welcome development for the Balts, who are wondering whether they really did achieve irreversible independence when the West won the Cold War. Their apprehension is grounded in NATO’s flaccid response to Putin’s aggressive revanchism, particularly in Ukraine. Obama still won’t provide Ukraine with even defensive weaponry. This follows years of American accommodation of Putin, from canceling a Polish-Czech missile defense system to, most recently, openly acquiescing to Russia’s seizure of a dominant role in Syria.

And what are the East Europeans to think when they hear the presumptive presidential candidate of the party of Reagan speaking dismissively of NATO and suggesting a possible American exit?

The NATO action takes on even greater significance because of the timing, coming just two weeks after Brexit. Britain’s withdrawal threatens the future of the other major pillar of Western integration and solidarity, the European Union. NATO shows that it is holding fast and that the vital instrument of Western cohesion and joint action will henceforth be almost entirely trans-Atlantic — meaning, under American leadership.

The EU, even if it doesn’t dissolve, will now inevitably turn inward as it spends years working out its new communal arrangements with and without Britain. Putin was Brexit’s big winner. Any fracturing of the Western alliance presents opportunities to play one member against another. He can only be disappointed to see NATO step up and step in.

After the humiliating collapse of President Obama’s cherished

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justice for the purpose of political aspirations to protect failed White House policies rather than protection a minor. Local government officials have already crossed the line of lawful and decent behavior that befits their office. From what I can gather, they conspired to cover-up the facts of the crimes from the public, showing that they are tethered to White House policies rather than their sworn oaths to protect citizens of the county.

What chance does a defenseless little girl and her mother have for any justice from officials that take orders from an unholy chain of command from Washington, D.C. It infuriates me, and I feel something needs to be done to help this family who were first victims of a heinous crime to their child and once again as a result of a chain of cover ups from the White House down to our own local government, including an investigator who couldn’t interrupt his workout at the gym to respond to the crime at hand. Not to mention the ongoing harassment of the family by the perpetrators who continue to pace outside this family’s apartment, according to this article. Local citizens are being told by the White House Obama appointee and U.S. Attorney Wendy J. Olson when she issued her scolding and threatening statement to citizens to keep quite! Sorry Wendy, this family needs the help of the community, please find out and do what you can and do it! Oh, and please vote out the narcissists who have been in their positions too long!

Daniel Gill Twin Falls

Russian “reset,” instilling backbone in NATO and resisting Putin are significant strategic achievements. It leaves a marker for Obama’s successor, reassures the East Europeans and will make Putin think twice about repeating Ukraine in the Baltics.

However, the Western order remains challenged by the other two members of the troika of authoritarian expansionists: China and Iran. Their provocations proceed unabated. Indeed, the next test for the United States is China’s furious denunciation of the decision handed down Tuesday by the Permanent Court of Arbitration in The Hague — a blistering, sweeping and unanimous rejection of China’s territorial claims and military buildup in the South China Sea. Without American action, however, The Hague’s verdict is a dead letter. Lecturing other great powers about adherence to “international norms” is fine.

But the Pacific Rim nations are anxious to see whether we will actually do something.

Regarding Iran, we certainly won’t. Our abject appeasement continues, from ignoring Tehran’s serial violations of the nuclear agreement (the latest: intensified efforts to obtain illegal nuclear technology in Germany) to the administration acting as a kind of Chamber of Commerce to facilitate the sale of about 100 Boeing jetliners to a regime that routinely uses civilian aircraft for military transport (particularly in Syria).

The troop deployments to Eastern Europe are a good first step in pushing back against the rising revisionist powers. But a first step, however welcome, seven and a half years into a presidency, is a melancholy reminder of what might have been.

Charles Krauthammer’s address is letters@charleskrauthammer.com.

OPINION

TIMES-NEWS

SUNDAY, JULY 31, 2016 |

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SUNDAY, JULY 31, 2016 |

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FROM THE EDITOR

Founded 1905 | A Lee Enterprises newspaper 132 Fairfield St. W., Twin Falls, ID 83303 letters@magicvalley.com

Editorial Board

TRAVIS QUAST Publisher MATT CHRISTENSEN Editor

Quote of the day “Go look at the graves of brave Americans who died defending United States of America. You will see all faiths, genders and ethnicities. You have sacrificed nothing.”

Khizr Khan, father of a fallen Muslim soldier, addressing Republican presidential Donald Trump at the Democratic convention.

READER COMMENT

The problem of alcoholism

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lcohol is the most commonly used addictive substance in the United States. Seventeen million people, or one in every 12 adults, suffer from alcohol abuse or dependence along with several million who engage in risky, binge-drinking patterns. More than half of all adults have a family history of alcoholism or problem drinking. Eighty-eight thousand deaths are annually attributed to excessive alcohol use. Alcoholism is the third-leading lifestyle-related cause of death in the nation.

These are listed facts presented by the National Council of Alcohol and Drug Dependency.

The major problems in the use of alcohol is twofold. First, since it is legal to buy, many, especially the younger people, do not see it as a threat to their health. If it is legal how could it present such a problem? The advertising of fun times correlated with the use of alcohol gives youth the idea that drinking is the thing to do to be socially accepted. The second problem is that many alcoholics who have passed the line into the disease of alcoholism are in denial of their problem. This is the part that we will focus our attention upon in this article.

It has been found alcoholics are men and women who have lost the ability to control their drinking. Rarely does a real alcoholic ever recover control of their drinking, although at times there may be brief intervals where they do regain control followed by still less control followed by a still worse relapse.

Alcoholics of this type are in a state of a progressive illness which is wired into their brain.

Lots of alcoholics refuse or deny they have a problem. They think that they can solve their problems with alcohol by changing something in their life that will make them into a normal drinker. Alcoholics who are in denial of their problem will try many things to prove they can once again drink like normal drinkers. They will change their use from hard liquor to beer.

They will not drink until the evening hours. They will include more vitamins and better diets. They will include exercise regimens. They will join churches and religious organizations.

They will read inspirational books. They will swear off drinking both with and without an oath. They will change their drinking schedules, only drinking on weekends or holidays. They will try and measure the amount of time between drinks. They will go to asylums and expensive rehabs. They will change their place where they drink. They will declare that they will quit if they are ever drunk on the job, and the list goes on and on.

A lot of alcoholics deny their problems with drinking and blame their problems on people, places, circumstance or fate.

A lot of deniers deny it is a problem all the way to their death.

Denial among alcoholics is a major problem. Deniers try to minimize the problem. They hide their alcohol and also justify their drinking. If you had my problems you would drink too.

They feel their drinking is well within reason as they may view an alcoholic as a derelict who wanders the street and they are not in that class, so not alcoholic.

Deniers compare themselves to others and often say they are not as bad as an alcoholic or as others so they do not have a problem. Deniers are often in shame and afraid to ask for help, or all too proud to admit to their problem. They would rather die than ask for help as they often do die because of the disease.

The only way to help themselves is to stop the denial, admit the problem and seek help. Much help is now available in treatment centers, AA and other avenues to help alcoholics reach a level of total abstinence, which many people in the field of alcohol counseling feel is the answer to this disease.

Dave Davis is a certified alcohol and drug counselor associated with New Hope Transition and has obtained certificates of study in the field from U.C. Santa Cruz and San Jose State. Davis also has a bachelor’s in psychology from Idaho State University. He lives in Kimberly.

Have your say ONLINE: Join our community of readers at Facebook.com/ thetimesnews, or register an account at Magicvalley.com and respond to any of the local opinions or stories in today’s edition.

ON PAPER OR VIA EMAIL: The Times-News welcomes letters from readers, but please limit letters to 300 words. Include your signature, mailing address and phone number. Letters may be brought to our Twin Falls office; mailed to P.O. Box 548, Twin Falls, ID 83303; faxed to (208) 734-5538; or e-mailed to letters@magicvalley.com.

The Twin Falls I know

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t’s always interesting to hear from visitors about their perspectives on Twin Falls. They marvel at the beauty of the canyon.

They remark about all the new construction. Sometimes they’ll tell you about a favorite restaurant they tried. And almost all of them will say how welcoming, friendly and hospitable our community is.

I agree. Twin Falls is pretty cool.

But go online recently and you’ll hear a much difMATT ferent story. EspeCHRISTENSEN cially if you’ve been reading the yarns high-profile political activist Pamela Geller has been spinning about Twin Falls, fed to her mostly by local gadfly Julie Ruf and her ilk.

Thanks to Geller, tens of thousands of her readers now think Twin Falls is a hellhole.

Since earlier this summer, when a 5-year-old was allegedly assaulted at the Fawnbrook Apartments, Ruf has been dishing dirt to Geller, a commentator and blogger with a large following, about how refugees are ruining our city. By now we’ve all heard the story: A handful of twisted folks somehow believe the girl’s assault is clear proof that Muslims are destroying Twin Falls because the boys accused of committing the assault are Muslims or refugees or maybe both. And, oh, yeah, the mainstream media, the entire city council, city staff, the police, the county prosecutor’s office, the city’s major employers, the local community college, several state Republican lawmakers and a federal prosecutor are complicit in a conspiracy to either cover up the details of the assault, asperse the girl’s family or mislead you in an effort to promote a liberal agenda that will allow Muslims to take over our community, commit terrorism, molest our children and institute sharia law.

Or something like that. The accusations grow a little each day, and it’s hard to keep up.

It’d be almost comical if this weren’t also true: Geller and others in the anti-Muslim movement have happily typed up these scary fairy tales, which are being read by thousands of people around the world who believe Twin Falls is no

longer in Idaho but sandwiched somewhere in one of Dante’s circles of hell.

“Abandon all hope, ye who enter here” isn’t exactly the phrase our economic development leaders and tourism promoters want associated with Twin Falls.

And neither do I. So I believe it’s important to offer an alternative perspective on our fine city and look at one of Geller’s most recent columns, published last week on the Breitbart website, and see if we can’t set the record straight about our city.

Geller writes: “Ruf also recounted that one Sunday afternoon, she was with a group of Twin Falls residents that encountered a repellent prostitute soliciting outside of the local public library in broad daylight, three blocks from the police station. She was an older harlot who had already attracted a line of Muslim immigrant males waiting in their cars for their turn.”

Who knows what Ruf and her friends saw outside the library, but I checked with police who said they aren’t aware of any situation even remotely like the one Geller describes. There was one case of woman from California and a man from Mexico in a car near the library recently in the middle of the night, but it certainly wasn’t an old hooker and a parade of Muslim johns. In fact, police have investigated prostitution at four Twin Falls motels in the past 80 days, and none of the stings appeared to involve refugees.

Geller writes of the troubles the Fawnbrook girl’s family is having finding new housing in Twin and says: “It is almost impossible to find a place to rent because of the housing shortage due to the sudden crush of refugees.”

Sure, rentals are getting harder to find in Twin Falls, but it’s not because of a “sudden crush of refugees.” The College of Southern Idaho’s refugee resettlement center has been relocating about 300 people a year like clockwork for three decades — there’s nothing sudden about that. The rental problem has little to do with refugees and everything to do with our booming economy and the fact we’ve added 5,000 new jobs in the food-manufacturing sector alone and thousands of new residents who’ve moved to the area to fill

Matt Christensen is editor of the Times-News.

IDAHO VIEW

Heather and Raul, check in with Jim and Sheryl

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his appeared in the Lewiston Tribune: If you want to turn conventional wisdom on its head in Idaho, start flirting with access to public lands.

When then-Congressman C.L. “Butch” Otter even suggested selling off some federal acres to finance relief to Hurricane Katrina victims, he handed his Democratic rival in the upcoming 2006 gubernatorial campaign, newspaper publisher Jerry Brady, his rallying cry: “Idaho is not for sale.”

That fall, Brady came the closest of any Democratic candidate for governor—44.1 percent—since Cecil Andrus retired in 1995.

Then this spring, the unthinkable became the fact.

Two arch foes of federal land management—Idaho County Commission Chairman Jim Chmelik and state Sen. Sheryl Nuxoll, R-Cottonwood—went down to defeat.

Chmelik—who championed the cause of securing control of federal lands within Idaho and the West—got just 36.5 percent of the vote against former Cottonwood Mayor Denis Duman.

Nuxoll—author of a law that empowers sheriffs and county commissioners to declare federal lands within their jurisdictions a public nuisance—lost her seat to Carl Crabtree, who got 51.1 per-

cent of the vote.

This happened not in urban Idaho, where federal lands are gateways to recreation—and transfers are seen as the first step toward handing public lands over to the highest bidders.

Instead, this took shape in the rural, central part of the state where antipathy toward the federal landlords supposedly runs deep.

And it involved Republican primary election voters. This is a party that on the national level last week endorsed platform language encouraging the transfer of 640 million acres of federal lands to the states.

So, take heed, Rep. Heather Scott, R-Blanchard.

Earlier this year, Scott led the charge against a plan to hold in place 13,000 acres held by the Stimson Lumber Co. in Bonner County. In exchange for $5.5 million in federal forest legacy funds and another $2 million generated from excise taxes on hunting apparatus, these owners agreed to forgo unpopular plans to develop 1,200 homes and two golf courses.

Sure, this involves private—not public—property rights. But conservation easements are a tool that have been used to preserve Idaho’s open spaces everywhere from the South Fork of the Snake River to the Sawtooth National Recreation Area to the lower

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them.

Geller writes: “Ruf told me: ‘In the last four months the demographics of our area have dramatically shifted and we’ve been profoundly affected by what we suspect is secondary migration. We locals intend to survey the population to discover the source of this massive influx.”

This should sound pretty bizarre to anyone who actually lives in Twin Falls. Does the city seem dramatically different than it did in March? And who, exactly, is being “profoundly affected” by this phantom influx?

Something terrible happened to that poor girl at the Fawnbrook Apartments. Scores of children in southern Idaho are molested or abused every year, and that’s heartbreaking. But Geller is using this one case to drive a sickening political agenda.

See, Geller wants the world to think Twin Falls is being overrun by Muslim perverts who are destroying our city. She’s made a career spreading such nonsense on the backs of community’s like ours.

But her vision of an American apocalypse isn’t what I see happening in Twin Falls — at all. The Twin Falls I know is a welcoming community, where my wife and I feel perfectly safe raising our two girls.

We’ve never had to push through a line of Muslims waiting for their turn with a hooker when we visit the library. We live in a growing and prosperous city, where new houses and apartments are springing up every day. It’s a place where it’s easy to find a job, where people work hard. It’s a beautiful city, and I’m incredibly proud and lucky to live here.

I think most of us also feel this way. Do we have problems? Yeah, every community does. But they’re nothing close to the horrors Geller paints.

Geller had planned to visit Twin Falls this week and hold a rally on the courthouse steps, but she canceled. I guess it’s just easier to spread second-hand garbage on the internet instead of taking time to come see for herself.

Too bad. I wish she could have seen the Twin Falls I know.

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Salmon River Canyon.

Lawmakers approved the funding package, putting the conservation easement in play. But voters may not forget Scott’s efforts to derail that effort.

And take heed, Congressman Raul Labrador, R-Idaho.

His Self-Sufficient Community Lands Act would have states manage up to 4 million acres of federal lands throughout the West—with minimum pilot projects of 200,000 acres each.

It is nothing close to the kind of federal lands transfer Chmelik supports, for instance.

But Democratic congressional candidate James Piotrowski thinks he smells vulnerability.

Piotrowski is painting with the broadest brush he can find. Labrador’s bill, he says, is just an opening to a larger land transfer— and loss of public access.

If he has his way, the Democrat will transform the congressional race into a referendum on the issue—the same tactic Brady employed against Otter a decade ago.

Both Scott and Labrador have won handily in the past. Scott carried 66 percent of the vote in 2014. That same year, Labrador got 65 percent.

They’d be within their rights to laugh off this argument.

Of course, Chmelik and Nuxoll didn’t see the speed bump in front of them, either.

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magicvalley.com

‘We the People’ calls for Trump, Clinton to come to Twin Falls JULIE WOOTTON jwootton@magicvalley.com

TWIN FALLS — In a last-minute press conference Friday, We the People Magic Valley announced it wants U.S. presidential candidates Hillary Clinton and Donald Trump come to Twin Falls to show them “how life in America is really going.”

Earlier that afternoon, organizers said called local media to say announcement would be about the ongoing refugee issue in Twin Falls.

At Twin Falls City Park, the group said the family of the 5-year-old victim of a reported sexual assault in June at the Fawnbrook Apartments was coming to the event.

But Julie Ruf with We the People later told reporters the family couldn’t make it because of the challenges of their living situation, saying they’re now living at a hotel.

After talking about the Fawnbrook case and refugee resettlement, Ruf told reporters she wants Clinton and Trump to come to Twin Falls to “see how America is being changed by this new crisis.”

And she later added: “We want to tell you how life in America is really going today.”

We the People Magic Valley is a group that includes the local Act for American chapter, John Birch Society, and Dallypost Tactical, a group run by Pocatello-area political activist Lance Earl.

It describes itself on a public Facebook group page as “a coalition of patriots who are concerned with the direction our nation — and our community — is heading in.”

The group’s goals are “preservation of our Republic and her Constitution, civil liberties, and governmental and United Nations encroachment on our state and community often in violation of

PAT SUTPHIN, TIMES-NEWS

Members of We The People Magic Valley hold a press conference to invite Presidential Candidates Hillary Clinton and Donald Trump to Twin Falls on Friday, Aug. 5, 2016, at the Twin Falls City Park in Twin Falls.

the media, provided advice and told reporters what they should care about.

And they said reporters aren’t asking the right questions. Group members also said they’ve been called names in local publications.

The Times-News, KMVT and BuzzFeed reporters, along with a couple of other media organizations, attended the press conference.

Ruf talked about the Fawnbrook case and refugee-related topics in her statement.

“Refugees have been flooding into Twin Falls as cheap laborers,” she said, adding after their first six months in Twin Falls, they’re living in squalor. She said many are her personal friends.

Please see People, Page A6

the Tenth Amendment.” a group picnic nearby.

About 10 people from We the After giving a statement, the  More online: See more People Magic Valley stood behind group allowed for questions from photos from the event online at a microphone, as others set up for reporters. A few speakers blamed Magicvalley.com.

Coroner identifies remains of human skeleton found in South Hills ALEX RIGGINS ariggins@magicvalley.com

PAT SUTPHIN, TIMES-NEWS

PARTY ON THE GREEN Randy Drake, of Idaho Falls, putts Friday at Canyon Springs Golf Course in Twin Falls. Drake traveled to Twin Falls from Idaho Falls to attend a company party for EHM Engineers. This was his first time golfing at Canyon Springs. ‘It’s a fun course,’ he says. ‘It’s got a lot more elevation and ups and downs than the ones we golf in Idaho Falls.’ David Thibault, president of EHM, said the company usually switches location each year for their party. This year they chose Canyon Springs because a lot of the employees like to play there.

ROGERSON — The Twin Falls County Coroner has identified the human skeletal remains found in June in a remote area of the South Hills.

The remains were those of Valentin David Sanchez-Hilario, of Burley, who was 24 when he went missing in November 2014.

“It’s not 100 percent, but it’s as close as we’re Sanchezgoing to get,” Hilario Coroner Gene Turley said Thursday. “We talked to the family, and they’re OK with what we have.”

A hiker found Sanchez-Hilario’s remains June 6 in the South Hills in a “very non-traveled area off Langford Flats,” Twin Falls County Sheriff ’s Lt. Perry Barnhill said in June. The hiker passed the GPS coordinates off to the sheriff ’s office, who then went and secured the area, looked for evidence and “treated it like a normal crime scene.”

“It was kind of a fluke that he found it,” Barnhill said. “He was Please see Body, Page A6

Twin Falls narrows search for new fire chief from 8 to 3 ALEX RIGGINS ariggins@magicvalley.com

TWIN FALLS — Two firefighters from the Magic Valley and one from Nevada have been tapped as finalists to fill Twin Falls’ vacant fire chief position.

The city announced Thursday it has narrowed the search from eight candidates down to the final three to fill the void created by the recent retirement of Ron Clark, a 40-year veteran of the department who served as chief the last 18 years.

The finalists are Rock Creek Rural Fire District Chief Jason Keller, Sun Valley Assistant Fire Chief Charles Butterfield and Tim Soule, the deputy fire chief at East Fork

Fire Protection District in Douglas County, Nev. “The candidates were selected from a pool of eight extremely qualified applicants,” the city said in a statement.

City Manager Travis Rothweiler and his staff interviewed all eight applicants via Skype, then narrowed the choices down to Keller, Butterfield and Soule, city spokesman Joshua Palmer said Friday. In the coming weeks, the three finalists will come to Twin Falls for face-to-face interviews with city staff and to meet with members of the community, the Twin Falls Fire Department and the city council.

“Whoever we hire will be expected to have strong partnerships

in the city,” Palmer said. “That’s why we’ll have them meet and do interviews with the key stakeholders.”

After meeting the finalists, those stakeholders will then give their input as to who they’re most comfortable with, and Rothweiler will make the final decision, Palmer said.

Here is a look at the candidates.

Jason Keller, fire chief, Rock Creek Rural Fire District The Kimberly resident and former Twin Falls city firefighter has been chief at Rock Creek since June 2011. The Rock Creek Rural Fire District covers the eastern part of Twin Falls County — including Kimberly, Hansen and Murtaugh

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According to his Facebook page, Keller studied fire science at Lewis and Clark State College and radiation protection at Eastern Idaho Technical College.

Charles Butterfield, assistant fire chief, Sun Valley Fire Department Butterfield has been the assistant fire chief in Sun Valley since 2013 and has spent most of his career in Blaine County. According to his biography on the Idaho State University website, where he’s listed as adjunct faculty in the fire service administration department, Butterfield started as a firefighter in Sun Valley in 1995 and has also worked as a firefighter

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and EMT for the city of Hailey and Wood River Fire and Rescue.

In 2007, Butterfield earned an associate’s degree from the College of Southern Idaho in fire service technology, then went on to earn a bachelor’s degree in fire service administration and a master’s degree in education from Colorado State University.

Tim Soule, deputy fire chief, East Fork Fire Protection District (Douglas County, Nev.) Soule has been a deputy fire chief in Douglas County, Nev., since 2011, according to The Record-Courier. Before that, Soule worked 10 years as a division Please see Chief, Page A6

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Times-News

People From A1

Employers also have incentives to hire refugees, she claimed, because the federal government has gotten involved.

Resettling refugees became controversial nationwide. Here in Twin Falls, news came out in 2015 that Syrians could be among the refugees to be resettled by the College of Southern Idaho’s Refugee Center. But so far, no Syrian refugees have been resettled here.

A petition for a ballot measure to shut down the Refugee Center failed to get enough signatures this spring.

But debate flared up again in June after reports of three boys from Iraqi and Sudanese families had, according to authorities, sexually assaulted a girl at the Fawnbrook Apartments.

We the People Magic Valley sponsored a Thursday night event, featuring Brigitte Gabriel, head of Act for America.

The group focuses on national security and the threat they say radical Islam poses to America.

The Gabriel event was an incredible achievement for We the People Magic Valley’s first event, Hilber Nelson told reporters Friday.

Gabriel provided a call to action, he said. The group decided to host a picnic Friday night.

The picnic would provide a “family atmosphere,� Nelson said, with hot dogs, activities, information and “positive projects you can get involved in right away� to promote civic and religious freedom.

About 25 people showed up at the start of the event.

Dino Omerefendic, a refugee from Bosnia, was walking in Twin Falls City Park and stopped when he overhead the press conference. He started asking questions.

He told We the People members he came to the United States as a refugee in 1997. He lived in Atlanta before coming to the Magic Valley. He said he has never been arrested. “It seems like you’re painting

Body From A1

just at the right place at the right time and happened to look in the right direction.�

The bones were found not far from where Sanchez-Hilario’s vehicle was found abandoned in November 2014. The Idaho State Missing Persons Clearinghouse listed his last date of contact as Nov. 6, 2014. “It’s a little good, but at the same time a little bad,�

Sanchez-Hilario’s mother, Norma Hilario, said in Spanish during a phone interview Thursday from San Jose, Calif.

Hilario said she was happy to have some closure, but she had still been holding out hope that he was alive. “I never thought he would be found dead,� she said.

Sanchez-Hilario was born in the state of Veracruz, on the eastern coast

Chief From A1

chief in in Kalispell, Mont., and five years as a firefighter and paramedic in Cleveland, Ohio.

The newspaper reported in June that Soule completed the National Fire Academy’s

PAT SUTPHIN, TIMES-NEWS

Members of We The People Magic Valley hold a press conference to invite Presidential Candidates Hillary Clinton and Donald Trump to Twin Falls on Friday, Aug. 5, 2016, at the Twin Falls City Park in Twin Falls.t all refugees with the same brush stroke,� he told the group.

Ruf responded by saying she’s not against the refugee program.

She said she just wants it to be run correctly and says it isn’t currently.

Ruf said she advocates to protect refugees from living in squalor and she believes in one law for all people.

Omerefendic said non-refugees are involved in sexual assault cases, too. “Why aren’t we getting angry about all these other little girls?� he said about the victims.

Ruf said she does get angry about other cases. She added she wants to see violence ended for all groups.

Omerefendic told the TimesNews he doesn’t think the group understands Muslim views. He said he has friends who are Muslims. And, he said, he feels speakers were lying a little about their views toward refugees.

of Mexico, and moved to the United States when he was 14, his mother said.

Right away, he went to work laboring in the agriculture industry in California; he sent most of his earnings to his mother in Mexico until she was able to join him. “He was extremely hard working,� Hilario said.

Sanchez-Hilario became a father at age 17 when his girlfriend, Blanca Salvador Tolentino, gave birth to a baby girl. The couple and their daughter moved to Burley in 2012, where Sanchez-Hilario worked on a dairy. “He came to visit me for 15 days,� Hilario remembered Thursday. “Eight days later, he disappeared.�

Hilario plans to come to the Magic Valley soon to collect her son’s belongings and his vehicle from the sheriff’s office. While authorities believe Sanchez-Hilario’s death was likely from exposure, Hilario is not convinced that

Executive Fire Officer Program in Maryland and that he currently oversees the East Fork Fire Protection District’s training and safety division.

The Canby Herald in Canby, Ore., reported that Soule was a finalist for that city’s fire chief position in 2014.

population. “Despite the best efforts of city officials, it has become a national news story,� Ruf said.

The national media, she added, has displayed more concern about political correctness, rather than the hard truth.

Some have called the incident a hoax, she said. “They’ve insulted these family members.� “The attack that happened to that delicate little 5-year old girl has caused unforeseen circumstances,� she said later in her statement.

The victim’s family is being held to a different standard, Ruf said. She said the family hasn’t received any victim’s aid, “dePAT SUTPHIN, TIMES-NEWS spite what the local media has Vicky Davis, a member of We The People Magic Valley, speaks during a printed.� press conference about her vision of what America should be Friday, Aug. The family, she said, can’t find 5, 2016, at the Twin Falls City Park in Twin Falls. anywhere else to move.

A goal of We the People, Ruf The Fawnbrook case has at- Ruf told reporters — law and said, is to make sure the family tracted nationwide attention order, immigration and debate gets help and that someone adbecause it involves hot topics, over what to do with the refugee vocates for them.

there wasn’t some type of foul play involved.

Identifying the remains When Sanchez-Hilario’s bones were found, they were “pretty amazingly intact,� Turley said at the time. They didn’t look to have been scattered by animals, and there was still bits of clothing around the skeleton. Right away, the sheriff’s office and coroner’s office believed the remains were probably those of Sanchez-Hilario based on their proximity to where his vehicle was found.

The key to identifying the remains, as Turley predicted in June, was the teeth, which the coroner said had “very unique dentistry.�

Turley’s plan was to contact Sanchez-Hilario’s dentist and confirm certain dental records, which would allow the coroner to positively identify the remains.

The problem, and the reason it took nearly two

months to make the identification, was that Sanchez-Hilario had his dental work done in Mexico, and Turley wasn’t able to track down the dentist to confirm the dental records. Instead, a family friend found a picture that gave a good view of Sanchez-Hilario’s teeth. “The friend texted the pictures of him smiling, we compared them to the dental caps on the remains and they matched perfectly to the pictures,� Turley said. “If the dental work wasn’t so unique, I’d be less confident. But we’ve blown up the pictures and everything matches.�

Turley still plans to conduct a bone inventory with the help of Jim Woods, an anthropology professor at the College of Southern Idaho. “With the bone inventory, we’ll take the skeleton bone-by-bone from one table to another to build that skeleton and see what bones are present and what bones are missing,� Turley

Visit us at magicvalley.com

said in June.

They’ll study each bone to look for suspicious markings, the coroner said. At that point, if foul

play is suspected based on bone markings, the remains would be taken to Boise for a more thorough investigation.

ANNUAL IRIS SALE

Saturday, August 6, 2016 10:00 am to 2:00pm Twin Falls City Park (Shoshone St. & Sixth Ave. East)

Rainbow of colors will be for sale from local growers.

Rhizomes from your old favorites and new Introductions at great prices! Come early for best selection!

Magic Valley Iris Society Call 208-734-3613 for more information.

Twin Falls School District Screening If you have concerns about your child’s development, a screening will be held at Harrison Preschool Tuesday August 9th and Wednesday August 10th for children ages 3 and 4 years old. This FREE screening will indicate if further assessments are needed for delays or problems in the following areas: • Speech and Language • Motor Skills • Pre-academic Skills • Hearing

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Tuesday August 9th & Wednesday August 10th 2016 9:00am - 2pm Harrison Preschool 600 Harrison St., Twin Falls, ID Call 733-1311 before Monday, August 8th to schedule an appointment for your child.

The next screening days will be September 23, 2016 - October 28, 2016 December 2, 2016 - January 13, 2017 February 17, 2017 - April 14, 2017 9am - 11pm at Pillar Falls, 1pm - 3pm at Harrison

M 1

OPINION

SUNDAY, August 21, 2016  |  magicvalley.com  |  SECTION C

IDAHO VIEW Founded 1905  |  A Lee Enterprises newspaper 132 Fairfield St. W., Twin Falls, ID 83303 letters@magicvalley.com

Editorial Board

TRAVIS QUAST Publisher MATT CHRISTENSEN Editor

Quote of the day “We apologize to our hosts in Rio and the people of Brazil for this distracting ordeal in the midst of what should rightly be a celebration of excellence.�

-The U.S. Olympic Committee said, after Brazilian police’s stunning contention that American Ryan Lochte and three other swimmers had not been held at gunpoint and robbed after a night of partying, as he claimed.

OUR VIEW

The difference between journalism and activism

‌L

et’s state the obvious: Breitbart isn’t practicing journalism.

It’s a political platform. ‌If the alt-right media website’s top executive taking over the Donald Trump campaign isn’t enough to convince you of Breitbart’s objectives, what happened at Monday’s Twin Falls City Council meeting should provide evidence enough.

Breitbart has plopped what it calls its “lead investigative reporter� in Twin Falls for the past few weeks to cover the Fawnbrook case, where prosecutors say a 5-year-old girl was assaulted by two boys, both of whom now face charges.

Lee Stranahan of Dallas, Tex., has written a handful of pieces about the issue for Breitbart. In one published last week, he implies local employers should think twice about hiring refugees because they may suffer from post-traumatic stress disorder and are libel to uncork at any moment. By that logic, should employers also refrain from hiring American war veterans?

Needless to say, Breitbart’s stories are grounded in a political point of view – and that’s antithesis to traditional journalism, which is supposed to be objective, truthful and authentic. Breitbart, by contrast, is more concerned with promoting extreme nationalism, anti-immigration and xenophobia through a thin guise of journalism.

And here’s why that distinction is so important to note: At this week’s City Council meeting, Stranahan actually approached the board during the public comment period to chastise Councilman Greg Lanting and accuse him of violating the state’s open records laws.

In that moment, he crossed a line that doesn’t seem to matter much for Breitbart or its readers. Stranahan stopped being a journalist and became a political advocate.

Later in the meeting, Stranahan shouted at a local resident as she left the lectern, “You should really learn about the issues before you talk about them,� prompting Mayor Shawn Barigar to tell them to go outside if they wished to have a side conversation.

Perhaps the incident doesn’t seem like a big deal, but it is, and it speaks volumes about what’s been wrong with the alt-right’s coverage of the Fawnbrook case and how the public perceives the media.

Journalists are supposed to report the news, not become the news. That’s not some hifalutin notion of the media elite – it’s the simple principle that separates what most of us understand as journalism from what most of us understand as activism. For respectable newspapers, never the twain shall meet.

It’s why you won’t ever see a Times-News reporter or opinion writer speaking publically at a government meeting. A reporter’s job is to present facts; an opinion writer’s job is to opine, always from the sidelines.

Once we cross over that line, we’re no longer spectators or analysts; we’re players. And that’s simply not an appropriate role for journalists. That’s the job of the public. That’s the job of elected officials. Or institutions. Or anyone else seeking to set public policy.

As was made clear last week, it’s also what Breitbart sees as its job. That’s fine. Breitbart and its staffers are free to do and say whatever the like. But let’s stop pretending its journalism.

Have your say ONLINE: Join our community of readers at Facebook.com/ thetimesnews, or register an account at Magicvalley.com and respond to any of the local opinions or stories in today’s edition.

ON PAPER OR VIA EMAIL: The Times-News welcomes letters from readers, but please limit letters to 300 words. Include your signature, mailing address and phone number. Letters may be brought to our Twin Falls office; mailed to P.O. Box 548, Twin Falls, ID 83303; faxed to (208) 734-5538; or e-mailed to letters@magicvalley.com.

Idaho should adopt science standards T‌ his appeared in the Idaho Press-Tribune:

‌W

hat kids are taught in school helps shape who they become as adults. They are profoundly impressionable as youngsters, and despite the stereotype of the rebellious, teacher-hating pupils, the simple fact is that most students admire their teachers and want to please them. Ergo the education system has tremendous power to sway the culture.

So it should come as a surprise to nobody that the classroom has become another major battleground in the great ideological battles of our time. It’s the reason some parents opt to homeschool their children through high school, and it’s a frequent source of consternation for conservatives at the college level, where studies have indicated a dearth of ideological diversity among faculty and guest speakers that favors the left.

Here in Idaho, state lawmakers rejected new K-12 science standards in February in response to criticism that the state Department of Education violated state laws in crafting them. While that claim was never proven, to even the more casual political observer, it shouldn’t be too hard to guess why Gem State lawmakers took issue with the new standards.

It’s because they delved into

it’s a fact of life that they’re going to be exposed to ideas and beliefs they won’t always agree with. As parents, instill your children with the values you believe in and tell them that they don’t have to agree with conflicting ones, but they should at least hear them out JOY PRUITT, FOR THE TIMES-NEWS respectfully. Teach them critTom Kohler demonstrates a science ical thinking and to question project Monday during the i-STEM what they believe in. summer institute at the College of “Scientific consensus�

Southern Idaho in Twin Falls.

(Some observers may see this term as an oxymoron) has been wrong in the past. Heck, scihot-button topics like global entists are still trying to make warming and evolution.

Religious conservatives who up their minds on whether eggs are good or bad for you. Every tend to favor creationism aryear or two they change their en’t happy about the idea of the kiddos being taught the Big minds, it seems.

Scientific “consensus� once Bang Theory. Their common viewed the proposition that gripe is often that the latter the Earth had just one contiis, as its name implies, just a nent that eventually split into theory, and if it’s going to be taught, students should also be seven as ridiculous. But when tectonic plates were discovexposed to another theory — creationism, intelligent design ered, continental drift became accepted science. History is or something of that nature. full of other examples where Human impact on climate the consensus was ultimately change is another sensitive proven wrong. issue for conservatives, who The school system is within often argue that it is being its bounds to teach students over-exaggerated for political today’s accepted science, and reasons. The climate has always changed, they argue, and it should. Parents concerned did so long before the invention with some of the lessons of the internal combustion en- should teach their kids that gine or coal-fired power plant. they are expected to know Whether it’s a scientific les- those lessons, but that science son that contradicts your reli- is still an enterprise conducted by imperfect human beings gious beliefs or political ones, who make mistakes on occahere are some words of advice sion. to parents. Tell your kids that

LETTERS TO THE EDITOR

Vote for candidates who will protect public land ‌In Idaho our public lands are a precious gem in our state. We need public lands for ourselves and our families to recreate in. Spending time outdoors in nature is good for our hearts and souls. Going for a stroll with our loved ones or just by ourselves to relax and refresh in areas not too far from home is part of what makes this state special.

Most of us have known of favorite places that were once accessible but now due to ownership change and public road closings are off limits. Luckily, we still have places that are protected and managed for their natural and ecological integrity. With the current push to transfer or sell our public lands, more and more of Idaho will have limited access and be subjected to nonsustainable activities that not only damage that particular land but surrounding areas and more distant drainages as well.

Idaho wildlife enthusiasts, hunters and fisher folks have a great deal riding on the current public lands debate. Our state bugets and current funding sources cannot sustain the operation of federal lands within our state boundaries. Fire supression and rehabilitation, containment of invasive and noxious weeds and the rearing and planting of game fish currently available to this state from federal sources could not be continued with our limited state funding.

During this election season we must look for local candidates who recognize the long term disadvantages of public land sales and the promise of

unsustainable jobs that are either reduced or gone once these lands are abandoned by those who scraped what they could of our resources and have moved on.

Chris Foster Twin Falls

treasure.

Do you not remember, Mr. Hayes, that Cassius Clay (Muhammad Ali) was a draft dodger? I don’t know how you can equate that to being a national treasure. In that era, Elvis Presley set a much better example by being drafted into the army and serving his time in Germany.

Most of us who went into the military didn’t want war but felt it was our duty to serve.

Those men and women who have given their all, or who ‌In my opinion, the Demowere wounded for our freedom cratic Party stooped to a new low when they used the Muslim as we know it here in the good Gold Star Khan family to attack old USA, are national treasures, but certainly not a draft dodger Donald Trump on worldwide like Muhammad Ali. All he TV with slanderous, or near would talk about was ‘I am the slanderous, accusations and misquotes of our Constitution. greatest.�

Seems like we have one of Gold Star people are, for those draft dodgers campaignthe most part, untouchable, ing for office right now who and everybody knows it. To thinks, “I am the greatest.� Anpersuade Mr. Khan to attack other “national treasure�?

Donald Trump in the political Keith Broeder arena was a disgrace. They had Twin Falls to know that Mr. Khan lost his “untouchable� status when he entered into politics.

In short, he became fair game, and Mr. Trump was well within his rights to respond in his usual manner, which he did. ‌Your front page headline last An American fact of political week stated “Phelps Flops.� That life: If you can’t stand the heat, strikes me as a very negative way stay out of the kitchen. to report that Michael Phelps C.M.�Chuck� Vogelsong had just achieved the distinction Riggins of winning a silver medal, which means he was one of the three second-best swimmers in the world in that particular event.

Being second in the world in an Olympic event should never ‌I believe everyone is entitled be reported as a “flop.� Maybe something like, “Phelps Adds to their own opinion, mine being different than that of Mi- a Three-Way Tie for Silver to chael Hayes on Muhammad Ali. His Amazing Olympic Record� would have been a more approMr. Hayes stated in his letter priate and positive way to start to the editor on Aug. 12, that Muhammad Ali was a “national the story.

Glenn Bradley treasure.� Apparently, we differ Shoshone on the definition of a national

Trump was OK to attack Gold Star family

Phelps headline flopped

Ali was no national treasure

Â? Â

M 1

TIMES-NEWS

FRIDAY, SEPTEMBER 16, 2016 |

A1

Sun Valley theft

SERVICE BOWL VIII

Treasurer accused of taking $130,000 from city PAGE A3

Bruins, Hawks evenly matched in rivalry game PAGE B6 SUNNY 74 • 47 FORECAST, B10

|

FRIDAY, SEPTEMBER 16, 2016

|

magicvalley.com

2nd stuntman has chute concerns Michael Hughes says he’s concerned about parachute design PAT GRAHAM

AP Sports Writer

DREW NASH, TIMES-NEWS

Cody Bowman, center, along with the rest of Toms Concrete Construction crew, pour cement Monday along Falls Aveune and Frontier Road in Twin Falls.

Crumbling sidewalk? New city program could help City to assist sidewalk repairs with incentive program HEATHER KENNISON

hkennison@magicvalley.com

TWIN FALLS — Averaging 15 miles a day, then-mayor Don Hall walked the streets of Twin Falls last October as part of the Mayor’s School Walking Challenge. He was trying to set a fitness example for local school kids, but along the way found

many sidewalks in town were crumbling or nonexistent.

The walks got him thinking about connectivity in the city, and he’s heard from residents with complaints about the condition of the city’s sidewalks.

“We need to start planning that infrastructure,” he said last week.

In a growing city, local officials want to address the issue of connectivity for pedestrians. But a $49 million sidewalk problem isn’t going to be fixed overnight — especially when property

owners must foot the bill for sidewalks.

Still, the city could make a dent in the issue through a new incentive program for homeowners to repair existing sidewalks that don’t meet federal standards.

“For the last 50-plus years, there’s been people that have been paying to repair their sidewalks,” Public Works Director Jon Caton said. “The program wouldn’t absolve the homeowner of their responsibility, it would only help them pay for a part of it.”

As planned, the city will budget $50,000 for the sidewalk incentive program, available Oct. 1. Homeowners can apply to receive a 50-percent match, up to $1,500, for repairing sidewalks, curbs and gutters that don’t meet Americans with Disabilities Act regulations.

According to a preliminary study Caton presented earlier this year, Twin Falls has at least 80,000 lineal feet of sidewalk in need of repair. And, measured Please see SIDWALK, Page A9

TWIN FALLS — Given his particular line of work, professional stuntman Eddie Braun knows about danger — and he plans for the worst.

That’s why he paid bills several months in advance. He set up emergency cash reserves to take care of his family and engaged in an emotional talk with his teenage son about looking out for his mom and three sisters.

Braun’s simply putting things in place before he buckles into his steam-powered rocket cycle this weekend and flips the switch to launch him over the Snake River Canyon. He’s replicating the jump that could have cost his boyhood idol, Evel Knievel, his life four decades ago.

“I tied up loose ends, as I would for any life-or-death type stunt coming up,” said Braun, Please see STUNTMAN, Page A9

New group aims to fight ‘globalism’ with ‘populism’ NATHAN BROWN

nbrown@magicvalley.com

‘You work how you train:’ police, SWAT practice hostage situation ALEX RIGGINS

ariggins@magicvalley.com

TWIN FALLS — Heavily armed SWAT officers Thursday methodically approached a bus — a stand in for a passenger plane — sitting on the tarmac at Joslin Field, their rifles poking out from behind their Kevlar shields.

A woman inside the mock plane screamed for the SWAT team to get away or she’d start shooting passengers. Police scanners rang out with officers yelling that one person was DOA — dead on arrival.

The standoff was a training exercise, with the hostage-situation the focal point of the training. But all around the Twin Falls airport Thursday, law enforcement and several agencies

and companies based out of the airport, also practiced what they would do in the event of a hostage situation.

At the heart of it all was the incident command center.

Seated around a large wooden desk in an airport office building were players from all the emergency agencies involved — Twin Falls Police, Twin Falls Fire, Magic Valley Paramedics, Twin Falls County Sheriff ’s Office, airport management, representatives from SkyWest and others.

“It’s important to have training like this because there are so many moving parts — so many of our partners working together,” Police Chief Craig Kingsbury

PAT SUTPHIN, TIMES-NEWS

SWAT members and paramedics carry an injured airport employee to a gurney Thursday during the FAA required tri-annual emergency exercise at the Magic Valley Regional Airport in Twin Falls. After considering to escort paramedics to the injured employee, SWAT members decided the safer route was to use a truck to rescue the Please see PRACTICE, Page A9 wounded man and bring him to the paramedics.

 If you do one thing: City of Twin Falls Parks and Recreation Department

SUDOKU COMICS CROSSWORD

presents the Movies in the Park series with showing of “Hotel Transylvania 2” at 9 p.m. at the band shell in Twin Falls City Park. Free.

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TWIN FALLS — A new group in Twin Falls hopes to inspire people to make their hometowns great again through “populist localism.”

“This approach involves less government and more activism,” said Lee Stranahan, a reporter for the conservative news website Breitbart and also the spokesman for the group “Make Your Hometown Great Again.”

Julie DeWolfe, the group’s executive director, told a group of reporters and supporters at a news conference Thursday at the Twin Falls Public Library, that “globalism is often thrust upon communities under the name of diversity,” replacing the culture that used to be passed on organically through families and local institutions with “a one-sizefits-all plan.”

“We are a hometown already together,” she said. “Globalism is eradicating local culture.”

DeWolfe is one of the more active refugee resettlement critics

NEWS

Times-News

Friday, September 16, 2016 | A9

Sidwalk From A1

with roadway length, the city is missing more than 1 million lineal feet of sidewalk.

Caton noted that the purpose of these estimates was to quantify the problem so the city could determine moving forward whether it could, or should, fix it.

“It’s gonna take years to get caught up, but you don’t get there if you don’t start,” Hall said.

The background‌

For decades, new developments outside of manufacturing zones have been required to include curb, gutter and sidewalk when platted. But some of Twin Falls’ older neighborhoods were planned without any of these improvements, City Engineer Jackie Fields explained.

“Twin Falls was a very different place 50 to 70 years ago,” she said.

Long before sidewalks were commonplace, Fields said, areas such as Filer Avenue west of Washington Street were considered rural subdivisions.

“They were way out of town,” she said. “They were the country.”

Once they were incorporated, however, Twin Falls was stuck with the problem of no sidewalks.

For at least 50 years, city code has placed the responsibility of sidewalks on the property owner.

Older parts of town don’t require them until an improvement is made at more than 25 percent of the total property value. Oftentimes, property owners will get a deferral on these improvements until some date in the future.

Missing sidewalks, however, are only part of the problem. The areas of damaged sidewalk can create hazards for pedestrians.

“It doesn’t take much for it to not meet ADA,” Caton said.

A vertical deviation of more than a quarter-inch would make a residential sidewalk eligible for the incentive program. The city estimates sidewalk costs about $37.50 per square yard.

Creating connectivity‌

There are cases where the city will take on the cost of curb, gutter and sidewalks. These include major roadway jobs, ADA ramps, or projects where there is a drainage problem. Sidewalks can be tricky to put in because they must be at an elevation to drain with the curb and gutter, Fields said.

The city has yet to identify priority areas where sidewalk is needed, and it has to be careful.

Stuntman From A1

M 1

a longtime Hollywood stuntman who will launch sometime between noon Mountain time Friday and 7 p.m. Saturday, depending on wind conditions.

“The last thing I want burden my family with on top of the shock of me being ...

He took a deep breath.

“I feel very optimistic about this jump,” the 54-year-old Braun continued. “I wouldn’t be doing this if I thought it couldn’t be done.”

As a tribute to Knievel, Braun named his rocket “Evel Spirit.”

It’s identical to the model Knievel used for his failed canyon attempt on Sept. 8, 1974, when he walked away with only minor injuries. Braun wants to prove Knievel could’ve made it had his parachute not prematurely deployed.

Braun’s endeavor is more than three years in the making and cost him around $1.5 million out of his own pocket, with corporate sponsors hard to line up. He’s drawn the interest of ABC’s “Good Morning America,” which will air an interview with him Friday morning. Only fitting since Knievel’s launch was shown on ABC’s “Wide World of Sports.”

“This is about the kid Evel inspired and about the Evel spirit,” said Braun, who will launch from a spot about five miles away from Knievel’s site just outside of Twin Falls.

Along for the journey are two sons yearning to fulfill the legacies of their dads: Kelly Knievel, who was present the day of the crash, and rocket designer Scott Truax, whose father constructed the original “X2 Skycycle” for Knievel. Scott followed his dad’s blueprints down to the last bolt, except with one deviation — updating the parachute system.

Braun’s rocket will reach a top speed of 400 mph in about 3 seconds and an altitude of 3,000 feet before the engine cuts off and the parachute deploys. Braun says he expects to soar about 1,500 feet — or 0.28 miles — over the canyon.

DREW NASH, TIMES-NEWS‌

Toms Concrete Construction crew pours cement Monday along Falls Aveune and Frontier Road in Twin Falls.

Opting to pay for sidewalks can get political very quickly, Caton said, because homeowners have had to pay for sidewalks in the past. At this time, the city will not necessarily choose to pay for any new sidewalks.

“We have so much to do just taking care of the pavement we have in place,” Fields said.

But there are some goals and guidelines that could help the city move forward not only with sidewalks, but with other plans for connectivity. Jonathan Spendlove, a city planner, said the Comprehensive Plan will identify where future residential growth will take place, and where people will want to get to.

“We’re trying to identify and connect people to the services and the recreation that they want and need,” he said.

This includes schools, parks and downtown.

The Comprehensive Plan could also explore the options the city has, including calling deferrals in priority areas — requiring homeowners to install curb, gutter and sidewalks, Caton said. Zones also have specific requirements for sidewalk.

While the Comprehensive Plan’s goals are broad, covering the city as a whole, Spendlove expects the city’s new Master Transportation Plan will include more specifics.

“In that plan, you’ll probably see more of a broader scope than you have in the past,” he said.

Unlike previous transportation plans, the new one will address transportation issues for pedestrians and bicyclists, including sidewalks, Caton said.

“We’re looking at the importance of pathways and multimodal transportation,” he said.

While the city isn’t sure how well the incentive program will be received, Hall said, he would like to see the momentum continue.

This year will be the first step, he said, of correcting the problems of the past.

For the past few months, they’ve conducted various tests on the rocket. First, a static fire test in which they welded the rocket to the ground to make sure it was generating the kind of power they needed to soar so far.

“Passed with flying colors,” Braun said.

The parachute test was a different story.

“Shredded it,” Braun recounted.

They feel they’ve addressed the issues. But it’s a guess.

“We just don’t know,” Braun said. “We know what Evel’s problem was — his parachute coming out early. What we don’t want with mine is it coming out too late. Therein lies the secret — what is that magic formula?

“Because up to the point of me climbing in it, there’s no real test that can be done.”

Watching Braun’s attempt closely will be Michael Hughes, a self-taught rocket scientist in Apple Valley, Calif. He almost teamed up with Braun a few years ago. But Hughes wanted to build rockets on his own.

On Oct. 18, Hughes will attempt to rocket over the ghost town of Amboy, Calif., once a familiar spot along Route 66.

The 60-year-old Hughes is unique in that his launch pad also doubles as a motor home. He successfully completed a jump on Jan. 30, 2014, in Winkelman, Ariz., but hurt his left and ribs on the fall back to earth because his parachute shredded.

Of course, he’s hoping for the best for Braun. But the parachute design concerns him.

“If his rocket ever starts tumbling, which Knievel’s did, it will land and not be a happy ending for him,” explained Hughes, a limo driver in his spare time.

“You can get rolled up in the parachute.”

Braun tried not to make a big deal of the jump to his family. But he did have a serious conversation with his son. Braun told him that should anything go wrong, the son would one day walk his sisters down the aisle at their weddings.

“I had him promise,” Braun said. “Because that’s important to me.”

PAT SUTPHIN, TIMES-NEWS‌

City and county SWAT members head out to the “plane” Thursday during the FAA required tri-annual emergency exercise at the Magic Valley Regional Airport in Twin Falls.

Practice From A1

said. “The reality is, this could happen. Something similar to this could happen, and we want at least to have an idea of how we’re going to proceed.”

In the incident command center, police used a whiteboard to organize and track the situation.

One note on the board said the staging area for family members of hostages was set up at Reeder Flying Service. Under that was scribbled the names of those believed to be on board.

In another spot, a crude map had been sketched showing where the plane was on the tarmac, where hostage negotiators were setting up, where family members were being staged and where SWAT officers were staging.

Down the center of the board, a list of names was scrawled with contact numbers beside each name, ensuring the law enforcement and airport agencies and companies could remain in constant communication.

Next to the contact list, an officer updated a basic timeline of events. It showed that at 8:49 a.m., radio contact was established and at 8:52 a.m., a bomb-squad robot had delivered a phone to the hostage-taker, followed by other key events.

As the men and woman seated around the table received updates through radio chatter, phone calls and text messages, they developed a plan for the SWAT officers to take control of the situation.

“The immediate action team is going to take the east-side emergency exit from the plane, and the rest of the team is going to move up to the open door on the west side, where they’ll deploy two flash-bangs on the rear of the plane,” Twin Falls Police Staff Sgt. Arnold Morgado explained to those gathered around the table.

PAT SUTPHIN, TIMES-NEWS‌

SWAT members mock shoot a suspect Thursday during the FAA required tri-annual emergency exercise at the Magic Valley Regional Airport in Twin Falls. This year’s exercise involved an active shooter and hostage situation.

Before he could finish, Morgado was interrupted by a call from Sgt. Dusty Solomon, the lead negotiator. Morgado ended the call and jumped right back into describing how the assault would play out.

“They’ll clear the plane by going through the aisles and taking her out,” Morgado finished.

Though Morgado seemed to be well in control of the situation, the SWAT team went in earlier than planned, catching some in the command center off-guard.

But that’s why police train for these types of situations, Lt. John Wilson said.

“One of the big things we took away from today’s training was there was a glitch or two in the communications, especially with different dispatch centers,” Wilson said. “Some very minor radio issues that are an easy fix.”

The police also learned about unexpected issues with certain equipment in an environment they’re not used to.

“We learned quite a bit, too, about the responses and procedures of our partners,” Wilson

explained. “Like what the TSA would do in this situation, and the different protocols of the airport managers and of SkyWest.”

The agencies conducted two separate drills Thursday, with different endings each time. In the morning, the hostage situation ended with the SWAT team shooting the hostage-taker, who in the scenario had already shot two people, killing one. In the second go-round, it ended with negotiators coaxing the gunwoman to surrender.

“The second scenario went much smoother and we got those little issues ironed out,” Wilson said.

Which was the whole point of the training, the lieutenant said.

“You work how you train,” Wilson said. “That’s why when we talk about firearm training and high-speed driving, these things happen very, very infrequently.

But in high stress situations, you revert to the very basics. Through training, these actions become very basic. And that saves time and hopefully saves lives.”

Populism From A1

in Twin Falls. Stranahan moved here and has been writing about the issue for the past several months after three boys from refugee families were accused of sexually assaulting a 5-year-old girl at the Fawnbrook Apartments brought national attention to the city. The case is sealed and in juvenile court.

Stranahan and DeWolfe are both supporters of Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump, who has based much of his campaign on his opposition to illegal immigration and his populist appeals against the influence of big money and special interests in politics, and who called last year for a moratorium on letting Muslims into the country. He has since modified that to a moratorium on immigration from regions linked with terrorism. The group’s name is a nod to Trump’s campaign slogan, “Make America Great Again.”

However, “our movement is open to anyone who agrees with us that change needs to happen at the national level,” Stranahan said.

Stranahan said the support this year not only for Trump but for Democratic presidential candidate Bernie Sanders, and for third-party candidates such as Libertarian Gary Johnson and Green Party candidate Jill Stein, shows many people with differing perspectives are growing skeptical of “the increasingly clear connection between big business and big government” and the influence of campaign donors and lobbyists in politics.

“We’re going to combat globalism through populist localism,” DeWolfe said.

Stranahan said there are prob-

PAT SUTPHIN, TIMES-NEWS‌

Lee Stranahan, left, and Julie DeWolfe, right, hold a press conference Thursday to announce their new community organization “Make Your Hometown Great Again” at the Twin Falls Public Library in Twin Falls. lems local politicians don’t want to discuss, and that the influence of companies such as Chobani, which has hired many refugees to work at its yogurt plant in Twin Falls, and the dairy industry, which employs many undocumented immigrants, plays a role.

“When I talk about corruption, I’m not talking about some secret backroom deal,” he said. “I’m talking about the open corruption we’ve all come to accept.”

Stranahan and DeWolfe pointed to illegal immigration as an issue where the left and right could find common ground — conservatives might be more concerned with stopping illegal immigration, while liberals might be more concerned with employers taking advantage of workers.

“My thing is, they’re related,” Stranahan said. “You can’t deal with one issue without the other.”

As part of the group, they also plan to start a “microbusiness incubator,” or a place where people who want to start a business can find

some resources and some cheap office space, giving them the freedom to experiment without having to take on massive debt to do so.

Stranahan said they are looking at some possible locations downtown.

DeWolfe said they would target millennials in particular with this, possibly making it easier for some of them to stay in the area and not move to bigger cities for work.

“We want to give them that chance,” she said.

For the time being, the group is operating as a limited liability company registered to Stranahan, although the structure could change as they grow. Their hope is to start chapters across the country.

“We believe that this approach will work anywhere from the heartland to Harlem,” Stranahan said.

They also plan to get involved in local and state-level issues. Stranahan said that, given Twin Falls’ size, they could have an impact quickly.

“We believe changes we make here will be immediately visible,” Stranahan said.