Deadly flood
BALD EAGLE THREAT Birds dying from lead in bullets
Flash flood kills 9 in Arizona PAGE A8
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MOSTLY SUNNY 90 • 57 FORECAST, A10
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MONDAY, JULY 17, 2017
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magicvalley.com
Refugees come before Twin Falls Council for proclamation HEATHER KENNISON
hkennison@magicvalley.com
TWIN FALLS — It’s been 15 years since Mirsad Kadric arrived in Twin Falls as a Bosnian refugee. He still finds July to be a difficult, emotional month. On Tuesday, Kadric and other Bosnian refugees in Twin Falls remembered the thousands killed by Bosnian Serb forces in the Srebrenica massacre, July 11, 1995. It’s a genocide that has been recognized at the federal level, and on Monday, Twin Falls Mayor Shawn Barigar is expected to read a proclamation recognizing the week of July 11, 2017, as Srebrenica Genocide Remembrance Week. Kadric expects more than 20 others to join him in supporting the proclamation. “Maybe three to four people will say something,” he said. “Anybody who want to come, they can come.” Liyah Babayan helped draft the proclamation based on those that have been read in Congress, the U.S. Senate and other U.S. cities. Babayan arrived in Twin Falls in 1992 as a refugee from the killings in Azerbaijan, but she sympathizes with the Bosnian refugees. “Genocide really is the lowest point of human evil,” Babayan said. The proclamation the City Council will hear Monday provides a venue for Bosnian refugees to share their story and begin to get closure, she said. “This event that was so far from here is a part of Twin Falls’ narrative, too,” Babayan said. The recognition of atrocities that happened is “a very bittersweet duty that survivors of genocide have.” The proclamation takes place at the
PAT SUTPHIN PHOTOS, TIMES-NEWS
Range recovery people perform a fire recovery assessment Thursday near the Notch Butte in Shoshone.
Inside a racing inferno How firefighters fought to save Shoshone HEATHER KENNISON
hkennison@magicvalley.com
SHOSHONE — Prevailing through blowing ash and dust, firefighters corralled the lightning-caused Antelope Fire away from a train stopped 2 1/2 miles north, at the Tunupa crossing. Throughout the night of July 9, they kept the wind-driven flames to a 400acre area. Already, the fire had leapt over Highway 26, driven by steady 25 mph winds. By the next morning, crews felt they were making good headway. The Bureau of Land Management’s mobile attack made slow but steady progress over the lava rock-encrusted terrain. But then the wind changed direction. And it was pushing the fire east, toward Shoshone. Within an hour, it blazed within a mile of the city. Despite the long night, Fire Operations Officer Dustin Williams — on incident command — was quick to call for backup. “We ordered just a ton of resources,” he said. “This fire became a really high priority because of the town of Shoshone.” With assistance from aircraft dropping fire retardant, the BLM Twin Falls District ground crews just stopped the fire from entering town — in some places, it came as close as 100 yards. “We didn’t lose one structure,” Wil-
Please see REFUGEES, Page A4
Trump lawyer: Nothing illegal in Russia meeting
Engine Captain Nick Mink walks back to his truck after repairing a fence Thursday at the site of the Antelope Fire in Shoshone. The fence was cut by firefighting crews so they could create a fire line with a bulldozer. liams said. And having no injuries reported, the operation was considered a success. The Antelope Fire had burned nearly 30,000 acres by the time it was finally contained. On Thursday, as fire crews mopped up the rest of the hot spots, Williams described how the Antelope Fire spread so quickly and got so close to destroying homes, businesses and a power substa-
tion.
Rock, wind and smoke
It was about 6:30 p.m. July 9 when BLM Twin Falls District got the call of lightning starting a fire 5 miles west of Shoshone. “At the time this one started, we also had two other major large fires in the
ASSOCIATED PRESS
the Senate to move quickly, holding a vote as soon as McCain returns. But amid growing public unease over the bill, some Republicans suggested the delay will make McConnell’s task of winning enough support even harder. In a Senate divided 52-48 between Republicans and Democrats, McConnell can lose no more than two GOP votes and still prevail. “There are about eight to 10 Republican senators who have serious concerns about this bill. And so at the end of the day, I don’t know whether it will
WASHINGTON — President Donald Trump’s attorney insisted Sunday there was nothing illegal in the meeting Trump’s eldest son had with a Russian lawyer during last year’s presidential campaign. Donald Trump Jr.’s willingness to meet with the lawyer in the expectation of receiving incriminating information about Democratic candidate Hillary Clinton has raised new questions about possible collusion between the Trump campaign and Russia. The information had been described as “part of Russia and its government’s support for Mr. Trump.” Trump Jr. The president’s attorney, Jay Sekulow, defended Trump and his son in a series of appearances Sunday on five television networks. “Nothing in that meeting that would have taken place, even if it was about the topic of an opposition research paper from a Russian lawyer, is illegal or a violation of the
Please see SENATE, Page A4
Please see TRUMP, Page A4
Please see INFERNO, Page A5
Senate again delays vote on GOP health bill McCain undergoes surgery HOPE YEN AND ERICA WERNER
Associated Press
WASHINGTON — The Senate delayed a highly anticipated vote this coming week to repeal and replace the nation’s health care law after Sen. John McCain’s announced absence due to surgery, an enormous setback as time dwindles for Republicans to pass the signature legislation after years of promises. The decision by Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell late Saturday came not long after McCain’s office disclosed that he had undergone surgery to
remove a blood clot from above his left eye. He’s expected to be out for the week, recovering in Arizona. Adding to the uncertainty, the Congressional Budget Office also indicated on Sunday it no longer expected to release its analysis on McCain Monday on the estimated cost and scope of insurance coverage under the latest GOP bill, which has the support of President Donald Trump. The No. 2 Senate GOP leader, John Cornyn of Texas, said he still expected
If you do one thing: The summer movie series will feature “Hotel Transylvania” and “Kubo and The Two
Strings” at 10 a.m. at Magic Valley Cinema 13 in Twin Falls. Tickets are $1 and are available at the box office.
$1.50
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OBITUARIES
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TO DO FOR YOU
OBITUARIES
Blood drives
Mildred Wilson
TWIN FALLS—Mildred was born in Twin Falls during the flu epidemic in 1918. She was the daughter of Rock Creek pioneers Ellen Larsen Brose and Walter Brose. She graduated from Twin Falls High School in 1936. She fell in love with the boy across the street, Robert Wilson, and they were married in August 1941 She was gifted with numbers and worked as a bookkeeper for a local car dealer and Dr. Hoss. When the war was over she and Bob raised a family of 4 and built the Wilson Planing mill and cabinet shop. She spent countless hours as a 4-H leader, church treasurer, PTA president, music club president and on call child care provider for family. She was a lifetime baseball fan rooting for the Mariners until her death. She took great joy in flowers especially her beloved sweet peas and iris. Numerous hours were spent watching the hummingbirds feeding. She enjoyed playing bridge until the age of 90. She was always creative sewing, knitting and cooking for her large extended family. We will miss her popcorn balls, fudge and honey cookies. Mildred was never one to boast about her family but loved holding and being with her nieces, nephews, grandchildren and great grandchildren. Nothing gave her more joy than our large family gatherings. She was proceeded in death by her parents Ellen Larsen Brose and Walter Brose, her sister Virginia Brose Freestone, husband Robert Wilson, and her son James Wilson. She is survived by: her sister Ruth Brose Lindgren of Twin Falls, brother-in-law Jack Wilson, children; Marjorie (Richard) Russell of Kimberly, John (Marta) Wilson of Kent Washington and Susan Wilson of Beaverton Oregon, daughter-in-law Jeanne Wilson Rutledge, her grandchildren; Michelle Anderson, Nikki Shaffer, Josh Wilson, Michael Wilson, Sara Wilson, Kayla Wilson as well as 11 great grandchildren and numerous nieces and nephews.
SERVICES Arvil Bunn
Larry Voss
BURLEY — Arvil Bunn memorial service at 11 a.m. Monday, July 17 at The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, View Church, 554 S 490 E, Burley, Idaho. Arrangements are under the direction of Rasmussen Funeral Home.
BUHL — Larry Voss, 79, of Buhl. Funeral service at 11 a.m. Thursday July 20, 2017 at the First Christian Church in Buhl. A viewing will be 5 -7 p.m. Wednesday, July 19, 2017 at Farmer Funeral Chapel in Buhl.
Norma Shaw
R U P E R T— M e m o r i a l gathering will be held at 2 p.m. Friday July 21, 2017 at Joel Heward Hansen Mortuary.
JEROME — Norma Shaw funeral service at 11 a.m. Tuesday, July 18 at Reynolds Funeral Chapel, 2466 Addison Ave E with a viewing at 10 a.m. prior to the service.
Damon Payne
RUPERT—Damon Payne funeral at 11 a.m. Tuesday, July 18 at Grace Community Church, 100 N Meridian, Rupert. Visitation is Monday, July 17 from 6-8 p.m. at Hansen Mortuary in Rupert.
Charles E. Smith, MD
BOISE—Charles E. Smith, MD of Boise and Twin Falls. The family will hold a private funeral service. Relatives, colleagues and friends are invited to celebrate his life at Crane Creek Country Club in Boise at 1 p.m. Wednesday, July 19th. (Alden-Waggoner Funeral Chapel 5400 Fairview Avenue, Boise, ID)
Gordon D Vibbert
Mildred Wilson
TWIN FALLS—Mildred Wilson, graveside celebration of life will be held at 11 a.m., Saturday July 22, 2017, at Sunset Memorial Park.
Clarence Kay Franks
RUPERT—Clarence Kay Franks of Oakley and Rupert, celebration of life at 2 p.m. Saturday July 22, 2017 at the Carson residence, 961 S 50 W Burley, Idaho. A light lunch will be served after the celebration
William B Bartlett
RUPERT—William B Bartlett memorial services at 11 a.m. Saturday, July 22, 2017 at the Rupert United Methodist Church 605 H St Rupert, Idaho. Urn Burial Geraldine Worden will be held 11 a.m. Monday TWIN FALLS — Geral- July 24, 2017 at Idaho Boise dine Worden memorial ser- Veterans Cemetery. (Joel vice at 11 a.m. Wednesday, Heward Hansen Mortuary) July 19, at Reynolds Funeral Chapel, 2466 Addison Ave Mary Lou Matthews E in Twin Falls. BURLEY—Mary Lou Matthews, celebration of Mary’s joining her loved Manuela R Flores RUPERT—Manuela R ones at 11 a.m. Saturday, Flores funeral mass at July 22, at The Church of 11 a.m. Thursday July 20, Jesus Christ of Latter-day 2017 at St Nicholas Cath- Saints—Springdale chapel, olic Church. Viewing with 519 E. 200 S., of Burley. Rosary is from 6-8 p.m. Visitation is at the church Wednesday, July 19, 2017 beginning at 10 a.m. prior at the church. (Joel Heward to the service. (Rasmussen Hansen Mortuary) Funeral Home)
DEATHS William B Bartlett, 92, of Rupert passed away March 23, 2017 in Yuma Arizona. Services are under the direction of Joel Heward Hansen Mortuary. John Pearson, 72, of
Twin Falls passed away on July 15, 2017. Arrangements are pending under the direction of Parke’s Magic Valley Funeral Home of Twin Falls.
Visit us at magicvalley.com M 1
Monday, July 17, 2017 | A5
olence. at Canyons Retirement Information: 208-733- Community, 1215 Cheney The American Red Cross 2558. Drive W., Twin Falls. will hold blood drives this The free community edweek in Twin Falls and ucational program is preWendell. sented by Alzheimer’s AsBlood donation opSt. Luke’s Magic Valley sociation, Greater Idaho portunities are available Medical Center’s prepared Chapter. from 1 to 6:15 p.m. Mon- childbirth classes, 6:30 to Topics: Detection, day at The Church of Je- 9 p.m. Tuesdays, July 18 causes and risk factors, sus Christ of Latter-day through Aug. 15, in Oak stages of the disease, and Saints, 605 N. Idaho St., Rooms 2-4 on the lower treatment. Wendell; and 9:30 a.m. level of St. Luke’s, 801 Reservations are reto 2:30 p.m. Tuesday at Pole Line Road W., Twin quested: 208-206-0041 The Church of Jesus Falls. or jmmiller@alz.org. Christ of Latter-day Topics: Wellness during Saints, 2085 S. Temple pregnancy; labor and deRoad, Twin Falls. livery process with reBlood and platelet do- laxation and breathing Visions of Hope” meetcaesarean ing, 5 p.m. every Thursday nors of all blood types are techniques; needed. To schedule an birth; postpartum care at Hospice Visions, 1770 appointment to donate, for mother and newborn; Park View Drive, Twin use the free blood donor infant CPR; car seat and Falls. app, visit redcrossblood. home safety; and a tour This grief support group org or call 800-733-2767. of the maternal and child is open to everyone in the Completion of a Rapid- units. Bring a labor-sup- community. Pass online health history port person if possible. Information: 208-735questionnaire is encourCost is $25 for a five- 0121. week session. Pre-regisaged. tration is required: 208814-0402.
Childbirth
Grief support
Eastland Drive, Twin Falls. Anyone who has lost a loved one or friend is welcome to attend. A separate class for pre-teen and teens will meet at the same time. Participants can attend any session. Enter through the east doors at the rear of the building. Information: 208-7374667.
CPR, first aid
St. Luke’s Magic Valley Education Department is offering a Heartsaver Pediatric CPR, First Aid and AED class, 8 a.m. to 3 p.m. Saturday at the Learning Center, 840 Meadows Suite 2, Twin Falls. The course provides training for cardiopulmonary resuscitation and first aid and using an automated external defibrillator. Cost is $60. Pre-registration is required, 208Mental Health Sup- 814-9050. port Group will meet at 5:30 p.m. Thursdays at 826 Eastland Drive in Twin Falls. “Child and Babysitting The free support group Safety” training for ages is open to Magic Valley 11-16, 9 a.m. to noon July 26 at College of Southern residents. Information: 208-539- Idaho’s Jerome Center. 7492. Instructors are Aaron and Christina Keyes. Topics: Fundamentals of caring for children of different age groups, safety, injury prevenFree asthma educa- tion, and “babysitting tion class for patients as a business,” including and caregivers to assess leadership, preparation and manage asthma will techniques, and commube from 6 to 8 p.m. Thurs- nicating with parents. day. Cost is $42, and inThe class is presented cludes course book, twoby St. Luke’s Magic Val- year certification card, ley and meets on the third and first aid kit. Register: Thursday of each month. communityed.csi.edu or Pre-registration is re- 208-324-5101. quired. To register and for location of the class: 208- “To do for you” is a listing 814-8765. of health-related activities, events and education. Submit information by noon Thursday for publication in Griefshare meeting, the following Monday’s edi6:30 p.m. Thursdays at tion to ramona@magicvalLighthouse Church, 960 ley.com.
Mental health Parenting, support coping support Victims support Voices Against Violence is offering support groups at 212 Second Ave. W., No. 200, Twin Falls. Parenting Group, 6 to 7:30 p.m. Mondays, to help improve parenting skills as well as learn rewards and consequences. “Mas alla de mi, Empoderando a las Mujeres” domestic violence group in Spanish, 6 to 7:30 p.m. Mondays, for those who have been involved in an abusive or traumatic relationship, and also helps women develop a support system. The Power to Change Group, 6 to 8 p.m. Tuesdays, provides information and support to women 18 and older, who have experienced difficulties in coping with past experiences. Domestic Violence Support Group, 6 to 8 p.m. Thursdays, provides information and community to individuals 18 and older, who have experienced domestic abuse or gender vi-
Support group for victims of domestic violence, 6:30 to 8:30 p.m. every Tuesday at the Mini-Cassia Shelter Haven of Hope, 323 First St., Rupert. Information: Rachel, 208-312-7021.
Alzheimer’s support Alzheimer’s Association, Greater Idaho Chapter’s Caregiver Support Group meeting, 10:30 a.m. Wednesday at the Twin Falls Senior Center, 530 Shoshone St. W. The group meets on the third Wednesday every month. Information: Pattie Dennis, 208-734-4264 or 208-539-4290.
Alzheimer’s seminar “Basics of Alzheimers, Memory Loss and Dementia,” 2 to 3 p.m. Wednesday
Child safety
Asthma education
Grief support
Inferno From A1
district,” Williams said. “We had a lot of resources out.” Not only that, but the BLM had just been assisting the city fire department with a fire north of town. They sent engines out to the new fire immediately. “When I arrived on scene, I estimated it at about 60 to 80 acres, and it was a running fire,” he said. “The wind was pushing it at a pretty good pace.” The fire was headed northwest, toward Highway 26. The BLM started a backburn along the road, hoping to absorb the fire’s fuel and oxygen before it could jump the highway. By starting their own fire, “It gives them the ability to control the intensity of the fire,” BLM spokeswoman Kelsey Brizendine said. “They’re working with nature to help control that.” It worked. But moments later, the National Weather Service in Boise called with an update: The wind was going to shift, pushing the fire due north. “Fire loves wind. It loves it,” Brizendine said. “I’ve seen a fire jump the Snake River because wind was so strong.” Notch Butte Rangeland Fire Protection Association, Sawtooth National Forest, and rural Shoshone and Dietrich fire departments assisted throughout the night as lava rock punctured tires. With a larger area to head off, fire crews could not prevent the Antelope Fire from casting its embers across the highway, spreading. Smoke was so thick, police closed the road while crews cut a barbed-wire fence for a dozer to get through the rangeland. The dozer created a dusty pathway along the sides of the Antelope Fire. “The whole intent is to try to keep the fire as skinny and narrow as possible,” Williams said. As night fell, air resources were sent back to Boise, Po-
PAT SUTPHIN, TIMES-NEWS
A spot where the fire jumped the fire line can be seen Thursday, July 13, 2017, at the site of the Antelope Fire in Shoshone. The retardant that was airdropped is a mixture of clay, fertilizer and water dyed red so the planes can see it. Kelsey Brizendine, prevention and fire information officer of the Bureau of Land Management, says the retardant is not used for putting out fires. ‘It’s major purpose is to prevent spread and slow down the intensity of the fire,’ she says. catello and Twin Falls. Now, it was all up to the ground crews to protect a train that had been stopped, with fire quickly approaching it. Homes to the east, near Gooding, were also in possible danger. “It was intense, to say the least,” Williams said. In general, fires tend to sort of “lie down at night,” Brizendine said. But the Antelope Fire kept running. “I’m not used to seeing how fast it’s moving,” said crew member Liz Laidig, who was fighting her fifthever fire. “The difficult part was definitely the learning curve.” Walking directly into the fire, she worked secondary nozzle to wet down the area. Unlike structure firefighters, BLM crews wear minimal clothing and no oxygen masks. “We’re all about mobility, so we don’t have as much protection,” Engine Capt. David Brizendine said. “It’s all about speed.” The smoke can get thick — but in the outdoors, there are pockets of fresh air. Part of Williams’ job was to ensure firefighters were getting enough breaks for fresh air. “There were times when
you didn’t feel like you were getting any oxygen, you were only getting smoke,” Laidig said. In what Williams described as a “massive windstorm,” the fire changed directions again about noon July 10, this time too quickly for the mobile attack to keep up. Highway 24 and U.S. 93 were closed from Shoshone, as the Antelope Fire jumped the road and roared east. “It was a big air show — retardant after retardant drop,” Williams said. A mix of red clay, fertilizer and water, the retardant’s tell-tale red color helps pilots see it from the air. It acts to give vegetation a waxy cover, cooling it down and making it harder for fire to dry out, effectively lowering a fire’s intensity and preventing it from spreading.
After-effects
As fire season continues, the BLM Twin Falls District has preemptively brought in additional engines from Salmon, Utah and Wyoming. If the Antelope Fire is any indication, the Magic Valley could be in for a big fire season. On Thursday, a vole poked along the red-spattered sidewalk in front of
Family Dollar. A few minutes later, another followed. These were survivors of the Antelope. Not far away, the bodies of other furry rodents caked the asphalt of U.S. 93 — a mass exodus stopped in its tracks. Pests have become a big problem in Shoshone this week, Williams said. As large numbers of voles came out of their burrows, they headed for new places to forage. Drawn to the influx of prey, some opportunistic birds have gotten so fat, they can hardly fly, Williams said. Other remaining signs of the week’s events: lines of retardant striped across U.S. 93 and the wildlands south of Shoshone. At Family Dollar, one of Shoshone’s outermost buildings, the roof, parking lot and vehicles had been splotched red by retardant. “We never intentionally do this,” Kelsey Brizendine explained. The fire had simply gotten too close. The BLM had helped with some cleanup, but there was still much left to do. A small price to pay, given the 29,000 acres of blackened brush less than a halfmile away.
TIMES-NEWS
SUNDAY, JULY 16, 2017 |
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In the news
To Terror and back
Reviewing the week’s top stories NATION & WORLD, PAGE C2
Softball coach recovers from life-threatening wreck PAGE D1 PARTLY CLOUDY 88 • 59 FORECAST, C6
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SUNDAY, JULY 16, 2017 |
magicvalley.com
YOU’RE HIRED
Former supervisor suing Chobani Claims age discrimination; yogurt company denies NATHAN BROWN
nbrown@magicvalley.com
TWIN FALLS — A former sleeving supervisor and maintenance supervisor is suing Chobani, claiming age discrimination. Jerry Ash, who worked at the yogurt company from July 2012 until he was fired in June 2015, filed suit in federal court in Boise on Wednesday. In the complaint, Ash says his supervisors, who were younger, discriminated against him by denying him training they let younger employees take, denied him weekends off even though younger employees got them, “arbitrarily questioned the productivity and breaks of Mr. Ash’s work crews” and turned him down for a managerial position that instead went to “a younger, less experienced employee.” Ash was placed on a “performance improvement plan” on June 18, 2015, and “counseled on Please see CHOBANI, Page A5
PAT SUTPHIN, TIMES-NEWS
Associate Rena Kelsey, right, helps Lucy Jensen look through clearance racks June 10 at Torrid in the Magic Valley Mall. A manager at the women’s fashion retailer called Kelsey after she’d been praised in a former co-worker’s interview. Kelsey was hired on the spot.
Unemployment in Magic Valley and Mini-Cassia is extraordinarily low. As job creation surpasses labor force growth, jobless rates have declined steadily. In April, south-central Idaho’s unemployment sank to 2.6 percent. And it might not stop there, as businesses enamored of the area’s agricultural production and low costs keep expanding. In short, employers have stiff competition for workers. See the story on E1.
Are we doing enough to protect farmworkers? AUDREY DUTTON
Idaho Statesman
HAZELTON — It was still dark the morning Ruperto Vazquez-Carrera began his shift at Sunrise Organic Dairy. It was mid-February 2016. A winter heat wave had melted snow and ice overnight, flooding part of the rural Jerome County farm. A foot of standing water made it hard to tell where the feeding area ended and the deep pond that held the farm’s manure began. Vazquez-Carrera got into a feed truck to deliver the cows their morning meal. About 5:30 a.m., he called his brother, who also worked at the farm, to warn him about the conditions. By sunrise, Vazquez-Carrera, a 37-year-old husband and father of six, was dead. Vazquez-Carrera had mistakenly driven the truck into the
yards from the truck. It was a kind of death no one wants to happen. Yet it happened again, in Idaho, just seven months later. A dairy worker in Shelley, south of Idaho Falls, suffocated after driving into a manure pond more than 5 feet deep and being pinned for 30 minutes under the tractor he was driving. The U.S. Occupational Safety and Health Administration sent inspectors to investigate each incident. The agency cited each dairy for failing to provide a safe workplace and fined each $5,000. The ponds are common at COURTESY JEROME COUNTY SHERIFF’S OFFICE dairies as a way to store manure The Jerome County Sheriff’s Office released these photos of rescue to prevent it from polluting waefforts at the Sunrise Organic Dairy Farm, where a worker died after terways. The waste can later be his feed truck sunk in a waste pond Feb. 16, 2016. used as fertilizer on crops. Neither dairy had fences or barmanure pond. He managed to get ented and swam in the wrong di- ricades to keep workers from free and he tried to swim back to rection, according to the county solid ground. But he was disori- sheriff. Divers found his body 70 Please see FARMWORKERS, Page A4
If you do one thing: The 104th annual Camas Pioneer Picnic will
include a potluck, music and presentations from noon to 4 p.m. at the Fairfield City Park on West Camas Avenue.
$3.00
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Volume 112, Issue 261
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OPINION BRIDGE CROSSWORD
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Military cyber operations headed for revamp LOLITA C. BALDOR
Associated Press
WASHINGTON — After months of delay, the Trump administration is finalizing plans to revamp the nation’s military command for defensive and offensive cyber operations in hopes of intensifying America’s ability to wage cyberwar against the Islamic State group and other foes, according to U.S. officials. Under the plans, U.S. Cyber Command would eventually be split off from the intelligence-focused National Security Agency. Details are still being worked out, but officials say they expect a decision and announcement in the coming weeks. The officials weren’t authorized to speak publicly on the matter so requested anonymity. The goal, they said, is to give U.S. Cyber Command more autonomy, freeing it from any constraints that stem from working alongside the NSA, which is Please see CYBER, Page A5
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Times-News
THE BIG STORY
Sunday, July 16, 2017 | E1
Sunday, July 16, 2017 | magicvalley.com | SECTION E
DREW NASH, TIMES-NEWS
Annie Hoffmann, manager in training, does paperwork June 12 at Gem State Staffing in downtown Twin Falls. Low unemployment has boosted the workload. ‘There’s a lot of desperate companies out there that are beating their heads against the wall,’ says Dustin Cureton, Gem State Staffing’s district manager.
NEED A JOB? Extraordinary demand for workers in Magic Valley, Mini-Cassia
HEATHER KENNISON
hkennison@magicvalley.com
T
WIN FALLS — Idaho Home Health and Hospice resorted to a $5,000 sign-on bonus to attract nurses. Job seeker Cammon Wutzke started getting calls from prospective employers within 24 hours of posting his resume online. Unable to recruit fast enough, Hilex Poly ramped up in-house training for skilled maintenance. It all points to one thing: extraordinarily low unemployment in the Magic Valley and Mini-Cassia this spring. As job creation surpassed labor force growth from 2006 to 2016, unemployment rates declined steadily over the past four years. In April, south-central Idaho’s unemployment sank to 2.6 percent as employers scrambled to fill jobs before the peak of summer hiring. And it might not stop there. Businesses enamored of the area’s agricultural production and relatively Tolman low costs are still expanding. In short, employers have stiff competition for workers. “It’s gone from not being able to find qualified people … to an overall struggle to get applicants through the door to even consider finding the right people,” said Brent Tolman, a regional business specialist for the Idaho Department of Labor. “There’s concern about how we’re going to get the number of people we need.” Roeser Over the past 10 years, Magic Valley and Mini-Cassia reported job growth of 9.2 percent but labor force growth of just 7.5 percent. “We’re growing,” the department’s Regional Economist Jan Roeser said, “but we’re not growing as fast as we need to.” Please see JOBS, Page E3
Hilex Poly uses apprenticeships to fill maintenance jobs HEATHER KENNISON
hkennison@magicvalley.com
When filling higher-skilled positions became more challenging, Hilex Poly put more of its focus on internal talent development. It took Human Resources Manager Liz McBride nearly all of 2016 to hire for new jobs after the manufacturer announced a Jerome expansion in 2015. “I needed to fill just over 40 positions,” she said, “but it took me 140 hires to fill those positions, because of turnover.” And with a tight local labor pool, there’s still more risk in hiring from outside the area, when employees have to adjust to a new place, McBride said. So the Novolex-owned company used its apprenticeship program as a solution. “We hadn’t really relied on it as we do now,” McBride said in early June. The program allows employees on the production line to apply to be apprentices. With
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training, an employee eventually moves into a maintenance role — the highest-paid position at the plant, McBride said. An experienced electromechanic can earn $22 per hour and up, while an electronic technician with some experience makes $25 per hour and up. Vacancies left in the production line are much easier for the company to fill. This job requires aptitude and understanding of how machines work, but the company will also consider someone who just has a strong work ethic and is trainable. A production line operator with some experience makes $15 per hour and up, McBride said. The current job market has also heightened the company’s need to increase its cross-training of employees for when vacancies occur. But training alone won’t cover all its needs, so Hilex Poly increased its marketing and raised
TIMES-NEWS FILE PHOTO
Hernan Parra, left, and Joel Holt work with a large roll of plastic film as it moves through the Hilex Poly factory Please see HILEX, Page E3 in October 2010.
MORE INSIDE: Woman likes the jobs that came to her, E2 | CSI expands training as demand for welders heats up, E3 | Gem State Staffing in Mini-Cassia: ‘Busier by the day,’ E4
BIG STORY
E2 | Sunday, July 16, 2017
Times-News
PHOTOS BY PAT SUTPHIN, TIMES-NEWS
Above: Associate Rena Kelsey assists Lucy Jensen, center, and Connar Westfall, right, as Jensen browses the sales June 10 at Torrid in Magic Valley Mall. Below: Associate Rena Kelsey organizes the bra drawers June 10 at Torrid in Twin Falls.
Woman likes the jobs that came to her HEATHER KENNISON
hkennison@magicvalley.com
After five years with a call center in Twin Falls, Rena Kelsey suddenly found herself unemployed. C3/CustomerContactChannels outsourced her position — and dozens of others — in midMarch. Although Kelsey had kind of expected it, that didn’t soften the blow. “I felt lost because that was my world,” the former workforce analyst said. “I lived and breathed my job.” Kelsey filed for unemployment on and off over the next 2 1/2 months, while putting in applications and trying to find a job that suited her. Ironically, the job found her. “It’s weird that the jobs that I’m really happy with were the ones that reached out to me,” Kelsey said. In early June, Kelsey accepted
an offer from Elwood Staffing to take a full-time — albeit seasonal — position as a staffing manager. The company had found her resume at Indeed.com just hours after she posted it. Previously, a manager at women’s fashion retailer Torrid called Kelsey after she’d been praised in a former co-worker’s interview. Kelsey was hired for a part-time sales job on the spot in March while still working at C3. For Kelsey, it’s a relief not to have to file for unemployment every week to pay the mortgage. “It’s very time-consuming sometimes,” she said. “It’s very sad to do it. … I don’t like living off that money. I like my hard-earned money.” Kelsey will look for work to start in September, after her Elwood Staffing job ends, but will also pursue a home-based business photographing bands at concerts.
She got back to work, now she’s helping others do the same HEATHER KENNISON
hkennison@magicvalley.com
The year after Becky Ludlow moved to Twin Falls, she began teaching swimming lessons at the YMCA-operated city pool. Having had similar jobs in Washington and Boise, she enjoyed the work. But in 2015 and 2016, Ludlow had to quit working due to worsening muscular disease and lupus. It was necessary, but a hard choice to live with. “I felt multiple times I was starting to lose my identity,” she said. With the help of Deseret Industries, Vocational Rehabilitation Service and a job coach at Magic Valley Rehabilitation Services, Ludlow began to prepare last September to find another job. “I like to be able to feel like I am serving and helping to make a difference,” she said. In June, Ludlow began working as an employment services specialist and therapy technician for MVRS. Her position includes teaching life skills and being a job coach for people with disabilities — providing on-site workplace supervision. “The goal behind that is to help keep them at their jobs,” she said. “It’s helping to empower them and helping to keep them employed.” Ludlow uses a wheelchair, and she has cochlear implants after losing her hearing in 2008. She receives federal disability benefits so the number of hours she works a week is limited. She applied for three jobs but chose MVRS because it most closely fit her own goals. “I really felt strongly about mo-
TIMES-NEWS FILE PHOTO
Mike Hayes, general manager of Maxie’s Pizza and Pasta in Twin Falls, finishes the baking of a vegetarian gluten-free pizza in January 2010.
PHOTOS BY DREW NASH, TIMES-NEWS
Therapy tech Becky Ludlow helps others with their social skills June 19 at Magic Valley Rehabilitation Services in Twin Falls.
Therapy tech Becky Ludlow, right, has a client grab a game piece as they play a social skills game June 19 at Magic Valley Rehabilitation Services. tivational speaking, but this kind of work is right up my alley,” she said. “I want to help them not be afraid.” People who have disabilities often bring a hugely desirable trait
to employers: They want to work. “The joy that these people have is just amazing,” Ludlow said. “And they really do want to work hard.”
Maxie’s Pizza struggles to find skilled applicants HEATHER KENNISON
hkennison@magicvalley.com
estaurant manager Mike R Hayes is competing for workers against much bigger businesses. And for a couple of years, that competition has been stronger than ever. When Chobani opened its Twin Falls factory in 2012, the Maxie’s Pizza and Pasta general manager lost three of his employees. And since Clif Bar opened last year, Hayes has seen fewer skilled applicants apply for jobs. “We occasionally get shortstaffed,” he said. “And we hire, and unfortunately the skill level is lacking.” Today’s new employees often aren’t able to multitask as efficiently as past generations. And larger businesses with human resource departments have a recruitment advantage, Hayes said. “They grab up the
skilled workers in a hurry.” While some employees at Maxie’s have worked there 10 to 15 years, the typical new hire lasts only six to seven months at best. Hayes believes they get disgusted with what’s required of them — multitasking in food preparation, restaurant maintenance and dishes. They leave to take what they perceive as higher-paying jobs that require less work. To try to get new employees up to the task, Hayes is taking a more active role in training — instead of leaving it to the old hands. Training that once took a few days now lasts a couple of weeks. Hayes has thought about outsourcing his delivery service. Or even using automation — but he doesn’t think that will happen. “We’re just not there yet in this valley to embrace that.”
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TIMES-NEWS
SUNDAY, JULY 16, 2017 |
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$5K bonus: Idaho Home Health ups nurse-recruiting tactics HEATHER KENNISON
hkennison@magicvalley.com
When Idaho Home Health and Hospice saw other employers offering sign-on bonuses for nurses this year, it got in on the action. In May, it began advertising a $5,000 bonus for registered nurses. “Everyone in the area is using that sign-on bonus,” Office Manager Cheryl Hansen said. Idaho Home Health also hosted an open house that month. By June, the Twin Falls office was fully staffed with four new hires — two nurses, an occupational therapist and a physical therapist. These jobs have been the hardest to fill, Hansen said. The demand for nurses, in particular, is the strongest she’s seen in 10 years. Hansen attributes that to a combination of population growth and the addition of new TIMES-NEWS FILE PHOTO health-related businesses such as Idaho Home Health and Hospice licensed practical nurse Jennifer Phelps takes Donna Peterson’s blood pressure Canyons Retirement Community and Serenity Healthcare. during the 2009 Magic Valley Health Fair in Twin Falls.
Home health is more complicated than some nursing occupations, Hansen said, so Idaho Home Health prefers experienced nurses. The sign-on bonus is paid after the employee has been with the company for a few months. Nursing jobs have been among the hardest to fill across the state, with employers receiving fewer applications for each position. St. Luke’s Magic Valley Medical Center has offered sign-on bonuses, based on the position and the applicant’s experience, for about 2 1/2 years, nurse recruiter Lori Ramsey said. Also, St. Luke’s increased salaries in August 2016 to be more competitive. St. Luke’s has renewed its recruiting focus outside the Magic Valley, but even the extra pay incentive isn’t necessarily enough to draw people in. “A nurse can get a job anywhere,” Ramsey said, “so we have to put our best foot forward to show them why they want to be here.”
To be job seeker in demand is ‘extremely great feeling’ HEATHER KENNISON
hkennison@magicvalley.com
Cammon Wutzke was thankful for plentiful jobs in Cassia County, which allowed him to stay in the place he calls home but also be more choosy as a job seeker. In January, Wutzke wanted to leave his job as Wutzke sales manager for the Best Western Plus in Burley. So he did his research and discovered the popular online resume site Indeed.com. Within 24 hours of posting his resume, he started getting phone calls. “I knew that it was gonna be pretty easy to find a job,” Wutzke said. “Look at the unemployment rate. … Employers are desperate right now.” He used that to his advantage. During phone conversations, several companies named higher salaries to meet his expectations. Wutzke got three to four phone calls a week from financial services companies trying to expand or branch out to the Magic Valley. “It’s an extremely great feeling,” he said. Because there was no shortage
Hilex From E1
the amount of its employee referral bonus. The bonus totals several hundred dollars, with disbursements at the initial hire, six months and one-year anniversary. “Because it’s an employee market and because employers are desperate to fill positions,
Jobs From E1
An era of growth
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The Magic Valley felt some of the effects of the Great Recession in the late 2000s. Car dealerships, furniture stores, small manufacturers and retailers closed. Construction activity declined. Unemployment in Twin Falls, Jerome, Lincoln and Gooding counties rose above 8 percent in 2010. Since, not only have Magic Valley businesses been able to absorb those unemployed workers, Roeser said, but they’ve brought more people into the workforce. Yogurt maker Chobani opened its Twin Falls plant in 2012 and immediately planned to double its workforce the following year. More recently, Hilex Poly added jobs at its Jerome plastics factory, and Clif Bar expanded production shortly after opening its Twin Falls bakery last year. Mini-Cassia unemployment, however, never reached as high during the recession. “They’ve had explosive job growth,” Roeser said. Over the past 10 years, Cassia County had the six-county region’s highest job growth, at 19.5 percent, while Minidoka had the highest average wage increase, at 39.8 percent. In the past couple of years,
“I knew that it was gonna be pretty easy to find a job. Look at the unemployment rate. … Employers are desperate right now.” Cammon Wutzke of job opportunities, Wutzke took his time and made his decision based not only on salary, but on flexible hours, an unlimited pay structure and benefits. “If the unemployment was 8 percent, I wouldn’t have had that opportunity,” he said. He did formal job interviews with two prospective employers and in April began working from home in financial services for New York Life Insurance Co., which has satellite offices in Boise and Twin Falls. Wutzke chose the job because of the leadership role he’d take, the training and the experience. And at 34 years old with a family, he was thankful he wouldn’t have to relocate. His problem in late June? Wutzke was still getting phone inquiries because he hadn’t figured out how to take his resume off the website.
they must learn to change what they’ve done in the past to meet the needs of the present and the future,” McBride said. “Sadly, we are all kind of robbing each other.” Plentiful jobs in the valley make workers feel comfortable looking for greener pastures, she said. Hilex Poly is in direct competition with any manufacturer, including the food industry.
Average wages in 2016, and the percentage change from 2006. Minidoka County had not only the region's highest average in 2016 but also the biggest increase.
Gooding County
CSI expands training as demand for welders heats up HEATHER KENNISON
hkennison@magicvalley.com
College of Southern Idaho’s welding program reaches full capacity every year, and students wait on a list to get in. Local employers, meanwhile, are also crying for more trained workers, welding instructor Clay Wilkie said. There simply aren’t enough here. “Usually we have more demand for our students than we have students,” he said. Much of that has come with new construction around the state, especially in Mini-Cassia, he said. Wilkie expects demand to rise even more as McCain Foods begins construction on a $200 million plant expansion in Burley. To help meet the need, CSI
plans to start a welding program in Burley this fall. “We’re going to try to offer it through the Cassia Regional Technical Center,” said Terry Patterson, instructional dean of career and technical education. A dual-credit course would be available for 16 high school students in a cohort program this fall. “Theoretically, they could earn an intermediate technical certificate as a high school student,” Patterson said. Besides training a future workforce, CSI aims to train existing Mini-Cassia employees through a nighttime program. He expects that companies such as McCain Foods, High Desert Milk and Fabri-Kal will need the additional training, which could
be customized. Southern Field Welding is one employer that supports CSI bringing in the Burley program. “We would provide CSI here in Burley a lot of stainless steel,” general manager Blake Hollingsworth said. The scrap metal has been offered to other programs in the state already. Mini-Cassia’s large demand for welders, he said, has to do with the extensive variety of businesses that use them — to build snow blowers, potato harvesters or industrial food-grade equipment, for example. CSI accepts 25 new welding students per year at its Twin Falls campus. Patterson said the college may expand that by adding evening and Saturday classes.
Job growth
Wages
Cassia County
PAT SUTPHIN, TIMES-NEWS FILE PHOTO
Steve Shirey grinds a 30-degree bevel for his welding test Oct. 7, 2016, at the College of Southern Idaho.
The average number of jobs in each county. This includes part-time jobs and does not exclude jobs held by people who commute from other counties. Cassia County led the pack in job growth, with a 19.5 percent increase from 2006 to 2016. 40,000 33,759
$34,345 (33.4%) $33,951 (32.8%)
37,439
30,000
Jerome County $35,416 (32.8%)
Lincoln County Minidoka County Twin Falls County Source: Idaho Department of Labor
$33,358 (22.7%)
Gooding County
Jerome County
Lincoln County
Minidoka County
Twin Falls County
$35,773 (39.8%) $33,368 (25.9%)
10,997
10,000
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Mini-Cassia has been an economic developer’s dream: It attracted plastic packaging maker Fabri-Kal, which later announced an expansion. Dow Chemical announced its intention to open an insulation plant. McCain Foods plans a $200 million expansion. And they all need workers.
Now hiring
20,000
Cassia County
As employers have fewer local applicants to choose from, Tolman said, those offering competitive wages and benefits fill
6,136
1,370
0
2006
2007
2008
2009
2010
2011
2012
Source: Quarterly Census of Employment and Wages, Idaho Department of Labor
positions more easily. That’s not rocket science. But perhaps more revealing is how much average wages have grown across six of south-central Idaho’s counties. The highest average wage in 2016 was in Minidoka County, at $35,773; in 2006 its average of $25,589 was among the region’s lowest. Other counties’ average wages grew by 22 percent or more, with
a six-county rise of 29.9 percent. Lower-paying, entry-level jobs in retail and services are struggling most with recruitment and retention, Burley City Administrator Mark Mitton said. After King’s Variety Stores closed, most displaced employees found other jobs quickly, and Mitton expected the same to happen with JCPenney employees.
2013
2014
2015
2016
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Though retail and service jobs aren’t highly technical, some employers say applicants with skills in communicating and multitasking aren’t as common as they used to be. Compounding the issue of a limited workforce across all industries: retirees. “We’ve been enjoying the Please see JOBS, Page E4
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BIG STORY
| SUNDAY, JULY 16, 2017
TIMES-NEWS
PHOTOS BY DREW NASH, TIMES-NEWS
Gem State Staffing has application hours posted on its door in downtown Twin Falls.
Gem State Staffing in Mini-Cassia: ‘Busier by the day’ HEATHER KENNISON
hkennison@magicvalley.com
Staffing agencies are sometimes viewed as a last resort for businesses trying to fill positions, said Dustin Cureton, Gem State Staffing district manager. As the unemployment rate stayed low this spring in Mini-Cassia, it brought a boost to his staff ’s workload. “We’re busier by the day,” Cureton said. That’s why a plan to extend the Burley location into a full-fledged office has finally come to fruition. Gem State Staffing planned to move into a new space on North Overland by July 1. In June, the company was looking to hire an additional person for recruiting.
“It definitely helps that there’s a need for our services and that need has increased over the past couple of years,” he said. The Burley office of Gem State Staffing has traditionally been a satellite to the Twin Falls office, Cureton said. Mini-Cassia’s unemployment was particularly low in the spring, a time when employers typically see a decrease in available workforce as agriculture processing ramps up. “There’s a lot of desperate companies out there that are beating their heads against the wall,” he said. As McCain Foods prepares for an expansion that will bring another 180 jobs to the area, he expects that will create a vacuum
effect as employees leave other companies. “Usually the larger companies can offer better benefits,” he said. Predictably, Gem State Staffing is having a harder time getting enough applicants to fill the jobs. So the company has ramped up its advertising online. “As the unemployment rate decreases, we find we have to spend a proportionate increase in advertising,” he said. He’s talking thousands of dollars. In 2006, Gem State Staffing spent $60,000 in newspaper ads alone in Boise — the last time his company had a similar situation. If unemployment continues to drop, “we may reach that point again.”
Marcus Lutz, branch manager, handles a telemarketing caller June 12 at Gem State Staffing in downtown Twin Falls.
Unemployment rates
Labor force The number of people 16 and older able to work who reside in each county. These six south-central Idaho counties, combined, reported labor force growth of 7.5 percent from 2007 to 2016, compared with the statewide rate of 8 percent. 45,000
Annual average unemployment rates in south-central Idaho, plus monthly average rates for the past year. Over the past year, the region has seen unemployment steadily decline. Mini-Cassia, which had the highest rate for the region in April 2016, had the lowest rate a year later. 4%
40,465
35,000
37,747
25,000
Cassia County
Gooding County
Jerome County
Lincoln County
Minidoka County
Twin Falls County
2% Mini-Cassia Jerome, Lincoln and Gooding counties Twin Falls County
15,000
11,601
10,795
5,000
8,004
2,566
0%
April May June July Aug Sept Oct Nov Dec Jan Feb Mar April 2016 2017
Unemployment in Mini-Cassia reached its lowest average in 10 years in 2016, but other regions had lower unemployment rates in 2007. 10%
2007
2008
2009
2010
Source: Local Area Unemployment Statistics, Idaho Department of Labor
Jobs
2011
2012
2013
2014
2015
2016
Lee Enterprises graphic
in partnership with College of Southern Idaho, addresses one of those needs. From E3 But finally, Roeser said, the Magic Valley has to stop the labors of the baby boomers,” Ro“brain drain” — high school eser said. “And the baby boomgraduates leaving the state for ers are transitioning out of the college and not returning. That workforce in greater and greater Smyer Mitton will mean working with edunumbers.” cational institutions to bring cruitment. Employers such as Southern needed programs, including “As we do add jobs, the workField Welding’s Blake Hollingforce has come,” he said. “That’s four-year degrees. sworth are preparing for retire“Sometimes Idaho is a little ments by developing succession still gonna happen to an extent. adverse to investing in eduWe still have to be proactive plans. cation,” Roeser said. “Quite about the process.” “Our biggest challenge right frankly, there are pockets that There are opportunities to atnow is we lack the ability to house need it.” Medical fields, for extract people from outside Idaho them,” Hollingsworth said. ample. by targeting areas with similar Of six people his Burley comIt also means educating high demographics but higher unempany hired in May, only two school seniors about the jobs and ployment, he said. It may mean came; the others said they were training available locally. the Labor Department helping unable to get housing. “The reality is, we have reemployers recruit from other Home construction in Burley, ally good opportunities here,” manufacturing communities. as in many south-central Idaho While new technology can de- Tolman said. “There is a lack of communities, has accelerated in career awareness among the high the past year. But the underlying crease the number of manufacturing positions needed, the jobs school students that are graduchallenge remains: how to train ating.” that remain become more techand attract the workforce busiOf course, some will always nical. That’s where education and nesses require. choose to leave the state. Roeser workforce development play in. said cities and organizations need “There’s specific needs in Becoming engaged to keep their finger on attractDespite McCain Foods’ inten- the communities we’re not yet ing those back and recruiting meeting,” Cassia County School tion to bring 180 new jobs to its other millennials — with vibrant District Superintendent Gaylen Burley plant in less than a year, downtowns, rising wages and Tolman has a positive outlook on Smyer said. The district’s work community pride. to host a new welding program, south-central Idaho’s talent re-
8% 6%
4% 2%
Mini-Cassia
Twin Falls County
Jerome, Lincoln and Gooding counties
0%
2007 2008 2009 2010 2011
Source: Idaho Department of Labor
As a decade of steady job creation continues, businesses will need to approach attraction and retention in ways they haven’t before. That may mean offering “extra goodies” in benefits packages, said Liz McBride, human resources manager for Hilex Poly. For millennials, workplace culture is an important factor. Roeser has seen financial institutions become less structured, offering employees branded gear or gadgets to increase company pride. Wellness programs have been ramped up, and work shifts at health care businesses have changed. “I think every industry,” she said, “is affected by this.”
2012
2013
2014 2015 2016 Lee Enterprises graphic
Heather Kennison joined the Times-News staff in 2016. She reports on businesses and economic development around south-central Idaho. M 1
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SUNDAY, MARCH 5, 2017 |
SUNDAY, MARCH 5, 2017
| magicvalley.com
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DREW NASH, TIMES-NEWS
Much of the handiwork in DelRoy Mitton’s workshop has a decidedly humorous bent. Mitton, photographed Feb. 22, lives, works and plays tricks on his visitors in a remodeled hotel on Oakley’s Main Street.
Faces
OF
G
MAIN STREET
et out and meet people, we told reporter Heather Kennison. People who live and work along Main Street in some of south-central Idaho’s small cities. Tell us about their habits, their histories and their hopes. Show us a window into their lives. It’s an enviable assignment for any storyteller.
The five towns Richfield
26 93 84
Paul
Hazelton 84
Kimberly
Sawtooth National Forest
Oakley
maps4news.com/©HERE, Lee Enterprises graphic
The jolly prankster of Oakley HEATHER KENNISON
hkennison@magicvalley.com
OAKLEY — Idaho 27 crosses Main Street in Oakley, a remote town of 777 with a beautiful mountain backdrop. Follow West Main Street and you’ll come to stone yards, a city park, government offices and the high school. East Main leads to a bar, a grocery store, a library and — across a narrow canal bridge — a fire station.
The prankster
In the dimly lit workshop at the back of a remodeled hotel, DelRoy Mitton pointed to a small wooden box on a shelf. “I make music boxes,” the artist said Feb. 14, encouraging me to give that one a try by inserting a quarter through the slot on top. “Can you get the quarter back?” I asked. Mitton, wearing blue overalls over a flannel shirt, answered with a reassuring yes, so I followed his instructions. Snap! My hand whipped automatically to my side as I yelled in surprise. Behind me, Mitton and his wife, Sidnee, laughed. Re-examining the small box — now lying in pieces — I discovered the source of the noise: a hidden mousetrap. I’d just been fooled by the Oakley grandfather’s famous music box trick. Fortunately, I didn’t have long to be embarrassed, as DelRoy, 81, continued to show me the wonders of his shop. Knickknacks and jewelry were on display above a rack of canes. Sidnee held up a necklace from which dangled peculiar charms: buttons inside gears. “When things are going rough,” DelRoy said, “you just gotta get
M 1
DREW NASH, TIMES-NEWS
DelRoy Mitton holds up a necklace and earrings he made in his Oakley workshop. your button gear.” The pun might have made some people groan, but a wordsmith like me couldn’t help laughing. DelRoy, a 50-year Oakley resident, worked for Idaho Power inside the very building he now lives in, originally the Worthington Hotel. “That’s where my desk used to be,” he said, gesturing toward a floral sofa.
On a warm day, DelRoy might be outside, carving one of the canes he’s known for in Oakley. And he gives them away to anyone who needs one — whether a Cub Scout or an elderly woman. As with all of his workmanship, DelRoy taught himself how to carve shapes and designs into the branches of quaking aspen. “If you want to carve a horse, you just cut everything that don’t
DREW NASH, TIMES-NEWS
Rattlesnake skin wraps one of DelRoy Mitton’s handmade canes. look like a horse,” he said. “It’s simple.” Some of his canes are more unusual, equipped with a deer foot, antler or slingshot as a handle — or even featuring a flashlight or compass on top. One of his prized pieces: a rattlesnake skin over a
corkscrew willow branch. He never sells any of it, DelRoy explained, because he doesn’t want to have to make it. About to leave, I stood outside chatting with Sidnee while she Please see OAKLEY, Page E4
MORE INSIDE: The cheerful butcher of Richfield, E2 | Kimberly’s ukulele lady and the rhinestone bartender, E3 | What 3 Paul residents’ jobs say about them, E3
BIG STORY
E2 | Sunday, March 5, 2017
Times-News
The cheerful butcher of Richfield HEATHER KENNISON
hkennison@magicvalley.com
RICHFIELD — The Glanbia Foods cheese factory just outside town is most impressive, certainly. But Richfield’s Main Street is where life happens for this town of 494. Turn north from U.S. 26 and you’ll spot a small post office, a grocery store and homes. Go south: a public library, a senior center and an automotive shop.
The grocer who does it all
Six late-season elk carcasses hung ready for cutting in the backroom refrigerator of Piper Shopping Center, but Mike Piper had other things to do. A shipment of meats, cheeses and other staples had just come in to the Main Street business the morning of Jan. 31. Between assisting customers, stocking shelves and answering the phone, Piper and his mother, Betty, had their work set out for them. Piper, 55 — both grocer and butcher — figured he’d be ready to tackle the big game the next day. “For two to three months there it’s a pretty good sprint,” he said, recalling the busiest part of the hunting season, when a lot more than a half-dozen elk await butchering. The Piper family has owned the Richfield business since 1939, now employing nine people. But it was Piper himself, stocking the deli aisle, who greeted me when I came in. When a customer called to ask that her check not be cashed just yet, it was Piper who picked up the phone. Piper, a cheerful guy with a horseshoe mustache, guessed that most of his business competition is in Twin Falls. A truck comes twice weekly to keep the shelves here — the only grocery store within 16 miles — stocked with essentials such as milk, bread and eggs. Picking up water softener salt for a school that day, Richfield School District maintenance worker Arnold “Arn” Ross said he tries to buy supplies locally as much as he can. Just down the street, another of Piper’s business ventures sits vacant: Richfield’s last gas station, which closed four or five ago. “I was bound and determined
HEATHER KENNISON, TIMES-NEWS
Richfield resident Rebecca Wood owns this North Main Street house that’s HEATHER KENNISON, TIMES-NEWS more than 100 years old, she says. Wood likes to ride her horses through town when the weather is nice. Library director Clay Ritter, right, helps Tasha Newey and her children order a book at Richfield District Library on Jan. 31. I was going to put gas in it sometime,” Piper said. But he ran out of time — and money — to put in gas tanks. He’s asking $150,000 for the lot and building, which has space inside for a restaurant. A lack of gas and other services, Piper said, makes Richfield isolated. “It don’t bother us so much, ‘cause we’re used to it.”
Horsewoman and commissioner On any given day, Rebecca Wood might step outside her house on North Main and find horses, cattle or even sheep walking down the road. “You never know what you might see here,” she said. “Even though I’m on Main Street in Richfield, it’s still very rural. It’s not like you’re really in town.” She recalled, laughing, how she once saw three steers running down the road, followed (coincidentally) by the butcher. People on horseback or herding cattle are both common sights, as well as snowmobiles and vehicles stopped in the middle of the road while neighbors chat. And there’s a community spirit Wood has enjoyed since arriving in 2000 and bringing up six children. “It’s something special when the whole town knows your kid’s name,” said Wood, 52, who was
doing paperwork in her sweatpants when a phone call from Piper sent her looking for me at the town library. When she isn’t on duty at her part-time Piper Shopping Center job, Wood might be riding her horses or caring for her quarter horse broodmares, which a friend boards just outside town. She offered me a ride to see the mares and their foals, describing railroad history and pointing out grain silos and a church-turnedhome on the way. Wood is in her third year as Richfield’s Lincoln County commissioner. The commission meets three Mondays a month in Shoshone, and Wood commutes to Twin Falls for meetings of other boards. Glanbia and Richfield School District are the town’s top employers, but Wood wants U.S. 26 drivers to have more reasons to stop in Richfield. “What I’d like to do for Richfield,” she said, “is try to get some more business down here.”
The techie in the stacks
To the casual traveler, Richfield might appear stuck in time — but that isn’t the case at the Richfield District Library on South Main. Library Director Clay Ritter manages a lot with a $400 program budget. He teaches children about circuitry, robotics or 3-D printer designing, using a grant-
HEATHER KENNISON, TIMES-NEWS
Mike Piper grinds beef at Piper Shopping Center in Richfield on Jan. 31. funded printer. “We show them the basics of 3-D design,” he said. “The access to technology is a big thing. It’s about giving the kids Ritter an opportunity they might otherwise not have unless they went somewhere else.” The children design and print their own cellphone cases, keychains and guitar picks. “I want them to design it themselves to learn how the process works,” said Ritter, 32. Ritter and one other employee staff the library, which over the past couple of years doubled its weekly hours from 12 to 24. When
I popped in, the other employee was finishing a storytime where children drew octopuses, and Ritter was manning the front desk. When Ritter isn’t in Richfield, he’s directing a Shoshone library. The 3-D printer isn’t the only draw for children at Richfield District Library — 19,000 books, nine computers and free wireless Internet also make it a popular after-school hangout. “After school most days, we’re completely full of kids,” Ritter said. The decent Internet connection, a challenge in Richfield, has led some children to camp outside with tents or sleeping bags, even in the rain — but not when snowbanks stand 4 feet above Main Street.
Hazelton’s coffee crowd Explore an online interactive HEATHER KENNISON
hkennison@magicvalley.com
Today on Magicvalley. com, a new interactive by Digital Editor Matthew Gooch gives you a tour of a six smalltown Main Streets — the five towns featured in these stories, plus a bonus town just for digital viewGooch ers. In this interactive tour, find out what draws people downtown and see what it’s like to stand on Main Street. Explore 360-degree photos and listen to locals talk about why they came to town. Find it at Magicvalley.com.
MATTHEW GOOCH, TIMES-NEWS
Reporter Heather Kennison loved watching Idaho’s changing landscape while driving to these rural towns. The drive to Oakley, she said, was torture because she kept seeing photo opportunities but wasn’t able to stop.
“We’ve become very attached with a lot of our customers.”
HAZELTON — In Hazelton, an agriculture-based town of 747, The hardware man Idaho 25 becomes Main Street, At The Farm Store, Steve where plastic-covered storeLakey examined fronts and windows might give a cardboard box of hardware while an the impression of a ghost town. But some of Hazelton’s core busiold black Labranesses — a Chevron gas station, dor lay quietly on a bed against one a pizza restaurant, an electrical contractor’s shop, a farm equipwall. The store ment dealer — were doing busimanager was takness as usual Feb. 8. ing inventory in Lakey hopes of getting The coffee crowd a bank loan. “We’re trying to buy this,” said There’s only one rule if you want to join the Pizza Cache’s Lakey, 62, wearing a matching afternoon coffee crowd: You green cap and vest. “They gotta have to tell one true story every know what I’m buying.” 30 minutes. The Farm Store isn’t a fullThat’s what Hazelton resident blown hardware store, he exDon Morrill told me as I took a plained: “It’s just like it says, it’s seat at the table a farm hardware store.” in the center of That could change. If Lakey the room. The is successful in purchasing the 75-year-old re- business, he’d like to sell fishing tiree was joined and hunting licenses and ammuby friends trick- nition. ling in the afterOnce farms start preparation noon of Feb. 8. for the crop season, Lakey would As they do six have little downtime. But for Morill days a week. about three months in the winter, “I’ve been a rancher most of business is slow. So he’d spent the my life,” Morrill said, wearing two past two weeks counting thouplaid shirts and holding a coffee sands of items — the screws, the cup. gloves, the bags of dog food, none Although the group didn’t of it electronically inventoried — have a designated leader, Morrill and expected it would take him seemed the most eager to tell me another two weeks. Lakey is experienced in running some of his stories — like how his grandfather helped build Milner hardware stores, having owned or Dam, or how a Volkswagen hit a operated similar businesses in Jeguardrail driving on black ice one rome, Twin Falls and Rupert. night while Morrill plowed snow At the Hazelton store, farmers near St. Maries. come in for common repair items Many in the lively bunch were like bolts, nuts and plumbing fixold school friends. Doug Kroll, a tures. That afternoon, one cusretired railroad worker, casually tomer walked out with a 5-gallon teased the restaurateur’s daugh- bucket of hydraulic oil for a tractor. ter as she mopped the floor and “Everyone walks in here with served coffee. Smiling, she took problems,” Lakey said, “and you it in stride. are like the problem solver.” Most of these regulars also meet up earlier for coffee at the The market owner senior center in Eden. The sun had shone in late morn“It gives us something to do,” ing, but by early afternoon clouds Morrill said. spilled a lazy drizzle of rain. The The 3 p.m. coffee time at Pizza colorful sign outside Mi Ranchito Cache is a standing invitation; welcomed visitors along Main there’s no formal arrangement, Street to Hazelton’s newest marhe explained. ket. “It’s almost like a big family,” Several residents had told me Pizza Cache owner Liz Rovig said. about the store, but I had to wait a
DREW NASH, TIMES-NEWS
John Meyer shares a laugh with friends Feb. 21 at the Pizza Cache in Hazelton, where a regular coffee crowd gathers six afternoons a week.
DREW NASH, TIMES-NEWS
Pizza Cache in Hazelton serves up homemade cheesecake to its afternoon coffee regulars Feb. 21. while before it opened. “When it’s nice, we open at 10,” owner Lupe Tapia said. “When it’s ugly, we open at 1 or 2.” Shelving units in the dimly lit space displayed pantry items like Coca-Cola, breakfast syrup and hot sauce interspersed with Mexican imports Tapia — like a carton of green-bottled Jarritos sodas. Against the back wall, clear packages of teas and herbs, with bilingual labels, hung above bags of rice and beans. The store was also well stocked with corn husks, tortillas and corn flour. Tapia, a 42-year-old Latina woman from California, opened the Mexican market after three years in Hazelton, just two months before my Feb. 8 visit.
“When we moved here, we used to struggle all the time,” she said, explaining that she had to go out of town to buy tortillas and common ingredients used in Mexican cooking. Mexican markets were common in her California hometown, Tapia said, and Eden’s Hispanic population frequents the store to make traditional dishes. Business has been better than Tapia expected — much of it from ladies in town who can’t drive or don’t want to go to Burley or Twin Falls. Mi Ranchito carries Mexican drinks and snacks, as well as dry goods and freshly made pastries brought daily from Rupert. But it also had some items I didn’t expect to see, like a small selection of comforters, clothing and religious candles. “It’s been working pretty good,” M 1 Tapia said.
BIG STORY
Times-News
Sunday, March 5, 2017 | E3
Kimberly’s ukulele lady and the rhinestone bartender HEATHER KENNISON
hkennison@magicvalley.com
KIMBERLY — Kimberly is a draw for new residents largely because of its education system and proximity to Twin Falls. But take a stroll down Main Street and you’ll see some of the town’s character. You might grab a bite at Fiesta Ole or Maxie’s Pizza. Pop into a salon, and a bubbly stylist will tell you about the town and some of its 3,432 residents. Or visit the senior center, where lunchtime is accompanied by old-time music, prayer and conversation.
The entertainer
The recognizable tune of “Oh Johnny, Oh Johnny” greeted me as I stepped into the Ageless Senior Center on North Main. The singer, Shirley Carter, strummed her ukulele as Laurie Lottridge accompanied her on percussion. Honeybee patches and stickers adorned Carter’s shirt collar, music stand and ukulele. “I just play to be with everybody and have a good time,” said Carter, 81. “It keeps you feeling better.” Shirley and The Honeybees Band provides monthly entertainment at the senior center. Carter lives in Hansen but is a regular at the KimHEATHER KENNISON, TIMES-NEWS berly center’s lunchtimes, which Shirley Carter, left, sings and plays ukulele while Laurie Lottridge blows bubbles from a wand Feb. 8 at the Ageless Senior Center in Kimberly. include the Pledge of Allegiance, prayer and an update on activities. Her enthusiastic performance Feb. 8 garnered applause. Carter has produced a CD, which she eagerly offered for me to try. Her favorite music to sing, she said, is country. I listened to her rendition of “Tiny Bubbles,” which she performed with a lively twang as Lottridge blew bubbles from a wand. The last few lines of the stanza made me smile: “Tiny bubbles. You know they’re in the wine. And they make you feel happy. They make you feel so fine. Those tiny bubbles makes you warm all over. “And I’ve got a funny feeling,” she concluded, looking dramatPAT SUTPHIN, TIMES-NEWS ically toward my phone camera, PAT SUTPHIN, TIMES-NEWS Mill worker Joe Speckert measures the kitchen cabinet panel he made to Joe Speckert glues a kitchen cabinet panel Feb. 14 in Kimberly. “I’ll love you till the day I die.” ensure it is completely even Feb. 14 at Speckert’s Custom Woodworking and Door Co. in Kimberly. The busy woodworker product post- that he couldn’t watch that news Hickory is a dense wood, so it ers and mounted source anymore. The retired KimSeeing they still had lots to do, I took Joe Speckert longer than usual 26. “Rustic has a lot of knots and horns. A pool table berly fire chief drinks two beers a took my leave. to cut and shape panels for raised- natural stuff in it.” toward the back day at Anita’s. panel cabinet doors Feb. 8. But an was ready for a That can be a problem for a Butler expected she would get more customers that afternoon, out-of-town contractor needed woodworker, he explained, as low- The bartender new game. the hickory kitchen furnishing by er-quality wood may split if put It was technically five minutes “This bar is when she might need to cook up next week, so it was all work and no under too much stress. before opening, but Anita’s Buck N more like a family some food. “We’re open seven day a week,” play until the job was done. “You gotta get what the customer Bar already had its first customer. Butler bar,” said Butler, 51, after I asked the smiling bartender said. “SomeThe large front windows of wants,” he said. “If they want rustic, The next would arrive in another Speckert’s Custom Woodwork- that’s what you gotta go for.” 10 to 15 minutes, bartender Kelly what was on television. times, you never know. Winters are The Speckert family had started Butler told me. Exactly 15 minutes Instead of 24-7 sports, she said, always better because farmers aring and Door Co., on North Main, displayed sun-bleached furniture. the project about a week and a half later, the door opened and a man customers have their particular en’t as busy.” I half expected to find a showroom earlier. Lori Speckert, noting an strode in, taking a seat at the bar shows and channels to watch toinside; instead, I found a brightly lit upcoming project for Sun Valley next to Burl Duncan. gether. When the bar opened at workroom. Trying not to breathe in condominiums, rushed to one side Butler, wearing a black cap 11:30 a.m., Fox News was on. More online: On Magicvalley. with rhinestones, the sawdust, I talked loudly to the of the shop to finish gluing pieces adorned “We got tired of CNN during the com, watch Heather Kennison’s brought the newcomer a beer elections,” Butler said. “Isn’t that video of Shirley Carter singing Speckert family over the high- together. “Tiny Bubbles” and playing pitched grinding of machinery. “We’re going to be very busy in and talked casually to the men in right, Burl?” “This particular customer the next couple of months,” she the dimly lit bar. The wood-panDuncan — a 77-year-old in a ukulele while Laurie Lottridge wanted rustic hickory,” said Joe, said. eled walls featured beer and meat plaid, wool-lined jacket — agreed blows bubbles.
What 3 Paul residents’ jobs say about them HEATHER KENNISON
hkennison@magicvalley.com
As she cut London broil that morning, Hall dropped lesser-quality chunks into a bucket. Those, she said, would become stew meat — fetching a higher price than hamburger. “There’s pretty much no waste,” she said.
PAUL — Idaho 27 becomes Main Street in Paul, but Idaho 25 — Ellis Street — is what most residents consider the main drag in this town of 1,191. Go east on Ellis and you’ll find gas stations, stores and a poultry hatchery. To the west: a tire center, a Mexican The founder-janitor restaurant and a well-kept park, The sun shone on East Ellis as complete with splash pad. a man swept up dust in front of a bench by the Haun’s Hardware The animal lover entrance. Moments later, he disAs her hands deftly sliced appeared inside. “I’m just a janitor,” said Ruben London broil, roasts and stew meat Feb. 21, Debbie Hall said she Haun, 92. “I still like to work.” doesn’t like to dwell on where it But computers aren’t for him. comes from. He’ll stick with a pen or pencil. “I try not to As he performs humble tasks think of it as being like fixing shovel handles, Haun a cow,” she said. takes a backseat now in the busiHall, 60, has ness he gave everything to get goworked 29 years at ing in 1979. His son, Robert, now Swensen’s Magic owns the hardware store, doing Market in Paul, everything his father can’t. “We started with nothing,” the largely in the meat department. But elder Haun said. “There have been Hall she’s an animal 38 years of expansion. … I get the lover — even took up grooming credit for having the lack of brains dogs at Country Groomer in her and the guts to start it.” spare time. The World War II veteran reShe learned the skill three years called Haun’s Hardware’s first ago, hoping the dogs would give couple of months in business, her a backup career in case the selling mostly lumber and other meat became too heavy for her. building supplies. Living in Paul “I found it wasn’t easier at for the second time in his life, all,” Hall said. “They’re not only Haun wasn’t sure at first why he’d heavier than meat, they’re wig- come back. gly.” “We actually slept on the Still, she said, “most dogs are shelves because we had sold our wonderful.” Hall owns two; one home,” he said. But it was the people who drew is a mixed breed she adopted after somebody abandoned it at the him. “I love people,” he said, adding Paul store. With both jobs, Hall started out with a laugh: “I don’t know if they knowing nothing. love me or not.” “I started working here as somebody who did price changes The loyal friend and stuff,” Hall said. “Then I was The first person Michael a meat wrapper and decided I Landrum met in Paul was John M 1 wanted to learn to cut meat.” Kloepfer.
Landrum was 15 when his family moved to Paul from Happy Camp, Calif. Kloepfer was his age and attended the same church. Landrum The two became fast friends, shared many hobbies and worked for the Kloepfer family business, Kloepfer Ready Mix Concrete & Asphalt Paving Co. “I used to vacuum this office when we were teenagers,” said Landrum, now 52 and working for his childhood friend as the ready mix manager. Sporting a red vest, hat and a 5 o’clock shadow, Landrum talked animatedly Feb. 21 about the family who started the business he’s come to love: How patriarch Fred Kloepfer branched out from his Logan, Utah, roots to start his own endeavor in a one-room shed and metal workshop. How, with much community support, the business grew. And how, today, it celebrates a robust economy and collaborates with its competitors. One of Landrum’s fondest memories of his youth was when he and John Kloepfer were 18 and won the gold medal for canoeing doubles at the National Explorer Olympics. They made it to nationals only because their Scout troop triumphed in basketball. Landrum and Kloepfer had never competed in canoeing before. “We were gonna capsize the canoe halfway and get wet, but we didn’t because we were winning,” he said, blue eyes lighting up with laughter. After high school, Landrum had to leave Paul to find a job. He took his carpentry skills to Utah, building custom homes. Nine years later, his friend offered him a job
HEATHER KENNISON, TIMES-NEWS
Ruben Haun, left, said son Robert Haun expanded Haun’s Hardware to more of a farm and home hardware store in Paul.
HEATHER KENNISON, TIMES-NEWS
Michael Landrum and John Kloepfer won this gold medal in canoeing doubles when they were teenagers at the National Explorer Olympics. at Kloepfer Ready Mix. “I was gonna say no,” Landrum recalled. He feared it would ruin their friendship. But his wife changed his mind. “I overcame the concern imme-
diately because I realized as long as I do my job, there wouldn’t be a concern,” he said. If anything, he said, it seems to have strengthened their friendship.
E4 | Sunday, March 5, 2017
Times-News
HEATHER KENNISON, TIMES-NEWS
Searle’s Gas, Grub and Goodies serves Oakley residents as a gas station, diner, convenience store, party supply/gift store and ATM.
Oakley From E1
squashed a couple of box elder bugs. Her husband handed her an orange pill bottle. “Give her this,” he said. “Tell her she can have it as a keepsake.” Curious, I read the bottle’s label: “Stool Sample.” Remembering the “music box” and a horsepie sculpture of former President Obama, I wasn’t sure whether to expect something to jump out, or worse. Open it, the husband and wife urged. Gingerly, I slipped open the cap and dumped the contents into my hand: a tiny, three-legged wooden stool, painted red and brown. I laughed with relief.
The burger man
Ask anyone in Oakley where you can get a bite to eat, and they’ll point you to Searle’s Gas Grub and Goodies on Idaho 27 near Main Street. Around lunchtime on weekdays, the place is packed with teens and smells heavily of french fries and hamburgers. “Almost every day it’s Searle’s for lunch,” said Bridger Cranney, 18, as he waited for his chicken nuggets and fries. “We kinda go through different phases — don’t want to get used to anything.” The menu at Searle’s contains the usual hamburgers and cheeseburgers but also has a Mexi burger ( c h e e s e b u rg e r with jalapenos and salsa) and a BBQ Hawaiian burger (with ham and grilled pineapple). “I raise my own Searle beef, so I know what (the cattle) eat,” said owner and operator Brent Searle, 61. Every year, Searle has six or seven of his Holsteins butchered and made almost entirely into hamburger. On a busy day, he can go through as much as 14 pounds of hamburger, making 6-ounce burgers for the town’s residents until closing time at 8 p.m. I watched as Searle, wearing a blue apron, rang up a customer’s items at the cash register before filling multicolored balloons for a birthday party. Later that afternoon, he was back at the grill, serving grilled ham and cheese to a waiting customer. Most Oakley adults, he told me, know to avoid the noon rush and come in later. Both crowds completely filled the half-dozen red booths inside the convenience store Feb. 14. “It really has been very consistent for the last several years,” Searle said. “I really can’t complain.”
The online retailer
A strong smell of leather was the first thing that hit me as I entered 120 on Main. The explanation: a display of cowboy hats against the left wall. “Can I help you?” a small voice asked over the country western music on the sound system. I looked around to find the source, a young woman behind a desk at the back of the store. The space was packed wall-to-wall
HEATHER KENNISON, TIMES-NEWS
Brent Searle’s cheeseburgers are made of ground beef from Holsteins he raises and has processed at a commercial facility.
HEATHER KENNISON, TIMES-NEWS
On Oakley’s Main Street, you’ll find a grocery store, post office and museum at the intersection with Center Avenue. with racks of Western clothing, gear and jewelry — items I imagined would be popular among Oakley’s ranching families. The newer building had one of the more attractive Main Street storefronts, with old-fashioned lettering on its sign and a wooden porch where a bench was painted with “Ya’ll come back now, ya hear?” But Boyles not many customers come in, Bailey Boyles, 21, told me. She’d seen only one a week since she started working there in January. Most of the business, Boyles explained, happens online at standupranchers.com. The 120 on Main storefront exists mostly because
many vendors require one. A shortage of foot traffic, however, doesn’t mean employees twiddle their thumbs. That morning, she’d received a shipment of products and was processing returns for online customers. “Doing inventory on the store is ongoing,” she said. “… If somebody orders something online and we have it in the store, we’ll ship it.” Boyles also needed to get an online auction started for outdated merchandise, but she wasn’t sure how to do it. She hoped a co-worker on the afternoon shift would help. “Once you get here and start working,” Boyles said, “you stay busy pretty much all day.”
not alone. But while the lyrics and the tune are largely forgotten, the legend behind the song is not. Raida Black, the composer, was a well-known piano player in Oakley in the mid-1900s, said Oakley Pioneer Museum president Aleta Stringham. “She’d come the beginning of each school year and play the piano and teach the children this song,” Stringham said. The lyrics weren’t recorded for posterity but soon will be. Raida’s niece, Kathy Lee — formerly Kathy McKimmon — returned to Oakley last summer for Pioneer Days. While in town, Lee spent several hours in the museum on Main Street. She later gave the museum the lyrics to her mother’s The history collector song. If you’ve never heard the song “I just gave the words to one “I Am an Oakley Man, Sir,” you’re of the board members today,”
Stringham said Feb. 14. The board plans to display the lyrics at Oakley High School along with other school memorabilia. Stringham, 79, has lived in Oakley 53 years and gathers the town’s history for people to enjoy. Many of the records are organized by family name for the sake of genealogy research. Stringham “Most people who come here,” she said, “come here because their ancestors were here.” During my visit to the museum, she talked excitedly as she moved about the rooms, showing me an old printing press from The Oakley Herald and a local salon’s machine for giving ladies permanent waves. “We try to preserve items that are not used anymore but are curiosity,” she said. A back wall of one stone-tiled room displayed newspapers, sports uniforms and other school memorabilia. There, too, Stringham wants to post Black’s lyrics: I am an Oakley man, sir I live across the green Our crowd is the jolliest That ever you have seen We will celebrate our victory Without a single scar And everywhere you’ll hear the cry Of Oakley near and far Who am I sir? An Oakley man am I! An Oakley man, sir, I will until I die We’re rough and tough! We never bluff! We’re game for any fuss! No other gang of high school boys Can beat us in the muss So we’ll raise our voice and shout it out And shout it to the sky We’ll fight for dear old red and white For an Oakley man am I!
M 1