Ridge running
High school shooting
Locals battle elites at Canyon Ridge Run SPORTS , PAGE B1
1 killed, 3 injured in Washington state REGION, A3 SCATTERED STORMS 73 • 48 FORECAST, B8
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THURSDAY, SEPTEMBER 14, 2017
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magicvalley.com
Jerome rolls out school bus tracker JULIE WOOTTON
jwootton@magicvalley.com
JEROME — You can track your pizza, you can track your Uber. But can you track your kid? A shortage of school bus drivers at North Side Bus Co. has led to drivers taking on two routes at once and delayed buses. That’s caused confusion and frustration among parents who are left wondering when their child will arrive home. A new program aims to allow Jerome parents to have easy access to more information. Last week, the Jerome School
District started using a program called Z Pass, developed by Zonar Systems. It allows about 1,300 elementary schoolers who ride a school bus to use an electronic card to check on and off the bus. The new program will give more information to parents — at least enough to know whether their child made it on or off a school bus. “So far, we’ve had a very positive response from parents,” Superintendent Dale Layne said. The program doesn’t track children all the time, only when they get on or off a school bus.
“It’s not going to track the kid wherever they go,” Layne said. School officials can see the time students get on and off a school bus. And next week, the Jerome district plans to distribute information to parents about how they can use an phone application or receive email or text alerts to check on their student’s whereabouts. If a parent leaves for work before their child gets on a school bus, for example, they’ll be able to use the app to ensure their child made it to school. Or they can monitor if school buses are running late.
But it doesn’t prevent a child from getting on the wrong school bus or getting off at the wrong stop. School districts occasionally run into situations where a child doesn’t arrive at home and a parent calls the police department. In January 2015, a Jerome 6-year-old who fell asleep on a school bus was left alone for about two hours before a firefighter found her roaming the streets. This summer, the school district started a parent committee to get feedback and surveyed el-
ementary school parents. Layne also talked with a school district in Wyoming that uses the program. For the first year, the Jerome district is paying about $20,000 for the program and is using state safety money. The purchase includes electronic card readers for school buses, key cards for students and a monthly cost for the use of cellular data. In future years, it will cost about $4,000 annually. It’s optional for families to sign up, Layne said. But so far, only one parent has opted out their child.
Man, 88, accused in 2015 murder dies Was at mental hospital, never stood trial NATHAN BROWN
nbrown@magicvalley.com
Sun, founded in 1897, went onto become The Oakley Eagle and was renamed the Oakley Herald in 1910. Little is left of the Sun or Eagle, but the Herald has been preserved for generations to come. Years ago Idaho State University had copied the volumes of news onto microfilm, which was cumbersome to use and the film was not indexed. “When we got it on microfilm it was difficult to read,” said Aleta Stringham, the association’s secretary.
TWIN FALLS — A elderly man accused of murdering an 81-year-old woman in August 2015 has died. Paul Welch, 88, was ruled incompetent to assist in his own defense and never stood trial in the death of Barbara Sue Chitwood. He had been indicted by a grand Welch jury on a charge of first-degree murder. He was moved from the Twin Falls County Jail to State Hospital South’s Syringa Chalet Nursing Facility in Blackfoot, and the case had been put on inactive status. Judge Richard Bevan had ordered Welch to undergo treatment aimed at restoring his competence, but lawyers said in December that Welch suffered from dementia and other “latelife ailments” and that he would likely die before the case was resolved. Welch died Sept. 6 at State Hospital South, Twin Falls County Prosecutor Grant Loebs said. His death ends the criminal case. He was buried in Twin Falls Cemetery, according to a notice of his funeral service. In her will, Chitwood described Welch as “a good friend.”
Please see OAKLEY, Page A4
Please see WELCH, Page A4
LAURIE WELCH, TIMES-NEWS
Robert Fehlman, right, and Aleta Stringham, both officers of the Oakley Valley Historical Association look over paper copies of The Oakley Herald at the Oakley Valley Museum on Tuesday. The association has digitized 50 years of the paper, which is available on a flash drive.
Preserving Oakley’s history Historic Association digitizes The Oakley Herald on flash drive LAURIE WELCH
lwelch@magicvalley.com
OAKLEY — Area history hounds remember Charley Brown, owner and editor of The Oakley Herald, as a hard-working proponent of the city, a passionate newsman and advocate of the rock formations that would later become a famous Cassia County national reserve. Brown came from West Vir-
ginia to Oakley in 1917 as pastor of the local Union Church. The next year he purchased the paper and went on to publish the city’s news for the next 42 years until his death. “He is a man Oakley should never forget,” said Robert FehlBrown man, president of the Oakley Valley Historical Association. “He was the community historian and documented everything that happened. Early Oakley was a news hub, and what
Want a copy of The Oakley Herald newspaper files? Flash drives containing the digitized pages of the Oakley Herald are available for $50 or three drives for $100. Call 208-862-9202 for more information. was going on here was really significant to southern Idaho.” Now, there’s no chance that significance will be lost to history. The historical association has digitized 50 years of the city’s newspapers — the Oakley
Challengers file for 3 Dems reach deal with Trump seats on TF Council ERICA WERNER AND JILL COLVIN
Associated Press
time. hkennison@magicvalley.com The incumbents are Suzanne TWIN FALLS — The upcom- Hawkins, Greg Lanting and ing city election has the potential Christopher Reid, who will finish to bring new faces to next year’s their terms at the end of this year. City Council, as all three incumbents have challengers. Seat No. 1 Voters will decide Nov. 7 who Hawkins, 53, is the city’s vice will fill Seats 1, 5 and 6. Until mayor. She has lived in Twin Falls then, incumbents are preparing since 1982. Hawkins was apto bring out their old campaign pointed to City Council in 2012 signs and go door-to-door to to fill a vacancy, and was then solicit votes. elected in 2013. She and her husWhat’s different about this band own Computer Connection year’s group of candidates? in Twin Falls. Four of the nine are under 40. Liyah Babayan, 31, came to And three of the candidates are Please see CHALLENGERS, Page A4 running for election for the first HEATHER KENNISON
If you do one thing: Twin Falls Public Library’s teen random fandom
event will feature a Disney theme for students in sixth through 12th grades, 4:30 p.m. at 201 Fourth Ave. E. in Twin Falls. Free.
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$1.50
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Volume 112, Issue 321
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A Lee Enterprises Newspaper
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Copyright 2017
WASHINGTON — The top House and Senate Democrats said Wednesday they had reached agreement with President Donald Trump to protect thousands of younger immigrants from deportation and fund some border security enhancements — not including Trump’s long-sought border wall. The agreement, the latest instance of Trump ditching his own party to make common cause with the opposition, was announced by Senate Democratic Leader Chuck Schumer
J. SCOTT APPLEWHITE, ASSOCIATED PRESS
House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., leaves a meeting Wednesday with Speaker of the House Paul Ryan, R-Wis., and members of the Congressional Hispanic Caucus. Pelosi and Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer announced Wednesday they had reached agreement with President Donald Trump to protect thousands of Please see TRUMP, Page A4 younger immigrants from deportation.
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