Busy Fire Season Ahead

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Monday, April 8, 2013

Odd couple lawmakers team up on ed bills

‘BUSY’ FIRE SEASON AHEAD

 Read the story on A3

Republican Thayn, Democrat Durst on faster path for high school students to college

By HANNAH FURFARO The Associated Press

BOISE — When the Senate Education Committee convened in a basement wing of the Capitol during the 2013 Legislature, Sen. Steven Thayn and Sen. Branden Durst took their seats at opposite ends of the panel’s long, mahogany-stained table, separated as much physically as they may seem politically and personally.

Thayn is a demure, conservative 59-year-old former Spanish teacher from the town of Emmett, with eight children and 18 years under his belt as a dairy farmer.

Durst is a 33-year-old Democrat from Boise’s southeast side, notably outspoken and a partner at a marketing and political research firm during the legislative offseason.

Please see Lawmakers, A4

Melba High senior will present in front of U.S. Congress Samantha Rodriguez passionate about DREAM Act immigration reform

By NICK GROFF

ngroff@idahopress.com

© 2013 Idaho Press-Tribune

Samantha Rodriguez is about to experience a few “firsts.”

Tuesday will mark the first time she’ll ride in an airplane. It will also be the first time she travels out of Idaho. And this spring, she will be the first of her family to graduate high school.

Please see Kid, A4

Photo illustration by Randy Lavorante and Aaric Bryan/IPT

Samantha Rodriguez  Deaths Thelma Jordan Bob Brooks

David Taylor  Obituaries, A5

Keep up-to-date with us, comment on our Facebook page at facebook.com/Idaho.

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Idaho Press-Tribune • Monday, April 8, 2013

A COMMUNITY UNITED

Simply Cats finds good homes for local felines

By IDAHO PRESS-TRIBUNE STAFF

SIMPLY CATS ADOPTION CENTER

newsroom@idahopress.com

© 2013 Idaho Press-Tribune

BOISE — Simply Cats’ mission is to care for, protect and find quality homes for the cats entrusted to their organization. The group’s purpose is also to reduce cat overpopulation through spaying and neutering and provide educational comSubmitted photo munity outreach programs promoting the humane Simply Cats Adoption Center shelters more than 100 cats and kittens at treatment of all animals. any one time. It operates with the hard work of a small staff and over 100 IPT: What does Simply Cats do?

Simply Cats Adoption Center: We are a no-kill organization, we are unique in many ways. Our adoption center is cage-less, therefore, the cats do not have to spend their “residency” here in cages. We utilize the ASPCA’s research based Meet Your Match™ program, where a cat’s “Felineality™” is matched with its potential adopter’s lifestyle. This process leads to more successful adoptions. We are the only adoption center in Idaho utilizing this program

E. Idaho police tracking leads in triple slaying

BOISE (AP) — Names found in records associated with a dogfighting ring and marijuana growing operation at an eastern Idaho residence where two men and a woman were shot and killed are providing leads, an eastern Idaho sheriff says.

“We believe that they knew who the killer was,” said Oneida County Sheriff Jeff Semrad on Sunday.

“There’s no evidence there was a robbery.”

The bodies of 61-yearold Brent L. Christensen, 32-year-old Trent Jon Christensen and 27-yearold Yavette Chivon Carter were discovered Friday outside Holbrook, a town of about 400 people just north of the Idaho-Utah state line.

Brent Christensen is Trent Christensen’s father, and Carter is Trent Christensen’s girlfriend.

The sheriff said the couple had a 2-year-old and an infant, who were found unharmed, the infant under the arm of Carter. The children have been turned over to one of the grandmothers.

Beekeepers across state deal with bee deaths

BOISE (AP) — Higher rental fee prices for honey bee hives are helping to offset an accelerated loss of bees due to a variety of ailments, a commercial beekeeper in southwest Idaho says.

Nick Noyes of The Honey Store in Fruitland tells the Idaho Business Review that crop growers are trying to help by creating conditions more conducive to bee survival.

“We had some pretty good years in the last couple of years, so it’s difficult to preach too much doom and gloom,” said Noyes.

Bee experts say a mysterious affliction called colony collapse disorder has been killing bees across the nation.

The United States Department of Agriculture said average losses of 33 percent of managed bees occurred every winter through 2011. However, that fell to 22 percent in 2012.

“We raise more bees to keep the same amount,” said Scott Hamilton, a commercial beekeeper with S&W Honey in Nampa.

Walter Sheppard, Washington State University Department of Entomology chairman, said that on average about one in four bees dies before its time in each colony. He said in some years, as much as half a hive will be destroyed by a combination of varroa mites, poor nutrition and the effects of certain pesticides.

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dedicated volunteers.

for cats.

We maintain strict veterinary procedures and standards, thus maintaining healthier cats and kittens.

Our adoption fees include spay or neuter (all cats are altered prior to adoption), veterinary exam, vaccinations, deworming and microchip.

IPT: What is the history of Simply Cats?

Simply Cats: Simply Cats got its start (with just six cats!) as Just Strays Animal Foundation, Inc. in a one room office in the late 1980s.

Thanks to a very dedicated group of people, the shelter grew and moved into a larger building. By 2005, the name of the shelter was changed to Simply Cats Adoption Center to reflect its feline-only animal population. Simply Cats operated in this space for four years while plans were underway to construct a brand new adoption center. Thanks to generous founders, by 2007 our new state of the art facility was constructed, donated and has been our home ever since.

2833 S. Victory View Way, Boise n Adoption Center hours: Tuesday through Friday, noon to 5 p.m.; Saturday, noon to 4 p.m. n info@simplycats.org n simplycats.org n 343-7177 n

Our current facility houses 10 cage-less adoption rooms with an indooroutdoor (contained) concept. At any one time, each adoption room generally houses 8-10 cats. In addition, we have three smaller indoor only adoption rooms that we utilize as necessary.

The building also houses designated quarantine, isolation, and holding and exam room areas. These designated ward rooms are utilized for sick cats and cats awaiting veterinary approval to be put out for adoption.

IPT: How does Simply Cats raise money?

Simply Cats: Our organi-

zation has two main fundraisers annually: The direct mail “No Show Ball” and our casino-style gaming event, “Catsino”, where we hold a raffle and silent/live auction each year. We also offer many opportunities for members of the public to sponsor cats, which allows them to provide for the care of that sponsored animal.

We accept monetary and inkind donations throughout the year. And we also receive several small private grants that assist with our funding.

Simply Cats Adoption Center is a not-for-profit organization that relies entirely on donations for funding. We do not receive any government funds.

IPT: How do you spend your funds?

Simply Cats: In 2012, Simply Cats spent over $113,000 on cat care expenditures that included veterinary care, food and supplies and medical supplies. Our average cost for cat care was $91 per cat per month, with an average of 104 cats per month in residence. With these funds, we were able

to save a record number of cats and kittens, taking in 502 and adopting out 474.

This reflected a 35 percent increase in adoptions over 2011.

Because we do not euthanize for space, we treat many more illnesses than most other feline rescue organizations. This also increases our costs.

IPT: What can local residents do to help Simply Cats?

Simply Cats: In addition to monetary donations, there are many ways in which the public can help, such as donating in-kind items from our “wish list” – this usually includes cat beds, toys and other useful items for our facility (the list can be found on our website); volunteer – we rely on volunteers to maintain the function of our organization and facility; or foster a cat or kittens. Each year we are looking for special people that can assist us with fostering a litter of young kittens, a pregnant momma or a cat that may need additional socialization.

Experts: 2013 will be ‘typical’ fire season Officials don’t expect as many wildfires this year, but dry grass can still create high risks

Fire crews battled blazes that scorched more than 1.4 million acres of Idaho land last year. While this summer is not expected to see the fire activity of last year, according to experts, a dry July and August could still keep crews busy.

By NICK GROFF ngroff@idahopress.com

E

© 2013 Idaho Press-Tribune

xperts predict the looming wildfire season will be “busy” — as is usual for southwestern Idaho — but it likely won’t hit “benchmark” status like 2012.

Shelby Law, predictive services meteorologist with the Bureau of Land Management, said it is difficult to closely predict the coming month’s fire season, but a few clues add accuracy to the predictions.

“We’re below normal on precipitation, therefore snow pack is not very good either,” Law said. “The weather forecast is going to keep us near normal as far as temperature and precipitation goes, which is good. There isn’t a really dry or warm period coming up this spring.”

More than 1.4 million acres of Idaho land burned in 2012, costing more than $150 million. The “benchmark” season, Law said, is a result of a “bumper crop” of grass, or fuel, carried over from 2011. That crop only carries over about one year — it should not add to this year’s fuel level.

However, as July and August nears, longterm dryness in Idaho mountains could pose a problem, she said.

“I doubt it will be a repeat of last year. It will be a busy season, but that’s typical,” Law said.

“It’s pretty early to do any major predictions, but I’d be very surprised if we had a year like last year.”

Fire Mitigation Specialist with the BLM Boise District, Nick Yturri, said the area has already seen a number of small fires, and one in March south of Boise that burned about 750 acres.

He said a lack of spring precipitation has slowed “fuel loading,” or grasses drying out and greening up.

If precipitation levels do not pick up, and temperatures continue to rise, grasses will cure out — turn green, die, then dry — earlier, he said. At that point, grasses are prime fuel for range fires.

The BLM prioritizes life, property and natural resources, in that order, Yturri said. One concern for any fire in the area is Sage Grouse habitats and grazing allotments.

“We try to suppress every fire that comes our way,” Yturri said. “It’s a no-win situation if you just let (fires) go, even if it’s in the middle of nowhere, we try to put them out.”

Yturri said the BLM works with more than 50 rural and volunteer fire departments in Idaho, cooperates with county and city departments, the Idaho Department of Lands and the Boise, Payette and Sawtooth national forests.

Kari Greer/US Forest Service file photos

PREVENTING HUMAN-CAUSED FIRES

2012 FIRE SEASON BY THE NUMBERS

Take personal responsibility around homes. Clean up dry vegetation and hazardous fuels. n Use only marked trails when using ATVs. n Take caution when shooting target practice. Sparks can be emitted. n Extinguish campfires cold to the touch. n Secure trailers. Road-side starts can come from dragging metal on roads.

If conditions are right, Nick Yturri with the BLM Boise District said, an acre of range land can be up in flames in a matter of seconds or minutes.

113: “Large” fires in Idaho 61: Caused by lightning or natural causes 49: Caused by humans 3: Undetermined cause 1,483,440: Acres burned approximately $150,445,825: Approximate cost of season May 21: First fire. Human caused, 121 acres, $10,000 Oct. 14: Last fire. Human caused, 137 acres, $56,000.

3 acres: Smallest fires, White and Bear fires

n

started by lightning. $1,000 a piece. Aug. 8.

327,984 acres: Largest fires. Mustang Complex fire started by lightning. $38,323,413. July 30.

SOURCE: Predictive Services at Eastern Great Basin Coordination Center

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