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OVERWHELMING DEFENSE

Nampa Council to hear results of intersection safety study Mayor Bob Henry requested study of Locust Lane, Hwy. 45 after crashes

By IDAHO PRESS-TRIBUNE STAFF newsroom@idahopress.com

PHOTOS BY GREG KRELLER/IPT

Canyon County public defender Ryan Dowell appears in Magistrate Court on Wednesday morning for a motion hearing for his client Kayla Teton at the Canyon County Courthouse in Caldwell.

Canyon County receives no state funding for public defense

By RUTH BROWN rbrown@idahopress.com

NAMPA — While the Canyon County Public Defender’s Office has a budget of about $3.3 million, the Canyon County Prosecuting Attorney’s Office is set at about $5.9 million in county funds.

The question of whether a disparity exists in the state’s public defense system has been an ongoing issue in Idaho. Despite a constitutional right to public defense, Idaho provides no state funding to public defense.

The issue has sparked a lawsuit by the American Civil Liberties Union, and a 2010 report from the National Legal Aid and Defender Association concluded that Idaho’s public defense delivery system was constitutionally inadequate.

“By delegating to each county the responsibility to provide counsel at the trial level without any state funding or oversight, Idaho has sewn a patchwork quilt of underfunded, inconsistent systems that vary greatly in defining who qualifies for services and in the level of competency of the services rendered,” according to the report. “While there are admirable qualities of some of the county indigent defense services, NLADA finds that none of the public defender systems in the sample counties are constitutionally adequate.”

In 2013, the state Legislature formed the Public Defense Reform Interim Committee to undertake and complete a study of potential approaches to public defense reform.

State Sen. Todd Lakey, R-Nampa, is co-chairman of that committee.

Outside of the Legislature, Lakey is an attorney, a former county deputy prosecutor and former Canyon County Commissioner.

Lakey said that comparing the prosecutor’s office to the public defender’s office is not necessarily a direct correlation. The prosecutor’s office, for example, has civil attorneys who handle county litigation, among other responsibilities that public defenders do not face.

Prosecutors also handle issues such as search warrants, public records requests, code compliance and defending county departments or elected officials in civil matters.

Deaths Goldie Anderson Betty Buchta

Bill Goldsberry Lory Hanson Robert Machos

NAMPA — After a recent spate of serious crashes at the intersection of Locust Lane and Highway 45 in Nampa, Mayor Bob Henry sent a letter to the Idaho Transportation Department requesting that attention be paid to that intersection.

“Within the past three weeks, two serious crashes have occurred: one on September 14 sent a Canyon County Deputy Sheriff to the Henry hospital when his car was broadsided by a car coming out of Locust Lane,” Henry wrote in the letter dated Oct. 2. “Less than two weeks later, a semi tractor-trailer broadsided a pickup truck entering the intersection from Locust Lane.”

In response to Henry’s letter, ITD coordinated a road safety audit, according to the Nampa City Council packet for Feb. 1. A team of professionals from the Nampa Highway District, ITD, city and Federal Highway Administration participated in the audit.

On Monday, the Nampa City Council will receive the results of the safety audit from ITD on that intersection. Erika Bowen, District 3 traffic engineer for ITD, will summarize the report and action items during the council’s meeting.

The meeting is open to the public.

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These are the cubicle work spaces in the Canyon County Public Defender’s Office, located in the Canyon County Administration Building.

Meanwhile, Canyon County Chief cited Canyon County as an example of Public Defender Tera Harden said her the state’s flawed system. office has high caseloads, not enough Under the public defender guidelawyers and not the same level of suplines, a defendant must have a monthport that the Prosecuting Attorney’s Of- ly income not exceeding 187 percent of the federal fice receives from poverty guideline municipalities and ACLU issued by the fedlaw enforcement A recent lawsuit filed by the Amerieral Department agencies that are can Civil Liberties Union on Idaho’s of Health and funded by the state. unconstitutional public defense Human Services While the strugsystem was dismissed by an Idaho to qualify for the gle with caseload district judge Jan. 22. use of a public and manpower for On Monday, the ACLU filed a defender in Idaho. public defenders notice to appeal the decision to the Canyon County across the state is Idaho Court of Appeals. The case, has the sixth-highreal, Harden said which is a class-action lawsuit over est rate of poverty it is worth the the state’s public defender system, among the state’s challenge. alleges that the state is denying Ida44 counties, hov“I don’t hire hoans their Sixth Amendment rights ering around 20 people that want to legal representation in criminal to 24 percent, acto be prosecutors,” cases. cording to the U.S. she said. “Every Census Bureau. person here works With such a high poverty rate, the here because they believe in people’s demand for public defense is high. right to be represented. We represent About 93 percent of Canyon County people at their worst. It’s a tough job, criminal cases are referred to the Pubbut it’s really rewarding and we’ve lic Defender’s Office. had an enormous amount of success lately. ... Everyone that works here, works here because they love their job. CANYON COUNTY Canyon County has operated its And it’s oftentimes thankless, but we own Public Defender’s Office since outwork the prosecutor’s office on a Oct. 1, 2014. Previously, the county daily basis.” contracted with private law firms for public defense.

POVERTY AND PUBLIC DEFENSE The 2010 report from the National Legal Aid & Defender Association More DEFENSE | A4

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Four remaining occupiers at refuge remain watchful BURNS, Ore. (AP) — Four people occupying an Oregon wildlife refuge continued to hold their position Saturday and posted live videos that reveal their hyper-vigilance against federal officials who may try to move them out, Ammon Bundy’s while 11 others who were arlawyer, Lissa rested this week Casey, said her remained in custody. client is not During one aligned with early morning those remaining video posted by a man identified at the refuge near as David Fry, the Burns and wants occupiers exto go back to his press concerns about nearby family in Idaho aircraft, and Fry gets jumpy when he believes he hears gunshots near the entrance.

“False alarm,” he then said after realizing the noise came from a generator or some other type of equipment.

“We’re not dead yet,” he said, repeating a theme that he and others have expressed through the weeks of the occupation. They’ve said they will only leave if given immunity from prosecution and are ready to die defending their position.

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Refuge/from A1 Ammon Bundy, the principal leader of the group that seized the Malheur National Wildlife Refuge nearly a month ago, and others used the platforms to summon recruits to join their takeover.

Court documents against the 11 occupiers under arrest show FBI agents have scrutinized social media postings, interviews and online talk shows that have been during the standoff that began Jan. 2.

Bundy and several other jailed leaders appeared Friday in federal court in Portland, where a judge denied their release. U.S. Magistrate Judge Stacie Beckerman said Bundy, his brother Ryan Bundy and Ryan Payne pose a danger to the community, and she is concerned they would not follow orders to return to Oregon for criminal

Defense/from A1 Currently, the Canyon County Public Defender’s Office has 21 attorneys and one law clerk.

The national recommendation for a defense attorney’s caseload is that an attorney handle no more than 150 felonies per year. Canyon County public defenders handle up to 150 felony cases at any given time.

The Canyon County Public Defender’s Office has around 900 open felony cases with another two to 15 cases added daily.

Harden said to better handle the office’s caseload, she would need 30 attorneys but does not have the budget for that.

There are about 695 open misdemeanor cases being defended out of Nampa and another 925 misdemeanor cases in need of defense from the rest of the county. Additionally, there are about 550 open juvenile cases the public defender’s office is handling.

The Canyon County Public Defender’s Office is also responsible for some civil cases, such as child protection cases, guardianship cases, conservatorships, civil contempt cases that may involve family law lawyers, involuntary hospitalizations and developmental disability commitments, Harden said.

Public defenders do not represent only criminals, Harden said. Many of their cases involve children or mentally and physically disabled clients.

“It’s the right thing to do,” Harden said. “There’s a constitutional right to have legal representation and somebody has to stand up. So that’s what we do.”

Harden said on average, her attorneys work at least 50 to 60 hours per week. Much of that time is spent meeting with clients, witnesses and meeting with clients who are still in custody at the Canyon County jail.

“I guarantee there’s not a prosecutor that’s putting in time that my lawyers are,” Harden said.

FUNDING DISPARITY While prosecuting attorneys and public defenders have some different roles, they both face financial obligations when it comes to criminal cases.

“The state heavily funds prosecution,” Harden said.

“Every law enforcement

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proceedings.

The only woman arrested so far in the standoff, Shawna Cox, will be allowed to go home while her case makes its way through the court system.

But Beckerman said that won’t happen until after the armed occupation ends.

Ammon Bundy’s lawyer, Lissa Casey, said her client is not aligned with those remaining at the refuge near Burns and wants to go back to his family in Idaho.

“He is done in Harney County; his message has been sent,” she said.

Bundy and his followers took over the refuge to demand that the federal government turn public lands over to local control. They have complained about what they say are onerous federal rules governing grazing and mining rights across the West.

Court documents detail some

agency is an arm of prosecution.”

Agencies such as the Attorney General’s Lakey Office, the state lab, and the Idaho State Police — which are all state funded — support prosecuPerry tion, but they do not support defense, Harden said.

The prosecutor’s office Taylor does receive some funding for prosecuting misdemeanor criminal cases in city Harden jurisdictions. The public defender’s office receives no additional funding for defending the acBujak cused.

The city of Nampa does not have its own misdemeanor prosecutor’s office, but Nampa does provide nearly $600,000 in funding for the Canyon County Prosecuting Attorney’s Office to prosecute those cases. Nampa does not, however, offer any additional funding for the Canyon County Public Defender’s Office to defend the accused.

The city of Caldwell has its own city prosecutor to handle misdemeanor cases, but the city does not have a public defender, meaning Canyon County’s office picks up the defense of cases out of Caldwell without receiving any additional funding from the city.

The Canyon County Prosecuting Attorney’s Office, like every county, handles all felony case prosecution.

The Canyon County Prosecuting Attorney’s Office has 24 criminal attorneys plus part-time

CANYON COUNTY WEIGHS IN In a Dec. 11 letter, the Canyon County Board of Commissioners addressed the topic of public defense structure to the Idaho Association of Counties legislative committee.

The Canyon County commission wrote to the Idaho Association of Counties in reference to the Association’s Dec. 15 meeting, stating discussion of public defense legislation would reduce a county’s exposure to liability and “signal an end to passive acceptance of unfunded, unreasonable and possibly unconstitutional legislative mandates.”

This statement means the commission

of the evidence against the occupiers, including a memorandum filed by prosecutors Friday arguing against releasing defendants before trial. The charges against the defendants say the refuge’s 16 employees have been prevented from reporting to work because of threats of violence.

“As the armed group’s unrepentant leader, he (Ammon Bundy) has consistently and publicly expressed support for an armed occupation that has endangered, and continues to endanger, many people,” the document states.

A criminal complaint filed earlier this week makes reference to an online video that showed Bundy saying the group planned to stay for several years.

He called on people to “come out here and stand,” adding: “We need you to bring your arms.”

A video posted Jan. 4 showed another defendant, Jon

Ritzheimer, saying he was “100 percent willing to lay my life down.”

In a video posted a day later, Ritzheimer talked about Robert “LaVoy” Finicum and other occupiers taking up a “defensive posture” at the refuge against a feared FBI raid.

Finicum was killed Tuesday night in a confrontation with the FBI and Oregon State Police on a remote road.

The FBI on Thursday released a video showing Finicum’s death, to counter claims he did nothing to provoke his killing. In the aerial video, Finicum is pulled over in his truck but then takes off in the vehicle and plows into a snowbank because of a roadblock. He gets out and has his hands up at first, then appears to reach toward his jacket pocket at least twice.

He is shot and falls to the snow.

The FBI said a loaded handgun was found in the pocket.

THE SIXTH AMENDMENT The Sixth Amendment guarantees the rights of criminal defendants, including the right to a public trial without unnecessary delay, the right to a lawyer, the right to an impartial jury and the right to know who his or her accusers are and the nature of the charges and evidence against the defendant.

By statute, there are four approved ways of providing defense counsel to those who qualify, according to the Idaho State Public Defense Commission.

The following four ways are approved: 1. A county can establish an institutional public defender office.

Seven counties in Idaho have established offices, including Ada, Bannock, Bonner, Bonneville, Canyon, Kootenai and Twin Falls counties.

2. More than one county can jointly establish and operate an institutional public defender office.

Cassia and Minidoka counties have formed a joint public defender office.

3. A county can contract with the public defender office of another county for services.

No county in Idaho contracts with another county’s office.

4. A county can choose to contract with private practitioners to act as defending attorneys for those who qualify.

34 counties contract with one or more attorneys in private practice to provide public representation.

Of those 34 counties, there are 53 separate contracts involving 67 different private attorneys.

There are an additional six attorneys that have conflict-specific contracts and another two attorneys who frequently serve as a conflict attorney without the benefit of a contract.

Washington County has no institutional public defender office, nor does it have an existing contract with attorneys for indigent defense. But, Washington County has seven attorneys who are frequently appointed as public defense by a judge.

criminal attorneys. One of the part-time deputies solely handles conflict cases for other agencies and is housed in Ada County. Three attorneys handle solely civil-related matters that blend with the criminal side, such as post-conviction cases, child protection cases, mental health cases and juvenile cases. The office has five civil deputies and six victim witness coordinators.

Canyon County Prosecuting Attorney Bryan Taylor said the two offices’ budgets should not be considered “us” versus “them.”

“It is somewhat like comparing apples to oranges because the Constitution and Statutes provide different responsibilities and obligations upon both entities,” Taylor said in an email. “Breaking any multi-component system down into its individual parts for particular review is often problematic, because the sum of a system (especially one as complex as the criminal justice system) is more than its parts.”

The county does, however, have parity between the starting annual salary of a deputy public defender and a deputy prosecutor, which starts at

essentially questions which agency is liable if a lawsuit were to be filed.

The letter noted that the U.S. Supreme Court has made it clear the Sixth Amendment’s guarantee to a lawyer in criminal prosecutions is made obligatory on states — not counties — by the Fourteenth Amendment.

The Canyon County commissioners outlined issues within the county’s public defense system over the last few years.

They included issues such as the report from the National Legal Aid and Defender Association, the lawsuit filed by a former public defender in response to countywide budget cuts and issues with former county

around $50,000.

Taylor said he was unaware of any direct state funding his office received, but it has outside funding from grants and partnerships.

The prosecutor’s office does have one part-time employee who is funded partially from a federal grant. The rest is funded by the county for domestic violence prosecution.

One attorney is funded by the Treasure Valley Partnership as part of the Special Assistance U.S. Attorney Positions, which is run out of the U.S. Attorney’s Office. Although that person is on the PA’s budget, that person does not work in Taylor’s office or handle any local cases.

The public defenders do not have any of those federal resources, according to Harden.

Lakey said public defenders should have the same amount of resources available that prosecutors do in criminal cases as far as providing adequate investigators and attorneys with similar experience levels on criminal offenses.

LEGISLATIVE RELIEF In his recent State of the State speech this month, Gov. Butch Otter stated he would dedicate $5 million

Study/from A1 Residents who live near the intersection told the Press-Tribune in October they were concerned about the safety of the intersection. They also had concerns about new development in the area making the situation worse.

“We have a whole new community building across the way,” said Linda Witten, who lives near the intersection. “It’s going to triple the traffic and decrease visibility.”

In September, a Meridian man died at that intersection after his pickup truck was hit by a semi-truck. The other crash Henry referred to in his letter involved the sheriff ’s deputy and a teenage driver. The deputy was responding to a non-emergency call and was a struck by the teenage driver. The teen had stopped before entering the intersection. The deputy suffered minor injuries in the crash.

Highway 45 becomes 12th Avenue Road when it leads north into Nampa.

INTERIM COMMITTEE DEADLOCK BOISE — A group of lawmakers overhauling Idaho’s public defense system is deadlocked on what sort of enforcement mechanism to include in the bill.

Five of the 10 legislators on the Public Defense Reform Interim Committee favor a “backstop,” meaning the state would take over the public defense system of a county that’s not meeting the state’s standards, then either withhold sales tax money or sue the county to recoup the cost.

The other five members are against the backstop, arguing it could open the state up to more legal liability and that the state already has some leverage because it can withhold public defender grants from counties that aren’t meeting standards.

After meeting again Thursday night, the third meeting during the session so far, they adjourned, concluding that the draft of the bill in front of them was unworkable because of the “backstop” in it. The committee is expected to meet again next week.

—Source: Times-News

to public defense this year.

The Legislature’s Public Defense Reform Interim Committee has made some changes since its establishment, such as changing some misdemeanors from misdemeanor crimes to infractions.

In March 2015, curfew violations, littering and some tobacco offenses and Fish and Game violations were reclassified from misdemeanor crimes to infractions. Infractions do not require the use of a public defender.

Harden noted that crimes such as driving without privileges are still on the books as misdemeanor crimes. Changing those cases to infractions would again lighten the caseload public defenders face.

State Rep. Christy Perry, R-Nampa, who co-chairs the Public Defense Reform Interim Committee with Lakey, said adequate training, funding and reform are needed among the state’s public defense offices. She said she hopes to see a discussion of parity between the resources provided to prosecution of criminal cases and the defense of criminal cases.

Perry argued the systemic issue may need to be looked at on a city, county and state level. She said thus far, the state has relied on the counties to fund defense.

“I do find it is unfortunate, because prosecution is optional,” Perry said.

“Public defense is constitutionally mandated.

When something is constitutionally mandated, it is up to the state of Idaho (to support).”

However, Taylor said prosecution is not optional for his office, and he must work within the bounds of the laws the state puts in place.

prosecutor John Bujak.

In 2010, Bujak was accused of embezzlement from Canyon County that led to his resignation. Bujak was eventually found not guilty of those charges. He was later charged with bankruptcy fraud, concealment of assets, making a false statement under oath, money laundering and obstruction of justice. Bujak was found not guilty of those charges in May 2014.

The letter from the commission to the Idaho Association of Counties stated in Bujak’s case, the county was “ordered by our local court to pay the public defender costs of a former prosecuting attorney charged with misappropriating hundreds

“... The Prosecuting Attorney is a constitutionally established position, thus its performance is a Constitutional obligation,” Taylor said. “We do have the discretion to not charge any given case, and we exercise that discretion every day depending on individual case circumstances. In fact, a good portion of the (Canyon County Prosecuting Attorney’s Office) budget can be attributed to the staff, time and other resources necessary to make informed pre-charging and charging decisions, none of which implicate (public defense) work. That said, whether to criminalize certain behavior is for the Legislature to make.

If a law is on the books, it’s my obligation to see it fairly prosecuted. I’m glad that the Legislature is talking about (public defense) reform, but think it’s an oversimplification to say that ‘prosecution is optional.’”

Public defenders are appointed by a judge and do not select which cases to take on and which to turn away, with the exception of conflict of interest cases.

Taylor said public defense reform and funding is something legislators need to review.

“This is an issue that should be tackled by the State Legislature,” Taylor said in an email. “I agree with the U.S. Supreme Court, that those who cannot afford legal representative are entitled to effective defense at public expense, and that burden and cost is the responsibility of the State, not the County.”

Ruth Brown is the public safety and digital first reporter. Contact her at 465-8105 or rbrown@ idahopress.com. Follow @ RuthBrownNews.

of thousands of dollars from our county.

Recently, (the commission) observed a defendant drive to court in a new Cadillac to meet with his court-appointed and taxpayer-funded public defender.”

The commission suggested the association review who is eligible for public defense services and who will be liable for potential defects of the defense.

“In Canyon County, we won’t attach our names to any proposal that requires our taxpayers to pay for a State duty and that keeps us on the hook for potential civil rights violations relating to our ability to provide adequate funding,” the commission’s letter to association stated.

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Sunday, February 14, 2016

Open bar in Canyon County Nampa, Caldwell have what many cities don’t: available liquor licenses

Nampa school district aims to rebrand itself Peppershock Media will help district come up with new logo, vision and mission

By ALX GEORGE ageorge@idahopress.com

NAMPA — The Nampa school district is getting a brand lift.

The district has partnered with Peppershock Media, a Nampabased company, to create a new logo, vision and mission statement. Peppershock Media and the Nampa school district are seeking student, parent, staff and community input on the new brand.

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GIVING INPUT

ADAM ESCHBACH/IPT

Jen Shaul, a bartender at Buck’s Saloon in Melba, pours whiskey at the bar Saturday evening. Voters in Melba voted last November to allow liquor to be sold by the glass.

S

By TORRIE COPE • tcope@idahopress.com

ecuring a liquor license for a new bar or restaurant in Boise could mean waiting years or paying tens of thousands of dollars on top of applications. But in Nampa and Caldwell, the cost is only the price of the application, and the wait is only as long as it takes to fill out and process the paperwork.

That’s because the Canyon County cities have something many neighboring towns don’t have: available liquor licenses.

Licenses to sell liquor by the drink, which are capped in number based on a city’s population, have become so coveted in some Idaho cities that business owners may have to pay large sums of money to buy or lease a license from someone who already has one.

Their other option is to add their name to a long waiting list to get the next one that comes available through the state. In Boise alone, there are more than 60 people on the waiting list for the next available liquor license. The person on the list the longest has been waiting since 1999, according to Idaho State Police, the agency that oversees liquor licensing.

Meanwhile in Nampa, there were 17 liquor licenses ready and available, as of January. Caldwell also has eight licenses available.

Nampa Economic Development Director Beth Ineck sees that as a potential selling point at a time when the city is looking to attract new restaurants.

“Our population has grown so fast over the last 10 years, and it’s just taken a long time for service

Deaths James Farnsworth Catherine Green

Amos Hernandez Dorthy Lugo Merle Patrick

Nampa district renews Teach for America contract

amenities and retail to catch up,” she said.

WHY ARE LIQUOR LICENSES IN DEMAND? The number of liquor licenses allotted to each city in Idaho is capped by population — one for every 1,500 people or two total for towns with 1,500 people or fewer, according to Idaho Code. Businesses have claimed all of the liquor licenses available in Boise, Garden City, Meridian and Eagle. All of those cities now have waiting lists, according to ISP. Beer and wine licenses are not limited the same way.

The tight market for licenses has forced even successful Idaho restaurateurs to look out of state to expand. Kevin Settles, owner of Bardenay Restaurant and Distillery, which has three locations in Idaho, recently told the Idaho Business Review that he chose Colorado for his next restaurant, because of the hassle and cost of finding a liquor license in Idaho.

In that same story, Pam Eaton, executive director of the Idaho Lodging and Restaurant Association, lamented the problem with liquor licensing that she says is “crimping economic growth,” and the fact that

Janet Podolan Maria Salinas William Thayer Jr�

Peppershock Media will select interested persons for the focus groups to ensure diversity. Focus groups will be: n 2:30 p.m. Tuesday n 10 a.m. Thursday The student, parent and staff surveys will be available through Monday.

Those interested in giving input through the survey and/or focus group can contact Peppershock Media at info@peppershock.com.

Nampa Education Association has reservations about qualification of teachers

By ALX GEORGE ageorge@idahopress.com

the Idaho Legislature hasn’t been interested in changing the laws surrounding licensing.

The debate over changing the liquor licensing laws, which have been in effect since 1947, has simmered for years with numerous reports over the years of businesses paying exorbitant amounts to get a license on the secondary market.

For example, the owners of Montana Steak House in Twin Falls took out a nearly $200,000 loan to purchase a license for their business on the secondary market, because there weren’t any state licenses available for the city. That amount covered the cost of purchasing the license on the secondary market and the 10 percent transfer fee to ISP, the Times-News reported in 2011.

Gov. Butch Otter assembled a task force to

Obituaries, A7

investigate reforming Idaho’s liquor laws, and in 2009, reform legislation was introduced that would have done away with the limits on licenses.

The plan would have allowed cities and counties to issue unlimited new licenses to restaurants and lodging facilities only, but not to new bars, the Associated Press reported. It passed in the Senate but was rejected by the Idaho House amid fears that it would greatly increase the number of establishments that serve liquor, the Spokesman Review reported.

So far this session, legislation has been brought forward that makes minor corrections to the existing law regarding the definition of a person for retail sale of liquor by the drink, and to update a code reference to the Idaho Income Tax Act.

NAMPA — The Nampa School District has renewed its contract with Teach For America Idaho despite reservations from the Nampa Education Association.

Nampa School District employs six first-year Teach for America teachers and pays the organization $1,000 per teacher during their first year of employment. This covers additional training for those teachers provided through the organization.

Nampa will pay $1,500 for Teach for America teachers in their second year of employment.

First-year teachers are paid through their employment district the state-required teacher minimum of $32,700 during their one-year contract.

While Teach for America teachers are certified, they are certified through alternative certification and are not required to have a teaching degree. They are utilized for staffing hard-to-fill positions including special education teachers. But some have concerns, including their preparedness and training for any teaching position.

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A4 | Sunday, February 14, 2016 HOW TO OBTAIN A LIQUOR LICENSE

Licenses to sell liquor by the drink are issued under the authority of Idaho State Police. An application for the license must first be submitted to ISP, which will then take up to 90 days to process the application and investigate the applicant.

The annual fee for the license varies depending on the population of the city, according to Idaho Code. It ranges from $300 for a city with a population of 1,000 people or less to $750 for a city with a population of more than 3,000.

Once the state license is issued, business owners must also apply for a license with the county. The county liquor licensing fee is 25 percent of the state fee, according to Canyon County code. The licenses are approved by the county commissioners.

idaho press-tribune The state and county licenses must both be secured before the owner can apply for a city liquor license. The city may charge up to 75 percent of the state fee for the license, according to Idaho Code.

TRANSFERRING LICENSES The owner of a state liquor license can sell and transfer the license to someone else, but the owner has to use the license for six consecutive months and wait two years before the license can be sold, according to Idaho Code.

An application to transfer a license must be filed with ISP, and it’s reviewed in the same way that applications for new licenses are reviewed. A fee of 10 percent of the purchase price of the license will be charged by ISP for the transfer.

Liquor/from A1 Legislators have also discussed a ban on powdered alcohol in the state.

NEW RESTAURANTS WANTED NEAR FORD IDAHO CENTER In his recent State of the City address, Nampa Mayor Bob Henry announced a plan was taking shape to bring new businesses to the Ford Idaho Center.

Henry is working with Ineck to create an entertainment district that would spur private development on property owned by the city with the specific intent to attract restaurants. The new development would share parking with the Idaho Center.

“The goal is to drive development that would help the Idaho Center be more successful,” Ineck said.

Ineck was recently in Philadelphia, where she got an idea for what she would like to see near the Idaho Center. Philadelphia has a concentration of sports and entertainment venues along with restaurants and sports bars in the same area. Ineck said she envisions something similar, but on a much different scale in Nampa near the Idaho Center.

The plan is still in the early stages of development. Ineck has had discussions with Idaho Center management about what type of development would complement events at the venue and create a better overall experience for people when they attend those events.

“We’re just trying to put together all of that initial data and really identify what is the base demand for a development in that area and then start to have some conversations with developers who could do that type of project,” she said.

The preliminary stages also involve looking into how the city will pitch the project to potential developers. The availability of liquor licenses is one potential advantage for the project.

“That’s definitely a

PHOTOS BY ADAM ESCHBACH/IPT

Dave Bates enjoys a beer at Buck’s Saloon in Melba. Voters in Melba voted last November to allow liquor to be sold by the glass.

selling point for this project and something we list. Russel Gant, the owner of Buck’s Steakwill look into more, and incorporate that type house and Saloon, jumped over some additionof information into any marketing materials al hurdles to change the law and secure a liquor that we would put out for it,” Ineck said. license for his business.

Nampa’s population growth over the years The only way Buck’s could survive in the has earned it addismall town was with tional liquor licenses. the additional revenue ISP checks the Census that came from liquor numbers on an annual sales, Gant said. basis for each city in In order to change the state that allows the law, a petition first liquor by the drink to has to be signed to get determine the number the measure on the of licenses that are ballot. It then goes eligible. Cities like before voters to deterNampa and Meridian mine if the law should that have experienced be changed. Melba substantial growth revoters approved the cently, have also seen measure, which gave more licenses come the town two brandavailable, though ISP new liquor licenses. couldn’t provide an A shot of Fireball whiskey is held at Buck's Saloon in They were both exact number of new Melba. claimed right away. licenses that come One went to Buck’s available due to population growth. and the other went to Cook’s Two Hole, acBut, as Ineck said, Nampa’s retail growth cording to ISP. hasn’t kept up with its population growth in After two weeks with his new liquor license, that same time.

Gant said sales at Buck’s have increased 30 percent.

MELBA CHANGES LIQUOR LAW, “The customers are really enjoying it,” Gant said. “Now they can come in and have someNEW LICENSES SNAPPED UP IMMEDIATELY thing a little different than what they could get Idaho Code gives cities the ability to determine if liquor can be sold by the drink within before.” city limits. Several cities in Canyon County Gant is now sending a couple of his emdon’t allow the practice including Wilder, ployees to Las Vegas, where he lives, to learn Middleton and Greenleaf. Greenleaf doesn’t bartending skills and develop drinks that are allow the sale of alcohol at all, including beer special to Buck’s. and wine.

Torrie Cope can be reached at 465-8169 or Up until November, Melba was also on that tcope@idahopress.com. Follow @TorriecopeIPT.

“The customers are really enjoying it. Now they can come in and have something a little different than what they could get before.”

— Russel Gant, owner of Buck’s Steakhouse and Saloon in Melba

C M Y K

DEFense!

Boise State defense owns the day SPORTS, B1

STUDENT VS.

STUDENT Academics take the floor at annual Science Olympiad NEWS, A3

$1.50

Sunday, April 3, 2016

‘Dog’ helps kill bounty hunter bill Bail enforcement legislation fails to make it through Statehouse after ‘Dog the Bounty Hunter’ objects

By RUTH BROWN rbrown@idahopress.com

Duane “Dog” Chapman

ment agents was charged in the The proposed legislation was incident. brought forward after Patricia Among other things, Holt, of Rigby, wrote House Bill 508 would to legislators asking for have had several stipulanew regulations around tions, including: bail enforcement agent n Bail enforcement behavior. agents would have to Holt’s son, Philip Clay, wear clothing identifying was shot to death in them as bail enforcement Ammon last year when agents during forced bounty hunters were entry of a building. pursuing him after a n It would have prewarrant was issued for Clay vented convicted felons his arrest in Ada County.

Clay, 58, of Nampa, had failed to from being bail enforcement agents. appear for a court hearing. n It would have required None of the bail enforce-

BOISE — One year after a man was shot to death by bounty hunters in eastern Idaho, a state bill was introduced in this legislative session that would have created regulations for bail enforcement agents.

But after passing the House, 57-13, and passing the Senate Judiciary and Rules Committee, the bill failed to make it to the Senate floor vote, in part due to the efforts of the reality TV star known as “Dog the Bounty Hunter.”

Miyasakos persevere, embrace change in the onion business Family’s entrepreneurial innovations recognized with Farm Family of the Year Award

agents to have an enhanced license to carry a concealed weapon. n Agents would have been forbidden from using a false name upon introduction. n It would have prohibited bounty hunters from introducing themselves as an employee of any federal, state or local government. n Bail enforcement agents would have to be at least 21 years old. n They would be banned from wearing any kind of badge.

Civil and criminal penalties also could be enforced if agents violated the proposed requirements.

More BAIL | A4

Caldwell PD to test 27 rape kits Police decide to test the kits following a Press-Tribune article

By RUTH BROWN rbrown@idahopress.com

By OLIVIA WEITZ

The Miyasakos said they are proud of technological additions the company has made to Allendale’s onion packing line that have improved efficiency. A more recent addition includes a digital sorter that takes pictures of the onions to sort them by size before they are packed into burlap bags.

Randy said he remembers worrying when they first installed the line. He said there were a lot of onions to sort, and no one was quite sure how well it would work.

CALDWELL — Caldwell Police have decided to submit 27 previously untested rape kits to a lab for DNA testing, some of which may date back at least five years.

Following a 2015 investigation by the Idaho Press-Tribune, the Caldwell Police Department found that about 54 percent of the kits collected into evidence at CPD were AN IDAHO PRESS-TRIBUNE submitted to a lab and INVESTIGATION tested.

Following record requests, CPD reported it had collected 79 rape kits into evidence from Jan. 1, 2010, to Sept. 30, 2015. Of those kits, 37 had been sent to a lab for testing, 10 were sent but not tested, 26 were never sent and six were at the lab.

Caldwell Police Chief Frank Wyant told the Idaho Press-Tribune on Thursday that his department plans to send 23 of those untested kits to a lab. Two have already been sent, and three more cases are being investigated, he said. Of the three being investigated, one had a kit sent, one will be sent and one had no kit performed.

Three other reported rape cases were Wyant unfounded, and the kits won’t be submitted.

Wyant said even some of the rape kits stemming from closed cases where the suspect pleaded guilty are being sent in for testing.

A rape kit, or sexual assault evidence kit, is collected during a post-rape exam on an alleged victim. The exam can take several hours and involves swabbing the alleged victim’s body for DNA evidence, photographing their body and looking for any evidence that a sexual assault has occurred.

Any DNA evidence can then be used to either acquit or convict a suspect.

In part, some of CPD’s decision to test the kits came after a piece of legislation was signed last month by Gov. Butch Otter regarding rape kit testing policy.

More FARM | A15

More KITS | A15

oweitz@idahopress.com

WILDER — Wooden crates built to hold yellow, red and white onions are stacked 20 feet high next to onion storage sheds at the Allendale Produce Company off Highway 19 near Wilder.

During onion harvest, Kyle Miyasako said onions arrive from the field on trucks before they are sorted and packed on to nearby railcars. On a busy week, he said, the company will fill two to three railcars full of onions.

Growing, shipping and packing onions is a tradition in the Miyasako family dating back to the 1960s.

The family’s entrepreneurial innovations were recognized this year at the Nampa Chamber of Commerce’s annual agriculture forum held in March. On behalf of the Nampa and Caldwell Chamber’s Agribusiness Committee, Lt. Gov. Brad Little presented the Miyasakos with the farm family of the year award.

“It began as a small family farm, as most do, beginning with a few hundred acres and by 1965 the farm was over 800 acres growing onions, alfalfa seed, potatoes, sugar beats and wheat,” Little said.

Onions grown by the Miyasakos under the name T&K Farms are shipped across the country, mostly to New England. The family grows more than 20 varieties of onions, mostly yellow, but also red and white varieties. The jumbo size onions, in particular, are sold to Outback Steakhouse to make “bloomin” onions.

In total, T&K Farms grows around 1,500 acres of crops including sugar

Deaths Lillian Cabitto Cameron Gepner

Josefina Iglesias Marjorie Jensen Wayne Kressly

ONION PRODUCTION According to the most recent census produced by the National Agriculture Statistics Service in 2012, 6,514 acres of onions were grown in Canyon County.

Statewide, 8,000 acres of onions were planted in 2015, yielding $49.8 million in production dollars, according to the 2015 State Agriculture Overview.

PHOTOS BY ADAM ESCHBACH/IPT

TOP: From left, Dan, Jean, Kyle, Chris and Randy Miyasako help run T & K Farms in Wilder. ABOVE: Dan Miyasako stands inside the storage shed that stores 2,000 to 2,500 crates of onions in a temperature controlled setting.

beets, wheat, beans, peas and corn seed.

At the storage shed, Kyle Miyasako uses a smartphone app to track the temperatures at each of the half dozen or so onion storage sheds operated by Allendale in Wilder, Parma and Roswell. The ideal temperature for storing onions is between 35 and 40 degrees, he says.

“We’re always playing with temperatures and air and what not,” Miyasako

Joseph Mittleider Larry Parks Jr� Walter Riess

said. “An onion sorts different every year. What will work last year won’t necessarily work this year.”

Kevin became a third generation farmer when he realized that an office job wasn’t for him. Since joining the farm to work with his father, Kevin Miyasako and his uncles Randy Miyasako and Dan Miyasako, he’s introduced new technologies like the temperature monitoring app for the sheds.

Andres Sandoval Deanna Stritzke Dennis Vanoni

Dick Webb Leona Webb Obituaries, A7

Opinion ���������������������������������� A8-9 Legals ������������������������������������� A14 Weather���������������������������������� A15

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LOCAL

A4 | Sunday, April 3, 2016

Promoting child abuse prevention W

riting about cases of local child abuse never ceases to remain shocking, the images never seem less atrocious and the damage done to families can appear irreconcilable.

While my readers may comment on these stories by looking at only the atrocity at hand, as I sit in on court hearings, I often find more tragedy in the issues behind the family involved.

In 2013, an estimated 1,520 children died from abuse and neglect in the United States, according to the National Children’s Alliance. Of those, chilRUTH BROWN dren in the first year of their life had the highest 2C Etc. blog rate of victimization — at 23.1 per 1,000 children in the national population of that age.

The alliance stated that while fatalities are relatively rare, family abuse, neglect and abuse by parents using drugs are far more common.

Canyon County reported last week that in 2015, it had more cases of child abuse filed by prosecution than Ada County did, despite Ada County being more than twice the size of Canyon.

On Friday, local law enforcement along with county and city officials gathered to kick off their second annual promotion of Child Abuse Prevention Month in Canyon County.

While the campaign may not single-handedly take down child abusers nationwide, the message it sends is one of awareness and an effort for prevention.

The cases of abuse that make our headlines are the most severe cases in the county. Readers think of cases such as 22-year-old Adam Ortega who was sentenced to 10 years in prison last year for breaking the bones of his 6-week-old child.

Cases like Ortega’s are far less common than children subjected to less severe abuse.

As a community, we have a responsibility to help children. But we also have a responsibility to help families that are struggling to maintain positive caregiving skills.

The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services offers a variety of tips for parents and caregivers this month on how to prevent child maltreatment.

The agency outlines ways to relieve stress in families that stems from employment and financial issues as well as suggestions on how handle temper tantrums and defiant teenagers that can lead to a lack of patience.

Reach out to professionals, families and friends in a time of need and frustration.

Rather than allowing a case to escalate to prison time, admit when help is needed and don’t be too proud to ask for that help.

To learn more about resources available and suggestions for family well-being, visit childwelfare.gov.

Ruth Brown is the public safety and digital first reporter. Contact her at 465-8105 or rbrown@idahopress.com. Follow @RuthBrownNews.

Bail/from A1

idaho press-tribune

COMIC CON

Caldwell mobile home lost in fire, residents safe

By IDAHO PRESS-TRIBUNE STAFF newsroom@idahopress.com

ADAM ESCHBACH/IPT

Sandy Nguyen, of Meridian, takes a selfie with a clone trooper at a Comic Con hosted by the College of Western Idaho at the CWI Micron Center Saturday in Nampa.

CALDWELL —A mobile home in Caldwell was destroyed Saturday morning.

The Caldwell Fire Department responded to a mobile home fire at 2712 Arrowhead Drive in Caldwell Saturday at 9:35 a.m.

Four people were living in the home, and while all were able to get out safely, the home was a total loss, according to a press release from the fire department.

The fire was determined to have started in a clothes dryer that spread to 50 percent of the structure. Working smoke detectors in the home alerted the residents to the fire.

Fire crews from Caldwell, Middleton, Star, Nampa and Parma were dispatched to assist, and the Caldwell Fire Burnout Fund and the American Red Cross helped provide the residents with shelter and needed items.

TODAY

Caldwell — Boise Agility Runners & Climbers Dog Agility Trials, 8:00am, Canyon County Fairgrounds, 111 22nd Ave. Nampa — Legacy Charter School Accepting Lottery Applications, 8:00am, Legacy Charter School, 4015 S. Legacy Way Nampa — Liberty Charter School accepting lottery applications, 8:00am, Liberty Charter School, 9955 Kris Jensen Way Nampa — Overeaters Anonymous Meeting, 5:30pm, Crossroads Church, 4170 East Amity Rd. back entrance

MONDAY

Caldwell — Donkey Jam — Donkey Basketball, 7:00pm, Gem State Academy, 16115 S. Montana Ave Caldwell — Fit and Fall Proof Class, 10:00am, Caldwell Senior Center, 1009 Everett St. Nampa — Legacy Charter School Accepting Lottery Applications, 8:00am, Legacy Charter

School, 4015 S. Legacy Way Nampa — Liberty Charter School accepting lottery applications, 8:00am, Liberty Charter School, 9955 Kris Jensen Way Caldwell — PICKLEBALL, 7:30am, Caldwell YMCA Caldwell — Plus Square Dance Lessons, 7:00pm, Caldwell Senior Center, 1009 Everett St. Star — Preschool Play and Learn Storytime, 10:30am, Star Branch Library, 10706 W State St Eagle — Scottish Country Dance Classes, 7:30pm, Eagle Performing Arts Center, 1125 E. State Street

TUESDAY Nampa — Art Endeavor: Owl Be Seeing You – “Art Resist” Project, 4:30pm, Nampa Public Library, 215 12th Ave. S Star — Color Me Calm, 6:00pm, Star Branch Library, 10706 W State St Meridian — Free Hearing Screening @ ISU, 3:00pm, ISUMeridian Health Science Center, 1311 E. Central Drive Nampa — Kilroy Coffee Klatch, 10:00am, Warhawk Air Museum, 201 Municipal Drive Nampa — Legacy Charter School Accepting Lottery Applications, 8:00am, Legacy Charter

School, 4015 S. Legacy Way Star — Lego Club, 4:00pm, Star Branch Library, 10706 W State St Nampa — Liberty Charter School accepting lottery applications, 8:00am, Liberty Charter School, 9955 Kris Jensen Way Meridian — Live at The Bistro: Michael Barriatua & Curt Gonion, 6:00pm, Courtyard Marriott Boise West-Meridian, 1789 S. Eagle Road Nampa — Nampa Toastmasters, 6:00pm, Nampa Saint Alphonsus Medical Center (Winter Room), 1512 12th Ave Rd Star — Quilters, 12:30pm, Star Branch Library, 10706 W State St Nampa — TRIVIA NIGHT AT FLYING M!, 7:00pm, Flying M Coffeegarage, 1314 2nd St. S. Meridian — Visiting Author: Shawna Draper, 2:00pm, Shine Studio — Strada Bellissima Business Park, 3869 S. Springfield Ave

MORE TODAY IN HISTORY Today’s Birthdays: Actresssinger Doris Day is 93. Former German Chancellor Helmut Kohl is 86. Conservationist Dame Jane Goodall is 82.

Singer Wayne Newton is 74.

Actor Alec Baldwin is 58.

Actor David Hyde Pierce is 57. Rock singer John Thomas Griffith (Cowboy Mouth) is 56.

Comedian-actor Eddie Murphy is 55. Rock singer-musician Mike Ness (Social Distortion) is 54. Rock singer Sebastian Bach is 48. Rock musician

James MacDonough is 46.

Olympic gold medal ski racer Picabo Street is 45. Actress Jennie Garth is 44. Actor Jamie Bamber is 43. Actor Adam Scott is 43. Christian rock musician Drew Shirley (Switchfoot) is 42.

Comedian Aries Spears is 41.

Actor Matthew Goode is 38.

Actress Cobie Smulders is 34.

Rock-pop singer Leona Lewis is 31. Actress Amanda Bynes is 30.

Ten years ago: Former Liberian President Charles Taylor pleaded not guilty before an

part of or with law enenforcement agents could forcement,” Holt wrote in lead to civil issues. the letter.

Wills said he received Rep. Richard Wills, The proposed legislaa call from Chapman in R-Glenns Ferry, said one tion made it which Chapman of the reasons the bill did through the House said he wanted to not make it to a vote in Judiciary, Rules be legally allowed the Senate was because and Administrato work as a bail of lobbyists’ efforts and tion Committee enforcement agent calls by Duane Chapman, and the House in Idaho despite better known as “Dog The floor in a 57-13 being a felon.

Bounty Hunter.” Wills vote, but after The legislator chairs the House Judiciary, passing a Sensaid he believed Rules and Administration ate committee, it felons who have Burgoyne Committee and pitched failed to make it to been convicted of the bill. a vote on the Senate floor. violent crimes should not Chapman is a bail Wills said “Dog the be able to carry a firearm enforcement agent who Bounty Hunter” opposed under any circumstances. has appeared regularly on the legislation because, Sen. Grant Burgoyne, TV reality shows about in effect, it would have D-Boise, is on the Senate bounty hunters. banned convicted felons Judiciary and Rules Comfrom being bail enforcemittee and said the Senate LEGISLATORS ment agents in Idaho. had concerns regarding Holt said she is disapUnder the bill, bounty terminology in the bill pointed in the Legislature’s hunters would need an and appropriate definidecision and believes it is enhanced concealed carry tions when referring to dangerous to have permit, and since bail enforcement agents. no regulations in convicted felons Burgoyne said some conplace for bounty are not permitted cerns included whether hunters. to possess a firea convicted felon should In a letter Holt arm, they would be able to work as a bail wrote to Wills, not be eligible for enforcement agent. she stated her a permit in Idaho.

Some of the current bail son was “hunted Chapman, enforcement agents in down, cornered himself, was previ- Idaho would not be able to and shot by one of ously convicted of work as bail enforcement Wills six bounty huntfirst-degree muragents under that criteria. ers.” The letter explained der in Texas and served Rather than mandatthe bounty hunters were some time in prison. ing bail enforcement hours away from losing Chapman argued that in agents have an enhanced their bail bond for Clay 2008, the federal governconcealed carry permit, before the 180-day limit ment passed a law saying Burgoyne suggested alexpired. employers cannot discrim- lowing Idaho State Police “Numerous times they inate against an individual to perform background went to residences looking because they are a felon. checks on the agents. for Mr. Clay and outright He thought banning felons “We need to not have lied indicating they were from working as bail bail enforcement agents

international war crimes tribunal in Sierra Leone, denying he’d helped destabilize West Africa through killings, sexual slavery and sending children into combat. (Taylor was later convicted of all 11 counts against him, and was sentenced to 50 years in prison.)

Five years ago: The United States agreed to NATO’s request for a 48-hour extension of American participation in coalition air strikes against targets in Libya. Marine Lance Cpl. Harry Lew fatally shot him-

under the age of 21, and we need to have a system of approval through Idaho State Police through background checks,” he said. “It would give State Police the ability to waive criminal convictions that are old and would not be going to be contrary to the role (of a bail enforcement agent).”

With amendments to the initially proposed bill, Burgoyne said he would support a new bill with different language. He said part of the reason the amended bill didn’t make it to a Senate vote was because of how late it was in the legislative session. On March 24, the bail enforcement agent bill was reported out without amendments and referred to the Judiciary and Rules Committee, but legislative session adjourned March 25.

“But I am completely in favor of bringing the bill back,” Burgoyne said about the next legislative session.

DUANE “DOG” CHAPMAN Chapman told the Idaho Press-Tribune he did not oppose legislation regarding regulations for bounty hunters, but he believes it should focus on requiring training rather than mandating a weapons permit.

He noted that it has been 39 years since he was convicted of a felony, and

since then he has made nearly 8,000 arrests as a bounty hunter. He has lobbied in other states for regulations on education and training for bounty hunters. Chapman said he has no interest in carrying a firearm and instead uses a Taser if necessary.

“If you need a gun to take a guy out, you call the police,” Chapman said about violent wanted suspects.

He also believes that bail enforcement agents need badges as a form of identification and should be members of the Professional Bail Agents of the U.S. The legislation would have prohibited bounty hunters from wearing a badge.

Wills said he plans to try proposing legislation on the topic again next year.

“We have no regulations in the state of Idaho on what (bail enforcement agents) can legally do and can’t legally do,” Wills said.

After multiple amendment suggestions and significant debate in Senate committee, the bill never made it past the third reading for a vote by the full Senate.

PHILIP CLAY Clay was shot March 15, 2015, outside an apartment complex in Ammon after four bail bondsmen

self at a remote Afghanistan patrol base; three Marines were court-martialed for alleged hazing. (Two were acquitted; one pleaded guilty to assault after admitting he’d punched and kicked Lew.) One year ago: Information retrieved from the “black box” data recorder of a doomed German airliner showed its co-pilot repeatedly accelerated the plane before it slammed into a French mountainside, killing all 150 people on board.

came from Boise to arrest him on an Ada County warrant for a drug charge.

According to the Idaho Falls Post Register, bail bondsman Christopher Schulthies fired his gun five times, shooting Clay at least four times.

Law enforcement criticized the bondsmen’s efforts to locate Clay, alleging they took illegal actions such as illegal search and seizure and impersonating an officer.

Guy Bracali-Gambino led the group of bounty hunters, but none of them were charged, according to the Post Register.

Holt said the bondsmen never did receive the bond payments for locating Clay.

Holt said she remembers her son as only a kind, loving person who made a mistake by not appearing in court. But it was a mistake he didn’t deserve to die for, she said.

“Idaho desperately needs to never have this happen again,” Holt said about her son’s death.

“Had that group been qualified, certified law enforcement, this would not have happened.”

Ruth Brown is the public safety and digital first reporter. Contact her at 465-8105 or rbrown@ idahopress.com. Follow @ RuthBrownNews.

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Tuesday, May 24, 2016

ASHES TO ASHES

Meridian man invents AngelAire, an ash-scattering system, opens first location in Caldwell

By TORRIE COPE tcope@idahopress.com

C

ALDWELL — Family members held each other tight as they gathered around an urn to say their final goodbyes to a man they loved.

After pulling a lever on the square urn, the family watched as his ashes flowed out of the box and floated in a fine cloud over the Snake River before gently falling and dispersing.

That experience is what Scotty Crandlemire dreamed of as a better way for people to honor their loved ones after death. Crandlemire, of Meridian, has patented an urn that automatically scatters ashes.

It’s meant to be more dignified and less traumatic than attempting to scatter ashes by hand.

Crandlemire got the idea for his AngelAire urn after a bad experience he had while trying to honor a friend’s final wishes. Instead of scattering the way Crandlemire hoped and thought they would, the ashes came out in clumps.

They pooled around his feet and even got into his shoes.

“It was a terrible experience, so I fixed the problem,” he said.

Crandlemire, a pilot with no previous experience in the death care industry, saw his idea form in a dream.

“I woke up, took down the notes and approximately four years from there I got patented and invented the (AngelAire) urn,” he said.

The square urn has a fan mechanism inside that spreads the ashes in a controlled manner. Once the lever is pulled,

Court upholds contempt ruling against private prison company Corrections Corporation of America falsified staffing reports at Idaho prison, must pay higher attorney fees to ACLU

By REBECCA BOONE Associated Press

BOISE (AP) — A federal appellate court has upheld a contempt of court ruling made against a national private prison company for falsifying staffing reports at an Idaho prison.

Monday’s ruling from the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals means the Nashville, Tennessee-based Corrections Corporation of America (CCA) will have to pay higher-than-normal attorneys’ fees to the American Civil Liberties Union, which represented the inmates at the formerly CCA-run Idaho Correctional Center. That’s because the ACLU asked for and received an enhanced fee award for providing superior representation to the inmates despite limited resources.

The company disagrees with the ruling, CCA spokesman Steve Owen said.

“Our legal representatives are reviewing this new information to determine our options for possible next steps,” Owen wrote in an email.

More PRISON | A11

GREG KRELLER/IPT

Scotty Crandlemire, right, inventor of the Angel Aire urn, and Angle Aire franchisee Sarahlee Ziesins, left, display a custom cover that can wrap around the urn that has a build in fan that scatters ashes Wednesday morning at the new Caldwell based business. Top: The Angel Aire scattering ashes.

FIND OUT MORE

RULES FOR SCATTERING

AngleAire scattering urns Website: angelaire.com Address: 3901 Aviation Way, Suite C, Caldwell Phone: 1-877-322-3385

Scotty Crandlemire, president of AngelAire, said his service is legal in all 50 states, but there are certain rules to follow depending on where the ashes are scattered.

The Bureau of Land Management has these guidelines for scattering on public lands controlled by the agency: The scattering must be a small, private activity held away from areas where there are a lot of visitors. The activity must not be publicized.

The cremains must have been processed by pulverization after cremation The ashes must be scattered at least 100 yards from any trail, road, developed facility or body of water The ashes must be spread in a way that makes them indistinguishable to the public No markers or memorials may be left on site Scattering in national parks also comes with rules. Some parks require a special use permit first before ashes can be scattered. The parks also follow similar guidelines to those of the BLM, according to the National Park Service.

The U.S. Forest Service does not have rules or regulations addressing ash scattering, according to the agency.

ONLINE EXTRA Interview with Angel Aire inventor Scotty Crandlemire at idahopress. com/multimedia the ashes spread from the urn for about two minutes.

Crandlemire’s invention has been used in about a dozen scattering events. He has turned his idea into a business that he’s now in the process of franchising. The first location opened in Caldwell in April.

AngelAire has several designs of urns to choose from, and staff can plan an event around the scattering.

“We developed a business plan with the idea of it being a funeral service with the ash scattering as the central focus of our services,” said AngelAire vice president Jim Thorpe.

More ANGELAIRE | A11

Three teen boys arrested after thefts reported in Caldwell

By IDAHO PRESS-TRIBUNE STAFF newsroom@idahopress.com

CALDWELL — Three teenage boys were arrested on Monday in connection with two robberies in Caldwell including five vehicles stolen from the Vallivue School District.

According to the Canyon County Sheriff ’s Office, deputies responded to a report of a reckless driver and found a pickup truck registered to the school district in a field.

The deputies later found that someone had broken into the maintenance shop at Vallivue Middle School. The garage door on the building was damaged from a vehicle driving through it.

School officials reported five vehicles and a large amount of tools were stolen.

Caldwell Police assisted the sheriff ’s office in locating the stolen vehicles. One of the pickup trucks was stopped, and a juvenile suspect was arrested. Two others fled the scene in stolen pickup trucks, but authorities were able to locate the vehicles and arrested the other two suspects.

According to the sheriff ’s office, the suspects are also connected to a separate but similar incident that happened at Birds of Prey Motorsports in Caldwell.

More THEFTS | A11

Deaths Kimberly Anderson Patricia Bettinger

Maxine Bowne Robert Buckey Sandy Carlson

Betty Chandler Della Day Linda Francone

Ruth Grace James Hill Ina Knauff

Raymond Lenz Lawrence Monaghan

Jon Niedermier Maria Nimz Darlene Plumb

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Tuesday, May 24, 2016 | A11

SEVEN-DAY FORECAST TODAY

Sunrise

Sunset

6:13a

9:14p

73°

49°

WEDNESDAY

73°

50°

THURSDAY

75°

FRIDAY

48°

68°

SATURDAY

44°

68°

SUNDAY

41°

72°

MONDAY

46°

73°

50°

An afternoon thunderstorm in the area

A couple of showers and a thunderstorm

Clouds and sun

Mostly cloudy

Partly sunny with showers, mainly later

Cloudy with a thunderstorm possible

Mostly cloudy with a t-storm possible

27° RF: 75°/48°

RF: 76°/47°

RF: 75°/45°

RF: 70°/42°

RF: 69°/38°

RF: 71°/46°

RF: 79°/50°

RF: The patented AccuWeather.com RealFeel Temperature® is an exclusive index of the effects of temperature, wind, humidity, sunshine intensity, cloudiness, precipitation, pressure and elevation on the human body.

Shown are the highest/lowest values for each day.

ALMANAC

Roland Steadham

AROUND THE NATION

as of 6 p.m. yesterday

Caldwell Airport

Seattle 68/51

High temperature 70° Low temperature 40° Normal high 78° Normal low 48° Precip., 24 hrs through 6 p.m. yest. trace

Billings 65/46

High temperature 71° Low temperature 45° Normal high 75° Normal low 46° Precip., 24 hrs through 6 p.m. yest. 0.00” Boise Airport High temperature 70° Low temperature 45° Normal high 74° Normal low 48° Record high 95° in 2001 Record low 32° in 1966 Precip., 24 hrs through 6 p.m. yest. 0.00” Month to date 0.87” Year to date 4.52” Last year to date 4.62” Normal year to date 5.94”

Montreal 82/58

Winnipeg 83/55

San Francisco 64/54

Idaho Press-Tribune

A drier northwest flow is going to take over the weather for the next few days. We will continue to see occasional mountain showers. Otherwise, look for a mixture of sun and clouds in the Treasure Valley through the end of the week.

Temperatures will be very close to 70 degrees. The upcoming holiday weekend looks mostly dry for the Treasure Valley but the mountains could see a few showers through Saturday.

Toronto 83/61 Minneapolis Detroit 84/65 83/63

The Idaho Press-Tribune and KBOI have partnered to bring more accurate weather reports to you daily. Nampa temperatures are taken from the weather station located at the Idaho PressTribune. Also visit idahopress. com for morning and late afternoon video weather reports provided by KBOI.

May 29

New

First

Los Angeles 69/57

WEATHER HISTORY

WEATHER TRIVIA™

state reports the most Q: Which occurrences of hail each year?

A 91-degree high on May 24, 1982, turned the previous record high of 79 to ashes in San Francisco. If high pressure north of San Francisco forces the wind to come from the east, temperatures can bake the Bay City.

Forecasts and graphics, with the exception of KBOI forecast, provided by AccuWeather, Inc. ©2016

Washington 80/62

Atlanta 86/63

El Paso 90/63 Houston 86/73

Chihuahua 92/68

Miami 86/76

Monterrey 95/72 T-storms -10s

Rain -0s

Showers 0s

Snow

10s

20s

Flurries 30s

Ice 40s

Cold Front 50s

60s

Warm Front 70s

NATIONAL SUMMARY

80s

90s

100s

NATIONAL CITIES City

Tomorrow Hi Lo W

City

Today Hi Lo W

Tomorrow Hi Lo W

Albuquerque Anchorage Atlanta Austin Baltimore Billings Bismarck Boston Casper Cheyenne Chicago Cincinnati Dallas Denver Detroit Fargo Great Falls

83 60 86 86 80 65 81 60 70 68 81 82 87 73 83 86 58

80 61 88 88 84 63 73 81 67 68 81 85 87 73 80 74 63

Helena Honolulu Houston Indianapolis Juneau Kansas City Las Vegas Little Rock Los Angeles Louisville Miami Minneapolis New Orleans New York Oklahoma City Omaha Philadelphia

59 85 86 82 58 79 79 88 69 84 86 84 87 71 83 80 79

63 84 88 82 57 83 78 91 70 85 86 76 88 85 88 84 85

s pc s pc pc t s t t t t pc t t s pc sh

49 45 65 72 61 46 49 63 37 40 66 66 74 46 66 54 44

pc pc pc pc s t t pc t t t pc pc pc t t sh

41 74 73 63 46 67 60 70 57 65 76 65 73 59 69 65 61

t sh pc pc sh t s t pc pc t pc pc r t t t

Today Tomorrow Hi Lo W Hi Lo W

Challis Coeur d’Alene Grangeville Idaho Falls Jerome Lewiston McCall Mtn. Home AFB Ontario Pocatello Rexburg Salmon Spokane Stanley Twin Falls

61 64 61 65 65 69 58 71 75 65 64 62 65 56 62

43 73 74 65 42 69 62 72 58 68 76 64 74 67 72 65 65

sh sh pc t c t pc t pc t t r pc s pc t s

38 t 59 38 t 46 sh 70 47 pc 42 t 62 43 t 40 t 61 39 t 45 c 67 46 t 52 sh 72 51 pc 38 t 58 36 t 45 c 70 47 t 51 c 75 50 t 42 t 63 41 t 39 t 61 39 t 41 t 61 39 t 49 sh 70 47 pc 31 t 53 28 t 44 c 63 45 t

WORLD CITIES

110s

Today Hi Lo W

51 47 63 74 58 46 52 54 40 42 63 60 73 47 63 60 38

City

Stationary Front

Clouds and showers will still cool coastal areas of the Northeast today. Warmth will continue to build over the Southeast and Midwest and expand into more of the central Appalachians under sunshine. A corridor of thunderstorms will remain to affect the Central states as a multiple-day outbreak of severe weather continues. The greatest risk of large hail, damaging winds and tornadoes will extend from west-central Texas to Nebraska and southwestern Iowa. Most areas from North Dakota to New Mexico and southern Arizona can expect a dry day and at least partial sunshine. Clouds, showers and spotty thunderstorms will continue to affect much of the balance of the West. Most of the rainfall will stay north of Southern California.

Full

Jun 4 Jun 12 Jun 20

New York 71/59

Chicago 81/63 Kansas City 79/67

Denver 73/47

Moon Phases

Last

REGIONAL CITIES

Shown are noon positions of weather systems and precipitation. Temperature bands are highs for the day.

City

Today Hi Lo W

Tomorrow Hi Lo W

Beijing London Madrid Mexico City Moscow Paris Rome Sydney Toronto

86 64 77 83 68 62 71 69 83

87 59 72 84 69 66 73 69 80

City

Today Hi Lo W

Phoenix Portland, OR Rapid City Reno City St. Louis Sacramento San Diego Sioux Falls Salt Lake City San Francisco Seattle Wash., DC Wichita

60 46 55 55 51 46 54 51 61

89 65 71 51 74 48 63 48 Hi Lo 84 69 74 51 69 61 83 61 72 50 64 54 68 51 80 62 83 67

pc pc pc pc r pc s s s

s pc pc tW t pc pc pc t pc pc pc t

63 47 54 57 50 50 56 52 56

pc c pc pc sh pc pc pc pc

Tomorrow Hi Lo W

89 64 66 50 71 44 65 46 Hi Lo 83 71 77 51 68 62 81 56 69 49 63 53 65 50 84 66 92 71

s c t tW t pc pc t t pc c s pc

Weather(W): s-sunny, pc-partly cloudy, c-cloudy, sh-showers, t-thunderstorms, r-rain, sf-snow flurries, sn-snow, i-ice

A: Colorado

AngelAire/ from A1

The prices range from $500 for a scattering done by AngelAire employees with a video provided to $1,500 or more for an event.

Patsy Forsberg-Young of Meridian chose AngelAire for a service to scatter her husband Jay L. Young Sr.’s ashes at their property in Kuna.

“We set it on a hill overlooking the creek,” Forsberg-Young said. “We let the ashes go, and when it was all over, everyone that was there commented to me that it was the most peaceful funeral they had ever been to.”

Forsberg-Young liked the experience so much that she decided to plan cremation for herself. She had originally planned a burial but changed her mind after the AngelAire service.

SUBMITTED PHOTO

This photo provided by the Canyon County Sheriff’s Office shows damage done to the maintenance shop at Vallivue Middle School. Three teens are accused of stealing five vehicles and tools from the building.

Thefts/from A1 A truck was used to drive through a shop door. A trailer and two ATVs were stolen from the business, but the stolen items were later recovered.

The three suspects range in age from 15 to 17. One is in custody at the Southwest Idaho Juvenile Detention Center. The other two were released to their parents, according to the sheriff ’s office.

Prison/from A1 The ACLU sued CCA on behalf of the prisoners in 2011 contending that understaffing led to rampant violence and other problems at the prison south of Boise.

CCA agreed to increase staffing levels and make other changes as part of a settlement agreement, but an Associated Press investigation later revealed that the company was falsifying reports in order to hide continued

FINDING A NICHE Crandlemire thought that inventing a new product would be the hard part, but he found that forming the business was the challenge.

“I thought the death care industry would just wrap their arms around me,” Crandlemire said.

That hasn’t been the case. Crandlemire said the people he has talked to in the industry are reluctant to embrace cremation, because it’s not as profitable as burial services.

According to the National Funeral Directors Association, the median national cost of funeral with burial

understaffing from state officials. The understaffing put the company in violation of its $29 million annual contract to run the 2,080-bed prison for the state of Idaho.

The phony staffing logs prompted Idaho Gov. C.L. “Butch” Otter to order the state to take over operations at the prison.

Though CCA no longer operates the Idaho Correctional Center — the prison was renamed the Idaho State Correctional Center after the state took over operations — the

validity of the contempt order remained an issue because CCA was also fighting the amount of attorneys’ fees granted to the ACLU. Though CCA increased the number of budgeted security staff after the settlement, the company didn’t actually fill many of those new positions, according to the ruling.

The warden was warned during meetings that there were acute staffing difficulties, but they were never addressed.

“Finally, CCA contends

SUBMITTED PHOTO/ANGEL AIRE

AngelAire scattering at clients home site

was about $7,100 in 2014. For a cremation, the median cost was about $6,000.

But cremation is on the rise.

The U.S. cremation rate has nearly doubled in the last 15 years, according to the Cremation Association of North America. The national rate in 2014 was 46.7 percent compared to 24.8 percent in 1999.

Crandlemire found interest from his first franchise owner in Sarahlee Ziesing. Ziesing opened an office for AngelAire at the Caldwell Airport.

“What I liked about AngelAire is that it filled a niche that no one else is filling right now,” Ziesing said. “... It offers a beautiful way for a family to say goodbye to a loved one. It offers

its senior management may not have known that ICC staff members were falsifying staffing rosters,” 9th Circuit Judge William Fletcher wrote for the unanimous three-judge panel. “CCA failed, however, to take all reasonable steps that would have allowed it to discover that records had been falsified.”

Generally, the winners of a lawsuit can ask the court to order the losing party to pay their attorneys’ fees and court costs. In the lower court, U.S. District Judge David

closure.”

Crandlemire and Thorpe are now trying to grow that business at a controlled rate. They’re still working on perfecting the urn and the pedestal it stands on.

There are also other options that they’re working with, such as adding in glitter, wildflower seeds or colored chalk to the ashes.

Thorpe said that because this product is new and different, he and Crandlemire are focusing on educating and spreading the word about what it can offer.

“We need to get the word out that there’s something new in the marketplace that can really meet a need,” Thorpe said.

Carter chose to award enhanced attorney’s fees to the ACLU, noting that the lawyers worked under extremely tight deadlines and provided superior service to the inmates they represented. The enhancements were substantial: Carter doubled the fees for one attorney and multiplied another attorney’s fees by 1.3. In total, the court awarded just under $350,000 in attorney’s fees and costs to the ACLU. The appellate court also found that the higher attorneys’ fees were merited

because it can be difficult to find attorneys willing to take on inmate civil rights claims, especially in cases where operational changes, not monetary damages, are sought. The larger-than-normal award will help attract competent attorneys in similar cases down the road, Fletcher wrote.

In a written statement, ACLU-Idaho Legal Director Richard Eppink said, “The courts have once again found that CCA was in the wrong and must be held accountable.”

C M Y K

FRIDAY NIGHT FOOTBALL IS BACK Find out how your local high school football team did in its season opener in Sports.

75 cents

Saturday, August 27, 2016

New school comes into Vue Ridgevue High holds its first event, a football game

By B.J. RAINS

FILE PHOTO

bjrains@idahopress.com

State Sen. Jim Guthrie, R-Inkom, and state Rep. Christy Perry, R-Nampa, have been accused of having an affair.

I

t was a moment more than three years in the making. And forgive principal Julie Yamamoto for getting a little bit emotional.

The new $55 million, 250,000-square-foot Ridgevue High School officially opened Friday night with a ribbon-cutting ceremony outside the main doors. The project was approved in 2013, and ground broke in 2014. Students will enter for the first official day of classes on Monday.

“I’ll admit it brings a tear to your eye,” said Yamamoto, who has been the planning principal four about a year.

“This is such a fantastic facility. I heard some young ladies jumping up and down saying, ‘I can’t

Legislative audit clears Rep. Perry Inconsistency found in Guthrie’s travel reimbursements

By LIS STEWART lstewart@idahopress.com

CHRIS BRONSON/IPT

ABOVE: A P-51 Mustang flies over Ridgevue High School before the start of Friday night’s game against Boise, the first-ever game for the new Canyon County high school. BELOW: People crowd around Ridgevue High School for the official ribbon cutting ceremony held Friday evening at the school.

believe we get to go to this palace,’ and I hope every student feels that way.”

A crowd of about 300 students, parents and community leaders gathered outside the main entrance Friday night to help officially open the new school. A P-40 Warhawk then finished the ceremony with a flyover just

before kickoff of the first football game in school history.

“It’s really just a very rewarding feeling to see it all come together after so many days of work,” Vallivue Superintendent Pat Charlton said. “Incrementally seeing the school go up before our eyes has been pretty neat, and to have it turn out so nice is just a great feeling.

“All the work has been worth it. Here we go.

We’ll have kids here on Monday morning going to school. I think it’s going to be a great place to go to school.”

It looked like a high school on Friday night.

The marching band played the new fight song. The school choir sang the national anthem. Parents yelled for the Warhawks to play better defense.

It was everything those involved in the project have dreamed of for years.

“Oh it’s all so real,” Yamamoto said. “We’re so excited. The teachers are ready. They’ve worked hard. They students are excited. There’s just such a great buzz around what’s going on. We’re all ready.”

A legislative audit of the travel expense reports of two state legislators embroiled in a scandal cleared a local representative but found one thing that is possibly wrong in a senator’s reimbursements.

The audit was SEE FOR launched at the YOURSELF request of legisTo see the lative leadership report for yourself, late last week click on this story after an east at idahopress.com.

Idaho blogger published a post accusing Rep. Christy Perry, R-Nampa, and Sen. Jim Guthrie, R-Inkom, of having an affair, alleging they inappropriately used state travel funds for liaisons.

The results of the audit, released Friday morning, reported the travel expense reports of Perry were for “allowable activities with a verifiable state business purpose as a member of the House of Representatives.”

More AUDIT | A13

Hanson, Rule agree to appeal the denial of jail permit Decision to go to Caldwell City Council

By OLIVIA WEITZ oweitz@idahopress.com

Old Mercy hospital still stands, despite demolition demand Property owner Doug Tamura was supposed to submit a schedule for demolition

By RUTH BROWN rbrown@idahopress.com

NAMPA — Despite a city order, the owner of the old Mercy Medical Hospital still has not submitted a schedule for the historic building’s demolition.

Mercy Medical Hospital, at 1615 Eighth St. S., was destroyed in an accidental fire in January.

The old hospital, built in the 1910s, has been vacant for

Deaths Richard Alvarez Megan Anderson

RUTH BROWN/IPT

Half of the old Mercy Hospital building still stands Wednesday afternoon in Nampa.

more than 10 years.

After the fire, the city declared the building struc-

Rolf Bitsch Frederick Cottrell Raymond Darr

Vina Kuang-Huey Tai Stuart Tidwell Gary Prickett

turally unsafe for human occupancy. Since then, part of the property has been de-

Obituaries, A5

stroyed, but the oldest part of the building still stands.

On Aug. 2, the city sent an order stating that within 10 days, owner Doug Tamura must provide a letter requesting an extension of his demolition permit. As of Friday, the city had not received notice.

Tamura was also ordered to provide a description of the desired length of time he planned to keep the building in its current state. The city also demanded Tamura provide a schedule for the building to be boarded up and a narrative describing the methods he planned to use to secure the building.

More MERCY | A13

Stocks ........................................ A4 Weather.................................. A13 Crosswords ................................ C3

CALDWELL — Earlier this month, the city of Caldwell Planning and Zoning commission denied a special use permit filed by the county to build the jail expansion project.

On Friday, Commissioners Craig Hanson and Steve Rule decided to formerly appeal that decision, a process that will go to the Caldwell City Council for consideration. Commissioner Tom Dale was not at the meeting.

“I propose that we appeal this to the City Council and bring more accurate, updated information,” Rule said.

The accurate information Rule is referencing relates to testimony Dale provided at the Planning and Zoning meeting. Dale said a big reason he opposes the project is due to a lack of a strategic plan addressing Canyon County’s long-term jail needs.

More JAIL | A13

CORRECTION In a story on page A4 Tuesday, Jeffery Hiscox should have been identified as the passenger in a fatal crash on Thursday.

Comics ....................................... C4 Classifieds ............................. C6-8 C M Y K

COLD COMFORT VANDALS IN BOISE

Idaho set to take on Colorado State in Famous Idaho Potato Bowl.

GAMEDAY G1

Check out C1 for tips on making winter camping a treat.

75 cents

Thursday, December 22, 2016

TURN FOR THE WORSE?

Median affecting business on Caldwell Boulevard

Nampa loosening regulations on taxis City Council to consider eliminating background checks in January

By LIS STEWART lstewart@idahopress.com

CHRIS BRONSON/IPT

A car pulls out of the Zamzows’ parking lot onto Caldwell Blvd. Tuesday morning. A median has caused traffic flow issues with drivers trying to get to the store.

By LIS STEWART lstewart@idahopress.com

N

AMPA — Two months after a median was installed on Caldwell Boulevard in Nampa, local businesses say the change has had consequences.

The Idaho Transportation Department defended its construction project, citing the need to improve safety in the area.

“Due to the high number of serious crashes at this location, the Idaho Transportation Department and the city of Nampa worked closely together to ensure that safety modifications were addressed in the design of this project,” ITD District 3 Engineering Manager Amy Schroeder said in a statement Tuesday. “We also appreciate the input we received from nearby businesses, and are pleased we were able to incorporate it into the final design of this safety project.”

About two dozen injury crashes, plus many more fender benders, were reported from 2009 through 2013 on the stretch of Caldwell

Boulevard between Karcher Road/ Midland Boulevard and the Karcher Mall traffic signal, according to ITD. The monthlong road project on that stretch of road included three elements: removal of the freerunning right-hand turn onto Karcher/Midland from Caldwell Boulevard, optimized signal timing and a raised median between the Karcher/Midland intersection and signal at Karcher Mall. It is the median, intended to reduce the number of crashes, that is supposedly affecting commerce and travel in the area.

The median prevents cars from turning left from Caldwell Boulevard between the intersections.

Instead, they can use the U-turn installed at the Karcher Mall traffic signal, remarked Tony Vasholtz, branch manager at D.L. Evans Bank, 1536 Caldwell Blvd.

Officials with D.L. Evans pushed for the U-turn to be put in when the project was presented to the business community, Vasholtz said.

Not everyone uses the U-turn to access businesses on the north side of Caldwell Boulevard, such as D.L. Evans, Savers and Zamzows. Even when they do, cars are now turning in at the bank and cutting through its drive-thru and over its sidewalks on their way to other stores.

Rather than use the U-turn, Vasholtz said a lot of cars turn left at the light and follow the access road toward Lowe’s, then turn left and cut through the parking lot behind Sherwin-Williams Paint Store. The issue with that route is the parking lot wasn’t designed for through traffic, and there is a “Do not enter” sign that people ignore.

Vasholtz said his employees park back there, and they have had some close calls with cars cutting through the parking lot. It is also a loading zone for Sherwin-Williams, and the area is more difficult to navigate when semi-trucks are parked in the lot.

While people have always cut through the back parking lot, bank officials expected traffic would increase with the median’s installation. They were right, according to Vasholtz.

“I’m sure overall it probably has or will reduce accidents out there on the Boulevard, but from our perspective it was something we did not welcome,” Vasholtz said.

For other businesses on that side of Caldwell Boulevard, they have seen a drop in customers since the median was constructed.

More MEDIAN | A7

Companies ask to block Attorney General on internet contract

By KIMBERLEE KRUESI Associated Press

BOISE — Two internet companies are asking a federal judge to block the state’s attorney general from forcing them to return millions of dollars paid under a cancelled state broadband contract.

Education Networks of America Inc. and CenturyLink Communications LLC first filed their lawsuits in federal court in August, where they argued that the state owed them more than $37 million in back payments and damages.

Deaths, A5 Brent Abbott Elaine Beus

Two internet companies are asking a federal judge to block Attorney General Lawrence Wasden from forcing them to return millions of dollars paid under a voided broadband contract.

Shortly after the announcement of the federal lawsuits, Attorney General Lawrence Wasden filed a separate lawsuit in state court demanding that actually the vendors needed to return tax dollars paid to them under the illegal deal.

Those two companies have since amended their federal complaints to request that Wasden be prohibited from

George Bruehl Katherine Combs Scott Gjerde

Daniel Grisham Glenna Hoch Patty Kelley

interfering with their payment recovery.

“This action seeks to enjoin the state of Idaho from attempting to collect from the plaintiff sums paid to the plaintiff for services that the state admits that it owed, which payments were approved by the state,” wrote Phillip Oberrecht, a Boise attorney representing ENA, in the lawsuit filed Oct. 17.

In November, CenturyLink filed a similar amended complaint.

So far, Wasden’s office has only responded in court filings to ENA’s new lawsuit.

A spokesman for Wasden declined to comment Wednesday because of the pending litigation.

“Idaho courts should decide whether Idaho law requires ENA to return state funds it received, and whether it permits ENA to collect any additional money from the state,” wrote Scott Zanzig, a deputy attorney general, in a Dec. 12 response.

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Keep up-to-date with us, comment Follow us for news and info on our Facebook page at facebook. at twitter.com/IdahoPressTrib com/Idaho.Press.Tribune

NAMPA — The city of Nampa is trying to level the playing field between local taxi companies and ride-hailing companies like Uber and Lyft.

It’s a strategy supported by City Councilman Bruce Skaug, who said he believes that taxi companies are unfairly regulated.

“Less government involvement, more freedom. That’s what I want,” Skaug said.

The Nampa City Council voted unanimously earlier this month to remove certain restrictions on taxi companies, such as requiring 24-hour service and police inspections. That proposal was brought forward by Skaug.

Next month, the City Council is expected to decide if the time has comet to do away with the requirement that taxi drivers undergo background checks, a proposal advanced by Mayor Bob Henry.

At Monday’s City Council meeting, Henry asked how city officials should respond if taxi company owners wonder why the city is holding taxi drivers to a different standard than Uber or any other internet-based taxicab business.

Uber does provide quotes for ride services while in Nampa.

More TAXI | A7

Public invited to pair of city open houses Water rate increase public hearing set for Jan. 17

By IDAHO PRESS-TRIBUNE STAFF newsroom@idahopress.com

NAMPA — Nampa officials will host a pair of public open houses next month to share information about another proposed increase in water rates.

The public is invited to an open house scheduled from 5 to 7 p.m. Jan. 4 at the Nampa Civic Center, 311 Third St. S. The second open house is planned for Jan 5 from 5 to 7 p.m. at Snake River Elementary School, located at 500 Stampede Drive.

Under the proposal, rate hikes will vary depending on the size of the meter and amount of water used. Customers are billed every two months.

The increase for the average commercial customer would be from $78.87 to $103.76.

The increase for the average residential customer would be from $24.77 to $28.19.

If approved, the increases would go into effect March 1.

Earlier this year, the City Council approved a one-year, 18 percent overall increase for domestic water rates and an overall 58 percent increase for irrigation assessment fees.

More WATER | A7

More CONTRACT | A7

Opinion ................... A6 Weather.................. A7 Sports ..................... B1

Outdoors.................. C1 Legals ...................... C4 Classifieds ........... C5-6 C M Y K

Thursday, December 22, 2016 | A7

idaho press-tribune

SEVEN-DAY FORECAST TODAY

FRIDAY

Sunrise

Sunset

8:17a

5:13p

25°

16°

33°

26°

SATURDAY

32°

SUNDAY

19°

MONDAY

7°

27°

22°

TUESDAY

9°

29°

WEDNESDAY

16°

29°

14°

Cold with a blend of sun and clouds

Chilly with snow at times, 1-2”

Cloudy with a little snow

Cold with times of clouds and sun

Sunny to partly cloudy and cold

Rather cloudy, snow or flurries possible

Snow or flurries possible in the morning

27° RF: 22°/11°

RF: 21°/15°

RF: 23°/16°

RF: 24°/4°

RF: 21°/0°

RF: 24°/15°

RF: 34°/15°

January 21, 2017 FORD IDAHO CENTER Presented by EventRent

RF: The patented AccuWeather.com RealFeel Temperature® is an exclusive index of the effects of temperature, wind, humidity, sunshine intensity, cloudiness, precipitation, pressure and elevation on the human body.

Shown are the highest/lowest values for each day.

ALMANAC

Roland Steadham

1558604

AROUND THE NATION

as of 6 p.m. yesterday

Seattle 45/37

High temperature 34° Low temperature 7° Normal high 37° Normal low 21° Precip., 24 hrs through 6 p.m. yest. 0.01”

Winnipeg 27/14

Minneapolis 32/24

High temperature 26° Low temperature 13° Normal high 38° Normal low 21° Precip., 24 hrs through 6 p.m. yest. 0.00” Boise Airport High temperature 30° Low temperature 14° Normal high 36° Normal low 23° Record high 60° in 1964 Record low -23° in 1990 Precip., 24 hrs through 6 p.m. yest. trace Month to date 1.39” Year to date 8.08” Last year to date 10.73” Normal year to date 11.28”

Chicago 35/21

Denver 35/24

El Paso 57/42

Rain -0s

Showers 0s

Miami 81/70

20s

Flurries 30s

Ice 40s

Cold Front 50s

The Idaho Press-Tribune and KBOI have partnered to bring more accurate weather reports to you daily. Nampa temperatures are taken from the weather station located at the Idaho PressTribune. Also visit idahopress. com for morning and late afternoon video weather reports provided by KBOI.

WEATHER TRIVIA™

was Frosty the Snowman Q: What made from?

Dec 28

Full

WEATHER HISTORY An East Coast storm on Dec. 22, 1839, caused heavy snow in Pennsylvania and Maryland then light snow and gale-force wind in New England. The second of three December storms that year, it dumped 25 inches of snow on Gettysburg, Pa. Forecasts and graphics, with the exception of KBOI forecast, provided by AccuWeather, Inc. ©2016

Warm Front 70s

80s

90s

100s

City

Today Hi Lo W

Tomorrow Hi Lo W

City

Today Hi Lo W

Tomorrow Hi Lo W

Albuquerque Anchorage Atlanta Austin Baltimore Billings Bismarck Boston Casper Cheyenne Chicago Cincinnati Dallas Denver Detroit Fargo Great Falls

39 14 61 61 49 30 34 41 32 35 35 38 54 35 37 33 35

49 10 56 66 47 30 27 43 35 45 35 42 55 45 34 36 29

Helena Honolulu Houston Indianapolis Juneau Kansas City Las Vegas Little Rock Los Angeles Louisville Miami Minneapolis New Orleans New York Oklahoma City Omaha Philadelphia

26 81 69 36 36 39 52 50 68 41 81 32 66 45 46 40 47

28 80 69 38 27 41 57 49 63 45 81 34 68 45 50 40 45

sn s pc pc pc pc s c s pc pc pc pc s pc s c

32 6 44 60 35 15 10 33 28 22 30 37 51 26 31 15 14

pc pc s c pc pc pc s pc pc sn pc sh pc pc c c

5 70 55 22 23 30 42 32 54 26 70 24 55 34 33 29 31

c pc pc pc sn s sh s pc pc pc s c c pc s pc

Today Tomorrow Hi Lo W Hi Lo W

Challis Coeur d’Alene Grangeville Idaho Falls Jerome Lewiston McCall Mtn. Home AFB Ontario Pocatello Rexburg Salmon Spokane Stanley Twin Falls

17 32 28 19 26 30 21 26 20 26 23 13 31 21 27

17 70 65 34 16 25 46 46 50 41 72 21 59 37 36 18 36

pc pc c pc s i s r pc pc pc sn pc s sh sn s

3 25 21 6 16 26 9 16 10 9 8 4 24 3 15

pc c pc pc pc c pc pc pc pc pc c c pc pc

25 34 31 27 31 32 26 34 28 32 27 21 32 27 34

15 24 23 23 28 25 19 25 22 26 25 15 26 16 24

sn sn sn sn sn sn sn sn sn sn sn sn sn sn sn

WORLD CITIES

110s

NATIONAL CITIES 35 6 40 46 26 18 11 30 18 26 21 25 40 24 22 23 18

City

Stationary Front

A weak storm will move swiftly eastward near the Canadian border with New York state and New England today. This storm will produce patches of steady snow and snow flurries from the Great Lakes to the central and northern Appalachians. Rain showers will dot the southeastern coast of the Florida Peninsula. Farther west, rain is forecast to dampen areas from part of Southern California to southern Arizona and southern New Mexico. On the northern flank of the rain, a bit of ice or a wintry mix can occur near the Four Corners region to part of the southern High Plains. In the Northwest, moisture from the Pacific will cause some rain in much of Washington and western Oregon with snow over the mountains. The balance of the nation can expect a dry day.

Last

Jan 5 Jan 12 Jan 19

60s

NATIONAL SUMMARY

Moon Phases

First

Atlanta 61/40

Monterrey 71/53

Snow

10s

Washington 52/31

Houston 69/55

Chihuahua 75/51

-10s

New York 45/34

Detroit 37/22

Kansas City 39/30

Los Angeles 68/54

T-storms

Montreal 32/24

Toronto 37/24

Billings 30/18

San Francisco 57/46

Idaho Press-Tribune

New

REGIONAL CITIES

Shown are noon positions of weather systems and precipitation. Temperature bands are highs for the day.

Caldwell Airport

After some morning fog, we will see partly cloudy skies in the Treasure Valley Thursday.

The mountains will enjoy sunny skies. A significant change is expected by Friday as a storm from the Pacific Northwest moves into the state. This will bring snow that will likely commence by mid-morning. The snow could carry over into Saturday morning. There may be a few flurries Christmas Eve. However, Christmas day should be dry and cold with highs in the 20s.

Another storm will head our way by Tuesday.

TheIdahoWeddingExperience.com

City

Today Hi Lo W

Tomorrow Hi Lo W

Beijing London Madrid Mexico City Moscow Paris Rome Sydney Toronto

43 47 53 72 32 50 58 73 37

39 54 56 72 29 48 57 77 34

City

Today Hi Lo W

Tomorrow Hi Lo W

Phoenix Portland, OR Rapid City Reno City St. Louis Sacramento San Diego Sioux Falls Salt Lake City San Francisco Seattle Wash., DC Wichita

68 53 42 37 36 13 46 31 Hi Lo 41 28 56 42 67 56 37 30 37 27 57 46 45 37 52 31 42 30

66 52 42 33 37 18 46 29 Hi Lo 41 35 52 36 64 53 33 14 45 38 55 44 42 34 48 39 48 22

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City officials said the rate increases were necessary to pay for improvements and upgrades to Nampa’s aging infrastructure.

In a recent utility bill flier, city officials warn that without reinvestment in the water delivery system, the city “could be headed for a water crisis characterized by unplanned outages, emergency repairs and even higher costs.”

The city anticipates that an additional $33.4 million is needed during the next 10 years to cover the costs of replacing old pipes and valves and making improvements to pumps, wells and reservoirs, according to the flier.

The new rate hike proposal is not likely to be the last. City officials say they anticipate proposing another, steeper increase in 2018.

In subsequent years, an annual increase of 4.5 percent is likely, starting in 2019 so residential customers don’t have to deal with bigger increases in future years.

After public comment is collected, the Nampa City Council will consider the proposal during a public hearing at 7 p.m. Jan. 17 at City Hall, 411 Third St. S. Attendees will each have up to three minutes to testify on the proposed rate hikes.

It’s an issue that officials from Zamzows, at 1518 Caldwell Blvd., expect will work itself out eventually.

“Any time that happens, there’s going to be a disruption in business, and people are going to be probably confused and potentially upset,” said Ross Parton, corporate marketing director for Zamzows.

The store has fewer customers visiting right now, and it also had fewer visitors than usual during construction, Parton said.

Parton said he knows it is an inconvenience for customers who are coming from the direction of Caldwell.

“Bottom line is, any time you do road construction in a business area, a commercial area like we are in, it’s going to disrupt customer counts and business a little bit, but the end ultimately justifies the means,” Parton said.

Lis Stewart is the Nampa reporter. She can be reached at 465-8193 or lstewart@ CHRIS BRONSON/IPT idahopress.com. Follow on Twitter: @ A median on Caldwell Boulevard keeps drivers from turning left into the Zamzows CarpetComm.

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“This court should not enjoin that process based on ENA’s speculative fear that it might result in a judgment adverse to ENA.” U.S. District Court Judge B. Lynn Winmill is scheduled to consider ENA’s request in early January.

The companies argue they deserve repayment for unpaid work because the contract was deemed void because of the state’s action and through no fault of their own. However, Wasden has maintained that the Idaho Supreme Court ruled that the state is required to recover tax dollars paid to the companies under the illegal deal.

If the companies win, Idaho could face an even bigger price tag for the failed statewide broadband plan. Taxpayers have already paid out more than $29 million for the project.

Lawmakers had previously hoped to settle the claims for $8 million, but those efforts were scuttled when the state Supreme Court agreed that the contract with the companies was void.

The $60 million broadband program was created in 2008 in hopes of bringing a single high-speed internet system to all schools across the state. It has since been dismantled, leaving individual school districts to secure their own high-speed internet.

The argument behind these moves is that traditional taxi companies are being more closely regulated by the city than ride-hailing competitors like Uber and Lyft, whose drivers use their own cars to pick up passengers requesting service via a mobile app. In 2015, the Idaho Legislature passed a bill — introduced by an Uber lobbyist — allowing these types of businesses to regulate themselves. State law prevents cities from regulating ride-sharing companies.

There are six licensed taxi companies in Nampa for the year 2016, and as of Wednesday, four had renewed for 2017, according to spokeswoman Vickie Holbrook. The city charges $100 annually for the business license, $15 per car, $51.50 for a background

parking lot.

Skaug said that while he originally considered proposing the city do away with all taxi regulations, he does not, at the moment, plan to ask the city to do away with taxi company business licensing. The playing field is being leveled by the City Council’s actions.

Uber has clashed with local and regional governments around the world as it moves into a market once entrenched by regulated taxi companies. The company often claims local taxi regulation laws are not applicable, yet governments continue to press for stricter BRIAN MYRICK / DAILY RECORD Uber driver Kelli Contreras background checks that require a driver’s fingerprint. checks her mobile app while A fingerprint check runs parked in an Ellensburg parking through the FBI’s national lot on Oct. 5. database and can take several days. check and $11.50 for a To drive for Uber or driver’s badge. Drivers for Lyft, applicants must pass a ride-sharing companies do background check through not need a business license a private company, which runs a name, driver’s license from the city.

and Social Security number through local court records, national criminal databases and a federal sex offender registry. The process can take as little as 24 hours.

More than 30 states regulate ride-hailing companies, though Uber balks at fingerprinting requirements and has pulled out of cities when they try to require fingerprinting.

In February 2015, Uber pulled out of Boise after operating for only several months because the City Council wanted stricter background checks and insurance requirements.

Uber resumed service after the state Legislature passed Uber’s proposed bill a month later.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

Lis Stewart is the Nampa reporter. She can be reached at 465-8193 or lstewart@ idahopress.com. Follow on Twitter: @CarpetComm.

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