SPURS BEAT GRIZZLIES
SWIFT TOP AT BILLBOARD
Randolph struggles, Memphis routed in Game 1 SPORTS, B1
Artist wins eight trophies, Bieber nabs three at awards show NEWS, A5
Monday, May 20, 2013
Sen. Crapo’s campaign plagued by loose controls $250,000 lost after invested in fraudulent Las Vegas company By JOHN MILLER The Associated Press
BOISE — As William Corbett was preparing a final federal elections disclosure for his boss, U.S. Sen. Mike Crapo, in October Crapo 2008, he said there was Mike U.S. senator something important he wasn’t told. Crapo’s then-campaign manager, Jake Ball, shifted $250,000 from a campaign account to another account at now-defunct Washington Mutual that was controlled by Ball’s friend, a Boise real-estate investor, for a loan. Corbett, who was leaving as Crapo’s volunteer treasurer at the time, said Ball kept him totally in the dark.
THAT SINKING FEELING
Roadway collapses are rare, but transportation workers need your help preventing them By MIKE BUTTS | mbutts@idahopress.com | © 2013 Idaho Press-Tribune
W
hat are the chances a roadway sinkhole gobbles up you and your vehicle? Very slim, according to highway transportation officials. But sinkholes do cause road damage beginning this time of year and they can be dangerous. The spring, when agricultural irrigation has started and gophers are more active, often brings more road sinkhole potential. Last summer a Melba woman died when her car hit a sinkhole on Butte Road. Earlier this month workers for the Idaho Transportation Depart-
ment fixed a sinkhole east of Marsing on State Highway 78. No one was injured. Last week Nampa Highway District workers repaired a portion of Can-Ada Road where gophers had dug underneath the pavement and water from irrigation flowed through the holes. The incident created potential for a road sinkhole cave in. All three of the above circumstances were caused by gopher holes. Other circumstances can also cause sinkholes. In each case, road and highway agencies could use residents’ help in identifying potential or actual sinkholes, even though there is little in the way of warning in most cases.
What causes a road sinkhole? “Soft spots” in a road usually are the result of uncontrolled water moving below the surface, ITD Maintenance Coordinator Dan Bryant said. A broken pipe, worn-out culvert, a spring or subsurface flows from heavy precipitation or fast-melting ice and snow are common culprits. So are water flows through gopher tunnels.
Please see Crapo, A4
How does a sinkhole occur?
KID YOU SHOULD KNOW
The water moves below the highway or other surface, and as it flows, it carries away the fine sand and silt, which leaves spaces between the larger materials. If the flow is heavy enough, the larger materials move too. As the materials move out, they leave a void at the depth of the flow. The “roof” of the void will gradually work its way higher, as material from the top falls into the flow and is washed away. When the roof moves high enough, the surface is unsupported and caves in, especially if a heavy weight travels across it, which is why cars and trucks accelerate the cave-in.
Skyview senior a known leader Alexa Aguilar will attend the University of Idaho this fall By NICK GROFF
ngroff@idahopress.com
© 2013 Idaho Press-Tribune
There is at least one thing that is pretty obvious about Alexa Aguilar: She’s a leader. The Skyview High School senior was even recognized by the Nampa Chamber of Commerce for her efforts. She was honored with the Future Leader of Excellence Award last Tuesday. Aguilar is a co-captain of her dance team — it took the state crown this year — and vice president of the school’s chapter of National Honor Society. She has also volunteered with Saint Alphonsus, the Salvation Army and the Rotary Club, among other organizations, all four years of high school. The senior boasts a 4.03 GPA and has taken more than 10 advanced placement or concurrent college credit classes. She will attend the University of Idaho in the fall. She plans to study computer science and would like to work for a major tech company like Google or Apple, or an independent company incorporating green energy into society.
What do agencies do to prevent sinkholes? Other than regular road maintenance, transportation workers stay on the lookout for soft spots and running water that could cause sinkholes. “We know what to look for and treat it quickly,” Bryant said.
How common are sinkholes? Fortunately road sinkholes are not very common locally. Nampa Highway District crews take action like the work on Can-Ada Road about once a year, District Engineer Eric Shannon said. And there is no way of knowing if that situation would have ultimately caused a sinkhole.
Can a vehicle cause a sinkhole cave in by driving over the road? Yes, according to Bryant. “About 20 years ago I saw a car fall into a sinkhole at Cole Road and Ustick,” Bryant said. “There was no warning sign at all until the car’s front wheels dropped through the pavement.”
Please see Kid, A3
How can you identify and report sinkholes or potential sinkholes? Sometimes road indentations can be the asphalt trying to act like a bridge over the sinkhole for a short time. Other times there’s suddenly a pothole in the road, and when you look into it you can’t see the bottom.
Please see Sinkholes, A3
IPT file photo
Page design and illustration by Randy Lavorante/IPT
Alexa Aguilar was presented with the Future Leader of Excellence Award at the Nampa Chamber’s Evening of Excellence May 14. Deaths Bobby Gunn Lewis Simons
Obituaries, A5
Keep up-to-date with us, comment on our Facebook page at facebook. com/Idaho.Press.Tribune
Classifieds ������������� C5-7 Comics ��������������������� C4 Legals ����������� A7, C8-14
Lottery �������������������� A2 Movies �������������������� A2 Opinion ������������������� A6
Weather ������������������ A2
C M Y K