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• October 24, 2015
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Spartans End Regular Season with Big Win against Wolverines • B1
Panel Colluded on Police Deal
Chairman accidentally sent email to media detailing plans to mislead LAURIE WELCH AND ERIC QUITUGUA lwelch@magivalley.com equitugua@magicvalley.com
BURLEY • A high-profile police committee accidentally copied reporters on an email this week instructing its members to mislead the media if journalists or a city council candidate came to its next meeting. The panel was appointed last year
TIMES-NEWSFILE PHOTO
by Cassia County and the city of Burley after bitter negotiations broke down between the two governments over policing. The county sheriff’s department has policed Burley for the past 30 years, but city leaders have complained recently about the cost. The committee was tasked with playing peace-maker and recommending a deal that would work for both the city and county. The committee was set to review
its final recommendations in a public meeting Friday. But Wednesday, Chairman Bill Parsons sent the rest of the panel a note saying “If any newspaper is there we will say someone is not ready and then we can handle by email.” It’s a violation of state law for committees to collude by email or plan what’s to be said in meetings ahead of time. Please see PANEL, A4
LAURIE WELCH, FILE PHOTO
Members of the Burley City Council and Cassia County Commission meet March 23 to discuss a law enforcement services contract after commissioners held an illegal meeting on the issue.
Declo Students Find Rhythm with Marimbas
Interim Police Chief Bryan Krear is sworn in at the Twin Falls City Council Chambers on Dec. 8, 2014.
Search for New Chief Down to 7 ALEX RIGGINS ariggins@magicvalley.com
TWIN FALLS • The city has narrowed the search for a new Twin Falls police chief from 15 applicants down to seven candidates. “We’re still searching,” City Manager Travis Rothweiler said. “But we’re not in position to name finalists yet.” The city hopes to have a new police chief in place by Jan. 1. This is the second search for a new chief this year. In March, the city announced it would start the search over after the two leading candidates withdrew. Brian Krear has served as interim chief since Jan. 1 when former Chief Brian Pike was sworn in as a deputy city manager along with Mitch Humble, former community development director. Pike, who was chief since 2011, now oversees the city’s public safety-related departments. The new search began in September when the city started accepting applications. The opening was posted using several police chief associations from around the country and used connections in Idaho and institutions of higher learning, Rothweiler said. The city received applications by 15 candidates from all across the U.S., the city manager said. A first review of the candidates was conducted Oct. 1. “We’ve selected seven individuals to participate in initial Skype interviews, and we’re reviewing their comments now,” Rothweiler said. Please see CHIEF, A4
STEPHEN REISS, TIMES-NEWS
Roger Turner, a Declo music teacher, tests the sound of a marimba key in his workshop Wednesday in Declo. LAURIE WELCH lwelch@magicvalley.com
DECLO • When musical instruments are named Zimba, Zambo, Zootie and Zoomba it’s an indicator that the music is going to be lively. Teacher Roger Turner, who makes marimbas to sell, also takes them into his Declo Elementary School classroom to the delight of his students. A marimba is a percussion instrument similar to the xylophone. Turner has been teaching music with the Cassia County School District for 25 years. He also teaches junior high and high school band in Declo. “I get really tired of people asking what music’s worth is,” Turner said. Many people find a need to justify music in schools by citing non-musical reasons to include it, he said. “That’s not why I play music. I do it
Turner cuts a marimba key in his workshop Wednesday.
Please see MARIMBAS, A4
Feds Cancel Research Shipment of Spent Nuclear Fuel to Idaho KEITH RIDLER Associated Press
BOISE • Federal authorities have canceled the first of two proposed research shipments of spent nuclear fuel to eastern Idaho but still hope to deliver
the second. The U.S. Department of Energy said Friday that 25 fuel rods weighing about 100 pounds will not be sent to the Idaho National Laboratory. The move comes after federal and state officials couldn’t come
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to terms on a waiver to a 1995 agreement that ties such shipments to nuclear waste cleanup at the 890-square-mile site. The federal agency is currently in violation of the agreement because of its failure to convert 900,000 gallons of liquid waste into solid
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form due to malfunctions at a $571 million plant. “Unfortunately, we were unable to reach an understanding in time to accommodate the necessary transportation planning for the first proposed shipment,” the agency said in an email to The
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Associated Press. The agency declined to comment on what conditions it found unreasonable, and that it’s assessing other potential destinations for the first research shipment.
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Please see NUCLEAR, A4
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A4 • Saturday, October 24, 2015
Panel Continued from A1
STEPHEN REISS, TIMES-NEWS
Cows on grazing land close to South Blue Lakes Boulevard and Foothill Road, the intersection of open range and herd districts on Wednesday in Twin Falls.
Idaho Begins Yearlong Process to Set New Grazing Rates KEITH RIDLER Associated Press
OISE • State officials are B looking at possible changes to grazing fees on 1.7 million acres of endowment land. The Idaho Land Board started the yearlong process Tuesday that could result in changes to a rate formula that has been in place since 1992. “I think it’s time to look at the formula and make sure it’s doing what we want it to do,” said Idaho Secretary of State Lawerence Denney, one of the five Land Board members. “I suspect that rates will go up.” The Land Board is constitutionally obligated to manage the state’s 2.4 million endowment acres received at statehood to get the greatest long-term financial return for state beneficiaries, primarily public education. State officials say Idaho grazing rates appear to have fallen behind when compared with what private landowners charge and what neighboring states charge for their trust grazing land. “We want to make sure that we’re doing the right things out on the land in terms of prioritizing our resources and making sure we’re getting our revenue for the endowment,” said Diane French, grazing program manager for the Idaho Department of Lands and a member of an advisory group working on what is being called grazing rule methodology review. In the last 22 years, Idaho’s grazing fee as measured by an animal unit month, which among its definitions is the amount of forage needed to feed one cow and
one calf for a month, has fluctuated between $5 and $6.89, she said. The schedule for the methodology review is for an advisory group to provide the Land Board with possible alternative rates next spring followed by public meetings and comments, with a final decision in the fall. Denney, who is chairing a Land Board subcommittee that includes Gov. C.L. “Butch” Otter, said he plans to attend at least some of the public meetings scattered around the state. Besides reviewing the rate formula, French said, the advisory committee will also consider other options, including a possible twotiered system that separates out more desirable grazing land. But all that has yet to be worked out. In a statement to The Associated Press, state Controller Brandon Woolf, also a Land Board member, said the “grazing community has been a good customer and partner for the Department of Lands and the Land Board in producing revenue off of these lands, which may not produce much of anything but expense otherwise.” The advisory group includes state officials from the Idaho Farm Bureau, Idaho Attorney General’s Office and Idaho Department of Education. Various other groups are also represented, including the Idaho Cattle Association by its executive director, Wyatt Prescott. The Nature Conservancy is represented by that group’s Idaho Deputy Director, Lou Lunte. Prescott and Lunte didn’t return calls from the AP on Wednesday.
Idaho Agency Finds Historic Footage of Parachuting Beavers BOISE (AP) • More than half a century after a group of beavers parachuted into the Idaho backcountry, the Idaho Department of Fish and Game has uncovered film footage of the quirky wildlife management moment. In the 1940s the department was trying to deal with an overpopulation of beavers in some regions when wildlife managers settled on a novel idea. They captured beavers and other fur-bearing rodents, packed them into special travel boxes, attached parachutes and dropped them from a plane into the Frank Church River of No Return Wilderness. Boise State Public Radio
(http://bit.ly/1M8QE9U ) reports that a film made around 1950 showed the infamous beaver drops, but it had long been lost. Recently Fish and Game historian Sharon Clark found the fragile film, which had been mislabeled and stored in the wrong file. Now it’s been digitized and released by the Idaho Historical Society and the Department of Fish and Game on YouTube. You can watch it here: http://bit.ly/1M8QP4U . The parachuting beavers start about 7 minutes in. Animal lovers, take heart — it appears all beavers survived their flying adventures unharmed.
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“I’m disappointed that a shipment of spent fuel rods is being taken to a facility other than the Idaho National Laboratory,” Idaho Attorney General Lawrence Wasden said in a statement. “But even more disappointing is the Department of Energy’s decision not to participate in direct and meaningful negotiations that could have led to a resolution that served the interests of all parties.” Wasden has said he’d sign a one-time, conditional waiver to allow the spent fuel into Idaho if federal officials could show him the Integrated Waste Treatment
Parsons said he was trying to keep the report out of the hands of Jay Lenkersdorfer, co-owner of the Weekly Mailer and a candidate for Burley City Council. His email continued: “Linkensdorf (referring to Lenkersdorfer) is moving around and I do not want him to have any information until we present to both bodies. We will not turn on computer until we see who is there.” On Friday, Parsons took full blame for sending the email but fell short of apologizing. “I had a poor choice of words in that email, but that guy who is stirring around, Mr. Lenkersorfer, would have seen the report, would have blown it up before the election.” Lenkersdorfer said he was “astounded” to be copied on the email. “I wasn’t surprised they wanted secrecy,” he said, “but I was surprised they put it in an email and sent it to the media.”
He noted that Parsons, who sent the note, is an attorney in the firm that represents the city. There’s no question Parsons broke the law and conspired in advance of the meeting, said Benjamin J. Cluff, a Twin Falls attorney who occasionally represents the Times-News. “The fact that the committee would plan, in advance, to violate the open meeting laws in the event members of the media are present is highly unusual and, in my opinion, particularly egregious,” he said. City and county leaders have been waiting months for the group’s findings. The police contract and the city’s rancorous relationship with the county have been top issues for City Council candidates this campaign season. Most are hopeful the committee’s report could help salvage the relationship and bring long-term stability to the region’s policing. The committee was appointed by the city and county in 2014 after citycounty negotiations collapsed. Members were briefed on the state’s open
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The hiring process will likely be similar to the failed search from earlier this year, he said. The top candidates in March were interviewed by the city manager and community boards that comprised other police and city staff members, representatives from the community and neighboring law enforcement agencies. “We’re still trying to define what the process will look like,” Rothweiler said. “But we’ll probably go the same route.” But if one candidate clearly stands out above the rest, the city reserves the right to choose that candidate without putting them before the
meeting laws and directed to follow them, said Mark Mitton, Burley’s city administrator. Among the panel’s members, only retiree Harold Blasius lacks a background in either the law or city government. In addition to he and Parsons, other committee members are Rob Squire, an attorney for D.L. Evans Bank; Clay Handy, a business owner and former city councilman and county commissioner; and Dennis Dexter, former jail administrator, city police officer and county deputy. Reporters attended the board’s meeting Friday, and the committee did not discuss the substance of its final report, as it had indicated in its agenda. Instead, the group focused on details of how the report would be presented jointly to the city, county and reporters at a meeting tentatively scheduled for noon Nov. 6. Handy admitted the committee had “kind of dodged” questions about its findings to date from city and county officials, and he said they deserved “candid answers” going forward.
community boards. “The City of Twin Falls doesn’t have to use community boards, but we usually do,” Rothweiler said. “We certainly want to make sure we get the best chief, make sure the process is inclusive to the degree it can be and results in the best person at the helm.” During the search earlier this year, former chief Brian Pike said, while the city is looking for someone with great policing skills, a person who connects with the community is on the top of his list as well. “You have to have great communication skills,” Pike said in March. “You have to listen to people and really hear them.” City leaders also believe the new chief should build upon the legacy of
“It’s for the good of all the citizens,” Handy said, “and we are all citizens.” The Times-News filed public records requests Friday seeking any other email exchanges by committee members. Handy said the newspaper won’t find much. Besides the email Wednesday, the only discussions the committee had over the police contract via email was to discuss the minutes and agenda time, he said. Parsons offered to sign an affidavit swearing that the committee made no “substantive decisions” by discussing the issue in emails, rather than satisfy the Times-News‘ records request. The newspaper declined and insisted the committee turn over its emails. Members have until Tuesday to say whether they’ll comply. Meanwhile, Parsons said he would hate for an email scandal to taint the hard work of the committee on such an important issue. “It’s the hard work of citizens,” he said of the report. “And they had a chairman who screwed up.”
former Twin Falls police chiefs. “We want the next chief to continue to be innovative … be a mentor, and be a leader, not only for the men and women of our police force, but for the community,” Rothweiler said. Rothweiler declined to give a timetable for the rest of the search besides to say the city is on track to have a new chief in place by the first day of 2016. He added that city leadership has learned from the failed search earlier this year. “It’s a really intense process to find the right person to serve as chief,” he said. “It takes incredible and constant vetting to find the right person at the right time. But we have high expectations, and we’re willing to take time to make sure we have the right person.”
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because it is fun and inspiring. It uplifts. It lifts me up,” he said. The students love the sounds of the marimba and enjoy playing music, he said. “If there are other benefits, so be it,” Turner said. Fifth-grader Jack Taylor, who also plays the piano, said he enjoys the marimbas because “when you are playing the piano, you just push on the keys and with the marimba, you get to pound on it.” Paisley Schroeder, also in fifth grade, plays the piano, said she enjoys staying in at recess to play the marimba. Schroeder, who also enjoys the physical aspect of it said “it’s just fun.” Turner’s interest in marimba was spurred while he took band students to a conference and he went to look at some music vendors, one who was building marimbas. “He told me the world needs more marimba makers,” said Turner, who took the advice to heart. He has made 20 in the last two years. Orders have been filled across the U.S. and he is working to complete some that will be shipped to Korea and Canada. Turner crafts the wood bars from hardwood like black walnut or ash and
Unit was capable of processing the liquid waste. The Department of Energy wants to better understand “high burnup” spent fuel that is accumulating at nuclear power plants in the U.S. High burnup fuel remains in nuclear reactor cores longer to produce more energy but comes out more radioactive and hotter. It’s cooled in pools before being encased in steel and concrete. The first proposed shipment to Idaho initially set for August would have come from the Byron Nuclear Power Station in Illinois. The second shipment, also of 25 spent nuclear fuel rods weighing about 100 pounds, is scheduled for January 2016, from the North Anna Nuclear Power Station in Virginia.
STEPHEN REISS, TIMES-NEWS
A marimba being built by Roger Turner, a Declo music teacher, in his workshop Wednesday in Declo. there are tube resonators underneath to amplify the sound. He hollows out the underside of each bar to the desired pitch. Turner has not yet started making the mallets used to strike the bars, which can either be hard or soft, depending on the desired sound. The marimba’s roots lie in South Africa and Central America and much of the music written for the instrument is Zimbabwean. Turner said he likes to teach the students to play using sheet music and notes, but much Zimbabwe music is played – improvisational style. “I’m learning how to do
The Department of Energy “will continue to work with the state of Idaho in an effort to identify a path forward for the proposed second shipment,” the agency said. The Idaho National Laboratory is one of 17 Department of Energy labs in the nation, and is considered the primary lab for nuclear research. Officials have said research work on the spent fuel would bring about $20 million a year to Idaho, and losing the work could damage the lab’s toptier status. “While I am disappointed in the loss of this work, I remain strongly optimistic about the national and international value of ongoing used nuclear fuel research at INL and in the long-term future of the
this,” he said. Last year a group of about 15 students formed a marimba group at the school, which Turner hopes to implement again. Turner’s students are working on a Veterans Day program and four of the numbers use the marimba. “It’s really been a challenge for me,” Turner said. He’s crafted bass, baritone and soprano marimbas and he has made a “grand marimba” that spans three and a half octaves that three students play at a time. Students in all five grades at the school attend music class. “I’ve never seen this before in an elementary
lab,” Mark Peters, the lab’s director, said in a letter to employees Friday afternoon. Two former Idaho governors, Democrat Cecil Andrus and Republican Phil Batt, hammered out the 1995 agreement and blasted current Gov. C.L. “Butch” Otter when it became known in January that the state was looking at creating a waiver to allow the spent fuel shipments. “I’m pleased that they made that decision,” said Andrus about the first shipment being canceled. “That’s good news for the people of the state of Idaho.” The former governors have long warned that altering the 1995 agreement could open the gate to tons of commercial nuclear waste
school,” said principal Kevin Lloyd. “It’s a cool program.” Most of the students’ parents are unaware of what Turner is offering students at the school, he said. Lloyd said he would like to see the student marimba group perform so it can be broadcast on a YouTube channel or shared with other schools. “This is a great way to expose children to other styles of music,” Lloyd said. The school is in the process of purchasing five of Turner’s marimbas that will stay in the classroom, he said. “Cross-curricular education is important here.”
coming to Idaho for long-term storage. Andrus has filed a lawsuit against the Department of Energy seeking more information about the shipments. The Idaho National Laboratory is in the district of Rep. Mike Simpson, R-Idaho, who in a statement called the decision not to send the first shipment “unfortunate” and that he’d continue to promote research opportunities at the lab. “I’m sure it’s frustrating for everybody involved,” said Kerry Martin, an Idaho National Laboratory Oversight Program manager with the Idaho Department of Environmental Quality. “I know they’ve got good people working on (the liquid waste plant).”