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TUESDAY, SEPTEMBER 24, 2019
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City creates Public Arts Commission Committee to manage public art collection RYAN BLAKE
rblake@magicvalley.com
TWIN FALLS — A new city committee will select public art pieces and decide where to put them. Council members approved an ordinance Monday establishing the City of Twin Falls Public Arts Commission to oversee all aspects of art in the city. The public art program is intended to support a “thriving arts community” through the activa-
tion of public spaces, according to the ordinance. “Expanding the opportunities for Twin Falls residents to experience various genres of art in public places will create a more visually pleasing and culturally rich environment while expanding the public’s knowledge of arts and culture,” the ordinance reads. The commission will develop standards for the acquisition, maintenance and placement of public art throughout Twin Falls. A formal process is needed to manage the city’s existing art collection and plan for future pieces, said community relations man-
ager Mandi Thompson. “We have these various pieces throughout the city but we don’t have an inventory of what they are or what their value is,” Thompson said. The Magic Valley Arts Commission has advised the city on public art since 2007, but its authority was limited and no official procedures were in place. That became an issue when pieces were donated without plans for maintenance, Thompson said. Some pieces are made from material unable to withstand weather, making them expensive
for the city to clean, she said. The city needs policies it can stand behind when reviewing proposals to add its art collection, she added. Besides policy, process needs to be fleshed out. “We want to have a process by which we can take and accept community art,” Thompson said. The Public Arts Commission will also manage placement of art pieces. Much of the city’s public art is downtown as part of an effort by the Urban Renewal Agency. The city wants to display art in other areas, like around the canyon rim, said city manager Travis
Rothweiler. Seven voting members will make up the commission, including one representative from the Magic Valley Arts Commission. Other city officials will serve in non-voting roles. Councilman Chris Talkington said the commission will help provide a pathway to recognize artists and acquire pieces, but the city is not setting aside significant money for public art. In addition to managing the physical art collection, the commission will oversee performances, such as the Twin Falls Tonight concerts.
Trump: Never pressed Ukraine to dig for Biden dirt LISA MASCARO AND MARY CLARE JALONICK
Associated Press
done in fun ways through conditioned play, such as having the child can hear the sound and then toss a ball in a bucket or feed a toy monkey, Konneker said. If tests determine the young patient is experiencing hearing loss, the team considers it a “neural emergency,” Jensen said. As the brain grows, if the child is not hearing properly, it can affect the child’s overall development, Konneker said.
WASHINGTON — Lawmakers in Congress on Monday pressed for full disclosure of a whistleblower’s complaint about President Donald Trump as Democratic calls for impeachment intensified over his conversation with Ukraine’s leader. Trump insisted he did nothing wrong. D e m o c ra t s , and some Republicans, urged the White House to be forthcom- Trump ing amid the reports that the president pressured Ukraine’s leader to help investigate political rival Joe Biden at the same time the administration Schumer was withholding $250 million in aid to the Eastern European nation. Trump’s call to the foreign leader, and his subsequent comments about it Monday, raised further questions about whether the president improperly used his office to pressure another country as a way of helping his own reelection prospects. More House Democrats — including a group of seven freshmen lawmakers who served in the military and national security — called for his impeachment
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Audiologist Mary Konneker, left, demonstrates how the tympanometry machine works with the help of audiology assistant Allie Gardner on Tuesday at the Ear, Nose and Throat Clinic at St. Luke’s Magic Valley Medical Plaza 2 in Twin Falls. The tympanometry machine shows how the eardrum is moving and can detect whether there is a perforation or fluid buildup within the ear.
Hearing a better future Hearing loss is on the rise, but help is available JULIE A. FERRARO
jferraro@magicvalley.com
TWIN FALLS — Eh? If you find yourself unable to hear other people sometimes, you’re far from alone. Nearly 15% of adult Americans report some type of difficulty hearing. That’s about 37.5 mil-
lion people. And as the number of people with hearing loss continues to increase — the Hearing Health Foundation reported the number of Americans with hearing loss doubled between 2000 and 2015 — the need for services will also increase. Aging and genetics play a role, St. Luke’s audiologist Bob Jensen said. “As people are living longer and staying active, there’s a greater awareness of hearing
loss,” audiologist Mary Konneker said. But hearing loss isn’t confined to the elderly. “We’re starting to see more hearing loss in kids,” Konneker said. Exposure to loud noise is another factor. Certain bacterial infections or diseases can also cause swelling of the inner ear, Konneker said. Other people can lose hearing when fluid from the ear does not drain properly. Testing kids’ hearing can be
More sex abuse charges for Teen dies in Blaine County rollover crash Burley man as girl comes forward JULIE A. FERRARO
jferraro@magicvalley.com
KETCHUM — A 15-year-old girl died after the SUV she was in rolled when a bee or wasp entered the vehicle, police said. Three teens were in a 2001 GMC Yukon Saturday on Idaho Highway 75 near Lake Creek Drive north of Ketchum, when the vehicle left the roadway, veered back and rolled, according to a statement from the Blaine County Sheriff ’s Office. When deputies arrived on the scene at 4:16 p.m., they found the Yukon on its passenger side in the northbound lane. The
15-year-old girl riding in the back seat was unresponsive. Life-saving efforts were attempted by medical personnel, and she was taken by ambulance to St. Luke’s Wood River Medical Center. She died at the hospital. The Yukon’s driver, a 16-yearold girl from Ketchum, and the front seat passenger, a 17-yearold boy from Hailey, told deputies a bee or wasp entered the vehicle, and may have been partly to blame for the rollover, the press release stated. The crash remains under investigation.
LAURIE WELCH
lwelch@magicvalley.com
RUPERT — A Burley man is facing an additional child sex charge after a second victim came forward and told officials he sexually touched her five years ago when she was in the fifth grade. Clemente Felix Cruz-Morales, 40, is charged with lewd conduct with a child under the age of 16. Rupert police officers said the girl told police Cruz-Morales put his hand inside her pants while she sat next to him on a couch. The girl said Cruz-Morales gave her his cellphone to play
If you do one thing: An art reception will be held for the “Mixtape” exhibit by Troy Passey at 7 p.m. in the Jean B. King Gallery at the College of Southern Idaho’s Herrett Center for Arts and Science on North College Road in Twin Falls. Free. M 1
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games on while he sat next to her. The girl said he noticed her zipper was undone and asked if he could zip it for her and then he Cruzput his hands inMorales side her clothing. The girl told authorities she was “startled” by his actions and never told anyone about it until she learned he was accused of abusing another child. A preliminary hearing is set in the case at 1:30 p.m. Oct. 2
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in Minidoka County Magistrate Court. Cruz-Morales was charged in the first case in August in Cassia County after detectives said he sexually touched a young girl multiple times when she was in the first or second grade. In that case, Cruz-Morales was charged with felony counts of rape, two counts of lewd conduct with a child under 16, battery with the intent to commit a serious felony and child sexual abuse with a minor under 16. A preliminary hearing in the first case is set at 9 a.m. Oct. 11 in Cassia County Magistrate Court.
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