Monday
• February 2, 2015
www.magicvalley.com •
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Last-second Interception Gives Patriots Super Bowl Victory - A5
Boys & Girls Club Announces ‘Youth of the Year’ JULIE WOOTTON
jwootton@magicvalley.com
DREW NASH, TIMES-NEWS
Construction continues on an upcoming water tank Friday near Kimberly. The water tank will help Clif Bar with its water needs.
URA Continuing Site Preparation for Clif Bar ERIC GOODELL egoodell@magicvalley.com
WIN FALLS • When Clif Bar T & Company was deciding where to build its 300,000-squarefoot bakery, it found a welcome partner in Twin Falls. The city had things to offer, including a way of life that appealed to company officials. Clif Bar also found $25 million in incentives from the city, state and Twin Falls Urban Renewal Agency. The urban renewal agency’s part included $19.5 million, but not in cash. “One of the big promises we made was to help with infrastructure,” said Melinda Anderson, executive director of the Twin Falls Urban Renewal Agency. Infrastructure improvement is what the URA does. Under Idaho law, URAs cannot give cash grants. The URA projects involve water, wastewater, street and utility improvements, including the construction of a $4.6 million wastewater pre-treatment facility and rebuilding and widening of Hankins Road South. It was incentives like these that played a part in Clif Bar’s decision, said Dale Ducommun, Clif Bar bakery general manager, after he gave a presentation to the Twin Falls Optimist Club last month. He said the offer of incentives showed that the company would be welcome in Twin Falls. Clif Bar has extended the URA a $19 million line of credit. “Right now, they are our banker,” Anderson said. In 2016, Anderon expects the URA to issue a bond to repay the shortterm loan. Anderson said Chobani, in a similar manner, also served as the short-term banker for the URA when the Greek yogurt maker built its plant in 2012. The
ERIC GOODELL, THE TIMES-NEWS
URA Staff Engineer Jesse Schuerman displays plans for the Clif Bar & Company construction site in Twin Falls. Clif Bar is expected to break ground in April. city and URA invested $36 million in infrastructure upgrades to accommodate Chobani. Although the infrastructure improvements for Clif Bar are far from being completed, the projects are on target and won’t be finished when the company breaks ground in April, Anderson said. The only project that is complete is the relocation of a canal, that came with a $600,000 price tag. As of Jan. 1, wastewater and street projects were only 4 percent and 3 percent completed respectively. “We will be working alongside them while they are building,” Anderson said. In the case of Chobani, the yogurt maker started building its plant while much of the URA’s infrastructure improvement was still in the design phase, Anderson said. Jesse Schuerman, URA staff engineer, said rights of way are being obtained for widening
Hankins Road South. The road will be rebuilt with a deeper road bed to handle heavy trucks. “The truck traffic would destroy the existing roadbed,” he said. The project is estimated at $1.6 million. Clif Bar will have a wastewater pre-treatment facility and bids are expected by Feb. 17. The engineering estimate for the construction is $4.96 million, Schuerman said. Chobani and many other food processing plants have similar pre-treatment facilities, and the building will remain the property of the city, Anderson said. The water tank is under construction near Hankins and Kimberly roads and is expected to be completed in June. The $3.8 million bid was awarded in August to Performance Systems of Meridian. Anderson said the infrastructure improvements are an investment in the community,
WIN FALLS • Eliza Singh feels at T home at the Boys & Girls Clubs of Magic Valley. The 15-year-old says she has gained self esteem and staff members make her feel welcome. And she’s a role model for younger children. Earlier this month, Eliza was named the club’s Youth of the Year — the highest honor a member can earn. Eliza is a “wonderful young woman” and she’ll do well representing the club, executive director Lindsey Westburg said. “The club has just been a place where she has been able to find herself and come into her own.” Eliza, a sophomore at Twin Falls High School, will receive a $3,000 college scholarship. She’ll continue on to compete at the state level Feb. 26. She heard about the Youth of the Year program after her mother picked up an application at the Twin Falls club. After applying, the teenager went through an interview process. “It’s kind of like getting a real job,” she said. Being the Youth of the Year is a big responsibility and the teenager who’s selected essentially has a job description, Westburg said. Eliza will advocate for the club throughout the year and that includes making presentations to community groups. The Youth of the Year program recognizes a member’s contributions to their family, school, community and club — as well as overcoming personal obstacles. Boys & Girls Club teen director Dani Hansing said she’s proud of Eliza and her accomplishments, and it takes a lot of courage to share her story. Eliza started coming to the Boys & Girls Club three years ago. Now, she’s a member of the Elev8 teen program and works as a junior Please see SINGH, A3
whether the companies locate here or not. “Even if Chobani and Clif Bar weren’t here, we will still have that infrastructure, the water lines, the sewer lines, the pretreatment facility, better roads, better power.” She said Clif Bar has a professional working relationship with the URA, and that Cliff Berger, Clif Bar’s vice president of engineering, food supply, has traveled to Twin Falls at least a month, “looking it over and making sure everything is on budget,” she said.
About the Land
The 90 acres on which Clif Bar will build its bakery is in the Jayco Industrial Park, south of the Chobani yogurt plant. Jayco is a maker of recreation vehicles with a manufacturing facility in Twin Falls. In 2007, Jayco was Please see URA, A3
STEPHEN REISS, TIMES-NEWS
Twin Falls High School sophomore Eliza Singh, the Boys & Girls Clubs of Magic Valley’s Youth of the Year, on Wednesday, Jan. 28, 2015, at the Boys & Girls Club in Twin Falls.
Rupert Police Search for Suspect in Pharmacy Robbery TIMES-NEWS RUPERT • The Rupert Police Department is looking for a man who robbed a pharmacy Saturday night. Police officers responded to a report at 7 p.m. of an armed robbery at Ridley’s Family Markets
pharmacy at 310 Oneida St. Witnesses reported that a white male entered the store and presented the pharmacist with a note demanding prescription medication. The man exited the store and fled the scene with the pills,
If You Do One Thing: Buttons N Bows will hold square dance lessons for beginners at 7 p.m. at the American Legion Hall, 107 Seventh Ave. E., Jerome. First lesson is free. 208-886-2808.
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according to a Sunday statement from the police department. The store was filled with customers and multiple witnesses have come forward with a description of the individual. He’s described as a white male, 20-30 years old, wearing a
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camouflage jacket and tan pants. Witness describe the man as having a thin build and approximately 5-foot-8 to 5-foot-10 tall with a black mustache and goatee. Rupert police officers, with assistance from the Minidoka County Sheriff’s Office and
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Idaho State Police, followed up on several leads. Detectives are currently reviewing evidence collected at the scene. The Rupert Police Department is asking anyone who may have information to call 208-4342330.
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