A musical interlude Students attend Symphony; Brain Games raise funds
It’s been a good week for music in Caribou County! Last week, students from both Tigert Middle School and North Gem visited the Idaho State Civic Symphony Youth Orchestra for a concert. To start this week, the music programs in Soda Springs schools were supported by a night of games and fundraising at the second “Brain Games” night at Tigert. In both cases, organizers noted the importance of community support in successfully making music a part of students lives.
Symphony Trip
As far as field trips go, a trip to the Stevens Performing Arts Center in Pocatello to see a presentation by the ISCS Youth Orchestra is a pretty good one. Students from both North Gem and Tigert Middle School arrived Wednesday morning of last week for a concert that was part education, part recruitment, and part straight up experience. The Idaho State Civic Symphony, which includes and has included a number of musicians from Caribou county, includes as part of its mission a Youth Orchestra, composed of students from Pocatello, Chubbuck, and surrounding areas. Those students were on hand to demonstrate to their peers from out of town what playing with a large orchestra looks like, and what kind of performances they could look forward to if they decided to pur-
sue a similar path.
The concert itself involved a combination of simpler, folk performances as well as more intricate classical compositions. With a range of style, eras, and approaches, students were given an overview of the range of possibilities in musical performance. The featured pieces included “Moldau,”composed by Bedrich Smetana, “Simple Gifts,” folk song, “One Bow Concerto,” Richard Meyer, “Wellerman,” New Zealand Folk Song, “Grandma’s Feather Bed,” sung by John Denver, written by Jim Conner, “Jupiter” composed by Gustav Holst.
During the course of the event, schools from all around the area were bussed to the ISU campus. On Wednesday, nearly the entire top section of the main gallery was filled with eager students from the two local schools.
The Symphony hosts the event out of its sheer love of music, of course, but also as a way of potentially recruiting future classes of ISU music students and possibly even future symphony members.
“It’s wonderful to have the students here,” Co-President of the Symphony Board Carol Burnett said. “It’s always a great performance from the Youth Orchestra.”
Music programs across the country have faced funding problems over recent years, and many have been reduced or even eliminated. North Gem
and Tigert are among schools that have done everything they can—much of it through creative problem solving and the support of parents and volunteers in addition to dedicated teachers—to make sure that the importance of music instruction is clear to their students.
“This is a great thing for our students, and I’m glad we are able to do it,” Tigert’s Debbie Hansen said, while corralling a virtual army of students out in public.
Brain Games
Debbie Hansen would be continuing that work this past Monday, when the second “Brain Games” night was held at Tigert Middle School. The event was designed as a way for students to have a chance to compete against one another in events beyond the traditionally athletic. Scrabble, Chess, Checkers, Trivia, Lego building, and other games filled the activity room throughout the evening, as students and adults alike gathered for friendly competition and a chance to win prizes.
In addition to being a great way to spend an evening, the event was a fundraiser for the music programs at the middle and high schools in Soda Springs. The funds will be used for a number of things, including costs for student travel and event registration, instrument repair, and other essential
MUSICAL INTERLUDE On Page 2
Grizzlies Win District Title!
BY JODY REEVES
The Grace Grizzlies season has had its share of ups and downs. The Grizzlies started the season missing several key players due to injury and eligibility issues. Even with the missing players Grace was able to stay competitive and even picked up a handful of wins. The Grizzlies finished the regular season with just an 8-13 record with their final game being a blowout loss to district rival Butte County. As the regular season wrapped up there was a real unease
around Grace and what the team’s chances were of making it to the state tournament. Luckily for the Grizzlies they would once again be at full strength going into the district tournament. That tournament started last Tuesday with Grace facing off with Alturas Prep. With the conference being just three teams deep and Alturas being a new start up program the seeding was more of a formality. In that first game the Grizzlies quickly dispatched Alturas by the score of 7420. This set up the round two game of Grace against Butte County. The
bracket was set up as a double game elimination meaning that the loser of game two would face Alturas in a loser out game. In the round two game between Grace and Butte County the Pirates got off to an early lead and held that lead for most of the first quarter. In the last two minutes of the quarter Grace put together a great run and took the lead away. In the second period it was the Grizzlies turn to hold the lead for the majority of the
GRIZZLIES On Page 12
Pope Francis improves slightly; in Critical Condition
According to reporting out of the Vatican Monday, Pope Francis is showing “slight improvement” but is still in “critical” condition. Officials added that his mild kidney issues are “not concerning.”
“The clinical conditions of the Holy Father, although critical, show a slight improvement. Even today there were no episodes of asthmatic respiratory crises; some laboratory tests have improved,” the released statement read in part.
“The doctors, considering the complexity of the clinical picture, prudentially do not yet release the prognosis,” the Vatican said on Monday about the 88-year-old pontiff who has been in hospital battling pneumonia in both his lungs. CNN reported that its sources had been told “Francis can still move, is not bed-ridden, and is eating normally.” The pontiff was first admitted to a clinic in Rome 12 days ago, undergoing tests for a respiratory tract infection and was later diagnosed with pneumonia.
Email causes uproar
Briefly, because it’s the unavoidable news of the week, an email announcement from the Department of Government Efficiency caused an uproar at the end of last week. The email stated that federal employees needed to send a bullet list of “five things they accomplished during the week.” A post by Elon Musk on the platform X, formerly Twitter, suggested that not answering the email would constitute a resignation. In reaction, the heads of many departments within the government, including those headed by recently appointed Trump picks, have instructed their employees not to respond to the email and to let the department administrations deal with the request. In a related development, a number of town hall meetings across the country were marked by angry constituents speaking to their representatives about the mass firings underway at the federal level. One such meeting in northern Idaho became iconic of the issue over the weekend on many news sources.
Provo Man arrested in murder charge
A Provo man accused of killing his former girlfriend, who had been reported as missing in Springville, has been arrested after the body of a woman was found in a shed. Arthuro Aurelio Carrion, 53, was booked into the Utah County Jail for investigation of murder. Carrion called another man on Saturday and had him come to a residence at 782 Heather Lane, where he allegedly indicated that he had “done something wrong” and gestured at a backyard shed. Carrion’s ex-girlfriend Lesa Hyde was last seen “around the end of December,” according to a Facebook post from Springville police on Jan. 29. The shed was opened to reveal several bags containing human remains that were taken for identification. Carrion was convicted of aggravated assault on Dec. 12 in 4th District Court. In that case, he “strangled his intimate partner L.H. during an argument inside the car in which they were living in (in) Provo,” on Nov. 18, according to charging documents.
The Grace Grizzlies won the High Desert Conference District Tournament Monday night with a win over Butte County. The Grizzlies went 3-0 during tournament play.
The Stephens Performing Arts Center hosted students from Caribou County for its Youth Concert.
Blake Mayne and Josh Larsen battle it out in a chess match at Brain Games.
Left to Right: Beth Cheirrett, Friends of the Library President; Dorajo Messerly, Children's Librarian and Friends Liaison; Hope Hansen, Library Director; Ronda Lutz, Ireland Bank Branch Manager, Jessica Price, Relationship Banker; Jessica Perron, Relationship Banker
Ireland Bank Sponsors Library Golf in Soda
It’s still too early to hit the links— at least without either a sled or waders, depending on the day—but even if the weather outside keeps doing its thing, the weather at the Soda Springs Library should be perfect on March 10.
From 4 p.m. to 7 p.m. on that day, Ireland Bank is sponsoring an indoor mini-golf event, a fun event that will raise funds for many of the projects on the library’s wish and necessity list.
9-holes of mini golf mayhem are currently being constructed by a number of local individual sponsors (former library director Cindy Erickson among others!) as well as businesses and organizations.
Each hole will follow a literary theme of the maker’s choosing, which will include The Very Hungry Caterpillar, Curious George, Lord of the Rings, Pippi Longstocking, Richard
Scarry’s Busy Town, Alice in Wonderland, Dr. Suess, Jurassic Park and Charlotte's Web. All holes are being designed and built by volunteers in support of the library and the mission statement of the Friends of the Library, which is “to promote, enhance and expand the services of the library for the benefit of the community through events, fundraising, and advocacy.”
Friends of the Library President Beth Cheirett stated: “We are incredibly grateful for the families, organizations, and businesses who are donating their time and talent to design the golf course. We have such a supportive community.”
Tape on the floor maps out where the various holes will be constructed, and the library staff are getting more excited to see what it eventually looks like as the time draws closer.
“This should be a fun family night centered around mini golf, conces-
Musical Interlude
continued from front page
costs. Music Director Kim Mumford, stamping tickets at the gate for participants in the games, pointed out Debbie Hansen, noting “I’m the head of the music program, but she’s the brains!” Hansen laughed it off, explaining “I just like projects, and this has been a fun project.”
The room buzzed with students moving from table to table trying out the variety of games on hand.
Josh Larsen, in the middle of a chess match against Blake Mayne, explained “I like how this is an ancient game from a long time ago.” Chess joined more modern pursuits like competitive
Lego building to give participants a variety of activities to choose from.
“At some field day style events in the past I saw some kids who just didn’t really want to participate in the normal physical-style games,” Debbie Hansen noted. “I wanted to give them a way to show off their talents.”
The event was well-attended, and full of smiling competitors.
Prizes for the winners were donated by Mountain View Dental, Lallatins, A+ construction, Broulims, Soda Smiles, Paul Gritton, Flower Box, Baked Fresh, Potter’s Creations, Late Bloomers, Heritage Creations, Main St. Diner, Young’s House of Hobbies, and the Soda Springs Library.
sions, and community,” Children’s Librarian Dorajo Messerly said. “Each hole will feature a fun children’s book theme that you will not want to miss!”
Putters, balls and scorecards will be provided by the Friends of the Library, thanks to a sponsorship by Ireland Bank.
“There are startup costs associated with holding an event like this, so we were ecstatic about the generous donation by Ireland Bank. They really made the entire thing possible! We are so grateful for their commitment to the community and the library,” Cheirrett said.
According to the Friends of the library, “the course will be spread throughout the main floor and basement of the library. All are welcome - no golf experience required. Since each hole will have a different designer, varying levels of difficulty are expected. There will be no official
scores kept or competition hosted by the Friends, but teams are welcome to keep score and compete amongst themselves.”
Admission will not specifically be charged, but will be taken “by donation” at the door. Attendees are strongly encouraged by the organizers to sign up for a tee time in advance at sslibraryfriends.com/minigolf.
“With only 9 teams on the course at a given time, it’s crucial for us to space out the crowd. Much of the library’s square footage will be taken up with the game, so we want to avoid large groups of people waiting for an open slot,” Cheirrett said.
The library will close at noon on March 10th to accommodate the event. Additional information can be found at sslibraryfriends.com/ minigolf or by calling the library at (208) 547-2606.
One of the nine courses being designed in the library features a dogleg left.
North Gem students await the concert start last week at ISU.
Brayden Brannam and London Galloway play Scrabble as Brenda Brannam looks on.
Dozens of students from Tigert Middle School attended a youth symphony performance in Pocatello.
Legislative Update-Senator Mark Harris
Dear friends and neighbors —
The Senate heard and debated House Bill 93 (H93) this week. This is the education choice bill that was passed by the House earlier this month. As a reminder, the bill provides a $5,000 refundable tax credit with no household cap for parents who wish to enroll their children in a private school. I received several emails from home school parents opposed to the bill. Most argued that taxpayer money has strings attached. They are right. I also received many emails and phone calls from others who were opposed to this legislation. The bill touts “school choice”. Idaho already has robust school choice with Charter, Dual Enrollment, Idaho Home Learning Academy (IHLA), and more.
H93 lacks accountability. The State Tax Commission is to be the administrator of the legislation. However, there is no way for the Commission to recapture credits for unauthorized spending, and it does not give the Commission the personnel it needs to adequately oversee the $50 million price tag. “That will come later,” I was told. This is a concern for me as the legislation gives the tax collection agency of the State of Idaho the authority to submit participating Idaho families to tax audits. Being audited by the Idaho Tax Commission is not a pleasant thing to experience. For this reason and others, I voted “no” on H93. It did, however, pass the Senate, 20 to 15, and goes on to the Governor. We will know in the next week if he will sign it or not.
Another piece of Legislation that we are watching closely is House Bill 138 (H138). H138 is a bill designed to repeal Medicaid expansion in the State of Idaho. The bill is asking the federal government for several waivers. Some of the waivers are good, such as work requirements that are also supported by many Idahoans. However, the bill contains a “trigger” that says if the federal government rejects any of the eleven waivers in the bill, then Medicaid expansion will cease to exist in Idaho. This has been tried before during the first Trump Administration. That Administration rejected the waivers. There is little proof that they will not be rejected again. Unfortunately, before Medicaid expansion, there were many Idahoans without any form of health insurance. Many did not qualify for health insurance subsidies and there was no way they could afford to buy their own health insurance. Like it
or not, Medicaid expansion was the answer and until we can find a better solution, it is the best alternative.
It is disappointing that some legislators would push such an irresponsible bill without designing something to take its place. H138 passed the House by just six votes (38 for and 32 against) and is now in the Senate Health and Welfare Committee. We are working to find ways to deal with this issue.
I had the opportunity to address the boards of both the Idaho Cattle Association and the Idaho Grain Producers Association this week. I am proud of Idaho agriculture and all it does for our State. Both groups are represented by great people who truly love what they do. It is interesting to me that when asked why they do what they do, many of them respond with something about passing their way of life on to their kids. Idaho family farms and ranches are an Idaho legacy and a way of life that is disappearing across the United States as many are forced to sell or get lost in the urban sprawl. These family farms and ranches are an important part of Idaho history and heritage.
As an update on my Emergency Medical Service (EMS) legislation, House Bills 206 and 207, (H206 & H207) have passed out of the House Transportation and Defense Committee with a do-pass recommendation and are headed to the House floor for consideration.
Thank you for giving me the privilege and honor to serve you, the good people of Legislative District 35. I look forward to hearing from you with any questions or concerns. You can email me at mharris@senate.idaho.gov or call me at 208-332-1308.
NEWS OF RECORD
CARIBOU COUNTY SHERIFF
Joseph James Battiato, Fishers, speeding, $33.50, costs $56.50
Arlen Jay Homer, Idaho Falls, speeding, $33.50, costs $56.50
SODA SPRINGS POLICE
Gage Michael Ashley, Soda Springs, permit unauthorized minor to drive, $54.50, costs $56.50
Legislative Session 2025 Week #6--Rep.
Another President’s Day full of deep reflection. We honored 7 former legislators who have passed away in recent years. I’m always impressed at the broad range of people who serve in the legislature, and the many ways they have given back to their families and communities. A local elementary school choir performed an excellent number called “Stories in the Snow”, which certainly left me thinking of home.
We passed a bill out of the Health & Welfare committee this week to require insurance coverage of early cancer screening for women at high risk of breast cancer. It was educational and looks like it will serve to save our state and communities on some serious expenses, by catching diseases earlier and providing for lower cost, more effective treatments.
There was also a very robust debate in the Health & Welfare committee about updates to Idaho’s statutes regarding childcare facilities. There is a push to standardize across the state, and simplify the regulations dealing with daycares, both professional and in home. It is an important conversation to have, and I believe we will find a strong Idaho solution through this conversation.
I was disappointed to see HB138 advance off the house floor this week. Its supporters claim that it will reform and improve our Medicaid Expansion program, which was called for by more than 60% of Idaho citizens in an initiative back in 2018. However, the bill sets up 11 conditions that must be implemented by 2026 or the Medicaid Expansion will be repealed. Most of the conditions have already been demon-
Josh Wheeler
strated to be unachievable, and so the bill is not a reform, but a repeal. I hope the legislative process will move us to a better solution rather than repeal. It was exciting to have a few of my bills move forward in the process this week. My concurrent resolution calling on cities to encourage youth entrepreneurship and not to charge them permitting or licensure fees received universal support in Committee. I’ve also got some bills that streamline electrical licensing and building inspection processes which were able to move out of committee. I feel that I have learned so much in this first couple months of my second term. As always, I deeply value the communications and feedback that I receive from those of you back at home. Thanks for your hard work, and the great communities you maintain at home.
Public Hearing on Area of Impact
On February 10, the Caribou County board of County Commissioners held a public hearing on amending the Impact Zone. The hearing was well-attended. There was concern that the hearing on the amendment might mean that the city was planning to annex areas of the county, however the amendment did not deal with any impending annexation, and the Area of Impact is a legal designation of an area in which growth is predicted on the boundaries of the city. It allows for annexation to be requested by non-city residents. The amendment reinforces the existing status quo regarding the Area of Impact, which has been in place for years. According to discussion during the hearing, this amended language has been required by the state legislature.
Per Idaho statute, 67-6506, the city and county agree that within the Area of Impact the county makes the final decisions on issues inside the area regarding development.
Chairman Mark Mathews opened the hearing by noting that, “Obviously, there is a lot of public interest in this.” 2 minutes were given to each person who wished to speak.
Helen Barker, speaking on behalf of the county Planning and Zoning commission, stated, “The agreement with the city was that the county would receive all building permits, and then would have 30 days for feedback. The amendment is really what we’ve been doing the whole time. The Idaho legislature wants the statute to clarify that the county will be the final word on the Area of Impact. “
Larue Workman stated, “We specifically bought a place because we don’t want to be part of the city. I am not happy at all if this is the first step at getting us into the city.”
Mohamed Elsahn, Cooper City, speeding (16 mph or over), $98.50, costs $56.50
Zachary Dakota Hanson, Pocatello, fail to register vehicle annually, $10.50, costs $56.50
Mario Genova Johnson, Georgetown, fail to register vehicle annually, $10.50, costs $56.50
Max Thayne White, Soda Springs, fail to register vehicle annually, $10.50, costs $56.50
IDAHO STATE POLICE
Feiyang Li, Sunnyvale, speeding (16 mph or over),
Chairman Mathews replied, “This just clarifies what we’ve already been doing. The city only gets to review those plans, but we don’t have to adopt any of their plans. It’s still up to county Planning and Zoning.”
Attorney Doug Wood added “There was a case that came out, where there was an impact area controlled by the city, not the county. But the court said that no, those citizens don’t have a vote in that area. This clarifies that.” Mathews noted, “This is the best attended public hearing we’ve had.”
“There’s a lot of people affected by this,” a member of the audience said.
Some discussion about the differences in zoning between the city and county were discussed. Barker stated “We’re not adopting everything in the city [zoning rules].” Barker clarified that while the zoning shares some of the language with the city codes, the county code is separate and the authoritative policy in the Area of Impact.
“We don’t want any more restrictions that we already have,” one attendee said.
“Amen,” agreed another.
Helen Barker added, “I have no plans of wanting to restrict more.”
Chairman Mathews joked, “We should have headlined it ‘we are giving the county more power’!”
Angie Mendenhall stated that “There needs to more awareness of how we’ve done it in the past.”
Alan Skinner, on behalf of the city of Soda Springs, said “Everything is basically the same, this doesn’t really change anything. What the city doesn’t want to have happen is to add costs if someone did annex into the city.”
It was approved to adopt ordinance 2025-01 to amend the Area of Impact.
$98.50, costs $56.50
Braxton Dean Pierce, Idaho Falls, speeding, $33.50, costs $56.50
MAGISTRATE COURT
Trevor Shawn Barfuss, Bancroft, driving under the influence, $1,000.00, costs $218.10, 18 months probation, 24 hours community service – Agency: CCSO
Jeremy Ryan Vargas-Mulcahy, Maplewood, inattentive or careless driving, $300.00, costs $157.50
Caribou County Commission 2/24
The Caribou County Board of Commissioners held a regular meeting on February 24.
Kevin McClain—Road and Bridge Road and Bridge Director Kevin McClain spoke to the commission about the Village Road project. Gravel for the project to extend the culverts along the road would involve around five and a half thousand tons of gravel, or 220 loads, which would take about two weeks. McClain estimated the cost as 179K$ worth of county time and materials. That is without any redesign to the hill. McClain noted that the hill was very steep, and changing the grade would be very expensive. “Some roads are just worse than others,” McClain said. The estimate is based on 4 inches of gravel on the section in question.
Commissioner Somsen discussed the road specifications necessary for the county, as well as potential savings for the oil used on roads.
McClain reported that a sander had gone off the road and been removed from a ditch. The sander had experienced the separation of its bed and was in need of repair, which was going to be conducted in house.
McClain explained that the distance from the sand pile to some of the farther areas of the county sometimes meant that the trucks were carrying too much material, causing them to be top heavy and imbalanced. In this case, the welds to the bed frame gave out, causing the bed to separate from the chassis.
McClain noted that his work truck has over 210K miles on it. The truck is about 4 years old, and puts at least 50K miles a year on it. McClain asked whether he could begin looking for a newer vehicle, which the commissioners said was fine.
Sheriff
Sheriff Adam Mabey spoke to the commissioners about a number of issues, including the Next Gen 911 system. While there have been some concerns about the switch over, the Sheriff reiterated his belief that it would be a good change. Next Gen 911 uses coordinated GIS information to more accurately determine locations through the system. This allows responders to more quickly identify the location of emergency call origins.
Sheriff Mabey reported that body cameras which had been obtained by the department are up and ready for use.
He reported that he is currently finishing language for ordinances regarding minors, as well as animals for presentation to the board.
The number of inmates in the county detention facility (primarily from IDOC from other counties) is up, which brings money into the county. There is some discussion of rate increases for the incarceration. Mabey noted that there was a gap between what the cost was and what the state is paying.
The traffic turn-in to the sheriff’s office was discussed. Alan Skinner from the city and the sheriff have discussed the danger of the turning path into the facility as it currently works. Because the state will be conducting a road project on the highway through town, there is hope that ITD can be persuaded to make the area safer as a part of the project.
The Sheriff suggested that he would attend the next ITD meeting in order to convey the concerns to the state.
In communication with Homeland Security and Immigration, the Sheriff was informed by the agent in
charge of Caribou County that any changes in policy or incarceration for undocumented immigrants will be communicated to the sheriff’s office before anything happens. “They aren’t going into schools. They aren’t going into houses. It’s the ‘worst first’ they’re doing, so they won’t be doing anything different here, at least for quite a while.”
Eric Hobson
The county will put in for a grant for a new van. The state grant will cover $218K of the cost, which is the majority of the cost of the vehicle. The equipment will be covered for $40K. A baseline firetruck costs around $800K and a 5 year wait, for reference.
The commissioners needed to provide a letter of support for the grant.
Hobson reported on a Western Fire manager Grant for projects in Bailey Creek. A manager for the grant will need to be hired, and SICOG was recommended. A 10% match is required, but can be covered by time used for meetings, and other in-kind matching.
Bailey Creek has a fire district that contracts with Caribou County, although a lot of the work the grant covers is in Bear Lake County. Caribou, as a result of the contract, is responsible for fire mitigation in the area. Brush removal, brush mitigation, invasive species removal will be involved.
“We’ve had a weird winter. It snows, it rains, it melts.” The ten year average for the county was reported to be “not bad, and not great—right in the middle”. Some issues with water run-off as a result of the melting pattern have been reported. Some calls for sandbags have been received.
Justin Hatch
Justin from the Extension Office spoke to the commissioners about the need for new computers at the Office. Two laptops are needed to replace computers that are more than six years old. A price of $3000 for the two was presented. The funds are available in the capital outlay part of the budget. The office will also be able to equip the AmericCorps volunteers. Two ThinkPads for just under $3000 were approved.
Senior Center—ShaLayne Bartschi
ShaLayne Bartschi from the Caribou Senior Center spoke to the commissioners, and brought the commissioners some of this week’s cookies.
A project to insulate the garage and work on the roof was announced. The Center will be pursuing a grant through Bayer.
Bartschi reported on the dripping from the ceiling, which is due to condensation. Vents have been attached to the top to help resolve the issue.
Bartschi has been asked to convey to the county the interest of employees about potentially joining the retirement program the county uses. Commissioner Somsen asked Bartschi to find out what the other senior centers in the region do for their employees as far as benefits go. The commissioners were receptive to looking into the issue and asked ShaLayne to let them know what she finds out.
Helen Barker
A JUB contract from 5K$ for the Oregon Trail Park maintenance was approved.
Professional services with MR&E contract for $14K was approved for garbage and docks.
Barker emailed code for review with regard to the PZ issues related to the Area of Impact amendments. Within the area, the language defining the zones is
War on Weeds—weeds are everybody’s problem
THE ISSUE: Spotted knapweed
Spotted knapweed (Centaurea stoebe) is a biennial or short-lived perennial native to Eastern Europe. It was introduced into the U.S. in the 1800’s as a contaminate in seed. It is an extremely invasive weed that can spread quickly. It invades roadsides, rangeland, and other dry disturbed sites.
Spotted knapweed seeds can germinate throughout the year and then they spend their first year as a rosette. During the second year they typically bolt, sending up stems that can grow up to 3 feet tall. Rosette leaves are deeply lobed and covered in short coarse hair. Upper leaves have lance shaped lobes, are grayish green in color and decrease in size towards the top of the plant. Flowers heads are urnshaped and are topped with pink to purple flowers. Spotted knapweed is a prolific seed producer, a single plant can produce 1- 100 flower heads, and each flower head can produce up to 50 seeds. Seeds can remain viable in the soil for up to 7 years. One key characteristic that can be used to tell the difference between Spotted knapweed and other knapweeds is the bracts, found on the flower heads. Spotted knapweed bracts are triangular, and the upper tip is dark, giving it a spotted appearance. Integrated Pest Management (IPM) Options:
courtesy of Rob Routledge, Sault, College Bugwood.org
• Prevention— Learn to identify this plant. Never transport unknown plant material. Clean clothing, pets, and vehicles of debris when leaving infested areas.
• Mechanical— Mowing is not an effective form of control; plants will send up new shoots or flower below the height of the mower. Tillage can effectively control young plants but may not be effective for more established plants.
• Cultural— Plant beneficial perennial plants that will compete with weed seedlings. Minimize soil disturbance and use proper grazing techniques to benefit beneficial plants.
• Chemical— There are several herbicide options available to use on this weed species. For more information on products and rates visit: https://pnwhandbooks.org/weed. Then search “Knapweeds”. Always read and follow herbicide label directions!
Justin Hatch, University of Idaho Extension Agriculture Educator in Caribou County. 208-547-3205 JLHatch@uidaho.edu
being adjusted to reflect the county’s position in the relevant areas. A March 24 public hearing is planned to further discuss.
In Chesterfield, the viewshed area has its own set of development regulations. A recently received building permit has raised the issue of enforcement. If the location is determined to be within the viewshed area, it will need to be reviewed by the Historical Site before it can move forward to be approved by the county.
Doug Wood—Attorney’s Office
An uptick in the numbers of DUIs in the county was noted. There was some discussion of using a billboard to raise awareness of the issue. The potential of seeking a grant to underwrite the costs was discussed, and it determined that it would be a good idea. According to reporting, the average cost of a first offense DUI was stated to be around $10K, including legal fees, impounding costs, and more. “It would save me time and money to be an Uber driver for people [who planned on driving drunk]. Don’t make me lose any more hair,” Wood joked, though he underlined the seriousness of the problem.
Wood requested authorization to purchase technology for CaseLaw research. $400 month is the cost of the research access. Currently, Wood uses the free state access to the CaseLaw archive, though the upgrade would provide greater access and functionality, through Lexis-Nexus. The commissioners looked at creating a line item to account for the cost of CaseLaw Finder.
Jill Stoor—Clerk’s Office
Clerk Stoor spoke to the commission. The Maverik Community Park Committee requested funds from the county for some items necessary for the completion of the park. The commissioners noted that they would like the group to present their needs to the commission itself for consideration.
One certificate of residency was accepted as presented.
Approval for quote for Computer Arts for imaging needed for 1900+.
Thirkill thanks Officer Phelps
While there is only one official “SRO Appreciation Day,” every day is better when Officer Trevyn Phelps is on the job. Officer Phelps was recognized by staff and students of Thirkill Elementary School in recognition of School Resource Officer Appreciation Day last week. Thirkill Elementary thanks Officer Phelps for his service to the school and community in helping to maintain a safe and secure environment, educating staff and students on safety issues, and thanks him for his presence in their school. The contributions Phelps makes to the school district, as well as the students he works with, are examples of how a community keeps strong. Phelps is a great role model, just in time for Kindness Week.
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A potential DUI warning billboard was discussed at Monday's County Commission meeting.
SENIOR CITIZENS’ CORNER March 2025
March is National Nutrition Month, one of my favorite months of the year as a registered dietitian! Along with the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics, we often look to myplate.gov as a great resource for nutrition education
● My Plate is a free website that offers a number of services, reach out to your site manager or dietitian if you have any question
○ Be sure to get a “full plate” with every meal (information listed on image below)
○ Estimated calorie needs
○ Recipes
○ Healthy habits & Exercise education
Seasonal foods in March
● Avocados
● Citrus - lemons, limes, oranges, etc.
● Asparagus
● Pineapples
Tropical Fruit Protein Fluff Salad
Ingredients
• 1 cup pineapple (fresh or canned)
• 1 cup mandarin oranges (fresh or canned)
1 sliced banana
1 cup Cool Whip (low fat)
• ½ cup nuts (walnuts, pecans, peanuts, etc)
• 2 cups cottage cheese
Directions
Drain canned fruit if needed. Add all ingredients into a bowl, mix, and let cool in the refrigerator for at least 2 hours overnight. Enjoy!
CARIBOU COUNTY SENIOR CITIZENS' MENU
Every meal served with Juice/Milk/ Coffee *Birthday Cake and Ice Cream is served in-house only!
Feb. 28 - Chicken Enchiladas, Green Rice, Green Salad, Fruit Cocktail, Mexican Wedding Cake
March 5 - Chicken Noodle, Casserole, Asparagus, Grapes/Strawberries, Wheat Bread, Orange Zest Cake
March 7 - French Dip Sand, Chips, Broccoli Salad, Juice, Banana Choc Chip Cookie
March 12 - Chicken Pot Pie, Pineap-
FREE NUTRITION COUNSELING
● Free MNT (Medical Nutrition Therapy) services available in person, or via telephone with our registered dietitian Vanessa (habla español), services also available in Spanish. Ask your center staff for details today!
BRAIN TEASERS
ple & Mandarins, Pecan Pie Bars
March 14 - Corned Beef, w/Cabbage, Red Potatoes, Kiwi, Dilly Bread, St. Patrick’s Dessert
March 19 - Pork Spare Ribs, Baked Potatoes, Cauliflower, Oatmeal Bread, Bread Pudding
March 21 - Hamburger Rice, Casserole, Peas & Carrots, Potato Bread, Birthday Cake &,Ice cream*
March 26 - Taco Soup, Spinach Strawberry, Salad, Corn Bread, Gingersnaps
March 28 - Pork Roast, Mashed Potatoes, Beets, Banana, Sourdough Bread, Caramel Cake
○ Please reach out to our site for help with the following:
■ New medical diagnosis i.e. cancer, diabetes, difficulty swallowing, weight loss, altered taste, fatigue, etc.
■ Food resources - Food banks, pantries, programs, etc.
■ Menu planning, budgeting, and recipe ideas
EVENT CALENDARS LUNCH MENUS
SODA SPRINGS/ CARIBOU COUNTY
Thursday - February 27
Library Story Time (10 am)
Friday - February 28
HS Track 1st Practice
HS State Wrestling @ Holt Arena
State Cheerleading - Idaho Ford Center (Nampa) 7:30am
Saturday - March 1
HS State Wrestling @ Holt Arena
HS BBB Play-in Game
Sunday - March 2
LDS Services
Caribou Bible Church (2 pm)
Monday - March 3
BPA State
HS 1st Golf Practice
Tuesday - March 4
Assembly- ISP Presentation
Wednesday - March 5
City Council (6pm)
LL Wrestling Tournament 4:00
Thursday - March 6
Library Story Time (10 am)
HS BBB State Tournament @ Vallivue HS
Friday - March 7
HS BBB State Tournament @ Vallivue HS
GRACE
Thursday - February 27
Library Story Time (10 am)
Friday - February 28
HS Track 1st Practice
HS State Wrestling @ Holt Arena
State Cheerleading - Idaho Ford Center (Nampa) 7:30am
March 1 – Saturday
HS State Wrestling @ Holt Arena
HS BBB Play-in Game
Sunday - March 2
LDS Services
Caribou Bible Church (2 pm)
Monday - March 3
BPA State HS 1st Golf Practice
Tuesday - March 4
Assembly- ISP Presentation
Wednesday - March 5
City Council (6pm) LL Wrestling Tournament 4:00
Thursday - March 6
Library Story Time (10 am)
HS BBB State Tournament @ Vallivue HS
Friday - March 7
HS BBB State Tournament @ Vallivue HS Library Story Hour (10 am)
BANCROFT
Friday - February 28
State Wrestling @ Pocatello First Day HS Track
Sunday - March 2
LDS Services
Monday - March 3 Track Practice
Tuesday - March 4 Board Meeting (6:30-8:30 pm)
Soup Luncheon Next
Tuesday
Consider this your last warning— at least in these pages. After much anticipation, the annual Community Soup Luncheon at the Presbyterian Church in Soda Springs will be here next Tuesday, March 4th (Fat Tuesday-the last day of Mardi Gras before Lent begins) from 11 A.M. To 1 P.M. for eating in. Take-outs for the day will begin at 10:45. The lunch will be held inside the Soda Springs Presbyterian Church at 109 S. 1st East Those with questions are welcomed to call 208-547-3771 for information or to order take-outs on March 4th. Organizers want to spread the word that “everyone is most welcome.”
There will be 8 kinds of soup to celebrate the day: chicken taco, clam chowder, potato cheese, chili, beef cabbage, chicken Thai curry, ham and bean, and chicken noodle. If none of those choices work for you, it’s probably because you haven’t tried them yet. Bread, dessert, and drink will be served with the meal.
There is no charge, though donations will be gladly accepted.
The event is always a wonderful
non-denominational time to gather with friends and enjoy a bit of warmth as the winter slowly makes its exit from the valley. And who knows—by next week, it might be full spring weather!
SODA SPRINGS LUNCH MENU
Monday, March 3
Pizza
Tuesday, March 4
Taco, Refried Beans
Lunches served with Milk
Wednesday, March 5
Grilled Cheese, Tomato Soup
Thursday, March 6
Hamburger, Chips
NORTH GEM LUNCH MENU
Milk and Choice of Bar Each Day
Monday, March 3
Italian Dunkers, Deli Bar, Green Beans, Mandarin Oranges
Tuesday, March 4
Soft Shell Taco, Honey Mustard Chicken, Deli Bar, Roasted Baby Carrots, Apricots
Wednesday, March 5
BBQ Flatbread, Deli Bar, Broccoli w/Cheese, Blueberry Smoothie
Thursday, March 6
Corn Dogs, French Dip, Deli Bar, French Fries, Carmel Apple Parfaits
GRACE LUNCH MENU
Monday, March 3
Lunches served with Milk
POPCORN CHICKEN, Fried Rice, Fortune Cookie FOOD CHOICES: Roasted Broccoli, Tropical Fruit Mix
Tuesday, March 4
Fajita Veggies, FOOD CHOICES: Churro, Refried Beans, Corn, Orange Wedges
BIRTHDAYS
Mike Cannon, Feb. 28
Sidney Thompson, March 6
Helen Christensen, March 8
Charlie Gentry, March 10
Terre Lakey, March 10
St. Patricks Day, March 17
Carol Steffensen, March 17
SueAnn Turner, March 21
Matt Swope, March 22
Ann Hamm, March 23
Wendy Lewis, March 23
Tanae Kole Crump, March 24
Gayle Powell, March 26
ON THIS DAY
1827 First Mardi Gras celebration in New Orleans
1860 Abraham Lincoln makes a speech at Cooper Union in the city of New York that is largely responsible for his election to the Presidency
1861 U.S. Congress authorizes first stamped newspaper wrappers for mailing
1872 Charlotte Ray, first African American woman lawyer in USA, graduates from Howard University
1879 Russian-American chemist Constantin Fahlberg discovers an artificial sweetener (later named 'saccharin'), while working on coal tar analysis at Johns Hopkins University in Baltimore, Maryland
1883 Oscar Hammerstein patents first cigar-rolling machine
Wednesday, March 5
ALFREDO, Breadstick, FOOD CHOICES: Roasted Broccoli, Mandarin Oranges
Thursday, March 6
PEPPERONI CHEESE BREAD, FOOD CHOICES: Salad, Cinnamon Applesauce
Robbie Lamarr, March 26
Peggy Gould, March 28
Jerry Bush, March 29
Carolyn Hunsaker, March 30
Charles Fryar, March 30
Kacelyn Kole Crump, March 31
Dorothy Cox, March 31
If you would like to add yourself, your kids, loved one, friend or family member to our weekly birthday list, contact Sherrie at 208-766-4773 or email sherrie.w@idahoenterprise.com
1919 American Association for Hard of Hearing forms (NYC)
1922 U.S. Supreme Court unanimously upholds 19th amendment to the U.S. Constituent - women's right to vote
1940 Martin Kamen and Sam Ruben discover carbon-14 (radiocarbon dating) at the University of California Radiation Laboratory in Berkeley, California
1951 22nd amendment ratified, limiting U.S. Presidents to 2 terms
1974 "People" magazine begins sales
1996 First ever appearance of Pokémon in role-playing video game "Pocket Monsters Red and Green" for Game Boy in Japan
LOOKING BACK AT PAGES FROM THE PAST
The following stories are summarized from past issues of the Caribou County Sun over the last fifty plus years. The Enterprise thanks Mark Steele for permission to use the contents, and the Grace Public Library for access to the archives.
2020 Sheryl Balls brought readers an in depth accounting of the third straight championship and fourth in six years for the Soda Springs girls basketball team. Traveling to the Boise area and playing out of Kuna High School, the Lady Cards began their quest facing off with the third place team out of District 3. New Plymouth kept the game close in the first quarter in spite of multiple turnovers, but ultimately the Cardinals cruised to a 49-30 win in the first round. The Lady Cards next took on Melba, a team that Soda has met the last three years to either advance to or win the state title. Last year the Lady Cards beat the Mustangs for the championship. Melba was a challenge Soda executed a masterful game plan to navigate past Melba into the championship game. The championship game against Cole Valley resulted in a 67-56 for the gave Soda their third straight, which was the first time any team had done so in the IHSAA era.
2005 After just missing the finals of the 1600 meters his junior year, Keane Shuler of Soda Springs made the most of his last opportunity to run on the boards at the Simplot Games in Pocatello. Shuler went into Saturday’s final with the 4th fastest time after winning his heat on Thursday. Over 160 boys in 13 heats competed in the 1600. On Saturday, Shuler ran a near perfect race to secure the 3rd place medal. Shuler went out at a brisk pace, but settled in around 5th or 6th place. From there Shuler continued to move up as runners fell off the pace of eventual winner Josh Adams of Kaysville, Utah. Adams finished with a time of 4:16:26. Giving chase to Adams was Ige Mohamud from Denver, who finished with a time of 4:22:16. Shuler finished less than 4 seconds behind Mohamud with a time of 4:26:55 and just ahead of Brighton High’s Jorgan Jackobsen’s 4th place time of 4:27:22. The Simplot Games is one of the largest indoor high school track meets in the nation with 1,800 athletes from the United States and Canada. Athletes also have the opportunity to meet Olympic athletes and gold medalists.
Elisabeth Mussler of the Grace FFA Chapter gave a good performance in the Southeastern Idaho FFA District job interview career development event. A panel of three judges evaluated the participants based on the quality of the student’s application packages and the student’s interviewing skills. After evaluating the participants, the judges places Elisabeth first in the event. Grace FFA hosted the Southeastern Idaho FFA District job interview and agriculture sales career development events. The job interview career development is designed to help students practice and demonstrate the skills needed in seeking employment within the agriculture industry. Students must develop skills in creating a cover letter and resume. They must also develop the skills and competencies to fill out a job application and compose a follow-up letter. In doing this, the students establish presentation skills they will use in real job interview. Mussler will have the opportunity to represent the Southeastern Idaho FFA District at the State FFA job interview career development event in Twin Falls in April.
Mrs. Gentry’s Class was reported on by Dillyn Deno, Nicolas Maughan, and Chelsey Rasmussen, who explained that “January has been a great month. Josh Davis’s dad came to teach us about China and how the language is different from ours. He even wrote ‘goodbye’ and ‘thank you,’ on the board using Chinese handwriting. Before he left he gave us each fortune cookies and chopsticks. We also had a couple of furry visitors to our class. Sophie Winter’s mom brought in their pet cat, who could play dead. Chase Petersen’s mom brought in his great big dog, Hurricane. He is almost as big as we are and really cute. It’s a good thing they didn’t come at the same time though! We have started the year off with a lot of fun.
For Mrs. Clegg’s class, Elijah Christiansen, Taylor Kneip, and Logan Smith
reported that “We have a great teacher. We have fun doing computers in the computer lav. We have fun playing flies-up at recess. We are learning about subtraction. We have math meeting; we do the calendar, money, date and pattern. We write poems. We have fun with art; When we earn 50 AR points we have a pizza party. We had the 100th day of school on Feb 4. We got bracelets and glasses; we had rotations. We did a maze on out pencil holders; we did counting by 1s to 100. We had an “All about Me” bulletin board to learn about each other.
1995
Former Soda Springs resident Paul Lloyd donated seven computers to area schools, and is working on finding more for use in small Caribou County schools. Lloyd has repaired these used computers and added software programming. All have printer ports and most have mouse ports. Bancroft and Grace school districts (which includes the Thatcher School) will each get three computers, and one will go to the Grays Lake School in the Soda Springs School District. Lloyd said, “It is vital that all our students be computer literate. The world marketplace is being established and worldwide competition is inevitable. We must and will compete. The coming generation will be proficient in the use of computers. Students in our small rural schools should have the same opportunities to become computer literate as those in larger schools. Let’s make sure they have the tools.” Lloyd added that he was amazed at the number of computers in Soda Springs schools and the lack of computers in the smaller schools in the county. While these computers are not new, he said they should be usable for the next several years in the schools and give students an opportunity to become familiar with some of the existing technology. Lloyd, who was born in Soda Springs and lived there until age 16, is now the chief applications engineer at Microsemi Corporation in Santa Ana, California. Lloyd hopes to move back to Southeast Idaho when he retires. He enjoys fishing and used to hunt when he lived in the area. His favorite foods are elk and red-meat trout. Lloyd has one daughter, Barbie, who lives near him in Orange, California, and spends much time with her father.
An ordinance passed by the Caribou County Commissioners on Feb 13 has been put on hold. It dealt with giving enforcement powers to the Director of Emergency Services to enforce solid waste, hazardous waste, and air pollution requirements, as well as requiring burn permits and outlawing burn barrels. Caribou County Commissioner Edie Tracy said Tuesday the ordinance is on hold. “We will not be enforcing it until it can be repealed or amended in the future,” she said. Concern had been voiced to the commissioners, she said, mainly about the law enforcement provisions that would allow the Director of Emergency Services and Public Safety to have ingress or egress to “any premises for the purpose of inspecting all places and containers where solid waste is accumulated or kept, and where fires are maintained. Under ordinance 9502, burn permits would be required, and would be allowed only where field burning has no alternative cropping practice which provides equivalent benefits. Burn barrels would also be outlawed because they are not considered approved incinerators.
Rex Maughan, member of the Soda Springs High School Class of 1954 and founder, president, and chairman of the board of Forever Enterprises (the world’s largest grower, producer and distributor of aloe vera products), certainly has bettered the tradition of mankind. Maughan, an admirer of Robert Louis Stevenson, recently donated 14 works by Stevenson to the Soda Springs High School Library. Eight of the books are a gift to the library while the other six are being loaned to the school. The six on loan are first and second editions, dating back to the late 1800s. These will be replaces with reading copies with the loan period is over. In an interview, Maughan said, “I would like to share some of them with the students to give them the opportunity to appreciate Stevenson’s fine work and literary talent.” The books are on display in a special case in the high school library. David Larson, the high school art teacher, designed the display using antiques
on loan from a local school patron.
An article on a new patent application discusses Duane Robinson’s idea that he says will “save users money, make life with a telephone a lot easier, and even provide security for homeowners.” Robinson, who lives south of Grace, began the project several years ago and patented the phone system. He and his partner sold a phone business and long distance telephone company they owned in Arizona for over $3 million, only to have the new company go into bankruptcy. “I knew there was a need for this type of phone system, and I was able to get the parent back on my phone,” Robinson said. The heart of the system is a black box that is called the Touch Tone Butler. By various programs, it can lock out numbers of unwanted callers, screen calls coming in, provide voice mail, turn on your appliance or utilities, and even provide an alarm system. “I’ve already got an order for 100 units,” Robinson said. The price of the system will be just below $400. According to the report “the optimistic Robinson doesn’t question whether the telephone system will sell. He says it will and it’ll beat anything on the market. All he needs is the investment capital.” The device promises to allow user to “even retrieve messages while their kids are on the phone.”
Four Soda Springs couples, Dr. John and Mary Obray, Clyde and Julie Nelson, Bill and Carol Harris, and Gary and Sharman Snow, met in Salt Lake City on Feb 6, spent the night at Little America and flew from the Salt Lake Airport via Chicago and Miami to Jamaica, arriving about 10 p.m. on a weeklong, all inclusive fun in the sun tour. The Sandals Resort Hotel in Ocho Rio was their headquarters for the next seven days, lounging during the daytime around the pool, swimming, golfing, snorkeling, sailing, parasailing, wind surfing, or shopping, and taking in dinners, many shows, and other entertainments. Part of the group went golfing the first day, until they were rained out. Mary and Sharman had their hair done over in small braids which they wore for the remainder of the trip, and to quote their husbands, looked quite attractive.
Grace High school hosted an INEL Scholastic Quiz Bowl competition. The Idaho National Engineering Laboratory provided the challenging questions in areas such as math, science, history, and literature. Teams had 10 second to answer toss-up questions. The team with the correct toss-up then was given an opportunity to answer a bonus question within 20 seconds. Schools competed in two divisions. Division A teams included Highland, Pocatello, Bear Lake, Preston, Snake River, and American Falls. Division B teams included Grace, North Gem, Malad, West Side, and Rockland. Grace defeated North Gem and West side and lost to Rocklans by only five points. North Gem defeat-
ed Malad’s second team, and Rockland. Grace was led by seniors Jay McGregor, Abe Medina, Wendy Fowler, Holly Hegstrom and Becky Jones, juniors Tom Bean, Tyler Alleman, sophomores Amanda Gibson and Dwight Thomas, and freshman Debbie Bean. North Gem and Grace High School recently competed at the INEL Scholastic Tournament Region 5 Championship. An alarmingly low immunization rate among 0-2 year old children in the Southeastern Health District has promoted the Health Department, with the help of VISTA volunteers, to conduct an immunization survey throughout the eight-county district. Caribou County was one of the first counties to be surveyed. Local grocers helped with this effort by providing the VISTA volunteers with a place to conduct the survey. Lallatin Food Town of Soda Springs, Mick’s Market of Bancroft, and Jay’s Market and Sam’s Market of Grace generously provided spaces within their stores for the surveys to be conducted, thus helping the VISTA volunteers to obtain a large number of completed surveys in Caribou County. Lallatin Food Town in Soda Springs donated a turkey to be raffled off among those individuals that completed the immunization survey. The winner of the turkey was Jan Mumford. Immunization rates among 0-2 year old children in the Southeastern Health District have been reported as approximately 64 percent. This low figure has made immunization awareness an important priority for the area.
IDAN-HA THEATRE
-INDOOR-
Thursday, February 27
Friday, February 28
Saturday, March 1
Paddington in Peru
(PG)
Paddington returns to Peru to visit his beloved Aunt Lucy, who now resides at the Home for Retired Bears. With the Brown Family in tow, a thrilling adventure ensues when a mystery plunges them into an unexpected journey through the Amazon rainforest and up to the mountain peaks of Peru.
Thursday, Friday & Saturday 6:00 p.m. and 8:15 p.m.
Saturday Matinee 2:00 p.m. (All seats $5)
Wednesday, March 5
6:00 p.m. and 8:15 p.m. (All seats $5)
208-547-3282
Lucas Hansen shares the spotlight with his friend, three-time state champion Tucker Bowen last year at this time.
NOTICE OF TRUSTEE'S SALE - To be sold for cash at a Trustee’s Sale on June 4, 2025, 09:00 AM at the In the Lobby, Caribou County Courthouse, 159 South Main Street, Soda Springs, ID 83276, the following described real property situated in Caribou County, State of Idaho (“Real Property”): A parcel of land located in the Northeast Quarter of the Northwest Quarter (NE¼NW¼) of Section 22, Township 8 South, Range 39 East, Boise Meridian, the same combining all of the lands described in that Deed Instrument No. 116890 and Quitclaim Deed Instrument No 202221, all recorded in the records of Caribou County, Idaho, more particularly described as follows: Commencing at the Northeast corner of the Northeast Quarter of the Northwest Quarter (NE¼NW¼) of Section 22, Township 8 South, Range 39 East, Boise Meridian, the same being marked and witnessed by a 1 ¼ inch diameter Brass cap monument per that Corner Perpetuation and Filing Recorded Instrument No. 128124 and depicted upon that Record of Survey Instrument No. 167133 all in the records of Caribou County, Idaho, the same being South 89°56'23" East a distance of 2629.04 feet from the Northwest corner of said section; Thence North 89°56'23" West for a distance of 1279.82 feet (North 89°56' West 1279.64 feet by record) along the North boundary line of said section; Thence South 00°00'23" East for a distance of 336.53 feet (South 336.63 feet by record) along a fence line to a 5/8 inch reinforcement bar with cap tagged, "GVS PLS 9169" located at a fence comer, the same being on the North most corner of the lands described in that Quitclaim Deed Instrument No. 116890, as recorded in the records of said County, the TRUE POINT OF BEGINNING; Thence South 60°08'23" East for a distance of 444.60 feet (South 60°08' East 444.6 feet by Record) along the Northeasterly boundary line of said lands to a found 3/4" pipe located on the Westerly right of way boundary line of Third West Street (Holmes Avenue by record) as depicted upon the Village of Bancroft Townsite Plat Instrument No. 7373, dated August 30, 1909, as recorded in the records of said County; Thence South 29°53'11" West (South 29°52' West by record) for a distance of 147.27 feet along said boundary line to a 5/8" reinforcement bar with cap tagged, "GVS PLS 9169" located on a fence line, the same being the Southeast corner of the lands described in said Quitclaim Deed Instrument No. 202221; Thence North 88°13'47" West for a distance of 311.83 feet along said fence line, the same being the South boundary line of said lands, to a 5/8 inch reinforcement bar with cap tagged, "GVS PLS 9169" located on a fence corner, the Southwest corner of the same; Thence North 00°05'08" West for a distance of 339.41 feet along a fence line the same being the combined West boundary lines of the above lands, the TRUE POINT OF BEGINNING
Commonly known as: 230 S 3rd W, Bancroft, ID 83217
Nissel Rena Baker, as Trustor conveyed Real Property via a Trust Deed dated June 12, 2020, in favor of Mortgage Electronic Registration Systems, Inc., as Beneficiary, as nominee for American Pacific Mortgage Corporation, its successors and assigns as Beneficiary, in which First American Title was named as Trustee. The Trust Deed was recorded in Caribou County, Idaho, on June 12, 2020, as Instrument No. 204882, of Official Records. The Deed of Trust was assigned for value as follows: Assignee: Freedom Mortgage Corporation Assignment Dated: June 6, 2023 Assignment Recorded: June 6, 2023 Assignment
Recording Information: Instrument No. 211286
Shelly M. Baur is the Successor Trustee pursuant to a Substitution of Trustee recorded in the office of the Clerk and Recorder of Caribou, State of Idaho on December 20, 2024 at Instrument No.
213931, of Official Records.
The Beneficiary has declared a default in the terms of said Deed of Trust due to Trustor failure to make monthly payments beginning August 1, 2024, and each month subsequent, which monthly installments would have been applied on the principal and interest due on said obligation and other charges against the property or loan. By reason of said default, the Beneficiary has declared all sums owing on the obligation secured by said Trust Deed immediately due and payable. The total amount due on this obligation is the principal sum of $148,615.43, interest in the sum of $2,759.06, escrow advances of $2,184.80, other amounts due and payable in the amount of $3,580.88, for a total amount owing of $157,140.17, plus accruing interest, late charges, and other fees and costs that may be incurred or advanced.
The Beneficiary anticipates and may disburse such amounts as may be required to preserve and protect the property and for real property taxes that may become due or delinquent, unless such amounts of taxes are paid by the Trustor. If such amounts are paid by the Beneficiary, the amounts or taxes will be added to the obligations secured by the Deed of Trust. Other expenses to be charged against the proceeds of this sale include the Trustee’s fees and attorney’s fees, costs and expenses of the sale, and late charges, if any. Beneficiary has elected, and has directed the Trustee to sell the above described property to satisfy the obligation. The sale is a public sale and any person, including the Beneficiary, may bid at the sale. The bid price must be paid immediately upon the close of bidding by certified funds (valid money orders, certified checks or cashier’s checks). The conveyance will be made by Trustee’s Deed, without any representation or warranty, including warranty of title, express or implied, as the sale is made strictly on an as-is, where-is basis, without limitation, the sale is being made subject to all existing conditions, if any, of lead paint, mold or other environmental or health hazards. The Trustor, successor in interest to the Trustor, or any other person having an interest in the property, or any person named in IRC § 45-1506, has the right, at any time prior to the Trustee’s Sale, to pay to the Beneficiary, or the successor in interest to the Beneficiary, the entire amount then due under the Deed of Trust and the obligation secured thereby (including costs and expenses actually incurred and attorney’s fees) other than such portion of the principal as would not then be due had no default occurred and by curing any other default complained of herein that is capable of being cured by tendering the performance required under the obligation or to cure the default, by paying all costs and expenses actually incurred in enforcing the obligation and Deed of Trust with Successor Trustee’s and attorney’s fees. In the event that all defaults are cured the foreclosure will be dismissed and the foreclosure sale will be canceled. The scheduled Trustee’s Sale may be postponed by public proclamation up to 30 days for any reason. If the Trustee is unable to convey title for any reason, the successful bidder’s sole and exclusive remedy shall be the return of monies paid to the Successor Trustee and the successful bidder shall have no further recourse. The above Trustor are named to comply with IRC § 45-1506(4)(a). No representation is made that they are, or are not, presently responsible for this obligation. This is an attempt to collect a debt and any information obtained will be used for that purpose. Dated this 21st day of January, 2025. Shelly M. Baur Substitute Trustee 376 East 400 South, Suite 300, Salt Lake City, UT 84111 Telephone: 801-355-2886
Office Hours: Mon.-Fri., 8AM5PM (MST) File No. ID22053
LEGAL NOTICE IS HEREBY
GIVEN that IDAWY Solid Waste District (District) has submitted to the Idaho Department of Environmental Quality (DEQ) Groundwater Monitoring Programs for landfills servicing the Bear Lake County, Caribou County, and Oneida County areas. The purpose of these Groundwater Monitoring Programs is to provide updates to aquifer protection relevant to the areas served. This public notice is made pursuant to IDAPA 58.01.06.012.06.l, and as determined in Section 31819 of Idaho Code.
Groundwater Monitoring Programs may be reviewed at Local County libraries, details provided below:
Caribou County: Soda Springs Public Library 149 S Main Soda Springs, ID 83276. Phone: (208) 547-2606 email: https://soda.lili. org/contact/ Hours - Mon-Thur
9:00am-7:00pm Fri 10:00am5:00pm Electronic Copies can be downloaded at: http://swti.org/ CaribouGW • Or at the IDAWY District office located at 241 S Main, Suite #3 Lower Left, Soda Springs, ID 83276 (208) 417-1625. Office hours are from 8:00 AM to 5:00
#1073-2-27-3-6-25-T2
ORDINANCE NO. 710
AN ORDINANCE OF THE CITY OF SODA SPRINGS, IDAHO, AMENDING IN PART CHAPTER 1.08 – AMENDMENT CHANGING THE DESIGNATED NEWSPAPER PUBLISHED IN THE CITY OF SODA SPRINGS TO THE IDAHO ENTERPRISE. BE IT ORDAINED BY THE MAYOR AND CITY COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF SODA SPRINGS, IDAHO, AS FOLLOWS:
Section 1: Chapter 1.08.010 shall be amended as follows: Chapter 1.08 OFFICIAL NEWSPAPER
1.08.010 Designated.
The Caribou County Sun The Idaho Enterprise, a newspaper published in the city, is appointed, designated, and constituted the official newspaper, and such writings as are required under and by virtue of the municipal government of the municipality to be given publication in a newspaper shall be published in Tthe Idaho Enterprise Caribou County Sun. (Ord. 421 §1, 1979: prior code §1-5-1). Section 2: The City waives the multiple readings of this Ordinance. Section 3: This ordinance shall be in full force and effect from and after its passage, approval, and publication according to law. PASSED AND APPROVED by the Mayor and City Council of the City of Soda Springs, Idaho, this 19 day of February, 2024. City Of Soda Springs
By:
ATTEST:
#1070-2-6-13-20-27-25-T4
Austin Robinson, Mayor
Andrea Haderlie, City Clerk APPROVED AS TO FORM: Thomas Smith, City Attorney #1075-2-27-25-T1
ORDINANCE NO. 711 AN ORDINANCE OF THE CITY OF SODA SPRINGS, IDAHO, AMENDING IN PART
CHAPTER 5.16.080 AND
5.16.090 – AMENDMENT TO APPLICATION AND INVESTIGATION AND THE HEARING AND ISSUANCE OF A BUSINESS LICENSE.
Section 1: Title 5 shall be amended as follows: Title 5 BUSINESS LICENSES AND REGULATIONS
5.16.080 - License— Application—Investigation.
The city treasurer shall cause each application for a business license to be investigated for compliance with federal, state, and city laws by the police department, fire department, building department, health department, and any other department of the city whose investigation may be deemed necessary and appropriate by the city treasurer. The city treasurer shall present the application to the mayor along with the recommendations of each such department The mayor shall approve the application if the mayor is satisfied that all required conditions to issue the license have been met, and the city treasurer shall issue the license.
5.16.090 - License— Application—Hearing— Issuance.
An applicant may request a hearing before the city council to consider an application for a business license that the mayor has denied or failed to act upon within fourteen days after the application was filed, or to dispute the amount of the license fee. Requests for a hearing to consider an application under this section shall be made with the city treasurer within fourteen days after the application was denied, or in the case of a failure to act upon the application or to dispute the license fee, within twenty-eight days after the application was filed. The city treasurer shall transmit
the hearing request and application to the mayor and city council for consideration at the next regular council meeting. The applicant shall be permitted to appear before the mayor and city council at the council meeting and may testify on the applicant’s own behalf regarding why the application should be approved or the license fee amended. The mayor and council may determine whether to approve the application and the correct amount of the license fee or may schedule a later hearing, not to exceed three weeks, to consider the application or the fee. If the mayor and council are satisfied that all required conditions to issue the license have been met, they shall pass a motion approving the application or license fee, and the city treasurer shall issue the license. The motion approving said the application may be combined with one or more applications of by other persons or businesses for a business license.
Section 2: The City waives the multiple readings of this Ordinance.
Section 3: This ordinance shall be in full force and effect from and after its passage, approval, and publication according to law.
PASSED AND APPROVED by the Mayor and City Council of the City of Soda Springs, Idaho this 19 day of February, 2024.
City Of Soda Springs
By:
Austin Robinson, Mayor
ATTEST:
Andrea Haderlie, City Clerk
APPROVED AS TO FORM:
Thomas Smith, City Attorney #1076-2-27-25-T1
DEATH NOTICES
RaDeane Carver
RaDeane Carver, 82, of Grace, Idaho passed away on February 21, 2025. Funeral services will be held Friday, February 28th at 11:30 a.m. at the LDS Grace Chapel at 404 S. Main Street. A viewing will be held prior to the service from 10-11 a.m. A full obituary will be in next week's paper.
David Wesley Meek
David Wesley Meek, 45, of Georgetown, passed away February 19. He is survived by his wife Mary Ludwig Meek. A service to celebrate David’s life will be held on Tuesday, March 4th at 4PM at Caribou Bible Church, 290 E. 1st Street N., Soda Springs, ID 83276. A meal will be served after the ceremony.
e Idaho Enterprise - Caribou County Edition
P.O. Box 331
Soda Springs, Idaho 83276
(U.S.P.S. -- 090-560) ISSN: 2997-1004
The Idaho Enterprise - Caribou County Edition is published weekly at 76 South Main Street, Ste. 207, Soda Springs, Idaho. Postmaster, please mail address corrections to:
The Idaho Enterprise, P.O. Box 331, Soda Springs, Idaho 83276.
Entered as “periodicals” at the Soda Springs, Idaho Post Office. Subscription rates are strictly in advance -- $55.00 per year delivered in Caribou County, and $67.00 per year delivered outside of Caribou County within the United States.
The Idaho Enterprise reserves the right to refuse publication of any or all materials.
Brandon Hall Editor brandon.h@thecityjournals.com
Bryan Dean Scott Publisher bryan.s@thecityjournals.com
OBITUARY
Stanley Wistisen
March 27, 1946 ~ February 17, 2025
With hearts full of love we announce the passing of Stanley Wistisen, 78, of Bancroft Idaho, who finished his mortal journey on February 17, 2025, returning to his Father in Heaven.
Stan was born on March 27, 1946, in Soda Springs, Idaho to Raoul and Cora J. Wistisen and the fourth of six children. A devoted husband, father, grandfather, great-grandfather, brother and uncle. Growing up on the family farm he had a passion for riding horses, operating farm equipment, working with cattle and fixing things. He played the saxophone, was on the football team and wrestled. People came not only to watch him wrestle but to watch his mother watch him wrestle, she was very entertaining. He graduated from North Gem High School class of 1964.
After graduating high school, he attended Ricks College for a year before serving a mission for the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in Northern California. He loved his mission and the people he was able to serve. He spent his life constantly serving and helping everyone around him. If you needed help with anything, you could call on Stan.
While continuing his education at Rick’s College he showed his love and commitment to the family farm by hitchhiking the 125 miles home every Friday to work for a couple of days and then hitchhiking back to college on Sunday so he could attend Monday classes. He was always the happiest when farming and ranching, working from sunup to sundown, day in and day out, singing or whistling as he went.
He married his sweetheart, Kathleen Tolman in the spring of 1968 in the Logan L.D.S. Temple. He finished his degree in agronomy, and they moved back to Bancroft to help run the family farm with his father and brothers. Stan passed on his love of farming to both his children and his grandchildren.
Stan loved serving in the church and community. Some of the church callings he held include primary worker, young men’s leader, Elder’s Quorum President, Bishop, High Priest Group Leader, Stake Young Men’s Presidency, High Councilman and Stake Clerk. His favorite was working in the scouting program where he served as District Scout Chairman and then Ward Scout Advancement Chairman. In 1998 he was given the highest honor a Boys Scout council can bestow on its volunteers, the Silver Beaver. For more than 50 yrs he served on the Farm Bureau County Board, many of those years as president. He also served as President of the North Gem Education Foundation and for a time he was the West Branch Canal Company President. His kids remember him rushing home from farming, taking a fast shower, and running off to a meeting most days of the week. During the Caribou County Fair, you could find him supporting his kids in 4-H and serving up hamburgers for the
North Gem Foundation food stand. In 1970 he joined the National Guard and was given the sharp shooting award and became a leader of his unit because of the integrity and trust he exhibited. Stan loved to laugh, tease, tell jokes and listen to cowboy poetry. He loved and appreciated a birthday card that would make him chuckle. He was an honorable husband, supportive dad, wonderful grandfather, a great friend and an honest, loyal and hard-working employee and businessman. He had a strong testimony of Jesus Christ. He loved serving in the temple and reading his scriptures. Even while struggling with dementia, he could still give the sweetest heartfelt prayers. Together with his faith, Stan’s greatest joy was his family. He is survived by his loving wife of 57 years, Kathleen Tolman Wistisen; his 5 children Tamara Rodriguez, Jason (Danelle) Wistisen, Pamela (Scott) Mills, Kimberly (Mike) Neville, and Brandon (Heather) Wistisen; his 24 cherished grandchildren Ashley, Dustin (Monique) and Travis (Emily) Steele, Gabriel (Matteo), Jayden, Jensen, Carson, Nathan, Matthew and Luke Wistisen, Kade (Bri) Stoker, Mason (Anniken), Charliee and Levi Blettenburg, Mcky (Logan) Averett, Brookel (Caleb) Norwood, Kaleb, Kyle (Kendall) and Trevor Mills, Logan, Kyler, Gavin, Hunter, and Cora Neville; and his 4 adorable great-grandchildren Sloane and Sakora Steele and Logan and Blaiyr Stoker. Stan’s life was full of love, service and faith. He taught by example to be charitable towards others, to work for what you have, to find joy and laughter in the mundane, to be honest and always give more than you take. He is leaving a legacy that will bless his family for generations to come and his memory will live on in the lives of all who knew him.
A funeral service will be held on Saturday, March 1, 2025, at 12:00 p.m. at the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints building in Bancroft Idaho. A viewing will be held, at the same location, on Friday, Feb. 28, 2025, from 6:008:00 p.m. and March 1, 2025, from 10:30 - 11:30 a.m. The family invites all who knew Stan to join in celebrating his life.
The cost for a standard obituary: $89 500 words with one color photo The cost for an ultimate obituary: $159 501 words plus and 2 color photos * additional photos $25 each
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Stanley Wistisen
Several Local State Qualifiers From Boys District Wrestling
BY JODY REEVES
The fifth district wrestling championships took place last week at West Side high school in Dayton. All three local schools had wrestlers competing for a chance to claim a district title and qualify for the state tournament. Each school had wrestlers place well in districts and qualify for state. We will break down what happened with each school and wrestler that competed. North Gem
The Cowboys had five wrestlers participating in districts. Four out of the five wrestlers won at least one match. The lone freshman on the team Jaxyn Welker in his first year of wrestling put forth a good effort but went 0-2 and failed to qualify for state. At 138lbs Luke Rindlisbaker lost his first match in the quarter finals by a very close decision. From there Rindlisbaker won his first match in the consolation bracket by fall before getting pinned in the next round by another local wrestler. Rindlisbaker finishes his career putting up a great effort but failing to qualify for state. At 157lbs Craig Yost competed for the Cowboys. Yost is the newcomer to the team joining up partway through the season. Yost started off strong, winning his first match by fall and getting to the semi final match. Yost lost that semi final match and was sent to the consolation bracket. Yost won his first match in the consolation bracket which placed him in the third place match against another one of our local wrestlers. That match was a thrilling one to watch as the two wrestlers really battled hard. In the end Yost was pinned and finished in fourth place and fell short of qualifying for state. At 165lbs Haydn Frandsen also got off to a good start by winning his first match by fall and making it to the semi final match. Like Yost, Frandsen ended up losing that match and went to the consolation side of the bracket. Frandsen cruised to the win in his first match on the consolation side and made it to the third place match. That third place match was a good battle that Frandsen ended up coming out on top winning third place but just coming up short of qualifying for state. The final wrestler for the Cowboys was Lukky Welker at 150lbs. Welker followed the same path as Frandsen winning his first match then losing in the semi finals. Welker then made his way to the third place
match which he did win. In Welker's case he did not face the second place wrestler on the championship side of the bracket so he was allowed to challenge for second place. A win in that match would qualify him for state and give him the runner up spot at districts. In a very exciting match Welker came out with the victory by close decision and punched his ticket to state.
Grace
The Grizzlies also had five wrestlers compete at districts last week. All five wrestlers would eventually qualify for the state tournament but it was closer than expected for some. One of those wrestlers that had to rely on some luck to qualify for state was Carter Kimball at 132lbs. Kimball was the favorite to win districts and did easily make it to the championship match. In that championship match Kimball suffered an unfortunate injury. He finished the match but the injury hindered his ability to wrestle at his best and he ended up losing the match dropping him to second place. Since he did not wrestle the third place finisher in the championship side of the bracket the third place wrestler could challenge him for second place and a spot at state. Due to his injury Kimball was unable to defend his second place spot and had to forfeit the match. Fortunately for Kimball he had done enough during the rest of the season that he was awarded a wildcard spot late Sunday night giving him a chance to compete at state. At 138lbs Brett Hobbs would also need some help to qualify for state. Hobbs won his first match before losing in the semi finals. Hobbs, then on the consolation side of the bracket, won his next two matches and secured the third place position on the podium. Hobbs was allowed to challenge for second place but came up a little short in that match losing in a close decision. Hobbs was then forced to wait until late Sunday as well before finding out that he did earn a wildcard spot for the state tournament. At 126lbs Cael Newby earned byes to the semi final match. Newby won his semi final match making it to the championship match. In that championship match Newby fell, putting him in second place. Newby was then challenged by the third place wrestler. Newby dominated that match, securing his spot in the state championship tournament and finishing in second place at districts. Next
up for the Grizzlies was Jack Eddins at 144lbs. Eddins was also considered one of the favorites to get to the championship match at districts and qualify for state. Eddins won his first match and entered the semifinals. The semi final match was one of the most competitive matches of the day. After three full rounds Eddins and his opponent from Aberdeen were tied, sending them to overtime. In the extra time Eddins earned the takedown and won by sudden victory. Eddins then faced the top seed in the district for the championship where Eddins was beaten. Eddins finished in second place and qualified for state. The last wrestler for the Grizzlies was Mack Jorgensen at 165lbs. Jorgensen won his first two matches by pinning his opponents and qualified for the district championship. In the championship match Jorgensen was on the defense for most of the match trailing in points. In the closing seconds of the second round Jorgensen was able to reverse his opponent and win with a pin. Jorgensen won the district title and qualified for state.
Soda Springs
The Cardinals brought the largest number of wrestlers to the district tournament of any of the local schools competing with thirteen wrestlers. Owen Miller, Kage Johnson, Troy Krupp, and Kage Kirby all fought hard but failed to place and qualify for state. At 165lbs Kaiden Kimball lost the semi final match to the eventual district champion sending him to the consolation side of the bracket. Kimball won his first match there making it to the third place match. Kimball lost that third place match finishing in fourth place and missing out on going to state. At 175lbs Carson Cook followed a similar path. After winning his first match Cook lost in the semi finals and was sent to the consolation bracket. In the consolation bracket Cook competed in the third place match but he too came up short finishing in fourth place and missing out on state. Simon Krupp competed at 106lbs. With only two wrestlers competing at that weight in the district Krupp automatically qualified for state and entered the district championship match. Krupp battled hard but fell in that match placing second in the district. At 120lbs the Cardinals had two wrestlers competing Conner Lee and Jace Garbett. Garbett lost his semi
final match, eventually landing in the third place match. Garbett won that third place match and waited to see if he could challenge for second place. Meanwhile Lee won his semi final match earning a spot in the district championship. Lee ended up getting pinned in the championship putting him in second place. With Lee losing the championship it allowed Garbett to challenge Lee for the second place spot and the right to go to state. The two teammates faced off with Lee coming out on top and earning the spot to state while Garbett's season came to an end. At 126lbs Ryker Hemmert started off with a win before losing in the semi finals. Now on the consolation side of the bracket Hemmert made it to the third place match. Hemmert ended up winning that match and then challenged for second place. Unfortunately Hemmert did not win the challenge and would have to settle for third. However Hemmert was among those wrestlers that learned Sunday night that he did qualify for state with a wildcard. At 157lbs Zayden Garbett followed a similar path as Hemmert. After making it to the semi finals match Garbett lost and eventually ended up in the third place match. That third place match was competitive but Garbett came out on top and secured the third place position. Garbett was not able to challenge for second place but like Hemmert did qualify for state by way of wildcard. The last two wrestlers for Soda Springs had somewhat short days in terms of number of matches. At 190lbs Elijah Dilworth earned byes to the semi final match. Dilworth won that match going to the championship match. Dilworth easily took care of business, winning the district title and qualifying for state. The final wrestler for the Cardinals was Cole Garbett at 215lbs. Garbett also had byes up to the semi final match. Garbett quickly won that match in under a minute and headed to the championship match. Garbett took a little longer in the championship match to win going into the second period. Garbett won the district title and qualified for state.
There you have it. Twelve total local wrestlers have qualified for state. The state championships will take place Friday and Saturday and the ICCU Arena in Pocatello so head on over and support a great group of young men.
Cael Newby of Grace placed second and Ryker Hemmert of Soda Springs place third. Both boys qualified for state.
Conner Lee of Soda Springs placed second at districts and qualified for state while Jace Garbett of Soda Springs placed third.
Brett Hobbs of Grace placed third at districts and earned a wildcard to state.
Carter Kimball of Grace placed third and earned a wildcard to state.
Mac Jorgensen of Grace won the district championship while Haydn Frandsen of North Gem placed third.
Jack Eddins of Grace placed second at districts and qualified for state.
Cole Garbett of Soda Springs won the district championship last week.
Elijah Dilworth of Soda Springs won the district championship and will wrestle at state.
Lady Cards End Season At State
BY JODY REEVES
It is inevitable that every high school sports season will come to an end. In a perfect world every senior athlete would get to finish their career at the pinnacle of winning a state championship. However the world is not perfect and only one team in the state gets to finish that way and this year was not the Lady Cardinals year to do so. That being said, not winning a state championship does not mean the season was a failure. This group of Lady Cardinals saw tremendous growth throughout the season and should look back on the year with fondness and pride.
Last week the Lady Cardinals made the annual trip to Boise to participate in the state tournament. It is a trip that the program and community has become accustomed to making every year. Without going and researching it I would dare say that Soda Springs has one of the longest running stints in the state for qualifying for the state tournament. That alone is a testament of the work ethic and culture surrounding the program. Unfortunately this year the Lady Cardinals would have to settle for that moral victory rather than grabbing any wins in the tournament.
The Cardinals started their tournament taking on a very tough Parma Panther team in the first round. At the start of this game neither team seemed to be able to get into any type of offensive flow. Midway through the first quarter the score was just six to two in favor of the Panthers. It was apparent early on in the game that the officials were going to allow a lot of contact between players. With Parma holding a significant size advantage this did not favor the Cardinals. Parma used their size by controlling the boards early
which began to lead to some transition points and by the end of the first the Cardinals were already in a ten point hole. The Cardinals would attempt to go to one of their strengths in the second period by putting up several shots from beyond the arc but every one of them would rim out and fail to drop. By the time halftime rolled around the Cardinals had fallen further behind and had failed to reach double digits on the scoreboard. Soda Springs started the second half looking like their old selves scoring five quick points. Sadly that is all they would accomplish to score over the next nine and a half minutes of game time. In the fourth there was very little doubt that Parma would be advancing in the tournament while the Cardinals were destined for the consolation side of the bracket. Late in the game Soda Springs put in some younger girls and had their highest scoring quarter of the game but it was far too little too late. Soda Springs dropped their first round game by twenty-five points. The Panthers would go on to win the state title two days later. In round two on the consolation side of the bracket the Cardinals had a more favorable match up with the New Plymouth Lady Pilgrims. As this game got started the Cardinals defense was the story of the game. Soda Springs' pressure defense caused several early turnovers and didn't allow the Pilgrims to attempt a shot in the first minute and a half of play. Unfortunately the cold shooting from the Cardinals continued. Before they knew it the Cardinals were trailing eight to one. Soda Springs started the game going just one for six from the foul line but were able to finish the quarter strong. Now trailing by four the Cardinals came out of the first break with renewed energy and
the game tightened up. Soda Springs was able to grab a brief lead then the teams seesawed back and forth and the quarter ended with the Cardinals trailing by just a single point. The second half started much the same way that the first half had ended. The scoring continued to go back and forth with some ties along the way. Towards the end of the third the Cardinals began to fall apart a little and allowed the Pilgrims to go on a seven to zero run. Sadly the fourth quarter did not improve for Soda Springs. The play was a little sloppy by both teams and the Cardinals were unable to make a comeback. Soda Springs was eliminated from the tournament and their season came to an end in one fell swoop.
The Cardinals will lose two of their top players to graduation. Abby Goodin and Gracie Moldenhauer were in-
credible leaders for the Cardinals this season and will be sorely missed next year. On the positive side the Cardinals will return a great group of junior players as well as some good underclassmen girls from the JV squad. The Cardinals will be in contention again next season to keep the tradition of qualifying for state alive for the Soda Springs faithful.
Cardinals 2 5 5 12 24
Panthers 12 13 13 11 49
G.Moldenhauer 3, R.Harris 6, M.Kempe 3, J.Rasmussen 3, H.Mumford 1, J.Parker 8
Cardinals 6 12 11 7 36 Pilgrims
Cardinals Turn District Tournament On Its Head
BY JODY REEVES
Last week the Soda Springs Cardinals continued their journey through the district tournament. After easily cruising by Malad in the first round the Cardinals had to travel to top seeded Declo for the second round. The Declo Hornets up to that point had gone undefeated and were the number one ranked team not just in the conference but in all of 3A. That type of resume would intimidate most teams but the Cardinals had already faced the Hornets twice during the regular season and knew what it would take to beat the Hornets on their home court.
The game got underway with Declo jumping out to an early lead, but the Cardinals did not panic. After quickly regrouping the Cardinals went on an incredible fourteen point run to finish the first quarter. Soda Springs now led the top seed by seven points. During the second quarter the Cardinals kept on the throttle and built the lead to as big as thirteen. Declo was able to cut the lead to ten at the halftime break. In the third quarter the teams battled back and forth with the Cardinal lead fluctuating between ten and fifteen points. Declo began to make a run at the end of the third scoring the last four points and cutting the lead to eleven heading into the fourth. Declo continued to chip away at the lead in large part from the foul line. Increased pressure by the Hornets combined with an uptick in fouls helped Declo get to within seven by the midway point of the quarter. Declo continued to hit foul shots and it appeared as though the Cardinals were on their heels ready to give up the lead they had held most of the game. With just a little over one and a half minutes left in the game the score was cut to just two points. After using the foul line to get back into the game Declo would get four opportunities from the charity stripe in the last minute to take the lead. With Soda still leading by two, Declo stepped to the line with just fifty-three seconds left. The Hornet shooter missed both shots. On the rebound the Cardinals tipped the ball out of bounds giving it back to Declo. On the in -
bound the Cardinals committed another foul sending the Hornets back to the line once again now with just forty-five seconds left. Once again fate was with the Cardinals as the Hornet shooter missed both shots and the two point lead held. The Cardinals would start to work the clock and eventually Declo fouled Thompson with just twenty-eight seconds left. Thompson stepped to the line and knocked down both shots. From there the clock hit zero without another basket being scored and the Cardinals pulled off one of the biggest upsets of the year in the state.
With the big win the Cardinals automatically qualified for the state tournament and would head to the district title game. Soda Springs was not the only team to flip the tournament on its head that night. In Dayton the Wendell Trojans also pulled off an upset win over the Pirates of West Side. West Side and Declo had been ranked at the top of the state ranking for the majority of the season. With both the number one and number two teams losing on the same night not only was the district tournament affected but the state tournament will be as well. West Side and Declo will now have to face each other in a loser out game. The winner of that game will have to win a play-in game just to qualify for the state tournament. Theoretically the two teams that have sat atop the rankings all season could miss out on the state tournament though it is likely whichever one comes out of the loser out game will win the play-in game.
The district title game between the Cardinals and the Trojans will have already taken place before the release of this article. Both teams will be going to state but bragging rights and a district title are on the line. Check next week's article to see how that game went and to preview the state tournament.
Cardinals 16 12 14 6 48
Hornets 9 9 13 13 44
K.Kirby 8, G.Hansen 19, C.Thompson 12, K.McWilliams 2, P.Ozburn 5, D.Billman 2
The Lady Cardinals huddle up during a timeout in a game from earlier in the season.
Gavin Hansen puts in two of his team high nineteen points on the road at Declo.
The Cardinals celebrate their big road upset over Declo. The win sends the Cardinals to the district championship.
Local Girls Compete At District Wrestling
BY JODY REEVES
The 5th/6th girls district wrestling tournament took place last weekend at Thunder Ridge High School. Unlike the boys, the girls districts and state tournaments do not split schools into separate classifications. That means that every wrestler in the fifth and sixth district no matter the size of their school competed for district titles last weekend. Soda Springs and Grace each had five girls competing in the district championships. Here is a breakdown of how each of those girls did in the tournament.
Soda Springs
At 100lbs Soda Springs had Brinlee Hemmert competing. Hemmert lost her first match of the tournament sending her to the consolation side of the bracket. Once there Hemmert went on a run winning her next two matches. Hemmert then competed in the consolation semi final. Hemmert competed well but fell in that match sending her to the fifth place match. A win in the fifth place match would put Hemmert in the state championships. Unfortunately Hemmert came up short leaving her to rely on earning a wildcard bid. Sadly that did not go Hemmert's way either and her season came to an end.
Taylor Hirsbrunner competed at 107lbs for the Cardinals. Hirsbrunner also lost her first match sending her to the consolation side of the bracket. Hirsbrunner won her next two matches before falling in round five. This eliminated Hirsbrunner from state qualification but left her wrestling for seventh place. Hirsbrunner came up short in that match and her season also came to an end. At 132lbs Layah Dilworth fought hard but went 0-2 in the tournament and was eliminated. Abbiegail Krupp saw some success at 165lbs. Krupp started off with a win in round one then lost in round two. The loss sent her to the consolation bracket. Krupp won her first match on the consolation side but lost her second. That loss eliminated Krupp from state and put her in the seventh place match. Krupp earned some redemption by winning that match but still had her season come to an end. The final wrestler for Soda Springs was Alexandra Sturges at 126lbs. Sturges won her first two matches putting her in the semi final match. In that match she faced Grace’s Bella Eddins. Eddins got the better of Sturges, sending Sturges to the consolation semi final. Sturges lost that semi final as well, sending her to the fifth place match. The fifth place match was Sturges’ final chance
Grizzlies
quarter. The Pirates did chip away at the lead and temporarily took the lead away. In the closing seconds of the first half the game was tied before Grace senior Derek Hill hit a buzzer three point shot sending the teams to the break with Grace holding a slim three point lead. As the third period kicked off the Grizzlies came out on fire and quickly built the lead to ten. However slowly but surely the Pirates began to chip away at that lead eventually getting as close as four points. The Grizzlies regained control of the game in the last minute of the quarter and the third period finished with Grace leading by seven. The fourth quarter seemed to never end with both teams making several trips to the charity stripe. The Pirates were unable to fully capitalize on those trips making just six out of fifteen foul shots. Meanwhile the Grizzlies made eight out of twelve in the quarter and secured the round two win. That win meant that Butte County would now have to play Alturas in a loser out game. It also gave Grace the upper hand as they had yet to lose in
the tournament meaning that whoever won the Butte County vs Alturas game would have to beat Grace twice to win the district title. Once again as everyone suspected Butte County easily got by Alturas setting up the rematch with Grace. That game took place Monday night at Thunder Ridge High School. In Monday night’s match up if Grace grabbed the win they would be crowned the district champs but a loss would mean another trip to Thunder Ridge on Wednesday. As the game got going the Pirates once again took the early lead. Grace did not let them get away this time and they quickly reeled in the Pirates. The majority of the first quarter was evenly played by the two teams but Grace finished the quarter with a three point lead. In the second period the Grizzlies slowly began to pull away and by the halftime break the Grace lead had grown to ten. The Pirates opened up the second half with an effective press. The Grizzlies turned the ball over several times and just three and a half minutes into the third the ten point lead was cut to just one. Eventually Grace settled back in and finished
to qualify for state. She would need a win to get there. A win is exactly what Sturges got, pinning her opponent in the second minute of the match and qualifying for state.
Grace
The Lady Grizzlies had a phenomenal district tournament that culminated in a fourth place finish as a team. An impressive feat with just five girls and as one of the smallest schools in the competition. Individually Holland Ball at 126lbs competed hard for Grace. Unfortunately Ball lost her first match in the second period then lost her next match in overtime. Ball finished 0-2 and was eliminated from the tournament. Ball’s older sister Hayden Ball competed at 107lbs for Grace. The older Ball sister won her first two matches making it to the semi final match. Ball ended up losing that match and getting sent to the consolation side of the bracket. Ball lost her first match on that side of the bracket and headed to the fifth place match. In the fifth place match Ball went on to win and by doing so qualified for the state tournament. At 152lbs Skyla Cloud got off to a great start. Cloud pinned her first two opponents earning a spot in the semi finals. In the semi final match Cloud had more of a challenge but ended up winning by
decision securing a spot in the championship match. Cloud ended up getting pinned in the championship finishing in second place and qualifying for state. Bella Eddins wrestled at 126lbs for Grace. Eddins cruised in her first two matches earning a spot in the semi final. As posted above Eddins faced off with Sturges from Soda Springs. It was a competitive match but Eddins came out the victor earning a spot in the championship. In that match Eddins got the pin earning a district championship and qualifying for state. The final Grace wrestler was Josie Newby at 145lbs. Newby made very short work of her first two opponents, pinning each early in the match. In the semi finals Newby once again won by pinning her opponent and earning a championship match. In the championship Newby had a little more work cut out for her. That match would go the distance but Newby emerged victorious winning the second district championship for the Grizzlies.
There you have it, six local girls will be wrestling in the state championships this Friday and Saturday at the ICCU Arena in Pocatello. Make the trip over the hill and cheer them on.
the quarter building the lead back to six points. The fourth quarter was a back and forth battle with the Grizzlies maintaining a seven point lead for the majority of it. Some foul shots in the final minutes would push the lead up to thirteen as the final buzzer sounded. The Grizzles won the district championship over their biggest rival in a two game sweep. The win does not guarantee Grace a spot in the state championships. The Grizzlies will have to play in a play-in game on Saturday to qualify for the tournament. That game will be at the neutral site of American Falls. Their opponent is not yet known at the time of the writing of this article.
Grizzlies 19 12 18 16 65
Pirates 13 15 14 15 57
D.Hill 14, J.Smith 2, B.Kimball 6, L.VanGass 16, C.Smith 14, C.Reeves 4, P.Yost 7
Grizzlies 12 14 8 16 50
Pirates 9 7 12 9 37
D.Hill 8, J.Smith 1, B.Kimball 7, L.VanGass 19, C.Smith 8, C. Reeves 2, P.Yost 5
Lady Grizzly Hayden Ball placed fifth at districts and qualified for state.
Lady Grizzly Skyla Cloud placed second at districts and qualified for the state tournament.
Grace senior Josie Newby won the district title last weekend.
Bella Eddins of Grace won the district title last weekend while Alexandra Sturges of Soda Springs placed fifth. Both girls qualified for state.
Laexin VanGass threw down this dunk in the first game of the district tournament.
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