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

Council member Jon Goode of Soda Springs suggested that city employees receive cyber risk training.  He noted that cyber risks are present for every city, county, school district, and business in the country.  He asked if the city’s insurance carrier covers cyber loss, and what exactly is covered by any insurance protections that are in place.  Later during the council meeting, JoAnna Ashley of the Planning and Zoning Commission, suggested that the city start an agreement regarding the city Impact Zone, especially in light of ongoing changes to the comprehensive plans in both the city and the county.

The Grace boys basketball team wrapped up their season by playing in the 2020 Boys Basketball Real Dairy Shootout.  The Grizzlies began their play in the tournament against the Liberty Charter Patriots at Vallivue High School.  Grace never trailed in the game, and ended up winning 63-51.  Grace defeated Lapwai 57-48 in the second game to advance to the state championship for the first time since 2003.  The Grizzlies faced the Ambrose Archers in the 1A D1 State Championship game at the Ford Center on March 7.  Ultimately, Ambrose ended Grace’s 11 game winning streak by defeating them 49-27, giving Grace the runner-up title, and ending a difficult 16-11 season where they had gone undefeated in the conference with their only loss to a 1A school.

Governor Brad Little announced the creation of a new team to assist in Idaho’s preparation for the 2019 novel coronavirus.  The governor and officials have been monitoring and preparing since the first case came to the U.S.  The governor’s new “Coronavirus Working Group” will support Idaho’s public health agencies and increase coordination and communication around the multiple aspects of the planning and response effort.  “While the individual risk for coronavirus in Idaho is still low, the situation is rapidly evolving and we do expect confirmed cases in Idaho at some point,” Governor Little said.  “Idaho is prepared, and we all must do our part to prevent the spread of coronavirus by washing your hands frequently, staying home if you are sick, and avoiding others who are sick.” 

2015

Police Chief Jon Bunderson said he had good news for the city of Soda Springs.  According to the Chief, crime statistics for 2014 had been finalized, and they showed that the city had an 83 percent clearance rate.  “Our goal is to prevent crime, and if we can’t, we will attempt to solve it,” Bunderson said.  He explained that the data shows that other locations are having much less success in their clearance rates.  Nationwide in 2013, for cities under 10,000 people, the rate was listed as 37 percent.  The Caribou County Sheriff was noted as above that average at 51 percent, Montpelier at 49 percent, Bear Lake at 16 percent, Preston PD at 57 percent, Oneida County SO at 17 percent, Bannock County as 60 percent, and in 2013 Soda Springs at 72 percent.  According to the chief, the higher clearance numbers for 2014 “reflect the changes we’ve made and the group of guys, and the team work.  I’m proud.”  The Chief presented Sgt. Scott Shaw with a commendation for superior work in his administrative assignments, in addition to his normal duties.

Farmers Land and Irrigation notified the City of Soda Springs that they would soon close the Soda Screek dam in order to begin filling it.  The city administrator and city attorney will review the past water rights and agreements.  The city loses generation capabilities at its hydro plants when the dam fills, but games some of the back during the summer from additional water flow capacity.

The Soda Springs Cardinals fell just short of the 2A championship in basketball, falling to Firth in the title game 52-39.  The Cards made it to the championship by clobbering Nampa Christian in the first round and slipping past St. Maries in the semi finals.   While Nampa Christian scored first, their lead was short lived when Soda went up 16-9 in the first quarter.  The lead doubled in the third to 48-21, and ended 63-31.  In the championship game, Soda played from behind.  Although the team mounted a comeback to within seven, they ultimately fell to the Cougars.

Rain and warm temperatures affected Idaho’s mountain snowpack, as measured by Natural Resources Conservation Service snow surveyors at the end of February.  Precipitation for the month was about 50-90 percent of average for most of Idaho; the water year to date precipitation is 70 to 105 percent of average.  Experts noted “This year the jet stream pattern has taken abundant moisture and arctic cold to the central and eastern United States.  In Idaho, we’ve seen a larger percent of the moisture falling as rain rather than snow.  A ‘snow drought’ is the best term to describe this year’s unique weather pattern.’”  Across the region, snow packs increase from west to east, standing from only 28 percent of average in the Owyhee Basin to 115 percent in several Snake River headwater drainages in Wyoming.  The Bear River Basin is at 77 percent of average. 

Celtic Night III will be returning to the Allinger Community Theatre in Montpelier as part of the 2015 concert series.  The St. Patrick’s Day celebration will feature Inishfre Irish Dance, An Tus Nua Irish Dance Academy and Celtic band Leaping Lulu collaborating in an engaging mix of Celtic songs, reels, jigs, and impeccable Irish dancing.

2000

Soda Springs resident William Loran Christensen was among 1,703 students named to the fall semester 1999 dean’s list at Boise  State university.  Christensen, a freshman psychology major, received honors designation.  Jodi Ballard Hale, also of Soda Springs, daughter of Bruce and Glenda Ballard Larson, made the Dean’s List for the winter session from the ISU department of Biological Science/Chemistry.  Jodi, the wife of Ryan J. Hale, is in her third year at ISU and has earned several scholarships.  Ryan graduated recently from the ISU School of Technology in diesel electronics and started work Monday morning at the Smokey Mine.

The Girls Little League Booster Club and the 4th, 5th, and 6th grade girls extended a thank you to all the businesses that supported them with this year’s first annual basketball tournament.  The tournament was a great success, and brought in several teams from the area, including Soda, Grace, Bancroft, West Side, Preston, and Malad.  A special thanks was extended to the coaches of each team for their support and willingness to get their teams to the tournament.  Jon Harris and the City o Soda Springs were thanked for promoting the program.  Other thanks were given to Agrium Solutions, FMC Credit Union, Lott Builders, Caribou Dental, Hometown Hardware, Lallatin Food Town, Lew and Dan’s Thriftway, Caribou Ford, Jack’s Arctic Circle, Ireland Bank, Smith Paving, and Subway.  Referees included Brian Vranes, Jared Johnson, Jerry Swenson, Jon Harris, Jim Smith, Kevin Knauth, Dwight Lloyd, Jon Oglesby, Ed Maynard, Billy and Mitzi Rasmussen, and Angie Cooper.

The Grace School District was awarded over 100 computers from the Albertson Foundation.  The Albertson Foundation is providing a grant of $250,000 in computers and other technology to each of Idaho’s school districts.  However, in order to obtain this new technology, each school district had to write a detailed five-year plan for how the technology was to be used in the school district.  During the past year, a technology team made up of school district faculty and patrons wrote the five year plan for the Grace District.  The tech committee was led by Duane Peck, District Technology Coordinator.  In the high school, the computer lab received 20 computers, the mini-lab received 10 computers, and the library received 10.  The music department also received 5 computers, as did the English department.  Grace Elementary and Thatcher Elementary also received new computers.  The computers are Micron 400 MHz, equipped with Zip drives.  The grant also includes HP scanners, Sanyo digital cameras, HP laser jet printers, color inkjet printers, and TVs that will connect to the computers.  The computers are all connected to the internet.  In the high school, they are being used in many areas of the curriculum. 

The Caribou County Sheriff’s reported that in 1999 they opened 4,424 cases and incidents.  There were 465 inmates booked into the Caribou County Jail, with all long term inmate housing accommodated in Bannock, Bingham, and Bonneville County Jails.  Caribou County direct and indirect costs to house inmates are figured at $33.42 per day.  This figure is one of the lowest in the state, with the 3,985 prisoner days at the rate totaling the amount $133,178.  Investigations for the year included the following: eight death or injury, seven sexual assault, 15 assault, 18 burglary, 32 theft, three stolen vehicle, one forgery, 15 fraudulent activity, 32 damage to property, 26 controlled substance, 21 family offenses, 50 liquor law violations, 24 DUI, five obstructing police, and nine weapons offenses.  113 traffic accidents were investigated, 498 traffic offenses, and 44 total traffic citations.  Deputies logged 145,451 patrol miles on county roads.  41 juveniles were booked on detention orders.   

1990

Last month, a very unique and special gift found its way to the home of Lynn and Allyne Crossley and their family for Valentine’s Day—a piece of the Berlin Wall.  It was sent to the Crossleys by life-long friend of Mrs. Crossley, Kaye Pfister of Salt Lake City.  The story behind this little piece of the wall is very interesting and begins in the early 1950s, when Mrs. Pfister, then Faye Millfred, left Germany, as we very young child, along with her parents and older sister Susan for a new homeland in America.  It wasn’t long and Mrs. Millfred’s sister and her family, their mother and younger sister and brother, left Germany and found their way to America and the small neighborhood of Dooley Court, in Salt Lake City, hoping that someday they would be able to return to Germany, if only for a visit, to once again find it unified and free.  Then all hope seemed to be dashed forever when in the summer of 1961 Nikita Khrushchev began the construction of a 28-mile long wall in the dead of night to separate East and West Berlin.  As we all watched and read of the event with shock as disbelief—as was the Millfred family and President Kennedy—everyone was asking “why?”  and “What can be done to get rid of the wall?”  Then we soon came to realize, as did the president, that the wall would stay until the Soviets tired of it.  The following year, President Kennedy was able to view the wall first hand and his words ‘Ich Bin Ein Berliner’ will be remembered for all time.  As much as we have all hoped and dreamed for the day that the Wall would go—28 years later we watched in disbelief and joyous shock as new spread that on Nov 9, 1989 at the stroke of midnight the wall would indeed be open—a miracle, it seemed had finally happened!  But another miracle would also happen.  Faye, now married and with three children of her own, would be able to return to Germany, along with her husband and children, for Christmas, and Klaus would be able to visit his mother and his children could see their grandmother and other relatives still living there.  Faye took a piece of the wall that was in the process of being dismantled, and noted “I just hop as American citizens we will not take our freedom for granted to the point where we could lose it.”  

Grace High School students Angela Bassett and Tracy Findlay were chosen to participate in the All-State Music Conference.  Angela will participate with the band, and Tracy will participate with the mixed choir.  The girls will go to Rexburg in April, and they will rehearse prior to the Gala Concert with other students form the state selected to attend.  They will be accompanied by their music teacher, Byron Shaw.

The movie for this week is the Sylvester Stallone and Kurt Russell team-up “Tango and Cash” which is sure to become a buddy-cop classic.