During the last ten years the annual number of persons killed in motor vehicle crashes in work zones has increased 45-percent. The State Transportation Department does not want Idaho motorists to be added to those statistics. Bruce King is with the Public Affairs Office of the District Transportation Office in Rigby. He says orange cones and barrels identifying work zones are appearing on highways, and that means motorists should slow down.

King says it’s going to be a busy summer with 28 projects scheduled throughout the East Idaho Region.

Bruce King says, “We are doing all we can. We could do more. We would love to be able to do more; we just don’t have the resources to do it. There’s a lot to be done to maintain a highway system. When you don’t keep up with needed improvements to the system and needed maintenance then the system eventually begins to decline and makes it more costly in the future.”

King reminds motorists to keep a safe distance between you and the vehicle in front of you, as well as a safe distance between your vehicle and the construction workers. Above all, avoid using cell phones in construction zones as that will help you stay alert on the highway.

This summer, on July 11th and 12th, the Madison County high school track will be filled with volunteers participating in the American Cancer Society’s Relay for Life. This tri-county event raises money that goes to cancer research, education, advocacy, and services. Kathy Dietrich, Community Relationship Manager for the Great West Division of the American Cancer Society tells us more about the event.

Dietrich says, “Relay for Life is a signature event from the American Cancer Society. It’s where we bring in our funds. We do all of our fundraising so that we can do all the research, the education, and the services that American Cancer Society provides. It’s an overnight event. We fundraise all year long leading up to the event. The night of the event is a celebration of our cancer survivors. It’s a remembrance of those we’ve lost to cancer, and it’s a time for us to fight back, learn, and be educated about different cancer aspects.”

To create a team, or to find out other ways that you can get involved with the Relay for Life or American Cancer Society, call 356-0222 or go online at www.events.cancer.org/rflfremontcountyid .

The city of Rexburg is one of 19 Idaho communities and school districts that have received grant money this year for the Safe Routes to School program. Madison School District will share the $33,000 the city received in an attempt to get more students to walk or bicycle to school. In this case the Kennedy Grade School. Mayor Shawn Larsen says the city is grateful to have received the funding that will help create safe routes where children can walk or bike to school and to promote the benefits of these activities. He says this program makes Rexburg a safer community.

Elaine Clegg is the projects manager for Idaho Smart Growth. She says American Falls, Pocatello and Idaho Falls were some of the cities that were grant recipients, along with the Bonneville School District.

Clegg says, “Bonneville School Districts has already started and education program and a proposal this year was to expand it to three more schools. The success they showed previously was helpful in determining that this was a viable project.”

Some schools promote a walk to school day once a month or as often as once a week. Clegg continues, “On the walk to school day they promote walking, give incentives, count the number of kids who walked, and talk about it and why it is important. There are things such as bicycle rodeos to show kids ways to bicycle safely, whether they are doing it on the road or on the sidewalk. So there are a variety of things different folks are looking at, since it is such a new program and we do not have a lot of data yet on which are most effective, be we have seen some effects.”

Clegg says children are healthier if they can walk or bike to school. She says the goal of the Safe Routes to School program is to raise awareness among communities about the need to provide good connectivity between neighborhoods and schools when planning development and future land use to enable students who could be walking and biking to do so.

The Rexburg City Council has approved funding for road repair projects this spring. Mayor Shawn Larson says one of the major projects for this season will be 7th South from 2nd West to the canal bridge. Larson says this will be in conjunction with other construction on that street.

Mayor Larson states, “Another project is on East Main Street from 3rd East to the hospital. That is an area of the road that has had substantial damage over the years. We’ve checked the sub base and it is a road that really needs to be rebuilt, and so from 3rd East to the hospital we are doing a major road repair there. We will also be doing some repair along 4th East.”

Larson says $950,000 has been budgeted for the road repairs this year. That includes funding for numerous cracks and seal projects on streets because of the harsh winter.

Madison Memorial Hospital recently received a generous $10,000 grant from Rocky Mountain Power Foundation. Jeff Hymas, a spokesperson for Rocky Mountain Power, tells us more about the foundation.

Hymas says, “The Rocky Mountain Power Foundation is the company’s charitable arm. It awards grants for different community projects and programs that make a difference in the areas where we serve in Utah, Wyoming, and Idaho.”

He tells us why thy chose Madison Memorial Hospital as a recipient of one of their grants. “The Madison Memorial Hospital is an essential part of the community there in the Rexburg Area. We are pleased to be able to support the hospital by providing funds to help purchase the necessary medical equipment that they need for the expansion and remodeling of the facility that they are involved in right now.”

The money awarded from the grant will go to help purchase medical equipment for the current expansion project at Madison Memorial Hospital.

Grand Teton National Park Superintendent Mary Gibson Scott recently announced that it will now be required for backcountry campers to store their food in approved bear-proof containers. Jackie Skaggs, Public Affairs Officer at Grand Teton National Park, tells us why this new rule is so important.

Skaggs says, “Bears have an incredible sense of smell. They are very intelligent also, so once they get one food reward they really tune into and hone into that location. Even if someone isn’t injured by a bear, oftentimes bears will tear into tents or backpacks or whatever in search of food. Once they become food conditioned they become more assertive about getting food, because they have learned that people mean food."

Bear-proof containers will be loaned out to campers for free. Currently, Grand Teton National Park is the only park with grizzly bears that does not require campers to camp in designated areas. Skaggs said that if this rule is not closely followed, campers may be required to camp in specific areas to prevent danger to them as well as to other campers.

The Idaho Department of Environmental Quality has issued a 15 million dollar low interest drinking water construction loan to the city of Ammon. City officials say they will use the money to improve the drinking water system. The money will also be used to construct new wells and upgrade some water lines.

The loan is a revolving loan fund which has a three percent interest rate to be paid over 20 years.

Bingham Memorial Hospital is reporting an increase in respiratory syncytial virus, or RSV, compared to past years. The infection’s symptoms begin with a fever, runny nose, coughing, and sometimes wheezing.

In many cases, RSV only needs to be treated with acetaminophen to reduce the fever, or an expectorant to loosen congestion. However in some cases, a severe infection requires hospitalization. Paul Kotter from the Bingham Memorial Hospital public relations department describes how we can best prevent the infection.

Kotter says, “Washing your hands is the safest thing to do, and the most important tool for prevention. Don’t share cups, glasses, or utensils with someone who may be coming down with a cold. Keep your place clean. Keep the surfaces clean, that is the most important thing.”

The infection can occur at any age, but Kotter says children under the age of three are especially susceptible.

INL recently announced a major nuclear fuel performance milestone: a fuel burn-up of 9% without any fuel failure. Raising the burn-up level of fuel in a nuclear reactor reduces the amount of fuel required to produce a given amount of energy, while reducing the volume of the used fuel generated which improves the overall economics of the reactor system. David Petti, IND Director for the next generation nuclear plant, tells us how this milestone was reached.

Petti says, “We basically fabricated fuel and put it in the advanced test reactor and tested it. The advanced test reactor is the specialized reactor that allows us to test nuclear fuels and materials. The fuel has been in the reactor since December 2006, so it has taken about 15 months for us to get to this point.”

Although the fuel has been in the reactor for 15 months, the project actually began in 2002. The project will continue through next summer, when the team hopes to reach their goal of 16% burn-up.

Southern Teton Area Rapid Transit, or START, continues to grow in Western Wyoming. Numerous buses run from Jackson to Teton Village and through part of the Star Valley. It also makes runs over Teton Pass into Driggs and Victor Idaho. START began running buses in 1987 for skiers to commute from Jackson to Teton Village. Since then the service has grown. Administrator of START, Michael Wackerly, talks about the growth.

Michael states, “Our total overall riders are continuing to grow significantly. We carried over 712,000 riders in 2007, which is the most ever. In January we carried the most we have ever had in a single month. It was somewhere around 125,000 riders we carried in January.”

Wackerly adds that the total riders for January were up 16% from 2007. He says, “We are growing by leaps and bounds. There just seems to be more and more demand for public transit in our community, and we are doing the best we can to keep up with it.”

START is looking for ways that they can benefit the community and environment as they continue to grow. Wackerly says the business is looking into a new bus storage and maintenance facility that would reduce energy and fuel emissions. For a list of times and a schedule of bus runs, go to www.startbus.com.

JD Adcox is currently working on a large statue of Chief Pocatello, creating the best possible likeness of the famous historical leader in full headdress. The statue is being sponsored by the “Bring the Chief Home” fundraising campaign, and will cost $42,000, not including expenses for site preparation, landscaping, pedestal, cement and labor. The completed statue will be about 16 feet tall, including a 7 foot base, and will be positioned near the Pocatello Convention and Visitors Bureau. For more information, visit www.valleypride.org.

Idaho has generally lagged behind the nation when the economy slows down. State Senator Brent Hill of Rexburg says this is not the case now. Revenue was down last month in Idaho compared to the previous January.

Hill says, “We are constitutionally required to come up with a balanced budget. We have been working off of the governor’s recommendation for his budget, but he made that recommendation before we saw some of these negative effects coming through. There have been clouds on the horizon for a while and the economic health of the state is still pretty good. We do not have the problems with foreclosures on homes that they do in other states. However there is a pretty good inventory of houses out there on the market. It requires the legislature to be somewhat cautious as we look forward on the budget.”

There is one-time money from last year within the surplus, and Hill thinks some of that could be spent on agencies that need a boost. It’s a cautious atmosphere in Boise. Hill says lawmakers don’t want to lock into ongoing expenditures when there’s uncertainty on revenue coming into the state for the next two or three years.

Fixing roads and bridges in Idaho is a paramount issue in the legislature. The State Transportation Department has submitted its budget for fiscal year 2009 at a request of 682 million dollars. The cost of maintaining roads continues to escalate. Representative Dean Mortimer says the department has saved 51 million dollars in efficiency standards it has implemented.

Mortimer says, “You have to say ‘how can we raise money without hurting our citizens.’ That’s a major problem because we all know we are taxed significantly and we hate to see a lot of increases. I think this year we will see some type of legislation that will increase revenue in one sort or another. It’s probably not going to be enough, but it will be a start to where we can start putting a little more money into our highways as long as we’ve got good efficiencies in place.”

Dean Mortimer says some of the proposal being discussed in the committee are raising gas taxes and increasing registration fees for vehicles but there are no easy solutions.

Madison School District officials can’t wait for spring so they can break ground for a new high school. The Rexburg Council has given the district its approval for a conditional use permit to build a new school. The snow has also hampered construction crews on the two new elementary buildings. Superintendent Jeff Thomas says once the weather settles down crews will be able to begin laying the outside blocks.

Thomas says, “The average age of our buildings is 48 years old, and Archer is 98 years old. Our newest building is the middle school at 15 years old. When you have public buildings that have been used heavily for 48 years or more on average, they tend to wear out and replacements are needed. We are very pleased to be able to build these new buildings.”

Regarding the new high school, Thomas says the district’s construction management team will meet with city engineers to make sure everything is done accordingly and laid out properly so that construction can begin in the spring.

The Teton Dam Flood Museum in Rexburg has a new addition. The Rexburg Children’s Museum is located within the museum for the hands-on use of building children’s education.

Creating a Children’s Museum in Rexburg was first inspired by the late Steven George of Rexburg who had a vision of a Children’s Museum with giant dinosaurs to climb on and scenes of the Teton Mountains. President of the Children’s Museum Rhonda Seamons says it will take a while to complete his vision, but this is a great start to getting kids involved and learning.

Seamons says, “I think it will be a wonderful place for kids to come and learn. I think it unites families. Parents that have come are very excited, and kids don’t want to leave. It’s a lot of fun.”

The Teton Dam Flood Museum has also been renovated with new displays and new monthly activities. Because of the many changes, from February 8th through the 29th admission is free for the museums, and hours have been extended Monday and Thursday from 10 to 7, and Tuesday, Wednesday and Friday from 10 to 3.

As the snow keeps piling up in the high country, fish and game biologists are getting concerned on the impact it’s having for certain herds of deer and elk. The Fish and Game’s Winter Feeding Advisory Committee is making preparations to help big game. Kent Marlor is chairman of the committee and he says survival of big game herds and preventing the transmission of Brucellosis from deer and elk to cattle are the driving factors in this plan.

Kent Marlor states, “This is something we have not seen in years. The herds of deer have built up significantly because they have had great survival during the winter. One of our problems is that many areas have been converted to housing. These are great places for summer homes, but it chews up the winter ranges that animals have used for years.”

Marlor says feed sites will be created where a special alfalfa-mix pellet will be distributed to big game, but he says the public should not feed the animals.

A lobbying group that wanted higher speed limits for small electric vehicles was turned back on their proposal by the House Transportation Committee in Boise. Representative Dean Mortimer who sits on the committee explains that the concept is good but the committee felt it would create safety issues on the highways.

Mortimer states, “They were asking to allow those cars to be able to travel on any streets that have speed limits of 35 mph or less. The committee felt that putting vehicles that max at 25 mph with vehicles that travel at a speed of 35 mph would create a safety hazard.”

Mortimer says that the Idaho Automobile Dealers Association introduced the bill saying it would help people save money on gas.

The winter semester has settled in and so has the enrollment numbers at BYU-Idaho. Registrar Kyle Martin says enrollment is reflecting the equaling out of all three semesters at the university.

Martin says, “We are right on target. Our room for growth is in the summer semester. We have significant room for growth, so that takes several cycles to implement and reach our full target. It will be two or three more years before we actually have equal enrollment numbers on each of the three semesters.”

This semester there are 13,292 students, with 11,769 full-time equivalent students. Martin says the student make up is 56% women, and 44% men. He says the average credit load this semester is just over 13 credits.

The holiday season brings one of the busiest and most dangerous times of the year on Idaho’s highways. Lieutenant Chris Weadick, from the Idaho State Police addresses a few of the major issues with driving in the winter.

Lieutenant Weadick says, “The number one issue with winter driving is that people tend to drive too fast for the road conditions. We get in a comfortable state of mind when the roads are dry where we’re able to accelerate and stop much quicker than we are able to on snow covered roads. Those comfortable habits carry over when we run into these snowstorms. People want to be able to still stop quickly. They want to be able to accelerate quickly.”

Lieutenant Weadick also says that people are driving too close to the vehicle in front of them, not leaving enough room for evasive action. When traveling during the winter months, he suggests leaving earlier to get to your destination, so that you are not driving in a rush. Your car should also be road ready, with clear windows and proper tire traction.

With temperatures rising and greenhouse gases building, a University of Idaho agronomist says global warming will bring changes to Idaho agriculture. One of the chief concerns Juliet Windes has is with water.

Windes states, “I think the most important thing to remember is the impact that is going to be associated with increased water usage and increased competition for water. I think our number one priority needs to really be focused on identifying where our water priorities need to be. Besides that, the potential increase in diseases and insects is very significant. We may have warmer temperatures during the winter that may result in an increase of insects and diseases, and that may have a significant on our ability to produce high quality crops with minimal pesticide usage.”

Windes says science-based measures may be able to negate the more harmful agricultural effects of global warming and help maintain and improve crop yield and diversity.

Viruses in Yellowstone National Park are jumping between hot pools. That’s a finding reached by scientists at the Idaho National Lab and researchers at Montana State University. The group sampled three hot pools in the park over the course of two years. The team looked for a relationship between pool conditions and microbe population.

Frank Roberto has been at INL for 19 years and is a senior consulting scientist. He says one of the applications is to find industrial uses for Yellowstone’s bacteria.

Roberto says, “The Department of Energy is interested in applying microorganisms to useful purposes where we can reduce the costs of energy that are used in those processes. Right now we are interested in the production of bio-energy, so bio-fuels or ethanol from either feedstock or waste from biomass. We are looking at Yellowstone for microorganisms that can be applied to industrial applications.”

Cleaning smokestacks at coal-fired power plants is another possible application. Roberto says this project is supported by the National Science Foundation and it began to simply catalog thermal viruses in Yellowstone.

Postcards have recently been distributed around the Idaho Falls area by a company called ‘Show Me Destinations.’ These postcards claim to offer free airfare through Southwest and United Airlines. However, this company is using this false advertising to get people to call in to their company, and then convince them to by their software. Vickey Verrill, the Director of Operations at the Idaho Falls Better Business Bureau, gives reasons why companies like this should not be trusted.

Verill states, “If there is an indication that you’re going to get something free, it’s time to be cautious. P.O. Boxes are a big red flag, because you don’t know if they are going to a P.O. Box or a private box. You should always search the internet and get a physical address so you know who you’re dealing with.”

Vickey Verrill does not recommend giving out personal information over the phone, unless you are sure you are doing business with a reputable, trustworthy company. She also suggests filing a complaint online at www.bbb.org if you have felt like a business such as this has been misleading.

Poaching has raised its ugly head again in Southeast Idaho. There have been five incidents in the lower part of Eastern Idaho with others being reported in the Upper Valley since the end of September. Regional conservation educator with Idaho Fish and Game, Jennifer Jackson, was asked if this number is higher than normal.

Jackson said, “It’s about what we see every year. This time of year with the hunting season we have folks that get out there and really enjoy hunting in a really ethical and legal manner. Then there are those that get out there and like to break the rules. It’s frustrating for sportsmen because poachers are definitely not hunters. They are not sportsmen. It can really give the sport of hunting a bad name.”

Any wildlife violations should be reported to a local Fish and Game Office or by calling the Citizens Against Poaching Hotline at 1-800-632-5999. Jackson says poaching fines can be as high as ten thousand dollars.

The Senate has approved a measure filed by Idaho Republican Mike Crapo that might change the Amtrak funding bill. Under the proposal Crapo says Amtrak would study the possibility of bringing passenger rail service back to Southern Idaho.

Mike Crapo states that, “This amendment is important because even though Amtrak had committed to do a study and there was a study of the Pioneer Route in the bill, it was a two year study, and the standards by which the study was going to be conducted were unclear. This amendment reduces the study to one year and requires that the same standards by which other lines have been evaluated are those by which the Pioneer Route will be evaluated.”

Crapo says if the House approves the measure, then the President of Amtrak has given his word that he will come to Idaho and hold meetings and discuss passenger service with Idahoans.

He then says, “We have strong support in our country for air traffic. We have strong support in our country for vehicle traffic, on our roads and bridges. The Federal Government strongly supports those areas. We’re now realizing that the third leg of the stool, the rail traffic, is becoming increasingly interesting and important to people as our transportation needs grow.”

Amtrak did away with Southern Idaho’s Pioneer Route ten years ago because it was losing money. Idahoans point out that stops in Pocatello and Shoshone were at inconvenient times between two and four in the morning. Crapo says Idahoans will now have a voice in transportation alternatives in the West.

Idaho Attorney General Lawrence Wasden and Patricia Vance of Entertainment Software Rating Board are creating a public service campaign to explain video game ratings to parents. Wasden says too many games contain graphic violence, language and sexual material that are not suitable for children.

Over one thousand new video games are released each year and the ratings system is a good place to begin. You can get a list of ratings, content descriptions and definitions by going to www.esrb.org/ . The TV and radio ads should begin airing this week.

Idaho Attorney General, Lawrence Wasden, and the Century Council, are unveiling a three month long campaign to fight underage drinking in the state. Wasden says studies indicate that 65 percent of youth who say they drink, obtain it from family and friends.

“We’re trying to bring this message to light that it is illegal for adults to serve or to give alcohol to persons who are under the age of 21. In fact, it’s unsafe, irresponsible, and illegal.”

Another alarming statistic in the survey conducted by the Century Council shows that half of the mothers say it’s okay for their daughters to drink.

“There is a reduction in the rate of alcohol consumption, but the rate among girls is reducing at a much slower pace than it is among boys.”

Wasden says a public service campaign is being aired on radio and TV stations. Those wanting more information can long onto www.dontserveteens.gov or www.centurycouncil.org.

Construction on the BYU-Idaho campus continues with crews working on the foundation of the auditorium. The new facility is being built south of the Hart building. University President Kim Clark, described what the auditorium will be like by saying, “It will have essentially the same conceptual design as the Conference Center in Salt Lake. I think there are about 7,500 seats on the main level, about 4,000 in the mezzanine, and about 3,500 in the balcony.”

As part of the auditorium, there will also be a multi purpose area the size of about ten basketball courts that can be used for many activities. A series of curtains will be used to separate that area.

Regarding the Manwaring Center, the quad between it and the library and Smith Building is closed. Main entrances on the first floor of the Manwaring Center and west section are still open to pedestrian traffic. All other entrances are closed. Eventually, an enclosed walkway will link the library with the Manwaring Center.