HALLOWEEN IN CROUCH TONIGHT!

TRUNK OR TREAT BRINGS OUT THE BEST IN THE COMMUNITY! JUST DECORATE YOUR TRUNK AND PARK IT DOWNTOWN--they will come...BETTER HAVE TREATS! 6-8 pm

CARNIVAL IN THE COMMUNITY HALL, from 6-8 pm

FUN FOR ALL!

THE LITTLE WHITE HOUSE IS HAUNTED TONIGHT. TIPTOE OVER THERE BETWEEN 8-10 PM AND WATCH OUT!

Crouch hospitality is wide-open

on this All Hallow's Eve

Wild Bill's Bistro is up for business til 9 pm.

The Longhorn Bar and Grill is open all evening.

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Walk down the road and check out the Dirty Shame.

The Dining Room is non-smoking or eat in the bar.

UPDATE ON THE MERC

NEIGHBORS WITH NEWS

If you take a walk behind the video store, you will see the new building in its beautiful GV setting, against the hills. Greg Simione & Gerold Dennett have become good neighbors, who have enriched our community with better food product availability and good deals on merchandise. Here, they share current news on the store. If you are local and haven't asked for your preferred customer card, do it now.

Construction on the new store continues with the short term goal of closing in the building within the next week or two. This will allow work to continue through the Winter.

Meanwhile at the existing location, there will be a change to our hours of operation, effective Monday, November 1st.

Store hours will be 7:30 am - 9 PM SUNDAY - THURSDAY and 7:30 am - 10 PM FRIDAY – SATURDAY. With School starting earlier in the day, we hope the earlier opening will help you!

One last change that will happen in November is an adjustment to the preferred customer card. Currently, all items except Gas, Tobacco, Lottery Tickets and Newspaper, have the 5% discount applied. The change will be that the following items will be added to that list:

Beer, Wine, Single serve Sodas, Waters, cold Teas, Bags of Chips, energy drinks, ….basically, our Vendor items which have narrower margins that fluctuate frequently.

Grocery, Health and Beauty Items, Produce, Meat, Deli, General merchandise and Breads, will all continue to have the 5% discount apply. This brings us more into line with our original intent, which is to recognize and appreciate our local customer base in choosing the Merc for their grocery needs.

We look forward to November for the store as we bring in items you’ll want and need for Holiday baking, family meals and party occasions.

Thank you for your support.

Missing Codes & Fumbled Footballs: Now Don't We All Feel Safe?

Neighbors With News

Contributed By Rich Smith

Folks:

I know that we all lose or misplace things. I have lost sunglasses, sometimes cannot find my keys or reading glasses, misplaced important documents, have left jackets and hats in various locations, but this story takes the cake.

President Bill Clinton lost the “biscuit”.
*

So, what in the heck is the biscuit? The President is always within arm’s reach of the “football”, a portable communications device used by the President to order a nuclear attack. The “biscuit” is the card with all the authentication codes necessary to validate a launch order in the case of a missal attack. No codes, no counter attack.

The whole idea of this cold war “mutually assured destruction” strategy is insane and I thank God that it never became necessary to use the biscuit or football, but do you know that it was inoperative for several months while Bill Clinton was President? It turns out that during the Monica Lewinski affair, Bill lost the biscuit.

It is incomprehensible that he lost it, but more to the point for eighteen months, he never told anyone that he had lost it. I guess he had other problems to occupy his mind. But to lose the Biscuit and never tell anyone? Incompetent does not adequately describe such carelessness.

It was not discovered missing until some military aid insisted on replacing the biscuit with a more up to date launch codes. “Oh, you want the old biscuit? Well, I don’t have it. Haven’t seen it for months. Go away I am due in court.”

Here we have tens of thousands of military personnel on standby, ready to launch nuclear missiles from silos or nuclear subs, yet without a Presidential order to launch a counter attack, we might as well just spit at the attackers, or as the present administration would prefer, politely talk to them. “Now Mr. Putin, (or in today’s parlance, Mr. Ahmadinejad or Kim), it isn’t nice to launch missiles at us.”

It makes me wonder about our current president who is not oriented about such things as the military. Are the football and biscuit still around? Russia still has missiles aimed at America, and some nut in that country might try to launch them someday. Does Barack know what the football is or how to use the biscuit? Someone should ask, but this is like asking “Is there still any gold in Ft. Knox”, questions that no one in the administration would answer and for good reason.

Regards.

Editor's Note: As a flaming democrat floating in the green stuff, independently, my left paw (probably my only one) salutes you, Rich.

WOLVERINES BEAT MEADOWS VALLEY: READ IT HERE!

By Mike Uhl

Friday, October 22

It’s fall, the weather is turning cooler, the leaves are changing colors, the sun is settling earlier and it’s football season. It’s Wolverines Football, it’s blue-collar football, it’s eight-man football, it’s fall.

The Garden Valley Wolverines football team is playing at home today on the school field, against the Meadows Valley Mountaineers (1-6) at 3:30. On September 17, Garden Valley played a game against the Mountaineers. Garden Valley won 54-6.

This will be seniors' night, honoring the six players, who will graduate this year, and their parents.

The players are Dylan Bass, Danny Breckenridge, Casey Hileman, Chad Jones, Charlie Johnson and Zach Smith.

PLEASE NOTE: QB Lance Jones will be out for the rest of the year with a broken collar bone. This happened during the last practice before this game. We wish Lance a quick recovery.

Meadows Valley coach Tom Perkins brings a team that is very talented. The starting line-up are Nick Ralls, 6’0”, 160 lbs; Justin Swift, 6’2”, 200lbs; Leonard Wallace, 5’10”, 188 lbs, Pady Libby, 6’0”, 180 lbs; William Arroyo, 5’8”, 175 lbs; Tyler Bentz, 6’1”, 185 lbs, Tanner Perkins, 6’3”, 230 lbs, and Tyler Buddha Crogh, 6’1”, 400 lbs.

1st Quarter 12:00

Meadows Valley kicks to Garden Valley’s #20 Casey Hileman, he catches the ball on the run at the 10-yard line. He returns the ball 40 yards to the 50. This is where Wolverines will start the game.

Casey Hileman takes the ball going left, picking up 5 hard-fought yards. Tyler Bentz makes the stop for the Mountaineers. Then a pitch from QB Fairburn to “Hurricane” Hileman, running left for a nice 15-yard gain. At the 29-yard line with 10:48 to play in the first quarter, Kavik Fairburn drops back, spotting Dylan Bass in the left corner of the end zone, and throws a perfect 29-yard pass for a touchdown and 6 points. Charlie Johnson takes the handoff up the middle but is stopped by Tyler Bentz, for no extra points. Score: Garden Valley 6, Meadows Valley 0.

Meadows Valley runs five plays. The Wolverines stop the Mountaineers, starting with the kickoff. A tackle by J.D. Fuhriman and Charlie Johnson on the runner Justin Swift, then Dylan Bass makes a stop. On a pass attempt, Danny Breckenridge and Charlie Johnson stop the QB Tyler Bentz in the backfield, for a loss. On fourth down, Pady Libby makes four Wolverines miss. “Hurricane” Hileman stops the runner short of his goal. Garden Valley takes over on downs.

On first down, Fairburn sees Dylan Bass shooting down the sideline. He throws the ball that only Dylan could catch. He is pushed out-of-bounds at the 12-yard line. Hileman tries two runs that gain a few yards. With 6:46 to play in the first quarter, it’s third and long. What to do? It’s a pitch from Kavik Fairburn to Casey Hileman running right. Casey stops on a dime and throws a half-back pass to Dylan Bass for 6 points. Nathan Updike gets open in the right back corner of the end zone to catch a pass, adding 2 extra points. Score: Garden Valley 14, Meadows Valley 0.

After the kickoff, Leonard Wallace picks up 5 yards up the middle. Charlie “The Horse” Johnson stops the runner. On the next play, a pitch to Nick Ralls is stopped for a loss of yards by “Big Foot” Breckenridge and “Hurricane” Hileman. On the next four plays, it’s Tyler Bentz picking up 20, gains 2, fumbles the ball. On third and 18, “Bam Bam” Jones slows down the runner and five Garden Valley players tackle the ball. Now it’s fourth and long, a direct snap to Justin Swift does not get the first down.

Garden Valley takes over on the 45-yard line. It’s a pitch to Hileman, he starts left and cuts across the field to pick up 25 yards and a first down. The 25-yard line is where J.D. “Speedy” Fuhriman gets the ball going right, picks up 18. Now the ball is on the 10. Charlie “The Horse” Johnson goes right, up the gut for a gain of five yards. A pass from Fairburn to Dylan Bass is broken up by Justin Swift. It’s 1:35 til the end of the first quarter. It’s third down from the 5. J.D. “Speedy” Fuhriman gets the ball, takes it across the goal line for 6 points. Extra point try no good. Score: Garden Valley 20, Meadows Valley 0.

On the kickoff, Justin Swift is running left. Nathan Updike slows him down, David Bengoa pushes him out-of-bounds. The Mountaineers start this drive on the 45-yard line. But the Wolverine defense of Breckenridge and Hileman stop the opposition. It’s third and 5, a pass to Swift broken up for no gain. Meadows Valley does a quick kick to end the first quarter.

Garden Valley takes over on the 10-yard line. QB Kavik Fairburn gets the ball, turns and pitches to “The Hurricane” Casey Hileman, he runs to his right, picks up 20 yards and a first down. At the 32-yard line, Charlie Johnson gets the ball, is stuffed at the line and pushed back for a 2-yard loss. With it being second and 12, it’s a pitch to Hileman, who is stopped by Pady Libby. A pass to Bass is broken up by Swift. It’s fourth and 11, Hileman fakes a punt, runs to his right and passes to Bass, who stretches to make the catch, but is short of a first down, by inches. Meadows Valley takes over on downs.

Starting at the 44-yard line, a direct snap to Nick Ralls running right, is stopped by “The Horse” Charlie Johnson. On the next play, it’s a fumble caused by a hit by Cody Zeff. The ball is recovered by William Arroyo for the Mountaineers. Tyler Bentz tries to hit Justin Swift over the middle, the ball falls incomplete. It’s fourth and long. Bentz pitches the ball to Wallace, who runs right and hits Bentz going down the right side of the field. The team does not get the first down. Garden Valley takes over on the 45-yard line.

It’s a pitch from Fairburn to Casey Hileman running right, cutting to the middle and running down field, dragging two Mountaineers before he finally comes to a stop. A pitch to “Speedy” Fuhriman to the left, picks up the first down. Kavik Fairburn breaks a couple of tackles and just gets a pass off to Dylan Bass. It’s too high, just out of reach, falls incomplete. Casey takes a pitch running left, gets to the 5-yard line. A personal foul on Meadows Valley makes it half the distance to the goal line. It’s 7:42 til the half.

Charlie Johnson takes a handoff running left, then straight for 3 yards. Kavik “Mad Dog” Fairburn, the quarterback, sets-up in a shoot-gun formation. He turns and passes to Dylan Bass on the flat, Dylan turns up-field and crosses the goal line, to add 6 points to the total. Score: Garden valley 26, Meadows Valley 0.


Mountaineers run five plays but Wolverine players want to stop them and get the ball back. First, Nathan Updike and Charlie Johnson, then Juno Lawler stop the runner. As Leonard Wallace gains 9 yards, Dylan Bass and “Bam Bam” Jones stop him. “The Law” Lawler and “Bone Crusher” Bass stop the quarterback Bentz on third and short. Now it’s fourth and long, a determined Charlie Johnson stops Tyler Bentz. Bentz does not get the first down. The Wolverines take over on downs.

Starting at the 33-yard line, Dylan Bass gets the ball on an end-around going left to pick up 23 yards and the first down. It’s 4:46 til the half. Fairburn gets the ball from the center Zach “War Elephant” Smith. He turns, pitches to “The Hurricane” Casey Hileman. He gets to the right sideline and goes 12 yards down the field to score 6. It’s extra point time and “The Hurricane” takes the ball up the gut, to add 2 more points for the Wolverines. Score: Garden Valley 36, Meadows Valley 0.

Garden Valley kicks off its lands at mid-field. Shadyn Wallace picks up the ball and is almost instantly tackled by “Bone Crusher” Bass, “The Law” Lawler and “The Horse” Charlie Johnson. On the first play, Nick Ralls gets the ball from QB Bentz, he is running straight ahead and is met by a wall of Wolverines, Bass, Hileman and “The Horse”. With 3:28 til the half, and after a penalty, it’s second down and 20 to go. Tyler Bentz tries to throw a screen pass. The “Big Foot” Danny Breckenridge makes the tackle. Now it’s third and 10 yards to go. A pass by Bentz to Justin Swift picks up the first down. The receiver is stopped by Dylan Bass. Bentz runs right, picks up three yards but no more, thanks to the swarming defense of Breckenridge, Hileman and Johnson. It’s second down, 7 yards to go. David Hearold takes the ball, making Wolverines miss, picks up the first down. Charlie Johnson stops the runner. Now Casey Hileman stops Bentz on a QB keeper going right. With 49 seconds til the half, on a QB draw, Meadows Valley’s Swift runs the ball down to the 18-yard line. 10.6 seconds to go. Tyler Bentz gets a short gain, but no score, no first down. 4.9 seconds til the half. David Hearold gets the ball and over throws a pass to Tyler Bentz, to end the first half. Half Time Score: Garden Valley 36, Meadows Valley 0.

The second half starts with Garden Valley kicking to Meadows Valley. Wallace picks up the ball at the 20 and gets a good return to the 34. The player does not get up after the stop by the Wolverines. It looks like he hurt his right leg. All the players of both teams take off their helmets and take a knee to show respect.

When the game starts again, Cody Frazee gets the ball, takes it up the middle for a pickup of three tough yards. Then it’s Frazee to the right, stopped by “Bone Crusher” Dylan Bass. Tyler Bentz keeps the ball going to the left to pick up the first down. He is stopped on the play by Nathan Updike, Chad Jones and Casey Hileman. After a penalty, it’s second down and 20. QB Tyler Bentz is tackled in the backfield by J.D. “Speedy” Fuhriman. Bentz tries a long pass downfield on the left side of the field. Casey Hileman is in the area and jumps in front of the receiver to make the interception. Garden Valley gets the ball for the first time in the second half.

On the first play, the ball is fumbled. It is recovered by Zach Root. “GOOD PLAY.” The quarterback pitches to freshman J.D. Fuhriman running right, making good yards, when he is hit by Mountaineers. The ball pops out and is recovered and the runner is heading for the goal line. Kavik “Mad Dog” Fairburn makes a score-saving tackle. Nathan Updike stops Bentz after a 5-yard gain. Meadows Valley is driving and “Dynamite” and “Bam Bam” stop the runner at the 1-yard line. Lead by the 400 lb. Tyler “The Buddha” Crogh, 250 pounder Cody Frazee gets the ball and across the goal, in for 6 points. For the extra points, QB Tyler Bentz keeps the ball running right, crosses the goal line for 2 points.
Score: Garden Valley 36, Meadows Valley 8.

Luke Flaming tries an on side kick. Jono Lawler picks up the ball running across the field; he picks up 10 yards. On Garden Valley’s first play, Hileman is stopped in the backfield for a loss of 1, by Mountaineers Flaming and Bentz. This is a different team than started the game. On second and 11, Fairburn tries to hit Bass to the right; it’s incomplete. Now it’s third down. 11 yards to go. Casey Hileman gets the ball, hits the ball, spins and is tackled by two defenders, for a loss of two. On fourth down and 13, Hileman ruby-style punts, the punt dies at the 30-yard line. Meadows Valley starts with a run by Bentz, he is stopped by Bass and Hileman, for no gain. On second and 10, Wallace gets the ball, picks up 3 yards. On third and 7, Bentz tries a pass to Wallace. Dylan Bass breaks up the attempt. On fourth and 8, it’s a fake punt by Swift running left, is pushed out-of-bounds by the Wolverines. Garden Valley starts with a pitch to Casey going left. He is tackled by Bentz in the backfield, for a loss of 5. Now it’s second down and 15 to go. Hileman gets the ball, is stopped in the backfield, for a loss. Meadows Valley is keying on Casey Hileman; where he goes, they will go. On third and long, Kavik Fairburn drops back, with good protection by the line. Passes downfield, Casey Hileman jumps high to grab the ball for a first down. With 1:20 to play in the third quarter, it’s a fake handoff to Bass on an end-around. QB Kavik Fairburn keeps the ball running right, picks up good yards. Charlie “The Horse” Johnson gets the ball on the next play, runs for a touchdown. It takes three Mountaineers to take “The Horse” down. This is the last play of the third quarter. Score: Garden Valley 36, Meadows Valley 8.

The fourth quarter starts with Garden Valley in a scoring position. With “The Horse” leading the way, a handoff to the “Hurricane” picks up 4 yards. At 11:53 in the game, the Wolverines have the ball. It’s three down and 6, to pick up the first down. A handoff to Hileman gets the first down but does not score. Now 11:30 and the team is on the 4-yard line. Kavik hands the ball to Casey, he runs 4-yards to score 6 points. Extra point failed. Score: Garden Valley 42, Meadows Valley 8.

David Bengoa kicks off to Meadows Valley’s Justin Swift, he returns the ball to the 27-yard line. That is where they will start. Garden Valley puts in the freshman players and the second team. On the first play, Wallace gains 5 yards. On the next play, Fuhriman makes the stop. The Mountaineers have the ball for the next almost seven minutes. The Wolverines are stopping them from scoring. Kit “Stone Wall” Fairburn makes a great ankle tackle and will not let go. He stops the runner from scoring. On the next play, Fuhriman makes the tackle. With 7:50 to play, the Mountaineers try a triple handoff, but “Stone Wall” Fairburn, J.D. Fuhriman and David Bengoa make the stop.

Meadows Valley changes quarterbacks. 6’1”, 250 pounder Cody Frazee takes over. On the next play, Brad Christensen and David Bengoa stop the runner. With 400 lb. Tyler “The Buddha” Crogh leading the way, Frazee is making yards. “The Budddha” is pushing players out of the way so Frazee can gain ground. With 6:16 to play, a pitch to Wallace is mishandled, he drops the ball. He recovers it, so the Mountaineers still have position. On third and 14 to go, Cody Frazee runs up the middle, gets the first down, dragging Kit Fairburn, Schepp and Bengoa. He does not score. With 4:44 to play, Cody Frazee behind “The Buddha” runs 7 yards to score 6 points. A handoff to Wallace adds 2 points. Score: Garden Valley 42, Meadows Valley 16.

The first team offense comes back into the game. On the kickoff from Justin Swift, the ball is kicked directly to Casey “Wheels” Hileman at the 10-yard line. He runs down the side line, outrunning the Mountaineers team for a TD. The touchdown is called back, for what the Ref calls a push in the back.

In my personal opinion, the block was clean. I am not the Ref, so the game goes on.

The Wolverines start at the 15. Mountaineers jump off-sides. This moves the team to the 20. A pitch to Hileman is stopped by Bentz. Casey gets the ball running up the middle, then all over the field to gain 30 yards and the first down. Casey picks up 6 on the next play. Garden Valley loses a yard with a stop by Luke Flaming. On third and 5 to go, Casey goes around the left to pick up the first down.

A run that started left ends up going down the right side line. It takes three tacklers to stop Casey “The Hurricane” Hileman. He uses a two-feet-forward block to get the extra two yards and a first down. Time til the end of the game is 59.3 seconds. Garden Valley is driving at the 10-yard line. QB Kavik Fairburn drives ahead but is stopped. With 45.5 seconds to go in the game, the Wolverines are set. Kavik Fairburn pitches the ball to Casey Hileman going right, for 9 yards to the 1-yard line. It takes four Mountaineers, Hearold, Swift, Libby and Bentz to make the stop. At the 1-yard line, a handoff to Charlie Johnson is stopped. Charlie stretches his 6-foot body out as far as he can reach. He gets the ball across the goal line but his knees were down first.

No touchdown for Garden Valley as the game ends.
Final Score: Garden Valley 42, Meadows Valley 16.

After this game, the Wolverines will travel to Cambridge for the last game of the regular season. The 5:30 pm game will be Friday, October 29. It will pit Tri-Valley Titans against our Garden Valley Wolverines. The last time these two teams met, Garden Valley won the contest 52-20. Tri-Valley just lost to Salmon River on Friday, October 22, 39-28. They will be hungry for a win. They want to revenge the earlier loss to the Wolverines. So make it to this game if you can.

BIG NOTE: The Lady Wolverines made it to the State Volleyball Tournament. Their first game will be Friday, in Burley, Idaho, against Mackay. The game starts at 8:00am. The boys’ football team and parents and fans want to be at the volleyball game. It may be impossible since the football game is on the same day in Cambridge, at 5:30 that afternoon.

**GOOD LUCK TO THE GIRLS VOLLEYBALL TEAM**

HALLOWEEN AND OTHER NEWS THIS WEEK

Garden Valley School Athletic Director Bob Powell reminds the community that the Lady Wolverines play Mackay in the State tournament @ 8 am on Friday.

The Lighthouse Christian Lions played well, but the Mackay Miners came out on top and will meet the Lady Wolverines early in the morning at Burley, Idaho, this Friday, October 29, for the final match of the season.

Powell offers some kudos to the Lions:

Below is the play-in between Mackay and Lighthouse Christian:
Mackay 3, Lighthouse Christian 2

The Lighthouse Christian Lions came within a couple points of going to the state tournament. Instead, their season ended Saturday with a 25-21, 21-25, 22-25, 25-19, 16-14 loss to Mackay in a Class 1A Division II state play-in match at American Falls High School.

Kyanna Jones had a solid match for the Lions with nine kills, five ace serves and 22 digs. Brynli Wooten tallied 31 digs, while Andrea Helman and Becca Storm chipped in seven kills apiece.

"I was really proud of how our girls played," said Lighthouse Christian coach Tobie Helman. "Mackay played tough, they had a lot of good hitters and were very scrappy. At the end of the day, we just made some errors that cost us."

Lighthouse Christian ends it's season with a 13-10 record.

Good luck to The Wolverines.

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Halloween is on Sunday, the 31st, but the annual Trunk or Treat will be held on Saturday, October 30th, in order to coincide with the Halloween Carnival and the Haunted House, sponsored by the Garden Valley School PTO and Garden Valley School Student Council.

Trunk or Treat: Decorate your trunk and park your car in Downtown Crouch--be sure to fill it with lots of goodies for little trick-or-treaters. Best Trunks Win!

6 – 8 pm

The Halloween Carnival (held in the Community Hall) will run from 6 – 8pm also.

The Haunted House (little white house adjacent to the Library) will run from 8pm to 10pm.

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Garden Valley Postmaster Karen Ralstin is concerned about mail delivery and pick-up at the Downtown Crouch mailboxes, when cars are parked in front. She asks us to remember that parking in front of US Postal Service Mailboxes is a safety factor for postal workers and residents.

Frontier has nixed a sign in front of these mailboxes, because of phone lines--no digging for posts. Please be considerate and park elsewhere!

**

MUSICIANS OR SINGERS WANTED FOR SENIOR CENTER HOLIDAY BAZAAR, NOVEMBER 6 & 7. WINTER HOLIDAY MUSIC; FLUTE, GUITAR OR OTHER INSTRUMENT. PLAY FOR TIPS (LUNCH & DRINKS PROVIDED). CALL 462-2511 OR 462-3943.

LOCAL CRAFTERS AND FUNDRAISERS WANTED

NEIGHBORS WITH NEWS!

Season's Greetings ~

On behalf of the Garden Valley & Lowman Crafters I would like to extend a cordial invitation to our HOLIDAY BAZAAR & FUND RAISER to be held SATURDAY DECEMBER 4TH 2010 @ the GARDEN VALLEY SCHOOL MULTI PURPOSE ROOM ~ 10AM to 4PM ~

We are planning a community event to include local artisans and crafts people, fund raising projects, and holiday good tidings and cheer .

Interested parties please note: Booth space available @ $15 per space. Limited space available . Please contact GEORGIANNA GOETSCH ~

P 208-462-3709
E payettegeorge@yahoo.com

Thank-you ~

CROUCH CITY COUNCIL: September 8 Meeting

The City of Crouch has received matching funds for its grants and has funds committed to the Department of Commerce Gem Grant for the Wastewater project.


Grant Activities:

IDOC – Jerome Mapp presented updated documents on the progress of the grant and requested a payment of $1500 for his services and a payment to Forsgren and Associates, for $1560. Council President, Dawn Smith, reaffirmed that the funds come out of the grant money. Mapp stated it comes from the Block grant fund.

Mapp and others will be meeting to talk about the surveys and the need to contact the individual owners of the properties under consideration, to let them know they are considering their property for the water tank site. Mapp stated he had not spoken with Larry Leasure yet.

Smith said she knew information was getting thrown around that is a waste of time for the water and she wants to make sure they don't waste their time and money on certain locations for it. Council decided to talk about land acquisition later, out of open meeting. Preparing the information about the route of the pipeline is the goal for the next meeting.

Gary Ashby, of Forsgren and Associates, brought up the bond election. He says the Department of Commerce likes the idea of the sewer project. “It’s the $500,000 Block Grant we would apply for. Rural Development would follow a similar schedule. Talking with them encouraged us to get the application in as soon as we can, pertaining to the new fiscal year. It is first-come-first serve.

“They like the project and want to be able to fund it. In the funding package, we made the assumption of 50% grant and 50% loan. We are sure we will get the funding. The thing we are unsure about is the grant loan ratio, 40/60 or 70/30.”

The City would use Rural Development money for only part of the project; they are hoping to use Block Grant money for design work, administration, and land acquisition. That factors into going out for the bond election in November. The next the bond election would not be until May 24. Ashby says that having the bond election in November will not make things go any faster and it may be too quick to educate the public.

There was confusion regarding information from different agencies, about needing a bond approval before the application process. Dawn Smith remarked that Rural Development said the City had to have a bond approved. Ashby said “no”. The Mayor said, “We talked about it in conference with them. There can be a stipulation that would refer to it being pending on passing a bond." Dawn stated, “DEQ said we could not fill out the applications until we had a bond election. So what do we tell people?”

After batting Commerce, Rural Development and DEQ around,Gary Ashby said, “Rural Development is the one that has the grant. If we don't take any of their loans we don't get any of their grants.” He has checked Heath Price and says they can get things moving and have the bond election come in later.

Dawn Smith continued her thought: “If we have debt forgiveness through DEQ, why are we not pursuing that? That's why we were pushing, that it's available now but will be off the table later." Ashby stated he would check. "Two months ago, they still had money and they were having a challenge to get rid of it.”

Mayor Bob Powell stated it is a Catch 22; getting the extra time would help educate and talk to the community. Dawn said, “Considering there are hundred voters and there are five of us, we could each take 20 people. If it means that we are going to spend more money, I say we do it in November. Can we do the ordinance for November tonight, and then we'll find out if we can push it off until May, without it affecting the money?"

Concerns at hand are getting the public surveyed, a public meeting, getting documents to those who don’t show up, the cost of the project for each person, and the price of the property.

Council passed the motion for Ordinance 2010-04, to PROVIDE FOR THE CONSTRUCTION AND INSTALLATION OF IMPROVEMENT TO THE SANITARY SEWER SYSTEM OF THE CITY OF CROUCH, BOISE COUNTY,IDAHO; CALL A SPECIAL ELECTION FOR THE SUBMISSION TO THE QUALIFIED ELECTORS OF THE CITY THE QUESTION OF INCURRING AN INDEBTEDNESS AND ISSUING REVENUE BONDS IN THE PRINCIPAL AGGREGATED AMOUNT NOT TO EXCEED $1,200,00 TO PAY A PORTION OF THE COST THEROF; ESTABLISH THE DATE, TIME, AND PLACE OF ELECTION; PROVIDE FOR PUBLIC NOTICE OF ELECTION; PROVIDE FOR REGISTRATION OF VOTERS; PROVIDE FOR RELATED MATTERS; AND PROVIDE AN EFFECTIVE DATE.
(Mayor) The Motion having carried will become effective upon publishing in the Idaho World newspaper.

Jerome Mapp stated he would like to be the grant administrator for this project for the amount of $25,000. Mapp said that it would be like the water grant, which he worked on for two years before he received any funding, and it would be the same for this. Smith said, “I don’t have a problem with Jerome but last time we had to prove that we had reviewed other grant administrators.” The Council agreed Mapp does a good job, so he will bring a contract to the next meeting, for approval consideration.

New Business:

Garden Valley Postmaster Karen Ralstin stated she is asking for the Council's help in establishing a “No Parking Zone” around the boxes on the corner of Village and Old Crouch. Concern for the person delivering the mail, as well as others, makes it a safety issue. The Mayor stated his box is there and it can be a challenge. Ralstin said that if the boxes are blocked, they are not even supposed to deliver the mail. Dawn Smith said the property is owned by Village Associates but Council could make a motion to do it. Smith didn’t think Village Associates would have a problem with it and would gladly speak to them about it. Ralstin stated the post office would pay for it the signage.

Land Use/Zoning:

Motion was passed to send a letter to the County, in approval of vacating the center line between the two Burgess properties, on Shadow Road, in Castle Mountain Creek Subdivision.

Community Hall Report: A little bit of down-home-in-the-country government:

There was a leak in the men’s restroom which was fixed

When the list of bills was presented for Council's approval, the Mayor questioned the $800 for the bat removal. Deputy Clerk Jody Waltham said they counted eight bats. $100 a bat.

The insulation project is still on going. The Mayor said that the bats are going out on their own now. Waltham stated yes, and that there was a bat door in place. The Mayor suggested Dawn go up with a broom. Waltham said someone should flood the attic with light at night and force the bats to leave. Council Jackie Kraupp asked if they had sealed up the holes. Waltham said they had not. They were waiting for the bats to leave and then seal it. Council Richard Messick said County Clerk Kim Bosse told them that the holes were sealed so that when the bats do leave they couldn’t get back in. Waltham said all she knew was that when the insulation people were up there last time they could still see holes. The Mayor said they are small and can slip in. Messick said last he talked with Bosse, she said they had all the holes sealed and they were just waiting for them to leave. Waltham said well, when the last bats are gone, they will get back up there...and that last time the insulation guy about broke his leg trying to get down. The Mayor stated if they were rabid, they might try and do something. Kraupp was getting chills from all the bat talk. The Mayor said bats are good, they eat bugs. Bats won’t bother you, they go right around ya. Kraupp stated she still doesn’t like them. Waltham said if they’re out in the daytime, they’re rabid. Mayor said, or on the ground, don’t touch them.

Council passed a motion to have a letter sent to Central District Health, to look at the Lindstrom property to see why there are cabins being built with no sanitary system.

Jody Waltham stated that an ad had been placed in the Idaho World for snow plow removal for the winter. Messick requested that the City modify what they are plowing, too. Council is concerned that if the streets are blocked up there all summer, why plow it for them now? Council thought maybe those businesses could plow the area themselves. Smith commented that it felt like it hasn’t been fair that the whole strip mall is considered one property and all the way around the Longhorn is considered one property. She stated she would like, as they work on the street plan, to see how much each property owner owns, so they can come up with a more fair way to split the plowing cost. She said, “If they want to give us the roads for our sewer and water lines then that can be different. Then there would have to be some easements.”

That’s it folks.

Next meeting of Crouch Council will be Wednesday, November 10, at 6:30 p.m., in Crouch Community Hall. Information may be obtained by calling the Clerk at 208-462- 4687.

Wolverines Take Lumberjacks at Council: October 15 Game

Mike Uhl Gives You the Game Like it Was

It’s another late night game for the Garden Valley 23.

The team has traveled to Council for a 7 p.m. football game. Temperature is in the 50s. I hope the Garden Valley faithful will be able to make the game on time. The weather is turning colder, so everyone puts on layers to enjoy the night. The lights of the Shell gas station across the highway are blazing brightly.

Both teams suffered conference losses last week. Garden Valley fell to league-leading Salmon River, while Council lost at Meadows Valley. On the pre-season coaches poll, both these teams playing tonight were picked to finish 1-2 in the 1A Division 2 Standings.

The Council Lumberjacks have a (3-4) record. The Wolverines are (5-1) after last week’s narrow loss to Salmon River 16 to 12. Those missed extra-points will make a difference.

The Wolverines are led by fifth-year coach Ben Roeber. He has a blue-collar, never give up defense and a high-scoring offense with two quarterbacks Kavik “Mad Dog” Fairburn and senior Chad “Bam Bam” Jones. The linemen for the Garden Valley team are doing such a good job. How would you feel, lining up, game after game, against another player who outweighs you by 20-30 pounds, week in and week out? Congratulations to these dedicated players; they play offense and defense.

#4 Sr. Dylan “Bone Crusher” Bass 6’2” 180#
#75 Sr. Zach “War Elephant” Smith 6’5” 265#
#92 Jr. Zach Raptor Root 6’1” 190#
#45 So. Jono “The Law” Lawler 6’3” 180#
#58 Fr. Benny Updike 6’0” 155 #

The other seniors on this year’s team are Casey “Hurricane” Hileman, Charlie “The Horse” Johnson and Danny “Big Foot” Breckenridge. Their experience helps the team and the younger players in every game and practice.

Council is led by 11-year veteran coach Dan Shumway. Their prolific two-back offense is running backs Randy Nichols and Chase Brown, plus quarterback Frank Savage and the Lucas brothers, Hunter, at 5’11”230 lbs. and Steve, 6’6" 255lbs.

It is observed that a whole bunch of the players and coaches from Salmon River are in the stands watching the game.

The game starts with Garden Valley kicking the ball into the end zone for a touch back. Council opens the game at their own 20-yard line. On their first play, the QB is tackled in the backfield by two Garden Valley Players. It’s three plays and punt for the Lumberjacks.

Now Garden Valley gets the ball. On their first play it’s a pitch to Casey Hileman to the right. It looks like the Lumberjacks have him down in the backfield. “Hurricane” breaks two, no three tackles and is off-to-the-races, on a 52-yard run down the right sidelines. He is in front of the Garden Valley bench. The cheers of his teammates, coaches and fans, who made the long trip to the game, encourage him to cross the goal line. The pass for the extra points is just out of the reach of the receiver.
Score: Garden Valley 6, Council 0.

The Wolverines kick to the Lumberjacks, the ball goes out of bounds. This gives Council good field position. They start play with a pass that falls incomplete. A run is stopped by three Garden Valley players for no yards. On a fake end-around, the QB makes a run down the right sidelines to pick up a first down. An incomplete pass, and another. A pass completion down the middle of the field for a huge gain. Now the QB fumbles the ball forward for positive yards. A broken play around the right side gets the ball down to the 1-yard line. On the next play, Randy Nichols runs across the goal line for 6 points. A pass to the left corner of the end zone falls short, no extra points. Score: Garden Valley 6, Council 6.

Looks like it’s going to be a close game.

The Lumberjacks try an outside kick. Garden Valley’s Charlie Johnson falls on the ball. QB Kavik Fairburn hands the ball to Casey Hileman up the middle with “The Horse” leading the blocking for good yards. Casey tries the right side for positive yards and the right side for more yards. On the next play, it seems to be a mistake. But Casey takes the ball away from Kavik and it’s downhill, running all the way. Casey “Hurricane” Hileman is running like a madman, shedding tackles this way and that, to get to the 5-yard line. On a pitch, Casey goes right 5-yards to score 6 points. The offense tries a run for extra points but is stopped at the goal line by two Lumberjack defenders. Score: Garden Valley 12, Council 6.

The Lumberjacks line up for an on-side kick and recover the ball to give the team great field position. The offense gets started going around the right side but the runner slips on the grass, for no gain. Hileman takes a pitch to the left for positive yards. QB Kavik Fairburn fakes a handoff, drops back, a great pass falls into the hands of Dylan Bass. He avoids two tacklers, runs for 26 yards. This adds 6 points to the Garden Valley total. Now it’s a pass from Fairburn to Hileman in the back corner of the end zone for 2 points. Score: Wolverines 20, Lumberjacks 6.

After the kickoff, Council runs two plays as the clock shows 0:00 to the end of the first quarter. The second quarter starts with Council making a great pass and catch for positive yards. Then it’s two runs for positive yards. The Lumberjacks try a shovel pass but it falls to the ground and Dylan Bass is Johnny-on the-spot to recover the ball. The Ref calls it an incomplete forward pass. Council gets the ball back and throws an incomplete pass in the end zone. A pass to Chase Brown on the left flat. As he catches the ball, he rolls over the back of a Wolverine player, landing on his feet, and runs 23 yards to score a touchdown. The run for the extra points fails. Score: Garden Valley 20, Council 12.

Council tries a short one-hop kickoff. Garden Valley recovers the ball in good field position. QB Fairburn hands the ball to Casey Hileman, he runs right to gain 10 yards. He leaps over the defender, as he goes out of bounds. Casey gains five yards. Kavik fakes a handoff, runs out of the pocket and throws an over the shoulder pass to Dylan Bass for a pick up of 30 yards. It’s goal to goal from the 5-yard line. Garden Valley tries to run five plays but cannot score because of a stiff Lumberjack defense. At the 5-yard line, Council takes over.

They try a pass that falls incomplete. Then they try a run to the right—this is stopped dead in its tracks by some great defense by Garden Valley. Now the QB tries to run left but he is tackled by two Garden Valley defenders, just outside the goal line. Council is forced to punt from deep in their own end zone. It’s a high, short punt; the Wolverines let the ball die on the field.

Garden Valley gets great field position. On the first play, it’s a handoff to Charlie Johnson up the middle. He almost scores but is tripped up by a Lumberjack player making a shoe-string tackle. On the next play, it’s “The Horse” Charlie Johnson, pushing forward for a 1-yard scoring run. Can Garden Valley get the extra points? Kavik Fairburn drops back, sees Dylan Bass on the flat in the end zone, hits him with a perfect pass, to add 2 more points to the total. Score: Garden Valley 28, Council 12.

IT’S NO TIME TO LET UP!

Garden Valley kicks to Council. The ball goes out of bounds. The Lumberjacks try a long pass. It’s broken up by the GV defense. Next, massive #38 is tackled by three Garden Valley players, for positive yards. In order to stop him, the first Wolverine players get near him and grab the runner by the back of his pants. This holds him up long enough for the other players to catch up. Next play, the QB drops back, but Dylan Bass tackles him for a 10-yard loss. It’s punt or die, for the Lumberjacks. On a bad snap, the kicker just gets the punt away for a short kick. Garden Valley takes over.

Here we go again! The run game does not work on the next two plays. Kavik Fairburn fakes a double handoff, hides the ball and spots Nathan Updike on a crossing pattern. He throws a perfect 10-yard pass, hitting Nathan in the hands. He slips an ankle tackle, runs 36 yards across the goal line, for 6 points. What a great pass and catch. ALWAYS KEEP THOSE FEET MOVING. On the 2 point conversion, it’s a pitch to Hileman diving across the goal line. Score: Garden Valley 36, Council 12.

On the ensuing kickoff, Council’s receiving player muffs the ball and Dylan Bass comes in like a rocket and tackles the poor guy hard. Council starts deep on their side of the field. Now the Lumberjacks want to get something going. It’s a pass in the flat to #38 for a good gain. An incomplete pass, a deep pass that is intercepred by Chad “Bam Bam” Jones. GOOD GOING CHAD.

Garden Valley takes over, QB Fairburn is sacked in the backfield. His next pass is caught out of bounds. Now it’s a screen pass to Casey Hileman going left, he breaks one tackle after another, he avoids another tackler, and runs 45 yards to the 5-yard line. This sets up a scoring chance, yet a short pass in the end zone is intercepted by #20 for the Lumberjacks.

As time in the first half is counting down, Council takes over with a long pass, the receiver runs down the left side of the field for a good gain. Now it’s QB Frank Savage hitting Randy Nichols with a 5-yard pass to score 6 points for Council. No extra points for the Lumberjacks. Score: Garden Valley 36, Council 18.

Council tries a short kick to the Wolverines. Now it’s time to see how fast they can score before the end of the third quarter. QB Fairburn turns and pitches the ball to Casey Hileman going right. He picks up 25 yards. Next it’s a pitch again to the right; after some fancy running and 45 yards later, it’s 6 points for Casey “Hurricane” Hileman and the Garden Valley 23. Now who will get the ball for the extra points? It’s a handoff to the left for J.D. Fuhriman, as he dives into the end zone. GOOD RUN J.D.!

This ends the scoring but not the game.

Garden Valley changes QBs for the fourth quarter. Chad Jones is calling the singles in this back and forth battle. The defenses for both teams heed the call and stand up to make some great plays. It is a slug-fest. The Wolverines defense will bend but never break. Time is running out for the Lumberjacks. The QB spikes the ball to stop the clock. Now for the last play of the game.

Council has the ball on their own 30-yard line. The QB and the running back are talking and the ball is snapped early and goes between them. The QB goes after the ball, which has traveled 15 yards and he is sacked by two Wolverines.

Both teams played a full game and everyone on the Garden Valley team had a chance to play. This is part of the rewards for those long practices and work-outs.

During the game, a few things took place that I want to mention. I think it was Casey Hileman who made this great “jersey circle tackle”—ask me sometime and I will try to describe.

Coach Ben Roeber put Kit Fairburn in the game at nose tackle on defense. He was lining up against Council’s Hunter Lucas, who is 5’11”, 230 lbs. Kit is 5’6”, 135 lbs. At first glance, you would think this was a mismatch. Think again! Then, as the ball is snapped, Hunter Lucas picks up Kit and slams him to the ground. Hunter is flagged for a holding penalty. It should have been unnecessary roughness.

*NOW FOR SOME GV OFFENSE STATS*

Passing- Kavik Fairburn: 8-11-1 162 yards
Lance Jones: 1- 1-0 36 yards

Receiving- Dylan Bass: 5 catches for 104 yards
Nathan Updike: 1 catch for 46 yards
Casey Hileman: 2 catches for 45 yards

Rushing- Casey Hileman :24 carries for 271 yards
Charlie Johnson: 11 carries for 56 yards

*NOW SOME GV DEFENSE STATS FOR THE GAME*
“Remember Lumberjacks, Don’t mess with Wolverines”

“Dylan Bass was an animal on defense, he was on fire.”
“He was flying all over the field” and these stats will give you an idea what I am talking about. He had 9 solo tackles and 3 assisted tackles, a fumble recovery and a sack for a 10-yard loss; some pass break-ups and QB hurry-ups or two.

The whole defense units did a great job in this game:

Sr. Casey Hileman was not far behind. 7 solo tackles and 3 assisted tackles; one sack for an 8-yard loss.

Sr. Charlie Johnson: 4 tackles and 3 assisted tackles.

Sr. Danny Breckenridge: 1 sack for a 10-yard loss.

Jr. Cody Zeff: 1 sack for a 6-yard loss, plus 2 tackles.

Fr. Benny Updike: 1 sack for a 10-yard loss.

When asked how was the game? Linda Bass said, “Good-Good!”

How did the team do? Melea Hileman said, “They did good. It was a very good game!”

SENIOR NIGHT CELEBRATED AFTER WINNING FOOTBALL GAME

Neighbors With News

The last home football game for the season on Friday, October 22, was also a celebration of Senior Night. GV won 42-16 over Meadows Valley. The overall standings for the Wolverines is 7-1. There is one more regular season game to play in Cambridge, against Tri-Valley. If Garden Valley wins there, they automatically go on to the state playoffs.
(Read Mike Uhl's play-by-play account here this week.)

The senior squad includes: Charlie "The Horse" Johnson, Casey "The Hurricane" Hileman, Dylan "Bone Crusher" Bass, Chad "Bam Bam" Jones, Zach "The War Elephant" Smith, and Danny "Bigfoot" Breckenridge.

The "senior moms" have been working for several weeks on making personalized fleece blankets to give as gifts to each senior on the squad. Special thanks are given to Paula Stricker, who wielded her embroidery skills on most of the blankets. Final production was accomplished at Jackie Johnson's home, with stories and remembrances all around. Thanks to Jackie for providing lots of floor space!

Linda Bass designed a special keepsake "Wolverine Illustrated" program for the night's event.
Photos for the program were generously provided by Ralph Foote. Pat Goff and Cheryle Baker got the production going to make the large edition copies available to everyone. Laree Jones made corsages for all the moms.

Big Charlie Johnson came up with the idea to get team-autographed footballs for each member of the senior squad. The team secretly did the signing during the week prior to Friday's game. Melea Hileman kept everything together, getting things coordinated with the coaches, Mr. Powell, Mr. Foote, and Mr. Arnold.

The evening ended with the team coming off the field to thank their fans, to the appropriate music of Kenny Chesney's "Boys of Fall."

Photos Top to
Bottom: Linda, Dylan "Bone Crusher" and Jeff Bass; Jackie, Charlie "The
Horse" and Big Charlie Johnson; On the floor cutting: Laree Jones; and Dawn
Smith.

Thanks to football "Senior Mom" Linda Bass for information and photos about Senior Night at the School.

WEEK-END: SPAGHETTI AT BILL'S & PUMPKIN CARVING! (Poker Hike Cancelled)

FRIDAY NIGHT ALL-YOU-CAN-EAT SPAGHETTI at Wild Bill's Bistro in Crouch. $7 for adults, $3, under 10 and Family gets it for $5 each.

Bill's has great Coffee Drinks , Italian Sodas, Large-Screen TV, and a friendly ambience--check the place out and stuff yourself with his tasty cooking.

SILVERADO PINES & GV PROPERTIES PRESENT

POKER HIKE CANCELLED DUE TO INCLEMENT WEATHER!

1ST ANNUAL POKER HIKE

SATURDAY, OCTOBER 23

FOOD & FUN!

TOP PRIZES FOR POKER HIKE INCLUDE:

$100 CASH * BRONCO TICKETS * GUIDED HORSEBACK TRAIL RIDE * $100 IN GIFT CERTIFICATES * 3-MONTH GYM MEMBERSHIP

**Must Register to Win 208-462-4620

--

LUNCH: 11:30 - 1:00

POKER HIKE: 12:00 - 2:00

PRIZES AWARDED: 2:00

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PUMPKIN CARVING CONTEST!

BRING YOUR FAMILY, BRING YOUR PUMPKINS, TOOLS PROVIDED.

4:00-7:00 p. m.

Saturday, October 23

Senior Center

261 S. Middle Fork Road

Crouch/Garden Valley

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SHOP DOWNTOWN CROUCH AND GARDEN VALLEY. OUR MERCHANTS OFFER GIFTS OF EVERY VARIETY, CLOTHING, FLOWERS, HAIR SALON & PRODUCTS, BOOKSHOP, FABRIC & QUILTING SUPPLIES, HARDWARE, ANTIQUES & VINTAGE, VIDEO RENTAL, REAL ESTATE, RENTALS, HORSEBACK RIDING.

HAPPY HALLOWEEN SHOPPING AT THE MERC

You’ll find bags of goodies on the front rack, pumpkin carving kits, costume noses, a small assortment of masks and wigs, trick or treat bags and flashlights.

For other Halloween treats, stop by the Deli for:

Cheesecakes – New York, Pumpkin, or Winter Variety
Orange frosted cookies
Color a Cookie (edible markers included)
Ghost sprinkled brownies
Monster Cookies

Also new in the Deli – Pre-packaged Hormel cheese, meat and cracker trays – great for snacking and for bringing to a football party!

Still looking for pumpkins? They have their final shipment ranging from 6 – 30 pounds. In the produce section, you’ll find small pie or decorating pumpkins for 99cents each.

Finally, for our Gluten-Free shoppers, we now have Bob’s Red Mill Gluten Free Bread mix, En R G crackers and Glutino frosting filled cookies (think oreo’s).

Have a great weekend! Greg and Gerold and Garden Valley merchants look forward to seeing you at Trunk or Treat next week, sponsored by the Chamber of Commerce.

Small Rants and Wanderings: Beulah Pearl on a semi-lucid day at the school.

Ah, Woe. Dogs and Cats are at it again. Thank goodness we play like them, and only hiss, spit and bark at each other, rather than wearing chains, brass knuckles and a gun at each hip. So far Spot hasn’t pissed on my leg and Foofy has kept his kitty litter and all other specimens in the box.

Where to start? Certainly not with Stan Kress, Wayne Hart (although a great ghost-writer for IW editors when slamming school government), Mike Koenig and the good ole boys. Oh, I wasn’t supposed to mention their names. Dear me. But know that when I said it, I was well hidden in the depths of the dark under a bush and it was just a whisper. It reminds me of a film my Greek-American friend Alexis and I always planned to make, portraying a man we knew whom we called “Peeping Dick” and it was about an amazing penis that loved to creep about in bushes and get into everyone’s business.

I am tired of it all. I lost my job at the Idaho World because Marion Summers lied to my editor and said I yelled that she was a lying bitch in front of a roomful of people and her attorney (there, you have it). She is but I didn’t. Who needs Friends like that? There is more to the story but I was never informed.

Of course, the editor of the IW once wrote to me, in a rant, “There are two sides to every story. A responsible newspaper reports evenly on both sides. NOT UNEVENLY. It's not my job to play god and decide who is right or wrong or who is telling the truth. I am not a judge. I am a newspaper. I represent BOTH sides.” For that TV station, which also strives to tell an unbiased story (ahem, forgive me god), Hart announced, “We’re going to just keep doing what we’ve been doing, which is to just print the truth.” She forgot to add, “...for one side.” An understandable omission.

What was that about announcing on the air that she suspects “Tomlin is pulling the strings and the board appears to be the puppet of Mr. Tomlin”? And the big whopper (and pooper-scooper) for the night was citing Tomlin getting caught sending anonymous e-mails and belittling parents. Doesn’t she read her own newspaper? Hmmm again...maybe she does. To be fair, Hart was right on when she said she thought the letter Elmore sent to her was ridiculous. Folks around my office tonight have mentioned that perhaps our school board should be given a free trip to the Bahamas. Maybe a little rest. It’s getting to them, can’t blame them, but threatening legal action if papers are not taken off the stands is extreme. The ghost-writer for “Hart’s” perspective rightly says the local residents deserve to know what is going on around them, especially with their elected officials. I agree. We are not getting this information from the IW. Perhaps the ghost-writer would like to take over, sounds like a good policy.

By the way, this has become a mantra about Mr. T—when those people don’t like what someone says, they attribute it to him. The IW only printed three articles about those people with my name on them and he wrote them all. In fact, he’s here now, hovering about like the son-of-a-bitch that he is, always meddling. My Jewish pal, David, used to say, “Blame it on the Jews”, whenever anything in our life went crazy. We could say “Blame it on Obama”, but why stop there? Blame it on Mike Tomlin, the big stinky cheese at the Garden Valley School. Oh phew! But cheese is not a bad thing to have when you are hungry and watching John Cleese. When I was a kid, I used to take my dad’s limberger cheese and make dog-poops mixed with saw-dust—the neighbors thought I was quite a creative little urchin. I seem to have my mind on excrement tonight...I wonder why.

Now I sit and do this, for no bucks, along with a lot of volunteer work in the community (donate button). I care. I care about Teri Hart, whose ghost-writer is pretty slick and writes okay, but from her big TV debut, she could actually graduate into poster-kid for Truth or Consequences, but I fear she would wind up spewing chewed cabbage from a wagon filled with slinkies pulled by Huey, Dewy, Bob Barker and George Carlin, who keeps shouting, "Truth, Teri, or you'll be packing potato chips in El Monte!" I care about Kathleen Wilson, who seems to have lost her sense of proportion...and sense of sight—she doesn’t seem to recognize me anymore. It could be the fog. I care about Mike Tomlin, who is too smart for his britches, but can’t bring himself to say gee, I certainly never meant to hurt anybody, even if he didn’t but they think he did. I care about Paula Fox, a gentle and honest soul who deserves better than what this community of Kress supporters is giving her. I care about anyone at the District who has been hurt by the viciousness of the people who have supported Kress, not to mention all the folks in town whose blood-pressure has risen at the mention of the Friends and their antics. I care about the teachers who have been misled. I care about the kids who have to deal with rabid parents, but they’ve actually gotten really good at wiping the foam off the frothing fobs of mummy and daddy. I knew they were in school for something. I care that I see factions of people sitting on opposite sides of the room. I care about injustice. I have a big mouth. I say things that I think and feel and I don’t have a lot of fear—more fool me.

But I don’t lie.

When someone tells me something and they can’t substantiate it, I don’t care if it’s about god, or Janell and her “sharing” of what information and when--which they won’t tell you, or Elizabeth Dunn treating employees with inequitable discrimination or behaving unprofessionally ( I really haven’t seen her dancing naked on the tables, I think she was lying), or Daryl telling everyone that all the teachers are joining the union though it was only his wife but the fear started to spread when he kept repeating “Listen to the fear” and now everyone talks about fear and watching their backs, or when the Keddy-Hector aka Delores Bedard public records request turned into a stick to beat Tomlin and Elmore with because “they” were holding up the process when wasn’t it really Bedard who just owed the money and couldn’t or didn’t want to pay it, or when the well-respected kindergarten teacher, Cheryl Riedinger, accused Superintendent Tomlin of sexual harassment and intimidation and had to go home to recuperate for the rest of the day because he said "you’re welcome" to a little girl, but I wondered why it wasn't the little girl who cried "wolf!"—when they can’t substantiate their accusations, how is it possible that we can actually believe these lies in our community about our friends and neighbors?

Now, to the 10/13 Idaho World article about the recall petition of school board trustee, Janell Ward, about which the editor was unavailable for comment, having just stepped in dog-poo. The article: Badly written and confusing? I thought so too. Not a bad try for a reporter working for an editor who wants to tell both sides. It just fell short before it hit the mark. Rule #1: Reporters trying to be unbiased should avoid yelling at school superintendents in public meetings—getting caught up in the moment is one thing—getting caught is another.

Yes, the story is out of sequence. Reading it would cause you to think Overlie gave the petition to Vian, Vian gave it to Tomlin, and Tomlin announced it was rejected. Confusing? Actually, Tomlin gave it to the Clerk of the Board and she evaluated it, comparing with Idaho Code and refreshing her understanding of the legal opinions the District received in the last two recall elections. Tomlin says he gave his statement to IW reporter Kathleen Wilson on Tuesday (as reported), after all of the above was done.

A small, but sensitive item, with regard to elections (ad nauseam, but what the heck): Paula Fox was acting in capacity of the Clerk of the Board, not the Business Manager of the District, as reported in the IW. (Fox does serve as Business Manager.) The Clerk is an elected position, elected by the Board. It is careless reporting to attribute Clerk work to the Business Manager-- aren’t some people touchy?-- it would be same as with Bob Powell, who is a science teacher and Athletic Director. If he made a decision regarding athletics, the reporter would attribute it to the Athletic Director, not a middle school science teacher. Just a small thing and certainly not much to get worked up over. Really. Let’s be fair.

The IW states that giving Janell Ward a copy of the petition "could be a problem." No it's not. First, when the IW reported a petition effort was underway, Ward says she began checking daily with the District to see if one had arrived. One day it did, and she requested a copy, which she was given.

This is interesting to the District, they tell me, as people want every document in the world to be public information, unless it is their document. Marion Summers wanted Paula Fox's 2008 pay stubs and they gave them to her. She wanted Fox's seven-year-old resumé from her personnel folder and they had to decline by law. Other people request e-mails, and they provide them. When a petition that is received at the District office is provided to someone, suddenly people think it is wrong. It is not wrong.

Kathleen Wilson, in the IW, then quotes Idaho Code 33-433, about what should have happened. According to the District, she has the wrong Code, in the wrong paragraph, in the wrong sequence, with the wrong application and the wrong conclusion. I had trouble writing that so don’t worry if you didn’t get it. The Clerk was not yet at the step Wilson cites - a mistake by the IW reporter ceded by the district as easy to make, in the Idaho Code book, but reckless and negligent, when it easily could have been verified at the district office. But, as one teacher told me, when staff and patrons had a loud party in the same room while students and Mr. DeFoe performed last year’s Christmas concert, “It’s a learning curve Angel. Give them a break”—so let’s give Wilson a break.

It is unfortunate about the confusion and misinformation the IW gave to the readers and it was taken very seriously by the Friends-phobic School District. Again, bear in mind we are dealing with people who have been viciously attacked for over a year...remember just one accusation against the District that claimed they were playing Mr. Dick, peeping and creeping while folks voted, and picking the lock to see just who believed Elizabeth Dunn had really danced on the table in the nude.

The District was told that comments on a blog say the petition rejection was due to one word, "WARNING." Tomlin responds that it is gossip, but the warning issue is important. He says, “First, the petition received was missing more and different language than just the warning. When the Clerk reported the errors to him, he asked her to check online, in last year’s and this year’s Idaho Code books, to make certain they were not missing a version that was acceptable; he also checked. They didn't find one. The Clerk rejected the petition and he concurred. Whew. Do all school districts work this hard at maintaining the budget and teaching kids as this one?

Tomlin says, “However, several days later, again from a colleague quoting a blog site indicating the petition was copied from Chapter 34 of Idaho Code, the mystery was solved. It was perfect (we looked) for recalls other than education. Education law is in Chapter 33 of Idaho Code, and it is different, and different for a reason that I am certain the legislature in its wisdom understands (he laughs, yes sometimes he does this incredibly intimidating thing, forgetting he’s a jail warden and not a superintendent of schools) but regardless, it defines the law of public education, and the law we must follow.”

Now, regarding the word "WARNING." In one of the previous recalls, this question came up and the district took it to Steve Meade, then General Counsel of the Idaho School Boards Association. He told them the word had to be there. So, been there done that. Tomlin says they would have been negligent to accept the petition, having already received the answer from legal counsel.

That takes them to the next point that they would like to make to the community. With regard to recall elections, they have two fears - first, that they reject a proper petition, and second, that they accept an improper petition. If they reject a proper petition, it can be fixed, re-signed, and re-submitted. That is a hassle for the petitioners, but risk to the District is limited.

However, if they accept an improper petition, and call an election, hold an election, spending time and money, and the challenged Trustee loses - they can appeal the election. Imagine the fury of the petitioners, voters and community if they cost the District that much money, emotion, time, and effort, because they were sloppy.

Tomlin says he will always advise the Clerk to risk erring on the side of rejecting a petition that might have been acceptable than to accept one that could be overturned on appeal. “And to that point, he finishes, “my affinity for the members of the Board aside, I don't ever want an election overturned on my watch. Politicians come and go, but this is my work and that of the Clerk and we want it to be right.”

Senator Tim Corder was asked to attend the October school board meeting held in Lowman. The two quotes used by Wilson in her article were custom-made for the occasion. The problem is, as Corder and I agreed, journalists tend to use quotes to their own purpose, this one seeming to be a plea for the petitioners.

Corder says, “In law, always and in this case, every single time I’ve been called into disagreements with local entities, people get close to walking in a grey area. Right or wrong, the perception to some people is that it is wrong—it’s a sense of impropriety. Ward was legal but imprudent.”

He says he told Wilson that night that Ward wasn’t being vicious or intimidating—it was just the perception. “When I read Janell’s letter, I had no doubt why she wrote it,” Corder explains. “I empathized with her completely—but felt that she was ill-advised. She may have felt vindicated for about ten minutes, but there’s no help for that pain. Now she has the additional problem of the letter to deal with.”

The senator’s admonition to Wilson and others that night was that Garden Valley has to stop trying to govern by recall. “If they’d try to spend the same amount of time—too much time and resources—to solve the problem, they could fix it. They need to draw the line, snap the cord and move forward.”

Corder says he was proud of the meeting as local government. “Process was being followed, everyone got their voice—that is the best of America”

The petition states that “Janell Ward has ceased to represent the will of her constituents and has shared damaging, confidential personnel matters that should have been confined to executive session according to the law. The other issue is “Ward has brought a personal agenda to the school district to further her own ends and personally and professionally attack those who oppose.”

Speaking of grey areas, this is one of those. Paula Fox is becoming an expert on this, you could ask her. You could ask your attorney. But until a person is given the specific material involved with the accusation (which info, what date, etc.), this cannot be clarified. When certain discussion takes place about personnel, the discussion itself may not be leaked, but if it involves documents presented to the board, they are immediately public. What exactly are we talking about here?

Lowman resident, Shelley Overlie, started the petition for Ward’s recall and can only say that she has an affidavit from someone who claims Ward shared the personnel information with that person. Overlie promised not to disclose the accuser’s name, but she says she showed the affidavit to residents who had signed the refused petition, all of whom said they would be willing to re-sign the second one.

Overlie wrote an e-mailed letter to Janell about her concerns, which Ward never answered. She feels this showed a lack of representation of a constituent’s needs. Ward, in turn, explained that the letter was sent to the board. All of her mail goes to the board. The board answered the letter. She wasn’t aware that it was a personal letter, is sorry if that was the case and says it was a miscommunication.

According to Overlie, Ward came to the board with an agenda to get rid of an accredited teacher. She stated another issue that influenced her decision for the recall, which was that during the interview process for a new principal, Ward never mentioned Lowman.

Ward responded with vehemence, regarding the teacher issue. “That’s not true! Who? It never entered my mind. I got on because of special education—it’s near and dear to my heart. I’ve talked to other people who needed help with their kids. It was my last attempt to help the situation in special ed.”

Regarding the interviews, Ward says, “That is not true. She has no idea; she was not there. I talked about Lowman during the search committee interviews and behind closed doors during board interviews and public receptions. I also went to the dinners and spoke about our town, our Lowman school and its needs, in casual conversation.”

Mrs. Overlie remarked that she is not impressed with how the school board is handled and that she feels it’s time to “get our school back”. The second petition has been presented to the School District.

Okay, back to nitpicking for a minute. Can we be blamed for wondering how 330 people signed a petition to remove Mike Tomlin, when you never see that many people around the school, for board meetings or otherwise? Perhaps 100 at a concert or graduation. How many of these people have met Tomlin, let alone be familiar with his wanton ways? Tomlin has neither absconded with the funds, nor misappropriated them. He has done nothing wrong, save be in the wrong place at the wrong time. We can call him a dummy for standing in the road, but someone else has to hit him. This is not a wrong that can be loaded onto someone’s shoulders as people have tried to do.

The editor might have come up with “Intimidation?” No need for ghost-writers to grab a concept that has been so popular with the group of people she supports. This is a word that has been directed quite a bit lately toward the District, from a group of people who have done nothing but intimidate for years. A new handle but the same people.

I think the better word for Elmore’s letter is Indignation. Indignation at bias, perceived negligence (and the IW certainly allowed perception to be credible in the article in question), slander and libel against a board member.

The reason the Fiends of the Garden Valley School have been so successful in their attack against the District is because they are the aggressors, the intimidators; they are the offensive line. The School District is the defensive line trying to stop the rush. If you look at everything the District has done in the past year, it has always been in defense of an aggressive attack. They are not fighting; they are trying to survive.

I recently answered a letter written to me by an outraged resident. I have also fielded many comments by people who want an end to this madness. My response is, if no one hears your voice, you don’t exist. If you are out there and want an end, stand up and say so. Sticks and stones can break my bones and tomatoes are messy, but a hiss and a spit and a woof? ...just don’t let them piss on your shoes.

SCHOOL BOARD LETTER TO THE COMMUNITY

Board members L-R: Janell Ward, Dawn Smith, Alan Ward, Jeff Bass, Terry Elmore and Superintendent Tomlin.



The Board of Trustees of the Garden Valley School District held a special meeting Tuesday night, to consider personnel matters involving employees and a public officer, among other matters. Because the District has not had a full board for close to six months, many issues have lain fallow. After sitting in executive session for almost 4 hours, the board returned to the open session and Chair Terry Dee Elmore read the following letter to patrons.


October 19, 2010

To the Garden Valley Community:

We are taking this time and using this format to communicate directly to you regarding several issues involving your school district.

First, we want to tell you that we are very pleased to be at full strength, with a five-member board. Over the summer we were hesitant, with only three trustees making major decisions. We now enjoy the benefit of a diverse and full board and look forward to using its collective wisdom and judgment to the benefit of our children, the District and taxpayers.

We know that one of the criticisms of our Board is that we have not publicly resolved or “closed the loop” on some issues before us, and of interest to you. We are renewed in our dedication to fully address and decide issues brought before us, and we will work to resolve each, and to make whatever public statement is allowed by law to indicate an issue has been addressed.

This Board will not allow rumors and innuendos to influence our decisions. Please know that we are restricted in many cases due to legal confidentiality concerns for district personnel and children.

Last June, some members of our faculty and staff filed complaints against Dr. Tomlin. These complaints properly came to the Board, and the Board sought clarification of the issues through the legal counsel of the Idaho School Boards Association attorney, Brian Julian.

All complaints were reviewed by Mr. Julian. He reported his findings to the Board. His review and report concluded that the complaints were “vindictive, without legal substance,” and designed to “cause harm” to Dr. Tomlin. He then reported his findings to the public and media in an open meeting on July 1, 2010.

In that meeting in response to a question, Mr. Julian stated that Dr. Tomlin could share or disclose the complaints as he wished. The Board has accepted the legal findings of its attorney and this matter is closed.

In August, the Idaho Education Association’s regional representative Harry McCarty, filed a complaint with the Board against Dr. Tomlin, for disclosing the complaints.

The Board accepted the letter of complaint and the Clerk sent it to our attorney for evaluation and comment. Mr. Julian has responded with the legal opinion of his firm, as Managing Partner of Anderson, Julian & Hull, LLP. The findings of law and fact in the opinion can be summed up into two basic statements:

1. The Superintendent (or any accused employee) has the absolute statutory right to copy and publish the documents in question and share with whomever he chooses.
2. Identification of the accuser and the complaint received by the Board is a public record open and subject to review and inspection.

The complaint filed by the IEA on behalf of the Garden Valley Education Association is found to be without merit or substantiation. A letter to that effect will be sent to the representatives of the involved parties. This matter is now closed.

We also received several petitions, one or more stating a lack of confidence in the district’s administration, and one or more expressing confidence and support. Please know that we received these and reviewed them, in executive session, but we do not and cannot discuss them in public.

Finally, we are in receipt of written complaints from patrons and those patrons will receive information specifying the actions that are planned. Again, “closing the loop.”

These comments represent the consensus of the Board and will be available to the public, along with the legal opinion of the Board’s attorney regarding disclosure of documents.

This Board asks all district employees and the community to join us in looking forward and not back, and to be respectful and support one another in our District.

We will have no further comments on these issues tonight.

Thank you.

Sincerely,


Terry Dee Elmore
Alan Ward
Janell Ward
Jeff Bass
Dawn Smith



The following is a letter from the Brian K. Julian, of Anderson Julian and Hull LLP, Attorneys and Counselors at Law:

October 19, 2010

VIA EMAIL

Board of Trustees
Garden Valley School District
P.O. Box 710
1053 Banks Lowman Road
Garden Valley, Idaho 83622

Re: Garden Valley School District – General
Public Records Act Exclusions

Dear Trustees:

This firm has been asked to offer a legal opinion regarding alleged disclosures of records protected by the Public Writings Act. The Idaho Education Association has provided an opinion by its contracted law firm which I have reviewed. The facts, as I understand them, concern certain complaints regarding the Superintendent. Earlier this year, I was given the opportunity to review the complaints and in particular a complaint deemed “sexual harassment.” It was my opinion then and it remains my opinion that there was absolutely no basis whatsoever for the complaint. It certainly did not amount to sexual harassment and, in my judgment, did not merit any discipline of the administrator in question.

It should be noted that there is no formal grievance policy for certified employees of the School District. Classified grievances are allowed by statute through Idaho Code § 33-517 and pursuant to District policy. However, certificated employee complaints are treated in the same fashion as any type of public complaint under Board Policy 233 and there is no statute which allows for grievances of certificated employees. However, it is worthy of note that in a grievance under § 33-517, the entire matter becomes a public record as the Board is ultimately responsible for rendering a decision in open session regarding the alleged grievance and/or the matter becomes public via the filing of a lawsuit in the appeal process. It is difficult to believe the Idaho Legislature created a system where certificated employees were given greater privacy rights over complaints than classified employees.

A careful review of District Policy 233, Complaint Resolution, indicates that the accuser of a complaint is to be public information:

. . . a signed statement of charges must be presented to the board during a regularly scheduled or special session, said statement thus becoming an integral portion of the legal and public minutes of said meeting. This process is not intended to discourage anyone from making such an accusation, but is intended that the accuser be identified during any subsequent actions by the board or the accused.

Given that there is no “grievance” policy for certificated employees and the above is the language from the policy at issue, identification of the accuser in a complaint pursuant to District Policy 233 is public information.

The next step of the analysis relates to employee personnel files, including the personnel file of the District’s Superintendent. Idaho Code § 33-518 specifically states that the personnel file shall contain only “material relevant to the evaluation of the employee.” Written notice of inclusive material in the file must be given to the employee. District Policy 233 also makes reference to complaints being placed into the personnel file of the accused prior to any action possibly being taken (Policy 233.5.d).

Nothing in Idaho Code § 33-518 or Policy 233 suggests that the filing of a complaint would result in the complaint being placed into the personnel file of the accuser as opposed to the accused. Such a document would not be material or relevant to the evaluation of the employee who filed the grievance. Thus, it is this writer’s opinion that the filing of a “public complaint” would not lawfully be filed in the personnel file of the employee who filed the complaint but rather be placed into the personnel file of the employee who was the accused, in this case the District’s Superintendent.

Pursuant to Idaho Code § 33-518, an employee has a right to access their own personnel file and has the right to copies of all documentation (except recommendation letters) contained in their personnel files. In such a situation, the employee can then do whatever the employee chooses to do with the contents of his personnel file – whether it is provided to his association representatives, family members, health care providers, members of the community or press. All of those specific situations have occurred multiple times all over the state with school employees. In this current context, Dr. Tomlin may have access to any material contained within his personnel file, except recommendation letters, contained within his personnel file, and may provide copies of those documents to whomever he so chooses.

The next question concerns an analysis of the Public Writings Act. I question whether this Act is even germane to the questions as to my knowledge, there has been neither a request for nor production of the documents at issue pursuant to a public records request.

Initially, there is a presumption that all public records in Idaho are open at all reasonable times for inspection. If a person has right to copy public records, the government agency may make no inquiry of the person as to the use of the public records. See Idaho Code § 9-338.


Absent from the analysis of the IEA is a critical code section, Idaho Code § 9-342. It states a person may inspect and copy the records of a public agency or independent body corporate and politic pertaining to that person even if the record is otherwise exempt from public disclosure. The statute contains absolutely no prohibitions on what the person may do with their own records. Clearly under Idaho Education law, a grievance (and in this situation a complaint) would be filed in the affected employee’s file, in this case the Superintendent’s file. The Superintendent then has an absolute statutory right to copy it and publish it to any particular person.

One might also take note that Policy 233 indicates that the complaint received by the Board becomes “an integral portion of the legal and public minutes of said meeting.” Thus, pursuant to the applicable Board Policy, this complaint is a public record and part of the public meeting minutes, subject and open for review or inspection.

To suggest that an employee who is not using a formalized grievance policy, but rather a public complaint form, has a right of privacy in what is filed leads to absurd results. For example, if an employee leaked information to the media suggestive that the Superintendent had a pending sexual harassment claim filed, the Superintendent would be completely unable to defend himself and clear his name under the IEA’s interpretation. In fact, it would appear that the employee could defame at will and simply refuse to ever have the document revealed. This is particularly troublesome when the employee or the employee’s agents or union representatives leak selected information to the press for the sole purpose of disparaging government employees.

The IEA analysis suggests that as an agent of the district the Superintendent could never release files. This conclusion is likewise absurd. Public personnel records, by definition, affect only government employees. Thus, it makes no sense that the agency law prohibited disclosure when the law allows the government employee to copy his own records and do whatever he wishes with those records. Agency is simply not a factor.

It should be noted that the IEA analysis contains no definition of grievance and has no discussion about the fact that no grievance policy is applicable. However, if we were to use the terms grievance as a general complaint of conduct, the logical result would be that a letter of reprimand to a school employee could never be disclosed to a third party without the administrator author’s permission, as it may contain grievance or complaints of the conduct of the affected employee. Of course, employees are free to share such a reprimand and whatever is in their personnel file with whomever they choose.

In sum, it is ridiculous to assume the Idaho Legislature has specifically set forth that a grievance filed by classified employees are in fact public records as the Board must ultimately decide on the grievance in a public session while certificated employees have greater privacy rights. Secondly, the public records law is somewhat inapposite to this situation as there is no pending dispute over a public records request. The Idaho law does allow the employee to copy his own records and there are no restrictions on how and to whom the employee may publish those records. Lastly, to suggest that an employee who files a public complaint, no different than any other member of the public, has a right of privacy different than members of the public and different than classified employees is nonsensical. The alleged complaints were never filed in the complaining employee’s file nor should they have been as they are not germane or material to the evaluation process of that employee. The complaints were or could have been filed in the affected employee’s file and that employee may exercise his rights to disclose the same.


Very truly yours,

Brian K. Julian

Brian K. Julian


BKJ/pk