News

McCall man gets 30-year prison sentence for killing wife

A McCall man was sentenced to 30 years in prison last week for shooting and killing his wife amid a domestic violence incident in February 2023.Mark Dooley, 56, will be eligible to seek parole after 22 years in prison, under the sentence handed down by Third Judicial District Judge Jason Scott last Friday at the Valley County Courthouse in Cascade.“This is the kind of crime that calls for a serious punishment,” Scott said before reading the sentence to Dooley and about two dozen people observing the hearing.Lynne Dooley, 42, was shot in the back and the chest amid Mark Dooley’s drunken rage at the couple’s home in McCall’s Rio Vista Neighborhood on the afternoon of Feb.

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Correction

Correction: An article in last week’s edition incorrectly said that charges against Micah and Dania Haselton were investigated by the Ada County Sheriff’s Office.

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Cascade hits brakes on fire-safe building standards

A proposal for fire-safe building standards would make building new homes in the City of Cascade too expensive, the Cascade City Council decided on Monday.The council did not adopt new rules on Monday, instead opting to revise a proposed ordinance and revisit the issue at a later date.The proposed rules would have required new homes and subdivisions to use fire-safe building materials and landscaping to slow the spread of wildfires.The council did not set a date for when they would consider updated rules.Cascade Building Inspector Darryl Shepard advised the council that the rules as proposed went beyond the intention of why they were proposed.The intent of the rules was for new subdivisions in areas of high risk of wildfire danger, not for single homes being built within the city, Shepard told the council.“It’s not quite what we’re looking for,” he said, adding that the rules morphed into something “a little bit too invasive in some areas.”Shepard advocated for identifying wildfire danger for different areas within the city, and considering stricter rules on building materials and landscaping for developments at higher risk of wildfire.Contractor Troy Huckaby of Cascade asked the council to reconsider the rules, arguing that they would make new homes too expensive to build.“This type of ordinance extremely limits what the citizens of Cascade can use to build their own homes,” Huckaby said.“If we take just one item, on siding alone, if you were to follow the siding guidelines required here in the City of Cascade, it would multiply the cost by a factor of five,” he said.As proposed, the rules would have required developers to create defensible spaces around structures with 30 feet of separation between buildings and trees in single family residences.The rules were intended to apply to new construction only.The intent of the rules was to promote public health and safety and prevent or lessen property damage in the event of a fire, Mayor Judith Nissula said.Multi-family residences would need to include 50 feet of separation and developments with homes clustered close together would need 40 feet of separation.Building materials for all new homes would be restricted to fire-resistant materials in roofs, siding, doors and decks.Developments with 30 homes or more would be required to include two access routes for potential evacuations.Large developments would also be required to include a water supply system for firefighters supplying at least 1,000 gallons per minute.“The requirements will all need to be fully vetted before an ordinance is again put before the city council for a decision,” Nissula said.

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McCall Golf Course hires new golf pro

Phil Goodson will serve as the new golf professional for the McCall Golf Course, the City of McCall announced last week.Goodson, who served as assistant golf professional for this year’s golf season, is being immediately promoted to the lead role.Former golf pro David DiMartino resigned his position this month after moving back to Denver, where he previously lived and worked at golf courses.Goodson, who lives in McCall with his wife and two teenage children, will earn a starting salary of $95,000 as head golf pro, McCall Communications Manager Erin Greaves said.As golf pro, Goodson’s responsibilities include supervising the course’s day-to-day operations, managing the pro shop, teaching golf lessons and hosting tournaments, among other things.Goodson told The Star-News that his immediate goals include preserving “the magic that is McCall Golf Club” and balancing the interests of local golfers and tourist golfers.Goodson will work directly alongside golf course Superintendent Eric McCormick, who is responsible for marketing and maintaining the course.The city plans to begin searching soon for a new assistant pro to assist Goodson, Greaves said.Goodson began his golf career at Bishop Kelly High School in Boise and then earned a degree in golf course management from Professional Golfers Career College in Temecula, California.He has since worked as the head golf professional at Whitetail Club in McCall and assistant golf pro at the Quail Hollow Golf Course in Boise and Grants Pass Golf Club in Oregon.Goodson also worked as the general manager of golf and director of golf at courses in eastern Idaho’s Teton Valley.Since 2016, an average of about 34,000 rounds of golf per year have been played at the municipal course.Combined, the three nine-hole courses feature more than 32 acres of playable fairway, plus greens.The golf course’s budget for 2025 totals $2.7 million, most of which stems from golf fees, merchandise sales and sales at the clubhouse restaurant, Banyans on the Green.For more information on the golf course, visit https://www.mccall.id.us/departments/GolfCourse.

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Fires doused by rain

Several days of rain brought the Lava Fire’s rampaging spread across West Mountain to a raging halt with “little fire growth” expected in the near future, fire officials said.Between 0.5 and 2.25 inches of rain fell across the Lava Fire, said Catherine Hibbard, a public information officer working on the Lava Fire.That rain will decrease fire activity, but will not be enough to put the fire out completely, with large pieces of stumps, logs and dead trees expected to smolder with the potential to flare up again if warmer and dryer weather returns, Hibbard said.As of Tuesday, the Lava Fire was listed as 33% contained having burned about 97,800 acres, including the footprint of the Boulder Fire, when the two burned together last week to become one fire.There were 825 people assigned to the fire, including 19 crews, two large helicopters, one small helicopter, 58 fire engines, 11 bulldozers, 16 water tankers, six excavators, seven skidders and eight ambulances.Evacuation orders in Valley County were lowered, with all residents along Warm Lake Road allowed to return home on DAY and other zones decreased in readiness throughout the week.As of Tuesday, zones 2 through 6 were in the “ready” evacuation status, the lowest of three levels.Adams County residents were downgraded to level 1 “ready” status, with some Gem County areas downgraded as well.No level 3 “go” evacuation orders were still in place.An area closure was still in effect, but the total area was likely to be reduced later in the week, officials said.Despite the decrease in immediate danger, structure protection efforts were still underway on all sides of the fire, including God’s Acres subdivision, Tamarack Resort and homes on West Mountain Road.As of Tuesday, the Lava Fire cost about $10.1 million, not including the cost of the Boulder Fire, which cost about $36 million before it became part of the Lava Fire.The Lava Fire was started by lighting on Sept.

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McCall OKs First Street homes

Plans to build six new single-family homes along First Street were approved last week by the McCall City Council. The Blackwell Subdivision, proposed by Nampa residents Dennis and Nancy Harmon, will build six two-bedroom, 2.5-bathroom homes on a parcel of less than an acre at 520 First St.

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