All Valley County Employees will receive a bonus of $500 plus $100 for every year they have worked at the county as a cost of living adjustment and retention incentive.The payments, which total about $157,000 for the county’s 139 employees, were paid for by interest earned on investments made with funds from the American Rescue Plan Act.Valley County was awarded about $9.1 million in funding from the legislation.
The wrong sale ads for Albertsons were inadvertently inserted in The Star-News copies on December 14. Please note that Albertsons will not be honoring those… Login to continue reading Login…
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Brundage Mountain Resort would start its own fire department to serve homes being built at the resort’s base area, under a proposal aired this week to Adams County Commissioners.The Brundage Fire Protection Association would establish fire and EMS operations at the mountain instead of relying on emergency services in McCall and New Meadows that say they are already stretched thin by growth.Brundage would buy a fire engine, an ambulance and equipment for the fire department’s staff, which is expected to initially include a part-time fire chief and volunteer firefighter/EMTs.The resort expects to initially house the fire department in existing maintenance buildings at the mountain and would train ski patrollers who are certified EMTs to also be firefighters.The department would be funded by the resort and fees paid by the owners of future homes at the resort’s 368-acre base area, including 32 homes expected to be complete in 2025.“I think that’s the best solution for what we’re facing with the current situation,” Brundage Mountain President Bob Looper said.The creation of the new fire district must first be approved by the Adams County Commissioners, which on Monday signaled support for the proposal.
A house on First Street in downtown McCall is the first high-occupancy short-term rental to be approved by the McCall City Council under new regulations adopted last year.The approval means that a five-bedroom, 2.5-bathroom home at 507 First St.
Fifteen-year-old Abigail Inwards of Cascade travels to the Nampa Municipal Airport each week to participate in flying lessons, military marching drills, first aid classes and other lessons as part of the Civil Air Patrol.The program has fostered leadership skills, self-respect and discipline and has been an immensely positive influence, said Inwards, who signed up as a cadet in the program two years ago and never looked back.“I have learned how to come out of my shell and be able to have a conversation without being timid,” she said.
The McCall-Donnelly School District received a grant for about $94,000 to improve school safety across the district.Grant funds will be used to upgrade eight doors in schools throughout the district, add new cameras to cover blind spots not currently captured and install video monitoring stations so that staff can view multiple cameras at once.Funding came from the Idaho State Board of Education’s Idaho School Safety and Security Program.Specific upgrades depend on the needs of each building, from hardware replacement, completely new doors or added security features, said M-D Superintendent Eric Pingrey.The security upgrades were made on recommendation of the district’s security assessment last year.In addition to the comprehensive evaluation, the district then held meetings with the McCall Police Department, McCall Fire & EMS and the Idaho State Police.As a result, emergency responders now hold drills inside schools to familiarize themselves with all buildings and have the ability to access all buildings.First responders will also be included in the regular monthly drills at each school, including fire, earthquake and lockdown drills to provide evaluations, Pingrey said.McCall police and the Valley County Sheriff’s Office also have access to district video systems in an emergency he said.Outer doors to each school in the district will all be operated with a “buzz-in” system controlled from inside.
Plans for a nearly 14,000 square foot shop to house the Valley County Road and Bridge Department were approved by Valley County Commissioners on Monday.Commissioners approved spending about $4.6 million on constriction of the building, of which $3.5 million will come from money from the American Rescue Plan Act.
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Idaho Sled Dog Challenge will take center stage this January with the McCall Winter Carnival moving to new dates in February.The sled dog race has coincided with Winter Carnival since its inception six years ago and will continue its traditional start in the last weekend in January.