May 30, 2021 The Yellow Pine Times

May 30, 2021 The Yellow Pine Times – Valley County, Idaho

Reminder: We are still under a boil water order.

Community Calendar:

April 17, 2020 – Boil water order issued
March 31 – Weight Limits on SF road
May 10 thru Oct 20 – Burn Permit season
May 15 – Firewood Season permits at The Corner
May 25 – Upper Johnson Creek road and Landmark Open
May 29 – Yellow Pine Escapade 10am ATV/UTV Rally
May 29 – Memorial Potluck 4pm Yellow Pine Tavern
May 29-30 Live music 6pm The Corner
June 2 – Amerigas delivery
June 2-5 Free Dump Days in Donnelly
June 6 – Planning meeting for festival
June 12 – YPFD meeting 10am at Fire Hall
June 12 – VYPA Meeting 2pm at Community Hall
July 2-4 Yard Sale Silver Dollar Cafe
July 10 – YPFD meeting 10am at Fire Hall
July 10 – VYPA Meeting 2pm at Community Hall
July 21-22 Mastercraft stove maintenance
(details below)
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Local Events:

Memorial Weekend Events

May 29, 2021 – Yellow Pine Escapade – ATV/UTV Rally at 10am

Join us on May 29th for another rally game. This year’s Rally game is – Letter Tiles! Participants ride their vehicles in the 70 miles of identified area to participate in the game. The timeframe of this event is from 10:00 am to 3:00 pm. Participants begin and end the event at the Yellow Pine Community Hall.

$20 early online registration (link); $25 at the event. Funds raised from this event support the Yellow Pine Community Hall. FB link:
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Memorial Day Potluck and Remembrance Saturday, May 29, 2021 at 4pm at The Yellow Pine Tavern

Gathering for Remembrance and Potluck. Burgers and Hot Dogs provided by the Tavern bring a dish or dessert if you wish.

Thank you for joining us in remembering Our departed Yellow Piners

Funds raised will go towards the July 4th Fireworks fund.
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The Corner

Join us on Memorial Day Weekend for some great food and live music with Hannah Wickizer! She will be playing at 6pm on Saturday and Sunday.

Smoked brisket, tri tip, and chicken sandwiches will be waiting for you at The Corner on Memorial Day Weekend.
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General Store

The General Store plans a “soft opening” Memorial Day weekend with beer, beverages, and ice. Rooms, fuel, and laundry available now.
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Amerigas Delivery June 2

Tentative date for propane delivery is Wednesday, June 2nd. Call Amerigas if you need propane. (208) 634-8181
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June 2-5 Free Dump Days Donnelly

Free residential dumping of most materials taken at the Transfer Site [240 Spink Lane, Donnelly.] A perfect opportunity to start fresh for the summer.

A few reminders:
* Oversize items such as vehicles, boat trailers, watercraft, and special handling items will be charged at a reduced rate and, when applicable, must be accompanied by the title.
* Commercial dumping will be charged at the regular rate, and all large truck and trailer loads will be considered commercial.
* Household hazardous waste materials will NOT be accepted. Please retain these and plan to dispose of them at our scheduled Household Hazardous Waste Collection day on August 21, 2021.
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Next Festival Planning Meeting

Sunday, June 6, 2021, Zoom meeting at 2pm. Contact Deb for link and passcode.
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Heating Maintenance Day July 21-22

Deb Filler is coordinating with Mastercraft of McCall to schedule a maintenance day in Yellow Pine for propane and pellet stoves. If you are interested, please contact Deb at 208 633-6945. Mastercraft will be here July 21 and 22 to do stove maintenance.
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Yard Sale July 2-4

I am having a huge yard sale between the store and the Silver Dollar July 2nd, 3rd and 4th. Items include restaurant equipment, antiques, tools, building supplies, furniture, electrical wire, stainless steel cable, diesel heaters and much, much more.
-S Holloway
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Village News:

Water News May 30

All non essential water needs to be shut off. Filter cleaning today. Those at the top of the hill, water outage expected.
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Memorial at the Tavern

Had a great turnout for our Memorial Potluck got a bit busy and missed out on Photos of the event and great food. However we made close to $500 towards our 4th of July Fireworks Fund. Great Photos to share of our Karaoke singalong late in the evening though, with our next Generation of Karaoke Junkies coming up. Bringing up memories of our old times with Vickie and Karaoke at the Corner.

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Johnson Creek Road Officially Open

Report May 25th that Johnson Creek road is open at the upper end. The avalanche debris on Warm Lake road was removed by the County.
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Scrap Metal

Sharing a message that Mike Amos will haul out a load of scrap metal. If you have scrap metal, contact Mike. He has an area by his place to stack it.
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Dust Abatement

The infrastructure committee has determined to use Calcium Chloride this year (same stuff used on the E. Fork.) It is slightly less expensive than the Earthbind. If you are interested in dust abatement this year please let Deb Filler know. She can give you the cost information. If you would prefer the Earthbind (the stuff that was used last year) let Deb know that. If you choose Earthbind, North American Dust Control will bill you directly.

Dust abatement will occur once Landmark is open.
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Road News

Link: to current road reports.

Johnson Creek road is Open. The county cleared a large avalanche across Warm Lake road above the turnoff to North Shore Lodge.

South Fork Salmon River Road Spring weight limits are in effect March 31 through at least June 1st.

The Stibnite road between Yellow Pine and Stibnite mine is open.

Lick Creek, Profile Gap, Elk summit, Monumental summit and Deadwood summit are still closed.

The Hwy 55 project Smith’s Ferry area: Will have 2 lanes open over Memorial Weekend. Starting June 1, crews will transition into their summer construction schedule. Drivers can anticipate single-lane, alternating traffic controlled by flaggers Monday – early Friday morning. From Friday morning – Sunday, and any major holidays, the road will be open to two lanes. This schedule will be in place until September. Project Website link:
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Critters

Ticks

* Know where to expect ticks. Many ticks live in grassy, brushy, or wooded areas. When possible, avoid wooded and brushy areas with tall grass and leaf litter. Walk in the center of trails, particularly in spring and summer when ticks feed.
* Wear appropriate clothing. When in tick habitats, wear light-colored, tightly woven long pants and long-sleeve shirt. Tuck your pant legs into socks or boots, and your shirt into your pants. This helps keep ticks on the outside of your clothing where you can spot them more easily.
* Use tick repellent when necessary, and carefully follow instructions on the label. Apply an EPA-registered repellent effective against ticks, such as those containing DEET to clothes and exposed skin, and permethrin to clothes and gear. Take care when applying repellent on children. EPA’s search tool can help you find the repellent that best suits your needs.
* Check clothing, gear, and pets after being areas with ticks. Ticks can hitch a ride into your home on clothing and pets, then attach to you or a family member later. Carefully examine coats, camping gear, and daypacks. Don’t forget your dog, see CDC’s where to check your pet for ticks.
* Shower soon after being outdoors. Showering within two hours of coming can reduce your risk of getting Lyme disease and may be effective in reducing the risk of other tick-borne disease. Showering can wash off unattached ticks and it is a good opportunity to do a tick check.
* Check your body, your child and pets thoroughly for ticks. Carefully inspect areas in and around the hair, head, neck, ears, under arms, inside the belly button, around the waist, between the legs, and behind the knees. Ticks can be very small before they feed—look for what may appear like a new freckle or speck of dirt. Continue checking for two to three days after returning from areas with ticks.

Pine Martins & Raccoons

Watch your small pets. Reports of pine martins living in the dump and raccoons on the north side of the village.

Be Bear, Fox & Coyote Aware

* Do not feed them human food
* Secure your trash
* Feed domestic pets indoors
* Make sure your pets are updated on Rabies vaccines
* Small pets could become a snack

Be Mountain Lion Aware

Note: A report of a mountain lion near the upper end of the village.

* NEVER run away from a mountain lion. The lion’s instinct is to chase and ultimately catch what they perceive as potential prey.
* NEVER turn your back on a lion. Always face them while making yourself look as large as you can. Yell loudly, but don’t scream. A high-pitched scream may mimic the sound of a wounded animal.
* SLOWLY back away while maintaining eye contact with the lion.
* Safety equipment you may choose to carry could include bear spray, a noise device, like an air-horn, and if you walk in the dark, a very bright flashlight.
* If you are attacked, fight back!
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Yellow Pine US Mail

The 3-day a week mail delivery started Nov 2nd. The Post Office in Yellow Pine is open six days a week year around: M-F 845am-245pm Saturday 9am-245pm. Forever Stamp: 55 cents. Support our local post office and purchase your holiday stamps here.
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Yellow Pine Transfer Station

The bins were emptied May 22nd.

Yellow Pine Transfer Station (aka, the dump)

Please do not abuse our Transfer Station or we may lose it. Household trash must be placed in the bins, flattened cardboard boxes can also go into the bins. Do not stack trash in front of the doors. Woody yard debris only for the burn pile. No furniture, appliances, tires or construction debris allowed, those items must be hauled out to the Donnelly station by you.

The Yellow Pine Transfer Station is Valley County responsibility. If it is not kept tidy, use of the Transfer Station may be revoked. That would result in residents having to take all household trash and yard waste to the Donnelly Transfer Station.

If Dumpsters Are Full, Contact Lake Shore Disposal at: (208) 634-7176
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Local Groups

YPWUA News:

We are still under a Boil Order. Please conserve water. Turn off your trickles.

Update May 14, 2021: Kerry and Dion from Idaho Rural Water were onsite yesterday along with Nicki and me for leak detection in the “downtown” Yellow Pine grid.

Utilizing their leak detection equipment, and Nicki’s knowledge of the distribution system, Kerry and Dion successfully located a number of leaks including a large leak at a fire hydrant. The fire hydrant was turned off and Tim, the fire chief, was notified that the hydrant is not operational.

Many small leaks were identified and marked, but of particular concern is the waterline that runs under the alley behind the hotel and all the way down to the community center. Numerous active leaks were located in that section. So many leaks exist along the alley that the best course of action is probably replacing the entire run of pipe.

Nicki followed up after the guys left and using her tablet and GPS program, accurately recorded the location of all the leaks identified. Now that a record of the leak locations exists, prioritization of the leaks and a plan to repair them can be developed.

Kerry and Dion were very thorough and helpful, and the work they completed will be beneficial to reducing demand on the system as a whole. Based on today’s daily system data, reported this morning by Nicki, it appears that daily demand was reduced by approximately 10,000 gallons as a result of yesterday’s work.

Regards, Warren Drake, Drake Diversified LLC

Update May 13, 2021: Cecil, Tom and Ron fixed a leaking valve which resulted in saving 5000 gallons of water!

Update May 6, 2021: The Yellow Pine Water Users Association, Yellow Pine, Idaho intends to file an application with the USDA, Rural Development to obtain a drinking water system facility planning grant. If any additional information is needed please contact: Willie Sullivan, Treasurer Ypwater @ gmail.com

The annual Water meeting for 2020 was held July 5th at the Community Hall 2pm.
link: minutes 20200705YPWUA.docx

Boil Your Water Before Using
Boil Water Order issued April 17, 2020.
Link: to Notice
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VYPA News:

VYPA Meetings are the 2nd Saturday of June, July, August, and September (June 12, July 10, August 14, September 11) at 2:00pm at the Community Hall.

Village Council members:
Deb Filler, Chairman
Matt Huber, Vice Chairman
Ronda Rogers, Treasurer
Rhonda Egbert, Secretary
Ron Noel, Member at Large

VYPA Bylaws adopted 8/8/2020 (link)

YPAC Corp Bylaws (link)

Festival
Want to join YPAC Corp in making a difference? We are raising money to benefit the Yellow Pine Music and Harmonica Festival . Any donation will help.
Each year, during the first full weekend of August, the sleepy mountain village of Yellow Pine is transformed into the largest festival of it’s kind in the western hemisphere!
The festival is produced by volunteers and raises funds to support the village of Yellow Pine as well as the funds needed to hold next year’s festival.
As you all know, the 2020 festival had to be cancelled due to Covid-19. This placed a significant burden on Yellow Pine to come up with enough funding to hold the 2021 festival this August 5, 6, 7.
Souvenirs and events at the festival help raise funds. We also know there are many of you who support the festival, but are not able to attend. This fund raiser is to give you an opportunity to help us help Yellow Pine.
Thanks in advance for your tax-deductible contribution to this cause that means so much to us!
GoFundMe link:

Anyone interested in being a part of the Festival Planning/Working committee, please contact Deb Filler. Meetings will begin at the end of January. Even if you aren’t physically in YP, you can participate in the committee.
Next Festival Planning Meeting May 9, 2021 – Contact Deb for Zoom link and passcode.
2021 Planning Notes updated May 9, 2021 (link)
Yellow Pine Music and Harmonica Festival Policy and Procedure Link:
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YPFD News:

May 15, 2020 – there was a YPFD meeting 10am at the Fire Hall (no minutes yet.)

The Fire Station recently had a propane heater installed. The heater will be a great addition to the fire station. It will be more efficient at keeping the station above freezing during the winter, especially since we keep water in the engines so they are ready to roll if an emergency occurs. It will also make it more pleasant to hold meetings at the fire station. Big thanks to Fire Chief Tim Rogers for coordinating this.

Meeting schedule for the YPFD. All meetings are at the YPFD Station
Sat. May 15 at 10am
Sat. June 12 at 10am
Sat. July 10 at 10am
Sat. September 11 at 10am Budget Meeting

YP Fire District 2 (east of Yellow Pine Ave) up for election Nov 2nd for 4 year term (per Valley County.) Link:

YPFD had a budget meeting on September 30, 2020 at 10am at the fire station. (No minutes yet.)

Make sure to keep your chimney clean. Cleaning brushes can be borrowed from the YPFD.

Also if you are burning any piles of forest litter and debris – please have a connected and charged garden hose that can reach your piles. If your hose cannot reach where you are burning, follow the good advice of having a shovel, axe, and water bucket at the scene. Rake away from anything that could ignite. Stop burning if winds become an issue. Make sure your fire is out before you leave the area. Nothing like getting surprised by a escaped fire in the middle of the night!

Better yet, “Rake It and Take It” your yard waste (limbs, pine needles, brush, etc.) to the burn pile at the Transfer Station on the south end of the turn-around. Remember, keep the pile neat. Woody debris only, no nails, no cardboard and no furniture! The Boise NF will burn the pile in the fall when it is safe.

YPFD COVID19 Policy
link: YPFD Covid 19 SOP
link: Covid-19 EMS

YP Fire Commissioners:
Sue Holloway – District 1
Dan Stiff – District 2
Merrill Saleen – District 3
Tim Rogers – Fire Chief

Yellow Pine Fire Protection District Community Service Notice
The purpose of this letter is to show how you as a Yellow Pine Resident can help protect your structure against a wildland fire by being “Fire Wise.” Click the link: to view 20190724 Yellow Pine Fire Protection mitigation
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Biz Listings:

The Corner (208) 633-3325
Hours: 11am-8pm, closed on Tuesdays
We offer smoked tri tip, brisket, and chicken sandwiches and also burgers and chicken wings.
Firewood Permits available May 15th.
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Yellow Pine Tavern (208) 633-2233
Yellow Pine Tavern open daily:
Monday thru Thursday 8am to 9pm
Friday and Saturday 8am to 10pm
Sunday 8am to 8pm
Indoor Dining with limited seating and Outdoor Dining Available.
Full Breakfast Menu. Burgers, Pizza, Fajitas, Beer, Wine and Pop
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Yellow Pine Lodge (208) 633-3377
Closed Nov 3rd for winter.
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Yellow Pine General Store (208) 633-3300
Rooms, fuel, and laundry available now. Store plans a “soft opening” Memorial Day weekend.
Email for reservations
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Murph’s RV Park and Mary’s Cabins
FB page link
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Knotty Kat Crochet Works – 208-502-0940
FB page link
open Tue – Sat, 9-5
Yellow Pine eggs $3/doz
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Buck Horn Outfitters LLC 208-633-3614
Tom & Sarah Lanham
156 Yellow Pine Ave, Yellow Pine Id 83677
website:
Facebook:

Wapiti Meadow Ranch – Johnson Creek (208) 633-3217
or 208-315-3554 – cabin rentals
website:

Deadwood Outfitters
website:
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Local Fuel Suppliers

Amerigas Phone: (208) 634-8181
Ed Staub & Sons Phone: (208) 634-3833
Diamond Fuel & Feed Phone: (208) 382-4430 open 830am-5pm Monday-Friday, closed weekends.
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Outside Biz that will service Yellow Pine:

The Star-News

click to subscribe:
A reminder that those who live in other states can subscribe to the online edition only since the mail can take days for hard copy to reach them.

Rocky Mountain Mechanical – Plumbing – Heating – Air conditioning
(208) 365-PIPE (7473), Emmett, will service Yellow Pine
Website:

Elkhorn Heating & Cooling
(208) 906-4067 Middleton, Idaho, will service Yellow Pine

B&T Safety Solutions LLC
208-271-1600 Based out of Donnelly
Snow removal, cleaning chimneys and stoves, we do cabin staining/chinking as well
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Follow The Yellow Pine Times on Facebook (updated more often than emails)
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Local Observations:

Monday (May 24) the 24 hour low of 39 degrees was from Sunday morning’s reset. Rain yesterday and during the night totaled 0.34″. This morning dark “cracked” overcast, foggy blobs mid-mountain. A few tree swallows, jays, several clark’s nutcrackers, robins, a couple hummingbirds and cassins finches around. Dark overcast at lunch time. Pine squirrel mugging for peanuts, chipmunk and ground squirrels running amuck. About 10-15 minute rain shower with breezes late afternoon, followed by misty drops and calmer, then breaks in the clouds, high of 55 degrees. Mostly cloudy after sunset. Another rain shower at dusk for about an hour. Cloudy before midnight. More rain early morning.

Tuesday (May 25) overnight low of 37 degrees, dark low overcast and light rain this morning, 0.04″ in the last 24 hours. No swallows, but jays, robins and a few finches calling, hummingbirds, clark’s nutcracker and a pair of black-headed grosbeaks visiting. Hawk in the neighborhood scaring the birds into hiding. Still raining pretty good before lunch time and getting breezy. Stopped raining, a few cracks in the overcast letting in more light and breezy just after lunch. Hairy and downy woodpeckers visiting, and ground squirrels running about. Bleeding hearts starting to bloom, lilacs are close to blooming. Another breezy rain shower mid-afternoon followed by broken overcast and bits of filtered sunshine, high of 57 degrees. Dark overcast and fairly calm early evening. Raining pretty good, dark and gusty before sunset. Stopped raining before dusk, foggy mountain peaks. Moon back-lighting the cloudy sky before midnight. Rain showers during the night and early morning.

Wednesday (May 26) 24 hour low of 40 degrees, 24 hour rain total = 0.41″. This morning dark overcast, foggy ridges and peaks. A few swallows are back, happy robins chirping, jays calling, a few finches and hummingbirds, black-headed grosbeaks, a clark’s nutcracker and hairy woodpecker visiting. Dark overcast and cool at lunch time. Mail truck was a little late, came in Johnson Creek w/no problems. Breaks in the clouds early afternoon. Partly clear and warm late afternoon, high of 63 degrees. Increasing traffic. Warm and partly cloudy after sunset. Looked mostly clear before midnight.

Thursday (May 27) overnight low of 32 degrees, no rain yesterday, so far in May we have received 1.53″ of precipitation. This morning the sky is mostly hazy and light breeze. More tree swallows have returned, robins, finches, a hairy woodpecker, a few hummingbirds and jays calling. More traffic. Nearly overcast, warm and quite breezy at lunch time. Quite windy early afternoon, gusts 20+mph. Ground squirrels running around. Warm, windy and mostly cloudy late afternoon, high of 71 degrees. Low flying airplane at 626pm (and gusty.) Much lighter breezes by early evening and mostly cloudy. Calmer and mostly cloudy before dusk. Looked cloudy before midnight.

Friday (May 28) overnight low of 39 degrees, mostly cloudy with patches of blue sky and light breeze this morning. Air traffic. Lots of tree swallows swooping, robins calling, clark’s nutcracker, cassins finches and a few hummingbirds visiting. Partly cloudy and breezy before lunch time. Mostly clear, warm and light breezes early afternoon. Increasing traffic. Clear sky, warm and cool breezes late afternoon, high of 66 degrees. Still warm, clear and slight breeze before dusk. Stars out in a clear sky before midnight.

Saturday (May 29) overnight low of 29 degrees, almost clear sky (patches of thin high haze,) light breezes and wet with dew. Air and street traffic. Tree swallows, robins, jays and finches calling, hairy woodpecker, a few hummingbirds and a clark’s nutcracker visiting. Sunny and warm at lunch time. Increasing traffic, mostly ATVs and UTVs, some dirt bikes. Clear and warm early afternoon. Golfers out playing the Country Club. Quite warm by late afternoon, slight breeze and clear, high of 73 degrees. Clear and warm before dusk. Stars out before midnight.

Sunday (May 30) overnight low of 33 degrees, clear sky and light breeze this morning. Early air traffic. Swallows, jays, robins, pine squirrel, finches and evening grosbeaks calling. Sunny, warm and light breeze at lunch time. Quite warm by early afternoon, sunny and slight breeze. A couple hummingbirds and a downy woodpecker visiting, golden mantled and colombian ground squirrels running around. Increased street traffic and dust. Loud helicopter at 5pm. Very warm late afternoon, mostly clear and breezy, high of 79 degrees.
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Poem

1976 Star-News

Dr. Barnett Rosenberg…
Is telling all his peers…
He‘s found the basic technique…
To live two hundred years…

With lower body temperature…
Conclusions have been drawn…
That aging is retarded…
And life can thus go on…

This only proves the theory…
Which is a general rule…
To live a long and happy life…
Just merely keep your cool.

[h/t LI]
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Idaho News:

COVID-19 Updates: 135 new Idaho COVID-19 cases, 0 new deaths

May 28, 2021 Local News 8

Idaho officials reported 135 new COVID-19 cases and zero new deaths Friday.

That brings the total confirmed and probable cases reported since March to 192,012. …

The state said 672,164 people have received the vaccine, and 1,220,941 total doses have been administered. 590,772 people are fully vaccinated. …

The age group with the most cases is 18-29 with 47,932 cases.

The state said 9 new hospitalizations have been reported bringing the total number to 8,582, and 1 new case has been admitted to the ICU bringing the total to 1,450.

There are 11,839 asymptomatic reported cases and 10,728 cases among health care workers.

full story: [Valley Co 847 cases, 6 deaths.]
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Valley County COVID-19 vaccination continues slow climb

By Tom Grote for The Star-News May 27, 2021

The total of eligible Valley County residents who had received at least one dose of the COVID-19 vaccine continued its slow climb during the past week, the Idaho Department of Health and Welfare reported.

A total of 54.7% of county residents age 12 and older had received the vaccine as of Monday, up from 53.4% the previous week, the H&W reported.

Four confirmed deaths and two suspected deaths related to COVID-19 among Valley County residents have been reported by Central District Health. A total of 755 positive cases have been reported in Valley County.

St. Luke’s McCall offers the Pfizer vaccine, with walk-in shots available from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday through Friday at St. Luke’s Clinic – Payette Lakes Family Medicine, 211 Forest St.

Minors must have parent or legal guardian permission to receive a COVID-19 vaccine. A parent or legal guardian should come with the child to provide consent at the appointment.

Written or verbal consent by phone may be accepted if a parent or legal guardian is not present. Minors also cannot schedule their own appointments in myChart.

Parents and children can also walk in to a vaccination clinic together or a parent can schedule an appointment for their child by calling 208-381-9500.

Cascade Medical Center offers both the Pfizer and Moderna vaccines during walk-in clinics held Monday through Friday from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. at 402 Lake Cascade Pkwy in Cascade.

continued:
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St. Luke’s McCall expands virtual care in the emergency department

By Laura Crawford for The Star-News May 21, 2021

Patients treated in St. Luke’s McCall’s emergency department not only get care from local physicians, nurses and clinical care teams on-site, but they are now able to be seen by specialists outside McCall.

The program, called the Virtual Hospital Emergency Department, will be set up in all nine emergency departments operated by St. Luke’s Health system over the next several months.

“Having increased access to specialists in real time elevates the care we provide to our patients locally,” said Dr. Jon Currey, St. Luke’s Clinic-Payette Lakes Family Medicine physician.

continued:
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Tourists urged to make The McCall Promise

The McCall Area Chamber of Commerce & Visitors Bureau says the upcoming travel season inspires a renewed focus on core community values.

KTVB Staff May 26, 2021

With Memorial Day weekend just around the corner and the COVID-19 vaccine being rolled out, the city of McCall is anticipating more visitors in the coming weeks.

So, the city is asking visitors to follow some guidelines they are calling The McCall Promise.

“This summer will look a lot more familiar to McCall’s frequent visitors than last summer, with the return of large events like the Fourth of July Fireworks and many other exciting things planned and hosted by our local businesses,” McCall Area Chamber spokesperson McKenzie Kraemer said. “The goal of this effort is to remind our visitors of the qualities that originally attracted them to the community of McCall and of their role in preserving that character.”

continued:
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CORRECTION

A story in The Star-News last week incorrectly stated the value of items to be taxed under the City of Cascade’s 1% sales tax approved by voters on May 18. The tax will be applied to items valued under $1,000.

source: The Star-News May 27, 2021
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Volunteer groups continue to pick up loads of trash from Idaho recreation sites

Katija Stjepovic (KTVB) May 24, 2021

Cascade, Idaho — Multiple volunteer groups are working to combat the growing amount of trash and litter across the region. One Boise couple has picked up trash in Cascade twice in one year, gathering as much as 26 garbage bags worth of trash in a one-mile stretch.

What started out as a good deed is now becoming a concern.

“Cascade is near and dear to our hearts because we camp there, we ride there,” said Darlene Smith, the president of the Idaho UTV Club. “I have lived here almost all my life and I have camped here almost all my life since I was a child, and I never ever saw what I am seeing today. It is disheartening to an Idaho native.”

continued:
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ITD to double flaggers on Banks-Lowman intersection during busiest summer weekends

by CBS2 News Staff Tuesday, May 25th 2021

The Idaho Transportation Department announced Tuesday it will double the number of flaggers on the Banks-Lowman Road intersection during the busiest summer weekends.

Flaggers will be deployed on the six weekends that ITD anticipates to have the highest number of travelers. Flaggers have historically been used on three summer holidays: Memorial Day, Independence Day, and Labor Day.

The current flagging schedule will now include June 20, July 5, 11, 18, 25, and Sept. 6.

Memorial day was removed from the schedule after ITD analyzed travel data and noticed flaggers would be more effective during another day.

continued:
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Public Lands:

Forest officials warn campers to be careful over Memorial Day weekend

by CBS2 News Staff Wednesday, May 26th 2021

Idaho City, Idaho (CBS2) — It’s fair to say that a lot of people will be camping this Memorial Day weekend.

With so many folks out and about, the Boise National Forest is putting out a warning to help keep folks safe.

Be mindful of changing weather conditions and temperatures. And don’t forget higher elevation areas may still have plenty of snow.

continued:
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Know Before You Go this Memorial Day!

Be prepared for your forest adventure and practice Leave No Trace

BOISE, Idaho, May 27, 2021—Boise National Forest employees would like you and your family to have a safe and enjoyable Memorial Day weekend and encourage everyone to Know Before You Go and practice the Seven Principles of Leave No Trace. For your safety, please do not to attempt to travel on any roads and trails at higher elevations that have remaining snowpack. In addition to the possibility of getting stuck without available rescue service and no cell service, driving on or off muddy roads and trails causes damage to the resources. Please check with your local Forest Service office for current campground, road and trail conditions, (link)

Please let someone know where you are going and when to expect you to return. Have an emergency plan in place. Conditions and temperatures are unpredictable and good preparation can save hours of discomfort.

Most lower elevation campgrounds on the Forest will be open with services. For a list of campgrounds opening dates visit: (link)

Campsites may be really hard to find this weekend and reservable sites are booked. It is a good idea to have a plan B, C or D. Campground reservations are only available in advance at (link) or by phone at 1-877-444-6777.

Forest visitors are encouraged to download Motor Vehicle Use Maps (MVUMs) using the Avenza app (link) to find out what roads and trails are open to motorized and nonmotorized use. You can also stop by a Boise NF District office (call ahead for opening hours), or the Visitor information Center at 1387 S. Vinnell Way in Boise, to buy a Forest map and pick up free 2021 MVUM.

Another important reminder is to put your campfire completely out when leaving your campsite for the day or for the weekend. Make sure there is no heat and it is cold to the touch. Have a great holiday and remember, whatever you pack in please pack out, especially your garbage.

Linda Steinhaus
Public Affairs Specialist
R4, Boise National Forest
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Mountain Pass Status from Payette NF

May 28, 2021 (via FB)

Headed out to the woods? Snow remains at higher elevations throughout the Payette National forest.

Mountain Pass Status:

Secesh Summit to Burgdorf/Warren – Open
Warren Summit – Open to the South Fork Salmon River
Landmark – Open
No Business – Open
Lick Creek Summit – Closed due to snow pack
Goose Lake Road – Closed beyond the Brundage Ski Resort turn off
Profile Gap Summit to Big Creek – Closed due to snow pack
Elk Summit – Closed due to snow pack
Cuddy Mt. to Buck Park – Closed due to snow pack
Note: Monumental summit is also still closed
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Survey kicks off Valley County Waterways Management Plan

The Star-News May 27, 2021

An online survey has been launched to begin the drafting of the Valley County Waterways Management Plan.

The plan is an effort by Valley County commissioners to make decisions about management of the county’s lakes and the North Fork of the Payette River based on research rather than perceptions.

The survey can be taken at (link) through June 20.

Targeted in the survey are Payette Lake, Little Payette Lake, Upper Payette Lake, Lake Cascade, Warm Lake, reservoirs, alpine lakes and the North Fork north and south of Lake Cascade.

continued:
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Five years after the shutdown of Skinny Dipper Hot Springs, could it reopen?

The Bureau of Land Management committed in 2016 to keep the site closed for five years. But as that target draws closer, the hot spring’s future remains unclear.

Katija Stjepovic (KTVB) May 24, 2021

Banks, Idaho, Idaho — If you squint, you could convince yourself not much has changed at Skinny Dipper Hot Springs in Boise County.

There’s still the steep climb up to the site, located a rocky scramble up a hill overlooking the Banks-Lowman Road. Hot water still dribbles down from the geothermic spring deep under the ground. Steam hangs low over the wet rocks.

In one spot, enough of the warm water collects to make a shallow pool.

But the crowds are gone. The pipes that routed the hot water are disconnected. The big concrete pool – once deep enough to submerge up to your neck – has been ripped out. The one-time chatter of visitors has been replaced with the wind in the pines, the trickle of water and the quiet whoosh of the highway below.

continued:
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Lowman residents chide against Kirkham Hot Springs visitors leaving trash behind

Locals worry that the Forest Service might clamp down hard on the hot springs and close it down, much like what the BLM did with Skinny Dipper Hot Springs.

Chase Biefeldt (KTVB) May 25, 2021

Nestled along the Payette River and down Highway 21 from Lowman, Kirkham Hot Springs has become a flashpoint for the small Idaho community.

On Tuesday, county commissioners met with Lowman residents to discuss the issues locals and business owners see with the popular hot springs and to begin brainstorming solutions for the chronic issue.

“The diapers, the condoms, the female products, the cans and the needles. It is getting horrific. It is getting downright scary,” Lowman resident Angela Hellwege told county commissioners on Tuesday.

continued:
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Trash continues to be an ongoing problem at Grimes Creek

KTVB Staff May 27, 2021

Credit: BCSO Deputy Reeder has been picking up trash from inconsiderate people on Grimes Creek. This trash is being left by locals and visitors.

“Please pick up after yourselves” – the Boise County Sheriff’s Office made that plea in a post that also shows a deputy’s pickup full of trash from the Grimes Creek area.

The message on Facebook also says the trash has been left by locals as well as visitors.

But it looks like the deputy isn’t alone in the efforts to clean up Grimes Creek and other recreation areas in Boise County. Several residents commenting on Facebook, and some we’ve talked to for other stories, say they’ve been picking up trash too.

The county and the Forest Service issued an emergency area closure for Grimes Creek last fall because of damage and sanitation problems from heavy use.

source:
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USDA Forest Service St. Helens Mine Plan of Operations Update

May 28, 2021

The Forest Service is seeking comments on the proposed St. Helens Mine project on the McCall Ranger District of the Payette National Forest. A scoping document that provides more detailed information about the proposal is available on the project webpage at: (link).

The Forest Service is notifying potentially interested parties of this proposed action to gather pertinent feedback. To be most helpful, please submit your comments by July 1, 2021, and make your comments as specific as possible.

The project webpage provides you tools to engage in this process. From “Get Connected” on the right-hand side of the page, click on “Subscribe to Email Updates” if you wish to receive electronic communication about this project. Use the “Comment/Object on Project” link to access a simple webform to submit your comments on this project. The “Public Comment/Objection Reading Room” contains published comments received on this project.

Webform submission is preferred but written comments may be mailed to: District Ranger Jennifer Blake, 102 W Lake Street, McCall, ID 83638. Please be specific as to the project or projects on which you are commenting. Only those who subscribe to the GovDelivery mailing list or submit comments will receive future updates on this project.

Comments received in response to this request will be available for public inspection and will be released in their entirety if requested pursuant to the Freedom of Information Act. Comments received in response to this request will also be available for public inspection on the “Public Comment Reading Room” on the project webpage.

For further information on this project, please contact Forest Geologist Clint Hughes at 208-634-0756 or clinton.hughes@usda.gov.
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Fire Season:

Bureau of Reclamation shares impacts over declining water storage ahead of summer

by Sarah Jacobsen Wednesday, May 26th 2021 CBS1

Water – it’s essential to life here in the Treasure Valley.

But drought has taken hold of the West and the Gem State is no exception.

A drier than average spring, coupled with a below normal water year is raising questions over our reservoirs current capacity – which is on the decline.

continued:
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Water supply concerns mount as drought emergencies declared in 8 Idaho counties

by Deni Hawkins Friday, May 28th 2021 CBS2

The Idaho Department of Water Resources has declared drought emergencies for eight Idaho counties.

The emergencies are in place for Blaine, Butte, Camas, Clark, Custer, Fremont, Gooding, and Lincoln Counties in South Central Idaho.

The biggest water supply concerns are in the Big Wood Basin, but water managers say 19 counties in central and southern Idaho could be at risk for ‘crop disaster losses.’

continued:
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Fire season in the West starts drier than last year: ‘It’s like having gasoline out there’

by Seth Borenstein AP Science Writer Monday, May 24th 2021

As bad as last year’s record-shattering fire season was, the western U.S. starts this year’s in even worse shape.

The soil in the West is record dry for this time of year. In much of the region, plants that fuel fires are also the driest scientists have seen.

Rainfall in the Rockies and farther west was the second lowest on record in April, according to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration.

continued:
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Critter News:

Possible grizzly bear sighting in the Salmon area in 2020 confirmed by Fish and Game

by CBS2 News Staff Monday, May 24th 2021

Grizzly bears in Idaho area not uncommon.

But where in Idaho you find a grizzly is typically delegated to the northern panhandle and Yellowstone area in eastern Idaho.

But Idaho Fish and Game says it recently viewed video captured by a sportsman near the Continental Divide southeast of Salmon of a young grizzly bear in the spring of 2020.

“Although Idaho’s known grizzly bear populations are in the northern Panhandle and the Greater Yellowstone Area in eastern Idaho, it’s possible that grizzly bears could wander into the Salmon Region on a rare occasion where people aren’t expecting them,” Fish and Game says.

continued:
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Letter to Share:

Gamebird Foundation, Auction, Craft Fair. Yard Sale

The Gamebird Foundation [is] having a fundraiser to raise money to feed the baby chick pheasants and red-legs partridge. An estate donated all the reloading equipment from their father to the foundation for raising birds and releasing them [into the] wild. You won’t want to miss this fun day. Open the attachment for more. For more information call 208-883-3423 or email jhagedorn611 @ gmail.com Please pass along to your friends. The birds need your help. If you want to help and donate just bring it and put it on the trailer. We still have space for crafts and donations.

When: June 5, 2021
Where: Viola, Idaho – South Main Street
Across from the Viola Community Center
8:00 AM: Yard and Craft Sale
10:30 AM: Auction Starts

The auction will consist of rifle reloading equipment, shells, casings, primers. There is just too much to list. 21 boxes of 16 gauge shot shells – Peters (a company that has been out of business for a great number of years), Remington, Federal. 410 shells, this is all lead shot. This will all be sold at Auction. It will be on display one hour before auction time. Auction will start at 10:30 AM – nothing will be sold before the Auction. This was donated to TGBF by an estate to help pay for the chick feed and brooders for pheasants and Red Legs raised and released by The Gamebird Foundation membership.

• Crafters, please call for a table space!
• Donations welcome (no clothes or books please)
• If you need more information, call Jim Hagedorn 208-883-3423

“The Pheasant Guy”
Jim Hagedorn
—————

Fish & Game News:

Chinook fishing on Lower Salmon River closes May 28

By Brian Pearson, Conservation Public Information Specialist
Tuesday, May 25, 2021

Seasons will remain open on the Little Salmon, Snake rivers

Idaho Fish and Game is closing salmon fishing on the Lower Salmon River, effective at the end of fishing hours on May 28, as Chinook salmon harvest is approaching current harvest objectives.

Chinook fishing will close from Rice Creek bridge upstream to Vinegar Creek. Seasons remain open on the Little Salmon River and Snake River.

continued:
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More F&G News Releases

link:
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Crazy Critter Stuff:

Smokey the Bear Song- Eddy Arnold (1952)

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Seasonal Humor:

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Idaho History May 30, 2021

Idaho 1918-1920 Influenza Pandemic

Part 59

Idaho Newspaper clippings September 4-30, 1919

Idaho photos courtesy: the Mike Fritz Collection, History of Idaho
— — — — — — — — — —

September 4

Jerome County Times., September 04, 1919, Page 1

Death of Mrs. Patterson

The many friends of Mrs. Frank Patterson in this community were saddened Sunday when they learned that she had passed away at eleven o’clock that morning, following an operation in the Shoshone hospital last Friday. …

She was born at Pomeroy, Washington, forty-four years ago, and her maiden name was Melsenie Abel. She was married on December 25th, 1893, and leaves the following children: Mrs. William Clasons, of St. John, Washington; Mrs. Charles O’Brien, of Jerome, and Orville, Olive and Otto Patterson, of Jerome. Another child, Newell, died on January 12th, this year, of influenza. Her husband also survives her. …
— —

Schools Open Monday

Next Monday, September 8th, the schools in Jerome, all the schools in the district and all the schools in the county will open for another year’s work. The good old school bell will again be heard calling the boys and girls, and every community will assume an activity which is sadly lacking during the summer months.

source: Jerome County Times. (Jerome, Idaho), 04 Sept. 1919. Chronicling America: Historic American Newspapers. Lib. of Congress.
— — — — — — — — — —

The Daily Star-Mirror., September 04, 1919, Page 6

Labrador Coast Swept By Death
Smallpox and Spanish Influenza Play Havoc With Eskimos
Bodies Devoured By Dogs
Moravian Missionary Tells Almost Unbelievable Story of Suffering in Northern Labrador – Mode of Living is Fatal

St. John’s, N. F. — Spanish “flu,” smallpox and measles wiped out more than one-third of the Eskimo population of Labrador during the months of November and December of last year. The Rev. W. W., Perrett of the Moravian mission at Hopedale, where he has spent 27 yours, reached the Newfoundland shores a few days ago. He told an almost unbelievable story of the sufferings of the Eskimos of northern Labrador.

Shortly after the mission ship Harmony had left the coast at the beginning of November “flu” broke out at Hebron and spread rapidly among the inhabitants. That the disease was contagious was unknown to the Eskimo, who were living in small huts, and whole families were affected and died off. Bishop Martin and those at the mission did what was possible under the circumstances, but they, too, were stricken, and when the epidemic had passed its course only eight children, five women and one man of the native population of 100 were living.

Mad Dogs Eat Human Flesh

At the outbreak the dead were buried almost as soon as they passed away, but when the entire settlement became ill, the victims were left where they died, those who had recovered in the meantime being too weak to lay them under the ground. Households who had succumbed one by one were left unburied, and the dogs, who were unable to procure food because the hunters had been all ill, became mad and entered the cabins, consuming the flesh from the bodies of the dead.

When it became known that the epidemic was raging, some outside assistance arrived, and an effort was made to give the dead Christian burial. The dogs, however, after consuming the human flesh, became wild, and it was impossible to undertake putting the corpses in the frozen ground. The next best thing was to bury the corpses at sea. Before even this could be attempted the few remaining at Hebron were compelled to shoot the dogs, as even the living were not safe from them.

While this horror of death and suffering was going on at Hebron, a like epidemic was raging at Okak. The Eskimos, as in Hebron, huddled together in their small huts, quickly became affected, until the whole population was either stricken or dead. The daily death rate was appalling, whole families dying within a few hours. The mission all the while was unceasing in its work for the afflicted, but they also fell victims to the disease, which meant that the Eskimos were left helpless. When the new year dawned only a few emaciated Eskimos were found to be alive.

Mode of Living is Fatal

Mr. Perrett said that when the Eskimos were stricken, their mode of living and environment was against their surviving. As soon as the illness fell upon them they were obliged to take shelter in the small, stuffy huts, where there was neither fresh air nor sunshine, and here they remained until they died. They were also without seal meat and fats, which are necessary for sustenance in cold climes, having been overtaken by the epidemic just as the hunting season opened, and, their constitutions thus weakened, they became easy prey to the scourge. Many who had recovered from their illness died later for want of nourishment.

source: The Daily Star-Mirror. (Moscow, Idaho), 04 Sept. 1919. Chronicling America: Historic American Newspapers. Lib. of Congress.
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Mace School, Mace, Idaho (2)

Photo courtesy: the Mike Fritz Collection, History of Idaho
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September 5

The Oakley Herald. September 05, 1919, Page 8

In The Gem State

Prevalence of influenza among the horses of the Gifford section near Lewiston has been reported.

Fires are spreading worse than usual in the vicinity of the Idaho and Payette forests.

Five hundred head of sheep were destroyed by the forest fires in the Rocky Ridge section, according to reports that have been received at Lewiston.

The shooting of valuable cattle on the mountain ranges by careless hunters has resulted in the closing of a large district to hunting near Lewiston.

Lack of water in Snake river to supply power to the municipal plant has forced the people of Idaho Falls to spend the last few nights in darkness, and but little hope of relief is seen.

source: The Oakley Herald. (Oakley, Idaho), 05 Sept. 1919. Chronicling America: Historic American Newspapers. Lib. of Congress.
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The Kendrick Gazette. September 05, 1919, Page 8

Gleanings

Physicians state that the flu wave is starting again in parts of the United States and that practically every community is almost sure to have another run of the disease as soon as people begin living indoors.

Doc Van Wert says he has inoculated nearly 250 horses in this community to prevent influenza. There are a number of cases of influenza among the horses around Kendrick.

Back close to the old Missouri line there is an old couple who celebrated their 50th wedding anniversary last week. They cut their wedding cake, a fruit cake 50 years old, which they have carefully preserved by wrapping it in cloths soaked in brandy. Not being able to obtain any more brandy they were forced to eat the cake.

source: The Kendrick Gazette. (Kendrick, Idaho), 05 Sept. 1919. Chronicling America: Historic American Newspapers. Lib. of Congress.
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The Meridian Times., September 05, 1919, Page 1

Editorial Mention

Meridian, as well as Boise and Nampa, is experiencing a shortage of houses to rent. Several parties coming to Meridian to locate have lived in tents as a temporary necessity.

This has been another hot dry week, with threatening showers but no rain. The intense sunlight has been partially diminished however, by cloudy days.

The water now running through the Hunter lateral is of the preferred right of the farmers residing under this lateral, according to report. Town people have no right to divert this water for lawns, and to do so is to deprive the farmers below of the necessary water for stock and to keep the vegetation and trees alive. Let’s all help in this emergency.

source: The Meridian Times. (Meridian, Idaho), 05 Sept. 1919. Chronicling America: Historic American Newspapers. Lib. of Congress.
— — — —

The Meridian Times., September 05, 1919, Page 2

Scouts Return Visit of Flu

Cincinnati. — Recurrence of influenza in epidemic form this fall is unlikely, said Health Officer William H. Peters, taking issue with Dr. Royal S. Copeland, New York health commissioner.

(ibid, page 2)
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Main Street, Mackay, Idaho

Photo courtesy: the Mike Fritz Collection, History of Idaho
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September 9

The Idaho Republican. September 09, 1919, Page 6

Sterling

School began here in Sterling September 2. The Grandview schools also commenced on that date.

The Misses Zilpha and Nazzie Bowling arrived here Monday to assume their duties as teachers. Miss Zilpha Bowling will be principal at Grandview, while the other will teach in the Sterling schools.

Moreland

School opened here Wednesday with an enrollment of 201, the largest opening enrollment in the history of the school.

The funeral services for Mrs. Elizabeth Furniss were held in the L. D. S. church hall Tuesday afternoon at 2:30 o’clock. …

Freeman Furniss, who was injured by an explosion of a shell last week, and who was taken to Pocatello, where he was cared for by Drs. Clothier and Howard, came home Wednesday. It is reported that his eyes are not injured seriously altho [sic] he will be under the doctor’s care for some time.

source: The Idaho Republican. (Blackfoot, Idaho), 09 Sept. 1919. Chronicling America: Historic American Newspapers. Lib. of Congress.
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Main Street, J N Ireland Bank, Malad, Idaho

source: Photo courtesy: the Mike Fritz Collection, History of Idaho
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September 10

The Daily Star-Mirror., September 10, 1919, Page 1

Big Enrollment In Moscow Schools
First of School Year Sees 805 Enrolled in Three School Buildings

There were 805 pupils enrolled in Moscow schools the first day, which is a new record. The Whitworth led with 419 enrolled; the high school was second with 232 and the Irving school had 154.

The pupils are getting settled down to work and teachers, pupils and parents are looking forward to a good school year, a marked contrast to that of last year when influenza closed the schools several times and interfered with the work in every department. …

source: The Daily Star-Mirror. (Moscow, Idaho), 10 Sept. 1919. Chronicling America: Historic American Newspapers. Lib. of Congress.
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Street Scene, McCall, Idaho

Photo courtesy: the Mike Fritz Collection, History of Idaho
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September 12

The Kendrick Gazette. September 12, 1919, Page 1

Local News

The Kendrick school is putting in its winter’s supply of fuel this week. It is much cheaper to buy enough at one time to last all winter and the school board is taking advantage of the opportunity.

Margaret McDowell was quite seriously ill the first of the week but is decidedly better at this writing.

Complaint has been made that automobiles parked in front of the business houses interfere with farmers who wish to drive in front of the stores to load or unload produce. It would be more convenient for all concerned if the cars could be parked at places on Main Street where they would not interfere with business operations.
— —

Big Bear Ridge

The little son of Mr. and Mrs. R. E. Hughes has been very ill, but is recovering at this writing.

R. R. Skinner was taken seriously ill Tuesday morning, but is some improved at this writing.

The wind storm did considerable damage to the bean crop and fruit in this vicinity Thursday afternoon.
— —

Linden Items

Dr. Kelley of Kendrick was called for Aletha Isreal Friday who has been quite ill but is slowly improving.

The rain Saturday night was very welcome. It put out the fires that were causing much trouble.
— —

George Harris Whybark

George Harris Whybark, son of Mr. and Mrs. Wm. Whybark of Big Bear ridge, died Thursday morning. His death was due to cholera infantum. He was three years old at the time of his death.

The funeral will be held at 12 o’clock today, Dr. G. W. H. Smith having charge of the service.

This is the third child that the bereaved family has lost within a year, two having died last winter from influenza. The deepest sympathy is felt for the family in their time of sorrow.

source: The Kendrick Gazette. (Kendrick, Idaho), 12 Sept. 1919. Chronicling America: Historic American Newspapers. Lib. of Congress.
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The Caldwell Tribune. September 12, 1919, Page 3

State Law Invoked To Clean Up County
Fall Campaign Scheduled To Exterminate Pocket Gophers

Legislation passed by the last session of the state legislature will be invoked by the local farm bureau in an effort to exterminate pocket gophers in a county wide campaign to be conducted this fall. Poisoned carrots will be used. R. S. Zimmerman of the U. S. department of biological survey is stationed here at present to supervise the work and give such introductory demonstrations as are deemed necessary.

Influenza Epidemic Interfered

Such an effort was started last year but because of the influenza epidemic the campaign was stopped short of completion. …

Soon a series of lectures and demonstrations will be given throughout the county illustrating the way to effectively poison gophers. Then the actual work will be taken up one community at a time, each farm being thoroughly worked under the direction of Mr. Oman until no gophers are left.

source: The Caldwell Tribune. (Caldwell, Idaho), 12 Sept. 1919. Chronicling America: Historic American Newspapers. Lib. of Congress.
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The Daily Star-Mirror., September 12, 1919, Page 4

Benewah County Cattle Have Flu
Strange Disease, Similar to Influenza Reported In Herds At Santa

St. Maries — County Agent Rockwell was called to Fernwood last Monday to investigate several cases of disease in cattle. He found a number of cases of a disease resembling the influenza among humans. The entire herd becomes more or less afflicted with a fever and cough, some cases developing into pneumonia. About 50 per cent of the pneumonia cases are fatal.

Mrs. Lizzie Renfro of Santa has lost two cows, and Ed Wilson one. Stock belonging to Messrs Joe Nixon, B. S. Walkup and Ira McCurdy now seem to have the pneumonia form. It is undoubtedly the same disease which prevailed among Frank Gaskil’s herd the last winter, and which the state veterinarian, Dr. J. D. Adams, investigated and diagnosed as probably hemorrhagic sceptacaemii [sic]. Mr. Rockwell is endeavoring to have the state veterinarian come and investigate the disease further, and see if some method of control by vaccination can not be taken.

Two recent losses of calves from blackleg are also reported, one by C. O. Brown at Ferrell and one by James Morris from the northwest corner of the county near Worley. The county agent has secured a vaccinating outfit and will give demonstrations on the vaccinating of cattle to prevent blackleg at each place in the coming week.

source: The Daily Star-Mirror. (Moscow, Idaho), 12 Sept. 1919. Chronicling America: Historic American Newspapers. Lib. of Congress.
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Street Scene, Meadows, Idaho (1)

Photo courtesy: the Mike Fritz Collection, History of Idaho
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September 15

Evening Capital News., September 15, 1919, Page 1

Urges Speedy Action On The Fess Measure

Washington. Sept. 15. — With some cases of influenza reported by the United States health service efforts will be made this week to spur congress into taking the step that will prevent a general recurrence of the disease.

Representative Fess, Ohio, who has introduced a bill providing for government investigations in the hope of finding a cure for the plague is planning to point out to the house this week the great danger of congressional inactivity. His bill has been slumbering in a committee for several months.

source: Evening Capital News. (Boise, Idaho), 15 Sept. 1919. Chronicling America: Historic American Newspapers. Lib. of Congress.
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Menan School, Menan, Idaho ca. 1914 (1)

Photo courtesy: the Mike Fritz Collection, History of Idaho
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September 16

Evening Capital News., September 16, 1919, Page 4

Influenza Warnings

Commissioner of Public Welfare White has wisely adopted the policy and issuing an early warning to the people of this state to take immediate steps to guard against a recurrence of the influenza epidemic. In doing so he is acting in co-operation with Surgeon General Blue of the United States public health department. Idaho’s experience last fall and winter when death stalked here and there striking at will; when it became necessary to prohibit all public meetings, to close the schools, the churches and all places of amusements, is one this state and its residents desire never to see repeated. It is well, therefore, that we take precautionary steps immediately.

This disease, which has baffled the medical world, has already re-appeared in some of the eastern cities. Physicians have taken prompt action to combat it. The United States bureau of public health is organizing them in every state and Idaho will be no exception to the rule. A wide campaign of education to show how the disease can be prevented and every precaution on the part of the people will reduce the effect of the dread disease to the minimum.
— —

Shortage of Teachers

The shortage of teachers for public schools of the country is difficult to explain. It exists in Idaho as well as other states. The state superintendent of public instruction informs us, there are 100 rural schools in the state unable to begin their fall terms because there are no teachers to take charge. This is a serious situation and the educational authorities in the state are endeavoring in every way possible to make good the shortage.

It has been pointed out before that the teaching profession is receiving, in these days of high cost of living, less compensation for its services, probably, than any other profession. The salaries of teachers have not advanced in comparison to the cost of the necessities of life. The result has been natural but deplorable. Teachers have gone into other professions more remunerative. Until the salary question is settled to the advantage of the instructor, it is very likely the shortage in teachers will continue. And Idaho today is paying as high salaries as any other state in the Union for its educators.

source: Evening Capital News. (Boise, Idaho), 16 Sept. 1919. Chronicling America: Historic American Newspapers. Lib. of Congress.
— — — — — — — — — —

The Daily Star-Mirror., September 16, 1919, Page 1

Flu Reappears in Chicago

Thirty-seven cases of Spanish influenza have been reported to the health department in the past three days. It was during the corresponding period last year that the epidemic first appeared in Chicago.

source: The Daily Star-Mirror. (Moscow, Idaho), 16 Sept. 1919. Chronicling America: Historic American Newspapers. Lib. of Congress.
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Idaho Street, Meridian, Idaho

Photo courtesy: the Mike Fritz Collection, History of Idaho
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September 18

Evening Capital News., September 18, 1919, Page 9

Woman To Inspect
New Deputy in Welfare Department Will Control Eating Places

A woman sanitary inspector, whose special field will be soda fountains, restaurants and other public eating and drinking establishments, will probably be appointed by J. K. White, public welfare commissioner, he announced Wednesday afternoon.

This inspector will endeavor to maintain a high standard of cleanliness in the establishments under her jurisdiction with a special view to keeping down conditions contributing to the spread of influenza.

“Evidence collected during last winter’s epidemic points strongly to infected eating and drinking utensils, especially in places where food and drink are sold to the public, as being one of the modes of transmission of this disease, says Surgeon General Blue in a letter to Commissioner White. In some municipalities this matter has already been made the subject of regulation, but the enforcement of the regulations often leaves much to be desired.

“Probably – but by no means certainly – there will be a recurrence of the influenza epidemic this year. Indications are that should it appear it will not be as severe as the epidemic of the previous winter. City officials state and city boards of which should be prepared in the event of a recurrence.

“The fact that a previous attack brings immunity to a certain percentage of cases should allay fear on the part of those afflicted in the previous epidemic.”

source: Evening Capital News. (Boise, Idaho), 18 Sept. 1919. Chronicling America: Historic American Newspapers. Lib. of Congress.
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Corner Orchard Boulevard and Mesa Ave., Mesa, Idaho

Photo courtesy: the Mike Fritz Collection, History of Idaho
— — — — — — — — — —

September 19

Evening Capital News., September 19, 1919, Page 3

Died Last Winter

Mrs. Larson of 615 South Thirteenth street has just been advised by letter that Mrs. Marie Foley, a former resident of Boise, died of influenza last winter in Canada.

source: Evening Capital News. (Boise, Idaho), 19 Sept. 1919. Chronicling America: Historic American Newspapers. Lib. of Congress.
— — — —

Evening Capital News., September 19, 1919, Page 8

Joseph W. Sweetman Dies Early Thursday Southern California

Joseph V. [sic] Sweetman, for a number of years manager of the Idanha hotel in Boise, died early Thursday morning at Los Angeles, where he has been under treatment for several months. Mr. Sweetman was about 30 years of age. He is survived by his wife and five brothers, George and Chris of Boise and Thomas, John and Will of San Francisco. He was a member of the Boise lodge of Elks and the Knights of Columbus.

Mr. Sweetman had a severe attack of influenza last winter from which he never recovered and a severe cold, which followed late in the spring, affected his lungs. He went to Arizona and spent several months there for his health and later went to Los Angeles where Mrs. Sweetman joined him and remained with him constantly until the end. It is understood burial will be in San Francisco, his former home and where his parents were laid to rest.

(ibid, page 8)
— — — — — — — — — —

Clearwater Republican. September 19, 1919, Page 6

Boy Scout Doings

The New Orleans Red Cross has been working on the reclamation of soldiers’ garments. Boy scouts assisted by adjusting the buttons on the military blouses.

Among “good turns” reported by a Freeland (Pa.) troop of boy scouts are: Assisted the doctors and nurses in the Spanish influenza epidemic; donated ten baskets of provisions to the widows and orphans; assisted in picking 11 bushels of berries for I. O. O. F. orphanage at Sunbury, Pa.

source: Clearwater Republican. (Orofino, Idaho), 19 Sept. 1919. Chronicling America: Historic American Newspapers. Lib. of Congress.
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The Caldwell Tribune. September 19, 1919, Page 1

Organize Physicians To Fight Influenza

Boise – An organization of 100 physicians is being perfected by J. K. White, public welfare commissioner, as a precaution against a possible recurrence of influenza in Idaho this winter. So far there has been no indication of the return of the disease, but it has reappeared in eastern cities and United States Surgeon General Rupert Blue instructed Commissioner White to be prepared.
— —

Many Small Schools Face Teacher Shortage

Boise – More than 100 little schools intending to begin the fall term next month will be unable to do so because of the shortage of teachers in the state, it is shown by reports to Miss Ethel E. Redfield, State superintendent of public instruction. Bonneville county needed 12 teachers last week. The shortage as resulted in higher salaries the prevailing scale now being about $100 per month.

source: The Caldwell Tribune. (Caldwell, Idaho ), 19 Sept. 1919. Chronicling America: Historic American Newspapers. Lib. of Congress.
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The Caldwell Tribune. September 19, 1919, Page 7

Big Program To Be Launched This Fall
Farm Bureau Undertakes Health crusade in Schools and Homes

Public health, home sanitation and public welfare among Canyon county homes will be advocated through the farm bureau and 17 community leaders with various committee it was determined at a recent meeting of 12 community representatives at the Commercial club rooms here. Work for the coming year will be conducted through two mediums. One will be the public schools, the second will be through a series of instructional classes and clinics with the mothers of the children in attendance.

Every child in Canyon county schools, according to present plans, will be given a physical examination and most of them will be given a dental examination. Hot lunches for the children during the school terms will be strongly urged and every effort made in Canyon county schools to provide this necessity for the health of the children, at least during the winter months. Health crusade work will form a portion of the training of every child in the first three grades. In many of the schools this work will be continued through the higher grades and where given, this source will be given regular credit.

Prepare for Influenza

Preparations for the possibility of another influenza epidemic will be the first consideration of the work this fall for mothers, special emphasis being laid on precautionary measures to avoid a recurrence of the disease. Free clinics will be given under the direction of capable physicians with instructions classes in first aid, home nursing and sanitation.

In the school work, a women in each community will be appointed to supervise the progress of a particular school room and at the end of the year, comparative reports will be made. At the recent meeting, a report of the work of last year showed much interest and improvements in the sanitary and general health conditions prevailing over the country as a result of last year’s campaign. It must be said that the farm bureau year is considered to end with the close of summer so that reports at the last meeting are regarded as final for the past year.

Mrs. G. L. Karcher of Midway is general county health project chairman. This year’s program is much more comprehensive than has ever before been contemplated and miss Louise Riddle, county home demonstration agent, expects much better results this season than have previously obtained.

Communities Organize

Notus and Parma last Thursday took up the health educational campaign being fostered and promoted for this year by the Canyon county farm bureau. Those appointed as the heads of the various phases of the work in Notus are, Mrs. Harley H. Crook for clothing, Mrs. L. C. Brooks of poultry, Mrs. Bert Robinson of production, and Mrs. Brooks and Mrs. Robertson jointly head of the child welfare work. At Parma the following women will head the farm bureau work, Mrs. F. R. Fouch of organization, Mrs. F. J. Wamsley of clothing, Mrs. W. E. Babcock of poultry, Mrs. Ray Mitchell of production, Mrs. Ben Ross of child welfare and Mrs. A. G. Fisk of home improvement. Fargo was reorganized also last week for the work and other communities will take up the work this year following reorganization meetings held in the near future.

(ibid, page 7)
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Street Scene, Midvale, Idaho ca. 1916

Photo courtesy: the Mike Fritz Collection, History of Idaho
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September 23

Evening Capital News., September 23, 1919, Page 7

Under The Capitol Dome

Return From Fairfield

Dr. E. A. Bryan, state commissioner of education, and Miss Ethel E. Redfield, state superintendent of public instruction, have returned from Fairfield, where they met Saturday with the trustees and teachers of that district, and attended graduation exercises for a number of eighth grade pupils who were put behind in their school work last year because of the influenza epidemic. Fairfield maintains a two-year high school, the only one in the county. The citizens are planning two dormitories, one for boys and one for girls, in connection with a vocational training course. Many young people have been leaving the valley to get school in other towns, and it is planned to provide at home the opportunities they seek in other places.

source: Evening Capital News. (Boise, Idaho), 23 Sept. 1919. Chronicling America: Historic American Newspapers. Lib. of Congress.
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Bonners Ferry Herald. September 23, 1919, Page 2

Butte Reports Influenza

Butte, Mont. — Two cases of Spanish influenza, the first since the epidemic last winter, were reported to the city health office this week.

source: Bonners Ferry Herald. (Bonners Ferry, Idaho), 23 Sept. 1919. Chronicling America: Historic American Newspapers. Lib. of Congress.
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Scene on Broadway, Minidoka, Idaho

Photo courtesy: the Mike Fritz Collection, History of Idaho
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September 25

The Grangeville Globe. September 25, 1919, Page 6

Will Not be One Day Without PE-RU-NA
This Lady Tells Her Friends

Mrs. Mary Fricke, 507 Bornman St., Belleville, Ill., is just one of the many thousands of ladies throughout the country who, after an agony of years, have at last found health, strength and visor in PE-RU-NA.

Her owns words tell of her suffering and recovery better than we can do it: “I suffered with my stomach, had awful cramps and headaches so I often could not lay on a pillow. Saw your book, tried PE-RU-NA and got good results from the first bottle. To be sure of a cure I took twelve bottles. I have recommended PE-RU-NA to my friends and all are well pleased with results. I will not be one day without PE-RU-NA. Have not had a doctor since I started with PE-RU-NA, which was about fifteen years ago. I am now sixty-three years old, hale, hearty and well. Can do as much work as my daughters. I feel strong and healthy and weigh near two hundred pounds. Before, I weighed as little as one hundred. I hope lots of people use PE-RU-NA and get the results I did.” An experience like that of Mrs. Fricke is an inspiration to every sick and suffering woman.

If you have catarrh, whether is be of the nose, throat, stomach, bowels, or other organs, PE-RU-NA is the remedy. It is not new; it is not an experiment. PE-RU-NA has been tried. PE-RU-NA has been used by thousands who once were sick and are now well. To prevent coughs, colds, grip and influenza and to hasten recovery there is nothing better.

PE-RU-NA will improve the appetite and digestion, purify the blood, sooth the irritated mucous linings, eradicate the waste material and corruption from the system. It will tone up the nerves, give you health, strength, vigor and the joy of living. In what Mrs. Mary Fricke and thousands more have done – try PE-RU-NA. You will be glad, happy, thankful.

[Adv.]

source: The Grangeville Globe. (Grangeville, Idaho), 25 Sept. 1919. Chronicling America: Historic American Newspapers. Lib. of Congress.
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Idaho County Free Press. September 25, 1919, Page 7

Is Influenza Coming?

A year ago Idaho county was in the throes of an epidemic of Spanish influenza, which, breaking out on the Atlantic seaboard, rapidly spread throughout the country until it reached the Pacific coast, claiming thousands of lives as it spread. In Idaho county, perhaps twelve persons succumbed to the disease, while countless others who contracted the malady were left in a condition so weakened that many of them have not, a year later, entirely recovered.

Physicians point out that there is no reason to expect a recurrence of of Spanish influenza this fall, yet there is no particular reason to deny that the disease will again make its depressing influences felt. Already reports come from various places that influenza has broken out, but to date no cases have been reported in Idaho county.

Spanish influenza, last fall, was a new disease to most physicians, and fatalities are attributed in part to unfamiliarity of those treating patients with the nature of the disease and methods of treatment.

Influenza is spread by germs, emanating from persons afflicted with the contagion, and methods of preventing spread of the disease are outlined by John K. White, state commissioner of public welfare, in a communication he has just sent out from Boise.

According to Commissioner White, influenza germs lurk in glasses, dishes, and the like, and danger of one contracting the disease is especially manifest at such places as restaurants and public eating houses. The germ can be killed by sterilization of the utensils used, and in this connection Commissioner White has issued instructions that glasses used at soda fountains must be washed in hot water or sterilized, and the same care must be exercised in restaurants and hotels.

Last fall, the commissioner says instructions were issued making mandatory the washing of all glasses and dishes used in public places in hot water. He further states that proprietors of many of these places have become careless, and are using cold water for the washing process, which has the result of spreading the germs, left by one customer, to be picked up by another. A demand for cleanliness at public eating and drinking establishments has been made by the inspector, and the rules will be rigidly enforced. This will have much to do in preventing spread of the influenza germ should it recur.

source: Idaho County Free Press. (Grangeville, Idaho), 25 Sept. 1919. Chronicling America: Historic American Newspapers. Lib. of Congress.
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The Daily Star-Mirror., September 25, 1919, Page 1

University Will Protect Students
Arrangements Are Made To Fight “Flu” Should It Return This School Year

If influenza again appears on the University of Idaho campus or if some other serious epidemic becomes threatening, payment will at once be suspended on individual claims against the university health fund and the entire amount devoted to the equipping of a hospital or to some other purpose consistent with the welfare of the entire student body, according to an announcement made today by Professor Howard T. Lewis.

“Of course we do not anticipate any serious difficulty,” said Professor Lewis, who with Miss Manila Reed of Boise, student body treasurer, directs the disbursement of the health fund, “but we wish to be prepared if some emergency does arise. The good of the student group as a whole will receive first consideration if epidemic threatens.”

Health fund rules recently announced require the student who wishes to call on a physician to obtain from a faculty member a card which is presented by way of payment. Claims for major surgical operations and for chronic diseases will not be paid from the general fund.
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source: The Daily Star-Mirror. (Moscow, Idaho), 25 Sept. 1919. Chronicling America: Historic American Newspapers. Lib. of Congress.
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The Nezperce Herald., September 25, 1919, Page 2

Hope Lives Again

The suggestion is abroad that another influenza epidemic is possible this winter. Just by whom, why and how this suggestion was started is not so material as the effect it will have on the race. About everything is started by suggestion. So far as it induces proper care and reasonable preparedness, the suggestion is good, but where it brings about fearful anticipation in the public mind, it is bad.

In going back over the epidemic of last fall and winter, we find extraordinary causes and conditions that do not now exist. Last year, about the time the influenza became prevalent in this country, the hope of the nation was at a low ebb. The inherent disposition to struggle on and win against any odds was less marked in the American people than ever before. The cruel world war had robbed so many homes of their “hope in the world” that the resultant depression permeated the whole land – and nothing but chaos loomed ahead. There was little spirit left to fight the epidemic when it appeared.

The malady had its origin in the necessarily unsanitary conditions obtaining on the several battlefronts, where the heat of the fray prevented hundreds of thousands of men from giving attention to anything but the matter of killing and dodging sudden death from the enemy’s guns. The prevailing system of trench warfare – with its muck and filth – made disease a matter of course.

But now these conditions no longer exist. The war, with all the horrible tragedy, is over. Hope again lives in the world. There is everything to strive for. Life is worth while. The spirit of resistance of evil is near normal; and besides this, the people have the experience of last year’s epidemic with which to fight off its recurrence.

Let reason rule, and go cheerfully about your business. God still reigns.

source: The Nezperce Herald. (Nezperce, Idaho), 25 Sept. 1919. Chronicling America: Historic American Newspapers. Lib. of Congress.
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Montpelier, Idaho ca. 1911

Photo courtesy: the Mike Fritz Collection, History of Idaho
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September 26

The Rathdrum Tribune., September 26, 1919, Page 1

Idaho State News Items

J. K. White, commissioner of public welfare, has announced that he expected to appoint a woman sanitary inspector to chase influenza germs. Her field of operation will be confined to soda fountains, restaurants and other public places where the public eats and drinks.

On Sept. 16 Boise valley received its first considerable rainfall since April 13, breaking a 156 days drouth [sic] in that part of southern Idaho.

The Bruneau project for building a storage reservoir at American Falls is being revived. The cost is up to $50,000,000. The Bruneau tract includes 554 acres.

The contract to construct the wings to the state capitol at Boise was awarded last Saturday to a Salt Lake firm. The wings and furniture, it is estimated, will cost the entire $900,000 appropriated by the last legislature for the purpose.

The Nez Perce county farm bureau has taken the initiative in urging that the burned-over sections of the national forests be re-seeded, in order that these lands be not lost to the livestock industry for the period of years necessary for volunteer re-seeding.
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From Over The County

Harrison

Several cases of typhoid fever, brought in from outside points, are reported at the local hospital.

Coeur D’Alene

Superintendent of Schools R. C. Egbers needs eleven rural school teachers immediately. He attributes the scarcity of school teachers to the fact that better salaries are being paid in other lines, and that those who can be secured are not competent to pass the state examination – more rigid than last year.

source: The Rathdrum Tribune. (Rathdrum, Idaho), 26 Sept. 1919. Chronicling America: Historic American Newspapers. Lib. of Congress.
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Montpelier Examiner. September 26, 1919, Page 1

Fielding Academy Will Open Next Monday

The Fielding Academy begins its winter’s work next Monday morning. Everything will be in readiness for the students and all indications point to an exceptional heavy enrollment.

The board of education and faculty have held meetings in the principal towns of the valley, encouraging interest in education wherever possible. They have found that interest is greater than usual. The epidemic of influenza last winter seems to have stirred many young men and women to a realization of the necessity of taking advantage of the opportunities that are before them and that lie at their very doors. They are listening to the call of the country and society for trained men and women.

Some weeks ago the faculty made a canvas of Paris for boarding places and rooms for rent. There was a large list prepared, but so fast have students and families taken them that few are left. Every effort will be made, however, to accommodate those moving in for the school.

The latter part of this week will be occupied by the faculty in discussing such problems as will confront them in preparing their departments for the work ahead. Each instructor is enthusiastic over his work and its prospects.

The student body is already thoroly [sic] organized and will produce some of the best activities ever given by that organization. This will be especially true in the case of operas, recitals and dramatics. The athletic situation is still a little uncertain, but there are several young fellows who showed excellent form last winter that if taken early will develop rapidly. The introduction of football into the church schools will no doubt encourage many young “huskies” to try their skill. The academy has a good gridiron for football.

One of the things that will be done this winter will be to encourage the young people to prepare themselves for teachers and help refill the depleted ranks of the teacher’s profession.

It is hoped that in as much as the school year begins a little late, the purpose of which is to accommodate the boys and girls on the farm, that every effort will be made by pupils to register on the first day of school. This will make it easier for the student and compensate him for any sacrifice he may have to make at home. …

source: Montpelier Examiner. (Montpelier, Idaho), 26 Sept. 1919. Chronicling America: Historic American Newspapers. Lib. of Congress.
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The Caldwell Tribune. September 26, 1919, Page 5

New Building Delays School
Opening for Junior-Senior Institution Postponed Until October 13

Because of unavoidable circumstances the High school building will not be completed so that the junior-senior high school may open on September 29th, the date previously set. Delays occasioned on account of the shortage of labor make it certain that the high school building will not be finished before October 13. This will shorten the school year and this loss together with that sustained last year on account of the influenza epidemic, render the educational situation serious. When high school opens every effort will be put forth to overcome the handicap of loss of time. parents and junior-senior high school students should watch the columns of the Tribune for future notices as to the dates for registration and the definite date of opening of school.

Junior-senior high school teachers will arrive in Caldwell the latter part of this week. The junior-senior high school faculty will consist of 24 men and women. Most of them are strangers in Caldwell. The housing proposition is serious and as yet sufficient accommodations have not been reported to the office of the superintendent of schools to provide one-half of the teachers with rooms.

Unless suitable living conditions are furnished by the community to its teachers, some of them will surely resign their positions and enter employment where living conditions are more salutary. Citizens who own homes in Caldwell and who are interested in the success of the schools are earnestly requested to assist in the problem of securing suitable rooms for the high school teachers. Any who might room teachers and will make the sacrifice to do so are asked to notify the office of the superintendent of schools at once.

Enrollment Increases 9 Per Cent

The three ward buildings, which opened school on September 8th, are running with an increased enrollment over last year. The total number of children in the six grades in the ward buildings is 9 per cent greater than it was last year on September 30th. Pupils are entering the different buildings daily. The problem of relieving the congestion is the primary grades in particular has been adjusted by transferring children among the various buildings. This has rendered some slight convenience [sic] to some children who are now required to walk farther than they would have done had they remained in the building where they first entered.

The matter of balancing the grades in the different buildings and giving the teachers an opportunity to succeed in their work and the children the opportunity of better instruction is an educational problem too serious to be set aside except for extraordinary reasons. Splendid co-operation shown by parents whose children it has been necessary to transfer, has made the solution of the problem of congestion possible. …

source: The Caldwell Tribune. (Caldwell, Idaho), 26 Sept. 1919. Chronicling America: Historic American Newspapers. Lib. of Congress.
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The Caldwell Tribune. September 26, 1919, Page 8

Fair At Wilder Pleased Crowd …

Wilder’s first attempt at holding a fair proved an unqualified success, according to local business men who attended the event last Thursday. Attendance at the exhibits and various entertainment features is conservatively estimated at 1500. …

The women’s’ exhibit and three demonstrations which were given attracted an unusual amount of attention and interest. Miss Olive Pearson of Fargo gave a demonstration on proper baby bathing; Mrs. B. A. Cox of Greenleaf demonstrated the sick bath, and Joe Erwin and W. E. Jone, the latter from Riverside, judged the poultry exhibit. Miss Pearson and Mrs. Cox are trained nurses. In connection with this work, a complete exhibit of sick room equipment was presented. Means of preventing and combating the influenza were profusely illustrated.

(ibid, page 8)
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Main Street, Moscow, Idaho (4)

Photo courtesy: the Mike Fritz Collection, History of Idaho
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September 28

Evening Capital News., September 28, 1919, Page 7

Take Precautions
Early Observance of Health Rules Will Prevent Influenza Epidemic Here

“It is very important that the board of health have instant knowledge of every case of influenza met with by physicians,” L. P. Pfirman, deputy city health officer, announced Saturday evening.

“One of the practical discoveries last year was the possibility of conveyance of the disease through eating utensils,” he continued. “We call on every citizen to assist us in the enforcement of the anti-spitting laws, and in every possible way to make the city of Boise as clean and sanitary as possible.

“The public is requested to keep all dirt, trash, rubbish, garbage and stagnant water off their premises and thereby eliminate any cause of the spread of disease.”

Special study of influenza treatment and prevention is being made by the city nurses, and all nurses desiring to consult with them may do so without charge, Mr. Pfirman announced.
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Probate Judges To Convene At Weiser
Annual Conference Scheduled for Oct. 1 and 2 – Addresses by Prominent Educators and Officials

Programs are out for a conference of probate judges to be held at Weiser, Oct. 1 and 2. Formal organization of probate judges into an annual conference was effected at St. Anthony in 1917, when Superintendent J. Fred Williams and the state board of education invited the judges to be the guests of the Industrial Training schools and to consider problems of common interest. No meeting was held last year on account of the influenza. …

source: Evening Capital News. (Boise, Idaho), 28 Sept. 1919. Chronicling America: Historic American Newspapers. Lib. of Congress.
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Evening Capital News., September 28, 1919, Page 11

Apples Vs. Influenza

The old adage that “an apple a day keeps the doctor away” is to be given a real test during the coming winter at the Nampa Nazarene college. The students there are relying on apples to prevent a repetition of the Spanish influenza epidemic.

It is the suggestion of E. F. Stephens of the Stephens orchards, Nampa, who Saturday backed it up with an outright gift to the students of 100 bushels of Jonathan apples, imposing but the one condition that they should be freely eaten by all the students. Mr. Stephens has been a great fruit eater for years and enthusiastically believes it a specific for nearly all bodily ills.

The apple offer was made on the basis of an announcement that the students’ club “menu” committee of the Nampa college is planning to confer with the University of Idaho extension department and the farm bureau domestic science department on balanced rations as an influenza preventative. But Mr. Stephens did not stop with the gift of 100 bushels of Jonathans. He has also offered the students’ boarding club of the college 600 bushels of apples, with all the curative qualities of the fruit acids contained therein, on the following terms: For each hour of student labor in the Stephens orchard, the club is to receive one bushel of apples.

(ibid, page 11)
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Main Street, Mullan, Idaho

Photo courtesy: the Mike Fritz Collection, History of Idaho
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September 29

Evening Capital News., September 29, 1919, Page 3

University Plans Hospital In Case of Bad Epidemic

University of Idaho, Moscow, Sept. 29. – If influenza again appears on the University of Idaho campus, or if some other serious epidemic becomes threatening, payment will at once be suspended on individual claims against the university health fund and the entire amount devoted to the equipping of a hospital or to some other purpose consistent with the welfare of the entire student body, according to an announcement made today by Professor Howard T. Lewis.

“Of course, we do not anticipate any serious difficulty,” said Professor Lewis, who with Miss Manila Reed of Boise, student body treasurer, directs the disbursement of the health fund, “but we wish to be prepared if some emergency does arise. The good of the student group as a whole will receive first consideration if an epidemic threatens.”

source: Evening Capital News. (Boise, Idaho), 29 Sept. 1919. Chronicling America: Historic American Newspapers. Lib. of Congress.
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A Hustling Mining Town, Murray, Idaho ca. 1909

Photo courtesy: the Mike Fritz Collection, History of Idaho
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September 30

The Daily Star-Mirror., September 30, 1919, Page 2

[Editorial]

The University of Idaho is acting wisely in preparing for a return of the influenza epidemic. While every one hopes there will not be another visit of the dread disease that brought death and sorrow into so many homes, it is wise to prepare to combat it should it return. “In time of peace prepare for war” is an old adage that applies in this case. The action of university authorities is commendable.

source: The Daily Star-Mirror. (Moscow, Idaho), 30 Sept. 1919. Chronicling America: Historic American Newspapers. Lib. of Congress.
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Further Reading

The 1918 influenza pandemic occurred in three waves and was the most severe pandemic in history.

A Cincinnati barber wears a mask while giving a customer a shave. Cincinnati barbers and downtown hotel employees were advised to wear a mask to “help in the fight to stamp out influenza.”

During 1918, the U.S. was engaged in WWI. Hundreds and thousands of U.S. soldiers traveled across the Atlantic to deploy for war. The mass troop movement contributed to the global spread of flu.

There were 3 different waves of illness during the pandemic, starting in March 1918 and subsiding by summer of 1919. The pandemic peaked in the U.S. during the second wave, in the fall of 1918. This highly fatal second wave was responsible for most of the U.S. deaths attributed to the pandemic.

In 1918, many health professionals served in the U. S. military during WWI, resulting in shortages of medical personnel around the U.S. The economy suffered as businesses and factories were forced to close due to sickness amongst workers.

First Wave Spring 1918

The first outbreak of flu-like illnesses was detected in the U.S. in March, with more than 100 cases reported at Camp Funston in Fort Riley, Kansas.

Second Wave Fall 1918

In 1918, many health professionals served in the U. S. military during WWI, resulting in shortages of medical personnel around the U.S. The economy suffered as businesses and factories were forced to close due to sickness amongst workers.

Third Wave Fall 1918

A third wave of illness occurred during the winter and spring of 1919, adding to the pandemic death toll. The third wave of the pandemic subsided during the summer of 1919.

More people died during the 1918 pandemic than the total number of military and civilian deaths that resulted from World War I.

An estimated 1/3 of the world’s population was infected with the 1918 flu virus – resulting in at least 50 million deaths worldwide.

excerpted from: CDC
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Peruna (patent medicine)

From Wikipedia

An advertisement for Peruna. The women shown as endorsing Peruna may not have existed.
Wikipedia: Los Angeles Herald Chronicling America: Historic American Newspapers. Lib. of Congress.

Peruna was a well-known patent medicine sold from the late 19th to mid 20th century. The mascot of Southern Methodist University was named after the product. It was patented by Samuel Brubaker Hartman, and endorsed by hundreds of politicians. Hartman began selling the product on July 29, 1885, and advertised it as curing catarrh. At its peak, Hartman was earning $100,000 a day from Peruna sales. The drug was reportedly so popular that babies were named after it. Peruna once released an ad with 50 United States Congressmen endorsing the product.

In a series of 11 articles Samuel Hopkins Adams wrote for Collier’s in 1905, “The Great American Fraud”, Adams exposed many of the false claims made about patent medicines, pointing out that in some cases these medicines were damaging the health of the people using them. On October 20, 1906, Adams published an article in Collier’s, claiming that Peruna and other such patent-medicines were frauds, for instance alleging that Peruna was 28% alcohol. The series had a huge impact and led to the passage of the Pure Food and Drug Act of 1906. In 1911, the Supreme Court ruled that the prohibition of falsifications referred only to the ingredients of the medicine.

This meant that companies were again free to make false claims about their products. Adams returned to the attack, and in another series of articles in Collier’s Weekly, Adams exposed the misleading advertising that companies were using to sell their products. Linking his knowledge of newspapers with patent medicines, he wrote The Clarion (1914), which was critical of newspaper advertising practices and led to a series of consumer-protection articles in the New York Tribune. When Prohibition came into effect, Americans began using Peruna and other similar products as a way to get drink amounts of alcohol. Peruna had stopped being sold by the mid 1940s.

source: Wikipedia
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Human tissue preserved since World War I yields new clues about 1918 pandemic

By Kai Kupferschmidt May 17, 2021 Science Magazine

A gymnasium in Boden, Sweden, is filled with pandemic influenza patients in 1918. Researchers have pieced together a full genetic sequence of the flu virus circulating in Europe at the time. Everett Collection/Newscom

On 27 June 1918, two young German soldiers — one age 18, the other 17 — died in Berlin from a new influenza strain that had emerged earlier that year. Their lungs ended up in the collection of the Berlin Museum of Medical History, where they rested, fixed in formalin, for 100 years. Now, researchers have managed to sequence large parts of the virus that infected the two men, giving a glimpse into the early days of the most devastating pandemic of the 20th century. The partial genomes hold some tantalizing clues that the infamous flu strain may have adapted to humans between the pandemic’s first and second waves.

The researchers also managed to sequence an entire genome of the pathogen from a young woman who died in Munich at an unknown time in 1918. It is only the third full genome of the virus that caused that pandemic and the first from outside North America, the authors write in a preprint posted on bioRxiv.

“It’s absolutely fantastic work,” says Hendrik Poinar, who runs an ancient DNA lab at McMaster University. “The researchers have made reviving RNA viruses from archival material an achievable goal. Not long ago this was, like much ancient DNA work, a fantasy.”

Sequencing viral genomes has become routine. In the ongoing coronavirus pandemic, researchers have amassed a database of more than 1 million genomes of SARS-CoV-2, allowing them to watch variants appear and spread while old ones disappear. But few sequences exist of the H1N1 influenza virus that caused the pandemic of 1918–19. In the early 2000s, scientists in the United States painstakingly pieced together one genome from samples taken from a woman’s body buried and preserved in the frozen ground in Alaska. And in 2013 they presented a second genome from a U.S. flu fatality, teased out from autopsy tissue that had been preserved in formalin at the Armed Forces Institute of Pathology. Both studies were time consuming, costly efforts that few people tried to emulate, says virologist Angela Rasmussen of the Vaccine and Infectious Disease Research Organization at the University of Saskatchewan. Tracking down archived tissue samples is itself a challenge, says evolutionary biologist Michael Worobey of the University of Arizona, a co-author on the new preprint. “It’s all about finding samples,” Worobey says. “Our group has scoured a lot of different locations, and they’re hard to come by.”

Evolutionary biologist Sébastien Calvignac-Spencer of the Robert Koch Institute and his colleagues have now investigated 13 lung tissue samples from between 1900 and 1931 that were in the medical museum in Berlin and in a collection in Vienna. They found bits of RNA from the flu virus in three of them, all dating to 1918. (Like SARS-CoV-2, the influenza virus’ genome is composed of RNA, not DNA.) Although the RNA was broken down into tiny fragments, there were enough of these to reconstruct the entire genome of the virus from the woman, who was just 17 years old, and close to 90% and 60%, respectively, of the virus that killed the two soldiers. Sequencing genetic material from formalin-fixed tissue is still harder than with other kinds of specimens, Calvignac-Spencer says. “But it’s not the kind of impossible work that we once thought it was.”

The partial genomes from the two soldiers are from the first, milder wave of the pandemic, which was followed by a more severe one that swept the world in the fall of 1918. Scientists have speculated that the virus originated in birds and became better adapted to humans between the first and second waves. One way this could happen is if the gene for haemagglutinin, an important protein on the surface of the virus, underwent an amino acid–swapping mutation that replaced a particular glycine, more often seen in bird flu viruses, with an aspartic acid, which is more characteristic of human viruses. Both German sequences carried an aspartic acid at the position, however, making that scenario unlikely.

The researchers did find an evolutionary clue in the gene for the virus’ nucleoprotein, a structural protein that helps determine what species the virus can infect. The previously reported 1918 flu strains, both from late in the pandemic, carry two mutations in this gene that help influenza avoid the human body’s innate antiviral defenses; the German soldiers’ sequences were more birdlike. “It could be a sign that the virus was evolving to better avoid the human immune response in the first months of the pandemic,” Calvignac-Spencer says. The Munich woman’s flu strain also carried the more birdlike version of the nucleoprotein but given her uncertain date of death, nothing can be concluded about the strain’s evolution.

The full genome from the women yielded other clues, however. The researchers used its genes to resurrect the virus’ polymerase complex, a machinery consisting of three proteins that together copy the pathogen’s genome. In cell culture experiments, they discovered, the complex from the Munich strain was about half as active as the polymerase complex from the Alaska strain. (The study did not pose safety concerns because the team didn’t reconstitute the whole virus.)

Extrapolating from petri dish studies to human infections is difficult, Poinar says. Still, “The fact that you can test, in vitro, the effects of an ‘extinct’ strain has huge implications in understanding evolution of virulence and possible countermeasures should we encounter another flu epidemic.”

The work also shows that pathology archives are “treasure troves” that can still yield more information about the 1918 pandemic, Rasmussen says: “If the last 18 months have demonstrated anything, it’s that we would do well to remember the lessons of past pandemics as we try to prevent future ones.”

source: Science Magazine
——————

Back to Table of Contents
Link to Idaho 1918 Influenza Pandemic (Part 1)
Link to Idaho 1918 Influenza Pandemic (Part 2)
Link to Idaho 1918 Influenza Pandemic (Part 3)
Link to Idaho 1918 Influenza Pandemic (Part 4)
Link to Idaho 1918 Influenza Pandemic (Part 5)
Link to Idaho 1918 Influenza Pandemic (Part 6)
Link to Idaho 1918 Influenza Pandemic (Part 7)
Link to Idaho 1918 Influenza Pandemic (Part 8)
Link to Idaho 1918 Influenza Pandemic (Part 9)
Link to Idaho 1918 Influenza Pandemic (Part 10)
Link to Idaho 1918 Influenza Pandemic (Part 11)
Link to Idaho 1918 Influenza Pandemic (Part 12)
Link to Idaho 1918 Influenza Pandemic (Part 13)
Link to Idaho 1918 Influenza Pandemic (Part 14)
Link to Idaho 1918 Influenza Pandemic (Part 15)
Link to Idaho 1918 Influenza Pandemic (Part 16)
Link to Idaho 1918 Influenza Pandemic (Part 17)
Link to Idaho 1918 Influenza Pandemic (Part 18)
Link to Idaho 1918 Influenza Pandemic (Part 19)
Link to Idaho 1918 Influenza Pandemic (Part 20)
Link to Idaho 1918 Influenza Pandemic (Part 21)
Link to Idaho 1919 Influenza Pandemic (Part 22)
Link to Idaho 1919 Influenza Pandemic (Part 23)
Link to Idaho 1919 Influenza Pandemic (Part 24)
Link to Idaho 1919 Influenza Pandemic (Part 25)
Link to Idaho 1919 Influenza Pandemic (Part 26)
Link to Idaho 1919 Influenza Pandemic (Part 27)
Link to Idaho 1919 Influenza Pandemic (Part 28)
Link to Idaho 1919 Influenza Pandemic (Part 29)
Link to Idaho 1919 Influenza Pandemic (Part 30)
Link to Idaho 1919 Influenza Pandemic (Part 31)
Link to Idaho 1919 Influenza Pandemic (Part 32)
Link to Idaho 1919 Influenza Pandemic (Part 33)
Link to Idaho 1919 Influenza Pandemic (Part 34)
Link to Idaho 1919 Influenza Pandemic (Part 35)
Link to Idaho 1919 Influenza Pandemic (Part 36)
Link to Idaho 1919 Influenza Pandemic (Part 37)
Link to Idaho 1919 Influenza Pandemic (Part 38)
Link to Idaho 1919 Influenza Pandemic (Part 39)
Link to Idaho 1919 Influenza Pandemic (Part 40)
Link to Idaho 1919 Influenza Pandemic (Part 41)
Link to Idaho 1919 Influenza Pandemic (Part 42)
Link to Idaho 1919 Influenza Pandemic (Part 43)
Link to Idaho 1919 Influenza Pandemic (Part 44)
Link to Idaho 1919 Influenza Pandemic (Part 45)
Link to Idaho 1919 Influenza Pandemic (Part 46)
Link to Idaho 1919 Influenza Pandemic (Part 47)
Link to Idaho 1919 Influenza Pandemic (Part 48)
Link to Idaho 1919 Influenza Pandemic (Part 49)
Link to Idaho 1919 Influenza Pandemic (Part 50)
Link to Idaho 1919 Influenza Pandemic (Part 51)
Link to Idaho 1919 Influenza Pandemic (Part 52)
Link to Idaho 1919 Influenza Pandemic (Part 53)
Link to Idaho 1919 Influenza Pandemic (Part 54)
Link to Idaho 1919 Influenza Pandemic (Part 55)
Link to Idaho 1919 Influenza Pandemic (Part 56)
Link to Idaho 1919 Influenza Pandemic (Part 57)
Link to Idaho 1919 Influenza Pandemic (Part 58)
Link to Idaho 1919 Influenza Pandemic (Part 59)
Link to Idaho 1919 Influenza Pandemic (Part 60)
Link to Idaho 1919 Influenza Pandemic (Part 61)
Link to Idaho 1919 Influenza Pandemic (Part 62)
Link to Idaho 1919 Influenza Pandemic (Part 63)
Link to Idaho 1919 Influenza Pandemic (Part 64)
Link to Idaho 1919 Influenza Pandemic (Part 65)
Link to Idaho 1920 Influenza Pandemic (Part 66)
Link to Idaho 1920 Influenza Pandemic (Part 67)
Link to Idaho 1920 Influenza Pandemic (Part 68)
Link to Idaho 1920 Influenza Pandemic (Part 69)
Link to Idaho 1920 Influenza Pandemic (Part 70)
Link to Idaho 1920 Influenza Pandemic (Part 71)
Link to Idaho 1920 Influenza Pandemic (Part 72)
Link to Idaho 1920 Influenza Pandemic (Part 73)
Link to Idaho 1920 Influenza Pandemic (Part 74)
Link to Idaho 1920 Influenza Pandemic (Part 75)
Link to Idaho 1920 Influenza Pandemic (Part 76)
Link to Idaho 1920 Influenza Pandemic (Part 77)
Link to Idaho 1920 Influenza Pandemic (Part 78)
Link to Idaho 1920 Influenza Pandemic (Part 79)
Link to Idaho 1920 Influenza Pandemic (Part 80)
Link to Idaho 1920 Influenza Pandemic (Part 81)
Link to Idaho 1920 Influenza Pandemic (Part 82)
Link to Idaho 1920 Influenza Pandemic (Part 83)
Link to Idaho 1920 Influenza Pandemic (Part 84)
Link to Idaho 1920 Influenza Pandemic (Part 85)
Link to Idaho 1920 Influenza Pandemic (Part 86)
Link to Idaho 1920 Influenza Pandemic (Part 87)
Link to Idaho 1920 Influenza Pandemic (Part 88)
Link to Idaho 1920 Influenza Pandemic (Part 89)
Link to Idaho 1920 Influenza Pandemic (Part 90)
Link to Idaho 1920 Influenza Pandemic (Part 91)
Link to Idaho 1920 Influenza Pandemic (Part 92)
Link to Idaho 1920 Influenza Pandemic (Part 93)
Link to Idaho 1920 Influenza Pandemic (Part 94)
Link to Idaho 1920 Influenza Pandemic (Part 95)
Link to Idaho 1920 Influenza Pandemic (Part 96)
Link to Idaho 1920 Influenza Pandemic (Part 97)
Link to Idaho 1920 Influenza Pandemic (Part 98)
Link to Idaho 1920 Influenza Pandemic (Part 99)
Link to Idaho 1918 Influenza Pandemic Ads (Part 100)
Link to Idaho 1919 Influenza Pandemic Ads (Part 101)
Link to Idaho 1920 Influenza Pandemic Ads (Part 102)

Road Reports May 30, 2021

Note: Johnson Creek route opened May 25th (see below for more info.)

Please share road reports. Rock Migration season in still in progress. Conditions can change quickly, be prepared for rocks and trees in the road. There is still quite a bit of snow in higher elevations. Remember there is no cell phone service. Please turn on your vehicle lights when traveling our narrow mountain roads.

Yellow Pine: Local streets are drying out. Please respect residents and wildlife and SLOW DOWN.
Drivers, please don’t speed through neighborhoods. Locals brake for kids, dogs, horses, deer, elk and squirrels.
link: Local Forecast
Yellow Pine Webcam: (check date on image)

Highway 55 Webcams Link:
Starting May 17, road closures will be reduced to a two-hour window: Monday – Thursday from 12:00 – 2:00 p.m. Opening times may change due to unforeseen circumstances (equipment, weather and daily blasting results) however we will make sure you are in the loop should this happen. This schedule will continue until May 27. Over Memorial Day Weekend, the road will be open to two lanes to allow for smooth travel over the holiday weekend.
Note: There will be no flaggers at the Banks-Lowman intersection for Memorial traffic.
Starting June 1, crews will transition into their summer construction schedule. Drivers can anticipate single-lane, alternating traffic controlled by flaggers Monday – early Friday morning. From Friday morning – Sunday, and any major holidays, the road will be open to two lanes. This schedule will be in place until September.
Project link:

Warm Lake Highway: Open
Report Wed (May 26) Mail truck driver says the road has been cleared.
Report Tues (May 25) Valley County has cleared the avalanche and it is open to Landmark.
link: SNOTEL Big Creek Summit 6580′

South Fork Road: Open – Watch for holiday traffic.
Spring weight limits in effect. Watch for baby geese in the road.
Report Fri (May 21) Road is clear.
link: Tea Pot Weather Station 5175′
link: South Fork Stream Gauge

EFSF Road: Open – Watch for rocks.
Report Tues (May 25) local crew headed out from this end to move the rock off the road.
Report Fri (May 21) “There’s one sizeable rock on the EF, between YP and Caton creek, but it’s not a problem.”
Report Wed (May 19) mail truck driver says the EF road is getting rough.

Johnson Creek Road: Open
Report May 26: Mail truck came in via Johnson Creek. The road has not been bladed, a few rocks and tree debris but no obstruction to travel.
Report May 25: as per Valley County Road department Johnson Creek road is open. The avalanche debris on upper Warm Lake road was removed by the county May 24-25th.
link: Johnson Creek Airstrip Webcam
link: Johnson Creek Stream Gauge
Note: The elevation at Landmark is 6,630 feet

Lick Creek: Closed to wheeled vehicles.
Note: The elevation at Lick Creek Summit is 6,877 feet

Profile Creek Road: Closed to wheeled vehicles.
Report May 13: “There was about 5′ of snow at Profile and solid snow floor for a mile north of the pass with a little less of solid snow floor on the south side of Profile. There was several miles of broken snow floor below the solid snow on both sides. There are a lot of trees down across the road that were cut out by snowmobilers & ATVers, and will require more work to allow full sized vehicles to pass through. There is one very large spruce (close to mouth of Profile Creek) that snowmobiles & ATVs have been going around, but full sized vehicles may find that a challenge – even with 4×4 and a winch. It will take a large chainsaw to cut through this tree. The following link shows conditions for the half mile north of Profile Gap.” – C&L
Note: The elevation at Profile summit is 7607 feet.

Big Creek Webcam: (check date on image)

Yellow Pine to Stibnite: Open
Last update from PR April 14: “The avalanches have been cleared from the Stibnite road and the road is open. The surface of the road was mostly undamaged by the slides. Like every spring there are rocks coming down daily with the freeze and thaw cycles, and the road is still icy in the shaded spots.”
link: Stibnite Weather Station 6594′

Stibnite to Thunder Mountain: Closed to wheeled vehicles.
Note: The elevation at Monumental Summit is 8590 feet.

Big Creek to Elk Summit to Warrens Road: Closed to wheeled vehicles.
Note: The elevation at Elk Summit is nearly 9000 feet.

Deadwood Summit: Still closed to wheeled vehicles per Valley County.
Note: The approx. elevation at Deadwood Summit is 6,883 feet.
link: SNOTEL Deadwood Summit 6860′

Warren Wagon Road:
Update from Payette NF May 27: “Secesh Summit to Burgdorf/Warren – Open. Warren Summit – Open to the South Fork Salmon River.”

New Link
Valley County Road Maintenance Dashboard
——————

Road Reports May 26, 2021

Note: Johnson Creek route opened May 25th (see below for more info.) We have had wet weather and quite breezy conditions at times, trees and rocks may come down.

Please share road reports. Rock Migration season in progress. Conditions can change quickly, be prepared for rocks and trees in the road. There is still quite a bit of snow in higher elevations. Remember there is no cell phone service. Please turn on your vehicle lights when traveling our narrow mountain roads.

Yellow Pine: Local streets are clear, puddles in the pot holes. Please respect residents and wildlife and SLOW DOWN.
Drivers, please don’t speed through neighborhoods. Locals brake for kids, dogs, horses, deer, elk and squirrels.
link: Local Forecast
Yellow Pine Webcam: (check date on image)

Highway 55 Webcams Link:
Starting May 17, road closures will be reduced to a two-hour window: Monday – Thursday from 12:00 – 2:00 p.m. Opening times may change due to unforeseen circumstances (equipment, weather and daily blasting results) however we will make sure you are in the loop should this happen. This schedule will continue until May 27.
Over Memorial Day Weekend, the road will be open to two lanes to allow for smooth travel over the holiday weekend.
Starting June 1, crews will transition into their summer construction schedule. Drivers can anticipate single-lane, alternating traffic controlled by flaggers Monday – early Friday morning. From Friday morning – Sunday, and any major holidays, the road will be open to two lanes. This schedule will be in place until September.
Project link:

Warm Lake Highway: Open
Report Wed (May 26) Mail truck driver says the road has been cleared.
Report Tues (May 25) Valley County has cleared the avalanche and it is open to Landmark.
link: SNOTEL Big Creek Summit 6580′

South Fork Road: Open – Spring weight limits in effect. Watch for baby geese in the road.
Report Fri (May 21) Road is clear
Report Wed evening (May 21) looked like a large tree had come down and had been cleared. No obstructions to travel.
link: Tea Pot Weather Station 5175′
link: South Fork Stream Gauge

EFSF Road: Open – Watch for rocks.
Report Tues (May 25) crew headed out from this end to move the rock off the road.
Report Fri (May 21) “There’s one sizeable rock on the EF, between YP and Caton creek, but it’s not a problem.”
Report Wed (May 19) mail truck driver says the EF road is getting rough.

Johnson Creek Road: Open
Report May 26: Mail truck came in via Johnson Creek. The road has not been bladed, a few rocks and some tree debris but no obstruction to travel.
Report May 25: as per Valley County Road department Johnson Creek road is open. The avalanche debris on upper Warm Lake road was removed by the county May 24-25th.
link: Johnson Creek Airstrip Webcam
link: Johnson Creek Stream Gauge
Note: The elevation at Landmark is 6,630 feet

Lick Creek: Closed to wheeled vehicles.
Note: The elevation at Lick Creek Summit is 6,877 feet

Profile Creek Road: Closed to wheeled vehicles.
Report May 13: “There was about 5′ of snow at Profile and solid snow floor for a mile north of the pass with a little less of solid snow floor on the south side of Profile. There was several miles of broken snow floor below the solid snow on both sides. There are a lot of trees down across the road that were cut out by snowmobilers & ATVers, and will require more work to allow full sized vehicles to pass through. There is one very large spruce (close to mouth of Profile Creek) that snowmobiles & ATVs have been going around, but full sized vehicles may find that a challenge – even with 4×4 and a winch. It will take a large chainsaw to cut through this tree. The following link shows conditions for the half mile north of Profile Gap.” – C&L
Note: The elevation at Profile summit is 7607 feet.

Big Creek Webcam: (check date on image)

Yellow Pine to Stibnite: Open
Update from PR April 14: “The avalanches have been cleared from the Stibnite road and the road is open. The surface of the road was mostly undamaged by the slides. Like every spring there are rocks coming down daily with the freeze and thaw cycles, and the road is still icy in the shaded spots.”
link: Stibnite Weather Station 6594′

Stibnite to Thunder Mountain: Closed to wheeled vehicles.
Note: The elevation at Monumental Summit is 8590 feet.

Big Creek to Elk Summit to Warrens Road: Closed to wheeled vehicles.
Note: The elevation at Elk Summit is nearly 9000 feet.

Deadwood Summit: Still closed to wheeled vehicles per Valley County May 26th.
Note: The approx. elevation at Deadwood Summit is 6,883 feet.
link: SNOTEL Deadwood Summit 6860′

Warren Wagon Road:
Update from Valley County May 18: “Warren Wagon Road to Secesh is now OPEN! The Valley County Road Department will begin plowing today toward Secesh and Warren. We anticipate getting past Warren and down to the South Fork by the end of this week assuming all goes according to plan.”

New Link
Valley County Road Maintenance Dashboard
——————

May 23, 2021 The Yellow Pine Times

May 23, 2021 The Yellow Pine Times – Valley County, Idaho

Reminder: We are still under a boil water order.

Community Calendar:

April 17, 2020 – Boil water order issued
March 31 – Weight Limits on SF road
May 10-27 The Corner open weekends only
May 10 thru Oct 20 – Burn Permit season
May 15 – Firewood Season permits at The Corner
May 29 – Yellow Pine Escapade 10am ATV/UTV Rally
May 29 – Memorial Potluck 4pm Yellow Pine Tavern
May 29-30 Live music 6pm The Corner
June 6 – Planning meeting for festival
June 12 – YPFD meeting 10am at Fire Hall
June 12 – VYPA Meeting 2pm at Community Hall
July 2-4 Yard Sale Silver Dollar Cafe
July 10 – YPFD meeting 10am at Fire Hall
July 10 – VYPA Meeting 2pm at Community Hall
(details below)
———-

Local Events:

Memorial Weekend Events

May 29, 2021 – Yellow Pine Escapade – ATV/UTV Rally at 10am

Join us on May 29th for another rally game. This year’s Rally game is – Letter Tiles! Participants ride their vehicles in the 70 miles of identified area to participate in the game. The timeframe of this event is from 10:00 am to 3:00 pm. Participants begin and end the event at the Yellow Pine Community Hall.

$20 early online registration (link); $25 at the event. Funds raised from this event support the Yellow Pine Community Hall. FB link:
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Memorial Day Potluck and Remembrance Saturday, May 29, 2021 at 4pm at The Yellow Pine Tavern

Gathering for Remembrance and Potluck. Burgers and Hot Dogs provided by the Tavern bring a dish or dessert if you wish. Donations for a Memorial Plaque at the Golf Course

Thank you for joining us in remembering Our departed Yellow Piners

Your donations will go to restoring the sign that was hanging at the Yellow Pine Country Club Golf Course.

Any additional funds raised will go towards the July 4th Fireworks fund.

A Little History:

The Yellow Pine Country Club boasts the most challenging golf course in Idaho. Elk and deer have the right of way on the un-fairways. The first 9 holes were laid out by hurling a softball to mark the next hole! The Yellow Pine golf course, originally nine holes, was first built in 1989. The Course was altered in 1998 and was increased to the present 18 holes and entirely within the boundaries of the Boise National Forest. Subsequent brush and dead tree removal was done by local volunteers, Cascade Ranger District Personnel and inmates from Valley Co. Sheriffs Office. Local Yellow Piners have been mainly responsible for construction and maintenance. Uppermost of them have been Bud Boyd, John Hanson & Dennis Wiley. Many others have also contributed over the years to this effort. Please understand that this recreational facility is on Public Lands and subject to USFS Regulation and Supervision. Your assistance in keeping the course clean is appreciated. Golf equipment is available at the YP General store.

—

The Corner 6pm Saturday and Sunday

Join us on Memorial Day Weekend for some great food and live music with Hannah Wickizer! She will be playing at 6pm on Saturday and Sunday.

Smoked brisket, tri tip, and chicken sandwiches will be waiting for you at The Corner on Memorial Day Weekend.
— — — —

Next Festival Planning Meeting

Sunday, June 6, 2021, Zoom meeting at 2pm. Contact Deb for link and passcode.
— — — —

Heating Maintenance Day

Deb Filler is coordinating with Mastercraft of McCall to schedule a maintenance day in Yellow Pine for propane and pellet stoves. If you are interested, please contact Deb at 208 633-6945. The date will be after Lick Creek road opens.
— — — —

Yard Sale July 2-4

I am having a huge yard sale between the store and the Silver Dollar July 2nd, 3rd and 4th. Items include restaurant equipment, antiques, tools, building supplies, furniture, electrical wire, stainless steel cable, diesel heaters and much, much more.
-S Holloway
———-

Village News:

Plumbers Visit Yellow Pine

Keaton and Robert from Rocky Mountain Mechanical traveled to Yellow Pine from Emmett Monday evening, and spent the night in the motel rooms behind the General Store. Then Tuesday (May 18) morning bright and early they started the first of several plumbing projects for locals. These guys are fast, efficient, clean and courteous professionals. We are lucky they are willing to travel to our remote location.

— — — —

Scrap Metal

Sharing a message that Mike Amos will haul out a load of scrap metal. If you have scrap metal, contact Mike. He has an area by his place to stack it.
— — — —

Dust Abatement

The infrastructure committee has determined to use Calcium Chloride this year (same stuff used on the E. Fork.) It is slightly less expensive than the Earthbind. If you are interested in dust abatement this year please let Deb Filler know. She can give you the cost information. If you would prefer the Earthbind (the stuff that was used last year) let Deb know that. If you choose Earthbind, North American Dust Control will bill you directly.

Dust abatement will occur once Landmark is open.
— — — —

The Corner

As of Monday 5/10 we will only be open on the weekends, until Memorial Day. Friday-Sunday 11am-8pm
— — — —

Yellow Pine General Store

Laundry is open, gas available and rooms for rent. The store plans to open by Memorial Weekend.
— — — —

Road News

Link: to current road reports.

Upper Johnson Creek road is still closed at Landmark. There was a large avalanche across Warm Lake road above the turnoff to North Shore Lodge.

The Stibnite road between Yellow Pine and Stibnite mine is open.

The Hwy 55 project Smith’s Ferry area: Will have 2 lanes open over Memorial Weekend. Starting June 1, crews will transition into their summer construction schedule. Drivers can anticipate single-lane, alternating traffic controlled by flaggers Monday – early Friday morning. From Friday morning – Sunday, and any major holidays, the road will be open to two lanes. This schedule will be in place until September. Project Website link:

South Fork Salmon River Spring weight limits are in effect March 31 through at least June 1st.
— — — —

Critters

Ticks

Tick season is in full swing, and they are numerous this year. Check your dogs and yourself after a walk in the woods.

Pine Martins & Raccoons

Watch your small pets. Reports of pine martins living in the dump and raccoons on the north side of the village.

Be Bear, Fox & Coyote Aware

* Do not feed them human food
* Secure your trash
* Feed domestic pets indoors
* Make sure your pets are updated on Rabies vaccines
* Small pets could become a snack

Be Mountain Lion Aware

Note: A report of a mountain lion near the upper end of the village.

* NEVER run away from a mountain lion. The lion’s instinct is to chase and ultimately catch what they perceive as potential prey.
* NEVER turn your back on a lion. Always face them while making yourself look as large as you can. Yell loudly, but don’t scream. A high-pitched scream may mimic the sound of a wounded animal.
* SLOWLY back away while maintaining eye contact with the lion.
* Safety equipment you may choose to carry could include bear spray, a noise device, like an air-horn, and if you walk in the dark, a very bright flashlight.
* If you are attacked, fight back!
— — — —

Yellow Pine US Mail

The 3-day a week mail delivery started Nov 2nd. The Post Office in Yellow Pine is open six days a week year around: M-F 845am-245pm Saturday 9am-245pm. Forever Stamp: 55 cents. Support our local post office and purchase your holiday stamps here.
— — — —

Yellow Pine Transfer Station

The bins were emptied May 22nd.

Yellow Pine Transfer Station (aka, the dump)

Please do not abuse our Transfer Station or we may lose it. Household trash must be placed in the bins, flattened cardboard boxes can also go into the bins. Do not stack trash in front of the doors. Woody yard debris only for the burn pile. No furniture, appliances, tires or construction debris allowed, those items must be hauled out to the Donnelly station by you.

The Yellow Pine Transfer Station is Valley County responsibility. If it is not kept tidy, use of the Transfer Station may be revoked. That would result in residents having to take all household trash and yard waste to the Donnelly Transfer Station.

If Dumpsters Are Full, Contact Lake Shore Disposal at: (208) 634-7176
———-

Local Groups

YPWUA News:

We are still under a Boil Order. Please conserve water. Turn off your trickles.

Update May 14, 2021: Kerry and Dion from Idaho Rural Water were onsite yesterday along with Nicki and me for leak detection in the “downtown” Yellow Pine grid.

Utilizing their leak detection equipment, and Nicki’s knowledge of the distribution system, Kerry and Dion successfully located a number of leaks including a large leak at a fire hydrant. The fire hydrant was turned off and Tim, the fire chief, was notified that the hydrant is not operational.

Many small leaks were identified and marked, but of particular concern is the waterline that runs under the alley behind the hotel and all the way down to the community center. Numerous active leaks were located in that section. So many leaks exist along the alley that the best course of action is probably replacing the entire run of pipe.

Nicki followed up after the guys left and using her tablet and GPS program, accurately recorded the location of all the leaks identified. Now that a record of the leak locations exists, prioritization of the leaks and a plan to repair them can be developed.

Kerry and Dion were very thorough and helpful, and the work they completed will be beneficial to reducing demand on the system as a whole. Based on today’s daily system data, reported this morning by Nicki, it appears that daily demand was reduced by approximately 10,000 gallons as a result of yesterday’s work.

Regards, Warren Drake, Drake Diversified LLC

Update May 13, 2021: Cecil, Tom and Ron fixed a leaking valve which resulted in saving 5000 gallons of water!

Update May 6, 2021: The Yellow Pine Water Users Association, Yellow Pine, Idaho intends to file an application with the USDA, Rural Development to obtain a drinking water system facility planning grant. If any additional information is needed please contact: Willie Sullivan, Treasurer Ypwater @ gmail.com

The annual Water meeting for 2020 was held July 5th at the Community Hall 2pm.
link: minutes 20200705YPWUA.docx

Boil Your Water Before Using
Boil Water Order issued April 17, 2020.
Link: to Notice
— — — —

VYPA News:

VYPA Meetings are the 2nd Saturday of June, July, August, and September (June 12, July 10, August 14, September 11) at 2:00pm at the Community Hall.

Village Council members:
Deb Filler, Chairman
Matt Huber, Vice Chairman
Ronda Rogers, Treasurer
Rhonda Egbert, Secretary
Ron Noel, Member at Large

VYPA Bylaws adopted 8/8/2020 (link)

YPAC Corp Bylaws (link)

Festival
Want to join YPAC Corp in making a difference? We are raising money to benefit the Yellow Pine Music and Harmonica Festival . Any donation will help.
Each year, during the first full weekend of August, the sleepy mountain village of Yellow Pine is transformed into the largest festival of it’s kind in the western hemisphere!
The festival is produced by volunteers and raises funds to support the village of Yellow Pine as well as the funds needed to hold next year’s festival.
As you all know, the 2020 festival had to be cancelled due to Covid-19. This placed a significant burden on Yellow Pine to come up with enough funding to hold the 2021 festival this August 5, 6, 7.
Souvenirs and events at the festival help raise funds. We also know there are many of you who support the festival, but are not able to attend. This fund raiser is to give you an opportunity to help us help Yellow Pine.
Thanks in advance for your tax-deductible contribution to this cause that means so much to us!
GoFundMe link:

Anyone interested in being a part of the Festival Planning/Working committee, please contact Deb Filler. Meetings will begin at the end of January. Even if you aren’t physically in YP, you can participate in the committee.
Next Festival Planning Meeting May 9, 2021 – Contact Deb for Zoom link and passcode.
2021 Planning Notes updated May 9, 2021 (link)
Yellow Pine Music and Harmonica Festival Policy and Procedure Link:
— — — —

YPFD News:

May 15, 2020 – there was a YPFD meeting 10am at the Fire Hall (no minutes yet.)

The Fire Station recently had a propane heater installed. The heater will be a great addition to the fire station. It will be more efficient at keeping the station above freezing during the winter, especially since we keep water in the engines so they are ready to roll if an emergency occurs. It will also make it more pleasant to hold meetings at the fire station. Big thanks to Fire Chief Tim Rogers for coordinating this.

Meeting schedule for the YPFD. All meetings are at the YPFD Station
Sat. May 15 at 10am
Sat. June 12 at 10am
Sat. July 10 at 10am
Sat. September 11 at 10am Budget Meeting

YP Fire District 2 (east of Yellow Pine Ave) up for election Nov 2nd for 4 year term (per Valley County.) Link:

YPFD had a budget meeting on September 30, 2020 at 10am at the fire station. (No minutes yet.)

Make sure to keep your chimney clean. Cleaning brushes can be borrowed from the YPFD.

Also if you are burning any piles of forest litter and debris – please have a connected and charged garden hose that can reach your piles. If your hose cannot reach where you are burning, follow the good advice of having a shovel, axe, and water bucket at the scene. Rake away from anything that could ignite. Stop burning if winds become an issue. Make sure your fire is out before you leave the area. Nothing like getting surprised by a escaped fire in the middle of the night!

Better yet, “Rake It and Take It” your yard waste (limbs, pine needles, brush, etc.) to the burn pile at the Transfer Station on the south end of the turn-around. Remember, keep the pile neat. Woody debris only, no nails, no cardboard and no furniture! The Boise NF will burn the pile in the fall when it is safe.

YPFD COVID19 Policy
link: YPFD Covid 19 SOP
link: Covid-19 EMS

YP Fire Commissioners:
Sue Holloway – District 1
Dan Stiff – District 2
Merrill Saleen – District 3
Tim Rogers – Fire Chief

Yellow Pine Fire Protection District Community Service Notice
The purpose of this letter is to show how you as a Yellow Pine Resident can help protect your structure against a wildland fire by being “Fire Wise.” Click the link: to view 20190724 Yellow Pine Fire Protection mitigation
——–

Biz Listings:

The Corner (208) 633-3325
As of Monday 5/10 we will only be open on the weekends, until Memorial Day. Friday-Sunday 11am-8pm
We offer smoked tri tip, brisket, and chicken sandwiches and also burgers and chicken wings.
Firewood Permits available May 15th.
— — — —

Yellow Pine Tavern (208) 633-2233
Yellow Pine Tavern open daily:
Monday thru Thursday 8am to 9pm
Friday and Saturday 8am to 10pm
Sunday 8am to 8pm
Indoor Dining with limited seating and Outdoor Dining Available.
Full Breakfast Menu. Burgers, Pizza, Fajitas, Beer, Wine and Pop
— — — —

Yellow Pine Lodge (208) 633-3377
Closed Nov 3rd for winter.
— — — —

Yellow Pine General Store (208) 633-3300
Rooms, fuel, and laundry available now. Store plans to open by Memorial Day weekend.
Email for reservations
— — — —

Murph’s RV Park and Mary’s Cabins
FB page link
— — — —

Knotty Kat Crochet Works – 208-502-0940
FB page link
open Tue – Sat, 9-5
Yellow Pine eggs $3/doz
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Buck Horn Outfitters LLC 208-633-3614
Tom & Sarah Lanham
156 Yellow Pine Ave, Yellow Pine Id 83677
website:
Facebook:

Wapiti Meadow Ranch – Johnson Creek (208) 633-3217
or 208-315-3554 – cabin rentals
website:

Deadwood Outfitters
website:
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Local Fuel Suppliers

Amerigas Phone: (208) 634-8181
Ed Staub & Sons Phone: (208) 634-3833
Diamond Fuel & Feed Phone: (208) 382-4430 open 830am-5pm Monday-Friday, closed weekends.
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Outside Biz that will service Yellow Pine:

The Star-News

click to subscribe:
A reminder that those who live in other states can subscribe to the online edition only since the mail can take days for hard copy to reach them.

Rocky Mountain Mechanical – Plumbing – Heating – Air conditioning
(208) 365-PIPE (7473), Emmett, will service Yellow Pine
Website:

Elkhorn Heating & Cooling
(208) 906-4067 Middleton, Idaho, will service Yellow Pine

B&T Safety Solutions LLC
208-271-1600 Based out of Donnelly
Snow removal, cleaning chimneys and stoves, we do cabin staining/chinking as well
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Follow The Yellow Pine Times on Facebook (updated more often than emails)
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Local Observations:

Monday (May 17) overnight low of 36 degrees, clear sky and warm this morning. Swallows, finches, hummingbirds, jays and a downy woodpecker sighted. All 4 species of local squirrels made an appearance, Colombian, Golden-mantled, chipmunk and pine squirrel. Warm, clear and light breezes at lunch time. Partly cloudy, warm and breezy early afternoon. Very warm, partly cloudy and light breezes late afternoon, high of 81 degrees. So quiet you can hear the river. Warm, clear, calmer and robins calling at dusk. Thin crescent moon high in the sky at 930pm. Stars out before midnight.

Tuesday (May 18) overnight low of 37 degrees, clear sky and not much dew this morning. Early morning sharp-shinned hawk. Swallows and robins calling. Rocky Mt. Plumbers were in YP this morning. Breezy before lunch time. Mostly clear and breezy at noon. A few finches, hummingbirds and jays visiting. Colombian ground squirrels, a chipmunk and a pine squirrel stopped by. Partly cloudy, a little breezy and milder temperatures late afternoon, high of 70 degrees. Partly cloudy and calmer at dusk, robins calling. Calm, partly clear and quiet before midnight – no frogs.

Wednesday (May 19) overnight low of 40 degrees, dark overcast sky this morning. Not many birds around. Getting breezy before lunch time. Mail truck made it in on time. Dark clouds and breezy early afternoon. A few finches, hummingbirds, colombian ground squirrels and 2 pine squirrels chasing each other. Sprinkles mid-afternoon. Cooler, low overcast (VanMeter stocked in) and sprinkles on and off late afternoon, high of 54 degrees. Steady rain early evening. Foggy ridges and cooler at dusk, a break in the rain, and happy robins chirping. Raining again pretty good after dark. Steady rain before midnight. Light sprinkles after midnight.

Thursday (May 20) overnight low of 32 degrees, yesterday’s rain total 0.49″. A trace of snow was reported from the upper side of the village. This morning dark overcast, light sprinkles and foggy ridges, snow on Golden Gate hill. Light sprinkles of rain on and off all morning. No swallows around, robins chirping, a couple of jays, a few finches and evening grosbeaks visiting – then a sharp-shinned hawk showed up and the songbirds birds fled. Light sprinkles at noon for about an hour. Light sprinkles early afternoon. Ground squirrels and a chipmunk running about. Breaks in the overcast, cool and light breezes late afternoon, high of 44 degrees. Cool and cloudy at dark and not raining. Cloudy before midnight. No rain during the night.

Friday (May 21) overnight low of 37 degrees, yesterday’s sprinkles added up to 0.03″. This morning dark overcast, clouds sitting down on top of VanMeter. No swallows around. Jays, collared dove and hairy woodpecker calling, a few finches, male and female black-headed grosbeaks, ground squirrels, a golden-mantled and a chipmunk visiting. Cloudy at lunch time. Cloudy afternoon and light breezes, high of 52 degrees. A 10 minutes sprinkle of rain early evening and a bit breezy, then lowering clouds and steady rain for less than an hour. Overcast and calm before dusk. Looked cloudy and not raining before midnight.

Saturday (May 22) overnight low of 35 degrees, yesterday’s sprinkles measured 0.03″ again. This morning partly cloud to mostly clear and breezy. A few tree swallows have returned, cassin’s finches, jays, a clark’s nutcracker and a red-breasted nuthatch visited. Mostly cloudy with scattered sunshine and breezy at lunch time. Golden-mantled, chipmunk and colombian ground squirrels running about. Mostly cloudy and quite gusty mid-afternoon. Warm, mostly cloudy and breezy late afternoon, high of 64 degrees. Mostly cloudy and light breezes just before dusk. Quiet evening. Looked cloudy before midnight.

Sunday (May 23) overnight low of 33 degrees, no rain yesterday, this morning dark overcast. A few swallows swooping and calling. Finally getting some rain late morning. Dark clouds and still raining at lunch time. Several cassin’s finches visiting. Early afternoon low dark clouds (VanMeter fogged in) and rain continued until mid-afternoon. Dark clouds and fairly calm late afternoon, high of 48 degrees. Jays, finches and robins calling, black-headed grosbeak and clark’s nutcracker visiting, ground squirrels running around.
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Idaho News:

COVID-19 Updates: 168 new Idaho COVID-19 cases, 0 new deaths

May 21, 2021 Local News 8

Idaho officials reported 168 new COVID-19 cases and zero new deaths Friday.

That brings the total confirmed and probable cases reported since March to 191,068.

There are a total of 152,929 confirmed cases and 38,139 probable cases in all 44 of the 44 counties in Idaho, according to numbers released from the local health districts and the state. …

The state said 653,587 people have received the vaccine, and 1,189,080 total doses have been administered. 574,574 people are fully vaccinated. …

The age group with the most cases is 18-29 with 47,736 cases.

The state said 7 new hospitalizations have been reported bringing the total number to 8,333, and 1 new case has been admitted to the ICU bringing the total to 1,408. …

275 vaccine breakthrough cases have been reported.

Zero new deaths were reported bringing the total recorded deaths to 2,080.

full story: [Valley County 843 cases, 6 deaths.]
— — —

Idaho Hospitalizations May 12

The latest hospitalization data from Wednesday reported 82 Idahoans currently in the hospital with COVID-19. Of that number, 33 are in the ICU.

source: KTVB
— — — — — — — — — —

New age group drops Valley County vaccination rate to 53.4%

By Tom Grote for The Star-News May 20, 2021

Adding a new age group to those eligible to receive the COVID-19 vaccine in Valley County dropped the percentage of total vaccinations from last week.

The total of eligible Valley County residents who had received at least one dose of the COVID-19 vaccine dropped from 54.9% to 53.4%, the Idaho Department of Health and Welfare reported.

The drop was due to those age 12-15 being added to the total after they were declared eligible to receive the Pfizer vaccine, H&W Public Information Officer Niki Forbing-Orr said.

A total of 5,350 county residents age 12 and older had received the vaccine out of an estimated 10,017 people eligible, the H&W reported.

Four confirmed deaths and two suspected deaths related to COVID-19 among Valley County residents have been reported by Central District Health.

St. Luke’s McCall offers the Pfizer and Moderna vaccines, with walk-in shots available from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday through Friday at St. Luke’s Family Medicine, 209 Forest St.

Minors must have parent or legal guardian permission to receive a COVID-19 vaccine. A parent or legal guardian should come with the child to provide consent at the appointment.

Written or verbal consent by phone may be accepted if a parent or legal guardian is not present. Minors also cannot schedule their own appointments in myChart.

Parents and children can also walk in to a vaccination clinic together or a parent can schedule an appointment for their child by calling 208-381-9500.

Cascade Medical Center offers Moderna vaccines during walk-in clinics held Monday through Friday from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. at 402 Lake Cascade Pkwy in Cascade.

The Pfizer vaccine is available by appointment. To schedule an appointment, visit (link), follow the vaccine request button and fill out the information, or call 208-382-4285.

Hospital employees will call back to schedule the appointment.

continued:
— — — — — — — — — —

Cascade approves 1% sales tax for city projects

By Max Silverson for The Star-News May 20, 2021

Cascade voters approved a 1% local sales tax on Tuesday by a vote of 73 to 43.

The new tax was passed by 63% of voters, with 60% plus one needed for passage. About 17% of the 702 registered voters cast ballots on Tuesday.

Funds from tax, which will last five years, will be spent on roads and park projects in the city.

“As tourism has increased the maintenance and improvement of streets, pathways and parks has fallen solely on property tax revenue,” Cascade Mayor Judith Nissula said.

continued:
— — — — — — — — — —

McCall voters back library bond

KTVB May 19, 2021

A $4.2 million to add onto the City of McCall’s library facility won the support of voters Tuesday.

The bond passed 608 to 172, with nearly 78% of voters backing the measure.

The money will go towards building and furnishing a new addition to the library, as well as renovations to the existing building.

continued:
— — — — — — — — — —

Idaho 55 closures Smiths Ferry to wind down

By Max Silverson for The Star-News May 20, 2021

Weekday closures at the Idaho 55 project at Smiths Ferry were reduced from four hours to two hours on Monday.

Closures are now noon to 2 p.m. Mondays through Thursdays as opposed to 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. previously, the Idaho Transportation Department said.

On Fridays through Sundays, traffic through the project site will be open to one-way alternating traffic.

The road will be open to two-way traffic for Memorial Day weekend from Friday, May 28, through Monday, May 31, the ITD said.

Starting June 1, traffic will be reduced to one-lane alternating traffic Mondays through early Fridays, and then open to two-way traffic for weekends.

The road will open to two lanes over Fourth of July weekend and Labor Day weekend. There are no full closures planned through early September, according to the ITD.

continued:
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Public Lands:

Payette projects to get boost from Great American Outdoors Act

The Great American Outdoors Act of 2020 will provide funds to the Payette National Forest for several projects that had been on hold.

Nationwide the legislation provided $3.7 billion to fund roads and bridges and $1.5 billion for visitor centers, campgrounds and other facilities.

Here are the projects to be funded on the Payette:

•The French Creek and Bear Pete trails will see almost two miles of new trail construction and just over a mile of old trail taken out.

• The Little Weiser River Trail will see 1.5 miles of trail rerouted and six miles of trail improved.

•The South Fork Salmon River Trail will see seven miles of heavy maintenance and improvements.

• A 60-foot bridge at the Jenkins Crossing will be replaced with the new bridge to be made off-site and flown in by helicopter.

• Last Chance and Hazard Creek Campgrounds will both receive new picnic tables, fire rings, signs and kiosks, and Last Chance will also get new fencing and toilets.

• Several campsites on the Krassel Ranger District will see new campsite furniture as well as upgraded kiosks and toilets.

• A contaminated well at the Huckleberry Campground about 30 miles north of Council will be abandoned and replaced with a new water system.

source: The Star-News May 20, 2021
— — — — — — — — — —

Intermountain Region to benefit this year from USDA Forest Service Grant

Grant to provide funding for new specialized lumber stacker

Ogden, UT, May 17, 2021 – The U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Forest Service aims to revitalize local economies and support sustainable forest management in the Intermountain Region by investing $250,000 as part of the agency’s Wood Innovation and Community Forest Grant programs. (link)

The grant funding will support engineering and installation of a new specialized lumber stacker at the Tamarack Mill’s Evergreen Forests mill outside of New Meadows, Idaho. With this new equipment and improved throughput efficiency, the mill will be able to handle smaller diameter timber in shorter lengths to produce small dimensional lumber products.

“This USDA grant helps to provide valuable equipment to our local timber infrastructure. We are happy these dollars are going directly towards increasing the ability of the mill to utilize small diameter timber as this supports our efforts in proactively implementing forest restoration projects.” Payette National Forest, Forest Supervisor, Linda Jackson, said.

Nationally, the Forest Service is investing $15 million to fund 60 projects that expand wood products, strengthen emerging wood energy markets, and protect community forests. The agency will leverage an additional $30 million in matching and partner funds bringing the totals well above $45 million.

More information on Wood Innovation and Community Forest Grant programs is available online at: (link)
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Fire Season:

Payette National Forest Declares a Part of the Four Mile Prescribed Fire as a Wildfire

McCall, ID, May 19, 2021 – On May 6th the Payette National Forest applied prescribed fire to approximately 700 acres in the southern portion of the Four Mile project area along the South Fork of the Salmon River. This burn is approximately 5 miles south of Reed Ranch Airstrip and 14 miles southwest of Yellow Pine.

On May 17th, a small portion of the prescribed fire (1/4 acre) spread beyond the project area boundary. Fire personnel have been unable to extinguish this portion of the prescribed fire due to burning snags in the area. Other portions of the burn unit also exhibited smoldering/creeping fire that may require actions to contain the potential for the prescribed fire to spread.

Due to the steep terrain, limited access, dry fuel conditions and time of year, we chose to declare this prescribed fire a wildfire on May 18.

“This is not a wildfire typical of August and September wildfires on the Forest,” said David Hogen, Krassel District Ranger. “This wildfire is smoldering and creeping, with occasional torching of Lodgepole pine. As the fire moved out of the prescribed fire boundary, our protocol is to declare it a wildfire and manage it as a suppression fire.”

The fire is entirely on National Forest land and is not threatening private property or infrastructure. No area or road closures are in effect for this fire. Forest visitors may encounter smoke in the vicinity of the wildfire. Information on the Four Mile Fire is posted to Inciweb at: (link)

Rain is forecasted for over the next 7 days but smoldering in the heavier concentrations of down logs is expected to continue after the rain event. All actions to contain fire spread are based on risk to fire personnel, the public, and natural resources. Fire personnel will continue to take action where they can do so effectively and safely. Fire updates will be posted regularly.

*The Four Mile Prescribed Fire is a wildlife and natural resource prescribed fire to enhance wildlife habitat and assist in the restoration of the forested ecosystem.

Brian Harris
Public Affairs Officer
Tribal Liaison
Payette National Forest

link: to maps
— — — — — — — — — —

Permits for controlled open burning now required

Permits for controlled open burning are now required from the Idaho Department of Lands.

The permits can be obtained online at (link). The burn permits are free and good for 10 days. Idaho law requires a permit for burning outside city limits except for campfires between May 10 and Oct. 20.

Those wishing to conduct burning inside the city limits of McCall should use the online application site.

Permits for burning inside the city limits of Donnelly area are available at the Donnelly Fire & EMS station on West Roseberry Road.

Permits are available at New Meadows City Hall for burning within the New Meadows city limits.

Open burning is not permitted inside the Cascade city limits between May 10 and Oct. 20.

Having a burn permit on record means fire managers can also respond more quickly to fires that escape, a statement from the lands department said.

A permit on record also means false reports of fires can be more easily determined, the statement said.

Information at (link) includes safe burning practices and current fire restrictions in place statewide.

source: The Star-News May 20, 2021
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Critter News:

‘Beyond lightning strike odds:’ Mountain lion attacks on humans are low in Idaho

Idaho Fish and Game recommends supervising your pets when they are outside, and keeping them on leashes on the trails.

Chase Biefeldt (KTVB) May 19, 2021

Mountain lions, also known as cougars or pumas, are widespread across Idaho. The animals are also quite secretive, making human encounters unusual.

The Idaho Department of Fish and Game said it’s “beyond lightning strike odds” for a person to be attacked by a mountain lion, but pets are a different story.

“They’re opportunistic animals and when they see an opportunity to get prey they will take it, and if it happens to be your pet there in front of them they might take that opportunity,” said IDFG spokesman Roger Phillips. “It’s key for people to really keep an eye on their pets and keep them under control on leashes.” …

Typically, cougars only get territorial when protecting their killed prey.

full story:
— — — — — — — — — —

Idaho’s black bears are out of their winter dens looking for food

May 20, 2021 Local News 8

The Idaho Department of Fish and Game says the key to keeping Idaho bears wild is to never let them have access to human food because a food-conditioned bear can quickly become a threat to public safety which never ends well for the bear.

After spending the winter months hibernating, black bears are now emerging from their dens. Once they leave their dens they are now hungry bears and will immediately start looking for food, mostly spring grasses, but pretty much anything that can provide easy calories. During hibernation, black bears survive by burning fat reserves, a boar (male) black bear usually loses 15-30% of their body weight, while a sow with cubs can lose up to 40% of her body weight. After emerging from hibernation, black bears are on a quest to eat between 15,000 – 20,000 calories to replenish fat reserves before winter sets in again, which means they are constantly searching for food.

The key to keeping Idaho bears wild is to not allow them to access human food around neighborhoods and homes.

continued:
— — — — — — — — — —

Young bear spotted in Boise neighborhood

Katie Terhune May 20, 2021 KTVB

(source unknown)

Boise Police is on scene in a Boise neighborhood Thursday morning after several reported sightings of a young bear.

The yearling black bear was most recently spotted near Hill Road and 24th Street, a residential area that abuts the Foothills.

Boise Police Officer Scott Nicholls told KTVB that the cub was seen twice Wednesday evening near Hill and 36th Street, then later that night at Hill Road and 24th Street. The young bear was seen again in that same location at about 8:30 a.m. Thursday.

continued:
— —

Black bear yearling removed from Northwest Boise neighborhood and released

By Roger Phillips, Public Information Supervisor
Thursday, May 20, 2021

Idaho Fish and Game and Boise Police officers removed yearling male black bear from a Northwest Boise neighborhood on Thursday, May 20 and successfully released the bear in a forested area near Pilot Peak between Boise and Idaho City.

Officers were able to sedate the 78-pound bear after it climbed a tree in a backyard roughly 200 yards from the Foothills. The bear landed on a tarp after coming out of the tree, and after establishing the bear was healthy and suitable for release, the sedative was reversed and the bear taken a remote location and released.

The yearling bear had likely recently separated from its mother, which is typical in the spring.

source: Fish & Game
— — — — — — — — — —

Utah’s drought may lead to more aggressive black bears

by Sara Knox, KUTV Tuesday, May 18th 2021

Utah is black bear country and in the midst of a severe drought, a combination the Utah Division of Wildlife resources calls a dangerous one.

In a recent press release, the DWR said the likeliness of conflicts with bears increases during drought years when a bear’s normal food supply is decreased. This leads bears to seek alternative sources of food, which could put many at risk.

According to the DWR, black bears are the only bear species in Utah and have an amazing sense of smell which allows them to travel far to find the food they need. They also have no problem eating the same type of food that people eat. As a result, many of the conflicts between people and bears happen because the bears start scavenging for the food that humans are eating and cooking in the bear’s natural habitat.

continued: Note this article contains many good tips for avoiding bear conflicts.
— — — — — — — — — —

Pet cats at risk of coyote attacks

Idaho Fish and Game said the best way to deter coyotes is to keep things tidy around your home.

Chase Biefeldt (KTVB) May 20, 2021

Idaho has thousands of coyotes, and while they primarily stick to the foothills, they can venture into more populated zones as well.

Idaho Fish and Game said coyotes travel in packs of about two to five, and are comfortable going into cities and neighborhoods early in the morning and late at night.

Coyotes don’t usually go around attacking people, but they will hurt or kill your pets, especially cats.

continued:
— — — — — — — — — —

Salmonella outbreaks tied to backyard chickens reported in 43 states, CDC says

The CDC said that poultry like chicken and ducks can carry salmonella germs even if they look healthy and clean.

Erin McHugh May 21, 2021 KTVB

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention is looking into a multistate outbreak of salmonella infections linked to backyard chickens.

The health agency said on Thursday that a total of 163 people were infected across 43 states, but the total number of infected individuals is “likely much higher.” It said the illnesses started around Feb. 12, 2021, through April 25, 2021. Epidemiologic and laboratory data claims that contact with backyard poultry is making people sick.

continued:
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Fish & Game News:

Mountain lions continue to be sighted throughout the Wood River Valley

By Terry Thompson, Regional Communications Manager
Thursday, May 20, 2021

IDFG – A young mountain lion takes refuge in a backyard tree in Ketchum.

Mountain lion sightings are increasing in the communities of Ketchum and Sun Valley in the Wood River Valley.

Over the last several weeks multiple sightings of mountain lions have been reported by residents of Ketchum and Sun Valley. Most of the reports are of a female lion with two kittens, but some reports are of a single adult lion. Most reports have been sightings in neighborhoods within city limits. Some reports include sightings of lions during daylight hours, which is not typical behavior.

continued:
— — — — — — — — — —

Winter survival estimates for mule deer, elk remain above average and similar to 2020

By Brian Pearson, Conservation Public Information Specialist
Monday, May 17, 2021

Statewide survival of collared mule deer fawns and elk calves was above average through the end of April. Fish and Game biologists will continue monitoring through May, but traditionally less than 5 percent of the mortalities occur after April.

“In years with milder winters, like this one, we tend to see the number or mortalities drop off in May,” said Rick Ward, Deer and Elk Program Coordinator. “While we anticipate we will see some additional mortality by the end of the month, the statewide survival of mule deer fawns and elk calves is likely to end up being above average this year, barring an unusual event.”

Fish and Game crews and volunteers trap fawns and calves during winter and fit them with telemetry collars that allow biologists to track the young animals through their first winter and early spring.

Roger Phillips/Idaho Fish and Game

continued:
— — — — — — — — — —

Trail users are encouraged to safely enjoy and share Idaho’s trails with wildlife

By Terry Thompson, Regional Communications Manager
Monday, May 17, 2021

When hiking trails in Idaho it is not uncommon to come across wildlife. Wildlife, like people, don’t like to be unexpectedly surprised. The key to safely observing and recreating around wildlife is awareness of your surroundings.

Spring and summer bring many opportunities for Idahoans and visitors to explore Idaho’s trails which open up access to many backcountry destinations. When trekking up a trail just outside of town or deep into Idaho’s mountains everyone should be aware of their surroundings that they share with many species of wildlife. While most wildlife encounters are welcomed and create lasting memories, inadvertent or surprise encounters can put both people, their pets and wildlife in a potential conflict situation.

Wildlife, such as mountain lions, bears, elk, deer and moose can be found in many location throughout Idaho, sometimes within towns and neighborhoods. Deer and elk have become year-round residents in many Idaho communities, and mountain lions continue to be seen throughout the state on area trails and at times within neighborhoods.

(IDFG)

continued:
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Wildlife Express: Bees of Idaho

By Sara Cassinelli, Digital Content Strategist
Tuesday, May 18, 2021

Did you know Idaho has 707 native bee species? A University of Idaho scientist who studies bees believes the number is high because we have so many diverse habitats where different bees have adapted to different plants.

Find out what makes a bee a bee and how you can help monitor bee populations in the Northwest in our May edition of Wildlife Express.

continued:
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More F&G News Releases

link:
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Crazy Critter Stuff:

Owls of North America and their Calls

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Seasonal Humor:

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Idaho History May 23, 2021

Idaho 1918-1920 Influenza Pandemic

Part 58

Idaho Newspaper clippings August 1-28, 1919

Idaho photos courtesy: the Mike Fritz Collection, History of Idaho
— — — — — — — — — —

August 1

The Idaho Republican. August 01, 1919, Page 1

George Hertert Died in Spain

Word was received by Mrs. Eugenia Spanbauer of the death of her only brother, George Hertert, of U. S. N., who died in Spain, at the age of twenty-one years. Death came to the young man after an operation for appendicitis.

Mr. Hertert enlisted in the navy in 1914 and was in a training school at San Francisco four months. He was then transferred to the U. S. S. New Orleans, which with five other battleships, started on a tour around the world. In 1916 he was again transferred to the U. S. S. Pittsburgh, where he remained until he was removed to a hospital in Spain. The Pittsburgh was in the dangerous waters all during the war and about a month ago she came from the Brazilian waters to the United States and at once started for two years’ work in Germany. In a letter to home folks about a month ago, Mr. Hertert said, “I am going to help in Germany for two years and then I think I’ve done my duty.”

The young man is mourned by an aged father living in Spokane, Wash. and eight sisters. One sister Mrs. V. A. Bidinger of Blackfoot preceded her brother to the grave eight months, having been a victim of the influenza last fall.

source: The Idaho Republican. (Blackfoot, Idaho), 01 Aug. 1919. Chronicling America: Historic American Newspapers. Lib. of Congress.
— — — —

The Idaho Republican. August 01, 1919, Page 2

Taber

Quietness reigns in our locality since the lady sheriff made the arrest of young Patterson here last week.

A certain party who passed thru Taber Sunday evening and left half a dozen fires burning behind him, should not forget the extreme dryness of everything and should consider his neighbors’ property. H. F. Siesser and H. Killian worked hard for an hour to put out one of the fires which endangered fences and some wheat crops

The desert will be almost deserted this winter, as so many of the settlers failed to raise a crop and winter’s employment will be necessary. Winter feed will be very scarce thru this locality.

(ibid, page 2)
— — — —

The Idaho Republican. August 01, 1919, Page 3

Firth

Mrs. John Jolley is critically ill at her home on the dry farm. Dr. Quick is in attendance.

Rose

Mrs. S. A. Judd is improving after her long illness.

Mrs. Jay Langley was called to Rigby Tuesday on account of the sudden death of her sister Miss Josephine Raimey, who has been working in that city. Mrs. Langley accompanied the body to Richmond, Utah for burial.

Centerville

Several members of the Kirk family are on the sick list this week.

Centerville was very patriotic during the war, having sent eight of the best young men into the service and we are thankful that the eight have returned in safety, Ivan being the last one to return. He is looking fine and says he is very glad to be home among relatives and friends.

Goshen

Kenneth, the little son of Mr. and Mrs. Irvin Jolley, was on the sick list last week.

Silas, the little son of Mr. and Mrs. W. R. Young, is on the sick list this week.

(ibid, page 3)
— — — —

The Idaho Republican. August 01, 1919, Page 8

Aberdeen

The dry farm crops are a severe disappointment to the farmers this summer. The grasshoppers and gophers ruined the promising wheat which yielded by one bushel per acre in places. Most of the farmers are leaving for Oregon.

J. W. Unruh sold his dry farm to a party in Minnesota and intends to move to California.

Moreland

The shower Monday night was greatly appreciated here, for crops under the People’s canal are in a pitiful condition, and the rain will help to save them until, it is hoped, some water can be obtained. Much of the grain will be shrunken; the second crop of hay an almost total failure, most of the beets doomed, and even the trees in danger of death. Some of the farmers will be in danger of losing their homes; hay will be hard to buy at any price and cattle will have to be sold before winter, by many who have little or no feed for them and cannot afford to buy it.

It is the opinion of some, that the people under this canal have not received justice and a few believe that the gates should have been opened regardless of consequences.

W. T. England and C. J. Christiansen returned Saturday from a trip to the reservoir on water matters. They report but little water left in the reservoir and little water coming into it from the mountain streams.

The Danskin Ditch company has agreed to let the Peoples’ Canal company have their water for three days, commencing Thursday.

Sterling

G. L. Andrews and J. P. Hutchison vaccinated their cattle Sunday.
— —

The Children Win Equality With Stock

Dr. Raphael S. Olsen, child specialist and lecturer in pediatrics of the school of medicine of the University of Utah, is in Idaho again this week under the farm bureau auspices. In each town he visits, he conducts a demonstration each forenoon and afternoon, at which children are examined and their mothers are advised how to care for them, thus giving the mothers some of the same sort of expert aid in caring for their children that the farmers already have been receiving in caring for their stock. This week’s engagements are for Idaho Falls Wednesday, St. Anthony Friday and Rexburg Saturday.

(ibid, page 8)
— — — — — — — — — —

Landore, Idaho ca. 1920

Photo courtesy: the Mike Fritz Collection, History of Idaho
— — — — — — — — — —

August 8

The Oakley Herald. August 08, 1919, Page 1

Locals and Personals

Mrs. B. F. Cowles is recovering after an attack of lagrippe.

It is reported that the wheat crop on the east side of the valley in Basin will average from 15 to 25 bushels per acre.

Churchill News

The hail storm which visited Churchill was a disastrous one to some who were not fortunate enough to be insured. The crops were poor at the best after such a drought and extremely bad year. To have it hit by hail makes it doubly bad.
— —

The Idaho State Health Department is campaigning to banish cats from the households of this state on the ground that they are disseminators of disease and therefore dangerous to have around where there are children.

source: The Oakley Herald. (Oakley, Idaho), 08 Aug. 1919. Chronicling America: Historic American Newspapers. Lib. of Congress.
— — — —

The Oakley Herald. August 08, 1919, Page 8

Wedded At Grave’s Edge
Remarkable Ceremony by Which Philadelphia Jews Hoped to Stop Ravages of Influenza

With the hope of protecting the orthodox Russian Jews in Philadelphia from further ravages of the influenza epidemic two Hebrews were married at the first line of graves in the Jewish cemetery a few months ago. More than 1,200 Russian Jews watched the rabbi perform the wedding ceremony.

When the couple were pronounced man and wife, the orthodox among the spectators filed solemnly past the couple and made them presents of money in sums ranging from ten cents to a hundred dollars, according to the means and circumstances of the donor until more than $1,000 had been given.

After the last offering the bride and bridegroom walked to the greensward farther from the graves, where a wedding feast was quickly spread from the two truckloads of food that other of the faithful had provided.

The marriage in a cemetery, with the idea of warding off the ravages of an epidemic, is a revival of a custom that has prevailed for hundreds of years among the Jews in the heart of Russia. When Russia was swept by cholera several centuries ago Jews died by the hundreds. Panic seized them, and they called a council of elders and rabbis, who decided that the attention of God should be called to the affliction of their fellows if the most humble man and woman among them should join in marriage in the presence of the dead.

So they asked a young man and a woman, who were unknown to each other and who were without wealth to marry in order to save their fellows from the cholera scourge. The young people agreed, and the ceremony was performed. According to the tradition the ravages of the cholera subsided within three days. — Youth’s Companion.

(ibid, page 8)
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Main Street, Lapwai, Idaho

Photo courtesy: the Mike Fritz Collection, History of Idaho
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August 12

Bonners Ferry Herald. August 12, 1919, Page 1

Mrs. Callahan Passes Away
Died From Pneumonia In Seattle Hospital On Saturday Morning
Funeral Held This Morning
Large Crowds Pay Last Honors To a Respected Matron

Relatives and friends of Mrs. P. H. Callahan were greatly shocked and grieved when the news came on Saturday of her death at the Providence hospital in Seattle, at six o’clock that morning, death resulting from pneumonia.

Mrs. Callahan had been taking treatments of a specialist in Seattle for several months and seemed to be improving and her friends here had no idea that she was so near death’s door. Only her daughter, Mrs. C. L. Collins, and her sister, Mrs. Ed Miller, were with her at the time of her death for her condition was not realized until the day before she died and then there was not time in which to get word to the members of her family. Mr. Callahan received word of his wife’s illness but was not able to reach her bedside before her death.

The body was shipped here, arriving Monday morning, in charge of Mr. Callahan who was accompanied by Mrs. Collins and Mrs. Miller.

The funeral services were held at ten o’clock this morning at the Catholic church, Rev. Fr. Kelly, of Sandpoint, conducting the services. …

The services were attended by a crowd that filled the church to overflowing and there were several dozen bouquets and floral designs banked on and about the coffin which had been brought by local friends of the deceased or had been sent by friends in many towns of the surrounding country.

Mary Geary Callahan was born at Fort Dodge, Iowa, January 6, 1865. She was married at Fort Dodge on February 18, 1887, to P. H. Callahan and at that time moved to North Dakota, where she lived until 1901 when with her husband and children she came to Bonners Ferry.

The deceased is survived by her husband and five children, two children T. J. Callahan and Nellie Forsythe having died several years ago. … She is also survived by five grandchildren and five sisters and one brother …
— —

John Murphy Passes Away
Funeral Held Here Yesterday Afternoon – Lived at Sandpoint

John Morphy, well known in this district and in Bonner county, died Friday evening of pneumonia. A private funeral was held yesterday afternoon, mass for the dead being conducted by the Rev. Fr. Kelly.

The deceased was 57 years old and, so far as known, had no relatives in this district.

Last Wednesday Murphy was thrown from a wagon at the camp of Inland Paper Co., in a runaway accident. No bones were broken but he suffered a scalp wound. He was brought to the hospital and was treated by Dr. Fry. It is believed that he was sick at the time of the accident and because of his weakened condition resulting from a severe attack of Spanish influenza a few months ago, his system was not able to resist the attack of pneumonia.

The deceased was formerly in business in Sandpoint and conducted a saloon there about 12 or 13 years ago.

source: Bonners Ferry Herald. (Bonners Ferry, Idaho), 12 Aug. 1919. Chronicling America: Historic American Newspapers. Lib. of Congress.
— — — —

Bonners Ferry Herald. August 12, 1919, Page 7

He Walks Around Island
New Jersey Man Takes Stroll Around Porto Rico and is Glad He Did

San Juan, P. R. — M. K. McCosh of East Orange, N. J., strolled into San Juan a few days ago after a tramp around the entire island, which took him three weeks, feeling fine and declaring that the well-meaning friends who had warned him he would not find any food fit to eat in the small hotels had been sadly misinformed., He found the hostelries in the small places clean and the food good, and he said the object of his trip, to recuperate from the effects of an attack of ptomaine poisoning and a siege of the influenza, had been realized. He came here intending to make the return trip on the same steamer, but he found the sea voyage had not helped him as much as he had hoped and he decided to stay over and make his long tramp. Now he is glad he did it.

(ibid, page 7)
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Leadore, Idaho ca. 1912

Photo courtesy: the Mike Fritz Collection, History of Idaho
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August 15

Clearwater Republican. August 15, 1919, Page 10

Commissioners’ Proceedings Clearwater County, Idaho.

Orofino, Idaho, July 22, 1919

Board of County Commissioners convened in regular session pursuant to adjournment of yesterday, all members being present the following business was transacted, to-wit:

Minutes of last meeting read and approved.

Officers Quarterly Reports Examined and Approved for quarter ending July 12th, 1919.

County Auditor.
County Treasurer.
County Sheriff.

Ordered that the Clerk of this board with the assistance of the County Physician take steps to collect from those persons who required medical attention and care at the Red Cross Hospital during the influenza epidemic.

Board adjourns until July 23 1919, at 9 o’clock a.m. …

source: Clearwater Republican. (Orofino, Idaho), 15 Aug. 1919. Chronicling America: Historic American Newspapers. Lib. of Congress.
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Bird’s Eye View of Part of Lewiston, Idaho ca. 1907

Photo courtesy: the Mike Fritz Collection, History of Idaho
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August 19

The Idaho Republican. August 19, 1919, Page 5

Local News

C. V. Evans, who has been critically ill at his home for the past several weeks, was taken to his brother’s hospital at Omaha Friday morning, where his brother, who is a skilled doctor will treat him.
— —

Care for Sick Soldiers

Uncle Sam will provide sanatorium and hospital care for all the boys discharged from army or naval service, so far as their sickness or disability was contracted in the service of their country. The United public health service has already undertaken this stupendous task and is busily engaged in enlarging its hospital facilities all over the country.

source: The Idaho Republican. (Blackfoot, Idaho), 19 Aug. 1919. Chronicling America: Historic American Newspapers. Lib. of Congress.
— — — —

The Idaho Republican. August 19, 1919, Page 6

Idaho Budget

Criminal complaints were filed in the probate court at Caldwell by Dr. Ernest E. Laubaugh of the state health department against Mayor H. H. Keim of Nampa and Ira Beam, charged with violating health regulations.

Disease of a most insidious nature is threatening elm trees of Boise, according to H. P Ashby, city park supervisor. This disease is the European elm scale, which first appeared in this country in 1894, attacking all varieties of elk trees, especially Scotch elms.

(ibid, page 6)
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The Idaho Republican. August 19, 1919, Page 7

Firth

Mrs. William Johnson died at her home Friday afternoon, Aug. 15. She leaves a husband and four small children to mourn her loss. The remains will be shipped to Rockford, Ill. for burial.

(ibid, page 7)
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The Idaho Republican. August 19, 1919, Page 8

1,068,932 Died In U.S. In 1917
Heart Disease, Pneumonia, Tuberculosis, Chief Causes
Influenza Heads Epidemics
Census Bureau’s Compilation of Mortality Statistics Made Public – Death Rate From Heart Disease Shows Noticeable Decrease as Compared With 1916 – Next to Influenza Highest Death Rate From Epidemic Disease Was Diphtheria

The census bureau’s annual compilation of mortality statistics for the death-registration area in continental United States shows 1,068,932 deaths as having occurred in this area in 1917, representing a rate of 14.2 per 1,000 of population.

Of deaths, nearly one-third were due to three causes – heart disease, pneumonia and tuberculosis – and nearly another third resulted from the following nine causes: Bright’s disease and nephritis, apoplexy, cancer, diarrhoea [sic] and enteritis, arterial diseases, influenza, diabetes, diphtheria and bronchitis. The death-registration area of the United States in 1917 comprised 27 states, the district of Columbia and 46 cities in non-registration states, with a total estimated population of 75,000,000, or about 73 per cent of the estimated population of the United States.

Fewer Die of Heart Disease

The deaths from heart disease (organic diseases of the heart and endocarditis) number 115,376, or 153.2 per 100,000 population. The death rate from this cause shows a noticeable decrease as compared with 1916, when it was 159.4 per 100,000. There have been fluctuations from year to year, but in general there has been a marked increase since 1900, the earliest year for which the annual mortality statistics were published, when the rate for heart disease was only 123.1 per 100,000.

Pneumonia (including broncho-pneumonia) was responsible for 112,881 deaths, or 149.8 per 100,000. This rate, although much lower than that for 1900 (180.5) or for several succeeding years, is higher than that for any year during the period 1908-1916. The lowest recorded rate for pneumonia was 127 per 100,000 in 1914. The mortality from this disease has fluctuated considerably from year to year since 1900, the general tendency having been downward until 1914 and upward from 1914 to 1917.

Tuberculosis in its various forms caused 110,285 deaths, of which 97,047 were due to tuberculosis of the lungs. The death rate from all forms of tuberculosis was 146.4 per 100,000, and from tuberculosis of the lungs 128.9. The rate from tuberculosis of all forms declined continuously from 200.7 per 100,000 in 1904 to 141.6 per 100,000 in 1916, the decrease amounting to nearly 30 per cent; but for 1917 an increase is shown. Until 1912 more deaths were due to tuberculosis than to any other single cause but in that year and during the period 1914-1917 the mortality from tuberculosis was less than that from heart diseases, and in 1917 it fell below that from pneumonia also.

Cancer Fatalities Greater

Cancer and other malignant tumors caused 61,452 deaths, of which number 28,413, or 38 per cent, resulted from cancer of the stomach and liver. The rate for cancer has risen from 63 per 100,000 in 1900 to 81.6 in 1917. The increase has not been continuous, there having been three years – 1906, 1911 and 1917 – which showed declines as compared with the years immediately preceding. The decrease in 1917, as compared with 1916, however, was very slight – from 81.8 to 81.6. It should be borne in mind that at least part of the increase in the death rate from cancer may be apparent rather than real, being due to a greater degrees of accuracy in diagnosis and to greater care on the part of physicians in making reports to registration officials.

Influenza was responsible for 12,974 deaths, or 17.2 per 100,000. This rate is the highest shown for any epidemic disease in 1917, but is much lower than the corresponding one for the preceding year, 26.5 per 100,000. The influenza rate, which fluctuates greatly, was highest in 1901, when it stood at 32.2, than in any subsequent year prior to the occurrence of the recent epidemic.

Next to that for influenza, the highest rate appearing for any epidemic disease in 1917 was for diphtheria, 14.5 per 100,000, representing 12,458 deaths. The rate from this disease was somewhat higher in 1917 than in the preceding year, when it stood at 14.5 per 100,000.

Bronchitis caused 12,811 deaths, or 16.8 per 100,000. This rate is lower than that for any preceding year except 1916, when it was 16.0. The proportional decline from 1900, for which year the bronchitis rate was 45.7, to 1917, amounting to 64 per cent, was greater than that shown for any other important cause of death.

Typhoid Fever resulted in 10,113 deaths, or 13.4 per 100,000. The mortality rate from this cause also has shown a remarkable reduction since 1900, when it was 35.9, the proportional decrease amounting to 63 per cent. This highly gratifying decline demonstrates in a striking manner the efficiency of improved sanitation and of …

(continued page 5)

the modern method of prevention – the use of the anti-typhoid vaccine.

The greatest number of deaths charged to any one accidental cause = 11,114, or 14.8 per 100,000 – is shown for falls. The rate for this cause varies but slightly from year to year. Next to falls, the greatest number of accidental deaths – 8,649, or 11.5 per 100,000 – resulted from railroad accidents and injuries. …

[chart]

Automobile Death Rate Grows

Deaths from automobile accidents and injuries in 1917 totaled 6,724, or 8.9 per 100,000 population. This rate has risen rapidly from year to year, but not so rapidly as the rate of increase in the number of automobiles in use.

Deaths due to accidental asphyxiation (except in conflagrations) numbered 3,375, or 4.5 per 100,000. This rate is somewhat higher than that for any year during the preceding ten-year period.

Hot weather caused 1,964 deaths, or 2.6 per 100,000. This rate is considerably above those for most of the years covered by the bureau’s records, but is somewhat lower than 2.9 in 1916 and is far below 5.3 in 1911. The rate from this cause naturally varies greatly from year to year.

(ibid, page 8)
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Bonners Ferry Herald. August 19, 1919, Page 1

Dr. and Mrs. Faucett Here

Capt. S. T. Faucett, recently discharged from the medical corps of the U. S. army at Camp Russell, Wyo., arrived here Friday with his wife, who while Capt. Faucett was overseas, lived with relatives in Chicago and various parts of Wisconsin.

Capt. and Mrs. Faucett have arranged to reside in the Otto F. Mathiesen home until they can secure a permanent residence or until the return of the Mathiesen family from a several weeks auto touring trip.

Capt. Faucett will be associated with Dr. Fry here in the practice of medicine, having given up this practice just two years ago to volunteer his services to the government. He enlisted as a 1st lieutenant and was advanced to the rank of captain.

Until the armistice was signed he was battalion surgeon for the 359th Infantry, 90th Division and when the peace pact was signed and the 90th Division returned to America he was assigned to duty with the army of occupation in Germany.

Capt. Faucett saw service on the front lines and was a participant in the Argonne and St. Mihiel drives, being slightly gassed in the St. Mihiel engagement. While in France he was also a victim of the Spanish influenza.

Capt. Faucett says that army life is not so bad in war times but at times it is pretty exciting and that he has often thought of Bonners Ferry as being about the finest place in the world.

source: Bonners Ferry Herald. (Bonners Ferry, Idaho), 19 Aug. 1919. Chronicling America: Historic American Newspapers. Lib. of Congress.
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Bonners Ferry Herald. August 19, 1919, Page 4

Local Pick-ups

The four children of Wm. Peters, of Copeland, have been admitted to the children’s home at Lewiston and will be taken there today or tomorrow on the order of Probate Judge Henderson.

E. B. Schlette, forest ranger for the Copeland district, was a business visitor in town Saturday. He states that there have been some very serious fires in his district this year and that it has required hard work and constant effort to keep them under control.

(ibid, page 4)
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Cattle Passing Through Leesburg, Idaho ca. 1908

Photo courtesy: the Mike Fritz Collection, History of Idaho
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August 21

The Emmett Index. August 21, 1919, Page 11

Got Weary Of “Flu” Talk
Visitor to Indianapolis Very Much Fed Up With Conversations Relating to the Epidemic

L. B. Andrus of Grand Rapids, Mich., chief of the Merchants Heat and Light company, is laboring under the impression that some “Hoosier jinx” was trailing him Wednesday evening.

While taking dinner at a hotel he was surrounded by delegates to the casket manufacturer’s convention. After hearing them discuss their business, which discussion naturally had many references to the influenza epidemic, he concluded it was no place for him.

As the evening rolled on, he began debating with himself the question whether the epidemic was going to get him, so he decided to take a Turkish bath. He had only been there a short time when a sick-looking individual came in, and in a conversation with Mr. Andrus said that he had only recently got over a severe case of the influenza, and he had been advised that a Turkish bath would get the poison out of his system and assist him to recover more rapidly.

When he was talking with this man, another man came in sneezing and coughing and inquired of Mr. Andrus whether he thought a Turkish bath would prevent a fellow from getting a bad case of the influenza.

By this time Andrus said to the attendant: “Get me out of here as quickly as possible. I have given about as much time as I care to presiding at the flu conference in Indianapolis.” – Indianapolis News.

source: The Emmett Index. (Emmett, Idaho), 21 Aug. 1919. Chronicling America: Historic American Newspapers. Lib. of Congress.
— — — — — — — — — —

Browning Merchantile, Lorenzo, Idaho

Photo courtesy: the Mike Fritz Collection, History of Idaho
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August 22

Cottonwood Chronicle. August 22, 1919, Page 1

Will Open September 8
Hope To Have A successful Year – Teachers Have Signed up

The Cottonwood public schools will open their term for 1919-1920 on September 8th. The school board, with the assistance of Superintendent Lustie have selected a very capable force of teachers, all positions having been filled but that of the third and fourth grade teacher. Teachers have been very scarce and hard to obtain and at one time every position was filled but when the contracts were set to be filled in they have declined to accept the positions due perhaps to higher wages paid somewhere else. As one member of the board stated: “We have hired enough teacher to run a school three times the size of Cottonwood.” …

It is the hope of the school board, as well as everyone else that the school year this term will not be interrupted as was the case last year on account of influenza during which time the school was closed for several weeks. After the re-opening of the school after the flu epidemic, school work had to be rushed by both the teachers and pupils and proved to be a great injustice to both.
— —

News Around The State
Items of Interest From Various sections Reproduced for Benefit of Our Readers

Prompt action on the part of the Nez Perce county farm bureau probably served to check what might have proven a serious epidemic of influenza among the horses of that section of the country. The discovery of the incipient plague did not come about, however, until after two valuable horses belonging to F. Wicks of Gifford had succumbed and others belonging to the same owner were afflicted. It was the Wicks place that the malady was first found.

Grasshoppers from Idaho county have crossed the Lawyer canyon and invaded Nezperce in swarms, causing havoc to gardens.

Such a low state of water has been reached in the Snake river that it has been necessary to make extensions of intake pipes on the fruit ranches along the lower Snake.
— —

Beyond Control

Forest fires in the Selway National forests are reported to be beyond control. The fire is burning over a front of 35 miles.
— —

Will Fight Fires

The Camas Prairie passenger train Tuesday evening carried an extra coach to accommodate the 65 fire fighters that were sent from Spokane to the Nezperce National Forest to fight fires.
— —

Fires Can Be Seen

Forest fires, which have been raging fiercely in the Selway and Nezperce National forests can be clearly seen from almost any point on the prairie. In the day time, large volumes of smoke can be seen rising to the skies, at night the flames can be seen shooting their light towards the heavens. The one, most noticeable, the first of the week, was the fire in the Selway country, which is also one of the largest fires raging in North Idaho at the present time.

Fires could also be seen very plainly in the Joseph country. These fires have to be fought by the homesteaders as the government gives no assistance to land owned by homesteaders. At the present time, the only salvation to save the timber from ruin in the path of the fires seems to be rain.

source: Cottonwood Chronicle. (Cottonwood, Idaho), 22 Aug. 1919. Chronicling America: Historic American Newspapers. Lib. of Congress.
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The Kendrick Gazette. August 22, 1919, Page 1

School Notes

The Kendrick Public Schools, both high and grades, will open September 8th. A large attendance is reported on account of the light attendance last year due to the influenza. All pupils should enroll early.

All parents intending to start young children for the first time should see that the children enroll the first day. Older pupils can make up a moderate amount of lost time, but beginners can not. There will be but one beginning class during the year as usual. Consequently all beginners should start in September. Children six years of age and those who will be six during the early part of the term may start if they are mature enough. It is not best to start children too young. Parents who have children to enter the beginning class are requested to report the name and age at once to either Harry G. Stanton or D. R. White. It may be well for the parents to understand that half year classes would mean more teachers.

The teaching staff for the coming year is unusually strong. It is unfortunate that many former teachers will not be back, but good teachers have been chosen to take their places. …

A very successful year is anticipated.
— —

Southwick Items

A forest fire near Cedar Creek and one near Teakean keeps this part of the country well supplied with smoke.

source: The Kendrick Gazette. (Kendrick, Idaho), 22 Aug. 1919. Chronicling America: Historic American Newspapers. Lib. of Congress.
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The Caldwell Tribune. August 22, 1919, Page 3

Last Season Good

“Last season because of the S. A. T. C. work and the influenza, athletic activities were curtailed somewhat but Idaho walloped W. S. C. at Pullman and trimmed Gonzaga two successive games. Practically every man who played last fall will don the padded pants again this fall and many of those who were in the army for a season or two, will be in harness again. …
— —

Roswell Locals

Miss Lena Fretwell was in Caldwell the first of the week visiting a cousin, Sammy Wilson, who is ill at a hospital there.

Lawrence Wamstad was in Boise Sunday to visit his sister, Mrs. Frank Galyan, who is ill at St. Alphonsus.

Mr. Benj. F. Swan died August 13th at St. Alphonsus hospital in Boise after ten days illness with typhoid. … Mrs. Swan died July 14 from typhoid. … There are seven children, Kenneth who is in the U. S. regulars; Bernard, Donald, Mildred, Paul and Beta. Donald and Paul are in St. Alphonsus hospital now with typhoid. …

source: The Caldwell Tribune. (Caldwell, Idaho), 22 Aug. 1919. Chronicling America: Historic American Newspapers. Lib. of Congress.
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View of South Fork River at Lowman, Idaho

Photo courtesy: the Mike Fritz Collection, History of Idaho
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August 27

The Daily Star-Mirror., August 27, 1919, Page 2

Influenza Among Horses

There is an influenza epidemic among the horses in the Gifford section. A number of valuable animals have been lost as a result of the ravages of the disease. The farmers are resorting to vaccination as a preventive measure. – Kendrick Gazette

source: The Daily Star-Mirror. (Moscow, Idaho), 27 Aug. 1919. Chronicling America: Historic American Newspapers. Lib. of Congress.
— — — —

The Daily Star-Mirror., August 27, 1919, Page 3

Jews In Serbia In Bad Plight
Economic Ruin and Epidemics Have Fallen to Their Lot in Balkans
Bulgarian Outlook Better
Investigator Urges Shipments of Food and Clothing to Roumania [sic] – Fund of $35,000,000 Being Sought in United States

New York. – Reports of the condition of Jews in the Balkan countries, as made to the American Jewish Relief committee by its investigators abroad, show that economic ruin, epidemics of typhus, tuberculosis, and other diseases have fallen to the lot of Balkan Jews to an extent equal to that suffered by their co-religionists in other war-torn countries, but that political and religious repressive measures have been lacking.

The first detailed account of the situation in Serbia in many months is from Dr. Isaac Alcalay, chief rabbi of Serbia, with headquarters in Belgrade. He said Belgrade was still without regular communication with the provinces, because the railroads and bridges destroyed by the Austrians have not been restored.

“During the war,” he wrote, “Jews in Belgrade suffered proportionately more than the rest of the population. Most of their habitations were exposed to gunfire throughout the 15 months that the city was under bombardment. Almost all homes are destroyed. The Jewish population of the city, formerly 8,000, now numbers no more than 4,500. The number is being increased daily by returning refugees. Many men are still with the colors. …

(ibid, page 3)
— — — —

The Daily Star-Mirror., August 27, 1919, Page 5

City News

P. H. Teare is quite ill at his home five miles east of town.
— —

New-World Knights Strong Peace Army …

One of the reasons why the Knights of Columbus were able to render such valuable service to the men in the uniform of the United States army, navy an marines was that back of the K. of C. and the public support they received was a thriving fraternal organization, growing rapidly in all parts of the North American continent. William J. McGinley of New York, Supreme Secretary of the K. of C., in his annual report to the Supreme Convention of the K. of C., shows that the Knights have had a magnificent organization with which to put into effect their various movements for the benefit of the nation’s defenders. …

The finances of the Knights of Columbus, Secretary McGinley’s report shows, are in an exceptionally flourishing condition. The present assets of the K. of C., exclusive, of course, of the special war funds, are over $8,500,000. The influenza epidemic cost the Knights the past year in payments to beneficiaries of insurance members $1,149,000. The total death benefits paid during the year amounted to $2,175,394.98 making a total of $13,123,646.76 since the beginning of the order. The total insurance in force this year in the K. of C. amounts to $161,353,565.33.

There were 5,676 deaths in the organization during the year, of which 3,150 were members who had insurance in the order. Despite this, however, there was a gross increase in membership of 121,891. …

(ibid, page 5)
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Leland, Idaho from Elevation at East End of Main Street Looking West ca. 1913 (1)

Photo courtesy: the Mike Fritz Collection, History of Idaho
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August 28

The Filer Record., August 28, 1919, Page 1

Scouts Return Visit of Flu

Cincinnati. — Recurrence of influenza in epidemic form this fall is unlikely, said Health Officer William H. Peters, taking issue with Dr. Royal S. Copeland, New York health commissioner.
— —

source: The Filer Record. (Filer, Idaho), 28 Aug. 1919. Chronicling America: Historic American Newspapers. Lib. of Congress.
— — — —

The Filer Record., August 28, 1919, Page 2

Samoans Liked Ice Cream Sodas

A member of the United States medical corps, recently returned to Ellinwood, Kas., reports that ice cream sodas have made a profound impression upon the Samoans. The officer was detailed in charge of the soda fountain of the military drug store at the Pago-Pago naval station, and reports that his patients took much more kindly to the sodas than to the anti-influenza serum which he was obliged to dispense.

(ibid, page 2)
— — — —

The Filer Record., August 28, 1919, Page 3

Baby Dies

Dale Sealey, age about sixteen months, son of L. A. Sealey, died Tuesday afternoon following an attack of summer diarrhoea [sic]. Funeral services will occur at Kimberly today and interment will be made at Twin Falls cemetery.

Following the death of the child’s mother last November, the baby was adopted by Mr. and Mrs. Ben Train of Kimberly. A short time ago it developed a severe case of summer diarrhoea [sic] and on Sunday last was brought here for treatment. Everything possible was done to save the life of the little one but without avail, and death relieved its suffering. Sympathy is extended to the bereaved ones.

(ibid, page 3)
— — — —

The Filer Record., August 28, 1919, Page 8

Glad Horse Kicked Him

Mifflintown, Pa. — “I am thankful that horse kicked me in the face on January 10,” private John A. Allen of Thompsontown announced when he returned home several days ago. He believes the injury he suffered from the horse was responsible for his early return to this country and his discharge. He served for two weeks in the heaviest fighting in the Argonne forest with a unit of engineers, and later was in a Paris hospital for several weeks with influenza and pneumonia.

(ibid, page 8)
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Idaho County Free Press. August 28, 1919, Page 4

Clearwater

(Special Correspondence)

Word of the death of Lester Lytle was received here Tuesday. The boy had not been in good health since having the influenza last spring. His mother, Mrs. Grace Lytle, started with him for Red River Hot Springs in hope he would regain his health, but on arrival in Elk City the boy proved to be so weak that they thought a few days’ rest was best before proceeding to the springs. Instead of gaining, he grew worse. Dr. R. J. Alcorn of Grangeville was called, but too late. The boy died. The body will be brought to Clearwater for burial.

J. W. Yarbrough, former proprietor of the Newsome House, is quite ill with typhoid fever at that place.

Stites

Mrs. O. A. Hammons, who has been very ill, is convalescing.

Funeral services for the infant child of Mr. and Mrs. C. H. Hern were held Wednesday afternoon. Interment was in the I. O. O. F. cemetery.

source: Idaho County Free Press. (Grangeville, Idaho), 28 Aug. 1919. Chronicling America: Historic American Newspapers. Lib. of Congress.
————-

Further Reading

Porto Rico

The island’s name was changed to Porto Rico by the United States after the Treaty of Paris of 1898. The anglicized name was used by the U.S. government and private enterprises. The name was changed back to Puerto Rico in 1931 by a joint resolution in Congress introduced by Félix Córdova Dávila.

excerpted from: Wikipedia
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‘Spanish’ flu and army horses: what historians and biologists can learn from a history of animals with flu during the 1918–1919 influenza pandemic

Floor Haalboom November 2014 Studium (Rotterdam 7(3):124

Abstract

At the time of the 1918–1919 ‘Spanish’ influenza pandemic, influenza researchers did not just relate this disease to the human population, despite the focus of historians of medicine on its human aspects and meanings. In line with the use of historical reports of animals with influenza in present-day microbiological studies on influenza among different animal species, this article investigates understandings of animal influenza in the Netherlands during the 1918–1919 pandemic. The article adds to microbiological uses of the historical record by putting observations of animals with influenza in historical contexts, in particular the context of military dealings with influenza at the end of the First World War, and the social position of veterinary medicine. The case of the Dutch military horse veterinarian Emile Bemelmans, who argued that human and horse influenza were identical, illustrates that knowledge of these contexts is important to critically use historical sources reporting animals with influenza in present-day biological influenza research.

Arrival of ill and wounded army horses. Examination for infectious diseases (in this case glanders). Glass negative by the photographer Herman de Ruiter made for: J. Kooiman, De Nederlandsche Strijdmacht en hare Mobilisatie in het jaar 1914 (Purmerend 1915). Collection Nationaal Militair Museum, Soesterberg, nr. 108924.

‘Spanish’ flu and army horses125In August 1918, physician P.H. Kramer, officer of health of the Dutch Militair Geneeskun-dige Dienst (Military Health Service, hereafter MGD), discussed an exceptional event in war-stricken Europe:

a disease of an exceptional epidemic character, which has not honoured the neutral borders of our fatherland, and which has become known to us closely under the name of ‘Spanish flu’ or ‘Spanish illness’.

Whether this flu was really of Spanish origin remains to be seen, as the reports on the epidemic were unreliable due to the circumstances of war. Kramer was writing during the start of what would become known as the 1918–1919 ‘Spanish’ influenza pandemic, which eventually killed tens of millions of people worldwide, a higher number than First World War related deaths.2 In the Netherlands, more than 16,000 people died during the height of the pandemic, in the autumn of 1918. The summer of 1918 and the spring of 1919 saw milder outbreaks, which still added several thousands of victims to the influenza death toll.3 Kramer, however, was still unaware of these figures, and wrote about an epidemic which travelled quickly, but remained relatively mild. Rather, Kramer expressed an interest in the dynamic properties of influenza epidemics in his overview: the symptoms appeared suddenly and were never exactly alike. Moreover, he discussed historical reports of ‘simultaneous outbreaks of infectious diseases among horses, dogs, cats or chickens, which one related to the raging disease among the people’.

Such historical accounts of the (apparent) link between diseases in animals and influenza pandemics among the human population have recently attracted the attention of microbiologists studying influenza. Their interest is driven by questions on the biological cause of the 1918–1919 pandemic, the influenza virus, and its evolution as it multiplies in different animal host species. Microbiologists want to understand the origin of novel influenza pandemics, and what role different animal species play in this. Historical sources promise to offer them an insight into influenza’s evolutionary ecology. As such, they look for observations of animals suffering from influenza in these sources. Some microbiologists give the First World War a special place in this story. They argue that the Great War offered special ecological circumstances for the influenza virus to thrive in, including plenty of opportunities of contact between large numbers of soldiers and animals. These circumstances might have resulted in a new influenza virus of exceptional virulence, which eventually caused the 1918–1919 pandemic.

continued:
— — — — — — — — — —

The ‘Influenza’ Vaccine Used during the Samoan Pandemic of 1918

G. Dennis Shanks – NIH

Abstract

In 1918, a crude influenza vaccine made from chemically inactivated, mixed cultures of respiratory bacteria was widely used prior to the understanding that influenza was caused by a virus. Such vaccines contained no viral material and probably consisted largely of bacterial endotoxin. The Australian military used such a vaccine on Samoa in December 1918 and thought it was valuable. Post hoc analyses suggest that the mixed respiratory bacteria vaccine may have actually been of some benefit, but the mechanism of such protection is unknown. Although such a crude vaccine would not be considered in a modern setting, the rapid use of problematic vaccines still remains a risk when new influenza types suddenly appear, as in 1976 and 2009.

continued: US National Library of Medicine National Institutes of Health
— — — —

Influenza in Samoa

Chapter 10 The 1918 influenza pandemic

On 7 November 1918, the New Zealand passenger and cargo ship Talune arrived at Apia from Auckland. On board were people suffering from pneumonic influenza, a highly infectious disease already responsible for hundreds of thousands of deaths around the world. Although the Talune had been quarantined in Fiji, no such restrictions were imposed in Samoa. Sick passengers were allowed to disembark.

The steamship Talune at the Napier breakwater in 1908. source link:

The disease spread rapidly through the islands. Samoa’s disorganised local health facilities and traumatised inhabitants were unable to cope with the magnitude of the disaster and the death toll rose with terrifying speed. Grieving families had no time to carry out traditional ceremonies for their loved ones. Bodies were wrapped in mats and collected by trucks for burial in mass graves.

The total number of deaths attributable to influenza was later estimated as 8500, 22% of the population. According to a 1947 United Nations report, it was ‘one of the most disastrous epidemics recorded anywhere in the world during the present century, so far as the proportion of deaths to the population is concerned’.

Survivors blamed the New Zealand Administrator, Lieutenant-Colonel Robert Logan, for failing to quarantine Talune and for rejecting an offer of medical assistance from American Samoa. A Royal Commission called to enquire into the allegations found evidence of administrative neglect and poor judgement.

Logan seemed unable to comprehend the depth of feeling against him and his administration. He left Samoa in early 1919 and did not return. His successor, Colonel R.W. Tate (1920-23), was faced with immense grief and ongoing resentment.

[It is] temporary and, like children, they [Samoans] will get over it provided they are handled with care… They will later on remember all that has been done for them in the previous four years…

Logan’s report on his administration of Western Samoa, 8 August 1919, IT 1/1/1D

The influenza pandemic had a significant impact on New Zealand’s administration of Samoa. Many older matai (chiefs) died, making way for new leaders more familiar with European ways. For survivors, the incident was seared into memory. It became the foundation upon which other grievances against the New Zealand authorities would be built.

source: (Ministry for Culture and Heritage), updated 22-Apr-2020
— — — — — — — — — —

Heat and Summer Diarrhea

John Zahorsky, M.D. JAMA Pediatrics

Abstract

The theory that the extreme elevation of the temperature during July, August and September is the direct cause of summer diarrhea was very popular with the early American physicians. Booker has given us an interesting history of the subject. Diarrhea in infancy as a summer disease was not recognized in Europe until recent times, but was accurately described by Benjamin Rush of Philadelphia in 1777. To this physician is also credited the theory that heat is the principal factor in the causation of the disease, but a careful reading of his article shows that he was inclined to view the disease as a modification of malaria. It was really Dr. E. Hornell of Philadelphia in 1823 who first clearly expressed the direct connection between heat and cholera infantum.

source: JAMA
—————-

Back to Table of Contents
Link to Idaho 1918 Influenza Pandemic (Part 1)
Link to Idaho 1918 Influenza Pandemic (Part 2)
Link to Idaho 1918 Influenza Pandemic (Part 3)
Link to Idaho 1918 Influenza Pandemic (Part 4)
Link to Idaho 1918 Influenza Pandemic (Part 5)
Link to Idaho 1918 Influenza Pandemic (Part 6)
Link to Idaho 1918 Influenza Pandemic (Part 7)
Link to Idaho 1918 Influenza Pandemic (Part 8)
Link to Idaho 1918 Influenza Pandemic (Part 9)
Link to Idaho 1918 Influenza Pandemic (Part 10)
Link to Idaho 1918 Influenza Pandemic (Part 11)
Link to Idaho 1918 Influenza Pandemic (Part 12)
Link to Idaho 1918 Influenza Pandemic (Part 13)
Link to Idaho 1918 Influenza Pandemic (Part 14)
Link to Idaho 1918 Influenza Pandemic (Part 15)
Link to Idaho 1918 Influenza Pandemic (Part 16)
Link to Idaho 1918 Influenza Pandemic (Part 17)
Link to Idaho 1918 Influenza Pandemic (Part 18)
Link to Idaho 1918 Influenza Pandemic (Part 19)
Link to Idaho 1918 Influenza Pandemic (Part 20)
Link to Idaho 1918 Influenza Pandemic (Part 21)
Link to Idaho 1919 Influenza Pandemic (Part 22)
Link to Idaho 1919 Influenza Pandemic (Part 23)
Link to Idaho 1919 Influenza Pandemic (Part 24)
Link to Idaho 1919 Influenza Pandemic (Part 25)
Link to Idaho 1919 Influenza Pandemic (Part 26)
Link to Idaho 1919 Influenza Pandemic (Part 27)
Link to Idaho 1919 Influenza Pandemic (Part 28)
Link to Idaho 1919 Influenza Pandemic (Part 29)
Link to Idaho 1919 Influenza Pandemic (Part 30)
Link to Idaho 1919 Influenza Pandemic (Part 31)
Link to Idaho 1919 Influenza Pandemic (Part 32)
Link to Idaho 1919 Influenza Pandemic (Part 33)
Link to Idaho 1919 Influenza Pandemic (Part 34)
Link to Idaho 1919 Influenza Pandemic (Part 35)
Link to Idaho 1919 Influenza Pandemic (Part 36)
Link to Idaho 1919 Influenza Pandemic (Part 37)
Link to Idaho 1919 Influenza Pandemic (Part 38)
Link to Idaho 1919 Influenza Pandemic (Part 39)
Link to Idaho 1919 Influenza Pandemic (Part 40)
Link to Idaho 1919 Influenza Pandemic (Part 41)
Link to Idaho 1919 Influenza Pandemic (Part 42)
Link to Idaho 1919 Influenza Pandemic (Part 43)
Link to Idaho 1919 Influenza Pandemic (Part 44)
Link to Idaho 1919 Influenza Pandemic (Part 45)
Link to Idaho 1919 Influenza Pandemic (Part 46)
Link to Idaho 1919 Influenza Pandemic (Part 47)
Link to Idaho 1919 Influenza Pandemic (Part 48)
Link to Idaho 1919 Influenza Pandemic (Part 49)
Link to Idaho 1919 Influenza Pandemic (Part 50)
Link to Idaho 1919 Influenza Pandemic (Part 51)
Link to Idaho 1919 Influenza Pandemic (Part 52)
Link to Idaho 1919 Influenza Pandemic (Part 53)
Link to Idaho 1919 Influenza Pandemic (Part 54)
Link to Idaho 1919 Influenza Pandemic (Part 55)
Link to Idaho 1919 Influenza Pandemic (Part 56)
Link to Idaho 1919 Influenza Pandemic (Part 57)
Link to Idaho 1919 Influenza Pandemic (Part 58)
Link to Idaho 1919 Influenza Pandemic (Part 59)
Link to Idaho 1919 Influenza Pandemic (Part 60)
Link to Idaho 1919 Influenza Pandemic (Part 61)
Link to Idaho 1919 Influenza Pandemic (Part 62)
Link to Idaho 1919 Influenza Pandemic (Part 63)
Link to Idaho 1919 Influenza Pandemic (Part 64)
Link to Idaho 1919 Influenza Pandemic (Part 65)
Link to Idaho 1920 Influenza Pandemic (Part 66)
Link to Idaho 1920 Influenza Pandemic (Part 67)
Link to Idaho 1920 Influenza Pandemic (Part 68)
Link to Idaho 1920 Influenza Pandemic (Part 69)
Link to Idaho 1920 Influenza Pandemic (Part 70)
Link to Idaho 1920 Influenza Pandemic (Part 71)
Link to Idaho 1920 Influenza Pandemic (Part 72)
Link to Idaho 1920 Influenza Pandemic (Part 73)
Link to Idaho 1920 Influenza Pandemic (Part 74)
Link to Idaho 1920 Influenza Pandemic (Part 75)
Link to Idaho 1920 Influenza Pandemic (Part 76)
Link to Idaho 1920 Influenza Pandemic (Part 77)
Link to Idaho 1920 Influenza Pandemic (Part 78)
Link to Idaho 1920 Influenza Pandemic (Part 79)
Link to Idaho 1920 Influenza Pandemic (Part 80)
Link to Idaho 1920 Influenza Pandemic (Part 81)
Link to Idaho 1920 Influenza Pandemic (Part 82)
Link to Idaho 1920 Influenza Pandemic (Part 83)
Link to Idaho 1920 Influenza Pandemic (Part 84)
Link to Idaho 1920 Influenza Pandemic (Part 85)
Link to Idaho 1920 Influenza Pandemic (Part 86)
Link to Idaho 1920 Influenza Pandemic (Part 87)
Link to Idaho 1920 Influenza Pandemic (Part 88)
Link to Idaho 1920 Influenza Pandemic (Part 89)
Link to Idaho 1920 Influenza Pandemic (Part 90)
Link to Idaho 1920 Influenza Pandemic (Part 91)
Link to Idaho 1920 Influenza Pandemic (Part 92)
Link to Idaho 1920 Influenza Pandemic (Part 93)
Link to Idaho 1920 Influenza Pandemic (Part 94)
Link to Idaho 1920 Influenza Pandemic (Part 95)
Link to Idaho 1920 Influenza Pandemic (Part 96)
Link to Idaho 1920 Influenza Pandemic (Part 97)
Link to Idaho 1920 Influenza Pandemic (Part 98)
Link to Idaho 1920 Influenza Pandemic (Part 99)
Link to Idaho 1918 Influenza Pandemic Ads (Part 100)
Link to Idaho 1919 Influenza Pandemic Ads (Part 101)
Link to Idaho 1920 Influenza Pandemic Ads (Part 102)

Road Reports May 23, 2021

Please share road reports. Rock Migration season in progress. Conditions can change quickly, be prepared for rocks and trees in the road. There is still quite a bit of snow in higher elevations. Remember there is no cell phone service. Please turn on your vehicle lights when traveling our narrow mountain roads.

Yellow Pine: Local streets are clear. Please respect residents and wildlife and SLOW DOWN.
Drivers, please don’t speed through neighborhoods. Locals brake for kids, dogs, horses, deer, elk and squirrels.
link: Local Forecast
Yellow Pine Webcam: (check date on image)

Highway 55 Webcams Link:
Starting May 17, road closures will be reduced to a two-hour window: Monday – Thursday from 12:00 – 2:00 p.m. Opening times may change due to unforeseen circumstances (equipment, weather and daily blasting results) however we will make sure you are in the loop should this happen. This schedule will continue until May 27. Over Memorial Day Weekend, the road will be open to two lanes to allow for smooth travel over the holiday weekend.
Starting June 1, crews will transition into their summer construction schedule. Drivers can anticipate single-lane, alternating traffic controlled by flaggers Monday – early Friday morning. From Friday morning – Sunday, and any major holidays, the road will be open to two lanes. This schedule will be in place until September.
Project link:

Warm Lake Highway: Open
Report Fri (May 21) Report the road is clear from the SF turn off to Cascade.
Report Wed (May 19) Mail truck driver reports the highway is bare.
(Note: see report under upper Johnson Creek for Avalanche info.)
link: SNOTEL Big Creek Summit 6580′

South Fork Road: Open – Spring weight limits in effect. Watch for baby geese in the road.
Report Fri (May 21) Road is clear
Report Wed evening (May 21) looked like a large tree had come down and had been cleared.
Report Wed  morning (May 19) Mail truck driver reported the road was clear.
link: Tea Pot Weather Station 5175′
link: South Fork Stream Gauge

EFSF Road: Open – Watch for rocks.
Report Fri (May 21) “There’s one sizeable rock on the EF, between YP and Caton creek, but it’s not a problem.”
Report Wed (May 19) mail truck driver (Robert) says the EF road is getting rough.

Johnson Creek Road: Upper end closed to wheeled vehicles at Landmark. Will not open any time soon.
Report May 10: (Chris Jones, Cascade) “Avalanche up Warm Lake Road 5 miles past the North Shore Lodge turnoff. Just past the “waterfall” corner, blocking upper and lower portions of the next switchback. Valley County has been notified, says they will work on that situation when they start plowing the area. You can definitely get to Warm Lake, but the next summit is out of the question!”
link to photos on FB:
Report May 4: The lower end of Johnson Creek road is in good shape out to the dump.
link: Johnson Creek Airstrip Webcam
link: Johnson Creek Stream Gauge
Note: The elevation at Landmark is 6,630 feet

Lick Creek: Closed to wheeled vehicles.
Note: The elevation at Lick Creek Summit is 6,877 feet

Profile Creek Road: Closed to wheeled vehicles.
Note: The elevation at Profile summit is 7607 feet.

Big Creek Webcam: (check date on image)

Yellow Pine to Stibnite: Open
Update from PR April 14: “The avalanches have been cleared from the Stibnite road and the road is open. The surface of the road was mostly undamaged by the slides. Like every spring there are rocks coming down daily with the freeze and thaw cycles, and the road is still icy in the shaded spots.”
link: Stibnite Weather Station 6594′

Stibnite to Thunder Mountain: Closed to wheeled vehicles.
Note: The elevation at Monumental Summit is 8590 feet.

Big Creek to Elk Summit to Warrens Road: Closed to wheeled vehicles.
Note: The elevation at Elk Summit is nearly 9000 feet.

Deadwood Summit: Closed to wheeled vehicles.
Note: The approx. elevation at Deadwood Summit is 6,883 feet.
link: SNOTEL Deadwood Summit 6860′

Warren Wagon Road:
Update from Valley County May 18: “Warren Wagon Road to Secesh is now OPEN! The Valley County Road Department will begin plowing today toward Secesh and Warren. We anticipate getting past Warren and down to the South Fork by the end of this week assuming all goes according to plan.”

New Link
Valley County Road Maintenance Dashboard
——————

Weather Reports May 16-22, 2021

May 16 Weather:

At 9am it was 48 degrees and clear. At 1230pm it was clear and breezy. At 230pm warm, gusty breezes and a few tiny small clouds. At 6pm it was 76 degrees, lighter breezes and almost clear. At 9pm it was 62 degrees and light breeze. At 11pm it looked clear and breezy.

NOAA Weather report:

Observation time May 17, 2021 at 09:00AM
Clear
Max temperature 78 degrees F
Min temperature 36 degrees F
At observation 50 degrees F
Precipitation 0.00 inch
Snowfall 0.0 inch
Snow depth 0 inch
— — — — — — — — — —

May 17 Weather:

At 9am it was 50 degrees and clear. At 1220pm it was clear, warm and light breeze. At 2pm it was partly cloudy, very warm and breezy. At 515pm it was 78 degrees, partly cloudy and lighter breezes. At 920pm it was 58 degrees, clear and calmer. Looked clear and calm at 1030pm.

NOAA Weather report:

Observation time May 18, 2021 at 09:00AM
Clear
Max temperature 81 degrees F
Min temperature 37 degrees F
At observation 52 degrees F
Precipitation 0.00 inch
Snowfall 0.0 inch
Snow depth 0 inch
— — — — — — — — — —

May 18 Weather:

At 9am it was 52 degrees and clear. Gusty breezes before 11am. At 12pm it was mostly clear and breezy. At 530pm it was 66 degrees, partly cloudy and a little breezy. At 9pm it was 53 degrees, partly cloudy and calmer. At 11pm it looked partly cloudy and calm.

NOAA Weather report:

Observation time May 19, 2021 at 09:00AM
Dark overcast
Max temperature 70 degrees F
Min temperature 40 degrees F
At observation 44 degrees F
Precipitation 0.00 inch
Snowfall 0.0 inch
Snow depth 0 inch
— — — — — — — — — —

May 19 Weather:

At 9am it was 44 degrees and dark overcast. Getting a little breezy by 11am. At 1230pm it was 54 degrees, dark overcast and breezy. Started sprinkling around 220pm, not sure how long it lasted. A few sprinkles after 5pm. At 530pm it was 42 degrees, low overcast and light sprinkles on and off. Raining pretty good at 645pm. Lightly raining at 715pm. At 9pm it was 37 degrees, overcast and foggy ridges, calm and a break in the rain. At 930pm it was raining pretty good. At 11pm steady rain. At 1am light sprinkles. Probably stopped raining before 2am.

NOAA Weather report:

Observation time May 20, 2021 at 09:00AM
Overcast, foggy ridges, snow line about 5k’
Max temperature 54 degrees F
Min temperature 32 degrees F
At observation 38 degrees F
Precipitation 0.49 inch
Snowfall 0.0 inch
Snow depth 0 inch
— — — — — — — — — —

May 20 Weather:

At 9am it was 38 degrees, overcast – foggy ridges, snow line about 5000′. Sprinkles at 905am for maybe 10 minutes. Light rain falling at 1045am. Light sprinkles at 12pm. A break in the rain at 1pm, VanMeter socked in but Golden Gate peak visible. Light sprinkles after 130pm. Still sprinkling at 330pm. Not raining at 5pm. At 530pm it was 44 degrees, 2 cracks in the overcast and light cold breeze. At 940pm it was 40 degrees, not raining and cloudy. At 11pm it was cloudy. No rain at 1am either. No rain during the night.

NOAA Weather report:

Observation time May 21, 2021 at 09:00AM
Dark overcast, light breeze
Max temperature 44 degrees F
Min temperature 37 degrees F
At observation 42 degrees F
Precipitation 0.03 inch
Snowfall 0.0 inch
Snow depth 0 inch
— — — — — — — — — —

May 21 Weather:

At 9am it was 42 degrees, dark overcast (VanMeter socked in) and light breeze. Overcast at 1230pm. Overcast and light breezes at 2pm. At 6pm it was 47 degrees, dark overcast and light breezes. Sprinkles of rain 620pm-630pm. Steady rain started at 650pm (not sure how long it lasted.) Not raining at 745pm and clouds lifting. At 845pm it was 41 degrees, overcast, calm and not raining. Looked cloudy at 1030pm.

NOAA Weather report:

Observation time May 22, 2021 at 09:00AM
Partly cloudy, light breezes
Max temperature 52 degrees F
Min temperature 35 degrees F
At observation 44 degrees F
Precipitation 0.03 inch
Snowfall 0.0 inch
Snow depth 0 inch
— — — — — — — — — —

May 22 Weather:

At 9am it was 44 degrees, partly cloudy (thin hazy patches) and light breezes. At 12pm it was mostly cloudy and breezy. At 2pm it was mostly cloudy with scattered sunshine and breezy. Gusty between 3pm-4pm. At 5pm it was 60 degrees, mostly cloudy and breezy. At 840pm it was 50 degrees, mostly cloudy and light breezes. At 1140pm it looked cloudy.

NOAA Weather report:

Observation time May 23, 2021 at 09:00AM
Dark overcast
Max temperature 64 degrees F
Min temperature 33 degrees F
At observation 39 degrees F
Precipitation 0.00 inch
Snowfall 0.0 inch
Snow depth 0 inch
—————————–

Road Reports May 19, 2021

Note: cooler temperatures and high elevation snow in the forecast for the next few days.

Please share road reports. Rock Migration season in progress. Conditions can change quickly, be prepared for rocks and trees in the road. There is still quite a bit of snow in higher elevations. Remember there is no cell phone service. Please turn on your vehicle lights when traveling our narrow mountain roads.

Yellow Pine: Local streets are dry and starting to get dusty. Please respect residents and wildlife and SLOW DOWN.
Drivers, please don’t speed through neighborhoods. Locals brake for kids, dogs, horses, deer, elk and squirrels.
link: Local Forecast
Yellow Pine Webcam: (check date on image)

Highway 55 Webcams Link:
Starting May 17, road closures will be reduced to a two-hour window: Monday – Thursday from 12:00 – 2:00 p.m. Opening times may change due to unforeseen circumstances (equipment, weather and daily blasting results) however we will make sure you are in the loop should this happen. This schedule will continue until May 27. Over Memorial Day Weekend, the road will be open to two lanes to allow for smooth travel over the holiday weekend.
Starting June 1, crews will transition into their summer construction schedule. Drivers can anticipate single-lane, alternating traffic controlled by flaggers Monday – early Friday morning. From Friday morning – Sunday, and any major holidays, the road will be open to two lanes. This schedule will be in place until September.
Project link:

Warm Lake Highway: Open
Wed (May 12) Mail truck driver reports the highway is bare.
(Note: see report under upper Johnson Creek for Avalanche info.)
link: SNOTEL Big Creek Summit 6580′

South Fork Road: Open – Spring weight limits in effect. Watch for baby geese in the road.
Report Wednesday (May 19) Mail truck driver reported the road was clear.
link: Tea Pot Weather Station 5175′
link: South Fork Stream Gauge

EFSF Road: Open – Watch for rocks.
Report Wed (May 19) mail truck driver says the EF road is getting rough.

Johnson Creek Road: Upper end closed to wheeled vehicles at Landmark. Will not open any time soon.
Report May 10: (Chris Jones, Cascade) “Avalanche up Warm Lake Road 5 miles past the North Shore Lodge turnoff. Just past the “waterfall” corner, blocking upper and lower portions of the next switchback. Valley County has been notified, says they will work on that situation when they start plowing the area. You can definitely get to Warm Lake, but the next summit is out of the question!”
link to photos on FB:
Report May 4: The lower end of Johnson Creek road is in good shape out to the dump.
link: Johnson Creek Airstrip Webcam
link: Johnson Creek Stream Gauge
Note: The elevation at Landmark is 6,630 feet

Lick Creek: Closed to wheeled vehicles.
Note: The elevation at Lick Creek Summit is 6,877 feet

Profile Creek Road: Closed to wheeled vehicles.
Note: The elevation at Profile summit is 7607 feet.

Big Creek Webcam: (check date on image)

Yellow Pine to Stibnite: Open
Update from PR April 14: “The avalanches have been cleared from the Stibnite road and the road is open. The surface of the road was mostly undamaged by the slides. Like every spring there are rocks coming down daily with the freeze and thaw cycles, and the road is still icy in the shaded spots.”
link: Stibnite Weather Station 6594′

Stibnite to Thunder Mountain: Closed to wheeled vehicles.
Note: The elevation at Monumental Summit is 8590 feet.

Big Creek to Elk Summit to Warrens Road: Closed to wheeled vehicles.
Note: The elevation at Elk Summit is nearly 9000 feet.

Deadwood Summit: Closed to wheeled vehicles.
Note: The approx. elevation at Deadwood Summit is 6,883 feet.
link: SNOTEL Deadwood Summit 6860′

Warren Wagon Road:
Update from Valley County May 18: “Warren Wagon Road to Secesh is now OPEN! The Valley County Road Department will begin plowing today toward Secesh and Warren. We anticipate getting past Warren and down to the South Fork by the end of this week assuming all goes according to plan.”

New Link
Valley County Road Maintenance Dashboard
——————

May 16, 2021 The Yellow Pine Times

May 16, 2021 The Yellow Pine Times – Valley County, Idaho

Reminder: We are still under a boil water order.

Community Calendar:

April 17, 2020 – Boil water order issued
March 31 – Weight Limits on SF road
April 2 – Hwy 55 weekday closures
May 10-27 The Corner open weekends only
May 10 thru Oct 20 – Burn Permit season
May 15 – YPFD meeting 10am at the Fire Hall
May 15 – Firewood Season starts
May 29 – Yellow Pine Escapade – ATV/UTV Rally
June 6 – Planning meeting for festival
June 12 – VYPA Meeting
July 2-4 Yard Sale Silver Dollar Cafe
(details below)
———-

Local Events:

Preakness at the YP Tavern

On Saturday, May 15th, locals gathered at the Yellow Pine Tavern to watch Rombauer win the 146th running of the Preakness. A good time was had by all.
— — — —

Memorial Weekend Events

May 29, 2021 – Yellow Pine Escapade – ATV/UTV Rally – Join us on May 29th for another rally game. This year’s Rally game is – Letter Tiles! Participants ride their vehicles in the 70 miles of identified area to participate in the game. The timeframe of this event is from 10:00 am to 3:00 pm. Participants begin and end the event at the Yellow Pine Community Hall.
$20 early online registration (link); $25 at the event. Funds raised from this event support the Yellow Pine Community Hall. FB link:
— — — —

Next Festival Planning Meeting

Sunday, June 6, 2021, Zoom meeting at 2pm. Contact Deb for link and passcode.
— — — —

Plumbers Coming to Yellow Pine

Rocky Mountain Mechanical will be coming to Yellow Pine some time in May to do plumbing projects. If you are interested in plumbing work please call (208) 365-PIPE (7473). These guys are professionals and do great work, clean and courteous.
— — — —

Heating Maintenance Day

Deb Filler is coordinating with Mastercraft of McCall to schedule a maintenance day in Yellow Pine for propane and pellet stoves. If you are interested, please contact Deb at 208 633-6945. The date will be at least a couple months out.
— — — —

Yard Sale July 2-4

I am having a huge yard sale between the store and the Silver Dollar July 2nd, 3rd and 4th. Items include restaurant equipment, antiques, tools, building supplies, furniture, electrical wire, stainless steel cable, diesel heaters and much, much more.
-S Holloway
———-

Village News:

Water News

On May 12th Warren Drake and 2 fellows from Idaho Rural Water were going around the neighborhood with listening devices looking for leaks.

On May 13th Cecil, Tom and Ron fixed a leaking valve which resulted in saving 5000 gallons of water!

Letter to Share:

Hello Yellow Piners,

Kerry and Dion from Idaho Rural Water were onsite yesterday along with Nicki and me for leak detection in the “downtown” Yellow Pine grid.

Utilizing their leak detection equipment, and Nicki’s knowledge of the distribution system, Kerry and Dion successfully located a number of leaks including a large leak at a fire hydrant. The fire hydrant was turned off and Tim, the fire chief, was notified that the hydrant is not operational.

Many small leaks were identified and marked, but of particular concern is the waterline that runs under the alley behind the hotel and all the way down to the community center. Numerous active leaks were located in that section. So many leaks exist along the alley that the best course of action is probably replacing the entire run of pipe.

Nicki followed up after the guys left and using her tablet and GPS program, accurately recorded the location of all the leaks identified. Now that a record of the leak locations exists, prioritization of the leaks and a plan to repair them can be developed.

Kerry and Dion were very thorough and helpful, and the work they completed will be beneficial to reducing demand on the system as a whole. Based on today’s daily system data, reported this morning by Nicki, it appears that daily demand was reduced by approximately 10,000 gallons as a result of yesterday’s work.

Regards,

Warren Drake
Drake Diversified LLC
— — — —

The Corner

As of Monday 5/10 we will only be open on the weekends, until Memorial Day. Friday-Sunday 11am-8pm
— — — —

Scrap Metal

I have a message that Mike Amos will haul out a load of scrap metal. If you have scrap metal, contact Mike. He has an area by his place to stack it.
— — — —

Yellow Pine General Store

Laundry is open. Gas Available and rooms for rent. The store plans to open by Memorial Weekend.
— — — —

Road News

Link: to current road reports.

Upper Johnson Creek road is still closed at Landmark. There was a large avalanche across Warm Lake road above the turnoff to North Shore Lodge.

The Stibnite road between Yellow Pine and Stibnite mine is open.

The Hwy 55 project resumed April 2nd, expect full road closures Monday-Thursday from 10am to 2pm in the Smith’s Ferry area. Project Website link:

South Fork Salmon River Spring weight limits are in effect March 31 through at least June 1st.
— — — —

Critters

Ticks

Tick season is in full swing, and they are numerous this year. Check your dogs and yourself after a walk in the woods.

Pine Martins & Raccoons

Watch your small pets, reports of pine martins living in the dump and raccoons on the north side of the village.

Be Bear, Fox & Coyote Aware

* Do not feed them human food
* Secure your trash
* Feed domestic pets indoors
* Make sure your pets are updated on Rabies vaccines
* Small pets could become a snack

Be Mountain Lion Aware

Note: A report of a mountain lion near the village.

* NEVER run away from a mountain lion. The lion’s instinct is to chase and ultimately catch what they perceive as potential prey.
* NEVER turn your back on a lion. Always face them while making yourself look as large as you can. Yell loudly, but don’t scream. A high-pitched scream may mimic the sound of a wounded animal.
* SLOWLY back away while maintaining eye contact with the lion.
* Safety equipment you may choose to carry could include bear spray, a noise device, like an air-horn, and if you walk in the dark, a very bright flashlight.
* If you are attacked, fight back!
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Yellow Pine US Mail

The 3-day a week mail delivery started Nov 2nd. The Post Office in Yellow Pine is open six days a week year around: M-F 845am-245pm Saturday 9am-245pm. Forever Stamp: 55 cents. Support our local post office and purchase your holiday stamps here.
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Yellow Pine Transfer Station

The bins were emptied May 1st and area cleaned up by the local community.

Yellow Pine Transfer Station (aka, the dump)

Please do not abuse our Transfer Station or we may lose it. Household trash must be placed in the bins, flattened cardboard boxes can also go into the bins. Do not stack trash in front of the doors. Woody yard debris only for the burn pile. No furniture, appliances, tires or construction debris allowed, those items must be hauled out to the Donnelly station by you.

The Yellow Pine Transfer Station is Valley County responsibility. If it is not kept tidy, use of the Transfer Station may be revoked. That would result in residents having to take all household trash and yard waste to the Donnelly Transfer Station.

If Dumpsters Are Full, Contact Lake Shore Disposal at: (208) 634-7176
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Local Groups

YPWUA News:

We are still under a Boil Order. Please conserve water. Turn off your trickles.

Update May 6, 2021: The Yellow Pine Water Users Association, Yellow Pine, Idaho intends to file an application with the USDA, Rural Development to obtain a drinking water system facility planning grant. If any additional information is needed please contact: Willie Sullivan, Treasurer Ypwater @ gmail.com

Update Apr 26, 2021: Yellow Pine Water Grant Presentation at the Valley County Commissioner Meeting April 26, 2021, YouTube video, Yellow Pine Water starts at the 2:10:00 mark and lasts about 27 minutes.

Here is the ‘power point’ presentation (in a PDF format) that was given during the public hearing April 26th at the Valley County meeting.
link: 20210426 ValleyCountyPresentation.pdf

Update Apr 16, 2021: Water usage is holding at around 35k gallons per day, down about 15k since a leak was fixed.

Update Nov 29, 2020: Warren replaced the water meter because of inconsistent readings. With the new meter, the community is currently using over 55,000 gallons of water per day. A leak has been identified and will be repaired as soon as we can coordinate the contractor, equipment needed and weather together. It is difficult to get everything planned in the winter. When the repair is scheduled, the community will have a few days notice before the water is shut down. Since we are using more water than the rated use through the sand filters, the boil order will remain in effect. We continue the grant request process that is extremely slow. – Steve H

The annual Water meeting for 2020 was held July 5th at the Community Hall 2pm.
link: minutes 20200705YPWUA.docx

Boil Your Water Before Using
Boil Water Order issued April 17, 2020.
Link: to Notice
— — — —

VYPA News:

VYPA Meetings are the 2nd Saturday of June, July, August, and September (June 12, July 10, August 14, September 11) at 2:00pm at the Community Hall.

Village Council members:
Deb Filler, Chairman
Matt Huber, Vice Chairman
Ronda Rogers, Treasurer
Rhonda Egbert, Secretary
Ron Noel, Member at Large

VYPA Bylaws adopted 8/8/2020 (link)

YPAC Corp Bylaws (link)

Festival
Anyone interested in being a part of the Festival Planning/Working committee, please contact Deb Filler. Meetings will begin at the end of January. Even if you aren’t physically in YP, you can participate in the committee.
Next Festival Planning Meeting May 9, 2021 – Contact Deb for Zoom link and passcode.
2021 Planning Notes updated May 9, 2021 (link)
Yellow Pine Music and Harmonica Festival Policy and Procedure Link:
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YPFD News:

The Fire Station recently had a propane heater installed. The heater will be a great addition to the fire station. It will be more efficient at keeping the station above freezing during the winter, especially since we keep water in the engines so they are ready to roll if an emergency occurs. It will also make it more pleasant to hold meetings at the fire station. Big thanks to Fire Chief Tim Rogers for coordinating this.

Meeting schedule for the YPFD. All meetings are at the YPFD Station
Sat. May 15 at 10am
Sat. June 12 at 10am
Sat. July 10 at 10am
Sat. September 11 at 10am Budget Meeting

YP Fire District 2 (east of Yellow Pine Ave) up for election Nov 2nd for 4 year term (per Valley County.) Link:

YPFD had a budget meeting on September 30, 2020 at 10am at the fire station. (No minutes yet.)

Make sure to keep your chimney clean. Cleaning brushes can be borrowed from the YPFD.

Also if you are burning any piles of forest litter and debris – please have a connected and charged garden hose that can reach your piles. If your hose cannot reach where you are burning, follow the good advice of having a shovel, axe, and water bucket at the scene. Rake away from anything that could ignite. Stop burning if winds become an issue. Make sure your fire is out before you leave the area. Nothing like getting surprised by a escaped fire in the middle of the night!

Better yet, “Rake It and Take It” your yard waste (limbs, pine needles, brush, etc.) to the burn pile at the Transfer Station on the south end of the turn-around. Remember, keep the pile neat. Woody debris only, no nails, no cardboard and no furniture! The Boise NF will burn the pile in the fall when it is safe.

YPFD COVID19 Policy
link: YPFD Covid 19 SOP
link: Covid-19 EMS

YP Fire Commissioners:
Sue Holloway – District 1
Dan Stiff – District 2
Merrill Saleen – District 3
Tim Rogers – Fire Chief

Yellow Pine Fire Protection District Community Service Notice
The purpose of this letter is to show how you as a Yellow Pine Resident can help protect your structure against a wildland fire by being “Fire Wise.” Click the link: to view 20190724 Yellow Pine Fire Protection mitigation
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Biz Listings:

The Corner (208) 633-3325
As of Monday 5/10 we will only be open on the weekends, until Memorial Day. Friday-Sunday 11am-8pm
We offer smoked tri tip, brisket, and chicken sandwiches and also burgers and chicken wings.
Firewood Permits available May 15th.
— — — —

Yellow Pine Tavern (208) 633-2233
Yellow Pine Tavern open daily:
Monday thru Thursday 8am to 9pm
Friday and Saturday 8am to 10pm
Sunday 8am to 8pm
Indoor Dining with limited seating and Outdoor Dining Available.
Full Breakfast Menu. Burgers, Pizza, Fajitas, Beer, Wine and Pop
— — — —

Yellow Pine Lodge (208) 633-3377
Closed Nov 3rd for winter.
— — — —

Yellow Pine General Store (208) 633-3300
Rooms, fuel, and laundry available now. Store plans to open by Memorial Day weekend.
Email for reservations
— — — —

Murph’s RV Park & Mary’s Cabins
FB page link
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Knotty Kat Crochet Works – 208-502-0940
FB page link
open Tue – Sat, 9-5
Yellow Pine eggs $3/doz
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Buck Horn Outfitters LLC 208-633-3614
Tom & Sarah Lanham
156 Yellow Pine Ave, Yellow Pine Id 83677
website:
Facebook:

Wapiti Meadow Ranch – Johnson Creek (208) 633-3217
or 208-315-3554 – cabin rentals
website:

Deadwood Outfitters
website:
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Local Fuel Suppliers

Amerigas Phone: (208) 634-8181
Ed Staub & Sons Phone: (208) 634-3833
Diamond Fuel & Feed Phone: (208) 382-4430 open 830am-5pm Monday-Friday, closed weekends.
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Outside Biz that will service Yellow Pine:

The Star-News

click to subscribe:
A reminder that those who live in other states can subscribe to the online edition only since the mail can take days for hard copy to reach them.

Rocky Mountain Mechanical – Plumbing – Heating – Air conditioning
(208) 365-PIPE (7473), Emmett, will service Yellow Pine
Website:

Elkhorn Heating & Cooling
(208) 906-4067 Middleton, Idaho, will service Yellow Pine

B&T Safety Solutions LLC
208-271-1600 Based out of Donnelly
Snow removal, cleaning chimneys and stoves, we do cabin staining/chinking as well
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Follow The Yellow Pine Times on Facebook (updated more often than emails)
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Local Observations:

Monday (May 10) overnight low of 25 degrees, partly clear sky (dark clouds to the NE) and chilly breezes. Happy robins chirping, finches calling from the trees, not many (if any) tree swallows around, didn’t see any hummingbirds, jays squawking in the distance, and ground squirrels chasing each other around. Broken overcast before lunch time. Dark overcast and rain/snow mix early afternoon, followed by breaks in the clouds and a bit of sunshine, then an hour later another little front blew in with rain/graupel/snow for a few minutes. Partly clear and chilly breezes late afternoon, high of 54 degrees. Gusty breezes and a few bigger gusts mid-evening. Calmer and clear at dusk. Lots of stars out before midnight.

Tuesday (May 11) overnight low of 25 degrees, a trace of rain/snow from yesterday’s 2 storms, clear sky this morning. The tree swallows are back, a few finches, robins and a raven calling and one nuthatch stopped by briefly, also a female hairy woodpecker and a few cassin’s finches, also seeing more ground squirrels out and about. Increasing clouds and breezes before lunch time. Partly clear and breezy early afternoon. Warm late afternoon, mostly cloudy and breezy, high of 66 degrees. Mostly clear and calmer at dusk. Looked mostly clear before midnight.

Wednesday (May 12) overnight low of 29 degrees, high thin haze across more than half of the sky and light breeze. Swallows swooping, jays and finches calling, robins and hairy woodpecker visiting. Ground squirrels running about. Warm and nearly overcast by lunch time, light breezes. Mail truck driver was a little early, roads are good. Rural Water people going around the neighborhood checking for leaks. Warm and overcast late afternoon, feels muggy, high of 71 degrees. Calm and overcast before dusk. A few stars out before midnight and frogs croaking.

Thursday (May 13) overnight low of 32 degrees, clear sky this morning. Loud airplane. Tree swallows, jays, finches, robins, evening and black-headed grosbeaks and several ground squirrels plus a golden mantel visiting. Later a sharp-shinned hawk hung out for a while, scaring away the song birds. Locals working on a water leak up town, turned water off to the lower part of the village for a while. Some high thin hazy clouds by lunch time. Quite warm and partly cloudy early afternoon. Nearly overcast by mid-afternoon. Warm and mostly cloudy late afternoon, very light breeze, high of 75 degrees. Warm, nearly overcast and a little breezy before dusk. Looked overcast before midnight and frogs croaking.

Friday (May 14) overnight low of 35 degrees, solid overcast sky this morning. Swallows, jays, finches, robins and a cowbird visiting. Colombian ground squirrels and a golden mantel running about. Overcast at lunch time. Shooting to the west started a little after 2pm. Trace of rain fell late afternoon. Increasing traffic. Quite warm, blustery and dark overcast late afternoon, high of 73 degrees. Mostly cloudy and calmer before dusk. Looked cloudy before midnight.

Saturday (May 15) overnight low of 33 degrees, a trace of rain fell yesterday but gauge was dry this morning, partly clear sky (high haze) and light breeze. Airplane, ATV and dirt bike traffic. Robins, swallows, finches and jays calling, a few hummingbirds and a downy woodpecker visiting. Chipmunk, golden mantel and colombian ground squirrels running about. Mostly cloudy and gusty at lunch time. Bigger clouds and breezy early afternoon. Increasing traffic. Quite warm and partly clear with light breezes late afternoon, high of 73 degrees. Group of golfers out enjoying the Yellow Pine Country Club. Mostly clear and warm at dusk. Looked mostly cloudy before midnight, a few stars.

Sunday (May 16) overnight low of 33 degrees, clear sky and some dew this morning. Swallows, robins, finches and jays calling. Colombian ground squirrels and golden mantel running about. Airplane traffic this morning. Shooting started around 955am. Clear and getting breezy at lunch time. Warm, mostly clear (a few tiny clouds) and breezy early afternoon. A pair of hairy woodpeckers visited. Quite warm, almost clear and lighter breezes late afternoon, high of 78 degrees. Several hummingbirds visiting and robins calling by early evening, light breezes.
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Idaho News:

COVID-19 Updates: 173 new Idaho COVID-19 cases, 5 new deaths

May 14, 2021 Local News 8

Idaho officials reported 173 new COVID-19 cases and five new deaths Friday.

That brings the total confirmed and probable cases reported since March to 189,908.

There are a total of 152,056 confirmed cases and 37,852 probable cases in all 44 of the 44 counties in Idaho, according to numbers released from the local health districts and the state. …

The state said 631,018 people have received the vaccine, and 1,147,573 total doses have been administered. 552,997 people are fully vaccinated. …

The state said 5 new hospitalizations have been reported bringing the total number to 8,267, and 1 new case has been admitted to the ICU bringing the total to 1,394. …

254 vaccine breakthrough cases have been reported.

5 new deaths were reported bringing the total recorded deaths to 2,069.

full story: [Valley Co. 838 cases 6 deaths]
— — — — — — — — — —

Valley County COVID-19 vaccination rate goes to 54.9%

By Tom Grote for The Star-News May 13, 2021

The total of eligible Valley County residents who had received at least one dose of the COVID-19 vaccine continued its slow climb last week, the Idaho Department of Health and Welfare reported.

A total of 54.9% of eligible Valley County residents had received a dose by Monday, according to the H&W’s online COVID-19 tracking site. That is up less than 1% from the 54% reported last week.

A total of 5,241 county residents had received the vaccine out of an estimated 9,552 eligible, an increase of 77 over the previous week.

No new COVID-19 cases were reported by St. Luke’s McCall last week, while Cascade Medical Center reported one new case. A total of 752 cases have been reported in Valley County since the start of the pandemic.

Four confirmed deaths and two suspected deaths related to COVID-19 among Valley County residents have been reported by Central District Health.

St. Luke’s McCall is now offering walk-in vaccines with no appointment from 8 a.m. to noon and 1 p.m. to 5 p.m. on Tuesdays and Wednesdays at Payette Lakes Family Medicine, 211 Forest St.

St. Luke’s McCall is giving the Moderna vaccine, which is approved for those age 18 and older. The Pfizer vaccine, approved for those age 16 and older, is available at St. Luke’s sites in the Boise area.

Appointments can be scheduled online on St. Luke’s myChart or by calling 208-381-9500.

Cascade Medical Center offers Moderna vaccines during walk-in clinics held Monday through Friday from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m.

The Pfizer vaccine is available by appointment only. To schedule an appointment, visit (link), follow the vaccine request button and fill out the information, or call 208-382-4285.

Hospital employees will call back to schedule the appointment.

continued:
— — — — — — — — — —

McCall lifts order on mandatory masks

Action taken despite warning of summer surge

By Drew Dodson for The Star-News May 13, 2021

A face mask order aimed at stopping the spread of COVID-19 in the City of McCall was lifted last week by the McCall City Council.

The action means McCall is no longer under a mask order for the first time since July 2020.

The 4-1 vote came despite a warning by a St. Luke’s McCall officials that lifting the order could be premature with the summer tourism season nearing.

Wearing face masks in indoor public spaces is now “recommended” in McCall under a public health advisory issued by Central District Health, which has jurisdiction over Valley County. …

[Dr.] Irvine told council members that outbreaks of COVID-19 in India and Brazil are a reminder of how the virus can spread quickly.

“Right now, we’re dealing with spot fires and we very much need to keep it that way,” Irvine said, noting continuing to vaccinate people is the “top priority.”

full story:
— — — — — — — — — —

State moving to Stage 4 of reopening plan after months in Stage 3

By Meredith Spelbring May 11, 2021 KIVI

Idaho will move to Stage 4 of the state’s reopening plan after staying in the previous stage for months.

The state will move to Stage 4 of the Idaho Rebounds plan Tuesday based on a decrease in COVID-19 cases in Idaho and guidance from local health officials and the CDC. The decision to move out of Stage 3, where Idaho has been since February, comes from data showing Idaho has the 11th lowest case rate in the country and a positivity rate of 4.3%.

“Our overall numbers are very encouraging, and we are confident about our decision to move the state to Stage 4,” said DHW Director Dave Jeppesen. “We’re currently seeing some of the best numbers we have seen since last summer. We think the COVID-19 vaccine is one of the main reasons for that, and we want to encourage people who haven’t yet gotten the vaccine to consider choosing to get the vaccine to allow things to continue to improve.”

continued:
— — — — — — — — — —

Valley County gets $1.4M in federal funds for roads, schools

By Max Silverson for The Star-News May 13, 2021

Local governments recently received about $1.4 million in federal funding for road work, schools, search and rescue and firewise projects from the Secure Rural Schools and Community Self-Determination Act of 2000.

Of that money, about $894,000 went to the Valley County Road Department, about $349,000 went to the McCall-Donnelly School District and about $50,000 went to the Cascade School District.

Also, about $105,000 went to a fund used for search and rescue and programs to thin and prune trees near homes to prevent wildfires. Valley County Commissioners have discretion to allocate those funds to each use. About $425,000 of the funding going to the Valley County Road Department will be used to reconstruct West Lake Fork Road between Norwood Road and Nisula Road, said Road Superintendent Jeff McFadden.

continued:
— — — — — — — — — —

Cleanup of Idaho 55 between McCall, Donnelly set for May 22

A community cleanup of a stretch of Idaho 55 between McCall and Donnelly will begin on Saturday, May 22, with a gathering at 9 a.m. at the Ridley’s parking lot.

Volunteers will be provided with pickers and orange trash bags but must bring their own gloves, work boots and water or Gatorade.

The group will gather afterwards for lunch, with each person responsible for payment. Incorrect information was stated in The Star-News last week.

For more information, contact Dania Haselton at haselton300@gmail.com or text 208-841-4232.

source: The Star-News May 13, 2021
— — — — — — — — — —

Taxes secured land access in Ada, Blaine counties

Valley County may to ask voters to pass similar levy

By Max Silverson for The Star-News May 13, 2021

The City of Boise and Blaine County both have passed special property taxes to ensure public access to land in their areas.

Valley County commissioners have begun discussions on putting a similar property-tax levy before voters to raise funds for the same purpose.

The discussion is in reaction to what commissioners see is a threat to access to state lands around Payette Lake under development proposals from the Idaho Department of Lands and Trident Holdings of Boise.

continued:
— — — — — — — — — —

McCall property owner converts home into vacation rental, leaving family in a camper

The couple said unless someone has a close connection, finding a rental in McCall is nearly impossible.

Katija Stjepovic (KTVB) May 13, 2021

Much like the rest of the Treasure Valley, the housing crisis in Valley County is growing and beginning to price some people out.

Residents are finding that property owners are converting long-term housing into short-term vacation rentals, leaving locals who work in places like McCall strapped for housing. …

“My own neighborhood that I live in, which is a blue-collar neighborhood with kids of all ages, it’s now VRBOs that are popping up so it is a real thing and it’s increasing,” Mayor Giles said.

Giles stated that due to the Idaho legislature, the city cannot put a cap on the number of short-term rentals. Instead, the City of McCall is trying to land bank, work with developers to have limits, deed restrictions and create affordable housing like a recently completed 12 unit project, Thompsons Place. …

West Central Mountain Economic Development Council sent a survey to McCall property owners in April, asking owners if they would be willing to convert their short-term rentals into long-term housing, by using local incentives.

Of the 175 property owners responded to the survey, only five owners have agreed to convert their homes into long-term housing.

full story:
— — — — — — — — — —

Boise County deputies urge ATV and UTV users to ride safely after rollover crashes

By Ricardo Coronado May 11, 2021

The Boise County Sheriff’s Office is investigating three separate rollover crashes involving UTVs and ATVs over the weekend. One crash near Placerville left a man dead.

Deputies are urging the community to ride safely. Investigators say none of the six people involved in the weekend crashes were wearing helmets. In Idaho, riders and passengers under 18 are legally required to wear a helmet.

Boise County Sheriff’s Deputy David Gomez said the COVID-19 pandemic has pushed more people outdoors, and now they’re seeing an increase in waste left behind in recreational areas around the county. Deputies are asking the community to take their trash with them or dispose of it properly.

continued:
— — — — — — — — — —

Permits for controlled open burning are now required

Permits for controlled open burning are now required from the Idaho Department of Lands.

The permits can be obtained online at (link). The burn permits are free and good for 10 days. Idaho law requires a permit for burning outside city limits except for campfires between May 10 and Oct. 20.

Those wishing to conduct burning inside the city limits of McCall should use the online application site.

Permits for burning inside the city limits of Donnelly are available at the Donnelly Fire & EMS station on West Roseberry Road.

Permits are available at New Meadows City Hall for burning within the New Meadows city limits.

Open burning is not permitted inside the Cascade city limits between May 10 and Oct. 20.

Having a burn permit on record means fire managers can also respond more quickly to fires that escape, a statement from the lands department said.

A permit on record also means false reports of fires can be more easily determined, the statement said.

Information at (link) includes safe burning practices and current fire restrictions in place statewide.

source: The Star-News May 13, 2021
—————–

Idaho History:

The Big Burn of 1910 scorched 3 million acres across Idaho and Montana: ‘People were running for their lives’

“I think the 1910 fires, probably the longest-lasting impact is that it really lead to the professionalization of wildland firefighting,” an official said.

Doug Petcash May 14, 2021 KTVB

credit: University of Idaho

In 1910, one of the greatest natural disasters of the 20th century charred three million acres of land across North Idaho and Western Montana. More than 100 years later, “The Big Burn” still has lessons on fighting wildfires to teach.

The massive blaze killed 85 people, including 78 firefighters.

KTVB spoke with retired forester Darrel Kenops in November 2015 about his extensive knowledge of “The Big Burn.”

continued: w/video
——————

Public Lands:

Boise National Forest Campground’s Opening Schedule

Visitors urged to be safe and practice Leave No Trace Principles and Know Before You Go!

Boise, Idaho, May 12, 2021– Boise National Forest visitors headed to the mountains should expect spring conditions on the Forest are unpredictable, temperatures are cooler, and snow may be holding at higher elevations. Be prepared, take extra food, water and warm clothing. Remember in the woods, there is no cellphone service. Tell a friend or family member where you are going and when you plan to be back.

Please Practice Leave No Trace Principles:

• Plan Ahead and Prepare – know before you go. Do you have a Forest Map (link) or Motor Vehicle Use Map? (link)

• Travel and Camp on Durable Surfaces

• Dispose of Waste Properly – whatever you pack in and pack out all trash

• Leave What You Find

• Minimize Campfire Impacts

• Respect Wildlife

• Be Considerate of Other Visitors

“The Forest’s developed campgrounds are not opened until crews can inspect them for public safety, hazard trees are removed, sites are cleaned, and most of our seasonal staff are on board,” said Danelle Highfill, Boise National Forest Recreation program manager. “The Boise National Forest has more than 80 developed sites with the majority of campgrounds opening in time for the Memorial Day weekend.” Many campgrounds and roads in higher elevations are closed due to remaining snowpack including Deadwood Reservoir, Bull Trout Campground and the Trinity Mountain Recreation area.

Check the Alerts & Notices site for road and area closures: (link) or the interactive Closure Story Map: (link)

Maps can be purchased online at: (link); annual Passes can be purchased online at: (link)

District list of expected campground openings – weather and conditions permitting. (link)

Visit: (link) for reservations. 1-877-444-6777

Boise National Forest offices continue to provide services virtually. The Forest’s offices are in this status to protect the health and safety of our employees and customers. Contact our Ranger District offices or 208-373-4100 or 208-373-4039 for more information and please follow Centers for Disease Control and Prevention guidelines.

Contact: Venetia Gempler
Public Affairs Officer
208-373.-4105
venetia.gempler@usda.gov
— — — — — — — — — —

USDA Forest Service Rapid River Ecosystem Maintenance Burn Update

May 10, 2021 PNF

Dear Potentially Interested or Affected Party,

I have signed the decision for the Rapid River Ecosystem Maintenance Burn Project on the New Meadows Ranger District. The decision approves prescribed burning across the project area in order to improve and maintain wildlife habitat, and move forest stands toward desired conditions to increase the health and resiliency of the ecosystem. The decision is available online at (link).

For more information, please contact myself, Erin Phelps, New Meadows District Ranger, at erin.phelps@usda.gov or 208-514-5809, or Rita Bennett, New Meadows District Environmental Coordinator, at rita.l.bennett@usda.gov or 208-271-6296.

Thank you for your interest in this project and the management of the Payette National Forest.

Sincerely,
Erin M. Phelps, District Ranger
— — — — — — — — — —

Public Scoping Period Opens for the Cold July Forest Restoration Project – Virtual Public Meeting to be Held

Payette National Forest Requests Scoping Comments on Restoration Project

New Meadows, ID, May 10, 2021 — The Payette National Forest invites scoping comments on the Cold July Forest Restoration Project. Comments will help inform project development during the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) process. Scoping comments would be most helpful if received by June 10, 2021. Comments can be submitted through the project webpage at (link). Click on “Comment/Object on Project”.

The Cold July Project is on the New Meadows Ranger District of the Payette National Forest, approximately 5 miles west of New Meadows, Idaho. The project aims to improve the health of forest stands within the project area in order to increase insect and disease resiliency; reduce tree densities and fuel loadings to result in less intense fire behavior and facilitate effective wildland fire response; and enhance habitat for the northern Idaho ground squirrel (NIDGS) and white-headed woodpecker. Vegetation management activities are proposed across the 29,000 acre project area to meet project objectives. Road management activities would also occur in order to facilitate vegetation management activities.

The project is currently anticipated to complete National Environmental Policy Act review as an environmental assessment (EA), pending input from the public and resource specialists about anticipated environmental effects. As an EA, this scoping period is one of two public comment opportunities before a decision on the project would be made by the Forest Service.

“Improving forest resiliency and wildlife habitat, particularly for the Threatened northern Idaho ground squirrel, are important goals for the Payette National Forest” said Erin Phelps, New Meadows District Ranger. “Every year we are reminded of the importance of being proactive rather than reactive. Forest treatments designed to increase the diversity of tree species, structure, and age, is one way to not only increase resiliency to disturbance such as wildfire, but also how we provide healthier habitat for our wildlife” continued Erin.

Additional information on the project is available in the scoping document on the project webpage, or the project’s interactive story map at (link). The district will host a public meeting to provide an overview of the project and answer questions on May 20th from 5:30 to 7:00 pm (Mountain Time). You may join the meeting online at (link)
(meeting ID 160 595 2297), or by phone at 669-254-5252 (meeting ID 160 595 2297#).

For additional information, you may also contact Erin Phelps, district ranger, at 208-514-5809 or erin.phelps@usda.gov; or Rita Bennett, district environmental coordinator, at 208-271-6296 or rita.l.bennett@usda.gov.

Brian Harris
Public Affairs Officer
Tribal Liaison
Payette National Forest
— — — — — — — — — —

New Forest Recreation App Makes it Easier to Enjoy Forest Lands

McCall, Idaho, May 12, 2021 – The Payette National Forest has released a recreation app for public use and it is now available to download to smart phones and other devices. Using the app makes it easy to find and gain information for recreation sites on the Forest.

The app includes a Google map of the Forest with locations of recreation sites, trail heads, campsites, lakes, interpretive sites, and district offices. It provides a great way enjoy and learn more about the Payette National Forest.

“This app will provide the visitors with the opportunity to learn about the Forest and recreation opportunities as they explore the Forest,” said Emily Simpson, Forest recreation specialist. “Visitors can now gather information anytime and anywhere with their mobile devices. Visitors can use the app to orient themselves as they travel to find campgrounds and trails, or to discover historic sites and points of interest. There is so much handy info, right in your pocket.”

The app compliments the Payette National Forest website (link)
with up-to-date information on activities occurring on the Forest. It also has interactive features, such as digital badges provided to users with a visit to one of the many beautiful lakes found on the Forest, and beacons which alert users when they are near a recreation site with corresponding information on that site and a list of places to visit in that area.

The app is now available on the web (link), or available for mobile devices on the Google Play (link) and Apple Store (link) through the National Forest Explorer app. Once in the National Forest Explorer app, users can simply scroll to find the Payette National Forest.

The Payette National Forest encourages the public to download the app, and as with any new technology, there may be room for improvement. The public can provide feedback on their experience to Emily Simpson at emily.simpson@usda.gov.

Brian Harris
Public Affairs Officer
Tribal Liaison
Payette National Forest
—————–

Fire Season:

BLM issues fire prevention order, urges public to help prevent human-caused wildfires

May 13, 2021 Local News 8

May is Wildfire Awareness Month, and with fire season already upon much of the State of Idaho, the BLM is asking for the public to help prevent human-caused wildfires.

BLM Idaho State Director John F. Ruhs recently signed the 2021 Fire Prevention Order, which prohibits specific fire-related activities from May 10 to October 20.

The Fire Prevention Order makes it illegal to burn explosive material or use exploding targets, fireworks, or steel component ammunition on the nearly 12 million acres of public land the BLM manages in Idaho. The order also prohibits shooting at steel or ferrous material(s) with dry vegetation. Any person who knowingly and willfully engages in any act restricted by the Fire Prevention Order could be subject to a fine and held responsible for fire suppression and/or rehabilitation costs of wildfires determined to be caused by that act.

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Critter News:

Don’t be an accidental ‘fawn-napper’

May 11, 2021 Bonner County Daily Bee

Before you “rescue” that fawn found alone in the woods, know that its mom is probably just out of sight.

Every year, fawns are reported by the caring public as being orphaned or abandoned.

Sometimes it is a case of death of the doe, leaving the fawn obviously orphaned, said Dory McIsaac of Mystic Farm Wildlife Rescue in Sagle. Sometimes it is a case of an injured fawn, causing the doe to abandon her baby.

But most of the time that fawn isn’t orphaned or abandoned at all, but rather the mother just being out of sight, McIsaac said.

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Feeding big game animals does more harm than good

May 11, 2021 Local News 8

The Idaho Department of Fish and Game says wildlife are not pets, and shouldn’t be treated as such, even with the best intentions.

Feeding that cute moose in your yard can lead to unforeseen problems and typically does more harm than good. Well-intentioned people often feed big game without realizing the problems it can create for people and the animals themselves, officials said.

They ask you to let wild animals fend for themselves as nature intended.

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Man chased by cougar while hiking in Utah

Melanie Porter May 14, 2021 KIVI

Jared Smith

A Salt Lake City man had a terrifying confrontation with a mountain lion Thursday while hiking in Big Cottonwood Canyon, and captured the encounter on video.

Jared Smith told FOX 13 he was hiking on Broads Fork Trail when the cougar suddenly appeared and followed him within 20-30 feet.

“I was running back down the trail and was probably about a mile from getting back to the parking lot when I heard something off to the side of the trail and looked and there was a cougar oh probably 15-20 feet away from me…definitely startled me,” Smith said.

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Letter to Share:

Gamebird Foundation

Auction sale and yard and craft sale June 5

Auction sale, yard and craft sale for the Gamebird Foundation. June 5th 2021 on Rockforth road in viola Idaho. This will be held across from the Viola Community Center. To be auctioned off, gun reloading set, tools, bullets, primers, 21 boxes of 16 gauge shot shells, 410 shot shells, brass, some new riffle shells, new 22 shells, you will just have to come and see as there is just to much to list. There is a lot of good household items. Washer and dryer, leather sofa and many other great items. Two families have moved into smaller dwellings and have no room for the left overs. This has all been donated to The Gamebird Foundation.

We have room for some craft tables and the only charge is that we would like you to make a Donation to the Foundation if you have a good day. If you have a bad day a thankyou will do. We can always use more donations as we have a lot of baby pheasant and red-leg chicks to feed. We will be feeding and releasing the birds when they reach 10 weeks old into some real great habitat. The birds thank you and The Gamebird Foundation thanks you. We are a 501c3 non-profit. All donations are a tax rite of.

“The Pheasant Guy”
Jim Hagedorn
208-883-3423
Jhagedorn611 @ gmail.com
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Fish & Game News:

Idaho’s black bears are out of their winter dens looking for food

By Terry Thompson, Regional Communications Manager
Tuesday, May 11, 2021

The key to keeping Idaho bears wild is to never let them have access to human food. A food-conditioned bear can quickly become a threat to public safety which never ends well for the bear.

After spending the winter months hibernating, black bears are now emerging from their dens. Once they leave their dens they are now hungry bears and will immediately start looking for food, mostly spring grasses, but pretty much anything that can provide easy calories. During hibernation, black bears survive by burning fat reserves, a boar (male) black bear usually loses 15-30% of their body weight, while a sow with cubs can lose up to 40% of her body weight. After emerging from hibernation, black bears are on a quest to eat between 15,000 – 20,000 calories to replenish fat reserves before winter sets in again, which means they are constantly searching for food.

The key to keeping Idaho bears wild is to not allow them to access human food around neighborhoods and homes. Black bears have been roaming North America for the last 500,000 years – they are well-equipped to survive without human food, by foraging primarily on grasses, buds, forbs, insects, berries, and occasionally meat.

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Controlled hunt drawing results for moose, bighorn sheep and mountain goat now available

By Roger Phillips, Public Information Supervisor
Thursday, May 13, 2021

Hunters who applied for moose, bighorn sheep and mountain goat can still apply for Super Hunts

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Recreational shooters: Know your target to protect nongame birds

By Brian Pearson, Conservation Public Information Specialist
Friday, May 14, 2021

Spring is a popular season for recreational shooters in southwest Idaho, but it’s also a critical time of year for a number of nongame bird species that nest in, or are commonly found in, popular shooting areas. While the majority of hunters and recreational shooters follow the law, Fish and Game officials remind shooters they are likely to encounter protected nongame birds, and to be sure of their target while out in the field.

“The illegal shooting of protected nongame wildlife such as owls, hawks, eagles, and other birds such as long-billed curlews is a persistent and prevalent problem in Idaho,” said Deniz Aygen, Fish and Game’s Watchable Wildlife Biologist. “Long-billed curlews and many species of raptors are identified by Fish and Game as species of greatest conservation need, and sadly, substantial poaching occurs in areas that were established to aid in their conservation, but are also heavily used by recreational shooters.”

Nearly all the nongame bird species found in Idaho are classified as protected. However, European starlings, Eurasian-collared doves, house sparrows, and rock pigeons are nonnative and can be taken outside city limits year-round with a hunting license.

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New law clarifies IDFG ability to enforce motorized travel restrictions on Large Tract Access properties

By Jennifer Bruns, Regional Communications Manager
Friday, May 14, 2021

In 2019 Idaho Department of Fish and Game partnered with Potlatch Deltic and the North Idaho Forest Group on the Large Tracts program in which over 900,000 acres of private timber lands were opened for hunting, fishing, trapping, wildlife viewing, hiking, and recreation. Additionally IDFG’s Access Yes! program currently has over 90 participating private landowners involved providing access to over 270,000 acres of private lands and 370,000 acres of public lands.

Many of the lands enrolled in both the Large Tracts and Access Yes! programs have restrictions on the use of motorized vehicles however state law previously did not exist to fully enforce those restrictions.

The 2021 Idaho legislative session House Bill 187 was passed clarifying that Idaho Fish and Game has authority to enforce motorized vehicle restrictions on private property under recreational access agreements with IDFG and the landowner. Those new restrictions are listed within Idaho State code 36-126. Under this new state law violation of travel restrictions would result in an infraction for first time offenders and a misdemeanor for any second or further violations.

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More F&G News Releases

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Crazy Critter Stuff:

Newborn calf ‘Calamity Jane’ is a knockout hit with zoo fans

by Georgina Jadikovska Zenger News Tuesday, May 11th 2021

A new female baby bison at the world’s oldest zoo has been named Calamity Jane, in honor of the legendary American frontierswoman.

She was born on April 15 at Schonbrunn Zoo in the Austrian capital Vienna. The calf has orange fur, but it will turn brown within six months.

“Our bison offspring are already experiencing their first big adventures. They run and jump through the facility,” said zoo director Stephan Hering-Hagenbeck.

“The young animal quickly tires from romping around, and it keeps taking short naps in the bark mulch or sand — mostly near mother Yvonka.”

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Seasonal Humor:

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