October 2022 Caldwell Perspective

Indian Creek Festival 2022 Draws Large Crowds by Valerie Christensen, Caldwell Perspective

It all began when a hidden section of Indian Creek near Kimball Av enue in Caldwell was un covered in 2003. The first Indian Creek Festival was held to celebrate the first year of what would be come one of the great est city revitalizations in the entire country. That year, a small gathering of community officials and citizens gathered on the banks of Indian Creek and in a nearby parking lot to usher in the Fall season.

In 2022, hundreds of visitors saw firsthand how The Indian Creek Festival has morphed into a widely attended, two-day event. On September 16th and 17th, booths, activities, and entertainment spread along several blocks - and there was something for everyone. Friday night brought a Classic Car Cruise and an “Oldies on

The Plaza” concert. Sat urday was chock-full of events, beginning with a Car Show and Fire men’s Breakfast. Classic gas engines and tractors were also on display. Out side the Reel Theatre, Caldwell Fine Arts over saw its sponsored “Chalk The Block” art contest.

Seasoned and budding artists gathered to show case their talents while others flexed their mus cles at a children’s tug-ofwar competition.

The day’s entertainment included performances showcasing countless hours of preparation by its performers. Early in the day, The Music Theatre of Idaho treated a grin ning audience to a lively preview of their upcom ing show, “ SpongeBob: The Musical.” Lunchtime brought several food op tions from carts on the

street to local farm-tofork restaurants. By 1:00, The Caldwell High School Marching Band was taking the stage to perform sev eral numbers before be ginning a musical march down the streets of down town. Throughout the day, shoppers enjoyed market place booths with a vari ety of handcrafted items. Whether they sold soap or wood carvings, each creator proudly displayed their wares in tandem with local businesses, whose doors were open during the event.

Since its inception, a highlight of the Indian Creek Festival has always been the Cardboard Kay ak Race, where commu nity members and busi nesses compete with their original creations - made only with cardboard and duct tape. Hundreds of fans lined up to cheer on

the creative, handmade vessels winding through the creek. After several heats and a lot of determi nation, a winner was de clared: A blue and white kayak representing Ele ment Mortgage managed to wind its way through swift currents to reach the finish line.

One fair attendee re marked how the weather couldn’t have been better for the festival. “I love days when it’s not too hot or cold. Today was just beau tiful and so much fun,” she said. The final event for those who stayed until the very end was the “Dirt Road Dancing 2C Stomp Comp.” By late afternoon, The Indian Creek Festi val had packed up after a successful display of cel ebration, community, and memories - enough to last until 2023.

2022 Cardboard Kayak Race Winners: Zach Pappuleas, Element Mortgage by

Valden Christensen

OCTOBER

October 1

11:30-12 PM: Big Truck Day Celebration! A parking lot full of trucks. Meet Author Rosanne Parry. Storytime with Rudy Soto, USDA Regional Director, Rediscovered Books, downtown Caldwell.

12-12:30 PM: Big Truck Day Celebration! A parking lot full of trucks. Meet Author Rosanne Parry. Storytime with Judge Sergio Gutierrez, retired Idaho Court of Appeals judge, Rediscovered Books, downtown Caldwell.

2 PM: Kids Connect - Participate in our provided activity or bring your own to share with friends. (ages 7-15), Caldwell Library, 1010 Dearborn St., Caldwell. 2-6 PM: Treasure Our Valley. Meet your farming and ranching neighbors in Canyon County. Interactive displays and games and prizes for kids and live music by Operation Encore, Indian Creek Plaza.

October 3

10:30 AM: Baby Storytime (ages 0-2), Caldwell Library, 1010 Dearborn St.

October 4

10 AM-12 PM: WICAP at the Library, 1010 Dearborn St., Caldwell.

10 AM-3:30 PM: Department of Labor at the Library, 1010 Dearborn St., Caldwell.

10:30 AM: Bilingual Storytime (ages 2-6), Caldwell Library, 1010 Dearborn St.

1-4 PM: WICAP at the Library, 1010 Dearborn St., Caldwell

October 5

10:30 AM: Music & Movement (ages 2-6), Caldwell Library, 1010 Dearborn St., Caldwell.

October 5 (continued)

3 PM: Caldwell Chamber of Commerce Ribbon Cutting for Hayden Homes, 11447 Catalin Dr., Caldwell.

3:30 PM: Afterschool Fun: Clay Sculpting (in partnership with University of Idaho 4H) (ages 5-12), Caldwell Library, 1010 Dearborn St., Caldwell.

October 6

10:30 AM: Toddler Storytime (ages 2-6), Caldwell Library, 1010 Dearborn St., Caldwell.

4:30 PM: Teen Thursday: Origami (ages 13-17), Caldwell Library, 1010 Dearborn St., Caldwell.

5-7 PM: Unwind: Edge Brewery. Sip back and relax during Unwind at Five. Music by Paige Hensel

Sponsor: Nexa Mortgage. Indian Creek Plaza, downtown Caldwell. Event is hosted in partnership with Talie Elordi, Good Vibes Real Estate.

October 7

10 AM: Tai Chi & Qigong (Hubler Airport Terminal) (ages 18+).

4 PM: Caldwell Chamber of Commerce Ribbon Cutting: Academy Mortgage & C-21 Northstar, 517 S. 10th Ave., Suite A, Caldwell.

5:30-6:30 PM: First Friday Book Signing, “However Long The Day” by Justin Reed. Rediscovered Books, downtown Caldwell.

6-11 PM: Brave Hearts Night at Indian Creek Steakhouse. Come enjoy great food, dancing, drinks and outstanding door prizes donated by local merchants. All money raised will support Idaho Veterans. 711 Main St.

October 8

1-5 PM: DOGTOBERFEST.

Dog show, food & Beer, Music. Calling all four legged friends, Indian Creek Plaza is welcoming you and your owners (leashes required) to join us in celebrating two of our favorite things this October…dogs and beer! Bring your pups, dress them up and enjoy an Oktoberfest themed celebration. Indian Creek Plaza, downtown Caldwell.

1 PM: Yote Football vs. Montana Tech (Homecoming game), Simplot Stadium.

October 10

10:30 AM: Baby Storytime (ages 0-2), Caldwell Library, 1010 Dearborn St.

October 11

10 AM-12 PM: WICAP at the Library, 1010 Dearborn St., Caldwell.

10 AM-3:30 PM: Department of Labor at the Library, 1010 Dearborn St., Caldwell.

10:30 AM: Bilingual Storytime (ages 2-6), Caldwell Library, 1010 Dearborn St.

11:30 AM-12:30 PM: Caldwell

Chamber Noonbreak Luncheon, Simplot Dining Hall. Members $22/non-members $25. To purchase tickets call 208-4597493.

1-4 PM: WICAP at the Library, 1010 Dearborn St., Caldwell

6 PM: Mobile Makerspace at Farmway Village, 22730 Farmway Rd., Caldwell.

October 12

10:30 AM: Music & Movement (ages 2-6), Caldwell Library, 1010 Dearborn St., Caldwell.

3:30 PM: Afterschool Fun: Tissue Paper Sculpting (in partnership with University of Idaho 4H) (ages 5-12), Caldwell Library, 1010 Dearborn St., Caldwell.

October 13

3 PM: Laundromat Storytime at Get the Funk Out Laundromat, 4702 Beacon Ln suite 100, Caldwell.

4-7 PM: Canyon County

Candidates’ Forum at the Caldwell Event Center. The event is free for the public to attend., 2207 Blaine St.

4:30 PM: Teen Thursday: Paint Pours (ages 13-17), Caldwell Library, 1010 Dearborn St., Caldwell.

5-7 PM: Unwind: Brewery to be announced. Sip back and relax during Unwind at Five. Music Roman Romero. Sponsor: Nexa Mortgage. Indian Creek Plaza, downtown Caldwell. Event is hosted in partnership with Talie Elordi, Good Vibes Real Estate.

October 14

10 AM: Tai Chi & Qigong (Hubler Airport Terminal) (ages 18+).

3:30 PM: Farmway Arterschool Program at Farmway Village, 22730 Farmway Rd., Caldwell.

October 15

2 PM: Optimist Family MovieCome watch “Minions: The Rise of Gru” (Rated PG) at the library. Snacks provided! (all ages), Caldwell Library 1010 Dearborn St, Caldwell.

October 17

10:30 AM: Baby Storytime (ages 0-2), Caldwell Library, 1010 Dearborn St.

7-8:30 PM: Town Hall Meeting with the 3 Republican candidates for the Idaho legislature in District 11 at the Caldwell Veterans Memorial Hall, 1101 Cleveland Blvd, Caldwell.

October 18

10 AM-12 PM: WICAP at the Library, 1010 Dearborn St., Caldwell.

10 AM-3:30 PM: Department of Labor at the Library, 1010 Dearborn St., Caldwell.

10:30 AM: Bilingual Storytime (ages 2-6), Caldwell Library, 1010 Dearborn St.

1-4 PM: WICAP at the Library, 1010 Dearborn St., Caldwell

October 19

10:30 AM: Music & Movement (ages 2-6), Caldwell Library, 1010 Dearborn St., Caldwell.

3:30 PM: Afterschool Fun: Aerospace (in partnership with University of Idaho 4H) (ages 5-12), Caldwell Library, 1010 Dearborn St., Caldwell.

October 20

8-9 AM: Caldwell Chamber of Commerce Coffee Connect: sponsored by Cushing Terrell, 702 Main St., 2nd Floor, Caldwell.

4:30 PM: Teen Thursday: Fall Crafts (ages 13-17), Caldwell Library, 1010 Dearborn St., Caldwell.

6:30 PM: Thursday Evening Read - We will be reading and discussing “Hotel on the Corner of Bitter and Sweet” by Jamie Ford (ages 18+), Caldwell Library, 1010 Dearborn St,, Caldwell.

5-8 PM: Witches Night Out! Get spooky with us this October! Enjoy a night out with your favorite witches in Downtown Caldwell. Businesses will be open late for grown-up witches and warlocks to have fun shopping, sipping and dining! Participating businesses will have special potions, discounts, giveaways and more. Witches who RSVP in advance or at Olive & Vyne from 56 PM get entered to win a special prize. Costume Contest at 7PM happening at Mesquite Outfitters, and an after party starts at 8 PM at Creekside Mallow’s NEW location with music and specially curated s’mores.

October 21

10 AM-4 PM: Friends of the Caldwell Public Library Book Sale, Caldwell Library, 1010 Dearborn St., Caldwell.

October 21 (continued)

10 AM: Tai Chi & Qigong (Hubler Airport Terminal) (ages 18+).

October 22

10 AM-4 PM: Friends of the Caldwell Public Library Book Sale, Caldwell Library, 1010 Dearborn St., Caldwell.

10 AM-8 PM: Pumpkin Spice Festival, Caldwell Train Depot, 701 Main St.

1 PM: Yote Football at Montana Western (Dillon, MT).

12-3 PM: 5th Annual Shrub Planting, Deer Flat National Wildlife Refuge Visitor’s Center, 13751 Upper Embankment Rd, Nampa (corner of Indiana/ Roosevelt, south of Hwy 55). Public Invited.

1-2:30 PM: Book Signing by Author Erica Dansereau “Come Forth As Gold”, Rediscovered Books, downtown Caldwell.

October 24

10:30 AM: Baby Storytime (ages 0-2), Caldwell Library, 1010 Dearborn St.

October 25

10 AM-12 PM: WICAP at the Library, 1010 Dearborn St., Caldwell.

10 AM-3:30 PM: Department of Labor at the Library, 1010 Dearborn St., Caldwell.

10:30 AM: Bilingual Storytime (ages 2-6), Caldwell Library.

1-4 PM: WICAP at the Library, 1010 Dearborn St., Caldwell

4:30 PM: Caldwell Chamber of Commerce Ribbon Cutting: Empire Title, 211 E. Logan St., Suite 101, Caldwell.

October 26

10:30 AM: Music & Movement (ages 2-6), Caldwell Library, 1010 Dearborn St., Caldwell.

3:30 PM: Afterschool Fun: Aerospace (in partnership with University of Idaho 4H) (ages 5-12), Caldwell Library, 1010 Dearborn St., Caldwell.

October 27

4:30 PM: Teen Thursday: Pumpkin Carving (ages 13-17), Caldwell Library, 1010 Dearborn St., Caldwell.

5:30-8 PM: Caldwell Chamber of Commerce Business After Hours: sponsored by Chop Shop, 716 Arthur St., Caldwell. Members $10/non-members $15. Register online at www.caldwellchamber. org event calendar.

October 28

10 AM: Tai Chi & Qigong (Hubler Airport Terminal) (ages 18+).

11 AM: Caldwell Public Library at the Caldwell Senior Center.

7 PM: Ghost Stories in the Graveyard at Canyon Hill Cemetery (please bring your own chairs/blankets) (all ages).

October 29

1 PM: Yote Football vs. Southern Oregon, Simplot Stadium.

October 31

10:30 AM: Baby Storytime (ages 0-2), Caldwell Library, 1010 Dearborn St.

To

Our Community

The Cougar outside Syrin ga Middle School recently re ceived a major facelift - thanks to Caldwell High School stu dent Sean Sherwood. As part of his Eagle project, he spear headed the efforts to restore the fading brick cougar dis play in front of Syringa Mid dle School. The project was a labor of love that took two

months to complete.

Sean enlisted the help of Mr. Joel Freeman, a retired CHS art teacher, and the orig inal display creator. “He was actually happy that I would take the time to help repair his tile work,” Sean said, “He loved every minute of it.”

The CHS Junior collaborated with his father, Joseph Sher

wood in all aspects of the planning. Tile expert Jerry Loop helped with the project, which also had a great amount of community support.

The time, supplies, and ef forts of the revitalization have not gone unnoticed by visitors of the new display. Because of Sean’s dedication, every one who passes by the Cou gar can appreciate the work of art in a new way.

Caldwell Prayer Walk

Congratulations to our Deputy Coroner Steve Rhodes on his retirement. We have and continue to

appreciate your years of service and friendship!

From your friends at Da kan Funeral Chapel

The Caldwell Prayer Walk is on Saturday Octo ber 8 at 3 pm. Meeting at the Caldwell Memorial Park on Irving St. We walk around down town and stop at various

locations as we pray for all of you in Caldwell and surrounding areas.

Afterwards is a Potluck Dinner with chicken fur nished. Please bring your favorite dish.

Everyone is invited to come! For more informa tion you may call Arlene Robinett at 208 391 8516. See you all there

Caldwell Student Revitalizes Syringa Middle School Cougar

Syringa Middle School photos

by Valerie Christensen, Caldwell Perspective

Cougar Ouside of Syrings Middle School

Sean working on the revitalization of the Cougar

Mr. Joel Freeman and Sean Sherwood

A young Marine from Caldwell was visiting a friend at Ricks College in 1971 when he met a longhaired beauty with the ti niest ankles he had ever seen! Soon after, daily let ters from California began arriving at Ricks College for Karen. As often as he could get leave from base, Dave drove to Idaho, bring ing with him special treats for Karen, like cases of RC Cola. After a year of long-distance dating, Dave finished his service to his country and settled in Bur ley to be near Karen. They were married for time and all eternity in the Logan, Utah LDS temple on Octo ber 6, 1972.

In 1974, the couple moved to Caldwell where

Happy 50th Anniversary

they raised their family of three sons, David, Ben, and Brent. Karen stayed at home with her sons un til they were all in school and then spent many hap py years teaching 1st and 2nd grade in the Vallivue School District while Dave finished his teaching de gree, and became an in dustrial arts teacher and also coached wrestling and football for Vallivue High School. Both are currently retired from education and enjoy spending their time spoiling their eleven grand kids.

Their families would like to wish them a happy Golden 50th wedding an niversary with many more memories still to be made in years to come.

Canyon County Encouraging Voters to Vote Absentee Election by Joe Decker

The Canyon County Elec tions Office is strongly en couraging voters to consider voting absentee in the No vember Election in an effort to help reduce the long lines and wait times that are ex pected on Election Day.

“This really boils down to the size of the ballot for the November election, which is twice as big as the May Primary ballot,” said Clerk Chris Yamamoto. “The twopage ballot in the May Pri mary led to an average wait time of 30 minutes, with some voters waiting up to two hours to cast their bal lot. The November ballot is four pages, so we expect those wait times to increase even more. That is why we are pushing for more people to vote absentee because it’s the most effective way to reduce the crowds on Elec tion Day.”

Voters can request an ab sentee ballot at voteidaho. gov. They can also down load an absentee request form from www.canyon county.id.gov/elections. The downloaded form must be

completed and returned to the Elections Office no later than 5:00 p.m. on October 28. This is also the dead line to request an absen tee ballot at voteidaho.gov.

Voted absentee ballots must be returned to the Canyon County Elections Office no later than 8:00 p.m. on No vember 8.

Voters can also help re duce the wait times on Election Day by taking ad vantage of the early voting period that runs from Octo ber 24 to November 4. Early voting will be available at the Elections Office Monday through Friday, from 8:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m., during the two-week early voting pe riod.

If you plan on voting at the polls on November 8, the Elections Office offers the following tips:

• Be Prepared. Do your homework beforehand so you know what will be on your ballot. The League of Women Voters website vote411.org offers person alized, non-partisan voter information to help educate

voters about their ballot and see the information provided by the candidates. Sample ballots can also be picked up from the Elections Office be ginning in October.

• Make sure you are regis tered to vote. While Election Day registration is allowed in Idaho, voters are still encour aged to pre-register before the October 14 deadline to further reduce the lines and wait times on Election Day. Voters can check their voter registration and/or register to vote at voteidaho.gov.

• Know where your polling lo cation is. Voting on Election Day is precinct-specific, so voters must go to their des ignated polling location in or der to cast their ballot. Voters can visit the Voter Lookup app on our website and type in their address to find their polling location.

• Pack your patience. With the four-page ballot in No vember, voters should ex pect longer than usual lines and wait times at their poll ing locations on Election Day. Please understand that our staff is processing vot ers as fast as possible. We ask that you be respectful of the poll workers and your fellow voters.

by Dr. Melyssa Ferro & proud daughter

Community submitted photos

Caldwell Centennial Band is back at it! Practic es have started up again this October. Christmas songs are on the agenda, preparing us for one of our community’s favorite up coming concerts to be held on December 19th in Jew ett Auditorium. More news on that later. We have been a community staple since 1990, 32 years and counting.

Bob Armstrong is the band’s current conduc tor and is no stranger to Caldwell. Though he grew up in Boise, he spent much of his time in Caldwell vis iting his grandmother, Ber tha Armstrong, more af fectionately called “Army

The C of I Yote foot ball team is definitely on FIRE! They are so much fun to watch, and it is so much fun to be a fan in the stands during these home games.

Since their season be gan in August, they beat MSU Northern (31-3), Rocky Mountain (21-18), Southern Oregon (42-24), and Eastern Oregon (41-

Armstrong.” Army lived at the corner of Dearborn St. and 10th Ave, which is now the parking lot of the Caldwell Public Library, in a white house with a red front door. She was well known in the community of Caldwell as a unique musi cian as she performed on a number of unusual mu sical instruments includ ing the musical saw, tuned glasses, harmonica, Jews harp, an old pump organ and singing as she played the honky-tonk piano.

Bob’s Grandparents, Bertha (Army) and Mer rett, for many years owned and operated a soda shop in the old Saratoga Hotel in downtown Caldwell. Her

0).

white house with the red door at the corner of Dear born and 10th Ave was purchased by the City of Caldwell when Army was around 85 years old, with the understanding that she could remain in her home as long as she wanted to, but little did anyone dream that she would live to be 101 years old!

Bob was certainly in fluenced musically by his grandmother, as he went on to a musical career primarily as a conductor, working with several com munity bands and orches tras. He has conducted the Anchorage (Alaska) Com munity Concert Band, the Lewis Clark Community

College of Idaho Yotes on FIRE!

If you want a good time, go to one of their home games. I went to the East ern Oregon game recent ly and not only enjoyed watching the mighty Yotes, but also loved seeing so many community mem bers that I have known throughout the years. It was a great time. You still have time to get out there

to support your local col lege team!

The Homecoming game for the College of Idaho will be on October 8th! That will be a fun one to attend!

October-November Schedule Mark Your Calendars!

October 01: Carroll Col lege, 1pm------AWAY

October 08--Montana Tech, 1pm-------HOME

October 22--Montana Western, 1pm---AWAY October 29--Southern Oregon, 1pm----AWAY November 05--Eastern Oregon, 1pm------AWAY November 12--Carroll Col lege, 1pm-------HOME

Concert Band, the Trea sure Valley Community Concert Band, the Trea sure Valley Symphony and the Boise Community Band. Bob retired as the Director of Instrumental Music from Treasure Val ley Community College. We now have the honor and privilege of having him conduct our Caldwell Cen tennial Band. Our band is so lucky to have such an esteemed conductor. This past summer during our concerts in Memo rial Park in Caldwell, he was amazed at our band’s loyal and many fans, who came out to enjoy our mu sic even during the hottest days. He has become a

part of our great communi ty and feels at home here.

At the September 15th City Council meeting, the Caldwell City Council will take under consideration a Resolution supporting the restoration of the Am trak passenger rail ser vice, known as the Pio neer line, from Portland, Oregon to Salt Lake City, Utah with a hopeful stop in

Caldwell, Idaho. The Pio neer Line once provided connection from Seattle to Chicago, via Portland, Boise, Salt Lake City, and Denver. It ran from 1977 to 1997. The City of Caldwell hopes to join other cities in furthering efforts to re store this important mode of travel.

Caldwell

Caldwell Resolution to Restore PassengerRail Service

by Leora Summers

by Leora Summers

City of Caldwell

submitted photo submitted photo

Bob Armstrong, Conductor of Caldwell Centennial Band

One of the Yotes’ greatest fans – Sheila McGregor!

Our Community

Chalk the Block...and the next season of Caldwell Fine Arts!

hour voting window. Alyssa Cumpton, an animal lover, planned out her artwork to the minute, knowing just how long she could spend on each animal to fit within the 4-hour time limit. From the youngest 8-year-old artist, to the special needs individuals, to the more seasoned artists, all contrib uted to a truly impressive dis play of talent that people en joyed observing through the beginning sketches through the final judging.

beautiful piece of art. After COVID-19, we at Caldwell Fine Arts loved this image as we began putting programs “back together” in an even better way, finding new ways to bring joy and connection to our community. We’re so ex cited to bring you the worldclass classical music we’re known for with upcoming groups like the brother/sister group Cheng2Duo, creating beautiful music on cello and piano. We’re equally excited

to branch out and present another duo most people will recognize, Kathea Mattea and Suzy Bogguss, playing each other’s hits and new material. From the San Diego Ballet’s Nutcracker Suite, to Jake Shimabukuro’s holiday show, to the rock-infused Celtic music of Skerryvore, we’re confident everyone will find something to love. Check out www.caldwellfinearts.org for a complete listing of our events.

Caldwell Fine Arts partici pated in Indian Creek Fes tival by sponsoring another great Chalk the Block chalk art festival. Children, teens, and adults filled the sidewalks surrounding the Caldwell Luxe Reel Theatre with chalk art creations elebrating the theme “What a Wonderful

World.” The adult winner, Keri Knight, created an diverse underwater scene, and the People’s Choice winner, Alys sa Cumpton, depicted won derful animals of the world past, present, and future. The People’s Choice award was given to artwork that received the most votes in the one

This event is just one of the great events planned for the 2022-2023 Season of Caldwell Fine Arts. The theme of the Season is Back Together, with a nod to the art of Kintsugi Pottery. Kintsugi is the Japanese art of putting broken pottery pieces back together with gold — built on the idea that embracing flaws and imperfections cre ates an even stronger, more

NEW

ONLINE PUBLIC AUCTION

by Alison Moulton, Executive Director Caldwell Fine Arts

submitted photos

Alyssa Cumpton - Detail

Keri Knight - 1st Place Adult Award

Alyssa Cumpton - Peoples Choice Award

Keri Knight - Detail

Mayor Meets with Community at Lion’s Park

On Tuesday, September 13th, Mayor Jarom Wagon er, Appointed Officials, and the City Hall Team came to gether for a community out reach event in Lion’s Park. From 6:00 until 7:00 p.m. Caldwell Lions, donning their yellow vests, joined with lo cal families for an evening focused on bettering the park and the Caldwell com munity. Guests were treated to a complimentary dinner, after which the crowd gath ered for an open mic brain storming session on how to best allocate funds ear marked for the park. Mayor Wagoner led the discussion as ideas were written on a large poster board. The City and the Lion’s Club have been working in a partner ship for several years to make improvements to the

facilities, located at 317 E. Galveston, Caldwell. The improvements have been steadily implemented over the years, with the ultimate goal of bringing full-service amenities to the location.

With its close proximity to the busy freeway, many community members felt that a safety wall from the interstate should be a top priority. Other practical ideas included more cov ered areas, seating, and picnic tables. Others felt that upgraded play equipment, basketball court lights, and a splash pad would attract more families to the park. Some were concerned with potential dangers needing to be addressed. Commu nity member Estella Zamora said, “Current flood irrigation in the park is a problem. A

sprinkler system is needed to keep children safe from standing water.”

Although many ideas were practical improvements to the park, others suggested finding ways to draw more people to the park itself. Lion Dave Moore has a per sonal connection with the park, having grown up in the

neighborhood. He shared how he has always thought of the park as a place of ref uge - especially when his parents divorced when he was young. “I credit the bas ketball court at this park with saving me during a difficult time,” he shared, his emo tions not far from the surface

The concluding discus sion spurred optimism that

new improvements would draw more of the community to the park through special events and outreach. The evening concluded with the Mayor talking one-on-one with community members as he addressed individual concerns. Attendees agreed the event was very benefi cial and productive.

Ways to Help Your Business Be More Efficient

Getting the most out of your small business isn’t always easy. When wearing many hats and working hard to maximize your limited time, some tasks have an opportu nity to slip through the cracks. These tips can help you run your small business more ef ficiently, making the most of the hours you spend at work – and your investment.

Automate as much as pos sible

When there’s only so much time in the day and plenty of tasks on your to-do list, the more you can automate, the better.

Target your marketing strategies

In today’s tech-centered environment, it’s no longer acceptable to only run ads in the newspaper or on the radio with the hope the right audience picks up on your message. Instead, targeted marketing can ensure you get the biggest bang for your buck, with benefits like the ability to:

Speak specifically to a tar geted audience

Attract and convert highquality leads

Highlight unique attributes that differentiate you from the competition

Cultivate customer loyalty

Improve available products

and services

Outsource where necessary

Small business owners of ten do a little bit of everything, serving as a customer service rep, a marketing manager, an accountant, a financial ana lyst, and a human resources team, all in one. However, when the burden becomes too much to bear for one per son alone or a small team of people, outsourcing can save time, energy, and money.

For routine daily tasks, like bookkeeping or managing social media, working with a third party can improve the caliber of service without sig nificantly increasing costs. Outsourcing can add expert input to your business and provide availability on an asneeded basis to help your company grow, all while re ducing costs by as much as 30%, according to Harvard Business Review.

Invest in your website

If your website isn’t up to par, now is the time to make a change. Upgrading your website using a responsive, mobile-friendly design can increase your position in search engine results pages, improve customer responses, and boost your reputation in the local community. In addi

tion, the more information you make available on your site, the less time you will have to devote to answering custom er queries.

Utilize tools and technology

Are you still distributing todo lists on paper? Insist on tracking inventory by hand? While there’s nothing wrong with old-school techniques, software solutions designed to improve productivity can go a long way in a small busi ness.

For example, inventory management tools can take the burden off manually over seeing inventory, and social media marketing opportuni ties can improve employee communication. No matter where your business needs to improve, there’s a tool to help you save time and in crease results.

Listen to feedback

When you get feedback from customers, it’s only natural to smile, nod, and say thank you without really taking the time to put com pliments or constructive criti cism into practice. However, failing to do this can send your company in the wrong direction.

While you have a vision and purpose for your brand, your customers are the rea son you exist, and they know how well you’re meeting their needs better than anyone. In stead of charging ahead with out acknowledging potential red flags customers raise, take time to listen, process feedback, and leverage cus tomer opinions to make edu cated decisions that will give your company a leg up.

While there’s no way to guarantee business suc cess, there are certain steps you can take to skew the odds in your favor. From an improved website to utilizing outsourced resources, it’s possible to increase efficien cies across your company.

by Valerie Christensen, Caldwell Perspective

Mayor Jerom Wagoner visiting with the community

Caldwell Lions Club members, L to R: Valden Christensen (Dakan Funeral Chapel) and wife Valerie Christensen (Caldwell Perspective & Dakan Funeral Chapel)

Lions Park during the community meeting

by Rebecca Barr, PR & Communications Manager

photos by Valerie Christensen

Joining the downtown Caldwell scene is a unique new shop. The Nines Denim and Vinyl is dressed to the nines and open for business. In proper fitting with its name, the store is locat ed on 9th Avenue and is owned by Kallie Snyder. Her Son, Kizer manages the store. They sell new, used, vintage clothing, vinyl records, gifts, and decor. Inventory em phasis is on vintage and retro styles.

“I have always been an entrepreneur and re tail was a long-time inter est of mine,” Kallie said. She enjoys having the opportunity to buy and sell her carefully chosen inventory. Her son is in volved in the local music scene as the bass player for the band BLix. He is also the buyer of all their music, CD’s, cassettes, and vinyl. He stocks lo cal bands and artists to help support local musi cians.

est son.

The shop had its soft opening on May 14th and celebrated its grand opening with a ribbon cutting on June 21, 2022. Its owner is a rural mail carrier at the Caldwell Post Office. One day, she saw the “for rent” sign on her now-opened business. “ I looked into it and fell in love with the character of the build ing,” She said. The store is now open Tuesday through Saturday from 12-7 pm.

Dion met Debbie at North west Nazarene University while they ministered (Young Life) to High School Students at Nampa High School. They married on December 10th, 1983 and continued in edu cation their entire adult lives.

Dion was a school teacher and administrator. Debbie taught elementary and for the last eleven years worked as a high school counselor.

The Flaming Acres story is not your traditional farm family yarn. It has a history of good times and bad. This is how it all began...Lyle and Mary Ann Flaming (Dion’s parents), moved to Caldwell from Dallas Oregon. In 1969 they purchased the farm on Lower Pleasant Ridge Road and operated a dairy there for many years. Because of the many financial and per sonal challenges endured by the family, the farm was sold off piece by piece until what remained was a small acre age owned by Dion Flaming, Lyle and Mary Ann’s young

When the farm went up for sale in 2018, the potential buyers had plans to convert the remaining 37 acres of farmland into an industrial park. In order to save the property from this fate, Dion made a bold move and of fered to buy back the farm for what the businessmen were offering the seller. Much to everyones surprise the busi nessmen backed out of the sale and the farm was once again back in the hands of a Flaming. Today the farm is a hard working families labor of love. They have four chil dren and two grandchildren.

In celebration of this won

derful blessing, Dion and Debbie decided to pursue an agri-tourism conditional use permit from the county which was unanimously ap proved on June 2nd, 2022. Their vision is to provide a beautiful farm experience for the people in our commu nity. They grew 43 varieties of sunflowers, 28 varieties of pumpkins. They have creat ed a 13 acre corn maze and a smaller mini-maze. They have two parklike settings for farm related activities for the whole family to enjoy and a place for vendors to sell their homegrown and homemade items so folks are encour aged to support local busi ness. Flaming Acres is sure to become a very special destination where life on the farm can be preserved and

experienced by Treasure Valley families. Everyone who comes to visit Flaming Acres farm is making a con tribution to ensure that life can continue on the farm for

many years to come. Visit us during our Sunflower Fes tival Days September 2nd, 3rd & 9th, 10th & our Fall Harvest Festival Days Sept mber 16th-October 30th!

by Valerie Christensen, Caldwell Perspective

Ribbon Cutting for The Nines Denim & Vinyl

Dion & Debbie Flaming

Store Display

Flaming Acres Farm

photos

Youth

Free Workshops Show Parents How To Prepare Their Child For School Success

From birth to age 5 a child learns at a speed un matched the rest of his or her life

MOSAICS Public School will offer free READY! for Kindergarten workshops for parents and caregivers of chil dren ages 3-5. The workshops teach families new skills and helpful tips to nurture a child’s development in ways that foster essential early literacy, math and social-emotional skills.

The free workshops, agespecific learning targets, and take-home activities and tools, equip parents and caregivers to help babies and young chil dren develop strong brain con

nections for success in school.

“Parents and caregivers are a child’s first and most influ ential teachers,” said Anthony Haskett, Principal and Found er of MOSAICS Public School. “Using READY! for Kindergar ten, we show families how to be the most effective teachers they can be to cultivate their child’s development before they begin school.”

A child’s earliest learning ex periences influence success in school and beyond. Actively engaging families of young children is the most effective way to make those critical de velopmental years count.

“Many students enter ing kindergarten in Canyon

County do not have the skills necessary to be successful in school,” said Mr. Haskett. “Research shows a significant amount of brain development happens from birth to age 5. Providing parents an oppor tunity to learn activities they can do at home with their chil dren before school starts is the easiest way we can support families in changing a child’s academic trajectory.”

When Halloween arrives each October, most parents of young children are bom barded with the question, “ I want to be (fill in the blank) for Halloween.” Sometimes their requests are easy to come by, other times, not so much. Some parents find putting to gether festive little costumes can be expensive, difficult, and time-consuming. After all, kids are famous for changing their minds, right up until the last day. My oldest is a Hal loween baby, so the end of October has always been a big day for him. I never want ed to put a damper on his Halloween or birthday festivi ties, but the year he wanted to be both Inspector Gadget and Luke Skywalker got a little tricky. He wanted to go Trickor-treating as Gadget, then morph into Luke Skywalker for a Star Wars-themed birth day party.

“Can’t you just be Luke?” I asked rather innocently when Halloween was fastbecoming what seemed like a frenzied 14-day holiday. “I guess,” he replied, bundling up his Dad’s hand-me-down trench coat and mismatched tools that would have made up his perfect costume. It was

MOSAICS will be provid ing the 3-4 and 4-5 year old preparedness classes at the school to assist parents in preparing their children for kin dergarten. Workshops will be conducted on October 20th, November 3rd, and December 1st from 6:00-8:00 pm. Dinner will be provided and child care is also available at the school during the session. Advanced registration is required for this

by Principal Anthony Haskett

free training. Families can register at https://tinyurl.com/ readyforkind. For more information about the MOSAICS Public School offering READY! for Kinder garten workshops, contact MOSAICS Public School at (208) 402-8899 or email An thony Haskett at ahaskett@ mosaicsps.org.

by Valerie Christensen, Caldwell Perspecive & Parentrix Facebook Group

then that I looked down at his sad, ten-year-old face and knew I would be saying yes to both of his choices.

That Halloween, I was glad I let Spencer be exactly who he wanted to be. I smiled as The Inspector filled his “gogo gadget treat bag” with goodies. As Luke, he had an epic lightsaber fight with his buddies. While they savored “Attack of the Clones” that day, I was gifted with a par enting epiphany: Children do not want (nor should they be compelled) to be molded or “cloned” into who we think they should be. Just as Darth Vader repeatedly coaxed his son to be exactly like him, Luke had absolutely no incli nation to be his “mini-me.” As we found out, it was a good thing Luke refused to don the black, creepy mask of his fa ther.

In no way do I suggest that kids shouldn’t try to emulate a parent’s good example or admirable qualities. Howev er, it’s completely unfair and stifling to ask them to hide behind the parent-created masks we sometimes ask them to wear. To have unre alistic expectations of how we want them to look, act, and be.

There are primary reasons full face masks are banned at many Halloween parties - they limit visibility. This can result in tripping, falling, or blocking the wearer from see ing cars or other pedestrians. It’s the same with children, who deserve to be seen and loved unconditionally. As a re sult, we may need to choose

our lightsaber battles wisely. There can be the deal break ers like stealing and lying. Then there’s the not-so-big ones like your son’s shoulderlength hair that drives you crazy!

Frustrating as it may be, tripping children up or block ing them from choosing from the many paths life has to offer is counter-productive. Their chosen path may, in fact, painfully diverge from a most wonderful and wellmeaning parent, whose re sponsibility is to teach good values and provide every tool needed for success.

Giving children plenty of space to make their own de cisions, independent of us, is one of the hardest things a parent can do. Just remem ber that Luke wouldn’t stand for being scrunched into a model that wasn’t true to who he was. Children who are al lowed to “paint their faces” as an alternative to wearing an appointed mask will help them see clearly as darkness descends during prime trickor-treating hours.

Our kids need to be heard - and seen. Even if they choose to paint their faces something rather loud or wild. Even if a parent knows they’re making a big mistake, they can be at ease knowing they are allowing them the freedom to make their own choices. Our jobs are simply to love and see the growth that happens when we allow kids to take off their masks and just be themselves. They may even turn into a Jedi hero you never knew you had.

“Can’t you just be Luke?” Allowing kids to be who they really are

Youth

Caldwell School District Career Technical Education Update - Fall 2022

Caldwell School District’s Career Technical Educa tion (CTE) program had a successful school year in 2021-2022 and is off to a great start this school year.

CTE Pathways for students include Auto Tech, Weld ing, Engineering, Plant Science, Animal Science, Agriculture Small Engine Repair, Hospitality Ser vices, Nursing Assistant, Pharmacy Tech, Rehabili tation Services, Medical Assisting, Marketing, Ad ministrative Services, Busi ness Management, and Graphic Arts. Below are a few highlights from last year and the beginning of this year.

Caldwell School District CTE Spring 2022 Indus try Tours

Our CTE program went on 10 industry tours to a total of 25 different loca tions, with transportation provided by grant funding through Idaho CTE. Here are the locations.

Grove Hotel, Meraki’s Greek Street Food Res taurant, Inn 500 at Capi tol, Albertsons (downtown Caldwell), College of Idaho Bon Apetit, U of I Food Re search Caldwell, Idaho State University Health Careers Fair (Me

ridian), Western Stock man’s Pharmacy, Nampa State Fish Hatchery, Lacta lis in Nampa, West Valley Hospital, Ida ho College of Osteopathic Medicine, CWI Ada County Center (location of CWI’s CNA program), U of I Ag Research Center Parma, Bar Diamond (feed test ing lab), Syngenta (seed company), Rhino Metals, Northwest Feeder Mixer Ag Equipment, R & H Man ufacturing, R & M Steel, Superior Steel Products, Reyco Systems/Idaho Steel, American Food and Equipment Company, Johnson Thermal Systems. Doctor for a Day

In March, Caldwell High’s Health Professions depart ment put on a Doctor for a Day event. This was done in collaboration with the Southwest Idaho Associa tion of Health Education Careers (SWAHEC) and Full Circle Health. Theresa Sigel and Brian Sullivan did much of the coordinating, where six resident doctors walked students through diagnosing and treating diabetes.

On September 14th, students at Caldwell High School had another oppor tunity to work with five doc

tors from Full Circle Health through the Doctor for a Day Program. Theresa Si gel spent countless hours helping to make the event successful. CNA, Pharma cy Tech, Medical Assisting, Anatomy and Physiology, Medical Terminology, Re habilitative Sports Medi cine, and Mental Health Assisting students were able to learn from real-life medical professionals re garding lungs and the re spiratory system. Plans are for three more Doctor for a Day sessions this year on different topics. Some career mentoring sessions with the doctors will also be provided.

Welding State Championship

Caldwell High’s welding fabrication team won the state championship this spring at the state Skills USA competition. The three-student team com peted against ten different schools from around the state in a 6.5-hour contest that required much skill and patience. The students had a chance to compete at the National Skills USA Leadership and Skills Con ference this past summer in Atlanta, Georgia. Canyon Springs Foods

and Nutrition Class Food Tour from Truck to Plate

Canyon Springs High School’s Foods and Nutri tion class visited a few local spots last spring to learn more about food produc tion from the truck to the plate. They began their day visiting Jeff Aldous, Store Director at Albertsons in downtown Caldwell. He gave the students a store tour and talked about product placement, brand comparison, local food sources, and job qualifica tions. Next, they stopped by the College of Idaho. Chad Gross gave students a tour of their cafeteria and the different kitchens that feed approximately 350 students per meal. They also experienced a mo

ment of college life and joined the students to eat lunch at the Bon Appetit Cafe. Finally, they met Cini Baumhoff at the University of Idaho Extension office. They toured the food pro duction (no oven) kitchen. They learned that the U of I rents out a portion of their facility for small entrepre neur companies to produce their own products to sell. They also have a food pro cessing section where they test produce for chemical absorption and other es sential requirements using a standardized process.

Students had a great time learning about our commu nity and the different op tions for food sources and production.

on

12

• Caldwell, ID 83607

Rob King submitted photoss

Paid by Julie Yamamoto Campaign, Chris Yamamoto, Treasurer

The Sagebrush Steppe Res toration Project, adjacent to the Visitor Center at Deer Flat National Wildlife Refuge, is ad vancing to the fifth season.

The event will take place on Saturday afternoon, October 22nd, from Noon to 3:00 p.m.

The Friends of Deer Flat Wild life Refuge are leading out on

5th Annual Shrub Planting at Deer Flat National Wildlife Refuge

this project. We will be working together with other volunteers to plant about 1,200 big sage brush, 100 four-wing saltbush, and 100 rabbitbrush seedlings. The designated plot will have already been pre-seeded with perennial bunchgrasses and desert forbs.

Finishing this work in a threehour planting session will re

quire at least 50 volunteers, armed with shovels, gloves and lots of energy. Volunteers are advised to bring their own shov els and gloves if possible and come dressed for the weather.

We are counting on you!

If you, your group, or family would like to join us to help plant on Oct. 22nd, please txt Bob Christensen at

Continued Caldwell School District Career Technical Education Update - Fall 2022

Caldwell High Becomes Authorized Training Pro vider for First Aid/CPR and FAST (First Aid for Severe Trauma)

Thanks to Mr. Brian Sulli van, our Health Professions and Pharmacy Tech teach er, Caldwell High School is now an Authorized Train ing Provider for both First Aid/CPR and FAST (First Aid for Severe Trauma). Mr. Sullivan has been able to certify many students already through this train ing. This is a tremendous benefit to Caldwell High and the community. Brian was selected as Caldwell High’s Teacher of the Year for 2021-2022!

CTE Recruiting

A CTE lunchtime recruit ing outreach to Syringa Middle School and Jef ferson Middle School oc curred last spring. Teach ers and counselors were provided the signup lists to follow up on the recruiting

effort. There were about 540 program signups by students (some signed up for more than one pro gram) for CTE programs of interest. This was over 100 more program signups than the previous year, so interest in CTE programs continues to grow.

Banners and a poster were placed in Caldwell High School’s front foyer to celebrate CTE month in February to market our CTE programs. In March, all of Caldwell High’s CTE programs participated in the Caldwell High Expo, sharing postcards and bro chures of CTE programs with parents and students and displaying program banners. These recruit ing efforts encouraged students to enroll in CTE classes for this year.

Grants

1-Dillon Vander Feen, the Family and Consumer Sci ence teacher at Caldwell

High, wrote and received a $5042 grant from Idaho CTE for equipment for his program and a $204,000 grant from Idaho CTE for infrastruc ture improvements in his classroom.

2-The district CTE program received a workforce readi ness grant from Idaho CTE for $6449 for workforce readiness curriculum and funding for industry tours.

3-Brian Sullivan, the Phar macy Tech and Health Occupations teacher at Caldwell High, received a Building Idaho’s Future grant for $19,883 to up grade his classroom equip ment last fall.

4-This fall, CTE teachers are applying for grants in Auto, Family and Consum er Science, and Graphic Arts. The agriculture pro gram may also apply for a grant to purchase Ag drones to train Ag students in using drones in agricul

208-371-0521 or email at rcloy dchris@gmail.com

We request that you preregister, but show-ups are wel come.

The Friends group will furnish drinks and snacks during the planting fun. Some extra shov els and gloves will also be avail able.

ture.

5-The district CTE pro grams are applying for a Workforce Development grant from the Idaho Work force Development Council to fund industry tours and update career pathway marketing materials.

Caldwell’s CTE program is always looking for op portunities to work with in dividuals and organizations

in different career path ways to support our stu dents. Our teachers wel come guest speakers, job shadows, apprenticeships, and industry tour oppor tunities. If you would like to support our students in any of these or other ways, please contact Rob King at rking@caldwellschools. org.

by Robert Christensen submitted photo

Shrub Planting

The Libra sun was an orange orb in the east ern sky. Though there has been no frost it still feels like an Idaho Indian summer. The wild tur keys that sometime fre quent my back yard have been absent for several weeks. Three Jakes that patrol the neighborhood remind me of bullies in

middle school. The trio likes to chase cars, when you slow down trying to ensure safety they puff up and peck at your tires, no loitering on their turf.

The goblin gang of west Caldwell as I like to call them are true hooligans, I swear the other day I saw them smoking behind Crookham’s onion bins (kidding).

The grain that borders the south and East sides of my house has been separated from the chaff and the chaff has been bailed. In the years past after harvest Doves have been plentiful finding gourmet dining on the morsels that fell through the combine screens. This year very few Doves

have been actively glean ing the grain stubble. In another month my feeders will be out and Doves will be a plenty.

Steelhead runs in recent counts are up slightly, still below the ten-year aver age but maybe enough to lure me back to the Salm on River. From the early nineties I never missed a steelhead season. When runs become so deplet ed in the last five years or so my enthusiasm for steelhead fishing became more passive. Check ing current counts as of Sept 11, 8766 steelhead had crossed lower gran ite dam, the last dam be fore the cromers reach Idaho waters. Five-year average 3,626, a signifi

Local Dirt Perspective by Pat King

cant increase in fish num bers, although numbers are encouraging catching Steelhead is more than a numbers game, its also a timing game, a half mile stretch of river might have a good cluster of fish at a given time and few or nearly no fish days or even hours later. Current breaks and back eddies, are resting spots and can hold fish longer than mov ing fish in swifter water.

Learning to catch steel head is indeed a journey but the rewards can be a truly cathartic experience. The west central town of Riggins on the Salmon River is where I started my

by Dave McCormick

journey. Since I caught my first steely Riggins is favorite destination. People are friendly beer is cold and then there are steelhead. Some years back I was in Key West, Florida fishing for Tar pon. The back of a t-shirt read, “Key West A sleepy little drinking town with a fishing problem.” I think Riggins could adopt that moniker. If skies are clear trick or treaters will be on the prowl under a waxing moon enjoy your pursuits whether they be with a fishing rod or a mask and a grocery bag.

AH Fall!!! I’m a little late getting this out because as usual my customers call to get their items of concern dealt with before winter hits. But I am very glad to be in great work ing weather again. I have seen some very poor sprinkler installations as of late. It drives me bonkers because a lot of these is sues come from very little experience in understand ing the complexities of hy draulics. This is so much more than I see water coming out of a hose. You have to understand the water sources like, city or domestic, well water or is it pressurized canal water or your own pump from a canal. Is it dirty water or clean, does it need a fil ter? Gallons per minute or flow rate and at what

pressure? The pipe sizing and how much water can go through it before you lose pressure and vol ume? Did you know that you can add enough hose to a faucet so that water won’t come out? Other questions like backflow devices and valve sizing and head count all make a difference in system per formance. But head count isn’t the factor to deter mine if the system will work or not. If water sup ply has a constant supply of 20 gallons a minute at 65 psi, I can put 20 one gallon a minute nozzles on a station and it will work fine. But if I put two gallon a minute nozzles on those 20 heads, you’d barely get the heads to pop up let alone wet the ground. Pipe sizing and length per zone, valve types and size, filter or not and even the types of heads used, rotors, im pacts, pop sprays and drip is very important informa tion needed to properly design a sprinkler system. Other important factors are the plan for landscap ing; trees, shrubs, lawn area, trees in lawn area planters and obstacles such as sheds fire pits or

patios in, or future. I once did a project that started out as just put in some big heads like the golf course ones and through water down the hill to just keep those wild trees wet and alive. What started out as a small project of three or four valves with 150 gal lons a minute at 90 psi, turned into 125 acres and 34 valves which took al most three years com plete and I did it solo. The customer did not have a plan but as I got to know the customer, I built the system as if it was always going to be added on to. So, I’ll leave you with this, if you have an in the future sprinkler installation or need a renovation of your system, please respond to this paper for questions or consultation. As I tell people a cheap install is always more expensive to repair. Until next time Pat.

(208)

(208) 880-4535

(208) 899-0197

An Idaho Academic’s Life in Letters

character, wit, and charm that have resulted in de cades of students regard ing him as inseparable from, and integral to, the history of The College of Idaho.

Entertainment

An Idaho Academic’s Life in Letters

Idaho publishing house Caxton Press has an nounced the publication of a memoir by longtime Ida ho academic leader and western scholar Dr. Louie Attebery.

Monroe Creek to the World is Dr. Louie Atte bery’s love letter to his upbringing in rural Idaho. Attebery’s memoir tells of his experiences that led to a love of folklore and lit erature and the recognition of their essential place in the history of the West. A nationally recognized aca demic and historian, Dr. Attebery’s eloquent auto biography illuminates the

Dr. Attebery’s numer ous publications include A Billion the Hard Way (bi ography of J.R. Simplot); Earthlight, Wordfire; The Work of Ivan Doig (written with Elizabeth Simpson); Sheep May Safely Graze; Most of What We Spend (biography of Robert L. Hendren) and The Col lege of Idaho, 1891-1991: A Centennial History.

Monroe Creek to the World is published by Idaho’s oldest publishing house, Caxton Press of Caldwell, Idaho. The book is now available at book stores and at www.caxton press.com.

All author’s royalties benefit the Attebery Fam ily Scholarship Fund at the College of Idaho.

Caldwell High School Class of ‘71 was planning its 20th reunion and at that time it had become fashion able to travel out of town for the event. No doubt is was difficult to find a local place to have a get together as Caldwell was at a low point in enthusiasm for development of any kind. At our meetings we decided we would work at having the entire event contained within town.

I talked the skeptical city manager into letting us use the train depot for our Friday night social. We enlisted my Dad’s help fixing the plumb ing and other amenities such as they were. We had three restaurants (about all of them at the time) bring appetizers. Even had an impromptu “Elvis imperson ator” crash the party. A great time was highlighted by the thunder passing train within a few feet of the building. Saturday morning there was a golf scramble at Fairview and then our dinner at the Eagles lodge. The lodge was cooled by swamp cool ers that only work well if the building is kept fairly closed

which it wasn’t during the day. The band that agreed to play for free was good but not our group’s style or vol ume. They were so loud that most of us retreated to the basement bar or outside on the sidewalk. Sunday was a farewell picnic at Memorial Park. I just assumed it was ok to BYOB but apparently you’re supposed to have a permit. Oh well, better to beg for forgiveness than deal with permits and forms. Which brings me to the sub ject of this story.

Earlier in our meetings we discussed making some gesture to memorialize our class and planting a tree in the park was decided on. I talked to my cousin who supplied a nice blue spruce. I picked out a prospective location at the triangle of land where Centennial Way and Highway 19 join Cleve land Boulevard. I talked to the city manager again and she thought it was a great idea and that the location was perfect. So “Zim Sala Bim” the tree was in! We had a plaque made and put it at the base of the tree then called the local paper to see if they wanted to put a picture in their community page. Nothin’ doing on that count. As far as we knew it was our little secret where the tree came form.

The next Christmas I pes tered the city manager one more time about getting some lights on the tree and she directed me to the city forester. Who knew we had one of those? After connect ing with him I asked if any one had considered putting Christmas lights on the tree down by Centennial Way. His first reaction was, “So you’re the one responsible for that!” Then he procedded to tell me how many different ways this should not have happened. When he was done railing about my failure to follow protocol I asked,

“So is there a way to get the tree lit?” He said because of overlapping easements and liabilities wires couldn’t be run over the highway and under the tracks. Couldn’t tap into the Union Pacific lines and there were no funds to do it anyway. That’s the way it stayed for several years.

The City received some sort of grant I assume and Centennial Way was land scaped with islands, trees and shrubbery. I don’t recall when but I was driving out that way one winter eve ning and noticed one other improvement. There were lights on the tree. Much later after Indian Creek had been opened up and the Winter Wonderland of Lights be came an annual event more lights were added to the tree and surrounding shrubs. The tree now truly has be come a welcoming feature to the City of Caldwell. Thanks CHS Class of 1971.

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Do you ever wonder what happened to people of good character? You may be amongst many people of good character but because of the hardening of our hearts to the good and kind nature of everyday people we may come in contact with (or pass by) our blinders hide them.

The world has, and in very many ways, become one of hate and anger towards our fellow stranger. We tend to think the worst of them by age or by appearances. We may not think we’re judg ing people harshly, but it’s almost commonplace in the everyday lexicon. It’s in all forms of media, news, both radio and television. It’s on the internet in a very big way through individual podcasts.

Social media, Facebook, Ins tagram, and Twitter probably are the worst because you can’t say anything without of fending someone. If the right someone is offended, you can be placed in a virtual jail for offending that unknown persons. We have truth be ing called misinformation and real misinformation be ing presented as facts that even God would indorse. Like I say often, Good is evil and evil is good.

I started writing this to note what I witnessed firsthand and found myself smiling as it occurred. I’m not trying to point out what is evident around us but to shine a light on the darkness out there.

Hopefully, I pray, you might start looking for hints of hope in everyday people in your daily lives and be a bright light spreader yourself.

I recently witnessed a few little signs of brightness that in the grand scheme of great things might be very insignifi cant and go unnoticed. I’ve had my fair share of blinders on myself. My mentality was in my younger years one of cynicism and anger towards the insufferable behavior of others even though I could be insufferable.

So, with the groundwork laid I came across such a bright light of little signifi cance because it was done in front thousands of people whose attentions were else where.

I work at an event center where many concerts are held outside in an amphithe ater and draws very large crowds. My position chang es regularly from the con course, helping people find their seats, to the backstage where only certain people are allowed to enter. This night I was assigned stage right backstage stairs. That’s usu ally the side the many musi cians make their entrance to the stage to perform. I stand there monitoring the com ings and goings of those that have the proper credentials to be there and access the stage. It’s an expected obli gation of the stagehands and performers to initially show you, their credentials. They

respect you because they understand you’re only there for their protection and they can go about their duties unharassed. But eventually you know their faces and it be comes unnecessary to check their credentials. Many times, during the evening you strike up a conversation mostly just chit chat as the night can drag on a bit between du ties. Some artists, especially the lesser-known artists and opening acts must set their own equipment for their per formance. It’s a rite of pas sage, paying their dues so to speak. This night was a country music concert with four performances, my fa vorite. The opening act was a little-known group named after the lead singer Jackson Dean. I knew nothing about them at all. One of the band members (I later found out) was down early going back and forth on the stage setting things up. I asked who he was he said, “I’m the drum mer for Jackson Dean.” “Oh,” I said a tad bit embarrassed. He went about his business. The rest of the band mem bers filtered down and again not knowing them I asked to see their credentials. There was about 20 minutes be fore the start of their set, so they sat on a concrete ledge warming up then actually singing a song together. I felt kinda like I was given a pri vate concert, the harmonies were good and the style more like the older grittier country music I grew up lis tening to. The concert was a very family friendly event and lots of younger kids running around having fun. Most con certs play music before and in between sets while they change out instruments for the next performers. Usually, 15 to 20 minutes in between.

As we’re waiting for Jackson Dean to start a song that I was unfamiliar with started playing and the lead singer Jackson Dean shouted to his drummer to text Josh to change that song because it inappropriate for this crowd.

He said, “these kids don’t need to hear this song, it’s bad.” Within a few seconds

“Little Bright Lights” by Pat King

that song was replaced. I didn’t recognize the song but immediately thought how re freshing it was to see a per former show such concern for his audience.

I had asked the drummer how the tour was going. He said, “it’s really nice to start hearing the crowds sing the songs back with you, it’s in vigorating.”

They went on to play and I was wowed by the quality of the lyrics and music. Songs I had never heard but felt a connection with. Their set was only thirty minutes and towards the end of their set Jackson said “this next song is one you helped take to number 15 on the music charts. My ears perked up and by golly not only did I know that song, but I loved it the first time I heard it. The crowds sang along, and the applause was loud. When they came off stage, the changeover becomes a mad dash to clear their in struments off and bring the next acts up. After they were off and slowed down and putting their instruments away, I told the drummer how much I enjoyed their music. It was authentically old school and gritty.

As the night moved on, I could see from my vantage point a couple young kids 8 maybe 10 were trying to get Jackson’s attention by the fence that kept them from coming backstage. Jackson went over and got on his knees to talk to them. He was there for about 5 min utes or so taking pictures and possibly autographs. Only the kids’ parents and I noticed but again I was touched by his character. His gratitude towards the youngest of his supporters was a very pleasant sight. I thought to myself if he can keep this perspective for who he is and the impor tance of those that come to see him perform, he will not only have great success in his music career, but in his personal life as well. What’s that saying about true char acter? It’s doing the good and decent when no one

is looking. Throughout the night we spoke a couple more times. I asked the drummer where they were off to next? He said to Filer Idaho the Hwy 30 music festival. I said that’s my hometown area and I’ll be in Twin to see a client about landscaping his new house. Well, he asked if I wanted to hear them play and if so, he’d get me a ticket. I did and he did get me a ticket in. “Of course,” I said. I was wowed again. It was well worth staying later in the day to enjoy such refresh ingly good and new country

music. Later that night as I was getting dinner before heading home to Caldwell, I decided to Google just who Jackson Dean was. I was shocked to read he was only 19 years old. He be came known for his TikTok reels and Instagram posts of his music. What I heard sounded more like a man in his late twenties with a ma ture voice that resonated the music that he writes. Then I was even more im pressed by those little insig nificant bright lights that no one saw but me or maybe not.

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Place of Grace

PREPARE NOW FOR GRATITUDE & SERVICE

Day of Prayer & Fasting for Gratitude

On, Sunday, November 6, 2022, citizens and communities are invited to come together for a day of unity, prayer and gratitude for the plentiful rainfall, heavy snowpack and cooler spring weather the Treasure Valley and entire state of Idaho received earlier this year. This resulted in relief from the drought, a boun tiful harvest and the ability for farmers and ranchers to survive the record-breaking, 100+ de gree days of August.

Last fall and winter, Caldwell and much of Idaho experienced a severe drought and dire irri gation forecasts for our agricul tural communities. People of all faiths came together last Oc tober 2021 and again in March 2022 to call upon the Lord in prayer and fasting for drought relief and we witnessed a God of miracles. The Lord provided. It may not have been in the way

we anticipated or on the timeline we had hoped for, but He did hear our prayers and because He did, our agricultural commu nity survived what could have been a costly, devastating loss for many.

Mayor Jarom Wagoner, Com missioner Keri Smith and the Board of Canyon County Com

missioners, and faith lead ers are calling upon all citizens to give thanks and gratitude through prayer and fasting on November 6th for the bountiful harvest, relief from the drought, His ongoing answers to our prayers and continued moisture upon our lands. The City of Caldwell and the Board of Can yon County Commissioners will be formally declaring November 6th, 2022, as a special Day of Prayer & Fasting for Gratitude and they invite you to join them.

You can greatly magnify the effort by standing with us and encouraging people of all faiths, businesses, neighbors, families and friends to observe this day as a special day set apart for prayer, gratitude and consecra tion. Follow on Facebook the event “Day of Prayer & Fasting for Gratitude IDAHO” for more details.

Rake-Up Caldwell & Scouting for Food Drive

With fall approaching and winter coming, it is almost that time of the year when teams

of volunteers come together to rake leaves for seniors and oth ers help restock local food pan tries. “Come join the community by helping Rake-Up Caldwell and/or participating in the Food Drive portion of our community outreach event on November 12th,” shared Bryan Kida, City of Caldwell Community Outreach Specialist.

This year, we are combin ing Rake-Up Caldwell with the Scouting for Food Drive. Tradi tionally, in November, local scout troops have gathered food from the community to help local fam ilies in need. Mayor Wagoner would like to invite you to join in with the scouts to help feed the hungry in our community. All food collected will be weighed and distributed to local food pan tries. Caldwell churches and area businesses are all invited to participate by hosting their own food drives and encouraged to bring a team or two of volunteers to help Rake-Up Caldwell too.

Ways to get involved include:

1) Sign up a team or as an in

dividual to rake leaves and bring nonperishable food; 2) Host a food drive or help collect food the week of November 7th. Bring all food donations to the Rake-Up Caldwell kickoff that will be held between 8-9:30 am on November 12th at the Trea sure Valley Community College (205 S. 6th Avenue, Caldwell).

If you can’t make the food drive, drop off on November 12th, please consider bringing your nonperishable food dona tions to Caldwell City Hall the week of November 7th. If you know of someone who could use help with raking leaves, let us know too. Please contact Bryan Kida, City of Caldwell, at 208-614-8286 with any ques tions.

Visit JustServe.org (Caldwell) NOW to register your Rake-Up Caldwell volunteer teams or sign-up as individuals by No vember 1st and start collect ing non-perishable food items. Think creative. Think BIG. Think of those in need. Join us on November 12th.

Kelli G. Jenkins, JustServe Caldwell

“Whether you know it or not the doctrine of Christ is the most important thing in your life.” David Carrico

Day of Prayer & Fasting for Gratitude

Mayor Wagoner & Rake-Up Caldwell

21...- A God of Miracles

Drug addiction problems impact numerous commu nities across the state. Un fortunately, illegal drugs are becoming more common, including methamphetamine, fentanyl, opioids, and mari juana.

Fentanyl, for example, is contributing to almost half of the overdose deaths in the state. The drug is being made to look like prescription pain medication. It is also found to be cut into heroin and methamphetamine.

Since the pandemic, over dose deaths continue to climb, and health officials have seen an increase across the state. In 2020 there were 164 opioid-relat ed deaths; in 2021, this rose to 353; from 2010 to 2022, more than 2,900 Idahoans have died from an overdose.

Since the increased pres ence of illicitly manufactured fentanyl, anyone using street drugs is at risk of an over dose. Unknown amounts of fentanyl are found in pills, powders, and liquids and sold illegally.

The pathway for these sub stances is often social me

The Growing Substance Abuse Problem in Idaho

dia. Drug dealers use social medial platforms to sell pain medication and other drugs.

Unfortunately, these drugs are easily accessed by peo ple of all age groups.

“Young people are particu larly at risk because of how easy it is to find illegal pain medication and other drugs online,” said Marcel Gemme of Addicted.org. “Fentanyl is laced into these drugs, and this is what is driving much of the overdose crisis.”

Overdose deaths and drug addiction are avoidable, and things can be done to pre vent both. Through the Divi sion of Behavioral Health in the state, families, and indi viduals can access opioidspecific treatment and recov ery services.

Additionally, communitybased programs increase access to treatment and re covery services. The state has also implemented pre vention programs for Idaho youth and increased commu nity awareness of local and statewide resources.

Officials have also focused on connecting individuals with opioid addiction to peer

support and sober living ac tivities. Finally, to prevent overdose, they have in creased the use of Naloxone. Compared to other states, there is more focus on pre vention, education, rehabili tation, and aftercare support, which remains some of the best approaches.

However, common barriers still stop people from receiv ing the help they need. In adequate or no health insur ance is the most typical, as health insurance alleviates costs or pays for the entirety of some treatment options.

In Idaho, 49% of residents have health plans through an employer, while 13.8% have Medicare, and 12% are un insured. Most of the state’s

subsidized, and private drug rehab centers accept health insurance.

The stigma surrounding addiction is also a common barrier, whether it is coming from family or friends or the general public. The reality is that anyone can become ad dicted to drugs or alcohol, and it is community support that helps people in early re covery maintain sobriety.

The substance abuse problem may be growing in Idaho. Still, the state is throwing a significant amount of resources at it to help those struggling. The prima ry threat remains to be fen tanyl and the ease at which the drug can be purchased. Awareness is critical, as us

My Fellow Vets

ing any drug today could lead to an overdose.

Author Bio: Michael Leach has spent most of his career as a health care professional specializing in Substance Use Disorder and addiction recovery. He is a Certified Clinical Medical Assistant.

by David Beverly

The idea of PTSD stigmas pops up from time to time. To date they have all been rooted in ignorance. Those who do not understand the enormous and constant devastation we live with need to be educated so they can have a better un derstanding of PTSD.

I have had the privilege of explaining the causalities and effects of PTSD. This includes offering to list the medications that keep me from going over the edge. My specialty is the Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde be havior.

Ignorance also keeps vets from getting help. I was one of them. After the load that PTSD imposed on me become too much to carry alone, I shuffled to get help.

Please do not let it get so bad for you.

Knowing that unless you have been there, it is impos sible to develop a thorough grasp on the trauma I prefer to have a proactive stance when approached by the ig norant. Reaction will make a tough situation worse. Pro action helps dispel the igno rance.

Being proactive also pre vents me from internalizing the problem. I do not take a combative approach ei ther. There is enough wreck age without producing more needlessly. A combative ap proach will only deepen the ignorance and cause more problems.

The ignorance surround ing the issue presented to us by PTSD comes in many forms. It does not help dispel the ignorance when on the outside there is nothing that looks amiss. No scars, casts, canes, or other outward in dications to show we have a problem. That and, compared to the general population so few have been blessed with the crushing load of PTSD. I would not want the public to have an opportunity to shoul der the load.

When the question, or any of its various versions, “You don’t look sick” is presented to me I try to stifle the urge to say in return, “Oh, Yah? Do you really want to see my problem at work?” That will not do more than add gas to the fire. It is far more produc tive to take a different tact.

“I understand how you feel, I felt that way until I found that after getting help it is more

We give you a reason to...

manageable.” Taking their point of view to explain the problem will allow you, and me, to begin an explanation.

This presumes that the per son you are talking to is inter ested in the truth. I have run into a few who prefer to run with their ignorance. When one of those mindsets bumps into you [do remember that there is no cure for stupid] just move on.

One of the best ways I have found to deal with those who do not want to be bothered by the truth is to say, “That is too bad” and continue about your business. I have found that they cannot accept the truth, even when delivered by a large bludgeon.

Do not let people presume a stigma onto you. When someone I am talking with ex hibits that their ignorance will continue, or they are unwilling to understand I leave them with, “I am sorry you feel that way” and move on. There are other people in the world who will and could possibly be come a new friend.

There are several morals to this story. First is to get help for the PTSD. Help is avail able. Second, surround your self with people who can be supportive of you. Third, with the right help you can off load some, or all of the burden that comes with PTSD. Fourth, when in the presence of stu pid do not stoop to their level by exploding all over them, even when it seems to be ap propriate.

Remember, there is no help for stupid. There is help for PTSD.

Michael Leach

Debbie Flitton and the beautiful quilt available in our auction

Hay For Sale!

Meadow View is a beau tiful home-like com munity offering Inde pendent Living, Assisted Living and Memory Care to residents in Em mett. We are currently looking to hire Amazing Caregivers and Medica tion Techs to join our already wonderful care team! Call to learn more about our sign on bonus! Call 208-366-5716.

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