r e i r u o C s a m a C the
012 2 , 5 2 Jauary
N E WS
36 Volume 4 Number News from the Heart of Idaho: Camas, Lincoln, and Gooding County
orth
How Much Snow Is Enough? Up until last week, the snowpack in Southern Idaho was one of the lowest in Idaho history. While last week’s storm made the water outlook for the coming year much better, the snowpack is still below average. The National Resource Conservation Service (through its SNOTEL system) is showing the Boise Basin at 92% (for today’s date). The Big Wood Basin is at 86% and the Little Wood Basin is at 73%. So how much snow did our area get? From last Wednesday through Monday, the Camas Prairie received about 2 to 2.5 feet of heavy wet snow. Besides breaking tree limbs, the wet snow also broke power lines and poles. Several areas were without power for about 24 hours. Lower elevations received snow as well, but in most areas the storm turned to heavy rain and a number of roadways in Gooding and Lincoln counties were temporarily flooded. The National Weather Service is predicting a mix of rain & snow today, and rain tomorrow. By Friday the weather should be mostly sunny making this weekend great for winter recreation. Warning: The Idaho Avalanche Center is reporting that avalanche danger in the Wood River area and the Sawtooth Mountains is considerable as the snowpack is still adjusting to rapid load of last week’s storm. Also, weak layers that have existed since the first of the year make many backcountry areas very dangerous.
ast
est
outh
Citizenship Award Given to Gooding Couple Don and Mary Jean Simis have been active community volunteers in the Gooding School District for several decades. Whenever the school district puts out a call for help – they answer it! They volunteer whenever and where ever they are needed, and faithfully show up year after year to help 1st grade students learn to read, work the Mr. & Mrs. Simis receive Citizenship Award book fair, and supfrom Dallas Clinger, ISBA President. port the Senators any way they can. This year they even added morning and afternoon crosswalk duty to their roster. Their contributions to the Gooding community are appreciated by many students, staff, parents, and community members. At their annual conference last November in Coeur d’Alene, the Idaho School Boards Association presented Don and Mary Jean Simis the ISBA’s Citizenship Award in recognition of their outstanding work. Each year, the ISBA recognizes two outstanding individuals from our state for their exceptional contributions to education. One award is presented to an educator and the other is presented to a non-certified individual such as a community member, volunteer, or classified staff. The Simis’ were nominated by the Gooding Board of Trustees. “One of the most important factors separating average school systems from excellent school systems is the level of parent and community engagement” continued on page 2.....
Legislators Town Hall Meetings Representative Jaquet, Representative Pence and Senator Stennett are hosting open pizza and politics mid-session town hall meetings with district constituents January 27th-28th at different locations in Hagerman, Bellevue, Shoshone, Gooding, Ketchum, and Wendell. Constituents are encouraged to come discuss their thoughts on the 2012 Legislative Session. see page 2 for locations...