The Courier
NEWS
News from the Heart of Idaho Camas • Lincoln • Gooding
December 4, 2024
Vol 48 Num 49
Supporting Food Needs in Magic Valley Southern Idaho Solid Waste District
Body Balance Physical Therapy held a "Motion for Good" food drive in November to collect donations at their offices in Gooding & Twin Falls to help fill Thanksgiving boxes for families in the Magic Valley! The drive was a great success and they were able to donate over 350 pounds of food items to Helping Hearts & Hand in Gooding and the Mustard Seed in Twin Falls. "A BIG Thank You to all the volunteers at both facilities for the AMAZING work they do all year long. We encourage friends and family to check out local food pantries to learn all the ways they provide for others!"
Nonresident Deer/Elk Tag Sale... December 10th
The sale for 2025 nonresident deer and elk tags will be held on December 10th this year. The change is intended to allow residents to conveniently buy licenses and permits in early December, ensure auto-renew transactions can be processed in a timely manner, and provide better customer service to all buyers. However, due to high volumes of online sales throughout the month of December, printing and mailing of tags will be significantly delayed. To ensure hunters and anglers get their permits and tags that are needed in January, online sales for those tags will be unavailable, and buyers will need to purchase in-person at a Fish and Game office or a license vendor location. In-person sales are first-come, first-served. After the initial statewide limits of nonresident deer tags sell out, there will be another sale for reserved white-tailed deer tags on March 20, 2025. After December 9th, nonresident bear, wolf, mountain lion, steelhead permits for 2024 seasons will not be sold online (steelhead e-tags will still be available). Starting December 10th, all nonresident notchable tags for bear, mountain lion, and wolf for the 2024 and 2025 season will only be available at vendor locations. Those tags normally require 7 to 10 business days for delivery, and due to high volume of other license and tag sales, they would not be delivered before the end of the year. Licenses and tags can be bought online at GoOutdoorsIdaho.com, through the Idaho Fish and Game mobile apps, or by phone at 800-5548685. They can also be purchased at license vendor locations or F&G regional offices during normal business hours.
To Receive $36.5 Million from USDA
Southern Idaho Solid Waste District serves more than 220,000 residences across the seven South-Central Idaho counties in Blaine, Cassia, Gooding, Jerome, Lincoln, Minidoka, and Twin Falls. To help with essential upgrades and modernizations, USDA Rural Development has announced that the department is providing a $36.5 million loan for the SISW. "Landfills are no longer just a place to haul trash. They are now sophisticated facilities that not only take waste, but produce electricity from methane, deal in numerous chemical and water quality issues and hire a large professional staff." said USDA Idaho State Director Richard Rush. "Southern Idaho Solid Waste is one of the most innovative facilities in Idaho. Seven County Commissioners have come together to make it all happen." The Southern Idaho Solid Waste District (SISW) will upgrade landfill infrastructure, enhance safety measures, replace outdated equipment and waste transportation containers that will provide a long-term solution to manage solid waste efficiently and cost effectively. SISW plays a vital role for surrounding communities by managing over 320,000 tons of waste annually and diverting 40,000 tons of recyclables. "This funding is a significant step forward for our communities." Said SWIS Executive Director and CEO Nate Francisco. "It allows us to improve our facilities, enhance safety, and manage waste more efficiently, all while keeping costs low for our customers. We are grateful for USDA's support in helping us continue to serve the growing needs of South-Central Idaho."