The Courier
NEWS
Sawtooth Avalanche Center Open for the Season
Last year’s meager winter is in the rear-view mirror, but with some wet storms forecast to hit Idaho in the coming days, they began daily Backcountry Avalanche Forecasts on Monday, December 13th. While waiting for storms to dump enough snow to ride and slide in the hills, you can view or download their Annual Report at sawtoothavalanche.com New developments this year at the Sawtooth Avalanche Center (SAC) include: 1. Expanded Forecast Area: Thanks to support from the Friends of the Sawtooth Avalanche Center, we have the required staffing to cover our expanded forecast area. This recent expansion nearly doubled our coverage area, adding additional terrain on the Sawtooth, Boise, and Salmon-Challis National Forests near Banner Summit and Stanley, Smiley Creek, Atlanta, and Carey. This increased our coverage area to over 2 million acres (1.15 million acres previously). 2. Website Improvements: Thanks to generous funding from the Ferris and Minor families and the Nicholas Martin Jr. Family Foundation in addition to support from the Friends of the SAC, we created new website products and improved the existing platform at www.sawtoothavalanche. com. We added tools to easily visualize patterns in recent avalanche activity and Observations and made it easier to navigate and search the existing Observations and Avalanche data. If you haven’t tried it, check out our “one-stop-shop” Trip Planner tool on the website home page. It provides users with the Avalanche Forecast, relevant Observations, recent avalanche activity, and a point-specific weather forecast for any location of their choosing. The ultimate result: make it easier for users to get the information they need to stay safe while playing in the mountains. 3. Additional Avalanche Rescue Training Parks: The City of Ketchum and the Friends of the SAC partnered to secure another rescue training park at Atkinsons Park in Ketchum. We’ll install the new Atkinsons Park facility and the existing Avalanche Rescue Training Park at the NW end of the Baker Creek parking lot on HWY75 when... continued on page 6...
News from the Heart of Idaho Camas • Lincoln • Gooding
December 15, 2021
Vol 45 Num 50
Idaho Health Insurance Open Enrollment Extended
Your Health Idaho, the state health insurance exchange, announced a one-week extension for the 2022 health insurance open enrollment period. Idahoans who do not have benefits through their employer and are not eligible for Medicaid or Medicare now have until Dec. 22 to enroll. Those that apply by the deadline will have health insurance coverage beginning Jan. 1, 2022. Your Health Idaho executive director, Pat Kelly, said the decision to extend the deadline was made to ensure Idahoans have enough time to apply for a tax credit and select a plan for 2022. “Unfortunately, we’ve seen some delays in application processing this year, and we want to be absolutely certain that any Idahoan who wants coverage beginning Jan. 1, has all the information and resources necessary to make an informed decision about their coverage,” said Kelly. Kelly said the delays are due in large part to staffing shortages coupled with an increase in new customers seeking coverage with the recently expanded tax credits. “While we are thrilled to see so many new Idahoans applying for coverage through the exchange, we have had to balance increased demand against the same staffing challenges many Idaho businesses are currently facing,” said Kelly. “By extending the deadline, we hope to give Idahoans a few extra Saturday, December 18th from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. days to make final plan selections and ensure their 2022 tax Lincoln County Community Center credits are intact.” A by donation luncheon with hotdogs, baked potato bar, coffee, juice, and hot chocolate Tax credit eligibility is based on several factors like household will be held this Saturday at the Lincoln County Community Center (201 S Beverley Street) size and income. The process to verify that information can take in Shoshone! There will be FREE pictures with Santa and Mrs.Claus from 12 p.m. to 2 several days, contributing to the delay in processing time. p.m. as well as FREE health screenings including: blood pressure, ALC, blood glucose, continued on page 3... and oxygen saturation.
Lincoln County Ambulance ~ Community Luncheon & Fundraiser
FREE tickets for door prizes
A wide variety of raffle items and baskets are available again this year. Tickets are available for purchse at the event. Proceeds will go towards enabling ambulance staff to provide higher level of care for the communities in the county, as well as helping the First Responder & Friends Association take flight! Association is driven to benefit the community with community service projects, other community events, or services where needed. Sponsored by: Glanbia Richfield, Falls Brand, Sawtooth Market, 2nd Time Around, and 4 Bros Dairy.