The Courier
News
Lincoln County Commissioner Resigns
On Tuesday of last week, Lincoln County Commissioner Cresley McConnell turned in a letter of resignation to be effective May 5, 2018. According to his resignation letter, Mr. McConnell has decided to pursue other avenues in his professional career. He has served as a county commissioner since January of 2013. This leaves a vacancy in the Lincoln County Commissioners for District One. There are three individuals running for that seat in the May 15th Primary Election (Don Hudson and Rick Ellis will be on the ballot and Stacey Spellman is running as a write-in), however, the Republican Central Committee must submit a list of 3 nominations to the governor within 15 days of the vacancy. The governor then has 15 days to make an appointment. While it’s not entirely clear, Idaho Code 59-906A seems to require (in this particular case) the nominations and the appointment be made before the election. Common sense would say wait until after the election to fill the vacancy, but that is not a legal choice. If you live in Lincoln County District One and you are interest in filling this vacancy, contact the Lincoln County Republican Central Committee ASAP. The County Clerk’s office can provide additional information.
News from the Heart of Idaho Camas • Lincoln • Gooding
April 18, 2018
Vol 42 ~ Num 16
E.coli Outbreak Reported In Romaine Lettuce
As of April 12, 2018, 35 people infected with the outbreak strain of E. coli O157:H7 have been reported from 11 states. Connecticut 2, Idaho 8, Illinois 1, Michigan 1, Missouri 1, New Jersey 7, New York 2, Ohio 2, Pennsylvania 9, Virginia 1 and Washington 1 (CDC Report). Twenty-two ill people have been hospitalized, including three people who developed hemolytic uremic syndrome, a type of kidney failure. No deaths have been reported. Epidemiologic evidence collected to date indicates that chopped romaine lettuce is the likely source of this outbreak. Most people reported eating a salad at a restaurant, and romaine lettuce was the only common ingredient identified among the salads eaten. The restaurants reported using bagged, chopped romaine lettuce to make salads. Traceback investigations are ongoing to determine the source of chopped romaine lettuce supplied to restaurant locations where ill people ate. At this time, no common grower, supplier, distributor, or brand has been identified. However, preliminary information indicates that the chopped romaine lettuce was from the Yuma, Arizona growing region.
Hospital & Library on the May Ballot Youth Empowerment Services ~ YES Along with several contested races, Gooding County will have ballot questions in May regard-
ing the Gooding County Memorial Hospital District and the Gooding Public Library. Since 1987, the residents of Gooding County have helped fund the hospital through their taxes. In 2006, because the old Gooding Hospital building could no longer meet safety codes, the decision was made to build a new hospital. That same year the Idaho Supreme Court rendered a decision that put constraints on district hospitals that limited their borrowing ability. This challenge lead to a partnership with St. Luke’s and in 2010, the North Canyon Medical Center (NCMC) opened to the public. Because of concerns from the state over a possible monopoly, St. Luke’s withdrew from the partnership in 2016. While this helped with some things, the Hospital Taxing District still puts legal constraints on how NCMC operates. On May 15th, the voters of Gooding County will be asked to dissolve the Hospital District and allow NCMC to operate as an independent, stand-alone, non-profit hospital. This will not affect the quality of healthcare at NCMC because they have already declined to receive the tax monies generated by the taxing district for the last couple of years. While the hospital has been constrained by the taxing district, the Gooding Public Library has been constrained by NOT having a taxing district. Currently, the Gooding Library is only a city library and continued on page 5...
The YES program was created and tasked with transforming mental health for children in Idaho as part of the settlement in the Jeff D. lawsuit. As part of that transformation, families of children with serious emotional disturbances and functional impairments may now (as of Jan. 1) be eligible for Medicaid coverage if their income is up to 300 percent of the federal poverty limit. Liberty Healthcare in Boise is providing free mental health assessments for Idaho children and young adults up to the age of 18 with serious emotional disturbances as part of the Youth Empowerment Services (YES) program. This initial assessment is available at no cost to the family seeking program eligibility. If you know of a child who needs mental health services, including respite, please contact Liberty Healthcare at 1-877-305-3469. Learn more at: youthempowermentservices.idaho.gov